Volume 1: Jiangdong Bandits Chapter 72: Unrest

  Huì Jī, Shén Zé Mountain Villa.

  In the late afternoon, a cool breeze blew by the lake. In the study room by the lake, Yilan was giving her father, Wenxuan, a back massage. Wenxuan sat on the mat, quietly enjoying his daughter's thoughtful gesture, feeling very comfortable.

  "How is your mother's body?" Fan Wenyuan asked with his eyes closed.

  With a clear brow and sparkling eyes, Fan Yilan replied: "It's all right, it's just that brother is leaving again, mother can't help but feel a little reluctant to part with him."

  Fan Wenxuan nodded secretly: "Yang Er has already set off, right?"

  She smiled and said, "Yes, brother will go to Dingtao first to settle some things, and then he will go directly to the Grassland Building to bother Wang. You can rest assured. I thought that when brother leaves, father will inevitably feel sad, so I came to accompany you on purpose."

  Fan Wenyuan smiled lightly and said, "As a father, I have always had some regrets. Why did Yilan become a daughter? She is intelligent beyond others, obedient and understanding, and so considerate. If she were a son, her father would be much more at ease."

  Yanlan smiled and said, "Isn't brother still here? Father, you're being biased. Although I'm a daughter, I'm also a member of the Fan family and I'm doing my best to contribute to the development of our family!"

  "Yes, Yilan has always been very good, and she's helped Father a lot over the years. But this girl is getting older and doesn't know when to get married? My family's Yilan should be getting married soon." As Fan Wenyuan said this, Yilan's heart involuntarily conjured up someone's image, and her pretty face subtly flushed red.

  At this time, a servant came to report: "Master, Third Master has sent someone with a letter!"

  Fan Yilan handed a bamboo tube to her father, and Fan Wenyuan gently waved his hand, saying: "Don't bother using your eyes, just read it out loud for me!"

  Yilan slightly stunned, opened the fire lacquer seal, took out a letter from the bamboo tube. When opened, the surface was filled with crooked and curved symbols, which were not text at all. This was the unique secret language of the Fan family's letters, also known as a cipher. Even if the letter was intercepted by someone else, others couldn't understand what was written on it, so there was no need to worry about the message being leaked.

  Although Fan Yilan is a woman, she is intelligent and has both ability and wisdom, an extraordinary beauty. After seeing Yu Ji, who was said to be the number one beauty of Chu and Han, Yin Xu responsibly thought that Fan Yilan's beauty surpassed hers by a margin. Who is the real number one beauty? It is obvious...

  The first beauty concentrated her mind and finished reading the letter, saying: "Father, Third Uncle said that Xiong Xintai today ascended to the throne, still called King Chu Huai."

  "King Huai of Chu?" Fan Wenyuan seemed somewhat surprised.

  Fan Yilan replied: "Yes, it was the result of a game between Song Yi and Xiang Liang, but this proposal came from Yin Xu."

  Yin Xu?

  "Yes!" Fan Yilan looked at the letter and roughly explained the situation of that day.

  Fan Wenxuan listened and laughed: "It seems that Yin Xu really has some skills, the person you recommended is not bad! However, if he had always been under the command of the Xiang family, I'm afraid it wouldn't have worked."

  Yi Lan explained, "Father, don't worry! You see, King Huai of Chu enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Shaoxing, with a fief of 700,000 households in Shanyin. A large area south of Kuaiji is his fiefdom, which was originally part of Yue State."

  Fan Wenxuan naturally understood his daughter's meaning and smiled: "Look! It's too early for now. As long as he performs well, has potential and prospects, support is definite. By the way, how is Song Yi?"

  Fan Yilan frowned and said, "Third Uncle said that Song Yi was promoted to Ling Yin, Shang Jiang Jun, and Qīn Zǐ Guān Jūn, in charge of the military affairs of Chu State. Under one person, above ten thousand people."

  Such a result made Fan's father and daughter both somewhat surprised, after a while Fan Wenyuan said: "It makes sense, it seems that this Chu Huaiwang is not only young but also more powerful than his grandfather."

  "Father, this Song Yi appears to be impressive at first glance, but judging from his past actions, I'm afraid he won't amount to much. In comparison, the Xie family is far more powerful, so why bother with him?"

