"No, no, no!" XueYa sighed as he leaned back on his throne and waved at the wedding hanfu designer to leave along with his model before he started handing out executions like red envelopes on a new year.
The hanfus presented so far were either too ugly, too baggy, too revealing or too heavy. XueYa could as well dress LiangLin in a rice sack at this point.
LiangLin would still look stunning in that, but XueYa wanted them to look their best - and it had to be practical. Something light to wear and easy to take off in a hurry.
Fumbling with clothes was the pain of humanity when horny.
"Your highness," a servant scurried over, with his back so bent, XueYa feared he might break his spine. "The gifts are ready and on their way to White Lotus Hall."
"Yes, good. What about the chests I sent out a few days back?" XueYa urged. He wanted to make sure those gifts arrived at their destination before the wedding.
"I immediately shipped them out at your highness's order, and the gifts should arrive today."
"Perfect!" XueYa smiled to himself. He hoped they liked his gifts, he had put a lot of thought into them.
The servants ran around, carrying red fabric and final decorations to drown the entire palace in red and gold. Even the imperial city was veiled in red at the news of their emperor finally marrying.
All seemed to be in a jolly mood except for the officials. Until now, they had expected the bride to be Yating. Now the news of the white snake god being the bride hit them like a ton of bricks.
YaYun had announced he will not marry Yating, now what?
"Your highness, why not marry both?" Official Zhi said, and the others nodded in agreement. "The concubine from the country of Jin is a priceless treasure. It is a great disgrace to offend a neighbouring country after accepting their gift like this."
"You can marry that fox spirit if you so fear offending Jin, old man," XueYa said, as he looked over a tray full of hairpins and jewellery.
XueYa nodded at the servant and motioned him to send the entire tray to the White Lotus Hall. Exhausting the treasure vault was more fun than XueYa had expected. Once married, he would make sure LiangLin would have everything at his disposal, shower LiangLin with all the riches he could find.
"I don't care either way. We are a stronger country anyway, all shapeshifters. What is there to fear?" XueYa continued as he leaned back over his hand, thinking about the upcoming wedding.
Ah, it would be the end of his wanton ways. He wouldn't get to share a bed with anybody else after this. Somehow, XueYa didn't feel a sense of loss thinking about it. He was still young. He would have expected a sense of fear creeping over him the nearer the wedding came. But nothing. He was quite content over the thought, to his surprise.
Official Zhi turned bright red, his lips quivering, but he failed to utter a word. Never before had YaYun been so crude before his officials, they were like foster fathers to him. This sudden display of defiance shocked them.
"Well?" XueYa said, as he finally noticed the disapproving gazes shot his way.
Unlike YaYun, XueYa left the palace with his father at a young age. He respected these men as one would respect their elders. But he also was well aware that he was the emperor here. What he said goes, and they were his servants despite their age.
"YaYun," Official Xie said, dropping the honorifics. He was in his fathering mode. "The concubine can bear children for you. With the fox spirits' innate birthing abilities, they will grant you dragon off-springs easily."
Oh, so it was all about keeping the dragon race alive? YaYun really was pushed into a corner here. Poor little brother.
XueYa smiled at his officials. It was anything but friendly. He wasn't in the mood to talk about anything else except his upcoming wedding and LiangLin. Everything else he had planned would take place after the wedding.
For now, he just wanted to enjoy the moment. Damn, these old geezers were ruining his mood. How YaYun could deal with them from day to day was beyond XueYa's understanding.
"I don't see the problem here," XueYa said, shifting in his seat to sit up straighter.
He was itching to leave and maybe catch LiangLin off guard. XueYa hadn't shown the snake his new, non-disabled facade yet. He was sure the snake was going to like it. But there was still a sense of disappointment behind the thought. XueYa rather liked his eyepatch, and he was hoping his future bride would appreciate its charm, too. He could only hope for now.
"YaYun, you-"
"You want me to have children, don't you?" XueYa said, cutting official Xie short. "Then, there is no problem."
The officials exchanged confused looks before official Yu finally spoke up, the ox's deep voice rumbling in the hall. "What do you mean, YaYun?"
"Male snake gods can give birth too."
XueYa's smile widened at the shocked faces, and a chatter broke out among the officials.
"Oh, how could this be?"
"I have never heard of other shifter species being able to do this."
"Actually, male rabbit gods have this ability, too. But only the direct descendants of the first rabbit god, no other rabbit gods."
"There is very little information on snake gods though."
All eyes fell back on XueYa, who was smirking with satisfaction. The atmosphere sizzled with excitement. He had successfully caused the officials to overthink.
"How did you learn of this, YaYun?" Official Xie hurried to ask.
"Don't tell us-"
"Oh, are we going to get good news soon?"
"It is highly inappropriate to be pregnant before the wedding," Official Yu said, but he was smiling brightly. "Although with such great news, I won't be pushing the issue any further."
"You will see," XueYa said, hitching his butt from the chair. "Now, I shall dismiss you all. I have a wedding to plan, a bride to tend to."
"No can do, your highness," Official Wei said, and XueYa lowered his ass back on the throne with a grunt.
What now?
"It is prohibited to see the bride before the wedding. It is the tradition."
"So impatient! Only a couple more days, your highness. You can sit it out."
Didn't these old farts say getting pregnant before the wedding was against the tradition, too? So what with seeing a bride then? XueYa was seething but sat down obediently.
Admittedly, XueYa had lied about LiangLin being pregnant. He didn't know if white snake gods could carry a child or not. There was little to no information on the creatures. White male snake gods were so rare. He had seen no other white male snake gods aside from LiangLin and his future father-in-law.
But XueYa was willing to test it out. A smile returned on his lips at the thought. He was sure if he went at it long enough, LiangLin would get pregnant out of his enthusiasm alone. XueYa hoped LiangLin was ready, since XueYa was packed full with this fiery enthusiasm.