Chapter Fifty-Seven: Making a Move

  "Zi Xuan, Mom is leaving your little brother to you now. You both have to take good care of each other!" Zhang Yun's face had a strange expression, with a mix of kindness and ferocity, as if she was going into battle. "Mom will chase away all those messy people outside, so they can't threaten you again, not even a little bit! Everything that belongs to Fang Jianlin will be yours forever! All yours!"

  Fang Zixuan felt that Zhang Yun seemed to have gone a bit crazy, was it from this time on that having mistresses and illegitimate children became Zhang Yun's lifelong career?

  Fang Zikun was also expressionless in the face of Zhang Yun's generosity, his mother kept saying she loved them, but when he needed her, she was never by his side.

  Cheng Li's face was awkward, this little girl had always wanted to be a good mother, her wish was beautiful, but unfortunately reality was cruel, she would never understand that what two children needed might not be money.

  Originally, Zhang Yun wanted to take the two children back to Fang's house and make a big scene, but in the end, she was persuaded by Old Man Zhang. Although Fang's family was full of anger, this kind of street-quarreling method was beneath the dignity of the Zhang family.

  The method used by Zhang's family was simpler and more direct. Several entertainment industries under Fang Jianlin's name were investigated overnight, and surprisingly, they had even notified the media in advance. The police brought a group of reporters to guard the entrance of the club, taking pictures wildly. Especially Shen Qin's high-end private club, which was exposed for involvement in prostitution and drugs. Not only did it cause a stir in S province, but it also appeared on some national mainstream media.

  Inside the private club, they have always been playing wildly. The dignitaries attach great importance to privacy. Before, I liked to play in Fang Jianlin's club, and what I valued was his family background, the son of the richest man in S province, the brother-in-law of the director of the Public Security Department. Who dares to move his venue?

  But who would have thought that playing in Fang Jianlin's territory would also lead to trouble, and in such a sudden and humiliating way. One by one, they were handcuffed, disheveled, and some even only had time to put on a pair of underwear, dodging the flashing lights. Which one of them wasn't someone with status?

  Although being caught in the police station didn't last long and was let go, I was still frightened. Losing face to the point of losing my grandma's house, all relatives and friends knew about it. How can they show their faces outside from now on? As for Zhang Qi, I don't have much hatred towards him, but as for Jian Lin, I hate him to the bone. Who let this turtle grandson previously boast that his backer was powerful enough?

  The Public Security Bureau just checked those clubs and left. There were no actual actions taken afterwards. But this incident was too big, everyone knew that Fang Jianlin had offended his wife's family, who would dare to go to his place to consume again?

  Fang Jianlin was stunned. He had only acted on the instructions of Old Lady Fang, and with Shen Qin's instigation, he had thought to let Fang Xinlan enter the household, but he hadn't expected it would stir up such a huge commotion, causing him to lose face completely. In his heart, he hated the Zhang family deeply, yet he couldn't do anything about Zhang Yun. For this period of time, he was like a street rat, wherever he went, he would attract resentful and venomous glances.

  Shen Qin, who was always good at dancing with long sleeves, was also helpless in the face of such a situation. After so many years of good days, they thought that since the tiger was asleep, there would be no danger, and they dared to pull out a few tiger whiskers, but did not expect that when it got angry, it could still bite them half to death.

  Mr. Fang was completely unaware of the matter until something happened at Fang Jianlin's club, and he only knew that his third son had thoroughly angered the Zhang family. After investigating the situation, he was so angry that smoke was coming out of all seven orifices in his head.

  Unlike Mr. and Mrs. Fang, Shen Qian was a girl he had watched grow up, but he had always opposed his son's association with her. It wasn't that he was prejudiced against the poor or favored the rich, but rather that he felt she was too cunning, and his simple-minded third son would likely be controlled by her. If she were to have a change of heart, Fang Jianlin feared that his son would lose everything. From the perspective of being concerned for his son, he would still prefer to find someone like Zhang Yun who was straightforward and loyal to be his daughter-in-law. No matter how much Fang Jianlin messed around outside, at least Zhang Yun would stubbornly guard this family.

  After Fang Jianlin got married, he still maintained a relationship with Shen Qin, even openly keeping her as his concubine. Old Master Fang was aware of this but didn't take it to heart, as having multiple concubines wasn't unusual for families like theirs. One concubine wouldn't cause much trouble, and Shen Qin had been serving Fang Jianlin well and behaving herself, which gradually changed Old Master Fang's opinion of her, especially as he grew older and his heart softened, sometimes even feeling a bit guilty towards her.

  But unexpectedly, as Shen Qin's daughter grew older, she was no longer content with being a concubine. Moreover, she had always believed that the position of the original wife rightfully belonged to her, but it was inexplicably snatched away by Zhang Yun who appeared out of nowhere, and this resentment had been stuck in her throat all along.

