Chapter 002: Will He Help Me?

Hearing Duke Old Green’s analysis, Du Fan’s heart sank. When he first heard the news, he had only thought about how to gain more profit, ignoring the dangers it might bring. As Duke Old Green said, if something really happened to Prince Quested, even with Leoport’s mediation, the Laney Empire would certainly not give up easily. By then, even if it wasn’t Du Fan who took action, Prince Fischer would use this as an excuse to punish him.

Head bowed, Du Fan considered all possible consequences. He was indeed feeling some fear now about what had just happened.

“Du Fan, if you really want to do this, you must find a pretext—a reason that Prince Fischer can’t find any flaw in. After all, half a province and fifty million gold coins are no small stakes. The fact that Leoport is willing to do this shows he’s at a life-or-death moment. And having him as the king of the Laney Empire is better than that warlike First Prince.”

“Heh!” Du Fan smiled bitterly and said, “If I want to keep everything secret, I can only rely on the imperial guards. But isn’t that exactly what Prince Fischer wants? I’m afraid that in the end, he’ll not only quietly take back fifty million gold coins but also use me as a pawn to calm the Laney Empire’s anger.”

“Soldiers? No problem,” Duke Old Green said with a smile. “I’ve moved ten thousand troops from our family’s northern army here. I can have two thousand of them retire early and secretly follow you. But that’s the maximum—otherwise, it will be hard to hide it from that old fox, Wade.”

Shaking his head, Du Fan said, “Two thousand soldiers is still too many. Duke Wade will surely notice. Besides, even if they’re taken to the south, the soldiers from the southern armies will detect it.”

“I’ll handle that. Even without two thousand soldiers, what can they do to me? After all, you’re my son.” Duke Old Green’s expression turned cold. After all, he was also the second-in-command in the military. It was only natural for him to send two thousand soldiers to his son. As long as it wasn’t too reckless, even if Prince Fischer found out, he wouldn’t blame Duke Old Green, who commanded such a large force.

…

After bidding farewell to Duke Old Green, Du Fan returned to his room. Yet the image of half a province and fifty million gold coins kept haunting his mind. He spent the entire night in a daze. Facing such a great temptation yet unable to obtain it, Du Fan felt extremely frustrated.

“Young master, young master, Prince Fischer summons you to the palace.” The sun was already high in the sky, yet Du Fan still hadn’t gotten up. But this time, he had no choice but to rise—old servant Old Mark was already waiting for him at the door. Even Du Fan himself didn’t know what Prince Fischer wanted from him again, and Old Mark certainly didn’t either. Without asking, Du Fan washed up briefly and then boarded the carriage at the duke’s residence to head toward the palace.

Still in one of the side halls of the palace, several ministers from Prince Fischer’s faction were there, along with Old Green, who had arrived early. When Du Fan entered, Prince Fischer smiled warmly and said in a friendly tone, “Duke Du Fan, Marquis Christopher submitted the peace proposal yesterday. I’m quite satisfied with it. But since you’re the special envoy from the south, it would be appropriate for you to handle the task of exchanging gold coins and urging the Laney Empire to withdraw its troops. What do you think?”

Du Fan remained expressionless. He first glanced at Duke Old Green and the other ministers. Only Duke Old Green’s expression looked gloomy; the rest seemed curious, especially Duke Wade, who was smiling as he stared at Du Fan. There was a conspiracy! That was Du Fan’s first impression—a voice seemed to tell him that he absolutely couldn’t accept this task.

“What? Duke Du Fan doesn’t want to accept it? This is a perfect opportunity for you to go to your territory to take up your post—win-win.” Prince Fischer continued to smile, but when he saw that Du Fan still didn’t respond, his expression turned cold. He said sternly, “Does Duke Du Fan not want to leave the capital?”

“Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. Du Fan is merely concerned that he lacks soldiers to carry out this important task.”

Seeing Prince Fischer’s displeased expression, Du Fan quickly explained himself. After all, he still couldn’t compete with Prince Fischer at the moment.

“Oh!” Prince Fischer nodded as if understanding, then smiled again. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll give you ten thousand Imperial City Guards to take to the south. Once all the Laney Empire’s troops are monitored and driven away, these guards will serve as your personal army to protect the safety of your territory.”

“Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness.”

