Chapter 543
Thinking of the He Family
Qin Han pulled her half-sister aside and asked, "Why did everyone go to the Rong Prince's residence?"
"They said it was to make little clothes and boots for Rong Yang and Rong Chi." The half-sister was quite upset. The Rong Prince's Mansion was a royal family and a powerful family. She was of marriageable age, and taking her along would be beneficial for the marriage. But they didn't invite her: "Who knows? They didn't invite any of us sisters. Only my eldest brother's family went, along with my third aunt and Qin Lang."
"How can I let my mother work so hard?" Qin Han said, feigning concern for her stepmother.
She was a concubine's daughter raised by Madam He. It was understandable that she cared for Madam He and thought of her well. After all, Qin Han had a stronger bond with Madam He than other concubine's daughters. Being raised by one's legal mother was always different.
Qin Han complained, "Does the Rong Prince's mansion lack people to make clothes for the young master? There's also the Imperial Wardrobe. Mother is, after all, a lady of the Marquis's household. How can you expect Mother to tire herself out by making clothes for the young master?"
The half-sister blinked. Her elder brother was with her, along with her two sisters-in-law. They couldn't possibly care less about tiring out their stepmother and the other half-sisters. It was different being raised by the stepmother; look how anxious Sister Qin Han was.
"Don't worry," the half-sister said. "My elder brother and two sisters-in-law are with us."
Qin Han sighed, "Alas, I have never asked my mother to do needlework for my children. Qin Bi doesn't even realize that although our Marquis's mansion has fallen on hard times, my mother came from the Duke of Yan's mansion. Needlework was always done by the maids and servants."
"Sigh." The half-sister sighed as well: "If Mother had asked us sisters to go, she could have just given us pointers from the side. It's a pity that Sister Qin Bi didn't ask us to go, so we can't go with her."
As she spoke, the half-sister remembered something: "Uh, the pelts of the fire demon beasts that were killed should be ready. We're going to make little clothes and boots for Rong Yang and Rong Chi. They'll be so warm wearing clothes and shoes made from the fire demon beast pelts in winter."
Qin Han's eyes lit up: "Does our fourth branch have many fire-eating beast hides?"
"Of course there are many!" The half-sister exclaimed excitedly, chattering to Qin Han, "It's a pity that the colors aren't very nice; they're all dull gray. I heard that the flame beasts killed outside the Duke of Su's mansion and the imperial court have much nicer colors."
She doesn't need anything pretty; a dull, grayish color would be fine too.
The fourth branch of the family was not well-off. The half-sister couldn't even afford a cloak made of demon beast skin. She talked to Qin Han about it and said she wanted one too, but she didn't know if the fourth branch would give the illegitimate sons and daughters any fire demon beast skins.
“It’s not just one or two pieces,” Qin Han said. “We definitely need to share the fire beast hides we have. It’s fine if our fourth branch doesn’t have any for the Crimson Flame Festival, but since we have beast hides, we can each get a piece and make a cloak.”
The half-sister pulled Qin Han aside and said with a smile, "Go and tell her."
Qin Han naturally went to speak up. It was really unreasonable for the Marquis's mansion to kill the Flame Beast and not even bring Jiang Shen back, let alone give her a piece of the beast's hide. Giving her a few more pieces of the beast's hide was only fair.
My half-sister has said that she killed quite a few fire monsters.
Qin Han was certain that she would get the Flame Beast hide, but she wanted more. She walked to the third branch of the family to find her father, Qin Di, who was usually with Qin Tan there.
As a result, Qin Han went but found nothing; Qin Tan and Qin Di went to the county government office, not the Marquis's residence.
"Sigh." Qin Han originally wanted to ask her father for a few pieces of fire-eating beast hide.
Her father gave her a few pieces, her stepmother gave her a few more, and her husband, children, and she could make a flaming beast cloak. It didn't matter if it was gray and dull; Qin Han didn't mind.
Qin Han didn't leave; she returned to her own courtyard to wait for her father to come back.
