A child saw him first and shouted. Andrew Harris jumped down—he was half a head taller than William, big and chubby, holding a wooden sword in his hand. He pointed the wooden sword at William and said, “Wild brat, kneel and surrender, and your grandpa will spare your life!”

William sneered. These little brats!

He stepped forward, and the six children immediately surrounded him. In William’s eyes, they were just six sticks of firewood. He drew a foot-long wooden stick from his waist, and just as the six tried to put on a bandit’s front, he suddenly struck.

He moved extremely fast and with great strength. In an instant, he knocked the weapons out of the six children’s hands. He punched and kicked like a fierce tiger, utterly ruthless. Since he was fighting, he would make sure to scare them thoroughly. He beat the six children until they were wailing and rolling on the ground, their golden crowns crushed, their fine clothes torn. The worst off was Andrew Harris, who was struck on the forehead by William’s stick, his head bleeding.

“Stop!”

Someone shouted, “Stop right now!”

William only slowly stopped when he saw someone intervening. He clapped his hands and tossed aside the stick. Two people appeared from outside the courtyard. The one in front rushed in, flustered and angry. William recognized him—it was his grandfather Thomas Harris’s trusted adviser, Raymond Ford, about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, thin and sharp-eyed, looking very shrewd and capable.

He didn’t recognize the man behind. This man was about fifty, very tall, with fair skin, three long wisps of beard, narrow eyes, and a deep, bright gaze. He wore a grand purple robe of fine silk, a black gauze square cap, and black leather boots. Though dressed as a civil official, William could sense that this man had practiced martial arts—he carried an indescribable air of authority.

The middle-aged man had seen from afar how William unleashed his might, beating the six children until they were rolling and crying on the ground. He was somewhat surprised by William’s ferocity.

Raymond Ford had been ordered to escort an honored guest to visit Thomas Harris. Along the way, he had been praising the Yang family’s strict upbringing, brotherly harmony, and the sisterly closeness among the wives. He never expected to walk into the courtyard and find the children fighting so fiercely, with blood even being drawn. It was a huge embarrassment for Raymond Ford, and he was both angry and annoyed as he rushed forward, shouting for them to stop.

He had seen William before and scolded him bitterly, “It’s you again! Why are you always bullying others?”

William saw that he was blaming him without asking for the facts and snorted coldly, “A gentleman speaks out against injustice—what’s wrong with that?”

“Well said!”

The Sui Dynasty admired the strong. The middle-aged man behind, seeing William take on six by himself, looked at him with approval and stepped forward with a smile. “You’re the Prime Minister Yang’s grandson? You speak well!”

Raymond Ford shook his head and said, “Prime Minister Gao, you may not know—he is Xuangan’s son, the most useless of the illegitimate sons. Other than being good at fighting, he’s good for nothing. Look, it’s only the seventh day of the new year, and he’s already causing trouble.”

When William heard Raymond Ford address this man as Prime Minister Gao, a thought flashed through his mind—could this be the Sui Dynasty’s top minister, Albert Howard?

In the time of Emperor Wen of Sui, Albert Howard ranked first among the powerful ministers, with Thomas Harris only second. William had long heard of his great reputation. He immediately thought he could make an impression in front of Albert Howard—maybe he’d get another opportunity.

Raymond Ford saw him standing there dumbly, showing no cleverness at all. He had just been praising the Yang family’s children for their intelligence, only to run into this troublemaker. He felt a headache coming on.

“I’ll make sure your father disciplines you properly!”

William glanced at him. He had long known that this Raymond Ford was two-faced and opportunistic, especially fond of tattling behind people’s backs. He wasn’t afraid of being punished for teaching these wild brats a lesson—at worst, he’d get a beating. But if Raymond Ford exaggerated things, it could get much worse. He worried that Lady Zheng would punish his aunt. Seeing that the famous minister Albert Howard seemed to appreciate him, William’s eyes turned, and he came up with a way to deal with Raymond Ford.

He stepped forward and bowed deeply to Albert Howard. “This child was naughty and disturbed your peace, my lord. I beg your pardon!”

The middle-aged man was indeed Prime Minister Albert Howard, the Sui Dynasty’s top minister. It was the seventh day of the first lunar month, and he had come to discuss the construction of Renshou Palace with Thomas Harris, only to witness William fighting with the children. He saw that William was quite polite, and though tall, his features were still those of a child. Curious, he asked, “What’s your name, and how old are you?”

“Replying to my lord, I am Yang Yuanqing, five years old this year.”

“Five years old!”

Albert Howard was even more surprised. The six children he had beaten were all about seven or eight, and he was only five. This child was truly formidable!

He pointed to the six children now standing in a row and gave William a thumbs up. “You have your grandfather’s spirit—very impressive!”

William, however, glanced at the six with disdain and said coldly, “If I can’t even beat a few pampered brats, how could I ever defeat the Turks in the future?”

This remark left not only Albert Howard but even Raymond Ford secretly impressed. He had always prided himself on being smooth and adaptable, saying the right thing to the right person, but compared to this child, he felt ashamed.

Albert Howard burst out laughing. “Good! Well said.”

He then sighed to Raymond Ford, “Today I’ve seen the family style of Prime Minister Yang. Like grandfather, like grandson—truly extraordinary.”

Seeing Albert Howard praise William, Raymond Ford immediately dropped his contempt and changed his tone. “Hehe! Though this child’s status is low, he is quite remarkable. Prime Minister Gao, Prime Minister Yang has been waiting for you—please follow me!”