The beautiful Lady Liu had always maintained an air of nobility in Fan Manor. But today, she no longer cared about her appearance or her temperament. Her face was pale, and she could not bear it. She hugged her master's legs and cried, "Master, please say something … Zhe 'er is still young, he can't take such a beating."
Minister Fan looked at the woman in front of him and could not help but sigh. After the death of Fan Jian's first wife, Lady Liu had followed him. Back then, Fan Jian had been given the title of Count Sinan, but the Emperor's favor was hidden in the shadows. Lady Liu was the granddaughter of the Duke, and yet she had married him, a member of the Fan family. Who knew how many people in the capital were shocked? After their marriage, Lady Liu took good care of him, caring for him, and forcibly pulled him back from Liujing River.
So no matter how you looked at it, he had a feeling for Lady Liu, and he felt sorry for her. Furthermore, the person being beaten in that study … was his own son. Minister Fan was not young anymore, how could he not feel sorry for him? But no matter what he was thinking, he maintained a good expression on his face. He shook his head and scolded, "Jade that is not polished is worthless. It is the fault of the father that the child is not taught. A loving mother spoils the child …"
At that moment, there was another cry from the study. It was Fan Sizhe crying for his mother in pain.
Fan Jian's eyebrows twitched, and his heart twitched. He could no longer say the words of admonishment that he had been about to say.
Lady Liu saw that her master had remained silent, and her tearful eyes showed her determination. She straightened her slightly disheveled dress and prepared to turn around and leave the study.
"Come back!" Fan Jian scolded her in a low voice. "Fan Xian is the eldest brother. It is only right for him to teach Sizhe a lesson. What will the child think if you run over now?"
"What will the child think?" Lady Liu turned around, her eyes brimming with tears. "Master, you only think about what Fan Xian thinks, but not what I think? I only have one precious son. Do you have the heart to watch him be beaten to death? "
She bit her lower lip and cried hoarsely, "That's right, I did make mistakes in the past, but after he came from Danzhou, I tolerated everything and was careful and cautious, afraid that he would be unhappy. Based on what you said, I went around trying to bribe the nobles in the capital, afraid that I would drag the young master down. After all, his position in the capital is partly due to me. Of course, as a mother, it is natural for me to do these things, and I would not go to him to ask for credit … but … but what is happening now? How could he bear to be so heavy-handed? … If he still remembers what happened back then … I'll just return this life to him! Don't touch my son! My son … "
Fan Jian looked at Lady Liu's sobbing appearance, and a wave of anger rose to his chest. He scolded, "What is this? Do you not know what kind of person Fan Xian is? Since he has let go of this matter, he will not pick it up again. Although he is young, he has a big heart … Sizhe went too far with what he did. If you don't teach him a lesson, he will drag the whole family down with him in the future. Will you be satisfied with that? "
Lady Liu was not an ordinary woman, and now that she knew the Bao Yue brothel had been raided, she immediately knew that this had something to do with the struggle between the young master of the Fan family and the second prince. She wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and said, "It was not a big deal. It was just that the second prince had a hold on it, and that is why Fan Xian is angry."
This woman and her son had the same judgment about Fan Xian's anger.
Fan Jian's face darkened, and he said, "Not a big deal? It's not like you didn't see the things that were sent to the study in the back. Sizhe is so young … and yet he is so ruthless. Although he did not do it himself, what difference does it make? Do you think your son has to do it himself for it to be a big deal? "
Lady Liu couldn't help but speak up for her son, and she said, "Isn't there a lot of things like this in the capital? Who hasn't had this kind of trouble … "
Before she could finish, Fan Jian cut her off and coldly said, "Don't talk about this anymore."
Madam Liu obediently stopped talking, but the tear stains at the corners of her eyes had disappeared. Her eyes were still brimming with tears. The cries of pain and agony from the distant study gradually subsided. Instead, it made her, as his mother, even more frightened. Had Zhe 'er fainted or something?
Fan Jian looked at her and couldn't help but sigh. He thought about what he had discussed with Fan Xian the night before, and his heart felt a little dark.
