Joy of Life

After all the necessary proceedings had been arranged, Fan Xian entered the bedroom. Liu Shi was lying on the side of the bed, and appeared to have already fallen asleep. He gently woke her up and had her come to the corner of the room so they could talk. Liu Shi still had dried, crusted tear marks upon her face, but it looked as if she had already made her decision. Now, with a nod, she confirmed her agreement to the new arrangements. No one knew what Fan Xian had told her to convince her.

They were moving further into the night. Because it was the autumn, few insects now made noise in the dead of night. Ruoruo continued to keep Liu Shi company as Fan Xian moved to approach his little brother, who was still in slumber. Looking across his face, observing the ravageous pockmarks that dotted his face, he could not help but shake his head and laugh. He took an ink pad from the desk and retrieved from his pockets the doc.u.ment that Shi Chan Li had formulated earlier in the evening. With his unconscious hand, Fan Xian pressed his brother’s fingertips against the ink and then upon the doc.u.ment.

Seeing the white doc.u.ment with its red fingerprint, Fan Xian looked satisfied and nodded. After today, the 70% of shares that Fan Sizhe had procured for the Bao Yue house would now belong to someone else. From now on, his little brother had nothing more to do with that wretched brothel.

Wan’er could tell he was not in a good mood, so she made a humorous, mocking face at Fan Xian. She received no response, however. Deep in her heart, she had been feeling slightly useless throughout this entire affair, so the very least she thought she could do was get and maintain a smile out of him.

Fan Xian then smiled back, saying, "This has nothing to do with you. Kids should always go out and explore, and it is through that they can become wise men." Then, all of a sudden, Fan Xian asked, "Has Lady Shen returned yet?"

"To the west pavilion," Wan’er began speaking, "Master Yan has already headed out."

"Good." Fan Xian calmly replied, and then sat on the side of the bed on which Sizhe was sleeping. After a while, he decided to stand up and call for one of the servants in the kitchen to prepare food for everyone. For himself, however, Fan Xian made congee. He was blowing into it as he ate slowly. He desired to give Yan Bingyun and Lady Shen the necessary time to get their affairs in order. The most important part of all this was to provide Liu Shi some additional last-minute timing to spend with her son before his departure.

He did not know long it had been, but Deng Zi Yue had come to see Fan Xian, following a servant. He nodded.

Fan Xian understood. He did not need anyone else’s aid, so he got up and went to Fan Sizhe’s bedroom. He picked his little brother up and walked him outside to the carriage that awaited him. Despite all this, Fan Sizhe was still soundly asleep. Liu Shi gritted her teeth and came over to stroke his cheek. Ruoruo, sullenly played with his thick ears, and Wan’er looked on, profound sadness welling up her eyes.

Only the Sinan Bo, Fan Jing, was still asleep in the manor, seemingly without care for the well-being of his departing son, who was soon to be taken to a foreign land in which he would be mostly alone and without knowledge of when he could return.

"You guys go first." Fan Xian looked towards Yan Bingyun, whose face was as expressionless as an icy mural, and continued, "I’m counting on you. But be on your guard once you depart from the capital."

At such a late period in the night, the capital gate had long been closed. Only those from the Overwatch Council possessed the power and authority to allow someone outside its gate at a time like this.

Yan Bingyun slowly raised his head to meet Fan Xian’s gaze, asking, "You are not coming?"

Fan Xian looked down at the ground and replied, "We will meet up in Song Lin Bao. For now, there is something else I must attend to."

Fan Xian was able to see clearly, despite the dim lights, and he took notice of the tears rolling down his little brother’s shut eyelids; it was obvious he was awake. But why he chose to feign unconsciousness before his mother, Fan Xian could only guess. Fan Sizhe’s lips were trembling, and Fan Xian imagined that he must now hate him and his father very much.

In the darkness, aside from the Qinian Group, swordsmen from the Sixth Bureau also lay in wait. With the skill that these people possessed, unless it was the second prince using the power of the Yi family, none would be able to oppose them.

Fan Xian stood beside the carriage, his eyes returning to the ground. He waved his hand at the carriage.

The carriage then began its departure, and slowly rolled away beyond the gate. The three women who were standing at the back of the yard in Fan manor all wore a solemn expression on their face. Liu Shi’s face looked the worst.

A few carriages without emblems or identifying brands now trotted down the streets of the capital in the dark. No one knew what methods or arrangements Yan Bingyun had utilised, but their departure and subsequent exit from the capital walls went without a single hitch. Now they were travelling northbound, and had been doing so for about half an hour. Seeing the moon illuminate the hills and highlighting one particular knoll that was decorated with short trees, it signified their arrival at the Song Lin Bao.

