Chapter 21 Case File 1: Botanical Garden Mystery (3)
"It's the local rich man!" Jiang You murmured.
——This statement may be too conservative. If this family existed in her previous life, they might even be included in the Forbes list.
Rich people, large families, many businesses, complicated relationships, and conflicts are everywhere. It is simply a cradle of crime.
"Pertmin Ho Priss is the eldest daughter of Tana Ho Priss, another magical plant supplier in the city. She's a bit snobbish, but incredibly beautiful. Not only in Eston West City, but even in the entire Principality of Huntington, it's hard to find a more beautiful Lady Ha.
"How could a short, stunted, and spineless Whipson be favored by such a beauty? The only reason Pertmin married into the Axe family was for their incredibly profitable family business!"
Aunt Talia curled her lips in disdain.
Jiangyou took a piece of paper and wrote and drew, recording the family tree of Axe and Priss.
[Axe Family:
Hudson H. Akers (grandfather)
○ Hopkins H. Akers (eldest son)
☆Holly Ho Axe
(Hopkins' son, suspect)
○ Whipson Haw Axe (second son)
※Pertmin Ho Price
(Whipson's wife)
○Plimene Ho Axe
(Daughter, 18 years old, student at the Royal Magic Academy)
○Holland Ho Axe
(Third son, 6 years old, Heard's illegitimate son, deceased)]
[Price Family:
■Tana Ho Price (father)
○ Pertmin Ho Price (sister)
※Whipson Ho Axe (son-in-law)
○Pharamin Ho Price
(Sister, first discoverer)]
"Oh, I've been meaning to ask this before," said Jiang You. "You said before that, aside from the direct royal family, the people of Huntington all have middle names that represent their social status. So what specific social status do these middle names correspond to?"
Aunt Talia glanced at Andrei, who coughed lightly and said, "Let me explain this."
He took the paper from Jiangyou's hand, first glanced at Jiangyou's notes with an expression of surprise and approval, then took the charcoal pencil handed to him by Jiangyou and continued to write in the blank space.
【Marquis——Fon, Count——De,
Baron-Fan, Viscount-Lu,
Knights - Law, Priests - Saints,
Scholars - Wen, common people - Huo,
Slave - Du, sinner - Xin]
"Wow! How interesting!" The skull leaned over the knight's shoulder, the soul fire in its deep eye sockets flickering a few times. "You can tell your title and occupation from your middle name. How interesting! It shouldn't be easy to offend people this way, right?"
Andre gently pushed her big head aside: "That's not necessarily the case. The four titles of marquis, earl, baron, and vicar are all collectively called lords, and people occasionally introduce them as 'lord'.
"Middle names can also change with social class and occupation. For example, the titles of Marquis, Earl, and Baron can be inherited either without or with a lower rank, depending on the King's grace. If the rank is lowered, the son of a Marquis will become an Earl, the son of an Earl will become a Baron, and the son of a Viscount will lose his title and become a commoner.
"If a person holds multiple identities besides slavery or criminality, then they are free to choose which name to use. Normally, priesthood is above all else, and titles are above knighthood. Scholars require special certification, and generally only those who have achieved considerable success in the fields of magic and knowledge are recognized.
“No matter who they are, once they become a slave or a criminal, their other identities are stripped away.”
Jiang You drew inferences from one example: "In other words, although Holly is a talented botanist, he has not yet been certified as a 'scholar'. And even though the Axe family is very rich, they are still commoners, comparable to the Priss family."
"That's right."
After Hurd Sr. passed away, his second son, Whipson, the only adult child in the family, gained control of the family fortune. However, he was weak by nature and had no interest in managing the business. Power in the Axe family fell into the hands of his second daughter-in-law, Pertmin.
Although Holly, the eldest grandson, was named the heir to the botanical garden in Old Hart's will, he was still underage, so the inheritance was still just a piece of paper. Currently, the botanical garden was practically the Akers' backyard; the Akers family, Pertamin's sister, Perlamin, and all the servants had unimpeded access to the garden.
"By the way, the Hafu people become adults at the age of 16. Holly's 16th birthday is in a few days, and then he will be an adult," said Aunt Talia.
"This timing is incredibly tricky!" Jiang You said, his imagination running wild. "Let me guess. Once Holly turns 16 and becomes an adult, will he be able to inherit the botanical garden according to Old Hurd's will and kick his uncle and aunt out?"
"I wouldn't necessarily drive him out." Aunt Talia shook her furry wolf head. "Holly is a good boy, he wouldn't be so heartless. But he has told me more than once about his vision for the botanical garden...
"That kid's business philosophy is completely different from Pertmin's. He believes that the Axe family's current practice of strictly controlling the production of rare and high-level magical plants is neither conducive to the reproduction of rare and high-level magical plants nor to the research and development of magic and potions.
"He is a devout believer in the Moon Worship Cult. He is determined to comprehensively expand the cultivation of rare and high-level magic plants, increase the production of rare magic plants, and thus lower the price. Ideally, even ordinary civilians and ordinary magic apprentices can use these high-level magic plants.
"Not only that, he also plans to reduce the cultivation of useless ornamental flowers and use that land to grow more varieties of vegetables and fruits with higher yields, improving the lives of ordinary people!"
"...Hiss, these ideals are so grand!" Jiang You sighed. As she spoke, an idea suddenly struck her: "So, doesn't he fit the bill as a target for Evil Eye Moon?!"
"That's right!" Aunt Wolf agreed. Then she glared at Andre and complained, "Those Kingdom Knights arrested Holly without any reason and insisted that he was from Evil Eye Moon. Isn't this clearly confusing right and wrong?!
"If you ask me, they must have accepted bribes from Pertmin! If Holly is found guilty, he will be stripped of all his status and become a 'Xin'-level criminal! At that time, he will not be able to inherit the property, let alone interfere with the management of the Ax Botanical Garden. He may even lose his soon-to-be-acquired scholar status!"
"Huh? Is Holly about to be certified as a scholar?" Jericho asked curiously.
"Yes, the Royal Academy of Magic has already sent a confirmation letter," Aunt Talia nodded. "Holly showed it to me. The letter said that as soon as Holly comes of age, the Royal Academy of Magic will immediately begin the certification process. Applicants for scholar certification must be of age; this is a strict rule of the Principality. But if he's now considered a murderer, he won't be able to be certified as a scholar!"
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