Chapter 607: Vomiting Blood
Fan Siwen sat behind the desk with a dark expression. When he saw Mu Yangling enter with a cold expression, he stood up and bowed. “Greetings, Your Highness.”
Mu Yangling raised her eyebrows and stepped aside to bow. “Uncle, you’re too polite.” As her gaze swept across the room, she asked with a smile, “Didn’t I hear that Uncle is feeling under the weather? Yet here you are, practicing calligraphy.”
She then looked at Fan Siwen’s face and said, “Judging from your rosy complexion, you appear to be in good health. Those servants are too presumptuous. Aren’t they cursing you?”
Fan Siwen said with a smile, “When I woke up today, I felt my chest tighten. Considering my old age, it’s natural for the servants to be nervous.”
“Seeing as you’re able to practice calligraphy, and your face is rosy, I’m guessing your chest no longer feels tight, right? Then let’s talk about serious matters.” Mu Yangling went straight to the point. “Our carriage is already waiting outside, and the imperial guards sent by His Majesty are also waiting outside. When do you think Cousin-in-law will be ready? Or do you have things to hand to Cousin that you haven’t packed? Tell me what time so that I can make arrangements, lest everyone waits blindly.”
Not expecting Mu Yangling to be so thick-skinned, Fan Siwen’s expression stiffened. He said unhappily, “I’m afraid Your Highness doesn’t know yet. Little Madam Xia is not in good health, so she decided not to go to Qiannan at the last minute. Since you’re in a hurry, you can set off now.”
“What a coincidence. His Majesty was worried that Little Bear might fall sick during the long journey, so he sent an imperial physician to come with us. Since he’s outside the door now, we can get him to take a look at Cousin-in-law. If she’s not very seriously ill, it’s better that she sets off with us. Otherwise, if she sets off alone a few days later, not only will the risk increase, but she’ll also be lonely traveling by herself.”
Seeing that Mu Yangling was pressing on step by step, Fan Siwen could no longer maintain the smile on his face. He flicked his sleeves and said, “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Little Madam Xia is only suffering from a cold, so there’s no need to trouble the imperial physician. As for setting off, there’s no need to mention it for the time being. She mustn’t be exposed to the wind now. Also, since your Aunt and I are getting old, we need someone to serve us. If Your Highness is concerned, the residence has prepared a few servant girls for Zijin. Bring them to Zijin and let them serve him well.”
Mu Yangling’s face also turned cold. She sized up Fan Siwen and said with a smile, “Old Master Fan, what if I insist on taking Cousin-in-law away?”
Fan Siwen stood up angrily and said righteously, “This is a family matter of the Fan family. You’re overstepping your boundaries.”
Mu Yangling sat steadily on the chair and took a sip of tea to suppress the anger in her heart. With a sneer, she said, “For now, this might be a family matter of the Fan family. However, it might not be the case after today.” Mu Yangling looked at him coldly and said, “If I can’t take Cousin-in-law away, I won’t set off today. Even if I have to enter the palace to ask for a decree, I will bring her to Qiannan.”
Fan Siwen snorted. “Even though the Empress dotes on you, you shouldn’t push your luck.”
Mu Yangling put down her teacup heavily and said, “Old Master Fan is right. I’m pushing my luck. However, I have the backing of not the Empress, but the Emperor. General Yuan’s Duke’s Residence is located in Cai Prefecture. Though conferred the title of the ‘Duke of Peaceful State’, it seems Cousin hasn’t been bestowed with a Duke’s Residence yet. Although Qiannan isn’t affluent, it’s a pass that guards the southwest and northwest regions. It’s a fitting location for his residence.”
Fan Siwen’s expression changed drastically. He didn’t think that the Emperor would listen to Mu Yangling’s wife, but if she brought it up, people would start to consider it. If she managed to convince Qi Haoran, there was a 50% chance that this matter could go her way.
Although he did not get along well with his son, he did not want him to be too far away. If Fan Zijin’s residence was set in Qiannan, what good would it do the Fan family?
The entire family might be divided into two. Knowing his son’s temperament, he would probably forget about him and the Fan family in a few years.
It wasn’t worth it to entirely lose the support of the Duke of Peaceful State in a fit of pique. Though visibly livid, Fan Siwen still stopped Mu Yangling. In a softened tone, he said, “Your Highness, we didn’t mean to separate the couple. In the entire bureaucracy, who doesn’t leave their legitimate wife in the residence to take care of their parents? It’s not that we don’t care about Zijin. His mother and I have already selected a Virtuous Concubine1 for him. We’ll send her to Qiannan to take care of him when the time comes.”
“Uncle, don’t bully me for being ignorant of the world. Officials who don’t bring along their wives and children already have legitimate children. Furthermore, those are the ones who have no siblings to share the burden of caring for their aged parents. The wife’s duty is not only to be filial to her in-laws, but also to take care of her husband and the household matters, and maintain the interactions between the officials’ families. Due to the chaos brought about by the war, Cousin Zijin and his wife have yet to give birth to any children. Meanwhile, Uncle and Aunt are still in robust health, in addition to staying with a few sons born from the concubine. I really don’t understand why you insist on forcing Cousin-in-law to stay.”
Mu Yangling saw that Fan Siwen’s expression was getting uglier and uglier, so she followed up with a fiercer dose. “Uncle, do you really think that by keeping Cousin-in-law here, you can use your future grandson to retain Cousin Zijin?”
“Think about Cousin Zijin’s personality. When others treat him with malice, he repays with greater malice. He never knows what it means to compromise. When forced into a corner, he could very well just take his wife and children away and never return to the capital. Could it be that Uncle also intends to detain them like today? That’s not keeping them, but pushing them away with all your might.”
Fan Siwen was so angry that his cheeks puffed up. “His filial piety…”
“Uncle, do you think that Cousin is a person who adheres to filial piety?” Mu Yangling interrupted him and couldn’t help but mock, “Besides, if the father is un-benevolent to begin with, the world might not think that it’s Cousin’s fault for being unfilial.”
Fan Siwen glared at Mu Yangling with reddened eyes, but Mu Yangling was not affected at all. “Uncle, don’t tell me you think you’re a very loving father? Go outside and ask around—who doesn’t know that you’re incredibly biased? Cousin is clearly the legitimate son, but he’s living worse than a concubine’s son. Just go to some random teahouse and you’ll hear people gossiping about how blind-sighted you and my father-in-law were back then. Now, the eldest son and youngest son my father-in-law used to ill-treat have become the Emperor and a Prince respectively. Meanwhile, the legitimate son you’ve always treated badly has also become a Duke, but the concubines’ sons have achieved nothing…”
Fan Siwen was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood. Startled, Mu Yangling couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Then, tears welled up in her eyes, and she suddenly stopped laughing. She looked at Fan Siwen coldly and said, “Just this much and you can’t take it? I still have a most important question to ask you.”
“Since you’ve tasted the bitter consequences of not getting along with your son, why are you still thinking of raising your legitimate grandson yourself? Isn’t this deliberately causing Cousin Zijin to have strained ties with his son in the future? As a son, his father already inflicts enough pain on him. Yet, you wish for him to also have a disharmonious relationship with his son. Uncle, do you really not give a damn that he’s your son?”
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