What kind of person was Fan Sizhe?
In reality, he was just a common youth in the capital, with an excellent family background. That was why he was a famous tyrant in the capital. He was the twelve-year-old who had stared at Fan Xian when he first entered the capital, his face full of disgust. Of course, he also had some brains, and knew how to restrain his heir to the title of count. At the same time, he was also a young boy who often revealed his naivety and competitiveness at the mahjong table. He was also a genius who often flipped through account books, and developed a fanatical interest that even he himself could not imagine.
There were many sides to a person, and Fan Sizhe was no exception. He was naive, fanatical, arrogant, and ruthless. If you looked at him from any of these sides, you would be biased.
His father was a popular figure in the court, the Minister of Revenue, Count Sinan. His grandmother was the Emperor's wet nurse. His biological mother was the sister of Yi Guipin, and his sister Fan Ruoruo was the most famous and talented woman in the capital. She was about to marry Crown Prince Jing, Li Hongcheng.
As for his brother, the one who had vaguely been an enemy but had actually gotten along well with him, he was the immortal poet of a generation, the most favored young official of the Emperor, the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, and the idol of all scholars. The one who had married a princess, was about to take over the palace treasury, had a seat in the royal study, and was visited by geniuses. He was so red that it was almost purple, and his name seemed to have been framed in gold that no one dared to look directly at.
Yes, his good older brother was Fan Xian, Sir Fan junior.
Since the founding of the Kingdom of Qing, such a family background had never appeared. What kind of youth would be born into such a hot environment?
Before Fan Xian came to the capital, Fan Sizhe was already a famous thug in the capital. But at the time, he was still young, and had not yet found his own direction in life. So all he did was eat for free, steal things, ride a horse through the streets, and act like a little tyrant. After all, Ruoruo was there to enforce the family rules, so he did not cause any big trouble. But this kind of life had long been planted in his bones, and the seeds of daring had long since been planted in his bones.
After Fan Xian entered the capital, his powerful older brother and sister joined forces to make Fan Sizhe obedient. On the other hand, Fan Xian, who had always been pressured by his parents to study and become an official, had been weakened by Fan Xian's arrival. Fan Xian seemed to have opened a window for his younger brother that was completely different from that of other nobles.
Fan Sizhe finally understood what he liked to do, and what he should do in the future. His future was to become the mistress of the Ye family, the kind of wealthy merchant who could rival a nation. He would be able to fully utilize his talent in business and accounting books.
As he gradually grew older, his firm goals in life, his genius calculating mind, and the tyrannical aura he had always possessed combined to form the bold and reckless Fan Sizhe of today.
If he wanted to do business, then what would make him the most money? Of course, it was food, drink, and men. Although the Danbo Bookstore, under the management of the young man and the seventh shopkeeper of Qingyu Hall, was gradually expanding to the whole world, the profits from selling books were not large. Secondly, the bookstore was more or less marked by Fan Xian. Although Fan Sizhe did not care about this, he was more concerned about what he could do.
At the same time, the Third Prince in the palace, his cousin, was not satisfied with listening to the grand tutor's lectures every day. Using a brain that was far more mature than his peers, he began to discuss with Fan Sizhe how to stir up some activity in the capital.
One was 14 years old, and the other was only 8. This strange combination created the popular Baoyue Brothel in the capital.
Because the background of these two boys was too special, this seemingly childish combination brought about unexpected results. The resistance of the government naturally became a help. And when Fan Sizhe was "pleasantly surprised" to discover that Crown Prince Li Hongcheng had a close relationship with the brothel business on the other side of Liujing River, he unceremoniously "borrowed" the popular maid, Yuan Meng, from Li Hongcheng.
With Fan Sizhe's business vision, with Yuan Meng's understanding of the business, with the power of the third prince, and with these two boys, who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth, in less than two or three months, the Baoyue Brothel swept through the entire business in the capital. As for how many people died in the process, and how many innocent girls were ruined, it was not within the scope of his consideration.
His name was Fan Sizhe. Although he was young, he was still a nobleman. As a nobleman, who cared about the life and death of flesh and blood on the cutting board? Furthermore, as a young man, he did things without fear. This was what Fan Xian was most worried about when he spoke with Wan'er that night.
