Chapter 498 - 498 | The Complicated Past Of Fang Clan
Fang Clan is the second most powerful clan in the whole Xin Kingdom, directly after the Xin Royal Clan.
The main strength of the Fang Clan is its political grasp over the kingdom, having many of its elders sitting at ministry positions in different departments of the bureaucracy.
And the most powerful figure in the Fang Clan, Clan Head Fang Yuan, was the Prime Minister of the Xin Kingdom, as well as a close friend and brother-in-law to the King himself.
Famous for his rag to riches history, Clan Head Fang Yuan inspired huge respect and awe among the citizens of the Xin Kingdom.
He had one younger brother, and one younger sister - both of them extremely talented in cultivation.
This Fang Trio made its name and established the Fang Clan years ago, and within a decade, it had replaced the Gao Clan as the most powerful clan among the big fours.
Fang Yuan had a son and a daughter - Fang Chen and Fang Bai - respectively.
Fang Bai was about seven years old today and was known for her literary talent.
Fang Chen, however, didn't have a good reputation, he was known more for his debauchery and days of being a wastrel.
And when it turned out that his cultivation wasn't much, his reputation further plummeted.
However, Prime Minister Fang Yuan was able to give his son a back door entry in one of the biggest sects of the kingdom, the Gracious Sword Sect.
Although such a fact should be a well-kept secret, Fang Chen didn't have many people in the clan who liked him and were happy to denounce him for his actions.
However, what surprised people was that Fang Chen had been sent to the Gracious Sword Sect - whose biggest enemy is none other than the Fang Clan.
Many people thought that the Fang Clan had sent him as a sacrificial tool, but they didn't dare to voice out any such thoughts.
They were afraid of getting backlash from the Fang Clan because Fang Chen, no matter how he acted or where he was, it couldn't be denied that he was still the Fang Clan's First Young Master and probably the future successor to Prime Minister Fang Yuan.
But what they didn't know was if Prime Minister Fang Yuan really knew about such thoughts, he wouldn't get angry.
Instead, he would actually smile.
Fang Yuan had indeed sent Fang Chen as a sacrificial pawn.
Ye Tian Yun was aware of this.
He was also aware that Fang Chen was not the son of Fang Yuan; rather, he was the latter's nephew.
Fang Chen's mother was Fang Bai - Fang Clan's princess at that time, and now its Third Elder.
And Fang Chen's father was Su Ming - Gracious Sword Sect's Main Disciple at that time, and now it's Sect Leader.
But because of the connections between the Fang Clan and the Xin Royal Clan, Fang Yuan had to fight with Su Ming, and both of them became bitter enemies.
After Su Ming disappeared and was considered dead, Fang Yuan brought his sister back to the Fang Clan.
But the birth of Fang Chen was kept a total secret.
At that time, Fang Yuan's wife, the then princess of Xin Kingdom, Xin Xue Yan, gave birth to a dead baby.
This, if got out, would have caused huge trouble for the Fang and Xin Clan, so Fang Yuan had no choice but to replace Fang Chen as his son.
The princess, Xin Xue Yan, was unaware of this fact, and only three people knew about this - King Xin, Fang Yuan, and Fang Bai.
Fang Bai, at first, was adamant about not giving away her son, but after huge pleas from Fang Yuan, she finally gave in.
Anyway, her son was going to be under the same roof as her.
Years went by, and Fang Chen grew up to be the Young Master of Fang Clan.
However, he was very intelligent from birth and learned to hide his emotions and thoughts from a young age.
He had already perceived his father's hate for him and thus never tried to go for the limelight.
He wanted to know the reason behind this but never pressed on this topic.
He focused on getting the reputation of a hedonistic scion, and as mentioned earlier, he was pretty successful in this regard.
He never doubted the fact that Fang Yuan was not his father. It was simply absurd and impossible for him.
About two months ago, news came to the Fang Clan that Young Master Fang Yuan had left the GRacious Sword Sect on his own accord and was heading back to the clan to 'help his father.'
It was no doubt that Prime Minister Fang Yuan had gotten extremely angry upon hearing this, but for his wife. Xin Xue Yan, this was a worrisome matter.
Unlike Fang Yuan, Xin Xue Yan treated Fang Chen like her own son and doted on him a lot.
Upon hearing the news that he was coming alone, she became very worried mainly because she had gotten the information earlier than the two guards sent with Fang Chen were long dead.
To appease her worries, Prime Minister Fang Yuan sent a group of his men to fetch Young Master Fang Chen as soon as possible.
However, a few weeks later, shocking news came - Young Master Fang Chen had disappeared from a tavern.
Fang Yuan ordered his men to search the whole region and find Fang Chen - dead or alive.
But all this turned useless, and not a single trace of Young Master Fang was ever found.
This annoyed Fang Yuan more and more because two people closest to his heart were getting affected by this incident.
His wife and his sister's health was deteriorating with every passing day.
However, today something happened which attracted the whole clan's attention - including these two ladies.
"Young Master Fang Chen is back!!"
As soon as the shout resounded through the clan, both of them got out of their rooms and headed to the main entrance.