Daoyi didn't let her blood relatives bow too long. Deriving pleasure from such a meaningless act was too petty for her. Although such an act was something her senior brother might commit, Daoyi inwardly smiled at the thought.
Following the steward, Daoyi stepped through the gate first with Duke Qi, the duchess, the heir apparent, and Jiang Qingwa following behind her. Along the way, she didn't deliberately hide her Core Formation cultivation base, so the people around her could clearly differentiate her superior strength. None felt it clearer than Duke Qi. Having interacted with his father numerous times, he knew what a Core Formation Master's pressure felt like. But neither was Daoyi purposely pressuring them. It was just a small negotiation tactic so that Duke Qi wouldn't feel she was easy to trick.
From the years Daoyi spent in the Duke Qi Estate, her father had always been a distant figure, even towards his children with the duchess. Cold and calculating were where the words Daoyi would use to describe him, weighing everything on a scale and choosing the option with the greatest benefits. This was also one reason that Daoyi didn't ask her master or Tianyi for aid. A man such as him should realize what battles he should or should not pick.
Of course, there was an off chance that his pride would be wounded her, this unfilial daughter, and resist her demands. But even then, Daoyi wouldn't mind severing all relationships between them. She was family only in-name and blood. Even if her Core Formation Master grandfather appeared, she wouldn't be afraid.
Upon entering the main hall of the estate, Daoyi was given the seat of most importance. She didn't reject it. According to custom, the rank of a princess of the second rank was greater than a duke. Upon sitting down, she could see everyone except the duke below her, like a teacher in front of the class. She silently wondered where her concubine-born brother was but didn't put too much thought into it.
Daoyi looked on amusement at the duchess silently wringing her hands as if sitting below her was a huge humiliation. Since young, the duchess had always despised her and the concubines even if they were unwilling, seeing them as vixen who took Duke Qi's attention away from her. In other words, she was just a normal jealous woman. The only reason Duke Qi took a Qi Gathering Pupil like her as his main wife was due to the immense benefits brought by her maternal clan.
If the duchess's reaction was within Daoyi's prediction, then Jiang Qingwa was beyond her expectations. Gone was the proud -some might even call arrogant- miss of the duke's estate, and in her place was a defeated woman. The face was still that face, only slightly aged. But if you were to compare the current Jiang Qingwa to the one ten years ago, unless you looked closely, you wouldn't be able to identify them as the same person. The air around them was completely different, Daoyi thought she resembled Jiang Chunye before she nearly drowned.
Since young, Jiang Qingwa had always been praised as a genius. The future of the Jiang Clan, people called her. Even her brother from the same mother did not attract as much attention as her, being inferior to her in talent and appearance. So she placed even less attention on her concubine-born siblings. As long as her younger siblings did not aggravate her, she wouldn't do anything to them as it was below her stature to do so.
But everything changed from the moment Jiang Chunye publically defeated her during the banquet celebrating Sword Empress Xi's arrival. After that day, Jiang Qingwa challenged Jiang Chunye again, but the result was the same. Her second sister had thoroughly destroyed her confidence at the time, but never did she imagine her third sister would be the one dealing the finishing blow.
Jiang Qingwa hadn't thought much of it when Jiang Daoyi had been summoned to the palace. At most, she had derided that sure enough, a concubine's daughter was destined to be a concubine. Never in her wildest dreams did Jiang Qingwa imagine that Daoyi would be titled a princess of the second rank. But the final blow was the announcement that Daoyi had become the fabled immortal's disciple.
For what reason was she proud for so long? Her reputation as the capital's most outstanding young miss turned out to be nothing more than a joke. Her idiotic second sister turned out to be pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger. And her third sister, although she was a mortal that hadn't even cultivated, had been blessed with a Heavenly Spiritual Vein. All the pride she had accumulated in her life, all that confidence was worth shit!
Her self-confidence destroyed, Jiang Qingwa couldn't walk out of the shadow of her defeat under Jiang Chunye, especially after she left to join the Buzhou Immortal Sect. The fact that Jiang Chunye failed was a small comfort at best. If Jiang Chunye failed, didn't that mean she, Jiang Qingwa, was even less qualified?
Despite this, she hadn't given up just yet. Through her hard work and resources, she managed to raise her cultivation to the twelfth stage of the Qi Gathering Realm. But she failed her Foundation Establishment Heavenly Tribulation not once but twice. Had it not been for her mother and her clan, Jiang Qingwa would have died on both accounts, unable to recover. Even Jiang Qingwa's father, who had not treated her any differently after her defeat under Chunye's hands, began to neglect her.
From that day on, she began to lose hope and all motivation. Jiang Qingwa severed all her relationships external of the duke's estate, unable to face them after failing twice. She began to just wait, waiting for her father to marry her away just like Daoyi once had.
As for her elder brother, the sole male among Duke Qi's children, he didn't seem to have changed not much. Not too outstanding but not incompetent either. Slightly above average among the scions among the capital's famed families.
