Chapter 50: Divination

Rong Yan: "......"

Qin Lang stopped eating her melon seeds: "...... Since when did you know how to practice divination?"

Rong Yan thought to himself, *Exactly. Since when did you know how to divine?* He had never heard of the Consort knowing divination. Before she awakened her spiritual roots, the Consort was merely a concubine's daughter of the Marquis Qin Yan's manor; Rong Yan hadn't even known her then.

Qin Bi was speechless; she had figured it out on her own.

"I just feel like I can 'come into the world,'" Qin Bi had no choice but to tell the truth.

Qin Bi maintained a serious expression, attempting to convince the two that she was cut out for divination and that they should just let her cast a hex.

She had a feeling that she needed to divine.

Rong Yan was speechless. *Only you "feel" like it.* Mystics came from immortal sects, and divination required entering an immortal sect to study the arts of hexagrams. And "coming into the world"? He had never even heard this new term before; "completing one's apprenticeship" would have been more appropriate.

She really knew nothing!

"Sister," Qin Lang said helplessly, her lips twitching. She picked up a roasted peanut and said, "Let's stick to discussing the land reclamation. You're bringing up divination out of nowhere; it's quite ridiculous, okay?"

Qin Lang thought Qin Bi was just joking around, and Rong Yan also assumed she was kidding.

"I'm serious." Qin Bi knew that no one would believe her nonsense or take it seriously, but she wanted to confirm it. Her feeling was too intense. She said with a grin, "It's not exactly divination, anyway. It's more like adjusting someone's luck."

Qin Bi was smiling, but her face was dead serious.

Qin Lang and Rong Yan exchanged a glance, wanting to talk about something else—reclamation was a much better topic. But Qin Bi refused to move on, insisting on this single point. The two were helpless and could only take her words to heart.

Rong Yan even thought to himself that Prince Rong and Qin Bi were indeed a mismatch.

Prince Rong was a man of both literary and martial talent, a master strategist who could both fight on the battlefield and resolve crises for the Emperor in the imperial court. In contrast, neither Qin Bi's background nor her talent matched him.

Qin Bi only had her status as the Consort; beyond that, she had nothing to show for herself.

Fortunately, Qin Bi had always stayed within the Prince's manor and had not dealt with the prominent aristocratic families. Otherwise, with her lack of standing, the ladies and daughters of various households would not have given her the time of day.

"Cast a hex for me to see." Rong Yan took off a demon beast scale hanging from his pouch.

There was a type of demon beast scale that could be used for divination or to enhance one's luck. Therefore, if a child in the Great Yan Kingdom was well-loved, their family would buy a scale for them to carry.

Rong Yan happened to have one, so he brought it out for Qin Bi to use.

Qin Lang watched Qin Bi, while Qin Bi remained silent: "...... I don't know how to use it."

She knew nothing, but she simply felt that she was currently terrifyingly powerful.

Rong Yan: "!!!!!!"

Qin Lang: "......???!!!"

Since Qin Bi lacked any persuasive power, the matter was dropped.

Rong Yan stood up and said, "Since it's still early, I'll head to the reclamation site."

Qin Lang stood up as well: "I'm coming too."

As the two left, Qin Bi sighed. If she knew how to use the divination scale, she could have convinced them to let her cast a hex. Unfortunately, she was in a state of muddled confusion and couldn't quite explain the process of divination.

She was so dazed that she couldn't even bluff her way through.

Forget it. Qin Bi felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.

The winter wind howled. Qin Lang needed to return home, so she parted ways with Rong Yan upon leaving the Prince's manor. As Rong Yan passed by the Spiritual Plant Street, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to visit a pharmacy to inquire about the prices of medicinal pills.

The prices were somewhat expensive. Rong Yan returned to his carriage and headed to the Ministry of Works to activate the teleportation array.

In the mid-afternoon, Rong Jun and Rong Yang returned from the palace.

