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(Today's First Update ~)
Chapter 353 "Electing the Patriarch"
In the early spring of Year 963 of the Empire, the Roland Plains were filled with black flags. All of the Roland Clan's flags were replaced with black to mourn the passing of the previous clan leader, Earl Raymond.
Earl Raymond's funeral was not grand. According to the tradition of the Rollin Family, behind the Rollin Castle was a valley. Behind the valley was a cemetery where all the deceased patriarchs were buried.
Earl Raymond's death brought a trace of haze to the originally celebratory atmosphere of the Rowling Plains, which was originally immersed in restoring the family's glory.
On the day of the funeral, the Countess cried until she fainted. Little Gabri was also crying from beginning to end. Only Du Wei, the eldest son of the Rollin Family, was wearing a black robe. Holding the sword left behind by his father, he was silent from beginning to end. Not even a drop of tear fell from his eyes.
When other people saw the Duke of the Tulip Family, their attitude was somewhat fearful.
Just two days before the funeral, the young Duke ordered a red carpet to be spread from the castle to the cemetery. He also sent hundreds of people to collect tons of flower petals and sprinkled them along the way. He even mobilized the army's honor guard. On the day of the funeral, they lined up on both sides. Wherever the coffin passed, the army's trumpet of triumph was blown.
Everything was not like a funeral at all. Instead, it was like a general's triumphant return.
Although some people felt that the way the young master organized the funeral was somewhat inappropriate. But Du Wei did not care. He was just somewhat crazy to use this kind of behavior to make up for the grief he felt for his father.
In the Imperial Capital, Prime Minister Robscher, Minister of Finance Munoz, and even Count Biliaibuer sent messengers to mourn. Du Wei acted like a real patriarch. He received the messengers one by one and expressed his gratitude. His performance was very mature, even somewhat cold.
Then, on the night of the funeral, Du Wei once again locked himself in the castle's study. Holding his father's sword, he walked in.
In the study, on the wall where the oil paintings were hanging, there was an additional oil painting of Earl Raymond. In the painting, Earl Raymond was wearing a full suit of armor and was in high spirits. Du Wei sat quietly in the study for the whole night. Nobody knew what this young Duke was doing in the study. After dawn, Du Wei walked out of the study and went to visit his mother.
The death of the Count caused the Countess's body to have some problems. This beautiful mother, under the pain, did not have the appetite to eat or drink. Du Wei did his best and even served his mother personally. This kind-hearted woman seemed to know that she couldn't add too much burden to her son at this moment, so no matter how sad she was, she tried her best to appear calm.
After Du Wei visited his mother in the morning, he immediately called the old butler, Hill, and made a decision.
A Rowling family meeting was held.
The Rowling family is a military family. In addition to the patriarch, Earl Raymond, there are naturally many other members who have held important positions in the family. A family that has been around for hundreds of years naturally has its foundation. In addition to the patriarch who holds the title of Earl, there are also some people in the family who were once officials of the empire, forming a small political clique of the Rowling family. Some held positions in the military, some held positions in the local government, while others held the title of Baron for life. The rest were military officers, local elders, and so on.
After the coup, this political clique was completely eradicated by Prince Son, not a single one was left alive. However, with the passing of the decree, other than Earl Raymond, who was the leader of the rebellion, who was not pardoned, the rest of the people were all restored to their positions, and their titles were also restored.
However, to the outside world, Earl Raymond is no longer the Earl. But within the family, he is still the patriarch. Now that Raymond is dead, it is naturally time to elect a new patriarch of the Rowling family.
This was an old tradition, so no one was surprised when news of a meeting came from Roland's castle. There were even some people who had already prepared for it. There were even some who didn't leave after the funeral and waited in the castle.
The location of the meeting was set in a large hall of the castle. There was a long table large enough to seat dozens of people, and it was already filled with the leaders of the Rowling family.
When Du Wei and his little brother Gabry stood outside the door of the meeting hall, the inside was already boiling with voices. Everyone was arguing endlessly, and their voices were so loud that the ceiling was almost overturned.
