After the initial excitement, Fang Lingyuan quickly calmed himself. With a sharp glint in his eyes, he summoned his butler, Fang Zhong, and said in a deep voice,
"Fang Zhong, immediately summon the four Core Elders to the meeting hall in Songtao Pavilion. Be quick, and brook no delay!"
After giving the order, Fang Lingyuan took several deep breaths, struggling to calm his roiling emotions. He turned to Fang Han and said,
"Come. We'll wait for them in the meeting hall. It is time for a decision."
The atmosphere in the Songtao Pavilion meeting hall was grim.
Summoned so suddenly by the Patriarch on the morning of the Lunar New Year, the four Core Elders—Fang Tu, Fang Yuan, Fang Mingde, and Fang Zhenshan—all felt their hearts clench, assuming the family had suffered some major, unforeseen catastrophe.
The four of them arrived almost on each other's heels, their faces etched with haste and gravity.
