“When the Princess Consort of Ning gave birth to those dragon-phoenix twins, she passed away, leaving behind a ten-year-old eldest son and a pair of two-year-old twins. The three young masters lived in constant fear. If Lord Howard really did defect to the enemy, then these children…”

The guest’s heart tightened as well. “They would be implicated too, wouldn’t they?”

“His Majesty is merciful. He suppressed the rumors and did not vent his anger on Lord Howard’s three young children.” The shopkeeper smiled calmly. “Not only that, he even made an exception and allowed the just-turned-ten-year-old Heir Howard to inherit the title at the same rank, which was quite a favor.”

The shopkeeper looked outside and said, “The prince living in this The Warren Residence now is that very Heir Howard from back then, along with his twin younger siblings.”

The guest was confused again and hesitated, “You just said that Heir Howard inherited the title at the same rank, so he should be Prince Howard. But this is clearly a commandery prince’s residence…”

“Hahahaha, that’s because not long after the prince arrived here, he petitioned His Majesty, saying he was unworthy and untalented, unable to bear the emperor’s favor, and voluntarily requested to be demoted to commandery prince.”

“As the commandery prince, with our Qian’an as his fief, he naturally became Prince Warren. It’s been seven years since then, and Prince Warren has lived here in peace and safety.”

The guest thought for a moment, then understood and sighed, “Prince Warren is young, but clever and perceptive, knowing when to advance and retreat…”

The shopkeeper shook his head with a smile. “That’s not quite right.”

The guest was puzzled. The shopkeeper slowly said, “Prince Warren is indeed naturally intelligent, but he was so young at the time—how could he have understood all this?”

“That’s true.” The guest calculated the time. “Prince Warren was only eleven or twelve then, how could he have…”

The shopkeeper said, “The one who protected the prince and his twin siblings was actually someone else in their household…”

The guest hurriedly asked who it was. The shopkeeper gave a mysterious smile. “I don’t need to say more—surely you’ve heard of this person.”

The guest chuckled, “I’ve just arrived here, how would I know…”

“Alice Bennett.” The shopkeeper smiled. “Have you heard of him?”

The guest’s eyes widened slowly. He slapped the table and exclaimed excitedly, “Famous throughout the imperial city! Renowned across Jiangnan! Is it that very Alice Bennett whom Young Lord Carter has longed for in vain and thought of obsessively for years? Who in the world hasn’t heard of him!”

Chapter 2: Unless necessary, you must not see him.

Alice Bennett sneezed.

“It’s autumn now, has Young Master Bennett caught a chill?”

In the main hall, the local county magistrate was being especially attentive. “Young Master Bennett works so hard for the affairs inside and outside the residence every day. You must take care of yourself and not be negligent. People eat grains and cereals—how can they not fall ill? I still remember when Young Master Bennett first came to Qian’an, you were unaccustomed to the water and soil and were sick for a whole year. Now the autumn equinox has passed, and the cold dew is approaching…”

The magistrate rambled on about the ways of health preservation. Alice Bennett couldn’t help but let his mind wander, but outwardly he remained very polite, nodding continuously. Only after half a stick of incense’s time did Alice Bennett finally realize what the magistrate was getting at.

“Though I have served outside for a long time and cannot enter the capital, I have heard much of Young Lord Carter’s many charms and admire him greatly. I hope that if I ever enter the capital, I might pay him a visit and not have lived in vain.” The magistrate smiled carefully and continued, “I heard that the prefect once brought Young Master Bennett’s token and was able to meet Young Lord Carter…”

Alice Bennett drifted off again.

When he first arrived in the southern frontier, life at the prince’s residence was very hard.

Anyone with eyes could see that the emperor had sent Lord Howard’s three children to this barren land to fend for themselves. It was already good if the local officials didn’t come to pay respects; some were even more scheming and vicious, trying to curry favor with those in the capital who wished for the siblings’ demise. Alice Bennett himself was only in his teens at the time, and it was truly difficult to protect the tottering prince’s household.

Alice Bennett had received great kindness from Lord Howard, so he had no choice but to find a way to protect the orphaned children of his former master. First, he returned Lord Howard’s title on behalf of young master Samuel Grant, slightly easing the emperor’s suspicions. But that only bought them their lives for the time being. The southern frontier was already impoverished—if they couldn’t establish themselves here, they might not even be able to secure their allotted food. Alice Bennett couldn’t let the people in the residence starve; that would be too shameful.

Back then, Alice Bennett had served as a study companion to Samuel Grant, studying together with the other noble children under the Grand Tutor. He could barely claim a bit of schoolmate friendship with Edward CarterYoung Lord Carter. He made up stories, first saying he and Young Lord Carter had grown up together, then claiming Edward Carter had a certain “affection” for him. Later, as Alice Bennett grew bolder, he simply said Edward Carter was deeply devoted to him—though he had longed for him in vain for years, he would still give him anything he wanted.

At that time, Edward Carter was still young and held no real power, but his father was the only non-imperial prince of the current dynasty, and his mother was the emperor’s own sister, Princess Anguo. With such a distinguished background, just mentioning him made others wary.

Because of Lord Howard’s case, Alice Bennett had been implicated and reduced to servitude, bought by Young Lord Carter, and had lived in the side residence of the Yu Prince’s mansion for half a year. So when he made up these stories, he had both witnesses and physical evidence, which managed to fool the country bumpkins of the southern frontier for a while.

After barely gaining a foothold in the south, Alice Bennett then requested on behalf of Samuel Grant to be demoted to commandery prince. Half a year later, the first annual reward from the imperial city finally arrived, and that day was the sixth of the second lunar month—Alice Bennett’s seventeenth birthday.