Charles Harris nodded repeatedly. If it were him, he would do the same—an unfilial son is still a son, and there’s only so much mischief he can make!

“Good! If he dares to toy with his father, then he truly deserves to be condemned!” Charles Harris suddenly fixed his gaze on Ethan Brooks and asked, “You must have a good idea, don’t you?”

Ethan Brooks nodded vigorously. “Your Majesty, there’s no time to lose. As long as you can persuade one person to help, you’ll be able to break free from this cage and rest easy!”

“Who?”

“Tong Guan, King Tong!”

……

Chapter 4: Grand Marshal Gao, the Master of Taking Sides

After leaving the Chui Gong Hall, William Harris nearly collapsed, his legs refusing to obey, and he could only barely sit down—he was even more exhausted than after working overtime for a whole month.

Especially since last night: meeting Charles Harris, forcing the retired emperor to bow his head, then going to Chui Gong Hall to summon the ministers, appointing Li Gang to office, and then issuing new rules for the officials’ memorials, making them all answerable to himself and severing their ties with Charles Harris.

He’d been busy until the afternoon, without a sip of water or a single grain of rice.

It wasn’t just the high-intensity battle of wits and will; he also had to be full of righteous indignation, delivering impassioned speeches. Though he truly felt the emotions, there was still an element of acting—turns out, being a good actor isn’t easy either!

“Mr. Carter, go get me something to eat, I’m hungry.”

David Carter looked at the haggard emperor, his eyes reddening. “This servant already gave orders—they’ve made mutton soup. I’ll bring it right away.”

David Carter hurried out and soon returned with a large bowl and several delicate side dishes.

William Harris glanced over and saw that the mutton soup had added polished rice and several pieces of tender, juicy lamb, glistening with bright oil on top. This treatment was clearly much better than what Emperor Renzong enjoyed.

William Harris was indeed hungry. He ate in big mouthfuls, and soon sweat broke out on his forehead. In a word: satisfying!

After finishing more than half the bowl, with his stomach finally settled, William Harris looked up at David Carter and noticed his eyes were still red. He couldn’t help but laugh, “What’s wrong? Watching me eat made you hungry? Go get yourself a bowl too. Running around in this cold weather is hard work.”

After saying this, William Harris lowered his head to pick up more food, not expecting David Carter to suddenly kneel down. He raised his head, pouted, and said aggrievedly, “Your Majesty… others may not know, but this servant knows very well. The world is in chaos, and since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you haven’t had a good night’s sleep. Everything you do is for the country and the people. But there are always some who don’t understand your efforts—they’re just too much…”

William Harris put down his chopsticks and said calmly, “Mr. Carter, you don’t need to speak up for me. Just say it—has something happened?”

David Carter quickly nodded. “This servant wouldn’t dare hide anything. I just heard from the staff that over at Longde Palace, the retired emperor is cursing Your Majesty and is extremely angry. That scoundrel Ethan Brooks left Chui Gong Hall early and went straight to Longde Palace. I think he’s still up to no good, and… and wants to take the retired emperor south, Your Majesty…”

Charles Harris wants to go south!

Not only did this happen in history, but Charles Harris himself had said it—he wanted to go to Ying Tian to offer incense. But for such a big matter, it seemed there was no secrecy at all?

William Harris asked curiously, “Mr. Carter, you say the retired emperor plans to go south. How do the staff know about such a big thing? I don’t mean anything by it, I’m just curious.”

Seeing William Harris’s sincerity, David Carter couldn’t hide it and grinned, “Your Majesty, in this palace, it’s always been a case of deceiving those above and not those below. The retired emperor has so many hobbies—if he wants to go south, he can’t just leave everything in Kaifeng. Actually, since last December, the palace has been preparing to pack up.”

William Harris took a deep breath and then nodded slightly.

Reading his expression, David Carter continued, “Actually, it’s not just the retired emperor. People like Grand Master Brooks and King Todd have also been making moves. Their families are huge—just their carriages number in the dozens. There’s no way they could do it without anyone noticing.”

William Harris shook his head in astonishment and resignation, then finished the rest of his porridge. In his heart, he sighed—those at the top think they’re clever, assuming the common people are fools, but sometimes those below see things more clearly. They may not understand all the complicated relationships, but they can still see through the retired emperor’s group’s schemes.

With such people setting the example, it’s no wonder the court officials all seek peace, the army has no fighting spirit, and the people have no will to resist!

In fact, if there hadn’t been the humiliation of Jingkang, perhaps there wouldn’t have been so many heroes rising up to resist the Jin. If the Wanyan clan had been a bit more cunning, promoted scholars, and honored Confucius and Mencius, maybe they could have gotten a taste of the Qing dynasty ahead of time!

Charles Harris was basically a Jin collaborator!

William Harris’s stomach was filled half with mutton porridge and half with anger. No matter what, he couldn’t let Charles Harris run wild. The most important thing now was to use whatever troops he could, and be ready to tear off the mask at the critical moment.

“Mr. Carter, I’ve put Li Gang and Geng Nanzhong in charge of the army, but after all, they’re scholars. Tell me, in Kaifeng, who else is capable of leading troops?”

David Carter composed himself. Just now, he’d taken a risk by revealing Charles Harris’s actions—not for any complicated reason, but to remind William Harris to be vigilant, and more importantly, to win the emperor’s trust and secure a place as his most loyal confidant.