Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 12, Part 1)

71 A Good Source of Advice

Jinde nodded. "That does sound like a good idea." He lowered his gaze, thinking of the time when he intended to plan this wedding. "To be honest ... Jin Yu and I talked about this with the Heavenly Empress so there are a few ideas in place. Let's go over that together after you return and see which parts you'd like to take care of yourself."

Originally, it had been planned that their generation would be in charge of this and, frankly, he would have liked that. He knew what kind of situation Qiu Ling was in though so he wouldn't insist. No, it was better for Qiu Ling to keep busy and also focus on the positive future he'd have together with Jing He.

Qiu Ling watched his expression and could guess some of his thoughts. His lips couldn't help but curl up in response. "You'd really like to be in charge of this, wouldn't you?"

Jinde clicked his tongue. "Well, when are we going to have the next wedding in the family? I'm not going to get another chance anytime soon. Not to mention that our people are so perfunctory. You can call yourself lucky if they put on a nice robe! This is a prime opportunity."

Qiu Ling hummed and glanced at Jing He again. To be honest, with how traditional his beloved was, he might also like it more if the previous generation prepared the ceremony and all it entailed. In that case ... "Then you do that and just talk it over with me when it's convenient. I ... will take care of other things."

Jinde raised his golden brows. He would have thought that Qiu Ling would be all over his wedding. Although then again, as long as Jing He wasn't there, it probably meant little. The good part about the wedding ceremony was being able to hang onto your partner and flirt with them while pretending you were making serious decisions.

He coughed lightly, pushing away the memories of his wedding with Leng Jin Yu. "Well, I don't mind if you don't but are you sure about this?"

"Mn. Don't I still have a realm to reign over? It's just great to have a bit of time left before my wedding. I can get things in order before Jing He moves into the palace. By the time I show him around, he'll be impressed by how amazing his husband is for having a realm that harmonious."

Jinde laughed. He hadn't met the Son of Heaven but he had heard enough so it was difficult to imagine that kind of scene. It had always sounded as if he was a serious person, after all. So while he might indeed appreciate a realm that was well led by its king, would he really admire Qiu Ling the way he imagined? It was difficult to picture.

Qiu Ling pursed his lips. "Don't make it sound like that won't happen. I have already put things in motion a while ago. If I put my mind to it, I can definitely finish these things before he returns." Well, and if he couldn't, that would likely be because Jing He returned very early. He definitely wouldn't be unhappy about that.

Jinde still smiled in response. "I'm sure you can. Anyway, I'll always be here in case you need help even if I am focusing on the wedding."

Qiu Ling nodded. He wouldn't mind asking Jinde for his thoughts. On the contrary, he was thrilled to have the opportunity. Don't even mention that this was his family, even just as king, it was awesome to have somebody with rich experience at your side. Wasn't this why the dragon kings had advisers? So they could gain insight into where they themselves might be lacking in knowledge or experience? Jinde was definitely the best kind of adviser one could ask for because he had his own millennia-long experience of being king which had come with many experiences.

Of course, Qiu Ling didn't think that he himself was all that lacking. He hadn't been king for a short time. Even though his early education might have been lacking and he had a few weird hang-ups because of his childhood experiences, that didn't mean he hadn't been a qualified king in the years since he acceded to the throne.

Well, in his not-so-humble opinion, what made a king a good king was knowing that you weren't infallible. Even though he considered himself to be pretty good, he still had to listen to his advisers every now and then and take the opinions of others into consideration. So, of course, with such an opportunity in front of him, he would never say no.

"Let's talk things over in more detail after I come back. Both regarding the wedding and the changes I have been working on. Anyway, I think you will like it." The main changes he had on his agenda were the better integration of the half-bloods and the strengthening of the relationship with the spirit beasts. The latter should be of quite some interest to Jinde, considering that he and Chun Yin had apparently spent some time in their realm and even become friends with Wu Ya.

That was also why he was sure that Jinde would have a lot of advice to give on how exactly to go about this. He should have a lot of knowledge about the spirit beasts, after all. Definitely much more than he had, considering that he had to admit that he had stayed away from those differing from the dragon race even more than the dragons themselves.

It couldn't be helped. He had always feared being recognized for who he was among the dragons but he had thought that those who had an outsider's view and might look at him alongside full-blooded dragons might spot the differences first. This was why the spirit beast king's presence had always made him somewhat nervous. Now, it was time to get over that.