The protagonist of this crossover film and television series is disrupting the plot again.

Chapter 496 Joy of Life 52 (Original content increased to Chapter 495)

Unbeknownst to him, Fan Jian had actually sacrificed so much for him.

When Fan Jian named him Fan Xian, he jokingly thought it was Fan Jian subtly mocking him for being "suspicious".

Unexpectedly, the truth was so shocking.

He had once complained that Fan Jian was an incompetent father who had abandoned him in Danzhou for more than ten years without a word of concern; it turns out that this was indeed the case.

“Father…” Fan Xian’s eyes stung, and he felt a tightness in his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Seeing his expression, Aunt Liu said in a puzzled tone, "Fan Xian, Fan Xian, I really don't know what's so good about you, this illegitimate son? For your sake, Master first painfully abandoned his eldest son, and now he's ignoring Si in order not to implicate you."

Fan Ruoruo was thrown into turmoil when she suddenly learned that she had an older brother.

But upon hearing Aunt Liu's questioning of Fan Xian, she instinctively stepped forward and retorted, "Aunt, what you're saying is too much. Father never said he wouldn't care about Fan Sizhe, so why are you being so aggressive? Besides, back then, my brother was just an innocent child. How can you blame him for all the mistakes?"

Aunt Liu looked at Fan Ruoruo in disbelief, as if she had seen something bizarre: "Have you gone mad? The one who died was your own brother, born of the same mother. If he hadn't died, how could your mother have died with such resentment? It was one thing if you knew nothing about this before, but now that you know, you're still standing on Fan Xian's side?"

Fan Ruoruo's eyes were red, but she still stood firmly in front of Fan Xian: "I don't know the details of what happened back then, but I believe in my father's decision. Besides, it was my brother who died, and the person standing in front of me is also my brother."

Fan Ruoruo didn't understand why Aunt Liu was reacting so strongly.

Even though it was her own brother who died, they had never met and had no feelings for each other.

If Aunt Liu hadn't brought it up today, she might never have known about this in her entire life.

Over the years, Fan Ruoruo has come to regard Fan Xian as her faith, the person she trusts and relies on the most, and someone that no one can replace.

Although she was heartbroken to learn that her older brother had died in Fan Xian's place and that her mother had died of depression as a result, she still had no intention of distancing herself from Fan Xian.

"You are simply..."

Seeing that Fan Ruoruo showed no intention of questioning or resenting Fan Xian, Aunt Liu realized that she had been brainwashed by Fan Xian. She immediately stopped talking to her and turned to look at Fan Jian again, her tone increasingly indignant:

"Master, do you value Fan Xian more or his mother? If you really care about her so much, why didn't you marry her openly and honorably back then? Instead, you left her to live in the wilderness, and the child she bore was just an illegitimate child."

Fan Jian frowned. As Aunt Liu's words became increasingly outrageous, even mentioning Ye Qingmei, a surge of hot blood rushed to his head, and his mind went blank.

The next moment, having lost his mind, he walked up to Aunt Liu and slapped her hard across the face.

Aunt Liu was knocked to the ground, a handprint instantly appearing on her face, which quickly swelled up, and a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.

As a young lady from the Duke's mansion, she had been pampered since childhood, and this was the first time she had ever been beaten.

Feeling the burning pain on her face, she was stunned for a moment. When she came to her senses, she was immediately filled with shame and anger.

She stood up, leaning against the door, and looked at Fan Jian: "Where did I say something wrong? If you really like Fan Xian's mother so much, why did you marry the late Madam and me? His mother..."

"Shut up!" Fan Jian snapped, staring intently at her. "Who told you these things?"

Ye Qingmei benefited countless people during her lifetime, but some of her propositions also threatened the interests of many nobles.

If people find out that her son is still alive, they will surely attack him en masse, and Fan Xian will be in danger.

The first to be affected were the Empress Dowager, the Empress, the Eldest Princess, and even the Crown Prince, as well as countless other established nobles.

Fan Xian is currently just a junior official in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and has not yet taken over the Imperial Treasury. He has no real power, so how can he withstand so many storms?

Moreover, Emperor Qing pays close attention to Fan Xian, and their current conversation will likely be on Emperor Qing's desk first thing tomorrow morning.

