Chapter 32: Leaving the Palace with a Food Box

In the palace, two spiritual dishes were laid out before the Emperor of Great Yan.

It was not a scheduled day for spiritual food, yet the managing eunuch had nonetheless made a trip to the Imperial Kitchen to order two dishes. Even though the imperial meal was set upon the table, the Emperor of Great Yan kept gazing outside.

Upon hearing this, several princes rushed back to the inner palace.

A young prince asked, "Mother, since Little Brother Rong Yang didn't come, will Father bestow the spiritual food upon us princes and princesses?"

The Noble Consort's eyes flashed. "As long as your brother Rong Yang doesn't show up, I reckon he will bestow it upon you."

The young prince was overjoyed and ran back to keep watch.

Princes a few years older also went to watch. Spiritual food was precious; unless it was the first or fifteenth of the month, the princes and princesses all kept the Imperial Kitchen's spiritual dishes in their hearts whenever they were prepared.

When they saw Rong Jun walking briskly toward them carrying a child, the young princes wilted. There would be no spiritual food for them. Compared to Rong Yang, they princes were like foundlings; he was the true kin, while they were just pitiful little ones with no one to dote on them.

The young prince went over to greet him: "Has Little Brother Rong Yang had his dinner yet?"

Rong Jun replied, "Not yet."

The young princes' only hope was shattered. Then, they asked, "It's so late, why hasn't he eaten dinner yet?"

Rong Jun glanced at the young princes. "Coming to the palace to mooch a meal."

The young princes: "..."

*We know you brought Little Brother Rong Yang here to mooch, but it's so late, why didn't you just eat at your own house! What's the harm in eating one meal at your place? The Prince of Rong's manor isn't lacking a single dinner.*

Rong Jun walked away carrying Rong Yang. The Emperor of Great Yan, seeing that the "moocher" had finally arrived, sat back down and beckoned, "Quick, bring my imperial nephew over! The spiritual food is ready. Come eat with your imperial uncle. One portion of spiritual vegetables and one portion of spiritual rice—once he's full, he won't be fussy."

The Emperor had thought Qin Bi hadn't returned yet, and since Rong Jun hadn't said anything, he simply scooped up some soft, mushy spiritual rice to feed the child.

Since the child couldn't finish it all, they packed the leftovers into a food box and left the palace.

The Emperor of Great Yan showed a look of confusion and sent a young eunuch out of the palace.

The young eunuch returned quickly. "The Consort of the Heir has returned from the Monster Realm Small Space."

"My spiritual vegetables! My spiritual rice!" The Emperor's heart bled with grief. Gritting his teeth, he added, "He ate a free meal of my spiritual food! Instruct the Imperial Kitchen: from now on, do not prepare spiritual food for the little heir!"

The Head Eunuch's mouth twitched; *as long as the Emperor remembers for next time.*

Qin Bi was exhausted from this trip and slept for several consecutive days. During this time, Qin Tang, Rong Yan, and the others were very busy. Their harvest from the Monster Realm Small Space was significant, and they were all busy at home processing the slain monsters.

Regarding the monsters teleported to the Marquis of Qin Yan's manor, Qin Tang, Rong Yan, and the others divided several low-level monsters among themselves and kept one magical artifact each from what they had seized. Three remained, and Qin Lang gave one summoning artifact to his father, Qin Tan.

Qin Di kept one summoning artifact and gave the other to the Marquis of Qin Yan.

As for the rest of the monsters? They belonged to the Fourth Branch of the Marquis's manor. There was no helping it; this was a bad habit left behind by Qin He. She made glass and produced soap, but the profits from these only provided a tiny benefit to the Marquis's manor.

Technically, since the Marquis's manor had not yet split into separate households, the shops should have been mostly owned by the main manor, but Qin He was unwilling. Relying on He Yan's protection, she felt cheated and would instigate the Second Branch to split the household whenever she felt she was losing out.

Qin He had high Fortune Value, so the old Marquis of Qin Yan could only tacitly allow her behavior.

Now, the Fourth Branch was following suit. Qin Di had collected all the monsters, but fortunately, Qin Di would not allow the Marquis's manor to fall into ruin, so he selected a few monsters to give to the old Marquis and the current Marquis.

