Chapter 017: The Future

Brandon’s expression changed instantly. Ignoring his status, he threw himself to the ground and cried out, “Young Master Du Fan! I’ve been wronged!”
Du Fan said little, merely smiling coldly.
Xiao Yulong already stood guard beside Du Fan with his sword drawn; if anything went wrong, he would likely strike immediately.
The third young master of the Green family had been in Moduo City for less than a day yet had already suffered two attempts on his life. The latest attempt was clearly linked to Governor Brandon. With a deathly expression, Brandon lay on the ground, cursing Xuelan countless times in his heart.
After a moment, Du Fan sighed softly and said, “Governor, I was too harsh in my words just now. Even if you wanted my life, you wouldn’t resort to such an open attack. If you give the order now, surely these hundreds of guards can turn me into minced meat?”
Brandon trembled and said, “I dare not! I truly dare not!”
Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “It’s not a matter of whether you dare or not, Governor Brandon. You must have many things to attend to right now. What’s the point of just kneeling there? Get up quickly!”
Brandon’s expression improved slightly. He got up from the ground, looked at Du Fan, and said in a low voice, “Young Master Du Fan, rest assured. No matter what happens, I will give you an explanation!”
With that, he turned to glance at the guards and shouted, “What are you waiting for? Seize those girls! I want to interrogate them thoroughly to find out who’s behind this!”
The guards surrounding the girls who were playing the piano responded and drew their swords, surrounding them. The girls, who had just been released, showed resolute expressions upon seeing so many guards approaching. A few guards tried to grab them, but suddenly all of them turned pale, blood trickled from their mouths, and they collapsed.
“Governor…” One guard cautiously stepped forward, opened the girls’ mouths, and reported quickly, “These women all committed suicide by poisoning!”
The hall fell utterly silent. Everyone held their breath, staring at Du Fan, the calm third young master of the Green family.
Du Fan snorted slightly and said, “What clever tactics! Governor Brandon, I suppose I don’t need to tell you what to do next, do I?”

Brandon responded with a nod and immediately shouted, “Someone, seal all the exits and entrances of the city gates right away! Send two teams to that Xuelan’s residence and capture every servant there—alive if possible, or at least their corpses!” A few guard leaders quickly replied and left. Only after all this was done did Brandon turn to Du Fan with a forced smile and say, “Young Master Du Fan, I’m truly sorry. Thankfully, you were blessed and nothing happened. Otherwise, this time… the trouble would have been huge!” Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “What happened last night and today has made it clear that someone doesn’t want me, Du Fan, to leave this northern region alive. Governor Brandon, if you want to clear yourself of suspicion, you’ll need to work harder. Although I know it’s likely not you who did this, if my father thinks so, then not only will your position as governor be at risk, but I’m afraid my father might follow my example and destroy your family—that would be bad… After all, I’ve seen how diligently Governor Brandon has taken care of me today. If anything happens to me because of you, wouldn’t that be embarrassing for you?” Du Fan’s words were a blatant threat—if they couldn’t identify the mastermind behind the attempt on his life, Brandon’s life would be over. Though he was a count with intricate connections to a major family in the capital, in such a situation, even if the Green family destroyed a count’s family, they probably wouldn’t dare speak out against it. Moreover, besides the Green family, Du Fan had the Holy Church backing him—something no ordinary person could afford to provoke. Indeed, upon hearing this, Governor Brandon’s expression changed, but he quickly concealed it and then smiled helplessly, saying, “Young Master Du Fan is right. If we can’t find out who did it, I wouldn’t have the face to continue as governor. This time, I will definitely give you an explanation.” Du Fan simply smiled and said, “An explanation is, of course, the best.” Brandon gave a bitter smile, not knowing what else to say. The atmosphere in the hall became extremely dull. The nobles who stayed to drink looked pale, stuck in an awkward situation—neither able to leave nor stay.