  At that time, Shen Qin was also a good girl. If it wasn't for true love, she wouldn't have been willing to be an underground lover for so many years. However, as she grew older and Fang Jianlin became more and more outrageous, if she didn't plan for her and her daughter's future, she feared that all her hard work in life would only serve as a dowry for someone else. In her opinion, Zhang Yun was inferior to her in every aspect except family background - ability, appearance, character, and temperament.

  Mr. Fang had always been lenient towards Fang Jing's family, and over the years they had caused quite a few troubles, but none of them had ever made him so angry.

  Mr. Zhang was the commander of the S Province Military Region before his retirement, and he is a well-known figure in S Province. His eldest son, Zhang Qi, doesn't need to be mentioned, and several other sons are still in the army with real power. Among the daughters-in-law, Mr. Fang is most satisfied with Zhang Yun's family background. Under his deliberate maintenance, although Zhang Yun and Fang Jianlin's marriage was unfortunate, the relationship between the Fang and Zhang families has been very close over the years.

  Mr. Zhang was also very understanding, seemingly aware that this wasn't Mr. Fang's intention. This time, although he was angry, it was only directed at Fang Jianlin, and the one who took action was Zhang Qi, a younger generation member. The ones being investigated were all Fang Jianlin and Shen Qin's industries, while the rest of the Fang family's industries remained on track, undoubtedly also sending a friendly signal to Mr. Fang.

  Mr. Fang was a shrewd person, so he had to return the favor and called Fang Jianlin back, regardless of the consequences, and slapped him several times, causing Mrs. Fang to wipe away tears in distress.

  He didn't even care that Old Lady Fang had just recovered from a serious illness, and scolded, "You foolish woman! What kind of family is the Zhangs? How dare you offend them for the sake of Shen Qin? Look at the trouble your son has gotten himself into now. This is just a small warning from Zhang Qi. If he continues to mess around like this, those few shops will be closed in no time!"

  "Close the door if you have to, our Fang family isn't short of that little money!" Mrs. Fang was also furious and rarely argued with her husband, "All these years, you've always been timid and afraid of the Zhangs, even Zhang Yun, this daughter-in-law, is bossing everyone around at home every day, and whenever something happens, she uses her natal family to threaten us, what kind of life has my poor son lived all these years?!"

  "It's not that I'm short of this money! I don't lack a son like Fang Jianlin either." Old Master Fang sneered, and as soon as he said this, Fang Jianlin, who was standing aside and secretly getting angry, was scared into a cold sweat. Even Old Lady Fang looked at him in incredulity, forgetting to retort.

  "Old Three, you'd better not forget that I have five sons." Mr. Fang looked down at his most disappointing son, "All these years, I've never asked anything of you, you can play outside as much as you want, and the share that's yours, I won't shortchange you. But if you think about bringing those messy women and children from outside into our home, then you're no longer my son, Fang Ruzong. I'll treat it as if I never gave birth to a son like you, and your share will go directly to Zixuan and Zipeng, the two kids. You won't get a single penny, and you'd better roll out of the Fang family and fend for yourself."

  "Dad! You can't be like this!" Fang Jianlin panicked and looked at Mrs. Fang for help.

  "Like Song, Jianlin is also your biological son!" Mrs. Fang pulled her husband pitifully, "He suffered so much when he was young, and the doctor said he almost didn't make it, he's a child we managed to save with great difficulty... how can you be so heartless..."

  "Our family doesn't raise people who eat free meals, let alone those who take advantage of others. I've been lenient with him all these years because he had a tough childhood. Since he can't contribute to the Fang family, I won't force it. The marriage between him and the Zhang family was agreed upon beforehand; as long as they live well together, that's already a huge help to our family. After marriage, whatever he does outside is his business, but we can't afford to offend the Zhangs now." Old Master Fang looked at his wife and son indifferently, only emphasizing the last sentence: "Third Son, I'm giving you a choice: either give up on bringing those women and children into our home, apologize to the Zhangs, and live well with Zhangyun; or take those women and children and get out of the Fang family forever. Your share will naturally go to Zixuan and Zipeng."

  Mrs. Fang is not a fool either, Mr. Fang has said so much, even if she dislikes Zhang Yun, she knows that no matter what, she can't shake Zhang Yun's position. In the first place, it was not Zhang Yun that Mr. Fang wanted Fang Jianlin to marry, but the Zhang family. As long as the Zhang family doesn't fall, they have to honestly support Zhang Yun.

  Although Shen Qin won her favor, after all, she was an outsider, and nothing was more important than her own son. Zhang Yun could only let her son endure this temporary anger, but from the beginning, she didn't plan to let Fang Jianlin and Zhang Yun divorce. She just couldn't stand Zhang Yun's arrogant attitude and wanted to give her trouble. However, she didn't expect Fang Jianlin to take drastic measures and beat his children so badly that they ended up in the hospital, which enraged the Zhang family. If it were just a matter of letting the illegitimate daughter into the house, perhaps it wouldn't have touched the Zhang family's bottom line. But for the sake of the illegitimate daughter, he had beaten their grandson, and the protective Zhang family couldn't tolerate that.