The Royal Marriage

Predicament

(LAO)

Surrogate. The King already found a surrogate for Qing and Dayu. That means my friends will...I looked at Qing standing beside me.

That means my friends could have a child soon. A child...an heir.

I saw Qing visibly shook away the surprise he must be feeling inside him. "I see," Qing nodded. "And according to our agreement, Dayu and I won't meet this woman who will carry our child."

"Yes," the King nodded. "But for the process to begin, they will need you to come for a check up and some test."

"Test...you mean, fertility test?" Qing sounded fascinated by the topic.

The King looked at me. "Do you want to be excused for this conversation, Lao?"

I looked at Qing first before answering. "Not if my Prince will need me, Your Majesty." I humbly said.

"I will need him," Qing said to answer my statement. "I will need Lao to be able to do this." He added.

"Alright," the King stood from the chair behind the desk. "Then I need you to clear your schedule to meet with the doctors and get those tests. Its important that you do this as soon as possible. There is no guarantee that an IVF process will be successful on the first try."

IVF or in vitro fertilization. The method that will be used for the Crown Prince and his Consort to gain an heir for the Crown.

"Lao and I will work on my schedule, Your Majesty. You don't have to worry." Qing assured the King.

"What about the Consort?" The King asked. "Will you tell Dayu that the process of you two to have an heir is already starting?"

"I...I don't know." Qing said quite honestly. "Like you said, the process doesn't guarantee success on the first try. I don't want to worry Dayu about something that is not sure yet. I'll probably tell him once our baby is conceived and growing inside the surrogate."

I control the urge to say my opinion on Qing's decision to delay telling Dayu about the surrogate. This is a matter of their marriage. I cannot meddle on that unless Qing or Dayu will ask for my opinion.

"If that is your decision, we'll go with that." Even the King respected Qing's decision. "I want to keep posted on the progress of your tests though. Report to me on that, my Prince."

"Per your order, Your Majesty." Qing bowed to the King and I quickly followed suit. The King patted our shoulders before leaving the office. His Majesty didn't lie. It was really a short meeting.

Once we were alone, I uttered the things that bothered me. "You said yes to reporting to the King about the progress of the surrogacy but you won't involve Dayu in it? Is that wise, Qing?"

"I won't involve Dayu...yet," Qing sat on the chair behind his desk again. "Like I said, I want to make sure first that the baby was already conceived safely before I tell Dayu all about it. I don't want to give him unnecessary things to worry about. The King...is heavily invested in this because the continuation of our reign, our bloodline, is riding on this. Its only natural that my father would want to be on top of that situation."

"Surely Dayu cares about this as well. He is heavily invested on it too." I argued.

"I know, Lao." Qing sighed. "But Dayu is still adjusting to the royal life. He has lots of work and lessons to learn with the guidance of the Queen. His plate is already full..."

And yours is not?

I clamped my lips to prevent myself from blurting out that question. I thought Qing married Dayu to share moments like this with his Consort. Not Qing carrying the burden of things alone again.