But Fan Sizhe was still afraid. So the Bao Yue brothel truly began to flourish a month after Fan Xian was sent to Northern Qi Kingdom. A few months had passed, and the Bao Yue brothel had firmly established itself in the capital. Fan Sizhe's worry had lessened, and he thought that even if his brother found out he was running a brothel business, what was done could not be undone.
But what he did not expect was that in the half a year since his brother had left for Northern Qi, the situation in the court had changed so much.
In the spring, the Fan family had a close relationship with King Jing's family. In the eyes of the court officials, they were on the second prince's side. So, Fan Sizhe did not think there was anything wrong with him associating with Li Hongcheng, his future brother-in-law. He did not think there was anything wrong with him associating with the third prince, who had been raised by the second prince. But after Fan Xian returned to the capital, Fan Sizhe was shocked to learn that his brother seemed to be in conflict with the second prince.
As the son of an official, Fan Sizhe didn't think that his evil deeds in the capital would make his elder brother angry, but his political acumen told him that if his elder brother found out that he was too close to the other side, there would certainly be problems.
So, in September, he began to tell the people working in the Baoyue Brothel to keep a low profile. He was anxious to get out of this business, and so he had been very busy. But he did not know who had told the third prince to hide in the palace, and he had dragged things out until today.
— — —
Fan Sizhe looked at Deng Zi Yue, who was standing in front of him. He had seen this Overwatch Council official in the manor, and he knew that he was the leader of Fan Xian's entourage. But in the blink of an eye, he gave up on the idea of killing Deng Zi Yue. He knew that he was the owner of the Baoyue Brothel, and his brother would one day find out that he was the owner of the Baoyue Brothel.
"You should go back. I will explain this to him myself."
Fan Sizhe's chubby cheeks trembled. He must still be afraid. He waved his hand to stop the thugs behind him from rushing into the arena. Now that things had come to a head, the respect they had for their elder brother still prevailed in the end.
Deng Zi Yue looked at him, bowed deeply, and then left the room.
The third prince, with a childish voice, cursed, "You let him go just like that? How am I supposed to walk around the capital? How dare a mere official try to bully me? "
Fan Sizhe sighed in his heart. He sat down absentmindedly, and his hands unconsciously stroked the smooth surface of the Qingzhou stone table. He squinted at the girl named Si Qing'er, and suddenly asked, "Where is Yan'er?"
Si Qing'er was confused by the scene in front of her, and she wondered why the owner would be afraid of an official from the Overwatch Council. She was not high enough, and she did not understand the complicated background of this matter. She forced a smile and said, "Yan'er should be resting in the back of the pavilion. You want to see her now?"
The 14-year-old Fan Sizhe's eyes were filled with a ruthlessness that only an adult should have. After a while, he made a decision and said, "Don't worry. Everything will be the same as before."
In his heart, he quickly calculated how he should deal with this mess. If his father knew about this, he would beat him to death. Of course, his mother loved him, and she could even persuade Yi Gui Pin, who was in the palace, to speak to his brother. But his brother, alas, did not even give face to the eldest princess. How could he be persuaded by Yi Gui Pin?
Suddenly, his heart jumped, and his face lit up with joy. It looked like he would have to beg his sister and sister-in-law. If they spoke, his brother would not punish him too harshly.
"I have business to attend to, so I will leave now." Fan Sizhe coldly stared at the third prince. He knew that there was something strange going on. Although he was young, he was a strong man who was willing to cut his own wrists. He coldly said, "I will not come to this place in the future, and I do not care about the profits. But I want you to calculate my share in three months."
The third prince scratched his head and laughed, "You have second brother and your future brother-in-law to support you? What are you afraid of? "
Fan Sizhe ignored him, and his eyes were filled with hatred. He told Si Qing'er, "Send the ten thousand taels of silver to the other party immediately. Who knows, it might even save your life. "
Si Qing'er nodded in agreement. She finally understood that she had offended someone she should not have.
