CHAPTER 616: CHAPTER 616: THE FAN FAMILY MAKES A FOOL OF THEMSELVES

Xia Ruqing shook her head again.

"You’re mistaken!" she said.

"They said it was a first-class dukedom, but... they never mentioned it was hereditary!"

What use was a non-hereditary title? Once Old Master Fan passed away, his son wouldn’t amount to anything. Tsk tsk! Was this even considered a title?

"Besides, I haven’t heard of the Emperor bestowing him a mansion!"

The Fan Family hadn’t been in the Capital City for years. Their residence was barely maintained, not much had been acquired, and the courtyard wasn’t large.

Who had ever seen such a small Protectorate Duke’s Mansion? It was rather laughable, really.

After much explanation, Zi Yue finally understood.

"So you mean to say, the Emperor’s ’reward’ isn’t genuine?" she asked.

Xia Ruqing lifted the bowl of bird’s nest porridge by her side and sipped slowly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

「...」

If a woman secluded in the deep palace could understand this, how could Old Master Fan not get it?

He hadn’t really understood the imperial edict. So, after sending Eunuch Li away, he immediately called several of his advisors to discuss the meaning of the imperial edict together.

After getting a more colloquial interpretation, Old Master Fan finally understood completely.

He became so enraged that he flipped the table on the spot.

"That young Emperor, this is an outrageous insult!" he exclaimed.

His advisors were so frightened they nearly wet themselves.

"My lord, please calm your anger!" they pleaded.

"Such words mustn’t be said carelessly; speaking them could lead to execution!"

Old Master Fan smirked coldly.

"Execution? I’d rather be beheaded!" he declared.

"This insult, who can bear it? It’s better to be swiftly decapitated than to live with this disgrace!"

Having said that, he indeed found a curved saber from somewhere.

He violently pulled off the scabbard and headed out the door with the gleaming blade in hand.

The advisors, terrified, rushed to stop him.

"General Fan, you mustn’t!" they exclaimed.

"The moment you step out, it’s a road to death!"

"A gentleman can be killed, but not humiliated!"

Old Master Fan kicked them away and stepped out the door with the large saber.

He had battled on the fields for the Great Chu Dynasty and earned his reputation as a famous general, having been stationed in the Northwest for many years. The candor and unruliness of the Northwestern people had long since fused into his bones.

Now, having suffered such humiliation, to be played like a pawn by the murderer of his son, how could he swallow this insult?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and so he left the house.

But... as soon as he opened the door, he was met by soldiers surrounding him, layer upon layer.

Old Master Fan, furious, charged at them with his saber.

At first, the soldiers hardly dared to engage. After all, he was the Emperor’s father-in-law; if he were truly injured, they would have a hard time explaining themselves.

But...

As the number of injured increased, the soldiers’ leader saw things were going awry and quickly called others to encircle General Fan.

Together, they subdued him and threw him back into the Fan Residence.

Wounded, frantic, and enraged, Old Master Fan coughed up blood and passed out.

Lady Fan cried her heart out. She rushed to have someone call for a doctor and prepare medicine—no more need be said of that.

「...」

The commotion at the Fan Residence quickly reached Zhao Junyao.

When he heard that Old Master Fan had only now kicked up a fuss, he sneered sarcastically.

"What a slow reaction!" he commented.

Afterward, he gave Li Shengan a few orders.

Li Shengan nodded and hurried off to deliver the message.

From the next day, Imperial Officers began visiting General Fan, one after another.

It didn’t matter whether they normally got along or not. Whether they were acquainted or strangers.

In a nutshell, officials from all over the Imperial Court came in waves.

They came for three purposes.

First, to visit the ill General Fan.

Second, to congratulate General Fan on his promotion to Protectorate Duke of the first rank.

Third, to catch up on old times, which essentially meant that since everyone would be serving in the Imperial Court together as capital officials, it would be good for them to look out for one another.

In plain terms, they were there to ingratiate themselves.

If it were a normal promotion, all of these would have been joyous occasions. Naturally, the host should have treated them well.

But... given Old Master Fan’s circumstances, that might not be the case.

Each of these three purposes was like a sharp sword, a curved blade, stabbing straight into his heart. And for good measure, they twisted it to make it hurt even more.

"Get out, all of you get out! From now on, I’m not seeing anyone!" Old Master Fan roared in despair.

What a joke, such an enormous joke!

A sick visit? Didn’t this just mean that everyone knew he had been sickened by the young Emperor?

Congratulations? This shitty Protectorate Duke title—whoever wants it can have it! I want to be the Commander!

That’s where the real, tangible military power lies.

Look at Shi Yang and the others. Why weren’t they promoted to Protectorate Duke? Nonsense, all of it is nonsense!

Catching up and currying favor? Don’t even get me started.

A Duke’s title is a rank, not an official post; it doesn’t come with the qualification to attend court, nor does it hold any real power. Most importantly, this title was a one-time deal; once he died, his son would be nothing.

The truly respected and noble ones... For instance, Duke Cheng, who received assignments from the Ministry of Personnel, or Duke Zhenguo, who held a position in the Ministry of War. They both held core powers, and moreover, their titles passed from generation to generation without replacement. Meaning that when a Lord Duke passed away, their sons would succeed as the new Lord Dukes.

Such positions were the truly respected ones! Now, was his title of Protectorate Duke meant to be a laughingstock?

The more Old Master Fan thought about it, the angrier he got.

The worst part was that those officials, especially those censors, clung like pests you couldn’t shoo away. They were always putting on an act of deep affection and righteous indignation; their wailing and sobbing was nauseating.

Old Master Fan was nearly driven mad by the torment.

Fight? What a joke!

The Emperor himself wouldn’t dare lay a finger on them; who was he to try?

Besides, he didn’t want to go down in history with an infamous reputation!

So, Old Master Fan had to endure it, watching this bunch carry on with their utmost sarcasm, metaphorically defecating and urinating right in front of him.

When they had tormented him enough and finally left, Old Master Fan could no longer hold it together.

He fell seriously ill, with a relentless high fever, and lapsed into unconsciousness.

When Zhao Junyao heard the news, he was "alarmed" and immediately summoned an Imperial Physician to check on him.

Having received the imperial edict, the Imperial Physician left the palace and went to the Fan Residence. He had only one thought: If you can’t cure him, you’ll be buried with him!

The Imperial Physician was so frightened every hair on his body stood on end.

When he arrived at the Fan Residence to take General Fan’s pulse, he was exceptionally diligent, and by the end of the night, Old Master Fan’s fever had subsided.

On the third day, he was completely recovered.

Besides being somewhat frail, Old Master Fan had no other ailments.

When the Imperial Physician returned to the palace to report, Zhao Junyao was very pleased and rewarded him with two hundred taels of silver.

Since then, Fan You in the Capital City had gone directly from a tiger to a sick cat.

Having been so harshly dealt with by the Emperor, he was thoroughly scared; now he was so docile that he didn’t dare make the slightest move.

「By this time, it was already the end of April.」

The weather was gradually getting hotter, and around noon, when the sun was at its strongest, it already felt quite sultry.

In the Imperial Study Room, ice basins had been placed around, and Zhao Junyao sat at his imperial desk, reviewing memorials.

Having dealt with these troublesome matters, he felt completely refreshed.

His slender fingers picked up one memorial after another, and the Emperor’s vermilion rescripts, character by character, seemed to leap onto the paper.

Zhao Junyao had all the latest tidbits from the Fan Family secretly relayed to the Empress’s ears.

On the surface, the Empress remained her usual self, but in reality... her heart had journeyed from anger to despair, and finally, just like her father, she became so docile she dared not make a single move.