Romancing the Son of Heaven

Stratagem 22: Love Disturbs Even The Most Tranquil of Hearts (3)

The absence of the guards was naturally the Heavenly Empress' doing. The day of the festival, her brother had successfully distracted the Heavenly Emperor for several hours but, finally, Rong Su had just been annoyed and demanded to go back. No matter how much his brother-in-law argued, he still marched to his wife's palace. As a result, he was chewed out severely.

Bai Fen had crossed her arms in front of her chest, staring her husband down when he dared to complain that Jing He wasn't in her palace anymore. "You! You still dare to complain? Who was it that stationed all those guards outside his palace, making him come over here crying because he couldn't take it any longer? You know he dislikes having so many people around but you still went ahead and placed them there just because you got it into your head that you somehow had to get rid of the dragon king."

"But I need to —"

Bai Fen's brows drew together, making the Heavenly Emperor shut up. He really wanted to get rid of the dragon king. But that also wasn't worth making his wife angry over. Just why was everything so complicated? If it was another person, he could just have the guards throw him out but he couldn't do that with this guy. What else was he supposed to do if not stationing a group of guards all around Jing He's palace? If he didn't, how would he protect his precious son from that old guy?

Bai Fen's brows drew even further together. "You're still thinking about it?"

Rong Su blinked his eyes at his wife, trying to look harmless. "No. Absolutely not. Why would I still be thinking about it?"

"Good! Then why are you still standing here looking at me instead of telling the guards to leave his palace?"

Rong Su was taken aback. "But —"

"Didn't you say you weren't thinking about it any longer? So why are you hesitating now?"

"I ..." The Heavenly Emperor looked at the ground and pursed his lips. "I just want him to be safe."

"Oh. You want him to be safe." Bai Fen nodded like an understanding wife. Then, she unleashed her fury on her husband. "Are you implying that I'm stupid?! How does our son need a battalion of guards around his palace to stay safe? He's been living there for most of his life and he has never needed those guards! It's always only been Huang Lan and Mu Kun so how come, you suddenly need those other people there to make sure he's safe? You're obviously just doing this because you're a selfish prick!"

The Heavenly Emperor pulled up his shoulders and retracted his head. "But I just —"

"You tell them to leave already! Your son is uncomfortable with them. What more do you need to know before you decide?"

This time, the Heavenly Emperor didn't try to talk back. Naturally, he didn't want his precious son to be uncomfortable. How could he? Even though he definitely wanted to keep that damned dandy away from him, Jing He's comfort was still much more important.

Thus, he finally did as his wife had asked him and sent somebody to tell the guards to leave. Bai Fen was satisfied but Rong Su was still worried.

"What should we do about the dragon king though?"

The Heavenly Empress sighed. Just why was her husband still going on about that? "What's so bad about the dragon king? He is the leader of our allies."

"But he's harassing Jing He!"

Bai Fen glanced at her husband's indignant expression and couldn't help but wonder if he really understood that son of theirs at all. Obviously, Jing He's heart was slowly thawing. He might not even have realized it himself yet but he wasn't completely immune to the dragon king's charm any longer. With some more time, he would likely come to accept that man completely.