Romancing the Son of Heaven

Stratagem 18: Get to Know Your Beloved by Heart (1)

When Qiu Ling returned to the dragon realm, he didn't care about the fact that it was already late in the evening and went to see Fu Min. He also didn't bother about knocking on the door and just barged right in, walking over to the table and sitting down. "You have to help me."

Fu Min who had just been sitting in the bathtub looked at his king with wide eyes, his fingers still entangled in the blond strands of his hair. There were even a few petals peeking out between the strands.

Thankfully, Qiu Ling didn't require his input. Instead, he just continued to talk. "You know, that bastard of a Heavenly Emperor is currently trying to keep me away from my beloved.

"This time, he actually put so many guards around his palace that it's difficult to see him. It's especially troublesome since we were making so much progress in the last few days. So I need a way to meet with my beloved to implement the next step of my plan. I already went to talk to the Heavenly Empress but I'm not quite sure if she'll be able to help me. Anyway, she didn't seem very cooperative today. But maybe she will think about it later on and realize what a good idea it would be to help her son-in-law." Even though he said so, he still sighed.

"Ah, it's really not easy. I definitely can't just sneak in as I used to. But if I appear in front of these people, they definitely wouldn't let me in without a fight. Then the Heavenly Emperor would hear about it and probably bitch again. Then who knows what my beloved would think?

"Anyway, my plan this time is sure to win me his heart so I can't let go of this opportunity. Do you think I should ask somebody to bring me over? Like, somebody who those guards can't refuse like the Heavenly Empress or that God of War? After all, they are Jing He's family. If they say it's okay, then it should be okay, don't you think so?"

He turned to Fu Min and then furrowed his brows. "Why aren't you wearing any clothes? Even if you strip down in front of me, I still won't like you. There's only my beloved in my heart."

Fu Min awkwardly lowered his hands and wondered if there was any way to disappear in a bathtub of this size. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to do so before this so he definitely wouldn't be able to do it right now. He'd have to live with that fact.

In the end, he could only clear his throat despite his embarrassment. "Your Majesty, what exactly is your plan? Because if it's anything reckless, then maybe it wouldn't be good to let the Heavenly Empress or the God of War see. After all, even though they might be a little less rigorous than the Heavenly Emperor, they are still His Highness' family. They might not approve of it if you were to behave too outlandish."

Qiu Ling looked at him as if he was offended. "What's that supposed to mean? I've been on my best behavior for the past years. Other than those few incidents in the beginning, there haven't been any problems with me."

Fu Min hurriedly nodded, trying not to think of the fact in what kind of situation they were right now. If this was his best behavior, he really didn't want to see how their king behaved when he was at his worst.

"Anyway, I can't tell you about my great plan yet. I still need to finalize it. After it is put into motion, I might consider telling you the truth."

Fu Min felt even less reassured when he heard that. But what could he do? Since his king had already decided, he would definitely go ahead with it. If he was lucky, then he might be able to go to An Bai or Xiang Yong and get them to deal with the king. Unfortunately, that also wouldn't be easy. Anyway, until he tried it, he could only hope that he was able to keep the damage as low as possible. "Well, it's probably something very romantic so you wouldn't want to have too many people around it when you do, isn't that true?"

Qiu Ling's gaze lit up when he heard that and he nodded fervently. "Of course!"

"Well, then it probably still wouldn't be good to have the God of War or the Heavenly Empress there. One's parents or family are normally an obstacle when trying to be romantic. So maybe it would be better to find another way in after all."

Qiu Ling still nodded but he turned more for thoughtful at this. "That's also true ..."

Fu Min rushed to think about it and finally came up with an idea. "Your Majesty, maybe instead of going in, you could just wait for His Highness to come out. If I remember correctly, there should be a festival in the Nine Heavens in a short while. I'm not quite sure if His Highness would take part in it but it could be that he has some kind of role in it since he has come of age already. If you want to know more about it, you would have to ask An Bai though."

"Oh." Qiu Ling didn't look too happy at that. He hadn't forgotten about his thought that An Bai might want to get closer to his beloved yet. But if this was the only way, then he would reluctantly go and do that. "Alright, then I'd better do that." He got up and didn't even take another look at Fu Min before he walked out and slammed the door behind him, walking over to An Bai's study with a not too happy expression.

Back in the room, Fu Min brushed through his hair and shook his head. Their king was getting weirder every day. He could only hope that the Son of Heaven would soon be convinced that marrying him would be a good idea or their king might actually be able to destroy any chance he had ever had. He shook his head at himself at the situation, and then just continued to wash his hair, not thinking about it any longer. There was nothing he could do anyway.

Meanwhile, Qiu Ling once again repeated the same process of barging into the room without bothering to knock or announce himself. Thankfully, An Bai was only sitting at the table, reading through a few books and making some notes at the side. When he heard the door, he looked up and then hurriedly pushed the book away, getting up to bow to his king. "Your Majesty."

Qiu Ling looked around, his expression still not happy. "Fu Min said that there was some kind of festival in the Nine Heavens soon. Is that true?"

An Bai was stunned for a moment but then nodded. "There's indeed one. It isn't very well known but most people would probably regard it as an enjoyable one. Traditionally, there will be stories being told in the teahouses and similar establishments, as well as on the market squares, to remember the older days. People would be dressed up as these figures, staging some of the most well-known scenes and sometimes even the guests would wear masks or something along the lines. In general, it's a way to honor the past."

Qiu Ling pondered. This was actually a very good one. Especially if they were allowed to wear masks. That way, after they sneaked out, nobody would be able to recognize them. He would be an idiot if he didn't make use of this opportunity.

His expression already turned much happier and he gave An Bai a triumphant look. "Well, then I know now!" He didn't bother to explain anything else and just rushed out again, going over to his own chambers to prepare.

An Bai raised his eyebrows and stared at the door in a daze. What had happened just now? He wasn't quite sure if this was anything good. Well, even if it wasn't, he was afraid that there was nothing he could do about it.