“Madam! I, Mrs. Clark, really—please, please don’t be angry with this humble servant!” Mrs. Clark fawned with a smile, though inside she was nearly spitting blood. If only she’d known this sickly wretch—no, if only she’d known that Little Lord Brooks would come to this, what were those few bushels of rice worth? Had she handed them over willingly from the start, she wouldn’t be trembling with fear now. What was meant to be a good deed—who knows if it might bring about some great disaster.

This thought made Mrs. Clark feel cold to the bone, her future bleak and uncertain. She wished time could turn back, so she could properly curry favor with the now highly honored Lady Mrs. Johnson standing before her.

Meanwhile, suddenly Nathaniel Brooks called for his mother, saying he wanted to go out.

It turned out that the Haizhou officials had split into two groups: one accompanied Mr. Bennett to deliver the imperial edict, the other went to the The Clark Family residence to confiscate property. Mr. Bennett had invited Nathaniel Brooks to come along, since the confiscated assets—servants, land deeds, and the like—would all belong to this young lord.

The Johnson Family agreed absentmindedly, not daring to leave the house. She was still in a daze, completely bewildered.

Mrs. Clark was equally stupefied. Though their moods differed, both women were lost in their own thoughts, remaining motionless for a long, long time.

Chapter Two: The God of Slaughter

Amid the winding fields, Nathaniel Brooks strolled slowly. It was nearly harvest time; the millet was ready for storage, and the fields were a patchwork of lush green and golden crops. This was the county outskirts, home to some of the best farmland, mostly rice paddies.

The East Sea region was a plain, crisscrossed by rivers. Looking out, the wind bent the grass low, the autumn sky was high and clear, and in the distance, blue sky and white clouds stretched above, with a silver ribbon of river winding into South Lake.

The county seat of Donghai, once called Yuzhou, had Donghai Mountain to its south and a natural harbor by the sea. Merchant ships traveling from Yangzhou to Japan or Korea would sometimes stop here to resupply.

Earlier, Nathaniel Brooks had intended to visit the The Clark Estate, but upon reaching its gates, he heard wailing and chaos inside—the confiscation was underway, with chickens and dogs in an uproar.

Nathaniel Brooks didn’t want to witness such misery; it would feel as if he were bullying others. So he took his leave of Mr. Bennett, saying he’d go for a walk around the The Clark Family estate in the county outskirts.

Samuel Clark had managed this land for many years and was the county’s leading magnate. Just in terms of farmland, the The Clark Family owned over a thousand acres of prime land near Ming Lake.

Donghai County had established its seat and city walls very early, dating back to the Han dynasty. The whole of Haizhou had a population in the hundreds of thousands, with Donghai County alone numbering in the tens of thousands—a dense population for this era.

The best farmland in the county was this area around Ming Lake, with abundant water and easy irrigation, making it naturally fertile. Yet over the years, all this good land had been consolidated by the The Clark Family. By the lakeside, Samuel Clark had even built a grand villa, but now, that villa was surely shrouded in gloom. Nathaniel Brooks didn’t go there, instead wandering the fields from afar.

A gentle breeze blew by.

Nathaniel Brooks stretched lazily. It seemed the aftereffects of his transmigration were gone; that sensitivity to wind and cold had disappeared.

Still, the fox-fur coat bestowed by the Tang ruler would be needed for certain occasions. It seemed that when the powerful in Jinling summoned him, he’d have to maintain this sickly appearance.

In troubled times, it’s best to keep a low profile. Keep a low profile.

First, observe this world, then make plans.

As he pondered, he heard footsteps behind him and someone calling, “Dalang?”

Nathaniel Brooks turned to see two men hurrying from behind a mound. The one in front, with a sharp face and monkey-like features, was Samuel Young, the headman of Ming Lake Village. The one who called out was a simple, honest fellow, also a tenant farmer from Ming Lake Village, nicknamed Billy. He was always close to Nathaniel Brooks, one of his few friends.

Ming Lake Village was home to all the tenant farmers of the The Clark Family estate—thirty or forty households living together as a village.

Samuel Young was one such tenant. His younger sister, famed for her beauty, had caught Samuel Clark’s eye and become his concubine. Thanks to this, Samuel Young had risen in status and been made village headman, mainly to help the The Clark Family collect rent.

The The Brooks Family had fallen on hard times and had to rent land from the The Clark Family to farm, so Nathaniel Brooks had dealt with Samuel Young a few times.

Nathaniel Brooks mused with a wry smile: because there weren’t many fallen gentry, he was something of a special figure, often the subject of gossip among the other tenant farmers—otherwise, Samuel Young might not have recognized him.

Seeing Nathaniel Brooks turn around and realizing he hadn’t mistaken him, Billy hurried forward and said anxiously, “Dalang, I heard you’ve returned to farming. I’ve been wanting to visit, but haven’t had the chance… Oh, after the harvest, my family will have some grain. Why don’t you take some to Mrs. Clark for now, just to tide things over?”

Nathaniel Brooks was taken aback, feeling a warm glow inside. In truth, after paying rent, whatever grain Billy had left was barely enough to feed his family of five. Billy had married young and had a son and two daughters. His wife, The King Family, was shrewd and formidable—a real tigress. If Billy gave away their food to help pay Nathaniel Brooks’s debts, wouldn’t The King Family eat him alive?

Before Nathaniel Brooks could reply, Samuel Young impatiently said, “Do you know what time it is? Still standing here talking nonsense? Mr. Brooks, you’d better get going—don’t get in the way!” His face was grim and anxious.

Nathaniel Brooks understood: with Samuel Clark’s downfall, Samuel Young was now like a stray dog. But why was he saying Nathaniel Brooks was in the way? It was baffling.

He saw Billy didn’t dare say more, only kept winking at him.

“Ah, they’re coming!” Samuel Young called out.