Edward Clark poured himself some tea, looking a bit helpless. “Aunt Brooks, you still don’t believe me? I just accidentally bumped into a female student from Wenqu Courtyard, I didn’t go out and fool around.”

　　“What kind of talk is that?”

　　Mrs. Brooks’s expression grew stern, clearly a bit angry, and she sat up straighter. “You’re the heir of a feudal prince—why would I stop you from seeking out women? If you want a woman, just tell me, I can find you any kind you like…” As she spoke, she turned her head and called out:

　　“Luna.”

　　“Here.”

　　Luna, who had hurried back, entered the room respectfully and gave a slight nod.

　　“Escort the young lord to rest. Stay with him tonight, and from now on, follow him.”

　　“Yes, ma’am.”

　　Luna bowed, then walked slowly to Edward Clark and reached out to support him.

　　Edward Clark felt his scalp tingle. If Mrs. Brooks planted a spy to be with him day and night, he could forget about getting anything done. He raised his hand and said:

　　“That’s enough, that’s enough. I’m not blaming you, Aunt Brooks. I really just accidentally bumped into her, I don’t have a girl I like.”

　　Mrs. Brooks studied him seriously for a while. Seeing that Edward Clark wasn’t lying, she finally let out a soft sigh:

　　“Buling, I’m not stopping you from finding women. You’re still young, and with your looks and status, there isn’t a woman in the world who wouldn’t want to get close to you… As the saying goes, ‘the most poisonous is a woman’s heart.’ To tempt you, those women outside would do anything. You’re still inexperienced, and if you’re not careful and get tricked, it won’t just harm yourself. You’ll be a feudal lord in the future. Haven’t you heard the stories of ‘the beacon fire play with the feudal lords’ and ‘King Zhou of Shang’?”

　　“I know, I’ll take it as a warning.”

　　Edward Clark chuckled, poured a cup of tea, walked over, and handed it to Mrs. Brooks:

　　“Aunt Brooks, have some tea and calm down.”

　　Mrs. Brooks pursed her lips, raised her hand to take the cup, gently blew on it, took a small sip, and sat sideways, turning her head away, still a bit resentful.

　　Edward Clark thought for a moment, then raised his hand in a salute. “Hmm… There’s a chess match at Longyin Pavilion in Daye Ward today. I’m going to place a bet, so I won’t bother you, Aunt Brooks.”

　　Hearing this, Mrs. Brooks put down her teacup, picked up a fox-fur cloak, draped it over his shoulders, then circled to the front and tied the cord at his collar:

　　“It’s natural for young people to want to show off, but your position is too high. Telling you to hide your talents and sully your own name isn’t to harm you. The Duke of Su holds too much military power, and there are rumors in the streets that ‘the feudal lords covet the throne.’ His Majesty is bound to have thoughts about this…

　　…Now, all the officials in court are secretly saying ‘His Majesty wants to weaken the feudal lords.’ Whether it’s true or not, you must be cautious in your words and actions. Don’t draw too much attention and arouse suspicion.”

　　Edward Clark smiled lightly. “I know.”

　　Mrs. Brooks patted his collar. “You—want to sully your name? That’s easy! Those old scholars at the literary gatherings love to nitpick. Buying poems, copying poems, and other acts of ‘plagiarism’ are most despised by scholars…

　　…Go buy a good poem, especially one you couldn’t possibly write with your experience. When you present it at the Longyin Poetry Gathering in a few days, those pedantic scholars will definitely hound you. If you then stubbornly insist you wrote it yourself, your reputation will naturally be ruined…”

　　Edward Clark’s eyes lit up. That was actually a good idea.

　　As a transmigrator, he definitely couldn’t write poetry himself, but copying a great poem he couldn’t possibly have written and getting scolded for it? That was a piece of cake.

　　At only eighteen, if he recited, “This old man lets loose his youthful wildness, holding a yellow dog on the left, a falcon on the right,” anyone with half a brain would know it was copied.

　　Edward Clark nodded, then smiled. “Don’t worry, Aunt Brooks, this time I’ll make sure they scold me to high heaven.”

　　Mrs. Brooks snorted. “Don’t mess it up again. If you were both scholarly and martial, I doubt anyone wouldn’t fear you.” She straightened Edward Clark’s collar, looked him up and down carefully, then nodded in satisfaction. “Go on… and don’t go to any brothels.”

　　Edward Clark, full of confidence, turned and quickly left the courtyard…

Chapter 8: Old Tricks Reused

　　As the lanterns lit up at dusk,

　　The 108 wards of Chang’an were a sea of lights and a tide of people. Edward Clark, with Old Smith in tow, rode to Daye Ward in search of Zhu Manzhi.

　　The ward was filled with wealthy gentry, white horses and carved carriages flowing endlessly. Except for the lack of neon lights, the prosperity was no less than that of modern times, and the scenery was even more impressive.

　　Here, you rarely saw armed warriors on the streets; most people carried fans, and the occasional scholar with a sword was just for show.

　　Although he hadn’t gone out much since arriving in Chang’an, he’d been to Daxing Ward quite a few times. Besides the banquets hosted by various nobles, the main reason was to buy wine.

　　This place wasn’t far from the Imperial Academy. The ‘Dragon Lock Gu’ in his body had to be suppressed with alcohol, or the pain of ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart would be unbearable. The Sun family’s shop in the ward was a century-old establishment, and their signature ‘Broken Jade Brew’ was famous for its strength and effectiveness. Drinking it every day, he’d actually grown to like it, and would sometimes come by himself.

　　Leading his horse into a narrow bluestone alley, he occasionally saw customers carrying wine jugs or with flushed faces coming and going. Most families in Daxing Ward were wealthy, so there weren’t any drunken louts making a scene.

　　The Sun family’s shop was deep in the alley, with a yellow wine banner bearing the character ‘Sun’. The shop was small, with only three square tables inside, but there were more than a dozen wine jars on display.