Chapter 26: So it was him

Zhou Mingkai Caitlin and Louise followed the other members of the Harrowsbourg family to the door, only to see the castle gates wide open. Andre stood in front, followed by Ifman and other family members. They were facing the road, standing in a very standard manner, and there was no noisy chatter. The attitude seemed to be waiting for the arrival of some important person.

However, a minute... ten minutes... half an hour passed...

Even the nobles' patience could not hold out any longer, and they began to murmur, 'What on earth is Andrei making us wait for? It's been half an hour already. He's not trying to trick us, is he? Look at this road, it's as empty as the endless desert. Where could any important person be?'

Another hour passed...

As the time passed, the quiet murmurs in the crowd slowly turned into loud discussions. You could hear people talking all around, and it sounded like a bustling market.

'Hey, have you heard this story? There was this little shepherd boy, so ordinary and always unnoticed, that one day he decided to attract attention to himself. While tending the sheep, he deliberately shouted wolf, just to get the attention of the others. In fact, the villagers were so kind that they believed the damned brat's lie, when in fact there was no hungry wolf!

Someone teased, obviously they had no hope for the big shot Andre had promised them. To vent their frustration, they naturally mocked the culprit. In this story of the boy who cried wolf, André is the shepherd boy who has tricked everyone into waiting for a nonexistent 'big shot'.

Even Ephraim, who is his staunchest supporter, can't help but doubt. Ephraim whispers to him, 'My brother, has something happened to your big shot? You can call and ask.'

André shook his head: 'He may have had an accident, but I can't call him and nag him because of the huge difference in status between us.'

This answer made Ephraim gasp, because he had already vaguely guessed the identity of the big shot.

At that moment, someone in the crowd behind him became impatient: 'Hey, André, do you have anyone at all? Do you want us to stay here with you until tomorrow morning, watching the Emperor's new clothes? If that's the case, I can just ask my chef to come over and cook us dinner, even though it's only 10am.'

A mocking remark that caused the crowd to laugh out loud. Efamane turned around and angrily scolded, 'Stupid fool who knows nothing, shut your pig's mouth! That great man is not someone you can speculate on. You can wait for him here, and that is your honour!'

Iphman's angry rebuke drew a chorus of boos and countless jeers: 'We are indeed very honoured, so the premise is that we are really waiting for God? If that's the case, I'll have him bless me! Who are you calling a stupid fool who knows nothing? It's a fool named Iphman, isn't it?'

The crowd mercilessly mocked André and Ephraim, but Caitlin suddenly turned pale. Zhou Ming noticed and asked her, 'Caitlin, do you know who that person is?'

Caitlin nodded solemnly: 'If that's the kind of temper he has, and if Andre is so afraid of him, then the only person who would insist on waiting here despite such ridicule would be him!'

The truth was waiting to prove itself for Caitlin. As soon as her voice died down, she heard the roar of a helicopter engine in the sky not far away. the sound of the engine, Andre suddenly yelled, 'Stop it all, just wait here quietly. If you want to disgrace Harburg, then go ahead and make as much noise as you like!'

It was whether it was Andre's shout or the anticipation of the approaching helicopter, the previously noisy crowd suddenly fell silent and everyone waited quietly.

However as the helicopter's engine roared closer and closer, a helicopter did indeed fly over, but it did not land in Harburg, but flew directly over Harburg.

Watching as it flew over their heads and grew further and further away, everyone was first taken aback, and then erupted into an even louder round of booing.

'Count André, are you trying to become a sailor with that loud voice of yours? But a sailor like you is destined to be hanged from the mast! I I thought someone was coming, but it's just another deceitful farce? You've gone too far with this story of the boy who cried wolf! I suggest you pack up your goat shit and go back to planting your turnips, you stupid bastard!'

The crowd mocked, but Caitlin's face grew more and more solemn. She told Zhou Ming, 'That person just likes to play these kind of nerve-wracking pranks. He just likes to show up when people are least unprepared and most relaxed. He said that only then would his arrival be the focus of attention. His current behaviour, being late and deliberately flying a helicopter, is very much in line with his style.'

'If if that's the case, then I think he should have arrived this time,' said Ming.

Cate and Louise immediately understood what he meant, because they could already hear another engine roar through the crowd and it was getting closer and closer.

'Shut up, all of you! Can't you hear the sound from the sky? This is real!'

