After resolving her misunderstanding with Theodore, Bo Li discovered that he was quite a competent bodyguard.
Previously, it had always been Thorn who accompanied her when she went out—Thorn was young, slender, and weak, and with a hood covering his head, he easily attracted the strange gazes of others. But Theodore was different.
Theodore’s brow ridges were high, his nose broad, his jaw wide. His features were primitive and wild. Added to his towering height of two meters forty, when he sat in the driver’s seat, not only did the neighbors refrain from staring at her, even the buzzing whispers of gossip lessened considerably.
An hour earlier, Bo Li had asked a reporter whether he could introduce her to a lawyer—one from a renowned university, but who had bungled a few cases, and was now in desperate need of a trial to prove himself.
The reporter had looked astonished. “How did you know I know just such a person?”
Bo Li shrugged. “I merely asked at random.”
Under the reporter’s direction, Bo Li lifted her skirts and entered a law office.
The office was cramped and stifling, appearing in complete disarray.
When Bo Li stepped inside, she nearly kicked a white porcelain cup—its bottom sticky with brown coffee residue, now sprouting white mold.
At that moment, the desk gave a sudden jolt, startling her.
A man crawled out from beneath it, reeking of alcohol, and received her: “Ah, a lady—a rare guest! May I ask what it is you need from me?”
The man had proper features, and wore a suit lined with red silk. He must once have been a dignified gentleman, but now he looked more like a circus performer.
Bo Li said, “Bob told me you are a very skilled lawyer.”
Bob was the reporter’s name.
“Ah, Bob! I never thought that boy would introduce me any business!” the man said. “One could say that. But I must tell you, I have lost several lawsuits.”
“I know.”
“Oh? Now I’m intrigued.” The man pulled out a chair and sat down. “Then let us get to the point—madam, have you doubts about an elder’s will, or has some scoundrel failed to repay you?”
“No,” Bo Li answered.
“I see!” the man said, rifling through the drawer for cigarettes. “You want me to help draft a contract? What kind of contract might that be?”
“None of those,” Bo Li also sat down. “I came to ask you to help me sue three gentlemen.”
The man’s hand stilled mid-search, and the careless look on his face vanished.
He studied Bo Li for a moment, then stood, straightened his crooked tie, wiped his palms against his trousers, and extended a hand to her. “So you are Miss Claremont, the lady at the heart of all the recent talk of the town. A pleasure to meet you.”
The man’s name was Rivers, a New Orleanian who had once practiced law at a prestigious firm in New York. Later, after losing several cases, he was forced to leave New York and return to his hometown.
He had intended to make a fresh start in New Orleans, but soon discovered that there was hardly any place for a lawyer here. At most, people came to him to draft a will, or to resolve petty matters like plants growing into another’s yard.
The locals valued face above all else; they would never lightly press for debts, much less hire a lawyer to do so. Thus, after Rivers returned to New Orleans, though he still looked outwardly like a polished attorney, in truth he was no different from an idle drifter.
Rivers had long since seen in the newspapers Bo Li’s quarrel with those three gentlemen, but he had never imagined she would actually bring a lawsuit against them.
—For a woman to quarrel with men in the papers was already shocking enough; how could she possibly sue them?
Who would have thought Bo Li to be such a singular woman—not only publicly quarreling with the three gentlemen, but also suing them for infringing upon her right to reputation.
Rivers had handled many cases, and with one glance he knew this was a certain victory.
The American legal system originated from Britain’s common law. Judges made their rulings primarily according to historical precedents and social custom.
For a woman to sue a man for the right to reputation was utterly unheard of. Needless to say, there were no precedents; the ruling would therefore rest primarily upon social custom.
Bo Li had indeed violated certain social conventions—she wore trousers, cut her hair short, and conducted business.
But none of these justified the gentlemen gossiping about her behind her back, or even openly insulting her in the newspapers.
All the more so as New Orleans, situated in the American South, was famed for its code of chivalry.
And the most essential point of chivalry was that men must respect women.
If a woman suffered harassment or slander, men were obliged to step forth and act with righteous courage.
Yet Mitt, Wright, and Davis, as renowned local gentlemen, had actually chosen to openly censure Bo Li’s conduct in the press.
After Bo Li pointed out that their words violated Southern chivalry, they remained unrepentant, and even continued to slander her.
On this point alone, Rivers had confidence in certain victory.
Bo Li handed him that day’s newspaper. “And this—does it count as slander?”
