Chapter 10: Princess Louise

With Homyk being taken away, this little incident at the gates of Harusburg came to an end. Afterwards, Captain Feldes and his officers walked into Harusburg and arrived at Archduke Ferdinand's room. But there is still one noteworthy detail here: when Captain Fields saw the corpse of Archduke Ferdinand still sitting in his chair, he and the constable behind him immediately stopped in their tracks. They took off their hats and bowed deeply to Archduke Ferdinand before continuing on their way.

It was clear that they did so out of respect for Archduke Ferdinand. After all, compared to the United States, the feudal mentality was more serious here in Bermuda. Alsace was a fiefdom of the House of Harcourt, and although on the surface, it belongs to Bermuda, but in reality, all public expenses here are borne by the House of Harburg. In other words, in the past, Chief Feldes and his officers were paid by Ferdinand.

According to the idea of a modern state, they were public servants, but according to the feudal concept, they were all Ferdinand's servants.

It was also For this reason, Sheriff Fields is a bit nostalgic, and it is only at the risk of being fired that he cooperated with Zhou Ming at the door and put Homik in his place.

Subsequently after a preliminary examination by the forensic physician, it was judged that Ferdinand had died of natural causes following the failure of his respiratory system due to old age. The forensic physician hesitated for a moment and added, 'To be honest, I was very surprised, because he presented to me an extremely abnormal old appearance. He obviously was only in his fifties, but his body looked like it was in his seventies. It was obvious that he had overdrawn his vitality. Under these circumstances, he could die at any time.'

Zhou Ming was not not surprised by the forensic doctor's judgment, because that was what Zhou Ming had originally thought. Ferdinand had carried all the pressure alone, and after overdrawing his energy, he was hanging on by a thread.

Zhou Ming understood that in the past, it was because of Caitlin that he could not let go, so he just kept going. But now that he had pushed Caitlin into his room, he had completed his final mission. He felt that he had no more regrets, and finally relaxed. He had also reached the end of his life.

'So I was the one who drove him to his death? ' Ming thought helplessly.

The forensic pathologist also advised: "The current examination is only a superficial routine examination. If you want to know the specific cause of death of Archduke Ferdinand, you need to take the body back for further autopsy...

" Regarding this proposal, Caitlin immediately objected: 'No, please leave my father's body intact.'

In response to objection, the police finally came up with a compromise: an autopsy would be performed without damaging the body, to ensure that there had been no foul play and to guarantee as far as possible that Ferdinand had died a natural death.

After agreeing on this , the police took away the body of Archduke Ferdinand. Thanks to the lesson learned from Homik, the security guards at the entrance no longer dared to block the way, and even Zhou Ming and Caitlin let them go like this, of course, which was also the reason why they guaranteed that they would come back.

Zhou Ming and Caitlin Teldrin accompanied Ferdinand's body to the morgue. After two hours of autopsy by the forensic doctor, the result was the same as the previous judgment: natural death due to aging and failure of all organs in the body, and there were no signs of homicide.

This result was within Zhou Ming's expectations. After all, with this military commander in charge, how could anyone sneak in and kill someone without being noticed?

'Zhou Ming, my father, did he die because I had found a place to belong and he no longer had any reason to stay? So I the culprit who killed my father, right?'

On the way back to Harburg, Caitlyn suddenly said to Ming Zhou that they were now in an ordinary Audi, which Ming Zhou had rented during the two hours they had spent at the police station.

From her words Zhou Ming knew that the clever princess had also figured out the cause and effect of this matter. However, Zhou Ming said, 'Don't be silly, how could it be your fault? Have you forgotten that your father passed away with a very peaceful smile? In my hometown of Huaxia, elders who die in this way are called happy mourners, because they leave no regrets, don't they?'

Zhou Ming said this on purpose. After all, he couldn't really say that she had caused his father to die, could he?

But the clever Caitlyn was not so easily fooled. She looked at Zhou Ming suspiciously, so Zhou Ming had to continue, 'Compared to this, my princess, don't you think what we should be doing now is preparing your father's funeral?'

After Zhou Ming Caitlyn also realised that this was indeed the case.

The police station was not Harrodsburg was not far away, and it only took two minutes for them to return to Harrodsburg. The Bankman Bank security guards were still standing there in fear, but in addition to these guards, there was now another mixed-race person.

He walked up and said: 'Hello, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. My mother is Chinese, and I have a Chinese name too. You can call me Yang Heng. I am the new managing director of Bankmann Bank, succeeding Homyk. First of all, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to the two of you for Homyk's previous behaviour. In fact, Bankmann Bank also has great respect for powerful and long-established families like Harburg, and we...'

