There were many things he couldn’t figure out, so he stopped trying to think about them. Instead, he kept recalling those overbearing words from Mrs. Sullivan in the side hall, which made him increasingly curious about that Miss Sullivan—what did she actually look like? Was she beautiful? Of course, growing up in a household like this, her temperament probably couldn’t be too gentle or kind...

The Divine General’s Residence was enormous, even larger than the entire town of Xining. Without a servant to guide him, he naturally lost his way. By the time he realized this, he was standing outside a tranquil grove, thinking about those stories he’d read in books—about destitute sons-in-law being secretly murdered by shameless fathers-in-law. He felt a bit uneasy, and also found his own thoughts rather pointless.

Just then, he sensed a gaze fall upon him. Turning his head, he saw a young girl standing at the end of a stone path by a stone archway at the edge of the trees. Only then did he realize he wasn’t lost, but had been deliberately led here.

The girl looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, dressed in splendid clothes. Any random accessory on her was worth more than everything he owned. She was pretty, and when she grew up, she would definitely be a striking beauty. Her dark eyes darted about, making her look quite adorable, but her gaze was especially bold, sizing him up from head to toe with a fiery intensity.

Ethan Brooks was slightly startled, wondering if this was Miss Sullivan.

{He} had studied the classics since childhood and had great patience, so he let the other party look him over without asking any questions.

In the end, it was the young girl who spoke first.

“Can a Daoist priest get married?”

Ethan Brooks noticed her gaze fall on his Daoist topknot and explained, “I’m not a Daoist priest. Although I wear Daoist robes and keep my hair in a Daoist style, it’s just a habit of mine—it doesn’t mean I’m actually a Daoist.”

The young girl walked up to him, looked at him seriously, and asked, “Are you an ordinary person?”

Ethan Brooks was taken aback, then realized what she meant by ‘ordinary person’ and replied, “Yes, I have never cultivated.”

The girl didn’t notice that he said he had never cultivated, not that he couldn’t cultivate. She stared into his eyes and asked very seriously, “Do you really have a marriage contract with Miss?”

Hearing this, Ethan Brooks realized that this young girl was not the Miss Sullivan he had imagined. He felt a bit relieved, but for some reason, also a little disappointed.

“And you are?”

“My name is Emily, I am Miss’s personal maid.”

Ethan Brooks had never imagined that a maid could wear such luxurious clothes. Noting the silence and emptiness around them, he gained a clearer understanding of the status of this maid and that of Miss in the Divine General’s Residence.

“I do indeed have a marriage contract with your family’s Miss.”

The maid named Emily looked at him and said seriously, “From now on, never say that again.”

“Why?” Ethan Brooks asked seriously in return.

Emily looked at him and, for some reason, became a little annoyed. She said, “You’re just an ordinary person—how could you possibly be with our Miss? You’d better hand over the marriage contract. Otherwise, it won’t end well for you.”

Ethan Brooks looked at her and asked very seriously, “Why?”

Still those same three words.

Emily looked at the young Daoist’s upright features and suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for him. She said, “If you want to stay alive, don’t mention this marriage contract to anyone. Otherwise, no one will be able to save your life.”

She felt she was truly looking out for this poor boy from the countryside—although Miss could never marry him, since there had once been a marriage contract and Miss knew of his existence, at the very least, he should be allowed to live well. But it never occurred to her that, to the other party, her words sounded more like a shameless threat.

Ethan Brooks fell silent, wondering if the Divine General’s Residence would really try to kill him. He’d read stories like this in books and seen them in plays, but now that the Holy Empress was on the throne, who would dare do such a thing in the capital?

{He} said, “If the Divine General’s Residence wanted me dead, Mrs. wouldn’t have let me leave earlier. If I’m not mistaken, that old matron should be a formidable person. Anyway, very few servants have seen me. If they wanted to kill me, they could just bury me under the flowers as fertilizer and no one would ever know, right? Since I’m still alive now, I suppose nothing will happen.”

Emily sneered, “Countless eyes are watching the Divine General’s Residence. So, inside the residence, you’re actually safe. But if you go outside and keep talking nonsense like before, how long do you think you’ll live?”

Ethan Brooks thought for a moment and said, “I don’t understand.”

Emily said, “If people find out you have a marriage contract with Miss, what will the Longevity Sect think? What will the Qiushan family think? Even here in the capital, if those people want to kill you, no one can stop them.”

Ethan Brooks asked, “The Longevity Sect and the Qiushan family? What are those?”

Emily looked at him as if he were an idiot and asked, “You don’t know anything?”

Ethan Brooks was puzzled and asked, “What should I know?”

……

……

There were some things the young Daoist from Xining Town didn’t know, but the whole world did. For example, that the current Zhou Dynasty was in the Zheng Tong era; that the Divine General of the East, Chris Sullivan, was deeply trusted by the Holy Empress; that his father had been the Grand Preceptor of the previous dynasty; and that his current status was even more due to his daughter.