Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 728 - 453: Caring Big Brother_2

Chapter 728: Chapter 453: Caring Big Brother_2

As they were speaking,

Xu Changge had already completely rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and was staring at Xu Yuan:

"Take out your wooden sword, and let me test whether you currently possess the ability to protect yourself, Changtian."

"...."

Xu Yuan said nothing upon hearing this.

Are you kidding?

He wanted him to perform the ’Integration Body Reversal Slash’ against Primordial, right?

And it was the Primordial who could fight against a Semi-Saint.

Seeing his reaction, Xu Changge nodded slightly:

"It seems, Changtian, that you desire fairness....."

Xu Yuan suddenly interrupted, frowning as he asked, "You.. what did you just say?"

"...."

There was a moment of silence before Xu Changge looked down at his younger brother with an indifferent gaze:

"I wanted you to take out that wooden sword....."

"The sentence before that."

"I do not approve of father...."

"The one before that."

"Lou Ji said....."

"Even before that."

"...."

The air suddenly grew quiet.

A twitch appeared at the corner of Xu Changge’s eye. Not empty-handed any longer, he directly pulled out a sheathed famous sword and began walking towards Xu Yuan.

"Stop!"

Seeing this, Xu Yuan immediately uttered a low command, stood up, retreated half a step, and the Willow Ghost Blade appeared in his hand, instantly filling the room with a sinister aura.

Xu Yuan gripped the handle of the blade tightly and quietly retreated, fixing his gaze steadily on Xu Changge’s eyes, word by word:

"You.. answer my question first."

Xu Changge’s grip on his sword hilt tightened slightly, but after taking a deep breath, he still said:

"When you encounter injustice on your journey, unsheathe your sword to settle emotions. A sword to the throat, relishing the grudges and kindness..."

"Right, that’s the line."

"What about it? You think I spoke out of turn?"

"I want you to continue, brother."

"...." Xu Changge.

There was a moment of silence, and Xu Changge’s hand holding the sword began to tremble lightly, as if veins were popping out of his handsome face.

Xu Yuan quietly stepped back several paces, his gaze imperceptibly sweeping towards the window pane, through which sunlight filtered in.

Although Xu Changge’s energy mechanism had already sealed the room, Xu Yuan felt that if he used all his strength to perform the Step Void Slash, he should be able to make it out of the room.

Once out of the room, his father would sense the change in the energy mechanism here and come to press Xu Changge to the ground, saving him.

But contrary to Xu Yuan’s expectations, after a few moments of silence, Xu Changge turned and walked back to sit down at the red sandalwood table, although the famous sword in his hand was placed directly on the desk.

Watching Xu Changge’s action, Xu Yuan hesitated slightly but still chose to walk back from the wall.

With his understanding of his elder brother, he knew that if his brother wanted to beat him, he would not hide it; he would be far less likely to use tricks like Lou Ji, that old woman, to make him lower his guard and then surprise him with an attack to hang him up and beat him.

Sitting down gently across from Xu Changge, Xu Yuan kept his voice very low, trying his best not to appear too unruly:

"Brother... what did you want to see me for, really?"

Xu Changge was silent for a while, then suddenly asked:

"Changtian, what kind of person do you think I am?"

Without thinking, Xu Yuan blurted out:

"A tyrant...."

"Hmm?" Xu Changge raised an eyebrow, his fingertips lightly resting upon the sword hilt.

Xu Yuan’s eyes twitched, and he coughed lightly:

"Cough, a genius who makes the talents of his generation stand back."

Xu Changge moved his fingertips away, responding blandly as if it were obvious:

"Our world already knows this; I mean in terms of character and personality."

"..." Xu Yuan’s eye twitched again.

Right now, he truly wanted to smash a water kettle onto Xu Changge’s smug face.

However, after glancing at the sheathed sword on the table, and weighing the difference in strength between them, Xu Yuan gave up on this thought.

Choosing his words with care, Xu Yuan diplomatically said:

"Behaving autocratically... having one’s own set of principles, forbidding strangers to enter, treating people with indifference and ruthlessness... well, except for our own family members."

Upon hearing this answer, Xu Changge’s thin lips slightly curved:

"Actually, at the beginning, my temperament was not like this."

"...." Xu Yuan.

What a load of crap, I watched you grow up, how could I not know you?

Though he muttered in his heart, Xu Yuan’s outward expression was a wry smile:

"So, big brother, what are you trying to say?"

Xu Changge softly smiled, his tone gentle:

"When a young man is full of passion, I was not much better than you are now when I first started dealing with affairs in the mansion."

