Are you really trying to cultivate immortality? Something feels off.

Nie Qingyi stared at the man before her for a long while before speaking: "Even if you didn't hand the people over to the Blood Moon Hall, some people were indeed injured as a result. I know you held back in the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave, preventing damage to Xiaoyun's root, but it's a fact that my daughter was seriously injured because of you. Tomorrow I will punish you according to the family rules. Do you accept the punishment?"

"I admit it, I admit it, sister," Shen Yuan said gently. "Your injuries are severe. Don't use your spiritual power recently. I will find the best pharmacist. You must listen to me on this matter."

"I've made it through all these years, and with the Nascent Soul stage keeping me alive," Nie Qingyi leaned back in the nanmu chair, the phoenix mark on her forehead blazing, her expression indifferent, "I'm not going to die anyway."

Shen Yuan leaned against her legs, obediently lowering his head, revealing only his long, thick eyelashes and the tip of his nose; his skin was pale. "Sister, I really miss you so much..."

Nie Qingyi's expression softened gradually, and her slender hand touched his cheek.

"Master," a maid whispered from outside the door, "the young lady has arrived."

Nie Qingyi paused, withdrew her finger, and said coldly, "What is it?"

"The young lady cooked noodles herself," the maid said cautiously, "asking if you were hungry."

Shen Yuan frowned: "My wife has already dined with me, why should she come here to fawn over me?"

"Enough," Nie Qingyi said coldly. "Get out. She must have something to say to me."

"Ayi," Shen Yuan frowned slightly, "she has no respect for her elders and dared to turn her knife against you today. How can I feel at ease letting you be alone with her?"

Nie Qingyi's expression remained unchanged: "It's alright."

"But if I leave, who will come tonight...?"

"I told you to leave," Nie Qingyi frowned, "What, does my word no longer carry any weight with you?"

Shen Yuan opened his mouth: "No, sister, I..."

"If you've forgotten the rules, then get out of here as soon as possible," she said with a hint of annoyance in her phoenix eyes. "I don't need a rebellious husband."

Shen Yuan was so frightened that his whole body trembled slightly. Even though he was very dissatisfied, he could only grit his teeth and retreat.

As he left, he gave the people outside a cold glare.

Nie Zhao: ?

Who has angered this charming husband again?

The maid quietly opened the door.

Nie Zhao carried the noodles inside.

What did Xie Weixing say again?

Cook a bowl of noodles and put the noodles in.

Nie Zhao put it down, but since she had never served anyone before, her movements were a little stiff.

Then I sat down to the side.

Nie Zhao glanced around and saw that there were no seats next to his mother, so he settled for a seat on the side.

They said nothing.

Nie Qingyi glanced at the steaming bowl of noodles and said coldly, "Next time, just say what you need to say. Don't scare people in the kitchen."

Who scared you?

Nie Zhao was about to retort when she remembered what Xie Weixing had said.

She didn't say anything, just sat there and started crying.

So she fell silent and began to brew tears.

After trying to hold back her tears for a while, she instead bared her teeth and looked rather ferocious.

She repeated it slowly in her mind.

She came to ask for the truth, to resolve the rift with her mother, to reconcile with her mother... though things never really got better.

Nie Qingyi watched as she remained silent, sitting at the same level as herself with a cold frown.

He turned his head, scrutinized her for a moment, and then spoke indifferently: "What, you want to rebel?"

Nie Zhao: ?

What did you say?

Why is this different from the script Xie Xiaoshui gave her?

Nie Zhao pointed to the bowl of soup noodles on the table, his voice cold: "Eat it, it'll get soggy soon."

It's as if they've poisoned someone and are urging them to die.

She didn't poison him, but Xie Xiaoshui discovered that he had put the Wenling Pill in the noodle soup in the evening.

After confirming that the medicine had no other effects besides making people tell the truth and causing drowsiness, she personally put it into her mother's bowl.

Perhaps only in this way can she get the answer she wants.

Nie Qingyi glanced at her, and after a long while, picked up the chopsticks beside her and took a few strands of noodles.

She paused for a moment when she brought it to her lips.

Nie Zhao was unusually nervous, but still said coldly, "What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?"

Nie Qingyi paused for a moment, then ate the food without changing her expression.

She took a few bites, then put down her chopsticks and picked up a silk cloth to wipe her mouth.

Nie Zhao pursed her lips: "I'm not very good at cooking, so please make do with this."

"It really tastes awful," Nie Qingyi said without looking up. "Don't make it again."

"You—" Nie Zhao clenched his fist.

Her master used to say that she spoke too directly and harshly, but she didn't realize it.

Now, I've finally gotten my comeuppance from my mother.

"What's wrong?" Nie Qingyi coldly raised her eyes. "Just telling the truth."

Nie Zhao held her breath and said, "Is it that whatever I do, you think it's bad, you think it's wrong?"

Nie Qingyi looked at her calmly, and after a long while, she said, "No."

Nie Zhao's fingertips trembled slightly, somewhat surprised.

The Spirit-Inquiring Pill worked.

"Then why did you send me to the Feng Hua Sect?" Nie Zhao asked. "I was so young back then, did you really hate me?"

"No," Nie Qingyi looked at her coldly, "After giving birth to Xiaoyun, my health deteriorated day by day, and I could no longer support the Nie family. I had long planned to go into seclusion."

"If you're going into seclusion, then go into seclusion. Why do you have to send me away?" Nie Zhao frowned, seemingly puzzled. "What have I done to you in the manor? I'm still so young. Have you ever thought about how scared I am, how homesick I am?"

She stopped, uttering two trembling words: "...I miss you."

"I'm not in the manor, and there's no one to teach you, so you must go to the Feng Hua Sect to become stronger," Nie Qingyi said. "A Yuan hates you, so he certainly won't treat you well. I'm not in the manor, and growing up in such an environment is not a good thing. It's better to send you away. When I was young, I was on good terms with Feng Yu. It was he who used medicine on me to save you and Xiao Yun. I know he's a good person. My junior brother is upright and honest, and my junior sister is protective and straightforward. They certainly won't mistreat you."

“They,” Nie Qingyi’s eyelashes trembled, “are indeed more suitable than me to raise children.”

Nie Zhao stared blankly at her: "Where's my sister? Why didn't you send her away with you?"

"She's too young. She's always been a spoiled child, hiding behind you and me. She can't endure the hardships you're going through," Nie Qingyi said. "But she's Shen Yuan's child, so she can stay in the manor."

Nie Zhao's eyes welled up with tears: "...When we were little, you said that you sent me to the sect because I was naughty and didn't take my cultivation seriously. You were lying to me, weren't you?"

"Yes. You're too young. Can you understand these facts? In your eyes, Shen Yuan is your father. How can you accept being told that your father doesn't love you and hates you?"

"I never cared about him," Nie Zhao clenched her fist and lightly slammed it on the table with a dull thud. "Why didn't you say these things before? Why did you lie to me for so many years? Why did you make me a child who has no mother's love?"

Nie Qingyi remained silent.

A tear rolled down Nie Zhao's cheek as she desperately tried to calm herself. She asked again, "Since you would think of me, and you would think of A-Yun, and you almost risked your life to give birth to us, then why don't you love us?"