Chapter 015: Turn Against Each Other?

“Father, rest assured. As long as Fischer doesn’t push me too hard, I’ve decided not to turn against him,” Du Fan said after thinking for a moment upon hearing his father’s words.
“Child, even if you establish an empire, what’s the point? Throughout history, how many royal families have been wiped out entirely! I remember the last emperor of one dynasty once said before committing suicide, ‘I wish I could never be born into a royal family!’ I’m not against you or anything—great power attracts attention! That supreme throne is watched by countless eyes in secret. One misstep could lead to ruin!” Duke Green sighed.
Du Fan had never thought about this before. In fact, he had never even considered establishing an empire. One reason was that he had come from another world, where empires were far beyond his reach. Another reason was that he was still young in this world and lacked such ambition.
All he wanted now was this: If you betray me, then fine, let’s turn against each other! I’m not afraid of you. If one has enough strength to fear no one, then Du Fan would need to build his own power base. Otherwise, turning against an emperor would be nothing but a joke.
But establishing his own empire? He really hadn’t thought about that.
“Father, to be honest, I’ve never had any thoughts of establishing an empire or anything like that,” Du Fan said with a helpless smile. “I just don’t want to be bullied! I don’t want to watch others hit me in the face without being able to fight back! That’s all.” He spoke earnestly.
“Child, not every emperor starts out wanting to be one. Sometimes, you have no choice. Just like the founder emperor of the Great Song Empire over a thousand years ago, who also didn’t want to be emperor. But no one can control the course of history. That founder emperor woke up drunk only to find himself forced into the position of emperor—there was no way out.” Duke Green said, “Child, it’s not that I have other intentions. It’s always better to be thorough in preparing for everything.”
“I understand what you mean, Father. But, alas, I really haven’t thought about taking that position yet!” Du Fan said gloomily. It seemed that in his father’s eyes, he had already become a traitor!

As the two walked and talked, the carriage came to a stop at the entrance of the palace. Following his father, he entered the waiting room where the ministers gathered before attending court—a small room holding fifty to sixty people, located next to the Hall of Diligent Governance. For convenience, this waiting room was connected to the hall; after turning a corner and crossing the square, one could directly enter the Hall of Diligent Governance. In this waiting room, most of the empire’s high-ranking officials were present, except for those senior generals leading troops abroad and ministers on inspection tours. Upon seeing Duke Green and Du Fan arrive, these high-ranking officials greeted them one after another. It was the first time in the empire’s history to have two dukes in one family. Moreover, since Du Fan’s great victory in the south, the Green family seemed to be gaining momentum over the Lionheart family! Originally, Duke Green was already the second-in-command in the military, in charge of the empire’s most powerful northern army. If not for the Lionheart family’s numerous branches, its long history, and the large number of nobles within it, just Duke Green’s northern army alone could have overwhelmed the Lionheart family. Now, with Duke Fish personally appointing Du Fan as the governor of the south, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops there, the Green family at least appeared to have surpassed the Lionheart family on the surface. Of course, this was only superficially so. The Lionheart family had experienced more than just the Austin dynasty. Even during the Azalea Dynasty, they were already a prominent noble family. After aligning themselves with the Austin family, they were not neglected for having switched sides; instead, because they had achieved remarkable success in the wars waged by the Austin family, they were highly valued by them. After several hundred years of development, the Lionheart family became the foremost family in the Gavin Empire. “Duke Du Fan, I have a younger daughter who is twenty-eight years old. She has always admired you greatly. I was wondering if you might have time to visit my home so that she can meet you in person and see your elegance!” Before even finishing the greeting, a noble official rushed over to pitch his daughter to Du Fan. “Duke Du Fan, please come and visit us. My second daughter is not only beautiful but also highly skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—she’s truly a talented woman in the capital!” Once someone started, others immediately rushed forward to pitch their own daughters to Du Fan.