Sitting in the chair, Qin He wondered what else could be done with the gray flame beast. Surprisingly, the gray flame beast fur adorned the child's cloak and hat, and even the edges of the little boots, and it didn't look bad at all.
Qin Tang was in the main hall of the Marquis's residence, with Qin Yan and a few others.
Qin Bi dismissed Qin Lang from calling him, and Qin Lang said, "Let's go to the Rong Prince's residence for lunch."
Qin Xiang joked, "What delicious food did you make?"
Qin Lang was delighted and exclaimed happily, "It's such a feast!"
Qin Xiang and Qin Yan teased Qin Lang for a bit. They had just returned and were busy with household affairs, so they didn't have time to join in the fun. Qin Yuan just tilted her head, looking at this person and that person. Qin Yan said to Qin Tang, "Go on, hurry up."
Qin Tang stood up and said with a smile, "I'm going to the Rong King's residence."
As Qin Tang and Qin Lang were about to leave, Qin Yuan couldn't help but say, "Sister Qin Han has come to the Marquis's residence."
Her idea was to have Qin Lang and Qin Tang invite Qin Han along, since Madam He and her entire family had gone to the Rong Prince's residence today and weren't home. Qin Han was also from the fourth branch of the family, so it was only right to invite her to have dinner together.
Qin Tang glanced at Qin Yuan, then left with Qin Lang.
In the main hall, everyone had different expressions. Qin Jue glared at Qin Yuan, thinking, "What a nuisance! Qin Han and Qin Bi don't see each other often. It's fine if Qin Bi invited Qin Han to dinner, but it wasn't agreed upon. What's the deal with Qin Tang bringing Qin Han along?"
Qin Yuan pouted, feeling indignant. They were all sisters, why were they acting so distant?
Compared to Qin Biyi, Sister Qin He has a much better personality. She gets along well with the other sisters in the mansion, chatting and laughing together. Qin Yuan pouted and didn't say anything, but her elder brother scolded her for being too talkative.
When Qin Lang and Qin Tang arrived at the Rong King's residence, the food was already served.
"Come and eat!" Zhu called out.
"Wow." Qin Tang glanced at it. "What a feast!"
"Give the chicken legs and duck legs to Rong Yang and Rong Chi," Jiang said to Qin Su.
Qin Su immediately gave Rong Yang and Rong Chi a duck leg and a chicken leg each. Qin Tang sat down. Since there wasn't enough room at one table, two tables were set up. In addition to the dishes, there was also a plate of small sweet radish candies on the table.
Keep the sweet potato candy; Qin Bi loves to eat it.
The young master Rong did not come to eat with us. There was no other reason than that he was of noble status, and his people in the Qin Yan Marquis's mansion were all uncomfortable. Everyone ate the meal in a lively manner, and the little dumpling had his mouth full of meat and his little hands were covered in oil.
Qin Bi took one look, picked him up, and took him to the study to find Prince Rong.
Prince Rong didn't mind the little guy's oily hands. The guard prepared warm water, and Prince Rong washed the little dumpling's hands. The little guy turned his head to look at Qin Bi, worried about leaving him in the study.
"I'll come and hug you in a bit." Qin Bi wanted to leave, wanting to save Rong Shizi the trouble.
"No," the little dumpling said anxiously, "one piece."
Helpless, Prince Rong patiently washed the little dumpling's hands with fragrant baby soap and said to Qin Bi, "Wait for him a while."
Okay, Qin Bi will wait.
After Prince Rong washed the little dumpling's face, the little face immediately turned white and clean.
"Is he handsome?" the little dumpling asked Qin Bi.
Qin Bi leaned closer for a look: "Handsome."
The little dumpling was immediately delighted, and Prince Rong smiled too. He couldn't help but adore the little dumpling. He wiped her face clean and even applied perfume to her. The little dumpling was overjoyed.
Qin Bi couldn't help but laugh, and Prince Rong was also in a good mood.
After changing the little dumpling into a red robe, Prince Rong picked up the child and walked towards the main hall to see Qin Bi and the little dumpling off. (End of Chapter)