Chapter 33: Giving Fruits

In the past, resources weren't provided, but now that Qin Bi has married Rong Jun, they are no longer needed.

To be precise, it wasn't that Qin Bi didn't need them, but rather that the Marquis of Qin Yan's estate could not provide what the Prince Rong's manor could. Although the Marquis's estate still possessed some heritage, it depended on who they were being compared to.

The gap between a Marquis's estate and a hereditary princely manor like Prince Rong's was obvious.

"If there is anything worth presenting in the estate, have your wife send some to Qin Bi," the old Marquis of Qin Yan said, being magnanimous. "In the future, any resources meant for the younger generation of the estate should also include a share for Qin Bi."

The Marquis of Qin Yan agreed, and Qin Di and the others also departed.

Returning to the courtyard of the first branch, the Marquis of Qin Yan informed his wife: "Prepare a portion for Qin Bi as well, similar to what is given to Qin He. The prosperity of the Marquis's estate and the estates of Prince Xue and Prince Rong are interconnected."

After learning that Qin Bi had contributed significantly to her recent training, the Marchioness sighed in frustration: "What a mess. Ordinarily, if the relationship between Qin Bi and Qin He were good, it wouldn't be difficult for our estate to take another step forward. Looking at it now, the scales are not balanced."

The Marquis frowned: "Qin He wouldn't be so narrow-minded."

The Marchioness, Lady Su, nodded and rose to make the arrangements. There wasn't much else to give; spiritual pills, crystals, and spiritual plants were things the Marquis's estate could not afford to part with, as the old Marquis, the Marquis, and Qin Tan consumed a great deal every month.

If they distributed more to the younger generation, the warehouse resources would be depleted.

The produce from the fertile lands was decent. Since Qin He's child was born in winter, having swallowed two "Auspicious Cloud" blessings, the luck was high, bringing a snowfall. A portion of the fruits and vegetables from the manor had been harvested this year.

The manor had just sent two carts of fresh produce. The Marchioness selected two portions to send to Qin He and Qin Bi respectively; they were both grandnieces of the estate, so she could not favor one over the other.

The heir of the Marquis's estate, Qin Yan, followed Qin Di to the Spiritual Plant Street to sell the demon beast meat they wouldn't be eating.

Seeing a piece of meat with decent quality, Qin Yan said, "Fourth Uncle, I'll keep this one. I'll settle with you in silver, alright? I don't have many spirit stones on me; I need to save them for cultivation."

"That works." Qin Di did not refuse the silver. It wouldn't be right to simply take his daughter's demon beast and give it away for nothing.

Besides, in the Marquis's estate, this heir was even wealthier than his father, the Marquis. Qin Yan held a share in Qin He's shops; it was because Qin He had initially ingratiated herself with Qin Yan that she had gained standing in the estate.

Qin Yan had his own connections among the various princes and nobles, and within two days, he helped Qin Di sell the demon beast at a high price.

Qin Di's finances were now quite comfortable. In his spare time, he would cultivate in the study or visit the old Marquis's courtyard to seek guidance, always bringing stewed demon beast meat with him. The old Marquis was quite pleased.

When the seasonal fruits from the Marquis's estate arrived at Prince Rong's manor, Qin Bi held Rong Yang to take a look. There were watermelons, cucumbers, peaches, yellow apricots, melons, and various vegetables.

The quality of the fruit looked excellent. Qin Bi let out a soft breath; one shouldn't be fooled by appearances. The Great Yan Kingdom was hot, so logically, the watermelons and fruits should be sweet, but the soil was compacted!

Even if it weren't compacted, most of it was sandy soil that required massive amounts of river water for irrigation.

Unfortunately, the Great Yan Kingdom had little rainfall.

When crops suffer from drought, they grow poorly. While some might look good and be sweet, most were misshapen and uneven—sweet in some spots and sour in others. In short, they were simply not tasty.

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

Once the watermelon was washed, Qin Bi placed the child in a basket. The little one wiggled around, unwilling to lie still.

