Drunken Lotus: Fated With The Rogue Hidden Dragon.

Concerned (1st)

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..."