This was the second wife of Count Sinan, Lady Liu Ruyu, who was taken into the Count's household over a decade ago. Her family's roots ran deep: within three generations, they had become high nobility. So when she had become a concubine of Count Sinan, it was a source of great discussion within the capital. Everyone wondered what the Liu clan could be thinking, to give away a daughter to Fan Jian. Even if he had just been made Count Sinan, he was only a distant relative of the influential Fan clan. It was only in the past decade that he had gained the Emperor's favor and amassed great prestige, climbing up the ranks; now the great family served her ruthless vision.
But strangely, the Count had never intervened in her scheming. Whether this decision was made rationally, or out of deference to the Liu clan, it made little sense either way.
Fan Xian smiled sweetly. "It is good to finally meet my father's concubine."
Lady Liu also smiled, but an indescribable expression flashed in her eyes. Hearing this child call her 'concubine' rankled; most people would have called her his second wife.
There was a world of difference between 'concubine' and 'second wife'.
"Come along," she said, smiling, "you've come a long way. What have you been doing dawdling under these eaves? If anyone saw you, they'd think that Fan Manor was inhospitable."
Inhospitable? There were certainly some people they didn't want to be hospitable to, thought Fan Xian. He knew that she was reminding him of his own status as an illegitimate child, but at the same time, he admired the beauty of her words. He wasn't prepared for a war of words with the woman; he knew full well that she had been in the manor for a long time, and it wouldn't have been worth it to spar with her verbally. But, considering that they were at cross-purposes with each other, why did he have to back down?
It seemed that she wasn't some fool with sinister intentions, as he had imagined her before. So now he felt somewhat confused - why had she tried to kill him four years ago?
As he followed her into the hall, he made sure not to stay too far away. Her unique scent reached his nostrils, and he inhaled. It was quite a pleasant aroma.
In times like these, one may have trivial thoughts. Fan Xian felt rather pleased with himself, and he smiled as he made small talk with Ms Liu.
The noblewoman and the young man both played their part, putting on a facade of a mother and son.
...
...
The tea arrived. It was genuine Wufeng tea - a fine variety. The refreshments had also arrived - fine flaky pastries from the south. After talking about the journey, how the lady of the house was faring back in Danzhou, the seaside scenery of the town he had just left behind, and what was worth seeing in the capital, the two found that they had nothing else to say to each other - at the very least, nothing polite.
So, going by what seemed to be a quiet mutual understanding, Lady Liu and Fan Xian sat in silence. Both were aware that the other person was not easy to deal with. There was no sense in sounding out each other with clever words; it was best that they both stayed silent.
The awkward atmosphere of the room had convinced the servant-girls to keep quiet out of fear, even making sure that they stepped lightly as they came by to refill the tea.
But neither Fan Xian Nor Lady Liu felt awkward; once in a while they would grasp their teacups and look at each other, their gazes soft and gentle but hiding daggers underneath.
Lady Liu was perturbed. She had discovered that this was no ordinary young man before her. To her surprise, the situation had not stopped him from responding freely, without the least bit of nervous restraint. He seemed mature and earnest, perhaps even more prudent than his father.
It seemed to her that she should not have listened to advice she had received four years before, which had made her hasty to see him as an enemy without good cause. Now it appeared something of a mistake. It would be difficult to resolve this situation.
As they sat in silence, Lady Liu suddenly got the feeling that it was weakening her position. After all, she was his elder. She cleared her throat. "Your father is now an official at the Treasury," she said. "Have you come to the capital to prepare for next year's imperial examinations, or will you be going straight to the Treasury for work?"
Fan Xian smiled. "I shall do as Father says." He paused for a moment. "But I'm not sure when he'll be back."
He was telling the truth. There were a few people he wanted to meet with in the capital. Lady Liu was one of them, as was Fei Jie and his little sister Ruoruo. But the person he was most interested in meeting was definitely his father.
He was very curious as to how Count Sinan had caught the eye of his mother, the head of the illustrious Ye family. In his mind, he thought of the dead woman as his mother, but never much considered Count Sinan to be his father. This was perhaps a quirk of the male mentality.