Some of these people were shouting, some were cursing, some were sneering, some had evil intentions, and some were ambitious.
In fact, even before Raymond's death, the Rowling family was already restless. Because of the pardon, everyone's title and official position were restored. However, as the patriarch, Raymond's title and official position were not restored. It could be said that in terms of nominal status, Raymond was actually the lowest. It could even be said that he was a "commoner", and it was only by relying on his former prestige that he was barely able to suppress the heads of the clan.
But with Raymond's death, many people in the family began to be ambitious. After the Rowling family was restored, some people saw an opportunity!
After Raymond's death, according to tradition, the first successor was naturally Du Wei, who was already an adult. But Du Wei had publicly left the Rowling family, changed his surname to Rudolph, and was conferred the title of Duke of the Tulip Family. Therefore, it was impossible for him to inherit the title of Earl.
And the second successor was naturally Gabry. In fact, the royal family had already determined that Gabry would be the successor. But the problem was that Gabry was only eleven years old. There were still four years until he reached adulthood. Before he reached adulthood, he could not hold any official position or title. Everything would have to wait until he reached adulthood.
Then, there was a loophole. It was impossible for an eleven-year-old child to become the clan leader. Although Earl Raymond hoped that Du Wei could take on this responsibility, Du Wei was after all an "outsider" in name. It could be said that "Du Wei's name is not legitimate".
When Du Wei walked into the room, he heard a commotion inside. Some people were cursing, and some were slamming the table. The noisy people were divided into two factions. One faction was originally loyal to Raymond and insisted that the young master Gabry should be the patriarch. The other faction was made up of ambitious people. They wanted to elect a new patriarch to take charge of the family's affairs first. Then, after a few years, when the young master Gabry reached adulthood, he would abdicate the position to him.
Du Wei was already prepared for this kind of childish quarrel. He only sneered twice, then patted his brother beside him and softly said: "Gabry, look, these people can't wait to swallow you. Are you afraid?"
Gabry shook his head and looked into Du Wei's eyes. "I am not afraid. Because you are here. "
Du Wei smiled. Then …
Bang!
With a loud sound, the door to the conference room was kicked open by Du Wei. The noisy people inside were startled by the sound and immediately quieted down. Du Wei kicked the door open, then pulled his brother's hand and walked in with large strides.
The two brothers were wearing extremely stylish aristocratic clothes. Long robes, golden belt and fur collar. Du Wei was wearing a pair of white gloves while Gabry was wearing a black robe. One hand holding Du Wei's hand, the other holding a cane – an eleven year old boy holding a cane was undoubtedly somewhat comical.
When the two of them walked past the table, everyone stared at them. Du Wei did not care and walked to the head of the table. Then, he pointed at the seat in the middle of the table, which belonged to the patriarch and said to Gabry: "Sit down."
Gabriel plopped down on the floor. Someone in the surrounding could not help but say: "This … Young Master Gabry, your seat does not seem to be there. Please …"
Gabry did not say anything. Du Wei's eyes immediately turned cold and he fiercely glared at the person who spoke. With this stare, he deliberately used his powerful mental strength as a magician. His powerful mental strength seemed to have substance as it fiercely pierced that person's body. The person who spoke felt a sudden chill in his body, his teeth chattering, and he couldn't continue speaking.
Du-Wei looked at the silent crowd before casually summoning a servant to bring over a chair. Placing the servant next to his brother, he then lightly opened his mouth: "Now, let's elect the patriarch."
After he spoke, no one dared to speak for a long time. After a while, someone finally spoke up: "Your Excellency the Grand Duke of the Tulip Family, the Rowling family's clan assembly is now. You …"
"What about me?" Du Wei asked with an indifferent expression.
"Grand Duke of the Tulip Family, according to tradition, outsiders are not allowed to attend the clan's internal meeting." The person muttered to himself and stared at Du Wei.
(There will be three updates today, and the word count will definitely be in the tens of thousands. This is the first update, there will be more later.)
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