Romancing the Son of Heaven

Stratagem 30: Create Lasting Memories (6)

Jing He wasn't sure what to expect. He had seen that Qiu Ling seemed rather self-assured when it came to making the soup and since the dragon king had also said that he had learned this, he probably shouldn't doubt his skills. But still, it was hard for him to imagine that Qiu Ling would be able to do such a task. It just didn't want to fit his image.

As soon as he took the spoon that Qiu Ling handed him and had a taste, his eyes widened though and he couldn't quite believe it. This was ... well, it couldn't be compared with the things he normally ate but then again, this was also a medicinal soup so that probably would have been the case no matter who made it.

But in any case, the taste was actually nice. It wasn't bitter as a lot of medicine tended to be. Instead, while there was a lingering aftertaste, it was quite mellow, as if melting on his tongue.

To say that he was surprised ... that would be an understatement. No, he was completely gobsmacked. "Longjun has many talents that I never would've expected." Glancing at the dragon king, he remembered how he had seen him paint the first time.

At that time, he had also been surprised. It just hadn't seemed to fit with the image he had had of him. But then again, he was the king after all. To have a variety of skills was something normal for him, wasn't it? In any case, when he stopped to think about it, that was how he felt.

Maybe his first impression of Qiu Ling had just been too strong to leave room for anything else so whenever something new came up, he would still be surprised even after four years. In fact, it would be five soon enough. When he thought of that, he quietly ate some more of the soup, his mind wandering off.

This man, he had been scared of him at first but then got used to him, somewhat regarding him as a distant friend at least. Now, he had realized that his feelings were actually deeper than that. He loved him. And if not for his father and his position, he might have hoped for more than this.

Indeed, he could imagine to one day live at his side. But as it stood, that didn't seem possible. Still, he wasn't quite willing to give up yet. If he allowed himself to imagine a day when Longjun would be his husband ... Then, surely, what he should do was to get to know him better, wasn't it?

He gently stirred the soup in his bowl, glancing up at Longjun's face before he hurriedly looked away again. "The time when Longjun was traveling ... there were probably many more things that you did."

Qiu Ling nodded and then looked behind him, realizing that he might as well make himself comfortable. He turned slightly, leaning against the foot of the bed, and gave Jing He a smile. "There were certainly many things. Do you want to hear some stories?"

Jing He smiled faintly at that. "If Longjun wouldn't mind sharing. I just can't promise that I will know a lot about the things that you are telling me. To be honest, some simple things would be enough for me. Just knowing how you spent your days ... I would be delighted if you told me about that."

Qiu Ling looked at him with a smile, incredibly pleased with himself. He hadn't even planned for this but Jing He himself was asking him about his past. That ... well, he didn't even know what to say about that. It just seemed incredibly perfect as if this was how things should be.

He tried to keep down the grin that wanted to break out on his face and instead gave what he assumed to be a more sophisticated hum. "How I spent my days ... I'm not sure if it is that exciting. Back then, life was actually quite hard.

"If you are outside of the palace, outside of any kind of city, just in the wilderness all on your own, it can be a little ... frustrating at times. There is nobody to talk to, nobody to spend your time with, just yourself and whatever there is at the place where you stopped.