Shen Zizhen didn't feel at all ashamed about abandoning his son so ruthlessly. He simply tore open the letter and read it at a breakneck speed.
"What married?"
"Five husbands?"
"Stalked?"
"Sold?"
"Hah????"
"What the fuck?"
"What kind of sorcery is this?!"
Shen Zizhen didn't stop cursing while reading the letter the entire time, while Shen Zeyu got more and more confused. Really what happened? He didn't understand? Was his cousin married to a stalker? That doesn't seem right. Because his father also said that something was sold? What was sold? And five husbands? His cousin got five husbands? Was she alright?
When Shen Zizhen finished reading the letter, he tore it with his teeth and munched on the pieces. This was too much! Really too fucking much! Honestly! This time he wouldn't just bite his elder brother's butt. He will rip a new one for him!
He hid Wan Wan from him for more than six months! He enjoyed all her cuteness by himself!
Now that he wanted help, he came running to him! If he didn't need his help, what would he have done? Hide Wan Wan for a year or two or maybe more?
Was there any justice in this world?!
Why should he help? He wasn't helping! He wasn't going to... but then all his momentum slowed when he remembered what his brother wrote in the letter.
'Wan Wan really cares for that brat. If something happens to him, she might not be able to withstand it. I can't deal with that woman alone, so I will ask you to help me out with this one. Not for me but for Wan Wan, she likes that brat a bit too much for my liking.'
He didn't want to help that brat who stole his niece before he could even pamper her, nor did he want to help his selfish elder brother, who hid his Wan Wan from him and had her all to himself.
But -
'She might not be able to withstand it.'
Shen Zizhen gritted his teeth. Grinding them so hard that he nearly turned them to white dust. But for Wan Wan's sake, he has to help!
"Father? Is everything alright?" Shen Zeyu, who noticed his father's complexion turning from green to red and back to normal before once again turning green, couldn't help but ask.
"You, do we have any dirt on the Fu family?" asked Shen Zizhen sombrely. Though he didn't like this brat, Lin Yan, who was thrust upon him out of nowhere. He disliked women like Luo Xin more. They thought they could do whatever they wanted just because they had power.
"Fu family? Which Fu family?"
"The family of young master Fu Bufan," said Shen Zizhen. His eyes looked displeased like he expected better from his eldest son.
Shen Zeyu saw the disdain in his father's eyes and snorted, with what right was he looking down on him? You should know what kind of scandals Fu Bufan was entangled in if you have the ability. However, knowing his father's temper, Shen Zeyu didn't say anything and simply answered. "Young master Fu is timid, and he rarely tries to do anything that is too over the top. However, in recent years, he has gotten himself entangled with the Cheng family, who dabbles in the black market of salt. The Emperor has placed strict liability and punishment on anyone who sells salt using underhanded methods. Young Master Fu has gained a sense of vanity after dabbling in the black market for so long. Did he offend you in some way, father?"
"Oh yes, he did," said Shen Zizhen with a calm but wicked smile. "When it's children who make a mistake, then the parents have to pay for it. But if parents were to make a mistake, then the children should naturally pay for it."
"Father, I'm afraid I don't understand."
"You don't need to understand. Start collecting the evidence against the Young master Fu. Leak the rumor that Young master Fu is involved in some dodgy deals. That despite taking an oath as an official, to never participate in any activity that might bring him profit other than his official duties, he has."
The Emperor was strict and didn't like his officials straying from the path of serving the country. He especially despised those officials who ignored their duties and entangled themselves in any sort of business that could detract from their duties. This was the law. If someone held an official title, he couldn't do business. Fu Bufan has no brothers, and as the sole heir, he inherited his father's title without any fight. But he still dares to do business behind the Emperor's back, wasn't this treachery?
Defying the law? Heh! If you were going to defy the law, then you shouldn't have pissed off people that you can't afford to offend!
"But if I let out the news, I am afraid that it will be hard to find the evidence -" began Shen Zeyu. But his father glanced at him with a cold gaze making him shiver. Ah yes, how did he forget that no matter how his father acted at home, he was a shrewd and cruel businessman outside?
"Do we have a problem?" asked Shen Zizhen, raising his right brow at Shen Zeyu, who shook his head at once. "Not a problem. I will surely do as you asked me to do, father."
"Very well then! Go and busy yourself, shoo! As for me," Shen Zizhen giggled. Gone was his cold and threatening aura as he skipped outside. "I'm going to tell your mother the good news! Oh yes! Your mother and I will be leaving for a holiday in a while. I will leave everything in your capable hands Zeyu!"
With that, he was gone.
Shen Zeyu "...." I'm just fourteen, father.
-----
A scream rang out in the Fu mansion early in the morning. The maid responsible for helping the second miss Fu witnessed a shocking scene.
The boy toy of the head madam and second mistress of the Fu family were sleeping together in a bed, and God - their clothes were a mess!
Anyone with eyes could understand what happened after the maid screamed. Another scream rang out, but this time it came from the startled second miss Fu who woke up after hearing the loud scream.
Fang Zimo, who finally woke up, felt his stomach drop when he saw second Miss Fu sitting next to him, pointing at him, and then he heard those two words that sealed his doom. "Catch him!"