The maid hurried over, her expression a bit odd. She snuck a glance at the incomparably handsome young lord and whispered:

“小王爷, madam is calling you inside~”

“（⊙_⊙）!”

Edward Clark frowned slightly, feeling that Mrs. Brooks was being a bit playful. Although his body was seventeen or eighteen, his mind was already mature, and seventeen or eighteen wasn’t that young anymore.

“Hurry up and come in! Are you not even listening to me now?”

Mrs. Brooks’s slightly annoyed voice came, and it seemed she even splashed the water with her hand.

Edward Clark braced himself and entered the side courtyard. The west wing was lit with a dim yellow lamp, and the silhouette of a woman’s profile was cast on the window paper—her curves graceful and alluring, the maid moving about inside.

Edward Clark looked away, stopped outside the window, and said with a light laugh:

“Aunt Lu, I’ll just wait outside. You go ahead.”

“In a moment you’ll run off again. I call you over, and you pretend not to hear, are you tired of my nagging?”

Splash, splash—

Edward Clark rubbed his forehead, turned his back to the window, and thought for a moment:

“Aunt Lu, you’re overthinking it. Um… I just have some private matters…”

The splashing inside didn’t stop. After a brief silence, she sighed softly, with a hint of grievance:

“Forget it, I won’t ask. Just take care of yourself. A few days ago you hit David Smith…”

“I know I was wrong.”

“I didn’t say you were wrong. Good for you! David Smith is always glib-tongued, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, not like a man at all. If he weren’t my little brother-in-law, I would have dealt with him long ago.”

“Mm… alright, I’ll keep it up next time.”

“David Smith ran to the palace to complain, and the Empress Dowager even told me to discipline you. Hmph~ How could I bear to discipline you? I can’t even love you enough, I wish I could keep you in my mouth…

…Sigh~ But you’ve grown up, you don’t like being managed, and I know I’m naggy…”

As she spoke, her tone grew more plaintive.

Edward Clark took a breath, calmed himself, and with the tone of a junior, smiled and said:

“How could that be? I like Aunt Lu the most. I don’t even bother with anyone else.”

“…Saying one thing and meaning another…”

Her tone finally softened a bit. The sound of water splashing came again, as if she was getting out of the bath barrel, with the rustling of clothes and her voice full of reminders:

“I called you over, not to scold you. There’s an assassin in the capital, highly skilled. Even Michael Bolton, the chief of the Investigation Division, was almost assassinated. Ten years ago, the Investigation Division cracked down hard on the martial world, leaving many remnants. Your father also sent troops to suppress them, so they might target you too. Be careful these days.”

Edward Clark nodded lightly: “Got it.”

“And, what’s with the private salt case?”

Edward Clark knew this would come up and replied helplessly:

“I just happened to pass by and lent a hand, that’s all.”

“Lent a hand, and now you’ve got the reputation of an upright official. Do you think your good name isn’t big enough?”

Edward Clark was filled with guilt and had nothing to say.

“…Forget it, what’s done is done, no point saying more. I’ve already had the Imperial Guards suppress the matter. Be more careful in the future… Also, killing brings karma. How old are you? Over a hundred lives on your hands, it’ll shorten your life. No more killing from now on.”

“Heh, I know.”

“Don’t just say you know, you have to act on it. Doing reckless things isn’t the same as doing good deeds.”

The west wing’s door opened. Mrs. Brooks, dressed in a thin robe with a shawl over her shoulders, came out. Her hair was wet and draped over her back, her cheeks slightly flushed, full of charm, like a gorgeous peony blooming in the wind and snow.

The winter weather was cold. Having just bathed and stepping out of the warm room, the chill wind made Mrs. Brooks frown and shrink her neck a little.

Seeing this, Edward Clark took off his white fox fur cloak and draped it over her shoulders. He was half a head taller than Mrs. Brooks, and the cloak was a bit large, wrapping her up snugly.

Mrs. Brooks tightened the cloak around herself, the warmth dispelling the cold from her body, her complexion much improved. She composed herself, tilted her head to look at Edward Clark in his white robe, and said, “Don’t catch a chill, come inside.” She turned and walked toward the boudoir.

Edward Clark thought for a moment, shook his head helplessly, and followed her inside.

The boudoir in the side courtyard wasn’t large. There was a zither table, a painting desk, a soft couch, and a tea table. Behind the beaded curtain was an embroidered bed, small and exquisite, with a brazier making it very warm.

Once the door was closed, Edward Clark looked around, sat down by the tea table, and skillfully brewed some “Dragon Tuan Sheng Xue” tea from Southern Yue.

Mrs. Brooks took off the fox fur cloak, sat by the soft couch in a light green dress. Beside her were a bronze mirror, a comb, and jewelry. She was about to pick up the comb when she suddenly frowned, picked up the snowy white cloak, brought it close to her nose, and her expression gradually grew serious.

Edward Clark was fiddling with the tea set, looking a bit puzzled: “What’s wrong, Aunt Lu?”

Mrs. Brooks hugged the cloak, brought it to her nose and sniffed carefully: “Moon Palace Osmanthus from Xianzhi Zhai, a young lady’s scented powder…”

“……”

Edward Clark’s hand froze. These past few days he’d often lifted Grace Johnson high and threatened to throw her from the bell tower, just grabbing her by hand—could she even smell that?

Mrs. Brooks pursed her lips slightly, her almond eyes fixed seriously on Edward Clark: “The scent of Moon Palace Osmanthus is very faint and expensive. Usually only official ladies from scholarly families use it… Who is this girl?”