The carriage rocked gently as it moved, but Mingyue stayed quiet and listened.
"Don't worry, sir, it is not internal strife," Jian Feng said from outside the carriage.
"Sometimes we just have greedy people who bite the hand that feeds them. We can still provide you with accommodation."
"Can you tell me what the family is grieving about?" Zan Lu asked in a calm tone.
"Maybe we have something suitable for the occasion that we can offer."
"You jest, sir.
Unless you have an artifact that can recover a scattered soul, you cannot do anything," Jian Feng replied.
"This is no big secret, so I can tell you. My sister's daughter, my niece, had an accident in the secret realm."
He started to explain the situation in a low voice as the carriage moved along.
Inside the carriage, Mingyue sat still and watched the flowing lines of information in front of her.
***
Name: Jian Feng Xueqi ...
[The target is ashamed, sad, angry, and pained.]
[Has hostile intentions.]
***
Why does he feel angry and sad? Mingyue wondered.
I was sure he hated me.
[Queen, he still has hostile intentions.]
"He is probably thinking of bringing us someplace else and hiding it from the patriarch," Mingyue replied in her mind.
"That still counts as hostile intention. I know his personality."
Although I thought he would be happy with my demise, she added in her thoughts.
Memories from her childhood surfaced. Her father had always been cold.
Her mother had always been busy cultivating.
The people who interacted with her the most were her little brother and her uncle's family.
But those interactions had never been good for her.
Her little brother always pranked her and argued with her.
Her uncle constantly complained and told her that nothing she did was ever good enough.
Mingyue had always believed he was jealous of her talent. Now it seemed that was not the case.
There was no way her uncle could trick Vesa.
Zan Lu received another instruction through their mental link. He frowned for a moment, but he still spoke.
"I heard a rumor," he said casually. "So it is Mingyue from the Blue Lotus Sect.
A lot of people say she has a bad personality and only thinks about herself.
She even rejected the marriage alliance, making the family suffer a huge loss."
Across from him, Jian Feng clenched his fist, but he forced a smile.
"No, sir, that is just a rumor," Jian Feng said. "It is just some people becoming impatient because of their greed."
***
Name: Jian Feng Xueqi ...
[The target's anger is rising.]
***
"So that is wrong?" Zan Lu asked.
"Yes," Jian Feng said. "The family broke off the marriage alliance after a discussion among ourselves.
It is not Mingyue's fault. If anything, it is that useless bastard's fault."
"Useless bastard?" Zan Lu repeated.
"I apologize, I misspoke," Jian Feng said quickly. "Let us talk more in the inn.
I am sure you are tired from the journey."
"Inn?" Zan Lu asked. "I thought you would show us the way to your family home."
"The inn is a better place to rest, sir," Jian Feng said. "The situation at my place is tense now.
But do not worry, I will convey everything we talk about to the patriarch."
The carriage rolled through the city and soon stopped at a large inn.
Mingyue now sat in the VIP eating area on the second floor. Zan Lu stood silently behind her like a guard.
Jian Feng sat opposite her. He wanted to ask who she was, but he did not dare to open his mouth.
He still remembered the pressure that had come from inside the carriage earlier.
Mingyue looked at her uncle and felt conflicted. She still could not accept that this man might be sad about her fate.
Family love? Such a thing did not exist in the Xueqi family.
She took out a photo from her storage ring. It was her own image from the secret realm.
She placed it on the table.
"She is still alive and in my hands now," Mingyue said in a cold tone. "What will you do for her?"
The rest of the Xueqi family members still had no idea Mingyue had arrived in the city.
Jian Feng had ordered the guards to keep quiet, so no one would report it.
Since there had been no large qi fluctuations, no one noticed anything.
When Jian Feng saw the photo, his expression changed at once. He believed her instantly.
In his mind, there was no reason for this mysterious woman to lie to him about Mingyue.
______________________________
Name: Jian Feng Xueqi ...
[Hostile intention disappears.]
[The target is filled with hope.]
***
"But how... the tablet clearly showed..." Jian Feng's voice cracked. He stopped and shook his head.
It did not matter to him how it had happened as long as Mingyue survived.
He suddenly stood up from his chair. Then he dropped to his knees and put his head on the floor.
Mingyue no longer found any of this amusing. Instead, she felt anger rise in her chest.
She wanted to raise her voice and ask him why he had treated her like that in the past.
She wanted to question him about all those years. But she knew this was not the right time.
First, she needed answers.
What artifact had been stolen? What did he mean by a dog that bites the hand that feeds it helping them?
Why had he treated her that way if he really cared?
[The target is resigned to his fate.]
Mingyue's heart clenched, but she kept her expression cold.
"I will do anything as long as you do not hurt my family," Jian Feng said from the floor.
"Your family?" Mingyue asked. "Who do you mean by that, the whole Xueqi family?"
"My wife, my son's family, Mingyue, and her little brother," Jian Feng said. "As for the rest, I do not care.
All of them are heartless."
"Heartless?" Mingyue asked. "Even your own sister?
Is she not Mingyue's mother?"
Jian Feng assumed the woman in front of him knew these details from Mingyue herself, so he was not surprised.
"Sister? I used to dote on her," he said.
"But she is crazy now. She will do anything for cultivation.
She would even sell her own daughter, and the patriarch does not care at all."
Mingyue wanted to ask him to explain everything from the beginning.
However, seeing him kneeling on the floor like that made her chest feel tight.
"Sit back at the table," she said.
Jian Feng did not dare to hesitate. He quickly returned to his chair and sat down.
"Explain in detail what you mean by that," Mingyue said.
Jian Feng sighed and began to speak.
"You should have heard everything from Mingyue, right?" he said. "You know her mother is suffering from poison.
She used to be the brightest talent in our family. But after some incident outside, she was poisoned."