Before Fan Hui Zhong could even ask, his brother turned to him in a panic and hurriedly spoke.
"Brother, the stasis seal that I placed on father when he fell into a coma was broken! The wards that I placed to monitor his condition and surroundings indicated that there was an assassin who managed to sneak past the guards and break my seal but before he could do anything else, the protection seal I left activated, giving the guards enough time to incapacitate the assassin. Unfortunately they were a second too slow and the assassin managed to swallow a poison pill hidden in one of his teeth."
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Fan Hui Zhong's expression turned grave.
"Liang'er go to Father and check to see if you can delay the effects of the poison on the assassin, I'll get Xia'er!"
A look of understanding spread across Fan Hui Liang's face before he nodded once and quickly left the Blooming Phoenix Courtyard.
Turning on his heel, Fan Hui Zhong made his way to his daughter's room and also happened to bump into Min Sheng who just came back.
Seeing the dark expression on his face, Min Sheng immediately felt something amiss, as he hurriedly turned to bow but his movements were stopped mid-way.
"Min Sheng, an assassin has made a move against Father, go and have several of our elite groups of soldiers from the Lei Sha Di Army secure out estate and make sure that no one gets in or out at this time, no exceptions! If Xian'er comes back, have him proceed to his mother's courtyard and stand guard there. As for Li Jie, have him help you in finding any intruders and taking control of the estate as well as the servants, also, go find Yong Rui and have him come to his grandfather's courtyard, understood?"
"Affirmative, Lei Wangye!"
Departing quickly, Min Sheng disappeared like a gust of wind, and resuming his earlier plans, Fan Hui Zhong quickly arrived in fromt of Fan Zhu Xia's door and gave it three sharp knocks.
Hearing it, Fan Zhu Xia's gaze was drawn to the door and instead of sitting down at the table where a light lunch of snow lotus congee, steamed fish and pickled vegetables were arranged, she immediately walked towards the door and pulled it open.
Seeing his daughter's familiar face devoid of any traces of makeup, making her look younger yet also more delicate because of her pale countenance due to her fatigue, Fan Hui Zhong felt a tinge of hesitation before his eyes took on a determined glint.
Fan Zhu Xia who had just finished changing into a plain white dress that was cinched at the waist by a wide, bamboo-green belt and had half of her hair pinned up by a single hairpin made of white jade with the rest cascading down her back softly was preparing to eat some food first before taking a nap immediately realized that there was something wrong the moment her eyes met Fan Hui Zhong's.
"Father, is something the matter?"
"Zhu Xia, something happened with your grandfather. We need your help."
Hearing her father's words and seeing such a grim look on his face, Fan Zhu Xia quickly spoke and said, "Let's go then! I'll see what I can do to help."
Giving her a small tense yet grateful smile, Fan Hui Zhong then bent down and took Fan Zhu Xia into his arms and carried her princess-style and swiftly left her courtyard. His speed was extremely fast with the use of his qinggong and they arrived at a large courtyard that was heavily guarded by armored guards who gave a respectful salute towards Fan Hui Zhong before going back straightaway to their duties.
Wasting no time, Fan Hui Zhong proceeded inside with Fan Zhu Xia still in his arms this giving her no time to look around and appreciate the simple yet elegantly decorated courtyard but was instead promptly brought to the courtyard's main master's bedroom where her uncle; Fan Hui Liang was standing beside a bed as he made several hand signs as a seal was manifesting on top of the bed where a person was lying unconscious.
Catching her curious look, Fan Hui Zhong softly murmured in her ear and told her, "That's your grandfather."
A look of understanding appeared in Fan Zhu Xia's eyes as she nodded while Fan Hui Zhong set her gently down her feet before he turned around and shot a furious look towards a corner where two guards held a man in all black clothes down while another two had their spears pointed at him.
Following her father's gaze, Fan Zhu Xia asked, "That is?"
"An assassin that tried to kill your grandfather."
Looking at the man's pale and sweaty face and noting that he has bloodshot eyes while his lips had taken on a purplish hue, Fan Zhu Xia frowned and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
"He's poisoned."
