Seeing that he couldn't stop his leg in time, Zhang Fan forcibly moved his leg half a foot to the side in mid-air, kicking the table next to him and breaking the wooden table apart. He lost his balance and crashed directly into Marquis Charlie, knocking him to the ground.

Zhang Fan quickly flipped to his feet, but Udinese had already smashed through the window and escaped from the council chamber.

"Father! Are you alright?"

Alice took off her nurse's uniform and mask, ran down from the platform, and helped her father up from the ground.

Unlike Zhang Fan and Udinese, Marquis Charles didn't have the physical attributes of a soldier. He took a serious fall, ending up with a bruised and swollen face, disheveled hair, and his clothes torn in several places by the wood, looking extremely disheveled.

"Father, are you hurt?" Alice asked with concern.

The physical injuries were not the main problem; it was the emotional damage that broke Marquis Charles. He ignored his daughter's concern and stood there like a wooden statue, saying nothing.

“Charlie, you are truly exceptional,” Grand Duke Ryan sighed from the high platform, “but I still cannot entrust this country to you.”

"Tch~" Marquis Charles suddenly chuckled, raised his head, and glanced disdainfully at the surrounding ministers before finally looking at Grand Duke Ryan. "Are you going to hand this over to this bunch of good-for-nothings?"

"Besides knowing how to curry favor and suck the life out of this country like parasites, do you think they can bring any good life to the people of Lane?"

“I understand the root of this country’s problems better than you do.” Grand Duke Ryan shook his head with a wry smile, his cold gaze sweeping over the crowd below. “Judging from the test just now, you are all unqualified.”

The ministers were stunned for a moment, then one by one they lowered their heads in shame, some of them with wet crotches, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

“Even when I was a prince, I knew that only through reform could this country hope to regain its vitality.” Grand Duke Ryan’s eyes held a hint of melancholy. “‘Health is the foundation of revolution,’ that’s a truly wise saying…”

Looking at Grand Duke Ryan on the throne, Zhang Fan suddenly felt a pang of pity for the old man. Grand Duke Ryan had ascended the throne in his youth and had always wanted to do something to reform Ryan, but his health wouldn't allow it.

"Back then, I thought I was still young and had plenty of time, so I figured I could wait until I was fully recovered before tackling this tough challenge," Grand Duke Ryan coughed a few times, "but I kept putting it off until now, and my health hasn't improved at all."

“Now we really can’t wait any longer, and there’s no time to wait. Cough cough…” Grand Duke Ryan gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a towel. “Before handing this country over to the next successor, it’s best to clear some obstacles for her. That’s all I can do right now.”

"Is it said that you should clean the house before inviting guests?" Duke Ryan suddenly smiled and glanced at Zhang Fan. "It is my responsibility to clean the house before making room for guests."

“Is the obstacle me? Hahaha—” Marquis Charles pointed at himself and burst into laughter.

“Not only that.” Grand Duke Ryan looked at Marquis Charles, who was laughing, his face calm as if he were talking about something insignificant. “There’s also Ferlinan, Reinhardt… and probably everyone in this hall is trash that needs to be swept away.”

“We old men are a product of the old era,” Grand Duke Ryan laughed. “Let’s not bring that into the new era and harm future generations.”

Marquis Charles stared at Grand Duke Ryan for a long time, and then looked at Elwin and Zhu Yifu, who had been sitting quietly to the side.

Is it them?

"My lord, please don't joke around." Erwin remained a leisurely bystander. "Once this matter is settled, Old Zhu and I, these two old bones, will officially retire and enjoy our old age. Let the younger generation handle the troublesome matters."

"Him?" Marquis Charles looked at Zhang Fan one last time.

“No.” Grand Duke Ryan shook his head. “Although I would very much like to hand over the responsibility to this young man, it is against Ryan’s laws, and I cannot lead the way in undermining the authority of the law.”

“Charles, in terms of status and ability alone, you are indeed the most suitable candidate. But I’m sorry, ‘Marquis’ is the highest honor we can bestow upon you,” Grand Duke Ryan said solemnly. “I cannot allow a family that rose to power through ‘theft’ to ascend to the throne. This is not a matter of law, but a matter of moral principles.”

Marquis Charles gritted his teeth. Grand Duke Ryan was essentially saying that the Charles family was not of good standing and that the "thief" was not qualified to inherit the throne.

"Stealing the country" is not allowed.

Marquis Charles stood there expressionless and stiff, the atmosphere in the council chamber somewhat cold.

