Since Flying Fish A-Tang had no bad habits and was quite capable in his own right, Sui Xiong naturally had no objection to making him the lord.
With Vol and Sui Xiong both giving their approval, the matter of his succession was more or less settled.
Still, quite a few things had to be done between settling it and formally handing over the post. Orian first needed to have A-Tang study governance under her, then gradually hand over the Gelten Territory's major responsibilities to him one by one. Most importantly, she had to let him slowly establish the proper hierarchy with the territory's principal officials, allowing them to gradually become accustomed to him presiding over every aspect of the work... This could not be rushed. Even if Orian possessed sufficient authority to have her word be law, for the sake of the territory, A-Tang needed to establish authority of his own.
According to Orian's plan, this would take two or three years. By then, A-Tang would be thirty-five or thirty-six and could serve as lord for ten to fifteen years. For the vast majority of territories, that was already more than enough.
A-Tang naturally had children as well. Though they were still young, they were quite clever. With proper instruction, they would surely become fine heirs in twenty years.
Even if his children proved disappointing and could not inherit the territory, the Gelten Family still had quite a few close and direct relatives. Even if Orian Gelten did not wish to become some puppet master behind the scenes, asking Steel Gelten or Lomon Gelten to serve as acting lord for a time would not be impossible.
But thinking carefully about it, that generation really had been formidable. The two who had competed for the inheritance, along with Orian, who had