After Jing He returned from the Palace of Love, he was in a good mood. Qiu Ling hadn’t arrived yet when he stepped into his own palace so he went to sit down in his study and quietly planned his next step. There might still be time until the trial would commence but, in the end, it was only a few more days. He couldn’t tarry but naturally, such a big undertaking couldn’t be casually done either. It needed some preparation.

For one, he had to figure out how to distract the guards. Security at the Court of Justice was tight and the God of Justice was not one to leave matters unattended. If something odd happened, he would surely investigate. This meant that he had to find an excuse for his presence there. After all, it was impossible to get inside unseen.

Naturally, he also couldn’t be too obvious about this. He wasn’t the type of person who went out much. The people he interacted with on a regular basis could be counted on his hands and three of them were his own family members. Thankfully, the God of Justice was his uncle’s best friend so this could be used.

Jing He got to his feet and walked over to the window, pushing it open to look outside. Something he would go to his uncle’s friend for but not his uncle himself or his parents … that should be something he wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing up in front of his family but still wanted to know about. Or maybe he could use his family’s feelings as an excuse. Yes, saying that he didn’t want to worry them was in line with his usual behavior so even if the God of Justice thought it somewhat odd, he should not suspect too much.

Still, Jing He couldn’t help but worry. His reason needed to be good or the God of Justice would naturally wonder if he had something to do with the disturbance. After all, it was already somewhat suspicious to come over at exactly the time something was going on. Unless everything else made perfect sense, he would be the first person the God of Justice thought of.

Jing He pressed his lips together, not sure what to think. He knew he was doing something forbidden, something that even his mother who was generally in favor of his relationship with Qiu Ling would likely disapprove of, but … he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t just do nothing.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly calmed himself. Even if it was wrong, he would still do it. For himself and for his relationship with Qiu Ling, this was simply the right decision, no matter the consequences.

As for the excuse he should use … maybe it would be best to stay as close to the truth as possible. Anyway, he and Qiu Ling had already gotten engaged. Even though it wasn’t official yet, his uncle’s best friend would likely be one of the first people to find out. He might even know about how close their relationship had gotten already. It wasn’t unthinkable that his uncle would talk about such things with the God of Justice.

Imagining how he walked up to the God of Justice and brought up his love life, he actually felt mortified. Even though he might not leave his palace much, he had still met all of the titled gods and he had seen Li Yin more often than others thanks to the relationship with his uncle. That man … he always looked extremely serious and not in the stable and mature way that he thought to be incredibly attractive when Qiu Ling showed that side of his but in the way that it was tough to imagine that that man ever indulged in feelings. Although, then again, from the little he knew, the God of Justice even had a son so … this impression might be wrong. Maybe he only showed other sides of his in front of people close enough to him.

Jing He shook his head at himself, not wanting to think about that any longer. It would be tough. He had known that from the moment he came up with this idea. But just because it wasn’t easy, he couldn’t be discouraged. He had to do this. He had to, no matter what.

Before Jing He had time to work out any further details of his plan, steps finally sounded from the door to the garden. He immediately turned around, his expression lighting up when he saw Qiu Ling. “You came.” He hurriedly walked toward him from the study, his steps faster than usual.

Qiu Ling watched him come closer. Seeing the joy on his beloved’s face, he couldn’t help but wonder if it would be too much to pull him into his arms and kiss him deeply. In the end, he finally held back. Well, at the very least, he didn’t kiss him. He did still reach out, grabbed Jing He’s hand, and pulled him closer when he wanted to stop. “I missed you, my love. It feels as if we were separated for years.”

Jing He lowered his head, his cheeks flushing faintly. He didn’t know if it was his misconception but he almost felt as if he had become worse at dealing with Qiu Ling’s sweet talk compared to before their engagement. It suddenly seemed to affect him a lot more.

Qiu Ling watched him act shy and finally couldn’t help himself. He leaned down and kissed his temple, not daring to go further than that. “Were you at least successful with what you wanted to do?” He knew that there were some things to prepare for the trial but he wasn’t too sure what exactly that entailed.

Jing He nodded. “Mn, I was. There isn’t much else to do now, only one more matter.” He didn’t shy away from telling him in general but he didn’t explain in detail what he had planned either. In his mind, it was only right to do such things for the man he loved. He didn’t need to tell him and didn’t need to receive praise. This was simply a matter of course and he didn’t even want to call to Qiu Ling’s attention that there was even the smallest chance of his going astray in the mortal realm. Surely, that would only burden their relationship until he returned and they both had certainty that he hadn’t betrayed Qiu Ling. So yes, it was better to keep this quiet.

Qiu Ling didn’t ask about it either. He simply used the opportunity to pull Jing He into his arms, resting his chin on his shoulder. “There is still one left? When are you going to deal with it?” He had hoped that the two of them would have the rest of the short time until Jing He had to leave all to themselves but … it seemed that this wasn’t the case. That sure was sad.

Jing He felt the same. He nestled in his lover’s arms, wishing that they didn’t have to separate at all. Not for him to go through with this plan, not for his trial, and not for any other reason in the future. He simply wanted to stay with him at all times for all eternity. Was that asking too much?

He sighed faintly and then dared to reach up, his fingertips lightly brushing the hem of Qiu Ling’s lapel. “I was thinking … it might be nice to spend the day tomorrow together. I can still do this the day after it, that won’t be too late.”

Qiu Ling’s lips curved up in a smile again. “Well, that sounds great. Is there anything special you want to do tomorrow?”

Jing He thought for a while but finally shook his head. “No. Just … just being with you is enough. It doesn’t matter where or how.”

Qiu Ling hummed and wrapped him more tightly in his arm. “Then let’s stay in your palace and just quietly pass the time. We won’t have that chance so soon again. We should cherish it.”

Jing He nodded. Even though the trial wasn’t long and he wouldn’t consciously realize the passage of time, that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t feel like a long time for Qiu Ling. Naturally, they should go with whatever he wished for.