Jing He was not the only person that was nervous. If his father could, he definitely would’ve rushed right back to his palace to guard next to his bed. He did remember the god of Medicine’s words though and every single time he reached the threshold of his own palace, he kept himself from going to disturb his son’s rest.

Ah, he wanted somebody to talk to, somebody he could share his worries with! Unfortunately, his wife had scolded him fiercely just yesterday so he didn’t dare to go and try to talk to her. Who knew what she would say if he came to tell her about Jing He’s condition?

Pacing up and down for a while, the Heavenly Emperor finally muttered under his breath and then went to visit his brother-in-law. He was still a little angry that he had taken up so much of his time yesterday when he would’ve much rather spent the festival with his son and wife but since he couldn’t go and talk to Bai Fen, it was much better to at least talk with Qiang Yan even if he still was angry.

At that moment, Qiang Yan was sitting in the study, going over the shifts of the Heavenly guards, pondering over what to do with some of the more … difficult once. Namely, his best friend’s child and his new lover. Or was that even still his lover? He should probably go and make sure of that first.

When the door was pushed open unceremoniously, he glanced up, and put down the brush with a sigh when he saw the person in question. "What’s the matter, brother-in-law? Did something happen?"

Rong Su closed the door behind him and then went to sit down in front of Qiang Yan, furrowing his brows tightly. "Jing He is sick."

Qiang Yan raised his brows in surprise, leaning over the table with a worried expression. "What happened?" His nephew was definitely somebody who was a little more reclusive and might not deal too well with a crowd the size of what the Jiyi festival would gather but he wasn’t frail to the point where just this much would make him get sick. After all, he was still the trueborn god. Even if he had never trained in sword arts, his spiritual energy was still very strong. To actually get sick … also wasn’t an easy feat.

Rong Su furrowed his brows even further. "It must be because of that festival. I knew it would have been better if I went to spent time with him."

Qiang Yan leaned back and sighed, feeling that he wouldn’t get any useful information out of his brother-in-law at all. "Well, did the god of medicine have a look at him?"

Rong Su nodded at that. "Yes, he told him to take a rest. And then, he actually threw me out! I really can’t believe it. I do understand that Jing He might need a few hours of sleep but wouldn’t it be better if there was somebody with him that he trusted? How will he be able to sleep without worries if there is nobody taking care of him?"

Qiang Yan picked up the brush and bend over the scroll of paper in front of him again, feeling that he didn’t need to worry after all. 'Take a rest' was probably just code for 'I know your father is annoying, let me take him off your hands'. If he had to guess, Jing He wasn’t sick at all.

The Heavenly Emperor felt annoyed when he saw this lack of reaction. "What’s with you?! We’re talking about your favorite nephew here!"

"We are talking about my only nephew here. Anyway, Jing He isn’t a small child anymore. He is already a fully-grown adult. Don’t smother him too much."

Rong Su got up and started to pace around his brother-in-law’s study, shaking his head incessantly. "There’s really no use in talking to you. I should’ve gone to Bai Fen after all."

"My sister would say the same and probably in much less nice words. Honestly, if the god of medicine says to let him rest, then just let him rest. It’s probably nothing much. Maybe he just didn’t sleep very well last night." Saying so, he paused with the brush in hand, wondering if there could be something more to this. His nephew was a bit like his father in that he liked to overthink things. It was just that the things they did overthink were different. In Jing He’s case … Could it be that the dragon king had said or done something yesterday that made him this worried? It wouldn’t be completely impossible.

The thought was really intriguing. Because if that was true, then it meant that his sister’s plan had worked out and these two had actually gotten closer together. It definitely wasn’t the end goal yet but it meant that they were close enough. With a bit more time, those two would finally become a couple.

Well, then again, it had taken years to even get to this point where Jing He seemed to have caught some feelings. Who knew how long it would take to actually make them get together? Right now, he was even still very properly calling the dragon king 'Longjun' all the time. Normally, shouldn’t they have gotten to using each other’s names by now? In fact, if it was anybody else, they would probably already call each other affectionate pet names.

