Chapter 2: The Prime Minister's Shadow Hand

  Fang Jun Zheng lowered his head in thought, while Lu Shi happily looked at her son. As long as her son was fine, that's all that mattered; whether he had amnesia or not was unimportant.

  Lu was delighted when she saw a man in his forties rush in, panting and saying: "Madam, it's not good! The master and the eldest young master have returned. They are now rushing to the second young master's place."

  Fang Jun stared foolishly at the middle-aged uncle, thinking to himself that it wasn't worth making such a big fuss over his own father returning home. Moreover, his father and older brother coming to see the injured Fang Lao Er wasn't anything out of the ordinary either. Lu Shi seemed to know what was on the young master's mind, pointing at the middle-aged uncle with a smile and saying, "This is our Fang Fu's steward, Fang De, your father's house servant, who has been following your father since he was young."

  Fang Junyi knew that this middle-aged uncle was not low in the Fang Mansion as soon as he heard his mother's solemn introduction, and hurriedly cupped his fists, "De Shu, I'm sorry, my brain has a problem, what's wrong with being rude, please forgive me."

  "Hey, Second Master, just call me Da De, I really can't bear to be called Uncle De, I'm just a servant after all." Fang De heard Fang Jun's words and although he was very happy in his heart, he was still shocked. How could his own servant let the master call him uncle? So Fang De hurriedly refused, and anxiously wiped the sweat from his forehead, not knowing where to put his hands, both excited and worried.

  "Alright, Fang De, Master has always treated you like family. You've been following him all along. It's only right that Ah Yi calls you Uncle De, just acknowledge it." Lu Shi felt a bit abrupt, but it was a good thing that her son had become knowledgeable and reasonable. Fang De was an old man of the Fang household, although he was a servant, Master had always treated him with fraternal courtesy. So it was only right that her son called him Uncle De, it's just that no one had ever thought of this before.

  After hearing Lu's words, Fang De was overjoyed to the point of tears. He now liked Second Master even more. Zhang Haiqiang sat on the bed, feeling a mix of emotions. What an easy-to-please person! Just one "Uncle De" had gotten him so excited. Perhaps all these people wanted was respect. After Fang De calmed down, he quickly said to Fang Jun, "Second Master, hurry up and lie down. When Old Master comes back and sees you're fine, this beating is definitely unavoidable. Later when Old Master arrives, don't get out of bed no matter what. Pretend that your whole body hurts, and I'm sure Old Master won't hit you again."

  Seeing Lu's smile and nod, Fang Jun understood that it was his mother who had asked Fang De to go and get rid of the wind, fearing that his father, the prime minister, would launch a sudden attack. Fang Yi'ai was very aware of the situation, winked at Fang De, lay down on the bed and started humming, "Mother, my back hurts so much, I can't even move now."

  Fang De wiped away his tears and held back his laughter as he ran out of the house. Lu Shi hastily handed a handkerchief to her youngest son, immediately putting on a sorrowful expression. "Jun Er, does it still hurt? Do you want me to call the doctor again? My child, don't scare your mother." Fang Jun was deeply impressed by Lu Shi's performance, thinking that if she were born in a later era, she could have won an Oscar.

  Fang Xuanling hurried along, almost running. Fang Yi panted and supported his father, "Father, slow down! Second brother has already gotten into trouble, don't get into trouble again!"

  "Jie'er, can I not be anxious? If something happens to my son, won't it be the death of me?" Fang Xuanling's heart was racing with anxiety. Today's court meeting had not yet ended when he heard from his family that his second son had fallen off the roof and was unconscious. Fang Xuanling almost fainted on the spot. If it weren't for Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui holding him up, Fang Xuanling felt he would have collapsed in the Xuanzheng Hall. It wasn't until the Emperor found out about this that he allowed Fang Xuanling to leave court early. Fang Xuanling was usually very strict with his second son and rarely showed him a kind face, but that didn't mean he didn't love him. On the contrary, Fang Xuanling did so only because he wanted his useless son to change for the better. But now, hearing the news of his son falling off the roof, Fang Xuanling felt as if he had been struck by lightning. If something really happened to his son, what would he do? The most tragic thing in this world was for a white-haired person to send off a black-haired one.

  Fang Xuanling arrived at the gate of Fang Jun's courtyard and saw Fang De looking around with a ghostly expression. "Fang De, how is Jun'er?" Fang Xuanling asked somewhat urgently, getting straight to the point, and didn't bother to be polite anymore.

