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

153 Not That Idle

Qiu Ling had his worries about this but there was nothing he could do for the time being other than to hope that Ye Yang would turn out to be advocating for peace. He seemed to be doing that right now and had also stood on Jin Ling's side previously so there was a certain chance it was true but with demons, you never really knew.

"We'll see about the demons. For now, have them keep an eye on the situation. Unless the demons attack first, don't antagonize them though. Also, speak to the people actually living at the border. They should have the best idea of what is and isn't normal."

Even though many of the soldiers were stationed at the border all year round and even lived there themselves, many would also be moved to other posts after a while. There was also the issue that they all stared at the border and the demons' actions with the eyes of soldiers. Basically anything looked suspicious and threatening in their minds.

The people who had spent all their lives in the region but weren't trained soldiers often had a different outlook on things. Sometimes, this enabled them to see signs others would miss so it was best to listen to them and find out about their ideas. Also, it was best to check in with the common people every now and then in general.

They were the ones who would suffer the most so naturally, they should ensure that they were doing well. If they weren't, then only if he was aware could he find a way to deal with it. As somebody who had lived away from others for a long time, he understood just how important that was.

Qiu Ling finally shook his head, not wanting to think about it any longer. "Well, that's it. If there is nothing else, I'll let you get back to your own tasks. I also still have some things to work through here." He glanced at the documents An Bai had brought him that still needed to be dealt with and sighed. There really weren't many.

Ah, he never would have thought he'd ever feel bored because he didn't have enough to do as king. Weren't his advisers a little too efficient? Maybe he should be all up in An Bai's current research with the half-bloods. It was a pity that he couldn't leave his father-in-law's palace without inviting suspicions on himself again so he had to stay put. In this case, what else could he do?

Just as Qiu Ling fell into contemplation, there were finally steps outside. A moment later, Qiang Yan entered through the door and nodded at Qiu Ling. Glancing at the transmission stone in his hand that wasn't lit at this moment, he raised his brows. "Busy?" It sure seemed like he had interrupted something.

Qiu Ling glanced at it as well. Xiang Yong had just said his goodbyes and probably went to speak to Zheng Yin immediately. He also wasn't the type of person who would leave tasks unfinished for long. And he certainly cared about the long-term development of the dragon realm a great deal so he certainly knew that great importance should be attached to this. It was the kind of task that should have utmost priority over the daily tasks.

Sighing again, he put away the transmission stone and waved at Qiang Yan to come over. "No, definitely not. On the contrary, I feel like I am too idle."

Qiang Yan sat down opposite him and smiled. "If you're idle, then what is my brother-in-law?" Usually, he only came by if he wanted something but since he had also moved into the Heavenly Emperor's palace for the time being for the sake of 'additional security measures', he had a rather good grasp on his brother-in-law's daily schedule. It definitely couldn't be called packed. His own work at the Palace of War seemed more tiring than what the Heavenly Emperor was doing.

It really wouldn't be an issue if there wasn't somebody to compare it to. After all, the different palaces were there so the Heavenly Emperor didn't have to do everything himself. Basically, if one were to compare it to the mortal realm, they were the ministries who dealt with matters and then reported the results to their emperor. Much of the task load was taken over by them. This didn't mean that their emperor was idle but he didn't have to do all those small things himself. In the Nine Heavens, this system went even further and the Heavenly Emperor often only made final decisions.

Things worked differently in the dragon realm. Qiang Yan hadn't known in the past but throughout the ten years of Qiu Ling trying to romance Jing He and then the duration of the trial, he had also come to find out more. From what he understood now, the dragons didn't have as many institutions to deal with matters and much of it was taken care of by their king himself.

For example, the appointments of generals which he would do in the Nine Heavens without even his brother-in-law's input? Qiu Ling would take care of that. He would decide and he would likely look at the candidates himself as well instead of just listening to his adviser's opinion. It was the same in other matters. He did a lot of tasks himself so really, there was no charitable way of comparing Rong Su's workload to Qiu Ling's.

Of course, Qiu Ling himself was roughly aware of this after spending more than a week in this palace. It wasn't something he could bring himself to say out loud though. That would just be asking for his father-in-law to get angry again. In the end, he could only smile wryly. "Well, I feel idle with Jing He not being around. I suppose waiting for something that has no date gives you that kind of feeling."

At this, Qiang Yan could only sigh. Indeed, if there was a timeline for Jing He waking up and recovering, then all of this would certainly be easier.