"Shut up!" Albert Carter glared at him, but he no longer had the energy to get angry. He sighed, "They were planning to swindle as much as they could from the start. Sigh, I guess it's because of the deep bond between us father and son..."

Upon hearing this, Henry Carter glanced at his uncle and thought to himself, He mainly thought you could be reinstated to your official post...

Sure enough, he saw his uncle looking so distressed he was about to faint, muttering, "That's twenty thousand taels! Where am I going to earn that again..."

But Edward Carter perked up when he heard this, vigorously patting his elder brother's shoulder and saying, "You should count yourself lucky. If it weren't for my sensible son persuading me, the two of us would still be saddled with a fifty-thousand-tael debt..."

"What's there to be happy about!" William Carter was being patted so hard it hurt, and he brushed his brother's hand away.

"Oh? My good grandson, you barely know a few characters, yet you have such insight?" Albert Carter looked at Henry Carter in surprise. He hadn't expected this disappointing grandson to actually see through the situation.

"Oh, people have to grow up sometime..." Henry Carter thought, Here it comes!

These days, he'd been rehearsing in his mind, preparing a whole set of excuses, just in case anyone got suspicious.

But his father and uncle, those two bumbling brothers, hadn't noticed anything unusual at all. Yet Albert Carter, worthy of his years and experience, was clearly not someone who could be easily fooled.

Henry Carter braced himself, ready to handle Albert Carter's questioning.

"Sigh, I suppose this is a small stroke of luck for our old Zhao family amidst misfortune." Unexpectedly, Albert Carter didn't care about this at all. Instead, he stroked his beard with satisfaction and said, "From now on, our family will probably have to rely on you, boy."

Seeing how easily he got through, Henry Carter felt relieved, but also a bit disappointed, as if he'd thrown a punch into thin air.

Charles Carter, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, "Grandpa, are you saying... you weren't reinstated to your official post?"

"Reinstated my ass! After such a huge blunder, if I can get away with being dismissed and not implicating my descendants, that's already a blessing." Seeing his eldest grandson bring up the sore spot, Albert Carter was once again fuming. It took him a while to calm down before he asked his sons and grandsons beside him:

"I have to leave the capital within three days. Have you all thought about whether to go or stay?"

The brothers William and Edward exchanged a glance, and the elder spoke first, "Father, since the court hasn't dismissed me, I'm afraid I can't go back to our hometown with you."

"Still making a fuss over that petty official post? If you don't want to go, then don't!" Albert Carter curled his lip, feeling a pang of sourness at becoming a commoner himself.

Edward Carter was a bit undecided. He looked at his son, and seeing that Henry Carter didn't speak, he said quietly, "It won't make a difference to wait one more night. I'll discuss it with Henry Carter later."

"Alright." Albert Carter nodded, not pressing the issue.

...

By the time the five members of the Zhao family finished talking, the night watch drum had already sounded twice outside.

"Better get to bed early, or you'll wake up hungry in the middle of the night," William Carter advised with some experience.

"I'm sleeping here tonight?" Albert Carter stood up and pointed to the kitchen, where the fire was still burning, "It's warm here."

"Uh, alright..." William Carter twitched his mouth. This was originally where he and his son slept.

"I'll get Father a quilt," Edward Carter said, and went to a small room nearby, bringing his own bedding to his father, helping him settle in before returning to his own room to sleep.

...

That night, Henry Carter and his father lay fully clothed under a single quilt, on the rickety wooden bed left by the servants.

The two of them tossed and turned, the bed creaking beneath them, making it even harder to fall asleep.

Edward Carter waited until the third watch of the night, listening to the thunderous snoring from the next room, before sitting up and whispering to the wide-awake Henry Carter:

"Son, you didn't get enough to eat, did you?"

"Yeah." Henry Carter nodded with a wry smile. There hadn't been much for dinner to begin with, and the old man had eaten three bowls himself, so of course he hadn't had enough.

"Heh, look what I've got here!"

With that, Edward Carter magically produced an oiled paper packet from his chest, and as he gently unwrapped it, a golden roasted duck leg appeared before Henry Carter.

"Where did that come from?" Henry Carter was astonished.

"Shh! Eat quickly..." Edward Carter quickly made a shushing gesture and whispered, "I snuck out to buy it after noon. Hurry and eat, don't let your uncle smell it—he's got a sharp nose..."

"Let's eat it together." Henry Carter swallowed hard. After days of eating nothing but vegetable porridge, his eyes were practically turning green.

"You're still growing, it'd be a waste if I ate it." Edward Carter swallowed too, but without hesitation stuffed the duck leg into his son's hand.

Chapter 7: Benefiting Others, Convenient for Oneself

Henry Carter couldn't help but feel touched. He split the duck leg in half, took a bite and claimed it was too salty, then stubbornly forced half into Edward Carter's hand.

Edward Carter affectionately patted Henry Carter's head and didn't refuse any further.

The two of them, heads together, enjoyed their meal. Edward Carter couldn't help but recite a few sentimental lines like, "Spring chill seeps through the closed doors, the golden duck's fragrance lingers, the fire still warm."

Henry Carter thought it was fitting for the occasion, so he didn't complain. He quickly finished his half of the duck leg, gnawed the bone clean of every bit of meat, then tossed it to the floor and lay back on the bed, feeling content.

"How exactly did Grandpa offend Gao Gong?" This was something he just couldn't figure out.