Edward Sullivan could only receive six qian of silver per month from his clan after passing the county-level exam, and ten taels of silver was an enormous sum for an ordinary family. For example, a boatman on a pleasure barge would toil for a whole year to earn just three or four taels of silver, or three to four thousand cash. The small embroidered handkerchief bundle in Edward Sullivan’s hand felt a bit heavy—almost ten taels of silver. No matter how thick-skinned he was, could he really use the travel money gifted by Grace Bennett to pay for the barge fare?

　　Grace Bennett’s maid Little Grace followed behind Charles Parker, ingratiatingly saying, “Master Parker, you may not know, but Young Master Sullivan just said he’s leaving Baisha County tomorrow morning. My lady gave him some silver ingots as travel money…”

　　“Why would Miss Bennett bother with such a useless person?”

　　Charles Parker tried to lower his voice, but it was still clearly heard by Edward Sullivan. Grace Bennett’s maid Little Grace even turned to glance at Edward Sullivan, and at that moment, Matthew Harris looked as if Charles Parker had just vented his anger for him, a trace of cold disdain appearing at the corner of his mouth.

　　John Foster was leading two apprentices, directing the boatmen to light the lanterns under the eaves on both sides of the pleasure barge. Charles Parker cupped his hands toward him and said, “Master Foster, you’re busy…”

John Foster didn’t think much of Charles Parker, and only nodded coldly as a greeting, treating Charles Parker’s harsh words as if he hadn’t heard them at all.

　　Charles Parker was usually extremely hospitable, a famous wealthy merchant in both Jiangning and Weiyang. Perhaps it was Edward Sullivan’s persistent pursuit of Grace Bennett that made him so averse and sharp-tongued.

　　In the past, even though Edward Sullivan was timid by nature and dared not retort, he would have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But now, he felt nothing, only calmly staring at Charles Parker’s back as he jumped onto the pleasure barge, then glancing at the attendants Charles Parker had left on the shore. More than a dozen men wore short jackets and boots, each with a weapon—either a knife or a sword—at their waist. Some were tying horses to the willows by the shore, some were negotiating with boatmen to rest on their boats, and one man squatted by the water, scooping up water to wash his face. Edward Sullivan suddenly saw the man’s lapel flip up, revealing a corner of leather armor underneath, which startled him. The Weiyang Prefecture was still relatively peaceful; even if there were occasional bandits, surely Charles Parker didn’t need his guards to be so heavily armed and armored just to listen to music?

　　In recent years, banditry had become rampant everywhere, and merchants privately hired guards. Although this violated imperial regulations, the authorities generally turned a blind eye. Some powerful local clans even used the excuse of banditry to form private militias, and the court seemed unable to restrain them. After all, Charles Parker was still just a merchant, and having more than a dozen armed escorts was already against the rules. To openly wear armor was truly overbearing to the extreme.

　　That guard of Charles Parker noticed Edward Sullivan’s gaze, simply pulled his lapel down to cover the leather armor, and turned to walk away.

　　Edward Sullivan thought to himself that the rumors about Charles Parker originally being a pirate, who made his fortune smuggling salt before turning to the silk business, were probably true. He didn’t dwell on it. The boatman brought over a bowl of hot chicken congee, which he took and carried into the cabin.

　　As the leading courtesan among the six famous ones in Jiangning, Grace Bennett’s charity performance in Baisha County, Weiyang, was quite influential. While in the cabin, Edward Sullivan heard the sounds of horses and carriages arriving at the ferry, and some people came in sedan chairs. The pleasure barge put a ladder to the shore so that the wealthy guests didn’t have to jump over from the small black-awning boats.

　　Night fell. In the cabin, Edward Sullivan heard several men board the boat. He lifted the curtain for a look and saw Matthew Harris sitting at the bow with three unfamiliar men, chatting and laughing. The three men had brought food boxes onto the boat and were setting out side dishes, along with two small jars of wine. Seeing Edward Sullivan poke his head out, one of the men said, “We can’t afford the barge fare. Thank you, Young Master Sullivan, for letting us stay here… Care to join us for a drink?”

　　If you couldn’t afford the barge fare but still wanted to hear Grace Bennett sing and play, the small boats moored next to the pleasure barge were the most convenient.

　　Edward Sullivan assumed Matthew Harris had made the decision to let them on board without asking, so he cupped his hands and said, “I’ve just recovered and can’t drink. Please, make yourselves at home…”

　　At that moment, more people on the shore wanted to board, but the man stood up and refused, “If you come up, do you want us to give you wine or not? The bow is too small; there’s not enough room for everyone…”

　　Edward Sullivan wondered why this man was acting like the host here. Although he was displeased, he didn’t want to give Matthew Harris a chance to use outsiders against him. Besides, he noticed other boats also had guests bringing food and wine aboard, so he said nothing and retreated into the cabin, casually bolting the door behind him.

　　At night, music drifted over from the neighboring boat. Grace Bennett seemed to have her maid Little Grace perform a song for the guests, her soft and gentle voice carrying over. Edward Sullivan picked up a general history book, “Spring and Autumn Comprehensive Mirror,” but found himself too distracted to read.

　　Although he could only live as Edward Sullivan, he still subconsciously regarded himself as Eric Carter from the future in his dreams, and his way of thinking remained the same. Apart from the Five Barbarians’ Invasion after the Wei and Jin dynasties, the past six or seven hundred years were not the history he was familiar with—there was no Southern and Northern Dynasties, nor Sui or Tang.

He wasn’t very familiar with the historical details either. Reading the general history book “Spring and Autumn Comprehensive Mirror,” he only knew that the Five Barbarians’ Invasion was a century-long period of chaos, and the empire that unified the land afterward was Yan. The Yan dynasty lasted only a hundred years before being overthrown by Chen…

　　History had already been altered beyond recognition, and Edward Sullivan could only accept it all.