Turning back to Jing He, Qiu Ling faintly shook his head. He actually hadn’t answered his question just now but he should. He liked this change in his behavior so he couldn’t make him self-conscious about it.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that. Jinde only uses a part of it and with their child about to be born, he’ll likely spend even less time on it. Anyway, he’s easy to talk to so you can just speak about it and see what solution would satisfy both of you. I want to see both of you happy, you know?” He reached up and his fingers once again brushed through Jing He’s hair.

He had always liked doing this and now that their wedding ceremony was fast approaching, it seemed even more tempting. Well, everything was. He loved being able to stick to Jing He every waking and sleeping moment. This was what he had always imagined their marital life to look like. Now, they weren’t quite married yet but he was already getting a taste of the bliss that was to come. How could he not enjoy it to the fullest?

He faintly cleared his throat, afraid that he’d get lost in happiness again when they hadn’t finished the pre-wedding customs yet. No, he first had to finish this last ritual with Jing He and then, they could go to just spend time together. Anyway, this custom in particular might even mean more to him than it did to Jing He.

He sighed faintly and then motioned ahead. “Shall we begin?”

Jing He nodded and both of them knelt down.

In the immortal realms, there were few occasions in which people would actually kneel which differed a lot from the mortal realm. The wedding customs in which Tian and one’s ancestors were honored was one of very few moments it happened. But because it was such a rare thing to happen, the meaning was even deeper.

The two of them looked at the jade tablets that were now at eye level, the ornaments engraved on the surface painted deeper by the sunlight falling into the courtyard from above. Inside were the names of their ancestors, of the people who had come before them who had already passed. On all sides, the list of names was short, the roots they had come from almost forgotten. But this also meant that the people inside felt closer to them. In some cases, they could even remember them themselves, or at the very least, they had heard stories about them.

Qiu Ling held Jing He’s hand and turned to look at the tablet of Bai Fen’s family. This was Jing He’s bloodline so he was the one who should speak to them while he only had to listen and react. He wasn’t worried about that. He only wondered a little about the people Bai Fen’s parents had been. Even though he had lived in the Nine Heavens for a while now and they had talked about a lot of things from the past, their focus had always been on Jing He and his sister, never on the people even further in the past.

Jing He also focused on this tablet and took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. With this being his mother’s family, he didn’t feel as worried as he would have been if this had been the tablet of his father’s family. His mother and uncle — the only two remaining people of this bloodline apart from himself — were both in favor of this relationship and from what he knew about his grandparents on this side, they shouldn’t have minded either.

Still, it was an important step and after the trouble with his father, he just couldn’t help but worry a little if the generations before would indeed have agreed. Not that it mattered. No, he had disregarded his father’s opinion in the end and would marry Qiu Ling in front of everyone’s eyes without even informing his father beforehand. And his father was still around to tell him how disappointed he was in him. His ancestors weren’t, so apart from musing about what they may or may not have thought about this union, the practical impact of this was low.

He took a moment to reassure himself that it indeed didn’t matter and lowered his head, trying to steady himself before he looked back up. “Greetings, ancestors. This one is Jing He, son of Bai Fen. In three days, I will marry the man next to me. Today, I am here to introduce him and ask for your blessing of this relationship so that we may face a future filled with joy.”

This was all there was to this custom: The intention to greet your ancestors, to introduce this partner they hadn’t had the chance to meet during their lifetimes and express your wishes for their blessing. He knew many said more words and talked about their lover for a while but … he had never actually met any of the people recorded in this jade tablet and he could not put his love for Qiu Ling in a few words. But he didn’t feel comfortable staying silent either.

Even though his ancestors’ blessings may not change anything in their day-to-day life, if it was true that they could somehow perceive this on their way to reincarnation or in their next life, then he wanted them to know how much they loved each other so that they would sincerely wish them the best. He just … had this little bit of selfishness, after he had already needed to forgo his own father’s blessing.

He lowered his head and thought for a while before he decided on what to say. “My life until here has not always been easy. I don’t mean to complain. I just … want you to know that since knowing him, it has been filled with much more joy than before. He has always … made a lot of effort for me and I … I can’t imagine having to live without him ever again.”