I m the Farmgirl You Can t Mess With - Chapter 1392: Side Story: Fan Zijin (8)
Chapter 1392: Side Story: Fan Zijin (8)
Editor: Atlas Studios
Seeing that Xia Tong’s heart was in a mess, Fan Zijin quieted down and waited for her choice. Would she choose her son or Fan Siwen?
As the three masters of the family were not in the mood, the celebration banquet passed in an uneventful manner. Because the guests could sense that the atmosphere in the Fan Residence was not right, after eating, they merely chatted for a while before leaving. They began to send people to pay attention to the Fan Residence.
Fan Zijin waited for three days, but Xia Tong didn’t reply. Seeing as the house was quiet, it was apparent that she didn’t have any conflict with Fan Siwen. He couldn’t help but look for her. “Mother, haven’t you spoken to Father yet?”
Xia Tong burst into tears and said, “I did. Your father said that since you’re quick-witted and knowledgeable, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to pass the imperial examination with your own ability. On the other hand, because your big brother is slow-witted, he’s afraid…”
“So you’ve agreed to give the hereditary privilege to Big Brother?” Fan Zijin asked expressionlessly.
Xia Tong turned her head away and felt a lump in her throat. She shook her head and said, “I didn’t agree, but when has your father ever listened to me? He said that he was already writing the memorial…”
Fan Zijin felt a chill in his heart. In the end, he asked, “Then are you leaving with me? Divorce him.”
“Silly child, if we divorce, how can you go out and meet people in the future…”
“Why can’t I go out and meet people? I’m not the one in the wrong.” Fan Zijin interrupted her loudly and said with a twisted expression, “I’ll go out and meet people openly. I only ask you, do you want to follow me? Let’s leave this place that only makes you cry and suffer.”
Xia Tong opened her mouth and could only look at her son.
Fan Zijin’s heart turned cold, and his eyes could not help but turn red. As he forced a smile, he said, “I get it. Between Father and I, you’re choosing him again, right?”
Xia Tong did not speak. Fan Zijin turned around and left.
He ran back to his room and rummaged through his cabinet to pull out the box containing the silver. Just as he was about to open it, a voice behind him asked in surprise, “Zijin, what are you doing?”
Fan Zijin was so frightened that he fell sitting on the ground. When he turned around and saw that it was Qi Haoran, he immediately glared and said, “Why are you here?”
When he turned around and saw that the door was still closed, he immediately widened his eyes and asked, “How did you get in?”
“I walked in. I’ve been waiting for you in the room, but you didn’t even see me when you came back. You just started rummaging through the drawers…” He was so startled that it took him a while to react.
In a bad mood, Fan Zijin asked, “You haven’t appeared for two days. Where did you go?”
Qi Haoran immediately pouted and said, “I was locked up by Father. They wanted to marry a daughter of the Wu family to Big Brother and even wanted me to attend the wedding on his behalf. Wouldn’t that be pushing Big Brother into a fire pit? I was naturally unwilling, so after I argued with them, Father and Madam Wu locked me up.”
Fan Zijin widened his eyes and asked, “Then how did you get out?”
Qi Haoran pursed his lips. “Are those few people in the Qi Residence capable of locking me up? I came out to look for you to ask for your opinion. I still have to go back and continue being ’locked up’ later.”
Fan Zijin pondered for a moment and asked, “You didn’t let anyone discover you when you came to my house?”
Qi Haoran said smugly, “Of course not. I snuck in secretly. If others saw me, I would have gone to look for you long ago. Why would I wait for you in your room?”
Relieved, Fan Zijin solemnly stuffed the box containing the silver into his arms and said solemnly, “There’s no solution to this matter. Marriage has always been decided by one’s parents. Even if Eldest Cousin isn’t around, it’s very easy for your father to arrange a marriage for him. The only way is to escape.”
Qi Haoran’s eyes widened.
Fan Zijin sneered and said, “By asking you to attend the wedding on behalf of Eldest Cousin, Uncle is only using you to threaten Eldest Cousin. This way, if Eldest Cousin refuses to acknowledge Little Madam Wu, she’ll be your wife.”
Qi Haoran shivered and shouted, “I’m only 12 years old. Meanwhile, Little Madam Wu is already 16!”
