Ever since Grace Bolton relayed the housekeeper’s message, William Foster first did some investigating. After discovering that the King family had served the Foster family for three generations, he finally came to take a look.

Mr. King, blushing and nervous, said, “Young master, I don’t have a knife.”

“Oh! You know how to use a blade?”

Without hesitation, William Foster drew the Tang sword from his waist and tossed it to Mr. King.

But when he threw it, William Foster didn’t aim well, and it landed more than a meter off.

Just as William Foster thought the sword would hit the ground, Mr. King let out a low shout, spun his body, did a side flip, and when he landed, the Tang sword was already in his hand.

“Nice!”

That move was impressive, especially since it was unprepared. So William Foster was already half convinced. He picked up Big Annie and said, “Let’s begin.”

Joy looked nervously at her husband. She knew today was the most important day for her family. If they could win the young master’s favor, their lives would no longer be so hard.

The glint of the blade soon filled the whole area in front of the door, leaving William Foster dumbfounded.

Damn, if this was in modern times, he’d be a top-level master, no doubt!

After finishing the set of sword moves, Mr. King stood there without panting or shaky legs, holding the sword in a reverse grip, exuding a calm and powerful aura.

That’s got a bit of a grandmaster’s vibe!

It took William Foster a while to snap out of it. With a blank expression, he kissed Big Annie’s somewhat dirty face with a loud smack, then handed Big Annie to Joy and left.

“Tomorrow, the whole family will move into the main residence.”

So it’s settled?

Joy was so happy she didn’t know what to do. She rushed out and shouted, “Aren’t you going to kowtow to the young master?!”

“Ah! Oh!”

Only then did Mr. King react. He hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to William Foster’s departing figure, raising a cloud of dust from the ground.

“Young master, your sword.”

Without turning around, William Foster waved his hand. “It’s yours now.”

Joy looked at her dazed husband, feeling a pang in her heart. She quickly used the excuse of picking up Big Annie to hide her emotions.

“Big Annie! Your butt is so dirty, you got the young master’s clothes all filthy! And your face, oh my! Come on, let’s get you washed. I can’t believe the young master actually kissed you like that!”

The big news at Foster Village lately was that the somewhat simple-minded Mr. King had become the young master’s bodyguard, and the whole family had moved into the main residence, living the good life.

Whenever William Foster left the main courtyard, Mr. King would always follow behind, holding the Tang sword, looking proud and imposing.

But just as they left the main courtyard, a horse blocked their way.

William Foster said impatiently, “Whose horse is this? If you don’t answer, I’m taking it!”

These days, a horse is like a Benz, a horse is a Maserati—it’s a status symbol.

“Brother David, I’m here to congratulate you!”

The horse’s head moved, revealing a shiny, oily face.

Last time, it was James Brooks who came to William Foster’s wedding. Ethan Brooks supposedly was bedridden, but judging by the hidden anger on James Brooks’s face, he’d probably gotten into trouble.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered, Ethan Brooks first greeted Grace Bolton with a deep bow, presented a calligraphy painting as a gift, and then grinned, “Sister-in-law, I’m here to mooch a meal today!”

Of course, Grace Bolton nodded graciously and went to the kitchen to arrange lunch.

Once in the study and seated, Ethan Brooks said a bit sheepishly, “Brother David, the other day I had a fight with Richard Stone, and we both got hurt, so I missed the wedding. I’m here today to apologize.”

William Foster laughed, “Only your uncle came that day, so I figured you must have gotten into trouble.”

“I wasn’t unlucky!” Ethan Brooks said proudly. “That guy kicked me a few times, but I gave him two black eyes. Haven’t heard of him daring to go out lately—guess his face is still too embarrassing to show.”

After asking around, Matthew Reed learned that this Richard Stone’s father was Philip Stone, a deputy minister at the Imperial Stables.

“So, he’s a horse keeper.”

William Foster was instantly at ease, not knowing that a deputy minister at the Imperial Stables was a fourth-rank official.

Ethan Brooks didn’t care and kept clamoring for fresh dishes to make up for missing the wedding feast.

Braised pork, lamb soup, stir-fried kidneys...

After a string of home-style dishes, the fresh stuff arrived.

Looking at the huge crab in front of him, Ethan Brooks asked in disbelief, “Brother David, what is this? Why does it look a bit like a spider?”

“Big crab!”

William Foster took out a short knife, chopped off a leg, and ate it with chopsticks.

Ethan Brooks was stunned at first, but seeing William Foster eating with such delight, he quickly dug in too.

“It really is delicious!”

In Ming times, eating crab was more common in the south. In the north, people weren’t that into seafood—their favorite was lamb.

Thanks to two generations of emperors, the grasslands now feared the very name “Ming,” so large amounts of lamb could be brought into Beiping.

“Let’s drink!”

As soon as the Maotai was opened, its aroma made Ethan Brooks drool.

“Brother David, give me the wine.”

William Foster raised the bottle high and said, “These are the last few bottles, George... let’s drink sparingly.”

Ethan Brooks’s courtesy name was “George,” which William Foster found a bit odd.

“Sss!”