Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 11, Part 1)

153 Pass on a Message

Duan Ming didn't insist on prying into the family matters of the Heavenly family either. It was bad enough that he had gotten involved as a prospective marriage candidate without full knowledge of the situation.

Well, it wasn't like the Heavenly Emperor had been forthcoming with what he wanted from him. He had simply sent word that he was to come over and had then ignored him so he'd run into the crown prince and have to deal with him instead. That really couldn't be called making his attitude clear.

He tried not to let it bother him and gave a faint smile. "If I can help you somehow, let me know. Even if it is just passing on a message, as long as it helps ..."

Jing He looked at him with a slightly kinder expression. "I wasn't able to see Qiu Ling these days. My father ... won't let him in and there is always somebody else around."

Duan Ming nodded. "Then I'll try and get in touch with him for you. Maybe there is something that can be done."

Jing He nodded as well, feeling grateful. "He probably isn't even aware of what is happening."

Duan Ming gave a hum even though he doubted that. The dragon king loved the Son of Heaven. There was no way he wouldn't be trying to get information if he suddenly wasn't able to see him any longer. So most likely, he had already heard of what was going on. He might even try to come up with countermeasures already. "I will tell him what you've told me. I don't know if I'll be able to pass any words back to you though. The Heavenly Emperor didn't quite make it obvious what he wanted so he might just ignore me after today."

To be honest, it wasn't a secret how protective the Heavenly Emperor was of his son. Even though the crown prince had rarely appeared in public even after he came of age, all the titled gods and the ones who regularly had contact with them or the Heavenly couple itself knew this. Because of this, Duan Ming would have found it unbelievable if somebody told him before today that the Heavenly Emperor was suddenly looking for a son-in-law.

Now, the truth was directly in front of his eyes though so he couldn't deny that this was indeed what was happening. He didn't believe that the Heavenly Emperor would easily settle on a candidate though. Most likely, in his eyes, nobody could measure up to his child. So whatever candidate he found, he'd be dissatisfied with them and would likely switch to somebody else soon enough. Maybe one meeting would be all they had.

Jing He was also aware of this. "There were two others before you but I didn't see them again after the first time."

Duan Ming sighed. "That is as expected. The Heavenly Emperor probably feels that you shouldn't get married just yet."

Jing He hummed. This went without saying. His father would likely keep him away from all men for at least the next one or two thousand years if he could. His current idea of introducing him to different men should only be to show him that there were other marriage candidates around and that he didn't need to be so fixated on Qiu Ling.

In short, he was trying to make Qiu Ling look bad by comparison. It was a pity that this plan was backfiring. Thinking back to the last two suitors, Jing He actually felt that Qiu Ling was even better than he had realized. He couldn't imagine being with either of those men at all.

As for Duan Ming, well, he thought of him slightly more kindly but that had nothing to do with Duan Ming himself and more with the fact that he seemed to support his relationship with Qiu Ling. Naturally, he'd be more kindly inclined to a person who wasn't trying to break up him and the man he loved compared to one who wanted to use the opportunity to get between them. Even if the person had his father's blessing for now, that didn't change his own feelings, did it?

Duan Ming nodded to himself when he didn't get a response, thinking to himself that getting along with the Son of Heaven really wasn't easy. His attitude toward him might have eased when he made it clear that he had no intentions toward him but ... well, this silence was a bit too deep for him. A spouse you couldn't even talk to wasn't one he'd like to have.

He thought for a moment and finally cleared his throat. "Well, we don't need to forcefully stretch this conversation. If there is anything else you want me to tell Longjun, you can tell me. Otherwise, we should probably find a way to end this." After all, he really couldn't take this any longer. Sitting opposite the Son of Heaven had him on pins and needles.

Jing He hesitated for a while. There was a lot he'd want to tell Qiu Ling but it didn't seem suitable to say those words to another man and have him pass them on. This might be his only chance to get a message to Qiu Ling though. After all, even when it concerned his mother, his father wouldn't let them be alone any longer for fear of them doing exactly something like this. It was only these marriage candidates who were different and he didn't think he'd ever have the luck to meet another one like Duan Ming who'd be willing to help him instead of trying how to take advantage himself.

Thinking for a while, Jing He finally reached up and took off the pendant he was wearing around his neck. Looking at it for a moment, he finally handed it to Duan Ming. "Please give this to him and tell him I still hope to see the place this originated from once again."