……

……

Fan Xian sat down, ignoring the brat, and letting his sister sit first, then smiled and asked, "Who is this young master?" He naturally guessed who this chubby kid was, but deliberately didn't mention it.

"I am Fan Sizhe, the eldest young master of the Fan family." The chubby teenager glanced at him twice, and snorted, "So you're the illegitimate son."

A faint voice came from his ear. Fan Xian glanced at Lady Liu out of the corner of his eye—but Lady Liu had already slipped away for no reason, not knowing where she had gone. It seemed that she deliberately let her own son make a fuss, to break Fan Xian's composure. Anyway, if something inappropriate happened later, she could use the excuse that Zhe'er was young and didn't know any better.

A strange smile appeared on the corner of Fan Xian's lips. He knew from Danzhou Port that the young master in the capital had a big temper and had always been tyrannical. For the sake of his father, and to avoid the Fan family offending real dignitaries because of this kid in the future and ending up miserably, Fan Xian decided to personally… educate this "brother."

However, what happened next completely exceeded his expectations.

An icy voice rang out, coming from Fan Ruoruo's thin lips: "Hold out your hand." After saying this, the Fan family's young lady took out a long ruler from under the table.

"Why?" Fan Sizhe mumbled, looking very scared, but still obediently held out his hand.

With two "pahs," two red marks appeared on Fan Sizhe's hand. Tears started to well up in his eyes, but he gritted his teeth and endured it, cursing, "Sister, for an outsi..."

Before he could finish the word "outsider," Fan Ruoruo ruthlessly struck the little fatty's hand twice more with the ruler, without any expression on her face.

Fan Xian realized at this moment that the coldness between his sister's eyebrows was indeed very oppressive in the eyes of ordinary people.

"First, you cannot directly call your brother by his given name. Second, you must understand our family's status and not say those nonsense words. Third, disrespecting your elder brother naturally deserves punishment."

Fan Ruoruo spoke calmly, and the way she held the ruler reminded Fan Xian of those kindergarten aunts who were seemingly gentle and cute on the surface but were actually extremely fierce.

Fan Sizhe glared at Fan Xian fiercely, pouted, and ran towards the backyard.

"He always goes to his mother whenever he cries." Fan Ruoruo sighed.

"I'm very curious, what are the two characters for Sizhe?"

"Thinking is as stagnant as a pig's, acting tyrannically leaves tracks (轍)."

"Such an elegantly admonishing name, interpreted as these two sentences by my sister, is quite amusing."

"Nothing is as amusing as the jokes my brother tells."

"Why are you allowed to hold a ruler and hit people?"

"Father gave me the authority to discipline him."

"This seems to be somewhat different from my initial analysis of this world."

"Are you talking about the issue of male power?"

"Yes, and the issue of power distribution in the family's inner residence."

"It seems I have gained a little bit of power at the moment."

"But don't forget that your power is completely dependent on that man's likes and dislikes."

"Brother, don't forget either, the man you are talking about is our father."

……

……

The rapid-fire question-and-answer session came to an abrupt halt. Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo smiled at each other, feeling very happy. There were no outsiders present at this time, and Fan Ruoruo no longer restrained herself as before, smiling broadly, showing that she could hardly contain her happiness.

Fan Xian felt the same way. In this world, his sister, with whom he often exchanged letters, was probably the only person he could truly converse with using a logic that only he could adapt to. Moreover, when they first started exchanging letters, Fan Ruoruo was still young, which meant that to some extent, Fan Ruoruo's views on the world and on life had been greatly and subtly influenced by Fan Xian.

The two had not seen each other for ten years, and should have felt somewhat estranged, but the previous conversation, the meaning of which only the two of them could feel, quickly narrowed the psychological distance between them, as if the brother (sister) sitting in front of them had not been separated for ten years, but rather were good friends who spent their days in the courtyard and studied side-by-side.

In this relationship, Fan Ruoruo regarded Fan Xian as a teacher-like figure, while Fan Xian regarded his sister as a student or junior. This psychology was very subtle.

Fan Xian looked at her with a smile and said in a low voice, "Seeing that you seem to be doing well in the mansion, I was worried a bit too much."

Fan Ruoruo lowered her head and said softly, "It's all thanks to the ideas Brother gave me."

"Oh?" Fan Xian smiled shyly. Could it be that the romance scenarios he wrote from his previous life were really working? But he couldn't directly ask about this.

"Lady Liu has been relatively well-behaved recently." Fan Ruoruo said lightly. She referred to her aunt as Lady Liu, and even though only Fan Xian and she were in the hall at this time, she still seemed very cold.

Fan Xian pondered for a moment and then said, "Although I am far away in Danzhou, I also know that the Liu family has a very high status in the capital. Don't be too dismissive of her."

"I won't." Fan Ruoruo lowered her eyelids, her eyelashes resting on her fair skin, making her look very beautiful.

Fan Xian looked at her with a smile, realizing that finding someone who "knew" oneself in this world was indeed a happy thing, even if that person was essentially taught by himself.

He said softly, "Did you receive my letter?"

"Yes." Fan Ruoruo smiled, the frost on her face having long since disappeared without a trace. "I saw that letter in my room the night before yesterday and was quite startled. I thought a bad guy had come, but after seeing the handwriting on the letter, I knew it was you."

Fan Xian shrugged, thinking that with Wu Zhu's abilities, being a messenger was indeed a bit of a waste of talent.

No one came in to disturb their conversation in the hall, which Fan Xian was very pleased with. He took a sip of tea and asked seriously, "You probably don't know the reason for my coming to the capital this time, do you?"

Fan Ruoruo raised her face and looked at her brother with a smile that was not quite a smile.

Fan Xian was embarrassed by her gaze, and stammered, "What's wrong?"

A sigh with a hint of teasing sounded, and the little girl said with a smile, "The reason for your coming to the capital is probably known by many people. And I believe the young men of noble families in the capital are very curious about how much of a chance the illegitimate son of Count Sinan has of succeeding in that matter."

"Ah?" Fan Xian was slightly startled and asked, "I always thought that my father having me come to the capital was a very secretive matter. Do many people know… But I believe not many people in the capital know who I am, so how would anyone be curious about my affairs?"

"Because you are preparing to get married this time." Fan Ruoruo smiled. "The woman Father is preparing for you to marry is very famous."

Fan Xian frowned slightly. Although he might not necessarily marry the other party, he was still very concerned about what kind of person the woman he might marry was. He asked, "Do you know that young lady?"

"My future sister-in-law is a young lady from the Lin family." A trace of unfathomable light flashed in Fan Ruoruo's pupils. "Not only do I know her, but I believe everyone in the entire capital knows her."

"Which Lin family? Why is that woman so famous?" Fan Xian raised his eyebrows.

"Brother, although you have always been far away in Danzhou, I know that the printed things made in the palace, Grandma should also have a copy." Fan Ruoruo laughed.

Fan Xian recalled for a moment, then slapped his forehead and suddenly understood: "Could it be that the Lin family is the family of Prime Minister Lin Ruofu? Is that young lady the protagonist of the scandal about the prime minister's illegitimate daughter that caused a stir some time ago?"