Chapter 196

Marquis Qin Yan's wife nodded in approval, signaling Qin He to continue the summoning.

"You've worked hard," Marquis Qin Yan's wife said.

Qin He smiled, glanced at the sky, and said, "It isn't windy yet. Once the wind picks up, I'll summon then; with wind, my summoning ability will be more reliable."

Upon hearing this, several ladies in the Hou Fu looked up at the sky; there was neither wind nor rain.

He Shi and Zhu Shi went under the trees to cool off; after all, today's plan was to summon rain, which could be done at any time. If Qin He wanted to wait for the wind, then let her wait.

"When will Sister Qin Bi summon?" Qin Yan asked the guard.

The guard replied, "When I returned, she was just preparing to summon."

Qin He heard this and spoke up: "Preparing to summon."

Everyone stepped aside to avoid hindering Qin He's summoning. Qin He checked her summoning artifact while observing the sky for any sign of wind; she would summon once the wind rose. Yet Qin He dawdled and never actually began.

Cui Shi sat at the set table, took a sip of tea, and hid the confusion in her eyes.

Qin He was in no hurry, and neither was Qin Bi. As the Princess Consort, she simply set up tables under the corridor and beneath the trees, prepared tea and melon seeds, and everyone discussed how to summon while eating and drinking.

Qin Yan felt he could hardly sit still. Today was the day for summoning; how could one summon rain by just sitting there?

Rong He Shizi stepped out of the room and saw Luo Bi acting as if she had forgotten to summon. He couldn't fathom what this woman was up to. Qin Bi's character was to keep her word; it was unlike her to promise to summon and then treat it so lightly.

Rong He Shizi doted on his wife, not just in words. He sent someone to the palace to request pastries made by the Imperial Kitchen.

The Great Yan Emperor was summoning rain with his ministers and had no time to attend to the Imperial Kitchen. Eunuch Fu dispatched a young eunuch to the Imperial Kitchen to give instructions, while the Rong Wang Fu guards waited for the pastries to be made and taken away.

At that moment, the dark clouds dispersed. The Great Yan Emperor's summoning produced only a light rain, and that rain fell solely within the Imperial Palace; the entire Jingcheng received barely a few drops, and it stopped as soon as one left the palace grounds.

"Your Majesty," the Prime Minister said, "it has stopped raining again."

The Great Yan Emperor put away his summoning artifact and sighed, "Alas, the Great Yan desperately needs rain!"

Remembering something, the Great Yan Emperor said, "I heard that Princess Consort Rong and Princess Consort Xue are both summoning rain today. Two days ago, when Princess Consort Rong summoned rain, there was also wind. At that time, Fu Bao consumed so much spiritual energy from the summoning that she is still ill. Could this weather have been summoned?!"

The Prime Minister was surprised: "Princess Consort Rong summoned two days ago as well?"

"Ah, I heard she did," the Great Yan Emperor stammered, pretending ignorance.

The Prime Minister and the Minister of War exchanged glances. This meant she had summoned. Both summonings coincided with skies shrouded in black clouds, a coincidence that seemed somewhat suspicious, though it was not certain who had summoned the great wind.

Even the immortal sects' summonings could not create such a grand spectacle; how could someone with low cultivation base summon clouds that covered the sky and earth?

On those two days with such strong winds, the Prime Minister and the six Ministers hoped it was Princess Consort Rong or Fu Bao who summoned them, but the cultivation world has suppression of power; even if a person with low cultivation base exhausted all their spiritual energy, it would be impossible to achieve this.

Moreover, seeing that Fu Bao fell ill from exhausting her spiritual energy proved it was a consequence of insufficient cultivation.

Princess Consort Rong is not even a disciple of an immortal sect; summoning actual rainy weather is unrealistic.

"Perhaps..." the Minister of War suggested to the Great Yan Emperor, "we could send someone to investigate?"

