Chapter 413

Cui Shi stopped caring and let Qin He go her own way.

Qin He and her legitimate sister went to the main house's courtyard together; the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She was merely sick, not dead, yet they treated her so carelessly. Qin He was about to explode with rage.

Who could Qin He turn to? If not Qin Yan, the Marquis's wife, then the Heir of the Qin family.

This small matter did not require the Qin Yan Marquis Manor to intervene; the Marquis's wife and the Qin Heir could resolve it. Not distributing spirit vegetables to Qin He was no small matter to her, yet Qin He understood she could not approach Qin Yan, her eldest uncle.

"Qin He." The Heir's wife, accompanied by maids and nannies, met Qin He in the courtyard: "Have you come to find me?"

Within the Marquis Manor, Qin He and the Heir's wife had a good relationship.

When Qin He came to the main house, the Heir's wife assumed she had come to find her, thinking they would open a shop together and grow even closer. Now that Qin He was the Heir's wife of the Xue Wang Fu, her status had risen, so naturally, the Heir's wife's relationship with Qin He grew even better.

Qin He took a deep breath: "I am looking for my eldest aunt."

The Heir's wife examined Qin He's expression: "What is wrong? Who made you angry?"

Qin He suppressed her anger: "I am here to ask about the distribution of spirit vegetables in the Marquis Manor."

The Heir's wife understood immediately. She knew that no spirit vegetables had been distributed to the second house; she had even reminded the Heir about it, yet Qin Yan still had not given any spirit vegetables to the second house or to Qin He.

See, Qin He was dissatisfied. The Heir's wife pondered this as she entered the main hall with Qin He.

The wife of Qin Yan, the Marquis, was instructing the nannies beside her. Winter had arrived, yet snow had not fallen. The winter charcoal and other supplies for the Marquis Manor needed to be distributed; as the Marquis's wife, she had to arrange everything in every detail.

Seeing Qin He arrive with the Heir's wife, the wife of Qin Yan, the Marquis, was surprised and scolded: "Qin He, were you not ill? Your aunts and I intended to visit you at the Prince's residence, but we have not yet gone. Are you well enough to go out now? The cold is harsh on people just as winter begins. Quickly brew a pot of hot tea and bring it to warm your hands."

A maid went to brew fresh tea.

Qin He kept a stiff face, unable to force a single smile: "Eldest Aunt, where is my eldest cousin? I have come to ask about the distribution of spirit vegetables. Every house received spirit vegetables; why is the second house the only one excluded?"

Qin He asked on behalf of the second house, but also for herself: Why was there no portion of spirit vegetables for her?

Was her status insufficient, or was her face not important enough?

Although she, Qin He, was a concubine-born daughter, she had earned much silver for the Marquis Manor and could be said to have worked hard and achieved great merit. It was one thing that Qin Yan and the others did not give her the spirit ducks they caught, since nothing was distributed to anyone; even the five houses of the Marquis Manor received none.

But this time was different. Every house received spirit vegetables. Even a single spirit vegetable is still a spirit vegetable; it is not about its value. Who has not eaten spirit vegetables? Qin He did not care about them at all. The issue was that only the second house was excluded from the spirit vegetables, which was far too humiliating.

A maid brought the tea. The wife of Qin Yan, the Marquis, lifted her cup: "This..."

"Mother." The Heir's wife felt this handling was improper and said: "Are there any spirit vegetables left? It does not matter if they were forgotten. Since Qin He has come, let us give her a sample now."

Who cared about that? Qin He secretly rolled her eyes. What she wanted was an explanation.

The wife of Qin Yan, the Marquis, glanced lightly at the Heir's wife. The Heir's wife lowered her head and pondered: Had she said something wrong? No, Qin He was not an outsider. It was just a matter of forgetting to give Qin He a few spirit vegetables.

Qin He could earn silver; the closer they got, the better. There was no harm in being friendly with Qin He!

"I did not come for the spirit vegetables." Qin He spoke with righteous indignation: "I am a disciple of the Immortal Sect, and the Xue Wang Fu does not lack spirit vegetables. I came only to know why the second house was not given spirit vegetables. Every time I brought something back to the Marquis Manor, everyone received a share. Now, when it comes to distributing spirit vegetables, only our second house is excluded. How hurtful that is."

