Chapter 58: Fang Er Explodes in Rage, Prince of Han Flees in Panic

If Madam Cao still couldn't tell by now that Fang Jun was simply here to pick a fight, she might as well just be a fool.

Turning pale with fury and trembling all over, she shrieked, "How bold of you! Do you have any idea how much these two items are worth? Even if you sold yourself into slavery, you couldn't afford to pay for them!"

Fang Jun, however, turned a deaf ear. He picked up a white-glazed twin-dragon-handled vase, examined it closely, and muttered, "This one is nice. A thousand years from now, it'll be a national treasure..."

Then, turning his wrist over, he dropped it again...

Madam Cao was driven to the verge of madness. Watching as Fang Jun systematically "accidentally dropped" and shattered every single vase and jar in her room, she could no longer restrain herself. Letting out a piercing shriek, she cursed vehemently, "You goddamned brute! Do you take me for someone who can be pushed around so easily?"

Fang Jun wiped the playful grin from his face. His expression grew as dark as water, and he snapped, "I'll give it to you straight today: I, your lord and master, just fucking dropped it. What are you going to do about it? Smash the rest of them!"

Hearing this, Li Siwen and Cheng Chubi immediately grew excited. Letting out a wild howl, they each grabbed a leg of a hardwood stool and went to town, smashing everything to pieces in a chaotic frenzy.

Zhao Fuzhong was struck with terror. Hastily grabbing Fang Jun's sleeve, he pleaded bitterly, "Second Young Master, you mustn't, you mustn't..."

Fang Jun paid him no mind at all. "Get out of the way!"

With a single heave of his arm, he shoved Zhao Fuzhong aside.

Utterly helpless, Zhao Fuzhong could only watch with wide eyes as a crowd of Fang household servants reduced Madam Cao's bedchamber to complete ruins. Gleaming porcelain and delicate jade vessels shattered in an instant, and even the couch was broken in half. The entire room was left in absolute shambles.

Zhao Fuzhong stood to the side with no other choice, while the rest of the estate's servants didn't even dare to come near. After all, this was considered a domestic matter belonging to the Prince of Han.

Madam Cao's pretty face was twisted with rage, her delicate body trembling violently, leaving her temporarily speechless.

Back then, she had used a trick to make Lady Fang "accidentally" break one of her vases. Although she had received a beating with the paddle, the final outcome was that Lady Fang had been reprimanded by the Prince and sent back to her maternal home, leaving Madam Cao completely victorious.

Yet now, right before her very eyes, Fang Jun was smashing her private chambers into smithereens.

Indeed, what else could she do?

The bastard standing before her was the sort of lunatic who could beat up an imperial prince and walk away completely unscathed!

Madam Cao finally seemed to realize that no matter how immensely wealthy a merchant family might be, they were still vastly inferior to the nobility... No, they weren't even on the same level!

Biting her red lips until they almost bled, Madam Cao stared fixedly at Fang Jun, as if she might pounce forward at any moment and viciously sink her teeth into his neck.

Such profound humiliation nearly shattered her back teeth!

Yet what more could she do?

She knew that if she really lunged at him, this fierce-faced deity would definitely dare to slap her across the face. If that happened, she truly wouldn't have the will to live anymore.

Even though it was beyond endurance, she had no choice but to endure!

The humiliation in her heart transformed into scorching tears streaming down her face.

She could endure it because she saw through Fang Jun's intent: he was here precisely to cause trouble, and he wasn't afraid of making things worse—in fact, the bigger the commotion, the better.

However, her two brothers could not endure it!

With a furious roar, Cao Bai shoved away his brother, who was still retching and spitting up bitter bile, and rushed forward in a single bound, shouting, "All of you, stop right there!"

Unexpectedly, he was met with a massive, heavy fist...

Cheng Chubi let out a chuckle and threw a punch straight at Cao Bai's head. "I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Cao Bai's martial arts skills were not weak; with a nimble twist of his body, he dodged the punch and swept his leg out in a low kick. Although it failed to trip Cheng Chubi, it still sent him stumbling sideways.

Cheng Chubi let out a sound of surprise, his fighting spirit instantly ignited! His greatest joys in life were twofold: wine and martial arts. Meeting an opponent of equal caliber meant he would jump at the chance to spar for the sheer thrill of it. How else could he be considered true brothers with Fang Yiai?

