"How are you feeling?"Hearing the deep and obvious concern, Fan Zhu Xia couldn"t help the smile that tugged her lips upwards as a feeling of warmth spread through her.
"I"m fine, Father. Truly I am... I just need to rest for a couple of days and I"ll be fine."
"That"s good to hear." Fan Hui Zhong nodded with relief at her response before his lips suddenly twitched and he let out a low chuckle.
Quirking her eyebrows, Fan Zhu Xia shot a questioning look towards him to which he only shook his head with a smile before he opened his mouth to answer.
"It"s nothing much. A thought just crossed my mind."
"Care to share?"
"Your cousins would be quite relieved to hear that you"re doing alright. You have no idea of your importance to them. Heavens, even that boy; Yong Rui was positively livid when he arrived and found out that you got injured!"
"Second Brother"s mad?" Fan Zhu Xia exclaimed in surprise.
Giving her a thoughtful look, Fan Hui Zhong nodded before he slowly said, "That"s right...He was very concerned and worried about you actually..."
Remembering their first meeting, Zhu Xia"s eyes flashed before a sheepish look showed on her face as she rushed to explain to prevent Fan Hui Zhong having any misunderstandings.
"Xia"er ran into him at the auction and we were able to chat for a bit and realized that we had a lot in common so we got along really well but he had to leave earlier than me which was why he wasn"t there when you picked me up at the Jade Herb Medicine Hall."
"Is that so? Well no need to explain, Father was just curious." Fan Hui Zhong said with an amused, teasing smile.
Giving him a wary look, Fan Zhu Xia decided to change the topic and asked, "What about the two children we brought back? How are the both of them?"
"They"re fine, don"t worry. The boy is currently recovering from his wounds in your courtyard and the girl is stable. She hasn"t woken up yet and her body is most likely recuperating it"s strength while she"s still asleep."
"That"s a relief."
"En. Although Father would like to ask you to do something for me."
"What is it?"
"Remember the boy?"
"Yes?"
"Remember when I told you about the seal I sensed on him?"
"Did Father find out more information about it?" Fan Zhu Xia queried curiously.
"Not much but your Uncle Liang did tell me something quite interesting about it."
Giving him a look, Fan Hui Zhong continued on and explained, "We haven"t figured out the purpose of the seal nor how to lift it but your uncle did manage to figure out who placed it on him in the first place."
"Really?!"
"En."
"Then who?"
"Your grandfather."
"I"m guessing Grandfather hasn"t taken a look at him yet?"
"Unfortunately not. Your grandfather was in a hurry to go into closed door cultivation because he was too worried about you and since Ru Wen Cheng, our family"s physician said that in order to help rouse you from your coma, a strong soul and divine sense is especially needed to help give a jolt to your system. It"s actually why I was so surprised to see you at the training fields, awake and looking fine albeit a bit pale."
Hearing his words, a pondering look came over Fan Zhu Xia"s face before she slowly opened her mouth to ask, "So no one helped me wake up?"
"If you mean, helped give your consciousness a jolt, then no. If I was back at my peak state then I would have certainly been able to help you but as of now I"m unable to which is why we were relying on your grandfather for this."
"En. I understand." Fan Zhu Xia softly replied.
"Then what is it that Father wants me to do?"
"Keep your distance from the children for now. Especially the boy since we haven"t figured him out fully yet."
Sighing, Fan Zhu Xia just nodded in acquiescence.
Seeing her reaction, Fan Hui Zhong felt relieved before he started to relay to his daughter all that happened while she was unconscious, starting from when she pa.s.sed out from treating her grandfather; Fan Song Xue, to how the traitors were uncovered and dealt with and all the way to the imperial edict that the emperor bestowed upon him that gave him not only substantial land but also showed him immense trust and favor by allowing him to build up his own private army.
Surprised at the turnaround of events, FAN Zhu Xia only listened quietly to her father while occasionally voicing out her opinions on some matters before settling down with a contemplating look.
Noticing it, Fan Hui Zhong lifted a questioning brow before opening his mouth to ask.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing concrete yet but I do have an idea..."
Prompting her to continue, Fan Zhu Xia went on and said, "Since Father will be busy building and training an army, why not let your daughter help by training some doctors and physicians for you?"
Hearing her offer, a glint could be seen in Fan Hui Zhong"s eyes as a slow but delighted grin formed on his face.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Father already knows my plans of building up my own power and this could be my first step. If I take a particular liking to a certain person while I"m training them then I"ll certainly keep them for myself."
Satisfied with her answer, Fan Hui Zhong gave a nod of approval before standing up, eliciting a look of query from Fan Zhu Xia.
"Father will just go and finish some things and find your uncle on the way to inform him of your idea so we can make some preparations as well."
"Alright then."
"In the meantime, stay here in your grandfather"s courtyard and rest for a while. I already had your maidservants summoned and had them prepare something for you to eat. They should be arriving soon, also your aunt and cousins might drop by before long as soon as they hear the news that you"ve already regained consciousness."
"Xia"er understands."
"Alright then. Be good and don"t run around. You just woke up so rest and don"t make Father worried, okay?"
"Yes Father." Fan Zhu Xia replied with a rea.s.suring smile.
Returning it, Fan Hui Zhong then leaned down and kissed her forehead before striding out of the room and leaving.
Alone in the room she woke up in, Fan Zhu Xia softly sighed as she let her mind wander and think of what she"ll need to do and it wasn"t long before she heard a gentle knock coming from the other side of the door as a low voice called out to her before the door slid open and a head poked in to check inside the room.
Seeing the familiar face, Fan Zhu Xia couldn"t help but smile.
"Young Miss! You"re awake!" Chun Hua exclaimed loudly before her head was knocked down with a swift reprimanding hand from behind causing her to squeak making Fan Zhu Xia giggle as she heard another mellow voice speak in hushed tones, scolding Chun Hua.
"Sis, that hurts!"
"It was meant to!" Chun Tao retorted as she entered the same time Chun Hua shuffled in.
Looking around, her gaze landed on Fan Zhu Xia"s form and she immediately curtsied before speaking while still bowed.
"Young Miss, please forgive my and my younger sister"s ignorance. Both of us were just worried about you."
"Chun Tao, Chun Hua, I"m glad you two are here. No need to apologize." Fan Zhu Xia replied with a smile.
Relieved, Chun Tao then motioned to her sister and they both simultaneously started preparing and laying out some food and refreshments to let their young miss eat.
Letting them do everything, Fan Zhu Xia just calmly waited and as soon as they were finished, she picked up the chopsticks that Chun Hua offered and started to pick and eat some food.
She had barely started when she heard another sharp knock with the door sliding open, even before she could open her mouth to grant entry, to much of her amus.e.m.e.nt.
Looking up, her eyes landed on the person who just entered as a smile appeared on her lips.
"Little Xia! You"re awake!"