Rong Yang wobbled over to find Qin Bi: "Mother."

Qin Bi stood up and went over to pick up the child: "Rong Yang is back. Are you cold?"

She touched his small hands; they were warm.

Rong Yang shook his head with a smile: "Not cold."

"I'm just afraid of the cold." A smile spread across Qin Bi's eyes; seeing the child brought her heartfelt joy. Walking to the charcoal stove, she took out some roasted sweet potatoes and sat down with the child: "I roasted sweet potatoes for you."

Rong Yang beamed. Qin Bi held the child while peeling the skin, and after peeling a bit, she fed it to the little one.

"Did Rong Yan and Qin Lang come by?" Rong Jun approached to help Rong Yang unfasten his small cloak.

"Mhm." The entire Prince's manor was under Rong Jun's control, so Qin Bi did not hide anything. She nodded and said, "I want to earn some spirit stones for Rong Yang, so I asked Rong Yan. He said we could do land reclamation."

Rong Jun walked to the table and sat down, his expression calm: "I will save for Rong Yang."

Qin Bi instinctively acted coquettishly: "I want to save for him too."

Rarely, Rong Jun was taken aback: "Alright."

Qin Bi got her wish, holding Rong Yang with a face full of smiles, which put Rong Jun in a good mood as well. Once Rong Yang had finished his sweet potato, the guards laid out the Four Treasures of the Study, and Rong Jun called Rong Yang over to teach the little one how to read and write.

Seeing Qin Bi nearby, Rong Jun picked out a few books for her.

Qin Bi didn't ask how Rong Jun knew she liked reading. No one in the Marquis Qin Yan's manor was unaware of her love for books. For no other reason than the fact that He Yan had gifted her books and agate crystals; who wouldn't know?

When they married, the dowry consisted of the books He Yan had sent, which had been returned.

Qin He had kept the agate and crystals, likely because she couldn't bear to part with them; after all, they were tangible wealth.

Rong Yang was still very small, not even half a year old. After he had written two practice sheets, Rong Jun let him go play. Qin Bi followed the child into the courtyard, where the toddler wobbled around.

Rong Yan returned from the reclamation site and made a visit to the Prince's manor.

"Consort, I have inspected the reclamation site and selected a plot," Rong Yan bowed, then asked, "Qin Lang and I are going to pick a piece of land to reclaim tomorrow. Would the Consort like to join us?"

Qin Bi looked at Rong Jun, who said, "It might be better to reclaim land within our own fiefdom."

Qin Bi said with a smile, "I'll go take a look first."

Rong Jun left it at that. Rong Yan and Qin Bi set a time, and he came to fetch her the next day to set off together.

After saying this, Rong Yan said excitedly, "I picked up a piece of land!"

Qin Bi: "???!!!"

Rong Yang's eyes instantly went wide: "Where did you pick it up?"

Rong Jun looked over. Rong Yan had a look of slight surprise and secret joy on his face as he said, "I first went to the Spiritual Plant Street, then to the Ministry of Works to activate the teleportation array. Once I arrived at the reclamation site, I walked around for a bit, and then I 'picked up' a piece of farmable land from a vast stretch of wasteland."

"Did I calculate it correctly?" Qin Bi reacted immediately.

"It should have been accurate." Rong Yan nodded. Finding a piece of land for free had him incredibly excited.

In the Great Yan Kingdom, even finding a crystal couldn't compare to the joy of finding a piece of land.

Qin Bi felt both incredulous and a small sense of pleasant surprise at the accuracy. She couldn't help but say, "I'll cast another hex for you next time."

Rong Yan nodded: "Deal."

Taking out a demon beast crystal, Rong Yan said, "A thank-you gift for the Consort."

Qin Bi hesitated, but Rong Jun understood the situation and unceremoniously took it. A guard stepped forward, took the crystal, and handed it directly to Rong Yang, who was waiting expectantly by his side.

The little one immediately tucked it into his pouch.

(End of Chapter)