Before he could finish speaking, another slap landed on his face.

Henry Carter was thrown to the ground, letting out a muffled groan. His eyes were full of resentment, but he no longer dared to speak.

At the same time, the approaching Charles Carter shouted angrily from afar:

“You brazen scoundrel, how dare you... dare to... thank His Highness the Heir for disciplining my son on my behalf...”

Chapter Four: The Failure of Arrogance

On the back street of Daye Lane, the Capital Assistant Commandant Charles Carter led dozens of Imperial Guards, hurrying to the front of Fuman Restaurant. Seeing his son being slapped in the face, he was burning with rage inside.

But as soon as he started to speak, he noticed that the young man in white standing in the street looked somewhat familiar.

A man this handsome would surely leave an impression if seen even once.

Charles Carter, holding the post of Capital Assistant Commandant, had seen Edward Clark from afar with the Imperial Guards last year when Edward Clark entered the capital after an ambush. Now, after a quick glance, he recognized him.

Charles Carter knew that this young prince was known for his low profile and rarely went out, so few people in the capital had actually seen him.

But just because he kept a low profile didn’t mean he was easy to offend.

What kind of status did the Prince of Xiliang, Emily Clark, have? The only powerful non-royal prince in Dayue, guarding the border for the empire. Back in the day, when he studied in the capital, he had drunk wine on the palace roof with the emperor and even visited brothels together...

As the legitimate heir of the Prince of Xiliang, he might not dare to offend the royal family, but if he killed a couple of commoners in the capital, what could you do? “When the emperor breaks the law, he is punished the same as a commoner”?

Seeing his son being beaten, Charles Carter sensed trouble and hurried forward, bowing deeply:

“This humble official Charles Carter pays respects to Your Highness the Heir!”

Because a murder had occurred, most of the commoners on the back street had fled, leaving only the Imperial Guards and Wolf Guards.

Hearing Mr. Carter’s words, all the Imperial Guards snapped to attention, quickly sheathing their swords and bowing in salute.

Although they didn’t know which heir this was, only the legitimate sons of princes could be called “heir.” There were only seven in Dayue—six surnamed Song, one surnamed Xu. In any case, none of them were people these soldiers could afford to offend.

Henry Carter’s resentful gaze froze for a moment. The words of grievance, along with the blood in his mouth, were swallowed back down. He got up and bowed:

“I was blind and ignorant...”

Slap—

Charles Carter raised his hand and slapped his son to the ground, then drew his official sword from an Imperial Guard and shouted angrily:

“Unfilial son! How dare you offend Heir Xu! Today I will clean house myself...”

Edward Clark watched coldly, showing no intention of intervening.

Charles Carter held up the sword, but how could he really strike his own son? Seeing that Edward Clark didn’t even say a word, he felt a bit awkward.

Fortunately, the Wolf Guards and Imperial Guards nearby weren’t blind. Seeing this, they hurried forward to restrain Charles Carter:

“Mr. Carter, please calm your anger. It’s all a misunderstanding today...”

Charles Carter naturally let himself be “disarmed,” glaring at Henry Carter with a look of bitter disappointment, and said sorrowfully, “My son was blind and ignorant. I hope Heir Xu can be magnanimous...” As he spoke, he glanced at the two corpses lying nearby:

“I heard that Heir Xu was poisoned by a Gu and lost most of his martial arts. This...”

Hearing this, everyone remembered.

Last year, Edward Clark was ambushed at the Wei River and poisoned with the Dragon-Locking Gu. Normally, anyone poisoned like this would have their energy and blood blocked, limbs weak, and only be able to use a tenth of their strength—barely able to walk, no different from a cripple.

But the way Edward Clark had just killed someone showed no sign of being crippled.

Facing everyone’s puzzled looks, Edward Clark frowned slightly:

“I used to be able to take on a thousand by myself. Now I can take on a hundred. Is there a problem?”

“...?”

The whole place fell silent.

The explanation made sense, but as the saying goes, “a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.” But this camel was just too big!

Charles Carter was half-convinced, but he couldn’t very well go up and check Edward Clark’s body, so he changed the subject:

“Um... may I ask how Heir Xu came into conflict with the Imperial Guards today? Killing Imperial Guards in the capital is hard to explain to His Majesty...”

Edward Clark stretched out his arms and raised his eyebrows: “If Mr. Carter finds it difficult, just arrest me and have me executed after the autumn trial according to the law.”

Charles Carter’s face stiffened. How could he dare! If His Majesty didn’t give the order, and he took it upon himself to detain the only son of the Prince of Xiliang, what if the border troops mutinied? What if the Prince of Xiliang used it as an excuse to rebel?

Charles Carter looked around, then stepped forward and bowed: “Your Highness, please don’t make things difficult for this humble official. If you could just give a statement about killing the Imperial Guards, I can report it to my superiors.”

Only then did Edward Clark lower his arms, speaking calmly: “I drank too much and went out for a stroll. I saw these Imperial Guards bullying a young lady, so I killed them in passing.”

The two Imperial Guards who had come with the deceased commander also stepped forward to report the situation: it was indeed the commander who had beaten the Wolf Guards in the street, and Edward Clark had intervened, leading to the conflict.

After hearing the whole story, Charles Carter’s face looked unpleasant. He thought for a moment:

“Your Highness, if you had just given your name, this little commander would never have dared to draw his sword against you...”

Edward Clark frowned: “So you mean, if I weren’t the heir of the Prince of Xiliang, he could have drawn his sword and killed me on the spot?”

Charles Carter’s face stiffened. The laws of Dayue were strict, and “using martial arts to break the law” was a serious crime. Many who caused trouble had been killed by the Imperial Guards. Judging by what just happened, if it had been an ordinary wanderer interfering with law enforcement, the Imperial Guards would indeed have killed him.