No matter how rough things were before, now it seems there’s a glimmer of hope. But having grown up in the palace, she had witnessed too many joys and sorrows, and the cruel struggles of politics, so she didn’t really see Charles Bennett’s temporary safety as a good thing.

In recent years, the court had also been full of upheaval. Many of those who were on good terms with Charles Bennett were opponents of the new policies, and as a result, they were either exiled like Stephen Wright, or shrank back like Leonard Thompson, hiding like turtles. If it weren’t for the fact that the imperial son-in-law suddenly fell and went mad, his fate wouldn’t have been much better than Stephen Wright’s.

But pretending to be mad and foolish might fool the emperor and even the princess, but it couldn’t fool her old eyes, which had seen countless people. Living together every day, she didn’t need to look at outward appearances to know if someone was ill—she could just feel it.

As for why the imperial son-in-law suddenly acted so convincingly, she didn’t have a good explanation either. Whether he was truly mad or just pretending, the fact remained that he hadn’t completely escaped this ordeal. If he wanted to stay safe, it would depend on his future behavior.

As for what others thought of him, Thomas Foster didn’t care at all. It wasn’t that he was broad-minded or had everything under control—it was just that he was recklessly bold. To put it bluntly, whether it was Nanny Bennett’s worries or the emperor’s suspicions, he simply never thought about them.

Why didn’t he think about them? Because he was completely clueless about the current course of history—not that he knew it all, but that he had forgotten it all.

Thomas Foster knew the temple name of Emperor Shenzong of Song, but that was all. As for what actually happened during this emperor’s reign, he was completely in the dark.

To be honest, becoming a useless imperial son-in-law in this time-travel wasn’t all bad luck. If he had really become the prime minister or chief of staff of the Song Dynasty, he probably wouldn’t have lasted a single day before being exposed.

On top of that, everyone around him was either a housewife or a servant—there wasn’t a single person familiar with the court or the state of the nation to give him advice. He knew nothing at all about things like the failure of Wang Anshi’s reforms or the conservatives seizing power.

As the ancients said, ignorance is fearless. The current imperial son-in-law was both ignorant and fearless, spending his days coaxing his wives and concubines to play ball, tinkering with good food, and when he had free time, going from room to room making babies for fun. He was living a pig’s life, but quite happily.

But human desire is endless. In the blink of an eye, it was already July, and after more than a month in Northern Song, Thomas Foster was no longer satisfied with a life of wives, concubines, a warm bed, and badminton. He started wanting to go into the city for a stroll.

He planned to see for himself whether this legendary capital, Bianliang, which he had only seen on canvas, was really as prosperous as the books said. He had seen Lin’an with his own eyes, and it was indeed impressive. It was said that Lin’an was just a smaller version of Bianliang—was it really that amazing?

“Dalang wants to... go shopping!” When the princess heard this very unusual phrase from the imperial son-in-law, she immediately understood what it meant. Her cheeks, which had just started to flush, turned pale again, and her eyes were filled with deep despair.

The meaning was clear—she thought her husband’s old problem had returned. So the good days only lasted a little over a month? Wasn’t that a bit too short?

“It’s not that Dalang wants to go, but that Dalang and his wife will go together! Looks like my wife isn’t too willing—fine, then I won’t go out either, I’ll just stay and keep making babies with you!”

Thomas Foster understood the princess’s expression and didn’t mind. The mess left by the previous unlucky guy was too deep to fill in a short time. If he wanted those around him to fully trust him, he’d have to slowly win them over—there was no rushing it.

“Pah! Lily is still here, don’t talk nonsense...” Even though the princess had already been corrupted by her husband, it was only when they were alone. With someone else present, even if it was just her personal maid, she still wasn’t used to such frivolous jokes.

“Lily, do you want to go shopping?” Since the princess didn’t trust him, Thomas Foster decided to rope in another person.

“I’ll listen to the lady...” What young girl doesn’t like shopping? Lily’s face clearly said “let’s go,” but she pushed the responsibility onto the princess.

“Have the groom prepare the horses... and change clothes...” Seeing this, the princess decided not to play the bad guy. Her husband wanting to go shopping wasn’t all bad—she couldn’t keep him locked up in the residence forever. Since he was taking her and the maid along, there shouldn’t be any problem.

The fact that the princess went out without any pomp was something Thomas Foster couldn’t understand. Her emperor brother doted on her so much, so why didn’t he assign a few imperial guards to the imperial son-in-law’s residence? That way, when they went out, he could at least show off a bit.

“Is it against the law for the groom to ride a horse?” There were only four of them—the couple, a maid, and a groom—and not all of them could ride. Three would ride while one walked.

Charles Bennett saw this and realized he’d have to keep up the act of being mad and foolish. It wasn’t that he was worried about the groom getting tired, but that this arrangement was too slow—how long would it take to finish shopping?

“There will be gossip...” The princess knew what her husband was getting at, but neither agreed nor disagreed.

“Your husband is already mad—who cares about gossip? Dalang, find a horse and ride ahead to lead the way!” In the residence, the princess could be in charge, but once outside, he’d take the lead. It was good to be nice to women, but there had to be a limit—he couldn’t listen to everything, and Thomas Foster understood this well.

Dalang was the groom who gave Thomas Foster the most information about Bianliang. His family had lived there for generations, and he himself lived in the city, so he’d make a perfect guide.