Romancing the Son of Heaven

Stratagem 10: The Skills of a Mature Man (1)

Author's Note: It's Sunday so time to get back to RSH! As I said before, we'll continue with daily updates for this volume as well so you won't have to wait long for the next release ;)

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Qiu Ling didn't talk with anybody about what the Heavenly Empress had told him or what he had gone to do afterward. For the most part, he still seemed to be the very same person that wouldn't really care about what was going on in the dragon realm and threw all his tasks to his advisers, not bothering with his responsibilities as king at all and only running over to the Nine Heavens to try his luck with winning the Son of Heaven's heart.

As soon as he appeared in front of Jing He though, his demeanor changed. That happy-go-lucky person that wouldn't take anything seriously suddenly lost his goofy smile and looked at his beloved earnestly, his gaze deep and his lips raised into a slight smile that could hardly be seen if one didn't look too closely. Nothing was outwardly different about him but the energy he gave off seemed to be the complete opposite from before.

Jing He who had always prided himself on being able to understand the people around him, guessing their thoughts about him and predicting their actions ... This person who had thought he could understand the people was utterly befuddled by the dragon king's behavior.

At first, he had thought that the dragon king had made an effort for the festival and tried to be more serious since he knew it was an important occasion. But by now, another year had gone by and nothing had changed about Qiu Ling's behavior. He was still like the person from the day of the festival: A mature man with a reassuring presence that inexplicably calmed him down but still made his heart jump once in a while.

Just what did this mean?

Jing He thought hard but he couldn't figure it out. This person ... He felt like he had never known him in the first year after they met each other. Apparently, Longjun was quite different from what he had thought.

This kind of difference, he couldn't help but feel that it was very good. The way the dragon king behaved right now was truly how a king should be. And that type of man, he also felt better being pursued by him. If it was the previous Qiu Ling, then there was no way for him to feel completely at ease considering the future. After all, he wanted a husband that matched him in all regards. But with how Qiu Ling was right now, things were different. Yes, if the dragon king was like this, then he could consider it. He felt that they made a good couple. The only problem was still their race.

Qiu Ling could also feel that things were different now. Jing He had never slighted him in the past and always been an attentive host when he came over but if he truly thought about it, then he could also tell that he had been a bit ... perfunctory. It was probably that he knew he had to treat him well because of the alliance between their races but it hadn't been that he wanted to treat him well because he was interested. Now, things were slowly changing. In that case ... He should probably make use of the situation?

Qiu Ling glanced at the person watering the flowers next to him. Even though another year had gone by, nothing had changed about how they spend their time. He would come over and accompany Jing He while he tended to his garden, then they would drink some tea in the pavilion, looking out at the beautiful flowers or, in his case, at the beautiful person in front of him and finally, he would reluctantly leave and return to the dragon realm. The next day, things would go the same way.

It wasn't that he didn't want to do things differently but he hadn't been sure if it was welcome. Who knew if the Heavenly Empress hadn't said something to Jing He? Maybe he was feeling that he behaved strangely and wouldn't be at ease if he did more? But now, it seemed that he had thought too much. If he still didn't do something now, when would he? It couldn't go on like this forever. No, he had to strike before somebody else did. After all, there were a lot of men in the immortal realms that were interested in his beloved!