“Aiya, Old Master. To be honest, George Sullivan is the imperial tutor, the new emperor relies on him, and with just a flick of his finger he could crush us. We beg you, Old Master, to show mercy and let us off this time.”

“Stop joking, Chief Libationer.” Albert Carter, however, pretended not to understand, deliberately teasing Mr. Thompson: “I’m just a commoner now, what power or virtue do I have to let you off?”

“Old Master, you’re asking what you already know…” Mr. Thompson realized that Albert Carter was forcing him to say those two shameful words out loud. He opened his mouth several times, but just couldn’t say it.

“Of course… it’s to break off the engagement.” Mr. Foster, not having the pretentious airs of a Hanlin scholar, spoke up for Mr. Thompson.

“Break off the engagement?” Albert Carter snorted coldly, sneering at the two: “I just got home, and you two show up right after to break off the engagement?”

“We truly have no other choice, we beg you, Old Master, to grant us this favor.” Mr. Foster cupped his hands, his cheeks trembling as he said, “If so, I am willing to offer another five hundred taels as a gift…”

Albert Carter had been maintaining the composure of a former high official, but upon hearing Mr. Foster’s words, he suddenly flew into a rage, pointing at his nose and cursing:

“Back then, you fat fool, you kept inviting me to banquets and giving gifts, racking your brains and begging me, and I only reluctantly agreed to the marriage. Now that I’ve lost power, you want to break off the engagement—what a fickle, despicable scoundrel! Shameful! Disgusting! Hateful!”

“……” Henry Carter also secretly rolled his eyes at Mr. Foster, not expecting that this fat man worth millions would turn out to be such a miser.

Actually, five hundred taels of silver is not a small sum at all—it would be worth several hundred thousand yuan in modern times. Of course, compared to Mr. Foster’s fortune, it’s just a drop in the bucket.

……

Mr. Foster was scolded so harshly by Albert Carter that he was left speechless. First, everything Albert Carter said was true; second, the leverage was still in the other’s hands—provoking him would only bring trouble.

Anyway, getting scolded wouldn’t cost him a single tael, so he just lowered his head and listened in silence, hoping that once Albert Carter finished venting, he’d throw the engagement papers in his face.

But Mr. Thompson didn’t have such a good temper. He was an upright official, always flattered by others—when had he ever been scolded to his face like this? Even indirect criticism was hard for him to bear.

“Old Carter, let’s be clear: as for our marriage arrangement, it was you who kept inviting me and giving gifts, racking your brains and begging me, and I only reluctantly agreed.” Mr. Thompson slapped the table and glared at Albert Carter.

“You agreed, so you can’t go back on your word!” Albert Carter showed no shame at all, still speaking righteously: “Pah! And you call yourself an upright official! If word of this gets out, who will still see you as a man of integrity?”

“Sigh…” Mr. Thompson was hit where it hurt, and slumped back onto the bench, saying dejectedly, “Let’s just focus on the present, otherwise I won’t be able to pass the capital evaluation…”

As he spoke, his eyes reddened and he choked up: “Old Carter, just treat it as doing me a favor, let me off. I only passed the imperial exam at forty-one, and it wasn’t easy to be selected for the Academy. If I offend Mr. Sullivan, I’ll be stuck at the fourth rank for life.”

“A gentleman keeps his word and never goes back on it! Don’t even think about getting the engagement papers back!” Albert Carter was completely unmoved, tossing the two envelopes back to them, leaving no room for negotiation.

“See them out!”

“Old Master, that’s not fair…” Mr. Foster still refused to get up.

“If you don’t get out, I’ll have you thrown out!” Albert Carter finally lost it, kicking over the table and shouting at his sons and grandsons standing by: “What are you standing around for? Get the sticks!”

“Let’s go, let’s go.” Mr. Thompson, seeing things were going south, knew when to retreat.

Mr. Foster didn’t forget to pick up the two envelopes, and as he caught up with Mr. Thompson, he turned back and called out, “When you can’t make ends meet, we can talk again.”

……

After the two left, William Carter couldn’t help but complain to his father: “It’s come to this, what’s the point? Father, you might as well agree to break off the engagement and get some silver out of it.”

“You know nothing! This concerns the dignity and honor of our The Carter Family—do you think a bit of silver can settle it?!” Albert Carter glared fiercely at his useless eldest son.

Edward Carter couldn’t help but clap and praise: “Unyielding in the face of power, unmoved by poverty—Father truly has integrity!”

“They need to pay more!” But then Albert Carter added quietly.

The courtyard instantly fell silent.

After a while, William Carter finally came to his senses and asked, “How much more would satisfy you, Father?”

“At least ten thousand taels.” Albert Carter blurted out his price without hesitation. Compared to what the other side offered, the gap was huge—no wonder Old Master was so angry he wanted to set the dogs on them.

“Dad, have you gone mad from poverty?” William Carter was stunned. He’d sold everything valuable in the house and only got about twenty thousand taels. Yet his father was asking for ten thousand taels for a marriage that was clearly already off. “Isn’t this extortion?”

“Old man is extorting them, so what?”

Albert Carter sneered, then pulled out two red papers from his sleeve—the very engagement documents that Mr. Thompson and Mr. Foster had begged for in vain.

He was leaving the capital early the next morning, and had clearly anticipated those two would come today. As expected, it was just a matter of not offering enough money…