Rivers took it, scanned it swiftly, and replied, “Of course it does. This is outright defamation—he has no evidence whatsoever to prove that it was your performance that caused Mitt to be possessed.”
“Then can this report also serve as evidence that the words of those three gentlemen have harmed my reputation?”
“It can, it can indeed.” Rivers’ eyes gleamed with excitement. “It is not as though there have been no cases of women suing men, but concerning the right to reputation—this is the first! Miss Claremont, I am willing to take your case free of charge, so long as you agree to make the details public in the newspapers.”
But Bo Li did not immediately agree. “Mr. Rivers, this bargain seems somewhat unfair.”
“How is it unfair?” Rivers was taken aback.
“America follows common law,” she began, startling him at once. “In the common law system, a first case always carries epoch-making influence.”
“If we win, all future similar cases will cite our precedent in judgment, and your name will be repeatedly mentioned in legal circles. Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, yet the condition you offer me is merely to waive my fee?”
Rivers had not expected Bo Li to have studied law.
He scratched his head. “Then what do you want? Money? Bonds? Property? When I worked in New York I saved quite a bit… Name your price, I’ll see if I have enough. If not, I’ll borrow from friends.”
“I do not want money,” said Bo Li.
“That makes it difficult.” Rivers drew in a sharp breath. “Miss Claremont, as you can see, this place is in disarray, and I have had no business for weeks. If you desire something else—say, entry into some distinguished social circle, or for me to introduce you to a great personage—I fear I cannot oblige.”
“You are overthinking it.” Bo Li laughed softly. “What I want is you—I wish to invite you to become my chief lawyer.”
Rivers froze, then promptly agreed.
The two of them struck a swift accord.
Rivers would be responsible for gathering evidence, finding witnesses, and drafting defense speeches.
Bo Li, based on the list of witnesses he unearthed, would one by one draw them close, while simultaneously using the newspapers to build momentum for her lawsuit.
His office stank intolerably, and after visiting twice, Bo Li refused to return. She had him move into the villa instead.
Thus, the circus household gained yet another member.
Rivers soon discovered that the article “The Circus Performance That Drove Gentlemen Mad” had been penned by the manager of a certain theater troupe in New Orleans.
This made the probability of victory all the greater.
The identity of the theater manager itself showed that he was in no position to judge Bo Li’s character and performance from an objective standpoint.
Even had he not been a man of the same trade, as a man, he should not have so openly defamed a lady.
But men all believed women to be naïve and innocent, frail and helpless.
If, as a man, one failed in business against a woman, that was one thing—but to profit by slandering women was utterly base.
Amidst a constant buzz of talk, Bo Li’s circus formally opened.
Gentlemen driven mad, questions of safety, the very first lawsuit of a woman suing men for the right to reputation… No matter how people viewed Bo Li, whether their judgment of her was good or bad, she and her circus had become fixtures in the press.
Many wives and young ladies privately swore they would never so much as glance at Bo Li’s performance, and should they meet her on the street, they would not greet her.
Yet on the day of the opening, they still came—for Bo Li had spread the word that she would set up two ranking boards outside the tavern: one for individuals, and one for families.
The passing times of family members could be accumulated. In other words, the ranking did not merely symbolize the wealth of a family—the circus performance cost five dollars each time—but also symbolized their courage.
At present, Davis’s family lay at the bottom. Though Wright and Davis had staggered out of the tavern together, because Davis had stepped out first, he was condemned to the lowest rank on the board.
Many fellow theater troupes also came to gawk, convinced that Bo Li’s performance was bound to end in loss.
—Setting aside a woman’s ability, just the form of her performance—how could it possibly be more profitable than a theater?
How many patrons could a theater seat at once?
And how many could her tavern accommodate in a single performance?
To their surprise, Bo Li had actually shortened the performance time, and even devised a ranking system.
At the same time, because the performance venue was a tavern, she could sell admission tickets while also selling drinks and snacks.
The crowds who had come to watch the spectacle found themselves first drawn not by the spectacle itself, but by the rich aroma of baked potatoes, skewered lamb, and Mexican tortillas.
Her competitors watched Bo Li raking in money, their eyes red with envy.
The theater managers even wished they could hire a hundred writers to smear Bo Li’s performance and food in the tabloids, but remembering the uproar over her recent lawsuit, they could only grit their teeth and curse her in whispers.
Bo Li paid no heed to those envious gazes. She was so overwhelmed with accounts that her scalp tingled, and she longed to drag Erik out of the haunted house to help her reckon them.