The band now stayed in place, awaiting

Fan Xian’s arrival.

Fan Sizhe, who was in the carriage, opened his eyes. His face was still adorned with that same look of recklessness, and so he said, "Aren’t you afraid that during this trip, the one where I’m being exiled, that I could run off at any given second?"

In the carriage, only Fan Sizhe and Yan Bingyun remained, Yan Bingyun turned to gaze at the boy and coldly told him, "You are a smart person, so of course you know what you need to do. It is because of you and that which you have done that Fan Xian has exerted a lot of effort in arrangements that will keep you and the rest of the family safe."

Fan Sizhe lowered his voice to say, "Or he is merely doing all this just so that he can protect his own reputation?"

Yan Bingyun mockingly said, "If reputation is indeed all that he cares about, then he would have sent you straight to the government. Who could deny his actions then?"

Fan Sizhe knew what was going on, but he was stubborn and not willing to admit to his mistakes. He screamed, "Father would not allow this to happen!"

"The Minister?" Yan Bingyun’s cold eyes turned to an expression of jest, and he mockingly said, "The Minister’s thoughts are not something you and I are permitted or able to understand."

Fan Sizhe now looked tired, and he asked, "Mister Yan, where is my big brother sending me to?"

"The northern Qi Kingdom." Yan Bingyun plainly responded.

"Uh…" Fan Sizhe’s face dropped to one of complete hopelessness, and he sighed as if he were deflating. With an upset look that extended beyond what one could think possible of a person his age, he lay down once more. He accidentally grazed a wound on his back and within a second, began screaming in pain.

Yan Bingyun thought it funny, and so he turned to look at him. He said, "Fan Xian’s medicine, although it is useful, can be extremely irritating. Just try and keep it together." When Yan Bingyun was in the northern Qi Kingdom’s capital, Fan Xian had done the same thing for him.

"I knew what I was doing. It looks really bad, but I did not hurt the bone. Why are you trying to garner pity?" Fan Xian coldly said this as he entered the carriage.

Fan Sizhe saw the look on his face and thought of the family discipline he had just received. His mind wandered to the pain he endured, but quickly snapped back to the present from that fearful recollection.

"Where have you been?" Yan Bingyun furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Fan, saying, "Time is of the essence."

Fan Xian put down the person on his back, laying them down next to Fan Sizhe. All of a sudden, a pleasant fragrance permeated the air of the carriage. Fan Sizhe was shocked, seeing a pretty woman’s face and in this fright, he shouted to Fan Xian asking, "What have you done to her!?"

The person Fan Xian had taken was the popular prost.i.tute of the Bao Yue house, called Yan’er.

Fan Xian looked at Fan Sizhe and with the intent to mock, said, "You pity her? It looks like your evil personality has been influenced by the genes of your father, in which you cherish women of the night. When you established the brothel, why did you not care for the women then?"

Fan Sizhe and Yan Bingyun had no clue what Fan Xian was referring to when he spoke of "genes", but that was beside the primary point of their current confusion. Why in the world had Fan Xian brought that stranger along with them? To capture her, however, well--Fan Xian was already known to be a master of drugging, and in a time like this, when the brothel of a certain prost.i.tute was half-laid to waste, the kidnapping of one such employee was not something that would prove difficult.

"She must be your first woman, yes?" Fan Xian looked into his brother’s eyes and softly asked.

Fan Sizhe thought about it and then nodded for his reply. With a look that begged for mercy, he hoped that Fan Xian would be willing to let her go.

Fan Xian shook his head and sighed, "You really are better than me. You lost your virginity at the age of fourteen…" Fan Xian gave an outburst of laughter. A second later, though, he returned to seriousness and said, "I know the way you treat this woman is special, and that it is different. And I too can tell that she cares about you in return. That being said, your age gap could very well put you as her sibling."

Fan Xian’s lips widened once more.

"The Bao Yue house will no longer be safe. If this lady, Yan’er, was to stay there, I thought you might have been concerned for her future safety. It is not as if I could return her to the manor. Father may allow such a thing, but if I were to turn my back for a minute, Liu Shi may very well end up killing her!" Fan Xian calmly continued, saying, "I thought about it when we had established the prospect of sending you north. Even though we are doing this to test you, it is of no use to leave you there alone. Without anyone else, how are you going to develop your mind? That is why I am having Yan’er sent with you.