Zhou Ming interrupted his chatter: 'Okay, Manager Yang, enough of the high-sounding words. If you have something to say, just say it. If not, we'll be going back first. After all, Archduke Ferdinand has just left, and we must prepare his funeral.'

'Of course there . I just want to say that although Archduke Ferdinand has passed away, the previous agreement is still valid, and you can still live in Harburg. I just need to remind you that you should not touch anything in the castle, otherwise you will still be in breach of the agreement...

Seeing that his words was the same old stuff, Zhou Ming did not hesitate to roll up the window and drove into the castle.

Back at the castle, the first thing they set about doing was to ask the other Harusburg family relatives and elders about the family's funeral rituals, and then invite them to attend the funeral.

'Father has always been the head of the family and has always been the one to maintain contact with other family members. I didn't know that. My father must have kept a contact list. But I think I should call my aunt Louise first, because my father once told me that if I got into trouble out there or couldn't get in touch with him, my aunt was the one person I could trust most,' Caitlin said to Zhou Ming said.

'Then you'd better call your aunt,' Zhou Ming said to her, but there was another part of the sentence that Zhou Ming didn't say, and it was that he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Caitlin nodded and picked up Ming's phone to call Louise's number. As it was a landline number, the servant answered at first. After Caitlin had reported her identity and stated the reason for the call, the servant put the phone down and went to fetch Louise for her.

Listening to the phone There was no sound for a long time on the other end of the line. Zhou Ming comforted Caitlin, saying, 'Don't worry. Since the servant went to find her, it proves that your aunt is at home right now. You have to have faith in this servant.'

As it turned out, proved Zhou Ming's words correct. After a short while, there was a sound of hurried footsteps, and then the phone was picked up again. A female voice with a very attractive timbre asked, 'I'm Louise. Are you Caitlin?'

'Auntie, it's me, Caitlin Tracy.'

On hearing this, there was a sigh of relief on the other end of the line: 'Thank goodness, it's so good to hear your voice. You know how worried I've been about you after you stopped contacting me for so long?'

'I'm very sorry my aunt, I was being watched in Brighton at the time, so I had no chance to contact you. I hope you can forgive me,' said Caitlin.

'Forget it. . The best news is that you're safe!' Louise said.

Caitlin continued, 'But my aunt, this time I really need your help...'

Louise said said, 'When your father asked you to contact me, he was prepared for me to help you, wasn't he? But you're only coming to me now, which clearly shows a lack of trust in my abilities! After all, your aunt is now the princess of a country, so I can help in some way.'

'My aunt Aunt, it's like this: just this morning, my father passed away in Harburg. I now have to organise his funeral, but I don't know the family funeral rituals and I don't know how to invite the relatives of other families. That's why I'm calling you to ask you, I think you should know,' Caitlin said to she said.

Hearing Caitlyn's words, Louise was shocked. After a while, she said incredulously, 'Caitlyn, you said your father has passed away? How could this be? I talked to him on the phone, and at that time he didn't say that he was feeling unwell. How could he have passed away just one night later?'

Caitlin said 'My father was still alive yesterday. It was this morning. The forensic doctor examined him and found that he had died of natural causes due to respiratory failure caused by ageing organs. I think it was because of the family business that made him so exhausted.'

'Yes, he was the one who supported the Harburg family alone, and it was very hard on him.' Louise sighed, and then asked, 'So now Caitlin, you are the head of the Harburg family, right?'

'Although I I know it's not the right time to say this, but I think it is,' Caitlyn replied.

'In that case, I want to tell you that your situation is very difficult, because André is calling a Harburg family meeting. As you know, the Harburg family properties are almost all in his hands, and he also occupies the Harburg in Salzas, so it is almost impossible for you to inherit this family,' said Louise.

Caitlin bitterly said Caitlin bitterly, 'In fact, it doesn't matter to me whether I inherit the family or not. What concerns me most right now is my father's funeral.'

Louise then asked, 'So when do you plan to bury your father?'

'I don't know yet. I want to see if there's a better day,' Caitlin said.

'Since there's no fixed date, I think the sooner the better, because apart from me, no one in the family will attend the funeral,' Louise said.

In fact, this answer was not unexpected, but when she actually heard Louise say it, Caitlin was silent for a while before she said, 'Anyway I still hope to inform more people. It's their choice whether they come or not, but I must make the arrangements. Not for me, but for my father and the Harburg family!'