…
…
In the private room on the third floor of Baoyue Brothel that was next to the lake, Fan Xian's eyes were still looking at the boats, birds, and people on the lake. His fingers gently tapped on the table. His face was calm as he calculated this matter. Without spending much energy, he had already sorted out all the clues.
Since the owners of this brothel were Fan Sizhe and the third prince, the capital government would not investigate it. The Overwatch Council, for Fan Xian's sake, would not make things difficult for them. Perhaps the people in the First Bureau still suspected that the owner of this brothel was Fan Xian, so they would not dare to tell on him. It was fortunate that Mu Tie was brave enough to bring this up in front of Fan Xian.
Fan Xian gave a wry smile and drank all the wine in his cup. Fan Sizhe's behavior had been strange lately, and as the older brother, he had not paid enough attention to him. He had scolded Ruoruo and Wan'er for no reason. He had not thought that in this world where men were superior to women, if Fan Sizhe wanted to do something bad outside of the manor, how could they, as his sister and sister-in-law, interfere?
As for the second prince's plans, Fan Xian was very clear.
In the spring, his relationship with the second prince was not bad. Back then, the second prince had used the third prince and Fan Sizhe to do this shady business. One, he wanted to earn more money, and the other, he did not necessarily want to do anything to the Fan manor. He simply wanted to use this little brothel to make the relationship between the two parties closer. The reason why he hid it from Fan Xian was because the second prince thought he was doing him a favor.
In his previous life, there was the true meaning of a prostitute. What kind of relationship was it to open a brothel and greet a customer? If the two parties had such a deep relationship, it would not be easy to separate them.
…
…
After Fan Xian returned to the capital, there had been a subtle change. It seemed that the second prince was surprised by this, too.
In the current situation, the Bao Yue brothel, which was supposed to be used to deepen the relationship between the two parties, had become a rope that was forcefully twisted!
If Fan Xian wanted to continue to touch the second prince, he would have to consider the existence of the Bao Yue brothel. After all, Fan Sizhe had played a very dishonorable role in it. Based on the evidence the Overwatch Council had found, it was enough to close down the brothel and charge Fan Sizhe with a heavy crime! If this matter was exposed, even if the Fan family could escape the laws of the Qing Kingdom, this would become a weakness for their enemies to attack. For Fan Xian and the Fan family, it would be difficult for them to bear the consequences.
For Fan Xian, he was able to stand independently in the political arena. He knew that aside from his mysterious past, the reputation he had gained over the past two years was also an important factor.
The Fan family and the third prince were working together to open a brothel? The other party had unabashedly poured dirty water on each other at the same time. As the saying goes, 'one prospers, one prospers, one suffers, one suffers; one is beautiful, one is dirty.'
Fan Xian, who had always been a free and easy poet, was now worried. He could not care less about his own reputation, but he had to care about Fan Sizhe's fate and his father's attitude. Chen Pingping had emphasized many times that he owed his father … a lot. And from the looks of it, this matter was not difficult to solve. All he had to do was show some kindness, and the Bao Yue brothel would be completely covered up in the capital. He would have enough time to deal with Fan Sizhe's connection to this matter. All he had to do was reach out his hand and shake it. This seemed to be the simplest and most beneficial choice for both parties.
But Fan Xian would not choose to shake hands with the second prince's outstretched black hand. Even if this hand represented peace, showed enough sincerity, and was careful enough in its posture. It was full of probing, and did not carry out any real provocation.
This was because he could tolerate someone using his reputation to threaten him, but he could not tolerate someone using his brother to threaten him. No matter how resourceful the Second Prince was, he still overlooked a very important point. He was always used to judging things from the perspective of profit. He judged Fan Xian from the perspective of a court official. He forgot that there were many things that had long exceeded the scope of profit and loss, and Fan Xian … was much more arrogant than a so-called official.
Deng Zi Yue had already safely boarded the carriage and left the Bao Yue brothel.
Fan Xian felt a little comforted. His brother was not so bad that he could not be saved. He silently put his hands behind his back and pushed open the door. He walked to the door of the room and gently pushed it open.
He looked at the surprised people in the room and looked at the shocked and scared Fan Sizhe. His face was expressionless, and he quietly said, "Come home with me."
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