105 Concerned - 33.1

After their talk the previous night, Fan Yong Rui left quite early to join the escort of the Spirit Valor Country Princess that had gathered at the imperial palace.

Contrary to what she told him, as soon as their group had left mid-morning, Fan Zhu Xia had gone to talk with her father; Fan Hui Zhong about a matter that has been on her mind the last couple of days.

"Sorry to intrude... Are you busy Father?"

Although surprised at her visit, Fan Hui Zhong who was checking some documents sent over by Bai Nian Zu immediately put them down before gesturing for Fan Zhu Xia to enter.

With a small smile, Fan Zhu Xia pressed down her urge to look around her father's study and swiftly sat down on one of the chairs in the room to break eye contact with her father who was looking at her.

"Is anything the matter?" Fan Hui Zhong asked as he eyed his daughter with concern.

At any other time, whenever Fan Zhu Xia seeked him out and had the same evasive behavior as she dodged his eyes while refusing to meet his gaze, nine out of ten, there was something troubling her. 

From the day he found her, Fan Zhu Xia had always been a straightforward person who would usually tell things to him straight and without any filters unless she herself was feeling uneasy or anxious. 

"Xia'er..." Fan Hui Zhong called out again, seeing that his daughter was in a daze and had remained silent.

As if snapping out of her thoughts Fan Zhu Xia mumbled out an apology before looking up to finally meet his gaze.

"Father, I wanted to talk to you about something..."

"En, go on..."

"Uhm... It's about that man who saved me back at the banquet. I heard from Eldest Brother that he hasn't woken up yet..."

"Oh, you're referring to that boy; Jun Qiao? I did hear about his condition from his father. From what I heard, he hasn't woken up yet because he has a condition that was aggravated and worsened due to the injuries he received during the attack."

Stunned, Fan Zhu Xia fell silent with a conflicted look on her face as a myriad of emotions filled her. 

At first, she almost thought her heart stopped as she felt a familiar dull, aching pain when she heard a familiar name and as she pulled herself out of it, she was then surprised when she heard that he had a pre-existing health condition and then to top it all off, she felt immense guilt when she heard Fan Hui Zhong say that his condition worsened due to the injuries he sustained in course of helping her.

In that short moment, from the time that Fan Hui Zhong spoke, her emotions tossed and turned to the point that it almost overwhelmed her before she got a grip on herself and took a deep, calming breath.

Despite this, Fan Zhu Xia's voice still had a slight tremble when she opened her mouth to speak.

"H-How is he doing now?" she asked in a soft, faint voice.

"I'm not so sure... I had already sent over a couple of pills you had previously given me that would be of some help with some of his injuries but I haven't gotten around to inquiring about his current situation because of other matters..."

"Would it be fine then if I went out and check up on him?" Fan Zhu Xia asked tentatively.

Looking at her troubled and worried look, Fan Hui Zhong couldn't help but inwardly sigh. Ever since they came to the capital, he already noticed that his daughter; Fan Zhu Xia was slowly changing. It wasn't that it was bad, in fact, Fan Hui Zhong was actually glad to see this happen.

Back when they were still in that remote village where he had previously settled down, even though he was able to somewhat coax her out of her shell and help her find another purpose to find a will to live, she wasn't as lively nor as expressive as she is now. 

Even now, she is worried about someone she had barely even met! If this had happened before, he was pretty sure that the moment he told her that he had already sent over some pills then she would have already deemed it fine. Before, she hardly paid attention to anyone else other than him and even though Fan Hui Zhong felt happy that she cared about him, he still felt concerned on how she was acting.

Whether it was day or night, as long as she had nothing to do, he would always see her drinking with countless jugs of wine nearby or smell the scent of alcohol clinging to her as if perfume even though there was no wine nearby. It isn't like she was always drunk out of her mind. She was still relatively sober with that drunken blush, along with the scent of wine the only indication that she even drank.

She wasn't rowdy or violent when she drank, in fact, she often became too quiet for his taste. There were a lot of times when he saw her in this state where she'll just be staring off to distance and watching the scenery or the moon with that sad, melancholy air about her. During other times, it was only when she was with him that he saw Fan Zhu Xia faintly relax and it was only when they were at home where she could truly be comfortable but at any other time, she was always coldly aloof and indifferent. 

The only time she truly interacted with the other villagers was when there was an outbreak of disease that had mainly spread among the children. It was the only time where she reached out to help voluntarily and yet her reputation still invariably spread out. When nearby villages heard of her deeds, there was an influx of people who were sick who came and tried asking for her help and yet she didn't really pay any heed to them. She only treated them if she felt like it or if she was offered something she had interest of.

Some called her eccentric, others called her heartless yet she didn't care but now, she's different and that was when he realized, she never really changed, the only thing that was different was that before, he was the only one she cared about because he was the only one she considered family. She didn't have friends before but now there were people she was fond of.

Fan Zhu Xia was someone who was cold and indifferent to people she deemed irrelevant to her but as long as you were nice and sincere towards her then she would treat you the same way and care for you whole-heartedly.

It's also probably the reason why she was like this now.

"That would be fine as long as you bring one of your maids as well as some escorts with you when you go to General Wu's residence. I will go ahead and send a note to notify them of your visit. "

Hearing him grant her permission, Fan Zhu Xia visibly brightened before nodding gratefully.

"Thank you Father! I'll go and bring Chun Tao this time and I'll ask Captain Min to arrange for some guards to accompany me."

"En."

"Again, many thanks Father..."

"Don't mind it, I already knew that you'd probably come and ask me about this. To be honest, I'm quite surprised you took this long... Anyway, after you come back, come here first, there's something I would like to discuss."

"Oh, then how about I leave after we talk?"

"No, no... It's fine, it's nothing urgent and it can wait."

Nodding slowly, Fan Zhu Xia then got up from her seat and spoke. 

"If you'll excuse me then, I'll go and make the necessary preparations. I'll come see you when I return."

After going back to her side of the mountain which was the former Fan Family residence that was now considered as the Princess Manor, Fan Zhu Xia quickly found her personal maids; Chun Hua and Chun Tao.

"Princess, is something the matter?" Chun Tao immediately asked when she saw Fan Zhu Xia's hurried expression.

"No, no... Nothing's wrong but I would like you to ask Captain Min to prepare a small escort for me since I will be visiting Young Master Wu and check his condition as well as express my thanks for saving me..."

"Of course, right away my lady... Anything else that this servant can do?"

"Ahh, no... Oh but you also go and prepare, you'll be accompanying me as well."

"As you command Princess. If you'll excuse me then..."

After Chun Tao left, Chun Hua stayed and waited for Fan Zhu Xia's orders obediently making Fan Zhu Xia smile slightly. 

"Chun Hua, come along... I need to go to the medical courtyard, I'll be taking some supplies, just in case..."

"Of course..."

Not long after, Fan Zhu Xia had already boarded the carriage and was on her way to visit General Wu's residence.