The director of the Research Institute was a middle-aged man in his forties.
He was from the Fan Family.
After sitting down, Liu Lan briefly explained the situation to him.
He listened without speaking for a long while. Nearly two minutes passed before he looked at me. "There's actually no need to use overly drastic measures to settle this matter. These young people are the hope of Little Barren Island. If we truly punish them, we may chill everyone's hearts. Over the years, they have contributed greatly to Little Barren Island."
Liu Lan frowned. "Then what good solution do you have?"
The moment I heard his words, I had already guessed what he wanted to say.
There was another way to settle this matter: punish me, the "murderer" who had killed the Old Patriarch, and then pretend nothing had happened.
Since the culprit had been brought to justice, the radicals would have no grounds to make trouble this time.
It was a classic case of sacrificing the lesser to preserve the greater.
"There is only one solution: bring the murderer of the Old Patriarch to justice and execute him according to the island's rules. That way, the radicals will have no reason to keep pressing the matter. After that, things will be easier. We can break them down one by one and make them realize the error of their actions."
"But you clearly know that Mr. Jiang isn't the real murderer," Liu Lan said coldly.
He shook his head. "That isn't important. Truly, at this point, who killed the Old Patriarch is no longer important. What matters is that you, Island Lord, must take a stance. This matter needs an outcome."
I said nothing, but I knew that this man from the Fan Family had already sided with the radicals.