"Father, are you alright?" Only Alice was concernedly wiping the stains on Marquis Charles's clothes from his fall with a handkerchief.

"Get away!" Marquis Charles shoved Alice away in frustration. "Don't touch me!"

Alice stumbled and almost fell, looking at her angry father with a wronged expression.

"Alice, come here." Qiu Wanyan walked down from the platform and waved to Alice.

“Mother, Father…” Alice stood between Marquis Charles and Qiu Wanyan, looking at the two of them helplessly, her eyes filled with tears as she remained in place.

Of all those present, Alice was the most pitiful and helpless.

"Silly child." Qiu Wanyan walked over and held Alice's cheeks with both hands, wiping away her tears. "He has gone mad, don't worry about him."

“Mother, please don’t say that. Although Father did wrong.” Alice’s tears fell again. “But I used to do wrong things all the time. I would cause trouble every day. You still forgave me.”

“It’s different.” Qiu Wanyan glanced coldly at Marquis Charlie. “He made an unforgivable mistake, and he doesn’t deserve to be your father.”

"Mother! Waaah..." Alice became even more anxious and cried even harder.

"I wasn't just saying that, Alice. There are some things I should have told you sooner." Qiu Wanyan took Alice's hand and said very seriously, "He's not your father!"

"He's not your biological father!"

The single stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the council hall erupted in an uproar.

Just now, Qiu Wanyan revealed that Marquis Charles is incapable of sexual relations, and that she and Marquis Charles are only husband and wife in name only, not in reality. Now, she even claims that he is not Alice's biological father.

The surrounding ministers began to look at Marquis Charles with a strange gaze, as if they saw a green meadow on his head.

"What did you say! Say it again!" Marquis Charles's eyes widened in anger. From the moment they started, this woman who had been his nominal wife for twenty years had been tearing his face off and rubbing it into the ground.

"Do you think you're qualified to be Alice's father? Do you deserve it?" Qiu Wanyan looked coldly at her former husband. "Yes, you raised her for nineteen years, but you only raised her as a sacrifice for your lust for power!"

“On Alice’s twelfth birthday,” Qiu Wanyan’s gaze grew even colder, “when you used her as a bargaining chip to secretly promise her to Reinhard, you personally destroyed the last shred of affection that had remained between us over the years!”

“You proposed marriage to the Qiu family to seize Xiliang. I didn’t take it to heart because I’ve never considered you my true husband!” Qiu Wanyan then took Alice’s hands. “Alice, I’m sorry I haven’t told you that you are my biological daughter, but not the one I carried for ten months.”

"Mother, I don't understand what you're saying..." Alice looked bewildered as Qiu Wanyan pulled her hand.

"Surrogacy, do you know that?" Qiu Wanyan said, tenderly stroking her daughter's little face. "The person who was actually pregnant with you was your housekeeper Ralph's deceased wife..."

“Ralph?” Alice’s eyes widened.

“Yes.” Qiu Wanyan touched Alice’s head with some guilt. “Don’t blame Ralph. He kept it from you because he wanted to give you a happier environment to grow up in.”

Alice was completely dumbfounded.

But this explains many things, such as why Ralph stayed by Alice's side for twenty years, accompanying her as she grew up.

Although Alice and he were not medically related, he truly treated her like his own daughter, giving her meticulous care.

This is why Ralph harbored murderous intent towards Zhang Fan over the slightest grievance Alice suffered at Lane Military Academy.

“But…” Qiu Wanyan hugged Alice into her arms and turned to look at Marquis Charlie, “During the transplant surgery, I changed the father of the fertilized egg, so Alice is not your daughter.”

"She has absolutely nothing to do with you!"

Marquis Charles felt a sudden, overwhelming shock, as if his mind were about to explode. The daughter he'd raised for nineteen years was now telling him she wasn't his biological child? She had no relation to him whatsoever?

This is tantamount to stripping away his last shred of self-respect and exposing him nakedly in broad daylight.

Hahaha……

Marquis Charles's mind began to wander. In his eyes, everyone around him was distorted, like a reflection in a funhouse mirror. Everyone was watching his grotesque state and laughing.

Hahaha……

Countless distorted smiling faces hovered above his head, and all the sounds in the council chamber turned into laughter mocking him.

Hahaha……

"Aaaaah! No! You crazy woman!"

Marquis Charles suddenly screamed wildly, rushed over, shoved Qiu Wanyan aside, dragged Alice over, and pinned her arms behind her back.

