In the early spring of the nine hundred and sixty-third year of the Empire, black flags were everywhere in the Luolin Plain. The flags of the Luolin clan in all towns were all changed to black to express condolences for the former clan leader, Count Raymond, who passed away due to illness.
Earl Raymond's funeral was not grand. According to the tradition of the Luo Lin family, there is a valley behind Luo Lin Castle. Behind the valley is a cemetery where the dead patriarchs of the past generations are buried here.
The death of Count Raymond brought a touch of gloom to the festive atmosphere of Luolin Plain, which was originally immersed in restoring family glory.
On the day of the funeral, the countess fainted from crying, and little Gabriel cried bitterly from beginning to end. But Duwei, the eldest son of the Luo Lin family, was the only one dressed in black, holding the sword left by his father.
Always silent, but not a single tear shed.
When other people saw the Tulip Duke, they were a little afraid.
Just two days before the funeral, the young Duke ordered a red carpet to be laid from the castle to the cemetery on the back hill. He also sent hundreds of people to collect tons of flower petals and scatter them along the way. He even mobilized
On the day of the funeral, the honor guard in the army lined up on both sides of the coffin and played the triumphal horn of the army wherever the coffin went.
Everything didn't look like a funeral at all, but like a general's triumphant return.
Although some people felt that it was inappropriate for the young master to organize the funeral in this way, Du Wei didn't care. He just used this kind of crazy behavior to make up for the grief he felt for his father.
In the imperial capital, the old Prime Minister Robschel, the Minister of Finance Munez, and even the Earl of Villa and other families sent envoys to express their condolences. Du Wei behaved as if he were a real family head and treated the envoys from all sides.
When he expressed his gratitude for the interview, he acted very maturely, even a little indifferent.
And then, on the night after the funeral, Du Wei locked himself in the study room in the castle again, and walked in holding his father's sword.
In the study room, where the oil paintings hung on the wall, there was an oil painting of old Count Raymond at the end. In the painting, Count Raymond was wearing military uniform and armor, and he was high-spirited. Du Wei sat quietly in the study all night
, no one knew what the young Duke was doing in the study. It wasn't until after dawn that Du Wei walked out of the study and went to visit his mother first.
The count's death caused some health problems for the countess. This beautiful mother was so sad that she didn't even think about food or food. Du Wei tried his best and even served his mother with his own hands. This kind woman seemed to know that.
, she could not add too much burden to her son at the moment, so no matter how sad she felt in her heart, she tried her best to appear calm.
After Du Wei visited his mother in the morning, he immediately called the old housekeeper Hill. Then he made a decision:
A meeting of the Luo Lin family was held.
The Luo Lin family is a family of martial arts. In addition to the patriarch, Earl Raymond, there are naturally many other clan members who have held important positions in the past. The family has been in the family for hundreds of years, and it naturally has its foundation. In addition to the patriarch who holds the title of earl,
In addition, there are some people in the family who originally served as imperial officials, forming a small political group of the Luo Lin family. Some are in military positions, some are in local positions, and there are five or six others who have
In terms of knighthoods, two are barons for life, and the rest include some officers in the army, local elders, etc.
After the coup, this political group had been completely eradicated by Prince Chen, leaving no one behind. However, with the pardon order, except for Count Raymond, who was the rebellious leader of the coup, and was not absolved, all the others were exonerated.
The officials were reinstated and their titles were restored.
However, to the outside world, Raymond is no longer an earl. But within the family, he is still the patriarch. Now that Raymond is dead, it is natural to elect a new patriarch Luo Lin.
This is an old tradition. So when the news of the meeting came out in Luolin Castle, no one was surprised. Some people were even prepared for it long ago. Some people simply did not leave after the funeral and were waiting in the castle.
inside.
The location of the clan meeting was in a hall of the castle. A long table long enough to seat dozens of people was already filled with leading figures from each branch of the contemporary Luo Lin family.
When Du Wei and his younger brother Gabri stood outside the conference hall, the crowd was already buzzing inside. Everyone was already arguing, and the sound almost knocked down the ceiling.
