Chapter 1144: Pleasure
Fan Zijin came over from the Fan Residence. Regarding his relationship with Fan Siwen these years, it had been not terrible but not that great either.
When he was not in the capital, he would make sure gifts were sent to the Fan Residence in a timely manner, only following the necessary etiquette but not a single step more.
When he was in the capital, he would go back to the Fan Residence for a meal during the holidays. When he wasn’t in the mood to see Fan Siwen, he would simply go to the palace to spend the holidays with Qi Xiuyuan and the others. As Qi Xiuyuan was willing to cover for him, Fan Siwen could not do anything to him.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of using his status to suppress him. Putting everything else aside, as long as he claimed to be sick and used filial piety to suppress Fan Zijin, he would have to return to the Fan Residence to serve him in the morning and evening. However, what was the use?
His original intention was to enhance the father-son relationship. But by doing so, it would only push his son further away.
Also, Fan Siwen was aware that this son of his was extremely shrewd. He could face Fan Siwen with a smile, but the minute he turned around, he would secretly use all kinds of means to deal with Zixiao. In the end, he would be the one to suffer.
Fan Siwen watched as his second son soared from a jinshi to a Duke, then from a Duke to a Prince, Military Advisor, magistrate, and Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He could almost foresee that Fan Zijin’s next official position would be the Minister of Revenue, after which he would become the prime minister and leave his name in history.
Meanwhile, Fan Siwen’s eldest son was still just a student of the Imperial College, and could neither rely on Fan Siwen nor Fan Zijin’s power to become an official. With the entire Fan family under Fan Zijin’s feet, Fan Siwen felt as if his heart was on fire.
No matter what he did, Madam Xia would stop him. These days, in the Fan family, Madam Xia’s words were more effective than his. Focused on helping Fan Zijin, Madam Xia would even ask Fan Siwen to explain where he was going whenever he took a carriage to head out.
Fan Siwen was filled with anger to begin with. When he saw the exquisitely good-looking Little An, and then saw his eldest grandson who appeared evasive in front of Little An and Little Fu, he couldn’t help but blame Fan Zijin for disregarding his brotherly ties. He was already a Prince, but his biological brother was still a mere student of the Imperial College yet to find a path to officialdom.