Drunken Lotus: Fated With The Rogue Hidden Dragon.

Feelings, New Faces (2nd)

Hearing the familliar low and gravelly deep voice, Fan Zhu Xia involuntarily stiffened before she forced herself to relax and take a deep calming breath.

Looking at her, Fan Hui Zhong could somehow see his daughter compose herself before lifting her gaze and pasting on her signature mischievous smile while exclaiming brightly and saying, "Father! Big Brother! What brings you here this early today?"

"Xia'er, we need to talk..." Fan Hui Zhong replied quietly, with a voice that seemed uncharacteristically grim to Fan Zhu Xia which made her feel a tremor of nervousness run down her spine.

Sending an uneasy glance towards Fan Li Jie, all Fan Zhu Xia got was an encouraging smile before he gestured for the two new maidservants to follow him.

Giving a reluctant nod to Chun Tao and Chun Hua, the two servants, quickly got up and excused themselves, following Fan Li Jie's lead and disappearing inside the courtyard building, leaving only the silent father and daughter.

Not knowing what to do, Fan Zhu Xia gathered her courage and then swallowed lightly before clearing her throat and cheerily asking, "Would you like some tea, Father? The brew that Chun Tao and Chun Hua prepared for me is especially good!"

"Xia'er..."

"How about some of these dumplings? I just tried them earlier and they were really delicious!"

"Xia'er..."

"Oh and you should try them with this savory pheasant bird nest soup! The dumplings really go great with them and the..."

Starting to feel a bit exasperated at his daughter's obvious attempts to deflect, Fan Hui Zhong heaved a heavy sigh before sharply interrupting her in mid-sentence, "Xia'er, enough!"

Startled, Fan Zhu Xia immediately snap her mouth shut and ended up looking at Fan Hui Zhong with big, wide eyes that somewhat struck Fan Hui Zhong as the same look a frightened, skittish animal would give him which made him feel even guiltier than he already is.

Sighing tiredly, he slowly made his way to Fan Zhu Xia, as if afraid of making any sudden movements that might startle her further.

"Calm down little one, I just want to talk." Hui Zhong told his daughter gently, wanting to ease her obviously high-strung nerves.

A moment of silence passed between them before both of them opened their mouth at the same time and simultaneously spoke out.

"Xia'er, I'm sorry..."

"Sorry, Father..."

Falling silent once more as their eyes snapped to meet each others gazes before Fan Zhu Xia tentatively smiled which made Fan Hui Zhong heave a sigh of relief before a grin slowly formed on his usually expressionless face making it look younger and less intimidating.

With his conscience slightly eased, Fan Hui Zhong awkwardly scratched his beard-covered chin and coughed slightly before talking with a serious look on his eyes.

"Little one, will you let this old man explain the reason why your uncle and I reacted the way we did yesterday?"

A bit taken aback, Fan Zhu Xia could only nod her head slowly since she didn't really expect that she'll get an explanation from them. In fact, she thought that she would actually have to explain why she acted the way she did!