When Qiu Ling and An Bai reached the palace the half-bloods had been allocated to, Shou Quan who had been following behind made it a point to turn around and motion for the guard the Heavenly Emperor had sent to stay outside with her. She knew that she probably shouldn't get involved in this and she had been biting her tongue to not say anything but these weeks, she had already endured a lot.
Just like pretty much everyone else in the dragon realm, she also had a high opinion of their king. After interacting with him more closely and listening while he received all those reports and calmly organized the follow-up matters this feeling was only stronger. So to hear the Heavenly Emperor constantly disparage him ... that was hard to bear.
If Yu Gan hadn't warned her before she left the dragon realm that she couldn't willfully say her opinion while here or she might cause a diplomatic incident and a severe headache for their king, she would have liked to flip the Heavenly Emperor's fucking table about three times a day. Now, could she still show a pleasant face when the ruler of the Nine Heavens wasn't around and there was only a guard? Of course not! In fact, if this guy didn't accept her asking him to wait outside and gave her a reason to beat him up, she'd be especially happy. That way, she could finally vent the anger from the last few weeks.
Qiu Ling glanced at her but didn't say anything, simply stepping inside. The half-bloods were in a difficult position in general. He definitely didn't want to pull them into the games the Heavenly Emperor was playing. So not having that guard follow him around was indeed preferable. Even though a lot of them were likely aware that the Heavenly Emperor wasn't his biggest fan, they didn't need to know the details.
No, the half-bloods should be allowed to focus only on their own situation and not be bothered by what was going on in somebody else's life. They had needed to take such things into consideration way too many times in the past. Now, that would stop. Their present and their future, it should be all theirs without any compromise. Just like how he had managed to reach such a state after years of having to hide.
With Qiu Ling taking the lead, An Bai also ignored the possible conflict and simply closed the door behind them. Compared to Shou Quan, he was the type to advocate for a polite exchange to solve problems instead of first thinking of whacking someone over the head but ... he had also watched the disrespect against his king for a long time now and he was more than dissatisfied. He had little understanding for it as well.
His own opinion of their king hadn't always been high. He had admired Jinde from when he was young but he had been a lot more neutral about Qiu Ling. Compared to Xiang Yong who had pretty much come to the capital city because he idolized him, he had actually just passed by and wanted to take advantage of the possibilities the city offered. Meeting the king had been accidental. Becoming his adviser ... it seemed somewhat like a fluke.
He hadn't dared to ask Qiu Ling about why exactly he had been chosen but maybe he would one day in the future. Their relationship had become closer after Qiu Ling's confession and after being able to talk about many things in a more open manner. If he asked now, he trusted that he would get the full truth. Whether he wanted to know or not ... that was a question worth pondering.
But anyway, that wasn't something he'd consider for now. He'd do that whenever the current difficulties of his king and their realm were settled and ... it looked like that would still take a long time. Rather than getting bogged down by that kind of tangent, it was better to focus on the task at hand.
Since An Bai was more familiar with the half-bloods thanks to working with them over the past few months, he walked ahead to call them over. They had wrapped up their work yesterday evening and he was the only one who had gone out to discuss with Yi Yun so most of the half-bloods were now doing their own thing, waiting until the decision had been made and they'd know what awaited them next or ... if there was anything at all. Only a few of them were gathered in the main hall of the palace, probably waiting for An Bai's return because they wanted to find out even a little earlier what the next steps would be.
As soon as this group heard footsteps, one of them got up and walked over, poking his head out of the door. Seeing An Bai, he wanted to greet him and ask what the result was but the words got stuck in his throat when he saw the person following behind. He stared with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he forced himself to clear his throat. "Your Majesty!"
The people inside the hall got to their feet at once, rushing over to see as well. They had met the king before when they were about to set off to the Nine Heavens. Still, this was a rare opportunity to come by and none of them wanted to waste it.
Having gotten a slight warning ahead of time from the first person to check, they managed to compose themselves much faster and hurriedly greeted him. They couldn't help but exchange glances though, suddenly worried about what would happen next. They were used to having An Bai around and it didn't feel awkward to interact with him, despite his lofty status as the king's adviser. Being in the presence of their actual king though ... that was a different matter altogether.
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Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 12, Part 2)
العاطفيةThey had been about to get married in what should have been the union of the century. But Jing He, the crown prince of the Nine Heavens, is forced to descend to the mortal world for a trial. His lover, dragon king Qiu Ling, quietly follows to protec...
