The King's Mate - Part 1: Banyue

Chapter 14

"Of course not. If it was up to me, I'd already marry you tomorrow. I just worry", Hua Cheng explained.

"What are you worrying about?", Xie Lian asked, now worried himself.

"I'm worried that gege might end up regretting rushing into a marriage with me, that you'll be fed up with me soon", his alpha confessed in a quiet voice.

To Xie Lian, those worries were nothing short of ridiculous; there could never be anyone else as amazing as Hua Cheng was, but he understood why his alpha worried, and he figured he just needed to make him understand what Xie Lian was already certain of.

"How could I ever be fed up with my San Lang?", he asked, and nuzzled into his alpha's chest. "You know, when I was in Xian Le... it was good to be able to help my people, and it was good to be back, even if the country was in ruins, but... I really missed you, San Lang. I couldn't wait to come back here, and frankly speaking, I probably should have stayed there longer with Pei Ming and the others. I always considered Xian Le my home, but when I was there... I grew homesick, not even for this palace or city, but this place", he said, and cuddled deeper into Hua Cheng's embrace.

"This place?", his alpha asked, voice warm, and tinged with amusement, which told Xie Lian that he'd very well understood what Xie Lian had meant.

"Un, this place. There's no better place in this world for me. It's warm and comfy and very protective; it's my favourite place, I love it a lot", he said, and blushed once more.

It was worth it however, because Hua Cheng started purring upon hearing that, and tightened his arms around him.

"If gege is so sure about it, then... let's settle on that date", he eventually murmured, sounding extremely pleased, and Xie Lian was also exceedingly elated that the notion of marrying is alpha wasn't so vague anymore. He still wasn't sure about bonding, but marriage really was the next best thing and, at least right now, he thought there couldn't be anything better than spending the rest of his life with Hua Cheng.

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The time until their wedding went by unexpectedly fast; both of them were kept busy with several things; such as visiting the seamstresses every other day to make sure the wedding robes would turn out perfect.

During one of his visits to the seamstresses' workshop, Xie Lian had taken Xiao Ying with him, to have the opinion of a fellow omega for the designs. As it turned out, Xiao Ying herself was also quite proficient and knowledgeable when it came to this particular craft, and she had seemed to enjoy herself in such an environment quite a bit as well.

Which was why Xie Lian had asked Hua Cheng that night if it was possible to have Xiao Ying work for the royal seamstresses. Preferably as an apprentice to the master seamstress. Rather predictably, Hua Cheng had agreed, and when Xie Lian had gone there for the next fitting, Xiao Ying was already properly working there. She'd even thanked him dozens of times for the opportunity, so Xie Lian felt like he could rest assured he'd found the right work for her.

A few weeks after Xie Lian had brought the boy back to WuYong with him, Shi QingXuan finally released him from his care. Xie Lian had brought Guzi to meet him at the infirmary before, and the two seemed to get along quite well.  Communication had of course been a bit rocky at first, but Guzi was quick to learn sign language from Mei NianQing, who in turn was complaining quite loudly about his recent workload. Which nobody took seriously, since everybody knew he enjoyed spending time with the children.