  "Daughter, sometimes many things, even if you know it's not worth the effort, must be done. Do you know why?" Fan Wenyuan smiled and said: "Many times the result is not important, what's important is the process. In our family, it has always been the eldest son who takes charge of the household. Except for major events that require discussion with the clan elders, all other matters are decided by Father."

  "But the entire family has thousands of people, and they can't all be satisfied. Your uncles have been complaining for a long time, asking for money and power is not just once or twice, especially your third uncle." Fan Wenyuan said in a low voice: "If they want to contribute to the family, let them do something. Your brother found Song Yi because of your third uncle's recommendation, since he thinks highly of him, then let him go and do it. Let's see how good his vision is? How capable is he?"

  Fan Yilan has been accompanying her sick mother recently, and hasn't asked much about family matters. She didn't expect there to be another reason behind it. The wise and beautiful woman's thoughts flew quickly, and she was shocked, saying: "Dad, did you let brother go to the grasslands because...?"

  Fan Wenxuan's approving gaze fell on his daughter's face, and he sighed: "If your brother were as clever as you, I could also rest assured to hand over the family business to him."

  Yilan hastily said: "Father, look at what you're saying, older brother has always been steady in his dealings, these past few years he's managed the northern business affairs with great order. After a few more years of tempering and accumulating experience, he'll definitely be able to take on the family's important tasks, so please rest assured."

  Fan Wenxuan shook his head: "Yang Er is indeed steady, but he lacks a bit of wisdom and often lacks accurate independent judgment on many things. He's still young, if someone intentionally misleads him it won't be good, so I let him go to the north, the grasslands and Yan Zhao will be bigger business in the future, Yang Er has been managing well over there. And also to avoid trouble, to learn from experience and know how to see through things."

  Fan Yilan was crystal clear in her mind, but she didn't expect her father to think so deeply. It seems that her elder brother's trip to the north this time was only half-understood, and she couldn't help but sigh. At the same time, she also sighed for the first time that the family was not peaceful, and that a harmonious family brings prosperity, but now... being the head of the family is not an easy job!

  Fan Wenxuan saw through his daughter's thoughts and smiled: "Don't worry, I still have some control over this matter. They can't stir up too much trouble. This time, let them take charge of the business with Song Yi, Tian Shi brothers, and Qi Guo. I'd like to see how they'll wrap things up if they don't do well."

  "By the way, I've already arranged for Fan Bai and Fan Jin to keep an eye on your Third Uncle. You should also pay attention. Your brother has left, so you'll have to put in some effort on the Dingtao side! Nearly half of our family's foundation is there, and there are many relatives on that side too. We can't be careless, nor can we let others get their hands on it."

  Fan Yilan's heart skipped a beat, "Purple White Gold Green" were her father's four most trusted advisors. Fan Purple followed his elder brother Fan Yang to the north, while Fan Green followed her. This time, both Bai and Jin had made their moves, it seemed that Father was already quite dissatisfied with Third Uncle.

  She nodded slightly and agreed to her father's words.

  Fan Wen Xuan said softly: "Your younger brothers are still young and they're all born out of wedlock, the least I can do is not to let you worry about them, it's hard on you."

  Yilan shook her head: "Father, what are you talking about? This is what a daughter should do!"

  Fan Wenxuan glanced out of the window and saw that it was already pitch black outside, saying: "It's night, Yilan, go back and rest! Be careful on the road!"

  "Yes!" Fan Yilan's slender figure swayed as she walked out the door. As she reached the gate, a delicate and charming young woman approached slowly and greeted her: "Greetings, elder sister!"

  "Go ahead!" Yilan knew that the young woman's name was Ruxue, her father's newly acquired concubine this year. According to the rules of the Fan family, a concubine was equivalent to a servant and had to pay respects to the eldest daughter of the main room, namely herself. Ruxue appeared at this time, naturally to serve her father in bed. As a member of the wealthy Fan family, Yilan was already used to such things and didn't mind.

  Walking in the summer night, Fan Yilan felt more and more sultry, just returned to her own embroidery building. The heavy rain poured down from the sky, between the lightning and thunder, a vast mist rose on the lake surface. Fan Yilan lay on the embroidered bed, sleepless for a long time.

  The rain hits the banana leaves, pattering and dripping, the wind and rain are coming, it's destined to be turbulent.