Some of these people were making loud noises, some were yelling, some were sneering, some had ulterior motives, and some were ambitious.
In fact, before Raymond's death, there was already some restlessness within the Luo Lin family. Because of the pardon order, everyone had their titles and official positions restored, but as the clan leader, Raymond's own titles and official positions were not restored.
It can be said that in terms of nominal status, the patriarch of the clan, Raymond, is actually the lowest, and can even be said to be a "white body". He can barely control the heads of these clans by relying on his past majesty.
As soon as Raymond died, many people in the clan immediately became ambitious. After the Luo Lin family recovered, some people saw opportunities!
After Raymond's death, according to tradition, the first heir was naturally Du Wei, the eldest son who had grown up. However, Du Wei had publicly separated from the Luo Lin family, changed his surname to Rudolf, and was named Tulip Duke. Therefore, it was impossible for him to inherit.
The title of earl.
The second heir is naturally Gabri. In fact, the royal family has determined that the heir to the earl is Gabri. But the problem is that Gabri is only eleven years old now, and there are still four years until he reaches adulthood. Before he reaches adulthood, he cannot
Anyone who holds any official position or title must wait until he reaches adulthood.
Then, there is a loophole. It is impossible for a child who is only eleven years old to serve as the leader of the clan. Although Count Raymond hoped that Du Wei could take on this responsibility during his lifetime, Du Wei officially
, is already an "outsider", and can be said to be "unjustified".
When Du Wei walked into the room, he heard a lot of noise inside, with some people shouting and cursing, and others banging the table. The noisy people were divided into two groups. One group was the direct lineage that was originally loyal to Raymond and insisted that he should be allowed to leave.
The young master Gabri serves as the clan leader, while the other faction is composed of some ambitious guys. They advocate the election of a new clan leader to take charge of the affairs of the clan first, and then give way to him after a few years when young master Gabri reaches adulthood.
Du Wei was already prepared for this kind of childish noise. He just sneered twice, then patted his brother beside him and said softly: "Gabri, look at it, these people are eager to swallow you up."
Well, are you afraid?"
Gabri shook his head and looked into Du Wei's eyes: "I'm not afraid. Because you are here."
Du Wei smiled, and then...
Bang!
With a loud noise, Du Wei kicked the door of the conference hall open. The people arguing inside were startled by the sound and suddenly became quiet. Du Wei kicked the door open and pulled his brother's hand.
Holding his hand, he strode in with great strides.
Both brothers wore extremely elegant aristocratic costumes, long robes, golden belts, and fur collars. Du Wei also wore a pair of snow-white gloves, and Gabri wore a black robe, holding Du Wei's hand with one hand.
His hand is holding a cane in one hand. It is undoubtedly a bit funny for an eleven-year-old boy to hold a cane.
When the two of them walked past the table, everyone was staring at them, but Du Wei didn't care. He walked to the top of the long table, then pointed to the special position in the middle of the table that belonged to the patriarch, and said to Gabri:
"sit down."
Gabri just sat down. Someone around him couldn't help but said: "This... Master Gabri, your seat doesn't seem to be there, please..."
Gabri didn't say anything. Duwei's eyes immediately turned sharp and he glared hard at the guy who spoke. With this glare, he deliberately used his strong mental power as a magician. His strong mental power seemed to have substance.
, stabbed the person hard, and the person who spoke felt a sudden chill in his body, his teeth chattered, and he could no longer speak.
Du Wei looked at the silent crowd, then summoned a servant, brought a chair over, sat down next to his younger brother, and then said calmly: "Now, choose the clan leader."
After he opened his mouth, no one dared to speak for a long time. After a while, someone finally spoke: "Your Excellency, Grand Duke Tulip, this is the Luo Lin family clan association. You..."
"What am I?" Du Wei asked with a cold face.
"Grand Duke Tulip, according to tradition, outsiders are not allowed to attend meetings within the clan." The man pondered for a moment and stared at Du Wei.