After making a round of observation, Daoyi ignored the duchess's hateful glare and glanced at her father. Naturally, she had come prepared before arriving. So she knew about the general happenings of the duke's estate. "Since I've left, I believe the duke's estate has been well?"
"Naturally," Duke Qi said, his tone impassive. "With the emperor's blessing, the duke's estate has been on the right track. Your grandfather is even preparing to undergo his Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation."
Daoyi inwardly raised an eye at that. She hadn't heard of this when she investigated the happenings of the duke estate. Of course, she just asked the servant given to her by the palace, so the information she received could be incomplete. She wasn't sure the emperor knew of her grandfather's upcoming Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation but thinking of the relationship between the two, the emperor most likely did.
Her grandfather, Jiang Ziya, had been a vagrant orphan who happened to wander into the Xi Dynasty. Thanks to the emperor's benevolence, he was given a chance to take the Imperial Examination. He began his career in officialdom from that moment on before eventually catching the emperor's eye due to his talent. Eventually, he reached the Core Formation Realm and was titled the first Duke Qi. Now he had passed the title to Daoyi's father, wholeheartedly focusing on cultivation.
"That's good. Grandfather has been pursuing his immortal path since before my birth. Now, he will finally be one step closer to achieving his dream." Daoyi said. She hadn't actually met this grandfather of hers but saying a few good words didn't cost her anything. Conversing a few moments longer, Daoyi stated her objective. "Lord Father, you should know why I am here. My mother was buried plainly without even a tombstone. I want to take her back with me to the Buzhou Immortal Sect along with her possession before she entered the duke's estate."
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"You sure have good schemes," The duchess said, finally finding a chance to lecture Daoyi. "Your har- mother was protected by us despite being crippled. She wore our clothes, ate our food, and used our money. And now you found a better backing. You want to take everything away after all we did for you and your mother? You're just a white-eye wolf."
Daoyi returned with a slight smile. What powerful words, reversing black and white. If a bystander were to hear of this, they would have thought that Daoyi and her mother were ungrateful after being served like royalty within the duke's estate. But Daoyi didn't need to speak out; someone else did for her.
"Enough." Duke Qi stated, his tone severe. The duchess flinched back as if in shock that the duke would reprimand her.
"Lord Husband, you raised your voice against me for the vixen's daughter?" Her eyes reddened from the harm done by the duke's words. "I toiled day and night to manage the estate, not to mention our long years of relationship as husband and wife, but even all that can't even compare to a dead woman's spawn?"
The duke looked coldly at her. "Today is not yesterday. Daoyi's position is no longer the same as before. Don't think I don't know the little tricks you used to deal with the estate's concubine. Even those little assassination plots of yours, I know."
The duchess reeled back as if she had been physically struck, looking at the duke in disbelief. "W-w-what is Lord Husband talking about? I don't understand."
The duke looked at her with the same impassive expression even as Jiang Qingwa looked at her usually dignified and noble mother in shock. "All the servants in the estate are my people. Did you really think a sheltered and pampered miss like you could hide anything from me? As long as you did not go overboard, I didn't mind turning a blind eye to your actions. Why did you think all your assassination attempts on the concubines and their children all failed?"
As the duchess's facial features became terrifying under the revelation from the duke, Daoyi looked at her father in a new light. It turned out everything the duchess was known to the duke. He even hinted that the reason she hadn't died from the duchess was due to his secret protection, what a crafty man.
But the duke didn't stop there and decided to directly rip off any delusions the duchess still had. "Daoyi's current status is something that your father-in-law can't even compare to, the less needed to be said about your clan. If she wanted to, she could have the whole Jiang Family buried because of you, and his majesty wouldn't lift a finger to stop it."
"Impossible, how could his majesty let a little brat like her uproot a family like the Jiang!?" The duchess retorted, not wanting to believe the duke's words.
"Hmpf, his majesty respects his sister, the Sword Empress Xi, the most. Compared to us, she is his backing and foundation. He can lose anything, just not his relationship with Sword Empress Xi. And between the two of us, the disciple of his sister and an officials family, who do you think his majesty would support?"
The duchess opened her mouth to speak but found that no sound came out. But the duke wasn't done just yet.
"And even without Sword Empress Xi or his majesty, Daoyi herself can deal with all of us at this moment. You're too weak, so you can't discern her Core Formation cultivation base. Not even father-in-law would be able to save you. Open your eyes and face reality!" The duchess totally collapsed upon hearing the duke's final words.
The duke then stood up and kneeled before Daoyi, shocking everyone present. "Princess Xian De, please forgive this subject's family. The duchess's spirit hasn't been well for the past few years due to worry. Do not mind her. Please find it in your heart to forgive her."
Daoyi's brother quickly kneeled beside Duke Qi after he opened his mouth. Jiang Qingwa was a bit slower but quickly also kneeled, hoping Daoyi wouldn't exterminate her mother. Daoyi waved her hand, motioning for them to stop. "Enough! What the duchess is like, I know very well. This little thing, I was already prepared for. As long as she behaves from now on, I won't press charges."
