After finishing the matters in Meng Wanqing’s courtyard, Xiao Jingyuan inexplicably detoured to Meng Wantang’s courtyard. He had intended only to confirm whether she was truly asleep as the guards had reported. Yet when he approached the window—
He vaguely sensed an extremely faint fluctuation of spiritual energy. Though it vanished in an instant, it precisely caught his attention.
His gaze darkened as it fell upon the mother and son sleeping in each other’s arms on the bed. In the flickering candlelight, Meng Wantang’s profile appeared gentle, her brows carrying maternal softness. Yet he could not shake the feeling that beneath that calm exterior lay a hidden storm.
He watched for a long time—so long that even the guard beside him held his breath.
Still, he detected no anomaly.
But the more normal everything seemed, the heavier his doubts grew. That trace of spiritual energy was not something an ordinary person could possess. If it was not her, then who?
Inside the room, Meng Wantang clearly sensed that the gaze had not left.
A flicker of impatience crossed her heart.
Instead of handling the deaths of maids and the theft of property, this man lingered outside her window in the middle of the night.
If that wasn’t madness, what was?
She grumbled inwardly.
Outwardly, she maintained the appearance of deep sleep.
She even deliberately snuggled closer to her son, letting out a faint murmur in her sleep, her posture natural and flawless.
After a while, the footsteps outside finally receded, and that unsettling gaze disappeared with them.
Only then did Meng Wantang’s tense body slowly relax, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
Xiao Jingyuan’s vigilance far exceeded her expectations. It seemed tonight’s foundation establishment would require even greater caution.
She sank her consciousness back into her space, picking up a blank talisman paper between her fingers and channeling spiritual power into the brush tip.
Cinnabar swiftly traced intricate runes across the paper. The strokes flowed like dragons and serpents.
Soon, the talisman emitted a faint golden glow.
It was an invisibility talisman.
With it, she could ensure she would not be disturbed during her breakthrough.
She then walked to the alchemy furnace.
Taking several spiritual herbs harvested from the space’s spiritual field, she precisely placed them into the furnace. Drawing on spiritual energy, she ignited the fire. Pale blue flames licked the base of the furnace.
The fragrance of medicine soon filled the space.
This was a pill prepared to stabilize her realm after foundation establishment.
With everything ready, Meng Wantang sat cross-legged beside the spiritual herbs within the space and closed her eyes.
Dense spiritual energy surged into her body through her nose and mouth.
As it traveled along her meridians and touched the barrier of foundation establishment, a piercing pain struck instantly.
It felt as though countless fine needles were stabbing her meridians at once.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. She clenched her teeth, refusing to retreat even half a step.
The spiritual energy repeatedly battered the barrier. Each impact brought tearing agony.
Yet her gaze only grew firmer.
She had to become stronger—strong enough to shatter the shackles of this mortal world, strong enough to protect her child.
Stronger still, so that one day she could disregard the laws of heaven and trample beneath her feet those who had once humiliated her.
Outside, the night deepened as Xiao Jingyuan returned to his study.
His fingers rubbed the lingering sensation of that trace of spiritual energy, his brows tightly furrowed.
He felt Meng Wantang carried too many secrets. Within those seemingly gentle eyes lay a resilience and sharpness he could not comprehend.
Inside the room, Meng Wantang endured the excruciating pain of foundation establishment. With the accelerated flow of time within the space, she silently accumulated power capable of overturning everything.
Waiting only for the moment she would emerge from her cocoon as a butterfly.
Spiritual energy rampaged through her meridians. Each surge felt as though her bones and tendons were being torn apart.
The agony spread through every limb.
Cold sweat had long since soaked her temples.
Her back was drenched enough to wring water from her clothes. She bit her lower lip until the taste of blood filled her tongue.
Yet she refused to let out even the faintest sound.
Images flashed through her mind—her biased parents abandoning her in her previous life, her four elder brothers standing by coldly, Meng Wanqing trampling her without restraint.
Those heart-wrenching humiliations and pains were a thousand times worse than the tearing of her meridians now.
“What is this bit of pain…” she murmured inwardly, her fingernails digging deeply into her palms to preserve her last thread of clarity. “Pain without strength is the true living hell.”
After an unknown length of time, when the final surge of spiritual energy broke through the barrier—
A warm current instantly swept through her entire body. The earlier agony faded, replaced by unprecedented lightness and comfort.
She slowly opened her eyes.
A sharp glint flashed within them, her aura becoming restrained yet profound.
Foundation establishment—complete.
The next moment, however, she frowned.
Her body felt sticky and emitted a heavy foul odor.
These were impurities expelled during the breakthrough.
She immediately flashed into her space. With a thought, clear spiritual spring water gathered into a bath.
Removing her clothes, she stepped into the pool. Warm spring water enveloped her body, faintly infused with spiritual energy.
It washed away all filth and exhaustion.
Closing her eyes, she allowed the spring to nourish her newly strengthened meridians. Every pore relaxed; even her breathing became sweet and light.
When she finished bathing and changed into a simple, elegant dress before stepping out of the space, dawn’s pale light was already breaking outside the window.
The child in her arms happened to stir awake.
Rubbing his eyes, he softly called, “Mother.”
Meng Wantang immediately concealed her sharp aura, warmth filling her gaze.
She bent to lift him and kissed his cheek. “Awake? Let’s wash up and have breakfast.”
Just as they finished tidying up, a report came from outside the door.
“Miss, the Prince has arrived.”
Understanding flashed in Meng Wantang’s eyes. As she turned while holding her son, her face had already shifted into perfectly measured gentleness.
Sure enough, when the door opened, not only did Xiao Jingyuan enter, but behind him followed Meng Wanqing—dressed in splendid attire, though her face still bore exhaustion.
After losing her valuables and having two deaths in her courtyard last night, she was clearly unwilling to let it rest and had insisted on coming along to seek attention.
Xiao Jingyuan stepped inside, his gaze instinctively falling upon Meng Wantang.
For some reason, she seemed different today.
Though plainly dressed, she could not conceal the faint spiritual aura around her. The gentleness in her brows remained, yet deep in her eyes was an indescribable clarity—
Like a piece of jade once covered in dust now polished smooth.
He found it difficult to look away.
His brows relaxed almost imperceptibly.
Just as he was about to speak, Meng Wanqing stepped forward first, her voice deliberately aggrieved and choked with emotion.
“Your Highness, you still haven’t given me justice for last night! Not only were all my gold and silver jewels stolen, but those two maids died in my courtyard. If word spreads, others will think I mistreat my servants!”
As she spoke, her venomous gaze darted toward Meng Wantang, her implication unmistakable.
“Besides, those two maids were from Wantang’s courtyard. Why would they run to mine for no reason? And just happen to lose their lives there…”
Holding her son, Meng Wantang immediately showed a startled expression. Her face turned pale, tears quickly welling in her eyes as she interrupted in a trembling voice.
“Elder Sister, what do you mean? Are you suspecting me?”
She lowered her gaze slightly. Long lashes trembled with teardrops, making her appear fragile and pitiful.
“Last night I held my child and slept the entire time. I never even stepped out of the room. The guards in the residence can testify. As for you, Elder Sister—you manage the inner courtyard affairs. How could outsiders so easily enter your courtyard and cause deaths and theft…”