  "Master, don't worry, the second young master has woken up. He's just been battered all over and looks like he's fallen apart. Moreover, it seems that the second young master has lost his memory." Fang De replied respectfully.

  "What, Second Brother has amnesia? What can be done about this?" Fang Yi Zhi heard Fang De's words and couldn't accept the reality either. Second Brother was still so young, yet he had lost his memory. Could he accept this reality? Adding to that, he was also injured all over. Fang Yi Zhi feared that Second Brother wouldn't be able to withstand this blow. "Father, when you see Second Brother later, don't blame him anymore. The matter has already happened, and blaming him won't do any good. Please don't stimulate him further."

  "Jie'er, what are you talking about? Do I look like that kind of person? As long as Jun'er is alive, it's all good. Do you think I want anything to happen to Jun'er?" Fang Xuanling said irritably, pushing aside Fang Yizhi and storming towards Fang Yiai's room with a burst of energy. As soon as he opened the door, he heard Fang Yiai's mournful wails, which were further amplified by Lu Shi's dramatic performance. The Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty was immediately overcome with emotion and rushed to the bedside, grabbing Fang Yiai's hand. "Jun'er, how are you? You mustn't have any accidents! Don't worry, I'll find the best doctor to treat your injuries. Where is the doctor? Why haven't I seen him? Fang De, hurry up and go get the best doctor here! If that doesn't work, I'll ask the Emperor to send over the imperial physician!" Fang Xuanling bellowed loudly, causing all the servants in the Fang household to be stunned. They had never seen the old master yell like this before, not even when he was scolding the second young master.

  Looking at Fang Xuanling's tears, Fang Yiai felt that what he did was so ridiculous. With a father who loved him so much, why deceive him? Fang Yiai grabbed Fang Xuanling's hand and sat up suddenly, still with a smile on his face. This time Fang Xuanling was frightened. Wasn't it said that the son was smashed to pieces? How could he sit up by himself? Lu Shi blinked her eyes, seeing the gaze of Fang Xuanling and others, hurriedly supported Fang Yiai's shoulder, "Jun Er, what are you doing? Quickly lie down, don't you want your life?"

  Fang Yi'ai smiled wryly and patted Lu Shi's hand, shaking his head. "Father, I'll tell you the truth, I'm not actually hurt at all. The way I was acting earlier was all just an act, because I was afraid that if you came back, you'd give me another beating." Fang Yi'ai spoke the truth without any reserve, but it startled Lu Shi, who slapped Fang Yi'ai's hand and urged him to lie down quickly, saying "Jun'er, what nonsense are you talking about? How could you be fine after falling off the roof? Don't try to be brave!"

  "Mother, don't say anything else, I know what I'm doing. I don't want to deceive Father anymore, even if Father wants to hit me, I won't regret it." Fang Yiai said with a heroic tone, but her eyes were fixed on Fang Xuanling. Fang Xuanling's face was calm and composed, but the young man behind him was giving himself a thumbs up. As soon as Fang Yiai saw the young man's appearance, she knew that he must be her own elder brother Fang Yizhi. Fang Yiai said with embarrassment: "Elder brother, thank you for worrying about Father with me, it's all Second Brother's fault."

  Fang Yizhi felt relieved when he saw that his second brother was fine, and the issue of whether he had lost his memory or not became unimportant. As long as he was still his own second brother, that was all that mattered. Fang Yizhi smiled calmly.

  Fang Xuanling listened to Fang Yiai's words without giving him a big slap on the back as usual, but instead asked with tears in his eyes and a pleased tone: "Jun'er, why have you decided not to deceive me now?"

  "Dad, I was originally afraid of you hitting me, but seeing you cry so sorrowfully, my heart doesn't feel good either. It's better to let you hit me once and get it over with." Fang Yilai spoke out her true feelings, she had been very fearful, with a nervous heart, whoever's soul crossed into the Tang Dynasty wouldn't be at peace. But when she saw Fang Xuanling's genuine tears, Fang Yilai felt that she was happy, having such a loving father, how could she bear to deceive him? Telling the truth would at most earn her a beating, but deceiving her father, Fang Jun felt that she would feel guilty for her whole life.

  Fang Xuanling listened to Fang Yiai's words, feeling very comforted in his heart. He stroked his grey beard and smiled as he glanced at Lu Shi, "Madam, look! Jun'er has become sensible. It seems that falling from the roof is more effective than my wooden stick, haha! What a great fall, what a great fall indeed!"