Qin Tang was married and had a son; he tried his best to provide special meals for his wife and son.

Qin Xun's son was still small. Qin Xun tried to use the things harvested from the Monster Realm Small Space to nourish the child's body, hoping he might awaken a spiritual root. As for his wife, given her age, Qin Xun did not dare to hold out hope.

In the Third Branch, Qin Lang acted as if he were presenting treasures. He took out a small sweet potato and showed it off to his father, Qin Tan: "Look at what this is! Father, I'm not just saying this, but you've never even eaten one."

"Spiritual food?" Qin Tan was so excited he nearly knocked over his teacup.

"My sister found it." Qin Lang cut it open and shared some with Lady Zhu and Qin Tan. "Taste it, it's so crisp and sweet. The Heir's brother-in-law gave me a few sweet potatoes; I can't even bring myself to eat them."

Qin Tan took a small bite, looking thoughtful.

After listening to Qin Lang's chatter, Qin Tan finally realized how powerful Qin Bi was at killing monsters. Originally, he had been excited about the spiritual food, but upon hearing that Qin Bi had such high Combat Value, Qin Tan felt quite unsettled.

In the entire Marquis of Qin Yan's manor, aside from the current Marquis, Qin Tan was the one who valued the family's noble title most.

Without the connections of the Marquis's manor, he wouldn't even be able to snatch a position as a County Magistrate. This niece of his, Qin Bi, had lived outside with his Third Branch family for so many years, yet Qin Tan had no idea her Combat Value was so high.

"This... this... no way!" Lady Zhu looked incredulous. "Your sister Qin Bi is so delicate. If you said Qin He had high Combat Value, I might believe it, but Qin Bi? To have Combat Value?"

Qin Lang exclaimed, "She's incredibly powerful!"

Then, Qin Lang sneered, "Don't even mention Qin He to me; I haven't gained a single bit of benefit from her."

Lady Zhu nibbled on the sweet potato. If they didn't mention Qin He, Lady Zhu still found it hard to believe that someone as weak as Qin Bi could have Combat Value. Even if you told her Qin Bi had great fortune, she would believe it.

But as for Combat Value? Sorry, Lady Zhu simply could not believe it.

She certainly had fortune—if she weren't so lucky, could she have married Heir He and then married Heir Rong after a divorce? Even Qin He fell short in this regard; at the very least, the "wife-crushing" fate of He Yan and Rong Jun did not affect Qin Bi.

Look at Qin He: she had two engagements and nearly died both times.

Thus, Qin He's "fortune" was debatable.

However, Qin He was skilled at running shops, had methods, possessed talent, and was beautiful; she likely did have some Combat Value. It felt as though Qin He possessed it—that girl was quite formidable.

"Your sister Qin Bi lacks decisiveness," Lady Zhu said.

"Give me a break!" Qin Lang did not agree. "Setting aside everything else, when she picks spiritual fruit, she says it's coming and returns without any lingering nonsense. If it were Qin He, she would be nagging and giving orders."

"Spiritual fruit?" Qin Tan was shocked.

Lady Zhu also looked at Qin Lang. Qin Lang: "..."

Qin Lang chuckled. Qin Tan didn't ask further; he knew enough just by knowing it was true.

Lady Zhu: "..."

Qin Tan called Qin Lang to visit the Fourth Branch. Qin Tang and Qin Xun also told Qin Di how powerful Qin Bi's combat was. Qin Di sat in his chair for a long time without speaking. Qin Tan came over, sat in another chair, and also remained silent.

The atmosphere in the study was heavy. Qin Lang went to sit outside.

Half an hour later, Qin Tan and Qin Di went to the old Marquis's courtyard, calling Qin Lang to go with them. Qin Lang recounted once more Qin Bi's performance in the Monster Realm Small Space.

This time, the old Marquis fell silent.

As for the Marquis of Qin Yan, who arrived a step later, what could he say? He just felt stifled.

Such a great talent for combat, born into the Marquis of Qin Yan's manor, and they hadn't even noticed.

So, if the manor was declining, who could they blame?