Chapter 4: Archduke Ferdinand

The driver's words and actions surprised Ming and Caitlyn. After all, no matter how familiar the Bermuda taxi driver was with the area, and no matter how much he paid attention to the situation in Harrogate, Her Highness Caitlyn would not have shouted out that name so easily. 

However, he did shout it now, so Zhou Ming instinctively felt that there must be more to it.

Sure enough, the chauffeur then turned his head and showed his face, urgently saying, 'Your Highness Caitlyn, it's me! I'm Tony, I'm the most loyal servant of His Royal Highness the Archduke Ferdinand, and I'm also the servant uncle who has witnessed your growth from birth to the present!'

Caterine suddenly realised: 'Uncle Tony, is that really you? But why have you changed so much? How come you're driving a taxi here? And why did you just insult my father like that? What's going on in Harburg?'

Caitlyn's tone became more and more agitated, almost to the point of hysteria, and in the face of Caitlyn's barrage of questions, Tonyton, who had been a little overjoyed earlier, sank back down.

He let out a heavy sigh and said, 'I'm very sorry, my Queen Caitlyn, I don't want this either, this is all a very sad story.'

'Then let's find a place to sit down and talk. Although this is the first time I've been to Bermuda, I don't think it's a good idea for us to just stop in the middle of the road like this,' Zhou Ming said at this time.

Tony froze for a moment. Due to the excitement of meeting his master before, he subconsciously ignored Zhou Ming's presence. It was only when he heard him speak that he suddenly reacted to the fact that Zhou Ming was still here. So he asked Caitlyn doubtfully about his identity. Caitlyn thought for a moment and told him, 'Zhou Ming is the person I am closest to besides my father, so there is no need to hide the Harrogate incident from him.'

Caitlyn's words were relatively tactful, but they also made things very clear, so he also became respectful towards Zhou Ming. Then, as arranged by Zhou Ming, they went together to an elegant café next door.

'Your Highness Caitlyn, I apologise profusely for the profanation of your presence in this humble café when the magnificent castle would be a more fitting abode.

In response, Zhou Ming and Caitlyn both waved their hands to tell him that it didn't matter. Only then did Tony put away his fear and told him what he knew.

First, he explained that he became a taxi driver because, after the Harrods family went bankrupt, he and the other servants were dismissed. He had no other skills for survival, and his family was unwilling to leave Bermuda, but the Harrods family could no longer pay him, he had no choice but to become a taxi driver. No matter how stable or how much he earned, at least it was an income that could keep his family alive.

As for the Harburg family's bankruptcy, he didn't know the specific circumstances, but he knew that it happened within this month. About half a month ago, Archduke Ferdinand suddenly summoned all the servants, gave each one six months' pay, then fired all the servants in the castle and demanded that everyone move out within three days.

As Toni's family is from Bermuda, he knew that the day after all the servants left the castle, the bank came to seal it off.

'So now Harburg is legally the property of the bank,' Toni then added, 'I'm really very sorry, Your Highness Catherina, I am absolutely loyal to your father, Archduke Ferdinand, and I would never dare to say anything defamatory about him without his permission!'

Tony burst into sobs, and fortunately there was no one else in the café, otherwise it would have certainly become the centre of attention.

But Zhou Ming read an interesting message in Tony's words: 'Tony, are you saying that the slanderous things you said about Archduke Ferdinand were authorised by His Royal Highness?'

'Of course. If His Highness didn't want me to say that, I would never say it even if they cut out my tongue. I've been in Harburg for been here for 21 years, the same age as Her Highness Catherina. I have a deep affection for Harburg, and even you, Mr. Zhou Ming, cannot question my loyalty to Archduke Ferdinand!' Toni said firmly.

Zhou Ming told him that he did not doubt his loyalty, and Tony let out a sigh of relief.

Compared to Tony, Caitlin obviously understood Zhou Ming better: 'Did you think of something?'

Zhou Ming shook his head and said with some caution, 'I can't be sure yet. Maybe this matter is not complicated, or maybe there are other deeper issues behind it. But anyway, let's go back to Harrogate and take a look before making a decision.'

Caitlin also fully agreed with Zhou Ming's decision. Later, after Tony's mood had calmed down a bit, they took Tony's taxi together to Harburg.

Harrodsburg is located in Alsace, a colonial naming convention. It was named after the 26 noble families with lettered surnames and their respective fiefdoms. Since Harrodsburg's original fiefdom was Alsace, , so the area on the island of Bermuda where Harburg is located is also called Alsace. The castle built on this Alsace was naturally also named Harburg after the family.

Of course, since this is on the island of Bermuda, the area actually called Alsace is not very large, just the jurisdiction of a street office. Therefore, when they entered Alsace, Zhou Ming immediately saw Harburg Castle.

