Edward Carter also ate the duck leg clean, then picked up the bone that Henry Carter had thrown away, carefully wrapped it in oiled paper, stuffed it into his boot, and prepared to throw it out tomorrow.

　　As he was destroying the evidence, he casually replied, “Before that day, I hadn’t heard a single rumor. The other day I asked your uncle, and he said both sides are keeping this matter extremely secret, only telling me that Gao Gong once said, ‘If there is Gao, there is no Zhao; if there is Zhao, there is no Gao.’ When I pressed further, your uncle just said things like, ‘The world is cold, people are cruel, rain falls at dusk and flowers easily wither,’ which made no sense to me.”

　　“Should we ask Grandpa tomorrow?” Henry Carter rested his head on his arm. This was a big deal, and he had to get to the bottom of it.

　　“Your uncle repeatedly told me not to ask your grandfather. He said it’s an old wound that can’t be touched—one poke and the old man will fly into a rage.” Edward Carter sighed and said, “Talking about this now is pointless. As they say, ‘bad luck and misfortune,’ now that Gao Gong is in power, our Zhao family won’t be able to turn things around for a while.”

　　He had originally wanted to say, “There will never be a day to turn things around,” but didn’t want his son to lose hope, so he changed his words.

　　“Sigh, alright…” Henry Carter nodded in resignation, thinking to himself that it seemed there was no hope for the old man’s situation.

　　……

　　Next door, the uncle and his son weren’t sleeping well either.

　　William Carter suddenly sniffed, reached out, and poked Charles Carter beside him.

　　“Son, do you smell something?”

　　Charles Carter sniffed hard as well, then nodded, “It smells salty and savory…”

　　As he spoke, his expression suddenly changed, “Dad, you didn’t wash your feet again, did you?”

　　“Get lost!” William Carter kicked Charles Carter off the bed, but after saying that, he couldn’t help but lift his own foot and take a sniff.

　　“Ugh…” William Carter couldn’t help but gag dryly.

　　……

　　Henry Carter and his father’s room.

　　The two were silent for a long time. Just as Edward Carter thought his son had finally fallen asleep, he suddenly heard his son ask quietly:

　　“The Qingliu family is poor, right?”

　　“Uh…” Edward Carter was stunned for a while before suddenly realizing, “Oh, you mean my future father-in-law?”

　　“Yeah.” Henry Carter responded.

　　“Other people might be poor, but not him. That Nanjing Guozijian Sacrificial Wine is a fat position! Every year, there are hundreds or even thousands who want to donate to become students. And those old students who have been waiting for official selection for over a decade have to beg him for a top evaluation. How could he not have some perks?”

　　Mentioning this, Edward Carter no longer felt like sleeping. He sat up cross-legged, his face animated, “And if the old father-in-law takes another step up, he’ll be promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites—that’s one foot in the cabinet! As the saying goes, ‘With a mountain at your back, you’ll never run out of firewood.’ Maybe our Zhao family can ride along and turn things around.”

　　After saying this, he came back to his senses and looked at his son in surprise, “Why are you asking about this?”

　　“Didn’t the old man ask us to give an answer?” Henry Carter replied softly, “Whether to stay or leave.”

　　“What do you think? Anyway, I don’t really care. If you want to stay, we’ll stay. If you want to leave, we’ll leave.” Edward Carter said breezily—or perhaps irresponsibly—handing the decision over to his son.

　　“Alright then…” Henry Carter smiled wryly and nodded. With a father like this, he didn’t know whether to consider himself lucky or not.

　　Actually, his own idea was to stay in Nanjing like his uncle’s family, instead of returning to their old home in Xiuning. But after spending these days together, he deeply felt that he and his uncle’s family just couldn’t get along, and they’d have to live separately to have peace. That’s why he was seriously considering his father’s earlier “double freeloading” proposal.

　　“No matter whether we stay or leave, we have to plan things out. If we mess up the plan, it’ll be hard to turn things around.” As Henry Carter spoke, he also sat up and looked steadily at Edward Carter.

　　“Mm, very true!” Edward Carter’s eyes reddened with relief. He patted his son’s shoulder and said, “No wonder the sages said, ‘A storm tests the strength of the grass.’ If we hadn’t gone through this, I wouldn’t have realized my son has grown up.” As he wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve, he asked Henry Carter:

　　“Tell me, what’s the plan?”

　　“This year is the year of the provincial exam, right?” After thinking it over these past few days, Henry Carter already had a plan in mind.

　　“That’s right, this year is the big exam year, with the autumn examination.” Edward Carter nodded.

　　“Father, you’re a student at the Nanjing Guozijian, right?” Henry Carter asked again.

　　“Yes, what are you getting at?” Edward Carter was starting to understand.

　　“Why don’t we stay and try our luck?” Henry Carter said lightly, but his tone was resolute.

　　Everyone knows the story of Fan Jin passing the exam—if you can become a juren, your personal and family fate will be completely transformed in an instant!

　　If Edward Carter could also pass the exam and become a juren, wouldn’t he be able to enjoy wealth and honor again?

　　But Edward Carter just gave a bitter smile and said quietly, “Ah, son, it’s not to boast, but when it comes to failing the exam, I’m very confident.”

　　After a pause, he said dispiritedly, “Since the thirty-first year of Jiajing, I’ve already failed five times… I think we should look for another way.”

　　But Henry Carter insisted, “Fortune’s wheel turns. Maybe this time you’ll pass.”

　　He had already made up his mind—no matter what, he would persuade Edward Carter to take this year’s provincial exam.

　　Who knew, before he could even start persuading, Edward Carter nodded and agreed right away, “Sigh… alright.”

　　“Huh, you agreed just like that?” Henry Carter was dumbfounded, once again feeling the frustration of punching empty air.