Birds of a feather, indeed...

Originally, Cheng Chubi had been having a marvelous time smashing things, but upon encountering a worthy adversary—and not some weakling—his eyes lit up. Tossing aside the stool in his hand, he engaged Cao Bai in hand-to-hand combat, trading blows with fists and feet, though for a moment he couldn't get the upper hand against Cao Bai.

Fang Jun was left utterly speechless. Why use fists when you have weapons lying around? What a blockhead...

Glancing around, he spotted the stool Cheng Chubi had discarded. He walked over, picked it up, and weighed it in his hand, finding the heft quite suitable. Holding it by one leg, he crept up behind the dueling Cheng Chubi and Cao Bai. Waiting for an opening, he brought the stool crashing down onto the back of Cao Bai's head.

He didn't dare to use too much force—it wouldn't do to kill the man. Even so, the blow knocked Cao Bai out cold. Staggering in a circle, he collapsed face-first onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Cheng Chubi was utterly exasperated. He glared at Fang Jun for a long while before finally squeezing out a sentence: "Damn it... You really fight dirty..."

Ignoring him, Fang Jun knew the hour was getting late and shouted, "Alright, drag these two fellows out to the main hall."

A few Fang household servants stopped what they were doing and dragged the unconscious Cao Bai, along with Cao Song—who was still clutching his chest and struggling to catch his breath—out of Madam Cao's courtyard.

Seeing her brothers captured, Madam Cao panicked and shrieked, weeping as she tried to claw at Fang Jun, only to be forcefully restrained by her maids and servants. This Fang the Second was no pushover; if he decided to beat Madam Cao as well...

Standing composed and unhurriedly outside the main hall of the Prince of Han's estate, Fang Jun surveyed the large crowd of Prince's retainers gathered around.

"Give it to them!" Fang Jun commanded leisurely.

A Fang household servant acknowledged the order, raised a horsewhip, and lashed it across the backs of the Cao brothers, whose limbs were firmly pinned down.

"Aah—"

Cao Song let out a miserable wail as snot and tears streamed down his face. The breath that had been trapped in his chest from Fang Jun's earlier kick was finally knocked back out.

After a couple of lashes, the unconscious Cao Bai also groaned awake. He proved to be tougher than his brother; while screaming in agony, he cursed furiously, "Fang the Second, you bastard, you just wait... Aah... I'll never let you go... Aah..."

A household servant stepped forward and stuffed a rag into his mouth, finally bringing him some quiet.

Standing there with a stern face, Fang Jun uttered not a word. As long as he didn't tell them to stop, the servant continued to whip them blow after blow.

He wasn't just venting his eldest sister's frustrations; he was establishing her authority!

From this day onward, whoever dared show disrespect to Lady Fang would suffer this exact fate!

Every single whip lash that fell upon the Cao brothers felt as though it were striking the hearts of the estate's servants. Staring dumbfounded as the two brothers were beaten without even the ability to resist, their legs trembled and a chill gripped their hearts.

The Princess Consort's younger brother was truly a fierce deity...

********

Li Yuanjia was exceptionally busy with official duties today. The compilation of the *Geography Records of the Realm* (Kuo Di Zhi), overseen by Prince Wei, Li Tai, and carried out by imperial decree at the Hongwen Hall, was nearing its completion, and no negligence could be tolerated.

This compilation project was monumental in scale. It wasn't merely a matter of collecting and excerpting ancient texts; it divided the entire country into 10 circuits, 358 prefectures, and 1,551 counties. Following the administrative divisions of military governorships, prefectures, and counties, it drew extensively from classical commentaries and geographical records, sought out obscure histories and old tales, and detailed the administrative evolution, mountains and rivers, local products, historical sites, customs, notable figures, and local anecdotes of each region. It was a thorough reform of the nation's administrative geography.

Everyone in the hall was utterly focused, not daring to make even the slightest error.

It wasn't until past sunset that today's work finally came to a temporary halt. With the curfew hour approaching, the scholars did not dare to delay, exchanging hasty farewells before hurrying home.

Seated inside his cushioned sedan chair, Li Yuanjia swayed back and forth, nodding off in drowsiness. Yet the moment he thought of Madam Cao's silky, soft body and her seductive, bone-melting gasps, a surge of heat flared in his chest. His sleepiness vanished instantly, and he wished he could instantly fly home and hold Madam Cao in a passionate embrace.