Fan Sizhe and Yan Bingyun were both staring, their eyes wide open. To be exiled from the capital in the company of one of the greatest prost.i.tutes of the kingdom, was this truly banishment? Or was it merely a vacation?

"Big brother, what are you trying to do?" Fan Sizhe still did not believe this kindness despite all the arrangements that were currently in motion. After everything that had happened, he was now

now being granted the manner of treatment that few of the Fan manor’s sons could ever have hoped to be given. He had mumbled to say what he had, for he was frightened whilst looking towards Fan Xian’s calm demeanor. But still, even as he did so, the pain of his ravaged backside began to feel lighter.

Yan Bingyun looked at Fan Xian, and he once again felt that no matter how well he had come to know him, he was still as unpredictable as ever. Shaking his head, he patted Fan Sizhe’s shoulders, saying, "your big brother is a wonderful man."

Yan Bingyun now disembarked from the carriage to provide s.p.a.ce and privacy for the brothers who were soon going to be separated.

There was to be little silence in their time together, for they spoke intently. Fan Xian looked at Fan Sizhe with gentle eyes and said, "Why did you not say goodbye to your mother?" Fan Xian did not await his response, and he kept going. He asked, "Do you know why I am so mad this time? And do you know why your father and I have decided to send you away?"

Fan Sizhe looked down at the floor of the carriage, and after a moment, perked his head up to say, "For sending me away, I will at the very least have no worry for the government sniffing around and investigating the Bao Yue house. Even if they did so now, they will most likely believe I up and fled, and it’ll have no bearing on the reputation of the family. With me gone, you can now all freely compete with the second brother."

"Not bad." Fan Xian was happy to notice that under his influence, he had started to refer to the second and third prince as second brother and third brother, respectively. Secondly, it is a part of my punishment." All of a sudden, Fan Sizhe raised his head in endurance of his pain. He began crying, and told Fan Xian, "but I do not want to go… Big Brother, the northern Qi Kingdom’s people are so mean. And what am I to even do when I get there?"

"What can you do?" Fan Xian gave a serious response, saying, "You should capitalizee on and do that which you are best at: business."

Fan Sizhe looked like a simple child when he raised his head. He did not look anything like the suspected owner of the infamous Bao Yue house might be thought to have looked like. He then asked Fan Xian, "Business?" 

"Yes." Fan Xian responded. "Father has given me permission to arrange and proceed with what I have planned. After much deliberation, I’m going to give to you one thousand coins as a capital investment. When you arrive at Shangjing, I will also call for a trusted ally of mine to look after you. Aside from this, however, I will not provide you with any other help. If you are able to take this satchel of one thousand coins and turn it into ten thousand coins over the course of the next five months, then perhaps then I will acknowledge it as prof of your own true value. Furthermore…"

"Increase the sum by ten?!" He did not wait for Fan Xian to finish, and blurted out in shock. "I am no G.o.d."

"Well, in that case, that is your own problem."

"1,000 coins is far too little to accept as capital." Fan Sizhe was embarra.s.sed and annoyed, he continued, "with this measly sum, whatever I do will be small and humiliating!"

"What c.r.a.p are you going on about? Enough with the nonsense! Back in the day, when we only owned Dan Bo bookstore, how much did that cost us?"

"Humph! For me to have what it takes to replicate that success, you must go right ahead and write more chapters for Dream of the Red Chamber, so that I may sell them there. Under those circ.u.mstances, then yes, I can guarantee you I will make that one thousand coins become ten thousand coins."

"That won’t happen. The person named Cao was already driven insane the last time I forced him to handwrite and hand-in a mult.i.tude of copies of that book. No one is willing to produce and distribute that book now."

The brothers continued their talks as if nothing had changed. The atmosphere and mood had lightened up considerably, and they were happy. Fan Xian observed his little brother’s chubby face and could not help but sigh. He then told him, "It is dangerous out there. Father told me that I can’t look over your shoulder that much. Whatever happens to you out there happens; you need to exercise a great deal of caution."

Fan Sizhe went silent and simply nodded. After a brief moment, he said, "Big Brother, you once said that I am a genius of business. Do not worry. I will succeed."

Fan Xian replied, "I hope you won’t be mad at me for kicking you out of the capital."

Fan Sizhe just shook his head, and did not say another word.

Fan Xian understood the confliction he must have felt within his heart. He frowned and told him, "What you said to me earlier, when you told me why you were to be exiled, it was not true."

