African Entrepreneurship Record

Quilina is the second daughter of Sivert, whose mother is of German or Austrian origin from Croatia, and father, Sivert, originally came from the rural areas of Jimo in the Far East Empire, making Sivert’s children what one might call Chinese-German mixed-race in past lives.

Both Sivert and his wife’s appearances are above average, and their children inherited the advantages of their parents’ looks. Notably, whether it’s the eldest daughter Anna, the younger daughter Quilina, or Sivert’s son Klein, their attractiveness would be considered high level even in the twenty-first century.

Friedrich definitely acted out of infatuation! Ernst mused to himself. In truth, Ernst himself is also a fan of good looks, so he is rather gratified with his son’s choice, as their piglet has learned to dig up someone else’s cabbage himself.

”If it’s Quilina, I have no objections either. Growing up with that girl, we know her well, and this also serves as an example for East African immigrant integration,” Ernst stated honestly.

”As for marriage alliances with European nobility, let’s forget about it. There are hardly any good girls of Friedrich’s age among the top European nobles, and we are at a geographical disadvantage anyway,” Ernst said to Karina.

If there were eligible princesses within the German states, Ernst wouldn’t mind arranging a marriage for his son, even if he were unwilling, but he hasn’t found a suitable match over the years.

One significant factor is the geographic distance between East Africa and Europe, making communication less smooth, especially in the past when the Heixinggen Royal Family had few members, keeping Constantine and Ernst practically nailed to Africa, leaving them no time to engage with Europe.

This was true for Karina as well. Like 19th-century European court women, she would have been either attending parties or on her way to one. But since marrying Ernst, Karina has essentially become estranged from her original circle of European noblewomen and has only returned to Austria-Hungary twice to visit family, with the last visit being to bid farewell to her grandmother, Empress Dowager Sophie.

Under such circumstances, communication between the Rhein Royal Family and the entire European nobility could only be conducted through letters and telegrams, with the closest ties being with the Habsburg Royal Family. However, in recent years, there have been no suitable females of Friedrich’s age in the Habsburg Royal Family, otherwise, another marriage alliance between the two countries would have been highly likely.

Naturally, the genes of European nobility are rather mixed, primarily due to the prevalence of close kinship marriages in modern times, leading to many oddities, although hemophilia is the most significant issue due to Queen Victoria’s offspring’s marital alliances with various royal families. Besides hemophilia, these noble groups have no shortage of other hereditary diseases.

Of course, these are Ernst’s personal views. After all, having received education in a past life, Ernst’s cognitive level is slightly higher than that of contemporary people. What Ernst views as various hereditary diseases might be seen by some European aristocrats as proof of pure bloodline; needless to say, old European aristocrats still value bloodlines greatly even into the twenty-first century, let alone in the 19th and early 20th centuries when medicine was not advanced.

Karina: ”This is acceptable then. I am also good friends with Quilina’s mother, so there’s no problem with Quilina’s character, even if her father is not a traditional noble, the status of an East African Duke can only be compared to royal families in Europe.”

After all, East Africa is a great power, so the Duke of East Africa cannot be compared to those of smaller countries. Thus, as a Duke enfeoffed by East Africa, Sivert is also a heavyweight in Europe.

However, Ernst said, ”Actually, Sivert should also count as traditional nobility, right!”

”?” Karina and Friedrich were very puzzled by Ernst’s words.

Ernst continued, ”Although Sivert has been with me for a long time, his Far Eastern surname is Lv, and this surname has a long history in the Far East Empire, with at least a thousand years of history. According to Far Eastern historical records, Jiang Ziya, also named Jiang Shang or Lv Shang, was the assistant minister of the founding monarch of the third empire in the Far East, the Zhou Dynasty, comparable to Germany’s Bismarck. His descendants bore the surname Lv, and theoretically speaking, Sivert is the king of a vassal state of the Xia Dynasty in the Far East Empire, akin to those small countries in Divine Monarchs, so naturally, Sivert is also a descendant of Far Eastern imperial nobility.”

Lv is actually the clan of Jiang Ziya, with Jiang being the family name. Later on, the Far East Empire merged family and clan names, so any way of addressing is acceptable.

As for the claim that Sivert is a descendant of nobility, there is surely no major problem, as everyone in the Far East Empire is a dragon, and any surname picked randomly has a significant background.

Of course, there is some fabrication by Ernst, as Sivert having the surname Lv is correct, but Sivert himself does not have his family tree. He was originally an orphan from the Far East Empire, later brought to Europe by Ernst for education, then transferred to Africa, where he made great achievements for Ernst’s colonial endeavors.

In reality, Sivert now only remembers his Far Eastern name from his childhood, and his other Far Eastern memories have long been vague, given that he was only twelve when he arrived at Heixinggen.

Of course, Ernst claiming that Sivert is a descendant of Jiang Ziya is not purely to fool his family, as it also serves to lay the groundwork for Friedrich.

Although Ernst and Karina are relatively open-minded, they cannot completely disregard the views of the traditional European aristocracy. Therefore, concocting a story of Quilina being a descendant of traditional Far East imperial nobility, even a thousand-year-old noble princess, is not excessive, right?

In fact, Ernst’s own family in his previous life also had a family tree. It can be said that many family trees of the Far East Empire can trace back to the times of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, or the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, which is common.

Thus, Ernst has every reason to believe and assert that, like himself in the past life, Sivert, and indeed all the people of the Far East Empire, possess noble bloodlines.

Of course, Ernst takes advantage of his wife and son’s unfamiliarity with the history and national conditions of the Far East Empire, but since Karina and Friedrich are unaware, surely the European aristocracy will also be in the dark. So, if Ernst claims Sivert is Far Eastern nobility, then he is, and naturally, Sivert’s daughter is Far Eastern nobility too.

With the enfeoffment of Sivert by East Africa, not only is the family not just traditional Far Eastern nobility, but also emerging East African nobility, even more legitimate than European nobility.

Karina knows her husband’s profound ”research” on Far Eastern history, being a recognized Sinology authority, so she does not question it.

She said: ”If that’s the case, that’s wonderful. I was worried that Quilina’s status would be looked down upon by European nobility, but I didn’t expect her family to have such a historical heritage!”

”Indeed! I hadn’t even told Quilina before, it turns out Eastern people are too modest!” Friedrich said.

Ernst pretended to speak solemnly: ”There is nothing strange about this, the Far East Empire alone has a population of three to four hundred million, with a long history, having witnessed many dynasties and ancient states. Under such historical depth, the accumulation of noble descendants is enormous, so you should regard Sivert’s family as falling noblemen of the Far East Empire, similar to the Bourbon Royal Family, only the Bourbons lack the longevity of Sivert’s original family history.”

In Ernst’s view, everyone in the Far East Empire is like a dragon, unlike the strictly hierarchical societies of Europe and other regions, even emperors, who hold the utmost power in Europe, can be challenged by ordinary people of the Far East Empire through their own efforts. After all, ”those who aspire to power are not of royal blood,” but such thoughts are certainly not propagated in East Africa.

While many East African immigrants originated from the Far East Empire, it can be said they are less knowledgeable about it than Ernst, as many had never left their villages in their lifetimes before immigrating to East Africa, and most were illiterate in the Far East Empire, with limited external knowledge. In most rural areas, knowledge of history is still obtained through various legends, operas, and interpretations.