Chapter 003

Chapter 3: Small Changes

Wei Yun Qing wailed loudly, shouting, “I want to go out, hurry and carry me out!”

“Yes, young miss, please don’t cry. I’ll take you outside right away.” The young maid soothed Wei Yun Qing while quickly signaling another maidservant to fetch Concubine Du.

When Wei Yun Qing was carried to the gates of Radiant Brilliance Courtyard, Wei Yun Xi still lay motionless on the floor of her dear mother’s bedchamber.

Wei Yun Xi’s consciousness drifted through an endless white haze, seeing nothing clearly. She tried to move aside, but her feet seemed trapped in sticky glue, rendering her unable to move freely.

At the gates of Radiant Brilliance Courtyard, Wei Yun Qing cried even more fiercely, struggling against the servants restraining her. She insisted on entering the former mistress’s room. Though small, she keenly sensed something within that room was calling to her.

Wei Yun Xi, still unconscious, failed to notice the golden hairpin embedded with a red gem—the one she had used earlier to prick her finger—absorbing the drop of blood from its tip. A flash of brilliant light raced along the hairpin, then quickly vanished, leaving it ordinary once again.

Wei Yun Qing was carried to the main house entrance, but Chun Yu and Xia Mo blocked their path, their expressions unpleasant.

The maidservant holding Wei Yun Qing snapped angrily, “How bold! How dare you block our young miss?”

Chun Yu calmly replied, “We are Radiant Brilliance Courtyard’s maidservants. Our mistress’s body has barely grown cold, and the courtyard has yet to change hands. You have no authority to command us!”

“You—!” The maidservant holding Wei Yun Qing was speechless with anger.

Wei Yun Qing became increasingly anxious, feeling as though she was losing something precious. She tapped her maidservant Jin Xiu’s arm insistently until she was put down. Using her small stature and knowing Chun Yu and Xia Mo would not dare forcibly stop their master’s child, she quickly pushed open the door.

Just before the doors opened, Wei Yun Xi abruptly opened her eyes, hearing Wei Yun Qing’s cries. She scrambled off the floor and leaped onto her mother’s white jade bed, tightly grasping the hairpin. Fiercely pinching her own thigh, tears filled her eyes, giving her a pitiful, tearful appearance.

When Wei Yun Qing burst into the room, she saw precisely this scene. Immediately, her eyes locked onto the hairpin in Wei Yun Xi’s hand. Ignoring the shocked gazes of the three maidservants, she darted forward and snatched the hairpin away.

Wei Yun Xi froze briefly, then burst into tears, leaping from the bed, shouting, “Give back my dear mother’s hairpin!” She pounced forward, trying to reclaim it. The two little girls instantly rolled into a scuffle. Fortunately, neither had started cultivation, so their tussle resembled typical childish fighting.

Chun Yu exchanged a meaningful glance with Xia Mo, and the two rushed over, deliberately pulling Wei Yun Qing aside. Jin Xiu, seeing her little mistress at a disadvantage, quickly joined the fray.

Chaos engulfed the room. When Wei Ling Yue and Feng Jia Qing arrived hand in hand, this was the scene greeting them. Wei Ling Yue’s face darkened, while Feng Jia Qing’s eyes flashed mockingly.

Wei Ling Yue waved his hand gently, and a soft force separated the two struggling girls. His face was grim as he demanded, “What is going on? Have you all forgotten your manners?”

Wei Yun Xi noticed the handsome young man dressed in purple beside her scum father and guessed this must be her maternal uncle. Immediately, she tearfully complained, “Daddy, elder sister Yun Qing snatched the hairpin my dear mother left me! I refused to give it up, so she hit me!” She pointed to the scratches on her face, clutching the hairpin in her other hand, and began wailing as if grievously wronged.

She truly felt wronged—having inexplicably transmigrated into this world, becoming cannon fodder destined for tragedy, robbed of her spiritual root and having her golden core dug out. Just thinking about it made her heart ache.

Having barely convinced herself to reclaim what rightfully belonged to her, Wei Yun Qing had rushed in to steal the hairpin. Could she tolerate it? Certainly not! Even if the hairpin had been ordinary, she wouldn’t yield. One concession meant endless future concessions, especially now that she had her maternal uncle backing her. Naturally, she planned to escalate the situation.

During their scuffle earlier, Wei Yun Xi had secretly used ruthless pinches on Wei Yun Qing’s tender flesh. Even if Yun Qing had scratched her face, Yun Xi didn’t care. Since neither had cultivation, any minor injuries could be easily remedied with pills.

Wei Yun Qing saw Yun Xi crying and began crying as well. Her whole body ached, but compared to Yun Xi, whose face was covered in scratches and whose hair was disheveled, Yun Qing merely had wrinkled clothing.

Feng Jia Qing’s expression turned cold as he spoke sharply, “Brother Wei, everything Jia Yun left behind belongs to Yun Xi. Your concubine isn’t even mistress yet, yet she’s already coveting my younger sister’s belongings. Isn’t her greed a bit too obvious?”

Wei Ling Yue’s expression also darkened. The hairpin Yun Xi held indeed belonged to Feng Jia Yun, and was one she frequently wore. With outsiders watching, he had no justification to take sides.

Face stiff, Wei Ling Yue ordered Jin Xiu coldly, “Take your young miss back. Tell Concubine Du to remain confined to her courtyard. Stop causing trouble! Do I lack for such trivial things?”

Intimidated by Wei Ling Yue’s glare, Jin Xiu’s knees weakened. She quickly scrambled to pick up Wei Yun Qing, still wailing on the floor, and left hastily.

Meanwhile, Feng Jia Qing gently picked up Wei Yun Xi, who was now hiccupping from crying, soothing her softly, “Don’t cry, Yun Xi. Isn’t the hairpin still in your hand?”

Wei Yun Xi understood when to stop. Once Wei Yun Qing left, her sobbing quickly subsided. Comforted by an elder and having already released her pent-up grievances, her tears gradually stopped. When Feng Jia Qing asked gently, she raised her tear-stained face and asked, “She won’t come to take the things my dear mother left me again, will she?”

“No, she won’t. Today, your uncle will sort out all your mother’s belongings and let you keep them safe yourself, alright?”

“Alright.” A smile bloomed on Wei Yun Xi’s tearful face.

Wei Ling Yue felt uneasy watching this, though inwardly he was smug. He had already secured Feng Jia Yun’s most valuable possessions in his storage bag; the visible items no longer mattered.

Pretending generosity, he said, “Brother Feng, I haven’t touched Jia Yun’s things. Since you’re here, sort them with Yun Xi and let her keep them. It will comfort her heart.”

Feng Jia Qing nodded, “Good. Yun Xi looks unsettled; I’d like to bring her to Feng Manor for a couple of days. Would Brother Wei permit it?”

Wei Ling Yue hesitated. He didn’t want Yun Xi growing too close to the Feng family, but since both had witnessed Yun Qing grabbing Yun Xi’s things, he couldn’t openly refuse. Instead, he coughed lightly and turned to Yun Xi, “Yun Xi, would you like to stay at your uncle’s house for a few days?”

Wei Yun Xi inwardly scorned her scum father but timidly replied, “Daddy, can I?”

She had cleverly returned the question, yet the anticipation shining in her eyes was unmistakable.