Edward Clark, as a transmigrator, didn’t come out to the outskirts to fish for the sake of cultivating his mind or pretending to be cultured.

According to the timeline, the Great Yue Dynasty should fall somewhere between the Tang and Song dynasties, but after the Spring and Autumn period, the history of this world became muddled, and Edward Clark had no idea what the future held.

As for Edward Clark himself, he was the legitimate son of Prince Su. He was famous from a young age, known as “dragon sinews, tiger bones, and the strength of a qilin.” When he grew up, he’d probably be a fierce man on par with Lü Bu, Xiang Yu, or Lao Ai.

Famous in his youth or not, Edward Clark’s father, Prince Su, was still a hereditary and powerful feudal lord, ruling over the twelve prefectures of Xiliang and commanding two hundred thousand Xiliang troops.

Strong soldiers and sturdy horses, great achievements that shook the ruler.

If a victorious heir were to emerge and sweep away the barbarians of the northern desert, what reward could the emperor on the dragon throne possibly give?

Above a prince, there’s only the emperor!

Perhaps for this very reason, the original Edward Clark, following ancestral instructions, went to the capital to study for three years, only to be ambushed and nearly assassinated on the way.

At death’s door, Edward Clark transmigrated over, and was escorted to Chang’an by his last remaining old servant, all while still poisoned.

Having lived for decades before, Edward Clark could guess with his toes that there was nothing simple behind all this.

After arriving in Chang’an, he naturally kept a low profile, avoiding people whenever possible, just hoping to survive until he could leave the capital in three years.

But with Edward Clark’s status, it wasn’t easy to just hole up at home and be a recluse.

Edward Clark wasn’t some orphanage freshman; Prince Su thought Edward Clark was still young and a bit of a blockhead, so he even arranged a guardian for him.

Speaking of his guardian, Mrs. Brooks, Edward Clark found it hard to put into words.

Mrs. Brooks, whose name was Helen Brooks, was the legitimate daughter of a noble family, with extremely high status, and was even the niece of the current Empress Dowager.

More importantly, Mrs. Brooks and Princess Su—Edward Clark’s mother—were sworn sisters who had burned yellow paper together.

Mrs. Brooks was widowed with no children, and with nothing to do at home, she doted on Edward Clark to the point of meticulousness. She had to know exactly what time he got up, what he ate, and where he went every day—it was like she was playing a raising-simulation game.

Although Edward Clark’s body was seventeen or eighteen, his mind was that of a normal man. Being watched every day by a widow was unbearable, so he could only escape to the outskirts to fish.

Unfortunately, when a woman watches someone with the fervor of catching a cheater, it’s really hard to hide.

Just as Edward Clark was fishing and doubting his life, footsteps sounded by the Qujiang Pool.

A beautiful noblewoman in palace attire, draped in a fire-fox shawl, walked over. She was graceful as jade, stunning as a fairy, and carried a vermilion food box carved with auspicious beasts.

Eight guards bowed slightly at the sight:

“Mrs. Brooks!”

“All of you, go take a rest.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Edward Clark felt a bit of a headache, but his face broke into a bright smile:

“Aunt Brooks.”

Mrs. Brooks stepped onto the small boat, raised her hand to open the food box, revealing a plate of longan fruit:

“Buling, when you entered the capital last year, you were ambushed and poisoned, but you can’t just give up on yourself. Longan can dispel cold poison and works better than wine. It was originally prepared for His Majesty, but I specially asked the Empress Dowager for it. Try some.”

When Edward Clark arrived, he’d been poisoned by an ambush, and his martial arts were all but gone. He could only suppress the cold poison by drinking wine. The court had been investigating the matter, but there had been no results.

Facing Mrs. Brooks’s concern, Edward Clark smiled, opened his mouth, and caught a longan:

“I haven’t given up on myself. I lost almost all my martial arts in the ambush at the Wei River. The culprit still hasn’t been found. You want me to keep a low profile, but I have to find something to do, don’t I?”

Mrs. Brooks continued peeling longan: “I told you to keep a low profile, not to hide away. Have you ever seen a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth sitting by the lake fishing like a hermit all day?”

Edward Clark picked up a longan, peeled it, and brought it to Mrs. Brooks’s lips:

“Alright, Aunt Brooks, I’ll go back to the Imperial Academy to study tomorrow, and at night I’ll take my lackeys out to flirt with respectable women.”

Mrs. Brooks showed a hint of annoyance: “Nonsense! You’re not some foolish son of a nouveau riche, what are you doing flirting with respectable women? Keeping a low profile and sullying your own name is a great art. Even as a playboy, you need some standards… For example, buy a good horse and eat its meat for no reason, buy a painting or calligraphy and burn it for warmth, do things like burning zithers to cook cranes—never commit major crimes, but keep making small mistakes, drive others half mad, yet leave them helpless…”

Nagging on and on.

Edward Clark nodded seriously: “Alright, alright, I get it.”

Only then was Mrs. Brooks satisfied, and she softly added: “Remember, don’t act on your own and cause trouble. Just be an idle, romantic young lord. With your status, no one cares what ridiculous things you do, but if you draw the emperor’s suspicion, it’ll be a disaster with no return.”

Edward Clark nodded lightly, a faint smile on his face.

In Chang’an, Mrs. Brooks was probably the only one who truly cared for Edward Clark.

Although Edward Clark always avoided Mrs. Brooks, he knew in his heart how much she cared.

But Mrs. Brooks wanted him to keep a low profile and sully his own name, to seriously act like an unambitious, arrogant wastrel—which was really a tough ask.

Being forced to strive for success was one thing, but being forced to act like a second-generation rich kid—what was that about?

The poison in Edward Clark’s body was still unresolved, and he could die at any moment—that was the most urgent matter. But if he didn’t listen to Mrs. Brooks, she could nag him to death.

After watching Mrs. Brooks leave, Edward Clark lost interest in fishing and packed up to return to Prince Su’s residence.