Fan Sizhe raised his head with a visible confusion.

Fan Xian quietly said, "Eve if you were to stay in the capital, there would be nothing to be afraid of. You think I cannot protect just one person? Just going to hide anywhere else and waiting until this all cools off would be fine. And I know for a fact that the second prince won’t do anything to me. Even if the government wants to investigate the Bao Yue house, it’s not as if they could march into our manor and take you away that easily."

"The second reason, when you said it was

it was because I desired to punish you, that was mostly correct." Fan Xian looked at the prost.i.tute from the Bao Yue house who was still sound asleep, then he calmly said, "On your journey to the north, I do not doubt you will come in contact with some manner of trouble along the way. But compared to the misdeeds you have truly committed, what you meet with will not be equal in comparison. And if I sent you back to Danzhou, as might have been expected, I can only surmise that things would turn out worse there."

Fan Sizhe was a little scared, hearing all this. He squeezed himself, but as he did so, his wounds began to ache painfully once more. He did not speak of this, but in his heart, he pondered the question, Why must you send me to the north?

Fan Xian squinted and told his brother, "I never thought you would do something so reckless as this. What you have done, even if you did not know it, is wretched and cruel. If you remain in the capital, people are going to lure you into doing things that are merely for the sake of getting to me or our father. In times like this, you may fall into the darkest pits of our society. As such, I think it would be best for you to see more of this world. For your maturity, exploration and the occasional hardships of the road will work wonders."

He all of a sudden gave Fan Sizhe a cold look and said, "By doing business, we have to do things either by hook or by crook. But you must get a grip, and learn the difference between them. But do not be overzealous in your dealings. Take your time, otherwise, things are p.r.o.ne to backfire. And furthermore, you only live once; it is therefore best for you to spend that time being nice to others. Look to the bright side of life, little brother."

Fan Sizhe always felt that what had occurred to him following his acquisition and loss of the Bao Yue House to be unfair. He saw its establishment as a monument to his success. Even though many seedy dealings and horrid affairs tainted the soil of its prosperity, it was not something he paid heed to. He lied back down on the carriage seats and said, "What you just said has a lot of justice to it. If people did not know you, and heard you say all this, they would never believe you to be a member of the Overwatch Council. They would think of you to be some sort of bookworm in the Imperial College."

Fan Sizhe’s words were quite taunting, but Fan Xian did not let that bother him; he only raised his eyebrows in response. As the commissioner for the Overwatch Council, the spies he had under his command were masters of the dark and were renowned for committing foul deeds under the guise of shadow. It was just a brothel, and no matter the amount of iron control and unbendable will an owner of such an establishment had, it did not come close to the abhorrent management of the Bao Yue house and the same could be said for Fan Xian and the Overwatch Council. Not thinking of it this way, it was no wonder why his brother did not think fondly of his speech.

Fan Xian smiled and said, "Do you think I am an evil person? Using these high-moral mannerisms to talk to you. Is it just me being ridiculous?"

Fan Sizhe saw his big brother smile and began panicking, but his eyes rolled twice. This was an obvious indicator that he thought it was ridiculous.

"I am not a saint, nor am I much of a good person." Fan Xian continued, "even an executor, he who is responsible for the deaths of many may still love his family. He would know of what I am talking about. People who work like us, even though we always carry the stench of blood, we still desire for our brothers to be free of such a smell. We want them to be clear. Perhaps it is because we face the evil in this world on your behalf, and we do so in the hope that our siblings may never need to themselves; it is our duty."

Fan Sizhe heard his brother repeat the word "we", and wondered its meaning.

Fan Xian now thought of telling his brother about Xiao En and Zhuang Mo Han. With a smile, Fan Xian began reciting his tale, "I do not know how many people Xiao En had killed in the duration of his lifetime, nor do I know just how many wretched deeds he may have also committed. But still, he always wanted his brothers to become proud officers of the court. And in this desire, he succeeded; for Zhuang Mo Han did not disappoint him. Until the night he died, I admired that man profoundly. Even though I am not smart, if Xiao En was capable of doing this, I want to replicate such success as well."

It seemed as if Fan Xian wanted to convince his brother, but it also seemed as if he was providing himself comfort. He said, "It is a marvelous thing, a being good person. And I want to be a good person."

Fan Sizhe now heard of this crazy secret for the first time and with his mouth agape, he remained silent for quite some time. After a while, with a voice that trembled, he said, "But I looked at the book Mister Zhuang wrote, and man, did it give me a headache. Big brother, if I were to become a scholar, it would be an arduous road."

