"You!" Edward Carter was choked with anger. "What are you doing?!"

Alice Bennett's voice was so sleepy it was barely audible. "I'm waiting for you... with ill intentions..."

Edward Carter said anxiously, "I'm telling you to go to sleep!"

Alice Bennett shook his head. "If I fall asleep, you'll end up fucking me..."

"Then what exactly are you waiting for?!" Edward Carter blurted out in exasperation, "With the state you're in right now, even if I really wanted to do something, whether you're awake or asleep, could you stop me?! Do I really have to do something to you before you'll give up and go to sleep?!"

Alice Bennett finally got a clear answer, sat up and shouted, "See! You do want to fuck me after all!"

...

"Pfft..." Alice Bennett recalled what had happened before and laughed so hard he choked, handing the bowl of medicine to Steward Harris. "Cough... I won't drink it."

William Harris hesitated, holding the bowl of medicine. After a while, he said, "The night before last, did you come back in the carriage from the Yu Prince's residence?"

Alice Bennett was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

William Harris asked hesitantly, "Did you see the young prince Yu?"

No one else from the Yu family would dare to openly snatch someone off the street in the middle of the night.

"I did." Alice Bennett leaned against the headboard, recalling Edward Carter's sinister "Smile once, and I'll make you cry once," and inexplicably felt a chill down his back. He clicked his tongue. "Compared to when he was young... he's changed a lot."

Chapter 9: Do You Want Your Deed of Sale Back?

William Harris looked at the faint dark circles under Alice Bennett's eyes, wanting to say something, but held back.

Alice Bennett noticed and looked up. "What is it? If you have something to say, just say it."

William Harris couldn't keep things bottled up. He looked down at the half bowl of medicine in his hands and said softly, "If you had just stayed obediently at the Yu Prince's residence back then, you would have had a life of comfort and never wanted for anything. You wouldn't have ended up ruining your health like this..."

Alice Bennett laughed.

"I thought you were going to say something else." Alice Bennett pulled on the fox-fur cloak that Grace Grant had mended for him, unconcerned. "I could have lived well, but they..."

"I was born with a wretched fate, not meant for a good life."

William Harris couldn't bear to hear Alice Bennett talk about himself like that and wanted to argue, but Alice Bennett was least patient with this topic. He got up and said, "Let me ask you something."

William Harris said, "What is it?"

Alice Bennett got out of bed, walked over to the brazier, sat down, and warmed his hands over the fire, speaking casually, "Uncle Yan, how many blood relatives does the prince have left? I mean Prince Ning."

William Harris didn't quite understand. "The prince's blood relatives? Not many, right?"

Prince Ning was born of the imperial family, and his blood relatives were all over the capital. Not to mention those living in the palace, if you traced the connections, you could probably link him to any major noble family.

"I mean... his own family." Alice Bennett's voice lowered. "It's not convenient to come to the capital often, and who knows when the next time will be. I want to wait until I'm better, avoid the crowds, and see if any families are struggling, so I can help them out. Samuel Grant and the others can't show themselves for this, but I can."

William Harris thought that made sense, but after thinking carefully, he really couldn't come up with anyone.

"Are there any relatives left to visit?" William Harris sighed. "The prince's mother's family, the Zhong family, fell into ruin years ago. Back then, it took a lot of effort just to find you, who was already five degrees removed. There really isn't anyone else."

Alice Bennett frowned slightly. "Three or four blood relatives."

In terms of kinship, William Harris was right. Although Alice Bennett also bore the surname Zhong, he had long since been removed from the main family, and he and Prince Ning couldn't even be considered true relatives. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived the disaster back then.

Alice Bennett himself was definitely not one of Prince Ning's three or four blood relatives.

He couldn't get any more information from William Harris, so Alice Bennett sat for a while, but when his legs started to ache, he lay back down.

Alice Bennett's health was much worse than when he was young. Back then, he had endured three months of harsh interrogations in the Ministry of Justice's prison, and after that, he had to constantly outwit Steward Cooper. But no matter how hard or exhausting it was, as long as he got a good night's sleep, he'd be fine. Now, even a minor cold dragged on for six or seven days before he fully recovered.

While Alice Bennett was ill, the Prince of Qian'an's residence closed its doors to guests, telling outsiders only that Prince Qian'an Samuel Grant was sick. Now that he was better, Samuel Grant couldn't keep up the act any longer and had to resume social obligations.

Fortunately, there weren't many people willing to associate with the Prince of Qian'an's residence. Samuel Grant could still manage, and those who didn't dare to deal with them simply avoided it if they could.

"But this one can't be avoided." Alice Bennett had just sent off the eunuch who delivered the imperial summons. "The Empress wants to see Miss tomorrow."

Samuel Grant was on edge, uneasy. "She... why does she want to see Grace?"

"She hasn't met her before and wants to take a look?" Alice Bennett wasn't sure either. "But I just asked the eunuch who delivered the message. It's not just her—the wives and princesses of many princes will be entering the palace tomorrow, as well as noble ladies like Miss. I suppose... it's the end of the year, so they're all being summoned together."

Samuel Grant was worried. "Can we say she's sick?"

"Best not to." Alice Bennett pondered for a moment. "The Empress is thorough. If we claim she's ill, the Empress will most likely send an imperial physician and bestow medicine. When she recovers, will she have to go thank her? And if the Empress remembers her again, will she summon her once more?"

Alice Bennett shook his head. "If she ends up being summoned alone, that's even worse than blending in with the crowd tomorrow. It's fine, I'll take her there myself tomorrow."