Chapter 33: Sending Melons and Fruits

Previously, resources were not provided; now that Qin Bi has married Rong Juan, they are no longer needed.

To be precise, it is not that Qin Bi does not need them, but rather that what the Rong Prince's Mansion can provide, the Qin Yan Marquis's Prefecture cannot offer. Although the Qin Yan Marquis's Prefecture still has some foundation, it depends on who one compares it with.

Compared to hereditary titles like the Marquis's Prefecture and the Rong Prince's Mansion, the gap is obvious.

"Bring whatever in the mansion is presentable for your daughter-in-law to send to Qin Bi." Old Marquis Qin Yan was also open-minded: "In the future, the resources of the Marquis's Prefecture meant for the younger generation should also include a share for Qin Bi."

Marquis Qin Yan agreed, and Qin Di and the others all left.

Returning to the courtyard of the eldest branch, Marquis Qin Yan went to tell his wife: "Include a share for Qin He as well; prepare one for Qin Bi. The Marquis's Prefecture, Xue Prince's Mansion, and Rong Prince's Mansion rise and fall together."

After learning that Qin Bi had contributed significantly during this trial, Marquis Qin Yan's wife sighed gloomily: "What a situation. If Qin Bi and Qin He had a good relationship, it would not be difficult for our Marquis's Prefecture to advance further. But now, it seems the water is not being leveled evenly."

Marquis Qin Yan frowned: "Qin He would not be so petty."

Marquis Qin Yan's wife, Lady Su, nodded, rose to make arrangements. There was nothing else worth sending; the Marquis's Prefecture could not produce spiritual elixirs, spirit crystals, or spiritual plants, as the Old Marquis, Marquis Qin Yan, and Qin Tan already consumed a great deal each month.

After distributing some to the younger generation, the storehouse resources were scarce.

The output from the fertile fields was acceptable. When Qin He's child was born in winter, they consumed two auspicious cloud fortune values, followed by a snowfall, and this year the farm produced some melons and fruits.

The farm had just delivered two carts of fresh melons and fruits. Marquis Qin Yan's wife selected two portions, sending one each to Qin He and Qin Bi. Both were young ladies of the mansion, so it would not do to favor one over the other.

The Marquis's Prefecture heir, Qin Yan, accompanied Qin Di to the Spiritual Plant Street to sell the monster meat they did not eat.

Seeing a monster whose flesh was acceptable, Qin Yan said, "Fourth Uncle, I will keep this one. Is it alright if I settle with silver? I have few spirit stones left; I need to keep them for cultivation."

"Fine." Qin Di did not refuse the silver; it would be wrong for him to give away the monsters his daughter gave him and then hand them over to others.

Besides, within the Marquis's Prefecture, this heir was wealthier than his own father, Marquis Qin Yan. Qin He's shops gave Qin Yan a share; Qin He had initially curried favor with Qin Yan to gain a foothold in the mansion.

Qin Yan had his own network among the princes and nobles, and within two days, he helped Qin Di sell the monsters at a high price.

With this, Qin Di's hands were much more comfortable. He cultivated in the study whenever free, or went to Old Marquis Qin Yan's courtyard for guidance, each time bringing stewed monster meat, which made Old Marquis Qin Yan happy.

The seasonal melons and fruits from the Qin Yan Marquis's Prefecture arrived at the Rong Prince's Mansion. Qin Bi held Rong Yang and took a look: there were watermelons, green melons, peaches, yellow apricots, muskmelons, and various vegetables.

The melons and fruits looked excellent. Qin Bi chuckled; do not be deceived by the appearance of the fruits. The Great Yan State is hot, so the watermelons and fruits grown there should be very sweet, but the soil is compacted!

Even if not compacted, most of the land is sandy, requiring massive amounts of river water for irrigation.

Unfortunately, the Great Yan State has little rainfall.

The crops suffer from drought and grow poorly. Some have good appearance and high sweetness, but most are misshapen. One part of a melon might be sweet while another is sour; in short, they are not tasty.

Qin Bi picked out a watermelon and told the maid, "Take it up and wash it."