However, immediately following that thought, he remembered the Princess Consort, Lady Fang, whom he had angered into returning to her maternal home, and a soft sigh escaped Li Yuanjia, filling him with a sense of depression.

To be fair, after scolding the Princess Consort that day, he had felt quite a bit of regret. Lady Fang had married him in their youth, and they had always been deeply affectionate with no estrangement. She managed the household with wisdom and handled matters with magnanimity, saving him an immense amount of trouble in his daily life. To call her a virtuous helper was no exaggeration at all.

Yet Li Yuanjia also harbored a grievance: why was it that other nobles could have three wives and four concubines while keeping harmony in their inner courtyards, yet the moment he took a single concubine, his household turned into a chaotic mess? After all, he was a prince! Surely she couldn't apply the methods her mother used to handle her father onto him!

Alas, things had already reached this point. Was he expected to swallow his pride and go fetch the Princess Consort back in person?

Swallowing his pride wasn't much of an issue—he had never maintained much dignity in front of his wife anyway... But what if he went there all humble and pleading, only for her to refuse to return? That would be a humiliation that would stretch across the entire capital!

Knowing Lady Fang's temperament, Li Yuanjia suspected she was entirely capable of pulling off such a stunt...

What a headache!

With a furrowed brow, Li Yuanjia heaved a heavy sigh.

In the blink of an eye, the sedan chair arrived at the gates of the estate, only for a servant to come tumbling out in a panic, colliding head-on with the Prince's chair. The servant shrieked at the top of his lungs, "Your Highness, disaster! Your Highness, disaster!"

This nearly made Li Yuanjia vomit blood from anger. Parting the sedan curtains, he cursed, "You're the one who's a disaster! What kind of frantic behavior is this? What on earth has happened?"

Realizing he had chosen the wrong words, the servant slapped his own face before crying out with a mournful expression, "Your Highness, please hurry to the inner courtyard! Fang the Second... Second Young Master Fang has come! He's smashed Madam Cao's rooms into smithereens and has the Cao brothers pinned down at the entrance of the main hall, whipping them!"

"Hiss—"

Li Yuanjia drew in a sharp breath of cold air and asked in horror, "Why would he do such a thing?"

The servant was left speechless, thinking to himself: *Why? As if you don't know why!* With a weeping face, he replied, "Naturally, it's because of the Princess Consort! Second Young Master Fang is shouting Your Highness's name directly, claiming he's here to demand justice for his eldest sister!"

Li Yuanjia instantly lost his composure. He knew very well what kind of temper Fang the Second possessed; he simply hadn't expected that blockhead to actually have the nerve to stand up for his sister!

If he went inside right now and ran right into Fang the Second while the fellow was in a fit of rage—given that brute's combat prowess—he himself would...

His heart skipping a beat, Li Yuanjia immediately stamped the floorboards of the chair. "Turn around! Hurry up and leave!"

The sedan bearers immediately quickened their pace, heading deeper into the inner courtyard.

Li Yuanjia hadn't paid attention at first, but once he came to his senses, he suddenly realized the direction was all wrong. Wasn't this walking right into the tiger's den?

Panicking, he roared, "Wrong way! Wrong way!"

The bearers were bewildered, thinking to themselves: *Isn't this the way back to the inner courtyard? What's wrong with it?*

Anxious, Li Yuanjia snapped, "We're not going back inside, we're leaving the estate! Hurry up and move, before that fierce deity spots us!"

The bearers: "..."

The servant: "..."

With lightning reflexes, the sedan bearers immediately spun around and bolted back toward the main gates.

Reaching the front entrance, one of the bearers asked, "Your Highness, where are we going?"

*Right—where were they going?*

Li Yuanjia froze. The curfew was about to begin; where on earth could he go?

*Damn it, I've really hit rock bottom. I've been driven to a dead end by my own brother-in-law? I seriously want to turn back and teach that bastard a lesson. Isn't he going a bit too far?*

Of course, that was just a fleeting thought; the Prince of Han had no intention of getting beaten up.

With no other options left, Li Yuanjia gritted his teeth and stomped his foot. "To the imperial palace!"