Yao Ling hugged Xiao Fang. "Please listen to me! You can cry for now and let all your emotions out... After that, you will be able to think more clearly, okay? I will support you no matter what you do. But, wee can talk about it later after you calm yourself down, how is that sound?"
Xiao Fang nodded weakly in agreement and then, she bawled like a little girl in Yao Ling"s embrace. It took a long time until she could finally calm herself down and she fell asleep right after that. Yao Ling let her sleep and asked Xiao Yu and Han Yi to take care of Xiao Fang because she needed to tend to other matters. She didn"t for get to give them an order not to bother Xiao Fang at all cost. Xiao Fang needed to rest both of her body and mind.
Yao Ling didn"t forget to check on General Hu and Qing Hui"s condition. Both were getting better and she sighed in relief. From Han Er"s report, Han Xiang was still sleeping soundly and she didn"t bother to pay a visit to her. Sooner or later, they would find out the reason why Han Xiang tried to frame Xiao Fang"s family and it wasn"t too late to deal with her at that time.
She could only contain them today with her medical knowledge. More than that, they would feel that something fishy.
After she finished dealing with her business, she came back to her room and waited on Xiao Fang to wake up, feeling worried about her. The second time Xiao Fang woke up, she was much calmer than before. She wiped her own tears and asked Yao Ling in despair, "If you were me, what would you do?"
Yao Ling sighed. "I am not you and I can"t make a decision for you, because it"s your life --- not mine. You are the one who lives all your life in the Left Prime Minister"s manor and you are the only one who knows how they treat you all this time... I"m sure that whatever your decision is... they will understand..." Yao Ling gave her a piece of her mind and she hoped that she didn"t distance herself with her current family. After all, they showered her with love despite not related by blood.
Xiao Fang ma.s.saged her aching head that was caused by her cry, but at the same time, she made a decision and told Yao Ling about it, "For now, I want to handle Han Xiang first. I want to know why she"s targeting my family."
"En..." Yao Ling agreed with her. It was about time for Xiao Fang to wake up and protect her own family.
However, after that, Xiao Fang hesitantly asked, "Yao Ling ah~ tell me the truth... Do you have another aim when you come to Lin Zhou?"
Xiao Fang decided to toughen up herself from this moment on. After knowing her real ident.i.ty, Xiao Fang started to feel suspicious of Han Xiang"s sudden change. Did something happen? Did Han Xiang know something about this matter before her? She needed to get the bottom of it and she knew she needed Yao Ling"s help.
Yao Ling was surprised by Xiao Fang"s question. "What do you mean?"
Xiao Fang smiled. "I know that you sincerely want to help me... But I also know... that you seem to have another goal. If you treat me as a real friend, would you mind telling me everything? I will definitely help you to achieve your goal... But in return, can you help me too?"
Yao Ling was quite surprised by Xiao Fang"s sudden change, it seemed like she had become more mature all of a sudden. It seemed like she wasn"t that stupid and her rashness was probably because she was too sheltered by her family before.
Yao Ling didn"t say anything at first. She knew that Xiao Fang spoke bluntly because she trusted her and she needed to reciprocate her trust too. Yao Ling contemplated for a little while. She decided to tell Xiao Fang the truth, on the other hand, cover up everything that shouldn"t be said. After all, they also needed Xiao Fang"s help in this matter.
She explained that her main goal was to save Han Xiang from this marriage because Lin Jian heard the news that Han Xiang was the daughter of the Shu woman --- his mother. They had a guess that she was probably his sister. Yao Ying and Yao Ling came along to help him because they were in a honeymoon getaway and had nothing else to do, then... why didn"t they help Lin Jian? Thus, they made a trip together.
Yao Ling also told her that they also got lucky by accidentally meeting Xiao Fang back at Long"An and everything after that, Xiao Fang should know better because they were already traveling together and they also spent most of their time with each other.
Xiao Fang started to understand. Despite not knowing "Han Xiang" from the start, they all cared about "Han Xiang" because she was the Ce Fei"s daughter. It indirectly meant that they cared about her --- the real daughter. Somehow, it made her heart feel warm.
Yao Ling softly asked, "What do you want to do?"
"Just like I said... find out the reasons why Han Xiang is targeting me... well... what about the marriage? Are you still going to ruin it after knowing that Han Xiang isn"t the real daughter?" Xiao Fang asked hesitantly.
Yao Ling nodded without any hesitation.
"Why?" Xiao Fang furrowed her eyebrows.
"At first, we didn"t want to meddle with this thing anymore. However, you also heard what the scholars had said back then. There is something fishy about this marriage too... It happened too sudden and somehow... our gut feelings said that it would lead to war if the marriage alliance continues..." Yao Ling briefly explained.
Xiao Fang contemplated and understood that what Yao Ling said was making sense, so she finally decided that Yao Ling didn"t lie to her. "I also plan to ruin this marriage..." Xiao Fang said.
Yao Ling was taken aback. "But, why? This is unrelated to you now. Is... it for Han Xiang?"
Xiao Fang didn"t know how to answer Yao Ling"s question. If she said yes, would she think that she was stupid for caring about her even after all that happened?
Yao Ling sighed, knowing that Xiao Fang was too soft-hearted. If what she wanted to do wasn"t the same as them, she probably would persuade her to give up the idea of helping Han Xiang again. Fortunately, they had the same goal even though it was for different reasons.
"You are too kind, but very well... let"s do our best! We can easily handle Han Xiang"s matter though things would get a bit ugly. Are you really in for it?" Yao Ling asked.
Xiao Fang nodded. "I"m in," she said resolutely.
"Go and rest for one day. I will talk about the plan with the men and tomorrow, I let you know about it," Yao Ling ordered Xiao Fang.
"Why can"t I join you?" Xiao Fang asked while furrowing her eyebrows. She wanted to do something so she could forget about the truth for a little bit.
Yao Ling shook her head. "It"s not that I don"t want you to join us, but you just received a big shock and your mind is in a mess. How could you think rationally that way? I just want to give you one night to sort out your thought about everything. You can tell me about it tomorrow. How is that sound?"
Xiao Fang sighed, knowing that Yao Ling was right. She decided to relent and do what Yao Ling suggested. "I"m sorry for occupying your bed. I will go back to my room," Xiao Fang apologized.
"Don"t worry about it," Yao Ling said. She called Han Yi and told the latter to help Xiao Fang back into their own room. She kept nagging for Han Yi to pay attention and take care of Xiao Fang"s wellbeing, making Xiao Fang and Han Yi didn"t know whether they should laugh or cry. However, they were touched by Yao Ling"s concern.
Yao Ling sighed when she saw Xiao Fang"s retreating back. Hopefully, she would feel better tomorrow.