"Your father will return shortly."
As she said this, there was a slight clattering outside the door to the inner courtyard. The servant girls hurried to greet whoever it was, but the noise came too quickly, and the servant girls were unable to bar the way. A young woman walked in.
She wasn't particularly pretty, but she was exceptionally neatly-dressed, with what seemed to be a somewhat delicate and faintly indifferent disposition. The indifference was not that of an ice maiden - a loathing for the impure things surrounding her - but rather of someone who had yet to discover their own self-confidence, and so created an apathetic demeanor, feeling at odds with the world around them.
Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't becoming of a young noblewoman to have such a cold exterior.
The young woman looked Fan Xian in the face. Her cold expression softened until it finally melted away entirely, and a slight blush began to spread on her cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. She took a step back and slightly rearranged her garments. Curtsying, she spoke in a gentle, clear voice that seemed both polite and boastful. "Good day, brother."
Fan Xian smiled, and held out his hand to support her. "Ruoruo, there's no need to be so polite."
The two exchanged glances and faint, earnest smiles. They had exchanged letters for many years. In this world, each was the person the other one knew most deeply.
But the sound of a clumsy child immediately broke their tender reunion.
"Hey, are you Fan Xian?"
Fan Xian turned to face the youngster who had entered. He was rather chubby, and the left side of his face was covered in unsightly moles. His face seemed full of resentment, and he stared at Fan Xian with a slight disgust.
Fan Xian sat down, ignoring the boy, and offered his little sister a seat. "Who's the boy?" he asked, smiling. He had already guessed who the plump young lad was, but he wasn't going to say anything.
"I'm Fan Sizhe," the boy said, "the young master of the Fan family." He looked Fan Xian in the eyes. "Hmph. So you're the bastard."
He heard a faint sound, and tried to catch sight Lady Liu in the corner of his eye. To his surprise, she had already left, and he wasn't sure where she'd gone. It seemed she had intentionally allowed her son to come in and annoy him, overturning his efforts to remain calm. In any case, if he acted inappropriately, there was the excuse that Sizhe was still young and unaware of how he should behave.
A strange smile crept across Fan Xian's face. He was already aware when he left Danzhou that the Count's heir was a bad-tempered, rude, and unreasonable young boy. For his father's sake, Fan Xian decided that he would commit himself to educating his 'little brother'... to prevent him from committing some grave offence and bringing the house of Fan into disrepute.
But taking on this task was more than he had bargained for.
"Give me your hand," said Ruoruo, coldly. As she said this, she pulled out a ruler.
"Why?" mumbled Fan Sizhe. His face was filled with fear, and yet he still obediently extended his hand.
Two solid whacks later, Fan Sizhe's hand was left with two red marks. Tears began to well up in his eyes, but he gritted his teeth and tried to keep them back. "But sis, he is a bast..."
Before the word could leave his mouth, Ruoruo had already brought the ruler down on his hand again, her expression completely unchanged.
Fan Xian realized that the coldness of his sister's manner, in the eyes of most people, would seem rather repressed.
"First of all, you are to call him ‘older brother’. Second of all, you understand our family's status, so you shall not make such awful remarks. Third of all, if you will not respect your elder brother, then you will be punished."
Fan Ruoruo spoke coldly. The way she gripped the ruler in her hand reminded Fan Xian of a kindergarten teacher - gentle on the outside, but ferociously strict on the inside.
Fan Sizhe looked Fan Xian resolutely in the eyes, pressed his lips together tight, and ran away towards the rear courtyard.
"Every time, he runs crying to mama," sighed Fan Ruoruo.
"I was wondering what he was about to say."
"He'll think twice before saying it again."
"It's quite funny to watch you be so strict with him."
"I don't think there's anything funny about discipline, brother."
"Why do you carry a ruler to hit him with?"
"Father gave me the authority to discipline him."
"It seems I was mistaken in my analysis of how the world works."
"You mean, in terms of male authority?"