You all deserve to go to hell!

Seeing this, Zhang Fan quickly dodged and was about to kick.

"Don't hurt my father!" Alice cried.

Zhang Fan hesitated for a moment, and in that moment of hesitation, Marquis Charles immediately pulled out his right hand and grabbed Alice's neck, his fingers gripping Alice's throat.

"Don't come any closer! Or I'll strangle her!" Marquis Charlie said menacingly to Zhang Fan.

Zhang Fan frowned, ignoring Marquis Charles's threats, and looked at Alice instead. Alice was also looking at him with teary eyes, her eyes full of pleading.

"He no longer treats you like a daughter."

“But…but…I…can’t help but consider him my father, cough cough…” Alice’s throat was gripped, making it difficult for her to speak. “Although, although I am not his biological daughter…but, he, he raised me after all…cough…cough cough…”

"Shut up! I don't need your hypocrisy!" Marquis Charles glared angrily, his fingers tightening their grip.

"Waaah..." Alice was speechless for a moment, gently shaking her head, her eyes still full of pleading, begging Zhang Fan not to hurt her father even in this situation.

“Tell me! Whose bastard is she?!” Marquis Charles roared at Qiu Wanyan again.

"What's it to you? It's not yours anyway!" Qiu Wanyan stood there, her eyes filled with anger.

This couple, who were married in name only, have completely broken up.

"well……"

Zhang Fan felt somewhat helpless. Saving Alice wasn't difficult; the challenge was saving her without harming her father.

Why bother?

Did Marquis Charles ever consider this? Right now, the person in the council chamber who cares about him the most is his daughter whom he has raised for nineteen years. To use his daughter to threaten others is a joke, isn't it?

"Waaah..."

As Marquis Charles's blows became increasingly violent, Alice's throat was already bleeding from his fingernails, and her face was beginning to swell, become congested, and turn purple, clearly indicating that she was starting to lack oxygen.

Marquis Charles has gone mad, and Zhang Fan felt that they couldn't let things continue to develop like this, otherwise Alice might suffocate to death.

Just as Zhang Fan was about to make a move, Grand Duke Ryan on the high platform suddenly spoke:

"Charlie, let go of this innocent child, and I will let you go."

"You think I'd fall for that?!" Marquis Charlie stared at Grand Duke Ryan on the throne. "Even if I die, I'll take someone down with me!"

“I said I’d let you go! And I will!” Grand Duke Ryan’s tone was calm, but his face held an undeniable air of authority as he glared sharply at Marquis Charles. “Release the child! You can leave here safely, leave Ryan! Otherwise—I’ll make you suffer a terrible death!”

Whether intimidated by the imposing presence of the Duke of Ryan or not, Marquis Charles immediately fell silent.

Marquis Charles had suddenly gone mad because he knew he was doomed to die that day. Now that there was hope for survival, he slowly calmed down. But he still dared not loosen his grip on Alice's throat, after all, he didn't know how much of Grand Duke Ryan's words were credible.

“I swear on the honor of the Ryan royal family, as long as you release this child, I guarantee you can leave safely,” Grand Duke Ryan said coldly. “This is not out of pity, but because of your ‘pardon power’ as the head of the Charlie family. The Ryan royal family is not a family that goes back on its word.”

Marquis Charles was taken aback.

Right, he almost forgot that as the patriarch of the Charlie family, he possessed a "get-out-of-jail-free card" that had been passed down from the first patriarch, Charlie Hussein, meaning that even if he committed a heinous crime, he would be pardoned.

“But Charlie, don’t forget,” Archduke Ryan said, his gaze icy as he looked at him, “this opportunity only comes once. The next time I see you, I guarantee you’ll be in hell.”

Upon hearing this, Marquis Charles released his hands.

"Waaah, Mother..." Alice immediately threw herself into Qiu Wanyan's arms, crying her heart out.

"Go," Grand Duke Ryan waved his hand, as if unloading a heavy burden. "Go as far away as possible, and don't ever come back."

The ministers on both sides automatically made way for Zhang Fan, who also stepped aside.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Marquis Charles walked silently to the door, stepped outside, looked up at the starry sky, and turned back before leaving.

"Don't think you're safe. The 'wolves' have already entered, and they will tear your bodies apart!"

“This is none of your concern, Your Excellency,” Erwin said leisurely as he brewed a cup of tea.

"My 'tiger' has also come down the mountain."

The hunt begins.