Fortunately, her phone had a calculator function, so when she checked the accounts at night, she could simply tally them on it.
Otherwise, she truly felt she might dash her head against the ledger in despair.
After the first day’s performance, Bo Li roughly estimated the revenue.
Without deducting costs, she had earned one hundred dollars in a single day.
This was an astonishing figure—many clerks made but ten dollars in a week.
Of course, it being the first day, there had been much repeated income.
For instance, a certain gentleman who bore a grudge against Mitt—after being frightened out in three minutes—went back in five or six more times, and finally, before his nerves completely collapsed, managed to surpass Mitt’s ranking.
Bo Li was deeply astonished, regretting greatly that this era had no large screens. Otherwise, she would certainly have placed the names of this prodigal patron and Mitt side by side, looping them endlessly to provide him with abundant emotional value.
Then she thought again—perhaps it was not impossible. She would ask Erik later if it could be done.
During this period, she spent her days supervising the actors’ rehearsals, and her nights discussing the case with Rivers, scarcely exchanging a word with Erik.
Bo Li admitted, there was some deliberateness in this.
At times, she had clearly finished her work, idle enough to be playing on her phone.
Yet when Erik stepped into her bedroom, she would still wave him off without lifting her head, saying she was busy.
With his piercing insight, of course he could tell whether she was lying.
After a few such instances, she could sense that more than once, he had wanted to close in on her, to interrogate her on what she was really doing.
But in the end, he restrained that impulse.
Bo Li felt that one more time, and he might not be able to restrain himself.
Only, his control over his emotions was formidable.
Bo Li could not imagine what else might stir his composure—for these past days, she had grown close with Theodore, Rivers, and others, yet he had shown little reaction. So, she had set the matter aside.
Now, with the premiere over, she could at last breathe a sigh of relief, and go to reconnect with him properly.
When the crowd of onlookers dispersed, Bo Li lifted her skirts and ran upstairs—only to find that the one operating the mechanisms was not Erik at all, but Thorn.
Thorn had always harbored some aversion to performing, and Bo Li did not force him. She arranged for him to handle backstage tasks instead, and had Erik teach him how to control the devices.
Erik had no objection.
His attitude toward Thorn was not unkind, but he had still frightened Thorn to tears more than once.
Once, if not for Bo Li stepping in to stop him, he had nearly hypnotized Thorn, wishing to force the process in a single step.
Alas, Bo Li could only restrain him for the moment, not for a lifetime.
While she had been occupied discussing the case with Rivers, Erik had already forced knowledge directly into Thorn’s mind.
When Thorn awoke, he remembered clearly how to operate the mechanisms, but at the mere mention of Erik’s name, his face would blanch and his body tremble.
From then on, Bo Li dared not entrust Erik with teaching duties again.
Yet the effect of hypnosis was rather satisfactory.
At least for the entire day, Bo Li had assumed it was Erik managing the devices backstage.
She praised Thorn for his work behind the scenes, then asked, “And where is your teacher?”
It was Thorn’s first time managing alone, and he was rather excited, his cheeks flushed. “He went back.”
“Back where?”
“To the villa,” Thorn replied.
Bo Li was puzzled.
Erik did not live with them—what was he going back to the villa for?
She thought no more of it, merely gave Mrs. Freeman a sum of money, and asked her to take them out to dine lavishly at a restaurant.
On that day of the premiere, Rivers was also present.
He had intended to return to the villa together with Bo Li, but she caught him by the collar and handed him over to Madam Freeman. “Take him along too, let him have something good to eat.”
Theodore asked in a low voice, “And you?”
“I’ve something to attend to at the villa.” Bo Li put on her wide-brimmed hat, tied the ribbon beneath her chin, and seated herself in the light carriage. “Go on, remember to enjoy yourselves—we’ve made quite a fortune today!”
After bidding everyone farewell, Bo Li flicked the reins, turning the carriage back toward the villa.
She felt no sense of danger, only curiosity—why had Erik chosen to return to the villa today of all days?
Her bedroom, he had always entered at will.
Her belongings, he had always examined as he pleased.
It could not be that today, he had suddenly realized such conduct was immoral, and decided to avoid her?
Bo Li’s heart thudded violently, her palms damp with heated sweat. A tension like opening a blind box welled within her—could it be that he had finally been driven to the edge of forbearance, and was about to confront her openly?
She quickened the carriage’s pace.
Whatever awaited her, she looked forward to it with fervent anticipation.