"I'll cut some melon for you to eat." After coaxing the child, Qin Bi sliced the melon. The flesh looked juicy and delicious. Qin Bi smiled, cut a small piece of the best part, and went back to feed the child.

The little one was quite picky; he only ate happily if it tasted good.

When Rong Jun returned from the imperial court and learned that Rong Yang's maternal family had sent fruit, he went to take a look. He scoffed inwardly; compared to the produce from his own manor, it was somewhat lacking.

Thinking of his fertile lands, the next day, Rong Jun chose a time when the sun wasn't too harsh. He picked up Rong Yang, brought along spiritual fruits and spiritual food, and took a carriage out of the city, heading straight for his fertile lands outside the capital.

The little one, having grown accustomed to sitting in a carriage during morning court sessions, took a short nap.

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

"We went to see the fertile lands the Emperor bestowed upon me." Rong Jun handed the child to Qin Bi.

Qin Bi: "..."

Qin Bi had been worried that Rong Yang would be lethargic, but to her surprise, the child was quite cheerful.

"Ya~" Rong Yang mimicked his mother.

"What?" Qin Bi poked him. "Did you have fun playing?"

The little one just made "ya-ya" sounds. Qin Bi had asked Rong Jun and knew he had been fed egg custard. She planned to let him play for a while and wait for dinner. There was no hope for spiritual vegetables or rice from the palace; the Emperor of Great Yan wouldn't let them mooch food anymore.

During the two days she was away training in the demon beast realm's small space, the child had been fussy, so Rong Jun had carried him into the palace to find food.

The Emperor of Great Yan was quite good-tempered, but after providing spiritual rice and vegetables for two whole days, she had returned only to continue eating and taking things away. The Emperor was so annoyed he had stopped acknowledging the father and son.

If they wanted to go to the palace, fine, but the Emperor was no longer inviting them.

With a child, Qin Bi found it difficult not to involve herself in the manor's affairs.

After some consideration, while coaxing Rong Yang, Qin Bi turned to Rong Jun and said, "How about we give a few of the sweet potato spiritual foods I dug up to the Emperor? There are princes and princesses in the palace. If Rong Yang eats the spiritual rice and vegetables, the princes and princesses won't get any. If we give a few sweet potato spiritual foods, we aren't just eating for free."

Rong Jun's handsome face remained expressionless. Qin Bi had merely made a suggestion; whether he gave them or not was up to him.

By the next day, Rong Jun carried Rong Yang to the morning court. In addition to his usual small snack box, he brought a bag of sweet potato spiritual food. Qin Bi saw it—at most twenty pieces, about ten pounds.

She had dug up two thousand pounds.

Qin Bi was stunned; she almost didn't recognize the "God of Slaughter," Heir Rong.

It was no longer a novelty for the civil and military officials to see Rong Jun carrying a child to court, and glaring wouldn't work. However, the officials did notice that Heir Rong had brought an extra bag today.

The Minister of Revenue was startled, thinking the man had come to the palace to smuggle things out.

Upon closer inspection, the bag wasn't empty; assuming it contained something, the Minister breathed a sigh of relief.

After the court adjourned, He Yan stayed in the front court, while Rong Jun carried the child and followed the Emperor out. When they reached the Imperial Garden, the Emperor sat down to enjoy the shade, as the heat was intense, while a eunuch served cooling tea.

As the young eunuch held the bag, Rong Jun said, "This is a gift from Rong Yang to the Emperor."

"What?" The Emperor asked curiously. "Quick, let me see."

Rong Yang was very small and certainly couldn't give gifts; it must have been prepared by Rong Jun.

The young eunuch bowed and approached the Emperor. The head eunuch took the bag and opened it.

The Emperor leaned forward to look: "Spiritual food??!!!"

He picked one up, and upon inspection, it was indeed spiritual food.

The Emperor rubbed his hands together in delight: "Good, very good!"