“This servant is not sure. If Young Master wants to know, why not let this servant call Brother Brooks over to ask…” Grace blinked her excited big eyes and handed the tea to me. It seems gossip is a woman’s nature. Whether zero or a hundred years old, gossip is eternal, and women will always pass it on…

“Hmm… forget it, I’ll ask when I feel better.” Hearing my refusal, “Oh…” Little Loli’s eyes dimmed, making me feel so sorry I almost nodded in agreement. Gritting my teeth, I am a good young man and will not be seduced by Little Loli’s beauty.

…

“Young Master Jun… is it true?” Grace’s eyes sparkled, her hands nervously clutching her clothes.

“Of course! Amidst the flashing blades and swords, that kid named Harry bravely stood up, grabbed a chair leg and charged, bit his finger, and wrote a Daoist incantation on the chair leg—ma li ma li hong! With a loud shout, a purple thunderbolt… crack!—knocked down a group of vampire flying demons…” I passionately recounted the story of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” to this little girl, of course, already retouched into an Eastern fantasy by me, the great writer. Grace listened, utterly entranced…

“Ahem… Chris!” Turning around, “Mother, why are you here…” I quickly wiped the foam from my mouth and went to greet her.

Madam Foster smiled, glancing at Grace who was obediently staying in the room: “Girl, go to the kitchen and bring some hot chicken soup for your Young Master, to help him recover…”

“Yes, madam…” Grace walked out of the room with small, careful steps, looking quite frustrated at not having finished the story.

“Feeling better? …When you came back yesterday, you were drunk again…” Madam Foster dotingly gave me a knock on the head. Strangely, being hit actually made me feel refreshed, a sense of warmth and happiness—maybe this is the long-lost feeling of family returning.

“I didn’t want to, but His Highness King Jackson insisted on drinking with me, saying it was to celebrate my recovery…” I looked sincerely at Madam Foster. I was wronged—if those two lunatics hadn’t forced me to drink yesterday, I wouldn’t have gotten so drunk.

Madam Foster tapped my head: “You rascal, your head injury isn’t even healed, and you still drank so much. If I hadn’t stopped your father yesterday, he might have broken your bones.”

“Huh? …Really, my father?”

“What do you mean ‘huh’? A few days ago your father went to Luoyang on business, and only rushed back yesterday. He was so happy to hear you woke up, but before he could enjoy it, you were carried home by William Brooks again…” Madam Foster frowned, looking very troubled.

My father is a famous Tang dynasty minister. Although I already knew this a few days ago, hearing Madam Foster say it still made me nervous, afraid this old minister would smack me on the head again and send me back to the Stone Age. That would be a disaster.

“Madam, the soup is here… Young Master, please drink…” Grace carefully brought the chicken soup to me, a delicious aroma wafting over. Not bad.

“Drink up… After the soup, come with me to see your father and apologize. Otherwise, it’s not good for your father to keep holding a grudge…”

…

On the way to the front hall, “Chris, where did you hear that strange story? Is there really someone in the Tang dynasty with the surname ‘Ha’?” Madam Foster seemed to have been eavesdropping at the door for a while.

“No… that’s a foreigner’s surname. I just heard it at the tavern yesterday…” I didn’t dare tell her it was a movie story, even less that it wouldn’t be published for another thousand years.

“Oh… when I have time, tell me the story again, it’s quite interesting… By the way, Chris, that Grace girl in your room is getting prettier and prettier…” My mother Madam Foster covered her mouth and smiled, her eyes strange, like seeing her own child bring home an award—quite pleased.

What’s going on? The girl in my room… why does that sound a bit off? I didn’t dare ask, afraid Madam Foster would use my “hysteria” as an excuse to force-feed me medicine.

“Mother…” I shrank back at the study door, very hesitant. Madam Foster smiled and pushed me from behind: “You, it’s just apologizing to your father. With me here, he won’t dare do anything to you…”

“Oh…” Fine, I mustered my courage. I’m not an ordinary person, I’m here to pay respects to a famous ancestor. My self-hypnosis wasn’t even finished before Madam Foster shoved me into the study.

A tall man with a straight back, wearing a gray long robe, three streaks of graying beard, his expression very calm, holding a brush, leaning on the table, glancing at me sideways. Only, in his eagle-like eyes, there was a faint anger and helplessness, as if he was looking at a hopeless mess…

“Ch-child greets father…” I bowed respectfully, very excited—a famous minister! A founding prime minister of the Tang dynasty! In later generations, whenever the Zhenguan era is mentioned, Fang and Du are always brought up. So many people want to meet him but can’t. Not only did I meet him, I even became his notorious son. I’m quite happy—I’ve become a celebrity too.

“Is your injury better?” John Brooks asked calmly, like a stranger, writing something on tribute paper at the table. It was too far for me to see clearly.