Obviously, these noble officials who came to pitch their products were unaware that Du Fan had brought back the queen of the elves to the capital. Duke Wade of the Lionheart Family, on the other hand, snorted heavily upon seeing so many people flattering Duke Green and Du Fan. “I appreciate everyone’s kindness, Du Fan, but I really feel I’m too young; I’m not yet of the right age,” Du Fan said with a bitter smile as he looked at the noble officials surrounding him, trying to sell their daughters and granddaughters to him. “It doesn’t matter, Duke Du Fan. We can hold off on the marriage for now and send our daughter to your house once she reaches adulthood,” said one of the noble officials. “Ahem, I think Lord Randy of the Lionheart Family is quite good. How about you give him one of your daughters or granddaughters?” Du Fan shifted the topic to Duke Wade after hearing his snort. Hearing this, the room fell silent. These people certainly knew that Du Fan had killed two of the Lionheart Family’s key figures and even severed Randy’s arm. With such words from Du Fan, even those nobles who had been insisting on marrying their daughters or granddaughters to him fell quiet, watching how things unfolded. It was clear that giants like the Lionheart and Green Families were not something ordinary noble houses could afford to provoke. “I appreciate Duke Du Fan’s kindness, but my grandson, who is already disabled, how could he possibly match your beautiful daughters?” Duke Wade quickly retorted once the crowd fell silent. “Blame your own blindness, Lionheart Family, for daring to provoke me! Hmph, if it weren’t for my luck, I would’ve been killed by that Randy and Garfield of yours outside Odinburg. Taking his arm was already showing you the Lionheart Family some respect!” Du Fan immediately started cursing upon hearing Duke Wade’s words. “Du Fan! Who do you think you are to call me ‘old man’?” Duke Wade flew into a rage at Du Fan’s use of that term. No wonder—Duke Wade had once served under Du Fan’s grandfather. Even Duke Green treated Duke Wade with utmost respect, considering himself his junior. Who would have thought that this youngest member of the Green family would dare call him “old man” in front of him?

“I call myself ‘I’ right in front of you—what can you do to me?! When I returned to the empire, you tried again and again to have me killed, yet here I am, still alive, haha. So what? What can you do to me?” Du Fan laughed arrogantly.

“You! You’re spreading lies! With such poor manners, I really wonder what kind of upbringing your family gave you. Du Fan, have you spent all those years in the Church only learning to be such a mouthless fool?” Duke Wade trembled with anger as he pointed at Du Fan.

“As for proper nobles, I, Du Fan, certainly know how to behave as one. But are families like yours, who pretend to be honorable on the surface but scheme behind the scenes, worth my respect?” Du Fan said disdainfully.

“Du Fan, explain clearly—what evidence do you have to prove that our family tried to assassinate you?” Duke Wade snapped in fury upon hearing Du Fan’s words.

“Hmph, it was all carefully planned by you—those Cold Smoke Powders, those Night Elves! If I really uncovered a connection between you and them, the Lionheart Family… haha, I’ll turn you into the Catheart Family!” Du Fan declared fiercely.

By this point, Duke Wade was so enraged he could barely speak.

“Du Fan, you’re going too far! I demand a duel with you!” A middle-aged man in armor suddenly stepped forward behind Duke Wade.

“Want to duel me? Haha, great! As long as you’re not afraid of death, go ahead! When do you want it?” Du Fan laughed loudly.

“Now! I want to teach this arrogant fool a lesson right now!” the middle-aged man shouted.

Du Fan examined the man carefully and noticed some resemblance to Duke Wade. “Are you that old fellow’s son?” he suddenly asked, pointing at Duke Wade.

“I’m Duke Wade’s nephew, Ate Wade!” the middle-aged man replied solemnly.

“Duke Green, will you just let your son get away with this?” Duke Wade snapped angrily at Duke Green, at a loss for what else to do.

“Duke Wade, we’re all getting old. This is now the continent of the young—letting them gain experience is a good thing,” Duke Green replied evasively, avoiding a direct answer.

“Haha, Duke Green’s reason is really good! To gain experience—does that mean it has to be by climbing on top of my old head?” Hearing Duke Green say this, Duke Wade not only didn’t calm down but became even angrier.
“Ah, Duke Wade, let’s see what you say. Isn’t it the case that the greater the difficulty, the more challenging it is? The higher the challenge, the better the experience gained!” Duke Green said nonsense with a smile.
“Duke Green, is your Green family really ready to go to war with our Lionheart family?” Duke Wade suddenly said grimly.
Hearing this, Duke Green was also stunned. Not only him, but all the nobles and officials around him were shocked. To say such things in front of almost the entire upper echelons of the Gavin Empire, Duke Wade’s intentions were certainly not simple.
If Duke Green said yes, then in future conflicts between the two families, public opinion would surely side with the Lionheart family. After all, Duke Green had declared his intention to fight against the Lionheart family in front of so many important figures.
If he said no, it was obvious that the Green family was showing weakness against the Lionheart family.
Faced with a question that he couldn’t answer either way, Duke Green suddenly rolled his eyes and said, “Duke Wade, that’s not what I meant. Look, our Du Fan isn’t even an adult yet. How can you take the nonsense spoken by such a child seriously?”