At this point, Qin He issued a threat: "If this is how it is handled, then in the future when I bring things back, should I only distribute them to the few families I am close to, and give nothing to the others?"

You have always done exactly that! The wife of Qin Yan, the Marquis, said: "Qin He, your eldest cousin is in the front courtyard. Go there and resolve this with him. In the past when items were distributed, I hardly interfered; it was you young people who divided them. Go ask your eldest cousin about the situation. Many people are in the front courtyard; all the houses are gathered together to discuss. What belongs to you will certainly not be missing."

Qin He did not drink the hot tea; she stood up and took her leave.

The Heir's wife hesitated for a moment, then followed Qin He to the front courtyard.

"My Lady." A nanny asked tentatively: "Will the Heir cause any trouble?"

The wife of Qin Yan, the Marquis, held her tea bowl, used the lid to skim the tea leaves on the surface, blew gently, took a small sip, and said: "No rush. I will go take a look in a moment."

This matter had room for argument. The wife of Qin Yan, the Marquis, planned to go to the front courtyard later.

Qin Yan and several brothers of the Marquis Manor were in the front courtyard hall, discussing opening up wasteland in the Barbarian Lands. Qin Tang, Qin Bi, and others had gone to open up the land and achieved considerable profits. Everyone was tempted, and several young ladies of the Marquis Manor were eager to try as well.

If Qin Bi could grow spirit vegetables, and they were all young ladies of the Marquis Manor, how could they be any worse?

They had heard that the reason so many spirit vegetables grew on the Heir Rong's fief this time, with its vast farmlands, was because a cluster of the Marquis Manor's fortune had moved there. Just thinking about it was exciting. Perhaps, if they opened up wasteland and farmed, they too could attract the Marquis Manor's fortune.

The fallen Qin Yan Marquis Manor had produced two Heir's wives of Prince's residences. As long as one was a concubine-born daughter, who would not have such thoughts? Perhaps the concubine-born children of the Marquis Manor had some great destiny, and only Qin Bi and Qin He happened to catch it.

If good fortune arrived, perhaps they too could marry high.

The fact that the Marquis Manor had produced two concubine-born Heir's wives of Prince's residences was a huge encouragement to the other concubine-born daughters of the Marquis Manor. Morale soared, and one by one, they secretly dreamed of becoming Heir's wives.

Even becoming the mistress of a noble and prominent family was possible.

Going even higher, one could become a Consort.

Only legitimate daughters dared to dream of becoming a Consort. Concubine-born daughters could become Heir's wives; no one had decreed that this fortune belonged solely to the concubine-born daughters of the Qin Yan Marquis Manor. Perhaps legitimate daughters also possessed fortune.

The more they thought about it, the more possible it seemed. One by one, their hearts thrilled, though they showed nothing on their faces.

When Qin He and her legitimate sister arrived, everyone turned to look.

"Qin He." Sisters who were close waved to Qin He: "When did you arrive?"

Qin Jue asked with concern: "Is your illness cured?"

"I just came from my eldest aunt." Qin He answered the Marquis Manor sisters' questions; there was no need to heed her legitimate brother's words. She looked so haggard; how could she possibly be well? Qin He said to Qin Yan: "Eldest Cousin, I have come to ask about the distribution of spirit vegetables in the manor. Every house received spirit vegetables; why is there no portion for the second house?"

A foolish question. Qin Yan looked at Qin He. Was it necessary to ask such a thing?

Qin Yan said: "Not everyone receives spirit vegetables."

Only those with high cultivation bases received spirit vegetables. Those who went to the fief to harvest spirit vegetables received the most. The others received less; the old Qin Yan, the Marquis, and Qin Yan, the Marquis, received the most, while the fifth house received only two spicy peppers.

Many people did not receive spirit vegetables, yet Qin He had rushed over in a hurry.

"Shouldn't my father and my legitimate brother receive spirit vegetables?" Qin He demanded: "Shouldn't I receive some?"