In Henry Clark’s eyes, the capital, this center of power, was simply a hunting ground for power tailor-made for him. Not to mention, within the capital there was the B-level Emily, and the DE-level, mysterious Sister-in-law.

He could easily stand out among the useless Eight Banners and rise rapidly.

Why go south? Why go to the Xiang Army?

William Clark continued to instruct earnestly by his side: “But after you return to the capital, you must shut yourself away, as if you don’t exist. Completely hide your identity, and only reappear after a few years when things have calmed down.”

By rights, this was reasonable—coming back from the dead was far too sensational.

How could you explain it?

So, hiding your identity was the safest.

But for Henry Clark, how could that be possible? By the time that happened, it would be far too late.

Henry Clark wanted to return to the arena of power as quickly as possible, so he made arrangements in advance, sending Olivia back to the capital to handle affairs.

Therefore, this time when he returned to the capital, not only did he need to remain safe and sound, but he also had to make his name resound throughout the city!

Chapter 9: Return to the Capital! Fame Across the City!

How do you explain such a bizarre thing as coming back from the dead?

Don’t explain!

Not only don’t explain, but instead actively guide people toward the most absurd explanation.

First, decide on the real idea you want to instill in everyone—whether it’s the truth or not, you must decide first.

Next, create an opposing viewpoint and promote it relentlessly, making it more and more absurd, more and more ridiculous.

This way, people will think, “This is too ridiculous, how could something so absurd be true?” Then they’ll come up with an opposite idea themselves, believing that’s the real answer.

However, the opposite idea they come up with is exactly what you wanted to instill.

True brainwashing isn’t about force-feeding ideas, but about letting others fill in the blanks themselves.

Henry Clark’s resurrection was just too bizarre to explain, but it still had to be clarified.

After escaping George Washington’s clutches, there was still one more hurdle for Henry Clark—the emperor.

And this hurdle was also very difficult.

George Washington wanted to kill Henry Clark purely for political gain.

But Xianfeng wanted to kill Henry Clark entirely out of emotion.

He valued Henry Clark so highly—in less than a year, he’d been promoted from eighth rank to fifth, and if the upcoming battle at Tianjiazhen was won, he’d be promoted again, even given the right to submit secret memorials, and asked to help keep an eye on George Washington.

And the result?

Henry Clark’s achievements were fake, everything was fake—he was just a useless person, repeatedly defeated, even fleeing the battlefield.

The Eight Banners were already disgraced, and now it was even worse.

The emperor himself was thoroughly humiliated, feeling deceived, so even Consort Yi suffered as a result.

To put it bluntly, this was a crime of deceiving the emperor.

So after Henry Clark returned to the capital, it was very likely that even if George Washington didn’t kill him, Xianfeng would arrest him and kill him again, and that would be the end.

His determination to kill Henry Clark was also very firm.

Upon learning that Henry Clark was still alive, and after verifying it,

The emperor even wished he could immediately send someone to capture Henry Clark halfway and kill him again.

Henry Clark had Olivia return to the city ahead of time and once again sought out Grace White.

And had... Sister-in-law spend money once more.

First, spend money to spread two rumors among the common folk.

The first rumor: Henry Clark bought his achievements, bought heads, bought his official post, fled the battlefield, was a lecherous demon, forcibly took women, and spent the night with eight women.

This wasn’t entirely a rumor—at least when Sister-in-law heard it, she spat in her heart, thinking it was all too true.

In fact, the story of Henry Clark fleeing the battlefield and being nearly executed by George Washington had already spread throughout the capital.

Good news never leaves the house, but bad news travels a thousand miles—that’s how it is.

With money fueling the spread, the topic became even hotter.

If someone wants to slander you, what should you do? Don’t try to clear your name—you can’t. Instead, preemptively slander yourself, so at least you can control the direction of the slander. Calling yourself a lecherous demon who spends the night with eight women is because scandal spreads best—everyone loves gossip about sex, and at least it’s better than spending the night with eight men.

After the first rumor heated up Henry Clark’s reputation, the second was spread immediately.

George Washington strangled Henry Clark in front of tens of thousands of people—everyone saw him die, but in the end, he came back to life.

Then, the whole process of coming back from the dead was described as mysterious and supernatural, like something out of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

Let beggars spread it, let storytellers spread it.

The common people loved this kind of supernatural stuff the most.

Within this rumor, a private message was slipped in: Henry Clark’s resurrection was a once-in-a-century auspicious omen, and because he was a distant member of the imperial clan, it was a good omen for the Qing dynasty.

Many people saw it—Henry Clark was indeed hanged on the spot, but then came back to life.

How could you explain that?!

This completely piqued the public’s curiosity.

With a flood of silver spent, the rumors spread throughout the city, causing a huge stir.

Of course, people only spread the mysterious, supernatural parts—they didn’t care much about whether it was an omen or not.

They talked about it in brothels, they talked about it while squatting in the latrine.

The key was that many of the lower-class people actually believed it, because they were the most ignorant and superstitious.

But the middle and upper classes of the capital scoffed at it.