Chapter 3
Your beauty is indeed no match for your power.
The attendant glanced at the personal terminal, confirmed the information again, and reported: "The Sopedu family from the Eastern Region has brought Earl Manny, the Lan family from the Southern Region has brought Lord Lanyang, the Dayton family from the Western Region has brought Lord Hatty, and the Subek family from the Northern Region has brought Marquis Quinn."
Osei sneered: "Very well."
Apart from the ambiguous attitude of the Subec family in the Northern Region, the other three families basically made it clear that they were not on his side.
The representative from the Eastern Region, Earl Manny Sopedu, is the younger brother of the current lord, Duke Sopedu. He is known for his love of beauty rather than power and is the most famous mascot in the Eastern Region. His only task in the Sopedu family is to attend events that the patriarch cannot refuse.
Although Lan Yang, who came from the Southern Region, was surnamed Lan, he was not from the same family as Duke Lan Xi, the lord of the Southern Region. He was an attendant of Marquis Lan Hua, the next lord of the Lan family. However, because he was a major general in the Southern Region Star Fleet, Lan Yang would sometimes attend events that the Lan family did not want to appear in but could not refuse.
The Dayton family of the Western Regions was even more perfunctory; Lord Hatty was the Dayton family's master of ceremonies.
The attitude of the Subek family from the Northern Region was ambiguous, open to both praise and criticism. The representative from the Northern Region, Marquis Quinn, was the next lord of the Northern Region and the eldest son of Duke Subek. He was not the current head of the family, but he was still a key figure in the power center. By sending him, the Subek family could either demonstrate their support for the Third Prince or simply show courtesy.
“It seems I can’t count on the Lan family.” Osei stuffed the reply he had written into a paper envelope, sealed it with sealing wax and stamped it with his personal seal, then pressed a button under the table, and the servant who had been waiting outside came in.
Ossa handed the letter to the servant, his voice gentle: "This is a reply to your master."
"My master has been eagerly awaiting Your Highness's reply." The servant took the letter from Ossa with a broad smile.
He was a servant of Gani, the youngest son of Duke Subec, and was ordered to deliver a letter Gani had written to the Third Prince. If he didn't receive a reply from the Third Prince, he certainly wouldn't be well received when he returned, since young master Gani's personality wasn't as humble as outsiders perceived.
After the servant left, the smile on Osei's face vanished instantly. He tossed Gani's letter into a drawer; if he didn't think he might need it later, he would have burned the paper letter as soon as he received it.
The paper letter that Gani sent was a copy of an ancient love poem, which he claimed to have written himself. This made Ou Sai's scalp tingle. Firstly, few people used paper letters to send messages these days. Secondly, although the love poem that Gani copied was obscure, Ou Sai happened to have read about it before in order to pursue Lan Ye, so he recognized it immediately.
If it weren't Lan Yang who came from the Lan family this time, perhaps he wouldn't have replied to Jia Ni.
“I thought that even if he was an illegitimate child, he was still Lan Xi’s son and had already been brought home. I didn’t expect that he would have no weight in the Lan family.” Ou Sai shook his head and said with some regret, “Don’t blame me. Blame your brother Lan Hua for not acknowledging your identity.”
The reason he was willing to marry Lan Ye was not only because Lan Ye was indeed exceptionally beautiful, but more importantly, because he wanted to gain the support of the Lan family.
After all, the Sopedu family of the Eastern Region is the Empress's maternal family. Even if the Crown Prince is gone, there is still the Fourth Prince, Riel.
The Dayton family of the Western Regions is a notoriously cunning and shrewd family that has never taken sides. Moreover, the eldest prince, Dusaoang, is deeply in love with Haydée Dayton, the only legitimate daughter of the Dayton family.
Lady Haydée Dayton was plain-looking but famous for her eccentric hobbies; she was a reagent fanatic, especially fond of researching various poisons. Oser wasn't without options, nor did he want to sacrifice himself in this way.
The Lan family of the Southern Region is a rather simple yet mysterious family.
The family is simple in that it has a small population; the Lan family are ancient Chinese, and every lord has been devoted to one woman, with no illegitimate children, except for the current lord, Lan Xi, who brought home an illegitimate child three years ago. The family is also mysterious because it is extremely low-key, rarely appearing in public except for necessary events and celebrations.
The Lan family neither forms marriage alliances nor takes sides, but the Southern Region is not only the richest region among the four regions, but its interstellar fleet is also the strongest among the four regions' fleets.
Lan Xi has gradually relinquished power, and now Lan Hua is the de facto ruler of the Southern Region. Lan Hua has governed the Southern Region like an ironclad fortress; no one can obtain the intelligence they desire from any star system within the Southern Region. Space pirates, who are a headache for all rulers, have never dared to operate openly in the Southern Region, because Lan Hua's style is extremely forceful. If any space pirates dare to commit crimes in the Southern Region, their headquarters will almost certainly be bombed and their entire force wiped out.
If he can gain the support of the Lan family, his chances of becoming crown prince will be a certainty, and even Lille will no longer be a threat to him.
Osei said in a low voice, "What a pity."
Lan Yang represented the Lan family at this wedding; no one from the Lan family's main branch attended, which directly indicated that they did not acknowledge Lan Ye and were only there to attend the royal wedding.
Although the Subec family in the Northern Region was a good choice, he still wanted to win over the Lan family first, not only because Lan Ye was more beautiful, but also because the Lan family was more powerful.
