But even if the Imperial Guards were at fault, that’s still no excuse for you to kill someone just because of your status!

Of course, Charles Carter wasn’t foolish enough to reason with the prince’s heir. He simply nodded and said:

“Your Highness is right. I will report this matter truthfully. His Majesty will surely see the facts clearly and make a fair judgment.”

Edward Clark nodded, turned, and left the back alley, tossing out a line: “Just now I saw a warehouse of illicit salt behind this restaurant. The credit is yours.”

What could Charles Carter say? The Wolf Guards from the Investigation Division were right there; there was no way to cover it up. He could only raise his hand in respectful farewell:

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Inside Fumanlou, the place was a complete mess, with broken wood everywhere.

The female constable Martha Foster watched all this in utter disbelief.

She had only just arrived in the capital, and for the past few days had been staking out Fumanlou from a tea stall outside, listening to the foul-mouthed storyteller spin his tales, so she was quite familiar with the name ‘Edward Clark’.

Things like ‘bullying men and women,’ ‘forcing good women into marriage,’ ‘fond of married women,’ and so on.

In her mind, Edward Clark was the image of a depraved, lecherous scoundrel who committed every imaginable crime.

But she never expected to encounter Edward Clark so soon, and in such a way.

Though he was a bit arrogant and ruthless, in her eyes, Edward Clark had every justification for killing.

Unmatched martial skill, extraordinary bearing, a fierce hatred of evil, a man of few words but decisive action...

At just sixteen years old, Martha Foster stood at the entrance of Fumanlou, watching that figure with a wine gourd in hand walk away into the distance. This impression, she would probably never forget for the rest of her life...

-----

“Young Lord, that little girl will definitely remember you. Once your house arrest is over, I’ll arrange a chance encounter. You just need to say a few sweet words, and half the job will be done...”

On the street, Old Smith walked beside Edward Clark, discussing the next steps.

Edward Clark had just exerted himself too much, causing the cold poison in his body to flare up. He kept drinking to suppress the agony of a thousand ants gnawing at his heart, but compared to the outcome, this pain was worth it.

Having killed someone in public today, there would surely be a flurry of impeachment memorials landing on the emperor’s desk by tomorrow morning.

The emperor certainly wouldn’t do much to him over such a trivial matter, but to appease the censors, a verbal reprimand and another half-month of house arrest would be unavoidable.

Thinking that he could enjoy some peace and quiet for a month or so, Edward Clark breathed a sigh of relief, took a swig from his wine gourd, and said:

“As for Martha Foster, let’s take it slow. I’ve stirred up enough trouble for today, so I’ll need to keep a low profile for a while, or Aunt Lu will start nagging me to go out and cause more mischief... Hmm... Go hire a bunch of storytellers to spread the word about my public violence today, twist the facts, exaggerate as much as possible. For example:

Shocking! The Prince of Su actually did this in broad daylight...

Men are silent, women weep—what has become of Chang’an...

Screams from the brothels at midnight—the truth about the young lord is...”

This so-called ‘hiding one’s talents by sullying one’s name’ is really just about ruining your own reputation, presenting yourself as shallow and rotten beneath a gilded exterior. Doing it isn’t hard—the hard part is making people believe it, especially the one in the palace.

Old Smith listened to Edward Clark’s eloquent explanation, nodding repeatedly and giving a thumbs up: “Your Highness is truly meticulous. Once these wild rumors spread, public outrage will follow in a few days, and Madam Lu will surely be pleased.”

“Of course...”

As they spoke, master and servant gradually walked off into the distance.

Meanwhile, in a room at a medical clinic in Daye Ward, Henry Carter lay on a sickbed, his face swollen almost beyond recognition, and asked with difficulty, “Father, what should we do about today’s events?”

Charles Carter’s face was dark as he paced back and forth with his hands behind his back:

“Fumanlou is the property of Zhu Manlong from Hutai Street. Zhu Manlong has always shown me respect, so I should have looked out for him. But today, his two apprentices were killed and his shop raided. He just happened to run into the Prince of Su’s heir, so he can only blame his bad luck—no fault of ours.”

Henry Carter nodded slightly. “The illicit salt case is a big deal. With the Wolf Guards from the Investigation Division present, if we try to cover it up, those mad dogs will bite us for sure. How do we explain this?”

“What else can we do? Sacrifice the pawn to save the king.”

Charles Carter stopped pacing, sighed softly, and said, “Send word to Zhu Manlong, tell him to hand over a few heads to take the blame. We’ll arrest them tomorrow, and that’ll be the end of it.”

Henry Carter nodded, then grunted softly, “If we hadn’t run into Edward Clark, we could have kept things under wraps... The dignified heir of a prince, killing people in the street with no regard for the law, and even killing Imperial Guardsmen carrying out their duty. If you don’t seize this chance to impeach him, I’ll never be able to let go of this grudge...”

Charles Carter frowned. “What’s the use of your hatred? Can you bite Edward Clark? Anyone who’s been an official in the capital has been disgusted by the sons of nobles. If everyone thought like you, who knows when they’d be butchered in the street.”

Hearing this, Henry Carter realized that today’s beating had been for nothing, and he was a bit annoyed:

“Edward Clark just happened to run into the Wolf Guards on duty, so it’s understandable that he helped. But it’s also true that he hid his identity and used the opportunity to kill. Reporting the facts is enough to get him in trouble—how could we possibly cover for him?”