Romancing the Son of Heaven

Stratagem 40: Make Memories for the Future! (1)

Qiu Ling was very much willing to oblige Jing He's wish. He poured him another cup of wine and then continued with his tale. "Either way, I went into the town that day and entered one of those taverns.

"In the dragon realm, drinking is something that has a high appeal. I guess it comes with our stronger physical constitution. We don't get drunk as easily so we either need stronger wine or drink a lot to finally feel it. I guess it might be different in the Nine Heavens."

Jing He nodded, feeling that this should be the case. Although he couldn't be called experienced in that regard, he also hadn't heard otherwise.

Qiu Ling leaned back, his head tilting toward Jing He while he looked into the distance, reminiscing. "Either way, everyone else was drinking so I chose a table and figured I should just join in.

"I guess it speaks volumes that I was still sitting alone. I also wasn't sure how to pay if I'm being honest. Usually, the things that I wanted were practical things so exchanging them for something else that might be useful for the other person wasn't difficult. After all, a merchant selling fabric earns that money to be able to feed their family. So as long as you are able to give them enough food to make it worth their while, they won't complain.

"Going to a tavern to get something to drink is a different matter altogether. Usually, they want to make a profit. Maybe you won't even be able to talk to the person who owns the tavern but only to somebody who was put in charge by someone else. Back then, I wasn't necessarily aware of that though."

Jing He became worried when he heard that. "You wouldn't have only found out after the fact, would you?"

Qiu Ling smiled when he glanced over and saw his beloved's worried expression. He couldn't help but reach out, gently grabbing his chin. "It's sweet to see you worry about me like this. You don't have to though. Honestly, I might not have known much but I wasn't stupid either. Of course, before making any kind of exchange, I would ask to ensure I could offer what the other person wanted. That was what I did in this situation as well. It is just that the waiter in the tavern looked at me quite strangely. It was ... well, it was a bit humiliating."

He sighed and shook his head, quietly taking a sip of wine himself. "You know, while I was out there, living in the wilderness, I never really thought about it. But being back among people, I couldn't help but think of when I had been living in the capital city, in the dragon king's palace even.

"My father's status had been high, he had also been on friendly terms with the king himself, and the same could be said about me. No matter how young I had been at that time, the trajectory of my life seemed to have been set. I could have been a general or an adviser. In any case, I wouldn't have been of low status. But by the time I walked into that tavern, I had been reduced to such a state. Honestly, I did not have much pride left."

Jing He hesitated but then reached out, grabbing onto Qiu Ling's sleeve. "I believe that it is not the things you have that make you the person you are and determine your worth."

Qiu Ling raised his brows, wanting to listen to Jing He trying to comfort him some more. It really made him feel peaceful. "No?"

Jing He shook his head. "No. Of course, how people see you will be influenced by that. The way you ..." He looked at Qiu Ling's robe and finally couldn't help himself, he raised his hand and put it on his chest, his fingertips brushing over the beautiful embroidery. It was soft beneath his fingers and, at the same time, he felt the warmth emanating from Qiu Ling's body beneath.

Qiu Ling looked down at that hand, a little surprised. Jing He hardly took the lead in getting close to him but today, this was not the first time he had done so. His current actions could also be called bold for a god. In fact, it kind of made him want to stop reminiscing and instead focus on building their future together. He had to consciously force himself to not do so and just enjoy his touch for the moment, lest he scared him off.