"...."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan instantly understood why Xu Changge had come to find him, and his gaze towards the other took on a trace of peculiarity.

The doors to the study had been left open earlier, and this guy had most likely overheard his conversation with their old man, probably afraid that his morale was going to collapse and thus he came over specially to be a considerate big brother.

But for Xu Changge, who had bullied him since childhood, to come and play the role of a caring big brother?

Xu Yuan felt like he was about to lose his composure.

Seeing the look in Xu Yuan’s eyes, Xu Changge also realized that his intentions had been seen through, and his handsome face stiffened slightly. He forced himself to maintain his soft voice and spoke unhurriedly:

"At the beginning, father had me follow Hua Hong. The old man had dealt with many people and things in the Tian’an Commerce Assembly, from the grassroots to the higher-ups.

"Among them were some who betrayed the Tian’an Commerce Assembly for personal gain and deserved to be killed, but there were also many pitiable people who broke the rules due to uncontrollable factors like natural disasters and calamities.

"For the former, I gave orders to have them killed, but I couldn’t bring myself to be so ruthless with the latter at the time."

"...." Xu Yuan’s eyes, previously holding a touch of peculiarity, began to show astonishment upon hearing this.

Xu Changge’s sharp eyes revealed a hint of reminiscence as he spoke softly:

"Due to droughts and floods causing a shortfall in medicinal herbs, leading to a deficiency in Elixir Medicine supply in a region; due to bandits or monsters causing large shipments of goods to be mugged and lost; there were also fellow merchants who were unable to deliver on time due to internal strife within their own families...."

As he spoke, Xu Changge suddenly turned his gaze to Xu Yuan and said softly:

"According to the rules set by father and the others, these people deserve the death penalty, and their families should become servants to compensate for the loss. But Changtian, do you think that these people who were afflicted by accidents should be killed, or should they be given another chance?"

Xu Yuan’s eyes showed deep contemplation, and after a long while, he slowly voiced two words:

"Deserve death."

"...." Xu Changge appeared slightly surprised by this response.

Xu Yuan, with his eyes downcast, spoke in a low voice:

"One holds their position, enjoys its benefits, conducts its affairs, and bears its responsibilities; it’s only right and proper."

Xu Changge let out a sigh, a smile playing on his lips:

"So, would you directly execute them according to the rules?"

"No."

Xu Yuan shook his head and said softly, "That’s just a theoretical analysis. If I actually met those people, as long as I determined their situations were indeed unintentional and without negligence, I... most likely would only mete out a slight punishment.

"After all, some accidents are truly beyond human control."

Xu Changge rubbed his temples with a hand:

"Changtian, you’re not wrong. Initially, I also thought the same and acted the same.

"Loyal ministers who have served our Prime Minister’s Mansion diligently for decades should not die like this, nor should their families end up in such a plight...

"After all, for our Prime Minister’s Mansion, such a loss is really just a drop in the bucket."

With that,

Xu Changge dropped his hand, his eyes revealing a hint of helplessness:

"But after you see such things enough times, even an enthusiastic heart will cool down. Why should we deplete our own benefits to rectify others’ mistakes?

"Moreover,

"Some people will take your compassion for granted, using it as a precedent for their own excuses.

"Initially, because I was softhearted, I spared more than ten people. But later on, I realized that rules are rules. Once that door is opened, many will exploit it for their own gain.

"If a merchant convoy gets robbed and it goes unpunished, then in the future, ’inside jobs’ will more easily intercept the convoys; if a crop failure isn’t punished, then later on, people will start claiming crop failures to reduce their deliveries.

"And from that point on, I realized that for us, being cold-blooded is necessary."

Xu Yuan listened intently to the end, then was silent for several moments before softly replying:

"Brother, I... think I understand now."

Xu Changge gently shook his head, speaking slowly:

"What I just mentioned were only my experiences dealing with those minor commerce assemblies; it hasn’t even escalated to the level of the Imperial court.

"From bandits blocking roads to calamities affecting a whole city, to conspiracies that affect a mansion, and even disasters that engulf an entire province, some events can be prevented with the power of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, but for others, you can only think about how to minimize the losses.

"Changtian, although you have been exposed to and handled some affairs in the mansion over the past year and more, you’ve still seen too little in terms of people and events.

"Once you’ve seen more, you’ll gradually get accustomed to it and understand that every choice has its trade-offs and consequences.

"Just like father in the past, Chang’an once, and me now."