Romancing the Son of Heaven

Stratagem 20: Enjoy the Act! (4)

Qiu Ling inwardly congratulated himself and then went ahead. "Well, this person ..." He motioned at the other guests that had turned to look quite satisfied when the Heavenly Emperor refused to budge on his first ruling. "If I'm not wrong, then he is from the capital city, isn't he?"

The Heavenly Emperor looked over and the man hurriedly nodded even though he had a bad feeling about this. Just what kind of thing did this person want to bring up?

Qiu Ling's lips curved up in a calculating smile and he turned back to the Heavenly Emperor. "Well, of course, if he is living not far from this establishment, he is able to come here five months before the Jiyi Festival and ask to reserve a room.

"On the other hand, my fiance and I do not have that opportunity." He turned to Jing He, gently brushing back his hair and marveling at the foresight of the Heavenly Empress. Not only had she made him look exceedingly beautiful, this kind of getup and hairstyle also meant that he looked absolutely not like himself. As long as he didn't speak, the Heavenly Emperor would probably have a hard time recognizing his own child. If he did provide a detailed backstory, then that would be even less likely.

"You see, we're from the Eastern Heaven. And while we are indeed decently well off, traveling to the capital city also isn't something that we are able to do arbitrarily. Even if I had long planned to take my fiance here to finally see the splendor of the capital, I also wouldn't have been able to come here before to reserve a room.

"I find this incredibly partial to the locals while it disadvantages all people of the other eight heavens." Qiu Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. Thankfully, he had spent quite a bit of time learning some general things about the Nine Heavens. Otherwise, he really wouldn't be able to get out of this. To make sure the Heavenly Emperor didn't brush him off just because he didn't like his attitude, he continued though. "Naturally, this other guest isn't at fault for that but I do blame the owner a bit."

The owner who hadn't really been a part of the conflict all the time but was suddenly pushed right into the middle, tensed up. Why was he suddenly the bad person? He should have refused the dragon king from the very beginning! And worst of all ...

He glanced at the Heavenly Emperor who was deeply frowning now that this was brought up. Was it that he was pondering this person's point or had he figured out that this guy was blatantly lying to him? If it was the latter ... Wouldn't he also be blamed? After all, he had already found out the truth but hadn't spoken up yet.

Maybe he should contradict him right now? But then again, he didn't want to have to deal with the wrath of the dragon king. That just ... didn't sound like a good idea. As long as there was any chance that the Heavenly Emperor wouldn't find out, it would probably be best to keep his eyes and mouth shut for as long as he could.

The Heavenly Emperor continued to ponder. "You do have a point. But nonetheless, this other guest did reserve the room. That is very inconvenient for you but still a fact."

Qiu Ling pursed his lips. This person really wanted to pretend to be righteous right at this moment? Well, then it seemed like he could only hit him where it hurt! "I do understand, Your Majesty. This really is just such a pity." He sighed deeply and then turned to Jing He, looking at him as sadly as he could. "My dear, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my promise to you. If you feel that this is shattering your trust in me as your future husband, then I would understand if you wanted to cancel our engagement."

Jing He's eyes widened and he flicked a glance at his father. If he somehow found out who he was, then just these lines alone would get either of them into deep trouble. Couldn't the dragon king just let go of this matter?