The trio met up that night and after careful consideration, Yao Ling didn't think it would be suitable for Xiao Fang to join them. After all, this was Lin Jian's personal matter. However, when she asked Lin Jian, the latter allowed her to call Xiao Fang to join them, so Yao Ling could only follow his decision.

"Why?" Yao Ling asked Lin Jian curiously. "Is there a need to involve her in this matter?"

"But this matter is involving Han Xiang and Xiao Fang. I suppose she needs to know about it too..." Lin Jian answered. He was considering the possibility that... if Han Xiang was indeed not a good person, she wanted Xiao Fang to know her background and be lenient to Han Xiang. It was selfish of him, but this was the only thing that he could do for Han Xiang.

He knew that he didn't owe Han Xiang anything, but... it had been a long time that he thought of her as his sister. He couldn't just stand on the side and do nothing.

Yao Ling felt it actually wasn't neccessary, but Lin Jian had already opened his mouth and given his agreement to involve Xiao Fang, so she could only summon Xiao Fang to join their discussion. To make it safer, she gave Han Er a sleeping medicine and let Han Xiang drink it. It was just to ensure her to stay in the room and not accidentally roam around. She was afraid that she would accidentally eavesdrop their conversation or find out the relations.h.i.+p between Xiao Fang and them.

For General Hu's side, she already put Zhuo Li to stand guard around their area and to prevent them from going near Yao Ling's room. On the other hand, she gave Xiu and Xiao Yu the task to guard in front of Yao Ling's room, so it should be safe for them to have a meeting.

Xiao Fang was quite confused because of the sudden invitation from Yao Ling, but she happily joined them. When she saw the heavy atmosphere, she retracted her smile and sat solemnly on the vacant seat. She felt curious about what they wanted to talk about.

Yao Ling told them everything that she had heard from the beginning to the end and she didn't leave anything out for one bit. She felt lucky that Yao Ying was also there because Lin Jian indeed almost lost his mind in rage! Xiao Fang, who was oblivious to the relations.h.i.+p between Lin Jian and the Ce Fei, asked in confusion, "Why do you look so angry?"

Xiao Fang felt that something was not right with Lin Jian's reaction. She felt pity toward the Ce Fei, but because they had no direct relations.h.i.+p, she didn't feel the same rage as Lin Jian.

Then, she hesitantly asked, "Do you know Han Xiang's mother?" She would be blind if she didn't understand this point. Lin Jian, who was always calm and full of laughter, looked like he wanted to kill someone after listening to the Ce Fei's life story.

Lin Jian froze because of his rash decision, he almost forgot that Xiao Fang didn't know their relations.h.i.+ps with the Ce Fei and Han Xiang. Yao Ling sighed because she already knew that this would happen beforehand and she already warned Yao Ying about this possibility, the latter had agreed to tell Xiao Fang the truth if Xiao Fang indeed asked about the relations.h.i.+p between them and the Ce Fei. It was better to be honest because they already treated Xiao Fang as a good friend.

At least, this way, she would only understand that they wanted to save Han Xiang because of their relations.h.i.+p with the Ce Fei, not because of Mi Hui. It wasn't wise to let Xiao Fang know about the latter.

Yao Ling patted Xiao Fang's shoulder to calm her down and said, "Don't worry! We already trust you, so we will let you know everything."

Xiao Fang felt her heart skip a beat, hoping that this wasn't an awful matter. She already liked and trusted them! Her heart wouldn't be able to take the betrayal if that really happened. One Han Xiang was enough.

"Who... who are you guys exactly?" Xiao Fang asked.

Yao Ling told them their ident.i.ty and her eyes bulged out. She had never thought that Lin Jian was the Ce Fei's stepson back at the Shu Kingdom. "Then... all of you actually come here just to save Han Xiang?" Xiao Fang asked.

The trio nodded without any hesitation. Yao Ling tried to smooth out the atmosphere by saying, "We didn't want to cover this up, but we were surprised when you were in a good term with Han Xiang. We thought that we would be able to save her easily, however, we would have never thought that there was more than met the eyes."

"Do you mean... Han Xiang's abnormality?" Xiao Fang guessed.

Yao Ling nodded, "Yes. We want to make sure that she was the real Han Xiang first, besides, Lin Jian comes here because he wants to find the Ce Fei's whereabouts too."

Xiao Fang was taken aback. "Do you think that's possible? Does she even still alive?"

Yao Ling nodded. "There's a possibility because we find a lead. However, whether she's alive or not... we are not too sure ourselves."

"This... this Tao Gu Gu?" Xiao Fang asked. She had heard Tao Gu Gu's story and her heart ached for the Ce Fei. She couldn't believe how cruel the Emperor was. He was actually a beast! She came in contact with him a few times and she found him as an admirable character. Who knew that he was actually a lunatic that hid behind his facade? She shuddered at the thought about how her father was loyal to that kind of man!

Yao Ling nodded. "Yes, this Tao Gu Gu..."

Xiao Fang was surprised at first and there was also a hint of anger in her heart, after all, she felt that the had lied to them. However, she understood their thought, they didn't know whether they could trust her or not --- she was a Han woman and in a good relations.h.i.+p with Han Xiang. If it wasn't because they spent a few days together and helped each other, she didn't think they would tell her. Naturally, she understood that by telling her this fact, they tretaed her as one of their own. Somehow, it slightly appeased her anger.

What made her feel calmer was the clarity in their eyes. They had no malicious intent or a hint of deceiving in them. Xiao Fang could only nod, "I understand."

The trio was quite surprised by her calmness. Judging from her personalities, they expected her to throw a tantrum and yell at them. Lin Jian calmly asked her, "That's it?"

Xiao Fang raised one of her eyebrows. "What do you expect me to do?"

The trio grinned sheepishly. "We thought that you will get angry because we are covering this up from you. However, we indeed sincerely want to help you..." Yao Ling weakly said.

Xiao Fang rolled her eyes. She wasn't that childis.h.!.+ What was the use of throwing a tantrum at this moment? Xiao Fang merely answered, "I know... I can see that..."

The trio sighed in relief when they knew that Xiao Fang didn't get angry at them. "Then... can we continue talking about this matter?" Yao Ying asked.

The other three nodded in agreement at the same time.

"So, Tao Gu Gu also doesn't know where my mother is?" Lin Jian asked.

Yao Ling answered, "Yes, she doesn't know. But at least, you can trace it back to the medicine valley. That was the last time Tao Gu Gu saw your mother."

Lin Jian nodded in understanding and knew what he should do next. "Then, what about Han Xiang? Is she the real deal?" Lin Jian asked once more.

Yao Ling shook her head. The other three said at the same time, "She's... really a fake?"

Yao Ling was dumbfounded. She merely shook her head, so what kind of reaction was this? She planned to say that she didn't know, but the others misunderstood her gesture. "What?! That's not what I mean!" Yao Ling's eyes widened in surprise.

The trio looked at her and asked in unison, "Then, what do you mean?"