“Do you think Uncle will consider this for you?” Fan Zijin scared him. “When the time comes, if she can’t be Eldest Cousin’s wife, she will definitely be your wife. Anyway, one of you brothers has to marry that woman from the Wu family. Only then can they control you better.”
“Then we’ll be fine if we escape?”
“Of course, since you’ve escaped, if he wants Eldest Cousin to marry, he’ll have to get Qi Shaosheng or Qi Shaotai to attend the wedding on his behalf. But since they’re not Eldest Cousin’s biological younger brothers, when the time comes, Eldest Cousin can just refuse to acknowledge the marriage and let Qi Shaosheng or Qi Shaotai marry her.” Fan Zijin snorted and sneered. “This will let them know that we’re not to be trifled with.”
Sensing that Fan Zijin was very hostile today, Qi Haoran could not help but ask, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Fan Zijin pointed at the box and said, “This is our capital for the escape. Keep it properly and wait for me to make arrangements. I’ll look for you tomorrow. Hurry up and go back, lest someone from the Qi Residence finds out that you are able to leave the house on your own.”
Qi Haoran hugged the box in his arms in a daze and asked, “You’re escaping with me too?”
Fan Zijin rolled his eyes at him. “If I don’t go with you, do you know where to escape to? Oh right, do bring along all your money, too. You have to be careful when you’re outside. In any case, leaving your money behind will only benefit your enemies.”
Qi Haoran nodded solemnly and hugged the box in his arms tightly. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely bring along all my money.”
However, he did not have much money even if he brought all of it with him.
He had always been extravagant in spending money and did not have a source of income. He only received five taels of silver a month in the Qi Residence, which was not even enough for him to eat outside.
Although Xia Tong subsidized him a little every month, it wasn’t a lot since she knew that he didn’t control his spending. Therefore, he typically finished spending all his money by the end of the month and didn’t have much savings.
Sometimes, he would run out of money before his monthly allowance came in. During times like these, it was Fan Zijin who paid for him.
This time, he was lucky. A while ago, the Qi Residence had just issued the monthly salary, so there were only five taels of silver in his box.
Looking at his small silver ingot and then at the banknotes and silver ingot in Fan Zijin’s money box, Qi Haoran felt ashamed, an emotion he rarely felt.
“We can’t spend Zijin’s money the entire journey, right?” Qi Haoran muttered. “Zijin is right. Leaving my money behind would just be benefiting the enemy. Since Big Brother and I are the legitimate sons, more than half of the Qi Residence’s assets belong to us brothers…”
With this thought in mind, Qi Haoran sneaked into Madam Wu’s room at night. Recently, he had been paying close attention to his big brother’s marriage, so he’d come to eavesdrop a few times in the middle of the night. Once, he accidentally saw where Madam Wu hid her money.
Qi Haoran’s martial arts were powerful, and his qinggong was even more impressive. At this moment, Madam Wu was serving Qi Feng wine, with only two young servant girls in the room.
Qi Haoran leaped into the house lightly, grabbed the lock of the wardrobe, and yanked it hard, causing the entire lock to become deformed.
There was a box hidden at the bottom of the wardrobe. Upon opening it, Qi Haoran saw a stack of banknotes inside. Without thinking, he took them all.
Qi Haoran threw down the box and had just closed the wardrobe when he saw the broken lock placed at the side. After some quick thinking, he quietly slipped back to his room to retrieve the lock to his wardrobe. Then, he slipped into Madam Wu’s room to lock the wardrobe with his lock.
Such locks looked identical even if one looked closely. Other than the keys being different, outsiders could not tell the difference at all. In any case, Qi Haoran could not tell the difference even after looking at it for a long time.
Once the lock was locked, it was even harder to tell the difference from the outside.
Qi Haoran ran back happily to count the banknotes. The more he counted, the uglier his expression became. In the end, he slammed the table and said hatefully, “While Big Brother and I are living a poor life, Madam Wu, a mere concubine, actually has so many banknotes. How ridiculous!”
The servants guarding outside merely thought that Qi Haoran was fuming over something again and did not so much as frown in response. As long as Fourth Young Master did not smash the door or commit suicide, he could do whatever he wanted in the room.
