Oh My, How Extra!

A Hairy Situation 7: Beauty Is a Question of Preference

While the young ones enjoyed themselves at the festival, the Heavenly Emperor and his wife sat in a pavilion behind his palace and drank tea.

"Who do you think will win this year?"

Bai Fen didn't bother to reply. Wasn't he sure that their son would win? Why was he even asking? To be honest, their son was a beauty but there were a lot of those around. Even his own husband was one! So if their status wasn't considered, it would be hard to say who would come out on top. Wasn't it just a question of preference?

The dragons, for example, loved their current king a lot even though he didn't show up very often. They had also loved their previous king and had been happy to hear that he hadn't actually died. Nobody had asked to have him return to his place on the throne though which showed that they respected the current Longjun very much. But if asked who was more beautiful among the two of them ... they would definitely vote for the previous king. Hadn't he been hailed as the greatest beauty of the dragon realm for a long time? If she remembered correctly, then there had even been rumors that half of the capital city had asked to marry him back in the day.

The gods, on the other hand, were rather conservative. Qiu Ling would have better chances at getting chosen than Jinde thanks to his hair and eye color but his chances should still be worse than Jing He's because of the temperament he displayed. The gods just weren't used to someone as outgoing as Qiu Ling. Just the way they had reacted to his wedding with Jing He was proof enough of that.

"Bai Fen!"

The Heavenly Empress looked up at the familiar voice. "Qiang Yan? Why did you come here? You don't like the festival?"

Qiang Yan laughed and sat down next to his sister. "Me on that festival? I'm afraid people will say I'm old." He grabbed the teapot and poured himself a cup. "Ah, but I saw Jing He and Qiu Ling. It seemed the two of them were having fun."

"Hmph. How could Jing He have fun in that kind of environment?" Rong Su pursed his lips and picked up a pastry. Hmph, his precious darling son, how could that dandy pull him along to do whatever? Jing He was probably very scared inside but didn't dare to complain. He should talk about it with him in private sometime.

Qiang Yan didn't mind his brother-in-law's bad mood and quietly sipped his tea.

Bai Fen ignored her husband just the same and instead nudged her brother. "You should go. You're already so old but you're still single. Never mind what the others say, maybe you'll find a decent partner there. Many among the participants are alone."

"Ah, never mind that. I'm already used to staying alone. Getting a partner now that I'm old ..." He sighed. "Not everyone can be like you, falling in love when they're young, marrying against all odds, staying together all their life ..." He sighed again and picked up one of the pastries, earning a gloomy look from Rong Su.

This guy! Even if he was his brother-in-law, did he need to bother them when they were spending time as a couple? And why was he eating his pastries now?!

"Ah, sister, I'm really pitiful. You know I saw the previous dragon king together with his husband. How come he'd rather marry him and do ... well, whatever they do together each day instead of getting a position in my palace? It could have been a high one."

The Heavenly Emperor pulled the plate with the pastries away from Qiang Yan. "If you're so curious, why don't you go and ask?"

"Ah, how could I bother the young love?"

"You mind bothering them but you don't mind bothering us? We're also a couple!"

"Aiya. But you're a different kind of couple. You're already as old as me.