"Uh-huh. There's still the question of distribution of power in the household."
"It seems that I now hold a little power."
"But don't forget, that kind of power is completely dependent on that man's whims."
"Brother, you should not forget that 'that man', as you call him, is our father."
...
...
Their quick-fire question-and-answer session at an end, Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo smiled at each other. They were truly happy to be in each other's company, with no one else around. Fan Ruoruo let her guard down and allowed herself to laugh; it seemed her happiness was difficult to restrain.
Fan Xian was the same. Perhaps because they had exchanged so many letters, they were able to have a conversation on each other's intellectual level. When they had started to write to each other, Fan Ruoruo was still young. To an extent, her view of people and of the world had been deeply yet imperceptibly shaped by Fan Xian's influence.
They had not seen each other in ten years, so it would have been natural to feel like strangers to each other. But as they sensed the bond that had developed between them, it soon brought them closer together. It was as if the two siblings had never been apart but had seen each other every day; as if they were long-standing intellectual confidants and close friends.
In their relationship, Fan Ruoruo saw Fan Xian as a kind of tutor, and Fan Xian saw her as his student and his junior. They had a subtle mutual understanding.
Fan Xian smiled. "It seems like you have a good life here," he said to her in a low voice. "I suppose I don't need to worry."
Fan Ruoruo lowered her head. "I have missed your counsel, brother," she said quietly.
"Oh?" Fan Xian smiled shyly. Had the last chapter he wrote and sent to her had an effect? It wouldn't be right to ask so directly.
"Lady Liu has been happy with herself recently," she said coldly, calling her by her name. Even though she and Fan Xian were the only two people in the hall, the atmosphere had clearly gotten colder.
Fan Xian paused for a moment in thought. "Even though I was far away in Danzhou, I knew about the Liu family's position in the capital. You shouldn't disrespect her."
"I won't." Fan Ruoruo's eyelids drooped, and her eyelashes hung beautifully on her pale skin.
Fan Xian gazed at her with a slight smile. It was his good fortune to find someone who understood him in this world, even if it was someone that he had taught himself.
"Did you receive my letter?" he asked softly.
"Mm." Fan Ruoruo smiled, and the coldness left her face. "I saw it in my room the other night. It scared me, I thought some awful person had left it there. But then I saw the handwriting and I realized it was you."
Fan Xian shrugged. Relying on Wu Zhu's abilities to deliver a letter was truly a waste of his talent.
No one had entered the room to interrupt their conversation. Fan Xian was happy for that. He took a sip of his tea. "You probably don't know why I'm in the capital," he said firmly.
Fan Ruoruo lifted her head and looked at her brother with a smile that didn't seem quite like a smile should.
Fan Xian felt somewhat embarrassed by her gaze. "What is it?" he mumbled.
Fan Xian gave a sigh that seemed almost mocking, then smiled. "I think most people know why you're here. I believe the children of the capital's noble houses are quite curious. Count Sinan must have big plans for his illegitimate son, if he's going to summon him to the capital."
"Eh?" Fan Xian was taken aback. "I thought father brought me here in secret. How come everybody knows? There can't be that many people in the capital who know who I am. Why is everyone so curious about me?"
"Because you're here to be married." Fan Ruoruo laughed. "The bride father has arranged for you is quite well-known."
Fan Xian frowned. Although he didn't necessarily want to marry her, he was still rather concerned over what his bride might be like. "Do you know her?"
"My future sister-in-law is a daughter of the Lin family." Fan Ruoruo's eyes shone. "Not only do I know her, I believe the whole capital knows her."
"What Lin family? Why is this girl so famous?" Fan Xian raised his eyebrows.
"Brother, although you were far away in Danzhou, I know that the imperial household sent you a letter about it. Grandmother should have a copy of it." Fan Ruoruo laughed.
Fan Xian thought back and slapped his palm to his forehead in realization. "You mean the Lin family, as in the family of the Prime Minister, Lin Ruofu? She's the illegitimate daughter from that great scandal he was caught up in?"
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