He was now so badly beaten that his mind was barely functioning, his hands clenched tightly—if he exerted any force, he could easily kill this brat.

But looking at the jade pendant on William Carter's chest, and thinking of the three words "Prince of the State" weighing on him like a mountain, fear rose in his heart. He didn't dare to kill William Carter outright, worried that the life jade token left at the Prince of the State's residence would shatter if William Carter died, and the news would reach them immediately. Without a proper escape plan, he would be doomed as well.

If not for this, why would he go to such lengths, trying to make William Carter—this good-for-nothing—die without leaving a trace? If that failed, he would execute the second plan, having others disguise themselves as bandits, so he could kill the others, fake his own death, and escape.

William Carter looked at David Bolton, whose hands were trembling, his face being slapped left and right, eyes bloodshot as he stared at him. Yet William Carter paid him no mind, slapping David Bolton dozens of times like a madman, only stopping when his own hand was swollen.

Then he shoved David Bolton and cursed angrily, "Open the treasure pouch immediately, then kneel in the courtyard and reflect. If you hesitate or utter even half a word of refusal, you'll be executed on the spot. Guards, keep an eye on him. As the deputy steward, he doesn't know how to set an example, dares to disobey orders, and even questions why his master is hitting him—this is simply outrageous. Today, let this be a warning to all of you. Send two people out to inform everyone about what happened today. David Bolton has followed me for over ten years—if it were anyone else, they'd be beaten to death with a staff. Do you all understand?"

"……"

"Yes." The air in the courtyard seemed to freeze, then everyone hurriedly responded. For the first time, they felt that this young prince actually had a trace of the Prince of the State's presence.

Seeing people go out to deliver the order, and everyone around responding in unison, David Bolton, already dizzy from the beating and nearly exploding with rage, was held back by reason from acting out. Forcing himself to suppress it, even to the point of internal injury, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, reached into his clothes, and took out a pouch—not particularly beautiful, but exuding an ancient simplicity, with more than a dozen unique patterns on it. He infused spiritual power into it, enough to last for a while, then resentfully handed the treasure pouch to William Carter.

He thought to himself, "Just you wait, in a few hours, let's see how you die. This treasure pouch is mine."

"What are you standing there for? Kneel in the courtyard. Without my order, you are not to get up. You few, keep a close watch—if he stands up, all eight of you will be sent to the Western Frontier as front-line soldiers." William Carter grabbed the treasure pouch without ceremony and ordered David Bolton down.

At this moment, William Carter was even more domineering and arrogant than any playboy in the capital. In the past, this young prince was timid and cautious, hiding in the residence like an invisible man. Now, with this sudden outburst, it was truly hard for everyone to adapt.

But his recent actions, especially slapping David Bolton dozens of times and his final words, still frightened the eight guards into a shiver. All the years David Bolton spent winning them over suddenly seemed unimportant. They immediately stepped forward to watch David Bolton, ready to act if he refused to kneel.

"Damn it!" David Bolton looked at them approaching and truly felt the urge to kill them all.

"Deputy steward, the young prince has given orders, please don't make things difficult for us..."

"That's right, the master is angry, so you should just..."

……

As they spoke, they half-pushed, half-pulled David Bolton into the courtyard and forced him to kneel.

Seeing this, William Carter turned and walked into the house. No matter what, he had finally gotten the treasure pouch, and by creating this situation, it would be hard for David Bolton to act rashly for a while. If he did, it would mean it was time for them to make their move.

"That scared Tommy to death, scared Tommy to death..." As soon as he entered the room, Tommy closed the door, leaned weakly against it, and slid down to sit on the floor, truly scared half to death just now.

At this moment, she leaned helplessly against the door, then sat on the ground, patting her chest desperately, her little face pale.

"Huh!" Seeing Tommy's state, William Carter couldn't help but laugh and ask, "No way, I thought you were really brave before."

What William Carter referred to, of course, was Tommy helping him wipe his body to keep him warm and stalling David Bolton.

"At that time... I thought you were dead, so I didn't care. But just now was so dangerous! Young master, weren't you afraid David Bolton would suddenly attack? Tommy saw his eyes turn red..." Tommy was a little embarrassed by William Carter's words, but then recalled what had just happened and couldn't help but ask. From the moment the young master went out to act until everything that followed, it was all too astonishing.

Hearing Tommy's words, William Carter felt a warmth in his heart. She thought he was already dead, yet was willing to risk her own life to expose David Bolton, not caring about anything else.