Jing Yi silently followed the rest of the road and arrived at the palace. His thoughts were still circling the previous conversation with his uncle, though.
Thinking back now he was sure that his uncle had called him 'Jing He'. For a moment, this made his heart leap with joy. Maybe everything had been different from what he thought? Maybe the person Qiu Ling had fallen in love with back then had been him all along?
But upon thinking closer about it it made no sense. It was only wishful thinking. Yes, that person had died and might have reincarnated. It wasn't impossible. But the rest didn't match.
Even though his past life's lover could display a bit of the shamelessness he knew from Qiu Ling and even though they were quite similar overall, too, that person couldn't be Qiu Ling himself. If he was, wouldn't Qiu Ling have told him so?
Furthermore, there was still the thing about his position. His mother had clearly said that that man was the sovereign of his realm, a king. Qiu Ling had to do with the king of the dragon race but that was all.
And if that wasn't enough to nip things in the bud, now his uncle had even brought up the demons. Qiu Ling's stance toward them … nothing needed to be said about that. He obviously hated them. He had every right to do so. And now it seemed like … the one he had fallen in love with in his previous life had some ties to the demons. Why else would his uncle have brought this up?
He felt like he had let Qiu Ling down with this. But it was his past life. There was nothing he could do about it. It couldn't be changed anymore.
Jing Yi shook his head and climbed the steps to the palace. The guards bowed, almost making Jing Yi stop in his tracks again. It seemed his own identity wasn't that simple either. Hadn't his lover also called him 'Your Highness'? So this had to mean that he hadn't just a high status but … was on par with his lover? Had he also been part of a royal household?
Jing Yi forced himself to continue into the hall even though he felt numb inside. Immortal. And now even royalty? He certainly never would have expected this.
"Jing He!"
The excited voice of his father pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked up and smiled.
"Father."
It was surprisingly easy saying this in the face of this man's smile. He had obviously loved him very much when he had been his son in his past life. His mother, too. They seemed both great. He could certainly be happy to have been blessed with such nice families for two lifetimes.
The man reached out and gently touched his cheek. "You're looking a little fatigued. That bast—" He coughed. "Ahem, that person wouldn't have bothered you again yesterday, would he?"
Jing Yi continued to smile although he instantly lowered his lids, shielding his gaze. Even while saying what his past self had said, Jing Yi couldn't help but feel some dread. Just why had he behaved like this? Never showing his true feelings … Was this being dishonest or just being extremely weak?
"It's nothing, father. Your son is feeling really well. Furthermore … If anything I can do can help with maintaining the current relationship between our races, then that would make me happy, too."
"Hmph." His father snorted. "Don't you worry. I won't marry you off to that shameless guy. Never. Over my dead body."
"Father …" Jing Yi reached out and gently touched his arm. "There is no need to fret. I already promised you that I wouldn't marry a man you don't like, didn't I?"
"Mn." His father seemed a little appeased at these words. "Well, let's not talk about that person anymore. It's ruining the mood. Come on in. Sit down for a bit, have a cup of tea."
He ushered him into a study next to the hall and waved at one of the servants to bring them some tea. Jing Yi couldn't help but frown inwardly, though. As nice as this father of his past life was he had probably been the main reason why his past self was so reluctant to get involved with the man he obviously loved. Between the loyalty to his family and the love for a man that was only just blossoming it was probably hard to decide.
He could relate to that. If his mother hadn't liked Qiu Ling, he probably wouldn't have gotten involved with him either. The family that had raised him for all these years … how could he just betray them like this? Was this also what his past self had thought? Was that why he was behaving like this? But he didn't even dare to tell his father the truth! Maybe all this could be solved if he just told his father that he loved that man!
Jing Yi couldn't just do that though. If he wanted to acquire this memory, then he had to do what his past self had done. He had to restrain himself and become him for the time being.
He tried to calm down as good as he could, just like when he wanted to cultivate. He didn't think any further about what was going on or what he would have done and just watched as if all this wasn't his past life but just something he observed as a passerby.
His past self smiled and thanked the servant that brought the tea, his voice serene. "Let me do this."
"Of course, your Highness." The servant stepped back with a smile and bowed before leaving the room.
Jing Yi, no, Jing He poured his father a cup of tea while still continuing to smile. His father's gaze didn't leave him for even a second. Each movement, each gesture, each gaze were all noticed by him, all scrutinized.
In the silence of Jing Yi's mind, Jing He's thoughts welled up conjuring up yet another memory the Jing He himself was remembering at that moment.