Lu Xin is a decisive person, and she has been like this for many years.
She is determined to help Li Qingming succeed—no matter her purpose, she must see it through to the end. First, she needs her husband's support.
"Fengyun, you are the Patriarch of the Li Family. Whether it is cultivation or family affairs, your attention is divided, and you are bound not to focus too much on matters of your children, especially since the Yue'e issue also haunts you… In short, leave Qingming's matters to me. You don't need to worry. But I need your support."
Li Fengyun remained silent for a moment, then looked up: "What did you say?"
Lu Xin was not polite anymore. The True Essence in her body gathered like a torrential rain, concentrated at her fingertips, tracing a mysterious trajectory in an instant, and then stabbed forward…
"!"
Even though Li Fengyun had Mountain-Overturning Realm True Essence protecting him, he almost jumped up in pain. Upon seeing his wife's gloomy face, he quickly sat up straight and nodded, saying, "Please speak."
...
"Of course, I am willing to support letting Qingming succeed, but have you considered her aptitude and comprehension..."
"Of course, I have considered it! Don't forget who was the first to stand out and ridicule her when she failed to break the Wind Barrier four years ago!"
Li Fengyun was stunned: "Who?"
"Me!" Lu Xin had anticipated her husband's memory, "In front of a group of elders from the family, I mocked her for her lack of aptitude, saying she didn't deserve to stay in the Inner Sect, forcing her to hold back tears and walk away step by step. It was me."
"...I remember now."
Lu Xin said: "Li Qingming may be your child with that woman, but she hasn't inherited a shred of your talents. While her Body Refining Stage results were decent, the moment she reached the stage of Nurturing Divine Sense and controlling True Qi, she immediately lost her momentum. This is a limitation of talent; generally speaking, it is unsuitable for cultivation unless massive amounts of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures are force-fed. Otherwise, there is no solution."
Li Fengyun nodded: "But at the time, you rejected the Elixir Pills method..."
"Because becoming a pill-eating freak is a complete joke! Imagine what people would say if they knew I turned a daughter of the prestigious Li Family into a waste!" Lu Xin said angrily, "And to make up for the lack of talent, the only way is through doubled determination and perseverance, and nothing can generate motivation more than shame and anger. So over the years, I've used all means to make her suffer, forcing her to strive for self-improvement."
Li Fengyun said: "You rarely talked to me about these things."
"What's the use of saying it? Can you help me? Help me bully our own daughter?"
Li Fengyun hesitated: "Well, if it's for her good, perhaps it could be tried?"
"Then tell me, what is Li Qingming's greatest intolerance?"
Li Fengyun furrowed his brow and said without hesitation: "Being interrupted by foolish questions during academic contemplation, missing materials in cultivation seminars, eating dumplings with soy sauce."
"Not even related!"
Li Fengyun was utterly amazed: "She can even tolerate these things!?"
"She is your daughter, not your replica!" Lu Xin looked at her surprised husband and deeply felt a sense of helplessness.
"Li Qingming cannot bear having her monthly stipend withheld. Every time I find a reason to deduct her allowance, she treats me as a mortal enemy for the next few days, practices throughout the night, and her motivation is astounding, with great results. Given her talent, she would struggle to break the Wind Barrier by 18 with normal practice—though it might be smoother afterwards. But now, she can achieve Wind-Rising Realm by age 16 at most."
Li Fengyun said: "If that's the case, then continue withholding the stipend."
"...She only has an allowance of 9 taels of silver a month now. Withholding more would mean asking her to pay a fee every month."
"Can we charge that?"
"Of course not! Think before you speak!" Lu Xin was practically grinding her teeth.
"Then try other methods?"
"These years, I've used nearly all available methods: expelling her from the Inner Sect, using peers' remarks to provoke her, having instructors be extra strict, cutting her stipend. Now, the only thing left is to arrange a marriage for her and then call off the engagement—this is sarcasm."
"Oh, that's indeed been tough for you."
"So don't even think about being idle. You're up next to help. I believe we must have Qingming move out of Shen Garden. She's too dependent on that courtyard. Years ago, a solitary and quiet environment was beneficial for her cultivation, but now it's doing more harm than good. Recently, she's started walking a crooked path. So I think it's necessary to move her to the Li Family Mansion for strict supervision."
Li Fengyun asked: "Wasn't it said to be demolished?"
"That was me sending Li Ping to scare Qingming. Did you take it seriously?! If that courtyard is truly demolished, what will others say about me—a failure who wouldn't even spare Shen Yue'e's left-behind yard!?"
"Then what should be done?"
Lu Xin rubbed her temples tiredly. The storm-like True Essence within her focused on her brain, cooling her anger.
"The situation is like this: I used the excuse of eviction to scare Li Qingming, but unexpectedly, the little girl became defiant and decided to resist to the end, even if it meant taking a path of no return. Of course, I didn't think it through thoroughly, but proceeding with forced eviction is indeed not advisable to bring her back."
Li Fengyun said, "Then what should we do?"
"If I remember correctly, that courtyard is your personal property."
"It is mine and Yue'e's personal property."
