This kid has no idea what reciprocity is. He agreed to let you enter the city with the rites of a Son of Heaven, but still insisted on three refusals before accepting. What you wanted has been given to you, but the honor of riding beside him was given to Henry Foster, and the duty of offering sacrifices at the ancestral temple was handed to Philip Clark. Isn’t the new ruler’s intention clear enough?

He cares about the people around him. Originally, he was thinking of giving James Young a bit of a hard time, but now it seems all that trouble has landed on himself. Who knows what will happen next?

Suddenly, Samuel Grant had the thought of retiring and returning to his hometown. A Grand Secretary, tormented by Charles Brooks and Henry Foster to the point of doubting his own life—these two really are something!

At this moment, the imperial carriage stopped again; they had already arrived at the Gate of Great Ming!

The Gate of Great Ming faces directly onto Qipan Tianjie, grand and imposing. Inside the gate, on the east and west sides, there are thousand-step corridors that curve northward to form the central imperial road, leading to the main gate of the Imperial City, the Chengtian Gate.

The Gate of Great Ming, together with the main gate of the Imperial City and the main gate of the Forbidden City, forms the three great central gates on the imperial axis. Except for national ceremonies, the Gate of Great Ming remains closed year-round. Only when the Empress Dowager’s carriage, the Emperor’s procession, sacrifices to Heaven, imperial tours, or the Emperor and Empress’s wedding take place, can one pass through the three great central gates in succession, demonstrating the Emperor’s divine authority and heavenly mandate.

This is exactly why Charles Brooks argued his case so forcefully.

He had received the late Emperor’s edict and was already the Son of Heaven of the Ming dynasty. To have him enter through the East Peace Gate, lowering his status to that of a crown prince—only a fool would agree to that!

The imperial carriage stopped before the Gate of Great Ming. Led by James Young, all the civil and military officials, and the court’s nobles, knelt down in unison.

“Your ministers pay respects to our Emperor—long live, long live, long, long live!”

Their shouts shook the heavens!

At last, the long-awaited moment had arrived!

The curtain of the imperial carriage was lifted, and a young man jumped out. The ministers were preparing to salute, but suddenly noticed that this fellow’s attire was off, and quickly halted their actions. At this moment, Henry Foster reached out his hand, and only then did Charles Brooks, full of imperial bearing, descend with his arm supported, his face beaming with satisfaction.

As soon as Charles Brooks appeared, the shouts of “long live” rang out again, even louder than before.

Henry Foster followed behind Charles Brooks with only one thought: thank goodness I don’t have to kneel, otherwise this ceremony of five bows and three prostrations would have taken half my life. That’s right, the “three kneelings and nine prostrations” people often talk about hadn’t even been invented in the Ming dynasty yet. As for whose masterpiece it was, I suggest you look it up…

Finally, after the grand ceremony, the Grand Secretary James Young approached with a gentle expression and elegant demeanor to meet the new ruler.

This was Henry Foster’s first time meeting the famous Grand Secretary. Thanks to that poem “Immortal by the River,” Henry Foster had a good impression of both Robert Young and even James Young.

But since they stood on opposing sides, they were destined to clash—there would be no end until one side prevailed.

Henry Foster was pondering this in his heart, but Charles Brooks was already smiling and speaking. This guy’s talent was truly frightening—he actually made people feel at ease!

“Grand Secretary Yang, pillar of Great Ming, a man of great virtue and merit, it is thanks to your stewardship that I have been able to inherit the throne smoothly. These past thirty-some days, you have worked hard! Ever since you entered the cabinet, for more than ten years, you have borne heavy burdens. Before you even came of age, you entered court as an official, and for over forty years, you have poured your heart and soul into Great Ming!”

James Young was a famous prodigy—he passed the provincial exam at twelve, the imperial exam at nineteen, and after decades in court, his roots ran deep, unmatched by anyone.

In fact, looking at James Young’s experiences, he’s a lot like the protagonist of some historical novel.

Famed in youth, entered court as an official, tutored the crown prince, was appointed Grand Secretary, and after the sudden death of the new ruler, took charge of the court. Power in hand… Even in teaching his children, he had a knack—his son not only became the top scholar but was also recognized as a great talent.

One really suspects that some people used his life as an outline for their stories. After all, if not for Charles Brooks, James Young’s life would have been perfect—utterly flawless.

Facing Charles Brooks’s lavish praise, James Young maintained the humility befitting a senior minister.

“Your Majesty flatters me. Now that the Mandate of Heaven has been settled and the people look up to you, it is the time for Your Majesty to strive for good governance and prosper the ancestral foundation. This old minister is willing to serve Your Majesty loyally, doing all I can!”

Charles Brooks beamed with joy, thoroughly pleased.

Suddenly, Charles Brooks grabbed James Young’s hand and said with emotion, “Grand Secretary, I am young and inexperienced, coming from a small place, and the world is full of troubles—I rely entirely on you to handle them. From the Gate of Great Ming to the Meridian Gate, I ask you to ride with me!”

With that, Charles Brooks actually pulled James Young onto the carriage and headed toward the Meridian Gate.

What is this about?

Wasn’t it agreed that I would accompany you on the last stretch?

Although the distance from the Gate of Great Ming to the Meridian Gate isn’t far, you can’t just swap me out for James Young, can you?

Charles Brooks, do you have any integrity left?

Henry Foster was furious. Right now, he was just a ninth-rank attendant at the Prince of Xing’s residence. Among the many capital officials, he was hardly worth a glance.

Fortunately, the enthronement ceremony of the new ruler was the most important of all, and all the ministers were required to wear scarlet robes. On ordinary days, those of fourth rank and above wore crimson, fifth to seventh rank wore blue-green, and eighth and ninth rank could only wear green robes!

A single spot of green among a sea of red—what a miserable feeling that would be.

Even so, Henry Foster’s attire was still pitifully shabby.

For example, others’ beam caps had seven beams, some had six, and those dukes even had eight beams. When it came to him, there was only one beam—like an antenna stuck on top of a hat.