Before either of them could say another word, Qiu Ling's transmission stone pulsed with white light. He raised his brows and took it out, not quite sure what to expect.
An Bai hurriedly got up and inclined his head. "I won't bother Your Majesty if there's some pressing matter. I will go over and talk with Xiang Yong instead." In any case, since His Majesty had come clean with him, Xiang Yong who had already known the truth as well should be made aware of this as well.
Qiu Ling nodded and then turned around while An Bai went on his way. He imbued some spiritual energy into the transmission stone only to be greeted by Jinde's smiling face.
"Bear child, I'm holding a second wedding. You should hurry over here so you won't miss it."
An Bai who had just stepped out of the door closed it with a strange expression. He didn't know who the person on the other side was but he never would've thought that there was anybody who would dare to talk to the king like this. He really wondered what kind of person it was but he wouldn't pry into his king's matters. He just closed the door and then went over to the opposite room, knocking likely.
Xiang Yong was currently working through some documents and only glanced up faintly. "Come on in."
An Bai entered and closed the door behind him before walking over to the desk, stopping right next to Xiang Yong.
The other dragon looked up, raising his brows when he saw that it was An Bai. "Did something happen?"
An Bai leaned closer and lowered his voice. "You can definitely say that. Remember what I told you back then about what I inferred from what His Highness told me? Well, His Majesty just came to me and admitted that it is true."
Xiang Yong needed a moment to understand what An Bai was talking about. It had been a good ten years already since that happened. But there really was no other matter that would make An Bai behave this secretively. "His Majesty … Just like this?" He was actually surprised at that. Obviously, their king had been keeping it a secret. To now have him admit to it so openly … he really hadn't expected that.
An Bai smiled faintly. "I'm not quite sure if he originally intended to do so. He was asking for some information and probably saw that I had already figured it out. In any case, we had a short conversation about it. I think that things will change from now on. Well, it's not a bad thing."
Xiang Yong nodded faintly. "It really isn't. Well, I can only hope there won't be any problems because of this." His expression was a little tangled. He had always hoped that their king could be completely honest with them but he also knew that this kind of secret was one that should not be easily admitted to. The danger if the wrong person heard it … it was just too big.
An Bai went to the other side of the table and sat down, sighing. "To be honest, even though I was fairly certain about it, it is still good that he admitted it. That means that we can truly prepare. And it also means that should something happen, he will know that he can rely on us. That adds a bit of safety, doesn't it?"
Xiang Yong nodded. "It does. Although I hope we will never need that safety."
The two of them fell silent again, each wondering just what the future might bring.
Back in An Bai's study, Qiu Ling was still sitting at the table and chatting with Jinde. "What are you going to hold a second waiting for? In any case, it's not like you're not already each other's spouse. Or don't tell me you suddenly decided that you want to have a harem?" That would be really strange!
Jinde snorted. "You! If somebody should have one, wouldn't that be you as the current king? In any case, I wanted to have a ceremony like the humans do. There never really was a time for that but now that I'm healed and that the things of the past have been solved, it seems to be the right time. So, just come over."
Qiu Ling gave a hum. "Actually, I'm currently in the dragon realm."
Jinde raised his brows. He knew that Qiu Ling had run away after the matter with Chun Yin but he hadn't expected that it would be like this. "Are you alright?" In a sense, seeing Chun Yin again might have hit Qiu Ling even harder than it had hit him. He probably should've tried to reach out to him sooner.
Qiu Ling shook his head though. "No, it's alright. Actually, it just made me think a lot. I went to the Nine Heavens first to see Jing He for a moment. It helped me calm down. And then …" He fell silent for a while and looked over to the door where An Bai had just left. He could still hardly believe that two of his advisers knew and still accepted him. It was a good thing.
He turned back to Jinde's apparition and gave a faint smile. "I told one of them. About … my blood, I mean. He took it surprisingly well."
Jinde raised his brows, a hint of panic in his heart. "Surprisingly well means … he is going to accept it?" If not, then Qiu Ling might be in danger. It was one thing to be a dragon with a bit of demon blood but it would be a different matter altogether if you were the dragon king. The amount of trouble that could bring … it was hard to say.
Qiu Ling just waved though. "Don't worry. Apparently, he had already guessed it. Well, there's nothing I can do. So, when did you say the wedding was going to be held? I guess it would be in bad taste if I came late."
Jinde was still worried but he figured that it might be better if Qiu Ling returned anyway. "You can come back right away. In any case, with the difference in time between the realms, you might just arrive at the right moment."
Qiu Ling nodded. "Very well. I'll be there." He didn't bother to say anything else and just cut the connection, getting to his feet at once. He hesitated for a moment, and then left the room, going over to the one on the other side. He only hesitated for a moment before he knocked and then went in. "Go prepare a gift. We're going to a wedding."