The conspiracy of the courtyard

Chapter 205: Rumors are fatal

On a moving train.

Under Lu Zixuan's strong request, Fan Rong, who was staring out the window in a daze, slowly told him his life story.

"Have you heard of the child soldiers in 44? My brother Fan Qiang was among them. He was only 11 years old at the time. Everyone knew that they were sent to die, but in order to fulfill my parents' last wish and let the 4-year-old me survive safely, he replaced my cousin and joined the team on the condition that my uncle's family must raise me until I reach adulthood."

In Fan Rong's opinion at that time, Fan Qiang didn't have to go at all, no one was forcing him, and the family had savings left by their parents. Although it couldn't provide the two brothers with a life of luxury, it would be enough to support them for eight or ten years.

No matter how Fan Rong begged, Fan Qiang was determined to go to the battlefield. It was not until after liberation that he was taken to Qing County by two people who claimed to be his father's comrades-in-arms and told the truth. Only then did he understand Fan Qiang's intentions.

Fan Rong was not a child of the Fan family. He was the son of a couple who participated in underground work. In a desperate situation, they entrusted his child to the Fan family in the countryside for upbringing.

Fan's father was often away leading a troupe and traveling around the country. Although he had saved up a considerable fortune, he did not have a high status in the village. He was often laughed at and called an actor by everyone, and any slight movement in the house would cause discussion.

In the past, Fan's mother was bored at home, and for safety reasons, she once raised a stray dog, which would attract everyone's attention to whether the dog was male or female, not to mention taking in an adopted son. It was easy to understand the sensation it would cause in the village.

After traveling all over the country over the years, Fan's father has become more aware of the awkward position of adopted sons in the family. If the treatment is high, people will say that he is an illegitimate child; if the treatment is low, people will say that he is abused. No matter what kind of remarks are made, it is harmful to the child.

In order to prevent Fan Rong from being looked at strangely by people around him when he grew up, the couple did not announce that they had adopted a child. Also, in order to better raise Fan Rong, who was just over a month old, the couple decided that Fan's mother would pretend to be pregnant, and Fan's father would tell everyone that she needed to go to her parents' home to nurture the baby.

Fan's father rented a small house in the county and asked Fan's mother and Fan Qiang to raise Fan Rong until he was two years old before taking him back to the village, falsely claiming that the child was well-nourished living at his mother's home and was stronger than other children of the same age.

In theory, this plan was perfect and it did dispel everyone's doubts, but the couple did not hide what they did from the young Fan Qiang, which led to disaster.

The villagers often joked with Fan Qiang for their own purposes, such as:

"You will no longer be the only child in the family. Your younger brother is here to compete with you for the family property."

"Your parents will only love your younger brother from now on. You, the older brother, should step aside."

"When your father comes back, he only brings delicious food for your brother, and you can only watch helplessly. How pitiful."

"..."

Fan's mother knew that those who said these sour words were just jealous of her family's wealthy life, and she didn't want to make a fuss about it. But how could Fan Qiang, who was brought up in a pampered manner, allow himself to be bullied, so she talked back to those people.

"My younger brother was given to my parents by someone else, and all my family's property is mine..."

"My younger brother was adopted. He was not born to my parents at all..."

"My mother never gave birth to a younger brother, that belongs to someone else..."

At first, no one paid attention to the child's childish talk, but some gossipy woman muttered something during a chat.

"The second son of the Fan family really doesn't look like any other member of the Fan family. All members of the Fan family have small eyes, single eyelids, protruding ears, and small earlobes, but the second son of the Fan family has big eyes, double eyelids, flat ears, and big earlobes. Could it be that he is not from the Fan family?"

Just like that, everyone began to imagine Fan Rong's life experience, and many versions were circulated, but no matter which version, it was extremely malicious.

There are even more bored people who calculated the date of Fan's mother's pregnancy based on Fan Rong's birth date as told by the Fan family. What shocked everyone was that Fan's father was traveling around the country for six months before and after, so it was impossible for Fan's mother to get pregnant.

