Mingyue nodded, aware of the situation.
It was IceFlame poison, a venom that caused its victims to experience both burning and freezing pain simultaneously.
Her mother had been cultivating nonstop to suppress the poison for as long as Mingyue could remember.
However, this did nothing to cure her; the poison was merely suppressed, trapping her mother in a vicious cycle.
She had to continue cultivating and absorbing qi, but the qi didn't advance her realm.
It only suppressed the poison.
"A few months ago, the Hua family offered a 50,000-year-old ginseng.
As you know, natural treasures like that are very rare.
This ginseng could significantly boost someone's life force and possibly give a chance to cure the poison.
In return, they wanted the family to turn a blind eye to the competition between Mingyue and Linghua."
[The target's anger is intensifying, mixed with pain and helplessness.]
Mingyue felt as if her heart were being pierced.
She could easily guess the rest.
The patriarch thought that if Mingyue failed to survive, it would be due to her own weakness.
She knew how the patriarch thought—a sheltered flower could never outlast one that grew in the wild.
The family needed a trailblazer, someone who could open a new path, not a spoiled prodigy.
But what hurt Mingyue the most was that the cure was just one possibility, not even guaranteed.
Mingyue couldn't fathom her mother's heartlessness.
She even wondered if she was adopted, but then she remembered her little brother was treated the same.
At this point, Mingyue just wanted to leave and find a place to calm herself down, but she didn't want to arouse her uncle's suspicion.
"You seem to care a lot about Mingyue.
Didn't she hate you?"
Jian Feng wanted to ask about Mingyue's current situation but believed she mustn't be in great danger; otherwise, why would this woman come here?
"That's good, I hope she hates me.
She is a diamond, a brilliant genius, even better than her mother.
I hope she escapes and leaves this family to pursue her own happiness," Jian Feng said with a sad smile, his gaze fixed on the table, not daring to meet Mingyue's eyes.
If he had, he would have realized that despite her cold expression, Mingyue's breath was heavy, her chest heaving up and down.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her emotional turmoil.
Zan Lu, who had been standing guard all this time, could piece together the story to some extent.
'So this is what it's like inside a prominent family.
What a rotten family.'
He had always looked up to them, thinking how fortunate those born into such families were.
They possessed great talent, had no worries about money, and could easily embark on the path of a cultivator, but at what cost?
The family's cruelty made Zan Lu feel fortunate to be born a commoner.
What use is a long life or immortality if there's nothing to return to?
A million years of solitude versus a hundred years with his wife, Zan Lu could instantly answer without hesitation.
Even now, what motivated him most was how he could make his wife happy in the secret realm and how he could provide her with a better life by following Mingyue.
Overwhelmed by emotion, Jian Feng continued his story.
"Mingyue is like my own daughter to me.
She probably doesn't remember, but since she was born, I was the one taking care of her, and the same goes for Minghao.
I bet she has forgotten all about it."
Mingyue was still not fully convinced by Jian Feng's explanation.
She could barely think straight; if it weren't for the fact that she was acting, she would have already blown up.
'Why didn't he tell her anything?
Why didn't he warn her?' But she knew the answer to this; since the patriarch agreed, he probably did something about it.
As for the other family members, who would take the risk of fighting the patriarch for her?
She knew the answer: none.
"What about the artifact?
Jian Feng let out a dry laugh.
After my sister got the ginseng, the effect was even better than expected.
She didn't just get cured; she broke through to the Golden Core stage.
It's not the artifact that was stolen; she took her life tablet and left the family for good, moving elsewhere.
This made the patriarch angry, and he locked down the city.
He wants to find out every spy from different families or sects.
He's worried it's part of the Hua family's plan, and they will come to attack us since Qingying knows many secrets about our family."
'Mom left the family?' Mingyue couldn't believe it.
'Then what happened with Dad and Minghao?' she thought.
Before she could ask, Jian Feng had already provided the answer.
After selling her own daughter, she just left like that, implicating her son, too?
That woman is so heartless.
Luckily, the family was too busy now debating what to do next, so I brought Minghao to my house.
But their father wasn't that lucky; the patriarch killed him in a fit of anger."
"Zan Lu, go with him and do as planned," Mingyue said in a cold voice.
But deep inside, her emotions had already become a raging wave that could burst at any moment.
Jian Feng raised his eyebrows in confusion, as the woman hadn't gotten to any point yet.
What happened to Mingyue?
What did she want by coming here?
Zan Lu swiftly moved and escorted Jian Feng out.
In reality, he didn't even know what Mingyue had planned.
He only knew the lady wanted to be alone now.
On his own initiative, he then asked Jian Feng to show him around the city, hoping Mingyue would give him instructions before they were done.
Left alone in the room, Mingyue's gaze turned somber, her eyes losing focus as many memories surfaced in her mind.
"Poor child..." Feng Xue mumbled.
"I don't need your sympathy..." Mingyue said, her voice cracking.
She stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the twilight sky where the sun was setting.
Her beautiful amber eyes turned sharp as tears rolled down, painting her cheeks wet.