It was the largest and most eye-catching building in the area. It was a large castle that combined Gothic and Baroque architectural styles. From the front, the entire castle was a semicircular structure that semi-enclosed the open square in front of the castle gate. In the square there is a huge bronze statue of a griffin. The griffin shines in the sunlight, its head raised and wings spread, as if it is about to soar into the sky at any moment. It is very imposing and this is the family crest of the Harth family.

Toni's car finally pulled up and stopped at the main entrance outside the castle walls. This is because the current Harburg Castle is now owned by the bank. Grand Duke Ferdinand is only allowed to continue living in the castle by the bank, and he has actually lost sovereignty over the castle.

As Toni understood it, until the property was liquidated, no vehicles other than those of the bank and the court were allowed to enter freely. If they wanted to enter, they had to prove that they were friends of Archduke Ferdinand and pass a rigorous property inspection by the bank's security personnel. Even after completing the liquidation of assets, even Archduke Ferdinand was forced to move out.

'These damned bastards! They're really too rude. Do they really think the Harburg family is easy to bully?' Caitlin gritted her teeth and couldn't help but scold.

Tony, who was in front of them, also turned around and said, 'Your Highness Caitlyn, although I am only a servant, I really hope to see Harburg's glory once again, at least... You must take Harburg back!'

This time, Zhou Ming answered for Caitlyn: 'Don't worry, whoever ends up with this Harburg, I will make them spit it out intact. If there is any damage, I will make them pay back a hundred times over. I will also make Harburg more glorious than ever before!'

Tony was stunned. If someone else had said this to him, even if it was Ferdinand, the Grand Duke and head of Harburg, he would not have believed them. But now, facing Zhou Ming, he could feel in his heart that he was truly able to say and do what he said.

Zhou Ming and Caitlin then got out of the car and went to the gate of Harburg Castle. They were immediately stopped by the security guard at the gate: 'I'm sorry, this is already Bankman Bank's property, and non-related personnel are not allowed to enter.'

'Harburg is not the property of any bank, it belongs to the Harburg family!' Caitlin emphasised.

In response, the security guards at the door laughed dismissively: 'Perhaps the Harburg family was really powerful in the past, but that was in the past. All I know is that he is now bankrupt. As for the gambling addict and drug addict Archduke inside, I'm afraid his wealth is not as good as ours.'

'I forbid you to slander him!' Caitlin shouted, 'The House of Harburg is sacred, and Archduke Ferdinand is definitely not some gambling junkie and drug addict!'

Although Caitlin was trying her best to defend herself, the security guards obviously didn't care. They just laughed heartily, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.

Zhou Ming sighed. It was obvious that Caitlyn had lost her cool due to the family's misfortune. But that was normal. No matter how smart she was, she was still just a 2-year-old girl. If it were me, I probably wouldn't have done as well as her!

In that case, Zhou Ming had to help her out: 'I know that the ownership of this castle has changed. I won't discuss the legality of this change but you cannot prevent a daughter from seeing her father. This lady is the first heiress of the Harburg family and the daughter of the archduke Ferdinand inside.

Zhou Ming's words instantly stunned the security guards, who looked at Caitlin with disbelief.

At this point, Zhou Ming continued, 'I don't know where you stray dogs came from, but the Harburg family's reputation is not something scum to judge the Harthburg family's reputation. It seems I need to inform your superiors and let the Bank of Bankman decide whether your behaviour just now requires an apology.'

After Zhou Ming finished speaking, he took out his mobile phone. Seeing Zhou Ming's attitude, the security guards immediately panicked. After all, they were just ordinary people guarding the door here, and they only had a smattering of knowledge about the aristocratic world. If they were facing an ordinary person, they could joke about anyone, and even say that the Queen was a vixen who only sucked the life out of others. But if someone really took it seriously, then they would panic, because they didn't want to lose their jobs over it.

They don't know Ming Zhou and Caitlyn, but Ming Zhou's aura of superiority and confidence that oozes from the bone cannot be faked. Now he's even going to take out his phone to make a call, so how can they not panic?

So they immediately apologised: 'We are very sorry, we are ignorant trash, we should not say anything that damages the Harburg family, please forgive us! Don't hold it against us!'

'I want you to apologise to my father, Archduke Ferdinand, and to the Harburg family!' said.

The security guards immediately apologised as Catherine demanded, at which point Zhou Ming put away his phone: 'Watch what you say in the future, or you will definitely pay for it. But for now, you should get to work!'

Zhou Ming This is obviously a case of taking advantage of the situation. After all, he was just bluffing. He had never even heard of Bankman Bank, so where would he find their superior?

However The security guards didn't know this, however, and seeing that Zhou Ming was not pursuing the matter, they thanked him profusely, as if he were their saviour, and immediately went to contact Archduke Ferdinand, who was still allowed to live in the castle. After about a quarter of an hour, a thin old man with a walking stick came out of the castle under the escort of security guards.

From Caitlin wet eyes, he knew that the old man was Archduke Ferdinand, the current head of the Harburg family.