Chapter 014: The Imperial City Guard

If the other side had no intention of peace talks, then the prince’s injury would immediately become the perfect excuse for war to break out again between the two nations… In that case, he would become a traitor to his country!
On the other hand, if Du Fan wanted peace talks, he could use his own injury as an excuse to demand generous terms and use this incident to pressure the Gavin Empire, likely causing the empire to suffer heavy losses!
After all, the Gavin Empire was the defeated party. Even if the Pope, the greatest figure on the continent, tried to mediate, the Gavin Empire would have to pay a high price to achieve peace!
Seeing Du Fan’s grim expression, Duke Green sighed and said, “Du Fan, I know you’re smart. You must have thought through all the complexities involved. So you understand why I say you’ve caused a huge problem this time, right?”
Du Fan raised his eyebrows and said, “Father, rest assured. I, Du Fan, will take full responsibility for my actions and definitely won’t drag my family down with me!”
Duke Green snorted and said, “What’s the point of saying such things now? Whether you like it or not, this matter has already involved our family! How this develops now depends on Prince Leopold’s temperament and our Emperor’s decision! But from what I know about Leopold, he’s narrow-minded and definitely won’t let it go this easily. After all, their Lannier Empire has just won another battle—it would be strange if he didn’t take the chance to cause you trouble! As for our Emperor, his intentions are harder to guess. But if I’m right, he’ll likely assign our Green family to resist the enemy… Peace talks, in his eyes, are probably just an excuse to buy time for us to gather our troops!”
Du Fan sighed and asked, “What about the remaining 20%?”
“The remaining 20%?” Duke Green gave Du Fan a strange look before forcing a wry smile. “That means handing you over to settle the issue of offending Leopold, and then sitting down to discuss peace talks slowly… But given the old emperor’s character, the chances of that are extremely low… He definitely won’t let our Green family lose heart over this. It’s just that our family’s troops are far in the north, and all I brought this time are only 10,000 troops. If we’re really meant to resist the enemy…”
At that point, Duke Green stopped speaking and simply shook his head slightly…

Du Fan felt increasingly guilty. He looked at Duke Green and said, “Father… I…”

Duke Green laughed heartily and said, “It’s alright, you needn’t feel guilty. I’m not blaming you at all. I’m even delighted that you managed to embarrass that LeoPort so much! Those good-for-nothings in the capital only know how to fawn over LeoPort, but how could someone from my Green family do such a thing!? Du Fan, if you had given up the woman behind you as soon as you heard she was Prince LeoPort’s lover, I would have expelled you from the family today! But since you did the opposite, I’m overjoyed—how could I be angry? As for these troubles… Hmph! Hasn’t my Green family faced many troubles over the years? Have we ever failed to overcome them? This time, just have your elder brothers send half of their troops. Our Northern Army isn’t like those good-for-nothings in the Southern Army. With half of their forces, are we afraid of those Lani people? Besides, this might even be an opportunity for the Green family to take control of the South. Hmph…”

Hearing Duke Green say this, Du Fan could only sigh. He clearly understood that with the Northern Army present, they indeed weren’t afraid of the Lani Empire. But if a war really broke out, by the time troops were sent from the north, the Lani Empire would likely have reached the gates of the capital. By then, it wouldn’t just be a simple war anymore.

The rest of the way, the father and son remained silent, returning to the entrance of the duke’s mansion under the escort of cavalry.

As soon as the carriage arrived at the entrance, they saw from afar more than a dozen white warhorses at the gate of Duke Green’s mansion. Beside the horses stood about a dozen knights, all clad in shiny silver armor, with tall swan feathers on their helmets and magnificent swords at their waists.

Duke Green recognized them at a glance—they were members of the Imperial City Guard. He immediately understood what was going on.

When Du Fan and Duke Green got out of the carriage, one of the men, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward. With a modest bow, he said slowly, “I am Redcliffe, the deputy commander of the Imperial City Guard. His Majesty the Emperor has summoned Duke Green and Lord Du Fan. Please follow me.”

Du Fan couldn’t help but exchange a glance with Duke Green. Both father and son’s hearts skipped a beat as they thought: They arrived so quickly!

Duke Green remained calm, giving Redcliffe a brief glance before saying, “My lord deputy commander, since it’s an audience with His Majesty, let us change into proper clothes! I wonder why the Emperor summoned us at such late hours—what could it be?”
Redcliffe looked up at Duke Green and replied indifferently, “That’s beyond my knowledge. I’m merely following orders; I have no idea what the matter is. Please, both of you, change quickly so as not to keep His Majesty waiting… We’ll just wait here.”
Duke Green and Du Fan exchanged a look before hurrying into the duke’s residence. In the side hall, they instructed the servants to fetch clothes. Only then did Duke Green glance at Du Fan and say, “I didn’t expect the royal family to respond so quickly. I thought it would take at least until tomorrow morning, allowing me time to meet with a few military elders. But it seems… His Majesty isn’t giving us any chance to prepare!”
Du Fan thought for a moment before saying, “Father, could we claim that we were injured in a fight with Leopold and can’t leave for now?”
Duke Green snorted. “Redcliffe saw clearly how you entered just now. How can we make such an excuse? Besides, since the Emperor sent someone so quickly, he must already be aware of today’s events. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent someone to wait before our men even return… If I’m right, the Crown Prince is likely behind this as well. It seems difficult to resolve this peacefully! For now, we can only act as the situation demands… Since His Majesty isn’t giving us any time to prepare, it’s clear he wants us to understand that everything is under his control!”
Du Fan tilted his head and thought for a while before asking, “So, shall we go just like this?”
Duke Green nodded. “That’s the only option. However, our Green family still has 100,000 troops in the north and 10,000 cavalry outside the city. If the old Emperor isn’t completely senile, he shouldn’t do anything to us… But this time, you’ll likely have to take some responsibility… You might have to endure some hardship then…”
At that moment, Duke Green suddenly exclaimed loudly, “No! No… no…”

With that, he took a few steps around the hall before smiling and saying, “I see now, Du Fan. Since the Crown Prince is stoking the tensions this time, the target of the attack should be the Prince Fischer half the time… As for our Green family, if the Crown Prince wants to become emperor, this would be an excellent opportunity for him to win us over… So, once we arrive at the palace, we’re likely to not only avoid blame but even earn credit… Anyway, we’ll just take it one step at a time… But there’s one thing I’m worried about…”
Du Fan frowned. “What is it?”
Duke Green sighed and said, “Given Prince Fischer’s intelligence, he surely knows what consequences there would be if he attacked Leopold. Yet he didn’t stop you. My only fear is that everything that happened today was already part of that prince’s plan… If that’s the case… this trip to the palace could truly be full of turmoil, and it might even become a decisive battle over who will hold imperial power…”
At this point, a hint of sarcasm appeared on Duke Green’s face, but he quickly shook his head.
By then, the servants had brought their clothes. Father and son went into separate rooms next to the side hall to change. Duke Green wore his formal robes for meeting the emperor, while Du Fan donned the fashionable noble attire of the time.
Before leaving, Du Fan thought it over and sent someone to pick a good sword from the family’s armory to carry with him. Although they were going to the palace, it was possible they might have to fight, and using the Holy Radiance Staff in such a place wouldn’t be very practical…
As for Chenchen, he left a note for her to be delivered. Given Chenchen’s intelligence, she would surely act according to the situation.
Once everything was ready, father and son left the house and boarded a carriage. Then, at Redcliffe’s command, more than a dozen cavalry members of the imperial guard mounted their horses and led the Green family’s convoy swiftly toward the palace…