Fan Li was a fabulously rich man about 2, 500 years ago.

He had served as the commander-in-chief in the army of the state of Yue which was located on the east coast of China. At one time, the king of Yue, having been defeated by its neighbor, the state of Wu, had been held captive and forced to work as a slave in the stable of the king of Wu for three years. After he was released, the king of Yue spared no pains, for the next twenty years, to rebuild his country into a strong power. Finally he wiped out Wu and forced its king to commit suicide. So he had avenged himself for the humiliation he had borne. It was Fan Li who had played a vital role in making all this possible.

When his meritorious service was highly extolled by the king, Fan Li asked to be relieved from office, knowing that the king of Yue was the kind of person to share hardship with but not the fruits of victory, a good friend in adversity but not a good companion in times of peace and happiness.

With the handsome reward he got from the king, Fan moved to the state of Qi. There he successfully managed a farming estate and became a millionaire. He had three sons. One day his second son was arrested on a charge of murder in the state of Chu.

He then gave his youngest son 20, 000 ounces of gold and told him to go to Chu to see if he could get his brother out of jail.

"If my son is convicted of murder, he will be sentenced to death. But the son of a millionaire need not die on the execution ground."

However, his eldest son shows his anger for not being sent to save his brother.

"As the eldest son, I am supposed to go. But you are sending my younger brother on my behalf. I feel ashamed that you won’t let me do my duty. I must be an unworthy son of yours."
 
He even threatened to kill himself for being neglected.

Fan's wife intervened, saying to her husband.

"If you send the youngest one, he may or may not be useful. But we are going to lose the eldest son, too. What good will that be?"

Fan gave in and agreed to send his eldest son. He wrote a letter to a friend of his in Chu whose name was Zhuang.

"Give the letter and the 20, 000 ounces of gold to Mr. Zhuang," he said to his son. "Let him do whatever he likes with the money and never argue with him."

His son departed, bringing some more gold of his own with him.

Mr. Zhuang's home was a very modest one. He read the letter and accepted the money.

"Please go home straight away. Please leave the matter to me."

But Fan's eldest son decided to stay in the city. He called on a senior government minister on his own initiative and gave him the gold he brought along with him.

Mr. Zhuang had an impeccable reputation in the country as a man of integrity. The king held him in high esteem. Zhuang had no intention to keep the gold and meant to return it to Fan Li as soon as he had rescued Fan’s second son.

He went to see the King of Chu and told him that astrology signs pointed to an impending disaster.

"What can we do about it?" the king asked.

"An act of clemency may avert the danger," Zhuang proposed.

"Very well," said the king. Then he ordered the treasury be sealed up.

When the senior government minister got the news, he told Fan Li's eldest son that there would soon be an amnesty.

"How do you know?"

"Before an amnesty is granted, the king always seals up the treasury for fear that robbers may take advantage of it, and he ordered to have the treasury sealed up yesterday."

The eldest son was delighted that his younger brother would be released soon. Thinking that there was no point to have given so much gold to Mr. Zhuang, he called on him again.

Mr. Zhuang was surprised to see him. "you're still here? I thought you've left for home."

"Yes, I am still here. I will go home with my brother now that there would be an amnesty. I am here to say good-bye to you."

Mr. Zhuang took the hint. "Come in and take the gold back." The eldest son was only too glad to do so.

Mr. Zhuang was upset. He felt he had been tricked by the young man. He went back to the king.

"Your Majesty decided upon an amnesty after our conversation last time. But now it is the talk of the town that the son of a wealthy man, Fan Li, was convicted of murder and his family bribed your ministers. They said the amnesty was granted only to spare the life of a rich man’s son, and not a gesture of clemency."

"What absurdity!" the king was upset. "The amnesty is not for the son of a wealthy man, you know that." I his anger, he ordered the immediate execution of Fan Li's second son and declared amnesty the following day.

The eldest son had to return home with the corpse of his brother. The whole family cried their eyes out, but the father kept his poise.

"I knew it all along," said Fan Li, “That things would come to this. Not that my eldest son does not love his brother, but he just could not help himself. He is close-fisted because when he was young, he went through a lot of hardship with me in building up the family fortune. My youngest son has lived a much easier life. When he was yet a child, he rode in luxurious carriages and went hunting rabbits on fine horses. He is a man of extravagant habits because he does not understand where money comes from. That was just why I wanted to send him to Chu for he could be generous with money. This is something my eldest son is not capable of. However, in the scheme of things, he ended up killing his brother."