"En. He tried to commit suicide the moment he got caught, luckily they were able to stabilize him."
Staring at the man closely, Fan Zhu Xia sighed and shook her head as she turned to Fan Hui Zhong and told him, "He's not going to last any longer. If Father intends to interrogate him, then the sooner the better."
"I agree, but..."
Just as Fan Hui Zhong was about to reply a familiar voice spoke up from the door, drawing the gaze of both father and daughter as they saw a familiar figure walked in.
"Yong Rui!"
"Cousin!"
Giving them an indolent smile, Fan Yong Rui called to both of them respectively with a nod in their directions.
"Uncle. Little Xia. Sorry for being late."
Shaking his head, Fan Hui Zhong waved his hand and nodded towards the assassin.
"Go and take him. Make sure you get all you can from him and try to find out who sent him to kill your grandfather."
A sharp and ominous glint shone in Fan Yong Rui's light brown eyes and his softer, slightly effeminate features was arranged into a dangerous smirk as he nodded.
"Rest assured, I'll do my best to meet Uncle's expectations!"
Snapping his fingers, two masked men appeared beside him, respectfully kneeling as they waited for his orders.
"The both of you go and bring this man away. One, you're in charge of guarding him until I get there and Two, you're to escort One there before coming back with Three and Four and helping Older Brother secure the estate while Three and Four scouts the surrounding for any suspicious activity and clues."
Nodding, the two masked men immediately took the assassin into their custody and just as they were about to disappear, Fan Zhu Xia suddenly called out and grabbed Fan Yong Rui's arm.
"Cousin wait! That man is poisoned, he may not last the hour. Take this first."
Hearing Fan Zhu Xia's words, Fan Yong Rui's eyes narrowed and the same went for One and Two.
Looking at the two jade bottles that Fan Zhu Xia brought out, Fan Yong Rui took them in his hands before he turned to ask, "Cousin, this is?"
"This one is a potent antidote that should work on most poisons and should be able to delay his dying for at least a couple of hours to a day even if the poison he ingested is rare and fast-acting."
A gleam of satisfaction flashed through Fan Yong Rui's eyes before he directed his attention to the other one and inquired about it.
"How about this one?"
"Well that one is a truth elixir. Three drops diluted with half a glass of water makes the consumer of it have no choice but to tell the truth unless that person has a seal on their mind or memories, in which case, having them ingest that and questioning them can result in extreme torture if the seal is activated and in the worst case, death."
Delighted, Fan Yong Rui pinched Fan Zhu Xia's cheek affectionately and said, "Little Xia really is the best! Second Brother owes you."
Beaming, Fan Zhu Xia just shook her head and said, "This is the only thing Xia'er can do to help Second Brother as of now so please just accept it."
"En."
After determining it's uses, Fan Yong Rui tossed them towards One who easily caught it and waved them off making the two of them disappear along with the assassin in flash.
Seeing that the assassin has been taken cared of, the four guards excused themselves and exited the room to stand guard by the door while all three of them; Fan Hui Zhong, Fan Zhu Xia and Fan Yong Rui turned to look towards the bed's direction.
Stepping forward, Fan Hui Zhong neared his brother and asked in a low voice, "How is it?"
"Father's condition worsened quite fast considering that the stasis seal was only lifted in such a short while. I'm afraid that..."
As if sensing his brother's turbulent emotions, Fan Hui Zhong placed a hand on his shoulde and gave a reassuring squeeze.
"Is the stasis seal done?"
"Yes it is."
"Then let us step back and let Xia'er take a look."
Hearing his brother's words, a flash of hope lit up within Fan Hui Liang's eyes, especially when he thought back to what his older brother told him of his niece's past.
Turning to look at Fan Zhu Xia, Fan Hui Liang gave her a strained yet hopeful smile before speaking.
"Xia'er, just do your best. No matter what happens, Uncle is still grateful for all your help today."
Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Fan Zhu Xia felt his heart warm and determination filled her as she gave a resolute nod.
"Don't worry, Uncle. Xia'er will do her best!"