From then on, rumors in the village added that Fan's mother was unfaithful to her husband and seduced men everywhere, becoming a disgrace to women.

The Fan family was a big family in the village, with thirty or forty families of the same clan. When the clan leader and several older elders heard these rumors, they were afraid that it would affect the marriages of the younger generation of the Fan family, so they ordered Fan's mother to kneel outside the ancestral hall and give a reasonable explanation.

Fan's mother insisted that Fan Rong was her biological son, and that she would explain it to everyone when Fan's father came back, and that there was no need to explain to anyone. However, when the clan leader heard these words, it was interpreted as Fan's mother being stubborn and unrepentant, and he wanted to punish her.

He was stopped by several respected elders in the clan. After repeated discussions, he decided not to take any action for the time being, but to observe the situation first and wait for Fan's father to return home.

Fan's mother thought that the rumors would not last long, so she simply kept the two children at home and did not come forward to clarify the matter. This was because she understood that the more she explained, the worse it would get, and she was also aware of everyone's hostility towards her family.

Just half a month after Fan's mother returned home from the ancestral hall, the people who traveled with Fan's father sent a message home, saying that they were being robbed by a large number of refugees, and all their belongings were taken away. Fan's father also injured his leg while protecting everyone, and would have to delay his return home for a month.

This was just a common incident during this turbulent and famine-stricken period, but someone tampered with the story to make it appear as if Fan's mother teamed up with her adulterer to kill Fan's father, leaving his life in imminent danger.

When the clan leader heard the news, he ordered his men to break into Fan's house, despite the opposition of the clan elders. He knocked Fan Qiang unconscious in the room, and tied up Fan's mother and the sleeping Fan Rong and took them to the ancestral hall.

After the mother and son were tied to the ancestral hall, the clan leader accused Fan's mother of being fickle, disregarding moral principles, and murdering her husband. He proposed to drown this vicious woman, Fan's mother, and then beat Fan Rong, the illegitimate son, to death with sticks.

Even though several members of the family raised their weapons and tried their best to resist, they were defeated due to the huge disparity in numbers. They were only able to rescue Fan Rong, but were unable to save Fan's mother who was tied to a pond rock by the river. In her dying moments, Fan's mother did not beg for mercy, but just glanced coldly at everyone brought by the clan leader.

All the tribesmen watched helplessly as a life sank to the bottom of the river and was strangled by rumors. Although Fan Rong was young at the time, he saw his mother being pushed into the river and leaving him, and he cried uncontrollably...

Only when there was no more bubbles in the river and the river surface returned to its previous calm did the patriarch lead his people away in disappointment.

Several men from the family immediately jumped into the water to rescue her, hoping to keep the poor woman, but hope is just hope and will never become reality.

After a day and a night of salvage, the body of Fan's mother was finally brought to the riverside. There were not only soft and slippery aquatic plants at the bottom of the river, but also countless rubble and stones. Apart from the wet clothes and hairpins scattered in her hair, there was no trace of Fan's mother.

At this point, Fan Rong fell on the table in front of him and sobbed:

"I lay down beside my mother, looking at her facial features that were crushed beyond recognition, shouting and shaking her. Only then did I realize that my mother, who loved me the most, had really left me..."

After an unknown amount of time, Fan Rong put away his sadness, forced an ugly smile and continued his story.

Everyone was reluctant to tell Fan Qiang the news of his mother's death, but considering the funeral issue, they only said that Fan's mother was worried about his father's health, so she was in a hurry to travel at night and accidentally fell into the water.

Fan Qiang did not react at all after hearing this. He just hugged Fan Rong and knelt silently in front of the coffin to burn paper money.

Fan Qiang begged several elders in the clan to give his mother a grand funeral, but was ruthlessly rejected by the clan leader, who said that Fan's mother's evil deeds did not deserve to be buried in the Fan family's ancestral tomb, let alone enjoy the offerings of the Fan clan members. He immediately sent people to carry the coffin to the back mountain for burial...