Unbeknown to the two of them, Qiang Yan was also still caught up on what had happened yesterday and what he had concluded from that. Thus, at this time, he sat in the study of a rather annoyed Heavenly Emperor, slowly sipping a cup of tea.

Rong Su stared at him, trying to make him leave without having to say anything. As the Heavenly Emperor, was he so free as to entertain relatives all the time? Even if he was, he’d much rather entertain his precious son! But now, he hadn’t even seen him the last few days and was instead bothered by his brother-in-law. “Since you came here, why didn’t you bring your sister or your nephew along?”

Qiang Yan faintly raised his brows. “My sister? I’m afraid she didn’t have the time. I think she was remodeling her garden?”

Rong Su pursed his lips. “Well, then what about Jing He?”

Qiang Yan gave a hum and took another sip of his tea. “Jing He …” He actually hadn’t checked but knowing how his nephew usually spent his days, there was not a chance in hell that he wasn’t currently being charmed by the dragon king. Of course, that fact couldn’t be communicated like this.

He thought for a while before finally making an expression as if it had just dawned on him. “I believe Longjun wanted to pay him a visit today?”

“What?!” The Heavenly Emperor shot to his feet, looking very much as if he would rush over there the next moment.

Qiang Yan stared at him blankly. It had been six years. Even though his brother-in-law clearly wasn’t as up-to-date on his son’s love life as he should be, he couldn’t be obtuse to this point, could he? Had he really thought Qiu Ling hadn’t been visiting any chance he got while he wasn’t looking?

He hurriedly reached out after getting over his initial shock and grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “Relax. Isn’t it just fostering friendly relations between our people?”

Rong Su huffed but indeed sat down. “Friendly relations, my ass! You think I don’t know that he has designs on my precious son? I won’t let him get away with that!”

Qiang Yan sighed. Yes, on this front, they would still have to work a lot. There was no way around it. “To be honest, I’m not sure if I get why you are so against this. I mean, I might have in the past but it seems like he has mellowed out a lot over these years. You hardly see him overstepping the bounds anymore.” Although, truth be told, he was sure that part of that was also because Qiu Ling had gotten slier about it and was only doing the most outrageous things when nobody else was looking.

Rong Su scoffed. “So what? Is that what I am supposed to look for in my son-in-law? Merely not overstepping the boundaries of what is acceptable?”

“Of course not. But that seemed to be the main problem he had. As for everything else, I don’t see much of a problem with him. He has the status, the strength, the looks …”

“Yeah, because he’s a dandy! And even one from the dragon race.”

Qiang Yan thought of Qiu Ling. Actually, he wasn’t sure if that was a valid description of him. Sure, he seemed to pay attention to what he wore but … that seemed to be it? In that case … “I’m afraid if the dragon king is a dandy, then your son is as well. He probably spends more time in front of his wardrobe and a mirror a day than Longjun does for a whole week.”

Sure, he had never actually seen the dragon king get dressed but he seemed like the type of guy who had everything arranged neatly so he’d simply need to grab one pile and be done with it. After that … well, with his looks, everything likely fell in place automatically. If you were that tall and well-built, there weren’t many looks you couldn’t pull off. He should know, he was the same type of guy.

Rong Su naturally wasn’t happy to hear his son being compared to Qiu Ling. “How is that the same? Jing He is simply a natural beauty, he takes after his mother that way. No matter what he wears, he’ll always look stunning.”

“Sure, but I’ve watched him pick out clothes for the day. More than once, even. The time he spends on making sure which color he uses for the inner and outer robe and how he matches them with a coat if he feels he should wear one, and then the amount of time on top of that to pick out accessories … I’m sorry to say it, brother-in-law, but that goes far beyond just being a natural beauty. And somehow, I can’t imagine Longjun doing that.”

Rong Su huffed. “Of course, you can’t. Have you seen that guy wear anything lighter than dark blue?”

Qiang Yan gave him a pointed look. “In fact, I haven’t but it’s astounding that you noticed but still call him a dandy.”

“Hmph. He just pays too much attention to his looks.”

Qiang Yan sighed. “In short, you simply don’t like him and are picking at straws just to be able to justify this.”

“Of course not!” Rong Su furrowed his brows tightly, slowly getting angry with his brother-in-law for a different reason other than disturbing him. “What need is there to grasp at anything? He simply isn’t good enough for my son!”

“I wonder who is then. Jing He has already come of age. Even if you don’t want to think about it, he will get married sooner or later.”

“Of course, but it should be to somebody who is worthy of him. That Longjun definitely isn’t.”

“Mn.” Qiang Yan turned the empty teacup between his fingers, his thoughts traveling back to the past year. “You know, maybe his worth isn’t the only thing you should consider.

“I mean, back in the day, you were supposed to marry Yin Lin Lin and you hated her. Your father still thought she would be a good choice despite how much you argued. In the end, she indeed turned out to be a wreck while you are still happy with Bai Fen despite everything that has happened these years.

“Aren’t you afraid at all that you could be like your father? That you insist on choosing a spouse for Jing He that you approve of, no matter whether he could actually become happy with that person? Wouldn’t it be better to allow him to marry somebody he likes?”

Rong Su pursed his lips. “You make it sound as if my taste were as bad as my father’s. Just look at me choosing your sister: I clearly know what’s good! So you absolutely don’t have to worry that I won’t find a good spouse for Jing He. Anyway, that’s not for you to worry about.” He gave him a dark look but then reconsidered. “That … It wasn’t Bai Fen who send you to say this, was it?”

Qiang Yan gave a hum. “No, she didn’t send me. I doubt she thinks any different from me though. Jing He isn’t getting younger and with Longjun being this close by … I don’t think you’ll be able to just pick a guy for him and be done with it. That won’t work out.”

Rong Su pursed his lips. He was also well aware that that Longjun would try to interfere if he found a nice man for his son. “It seems you are right. I should make plans.” Plans that the dragon king couldn’t sabotage no matter how hard he tried. Yes, that was indeed something he should do. Thankfully, his brother-in-law had reminded him.