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

97 A Marriage Shouldn't Be Started with Secrets

Qiu Ling nodded. He had known as much so these words didn't come as a surprise. Anyway, it had never looked as if the Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress were particularly close. In fact ... thinking back to when he was a child, the attraction between his father and Jinde had been more obvious than this and that was while his idiot of a father was married to somebody else and annoying Jinde with his behavior to no end.

Even a blind person could have felt the passion between them. It had simply been that nobody dared to mention it since Jinde was the king, after all, and love was a tricky matter in the dragon race so nobody wanted to get involved. Contrary to that, in the case of the Heavenly Couple who were married and should by all right be a model to all other spouses ... there seemed to be nothing.

Well, maybe nothing was too harsh. The Heavenly Emperor did seem to like his wife but was holding back because he probably knew that he deserved an eternity in the dog house for what he had done. On the other hand, Bai Fen still showed her husband respect and seemed to have a friendly attitude toward him but the grudge was there.

And this, how could anyone fault her for it? Her husband really did that to himself. Especially since there was one detail he had noticed while Bai Fen recounted this part of her past. "Your husband didn't tell you any of these things immediately. At the time he told you about the pregnancy, it seems he didn't mention the curse either?"

Bai Fen inclined her head. "Yes. He didn't come out with it directly. He had to fess up during that conversation though because there was no reason he should have known while I was on the trial."

While a god was on their trial, time still passed in the immortal realms. There were arrays to protect their bodies from decay now that the soul was gone but those couldn't stop the passage of time. So, getting pregnant before she left, she was naturally several months into her pregnancy at the time she returned. It hadn't been far enough in to actually see any changes to her body though. Otherwise, wouldn't she have been the first to know that she was expecting another child?

Bai Fen shook her head. "I can't make any excuses for his behavior. That is also why matters are the way they are between us. I sometimes thought that as long as he had taken the initiative to come clean even once, maybe I could have forgiven him.

"There were ... so many opportunities. I wouldn't have expected him to tell me as soon as we met. I would have expected him to tell me after the wedding though. I definitely would have expected him to tell me after we knew that I was pregnant with Fang Hai. And he should have told me when she was born at the very latest. But he never did. Not a single word about that curse as if he just believed that everything would go well and there was simply no need to scare me.

"Later, Fang Hai's life was very difficult. She lived through the same as what Jing He indicated when speaking to you: one disaster after the other. And each of them was yet another opportunity for Rong Su to finally tell me, to explain just what was happening to our daughter, and that I should expect it to continue happening until the day she came of age. If he had done so, even if her situation couldn't have been changed, even though I still would have grieved her, at least my heart would have been prepared."

Qiu Ling nodded but he had no words to say in response. His mother-in-law ... had truly lived through too much. It was worse thinking about how much of it was her own husband's fault.

Bai Fen sighed and finally reached over the table, covering Qiu Ling's hand. "You have proven with your actions that you aren't going to be like this. Even though it was difficult, you took the steps to tell Jing He and you did so before the wedding was even held. I know how difficult that was for you and I am grateful to know that you were aware of just how important this was. It ... gives me hope that you and Jing He will be better than his father and I have been. I am sure that as long as you keep up this honesty and talk to each other, anything can be overcome."

Qiu Ling inclined his head. "Believe me, I won't lie to Jing He. After he realizes my heritage, I will answer every question he has, no matter the consequences."

He knew he couldn't live without Jing He. The curse made it impossible. But he'd be damned if he jeopardized Jing He's happiness for his own selfish reasons. He'd rather put down his own life than allow such a thing. That was why he had originally resolved himself to confess.

Of course, part of it was also the fear of being discovered later on without having brought it up himself or even having hinted at it. Then, he'd be very much like Jing He's father had been. That kind of sin ... it seemed unforgivable.

Come to think of it, Jing He should have known about the curse on his family and it seemed like he had tried to sound him out as well. Long before the trial had even been on the horizon, his beloved had once asked him about his wishes for his future family and the children he wished to have. It had seemed odd for Jing He to bring up something that made their relationship seem incredibly serious before they had even become engaged. But it made sense if he wanted to tell him the truth. Most likely, just like him, Jing He had also struggled with his own secrets.