ALL NOVEL
Chapter 518
The hoarse voice contained endless longing and regret.
Yet who can tell if this was genuine remorse, or fear after repeated friction.
Fang Heng stood coldly still until the sobbing gradually faded away. Only then did he say indifferently, "Take a good look, I'm not him."
Fang Huairen jerked his head up in panic. His blurry eyes moved slightly, and in the faint oil lamp light, he finally realized the man before him was not an old friend.
That old friend... had long died on the battlefield.
"Haha, my elder brother is dead, he's dead!" Fang Huairen burst into loud laughter. "I should be happy, but he was my own elder brother. He treated me so well, I couldn't harm him."
When General Fang was alive, the Fang family was indeed as harmonious as the Jiang family.
It seemed that Fang Huairen was reluctant to move against his elder brother due to brotherly love, and had forcibly endured it until after his brother's death before taking action.
Fang Heng was furious. Grabbing the bars, he roared, "Was my mother not good to you? As elder sister-in-law, was she not qualified enough? What right did you have to hurt her? To persecute her?"
Fang Huairen fell silent, lying straight on the haystack as tears flowed.
"Answer me, tell me why." Fang Heng suppressed his anger. "Who in this family wronged you? Just for that so-called power? When my father was away fighting battles, the Fang family was practically in your hands. What more could you be unsatisfied with?"
"You killed my mother, tried to kill me, even tortured grandmother to death. What exactly are you trying to do? What wrong has the Fang family done you?"
The five siblings some distance away looked on in shock and puzzlement.
They only knew the superficial grievances of the Fang family, unaware there were so many hidden stories.
The Fang brothers clearly had deep affection, yet suddenly turned against each other. Fang Huairen's heart was malicious, even unrelenting towards his own birth mother Old Madam Fang. No wonder the He family turned against the Fangs, they must have grown suspicious about the cause of their aunt's death.
"Tell me, speak up." Fang Heng questioned him several times.
Yet Fang Huairen just lay there feigning death, clearly intent on taking the grudge to his grave.
Just as Fang Heng was about to take action, an exhausted female voice sounded from the rear cell. "I'll tell you everything if you tell me our Yuan'er's true whereabouts."
Fang Huairen's eyes snapped open as he shot her a warning look.
But Mrs. Zhu paid him no heed, staring straight at Fang Heng until he nodded. Only then did she slowly say, "Because Fang Huairen harbored doubts about his own birth, though the two brothers grew up together, Old Madam Fang always favored Eldest Son, including doting on you more than Yuan'er."
Familial affection has always been thus, fearing unevenness rather than sparseness.
Though biological brothers, the mother would still favor Eldest Brother slightly more. Over time, both would inevitably feel dissatisfied. Fang Huairen tried to speak up several times, but was reluctant to actually act against General Fang's frank and honest nature.
It was not until news came of General Fang's death on the battlefield that Fang Huairen felt a surge of both grief and secret delight.
He grieved his elder brother's passing, yet delighted that with the father gone, there would only be one son in the family. Surely the mother would not favor one over the other anymore?
But when Fang Huairen went to comfort the heartbroken mother, he received only hysterical scolding and shouting. Only then did he realize the mother would never favor him over Eldest Brother. He would never surpass Eldest Brother.
Grief, pain, resentment all welled up simultaneously.
He placed his mother under house arrest, killed his elder sister-in-law, and tried to kill Fang Heng, using all of this to torment his mother, directly leading to Old Madam Fang's death.
"All these years he has lived poorly, constantly dreaming of your father scolding him, unwilling to be brothers again." Mrs. Zhu said lightly. "As the Fang family's authority figure, he persecuted your sister-in-law and you, and harmed my Yuan'er. He deserves karmic retribution."
"Mrs. Zhu, shut up, be quiet." Fang Huairen interrupted her several times to no avail.
Now everyone knew he was a pitiful wretch begging for maternal love in vain.
"Quiet down..." Fang Huairen screamed hysterically. "They were biased first, they hurt me first. They deserve today's outcome. This is retribution, retribution!"
"On what basis to favor one over the other, on what basis not to love me, on what basis to even favor the younger generation more? On what basis?"
The man's wailing arose once more, this time full of bitterness and indignation.
His most important person was Eldest Brother, yet he was the one who harmed Eldest Brother's beloved wife, persecuted Eldest Brother's only child.
Fang Heng suddenly didn't know how to judge, much less respond.
Until the vigorous voice of an old woman sounded from the entrance. "Because you were never born from Lady He's womb in the first place."
Everyone in the room simultaneously turned to look as Jiang Sheng exclaimed in surprise, "Grandmother?"
The voice gradually approached, and Old Lady Jiang's straight figure was outlined on the wall by candlelight.
She looked solemn and stern, voice cold and disdainful. "Lady He and I were childhood friends. I advised her back then, illegitimate children are illegitimate, legitimate children are legitimate. Do not confuse the two."
"She refused to listen, insisting on raising the illegitimate child as her own. But the intimacy of blood relations cannot be obtained through any amount of companionship. She was no saint either, inevitably favoring her own child."
"If the illegitimate child knew his identity, your kindness would not be taken for granted, perhaps even moving him to tears of gratitude."
"If the illegitimate child did not know his identity, your occasional favoritism could engender resentment, not only dragging down the legitimate child, but harming yourself as well."
"Lady He, how muddled you were!"
Old Lady Jiang fiercely struck the ground with her cane. "Tell me, raising such an ungrateful wretch, even harming your daughter-in-law and grandson. Do you regret it now that you're gone?"
The entire cell fell silent, with no response.
The Jiang siblings were dumbfounded, Fang Huairen refused to believe it, while Mrs. Zhu gave a knowing, cold laugh.
"I know you won't readily believe me." Old Lady Jiang glanced over. "My word as a childhood friend means little. Words from the He family, however, you should believe."
She moved aside, revealing the He Family Lord with a solemn expression.
Fang's Old Madam He Xin was this He Family Lord's aunt.
"Back then, my aunt only gave birth to one son." He said heavily. "You were a child born to a maid of the He family. Your mother passed away due to heavy bleeding after your birth. My aunt, moved by her deep bond with her servant, raised you as her own legitimate child."
Who would have thought it would give rise to so much malice, harming so many people.
"My aunt must have regretted it before her passing, sending word to the He family to reveal the truth." The He Family Lord choked up lightly. "But the He family had only just received the message when my aunt passed away. Revealing it afterwards would have convinced no one."
How laughable.
The favoritism you resented was actually an act of kindness.
The indignation you felt was all baseless.
Fang Huairen once again threw back his head, but could not even wail loudly now, only emitting strange "wu wu" sounds.
Was it regret? Or indignation?
No one could tell, nor was anyone interested in discerning.
Regardless of whether Old Madam Fang had indeed favored one son over the other, she had raised and nurtured him all the same. The Fang family had never shortchanged him either.
No amount of resentment justified killing his elder sister-in-law and nephew.
Fortunately, everyone would pay the price for their actions, both commoners and nobles.
Fang Heng exhaled the last breath held in his chest, bowed in thanks to Old Lady Jiang and the He Family Lord, then stood ramrod straight as all obsession dissipated like smoke.
"Third brother, let's go," Jiang Sheng rushed over. "The dungeons are gloomy without my beloved sunlight."
"Alright." Fang Heng smiled lightly.