  "You old thing, what are you talking about? What do you mean by 'fell well'? Would you be happy if your son fell to death? Do you believe me, I'll have someone hang you from the rooftop right now, and see if you're just a foolish old man." Lu heard Fang Xuanling's words and immediately got angry. Her son had fallen from the rooftop, thank goodness he was fine except for losing his memory. But this old thing was still smiling and saying "fell well", now Lu wanted to throw him out onto the streets.

  The sound of Lu's voice scared everyone in the Fang household, and they didn't dare to breathe. Fang Xuanling stroked his beard, looking at his wife with embarrassment, realizing that he had said something a bit out of line earlier. How could he have cursed his own son to fall? But that wasn't what he meant! Fang Xuanling was afraid of his wife and didn't know how to explain himself. Just then, Fang Yizhi held back his laughter and supported Lu's arm, saying: "Mother, why are you so angry? Father didn't mean it that way. He just said that this time, the incident got rid of Erge's bad temper. Father wasn't cursing Erge, and with you here, who would dare to touch a hair on Erge's head?"

  "Mother, don't be angry, Father didn't mean it that way. Even if Father wanted to, isn't it still up to you?" Fang Yiai covered her mouth and smiled secretly for a while, also helping Fang Xuanling to mediate the situation. This Grand Chancellor of the Tang Dynasty was really quite pathetic, having no status at home.

  "Jun Er, don't be afraid of your father. With me here, if this old thing dares to touch you again, I'll never let him off." Lu Shi fondly stroked Fang Yu Ai's forehead, deciding that today she would definitely protect her little son well. Today, no matter what, she wouldn't let this old thing hit him again. If anything else happened, Lu Shi felt like she would go crazy.

  "I said, madam, I didn't even scold Jun'er, where did you get this from?" Fang Xuanling's tone was so helpless, he had no way to deal with this madam, couldn't beat her, couldn't scold her, and couldn't even dodge in time. Who dared to provoke this fierce tigress?

  "Hum, old thing, don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Are you planning to coax me away and then carry out your family law?" Lu said, pointing at Fang Xuanling with a huff.

  "Hey, madam, I really didn't think of that! Jun'er is sensible and I'm delighted, why would I hit him?" After half a day of explanation, Fang Xuanling finally managed to calm down Lu Shi's anger. Lu Shi sat for a while before deciding to leave, but Fang Xuanling originally wanted to stay behind to chat. However, seeing the warning in Lu Shi's eyes, he obediently followed her out, and as they left, he secretly pinched Fang Yiai on the bed. After the two elders left, Fang Yiai looked at Fang Yizhi, and the two of them exchanged a glance before bursting into loud laughter. It was really unexpected that the majestic Tang Dynasty prime minister would see his wife like a mouse seeing a cat.

  "Second brother, from now on, when you do things, think about Father and Mother too. You don't know, just now in the Xuanzheng Hall, Father almost fainted. If something good or bad happens to you, can Father bear it?" After the two old men left, Fang Yizhi didn't even bother to change his position, sitting on the bed with his legs crossed, speaking very casually.

  "Brother, don't worry, I won't do anything stupid again." Fang Yi'ai patted Fang Yizhi's shoulder, and he could feel Fang Yizhi's sincerity. That gaze was genuine and couldn't be faked. Perhaps later when Fang Yizhi had opinions about Fang Yi'ai, it was also because of Fang Yi'ai's careless nature.

  "Second brother, as long as you're fine, it's all right. You've lost your memory, but that's not a big deal. Just take your time to recover and you'll be back to normal. Get some rest now, I still have work to do and there are many things waiting for me at the Ministry of Justice." Fang Yizhi said this and then hastily left. After seeing Fang Yizhi leave, Fang Yiai felt a mix of emotions in his heart. How could such an upright and honest person falsely accuse his own brother of rebellion? It's probably all because of Gao Yang Princess's schemes, but the most despicable one is still Changsun Wuji. Even if he was dissatisfied with Fang Xuanling, there was no need to be so ruthless. Because of Fang Yiai's case, the Fang family was ruined in an instant. Fang Yiai clenched his fists tightly. This life must be lived well, and now that Father Fang Xuanling is still alive, Changsun Wuji doesn't dare to go too far. But once Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling pass away, the fate of the Fang family will be uncertain. Therefore, he needs to find a way to grow up, and the title of Duke of Liangguo is not enough to protect the Fang family.

  The sky of history is overcast, but as long as we struggle, we can disperse the dark clouds and shine a light on the world!