"After Shen Yue'e passed away, it's your personal property alone, only managed by the family for appropriate purposes. But ultimately, it's your courtyard. Therefore, I need to collect rent from Qingming in your name."
"Rent?"
"She disobeys family arrangements, wanting to occupy a courtyard alone as a junior and live in isolation. Naturally, there should be a price to pay. And according to the size of Shen Garden, it's fair and reasonable to charge five thousand silver per month. This way, even if Li Qingming is dissatisfied, she can't say a word. By the way, did Shen Yue'e leave anything there in that courtyard?"
Li Fengyun looked up and thought for a while but didn't respond for some time.
Lu Xin looked from the side but surprisingly did not rush him because she knew what Li Fengyun was contemplating at this moment.
And during such times, it was when he couldn't tolerate being interrupted the most.
After a long time, Li Fengyun lowered his head and said, "Nothing of value."
"That's good, next I need you to..."
Li Fengyun stood up abruptly: "Let Uncle Hong handle the rent collection matter. My seal and everything are kept by him. I have something else to do now."
After Li Fengyun left, a solidly built elder slowly emerged from the shadows in the hall, bowing to Lu Xin: "Old servant Li Hong pays respects to Madam."
Li Hong, the head steward of the Li Family Mansion, had been looking after Li Fengyun since his childhood, taking care of his living and cultivating needs. When Li Fengyun took over the position of patriarch from the previous generation, Li Hong became the head steward of the Li Family Mansion.
And with Li Fengyun wholly focused on cultivation, without any distraction, Li Hong was virtually the first person of real power in the Li Family Mansion. So even though Li Hong never overstepped his servant duties, even Lu Xin would respectfully call him Uncle Hong when facing him.
"Uncle Hong, you heard what just happened."
Li Hong said, "Yes, I'll handle the matters well. Madam's intentions are indeed admirable, but, forgive my honesty, over the years ma'am's aggressive behavior has been a topic of discussion."
Lu Xin sneered: "There will always be ignorant folks gossiping; I don't care about temporary bad reviews! When Li Qingming achieves remarkable success in the future, people will naturally understand my years of painstaking efforts and realize that I, Lu Xin, am not only broadminded but also far-sighted, not inferior to Shen Yue'e in any way!"
After a pause, Lu Xin continued: "Besides, even if I forced myself to pamper that girl, would people say good things about me? They'd only say I am shameless, that I have no standing in Li Fengyun's heart, even to the point of humbling myself for the daughter of a love rival!"
Li Hong said, "But Miss Qingming will hate you deeply."
Lu Xin laughed disdainfully, "So what? I don't need her to like me, and besides, I truly dislike her. Hmph, at her young age, she's already a spitting image of her mother. Look at those eyebrows, and that mouth, simply... hmph."
Li Hong said, "Madam thinks Miss Qingming is unattractive?"
"Attractive! That's why she's annoying!"
——
Meanwhile, after reading the love letters left by her parents, Li Qingming was more determined than ever to protect her home.
But rationality told her that with her strength alone, or even with that peculiar White Sword, she could not possibly resist Lu Xin's tyranny.
After all, Lu Xin represents the Li Family, and as one of the Seven Great Noble Families, even though it has declined in recent years, its power is still as formidable and unstoppable as a giant beast.
Forget about those elders with Mountain-Overturning Realm cultivation, even among the servant class, there are some with unfathomable strength... Forcing the eviction of Shen Garden was an unreasonable move by Lu Xin, and she could endure it for a while. But ultimately, a defiant Outer Sect disciple living alone in Shen Garden is also against family rules, and who knows how Lu Xin might exploit this issue.
"So, Wang Jiu, I need you to help me quickly improve my cultivation. As long as I can break the Wind Barrier and become a Wind-Rising Cultivator, I will somewhat have a say in the family. If I can return to the Inner Sect and become the Inner Sect Chief, I can designate my residence, and the monthly stipend can increase a hundredfold."
"What's the level of the Inner Sect Chief?"
On this question, Li Qingming showed considerable dread: "The chief of my generation is my second uncle's only daughter, Li Wanqing. That one is downright abnormal, not only with innate divine power but also with first-class talent and perception, progressing particularly fast in cultivation. She broke the Wind Barrier at just nine years old... Luckily, she left the Li Family Mansion before I entered the Inner Sect, going to cultivate with a close friend of my second uncle. Otherwise, it would have been hard for me to secure the Inner Sect Chief position for a few years. After I encountered the Wind Barrier bottleneck and left the Inner Sect, the chief position should have been taken over by my third uncle's child, Li Xinyu, who is much weaker, now just at the Cloud Surge Entry-level."
"Oh, mere Cloud Surge Entry, that's easy. I have a Secret Training Method that can help you break through two levels to achieve Cloud Surge Realm within a month, and with your Immovable Tyrant Body, opponents below the mid-stage of Cloud Surge are no problem."
Li Qingming's eyes lit up: "There's such a Secret Training Method? You really hide your talents, quickly tell me how to train!"
"First, eat everything in this pot..."
"Wang Jiu, I'm going to kill you!"