However, William Thompson hesitated for a moment and suddenly called out to Mrs. Thompson, saying, “Mother, I want Cousin to take me out for a walk!”

Hearing that William Thompson wanted to go out, both Mrs. Thompson and Edward Clark were taken aback. Then Mrs. Thompson showed a troubled expression—after all, William Thompson’s illness had only just improved, so of course she wasn’t comfortable letting William Thompson go out.

“Aunt, Younger Cousin has been cooped up at home for so long, he must be feeling stifled. Going out for a walk will help lift his spirits. I’ll bring a few more people along with us, so nothing will happen!” Edward Clark patted his chest and promised. Ever since William Thompson fell ill, he hadn’t gone out to have fun with William Thompson for quite a while.

Hearing her nephew say this, Mrs. Thompson also felt it made sense. After hesitating for a moment, she finally nodded and said, “Alright, but don’t go too far, and come back early in the afternoon. Don’t make me worry!”

“Thank you, Mother!” Seeing Mrs. Thompson agree, William Thompson finally broke into a smile.

When they were about to leave, Mrs. Thompson stuffed a pouch into William Thompson’s arms. After getting into the carriage, William Thompson opened the pouch and found a stack of Ming dynasty banknotes inside, all in the denomination of one guan, ten notes in total—ten guan of money.

“Aunt is really generous, giving you so much money at once!” Edward Clark, sitting beside him, couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the banknotes in the pouch.

The Ming dynasty issued banknotes, with one guan being the largest denomination. Although the court’s over-issuance led to devaluation, in the early Ming period the devaluation was limited, so a one-guan note still had strong purchasing power—enough to support a middle-class family for a month.

Of course, William Thompson’s family was certainly not short of money. Although he had been ill for nearly a year, his father was, after all, the son of Li Shanchang, and had received some land when the family divided up property. In addition, his mother had brought a generous dowry when she married in, so these ten guan were just pocket money for him.

But as William Thompson looked at the banknotes in the pouch, a wave of warmth suddenly welled up in his heart. Although he had transmigrated into a situation where death seemed inevitable, at least he still had family who cared about him. It’s just that...

Thinking of the fatal disaster coming in half a year, William Thompson couldn’t help but feel powerless. Last night, he could still say with bravado, “I quit,” but now that he was in the thick of it, could he really just walk away if he wanted to?

“Younger Cousin, you’ve just recovered from a long illness, so of course we should have a big meal to celebrate. How about we go to Manyue Restaurant today? You used to love the duck there the most!” As soon as the carriage left the mansion gates, Edward Clark said to William Thompson excitedly.

“I’ll leave everything to Cousin to arrange!” William Thompson snapped out of his thoughts and replied. He only had half a year left—whether he planned to muddle along or do something else, he couldn’t just stay at home.

The carriage headed toward Manyue Restaurant, and William Thompson opened the window to take in the city’s sights and people. The streets were bustling with traffic and crowds, shops lined both sides of the road, and the whole scene was one of prosperity and splendor.

Edward Clark was also introducing William Thompson to the situation in Nanjing. Of course, Nanjing was the name used in later times; at this time, the city should be called Jinling or Yingtian.

Jinling city was generally divided into three parts. The very center was the imperial city, and outside the imperial city was the capital city, also called the inner city and Chenghuang. Most high officials and nobles lived in the inner city.

Outside the capital city was the outer city, which was the largest of the three areas and included Purple Mountain. Most of the city’s commoners and laborers lived in the outer city.

“Younger Cousin, look—those people wearing silk and long boots usually have official titles, while those in bright, clean linen clothes are mostly merchants. They have money, but aren’t allowed to wear silk. And those men with green headscarves are the brothel servants from various establishments…”

Finally, Edward Clark explained to William Thompson how to distinguish people’s status by their clothing. This was because Zhu Yuanzhang had strict dress codes for every profession and social rank, with no exceptions allowed. For example, a group of rich young men once wore long boots without permission and ended up having their feet chopped off by Zhu Yuanzhang’s order.

Under such strict law enforcement, not only commoners but even officials were extremely careful about what they wore, for fear of being caught for any transgression. So it was actually quite easy to roughly identify someone’s status by their clothes.

But just as William Thompson and the others were chatting along the way, the carriage suddenly stopped. There was a commotion ahead, as if a crowd had gathered. The coachman then reported, “Young master, we can’t get through up ahead!”

“What’s going on?” Edward Clark asked as he opened the carriage door. The two of them were surprised to see that the wide road ahead was packed with people, all craning their necks to look forward, as if watching some spectacle.

“That should be Sanshankou up ahead. Could it be that the court is going to execute someone again?” Edward Clark looked around and suddenly showed a surprised expression. Sanshankou was the execution ground in Jinling city.

“An execution? Cousin, you mean someone’s going to be beheaded?” William Thompson was startled by Edward Clark’s words.

“Yes, this is Sanshankou, one of the busiest streets in Jinling. Executions are held here so more people can witness them, serving as a deterrent.” Edward Clark explained in a low voice, then hesitated before adding, “There’s nothing worth seeing about an execution, Younger Cousin. Let’s just go eat!”