Du Ruolan, relying on her daughter's presence for courage, spoke with a trembling voice.
"There really was a misunderstanding about that matter. I didn't intend to give you the Fusion Spirit Pill. I only wanted to put you into a deep sleep, so you'd miss the opportunity to go to Haoran Sect. I have no idea how Zhen Zhu ended up giving you the Fusion Spirit Pill instead.
When your father brought Zhen Zhu to confront me, I didn't even get a chance to question her before he killed her with a single palm strike.
Your father cares deeply about his reputation. Your birth represented the alliance between the Feng and Wei families. Even if your mother was no longer around, he would never have let anything happen to you. I wouldn't be foolish enough to touch his bottom line. That's why I had to explain it clearly to you."
Wei Yunxi set her teacup down. Her expression remained calm, but her voice held a trace of cold amusement.
"If you truly want to prove the truth, a soul search would be the most direct way."
As soon as she heard that, Wei Yunqing immediately stepped in front of Du Ruolan and snapped:
"Wei Yunxi, don't go too far. Just because you're a Golden Core cultivator doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."
Wei Yunxi released the oppressive pressure of her Golden Core realm. The two women trembled under the force and collapsed to the ground. Only then did she speak.
"I can do whatever I want. But I'm still a reasonable person. Whether what your mother said is true, only she knows. But that she intended to harm me, that is undeniable."
Du Ruolan, with only fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivation and a pampered life behind her, couldn't possibly endure the pressure. She lay flat on the ground, unable to move, blood beginning to seep from her seven orifices.
Wei Yunqing, who was at mid-stage Foundation Establishment, fared slightly better. She could still hold on. But seeing Du Ruolan's condition, she immediately regretted bringing her mother to face Wei Yunxi. There was something extremely dangerous about the current Wei Yunxi.
Still, she forced herself to crawl forward, shielding her mother and taking on the brunt of the pressure, giving Du Ruolan a moment to breathe.
Wei Yunxi watched the mother and daughter in their wretched state and suddenly thought she might have some talent for playing the villain. With a light flick of her finger, a thin, hair-like ice needle silently shot into Du Ruolan's body, embedding itself into her egg-sized dantian and lying dormant.
Wei Yunxi withdrew her pressure and said:
"Du Ruolan, you're my father's woman, so I'll give you this bit of face. But don't appear in front of me again. Every time I see you, I'm reminded that you once tried to destroy my cultivation foundation."
Du Ruolan's body was limp and numb. In that moment, she deeply understood what a gap in cultivation truly meant. She had genuinely believed she might die here.
As soon as Wei Yunqing escaped the pressure, she turned to help her mother up, preparing to leave the courtyard. She was still too weak and could only choose to retreat for now.
Wei Yunxi saw the fear and unwillingness in their eyes and said flatly:
"Du Ruolan, you think I'm standing in your daughter's way, but you're the one who chose this path.
If not for your greed for Wei Lingyue's status and the resources he represented, why would you have willingly entered his household as a concubine?
What did Wei Lingyue tell you? That he only formed a Dao companion bond with my mother out of duty to the family? You're pitifully foolish to believe that.
He coveted the Feng family's power and alchemy skills. He wanted my mother to help him become the Patriarch.
Unfortunately, my mother never thought highly of him, so she never granted his wish. After he lost the chance to become Patriarch, he deliberately distanced himself from her and turned to you for fake affection.
The most shameless person is him. My mother's 'fall'—he had a hand in that. Did you know?
Even that Beautifying Pill he used to please you was originally prepared by my mother for me.
Do you know why he asked for it back yesterday? Because I demanded to reclaim the resources my mother left with him. He had no choice but to take the pill back in exchange for one healing pill.
See? He's always been selfish, prioritizing himself above all else. For his own benefit, he'll throw anything away. The so-called love between you two is the most laughable thing in the world.
But don't worry. As long as I live, Wei Lingyue will never become the head of the Wei family. He won't even form his Golden Core. You'll have plenty of time to grow old with him. Let your romance rot together in some quiet corner."
Wei Yunxi's words were like a volley of arrows, each one piercing straight through Du Ruolan's heart. Her face grew paler with every sentence until finally, she spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
"Mother!" Wei Yunqing shouted in panic.
"She won't die. She's just unconscious."
With that, Wei Yunxi waved her sleeve and opened the formation, signaling Wei Yunqing to leave.
Wei Yunqing scooped Du Ruolan into her arms, gave Wei Yunxi one last look, then turned and left Zhuohua Courtyard.
After the formation closed again, Dian Dian leapt up onto the jade table and asked,
"Master, you're strong enough now. Why didn't you just deal with those two directly?"
Wei Yunxi propped her chin on one hand and replied,
"You think I didn't want to? But something stopped me."
For a moment just now, she had indeed harbored a killing intent. She didn't want Wei Yunqing to keep growing stronger. But at the last instant, a sharp warning flared in her heart and forced her to abandon the idea.
Dian Dian didn't quite understand what she meant, but that didn't stop it from reporting its findings:
"Master, Wei Yunqing has a big treasure on her."
Wei Yunxi raised an eyebrow.
"How big? Better than mine?"
"Of course not as good as Master's, but still pretty impressive."
"Do you know what it is?"
Dian Dian twitched its nose and said,
"When you were suppressing her, I sneaked in for a sniff. The treasure seems to be on her left hand. But I'll need to get closer to confirm exactly what it is."
Wei Yunxi recalled that there didn't seem to be anything on Wei Yunqing's left hand. But she herself had a concealed storage ring, so it was likely that Wei Yunqing had something similar.
She waved her hand dismissively.
"Don't risk it. You're my trump card. You'll be playing a big role soon. Since she's staying with the clan these days, just have Flying Mist Butterfly keep an eye on her."
Dian Dian proudly swished its tail and happily scurried off to connect with the Flying Mist Butterfly.
Meanwhile, Wei Yunqing carried the unconscious Du Ruolan back to Haitang Courtyard, alarming the servants there.
Seeing the chaos in the courtyard, she impatiently drove them all out. She then formed a hand seal to clean the blood from her mother's face, fed her a low-grade healing pill, and took her wrist to circulate wood-element spiritual energy to help heal her injuries.
Before long, Du Ruolan woke up. When she was helped into a sitting position, her face was filled with dejection.
Seeing her mother awake, Wei Yunqing finally relaxed. While channeling wood-element energy earlier, she had discovered that Du Ruolan had only suffered internal injuries from the Coercion and was in no danger of death.
"Mother, are you alright?"
Du Ruolan shook her head and gave a bitter smile.
"I hated Feng Jiayun for half my life, but in the end, I was the biggest joke. Feng Jiayun didn't care. Her daughter doesn't care either. I was the only fool who tried to claim your father's heart. But his heart has always only had room for himself."
Wei Yunqing didn't know how to comfort her. She had heard everything Wei Yunxi said earlier. Though it seemed designed to sow discord, she also knew Wei Yunxi, standing in such a dominant position, would never bother to lie.
She could only offer dryly,
"Mother, if you can't rely on Father, you still have me. I'll make you someone admired and envied by all."