Collecting Interest First

With matters having reached this point, Wei Lingyue could only agree to let Yunxi stay temporarily with the Feng Family.

Afterward, Wei Lingyue left the two of them alone and went to Concubine Du's courtyard with a dark expression.

At that moment, Du Ruolan was soothing the crying Wei Yunqing. She had managed to give birth to the eldest daughter before Feng Jiayun, so naturally she had a few tricks up her sleeve. Besides her own bright, alluring beauty and graceful figure, she and Wei Lingyue had been childhood sweethearts. If the Wei Family had not needed a marriage alliance, she would undoubtedly have become Madam Wei.

Du Ruolan's face was somewhat twisted at the moment, resentment burning in her heart. Just because she was not Madam Wei, even though she had won more of the master's favor, she still stood a head lower than others. Now even her daughter had to suffer along with her.

When Du Ruolan saw Wei Lingyue enter with a grim face, she immediately smoothed her lotus-pink dress, adjusted the low-grade defensive hairpin in her bun, and went forward to greet him with a radiant smile.

Yet Wei Lingyue showed no concern for the servants in the courtyard and berated her without warning:

"How did you teach Yunqing? Teach her to snatch Yunxi's things? And right in front of the Feng Family?"

The smile on Concubine Du's face froze. She immediately curtsied, her face full of self-reproach as she said:

"I failed to teach Yunqing properly. She is young and does not understand. She will not do this again in the future. If Master wishes to punish someone, punish me. Do not punish Yunqing."

After lifting his robe and taking a seat, Wei Lingyue said impatiently:

"Stop setting your sights on Zhuohua Courtyard. Choose another courtyard. Zhuohua Courtyard will be left for Yunxi."

Concubine Du concealed the hatred in her eyes, lowered her gaze, and obediently said:

"Yes, I will listen to Master."

Leaning back against his chair, Wei Lingyue spoke indifferently:

"Ruolan, you were too hasty this time. Patriarch Feng was standing right beside me then. Even if I wanted to favor Yunqing, I could not. For you to become Madam Wei smoothly, you can only swallow this loss."

Hearing this, Concubine Du felt much better. At least Wei Lingyue's heart was still with her. She was now only one final step away from becoming Madam Wei; even if it were poison, she would have to swallow it.

So she immediately adjusted her expression and accepted with a smile. Her tone was full of self-reproach, without the slightest resentment. Her gentle, tender manner coaxed Wei Lingyue into leaving Haitang Courtyard in high spirits, and he promised to compensate Yunqing with a magical artifact.

Only after Wei Lingyue left did Concubine Du return and gather her daughter into her arms, then gently ask what had happened.

Wei Yunqing was three months older than Wei Yunxi and could speak quite clearly. Though her words came out in scattered, disjointed fragments, Du Ruolan understood.

Though she was only at the Qi Refining third layer, she knew a thing or two about cultivation. She believed that Zhuohua Courtyard, Madam Wei's residence, ought to contain an opportunity meant for her daughter.

In this regard, her thought process was rather like her daughter's. Neither of them considered that it had been Madam Wei's residence. Even if there were some opportunity there, it would have been left for her own daughter. What did it have to do with a concubine like her?

But Wei Yunxi had already seized the opportunity that had originally belonged to her. She had asked her nominal uncle for help and had him put everything from her mother's courtyard into a Storage Pouch.

Feng Jiaqing swept the place with his divine sense and found the hidden compartment beneath the White Jade Bed completely empty. His eyes darkened, and a trace of mockery flashed through them.

Then he walked around the room once, pried up a floor tile in the corner, and took out a Filigree White Jade Box from beneath it. Handing the box to Wei Yunxi, he said:

"Yunxi, this should be something your mother left for you. Keep it safe. Only you can open this box."

Wei Yunxi pretended to nod blankly and obediently placed the box into the Storage Pendant at her waist. The Storage Pendant was something even a little bean sprout like her, who had not cultivated, could use. It was also a gift from Feng Jiaqing.

In truth, Wei Yunxi's heart was far from calm. She remembered a passage from the novel: Wei Lingyue had given Wei Yunqing a filigree jade box as a gift for successfully taking a master. Inside was a Portable Herb Garden that supplied Wei Yunqing with many alchemy ingredients. It now seemed that this item had originally belonged to Wei Yunxi.

Holding Feng Jiaqing's large hand as they walked toward the Feng Family, Wei Yunxi silently sent a "motherfucker" to her scumbag father. Now that she was here, no one could think of taking the opportunities that belonged to her—not even a single hair's breadth.

Seeing that his niece was in good spirits and did not resist going to the Feng Family, Feng Jiaqing felt much more at ease.

Although his younger sister and Wei Lingyue had become Dao Companions for the sake of their families' stability, and he knew very well that there had been no affection between them, Yunxi had now become the link binding the Wei Family and the Feng Family together. Therefore, he needed to look after her more carefully, preferably drawing the little girl over to the Feng Family's side.

Though Wei Yunxi did not know what her nominal eldest uncle was thinking, she would not have minded even if she had. At least her existence still had value, and someone could protect her a little.

On the night Wei Yunxi moved into the Feng Family home, Feng Jiaqing took her to the Feng Family's Soul Lamp Hall. Pointing to a Soul Lamp whose light was extremely faint, he said:

"Yunxi, that is your mother's Soul Lamp."

Wei Yunxi froze at once. She was not truly a five-year-old child. Based on her experience lurking on a certain site and reading xianxia novels, as long as a Soul Lamp had not gone out, it meant the person was not dead. But why had Wei Lingyue said her mother had fallen?

Still, she pretended to be innocent and asked:

"Uncle, that Soul Lamp belongs to Mother? Why is it about to go out?"

Since Feng Jiaqing wanted to win over his niece, there were some things he had to tell the little girl even if she did not understand.

"Yunxi, your mother's Soul Lamp is very weak because she is far away from us and cannot find her way home for the moment. I hope you can help your mother."

After thinking for a moment, Wei Yunxi furrowed her little brows and asked:

"Uncle, Father said Mother had passed away. That is why he wanted Concubine Du to become Yunxi's mother. But Uncle says Mother went somewhere far away and cannot find her way home. Yunxi is a little confused."

Feng Jiaqing chuckled.

"Yunxi, because you are still young, there are some things Uncle cannot tell you for now. Even if I told you, you would not understand. Once you embark on the path of cultivation, you will naturally understand Uncle's intentions. For now, you only need to trust Uncle. Uncle will not harm you."

Although Wei Yunxi did not approve of Feng Jiaqing's way of handling things, she understood clearly that there were indeed matters in the Cultivation Realm that she, a five-year-old child, could not handle. So she obediently nodded.

"I'll listen to Uncle."

After obtaining Wei Yunxi's agreement, Feng Jiaqing formed a hand seal and drew a drop of blood from his niece's fingertip into his younger sister's Soul Lamp. The Soul Fire, which had been exceedingly weak, seemed to receive a burst of vitality. It struggled and flickered once, no longer as faint as before, making Feng Jiaqing breathe a sigh of relief.

Wei Yunxi watched the Soul Lamp for a while. Once she was sure it would not immediately go out, she turned to Feng Jiaqing and said:

"Uncle, can Yunxi help Mother like this?"

"Of course. Your existence is your mother's support."

After finishing this, Feng Jiaqing did not immediately take his niece out of the Soul Lamp Hall. Instead, he brushed the Storage Ring on his finger, and a Spirit Testing Plate appeared in his hand.

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