The ink was barely dry when Mr. Bolton tried to put away the IOU, but was stopped by William Carter.

“Hold on, for such a big matter, my younger brother should also sign and stamp it.”

“Alright…” The three exchanged glances, knowing he was guarding against his brother refusing to acknowledge the debt in the future, leaving him to shoulder this huge sum alone.

‘Now he’s suddenly clear-headed.’ The three smiled without saying a word.

……

Before long, Edward Carter and his son followed Charles Carter into the front hall.

“Brother, come sign your name.” After the brothers greeted the two officials, William Carter called him over to sign and stamp the document.

“Okay, big brother.” Edward Carter took the brush, ready to sign next to his elder brother’s signature.

Henry Carter had originally wanted to keep a low profile because of his identity, but now he couldn’t hold back. He quietly tugged at Edward Carter’s sleeve and whispered:

“At least take a look at what it is first!”

“Oh.” Edward Carter slapped his forehead, paused with the brush in hand, and focused on the document. He couldn’t help but gasp, “A loan of fifty thousand taels, with a return of thirteen for every nine! Such high interest—how could we ever pay that back?”

Hearing this, Henry Carter screamed inwardly: ‘Is the interest the problem? The real issue is that we shouldn’t be borrowing this fifty thousand taels at all!’

But his uncle sighed and said, “We can’t worry about that now—saving father is what matters. Hurry and sign, once you do, father will be safe and can return to his post.”

“Really?” Edward Carter immediately brightened, looking to the two officials for confirmation.

The two officials nodded without speaking.

“That’s great, as long as father is alright!” Edward Carter was as happy as a child and was about to sign.

But he saw Henry Carter still shaking his head.

Edward Carter cared deeply for his son, so he stopped again and quietly asked, “What’s wrong, son?”

To the two officials, his hesitation clearly meant he didn’t want to co-sign the IOU and was looking for an excuse to get out of it.

Afraid things might change, Mr. Foster quickly spoke up before Henry Carter could:

“Brother Zhao, you’ve always ignored worldly affairs, so you might not know just how serious your father’s trouble is!”

“How serious?” Edward Carter’s attention was indeed drawn back.

“Let’s be frank—your father has offended Grand Secretary Gao!” Mr. Foster said, enunciating each word.

“Grand Secretary Gao? Which one? Could it be Gao Gong, Gao Xinzheng?” Edward Carter asked in terror.

“Who else could it be?” Mr. Foster made a respectful gesture to the north and said solemnly, “It’s none other than the current imperial tutor, Crown Prince’s Guardian, and Vice Minister of the Cabinet, Gao Xinzheng!”

“This capital inspection is entirely under his control!” the censor beside him chimed in.

“All is lost…” Edward Carter’s legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor.

Luckily, Henry Carter reacted quickly and caught him, so Edward Carter didn’t fall flat on his backside.

“Your father has offended Gao Xinzheng—he’d be skinned even if he did nothing wrong. And now such a huge scandal has been uncovered!” Seeing he was truly frightened, Mr. Foster pressed on, “Fortunately, our ministry, out of collegial friendship, has interceded on your behalf and won your father a slim chance of survival.”

Pausing, Mr. Foster swept a cold gaze over the Zhao family and said menacingly, “But if you can’t fill this hole, not even the gods can save you. By then, not only your father, but your whole family will suffer!”

“Brother, just sign it, stop dawdling.” William Carter urged as well. “If you delay any longer, that Gao fellow will kill father for sure!”

Edward Carter was a completely useless scholar to begin with—what ideas could he have in such a situation?

He finally put brush to paper, ready to sign his name.

But Henry Carter suddenly pushed his right elbow, causing the brush to leave a long streak of ink across the IOU.

Chapter Four: The Young Man Shows His Mettle

With Henry Carter’s push, a thick line of ink ran across the entire IOU, rendering it void.

“Henry Carter, what nonsense are you up to?!” His uncle flew into a rage at the sight.

Edward Carter was stunned for a moment too, but seeing his elder brother’s furious look, he quickly waved his hands, trying to take the blame: “It wasn’t my son’s fault, my own hand slipped.”

But Henry Carter couldn’t accept this favor. Because what’s worse than losing everything is losing everything and still owing a huge debt! Especially this kind of usurious loan that devours you whole!

For the sake of his own future, he had to stop these two brothers from jumping into the fire pit, no matter what. He braced himself and met the furious gaze of William Carter.

“Uncle, how can we make such a big decision without consulting grandfather?”

“He’s locked up in the Censorate—how could I possibly see him?!” His uncle’s voice was so angry it changed pitch, clearly taking this clueless kid as a scapegoat.

Now that he’d started, Henry Carter had nothing left to fear. He spread his hands and said, “That’s strange—if people from the Censorate can come to our house to collect money, why can’t we see grandfather?”

Seeing the boy turn the question on him, the censor from the Nanjing Censorate flew into a rage, waved his hand sharply and said:

“Court law is not a child’s play! Brat, get out of here at once!”

“Court law, huh?” Henry Carter was unfazed, mocking the censor: “You officials collude to collect money and settle matters right here—do you really take court law seriously?”