How will Emperor Qing react then?

Fan Jian grew increasingly alarmed as he thought about it. He grabbed Aunt Liu's shoulder, his voice filled with barely concealed anxiety: "Do you know how serious the consequences will be if you so rashly reveal these things?"

Aunt Liu trembled with fright at Fan Jian's reaction.

Although she didn't know the specifics, she vaguely realized the seriousness of the problem from Fan Jian's tense expression.

But the thought of Fan Sizhe still being imprisoned in the Kyoto government office filled her with resentment: "I only wanted to save my son, what did I do wrong? Did you know these things were shameful? If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Jian seemed to have been struck by something, abruptly releasing his grip on Aunt Liu's shoulder and involuntarily staggering back a few steps.

He pointed a trembling finger at Aunt Liu, veins bulging on his forehead. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence from his throat:

"I shouldn't have married you in the first place. You and Fan Sizhe, one is ignorant and reckless, and the other is spoiled and lawless. If you continue like this, you will drag the entire Fan family into an abyss of no return sooner or later!"

Aunt Liu's eyes widened, and she said in a trembling voice, "Master, what...what did you say? You regret marrying me?"

Despite the ridicule and criticism from the people of Kyoto, she resolutely married Fan Jian as his concubine, which shows that she truly loved him.

Although Fan Jian has never officially recognized her as his wife over the years, he has also not been looking for other women.

She always thought it was because Fan Jian still cared about his late wife. Although she was unwilling, she secretly thought more highly of Fan Jian and considered him a good man with affection and righteousness.

It wasn't until she learned about those secrets from back then that the image of the affectionate Fan Jian in her heart instantly collapsed.

Nevertheless, she harbored no resentment, but simply distanced herself from Fan Jian.

After all, this was the path she chose herself back then; she can only blame herself for misjudging people.

But at this moment, hearing Fan Jian say that he regretted marrying her, Aunt Liu's heart felt as if it were being torn apart, and she felt that her life had been a complete failure.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she forced them back, staring blankly at Fan Jian, her face filled with sorrow.

"Waaaaah!"

Finally, unable to suppress her grief any longer, she covered her mouth, sobbed, and turned to flee. Her shadow stretched long in the moonlight, making her look exceptionally desolate.

Fan Xian glanced at Fan Ruoruo, who immediately understood and chased after Aunt Liu in the direction she had run off to.

He then walked over to Fan Jian, helped him sit down, and said in a calm tone, "Father, please don't be angry. I've thought about it carefully, and it's very likely that Aunt and Fan Sizhe were used by someone."

Fan Jian took a few heavy breaths, trying to calm his chaotic thoughts, before slowly speaking: "Tell me about it."

Fan Xian began to analyze seriously: "Father, you have been intentionally hiding what happened back then. Even Ruoruo doesn't know the details. How did Aunt find out?"

Although I don't know much about my aunt, I can sense her distance from you lately. Before this, someone must have deliberately and selectively told her about what happened back then.

So although she knew about the child's existence, she didn't know that my mother was Ye Qingmei.

Upon hearing this, Fan Jian frowned: "You mean, someone is deliberately trying to sow discord between the Liu family and us?"

Fan Xian nodded and continued, "This incident is also highly suspicious. Although Fan Sizhe is somewhat of a playboy, he is by no means someone who kills innocent people indiscriminately. This incident must have been the result of a careful plan by someone with ulterior motives."

“What you said makes sense, but,” Fan Jian said, his expression grave, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously, “who would go to such lengths to sow discord between us, and what is their purpose?”

Fan Jian quickly sorted through all the possible clues in his mind, but there were just too many people who wanted to harm the Fan family and Fan Xian, and he couldn't figure out who it was for a moment.

Whether it's Li Yunrui and Li Chengqian, who don't want Fan Xian to take over the Imperial Treasury, or Lin Ruofu, who wants to avenge his son, or even his many political enemies in the court, they could all be the masterminds behind the scenes.

Fan Xian pondered quietly for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up as if he had grasped a key point: "Father, I think I know who it is."

Upon hearing this, Fan Jian immediately focused his gaze on Fan Xian and asked urgently, "Who?"

Fan Xian's eyes sharpened, and he slowly uttered a few words: "Second Prince, Li Chengze."