Brandon’s men had already mobilized their forces. The imperial city guards, along with the guards from the governor’s palace, had surrounded it completely to ensure that not even a fly could get in. As for the members of the Temple Knights, after receiving the news, they sent a team of a hundred men to the governor’s palace, claiming to protect the governor and Young Master Du Fan. But under these circumstances, it was obvious that their role was likely to guard against Governor Brandon—otherwise, a much larger force would have arrived. With just a hundred men, if Brandon wanted to cause trouble, they could hold him off for a while. Given the Temple Knights’ formidable strength, they could at least hold out for half a day, after which the rest of the Temple Knights could rush in. But if everyone else arrived and the Holy Temple had no defenders left, plus the Temple Knights being unable to fight effectively in close combat, then the Temple Knights might get trapped in Modu City.

Du Fan understood this, as did Xiao Yulong, and naturally, Governor Brandon did too.

But in such a situation, he didn’t know what to say. He merely gave a faint bitter smile and said nothing more.

After sitting awkwardly for a while, they saw a guard captain rush into the hall. Without even bothering to bow, he leaned close to Brandon’s ear and whispered something.

Brandon’s expression changed instantly. He stood up abruptly and shouted, “What! Is everything you said true!?”

The guard quickly bowed and said, “I would not dare speak falsely!”

Brandon sneered and said, “Good! Very good! Since that’s the case, don’t blame me! Issue orders—immediate martial law from now on. Bring all the troops from the camp here. Search every household. If you can’t find that Xue Lan, you don’t need to come back to see me!”

The guard captain’s face paled, and he said, “Yes!”

But he didn’t dare say more. He didn’t even greet Du Fan before quickly retreating.

After doing all this, Brandon took a few deep breaths before his expression improved slightly. He turned to Du Fan with a weak smile and said, “I’ve embarrassed Young Master Du Fan again.”

Du Fan waved his hand and said, “It’s okay. But what exactly happened?”

Brandon sighed and said, “Just now, my subordinates reported that a huge fire broke out at that Xue Lan’s residence. Dozens of servants inside were burned to death—none survived. Hmph, what a clever tactic. If this matter isn’t investigated thoroughly, even if I, Brandon, jump into the sea, I won’t be able to clear my name!” At this point, Brandon glanced at Du Fan again and said, “Young Master Du Fan, judging from the current situation, the other party must have planned this in advance. I don’t think it can be clarified anytime soon. It’s a shame that such a fine banquet has been ruined like this. Well, I’ll invite you over again once I’ve figured this out. For today, let’s consider this banquet over!” Du Fan nodded slightly and said, “Then let it be that way. Governor, you’ll likely be extremely busy in the coming days, so I won’t disturb you any further. I’ll take my leave now!” Brandon smiled and said, “Then wish Young Master Du Fan a safe journey. I won’t see you off.” With that, Du Fan nodded casually and left with Xiao Yulong. The Temple Knights outside the hall saw them coming out and quickly offered two warhorses… Watching Du Fan’s retreating figure, Governor Brandon suddenly let out a deep sigh and murmured, “I originally wanted to cheer up Young Master Du Fan, but it seems things have become quite troublesome now…” Then, as if remembering something, he shouted, “Someone, bring back all those who have been associated with Xue Lan over the years. Interrogate them one by one thoroughly. I refuse to believe we can’t find any clues.” A guard leader hesitated for a moment before saying, “Governor, but many of those people belong to various families and have some status. If we force our way in, there might be consequences later…” Brandon stepped forward and slapped him hard, shouting angrily, “What do you mean by ‘some status’? What do you mean by ‘consequences later’? What is the Green Family for? What is the Holy Church for? Don’t you understand? Later, later, later… If we succeed in this, we’ll be connected to Young Master Du Fan. Even if it doesn’t go well in the North, we can at least ensure prosperity for three generations! But if we fail, we’ll likely have no future left!”

The blinding sunlight streamed in from outside the hall, falling directly on Brandon’s face. His grotesque smile carried a hint of madness. The head guard suddenly shuddered but didn’t dare say another word and quickly retreated!