Andre roared, but as there was already a precedent, no one believed him anymore. They continued to mock him as best they could until the helicopter got closer and closer.

'Attention, idiots down there! I demand that you immediately welcome Lord Jefferson, or you will see God tonight, or perhaps Satan.'

This was a loudspeaker announcement from the helicopter, accompanied by a series of heavy machine gunfire.

The people on the ground people could see the helicopter in the sky not far away. It didn't matter that they saw it, it almost scared the soul out of them: 'My God, what is that?'

It was three Apache gunships, which were flying at cruising speed towards Harrodsburg. The chain guns still rotating on the sides of the three helicopters clearly told the people on the ground what he had just done.

'This Is that the guy called Jefferson? He really is a nervous wreck!' Zhou Ming commented on his highly-publicised entrance. After all, he had heard that some super-rich people like to play with helicopters, but he had never heard of anyone who likes to fly gunships. It's even more incredible that you can get a flight permit to fly a gunship, which is a sign of strength.

Caitlin Lynn gave a helpless smile: 'If it's him, I'm afraid this time it's going to be difficult, because this person is completely unreasonable, and you can never tell what he's going to do.'

The people the crowd could no longer hear anything. They all stared up at the sky, and the timid ones even sat down on the ground with weak knees. However no matter what the situation was, they dared not move. After all, they had heard the warning and they had also heard the gunshot. If they moved, who knows if the other party would really shoot them and turn them into mincemeat.

Oh my God! What what is going on? Could it be that the French Air Force has arrived? Even the army shouldn't be so high-profile! Could this be the big shot André has been waiting for? But this appearance is really quite shocking.

At this time, everyone's thoughts are in their minds, and they are waiting dumbly for the arrival of the big shot in the sky.

The Apache was flying fast, and in a few minutes it was already over Harburg, landing directly in the open space in front of the castle.

When the helicopter doors opened, Andre was the first to go forward and bow, saying, 'Welcome, Mr. Jefferson!'

Andre set an example, and the other members of Harburg also followed suit, bowing to welcome him.

The door opened, and a young man in his thirties stepped off the gunship helicopter. He was wearing a dusty grey military uniform from somewhere, and a pair of black sunglasses. He looked a lot like a drug dealer from somewhere, but it was obvious that Andre's whole body had tensed up when he saw him, and he didn't dare to breathe. In addition, Caitlin's small hand was also tightly grasping Zhou Ming.

Looking at Andre and the other Harburg family nobles in front of him, the young man took off his sunglasses and deliberately asked, 'It seems you were saying something just now. But I don't seem to have heard it, could you repeat it for me?'

Hearing him saying this, Andre immediately bent down again and said the words of welcome again, and the others behind him repeated them.

This time, he smiled contentedly: 'Not bad, Andre, you still have a lot of charisma! I can tell everyone here that my name is Jefferson, I don't know if you've heard of me, and his name is Brando Marron.'

As he said his name, or rather the name of his father, Zhou Ming could see that Louise was trembling all over, dumbfounded, as if she couldn't believe it.

'So was Andre waiting for him? If he really was from the Maronites, then he definitely had the power to decide the succession once and for all! But...this can't be true, can it?' Louise muttered uncertainly.

'The The Maronites are the most powerful of the 13 orders of the Catholic Church. Brando is the Grand Patriarch of this order. He is arguably the most powerful person after the Pope and the Grand Inquisitor, and even the Pope has to give him some ground when it comes to wealth and power,' said Louise Louise said incredulously, 'But I've never heard that Patriarch Berando has such a son who likes to play with military helicopters!'

'Aunt I'm sorry, but that's true,' Caitlin told Louise. 'You haven't heard of him because he's not the son of the Patriarch's first wife, but his illegitimate son. Perhaps the philanderer of a Patriarch had many illegitimate sons, but he was the Patriarch's favourite. For this reason the Patriarch spared no expense and gave him the Bank of America on his eighteenth birthday.

Louise let out a gasp, and after a long silence she gave a bitter laugh. 'It seems we are doomed to fail this time, but who would have thought that Andre could invite such a big shot?'

Zhou Ming glanced at her. Even the Princess Louise did, not to mention the members of Harburg in front of them. Sure enough, in front of them, every member of Harburg was desperately lowering their heads even lower to express their humility and reverence for him.