In fact, over the past few months, Fan Xian had heard of Fan Sizhe's business in the capital, but he didn't care much about it. He thought it was a child's business, and what could he do? He didn't expect that even as a father, he had underestimated Fan Sizhe's abilities and methods.
"Let Fan Xian handle it." Fan Jian comforted Lady Liu, and said, "You should understand this. The more he doesn't try to avoid suspicion, the more it shows that he really sees Sizhe as his own brother. That child Fan Xian can even smile at his enemies. The reason why he is so tyrannical today is because he loves Sizhe. If it wasn't someone close to him, he would have just killed him. Why would he be so angry? … Now that you understand this, you should be at ease. To tell you the truth, you know very well who our family can rely on in the future. "
Lady Liu understood this, of course. Fan Xian's reputation was too great, and they were riding a tiger. They could only go up, but not down. Fan Jian was getting on in years. He might not leave this world, but there would come a day when he would retire. Whether it was Lady Liu or Sizhe, what kind of fortune they would have, and whether or not this manor would be safe for the rest of their lives, all depended on how the young master of the manor did in this country.
But no matter what, Lady Liu would always feel some resentment towards Fan Xian.
Fan Jian shook his head, and motioned for her to follow him out of the study. They walked towards the study next to the garden in the back of the manor.
Lady Liu was overjoyed, and hurriedly followed. Even the servant girls behind her, who were holding hot towels, didn't care to discipline them, and waved them away.
Turning here and there, the servants could only watch as their master and mistress walked through the manor so quickly. They couldn't help but feel a little surprised, but then they thought of the "pig being slaughtered" that came from the front and back of the manor. They suddenly understood, and began to feel uneasy. They thought that the young master had beaten the second young master so badly. If the master and mistress hurried over, wouldn't they start a fight? Things had been going smoothly for Fan Xian for the past few years, and the atmosphere in the manor had been very serious and lively. The servants had a strong sense of belonging, and they really didn't want anything to happen in the manor.
Lady Liu hurried towards the garden with a face full of panic. She wanted to grow a pair of wings and fly over, but seeing her master's calm and broad back as usual, she didn't dare to be first.
Just as she reached the entrance to the garden, which connected the front and back of the manor, she heard another wretched cry from the garden. The sound of countless wooden planks falling on flesh rang out, and it was a frightening sound!
Lady Liu's mind was in a mess. Suddenly hearing this sound, she couldn't tell if it was her precious son who was crying. A wave of sadness rose up in her chest, and with a cry, she fainted!
Fortunately, the servant girls behind her didn't dare to leave because of her rebuke. They followed behind her obediently, and only then were they able to support the trembling mistress.
— — —
The quietest of the three study rooms was in a secluded place next to the rockery. It was where Fan Xian conducted his household affairs, and it had always been forbidden for servants to approach. At this moment, there were three people sitting in the study. Sitting behind the desk was Sir Yan junior, who had just been appointed to the Fourth Bureau, Yan Bingyun. Sitting to his right was Fan Xian's student, Shi Chanli, and the bookkeeper of the First Bureau, Mu Tie.
Aside from Teng Zijing and Deng Zi Yue, who were supervising the execution in the garden, these three were Fan Xian's confidants. Yan Bingyun's position was naturally the most special. He was Fan Xian's superior and superior, and they had a faint friendship. At this moment, he frowned as he listened to the clattering of the wooden planks in the garden. He couldn't help but shake his head. "Something that should be sent to the capital government should not be punished at home. It is against the law of the Qing Kingdom. It is against the law of the Qing Kingdom. "
Among the three of them, only he dared to question Fan Xian's decision. Shi Chanli laughed and explained to Sir Yan junior, "We can't make a big deal out of this right now. If we really do send this to the capital government, and they find out that the second young master and the one in the palace … there will be no turning back. The commissioner will have to fight the second prince. But regardless of whether he wins or loses, the second young master of the Fan family will not have a good ending. Based on the evidence that the capital government has, even if they don't sentence him to death, they will at least send him three thousand miles south."
