Wei Yunqing cried and said,
"I want to go out! Take me outside, now!"
"Alright, alright, don't cry, Miss. I'll take you out right away."
The maid holding her tried to soothe her while signaling to another servant with her eyes to quickly fetch Concubine Du.
By the time Wei Yunqing had been carried to the entrance of Zhuohua Courtyard, Wei Yunxi was still lying motionless on the floor of her mother's room.
Inside that room, Wei Yunxi's consciousness was floating in a blinding white void. She couldn't see anything. When she tried to move, she realized her feet were stuck in place, as if her whole body were caught in glue. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free.
Outside the courtyard gates, Wei Yunqing's tantrum grew even louder. She kicked and squirmed, demanding to be let into the former Lady's room. Although still young, she could sense something inside that room calling to her.
Wei Yunxi hadn't yet woken up. She didn't notice the golden hairpin in her hand, embedded with a ruby, quietly absorbing the drop of blood at its tip. A faint glimmer of light shimmered along its shaft before it returned to its ordinary, dull state.
Meanwhile, Wei Yunqing was now in front of the main hall doors. Chunyu and Xiamei, faces stiff with displeasure, blocked her path.
"How dare you block our young miss!" the maid carrying Wei Yunqing snapped.
Chunyu's tone was flat and cold. "I serve the Zhuohua Courtyard. Lady Wei's body has barely grown cold, and the courtyard hasn't changed hands yet. Your young miss has no authority to order us around."
"You—!"
The maid was fuming, but for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Wei Yunqing grew more and more agitated. The feeling that she was about to lose something important only intensified. She slapped the maid's arm and gestured to be put down. Once her feet touched the ground, she marched forward, using her small size and status as leverage. Chunyu and Xiamei didn't dare to physically restrain her, so she shoved open the door herself.
Just before the doors creaked open, Wei Yunxi's eyes suddenly flew open. She'd heard the commotion outside. With a jolt, she scrambled off the floor, jumped onto her mother's white jade bed, and clutched the hairpin tightly in her hand. Then, without hesitation, she pinched her own thigh hard. Tears sprang into her eyes at once as she forced herself into a pitiful, weepy state.
When Wei Yunqing burst through the doors, the first thing she saw was Wei Yunxi like this—sitting on the bed, tearful and clutching a hairpin. Her gaze locked instantly onto the glimmering pin.
Without a word, she dashed forward and snatched it from Wei Yunxi's hand, stunning all three maids in the room.
Wei Yunxi blinked, momentarily frozen. Then she burst into loud sobs and jumped down from the bed.
"That's my mother's hairpin! Give it back!"
She lunged toward Wei Yunqing. In the next second, the two small girls were rolling on the floor, grabbing and clawing for the hairpin. Thankfully, neither had started cultivating yet—it was just a childish scuffle.
Chunyu shot a look at Xiamei, and both rushed over with alarmed cries to separate the girls. Jinxiu, Wei Yunqing's maid, wasn't having it either. She charged in to defend her young mistress, and chaos erupted in the room.
By the time Wei Lingyue and Feng Jiaqing arrived hand in hand, they walked into a full-blown mess.
Wei Lingyue's face darkened. Feng Jiaqing's eyes narrowed, a glint of scorn flashing through them.
With a wave of his sleeve, Wei Lingyue sent a gentle force to split the girls apart. His voice was low and displeased.
"What's going on here? Have you all forgotten your manners?"
Wei Yunxi spotted the young man beside her scumbag father, dressed in elegant violet robes, and took a wild guess—her uncle. Without missing a beat, she turned on the waterworks and pointed accusingly.
"Father, Yunqing stole my mother's hairpin! I wouldn't give it to her, so she hit me!"
She pointed to the scratch on her face, the other hand still clenching the hairpin tightly as she sobbed even louder, acting as though the world had wronged her.
And honestly? She was wronged.
She hadn't done anything, only to suddenly find herself transmigrated into some tragic supporting role, destined to die miserably after being robbed of her cultivation. Just thinking about it made her soul ache.
She had barely pulled herself together and reclaimed what was rightfully hers, and this brat Yunqing came barreling in to snatch it away. Could she tolerate that? Absolutely not.
Even if the hairpin had turned out to be an ordinary one, she wouldn't have handed it over. Giving in once meant giving in forever. Especially with her uncle here as backup, she fully intended to blow this up.
And truth be told, during the tussle, she'd been ruthless. Every pinch had landed on Wei Yunqing's softest flesh. She didn't care that her opponent had scratched her face—neither of them had started cultivation. As long as no bones were broken, a single pill would fix everything.
Wei Yunqing started crying too. Her whole body hurt, but compared to Wei Yunxi's disheveled hair and scratched-up face, she looked mostly fine—just a little rumpled.
Feng Jiaqing frowned and said coldly, "Brother Wei, everything Jia Yun left behind was meant for Yunxi. Your concubine isn't even officially a wife, yet she's already eyeing my sister's things? Isn't that a little disgraceful?"
Wei Lingyue's expression grew even darker. The hairpin in Yunxi's hand was Feng Jiayun's. She used to wear it often. It was hard to deny whose it was, especially in front of outsiders. Even if he wanted to take Yunqing's side, he didn't have the leverage.
He turned to Jinxiu, his voice steely. "Take your young miss back. Tell Concubine Du to stay in her courtyard under house arrest. Don't show her face again unless she wants to embarrass herself further. Do I look like I need her things?"
Jinxiu nearly collapsed under his glare. Legs trembling, she stumbled over and scooped up the weeping Wei Yunqing, hurrying out of the main hall.
By then, Feng Jiaqing had already stepped forward and lifted the still-hiccupping Wei Yunxi into his arms, gently comforting her.
"Don't cry, Yunxi. You still have the hairpin, right? It's safe."
Wei Yunxi knew when to stop. Now that Wei Yunqing had been dragged away and someone was here to comfort her, she gradually quieted down. The suffocating anger in her chest had been vented. Her sobs faded.
When Feng Jiaqing asked again, she looked up, her tear-streaked face like a little flower soaked in rain. "She won't come steal my mother's things again, right?"
"No," Feng Jiaqing promised. "Today, Uncle will gather everything your mother left behind and give it to you. You'll keep it all safe, alright?"
"Okay."
Finally, a smile bloomed on Wei Yunxi's tear-stained face. Seeing it, Wei Lingyue felt strangely uncomfortable, but deep down, he was smug. The truly valuable things Feng Jiayun had left were already tucked away in his storage pouch. The rest didn't matter.
He gave a magnanimous nod and said, "Brother Feng, I haven't touched Jia Yun's belongings. Since you're here, go ahead and sort through them with Yunxi. Let her keep whatever she wants. It'll give her something to hold onto."
Feng Jiaqing nodded. "Yunxi's mood isn't great. I'd like to take her to stay at the Feng residence for a few days. Would that be alright, Brother Wei?"
Wei Lingyue didn't want the Feng family getting too close to Yunxi, but after that embarrassing scene with Yunqing trying to steal from her, he couldn't very well say no.
He cleared his throat. "Yunxi, do you want to stay with your uncle for a few days?"
Wei Yunxi inwardly scoffed, but outwardly, she blinked innocently and asked, "Father, may I?"
She threw the question back at him, but the eagerness in her eyes was clear to everyone.
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I will try to upload this novel with 5 chapters/day just like the others.