Du Fan bowed to hide his cold gaze. He knew full well that sending ten thousand Imperial City Guards wasn’t just to help him monitor the Laney Empire’s troops—it was likely meant to keep an eye on him. Yet, he still didn’t have the strength to refuse.

“Your Highness, the Imperial City Guard exists to protect you. Especially in these chaotic times, they must not leave your side easily. Moreover, Duke Du Fan only needs to oversee the withdrawal of the Lanxi Empire’s troops, so not many soldiers are required. Therefore, I believe a thousand Imperial City Guards are sufficient.” Surprisingly, Duke Wade, the top figure in the military, stepped in to plead for Du Fan, which was beyond Du Fan’s expectations. Yet Du Fan didn’t think Duke Wade had suddenly become kind-hearted, as there is no such thing as kindness in politics.

With Duke Wade intervening, Fischer naturally had to consider it. After some thought, he changed his mind and said, “Duke Wade makes a good point. But the number of soldiers led by Duke Du Fan must not be too small either. How about allowing Duke Du Fan to lead two thousand Imperial City Guards?”

“Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness,” Du Fan said respectfully. By now, his expression remained unchanged, as if he were an old hand in politics.

In fact, Du Fan had been pondering what Duke Wade and Prince Fischer really intended. Of course, in front of the other ministers, he couldn’t go against Prince Fischer’s wishes. Other than thanking them, he couldn’t say much.

In the entire side hall, perhaps the one with the most displeased expression was Duke Old Green. Even after years in officialdom, he couldn’t figure out what Duke Wade meant. But he had one conviction: Wade would never truly help Du Fan. If he were to believe that Duke Wade could help them, it would be better to believe that angels really fell from the sky as feces.

After that, everyone joked about some trivial topics. Soon, at Prince Fischer’s call, all the ministers returned to their homes earlier than usual for the first time.

“I can’t believe it… I really can’t believe it…” Back in his duke’s residence, Old Green kept shaking his head, his face grim.

Looking at Du Fan, who was confused, Duke Old Green said, “I don’t know why they’re doing this, but I always feel that Prince Fischer wants to harm you, and Wade is his accomplice. Their scheme isn’t just about sending two thousand Imperial City Guards to watch over you; there’s probably another purpose.”

“I understand. I’ll be careful,” Du Fan replied, also somewhat distracted. He had been thinking about the dangers ahead and what Prince Fischer and Duke Wade really intended.

Watching Duke Old Green lower his head in thought, Du Fan left the study.

“Young master, an old man dressed in magnificent clothes delivered this to the gatehouse.” At that moment, Old Mark came over, holding a tightly sealed invitation in his hands. “What’s the matter?” Du Fan asked Old Mark while opening the invitation. “That man in fine clothes said you’d understand as soon as you saw it,” Old Mark replied, standing quietly beside Du Fan. A gold coin, a square shape, and an elf girl. Du Fan stared at the invitation in his hands and couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed the Fifth Prince was truly desperate; otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken the risk of sending the invitation. Although nothing could be discerned from it, following the man in fine clothes would clarify everything. Shaking his head, Du Fan stepped out of the duke’s mansion. The Elf’s Abode, the most famous brothel in the capital, was also the top entertainment venue there. As he entered, Du Fan sighed helplessly. He really didn’t understand why these nobles liked to discuss matters in such places, especially secretive ones. Was this place truly absolutely safe? Du Fan didn’t have to worry about failing to find Leoport—once he went upstairs, the servant in fine clothes was already waiting there. Seeing Du Fan arrive, the old man led the way to the last private room. Thud! Du Fan threw the invitation onto the table and said with a smile, “It’s clever of you to think of this. Aren’t you afraid Prince Quested will discover you’re colluding with me? Though, to be honest, your drawing is quite ugly. It took me a while to figure it out.” Leoport looked at Du Fan with a strange expression but wasn’t angered by his mockery. Calmly, he said, “You’re dying soon, yet you can still be so cheerful. I admire you.” Leoport emphasized the word “admire” to counter Du Fan’s teasing. “Dying?” Du Fan looked at Leoport in surprise, then smiled slightly before sitting down across from him. Du Fan wasn’t arrogant—he knew there were at least five people on the continent who could kill him. But he didn’t believe Leoport could track down those people. “Duke Wade sent someone to secretly contact Quested. They want to exchange your life for the Province of Silro,” Leoport said calmly, looking at the glass in front of him, revealing information that nearly made Du Fan shout in shock.