As for where the Heavenly Empress headed … Well, since she couldn’t have a laugh at her son-in-law’s shenanigans with her husband that spoilsport, she’d have to ask somebody else.

Walking into the Palace of War with a smile, she made her way over to her brother’s study. "Big brother! Have a look at what was delivered to my palace!" She nodded to Li Yin who was sitting opposite her brother with a cup of wine and then motioned for the servant to give the package to her brother.

Qiang Yan raised his brows but still started to unwrap the package.

Meanwhile, Bai Fen sat down next to Li Yin and waved for the servant to bring her a cup as well. "Li Yin, how are you doing, ah? Is your son still making trouble?"

Li Yin gave a faint smile. "I have no idea what the Heavenly Empress is talking about. My Ru Zhen is an angel. He would never make trouble for me."

"Yeah, yeah, it’s no trouble for you. So who is he troubling these days? Still that Gang Tai?"

Li Yin scoffed. "That Gang Tai … He’s not good enough for him."

Bai Fen laughed. "You sound a lot like my husband when you say things like that."

Li Yin gave her a look and the skin around his eyes crinkled. "Yeah, but contrary to your husband, I’m not being serious. Gang Tai is nice. A bit of an idiot maybe but he treats Ru Zhen right. Obviously, they’re very much in love. I won’t interfere with that. Anyway …" He looked up to where Qiang Yan was holding one of the books and staring at the pages blankly. "What’s up with that?"

"This …" Qiang Yan turned to face his sister with a questioning look as well.

Bai Fen could only shrug her shoulders though. "I don’t know. Have a look."

Li Yin put down his cup and reached over, picking up one of the books. Sifting through the pages, his expression finally froze and he turned to glance at Bai Fen again. "Where did you get these?"

"Oh, I’m not sure. Somebody sent them to me and my husband this morning."

Li Yin looked back at the novel. "It’s awfully detailed …"

Qiang Yan nodded his head. It really was very detailed … He hurriedly put down the book he had just looked at and picked up another, hoping that it would be less … thought-provoking. Thankfully, he had more luck this time around. In fact, he felt that the scene he had coincidentally stumbled upon was quite sweet.

'"Uncle." Jing He smiled and hurriedly shelved the thoughts about that man. He couldn’t let his uncle notice his feelings.

The God of War smiled back and motioned at the door. "I guess there was something to talk about. How about we go for a stroll?"

"Mn." Jing He followed him outside, not saying anything for a long time.

He wasn’t even sure anymore if he wanted to bring it up. Maybe he could drag it on for another year? If he just … played for time, maybe everything would solve itself? Maybe he wouldn’t have to reject the man that made his heart beat faster? Because he honestly didn’t want to. He’d much rather … bath a little longer in that gentleness. He really wanted to bath in it until he drowned.

"Eh? Isn’t that that Fu Min?" His uncle suddenly motioned ahead.

Jing He looked over and saw someone hurriedly running away. If he wasn’t wrong, it was one of that man’s subordinates. Jing He sighed. This was probably a sign. He shouldn’t waver. He should do what he had gone to his uncle for.

"Uncle, say, you know more about their race than I do. How do you think I should reject one of them?"

"Rejecting?" Qiang Yan turned to look at him, obviously stunned. "Why … Why would you do that? I thought …"

He didn’t finish the sentence but Jing He could imagine what he wanted to say: I thought you liked him. So it turned out he was that transparent.

"Father doesn’t like him."

"Well, your mother likes him …"

"It’s a pity then. I can’t fulfill both of their wishes." Jing He looked away. Ah, he didn’t want to see his uncle’s gaze right now. He didn’t want to see anyone. He’d much rather be alone and think of that person since there was nothing else he could do.

"Jing He, have you ever thought …" Qiang Yan sighed. "Look, this is about choosing your spouse. Whether your father or mother is satisfied with the choice isn’t really important, is it? You’re the one who’ll spend his life with that person. You’re the one who should be happy."'

Qiang Yan smiled when he read those words again that he had said to Jing He back then. Yes, he still stood by them. In fact, now more than ever. After everything that had happened, wasn’t this what all had come down to? Whatever his parents wanted, it should not dictate his life. His own feelings were so much more important. If he only ever tried to please others, it could only serve to make himself unhappy.

Instead of that, wasn’t it better to work toward his own happiness? If his father saw how happy Longjun actually made him, would he really have the heart to say no? Probably not. After all, he loved that son of his more than anything.

Ah, it was a pity that while his nephew had listened to his words, he apparently hadn’t taken them to heart. At the very least, he had not been able to do it at that point in time.

While Qiang Yan was engrossed in his thoughts, Li Yin still seemed to wonder about the books themselves.

"Say … Who else got these?"

Bai Fen could only shake her head. "I wouldn’t know. I didn’t even see who delivered them. Why are you so curious?"

Li Yin looked at the book in his hands and then gave Bai Fen a glance as well. "They detail an awful lot about several high-ranking people. Somebody should look into that. Would you mind if I took those with me to verify some things?"

Bai Fen shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, just make sure that my husband doesn’t see them."

Li Yin nodded, put the book he was holding back onto the stack, and then pulled the other one out of Qiang Yan’s hands before folding everything back up and picking up the package. With another nod to the two of them, he left the Palace of War. Ah, her certainly wouldn’t let anybody see this before he hadn’t made sure that there was no information inside that could be used against his family.