Chapter 361 – The Whirlwind of the Capital (Eighteen)
General Fang had just secured a high-ranking official’s position, which puffed up his money pouch.
Humming a little tune, he blissfully sipped his tea, completely lost in his happiness when suddenly, a cacophony of wails exploded in his ears.
Bang—
His hand trembled, and the teacup clattered to the ground, soaking his clothes with tea stains.
“What on earth now, my precious little ancestor—”
While lamenting over his precious tea set, his head throbbed from the outside wails.
Child debts, child debts! Ever since he had this son, he had nothing but trouble!
General Fang simultaneously despised and cherished this son.
As he looked up, a rotund figure tumbled through the door, giving General Fang quite the scare.
“Get out, get out—what kind of demon are you—” General Fang recoiled, frightened. The newcomer’s face was swollen and bruised, with dark circles under his eyes and little red streaks of blood under his nostrils, looking rather like a tiny snake.
From afar, he resembled a hefty man with a pig’s brain on his head.
This “monster” emitted a voice that was hauntingly familiar to General Fang, and he froze—wasn’t that his son’s voice?
“Dad—my heart hurts, oh—”
Fatty Fang struggled to shove away the young servant supporting him, crawling pitifully toward his father.
At that moment, General Fang was forced to confront reality.
This unfortunate kid, looking like a pig’s head, was indeed his son.
“My sweet darling, how did you—how did you end up like this…” He wanted to hold his son’s face to inspect the injuries, but inadvertently touched a sore spot, making Fatty Fang grimace in pain and causing General Fang to hesitate in fear of hurting him further.
Fatty Fang was a mess of tears, snorting and crying all at once.
“Dad, it was that damn Huang Song who bullied me again!”
Upon hearing this, General Fang’s fury ignited, and he slammed the nearby tea table over.
“How outrageous! A eunuch’s grandson dares to touch my son! I should have a word with Huang Qin, that castrate, about how he’s raising his grandson!” General Fang was furious, his son has been beaten by a eunuch’s grandson! Where was his face supposed to go?
Fatty Fang continued to whimper while wiping his snot and tears on his sleeves.
“Dad, it’s not just Huang Song, there were other little rascals too.”
Fatty Fang had always looked down on Huang Song—nobody was of higher status after all. But somehow, he got to study under a great scholar. Why was that?
They often had their disagreements—with wins and losses— but it was the first time he suffered such a great loss like today.
“Who else besides Huang Song?”
General Fang, with a stern face and calloused hands the size of fans, exuded an aura of authority, though everyone knew he came from humble beginnings and was once just a street vendor before becoming the Earl of Cheng’en.
Fatty Fang mumbled, “There was another kid, don’t know where he came from…”
General Fang pondered. While he felt sympathy for his son, he wasn’t blind. Fatty Fang’s attitude raised some flags; he was clearly hiding something. So, General Fang called over the young servant to inquire further.
Upon detailed questioning, General Fang nearly clutched his chest in shock.
“Wretched brat! Who told you to provoke them!”
The Feng family of Shangyang was someone even the Emperor was wary of—who gave this kid such audacity?
However, since the Feng family had retired from politics, with no one in court, there wasn’t too much to fear in reality.
General Fang was not worried about the Feng family but rather about Liu Zhi far away in Chongzhou.
Fortunately, his son hadn’t actually bullied Liu Zhi’s child. If he had stripped him naked, there would’ve been chaos all over Dongqing.
Fatty Fang was indignant, “Does that mean I just got beaten by Huang Song for nothing?”
“You got beaten, but didn’t try to get your revenge? I thought you were pretty capable!”
General Fang was furious, his mustache bristling.
Fatty Fang was at a loss for words; he could ambush Huang Song, but facing Jiang Pengji? Not a chance!
“If you don’t get revenge for me, I’ll go to my aunt to seek justice!”
His aunt, of course, was the Empress, the mother of the Crown Prince.
Upon hearing this, General Fang’s anger surged.
Doesn’t he know? The outside world doesn’t understand, but he surely did!
His sister, with her lowly background and plain looks, had received next to no favor since giving birth to the Crown Prince. The Emperor was greedy for beautiful women and had no shortage of young and pretty girls around, leaving the aging and fading Empress to be practically invisible in the Emperor’s harem.
If it weren’t for the need to promote the maternal side of the family, the Crown Prince might have already seen his mother tossed aside.
“Stop! You little wretch, come back here!”
General Fang reached out his enormous hand to drag his son back, preventing him from truly running off to complain to the Empress.
“I can’t bear this!”
Fatty Fang struggled, finally plopping down on the floor, legs stretched out, throwing a fit.
“You don’t care about me anymore!”
General Fang’s face turned a deep shade of purple.
In the end, feeling helpless but still wanting to pamper his son, he had no choice but to shamelessly go to the Emperor to complain.
However, Fatty Fang was one step slower.
That scheming little Huang Song knew well that this situation wouldn’t be easily understood, so he early on went to his godfather and laid everything bare, setting the narrative straight. The two soon concocted a plan, giving a heads up to the Emperor and casting the blame onto Fatty Fang.
As previously mentioned, the Emperor cared far more for the eunuchs than for the already bloated families of the maternal relatives.
To him, this was just a minor matter—two youngsters having a spat was nothing out of the ordinary.
Having just laid down the groundwork, General Fang barged into the palace, leading to a very disgruntled Huang Song.
When it came to gauging the Emperor’s sentiments, how could General Fang compare to Huang Qin, who served right by the Emperor?
In the end, the Fang family father-son duo was left humiliated.
Huang Song gained a small victory, but his buddy Feng Jue wasn’t having it so easy.
Feng Jin wouldn’t cause a commotion or unleash a tirade; instead, he would fix them with an icy glare, imposing mental pressure.
Under such cold violence, Feng Jue gradually became restless.
“What’s so great about Huang Song?” The once-steaming hot tea had gone lukewarm when Feng Jin finally spoke, “We all know that the Nine Continents and Five Kingdoms won’t stay stable for long. Who knows when chaos will erupt, and heroes will rise, but you tell me this Huang Song has the capital to contend?”
What’s more crucial was, what did Huang Song possess to earn Feng Jue’s favor?
“Brother, you would be better off going it alone than investing in Huang Song.”
When it came to connections, Huang Song’s godfather was a eunuch, making more enemies than friends in both court and society.
As for wealth, Huang Qin might have raked in a lot from selling positions, but did that mean Feng wished for money?
In terms of official positions, Huang Song had secured a posting in the capital, undoubtedly purchased for a high price, akin to a city manager, handling unimportant trivialities.
As for land?
That issue didn’t even need to be contemplated.
Feng Jue initially thought to evade the question, but Feng Jin wouldn’t let him off easily.
Reluctantly, Feng Jue conceded, “To possess temperament, vision, and the ability to recognize and use talent.”