Fan Xian found his musing humorous, and replied, "With a brain like yours, of course you cannot study."

Fanyou cannot study."

Fan Sizhe had no prepared response for this, but instead, asked Fan Xian about his earlier tale. He said, "That story you spoke of…"

"Just try your best to conduct business. Strive to become the manner of merchant that will go down in the history books." Fan Xian encouraged him by further saying, "being a merchant does not have to be as everyone may imply, in which you must conduct shady dealings everyday. In this world, there are perfectly successful merchants that conduct their business entirely by the book."

Fan Sizhe harbored a look of weary confusion and responded, "To become a merchant, all that is required of us is to turn a profit. How am I to become truly heard, by conducting this business on the straight-and-narrow? Even if they have it made, it will only become a tasty dish for the greedy, corrupt officers of the government to come dine upon."

"You have me and Father. If you do things right, no harm will come to you or your business." Fan Xian gave his brother a gentle look and said, "Did you forget about the Ye family? You and I talked about this in Cangshan. The sole reason for your fervent desire to conduct business ever since you were young was because when you were small, Father always told you tales of the Ye family. If that mistress of the Ye family did not die, I can guarantee you that no government or kingdom in this entire world would threaten them."

Fan Sizhe, with eyes wide open, momentarily froze. He said with unease, "The business of a brothel can generate extreme amounts of money. It produces more profit than any other venture." His little brother still did not see the value or importance in maintaining one’s reputation in the field of trade; he still thought that the simple generation of earnings is all that mattered.

Fan Xian smiled and told him, "I once asked a person in Qingyu Hall, and he told me that the Ye family would conduct any manner of business. Anything except that which was illegal. At first, of course it was because the leader of the family was a woman, and she would hate the thought of making illicit trades. But also, it was because evil was and still is evil. No matter how much money one could line their pockets with, it did not change the fact that doing something wrong was indeed wrong. It’s like being water, trapped between the banks of a small river. You will forever keep moving, but never does the opportunity to make big waves come. If you want to become a master of business, continuing to hang around these small rivers will not yield to you the success that you so crave."

Fan Xian himself didn’t know why, but was beginning to talk and talk with greater excitement at each pa.s.sing sentence. Perhaps it was because the possible fate of his brother was touching the innermost sanctum of his heart, though he said, "It is not easy to live your life. You must try your best to achieve things to their greatest potential. To be a merchant, you cannot be satisfied by remaining in the realm of illegitimate exchanges, and you cannot be satisfied with being one of little renown either. You may not even be satisfied as a royal merchant. For utter satisfaction, you must become a merchant of the whole world. The wealth of one individual can be enough to change the fate of an entire kingdom. For this, everyone would admire you and know your name."

The way he spoke, as if everything was so simple, was beginning to give Fan Sizhe a headache. He awkwardly looked towards his big brother and told him, "The Ye family dealt with armaments and weaponry of war. They even helped the Qing Kingdom destroy the northern Wei Kingdom. The northern people weren’t very fond of that family because ofit. As to how I conducted my business in the Bao Yue house, I only committed a few minor misdeeds. Yuan Meng only killed a small number of prost.i.tutes, but as for the mistress of the Ye family, who knows how many innocent people she had killed? Big brother, what you’re saying is…"

Fan Xian did not know to respond properly, he simply waved his hand and decided to stop comparing Fan Sizhe to the Ye family. He then said, "Regardless, it is not very nice to become a bully and author of murder."

Fan Sizhe looked worried, and told Fan Xian, "but Big Brother, I really do not wish to leave the capital," and continued, "Both Mother and Father will remain there, so could you at least take extra care in looking after them? For me, please?" He knew that after what had happened with Bao Yue, the only thing that could be done to ease tensions was to leave. The excuse for the second prince to attack Fan’s family would be gone. Even though Fan Xian would not admit it, it was the thought and sight of his father’s resolve within all of this that made him truly acknowledge the danger and trouble he had placed his family in.

After the speeches made by Fan Xian, the fourteen year old boy was given the appropriate determination to go north and succeed. He now thought to himself, if I live my life and become just like the mistress of the Ye family back in the day, what a wondrous achievement that would be!

Fan Xian nodded and leaned closer. Into his ear, he whispered to him the names of those he could trust in Shangjing.

Fan Sizhe heard what his brother truly desired and his heart froze. The palace treasury… smuggling to the north… the Cui family… and a terrifyingly large sum of money… Am I truly capable of doing this?