But since Lan Ye couldn't gain Lan Hua's approval, there was basically nothing about Lan Ye besides her beauty that was worth his attention.
Riggins Manor is the Third Prince's private estate, and it is the closest manor to the palace. Therefore, Lan Ye was arranged by the Third Prince to wait for the wedding to take place here.
Initially, the Third Prince was quite enthusiastic when he came to accompany Lan Ye, but since the incident involving Gani's seal ring, the Third Prince not only offered no explanation, but also visited Riggins Manor less and less frequently.
Although gifts are still being sent out continuously, the attitude is visibly becoming more and more perfunctory.
The master's attitude is a barometer for the servants' behavior. The Third Prince's change in attitude was so obvious that the servants went from being extremely attentive to now being perfunctory. Rumors circulated throughout the manor that Lan Ye had already fallen out of favor before even getting married.
As servants of the Third Prince's private estate, they had access to more information than the outside world.
Although rumors circulated that Gani was the Third Prince's first love, the veracity of these rumors could not be confirmed. However, the servants at Riggins Manor knew it was absolutely true. While Gani and the Third Prince had never officially dated, they had secretly met several times at Riggins Manor.
The servants at Riggins Manor were already aware that Gani had posted the Third Prince's seal ring on Starbucks. Gani clearly had feelings for the Third Prince, and he had given her the ring. Even if the Third Prince and Lan Ye married as planned, Lan Ye would be nothing more than a figurehead. Because, both from a worldly perspective and from the Third Prince's personal feelings, Lan Ye was clearly outmatched by Gani.
Moreover, in the eyes of the manor's servants, Lan Ye was good for nothing but her beauty, vulgar and lacking any self-awareness. She had no understanding of art appreciation, but loved gold and jewels. She piled up all the priceless paintings given to her by the Third Prince in an empty room, and she would ask about the origin and price of every piece of jewelry. She would take pictures of all the expensive and well-known pieces and show them off on her blog.
Moreover, he, an unacknowledged illegitimate son, actually thought he could secure the position of the prince's consort, and he treated the servants with no courtesy whatsoever. When Gani came to the manor, they were all very polite and friendly.
******
To the general public, the wedding was merely a celebration to dispel the shadow of the Crown Prince's death. However, to the major powers, it marked the beginning of a power struggle and reshuffling after two years of stalemate.
As a representative of the Lan family in the Southern Region, although Lan Yang was not a member of the Southern Region lord's family, he was both a confidant of the Lan family's actual ruler and a major general in the Southern Region's interstellar fleet, making his actual status higher than those of the nominal nobles.
Because he represents the Lan family, the top noble family in the four domains of the Silver Glow Empire, second only to the royal family, his every move after entering the capital star was magnified, studied and interpreted by all sorts of people.
Although the fact that Lan Ye was Lan Xi's illegitimate son was now public knowledge, and anyone with connections knew it, the Lan family's attitude towards Lan Ye determined his future status within the royal family and aristocratic circles.
The fact that the Lan family sent Lan Yang to the wedding directly indicates that the Lan family does not acknowledge Lan Ye. Moreover, after Lan Yang entered the capital star, he did not immediately go to see Lan Ye. He only symbolically went to the Riggins Manor on the eve of the wedding. After all, even if they do not acknowledge Lan Ye, Lan Ye is still considered to be of the Lan family bloodline.
Rickens Manor had been quiet for some time, but it became lively again after Lan Yang came to visit.
Lan Yang waved away the manor servants who were eagerly entertaining him and said, "Where is Lan Ye? Duke Lan Xi has a few words for me to pass on to him. I will leave after I finish speaking, so there is no need for the banquet."
"Lord Lanyang, Young Master Lanye is waiting for you in his room. Please come with me." After the attendant led Lanyang and his entourage to Lanye's room, Lanyang dismissed the attendant.
Lan Yang and his group entered the room. After checking that the surveillance equipment had been blocked, they felt relieved and removed their disguises. "Young Master."
Lan Ye leaned against the window, his shirt half-buttoned, looking relaxed and languid. "I blocked the surveillance cameras a long time ago. I have no interest in exposing my privacy."
After saying that, he smiled and said, "I heard you say earlier that my father had a message for me?"
Lan Yang nodded. "This is not an excuse. The Duke does have something for you to hear."
"What did you say?" Lan Ye asked, a little curious.
"Enough of this nonsense, let's get down to business," Lan Yang repeated expressionlessly.
"Tch, he's just angry that I ruined his reputation." Lan Ye summoned a hover chair and sat down, then floated in front of Lan Yang, propping his chin up with his right hand, and said, "Osei replied to Gani Subek, things are going surprisingly smoothly."
"Congratulations, young master, you'll be able to leave soon," Lan Yang said. As Lan Hua's confidant, he naturally understood why Lan Hua had pulled this stunt; if he could, Lan Hua would have left long ago.
"The plan went smoothly, and I should be happy, but I'm still a little disappointed." Lan Ye sighed softly. "My charm is so vulnerable in the face of power. Osei didn't even show the slightest hesitation. It really breaks my heart. Am I not beautiful enough?"
Lan Yang was already used to his young master's character. "Congratulations, young master, on seeing the true nature of your charm. Your beauty is indeed no match for your power."
A note from the author:
Lan Ye: Lan Yang is really bold, isn't he afraid of being beaten to death by Lan Hua?
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