The woman was stunned again, her eyes almost blazing with fury, a mix of shame, anger, and pain flashing across her face. Her cheeks flushed red down to her neck, then gradually turned purple.

He put on a villainous look—since he’d hit her once, a second or third time made no difference. He raised his hand and struck again.

Lily Brooks, wracked with pain, trembled all over, her face turning from red to purple. She glared at him, gasping with rage, “I... I...”

Smack!

He scowled and said coldly, “What can you do to me? I save you and you don’t thank me, you even want to kill me. Do you really think I’m some clay Bodhisattva?”

“You...” The woman was so angry she couldn’t speak. She’d barely uttered a word before another blow landed on her back.

...

After a while.

Lily Brooks, whose nature was fiercely chaste, found herself with no way to resist except to cry. Every time she opened her mouth, she got hit again. She could only pant rapidly and glare at him viciously, not daring to move.

Master Carter saw that he’d finally subdued this crazy woman and let out a sigh of relief, snorting, “Now that’s more like it. I thought you weren’t afraid of pain. If you’re afraid of pain, then don’t try to die. If I hear even a hint that you’re trying to force someone to their death, I’ll have your father thrown into the Dian Kui Office immediately.”

With women this stubborn, you really had to use harsh words.

Sure enough, Lily Brooks’s chest heaved violently. After holding it in for a long time, she finally mustered the courage to speak: “How dare you!”

Smack!

“Why wouldn’t I dare?”

He pointed his thumb at himself. “I’m the tyrant of the capital. I’ve killed more people than you’ve ever met. If you’ve got the guts, go file a complaint with the emperor. Let’s see if His Majesty believes you or me.”

Lily Brooks trembled all over with rage. Facing this powerful and wicked man, she couldn’t find any way to seek justice. She sobbed twice, then got up and left.

William Carter, afraid she’d try to kill herself again, followed behind and continued, “If you dare to try anything, I’m capable of doing anything.”

Lily Brooks stopped in her tracks, staring at him blankly, her voice full of grief and anger: “What do you want from me? You won’t let me die, but you won’t let me live either. You... you...”

Unable to finish, the woman turned and ran off.

He followed, saying casually, “Just don’t die. From now on, I’ll avoid you whenever I see you. We’ll call it even.”

“Fine, you said it.”

Lily Brooks quickened her pace. When she reached the entrance of Qinglian Alley, she saw an old man waiting. Unable to hold back her grievance any longer, she ran into the alley crying. As she stepped through the gate, she couldn’t help but rub her sore spot, clearly overwhelmed with indignation.

At the alley entrance, the old man’s hair was white, and he wore a scholar’s robe, looking quite dignified. When he saw Lily Brooks’s tear-streaked, aggrieved face, with a sneaky man following behind, he immediately flew into a rage and shouted:

“Insolent scoundrel, how dare you...”

William Carter had already washed up in the water, his disguise long gone. Before the old man could finish, he recognized his face.

The old man’s expression changed slightly, and he quickly bowed, “This humble official greets Marshal Carter!”

He stopped, waved his hand, and said, “No need for formalities. Watch over that girl—don’t let her try to kill herself.”

“Yes, sir!” the old man replied softly, but there was not the slightest hint of politeness in his tone.

He knew he was in the wrong, and it wasn’t appropriate to explain himself in front of her elders, so he turned and left the alley.

After walking a while, he looked at his own palm, feeling that maybe he’d gone a bit too far...

The small courtyard had two sections, not very large. Lights glowed in the west wing.

Lily Brooks, full of grief and anger, picked up a pair of scissors and gestured with them a few times, but didn’t dare use them. She wasn’t afraid of death, but she was afraid of implicating her father, who had always been upright and honest. The villain William Carter always did what he said—if he threatened to wipe out a whole family, he’d leave no survivors.

A young woman, humiliated in public and unable to die even if she wanted to, Lily Brooks—who valued her reputation and chastity above all—felt more anger than grievance, but was helpless.

After hesitating a bit, she threw the scissors to the ground, lay face down on her embroidered bed, and sobbed quietly. The reason she didn’t sit was because the villain’s blows really hurt.

“Sigh...”

Outside the window, Assistant Minister Ethan Brooks shook his head and sighed bitterly. Hearing his daughter’s aggrieved sobs, he shook his head again, “As your father... tomorrow I’ll submit a memorial against him. These sons of nobles are truly lawless.”

“Forget it... Father, you should get some rest.”

Impeach Marquis Wu’an William Carter? The memorial wouldn’t even get past Henry Bennett. It would only bring trouble upon himself.

Ethan Brooks was a minor official with little influence. He stood outside the window with his hands behind his back, hesitated for a long time, and finally tried to comfort her: “That boy John Lane across the street is a good person. Ever since his wife’s accident, he hasn’t remarried. Why don’t... you marry him? That way, no one will bother you anymore...”

“Father!”

Lily Brooks sat up abruptly, “Brother Chong is indeed a good man, but what would marrying him change... Didn’t Mrs. Lane still...”

“Enough!”

Ethan Brooks’s face was stern with a hint of anger. “John Lane is skilled in martial arts and can handle ordinary people. It’s just that back then Grand Marshal Howard was too powerful...”

Already upset, Lily Brooks replied coldly, “Arthur Howard was promoted to Grand Marshal, but didn’t Howard Jr. still get his head chopped off by William Carter? Brother Chong couldn’t even stand up to Howard Jr., so what could he do against the villain William Carter?”

As for the matter with Howard Jr., it was really a case of dog-eat-dog. It started when the notorious Howard Jr., imitating the capital’s tyrant, called himself the “Flower Tyrant.” He’d go out bragging about being the real tyrant, which finally pissed off Overlord Carter, who killed him with a single sword stroke. Afterwards, the emperor only punished him with three cups of wine, and that was the end of it.

That’s also why Master Knight always called him “Master” when they met.

Unable to persuade her, Ethan Brooks could only give up, sighing as he turned to leave.

Lily Brooks sat on her bed and cried for a while, then felt she’d been too harsh earlier. She changed into clean clothes, made a pot of tea, and brought it to the study, bowing to apologize.