Evening of June 10, 2017
That evening.
In the Li Family Mansion, Lu Xin sat alone in the tea room, a cup of fragrant tea before her, the steam rising like a living entity, imparting a refreshing aroma throughout the room. However, the delicate-faced girl tightly knit her elegant brows together, as the torrential and fiery True Essence within her seeped out from her fair skin, raising the temperature of the entire room and destroying the tranquil atmosphere, revealing her current turbulent state of mind.
At this moment, no one could help dispel or relieve her distress. Her husband, Li Fengyun, had been lost in thought ever since using the Heaven-Shocking Twin Swords earlier in the day, evidently inspired by new ideas in swordsmanship. During such times, he was entirely focused on his cultivation, completely forgetting his own wife. After many years together, Lu Xin had grown accustomed to it.
And her foolish son… He completely inherited his father's dedication to cultivation, spending every day either practicing martial arts or training. Sometimes, he didn't speak a word for two or three days, turning into a silent gourd.
While she was sulking, suddenly the maid announced, "Madam, Madam Zhao is here."
Lu Xin brightened up, "Oh? Sister Zhao Yan is here? Please, let her in."
Among those in the Li Family Mansion, Lu Xin was closest to Zhao Yan, the wife of the third family's patriarch, Li Kongcheng. Both hailed from the Seven Great Noble Families and focused on supporting their husbands and educating their children after marriage. They had much in common, and over the years had become as close as sisters—Zhao Yan being the elder.
A moment later, a tall and graceful woman entered the tea room, bringing with her an aromatic warmth. Lu Xin's fiery mood extinguished instantly, and a smile blossomed on her exquisite face. She stood up to fetch some tea leaves; for such a valued guest, Lu Xin always served the tea herself.
"Sister, what brings you here?"
"I came to see you," Zhao Yan said as she lifted a delicate box of snacks. "And I brought you your favorite treats."
"Ah, osmanthus cakes?"
"And lotus root balls, too." Zhao Yan smiled as she opened the food box, setting out the homemade snacks one by one—rose pastries, sweet steamed curd, chrysanthemum crisps—quickly filling up the tea table.
"So many!"
"I know you were feeling down today, so I made a bit extra," Zhao Yan said as she closed the food box with a smile, "Go ahead, eat."
Lu Xin sighed, "Sister, you're always so considerate."
"We're family, no need for formalities. So, what's troubling you again?"
Lu Xin said, "It's about Qingming again."
Zhao Yan asked curiously, "What's wrong with Qingming? In past years, you were worried about her lack of progress in cultivation. But this year, I heard she broke through the Wind Barrier and even mastered the Celestial Flying Sword, earning much praise from the Outer Sect..."
Lu Xin said frankly, "It seems like she resents Fengyun and me."
"What happened?"
Lu Xin recounted the day's events and sighed with furrowed brows afterward, "Qingming has always been independent and stubborn since she was a child. I thought by putting some pressure on her, it would encourage her to strive harder. Who knew that, although she worked hard, she took a wrong path. It's frustrating, thinking she's the heir of the Li Family, yet..."
Hearing this, Zhao Yan pondered, handing Lu Xin an osmanthus cake. Lu Xin instinctively took it, nibbling on it while watching Zhao Yan, waiting for her response.
"Sister, you did make a mistake in this matter. Although your intentions were good, you applied too much force; too much is as bad as too little. Qingming is still just a child. You can't expect her to meet adult standards, to understand your painstaking efforts while focusing solely on her cultivation without deviating. That's asking too much."
As she spoke, Zhao Yan gently stroked Lu Xin's hair and handed her a rose pastry, "Here, have some."
"Okay." Lu Xin took the pastry, nibbling on it thoughtfully about Zhao Yan's advice, before furrowing her brows again and mumbling, "Then what should I do now? My initial plan was to find the villain guiding her cultivation, or simply destroy her Secret Technique Manual..."
Zhao Yan quickly cautioned, "That would only worsen the situation, making her hate you more and alienating her from the family. In educating a child, you need to apply both kindness and strictness. While the demands on her cultivation need to be firm, daily warmth and affection are equally indispensable."
"Warmth? For Shen Yue'e's daughter?" Lu Xin shook her head vigorously, "Absolutely not, it's a matter of principle!" Saying this, she bit fiercely into a beef tongue pastry and chewed hard.
Zhao Yan chuckled but said nothing more, just continued to stroke Lu Xin's hair. Once Lu Xin swallowed the pastry with a sip of tea, Zhao Yan gently advised, "Even if you're unwilling to force yourself to be a kind mother, at the very least in terms of food, clothing, and living, you can show the generosity expected of the main wife."
Lu Xin said, "Sister, you're suggesting giving her silver taels, spirit stones, and other resources? But what use does a little child have for so much money? After she broke through the Wind Barrier, I increased her monthly stipend, and the Outer Sect resources were tilted in her favor. Giving her even more silver taels and spirit stones would only lead to indulgence. For a cultivator, indulging during the most crucial phase of hard work and progress would lead to nothing but failure, and besides, Qingming's talent isn't considered exceptional..."
Zhao Yan said, "Right now, it's about making amends for the excessive strictness of the past few years, so as harsh as you were before, now you should be as generous. The specific level is for you and the head of the family to decide. Here, have another piece..."
