Chapter 134: The Prodigal Son of the Xu Family

The young master surnamed Xu was taken aback by the address. "Who are you?"

"It’s me, Nuo'er. Don't you remember? My father is the one surnamed Fang."

"Fang... Fang Nuo? The Fang Nuo from the family of Mr. Fang, the accountant?"

"Yes, Young Master, you remember."

Xu Wen, the young master of the Xu family, looked at the Fang Nuo standing before him. His heart hammered in his chest, and he felt a bitter, gnawing sensation. In the past, Fang Nuo had been his little errand boy, someone he could summon or dismiss at will. He never expected that after being gone for a while, the boy would return as a young master from a wealthy family. The clothes and accessories Fang Nuo wore were worth more than everything Xu Wen owned, several times over.

*I used to be this prosperous once,* Xu Wen thought viciously. Simultaneously, he delivered a harsh kick to A-Gui, who was on the ground. *This dog of a servant, he’s ruined my reputation.*

"Fang Nuo, what brings you back?"

"Young Master Xu, have you seen my father?"

"I..." Xu Wen’s eyes darted around. Seeing the anxiety on Fang Nuo’s face, he felt an inexplicable sense of dark satisfaction, and the words on his lips shifted. "Your father did return, but when he heard you weren't home, he left."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true. When have I ever lied to you?"

An overwhelming sense of joy swept over Fang Nuo like a gale, lifting his spirits and leaving his heart floating in the clouds, unable to touch the ground for a long time.

It wasn't until Changsheng nudged him that he snapped out of it. "Young Master, I think..."

Changsheng had intended to say that this man's words were untrustworthy, but seeing how overjoyed Fang Nuo was, he couldn't bear to dampen his spirits.

Fang Nuo returned to his senses, only to realize that Xu Wen and his servant had already left. He hadn't even asked clearly where his father had gone or where he should look to find him.

The three of them chased after the direction in which Xu Wen and his servant had departed.

Turning into a narrow alley and checking to ensure no one was following, Xu Wen raised his hand and struck A-Gui across the face, cursing viciously, "You short-sighted little mongrel! I’ll sell you to a brothel tomorrow. You love money so much, right? I'll let you count coins all day long."

Holding his face, A-Gui defended himself with a grievance, "Master... I did it all for you. The crowd at the Bole Gambling House said if you couldn't produce the money in three days, they would seize the dye house as collateral. I saw that purse had some weight to it and thought it might help you out."

Only then did Xu Wen realize he had wronged A-Gui. Feeling a touch of regret, he glared at him. "Even so, you should have been more discreet. Fang Nuo recognized me; he certainly wouldn't have dared to let me search him. Sigh, I never imagined that in just two years, that brat would become so wealthy. Tsk tsk, look at what he’s wearing—all fine things. Could he be involved in some shameful trade?"

"You just said you’d sell me to a brothel, Master. With my looks, I’d probably scare the customers away before I even started. Hehe, that brat has a fine face; maybe that’s exactly what he does for a living."

A-Gui wore a wretched grin, but the movement caused him to wince in pain.

Xu Wen joined in the laughter, his expression turning wicked. "I knew it! A bastard with a mother but no one to teach him, he was worth less than my own servants. If it weren't for my late father’s occasional charity, who knows how he would have turned out? How could he have the talent to live so comfortably? So that’s it... Hahaha, A-Gui, the heavens have truly opened their eyes. A ready-made purse has been delivered to my doorstep. He was always most obedient to me since we were children; one word from me, and he’ll be fawning over me again."

"Master, what if he asks about his father? Have you really seen him?"

"How would I have seen him? He probably died long ago, rotting in some ditch somewhere. I was just fooling him. If he asks again, I'll just feed him more lies..."

After saying this, Xu Wen strode toward the end of the alley, hands behind his back and chest puffed out, feeling quite satisfied. He began calculating how to swindle Fang Nuo into handing over his money.

Meanwhile, pressed against the corner of the wall, Fang Nuo’s face was ashen, his fists clenched tight.

If he hadn't been forcing himself to stay in control and holding back Changsheng and Chang'an, he would have surely turned that master and servant into two bruised messes.

Xu Wen’s words were like a blade, piercing deep into his heart. He didn't care that Xu Wen called him a "brothel boy," but he hated being called a "bastard." He hated that Xu Wen had lied about his father and cursed his father as dead. He hated himself even more for being so naive in his youth, failing to see Xu Wen for the trash he was, treating such a wretched person like an older brother, and listening to his instigations to argue with his own father.

Old Master Xu had been kind to his father and him, but his father had sold his life for the Xu family for so many years. Now that his father’s fate was unknown, any debt owed to the Xu family had long been repaid.

Since you are heartless, I shall be unrighteous.

A look of ruthless determination flashed in Fang Nuo’s eyes.

Beat them? Kill them?

No, no. A beating would be too easy, and murder was against the law. Fang Nuo recalled what the young lady had once said: there was another way to deal with people you detested, and that was to drain them of their wealth.

Xu Wen, Young Master Xu, you want money, don't you? Then I shall ensure that from this day forward, you are destitute, penniless, living worse than a beggar, and lower than the lowest servant.

Once his mind was made up, the anger and resentment that had welled up in his chest dissipated like mist. His expression softened, and he nodded at Changsheng and Chang'an, turning back the way they came without a word.

Changsheng and Chang'an had been fuming with rage along the way; had Fang Nuo not stopped them, they would have rushed up to beat those two bastards to a pulp.

Back at home, Changsheng had just indignantly said, "Young Master, tomorrow we..."

He was interrupted by Fang Nuo, who called them over. He explained his plan in detail, and after they discussed it further, they all went to sleep.

Hearing the faint sound of snoring from the next room, Fang Nuo could not fall asleep. He remembered his father telling him that the secret to the Xu family’s prosperity lay in that dye house. His father had sighed with regret, saying that the old master was a good man, but a pity he raised such a spendthrift heir, and had warned him not to associate with Xu Wen.

But he was too young then, unable to grasp his father’s good intentions, finding his father’s constant meddling merely annoying.

He sighed softly.

There are some things that, by the time you understand them, it is always too late to regret.

The winter moonlight was bleak, illuminating only the small patch of ground before the threshold, unable to pierce the darkness beyond. And Fang Nuo, trapped in this darkness, waiting bit by bit for the dawn, slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Fang Nuo rose early. After breakfast, the three of them went to the market to buy incense, paper money, cakes, and tea, and headed to the outskirts of the town.

On a desolate hillside lay many graves; Fang Nuo’s mother was buried there.

Perhaps he had been too young; his impression of his mother was faint. By the time he could form memories, she had always been bedridden, unable to play with him, only occasionally speaking a few words to him before passing away.

It was the later days, when father and son relied on each other for survival, that were etched into his memory as if carved in stone.

He cleared the weeds from the grave, kowtowed to his mother, burned the paper money, and silently prayed for her to protect him in finding his father.

He then rose and continued forward. Ahead of the slope was a mountain peak—the ancestral burial ground of the Xu family. Old Master Xu must have been buried there.

Upon finding the grave, he was surprised to see how desolate it was, despite Old Master Xu having had children. Weeds grew thick around the tombstone, as if no one had come to pay their respects in a long time.

He cleared the weeds there as well, kowtowed respectfully, and burned paper. He did not say the words he had hoped for the Xu family to understand; since the dead were gone, he only hoped the old man could rest in peace.

By the time they descended the mountain, the sun had just risen. The wind made the frost-covered, withered grass rustle, and occasionally, a crow or two flew overhead, their cries shrill and chilling.