The King's Mate - Part 1: Banyue

Chapter 15

It was just about noon when Shi QingXuan came to pick Xie Lian up from Hua Cheng's quarters.

Since neither Xie Lian nor Hua Cheng had any family left in this world, there were many traditions they couldn't include in their wedding, and had therefore decided to have a wedding in their own style. Hua Cheng was very involved in the planning however, and so it still turned out to be a rather lavish affair. But according to Hua Cheng, a Grand Wedding such as this couldn't be anything less than 'unimaginably dazzling'. So while they couldn't do many of the traditions, they had decided to make a bit of a spectacle out of the wedding procession.

For this, Shi QingXuan was tasked with finding a house for Xie Lian to stay in for a day, well outside the palace walls, because there wouldn't be much of a procession otherwise. Shi QingXuan was delighted to be tasked with not only that, but also with accompanying Xie Lian until he was picked up.

"It will be great", Shi QingXuan said, when they'd just left the palace on horseback. "The procession will be huge! I picked a house at the perfect location, too you see. It's right at the other end of the city, and it's situated at this corner where the procession can just immediately make a turn back to the palace if they come from that side, because see, everyone wants to get a look at the phoenix sedan chair, so it makes sense if the procession to you goes along the second biggest road, and the procession from you and back towards the palace goes along the actual main street, right? Also-", Shi QingXuan babbled on, but Xie Lian closed his ears to his ramblings, and just smiled.

After all, he was relieved to find that there was someone even more excited, or well, nervous, probably, than him.

Still, even if he was happy that Shi QingXuan was excited about his wedding as well, he was already aware of how the next day would play out, and the reasons why it was planned the way it was. He didn't need to hear it again. He was happy to let Shi QingXuan talk though.

That was, until he remembered something when they were already halfway to his temporary abode.

"QingXuan, I want to make a detour", he interrupted his fellow omega.

"A detour? To where?"

"I promised Feng Xin to take a look at how things with his son are going while he's living with his grandmother. Because he's worried she can't keep up with him", he explained.

"Heh, of course he's worried. His son isn't even two years old and he's already a menace", Shi QingXuan muttered.

"What do you mean?", Xie Lian asked, feeling a bit bemused.

But Shi QingXuan only sighed, and changed the direction to pay CuoCuo and his grandmother a visit.

They kept the visit very short.

From what Feng Xin had told him, Xie Lian had expected the grandmother to be frail and maybe overworked from having to look after a small toddler. But instead, she was extremely fierce and intimidating, even to Xie Lian himself, and from what he could see, she had absolutely no trouble taking care of CuoCuo.

As for CuoCuo himself, well... he certainly wasn't what he'd expected either.