Chapter 644 Stirring the Pot of Shit (2)
644 Stirring the Pot of Shit (2)
Vaan had read and heard Varan Armstrong was an emperor with unparalleled strength and great wisdom. Although such praises towards the emperor tend to be exaggerated and sometimes even incorrect, there must be some truth behind them.
As such, how could Emperor Varan not know about the importance of an heir? And if Emperor Varan knew about the importance of an heir, why didn't he produce one? Or was it because he couldn't?
Vaan had yet to learn the full situation regarding Emperor Varan, but he could already smell the stench of conspiracy.
Moreover, it was a big one.
After all, if the emperor knew about the problem but had yet to resolve it after so long, then it only proved that the emperor was incapable of resolving it.
However, that also implied the mastermind, who was stopping the emperor from having sons, used well-hidden or untraceable methods.
…
Meanwhile, after Beru and his Evron family pondered over Vaan's analysis, they became increasingly certain Duke Zohar had been the mastermind behind last night's attack and robbery.
They had spent a whole night without sleep trying to figure out the culprit. Now that the culprit had been identified, they finally had a target to direct all their anger.
Such concentrated anger was even enough to terrify an ordinary person to death!
After all, the Evron family's future hundred years of development resources had been robbed clean by a temporary ally.
Who could bear such a loss? Who could stomach such injustice?
Nevertheless, Beru felt thankful to Vaan.
Vaan had reminded Beru of one truth – Duke Gamliel and Duke Zohar might have joined hands to deal with Duke Zaahir, but they were absolutely not allies!
"Hmph! What a good Duke Zohar!" Beru spat grudgingly with a stomach full of hatred.
Beru wanted nothing more than to tear Duke Zohar apart and force the latter to spit out everything he had taken from the Evron family. However, he also knew the Evron family alone could not deal with a giant like Duke Zohar.
"Prepare some riders! I will be making a trip to see Lord Gamliel. The Eldest Young Master and Young Master Vanderlin will also accompany me," Beru instructed, knowing Acharon and Vaan intended to visit Duke Gamliel.
Sometime later, the trio left on the back of wyverns. But before they left, Beru firmly instructed the servants to guard the family's treasury well.
"Why did the family head instruct us to guard the treasury? The underground treasury had already been robbed clean. There's nothing left to guard…" a male servant uttered.
"Stupid! The underground treasury is gone, but don't we still have the surface one?! If we even lose the surface wealth, then the Evron family would really be ruined! We might even end up on the streets!"
"Right…" the male servant reflected.
If the Evron family truly went bankrupt, who would pay his salary?
…
…
…
Duke Gamliel was the ruler of the largest territory in the southern half of the eastern region. As such, he did not have a lot of land in the imperial capital. He only owned a single manor to use during his visits.
That said, Duke Gamliel's manor was still large enough to accommodate fifty other guests besides himself.
Moreover, Duke Gamliel's manor occupied one of the best hills in the imperial capital's southern district. It also grew all kinds of rare plants and herbs that could be used for body-refining purposes. As such, its value was very high.
The air was refreshing, and the environment was peaceful; simply living there could make regular people healthy.
However, the usually tranquil atmosphere of the herbal garden was suffused with a heavy gloom after Beru Evron recounted Vaan's analysis and expressed his thoughts to Duke Gamliel while the latter tended to his rare plants.
Duke Gamliel's top two retainers were also present with solemn expressions after they listened.
The attention to detail and clear reasoning within Vaan's analysis left them utterly convinced of Duke Zohar's involvement in the night raid on the Evron family's estate.
In their minds, there wasn't anyone else who was more resourceful and capable enough to carry out such an elaborate and swift robbery on one of the top families in the imperial capital. Besides Duke Zohar, they couldn't think of anyone else with such means.
As such, when Duke Gamliel casually sought their opinions while watering his plants, they quickly voiced their opinions in favor of Beru's guess.
"My Lord, it has to be Duke Zohar's doing. His scheme is too devious; he never thought about playing fair!"
"That's right, my Lord! Duke Zohar's territory in the north is richer mana, which allowed him to recruit from a larger talent pool of Witch Doctors and Shamans. This, in turn, allowed him to possess more power and influence than us!"
"Duke Zohar must have grown impatient since he holds the greatest advantage and conveniently found a way to take Duke Zaahir and us both out in one fell swoop! We would have fallen for his scheme if not for Lord Beru's words!"
Duke Gamliel calmly nodded, silently agreeing with his two retainers' statements.
Indeed, the Evron family had not been secretive about Vaan's visit and his possession of a Rank 4 Body Reformation Pill. As such, everyone in Duke Gamliel's faction quickly believed the night attack on the Evron family was Duke Zaahir's retaliation against them for stealing his people.
