Gwen met the prince in the reception room. At the same time, Rebecca, who had been dragged along by Gwen to see the world, was also present.
Edmund Moen, the most valued son of the current Ansu King, Francis II. Gwen did not know this prince before, but for this trip to the Captical, he had specially looked for Heti and Viscount Andrew to cram a lot of knowledge about the contemporary royal family, so he knew a lot about the contemporary royal family.
Francis II was now old, but he had few children. Other than his youngest son, Edmund Moen, he only had a son and a daughter. His eldest son, Wales, was extremely mediocre, and he was weak and not good at scheming. For a long time, he had been the old king's sore spot. However, the old king only had this one son in the first half of his life, so Wales had been appointed as the crown prince for seventeen years. Later, Francis II had a son in his old age, and a favorite concubine suddenly gave birth to a pair of twins for him. They were Princess Veronica Moen and Prince Edmund Moen.
Compared to the mediocre eldest son, Wales, the twins could be said to have been born out of nowhere. At a very young age, they showed outstanding talent. Whether it was in martial arts or wisdom, they were highly praised by their court teachers. The old king, who had been worried about the issue of his successor, was saved. Almost without hesitation, he removed his eldest son's status as the crown prince and prepared to transfer the right of succession to his new children.
No one in the court had any objections to this. Even the Prince of Wales accepted this arrangement calmly.
The succession of the Ansu throne was not limited to men or women, but in the end, the position of crown prince still fell on Edmund Moen. It was not because of the old king's arrangement, but because Princess Veronica had voluntarily renounced her right of succession to the throne before the new crown prince was announced. She had converted to the Church of Holy Light and become a nun in the Radiance Church (now a senior priestess). This was obviously the result of pre-arrangement. The old king naturally sent his blessings to his daughter and sent her to the Church. Then, he appointed Edmund as the crown prince. Thus, the succession of the Ansu royal family was completed smoothly.
Many people believed that Princess Veronica's' conversion 'was actually a move by the royal family. Through this method, the Ansu king had placed high-ranking members of the royal family in the Church of Holy Light, which had its own system. Moreover, a princess who renounced her right of succession to the throne and devoted herself to the God of Holy Light was indeed a figure that the church could not refuse — both in the sense of symbolism and benefits. But at the same time, there were opposing views. They believed that this was a sign of the Church of Holy Light's increasing influence and erosion of the royal family.
There were many people who held both views, but in Gwen's view, they were probably strategic dupes. After all, they were just talking nonsense …
Gwen was not interested in the division of interests behind these stories of the royal family. Or rather, he had not reached the point where he could think about the division of interests, so he just focused on the young man in front of him.
Edmund Moen was a very handsome man. At the same time, he had a heroic temperament and a calm, scholarly temperament. His manners were textbook standard. After greeting him, Gwen muttered to Rebecca, "Did you see that? Learn from him. Don't just think about throwing fireballs at people all day long."
Rebecca wanted to remind the old ancestor that he was the one who had urged her to throw fireballs at people, but she did not dare to say anything for fear of being beaten up.
Edmund had a thoughtful smile on his face. "I hope you can get used to living here. If the attendants and maids are not doing their job well, you can directly tell Steward James."
"Don't worry, there's nothing I can get used to more than living in my own home." Gwen sat down on the high-back chair. "You have maintained this place well. It's basically the same as it was 700 years ago. You have even restored my favorite tea set. You're really good. Sit, make yourself at home. "
"Maintaining the former residence of a hero is to protect our glory," Edmund said with curiosity and respect. "I'm not afraid that you will laugh at me. I grew up listening to your story. I even kept a set of replicas of your weapons and armor in my room, dreaming that one day I could expand the territory and protect the people like you did. Unfortunately, no matter the crown prince or the king, it's impossible to live so casually."
Gwen looked the prince up and down several times until the latter moved uncomfortably and said, "Is there anything wrong with me?"
"Don't talk to me like I'm an old-fashioned old man." Gwen waved his hand. "I've been dead for 700 years, but I was only 35 years old when I died. I'm not much older than you."
Edmund looked a little embarrassed. "Err, you're right. I can't help but add the 700 years to your age."
"There's definitely a 700-year generation gap," Gawain said with a smile. "For example, we were much more straightforward than modern people when we spoke. We only needed to fight or drink to get to the point. Modern people, on the other hand, have to exchange pleasantries for a long time."
