While Jing Yi pondered how he could become a cultivator, in a certain chamber in the dragon realm a gorgeous looking woman clapped her hands and then clasped her cheeks with a wide smile. "Perfect! You're perfect! His Majesty will be thrilled seeing you! Come on, let's hurry up!"
She took the hand of the boy next to her and made to leave the chamber. She paused on the doorstep, though. "What do you say?" She leaned against the door-frame, smiled and lifted a hand.
The man sitting in the next room looked up, quickly glanced at her and concentrated on the boy next. "Well, it's alright."
"Alright?" The woman straightened up. "How can you call that just 'alright'? We're looking magnificent!"
The man lifted his brows. "If I remember correctly, this was never about you but about Xiao Dong. I could be wrong, though. It's been a while since Ah Zan contacted you." He turned back to polishing his armor.
"Lei Jiang!" The woman stood with her arms on her hips. "What are you trying to say?!"
"Nothing, nothing. You should hurry up. His Majesty is already waiting."
"You said we're just looking alright. How can I go like this? No, Xiao Dong, let's change clothes again! Maybe the robe with the golden embroidery would be better?" The woman wanted to turn around but the man opposite them had already put down the armor and came over, pulling her into his arms with a sigh.
"What are you talking about, my love? You're as gorgeous as ever! Our son is as gentlemanly-looking as ever. His Majesty will be thrilled."
"You're just saying that to shut me up."
"Ah, how could I do that?" He bent down and kissed her, preventing any further protest. See? That was the right way to shut someone up!
The woman slapped his broad chest. "What are you doing? Weren't you the one who said I should hurry up?"
Her husband smirked and his hand snaked its way into her hair. "You should, you should. But I certainly wouldn't mind if you let him wait another week in the mortal realm."
The woman slapped his hand away. "You're ruining my hairdo! And what are you even talking about? Xiao Dong's still next to us."
"Mn." Her husband only smiled. There was nothing bad about a boy learning these things a little sooner. "So, how about it?"
"Hmph. You should have made up your mind in the beginning, Lei Jiang. Xiao Dong and I are going to see His Majesty now." She pushed her husband to the side, took her son's hand again and left the house.
Her husband just smiled and went back to polishing his armor. With such a strange request … Maybe their king wasn't even waiting for her anymore.
Lei Jiang knew Qiu Ling surprisingly good if one considered that he wasn't even his direct subordinate. Well, he was his subject but he normally got his commands from Qiang Wei, though. It wasn't like their king cared, anyway.
When the woman and her son arrived in the mortal realm or, more precisely, at a certain teahouse in the capital of one mortal empire nothing could be seen of their king.
That's right. The woman who had brought her son over was, of course, Yi Zan's sister Ai Hua. It was just that contrary to Qiu Ling's command she hadn't arrived the next day in the mortal world but some months later, instead. The reason for that digression from the initial plan was, of course, her vanity.
His Majesty had praised her beauty … er … and her son's beauty, of course, so she couldn't just come over looking like she did every day. This was an important mission, after all! She … and her son, had to look their best! Since that was the case, Ai Hua had spent some hours finding the right clothes and accessories for herself and her son.
By the time she finished, it was deep in the night and her son looked already sleepy. Ai Hua was thrilled to fulfill her king's wishes and she was a bit two-faced but she wasn't a bad mother. Faced with her son's dejected appearance she put him to bed and just enjoyed the night with her husband before she got back to dressing her son up in the early morning. Only when she was completely satisfied with both their appearances did she take him to the mortal world.
But now, it seemed like all her effort had been in vain. The teahouse was completely empty.
Ai Hua looked around and turned back to the street. Maybe the owner had moved his establishment to another building? She should just ask someone.
"Excuse me!" Ai Hua hurried over to a young man and gifted him a generous smile. "That teahouse over there … Would you happen to know if it closed? I heard so many good things about it so I wanted to visit but nobody seems to be there."
The man had one look at her and gulped. Damn. It was true what the people said about the teahouse: It really was a place where women as beautiful as fairies visited! Why had that damned Li Bo gotten into a conflict with them? Now he'd lose out on the sight of all the other beauties! Well, if this one married him he wouldn't mind, though …
"Er, that … You see, the people working there got into trouble with some powerful person, so it's best not to go there anymore, Miss. But if you're searching for a place to eat at I —"
"Come, Xiao Dong. Let's go in there and wait for your father." Ai Hua turned around decisively, took her son's hand and stepped into the teahouse. Of course, she wasn't waiting for her husband. She just didn't like the way that man was looking at her. What an overly ambitious guy!
The young man looked after her, stupefied. That … That woman already had a son this big?! Damn! Well, it was no wonder, though. Of course, such a beauty would be taken as soon as there was a possibility. He could just blame it on his bad luck that he wasn't born a few years earlier.
While that young man still bemoaned his lacking fate, Ai Hua and Xiao Dong had already entered the teahouse and sat down at a table. Ai Hua gazed around and sighed. "It seems His Majesty really isn't here at the moment. We should wait a while and see if we can do anything for the people here. If I'm not wrong, this establishment should be owned by the family of His Majesty's beloved."
Xiao Dong nodded. He looked like he was a little over ten years old but that appearance was misleading. He was a dragon, after all. Though he wouldn't count as a grown-up dragon for a long time he was still way more mature than a mortal child of ten years so he understood perfectly well what his mother was trying to say.
Since the owners still hadn't turned up, Ai Hua faced her son with a serious look. "Xiao Dong, this is your chance to ingratiate yourself with His Majesty! You have to use it! However ugly that human child is you're supposed to seduce, you have to do your best! Do you understand?"
Xiao Dong pressed his lips together. He didn't want to seduce anyone who was ugly but … That was their king's order, after all, he'd have to comply. With a bad taste in his mouth, he nodded. Let's see how ugly that child really is.