Chapter 5: A Spoiled Son of an Indulgent Father

Fang Jifan did not care about the gossip outside at all. He was busy calculating accounts. After a few days, Wang Jinyuan began hiring people to move furniture. Manager Yang cried loudly again, almost fainting from distress.

Deng Jian followed behind Fang Jifan pitifully. Fang Jifan was very polite to the men Wang Jinyuan had brought. “Brothers, please lift slowly and be careful. This is a family heirloom of the Fang Family. Although it now belongs to someone else, I still have feelings for it. Be extra careful with this porcelain vase. It is a Ru kiln vase passed down from my great-grandfather. If it gets scratched or damaged, I would feel guilty. Come, Little Deng Deng, offer our guests some water. Guests from afar should not be neglected.”

Deng Jian rolled his eyes and bluntly uttered two words: “No water.”

Fang Jifan knew he was in a bad mood. For the past couple of days, Deng Jian had been looking at him with a complicated expression. Fang Jifan initially thought to let it go and not bother with him, but then he reconsidered. If he let it go, he wouldn’t be Fang Jifan anymore. How could the Fang Family’s prodigal son let such a thing slide? He had to be careful. It had only been a few days since his last acupuncture treatment—he must not reveal any flaws.

So he put on an angry face and shouted furiously, “You dog-like creature! What do you mean, ‘no water’?”

“The tea set was sold,” Deng Jian said, genuinely a bit afraid of Fang Jifan, and softened his tone.

Fang Jifan suddenly understood. At that time, he had been selling enthusiastically. If the price of ebony skyrocketed, it would mean several times the profit. Blinded by greed and for the sake of silver, Fang Jifan had sold everything he could.

Actually, even if the price of ebony did not soar, it wouldn’t matter much. After all, ebony was a rare treasure in this era, so he wouldn’t suffer a loss. “You should have said so earlier. Later, you and Accountant Liu go out and buy some household items. Save the silver and buy the cheapest ones available. Your Young Lord needs to save money for big plans!”

Deng Jian cried, tears falling with a patter. He immediately knelt at Fang Jifan’s feet. “Young Lord, could you… could you pick a different hobby? Go to the brothel, go to the gambling den, go anywhere you like, just don’t make big plans.”

Fang Jifan sighed inwardly. If he didn’t carry out big plans, wouldn’t he be raised into a good-for-nothing by all of you people above and below?

Feeling helpless inside, he put his hands behind his back and whistled boldly. “If you keep nagging, I’ll break your three legs!”

…

Tens of thousands of taels of silver were spent entirely on purchasing ebony, to the point that the market was cleared of it. This once again shook the Capital. Fortunately, everyone had long grown accustomed to the behavior of the Fang Family’s prodigal son. Apart from mocking and using it as conversation material, they quickly forgot about such absurd actions.

Fang Jifan threw the Fang Family into complete chaos. A full month passed. Now it was the height of summer, and the weather had turned hot. The Xiangfei Bamboo Fan finally became useful. There was no longer any need to fan cold air in freezing weather pretending to be elegant and suave. In Fang Jifan’s eyes, such behavior was purely idiotic, but there was no other way—he was Fang Jifan.

Early one morning, Xiaoxiangxiang hurried in. Deng Jian shouted loudly, “Young Lord, Young Lord, get up… get up quickly…”

Fang Jifan slightly lifted his eyelids and saw that it was still dark outside. He became angry. “What do you mean by waking someone up so early in the morning? Did you take the wrong medicine? Who wakes people up at such an hour?”

Deng Jian stamped his foot anxiously. “The Earl… the Earl has returned triumphantly! The personal guards who went to war with the Earl just sent a fast horse with the news. They said the Earl has already entered the city and will be home in no time. He should have gone to the palace for an audience, but he was worried about you, Young Lord, so he is coming home first. Young Lord, get up quickly.”

Father… is back?

Fang Jifan shuddered.

Wasn’t he supposed to return much later? This campaign was to suppress the chieftain rebellion in Yunnan. That place was full of miasma, and the barbarian soldiers were cunning. They refused to engage the imperial court in a decisive battle easily. Logically, it should have dragged on until the end of the year, but it was only early summer.

Fang Jifan vaguely felt that things were about to go terribly wrong.