Edmund was stunned for a moment and then smiled as if relieved. "I knew it. You won't be as difficult to deal with as my father thinks. He has been telling me to pay attention to etiquette for a long time. I have told him that talking too much will annoy people."
"You see, I like this way of talking." Gwen nodded. "Then let's get straight to the point. Are you here today to sound me out?"
"… You're a little too straightforward."
"The ancients are all straightforward." Gwen waved his hand. He thought that those guys who had been dead for hundreds of years would not jump out of their graves to beat him up. At least in human society, he was the only one who could casually make up the ancients. "So you don't have to hide it. Your father sent you here to find out what I'm going to do when I suddenly jumped out of my grave, right?"
Edmund shrugged. "This is not my father's intention. He's very cautious. Even if he wanted to know your purpose, he wouldn't do such a reckless thing as sending me to ask directly. This is my own idea. And I'm … really curious about your purpose. "
Gwen motioned for Edmund to continue.
"You've been awake for a long time. You must know that a lot of things have changed in the past 700 years, especially … the changes a hundred years ago," Edmund said, glancing at Rebecca. "Are you here for the benefit of the Cecil family?"
"This question is too general. I'm sure I'm here for the benefit of the Cecil family. But what's the point?" Gwen glanced at the prince. "From my point of view, I can ask for a lot of things. The most direct one is the Cecil family's hereditary dukedom and fief in the Southern Territory. That's a big point of discussion, isn't it?"
Edmund was stunned, as if he was not sure whether Gwen was serious or not. But he still forced a smile and replied, "Your title and fief have been inherited by your descendants after your death. Then your descendants have violated the kingdom's law and are unable to continue to keep their title and fief. All of this is within the framework of the kingdom's law …"
Gwen adjusted his posture, leaned closer to Edmund, and said with a faint smile, "Yes, according to the kingdom's law, but according to the law, my heirs can only fully inherit my title and fief after my death. But when I'm alive, only my eldest son has the title of nobility, and has limited 'legal right of substitution' (Note). All of Cecil's heirs, except for the eldest son, are only nobles and do not have any legal right. Obviously, I'm alive now, and there's no provision in the Ansu law that says how a person who comes back from the dead should define when his right of inheritance takes effect and when it expires, and how to define the contradiction between the period when it's in effect and when it expires."
(Legal right of substitution, in Ansu law, refers to the right of a qualified noble's heirs to act in the name of the family, enjoy the corresponding privileges, and bear the corresponding risks and responsibilities.)
Edmund: "?!"
Gwen spread out his hands. "So the first step is not valid. The inheritance is invalid. A hundred years ago, Grumman should not have been a marquis, nor should he have any legal right of substitution for the Cecil family. You just took away something that was not in the hands of a person who did not have the right of inheritance."
Rebecca stared at her ancestor, stunned. She never thought that there would be such a step. Amber, who was eavesdropping in the room next door, turned to look at Byron and Knight. "That's amazing. They're even more shameless than me!"
Prince Edmund, who was standing in front of Gwen, was on the verge of breaking down. The corners of his mouth twitched. After a while, he said, "But who would have thought that you would suddenly come back to life … Besides, you did die once."
"So, when you talk to me, put aside the logic and laws. They were invalid when I opened the coffin." Gwen laughed. "Of course, I'm not here for the fiefs that have been taken away and the titles of my descendants. I know what that wastrel did a hundred years ago. If I were him, I would have killed him. The royal family's judgment is not wrong, and I don't intend to overturn it. I just want you to know that if I really want to discuss the inheritance interests of the Cecil family with you using the words of the Kingdom's Code of Law, there are too many tricks to be pulled. After all, a lot of the provisions of the inheritance rights revolve around my death. "
"Okay, okay, I understand." Edmund raised his hand in surrender. "You just said that people seven hundred years ago were straightforward and not good at beating around the bush. But now it seems that you're more difficult to deal with than my debate tutor."
"I've not only lived through the barbaric era of Ansu, but also the heyday of the Kingdom of Gondor. So don't underestimate the ancients seven hundred years ago." Gwen curled his lips. "When we were barbaric, we could eat raw meat and drink blood. When we were elegant, we could give a red wine 36 names, and each name was accompanied by a sonnet."
"… That's really something." Edmund was convinced. "Then, can we talk in detail about what you're going to talk to my father at noon tomorrow?"
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