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

158 A Possible Future

With Duan Ming's quick thinking, the possible disaster was quickly avoided and the love token handed back to him. Of course, that didn't mean that he had suddenly managed to rid himself of this awkward situation completely. No, since there had been a somewhat logical explanation for Jing He handing over a piece of jewelry, the Heavenly Emperor was now even more convinced that he should investigate him closely and thus followed him the rest of the way to the palace of the Goddess of Magnanimity.

At the same time, Jing He who had been waiting at his father's palace slowly began to realize that something was different. The last two times, his father would appear almost immediately after those marriage candidates had left as if he had been hiding right around the corner and was just waiting to catch him alone again. This time though, nothing could be seen of his father.

Jing He slowly tensed when he realized, his heart beating rapidly. If his father wasn't there ... this would be a great opportunity to see Qiu Ling. Unfortunately, they had never exchanged transmission stones because Qiu Ling came to see him every day anyway. And it wasn't like he had one himself since the number of people he needed to get in contact with was so small and he'd usually just send Mu Kun or Huang Lan to them to ask whether they were available.

He could only sigh to himself when he realized that even though there was an opportunity, it still didn't mean that he had the chance to do anything with it. Apparently, he still wouldn't get to see Qiu Ling.

Jing He sighed and hung his head, trying not to let it get to him. Anyway, this was only temporary. Qiu Ling would find a solution. He had to believe in that.

He tried to cheer up and finally turned to leave the courtyard. Since his father wasn't there, he might as well not stay. Anyway, he hadn't explicitly told him that he wasn't to be alone. He had only made sure that this was the case through his actions. Even if he understood, he could also play dumb.

Jing He walked out of his father's palace through the main gate, feeling a little faint when he thought of how he was defying him. He probably shouldn't do this. He should stay since he naturally got his father's intent and just slowly work on trying to convince him. Everything else was just him being disobedient.

It was just ... even if he tried, he knew it wouldn't matter because his father wouldn't care what he had to say. He believed that he was confused or had been led astray by Qiu Ling and that his course now needed to be corrected. He didn't understand or didn't want to understand that he genuinely loved that man and would be happy living at his side.

Jing He stepped down the stairs, trying his hardest not to show his emotions on his face. He had always prided himself in his ability to keep up appearances no matter the circumstances and now was the perfect time to prove that he could still do so even when it concerned this matter that was so incredibly important to him.

When he reached the last step, there was a sound behind him. Jing He didn't immediately turn but his heart trembled. This was clearly a pair of guards following him! Surely, this should be his father's arrangement.

He stopped when he reached the foot of the staircase and finally turned around, giving the two men a questioning look. Anyway, maybe he was mistaken. Maybe there was another explanation. He doubted it but he still hoped it was the case.

The two men felt embarrassed themselves but hurriedly followed him down the last steps before inclining their heads. "Your Highness. His Majesty asked us to accompany you back."

"I see." Jing He's expression didn't change. Only his eyes dimmed slightly. He had thought that this should be it but to actually hear it from the guards ... it naturally didn't feel good. So much for even having an opportunity to see Qiu Ling. It seemed that even if he could have reached him in time, it wouldn't have changed a thing.

He turned around, his thoughts in disarray. With his father like this, how could the situation get any better? He seemed to be just one incident shy of locking him up in his palace. If he saw Qiu Ling anywhere in the capital city now, that might be enough to set him off. Since that was the case, was there any hope at all that this could be resolved?

He didn't think so.

Jing He stopped to follow that line of thought and just quietly walked the rest of the way to his palace. Anyway, he couldn't change it but he also didn't know what else to do. Since that was the case, he should just wait. Maybe Qiu Ling or his mother or uncle could think of something. Otherwise ... otherwise, he might indeed end up married to somebody he didn't care for.

Jing He entered his palace in a daze, going to sit down at the desk in his study without really noticing whether the guards had stayed outside or followed him in. In his mind, he saw that type of future: Him going through the wedding ceremony with some man like Duan Ming or those two he had met before, the people of the dragon race nowhere to be seen.

He had imagined this in the past and his heart had squeezed painfully when he did. But at that time, it had only been an idle thought of what might happen if things didn't go well. Now, matters had already come to this, so suddenly, it didn't seem like a reach any longer. No, this seemed to be quite the possible future. His father definitely was stubborn enough to push him into this.