Chapter 13: Get the hell out of here

'Harburg Castle in Alsace is a very old castle, so old that we have to look through history that predates the Middle Ages to find traces of it. But being old doesn't mean being conservative. On the contrary, our Harburg are a family that is very good at change, so they were able to survive in the war-torn corner of Alsace in the first place, and finally got the opportunity to be elected king of the Holy Roman Empire.'

Zhou Ming and Caitlyn followed Louise into Harburg and could hear a loud voice shouting. Zhou Ming knew that it was Andre, and it was easy to hear because the castle was not big.

And the castle is also very old, just as André said. Despite every effort to repair the walls, a sense of history is palpable. In addition, compared to Harrods in Bermuda, there are not as many, but there are more historical murals here due to the space and location.

When they reached the entrance to the hall, Louise suddenly turned around and said, 'Okay, let's just go to the door. I don't want Andre to see us go in together, so I'll go in first, and you can come in a little later, okay?'

Zhou Ming nodded and said it was fine. Louise smiled and praised, 'What a good boy!'

Then Louise led her servant inside first. Looking at her back as she went in, Caitlin asked curiously, 'I know that Aunt Louise is trying to keep her distance from us and stay out of the family's internal disputes, but didn't she help us get in just now at the door? It's a bit late to be thinking about keeping our distance, isn't it?'

Zhou Ming smiled as he took Caitlyn's soft hand and said to her, 'That's not something we need to worry about. Since she's said so, let's do it.'

Zhou Ming naturally had no way of knowing what Louise really thought, but he guessed that she might have done it just to show a gesture, that is, she could temporarily submit to Andries and did not want to publicly lose face; and on Andries on the other hand, he could do nothing about the princess for the time being, so in the end, what Louise did was to leave herself a way out, which was the standard behaviour of politicians and nobles.

Looking into the hall with Louise, Zhou Mingxian realised that this family gathering in Harburg was a little different from what he had imagined. Originally, Zhou Ming thought that a meeting of a large family like Harburg, which had existed for thousands of years would be in a huge hall, or a huge round table meeting, or a banquet-like format with tables and tables. However, this meeting was indeed a bit disappointing to Zhou Ming.

Perhaps it was because of the age of this Harburg Castle, this hall was only the size of a basketball court, not even as big as the school hall when he was at school.

Due to the lack of space, there were only a few tables and chairs in the hall. As Zhou Ming looked around, there were at most a dozen people sitting, while the rest were standing, enough for hundreds of people. This scene made Zhou Ming feel that this was not some kind of aristocratic meeting, but more like a gangster gathering in the city of Hong Kong. It was even possible that the meeting hall of the heroes of the Liangshan Marsh would be more formal than this.

Zhou Ming thought that this might be due to the decline of the Harburg family, or perhaps it was the idea of hierarchy within their family.

While Zhou Ming was observing the situation, Louise had already entered the hall: 'I'm terribly sorry, it seems I'm late!'

Louise's words were of course directed at André, who had called this meeting, and following Louise's direction, Zhou Ming finally saw the person André.

It has to be said that this Andre's image also somewhat contradicts Zhou Ming's previous expectations. Originally, Zhou Ming thought that he and Caitlin were the top two heirs, so he should be similar in age to Caitlin be similar in age to Caitlyn and be a young talent, but unexpectedly he was a middle-aged man with a full beard. God knows how the succession order in this family is arranged.

Andre Andre stood on the only lectern in the hall. When he heard Louise's voice, he immediately stopped his speech. He smiled and said, 'Of course not, dear Princess Louise. The most basic quality of a gentleman is to be able to accept a lady's lateness. I am honoured to be a gentleman.'

Louise Louise thanked him, then looked around and said, 'But there doesn't seem to be any room here. Should a gentleman let a lady stand?'

'That would be an act cursed by God, so I've reserved a place especially for you.'

Louise was satisfied to sit down, and their exchange of words also confirmed Zhou Ming's previous guess that Andre did not want to fall out with Louise, and it is even possible that he wants her support. After all, she is the younger sister of the former chancellor Ferdinand and a princess. Regardless of her status, she is someone Andre must win over.

Upon thinking this, Zhou Ming turned to Caitlin and said, 'Now it's our turn to make an appearance.'

In the hall Andre said, 'Dear compatriots, when Her Royal Highness the Princess arrives, all our guests will be here, and we can officially begin the Harburg family meeting...'

Andre was interrupted by Zhou Ming: 'I'm sorry, Sir Andre, but there is someone of very high importance who is not here yet. She is the first heir to the Harburg family, Her Royal Highness Theresia Catherina F. Harburg!'

