Chapter 004

Chapter 4: Collecting Interest First

Having spoken so plainly, Wei Ling Yue had no choice but to agree to let Yun Xi stay temporarily with the Feng family.

Afterwards, Wei Ling Yue left the room to the two of them. With a dark expression, he headed toward Concubine Du’s courtyard.

At that moment, Du Ruo Lan was busy soothing the crying Wei Yun Qing. To have given birth to the eldest daughter ahead of Feng Jia Yun, Concubine Du was certainly no ordinary woman. Apart from her charming and graceful appearance, her enchanting figure, she had also grown up together with Wei Ling Yue as childhood sweethearts. If not for the Wei family’s marriage alliance, she would have unquestionably been Madam Wei.

At this moment, Du Ruo Lan’s expression twisted slightly. Her heart was filled with bitterness and resentment. Simply because she was not Madam Wei, no matter how favored she was by the master, she remained inferior, and now her daughter suffered humiliation alongside her.

Seeing Wei Ling Yue enter with a gloomy face, Du Ruo Lan immediately adjusted her lotus-colored dress, gently touched the lower-grade protective hairpin in her hair, and welcomed him with a brilliant smile.

Yet Wei Ling Yue paid no heed to the presence of the maidservants. He bluntly scolded her in front of everyone: “How have you been teaching Yun Qing? Did you instruct her to snatch Yun Xi’s belongings, and even in front of the Feng family?”

Concubine Du’s smile froze. She quickly lowered herself into a humble bow, adopting a self-blaming expression, and spoke remorsefully: “It is my fault for not properly educating Yun Qing. She is young and ignorant. Master, if you wish to punish someone, punish me instead. Please do not blame Yun Qing.”

Wei Ling Yue lifted his robe and sat down, impatiently saying: “Forget your designs on Radiant Brilliance Courtyard. Choose another residence. Radiant Brilliance Courtyard belongs to Yun Xi.”

Concubine Du concealed the hatred that flashed in her eyes and obediently replied with lowered lashes: “Yes, Master. I shall follow your instructions.”

Wei Ling Yue leaned back against the chair and spoke more gently: “Ruo Lan, you were too impatient this time. The Feng family matriarch was standing right next to me. Even if I wanted to favor Yun Qing, it was impossible. For you to smoothly become Madam Wei, you must swallow this grievance.”

Concubine Du felt better after hearing this. At least Wei Ling Yue’s heart was with her. She was only one step away from becoming Madam Wei, and even poison she would willingly swallow to achieve her goal.

She quickly adjusted her expression and smilingly accepted his words. Her gentle humility erased all traces of resentment. She sweetly soothed Wei Ling Yue until his mood lifted. He left Haitang Courtyard in high spirits, promising to compensate Yun Qing with a magical artifact.

Once Wei Ling Yue left, Concubine Du returned to embrace her daughter and gently asked her to recount what had happened.

Wei Yun Qing was three months older than Wei Yun Xi and spoke clearly. Though her explanations jumped from place to place, Du Ruo Lan understood the gist.

Although Du Ruo Lan was only at the third layer of Qi Refining, she still understood cultivation matters to some extent. She believed that Madam Wei’s residence, Radiant Brilliance Courtyard, must contain opportunities meant for her own daughter.

On this point, her thoughts matched perfectly with her daughter’s. Neither considered that any opportunity there was certainly reserved by Madam Wei for her own daughter, not for some concubine’s child.

However, Wei Yun Xi had already firmly grasped the opportunity that originally belonged to her. She had asked her convenient maternal uncle to help pack everything from her mother’s courtyard into a storage bag.

Feng Jia Qing’s divine sense swept across the jade bed’s hidden compartment, only to find it empty. His gaze darkened, a faint trace of mockery flashing through his eyes.

Then he walked around the room, pried open a floor tile in the corner, and removed a delicate filigree jade box. Handing it to Wei Yun Xi, he said: “Yun Xi, this must be something your mother left behind for you. Keep it well—only you can open this box.”

Wei Yun Xi obediently nodded, pretending to be innocent, and placed the box into her waist’s storage pendant. The pendant was usable even for a small child who had not begun cultivating, and it was also a gift from Feng Jia Qing.

However, internally, Wei Yun Xi was far from calm. She recalled clearly that in the original novel, Wei Ling Yue had gifted this very filigree jade box to Wei Yun Qing upon her successful apprenticeship. Inside was a portable medicine garden, which provided Wei Yun Qing with many rare alchemy ingredients. Now it seemed this box was hers from the beginning.

Holding Feng Jia Qing’s hand as they walked toward the Feng family’s estate, Wei Yun Xi silently cursed her scumbag father. Now that she was here, no one would steal away what belonged to her—not even a single strand of hair.

Seeing his niece cheerful and unresistant about coming to the Feng family, Feng Jia Qing felt greatly relieved.

Though he knew clearly that his younger sister and Wei Ling Yue had become Dao companions merely to stabilize family alliances without genuine affection, Yun Xi now represented the vital link between the Wei and Feng families. Thus, he intended to look after her closely, preferably drawing this little girl firmly to the Feng family’s side.

Wei Yun Xi did not know her convenient uncle’s thoughts, but even if she did, she would not mind. At least her existence had value, and someone was willing to protect her.

On the very night Wei Yun Xi moved into the Feng family’s residence, Feng Jia Qing brought her to the family’s Soul Lantern Hall. Pointing to one very faintly flickering soul lamp, he explained gently: “Yun Xi, that is your mother’s soul lamp.”

Wei Yun Xi froze in shock. She was no ordinary five-year-old child, and her vast experience of reading xianxia novels told her clearly: if the soul lamp still burned, that meant the person was not truly dead. So why had Wei Ling Yue said her mother had fallen?

Yet she continued acting confused, innocently asking: “Maternal Uncle, is that really mother’s lamp? Why is it almost extinguished?”

Since Feng Jia Qing had decided to win over his niece’s trust, some things needed to be said even if she could not fully grasp them now. “Yun Xi, your mother’s soul lamp is faint because she is very far away from us and temporarily can’t find her way home. Your existence is very important—you can help your mother return.”

Wei Yun Xi frowned slightly, asking: “Maternal Uncle, father told me mother passed away. That’s why he wants Concubine Du to become my new mother. But now Maternal Uncle says mother is just far away and can’t find her way back. Yun Xi is confused.”

Feng Jia Qing chuckled lightly and said: “Yun Xi, there are some things I can’t tell you yet because you are still small. Even if I explained, you wouldn’t understand. When you begin cultivating, you will naturally realize my intentions. For now, just trust Maternal Uncle—I will never harm you.”

Though Wei Yun Xi didn’t entirely agree with Feng Jia Qing’s approach, she understood that in the cultivation world, certain matters were indeed beyond a mere five-year-old child’s power. Thus, she obediently nodded: “I believe Maternal Uncle.”

After obtaining Wei Yun Xi’s consent, Feng Jia Qing formed a hand-seal, gently extracting a drop of blood from his niece’s fingertip and dripping it onto his sister’s soul lamp. Immediately, the weak soul fire seemed to regain a trace of vitality, flickering a little stronger than before, causing Feng Jia Qing to let out a breath of relief.

Wei Yun Xi stared at the lamp a while longer, confirming it wouldn’t go out anytime soon, then turned to her uncle and asked earnestly: “Maternal Uncle, will Yun Xi really be able to help mother like this?”

“Of course. Your existence is your mother’s pillar.”

After completing this, Feng Jia Qing did not immediately leave the Soul Lantern Hall. Instead, he swept his finger across his storage ring, causing a spirit-testing plate to appear in his palm.