After lunch, Ling Luoyi heard Bai Jingzhi say, "Luò'er, Second Aunt has already distributed the servants' monthly stipends according to the amounts you set yesterday. Second Aunt also gave each of them an extra orange crystal coin. These are the leftovers, take them back with you first."
As Bai Jingzhi spoke, she returned the storage bag to Ling Luoyi.
"There are still leftovers?" Ling Luoyi asked, a little surprised.
"Yes," Bai Jingzhi replied. "Because the Ling family doesn't have many servants, and considering the amounts you specified yesterday plus the extra I gave, there are still quite a few orange crystal coins left from what you gave me."
Ling Luoyi gave a soft "Oh" and said, "Since there are quite a few left, Second Aunt, please keep them. They're of no use to me. Besides, Second Aunt, you still have to manage all the family's affairs, so you'll definitely need money. Please keep them. You might also need to buy more servants, as the manor might not be enough."
"This... alright. But Luò'er, remember to tell Second Aunt if you need them. Do you understand?"
Ling Luoyi smiled sweetly and obediently replied, "Second Aunt, I understand. I definitely won't be polite with Second Aunt when the time comes."
This made the three ladies burst into laughter.
"Second Aunt, Third Aunt, Fourth Aunt, Little Uncle, Luò'er is tired and will go back to her room to rest first."
"Go ahead," Bai Jingzhi said to the others, "You all go back and rest too. Cultivation isn't achieved overnight; you need to know how to rest."
"Yes."
The younger generation gradually dispersed.
After they left, Li Ziya asked, "Fifth Brother, why don't you let Luò'er take a look at your legs? Perhaps she has a way to heal them."
Ling Jin gave a wry smile and said, "No, Third Sister-in-law. I know my own legs. Luò'er has too many things to attend to; don't let her waste time on a cripple like me."
"Fifth Brother..."
Li Ziya wanted to say more, but Yao Yuxin stopped her.
Seeing Yao Yuxin shake her head at her, Li Ziya could only sigh and remain silent.
When will Fifth Brother's inner demons be resolved!
*
On the other side, on the way back to Qingyin Pavilion, Ling Luoyi and Ling Luochen walked side by side.
"How do you feel?" Ling Luoyi suddenly asked.
Ling Luochen knew what she was asking about. He raised his hands, and fiery red spiritual energy gathered in them, then he said, "I feel very good now. That feeling is gone too."
"When did it start?"
"The day the Yuan family head came and broke my legs, I felt a coldness in my dantian. I could no longer absorb spiritual energy from the outside, and the spiritual energy that was originally in my dantian was slowly disappearing."
"It seems my guess was correct," Ling Luoyi smiled.
Ling Luochen also smiled, "The Yuan family head probably thought that by destroying me, the Ling family would never rise again. But he didn't expect you to return, so his plan fell through."
"It's not strange for him to think that, after all, you were the strongest descendant of the Ling family's direct lineage. By destroying you, the Ling family would fall into chaos. At that time, it would be easy for them to annihilate the Ling family."
"But even if I were truly destroyed, the Ling family's direct lineage still has Second Brother, Third Brother, and others. The Ling family wouldn't fall into chaos."
"But they would think so. After all, they underestimated the Ling family's unity. People's perception of things is based on themselves; they assume others are the same as they are."
"Yes, after all, other families would do anything for the position of family head, even kill siblings or parents, and abandon their conscience. But the Ling family wouldn't," Ling Luochen suddenly changed the subject, "But Luò'er, is your return just a coincidence?"
Ling Luoyi's smile deepened, and she said faintly, "Does it matter?"
Ling Luochen smiled even more deeply and said, "Indeed, it doesn't matter, as long as you are Ling Luoyi."
Ling Luoyi's heart suddenly trembled, but her expression remained unchanged.
"Luò'er, you said you want the Ling family to rise. Have you thought about how to do it?"
"How to do it? Hmm, first, let's give the Ling family a healthy body."
Ling Luochen was stunned for a moment, then smiled. It seemed she understood his meaning, so he didn't need to say anything more.
Soon, the two arrived at Qingyin Pavilion. Ling Luochen asked Ling Luoyi to go in and then left to return to his own courtyard.
However, after Ling Luoyi went inside and walked around the courtyard, she went to Shuangxue Courtyard.
*
In Shuangxue Courtyard, Ling Luofu had been thinking about what Ling Luoyi had said earlier in the training grounds.
Elder Sister said that improving the Ling family's strength starts with me. What does that mean?
Just then, her personal maid, Qingqing, walked in and said, "Miss, Eldest Miss is here."
Ling Luofu only then came back to her senses and quickly said, "Elder Sister is here? Qingqing, quickly invite her in."
Qingqing brought Ling Luoyi in.
After Ling Luoyi sat down, she said to her, "You can go down first."
Qingqing was startled and looked at her young lady. Seeing her nod, she retreated, not forgetting to close the door as she left.
"Did you hear what I said in the training grounds today?"
Ling Luofu nodded lightly and whispered, "Yes."
"I want to know what you think."
"What do I think?" Ling Luofu looked at her, confused.
"I didn't come here to play riddles with you."
"Elder Sister! I..." Ling Luofu was a little flustered, afraid she would get angry.
Ling Luoyi was not angry and said calmly, "I know what you want to say. Don't worry about anything else, just tell me your truest thoughts."
"Elder Sister, I..."
Ling Luofu said "I" for a long time but still couldn't say it. Elder Sister was so busy now, and she couldn't help, so she could only try not to cause more trouble.
Ling Luoyi's temper was indeed not very good, and she interrupted, "Do you want to cultivate? Cultivate like others, to protect the family."
Ling Luofu looked at her in shock, speechless.
Could she cultivate too?
Ling Luoyi looked at her and said, "Actually, it's okay even if you don't cultivate. Your brothers and sisters will protect you anyway."
Ling Luofu suddenly shouted excitedly, "No! I want to cultivate, I always have! For so many years, I've thought about it every moment!! I want to cultivate, I want to cultivate with them, I don't want them to protect me anymore, I want to protect the family with them, protect my younger siblings! But I don't have spiritual roots, I can't cultivate."
Ling Luofu roared out her deepest thoughts, but in the end, she also spoke the fact she was unwilling to accept.
She had no spiritual roots and couldn't cultivate, so she could only be a burden to everyone, causing them to be ridiculed. Because of this, she didn't want to go out, not even to leave her room.
Even going to Liuyun Pavilion today was just to spend more time with Elder Sister.
Ling Luoyi looked at the person in front of her, from shock to excitement to calmness, and suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for her.
This was a place where strength was paramount. Without strength, there was no status. If she were a commoner, it would be fine, but she was born into a family that had cultivated spirits for generations, and she happened to be the only one in the family without spiritual roots.
"Fu'er, I said, don't worry about these things. Just tell me, do you want to cultivate?"
"I want to."
Seeing Ling Luofu's dazed look, Ling Luoyi smiled, then said very seriously, "But Fu'er, the path of cultivation is very arduous. Can you endure it?"
"But Elder Sister, do you think the future will be worse than my current situation?"
"That's true. Anyway, the future won't be worse than now." Ling Luoyi finished speaking and took out a small box, saying, "Take this and drink it for ten consecutive days. Don't drink anything else during these ten days. Don't worry, there will be a surprise."
"Elder Sister, what is this?" Ling Luofu took the item from Ling Luoyi's hand, opened it, and asked confusedly, "Tea leaves? What's the use of this?"
"Fu'er, listen to Elder Sister. Elder Sister won't disappoint you."