While Xiao Li begrudgingly finished the last step of his wedding his king was busy exploiting his own harem. Having one was something that was expected of him even though he himself didn't have much desire for it. There was and there had always been only one person he truly loved so he hadn't felt much better than Xiao Li when he married his first wife.
He had still gone through with it in the end because he knew he had to. Having a harem was important in his position. Without it, he might not have been the demon king very long. Naturally, the security a harem could give largely depended on how apt one was at using it but looking back at generations of demon kings Jin Ling was probably the one doing the best job in this regard. Naturally, the men and women in his harem hadn't been chosen arbitrarily either.
For example, the woman he was with right now: Her name was Xiang Yu and she was one of the few goddesses who had married a demon. Among all of them, she was also the highest ranking goddess.
With her father being one of the Heavenly Generals who directly answered to the God of War Qiang Yan, she had always felt that she couldn't marry just any man. When the supreme ruler of the demon race approached her she had been a little taken aback at first but finally gave in.
This was a man with the kind of status she desired! Who wouldn't want to be called the queen of a whole race? Even if it was the demons, it was still something a lot of people would envy her for. Well, and Jin Ling's appearance might have played a role too …
Xiang Yu had thought too simple though. What queen of the demon race? There were about a hundred beauties in Jin Ling's harem! She was lucky that he could actually remember her name and face. In fact, she didn't saw him often, only every few weeks and he didn't seem as enthusiastic about her as he had right at the beginning when he had still been wooing her. She always tried winning his favor back without ever realizing that this so-called favor had never existed.
There wasn't any place for her in Jin Ling's heart and the reason he had approached her was naturally because of her father. In fact, if given the opportunity he would have rather seduced another woman to attain his goals. He didn't think Xiang Yu was worthy of him in any aspect. Be it her status or her appearance she was just sub-par. Well, he had never expected much. Besides that special person, there was no one who could fulfill his requirements. She was useful for the time being though.
Jin Ling plastered a pleasant smile onto his lips and gently kissed her shoulders. "Ah, it's all my fault. I haven't had the time to give you much attention in the last weeks. I don't know what it is but something seems to be happening in the immortal realms. I'm actually a little worried."
"Why would you?" Xiang Yu purred and clung to his neck. "Such a strong and powerful man like you, there really isn't any need to worry."
"Silly!" Jin Lin's smile seemed to become gentler and he kissed her brow. "Naturally, I'm not worried about myself but rather about you! What if someone targets you? Or maybe they'll go after your family since they know that I'll have you guarded. Ah, you certainly wouldn't want that."
"Mn, that would be horrible." Xiang Yu scratched his chest. She actually didn't care much for that. She was already a married woman. Why should she concern herself with her maternal family? No, she was way more interested in spending some time with her husband and cultivating good feelings between them.
Jin Ling grabbed her wandering hand that was trying to ignite some fire between them once again. "I've been thinking that it might be a good idea if you went and had a look. Just go and visit them for a few days. We'll both feel better if you do."
"Ah?" Xiang Yu looked up without managing to mask her shock in time.
Jin Ling sat up and stroked his copper-colored hair back. "I'll miss you so much but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to your family. Just go over and make sure. Maybe ask them if anything has happened. After that, you should hurry right back. Mn, I'll better send a guard with you. We can't risk anything happening to you. I'd better organize that right now." He stood up and put on his clothes again before striding out of the room. He didn't look back for even a moment.
Xiang Yu could only stare at his back, unable to protest before the door had closed behind him. She slumped down and hit the pillow. "Damn this! I'd much rather stay and spend time with him!" Well, if he wanted her to visit her maternal home for a while, she'd do it though. Who knew? Maybe something had really happened. It didn't matter much to her but whatever she found out might be of help to her husband. Then the trip would have been worthwhile. After all, who didn't like a useful woman?
Thus she got up and started packing a few things. She didn't intend to stay long but who knew if she wouldn't need something?
Jin Ling went to the throne room and motioned to one of the servants. "There's some guard outside at the gates who looks like a langur. Get him in here."
The servant hurriedly nodded and hastened away. Jin Ling sat down on his throne and looked at the door in boredom. He was already quite sure that the person accompanying Qiu Ling was the Son of Heaven, Jing He. The bastard's reaction had already given away as much. But he'd rather make sure one more time. He didn't want to waste his time on someone unimportant after all.
Considering Qiu Ling's personality and the rumors about how protective the Heavenly Emperor was of his son, there should be a large scale movement of the guards soon enough. Xiang Yu would definitely hear of that.
If it was true, then there would be some considerations to make when dealing with this situation. He wanted to kill that boy but he definitely couldn't do so in an obvious fashion if he really was the Son of Heaven or he'd be caught up in an all-out war against both the gods and the dragons. That would really be too troublesome.
The guard Jin Ling had asked for hurried inside and bowed. "Your Majesty."
"One of my wives will be visiting the Nine Heavens for a few days. I'm extremely worried that something might happen to her so I want you to go along and guard her."
"Understood." The man bowed again, rejoicing inside. His Majesty had actually remembered him! Not only that, he had even given him an important mission!
Well, just like Xiang Yu he had no idea that Jin Ling was just doing things out of convenience. The demon king actually didn't care for this at all. Thus he just waved at the servant again who led the guard to where Xiang Yu was preparing.
Meanwhile, Jin Ling prepared for his own trip.