What nonsense about resurrection from the dead—obviously, Henry Clark's family bribed George Washington with a large sum of money, so George Washington tampered with the gallows.

This kind of trick is all too easy: tie a leather belt under the armpits, and the noose has a hidden hook that catches the belt. It looks like the neck is being strangled, but in reality, the force is on the belt under the armpits, so it can't actually hang anyone to death.

That is the real truth.

See, there’s no need for Henry Clark to explain anything; clever people have already given the best answer, even laying out the details clearly and flawlessly.

Even the emperor himself thinks this way; no matter how many times George Washington tries to defend himself, it’s useless.

So, Henry Clark has already passed the hurdle of explaining his resurrection.

Of course, even so, the emperor still wants to kill Henry Clark.

The most critical issue now is how to keep the emperor from killing Henry Clark.

Sister-in-law Grace White, though gnashing her teeth in anger at Henry Clark's lack of ambition, still has no choice but to save him.

She spent more money to bribe Lady Grace's father, Benjamin Howard. According to history, this official should have already died, but a previous transmigrator managed to get him transferred out of Anhui early, so he avoided the blame for defeat and wasn’t dismissed and left to die of illness.

Once again, it was Henry Clark's family spending money to smooth things over. At this time, Benjamin Howard was serving as Vice Minister of the Censorate in the capital. Although he had no real power, he was still a fourth-rank official, barely considered a high-ranking official, and became one of Henry Clark's family's supporters in the bureaucracy.

Lady Grace, after a bout of teeth-gnashing as well, also began to exert her influence in the palace. Of course, she had just suffered a setback because of Henry Clark, so she didn’t dare to act openly now. She tried to get others to mention to the Empress Dowager the rumor that Henry Clark's resurrection was an auspicious omen for the Qing dynasty.

The Empress Dowager was gravely ill at this point, with little time left, and was most willing to believe in such miracles, as if believing in them would let her live a little longer.

Henry Clark's family had another supporter: Thomas Strong of Juelaw.

This official was nothing like a Manchu; he acted entirely like a Han gentry, with outstanding prose and calligraphy.

The reason he often helped Henry Clark was not for money—he didn’t accept any. It was simply because he was the leader of the Aisin Gioro clan, felt protective of his own, and believed it was his duty to look after the younger generation of the clan.

Moreover, the previous transmigrator Henry Clark catered to his tastes, often buying rare calligraphy copybooks as gifts for him.

Lord Thomas Strong was currently acting as Governor of Shandong, a high position but not a substantive one, so he didn’t have much real power.

Even with the support of Benjamin Howard and Thomas Strong, it still wasn’t enough to persuade the emperor not to kill Henry Clark, nor to appease the emperor’s anger.

These two simply didn’t carry enough weight.

So, the two of them sought out someone with enough influence.

Prince Hui of the First Rank, Alice.

After Prince Gong Arthur lost power, no one in the court could stand up to Sushun’s faction except for Prince Howard, who could at least challenge Sushun to some extent.

Prince Howard had nothing else, but he had seniority and high status—he was the emperor’s own uncle.

Prince Howard had no personal ties with Henry Clark's family, so they couldn’t curry favor with him.

But he did have a relationship with Thomas Strong and Benjamin Howard; in Prince Howard’s eyes, these two were his own followers.

The two of them pleaded together and also passed along generous gifts from Henry Clark's family.

So, Prince Howard went to the emperor and said three things.

“Right now in the capital, the rumor of Henry Clark’s resurrection as an auspicious omen for the Qing dynasty is spreading everywhere—everyone knows about it. Though it’s absurd and unbelievable, many commoners believe it. If Your Majesty kills him, I fear it would be inauspicious.”

This first statement scratched the surface, but was far from enough.

“In reality, it’s likely that George Washington accepted a bribe, which is why he didn’t kill Henry Clark. He loudly proclaimed he would kill him, but secretly spared Henry Clark’s life. Now he’s frantically submitting memorials to impeach Henry Clark, urging Your Majesty to kill him.”

With the second statement, the emperor was already wavering.

“What does George Washington mean by this? Is he trying to act like a whore who wants a monument to her chastity? The person he wants dead, he won’t kill himself, but wants Your Majesty to do it. He takes all the benefits, leaves Your Majesty to play the villain, and even lets people spread rumors that Your Majesty only kills his own people.”

This last statement struck directly at the emperor’s heart.

And these three statements were specially crafted by Henry Clark for the emperor, passed along layer by layer, and finally delivered to the emperor by Prince Howard.

Sure enough, it hit the mark.

Ever since George Washington learned that Henry Clark was still alive, he had been utterly shocked, unable to believe it.

He, along with Edward Tate and James Sullivan, had witnessed Henry Clark’s death with their own eyes that day, and several coroners had confirmed it.

Afterward, George Washington led Edward Tate and the others in frantically submitting memorials, impeaching Henry Clark for his crimes.

The meaning was very clear: they wanted the emperor to execute Henry Clark.

At this time, there was a thick stack of memorials in front of Xianfeng, all impeaching Henry Clark and demanding his execution.

Thinking about it, it was truly laughable.

George Washington, you hypocrite, what do you take me for?

You take the benefits, and I play the villain? Am I your executioner?

Then, when the emperor went to visit the gravely ill Empress Dowager, she also brought up the rumor that Henry Clark’s resurrection was an auspicious omen for the Qing dynasty. Although she repeatedly said the rumors were not credible, her eyes were full of hope.

Thus, the emperor finally made up his mind.

……

Along the way, Henry Clark kept his whereabouts hidden, fearing assassination by George Washington, and also trying to avoid being captured by agents sent by the emperor.