Her attitude softened, and she bit her lip, saying, “As long as my father can be saved, I can agree to any condition. I only beg Young Master Bennett to show mercy and plead with Eunuch King on our behalf. My entire The Harris Family would be endlessly grateful.”

Quentin Bennett couldn’t help but say, “You’ll really agree to anything?”

Quentin Bennett’s gaze was rather mischievous, making Miss Harris feel a bit embarrassed. But her eagerness to save her father left her no time to think, so she nodded, “Of course.”

Quentin Bennett clasped his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky, and said, “Let me think about it.”

James Carter suddenly got excited, gently tugged at Quentin Bennett’s sleeve, and said, “Swindle her for three hundred taels of silver, three hundred taels…”

“Pah!” Quentin Bennett shook off James Carter’s dirty hand and scolded him with disdain, “What do you take me for? Am I the kind of person who’s blinded by money?”

James Carter was left embarrassed.

Quentin Bennett looked again at Miss Harris. Although Miss Harris had softened, there was still a deep contempt in those beautiful eyes of hers, and this feeling made Quentin Bennett quite displeased. He chuckled and said, “Actually, saving your father isn’t that difficult. I’m just afraid you won’t agree.”

Miss Harris looked at Quentin Bennett warily, gritting her teeth, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t agree to. Even Tiying could save her father; though I’m not as great as Tiying, I’m willing to do anything.”

“All right then.” Quentin Bennett said with a grin, “If I save your father, you’ll become my maid, the kind that signs a contract of servitude. Are you willing?”

Quentin Bennett was not a good person—or rather, the word “good” simply didn’t exist in the Old Bennett family’s dictionary. Normally, with Quentin Bennett’s personality, he’d just extort a sum and be done with it. But seeing the contempt Miss Harris had for him made him change his mind.

Miss Harris was silent for a moment, then bit her thin lips and said, “Fine. As long as my father can be saved, I’ll become your servant. I will not go back on my word.”

Though her words were resounding, Quentin Bennett smiled slyly, “Whether you keep your word or not is none of my concern. I only care about black and white on paper. Let’s write the contract first.”

James Carter couldn’t help but think to himself, this Bennett guy is truly black-hearted. Yesterday I taught him about written contracts, and now he’s learned it all. Teach your apprentice and starve the master.

Miss Harris didn’t hesitate. Instead, she looked relieved, and followed Quentin Bennett to fetch brush and ink, writing a document stating that if her father was released within three days, she would willingly become his servant, and so on.

Quentin Bennett had James Carter act as guarantor. James Carter straightened up and quickly said, “I’m best at being a guarantor. Since you’re both willing, why shouldn’t I be the guarantor?” With that, he picked up the brush and signed his name and seal. He was about to put down the brush when Quentin Bennett stopped him, “Wait, Brother Carter, don’t you still owe me ten taels of silver? I meant to have you write an IOU last night, but I forgot. Look at my memory…” Quentin Bennett rubbed his forehead, looking very annoyed, then said, “Now’s perfect, let’s write your IOU as well. What’s with that terrifying look you’re giving me? We’re brothers…”

At this point, James Carter surrendered, quickly pulling a long face and saying, “Fine, fine, I’ll write it, I’ll write it. It’s just my bad luck, befriending a scoundrel… Ah, no, I didn’t mean that. I mean, it’s my great fortune to know Brother Bennett, truly an honor.”

He wrote the IOU full of grief and indignation. Both the IOU and Miss Harris’s contract of servitude were taken by Quentin Bennett, who felt extremely pleased. It seemed that making money selling prescriptions was a lowly business; to really get rich, you couldn’t do without trickery and deceit. Fortunately, Quentin Bennett was good at nothing else, but this he excelled at.

After sending Miss Harris away, Quentin Bennett’s skin was already thick enough that he didn’t care about her contemptuous gaze. James Carter hid behind Quentin Bennett, gnashing his teeth, wondering if he’d made a bad friend—lately, even drinking cold water got stuck in his teeth. Truly a bad omen.

Chapter 7: Too Dark-Hearted

At noon, Charles Bennett returned home. Seeing Quentin Bennett looking so cheerful, he said with exasperation, “You rascal, it’s not like a beautiful wife fell from the sky. What are you so happy about?”

James Carter chimed in, “Actually, it’s not much different from a wife falling from the sky.” Then he enthusiastically recounted the story of Miss Harris.

Charles Bennett became serious, hesitating, “As long as you can settle things with Eunuch King, it’s not impossible to release her father.” With that, he patted Quentin Bennett on the shoulder and encouraged him, “Well done, you’re finally starting to act like a son. Looks like you’re teachable at last. Amitabha, ancestors of the The Bennett Family above, our family is truly blessed.”

Quentin Bennett quickly said, “It’s all thanks to Father’s good teaching.”

Charles Bennett laughed heartily, then said, “I brought some pastries. Let’s make do with them for lunch.”

The two bachelors of the The Bennett Family had no one to cook for them, so they usually just ate some pastries or made some noodles to barely fill their stomachs.

The three of them went to the hall to eat pastries. James Carter was full of suspicion, thinking these Bennett father and son were really strange. If it were him, he’d definitely have extorted a large sum of silver from Miss Harris. What use was a maid? Could a maid be eaten?

He couldn’t figure it out. After eating a baked cake, his eyes suddenly lit up as if he’d realized something. He slapped the table and exclaimed, “I get it! I finally get it! Wonderful, simply wonderful!”