yansusustories

I think I forgot to update a chapter a few days ago so here's one more for now ;)

Just a bit away from the Heavenly Emperor’s palace, the Heavenly Empress Bai Fen heaved a sigh of relief. She had barely managed to drag Qiu Ling out of her husband’s palace before he could get a heart attack because of anger. Seriously, what was Qiu Ling thinking looking that aggrieved about what Jing He had to suffer in the mortal world when exactly that kind of behavior had almost gotten him killed? It was no wonder that Rong Su was furious. Ah, just thinking of how his face had turned redder and redder …

She pulled Qiu Ling further away and toward the garden behind Jing He’s palace. "I think you’ve already understood that what you did was wrong. Let’s not dwell on that. As long as you don’t interfere any longer, it won’t be a problem. Jing He will be able to pull through this."

"Oh." Qiu Ling still hung his head though. His poor beloved … but if this was what he had to do to make sure he could live, then he would begrudgingly do so.

"Alright, alright." Bai Fen patted his shoulder. "Just think about the time when you’ll have him back. You’ve already endured ten days. How many more will this take? At most, it should be another two months and most likely, it’ll be even less. If you keep out of this from now on, then maybe the Fate’s Scribe could even help you out a bit and have Jing Yi return as soon as he passed the necessary trials."

Qiu Ling pursed his lips in response. "I really don’t know if I can take it that long. Mother-in-law, did you know that Jing He kissed somebody else in the mortal realm?" He looked up at her with sad eyes. "What if he falls in love with him? I managed to make him stay away from those girls in the village and I even called Xiao Dong from our race over to seduce that child but … he needed to long and now Jing He is already …"

Bai Fen sighed. "I really don’t know what to do with you. Are you really that afraid Jing He might fall in love with a mortal child? And you even tried to prevent it in such a way! Have you never thought that your plan might backfire?" Her son-in-law still didn’t seem to understand. "A mortal child and a dragon. If it was you, who would you choose?"

Qiu Ling blinked innocently. "What are you saying, mother-in-law? Of course, it’s neither of them. I have Jing He."

"You!" She slapped his shoulder but Qiu Ling only smiled. "Qiu Ling, I’m serious here. If you’re afraid of a mortal child stealing your beloved, you should be wary of a dragon child even more so!"

"He wouldn’t dare try something with Jing He."

"But that’s not what this is about. The question is: Who will Jing He choose? And that has nothing to do with anyone daring anything."

"No? I remember you telling me something else the last time."

Bai Fen shook her head. "That was then, this is now. Jing He isn’t the same person now. You can’t expect everything to be the same."

"Then what should I do? Mortal life or not, I don’t want to lose him!"

"I know, I know." She patted his arm and thought about it. There wasn’t much Qiu Ling could do. Especially not without endangering Jing He’s trials again.

"Mother-in-law, what should do? Don’t you also want me to be with Jing He? You have to help me!"

"Go talk to his mother first. Tell her your honest feelings as you did with me back then. Tell her about Jing He and what this reincarnation means to you. And for Heaven’s sake, Qiu Ling, please don’t try to drive off the people around him anymore. It’s nice that he can have some friends in this mortal life of his. It’s what a child should do. So don’t take that from him. Reign your jealousy in. It’s important for him and for you, it’s important that you don’t leave his mother with a bad impression."

"It’s easier said than done. I don’t want him to fall in love with anybody else. And he wouldn’t fall in love with me just because his mother likes me, would he?"

"Of course not."

"Then how do I make him fall in love with me?" Qiu Ling grabbed her sleeve and held on tight. "I can deal with his mother but he …"

Bai Fen plucked his hands off her dress. "What do you expect? He’s a child and you’re a fully grown-up man even if you don’t act like one. If he actually fell in love with you, I’d ask myself if something was wrong with his head. At his age, he should fall in love with a similarly aged boy." Bai Fen halted and looked up at him strangely. "That’s right. You turned into an old man to gain his trust and sent some dragon boy down to seduce that mortal child. Why didn’t you …" She frowned. "You could have turned into a child yourself. Wouldn’t Jing He fall in love with you then? Why are you even asking me about these things? It’s so simple!"

Bai Fen waited for an answer but didn’t get even one word. No, even worse, her son-in-law had tensed and averted his gaze, looking over the flowers in the garden as if he had any interest in them. Something … was definitely wrong with this reaction. She narrowed her eyes and tried to figure him out. Unfortunately, she could only see that he wasn’t happy with her suggestion. "What’s the matter?"

Qiu Ling smiled self-deprecatingly. Turn into a child to woo his beloved? He’d rather die than let Jing He get even a glimpse of that part of his life!