Zhou Ming finished and took the initiative to make way for her. Caitlin walked out from behind Ming with her head held high and her shoulders straight.

As Caitlin Caitlin's appearance, the scene was suddenly a roar, because no one expected Caitlin to suddenly appear. Although in recent years, due to Andre's activities, Caitlin and the others their sense of existence had become very weak. In the end, in the competition with Andre, Ferdinand even lost everything, including the last castle in Bermuda and the centuries-old castle.

But after all, still recognised as the head of the family, and they were about to divide up the Harth family fortune, so they were a little uneasy when they suddenly saw Catherina appear.

André, on the other hand, was the first first reaction was to look at Louise. Such a coincidental appearance obviously made him suspect that the princess was behind it. However, Louise was also an experienced aristocrat, and she managed to look surprised just right, so that Andre knew she was acting even though he had to let it go.

Thinking about this, Andre Andre spread his hands: 'Caitlyn is very welcome, but I must warn you that one of the topics to be discussed at today's meeting is about family succession, so it's a bit premature for you to claim to be the first in line of succession.'

'So you're saying , are you, Mr. Andre, trying to usurp power in public?' Zhou Ming asked as he walked up to them.

The word usurp power made Andre frown in anger, but he couldn't respond directly here, so he asked, 'Dear Caitlin, who is this gentleman?'

'He is my husband husband Zhou Ming,' said Caitlin.

When Caitlin said this, there was a sudden burst of surprise in the room, and everyone looked at Caitlin in disbelief, and even more disbelievingly at Zhou Ming. No one could imagine suddenly getting such news.

On the lectern, Andre Andre's brow furrowed even deeper as he heard the words from the lectern: 'Zhou Ming? I'm sorry, I don't remember such a family in the East, and I don't remember Harusburg having any plans for an alliance with the East. Is he a Hua Xia person? Or just a Chinese person?'

'He is a Hua Xia person Zhou Ming. He doesn't belong to any noble family, he's just my husband!' Caitlin said.

If Caitlin's arrival and her words earlier had only surprised everyone, then her current words shocked everyone. Because no one could why the most beautiful heiress of the Harburg family would choose an ordinary husband. Goodness, this is no fairy tale, how could such a bizarre thing happen?

In the midst of the shock , only Louise, who knew in advance, was much calmer. Even so, she still stared, clearly taken aback that Caitlin had dared to say it so directly.

André was the first to his senses. He said to Caitlin, 'I don't know what kind of sorcery this Chinese person has cast on you, but your relationship is not blessed by God.'

'Then let's not have God's blessing, and we'll just live our own relationship,' Caitlin said nonchalantly.

'Ignorant, naive !' Andre angrily rebuked, 'Caitlin, do you know what you just said? Those blasphemous words against God will bring disaster to our family, and you are not worthy to be the successor of the Harburg family!'

'Honourable Andre Andre, you seem to be taking this too far. Even if you were ahead of Caitlyn in the line of succession, and even if you were really the heir to the family, you would not have the right to say such things until you have actually inherited the family fortune!' Ming kindly reminded him.

Andre was so angry that he gritted his teeth: 'I don't need your reminder, and when it comes to qualifications, you are the one who is least qualified to speak here!'

Zhou Ming laughed: It doesn't matter if I'm qualified or not. What matters is that my wife Caitlyn is here. That's enough for me, because today I'm here to help her get back what belongs to us.'

'You damned damned Chinese, you are in no position to call a Harburg woman a wife, and there is nothing here that belongs to you!' Andre suddenly shouted at Zhou Ming, which took him by surprise. But then Andre calmly said, 'Caitlin is indeed qualified to attend this meeting, you came too late, there is no more room for you here, so you have to stand outside the door and listen.'

'As the second heir and also as a gentleman, don't you think you should find Caitlin a place, Mr. Andre?' asked Zhou Ming.

Andre spread his hands and shrugged, saying, "I'm sorry, you saw the situation on the spot.'

Zhou Ming nodded: "In that case in that case, we'll just have to find our own seats, won't we?'

Andre instinctively felt a hint of unease, but he still waved his hand: 'If you think it's okay, then go ahead.'

With Andre's permission permission, Ming-Hsien Chou looked around the hall once, and finally fixed his gaze on the person closest to the lectern. Ming-Hsien walked over to him and politely asked, 'Your Excellency, I don't know your name.'

The man subconsciously glanced back at Andre before answering, 'I am Lord Iffman of Austria.'

'Then Lord Iffman I am very honoured to meet you here.' After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Ming asked the shocking question, 'Then please get up from this seat and get lost, because this seat belongs to my wife Caitlin.'