My classmate Zhu Houzhao

Chapter 7 Fang Heng's Sharp Edge

"What are the conditions?"

Fang Hong raised an eyebrow and said.

"I want to go to school too. The Fang family can't interfere, and you can't ask me what will happen to me in the future."

Fang Heng took the cup of fresh tea that Xiao Tao had just poured for him and blew on it.

Fang Heng neither wanted to completely sever ties with the Fang family nor wanted them to interfere with him, which is why he proposed this exchange condition.

As for the cause of Fang Heng's mother's death, Fang Heng will find out sooner or later, but not now. Even if he finds out now, Fang Heng knows very well that he does not have enough power to deal with Liu Shi or his father.

Many things need to be done step by step; acting impulsively for a moment is of no use.

"You've grown wings? You want to study? Who do you want to study with? Perhaps it's Lord Zhang?"

Fang Hong wasn't stupid. Upon hearing this, he immediately understood. So, Fang Heng didn't want Fang Xu to get close to Zhang Lun because he wanted to do it himself.

"Of course. Lord Zhang is a close friend of my maternal grandfather. If I go, everything will fall into place naturally."

Fang Heng did not hide his thoughts and stated them directly.

"No! Anyone else is fine, but not you!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Hong lost his composure and broke down in his defenses.

In the past three years, Fang Heng has almost completely slipped out of his control. Moreover, he knows very well how he and Liu have treated their son during these three years. If his father were still alive, he would most likely not object to Fang Heng's words, and might even be very happy. After all, Fang Heng is a member of the Fang family. If Fang Heng can seize the opportunity to rise, his Fang family will have truly risen to prominence.

But Fang Hong was different. He wasn't afraid of being purged by Fang Heng. In his view, Fang Heng was still his son no matter what, and even if he gained power in the future, he wouldn't do anything to him. He didn't think that Fang Heng would know about his past schemes or how he had done those dirty things to Fang Heng's mother.

He simply disliked Fang Heng and didn't want Fang Heng to surpass Fang Xu. He knew very well that once Fang Heng gained power, his youngest son would not have a good future.

As for whether the Fang family can rise to prominence, Fang Hong doesn't really care. He's an extremely selfish person and has had his fill of life's pleasures over the years. In his view, even if Fang Heng rises to prominence, it only means that Fang Heng and his family won't get any better off in the future.

But Fang Xu is different.

Little did he know that Fang Heng already knew most of what happened back then. Although most of the servants of the Fang family had been sold off by Liu Shi, Fang Heng had helped many of them over the past three years. Some of these people knew bits and pieces about what happened back then, and Fang Heng could guess the gist of it.

"Whether you agree or not, I'll go. At worst, I'll expose all the dirty deeds the Fang family has done over the years. What you've done is enough to ruin Fang Xu's career."

Fang Heng seemed to have anticipated that Fang Hong would not agree, and looked coldly at the man in front of him.

"You've gone too far! Do you think no one can control you?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Hong flew into a rage.

"What? I haven't taken a single penny from you in these three years, have I? I don't eat or drink your food, so whether you agree or not doesn't really matter. With my relationship with Uncle Jiang, spending some money to have him help me smooth things over will make it easy for me to become a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard when there's a vacancy. If you block my path to the imperial examinations, do you think you and Lady Liu will still have a good life after I become a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Fang Heng sneered.

"You dare! Today I'll make sure you never leave the Fang family's house again. Let's see if you dare to defy the heavens!"

Fang Hong slammed his fist on the table in anger.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Tao immediately stood in front of Fang Heng, seemingly prepared to fight Fang Hong to the death.

Seeing this, Fang Heng helplessly pulled Xiao Tao to his side.

"You can try it. At noon, Uncle Jiang gave me five taels of silver and asked me to make desserts for some nobles in the capital. Anyone whom Uncle Jiang calls a noble must be extraordinary. Let alone that noble, just Uncle Jiang himself, if he can't find me in three days, do you think he'll dig up the Fang family's house?"

Fang Heng was leveraging the power of Uncle Jiang and the influence of the powerful figures behind Uncle Jiang.

Fang Heng knew very well that with his father's personality, it would be extremely difficult for him to embark on the path of the imperial examinations on his own. This was the Ming Dynasty. Even if he could live without relying on the Fang family for his daily expenses, and even if he wouldn't accept money from them now, if the Fang family was determined to obstruct his path to the imperial examinations, he would truly face a very difficult situation.

Why not take this opportunity to have a complete showdown with the Fang family, and then go our separate ways and not interfere with each other?

Fang Hong was stunned when he heard this. He stared at the boy in front of him, as if trying to find evidence that the boy was lying.

However, Fang Heng was destined to disappoint him.

"You don't need to look at me like that. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask. Gou Dan and the others all know that I used the money Uncle Jiang gave me to buy two lamb legs, and I'm making lamb soup at Gou Dan's house."

After saying this, Fang Heng took a sip of tea.

"If you have money, why do you need me to pay off your gambling debts?"

Fang Hong was no longer angry. He seemed to have all his strength drained away as he leaned back in his chair. He knew very well that he would probably never be able to control his son again.

"You'll help me pay it back? Don't flatter yourself. Everything you eat, wear, and use now is from my mother's dowry. What money do you have?"

Fang Heng said with a face full of disdain.

Fang Heng didn't want to accept this favor; he wanted to settle things clearly to avoid being used against him later.

"you!"

Fang Hong was instantly speechless.

At this moment, Fang Hong felt that the boy in front of him was completely unfamiliar. In the past three years, his son had always been submissive and had never had such a fierce argument with him, let alone shown him any respect like this.

He couldn't understand whether Fang Heng had changed or if he had always been like this, only that he had been deliberately hiding it before.

To be honest, Fang Hong hoped it was the former. If it were the latter, just thinking about it made his hair stand on end.

He had never felt so powerless. For the first time, Fang Hong felt that he seemed to be getting old, but he was only under thirty and in his prime.

"Think it over carefully. It will take you three days at most. After that, I will go to the capital. Whether you agree or not, it won't change anything. If you want to break off relations, I don't mind."

Fang Heng ignored Fang Hong and got up to walk towards the front courtyard of the Fang residence.

Zhao Huan, Wang Mazi, and others were waiting for Fang Heng in the front yard.

"So, did you get the money?"

Fang Heng looked at Wang Mazi and said.

"With Young Master Fang here, how could we not get it? Young Master Fang is truly righteous. Today, I, Wang Mazi, have witnessed his generosity firsthand."

Wang Mazi clasped his hands in a salute.

"No need to be polite. Just don't push people to the brink when it comes time to collect debts. Always leave them a way out."

Fang Heng smiled.

"Of course, if Young Master Fang ever needs my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."