Nevertheless, the source of last night's issue stemmed from Vaan's "defection" to their faction.
After learning the detailed analysis had come from Vaan, Duke Gamliel's interest in him grew. After all, such an intelligent and talented person chose Duke Gamliel's faction over Duke Zohar's.
Didn't that imply Duke Gamliel had a higher chance of sitting on the throne?
"Young Master Vanderlin, what do you think about this situation? Do you also think Duke Zohar was behind last night's events?" Duke Gamliel inquired, glancing at Vaan with a thoughtful look.
After all, Vaan had only provided an analysis; he had yet to draw his own conclusion. At the very least, he had not openly said he believed Duke Zohar was the mastermind.
That said, Vaan had no intention of directly accusing Duke Zohar. Doing so would only leave a flaw in his plan and weaken everyone's belief in Duke Zohar's involvement.
An intelligent person could even suspect Vaan was secretly pushing everyone to think that way.
As such, the only way to make everyone completely believe in Duke Zohar's involvement was to make Duke Zohar himself unknowingly admit he was behind it.
Since Vaan arrived at Duke Gamliel's manor before Duke Zohar's people did, the initiative was in his hands.
"Although the subtle clues of last night's events seem to point towards Duke Zohar, we don't actually know for certain if it was truly Duke Zohar's doing. Without proof, all speculations are just educated guesses, Your Grace," Vaan calmly replied.
"Oh?" Duke Gamliel's eyes lit up.
His expectations of Vaan were raised after hearing his reply.
In fact, Duke Gamliel would have been disappointed if Vaan had outright accused Duke Zohar of being the mastermind of last night's events.
Duke Gamliel wasn't looking for a collective opinion—or rather, a collective opinion was not good enough for him.
Duke Gamliel was the feudal lord of the eastern region's southern half and had an ambition as high as the heavens. Every choice he made had enormous impacts and consequences. To act on a mere assumption was not good enough for him; he needed certainty.
"In that case, does Young Master Vanderlin have any method of proving Duke Zohar was the mastermind?" Duke Gamliel asked with heightened expectations, thinking Vaan's defection to his faction was his greatest blessing in recent years.
"About this…" Vaan appeared to contemplate the subject seriously before replying, "I believe regardless of Duke Zohar's involvement or not, we will only know after he pays Your Grace a visit."
"Oh? How can you be so sure Duke Zohar would visit me, Young Master Vanderlin?" Duke Gamliel smiled.
"That's because Duke Zohar is not omniscient," Vaan confidently stated.
"Even if he did plot last night's events, he would need confirmation of its success – Duke Zohar would need to know if he had successfully fooled us into believing Duke Zaahir was the culprit instead. As such, he will definitely come to discuss last night's matter and feel us out."
"On the other hand, even if Duke Zohar wasn't the mastermind, he should be wise enough to realize someone was framing him. As such, he will still come to explain it was a misunderstanding and say it has nothing to do with last night's events."
"However, this is also where it gets tricky," Vaan added.
"There's more?" Duke Gamliel's eyes beamed with excitement. He felt as if listening to Vaan's deconstructed analysis allowed him to grasp the situation in its entirety without missing any gap in detail.
"Absolutely, Your Grace," Vaan affirmed before continuing, "Even if Duke Zohar was a wise schemer, does that automatically make you a fool? If you were someone so easily fooled by his schemes, then there shouldn't have been any competition between you at all. At the very least, it wouldn't last until now."
"Right," Duke Gamliel nodded with satisfaction, feeling good about Vaan's analysis. He was a proud man and naturally considered himself capable and wise.
More importantly, why would he admit to being fooled?
"That's why if even Duke Zohar schemed against you, he would still doubt whether you saw through his scheme or, at the very least, suspect him. Thus, ultimately, Duke Zohar will come to give you an explanation, regardless of whether he was the mastermind or not."
"However, the timing of his explanation will let us to know whether he truly was the mastermind or not," Vaan stated.
"I see," Duke Gamliel was enlightened as he grasped the full picture.
The truth was actually very simple.
If Duke Zohar weren't guilty, providing an explanation wouldn't be the first thing he would try to do upon visiting Duke Gamliel.
On the other hand, if Duke Zohar were innocent, he would be trying to discuss Duke Zaahir's intention instead. After all, they were still officially cooperating to suppress Duke Zaahir.
"My Lord, Duke Zohar has come to see you. He is currently waiting outside the manor."
When Duke Gamliel heard the servant's sudden news, he immediately burst into laughter.
"Escort Duke Zohar to the Meeting Hall. I will see him shortly!" Duke Gamliel gallantly commanded, face brimming with smiles of confidence.
He felt like he had been graced by Mother Pangea's smile and had the whole world in the palm of his hand.
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