38: Father’s Difficulties

Father’s Difficulties

Recently, there had been a lot of discussions in the family. Almost all of them were speculating that the patriarch Calder would not be able to hold his power for long.1

Because of the marriage, Calder had fallen out with the family council.

The elders of the big families had made it clear in the council that they would either let Audrey join the marriage to complete the family's mission or Calder himself would have to step down from the patriarch's position.

This proposal had the consent of almost all the elders in the parliament.

If Calder continued to obstruct the marriage, then at the end of the next month, Calder would most likely be impeached by all the elders and voted to remove his position as the patriarch.

...

Audrey came to Calder's residence and saw her father, Calder, drinking alone in the courtyard.

"Father."

"Dear Audrey, where have you been all this time?"

When Calder saw Audrey, he happily invited her over to sit.

Audrey was already an adult. He rarely restrained himself, but it was not right for her to disappear for so long. At the very least, she had to greet her father or write to him often.

"I went out to do some work."

Audrey sat down on the chair opposite her father.

Calder smiled when he heard that. What could Audrey have done? She must have secretly gone out to play.

"How is it? Have you found someone you like during this period of time?"

Calder asked. He had previously instructed Audrey to find someone she liked as soon as possible to deal with the parliament's decision to ask Audrey to marry him.

"No, it's not that easy to find someone that I like."

Audrey shook her head with a regretful look. In fact, she had not gone to find the person at all.

"There's no rush. Finding the person is such an important matter. We can't be too hasty. You can take your time to find the person you like. It's better to be lacking than to be poor."

Calder nodded slightly when he heard that. He actually did not urge Audrey.

Originally, he had thought that by marrying off his daughter as soon as possible, he would be able to deal with the parliament's decision.

But now, it seemed like this method would not work. The family would not allow Audrey to marry anyone she wanted.

This time, the parliament was quite determined to send Audrey to marry someone. It seemed like Audrey was the only one who could do it.

Calder understood that this was not Audrey's matter anymore. It was a power struggle within the family.

Those old fellows in the family council had long wanted to use this opportunity to attack him.

Audrey fell silent for a moment, then said, "Father, the family council..."

Calder waved his hand and said calmly, "You don't need to worry about the family council's matters. You need to believe that I won't allow you to form a marriage alliance."

He would not compromise on this matter. This was his insistence and responsibility as a father.

Audrey said, "I heard that you would soon be deposed as the patriarch?"

Calder smiled and said, "It's alright. In fact, I don't really want to be the patriarch anymore. I'm so busy every day. In the future, I might have more time to accompany you."

Calder was very calm about the position of patriarch. He was not persistent.

Others chased after power and status, but he was already tired of it.

Calder was worried that Audrey would feel guilty because of this matter. Thus, he consoled her, "Audrey, it hasn't been a day or two since they wanted to kick me out of the position of patriarch. This matter is just a fuse.

"Even if there is no marriage, they will find other things to make things difficult for me in the future.

"In any case, I won't be able to sit in this position for long. It's the same whether I go down early or late."

The only reason Calder was able to sit in the position of the patriarch was because of Audrey's mother.

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