But he pretended not to be in a hurry and calmly said, “Oh, help me dress. I must welcome my father…”

As soon as the words “my father” left his mouth, he saw Deng Jian suddenly look at him alertly.

Fang Jifan’s heart skipped a beat. What was wrong? Had he made another mistake?

Deng Jian narrowed his eyes, as if thinking Fang Jifan’s illness had returned, and couldn’t help muttering, “Young Lord has never called the Earl ‘Father’ before.”

Beast!

Fang Jifan cursed inwardly. Was this even human? Worse than a pig or a dog—he didn’t even acknowledge his own father.

He could only cough. “Your Young Lord has grown up now. Can’t he be a bit more sensible? How dare you interrupt when your Young Lord hasn’t finished speaking? Hmph! What this Young Lord meant to say was: This Young Lord must go welcome that old fellow, my father!”

Deng Jian immediately beamed with relief, as if a weight had been lifted. “That’s more like it! You scared me to death just now. I was really afraid Young Lord’s illness wasn’t fully cured. Manager Yang already sent a letter to the Earl with the good news. If the Earl returned and found out Young Lord’s illness wasn’t completely gone, he would surely punish me. Now that I see Young Lord is perfectly fine, in my heart…”

At this point, he actually choked up, crying tears of joy.

Fang Jifan, however, felt troubled at heart. He let Xiaoxiangxiang help him dress. When everything was on, he saw Xiaoxiangxiang lowering her head, her pretty face blushing as she stared at the tips of her embroidered shoes. Fang Jifan suddenly remembered—he had almost forgotten. He put on a sly expression. “Little Xiangxiang, you’ve grown again…”

After a quick squeeze, firecrackers were heard outside. Fang Jifan rushed out of the room as if fleeing. When he reached the middle gate of the Fang Family, he saw a heroic man dressed as a Military Officer who had just dismounted. Manager Yang led more than ten servants lined up in a row.

The Military Officer had a broad back and sturdy waist, appearing very formidable. He had a square face and a square jaw, which contrasted sharply with Fang Jifan’s handsome, young master appearance…

Could I have been fathered by Old Wang next door?

Fang Jifan secretly stuck out his tongue in his mind.

Fang Jifan’s father was called Fang Jinglong. He had a stern and murderous aura. When he glanced around, he exuded a fierce presence. But as soon as he saw Fang Jifan, his sharp gaze instantly softened. He strode forward in two or three steps, held Fang Jifan firmly, and said, “Jifan, you suffered from a Brain Illness. I was terribly worried down in the southern border, but I couldn’t leave the battlefield. As a last resort, I took a risk and pressed the attack aggressively. Thankfully, heaven blessed us, and we pacified the barbarians early, so I rushed back. On the way, I heard your illness was cured. Our ancestors truly protected us!”

So it was because of his illness that his father took the risk to speed up the military campaign. No wonder he returned so early.

Fang Jifan immediately felt a wave of deep paternal love. His heart melted. He looked up at this stranger, deeply moved, and said, “Father…”

As soon as the word “Father” left his mouth, he saw a trace of suspicion flash across Fang Jinglong’s face.

Manager Yang, the physician, and the others all showed astonished expressions.

Ah…

Fang Jifan had no choice but to harden his heart. He then laughed loudly and continued, “You old fellow are finally back!”

“Haha!” Fang Jinglong also burst into laughter, his doubts completely gone. My Old Fang’s son—what Brain Illness? Isn’t he perfectly normal? Exactly the same as before! He slapped Fang Jifan on the shoulder. “Good son, let’s go inside and talk. Since your illness is cured, you haven’t done anything bad, have you?”

His tone was teasing and relaxed, as if even if he had done something bad, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Indeed, no one knows a son better than his father.

No wonder Fang Jifan turned out to be a prodigal son. With such indulgence, any son would be ruined.

Fang Jifan sighed inwardly. What was bound to happen would come. “What bad things could your son have done? I only sold a bit of farmland.”

Fang Jinglong continued laughing. “Selling land, that’s all. Haha, selling a few dozen mu is nothing. Sell as you please. If you need silver, just tell your father. From now on…”

As Fang Jinglong spoke, he suddenly noticed Manager Yang beside him looking as if his mother had died. His heart skipped a beat. “How many dozen mu did you say you sold?”

“Several thousand mu!” Fang Jifan said. “To be precise, over two thousand mu.”

“Two… two thousand… over mu…”