Princess Consort Xue's location is easy to check; she is at the Hou Fu farmlands, so just sending someone to take a look is enough. The difficult part is Rong Wang Fu; given Rong He Shizi's temper, you must weigh carefully before sending someone to his residence to inquire.

"That doesn't seem right," the Great Yan Emperor said, clasping his chubby hands.

The ruler and his ministers exchanged glances. Remembering that the Rong Wang Fu guards were waiting for pastries from the Imperial Kitchen, the Great Yan Emperor's eyes lit up, and the Prime Minister and the six Ministers also revealed smiles of deep cunning.

When the guard returned with the pastries, the young prince Yan Xun followed him.

Upon arriving at Rong Wang Fu, Rong He Shizi merely glanced at the young prince.

"Brother Rong Yang," the young prince ran to find Rong Yang, "the pastries from our Imperial Kitchen are delicious."

The young prince shared a piece of the exquisite small cake he brought with Rong Yang. Rong Yang thanked him, accepted it, and ate it. The adults did not interfere with the children's interaction; two plates of freshly baked pastries were placed on every table.

The advisors, all weak scholars, took the pastries to taste, nodding slightly.

Qin Bi also tasted a piece of pastry. Qin Yan, unable to hold back any longer, asked Qin Bi, "When will you summon rain?"

Qin Bi checked the time; it was almost noon. "In the afternoon," she said.

Qin Yan nodded to indicate he understood, activated the teleportation array, and went to the Hou Fu farmlands. Qin He was summoning under the sun, holding her summoning artifact; the air was stiflingly hot, and the farmlands were especially scorching.

Qin He's sweat poured down like rain, and her face was sunburned red.

"Qin He, stop summoning; you are consuming too much spiritual energy," Qin Yan stopped her.

Qin He immediately ceased the summoning. Large beads of sweat dripped down, and her hair clung to her face. "Big Cousin, you've come. Alas, my spiritual energy is insufficient. My heart is with the people of the Great Yan, yet I only managed to summon a light rain."

Indeed, Qin He had not worked in vain. She had summoned a light rain that morning; the area was small, and the rain stopped in moments, but since Qin He had made the effort, she naturally had to mention it.

"Alas," Qin Yan also sighed, "there are few rain clouds over the Great Yan; it is normal that we cannot summon rain."

As they spoke, Qin Yan supported Qin He and helped her sit on a bench under a tree. Everyone fanned themselves, oppressed by the heat from both sky and earth, frowning one by one. Several ladies could no longer drink their tea; the more they drank, the thirstier they became.

After resting for a while, Qin He's complexion improved slightly. She spoke with a serious face: "What is going on with Sister Qin Bi? Didn't she say she would summon? I summoned a light rain, yet she hasn't summoned even a single wisp of wind."

Zhu Shi spoke up: "Summoning at home should have no effect."

"Summoning rain is a matter of great importance; how can she treat it like a child's game?" Qin He accused with righteous indignation.

Qin Yan could only say, "She hasn't summoned yet."

Several ladies: "..."

Qin He: "..."

"She hasn't summoned all morning?" the Princess Consort asked, blinking her eyes.

The gust of wind in the morning probably didn't count. Qin Yan nodded: "She hasn't summoned."

Qin He's head rang with a boom. She stood up in anger and said, "What does she mean? We agreed to summon together today. I exerted all my strength to summon rain for the Hou Fu, yet she intends to reap the benefits without sowing."

Several ladies glanced sideways, observing Qin He; she was too agitated.

Qin Yan remained silent for a moment, then said, "The light rain you summoned is yours. Qin Bi never said she summoned it, so where is the talk of reaping benefits without sowing? Qin Bi hasn't summoned yet; your summonings are separate."

Qin He was stunned, then angrily said, "She really doesn't take summoning seriously. We agreed to summon."

"Just manage yourself," Qin Yan stood up and said with hidden meaning, "Why do you always get involved with Qin Bi?"

Qin Yan said a word to the several ladies, activated the teleportation array, and returned to Rong Wang Fu.