Romancing the Son of Heaven (Part 2)

Stratagem 47: Plan Your Wedding Well! (1)

Jing He had already been in a daze before but when Qiu Ling said these words, it felt as if his mind and soul had flown out of his body to a faraway place, leaving him completely petrified.

Qiu Ling quietly picked up the cup of tea that had long gone cold and took a sip while staring into the distance. Right now, he couldn't face Jing He. Please excuse him for being too honest but the kind of expression his beloved was likely making right now would be just a little too tempting. And after what had happened both yesterday and this morning, he felt that he should better keep his hands away whenever temptation raised its head.

The silence between them stretched until Qiu Ling really couldn't take it any longer. He put the cup down with an audible click and finally turned back to Jing He. His expression was exactly as he had imagined and his fingers twitched unwittingly. He really wanted to reach out and cup his cheek or maybe brush back his hair but after those words that would definitely be too much for Jing He.

He gave himself a moment to calm down and then sighed. "Well, I guess you can see now why An Bai couldn't bring himself to say it. Among us dragons, it isn't that ... outrageous." He raised his brows and coughed, somehow keeping a straight face otherwise. "You also know that we value physical strength and we happen to be more open than the gods in many ways. How we conclude our marriages is just one way of many.

"Of course, whether it is An Bai or ... me, by now, we do understand that it is different for the gods. So bringing this kind of thing up ... we will also be more careful about it. An Bai likely felt that it wasn't his place to tell you. As for me ..." He picked the teacup up again before his hands could move to do anything else that would be worse, playing around with it.

"Maybe I shouldn't have told you either. Or maybe there would have been a way to say that more politely." He smiled and shook his head with a sigh. "I just ... happen to want you to know. After all ... I still want you to marry me. So in the future ..."

He didn't say the rest but his meaning was obvious: In the future, that night of passion was something the two of them should also experience. And by then, it wouldn't do for Jing He to be caught off guard so he needed to be told now. Even if it might shock him, it was better to be aware.

Jing He finally came back to himself and nodded. He knew that he probably shouldn't. Anyway, nothing was set in stone between them so this kind of talk wasn't very appropriate. But then, if they didn't talk about it, could they ever come to a conclusion regarding their relationship?

He lowered his head and then reached out to pick up the teacup as well as if he had learned the move from Qiu Ling just now. Turning it between his fingers, his thoughts were still in disarray, making him unable to say anything.

Qiu Ling didn't say more either. He had put it out there and now explained. Now, he needed to give Jing He time to consider it. When he had done so, his beloved ... might speak up.

To be honest, he wasn't sure if Jing He would dare to say more on the topic. In his eyes, this matter had to be something that couldn't be talked about easily. In fact, maybe he even felt that this was something he himself shouldn't talk about at all. After all, he seemed to be of the opinion that his marriage would be decided by his parents. In that case, why would he ask?

Qiu Ling was worried about this. If Jing He wasn't willing to speak up, then it would be difficult to continue the topic on his own without seeming rude. But if he just dropped it ... it also didn't seem right.

A few minutes passed by until Jing He finally dared to glance at Qiu Ling. Just as he thought, this matter was indeed troubling to Jing He. He didn't dare to casually talk about it but with Qiu Ling staying silent, he also didn't have a way to get out of it. Not to mention ... he wanted to know more.

Even though he knew that he shouldn't be thinking about this, it was a custom of the dragon race, after all. With Qiu Ling being a part of that race, his interest was naturally piqued. Not to mention ... if through some turn of fate, they could indeed be able to marry ... wouldn't this directly concern him?

Jing He tried hard to find an excuse for himself before he dared to speak up. "Then ... do the dragons ... do they have any concept of engagement?" His lashes fluttered when he finally dared to say that sentence. He couldn't bring himself to talk about such a wedding custom but how to get there ... he felt that this question was much safer.

Qiu Ling turned to look at him, giving a hum. "Not necessarily. I mean, we do know what an engagement would mean but usually, it's not necessary. With how simple the custom is, as long as you ask and the other person agrees, it can be done ..." His gaze roved around before he finally cleared his throat. "Well, on the spot, basically." His lips twitched even though he had said it himself. For a moment, he was really tried to explain that he hadn't been suggesting that they should just have sex right now and then but then, he felt that actually saying so would make it seem even more as if that had been the case.

Indeed, Jing He's face turned crimson when he heard those words and he hastily lowered his head. "So it was like that."

Qiu Ling gave a hum. "Yeah, it's like that." He took another sip of the tea and then sighed. "Of course, you could — theoretically — have an engagement. I mean, if — just for example — the dragon king himself were to get married, that might entail a bigger celebration. Especially if ... his future spouse were to be of a different race who valued those things."

Jing He hastily nodded. "That makes sense."

"Doesn't it?" Qiu Ling gave him a brilliant smile. "Even if you don't take his spouse's heritage into consideration, just announcing it to the people of the dragon race is something that should be done. Even though the throne isn't hereditary, while the king is still ruling, that will have a subtle effect, after all."

Jing He nodded faintly. "Yes, surely, the people would be concerned about that."

"Exactly! So ... most likely, there would be some planning involved. Not to mention ..." At this, he finally put down the teacup and leaned a little closer. The danger of naked temptation seemed to be over. Instead, the current atmosphere was starting to turn romantic. Wasn't this just perfect?

He smiled brightly while thinking of that and gave a hum. "I consider myself to be a very ... devoted lover. When I get to marry my beloved, I would naturally want the whole world to know and for everything to be perfect so he wouldn't feel like he was missing out in any way. To him and me both ... this should be the most perfect day of our lives."