In a dark, gloomy room, eating only porridge and steamed buns for three meals a day, no one could have imagined that the once highly praised young master Fang from Fengjing would live such a life for a full six months.
That's how people praised him back then.
Like father, like son; with his imposing spear, he is sure to inherit his father's legacy and become the most outstanding younger generation in the Fang family.
But with the sudden death of his father and the passing of his grandmother, the Fang family underwent a dramatic change.
His uncle took over the reins of the family with a smile, and used illness as an excuse to confine him and his mother to the Fang family, leaving them with nowhere to escape or go.
Later, his mother risked her life to send him to a family from another clan, and then committed suicide.
Before parting, she said, "Aheng, from now on you will be an orphan. Be strong and don't trust anyone easily. Your mother is sending you to your maternal grandparents' house. You must be good and grow up obediently."
But his mother never mentioned that his maternal grandparents' family didn't welcome him either.
His aunt locked him in the woodshed, sealed the doors and windows, and gave him only thin porridge and steamed buns every day, determined to destroy him.
In fact, Fang Heng almost collapsed. He was listless and thought about it every day. He only wanted to go with his parents and wished that he would not be born as a human in his next life.
But his little cousin's innocent words ignited his hatred.
"Mother, are you really going to marry me off to the Fang family? Why not Brother Aheng?"
Her aunt slapped her head, exasperated, "Fang Heng's parents are both dead. What use will you be if you marry into the family? I've already spoken with the head of the Fang family. When you come of age, I will marry you to Fang Yuan, and you will become the matriarch of the Fang family."
Fang Yuan was Fang Heng's cousin and his uncle's eldest son.
My little cousin has been familiar with Fang Heng since childhood and doesn't know who Fang Yuan is at all. When she heard this, she made a fuss, but all she got was a slap from her mother. "If you keep making a fuss, I'll feed Fang Heng a bowl of poison."
My little cousin's tears stopped instantly, and her crying turned into a suppressed sob.
Each sound was like a knife stabbing into Fang Heng's heart.
He repeatedly questioned himself: what right did he have to die? His father's sudden death, his mother's suicide, his uncle's usurpation of power, his aunt's indifference—shouldn't these be sources of hatred? Shouldn't he seek revenge? Why did he cowardly choose death?
Once you die, you have nothing left.
As long as you're alive, there's at least hope.
From that day on, Fang Heng began to exercise in the dark, gloomy little room. Since the space was small, he would run in place. When carrying heavy loads, he would move firewood. If he didn't have a suitable spear, he would use a long stick.
He was poised to strike, having mastered the techniques his father had taught him, making them ingrained in his very being.
In just six months, he achieved what he had done in the previous three years.
Fang Heng decided to run away.
He painstakingly studied how to make fire by rubbing wood together, lit the woodshed, and, taking advantage of the chaos, left while bowing low.
The Wang family was a prominent clan in Anshui County, with numerous servants coming and going. In the blink of an eye, the fire in the woodshed was extinguished, and Fang Heng's escape was discovered.
"Find him! You must find him! Guard all the doors!" Auntie gave a stern order.
In a panic, Fang Heng fled to a small courtyard, where he discovered a dog hole leading to the outside world.
As he crawled away on his knees, he vaguely saw a pale yellow light, but no pursuers came after hearing the sound.
Fang Heng fled, escaping from the prefectural city to the county town, and then wandered to Shili Town.
There, he met his sister, brother, and younger brother.
He was no longer alone; his life, besides the coldness of revenge, had a new warmth.
But who could have imagined that, more than half a year later, he would see his aunt again.
The seemingly noble and peerless Madam Wang was actually ruthless to an appalling degree, and she still refuses to let him go.
Fang Heng felt as if he had fallen into a river, his whole body being pushed by the undercurrent, sometimes forward, sometimes backward, sometimes left, sometimes right, his feet not touching the ground, his head not breathing.
He was just like a drowning person, unable to breathe fresh air.
Until, a hurried sound came—
"Third brother, third brother, what's wrong? Don't be afraid, we're all here."
Yes, he's not alone anymore.
It's no longer the nine-year-old child hiding in a dark room, secretly missing his mother.
He has family, older and younger brothers, and a lovely younger sister. He is already ten years old and is growing up rapidly, albeit in a cruel way.
Fang Heng slowly opened his eyes, his eyes brimming with tears that would fall with the slightest blink.
Jiang Sheng was heartbroken and started crying too, "Third Brother, what's wrong? Don't scare me."
This little girl has been homeless for seven years and has hardly shed a tear.
But because of her brothers, she's almost become a crybaby.
Fang Heng reached out and gently wiped away Jiang Sheng's tears. "Don't be afraid, Third Brother is alright."
He looked up again, and his brothers and sisters surrounded him, their faces full of concern.
"Third brother, tell your older brother what's on your mind." Xu Mo patted him on the shoulder.
Fang Heng's lips moved a few times before he finally revealed the secret buried deep in his heart: "That person just now was my aunt. My family suffered a great misfortune, and I originally sought refuge with her, but she imprisoned me in the woodshed and let me die slowly."
"I escaped, and in my panic I didn't even realize it was Anshui County. I just happened to run into her again."
If he had known his aunt was in Anshui County, he would have... he would have...
Fang Heng was stunned for a moment. He suddenly realized that even if he had known that his aunt was in Anshui County, he would still have chosen to accompany his older brother on this trip. This was because he was more worried about the safety of his older brother, younger brother, and younger sister than about his aunt.
A new power swept over him, driving away his fear of the darkness and his trembling at the sight of his loved ones.
"Big brother, I'm not afraid anymore." Fang Heng raised his head, looking serious. "But I don't want to be discovered by the Wang family again. If they capture me, it will probably cause trouble for everyone."
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