His weathered and rough voice was filled with longing and remorse.
But who can tell whether this is genuine regret or fear born from hardship?
Fang Heng stood there coldly until the crying gradually subsided, then said indifferently, "Look carefully, I am not him."
Fang Huai-ren looked up in a panic, his cloudy eyes shifting slightly. By the faint glow of the oil, he finally realized that the person in front of him was not the person he knew.
That old friend... died on the battlefield long ago.
"Hahaha, my older brother is dead, he's dead!" Fang Huai-ren laughed loudly. "I should be happy, but he's my own brother. He was so good to me, I can't hurt him."
When General Fang was alive, the Fang family was indeed as harmonious as the Jiang family.
It seems that Fang Huai-ren cherished his elder brother's kindness and held back until his brother's death before taking action.
Fang Heng was furious, gripping the railing and roaring, "Wasn't my mother good to you? Wasn't she qualified as the eldest sister-in-law? What right did you have to hurt her? What right did you have to persecute her?"
Fang Huai-ren stopped talking and lay stiffly on the haystack, tears streaming down his face.
"Answer me! Tell me why!" Fang Heng suppressed his anger. "Who in this family has treated you badly? Is it all for that so-called power? My father is away fighting on the battlefield, and the Fang family is practically under your control. What could you possibly be dissatisfied with?"
"You killed my mother, hunted me down, and even tortured my grandmother to death. What exactly do you want? What did the Fang family ever do to you?"
The five siblings, standing a short distance away, were filled with surprise and doubt.
They only knew about the superficial grudges between the Fang family, but they didn't know that there were so many connections between them.
The Fang brothers, who were clearly very close, suddenly turned against each other. Fang Huai-ren was ruthless and even went so far as to harm his own mother, Old Madam Fang, which was truly outrageous.
No wonder the He family turned against the Fang family; they probably became suspicious of the cause of their great-aunt's death.
"Say it, say it!" Fang Heng questioned repeatedly.
Fang Huai-ren, however, simply lay there pretending to be dead, clearly intending to take this grudge to his grave.
Just as he was about to take action, a woman's weary voice came from the cell behind him, "I said, as long as you tell me the real whereabouts of Yuan'er, I will tell you everything."
Fang Huai-ren suddenly opened his eyes and glanced over with a warning look.
Zhu ignored him and stared at Fang Heng until she saw him nod. Then she said slowly, "Because Fang Huai Ren suspects that he is not his biological son. Even though the two brothers grew up together, the old lady always favors the eldest son's family and even shows more favoritism to you than to Yuan'er."
Family affection has always been like this: it is not the scarcity that is the problem, but the inequality.
Although they were brothers, their mother always favored the older brother more. Over time, both of them harbored some resentment. Fang Huai-ren wanted to lash out several times, but he couldn't bring himself to do it because of General Fang's straightforwardness and honesty.
When news of General Fang's death on the battlefield arrived, Fang Huai-ren felt both sorrow and secret joy.
He was saddened by his elder brother's passing, but secretly pleased that he was now the only child in the family, and that his mother would no longer favor him.
When Fang Huai-ren tried to comfort his heartbroken mother, he was met with hysterical scolding and curses. He finally realized that his mother would never favor him and that he would never surpass his older brother.
Grief, indignation, pain, and resentment surged up at the same time.
He imprisoned his mother, killed his elder sister-in-law, and pursued Fang Heng, all in an attempt to provoke his mother, which directly led to the death of Madam Fang.
“He has had a very hard time these past few years. He keeps dreaming of your father scolding him and refusing to be his brother anymore,” Zhu said calmly. “So what if he is the head of the Fang family? He persecuted your sister-in-law and you, and he also harmed my Yuan’er. He deserves his retribution.”
"Zhu, shut up, shut up." Fang Huai-ren tried to interrupt several times, but to no avail.
Now, everyone knows he was a pathetic wretch who could not beg for his mother's love.
"Shut up..." Fang Huai-ren hysterically said, "They were the ones who showed favoritism first, they hurt me first, they deserve this, this is retribution, this is retribution."
"Why are you being biased? Why don't you love me? Why do you even favor the younger generation? Why?"
The man's wailing rang out again, but this time it was filled with bitterness and resentment.
The most important person in his life was his elder brother, but he was also the one who hurt his elder brother's beloved wife and persecuted his elder brother's only child.
Fang Heng suddenly didn't know how to comment, let alone how to respond.
Until the old woman's strong and powerful voice came from the entrance, "Because you were not born from He's belly."
Everyone present turned their heads in unison, and Jiang Sheng asked in surprise, "Grandmother?"
The sound grew closer, and the candlelight cast the image of Old Madam Jiang's upright figure on the wall.
Her face was dignified and serious, and her tone was cold and disdainful. "I am very close to Madam He. I advised her back then that a son born out of wedlock is a son born out of wedlock, and a son born out of wedlock is a son born out of wedlock. Don't confuse them."
“She wouldn’t listen and insisted on raising the illegitimate son as the legitimate son. But the intimacy between blood relatives can’t be replaced by any amount of time spent together. She’s not a saint, and she can’t help but favor her own children.”
"If the illegitimate son knew his true identity, he would not take your kindness for granted, but would be moved to tears."
“If a son born out of wedlock doesn’t know his status, your occasional favoritism towards him can breed resentment, which will not only implicate the legitimate son but also harm yourself.”
"He Xin, are you confused!"
Old Madam Jiang slammed her cane on the ground, "Look at you, raising such an ungrateful child, even dragging down your daughter-in-law and grandson, don't you regret it?"
The entire cell was silent; no one responded.
Jiang Sheng and his sister were dumbfounded, Fang Huai Ren was incredulous, and Zhu Shi suddenly realized and sneered.
“I know you won’t believe it easily.” Old Madam Jiang glanced over. “I’m not someone you can trust, but you can always believe the He family.”
She stepped aside, revealing the solemn-faced head of the He family.
The matriarch of the Fang family, He Xin, is the patriarch of the He family's own aunt.
“My aunt did indeed only give birth to one son back then,” he said in a deep voice. “You were born to a maid who came with the He family as part of their dowry. Your mother died from a massive hemorrhage, and my aunt, out of consideration for the bond between mistress and servant, treated you as her legitimate son.”
Who would have thought that it would lead to so many evil thoughts and harm so many people?
“My aunt must have regretted it before she passed away. She sent a message to the He family, wanting to reveal the truth.” The head of the He family choked up softly. “But as soon as the He family received the message, my aunt passed away.”
How ridiculous!
What you perceive as favoritism is actually someone's kindness.
What you perceive as resentment is all nonsense.
Fang Huai-ren looked up at the sky again, but he could not even wail; he could only make strange "ho ho" sounds.
Everyone will pay the price for their mistakes, whether they are ordinary people or the powerful and wealthy.
Fang Heng turned around solemnly, bowed to thank Madam Jiang and the head of the He family, and then stood up straight, all his obsessions vanishing.
"Third Brother, let's go." Jiang Sheng rushed over. "The dungeon is dark and there's no sunlight like me."
"Okay." Fang Heng smiled slightly.
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