Chapter 3: Small Changes

Wei Yunqing cried out as she protested, “I want to go outside! Take me out right now!”

“All right, miss, don’t cry. I’ll take you out this instant,” soothed her maid, glancing at another maid to signal her to fetch Concubine Du.

By the time Wei Yunqing was carried to the entrance of Zhuohua Pavilion, Wei Yunxi was still lying on the floor of her mother’s bedroom.

At that moment, Wei Yunxi’s consciousness was enveloped in a blinding white mist; she could see nothing. She tried to move to the side but found her feet rooted to the spot, as if she were trapped in viscous glue, unable to move freely.

Outside Zhuohua Pavilion, Wei Yunqing’s cries grew even more frantic. Ignoring the servants’ attempts to stop her, she insisted on entering the late Madam’s chambers, for though she was young, she sensed something within the room calling to her.

Wei Yunxi had not yet awakened and didn’t notice the golden hairpin in her hand—with its embedded ruby—absorb the blood from its tip. For a brief moment, the body of the hairpin shimmered with light before returning to its ordinary state.

By now, Wei Yunqing had been carried to the main hall’s door. Chunyu and Xiama stood with grim faces, barring their way.

The maid holding Wei Yunqing snapped harshly, “How dare you stop my young mistress!”

Chunyu replied coolly, “I am a maid of Zhuohua Pavilion. The Madam’s body is still warm, and this place has not yet changed hands. You have no right to order us around.”

“You—” The maid’s face flushed with anger, at a loss for words.

Wei Yunqing grew increasingly agitated, the sense of losing something precious intensifying. She patted the maid’s arm, signaling Jinxiu to set her down. Taking advantage of her small stature and her status as mistress, and knowing Chunyu and Xiama did not dare to forcibly restrain her, she pushed open the door to the chamber.

Just before the door swung open, Wei Yunxi’s eyes suddenly snapped wide. Hearing Wei Yunqing’s wailing, she quickly scrambled up from the floor, leapt onto her mother’s white jade bed, gripped the hairpin tightly, and pinched her thigh hard enough to fill her eyes with tears, adopting a pitiful expression.

This was the sight that greeted Wei Yunqing as she entered. Her gaze fixed upon the hairpin in Wei Yunxi’s hand. Without hesitation, and under the astonished eyes of the three maids, she dashed forward and snatched the hairpin away.

Wei Yunxi was momentarily stunned, then immediately burst into tears, jumping off the bed and crying out, “Give me back my mother’s hairpin!”

She lunged for the hairpin, and the two little girls tumbled into a scuffle. Fortunately, neither had begun cultivation; at most, it was the roughhousing of children.

Chunyu exchanged a look with Xiama, and the two hurried forward to intervene, pulling the girls apart. Jinxiu, unwilling for her young mistress to suffer any injustice, rushed over to help as well.

The room descended into chaos. By the time Wei Lingyue and Feng Jiaqing arrived together, this was the scene that met their eyes. Wei Lingyue’s face darkened, while a trace of mockery flickered in Feng Jiaqing’s gaze.

With a wave of his hand, Wei Lingyue sent a gentle force that separated his two daughters. His expression grim, he demanded, “What is going on here? Where have your manners gone?”

Wei Yunxi, seeing the handsome young man in purple robes standing beside her unworthy father, guessed this must be her uncle. She immediately began to wail, “Father, Sister Yunqing snatched my mother’s hairpin! I wouldn’t give it to her, so she hit me.”

She pointed to the scratch on her face, clutching the hairpin tightly with the other hand, crying as if she’d suffered the greatest wrong in the world.

And she truly felt wronged—she’d done nothing, yet had inexplicably transmigrated into this place, and worse, become a side character fated to be a mere bringer of fortune, destined to die miserably, her spiritual root extracted, and her golden core dug out. Even thinking of it made her shudder.

She had just managed to comfort herself and retrieve the opportunity that rightfully belonged to her, when Wei Yunqing appeared, immediately trying to snatch the hairpin from her grasp. How could she tolerate that? She simply couldn’t!

Even if the hairpin had been ordinary, she would not yield. One concession would only lead to another. Especially with her uncle’s support, she was determined to escalate the matter.

During the scuffle, she had been sly, pinching only Wei Yunqing’s soft flesh. Even if Wei Yunqing scratched her face, she was unconcerned. After all, neither of them had cultivated yet, and unless a limb was broken, a single pill would heal any minor wound.

Seeing Wei Yunxi in tears, Wei Yunqing began to cry as well. Her whole body ached, but compared to Wei Yunxi, with her disheveled hair and scratch marks on her face, her own clothes were merely rumpled.

Feng Jiaqing’s face was cold as he said with displeasure, “Brother Wei, all of Jiayun’s belongings were left to Yunxi. Your concubine isn’t even the Madam yet, and already she covets what my sister left for Yunxi? Her behavior is disgraceful!”

Wei Lingyue’s face grew even darker. The hairpin his younger daughter Yunxi clutched was indeed Feng Jiayun’s, the one she often wore. Since the two girls had fought over it in front of outsiders, he could hardly show favoritism.

He said sternly to Jinxiu, “Take your young mistress back. Tell Concubine Du she is to be confined to her own courtyard and not to show her face unless necessary. Am I lacking in possessions that I must covet hers?”

Jinxiu, frightened by the glare Wei Lingyue shot her, nearly collapsed. She hurriedly scooped up the sobbing Wei Yunqing and fled the main hall.

At this, Feng Jiaqing stepped forward, lifting the hiccuping, tearful Wei Yunxi into his arms, comforting her softly, “Don’t cry, Yunxi. The hairpin isn’t lost; it’s right here in your hand.”

Wei Yunxi knew when to stop. Now that Wei Yunqing had been taken away, her sobs diminished. With her uncle’s gentle comfort, and the hurt in her heart vented, she gradually quieted down. When Feng Jiaqing asked her a question, she raised her tear-streaked face and said, “She won’t come to take what my mother left me again, will she?”

“No, she won’t. Today, Uncle will organize all your mother’s things for you, and you can keep them safe yourself, all right?”

“All right.” Finally, a smile broke through the tears on Wei Yunxi’s little face. Wei Lingyue, watching from the side, felt a complicated pang in his chest, though pride flickered in his heart as well. The most valuable things Feng Jiayun left behind were already in his storage pouch; the rest were of little consequence.

So, with great magnanimity he said, “Brother Feng, I haven’t touched any of Yun’er’s things. Since you’re here, take Yunxi and sort through what Yun’er left. Give them all to Yunxi for safekeeping—it’ll be a comfort to her.”

Feng Jiaqing nodded. “Very well. Yunxi seems upset; I’d like to take her to the Feng residence for a few days. Would you permit it, Brother Wei?”

Wei Lingyue was not keen to let Yunxi grow too close to the Feng family, but after witnessing Yunqing’s attempt to steal the hairpin, he could hardly refuse outright. He cleared his throat and said, “Yunxi, would you like to stay with your uncle’s family for a couple of days?”

In her heart, Wei Yunxi sneered at him, but on her face she appeared timid, asking, “Father, may I go?”

The question was tossed back to him, but the longing in her eyes was obvious to all.