After the watermelon was washed, Qin Bi placed the child in a basket. The little one squirmed, unwilling to lie down.

"I will cut the melon for you to eat." Qin Bi coaxed the child, cut open the melon. The flesh was sandy, looking delicious. Qin Bi smiled, cut a small piece of the best part, returned, picked up the child, and fed him.

The little one had a very precious palate; only when it tasted good did he eat happily.

Rong Juan returned from court, learned that Rong Yang's maternal grandparents had sent melons and fruits, went to take a look, and sneered. Compared to the produce from his own fields, it was inferior.

Thinking of his fertile fields, the next day, Rong Juan chose a time when the sun was not too fierce, carried Rong Yang, took spiritual fruits and spiritual food, boarded a carriage, left the city gate, and headed straight for the fertile fields outside Jingcheng.

The little one, accustomed to sitting in carriages all day at court, took a short nap.

Qin Bi thought Rong Juan had taken the child to court. When they returned in the mid-afternoon, Qin Bi checked the time and felt something was wrong: "Where did you go? Did you not attend court?"

"Went to see the fertile fields bestowed upon me by the Emperor." Rong Juan handed the child to Qin Bi.

Qin Bi: "..."

Qin Bi had worried Rong Yang might be listless, but the child was actually very happy.

"Ya~" Rong Yang mimicked his mother.

"What ya?" Qin Bi poked him: "Did you have fun?"

The little one just babbled. Qin Bi asked Rong Juan, learned he had been fed egg custard, and planned to play a while before dinner. Forget about the spiritual vegetables and spiritual rice from the palace; the Great Yan Emperor would not let them mooch meals anymore.

During the two days Qin Bi went to the small space in the monster realm for trial, the child was restless, so Rong Juan carried him into the palace to find food.

The Great Yan Emperor had a good temper; he actually managed to provide spiritual rice and spiritual vegetables for two days. Even after Qin Bi returned, they ate and took away, angering the Emperor to the point he ignored Rong Juan and the boy.

Whether they entered the palace or not, the Great Yan Emperor would not invite them anymore.

With a child, Qin Bi could no longer avoid getting involved in the affairs of the Prince's Mansion.

After some thought, while coaxing Rong Yang, Qin Bi turned to Rong Juan and said, "How about I give a few of the sweet potato spiritual foods I dug up to the Emperor? The palace has imperial princes and princesses. Since Rong Yang has eaten spiritual rice and spiritual vegetables, the princes and princesses cannot have them. Giving a few sweet potato spiritual foods means we are not eating for free."

Rong Juan's handsome face showed no expression. Qin Bi merely mentioned it; whether to give it or not was up to her.

The next day, Rong Juan carried Rong Yang to morning court. Besides the usual small food box, he brought an extra bag of sweet potato spiritual foods. Qin Bi saw it contained at most twenty, weighing around ten-plus jin.

She had dug up two thousand jin.

Qin Bi was stunned; she almost did not recognize the killing god, Prince Rong.

It was no longer strange for Rong Juan to carry a child to court; blowing his mustache and glaring had no effect. Today, the civil and military officials noticed Prince Rong had brought an extra bag.

The Minister of Revenue was startled, thinking this lord had come to the palace to pack things up.

Looking again, the bag was not empty; he must have brought something. Minister Su sighed in relief.

After court dispersed, He Yan remained in the front court. Rong Juan carried the child and followed the Great Yan Emperor away. When they reached the Imperial Garden, the Great Yan Emperor sat down to cool off in the heat, and a eunuch served cooling tea.

The little eunuch held the bag. Rong Juan said, "This is from Rong Yang to the Emperor."

"What?" The Great Yan Emperor was curious: "Show it to me quickly."

Rong Yang was too young to surely send anything; it must have been prepared by Rong Juan.

The little eunuch bowed and approached the Great Yan Emperor. The Chief Eunuch took the bag and opened it.

The Great Yan Emperor leaned in to look: "Spiritual food?!?!"

He picked one up, examined it, and confirmed it was indeed spiritual food.

The Great Yan Emperor rubbed his hands happily: "Good, very good."