Fang Heng knew his mother came from the prominent Wang family in Anshui Prefecture, but because Anshui was very far from Fengjing, she had only returned home three times in the past decade, so he was not very familiar with that side of the family.
"My mother only had one elder brother of the direct line, but he passed away from illness three years ago, so the Wang family fell into the hands of my aunt, Lady Sun," Fang Heng said softly.
Later when disaster befell Fang Heng's family, Lady Sun wasted no time abandoning this niece of hers. She instead curried favor with Fang Heng's second uncle, and made repeated attempts on Fang Heng's life.
Fang Heng had thought many times - if his uncle were still alive, he surely would have firmly supported his mother. He surely would have treated his nephew well. He surely would not have let his aunt command the Wang family to harm their own kin.
"My mother does have several half sisters, but they all married off long ago. I'm not even clear which families they married into," Fang Heng said bitterly. After some hard thinking, he grew impatient, "Forget it, I'll just go directly ask the county magistrate."
He picked up his staff and hurried out in a huff.
Xu Mo followed behind, rather exasperated by him.
The two went from the small courtyard to the county office gates, and happened to see Bian Wenxuan loitering around outside.
He pretended not to recognize Fang Heng, and spoke excitedly to Xu Mo, "Esteemed Prefect, you're finally here! The prefecture sent orders saying they want a census of the population over the past decade. Since you've just taken over, they want you to take care of this."
After speaking, he shoved a huge stack of ledgers into Xu Mo's arms, and patted them expectantly.
Xu Mo stayed silent.
Wang Xi, who was nearby, muttered, "You both just took over..."
Bian Wenxuan whipped around fiercely, frightening Wang Xi into quickly covering his own mouth to keep from speaking further.
"Sir," Fang Heng spoke up.
Bian Wenxuan's heart thumped, and he looked up at the sky.
"Sir," Fang Heng spoke again.
Bian Wenxuan's heart thumped again, and he looked down at the ground.
In any case, he just would not look at Fang Heng.
"Sir, enough pretense," Wang Xi really could not bear to keep watching. He opened his mouth again, "Too obvious, too obvious."
Bian Wenxuan ground his teeth as he finally looked back at Fang Heng. "What is it?" he asked.
"Sir, I dare ask if you recognize my mother, Lady Wang Fuxue?" Fang Heng cut straight to the point, in stark contrast to his feigned obliviousness.
This time, Bian Wenxuan's heart did not thump. He thought for a moment - he really did not recognize anyone named Wang Fuxue. The person he knew was called Wang Fuliu. So he shook his head firmly, "I do not."
Normally, hearing that he did not recognize Wang Fuxue, one would also assume he did not know any of her other relatives in the Wang family.
Fang Heng was quite normal in this sense. He cupped his fist and expressed his thanks, asking no more questions.
Xu Mo at the side really could not bear watching any longer. He gently coughed and prompted, "The servant at your side is surnamed Wang."
Bian Wenxuan's servant should be surnamed Bian.
Only then did Fang Heng realize the new county magistrate had fooled him. He spun back around to look at Wang Xi, and without another word, drew out his long staff.
Although in the past his movements had been agile from solo practice, after experiencing two life-or-death battles, his bearing now contained a certain aura.
That aura was what was commonly known as a killer instinct.
Before Wang Xi's mind could even catch up, his legs went soft and he knelt on the ground, crying out, "Young master, spare me!"
He had addressed him as young master.
Within ordinary households, the male cousins would have their birth order as a prefix, and outsiders would address them as eldest young master, second young master, and so on. Only those close to the Fang family would address Fang Heng without the prefix.
Coupled with his surname, it could only mean...he was from the Wang family.
Fang Heng's face was cold as he looked back at Bian Wenxuan.
The previously silly county magistrate sighed. His tone became solemn, "I know what you want to ask, but I cannot tell you right now."
"You only need to know that I did not come to harm you, but to aid you."
He admitted it - he had come at the behest of one of Fang Heng's aunts in the Wang family. Even Wang Xi was that woman's personal attendant.
But he was unwilling to say just who she was.
Although skilled in martial arts, Fang Heng could not force someone trying to help him to talk.
All he could do was stand ramrod straight outside the county office gates, before finally and abruptly putting his staff away and turning to go back home.
Xu Mo had been standing there holding the big stack of ledgers, his back and waist aching. He too did not linger further, and entered the county office.
The streets became quiet again.
Wang Xi climbed to his feet from the ground and stood behind Bian Wenxuan. In a soft voice he asked, "Why won't you tell the young master?"
Bian Wenxuan silently shook his head.
It wasn't that he refused to tell, but that there were some things even he did not know how to explain.
Outside the small courtyard gates,
Jiang Sheng watched Fang Heng hacking away gloomily in the yard, her eyebrows knitted into a figure eight.
"Third brother seems to be in a bad mood," she whispered to Chang Yan. "Fifth brother, should we show some concern for third brother? Or buy some of his favorite dishes for dinner tonight?"
Chang Yan was jostled until his eyes glittered dizzily, and he laughed bitterly.
Eldest brother had gone to be prefect, second brother went out to buy vegetables, third brother took a servant out, and even fourth brother had run off to the clinic and not returned. Of their whole family, only he was free, stuck with the difficult yet important task of accompanying his little sister - it could only fall to him.
Actually his little sister was sweet and well-behaved, quite adorable; only when anxious would she get into the bad habit of shaking people around.
Chang Yan shook his head vigorously, barely regaining some clarity. "Third brother seems to clearly be in a bad mood. It's best to just let him vent it out."
Bothering him would only invite trouble.
The few children practicing martial arts in the yard showed this well. Jiang Yi, the oldest, noticed something off about Fang Heng's mood and worked up the courage to ask, "Young master, are you alright?"
Fang Heng whipped around fiercely, his eyes shining brightly. "Come, let's practice."
He tossed over a staff.
Jiang Yi timidly caught it, and before he could react, a staff came swinging over aiming right for his head. Although it landed on his shoulder after being diverted, it still hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes.
"Fight back! You're the oldest, and started martial arts training the latest. If you want to improve, you have to endure more hardship and torment than anyone else. But as the ancestors said, nothing is difficult in this world for one with a willing heart. As long as you study diligently, even a clumsy bird can learn to fly." As Fang Heng spoke, he continued raining down blows.
Forced on the defensive, Jiang Yi put his all into blocking, but could only withstand one out of every ten strikes.
Unwilling to bully them, Fang Heng looked over the other seven children. "Come at me together," he said.
The seven children froze briefly.
Fang Heng's tone grew cold. "As servants of the household, you must obey orders. Can't you even understand this much?"
The seven children had no choice. They could only pick up staves from the ground and rush at Fang Heng as if he were their father's murderer.
But even so, they were still utterly overwhelmed, and ended up sprawled every which way on the ground, unable to resist.
After a minute, Fang Heng tossed aside his staff and looked at the eight children lying every which way. He shook his head helplessly.
Hiding by the doorway, Jiang Sheng shuddered.
"Still going over?" Chang Yan asked.
Jiang Sheng shook her head violently like a rattle drum.
In any case, eldest brother was home, so she could just ask him at night.
But that night, Jiang Sheng discovered that not only was something off with third brother, but eldest brother had something happen too.
He had not returned home even until late into the night.
