The whole family suddenly fell from the heights to the depths, and naturally found it hard to adjust. Among them, the one who struggled the most was Henry Walker. He was no longer the leader of his gang of ruffian friends; he went from bullying others all day to being bullied himself, from spending money like water to being strapped for cash. All of this made him feel unbearably miserable.

He picked up the bad habit of gambling because he dreamed of getting rich overnight and returning to his former life. He wanted to marry Emily Foster in the hope of taking over the Lin family’s wealth, so he could go back to the way things were. Even when he blocked the new county magistrate’s sedan chair to cry out his grievances, it was because he wanted his father to return to the county office, so he could continue being a young master and return to his old life.

Everything he did was for the sake of reliving his old dreams, and now he wanted Miss Foster to take responsibility—if that’s not shameless, what is?

……

“This is as it should be…” People’s hearts are hard to fathom. Miss Foster thought his misfortune was all because of what she had said. She nodded and said seriously, “Before I came, I already asked around. Doctor Wu is providing free consultations; the main expense is at the pharmacy owned by Master Lu’s family. Altogether it’s twenty-seven strings of cash. I’ll round it up and pay thirty. Is that alright?”

“Uh…” Henry Walker was a bit surprised. This Miss Foster was really generous—so generous that he felt embarrassed to ask for more.

“But,” the most frightening word in the world is ‘but’—it means everything before it is meaningless, “but right now, I can’t come up with the money…”

“Heh…” Henry Walker sneered. Thirty strings was a lot, but for a wealthy family like the Lins, what was it really?

“No need for that sneer,” Miss Foster said with a bitter smile. “I’m not lying to you. For the past six months, I’ve been in Nanjing and Hangzhou seeking justice for my family’s case, spending money like water. Then there was trouble at home, and the wicked servants made off with all our valuables. The whole county knows about this case.”

Henry Walker felt a bit disappointed and thought to himself, how come David Walker always managed to extort money, but when it’s my turn, it never works out?

Then he heard Miss Foster say, “Give me a few days. By October, I’ll have the money ready for you.”

“Why October?” Henry Walker asked.

“That’s when the autumn assizes are held…” Miss Foster replied softly.

“Autumn assizes…” Henry Walker didn’t understand. Well, he had only ever cared about eating, drinking, and having fun.

“Prisoners sentenced to death with reprieve will have one last review after autumn. If there are no further issues, they’ll be sent to the riverbank for execution…” Miss Foster thought it was normal that he didn’t know this.

“What does that have to do with the money you’ll give me?”

“It’s related,” Miss Foster thought for a moment and decided she couldn’t go into too much detail with someone like him, or the secret would get out. So she simply said, “At that time, I’ll file an appeal. If the verdict is overturned, I’ll be able to borrow the money to pay you.”

“And if it isn’t overturned?”

“Then I’ll have the right to sell off the family property…” Miss Foster said quietly.

“Oh.” Henry Walker nodded. “So, in these past six months, you’ve already found a way in the provincial capital and the capital?”

Miss Foster looked at him with some surprise.

“A case that’s already been sentenced to death after the autumn assizes is unlikely to be overturned,” Henry Walker analyzed with his meager knowledge of history. “I guess the so-called autumn assizes are just a formality, unless you can pull some strings and get a high official to promise a retrial.”

Miss Foster was even more surprised. Although for people in the Ming Dynasty, this was just simple reasoning based on experience, she hadn’t expected Henry Walker to be able to think things through! It was truly eye-opening. But she didn’t intend to discuss this with him. “Just focus on recovering. When October comes, I’ll naturally give the money to Walker Family’s Eldest Brother.” She really didn’t trust giving the money directly to Henry Walker.

With that, she stood up, gave a polite bow, and said, “I’ll take my leave.” Now that everything was said, she needed to leave quickly, or if she ran into Mrs. Walker, she’d be in real trouble.

But just as Emily Foster was about to open the door, she heard a cold laugh behind her: “Naive.”

“You mean me?” Emily Foster turned around, frowning slightly. No one likes being looked down on by someone they themselves look down on.

“Who else?” Henry Walker looked at her calmly. “Don’t pin too much hope on the autumn assizes, or you’ll be crushed by disappointment.”

“What do you mean?” Emily Foster couldn’t help but ask.

“I don’t know who you found or what promises they made you,” Henry Walker said indifferently. “I just know one thing: if I were to pull strings, I’d do it so secretly that no one would know.” He glanced at her and continued, “But you, swaggering off to the provincial capital and the capital to give gifts, and coming back so early to wait for the autumn assizes—even a deaf person would know what you were up to. Even an idiot like me can tell you must have gotten some kind of promise! Not to mention the Zhao family, who can flip a case as easily as flipping a pancake.”

He paused, then said word by word, “Tell me, do you think they’ll try every possible way to counter you?”

“……” Miss Foster had only been listening out of courtesy, but halfway through, she was so shocked her hands and feet went weak. She quickly sat down, and after a long time, finally said in terror, “How did you think of that?”

What she really wanted to ask was, is what you said true? But she just couldn’t believe that Henry Walker, an idiot, could be smarter than her. So she wondered, did someone teach him to say this?