"The Second Prince?" Fan Jian looked puzzled and pressed, "Why did you think of him?"

Fan Xian took a deep breath and explained, "Fan Sizhe is venturing into the brothel business for the first time, yet he has managed to do so smoothly and rapidly. This is clearly not something he could do on his own; there must be someone secretly helping him behind the scenes."

I suspect this person is likely the heir apparent of Prince Jing, given that he controls most of the brothels in the capital. With his abilities, achieving this wouldn't be difficult for him.

And since the Prince Jing's heir has always been on good terms with the Second Prince, I guess it's the Second Prince.

At this point, Fan Xian couldn't help but recall that vivid figure.

Since arriving in Kyoto, he has met many people.

Emperor Qing, Chen Pingping, the Eldest Princess, the Crown Prince, Prince Jing's Heir Apparent, Gong Dian, and others, but they had never met the Second Prince.

What surprised him even more was that the second prince didn't seem to care much about him, the heir to the inner treasury, and never showed any intention of recruiting him.

Having been in Kyoto for several months, the last banquet at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was the first time he had met Li Chengze.

She wore a bright red dress, its vibrant, fiery color standing out like a blazing flame in the brightly lit hall, both intense and dazzling.

Although he sat in the seat next to the Crown Prince, he seemed to have his own halo. Even the Crown Prince, who was full of noble bearing, paled in comparison to his aura.

Fan Xian keenly noticed the unique temperament emanating from Li Chengze, a refined and extraordinary charm.

Despite the bustling and lively atmosphere around him, Li Chengze felt as if he were in another world.

Fan Xian clearly sensed a kind of loneliness from him, a loneliness that was all too familiar to Fan Xian, because he himself had felt out of place in this noisy world countless times.

This resonance startled Fan Xian, and a sense of inexplicable warmth arose within him, as if they were old friends reunited after a long separation, rather than meeting for the first time.

In this matter, Fan Xian was unwilling to suspect Li Chengze, but in the darkness, it seemed that an invisible force was guiding him, making him naturally focus his attention on Li Chengze.

After listening to Fan Xian's analysis, Fan Jian felt that it made some sense, but upon closer examination, he felt that it was somewhat impossible.

The events of that year were kept too secret, so few people know about them now. How could Li Chengze, who is only a few years old, know about those old stories?

Moreover, if he knew, why did he choose to target Aunt Liu and Fan Sizhe instead of directly targeting Fan Xian?

Therefore, in Fan Jian's view, the person most likely to scheme against Fan Sizhe was not Li Chengze, but Lin Ruofu.

After all, Fan Xian killed Lin Ruofu's son, so it's quite possible that the family would take their anger out on the Fan family because of Fan Xian.

This time, it is very likely that Lin Ruofu is taking this opportunity to retaliate against the Fan family.

Having served as an official for over twenty years, Fan Jian was all too familiar with the methods employed by those in the imperial court.

Don't assume that all these scholar-officials were upright gentlemen. On the surface, they appeared virtuous and respectable, but behind the scenes, they often resorted to unscrupulous means.

Fan Jian pondered for a moment and said, "Although it is unclear who instigated the Liu family, the person who plotted against Fan Sizhe may be Lin Ruofu."

"As for the Second Prince, he probably wouldn't do something that would bring trouble upon himself. He's always been cautious and wouldn't easily put himself in trouble. So I'm more inclined to believe that someone plotted against both Fan Sizhe and the Second Prince at the same time."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xian frowned slightly, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "But I heard that Baoyue Tower does indeed have a prince as its backer. If it's not Li Chengze, then who could it be?"

Fan Jian remained remarkably calm about this, saying simply, "There is more than one prince in the capital."

Fan Xian nodded thoughtfully, seemingly lost in thought.

The night seemed exceptionally long, and the house was brightly lit.

The father and son sat facing each other for a long time, trying to unravel the mystery from the few clues and uncover the real culprit.

At the same time, they were racking their brains trying to figure out how to save Fan Sizhe.

It is worth mentioning, however, that Fan Jian, as the father, had already begun to consider giving up on Fan Sizhe after analyzing the case, but Fan Xian was determined to do so.

The father had already lost a son because of him, so he was determined to protect Fan Sizhe no matter what.