At this point, Wei Lingyue had no choice but to agree to let Yunxi stay temporarily at the Feng residence. Once the matter was settled, he left the room to the two of them and headed to Concubine Du's courtyard, his expression stormy.
Inside, Du Ruolan was still trying to comfort the sobbing Wei Yunqing. She had managed to bear Wei Lingyue's first daughter ahead of Feng Jiayun, and that alone said something about her capabilities. Beyond her captivating beauty and graceful demeanor, she had also been childhood sweethearts with Wei Lingyue. If not for the Wei family's need to form a political alliance, she would have been the rightful Lady Wei long ago.
At the moment, however, her face was twisted in barely-suppressed fury. Though she held more of the Lord's favor than anyone, it didn't matter—she was still just a concubine. And now, even her daughter was being forced to suffer the consequences.
When she saw Wei Lingyue storm in, face dark and grim, she immediately smoothed her pale pink dress, adjusted the low-grade defensive hairpin in her updo, and put on her most charming smile as she stepped forward.
But Wei Lingyue didn't spare a moment of politeness. Ignoring the presence of the servants, he barked furiously,
"How exactly are you raising Yunqing? You sent her to snatch Yunxi's belongings? And right in front of the Feng family?"
Du Ruolan's smile froze. She immediately dropped into a crouch, bowing low as guilt flooded her face. "It was my fault. I didn't teach Yunqing well enough. She's still young and doesn't know better. If you must punish someone, punish me. Please, don't blame Yunqing."
Wei Lingyue sat down, lifting the hem of his robes with a flick. His voice was laced with annoyance. "Stop coveting Zhuohua Courtyard. Pick another one. That place belongs to Yunxi."
Du Ruolan lowered her gaze, hiding the flash of resentment in her eyes. Her tone, however, remained docile and submissive. "Yes, I'll follow your orders."
Leaning back against the chair, Wei Lingyue added in a cooler tone,
"Ruolan, you acted too hastily this time. The Feng patriarch was standing right beside me. Even if I wanted to shield Yunqing, I couldn't. If you want to become Lady Wei, you'll have to swallow this loss."
His words soothed her bitterness a little. At least his heart still leaned toward her. She was just one step away from becoming Lady Wei. Even if it meant swallowing poison, she would do it.
So she quickly composed herself, gave a sweet smile, and replied in a remorseful, gentle voice—full of self-blame but not a trace of resentment. Her careful coaxing lifted Wei Lingyue's mood, and he left Haitang Courtyard in better spirits, even promising to gift Yunqing a new magical artifact as compensation.
Once he was gone, Du Ruolan finally returned to her daughter's side and cradled her gently in her arms, softly asking about what had happened.
Wei Yunqing, who was three months older than Yunxi, could already speak fairly well. Though her explanation was fragmented, Du Ruolan understood enough.
Despite only being at the third level of Qi Refining, she wasn't completely ignorant when it came to cultivation matters. She was convinced that Zhuohua Courtyard—once the residence of Lady Wei—must hold a special fortune meant for her daughter.
In this, she and her daughter were quite alike. Neither considered the simple truth: that anything left in Lady Wei's courtyard would have been meant for her own child, not a concubine's.
Meanwhile, Wei Yunxi had already reclaimed what was hers. With her conveniently doting uncle by her side, she had him collect everything from her mother's courtyard into a storage pouch.
When Feng Jiaqing scanned the jade bed with his spiritual sense and found the hidden compartment empty, his eyes darkened and flickered with silent contempt.
Still, he calmly circled the room, pried up a floor tile in the corner, and retrieved a cloisonné white jade box from beneath. He handed it to Wei Yunxi. "Yunxi, this should be something your mother left for you. Keep it safe. Only you can open it."
Wei Yunxi nodded obediently and tucked the box into her storage pendant, a gift from Feng Jiaqing. Although she hadn't begun cultivating, this pendant was designed for children like her.
Inside, however, she was far from calm.
She clearly remembered a scene from the original novel—Wei Lingyue had gifted that exact cloisonné jade box to Wei Yunqing to celebrate her taking a master. The box contained a portable medicinal garden and supplied her with an endless stream of alchemy ingredients.
Now it was obvious. That treasure had always belonged to her.
Holding tightly to Feng Jiaqing's hand as they walked toward the Feng residence, Wei Yunxi silently cursed her scumbag father in her heart.
Now that she was here, no one would get away with stealing her luck again—not even a single strand of hair.
Feng Jiaqing noted that his little niece was in relatively high spirits, and felt more at ease.
Though his sister had formed a Daoist partnership with Wei Lingyue for the sake of stabilizing their clans, he had always known there was no real affection between them. Now, Yunxi had become the key bond between the Feng and Wei families. Of course he planned to keep her close, and hopefully bring her entirely over to the Feng side.
Wei Yunxi didn't know what her dear uncle was planning. But even if she did, she wouldn't mind. At least someone saw her value, and was willing to protect her.
That night, after she'd settled into the Feng residence, Feng Jiaqing took her to the clan's Soul Lamp Hall. He pointed to one faintly flickering lamp.
"Yunxi, that one belongs to your mother."
Wei Yunxi froze.
She might've looked five on the outside, but her soul was another story. With all the xianxia novels she'd read, she knew what this meant.
The flame hadn't gone out—so her mother wasn't actually dead.
Then why had Wei Lingyue claimed she'd perished?
Still playing the innocent child, she asked,
"That's my mother's lamp? But why does it look like it's about to go out?"
Feng Jiaqing had already decided to win her over. Even if she didn't fully understand, he would still tell her the truth.
"Your mother's soul flame is weak because she's very far away. She's lost, unable to find her way back. Yunxi, will you help her?"
Wei Yunxi furrowed her tiny brows and asked,
"But Father said Mother passed away. That's why he wants Concubine Du to be my new mother. But Uncle says she's just far away and lost. Yunxi doesn't understand."
Feng Jiaqing chuckled softly.
"You're still young. There are some things I can't explain to you yet, even if I wanted to. You wouldn't understand them now. But once you start cultivating, you'll come to know the truth. For now, all you have to do is trust me. I would never hurt you."
Wei Yunxi didn't exactly agree with this approach, but she understood that there were limits to what a five-year-old could do in the cultivation world.
So she nodded quietly. "I trust Uncle."
With her permission, Feng Jiaqing formed a hand seal and drew a drop of blood from her fingertip, letting it fall into her mother's soul lamp.
The weak flame suddenly trembled, then flickered with renewed life. It was no longer on the verge of extinguishing.
Feng Jiaqing breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Wei Yunxi stared at the lamp a moment longer to make sure it was stable. Then she turned and asked,
"Uncle, did that help Mother?"
"Of course. You are her hope."
After finishing, Feng Jiaqing didn't leave the Soul Lamp Hall immediately. Instead, he touched his storage ring and brought out a spirit-testing disk.
===
If you haven't checked out my deep dive on 'Luck' in xianxia yet, I've dropped a link in the comments! It'll give you the full breakdown—how it works, why it's OP. and why it very important for cultivator. Hope it helps unravel those 'plot armor' moments for you! (･ω<)☆"