"Thank you, Princess Xian De, for your mercy." The duke, his son, and daughter said before standing up once more. But the tension was so thick that a knife could slice it. But at least the duchess no longer dared to speak, her face pale with fright, not even daring to look at Daoyi. To her, Duke Qi had always been invincible. Nothing was impossible. If he couldn't do anything, what could she do? Everything she had, her wealth, her honor was due to Duke Qi. Her maternal clan had long tied itself to the ship known as the Jiang Family. Her father was more like a branch family head of the Jiang Family at this point.
Duke Qi ordered the servant to bring what possession Daoyi's mother had when she was taken in. He tried to convince Daoyi to let her mother's remain rest in the estate, but upon seeing Daoyi's adamant attitude, he relented.
Her mother's possession came first, and she inspected all of them. But the one that caught her attention the most was the jade box. Upon opening it, she saw a jewel-like shard and an even more unique aura emanating from it. She was sure this was the fragment of the Xu Clan's Spectral Soul Rise Jewel. She had half expected the duke to switch the Artifact with a fake.
Next was an elaborate coffin where Daoyi's mother had been entombed in. Her mother had originally been buried in a plain coffin, but the duke ordered her body to be moved into a better coffin after Daoyi left for the Buzhou Immortal Sect in preparation for her return. Daoyi traced her hand across the coffin as if her sight could pierce through the coffin and see her mother's face. Her eyelashes trembled as she suppressed the turbulent emotions within. When Daoyi faced the duke once more, her eyes were dry and clear, without a hint of emotion.
"Since father has treated me well, then what a daughter of the Jiang family ought to do, I will still do." Saying this, Daoyi brought several chests and placed them on the floor. "In these boxes are Foundation Establishment and Core Formation Artifacts."
Hearing this, the hearts of the people in the room trembled. But Daoyi wasn't done yet as she brought out two boxes and handed the larger one to Duke Qi. "This box contains several Foundation Establishment and Core Formation Pills. Both Eldest Brother and Sister are in the twelfth stage of the Qi Gathering Realm. It will be of use to them. And the Core Formation Pill is for father. I asked Master; she said the pills of the Xi Dynasty cannot even compare to these. "
The duke's hand trembled for a moment as he received it. Although the imperial palace had Foundation Establishment Pill and often distributed them to the officials, the Core Formation Pills were rarely distributed. Only those acknowledged by the emperor would be blessed by one. Both of Daoyi's siblings, who were present, felt jubilation run up their spines, even Jiang Qingwa. Surely this was her final chance.
Daoyi then handed the smaller and more ornate box to the duke. "As for this box, this contains a Nascent Soul Pill. It seems that I did not prepare it for nothing, what a joyful happenstance."
If the Core Formation Pill made Duke Qi's hand tremble for a moment, his hands couldn't stop shaking as he received the box. The root of the Jiang Family's power was bound to Jiang Ziya, the previous Duke Qi. If he were to successfully ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm, then the Jiang Family would be second to none, rising about all four ducal families.
Daoyi left soon after. Since the Jiang Family was this understanding and gave Daoyi her mother's possession and coffin, she would give a few benefits when she could. She was still the duke's blood-related daughter in the end. She will just treat them as strangers who she would occasionally give some benefits from now on.
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"Father, I've done as you asked."
Duke Qi placed the ornate box in front of him towards his father, Jiang Ziya. Jiang Ziya appeared to be a middle-aged man with elegant features, long black hair, and a long beard. He took in the box and opened it. Jiang Ziya's eyes flashed with a pleasant surprise before closing it.
"Take it, use it for when you are ready to ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm."
Surprise flashed through Duke Qi's eyes, but he quickly calmed down. "Father, son thinks it would be best for you to use it. You are preparing to undertake the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation soon."
Jiang Ziya shook his head. "I'm unwilling to use external aid. The more external aid I use, the weaker my future potential will be. I didn't need pills to enter the Foundation Establishment Realm or the Core Formation Realm. I won't need pills to enter Nascent Soul Realm either!"
"Father is wise!" Duke Qi praised before he frowned. "Did we really have to give the Artifact to Daoyi? If used well..."
Jiang Ziya looked at Duke Qi with an amused expression and said. "Naive. If my guesses are correct, that shard isn't a fragment of an immortal artifact but something more. Keeping it in our hands will only invite disaster. Better leave it to more capable hands."
Duke Qi still felt regret but accepted it in the end. "But will Daoyi be able to identify it and protect it? What if news of this leaks and harms the Jiang Family?"
"It won't. Don't forget who stands behind that daughter of yours. It's none other than the legendary Sword Immortal Xi, the pubically acclaimed number one expert." Jiang Ziya sighed. "If you were able to develop feelings with Daoyi before all this... forget it, there is no use in regretting the past. You can leave."
"Understood, father." Bowing once more, Duke Qi left Jiang Ziya to his own thoughts.