Complications of Being Invaded by an Alien Race You Never Knew Existed

Chapter 2.3

"His Majesty has bestowed a marriage with Scholar Feng Lian upon you. Do you accept?"

Those were the first words Ling Xia heard after gaining consciousness. Startled, he barely had enough time to understand his circumstances before he searched for an appropriate response.

He was on his knees, arms held in front of his chest and head bowed in deference. Pellets of rain pounded against the roof over his head, and lightning struck. At the thunder following, the eunuch that had informed Ling Xia of his fate flinched, but Ling Xia stayed absorbed in his thoughts.

The eunuch grew impatient. "Do. You. Accept?" he repeated, a punch to each of his words.

Ling Xia started, his head slightly raising. He lowered it once more. "Yes. This subject thanks His Majesty for his generosity." He kowtowed, knocking his head on the ground thrice. There was nothing else Ling Xia could do about his sudden engagement with a man. The emperor had decreed it so.

A fake smile crossed his face as he rose to his feet, his knees wobbly from prolonged contact with the hard floor. "Chen Er."

A small girl near him snapped to attention. "Yes, Young Master?"

"Prepare a room for our guest. We can't have him travelling in the pouring rain." His calculating eyes turned cold.

A sudden shiver racked the eunuch's body. Hospitality was not the cause of this ominous invitation. A realization crossed his mind; He had provoked the wrong person tonight.

"Yes, young master." The maid scurried off.

Ling Xia's eyes met the eunuch's once more, like lasers cutting straight through his defenses. "Yao Ze, was it?"

A spark of astonishment flashed through the eunuch's eyes before they narrowed into tiny slits of accusation while his fists clenched, nails digging deep into his skin as he restrained himself. "How dare you disrespect His Majesty?! You shall call me by the name His Majesty has given me and nothing else!"

Ling Xia acted as if he never heard this protest. "I've heard of you. You were a scholar that passed the civil service exam with flying colors." Yao Ze was taken aback. His anger dissipated. He never expected that somebody would remember the glory he had had in his heyday. A hint of pride showed itself.

Nevertheless, he had a duty to uphold in front of all prying eyes. "What is the meaning of this?"

"But," Ling Xia continued unflinchingly, "you were too ambitious. His Majesty took away all your influence, cut off all your paths to gain power by forcing you to become a eunuch. Don't you want to get back at him at all?"

At once, the eunuch's heart leaped. He lowered his voice, hissing, "Are you an idiot? Why would you say that here? Haven't you been taught that the walls have ears?"

"Don't worry. You can relax your guard here. There's nobody in proximity. Father would never leave guards for his most useless son."

A chillingly genial smile crossed his face. "Why don't we talk over dinner?" Yao Ze opened his mouth, about to refuse the sudden invitation, but paused. It was a command, not a request, he belatedly realized.

Hesitation arose. Could he risk offending this person? Those smart enough to survive in the palace knew that rumours were untrustworthy. People should be taken at face value and nothing less. No matter what he had heard about this man before, it all had to be thrown in the dumpster before truly meeting him.

No, he decided. It wasn't worth it.

He nodded and obediently followed Ling Xia to a small circular table. He took the seat nearest to the already set food. He surveyed the food. "You do not dine with your family?" he asked purely out of curiosity and utter surprise.