Qiang Yan stared blankly when he had that thought and he really didn’t know how to continue. A pet name for his nephew … Just what would the dragon king come up with? Some small, fluffy animal? Something precious? Something sweet? Actually, he really had trouble imagining that scene. Especially since his nephew would probably be mortified if it happened. Although … he had no trouble at all imagining Longjun uttering the most ridiculous words possible.

'My little spring berry, we haven’t seen each other in so long that the trees have actually blossomed again. From now on, I’ll promise that I will spend every waking moment with you!'

Qiang Yan raised a fist to his mouth and masked the incoming laugh with a cough. Somehow, he really wanted to see that. He should go and talk it through with Bai Fen later on. Maybe she could come up with something even better than that!

Rong Su noticed that his brother-in-law even seemed to be laughing and turned around with a huff, opening the door again. "Since you can’t take it seriously, I’ll go and talk to somebody who is more understanding of my plight! I should have known a bachelor like you wouldn’t be able to do that!"

With that, he rushed out of Qiang Yan’s study, left his palace, and looked for another person that would understand him better. Ah, wasn’t there another loving father around who could comprehend his conflict? Thinking about it, he could only come up with one person.

Needless to say, the God of Justice wasn’t amused when the Heavenly Emperor suddenly appeared in his palace. Contrary to the God of War, he did have to treat him differently though.

Thus, Rong Su was soon presented with a cup of tea and a plate of snacks by one of the servants, feeling that he had definitely made the right choice, even though he did take exception to Li Yin’s insipid look. "God of Justice, how are things going in your palace?"

"All is well, Your Majesty. Tianjun really doesn’t need to worry." Anyway, he was pretty sure that this wasn’t why the Heavenly Emperor had come here. It would be nice if they could get to the point immediately.

Rong Su nodded and then ate one of the small cakes, slightly furrowing his brows. "Then how are things with your son? I remember he was a few years older than my Jing He."

This time, Li Yin’s forbidding expression thawed a little. If the Heavenly Emperor wanted to talk about his son, then that was naturally something else. He loved to talk about his son! And why wouldn’t he? Ru Zhen was such a lovely boy.

"Your Majesty’s right. Ru Zhen is indeed a little older than His Highness. He is also doing very well. He has joined the God of War’s palace sometime ago and is currently doing guard duty over there."

The Heavenly Emperor looked at Li Yin in surprise. "The God of War’s palace? I thought he was working in the God of Medicine’s temple?"

Li Yin nodded thoughtfully. "Mn, he was doing that originally but it turned out that that isn’t where his strengths lie. While he is definitely very compassionate, this just wasn’t for him. Anyway, he is still young. It’s not a problem to try a few more things."

"… right." The Heavenly Emperor wanted to steer the conversation to his own son who didn’t have this kind of problem at all but the usually taciturn God of Justice somehow seemed to become chatty now that his child was concerned.

"I think the God of War’s palace will be a much better fit. Actually, I think he would be best suited for the Court of Justice but I was afraid people would complain, saying that he only had that position because of me. How could I do that to my son? No, it is better to let him find his place in the God of War’s palace."

Li Yin nodded to himself while Rong Su’s lips twitched. This guy! As if people didn’t know that the God of War was his best friend. Who would think that his son had actually gotten into that palace based on his own abilities? Nobody! That was who.

The God of Justice didn’t seem to notice though. "Ah, I feel really sorry to Ru Zhen. If not for me, things would be so much easier for him. It must be tough being my child."

"Well, what is my son to say?"

The God of Justice picked up his teacup and took a sip, seemingly not caring about the Heavenly Emperor’s words at all. "Anyway, I am sure that Ru Zhen will be able to overcome all troubles. He has always been a bright child. Naturally, he will manage to find a solution for all problems he is met with."

The Heavenly Emperor stared at him unhappily. Didn’t that Ru Zhen’s solution to all problems start with 'I’ll go and tell my father!'? At the very least, that was what he had heard.

Ah, thinking of it like this, he was a little envious. If only his own son would depend on him like this … Why couldn’t Jing He come to cry to him when the dragon king was bothering him or complain to him that he wasn’t feeling well on days like today? Why was he always so well-behaved and independent?

He really … didn’t act like a child at all.