Lu Xin finally began to understand, "Sister, I hope it's not just me being overly sensitive… but I keep feeling like you're treating me like a small animal, feeding me?"
Zhao Yan just shook her head with a smile, "No such thing, you're overthinking it. Hey, you haven't touched the turnip cake; don't be picky." As she spoke, Zhao Yan stroked Lu Xin's head again.
"..."
——
After seeing Zhao Yan off, Lu Xin called her husband to discuss the matter of Li Qingming.
A moment later, Li Fengyun came quickly, but his eyes were slightly closed, as if he was lost in thought.
Lu Xin didn't mind, just smiled, got up to make tea for her husband, waiting for him to recover from his distraction.
The head of the Li Family had been habitually absent-minded for years, becoming quite adept at it. Once he set a destination before zoning out, his brain could automatically navigate, find paths, cross obstacles, with great precision. He could even complete simple tasks like shopping, eating, delivering packages, which could be very convenient if used properly.
By the time the tea had cooled a bit, Li Fengyun exhaled long and came back to his senses. He focused his attention back on his wife, and the next moment, he surprisingly asked, "Xin'Er, why do you seem to have gained weight?"
Lu Xin immediately blushed: "Nonsense, how could I have gained weight!?"
Li Fengyun's eyes shone slightly: "You really have, your waist is thicker than it was this morning..."
"Don't say that!" Lu Xin immediately sent a blast of Golden Crow Sword Qi, which was, as expected, absorbed into nothingness by Li Fengyun's Protective True Essence.
"Sister Zhao Yan came over this afternoon and brought a lot of snacks... Anyway, back to the main topic, regarding Qingming, Sister Zhao Yan suggested we use silver taels, spirit stones, and other items to make up for the neglect Qingming suffered over the past few years..." Lu Xin briefly explained the afternoon tea gathering and continued, "Sister Zhao Yan said the specifics are up to us to decide, so I thought we should discuss how to compensate her, and by how much, to win that little girl's heart back."
Li Fengyun frowned slightly upon hearing this: "To make up for the past neglect with spirit stones and silver taels?"
Lu Xin snorted and turned her head away: "Are you trying to say that these external things are not as important as genuine feelings? Hmph, don't even think about it, it's a matter of principle! Helping her succeed is one thing, being kind and friendly is another!"
"No, I'm just considering how many spirit stones and silver taels it would take to change Qingming's feelings. This involves very complex calculations, with some coefficients hard to determine."
Lu Xin snorted again: "What's there to calculate, just give her ten thousand spirit stones."
"Not appropriate, not appropriate. After making a mistake, besides compensating with actual benefits, what's more important is to show sincerity in making amends. Blindly compensating with a fixed amount can seem perfunctory, whereas a precise calculation can demonstrate sincerity better."
Lu Xin asked in surprise: "Who told you this?"
Li Fengyun opened his mouth, looked at his wife's face, but didn't speak for a long while.
"... Fine, with that look, I can tell who it was. Ah, no wonder after our argument back then, you sent me that strange apology letter, with more than four thousand spirit stone coupons!"
Li Fengyun said: "Yes, and then you reconciled with me, proving that Yue'e's method was not wrong."
"Wrong, my foot! If I hadn't... forget it, anyway, so you're saying we need to meticulously calculate Li Qingming's losses, and then precisely compensate her, right?"
Lu Xin seemed a bit unhappy but began to calculate seriously: "Starting with the monthly stipend, over the years I've deducted a total of 3200 silver taels and 50 spirit stones..."
Li Fengyun interjected: "Incorrect, incorrect."
Lu Xin said unhappily: "What's wrong?! Every penny of the stipend I deducted, I remember clearly."
"You should include the interest too."
"..."
A moment later, Lu Xin recalculated, "Recalculating based on the average interest rates of the Cyan Cloud City banks, it's about... 12440 silver taels and 190 spirit stones. Is that about it?"
Li Fengyun added: "Additionally, there are the mental damages for being expelled from the Inner Sect, and the mental damages from being overburdened with requirements in the Outer Sect."
Lu Xin asked: "How do we quantify those?"
Li Fengyun furrowed his brows: "I haven't thought that through yet, but perhaps we could consider it from another angle. If when Qingming was expelled from the Inner Sect, she unexpectedly received some wealth, what amount would have been enough to compensate for the psychological blow at the time?"
Lu Xin angrily said: "Isn't that still immeasurable? What a lousy idea, you can't calculate it at all!"
"Yeah, immeasurable. How to calculate?" Li Fengyun's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, murmuring incessantly. Suddenly, his brows stretched out as if enlightened, and he said joyfully, "I have a good idea! It can immediately solve all the problems at hand, Xin'Er, hold on a second."
He then stood still in place, and a moment later, a flying sword shot out of the window.
Lu Xin looked puzzled beside him: "What are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm writing to Qingming."
"What!?"
Li Fengyun said proudly: "I just thought, for compensation matters, it's naturally most convenient and efficient to ask the person directly, so I wrote to Qingming, asking how much money she would need to forgive us."
With a clatter, the brush in Lu Xin's hand fell to the ground.
"You, you fool, are you eager for your daughter to sever ties with you sooner?"