The dragon king … was currently still trying to figure out just why Yi Zan’s sister and nephew had turned up at the teahouse. "Uh …" He raised his brows and pointed at them. "What are you doing here?"

Ai Hua’s lips twitched. "Your Majesty, you called us over yourself. Don’t you remember?"

Qiu Ling tilted his head. Oh? Had he done something like that? How come he couldn’t remember?

His expression spoke leagues. Ai Hua sighed. "The child?"

"Child?"

Ai Hua leaned forward and lowered her voice. "The one you wanted Xiao Dong to seduce! Because he was bothering your beloved."

"Oh!" Qiu Ling had a sudden epiphany. Right! There had been that boy who dared to harass his beloved! That had been the reason why he had gone back to the Nine Heavens in the first place, hadn’t it?

He looked around but couldn’t see that cumbersome boy. Mn, it seemed now that his beloved wasn’t here anymore, that child didn’t come running here either. Hmph. So much for his feelings for his Jing He! He actually just gave up like that. Well, it was to his advantage so he wouldn’t complain.

Qiu Ling turned to look at the boy sitting at the table and examined him. It seemed … Well, of course, he wasn’t as handsome as him but he was still quite good-looking for a young dragon. This should suffice to make sure that that mortal would stay away from his beloved even in the future. Qiu Ling nodded to himself. Ah, it had been a brilliant idea to call him over! Thankfully, he —

Qiu Ling paused before he could even congratulate himself completely. Wait! Wasn’t this what his mother-in-law had warned him about? Damn. What if his beloved had seen this boy and fallen in love with him before he left for that strange sect?!

Fu Min observed the changing expression of his king and grabbed another pastry, munching on. Ah, he was at it again. How would it turn out this time? Probably not too well for Xiao Dong. He had seen often enough just how crazy his king was for crown prince Jing He. And his gaze right now was screaming 'You dared to mess with my beloved!' It was a gaze spelling trouble.

Ai Hua also noticed Qiu Ling’s darkening expression. She nudged her son. "Xiao Dong, my darling, Fu Min and I have some things to discuss with His Majesty. Why don’t you go and work on His Majesty’s assignment for a bit? You haven’t seen that Shao Hai for some hours already, have you?"

Xiao Dong didn’t even listen to her. All of his attention was on his king’s expression right now and his reaction … was the complete opposite of his mother and Fu Min’s. Under that continuously darkening stare, his heart beat faster and he blushed.

Oh, Heavens! That was it! This was the kind of penetrating gaze only a true sovereign would have! He could practically feel him oozing his might even though he was standing on the other side of the table. No wonder his father and uncle were looking up to this man, willing to risk their lives for him! Ah, he also wanted to serve this man with everything he got! He wanted to kneel down right now! Even laying down his life was nothing!

While imagining how somebody wanted to steal his beloved, Qiu Ling somehow managed to gain a new loyal follower. One really had to wonder how exactly he had established his reign in the dragon realm in the first place. Had all of that really been due to his fight with the demon king? Or had there been some … controversial coincidences too?

Whatever it was, he couldn’t care less. The dragon child that was supposed to leave was still sitting there, looking at him as if it wanted to challenge him. So this guy was actually after his beloved too! This was … this was outrageous! He’d go and complain to Yi Zan! This guy better disciplined his nephew!

Ai Hua cursed and tugged at Xiao Dong’s sleeve. "Xiao Dong. You go and see what that Shao Hai is doing. Don’t come back here before you haven’t made him irrevocably fall in love with you!"

Xiao Dong finally registered that his mother was talking to him but he didn’t like what he was hearing at all. Why did he have to leave? That man over there was his idol! He wanted to stay and witness his king’s might! Even if it was just for a while longer …

Xiao Dong looked up at Ai Hua with watery eyes. Unfortunately, that was a skill Ai Hua had taught him herself so, of course, it wouldn’t work on her. She waved him away, not caring for his feelings. Well, one could say she cared about his physical well-being more than the emotional one. Who knew what their king would do if he got into a bad mood?

Yi Zan had once told her how His Majesty had challenged An Bai because he had talked to the crown prince for a minute while His Majesty stood next to them. His Majesty had been ignored and the conclusion he had drawn? An Bai was too handsome for his own good! It was time to disfigure that damned face!

Well, thanks to His Highness’ timely intervention An Bai still had that pretty face of his but he hadn’t talked to the crown prince for a long, long time. And whenever he did he took extra care to make sure His Majesty was not around.

Something like this definitely couldn’t happen to her son! The face was every person’s most important possession! With that thought in mind, Ai Hua pointed to the entrance until her son gave up.

Xiao Dong’s shoulders slouched but with a last regretful look at Qiu Ling, he finally went on his way to search for Shao Hai. Alright, he couldn’t stay with His Majesty for now, but he’d fulfill this task as well as he could and make sure that his Majesty saw his worth!

Thus a certain young dragon hurried to the house of the Shao’s and managed to stumble upon a worrisome scene.