Mu Tie smiled awkwardly, not daring to respond. After all, he was the one who had warned Fan Xian about the Bao Yue brothel. In other words, he was the one who had caused the second young master of the Fan family to end up like this. Although Fan Xian was very pleased with his performance, who knew what the majority of the Fan family thought?
Yan Bingyun shook his head again. It was clear that he didn't approve of Fan Xian's decision to use the family law to replace the national law. But he also knew that this was the only thing he could do. He couldn't help but mock him and say, "This commissioner of ours … he really is a man with a crystal heart. Even if the Bao Yue brothel case comes to light in the future, he will have something to say in front of the Emperor. At least if the second prince wants to investigate the Fan family for not being strict enough and allowing his brother to commit murder, it will be impossible."
Shi Chanli was shocked to hear this. He knew that Fan Xian had made this punishment known to the entire manor in order to get the news out and shut the mouths of the Imperial Censors. But … Fan Sizhe had committed a crime, and this was not going to work.
Yan Bingyun smiled and looked at him, knowing what he was worried about. He said, "Don't worry about it. Your teacher has already made arrangements." Shi Chanli thought to himself that this matter had nothing to do with the Fourth Bureau. If Fan Xian was summoned here, then he must have made some sort of arrangement. But it wasn't convenient for him to continue asking.
Mu Tie walked to the window and looked at the garden from afar. His buttocks were shaking, and his flesh was split open, and blood was spilled. Even though he was an official of the Overwatch Council, he couldn't help but be shocked by Fan Xian's ruthlessness. Seeing the children of the Fan and Liu families suffering under the punishment, he couldn't help but touch his own buttocks.
Shi Chanli once again busied himself with copying some documents that he was about to use.
…
…
Lady Liu woke up and was about to fight Fan Xian to the death. She rubbed her eyes and realized that the people being beaten in the garden were her good-for-nothing relatives. Although the punishment was cruel, and blood was splashing high into the air, and the children were crying out in pain, as long as it wasn't her own children suffering, Lady Liu had no objections. She returned to her noble and dignified demeanor as Lady Fan and looked at the scene coldly.
In the woman's heart, her son Fan Sizhe was capable of causing trouble on a small scale, but he had stirred up so many scandals in the capital. It was obvious that he had been seduced by evil spirits. The children and nephews of her maternal family, the members of the Fan clan, were naturally the main culprits. The more she watched, the angrier she became. Ignoring the cries for help from her maternal relatives, she gritted her teeth and yelled at Teng Zijing's bodyguards, "The young master told you to hit them, so hit them hard. If you don't cure these little bastards, how can you vent your anger?"
As they spoke, the couple entered the study. As soon as they saw Fan Sizhe lying on the bench in the corner of the room, his lower body naked, Madam Liu immediately panicked and threw herself at him. She looked at the bloody marks on her son's back and buttocks with heartache. She couldn't help but quietly cry. Her fingers carefully stroked the swollen bruises from the rod. "My son …"
A hand reached out with a handkerchief to wipe away the tears on her face.
Lady Liu looked and saw that it was Fan Xian … She gritted her teeth. She didn't show any resentment, but she still couldn't help but feel a hidden bitterness.
Fan Xian had already regained his composure. After the vicious beating, his anger had been mostly vented. He comforted her. "It's nothing. Step aside. I'll apply medicine for my brother."
Lady Liu reluctantly stepped aside and watched as Fan Xian applied the medicine to Fan Sizhe's body. By this time, Fan Sizhe was out of breath from the beating. He was on the verge of death, and could faint at any moment.
Fan Jian looked to the side. His daughter-in-law and daughter were standing obediently in the corner. Wan 'er's eyes were filled with fear. The beating that had just taken place must have been frightening. Ruoruo's eyes were filled with tears, not because of the pain her brother had suffered, but because of her brother's incompetence. He shook his head and coughed. Drawing everyone's attention, he asked Fan Xian evenly, "How are the arrangements?"
"According to your wishes, Sizhe will leave tonight," Fan Xian said respectfully. "It has already been arranged."
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
