Qiu Ling who still needed to travel to the Nine Heavens for the ceremony had finished a little earlier, afraid that he would miss the time later on. When he stepped out of the bath, the one waiting for him was still Jinde.

According to what the gods practiced, the one to help you should be a relative of your choice. The decision usually indicated a close relationship but would also depend on who filled other roles during the previous customs or the rest of the ceremony. If there was no family, you could also choose a close friend. The important part was just not being alone and having someone to support you.

In Qiu Ling’s case, he had thought about it for about half a second before he asked Jinde. He knew it might be a little … contentious not to ask Leng Jin Yu for anything, considering that he was his actual father’s reincarnation. It was just that while they got along, they really weren’t all that close. Between those two, he still considered Jinde to be more important.

As for thinking about who was important in his life in general … well, it seemed like Jinde came right after Jing He and everyone else could only be an afterthought. So even though Jinde had accompanied him to the other parts of the preparations already and would also be there for the rest of today’s ceremony, he still wanted him to take on this task as well.

Jinde had immediately accepted. Seeing him come out now, he smiled brightly and waved him over. “Come here, child.” He was holding the outer robe of the wedding attire but refused to hand it over immediately.

Qiu Ling faintly raised his brows. “You know we don’t have much time, do you?”

Jinde nodded. “I do. Just …” He sighed faintly and reached out, cupping his cheek. “You left so early back then and you didn’t return until much later, never giving us the time to meet and really talk about what happened during those years.”

Qiu Ling hummed and held still, even though he felt a bit anxious. While he wouldn’t mind having that chat if the other person was Jinde, doing so on his wedding day when he might be pressed for time didn’t sound like a smart decision.

“I’ve thought about this a lot since we went to the Nine Heavens three days ago. Seeing their customs … it reminded me of when I was young and looking forward to certain things. It also reminded me that you never had any of those things.”

Qiu Ling’s expression turned somber. Yes, there weren’t as many customs to be observed in the dragon realm but there were still a few. And yes, he hadn’t experienced most of them. In fact, even his enthronement had been done without following the usual customs, mostly because he felt afraid. He simply refused to do any of them and with a big battle just having been won and much being left to do to get the realm back on track, nobody bothered to try and force him. It was just quietly accepted that the small celebration with the absolute minimum participation he agreed to would have to suffice.

Jinde looked at him with a faint smile and finally unfolded the robe. “I’m just supposed to do your hair today, I believe, but the customs of our people say that your parents ought to put on a new robe for you when you reach adulthood. I lost out on that chance back then so just allow me to do that today instead.”

Qiu Ling looked at the beautifully embroidered robe in Jinde’s hands, unable to look him in the eye. “Isn’t it a little late for that?”

Jinde chuckled. “I’d say it’d be worse if I asked after you got married.” He walked to his side and tugged at his sleeve.

Qiu Ling couldn’t help but smile to himself. He raised his arms, allowing Jinde to put that robe on him. This couldn’t make up for the lost time or the things either of them hadn’t managed to do in the past even if they had wanted to but … it felt nice having it acknowledged even after all of this time. Knowing that there was someone who knew and cared, that was the most important.

Jinde stepped in front of him and helped him tie the belt before looking up at Qiu Ling’s face. “Well, don’t think you’ll get around my calling you a child in the future just because of this.”

The corners of Qiu Ling’s lips quirked up even more. “I wouldn’t even dream of thinking that.”

“It’s good if you know. Let’s do your hair and have you get married then.” He patted Qiu Ling’s shoulder and stepped aside, letting him sit down before he moved behind him.

The hairstyle that the gods used for their wedding ceremony wasn’t difficult at all. Part of the hair would be tied up and used as the backdrop for some of the jewelry. The other part would simply be left hanging. Pretty much anyone could do it, much less someone like Jinde who had also always paid attention to his appearance.

He happily hummed to himself as he combed through Qiu Ling’s hair and helped him create the hairstyle, quickly inserting the few pieces of jewelry that came with the attire. Just as Qiu Ling had said, there indeed wasn’t too much time. He himself had already gotten ready and so had Leng Jin Yu and — from what he had heard from his husband earlier — Qiu Ling’s advisers, as well as the few other people he had apparently invited, were the same. So as soon as Qiu Ling’s hairdo was ready, they could set off to the Nine Heavens.

Jinde lowered his hands when he was done, gently grasping Qiu Ling’s shoulders. “Alright. You’re ready. How do you feel?”

Qiu Ling raised his gaze, a splendid smile lighting up his face. “Great. And very, very impatient. Let’s leave now.”

Jinde could only laugh. “You won’t get to get married earlier anyway. There was an auspicious time set.”

“Yeah, but I can still gaze at my beloved longingly as soon as I arrive, can’t I? That’s almost as good as actually getting married.”

“I suppose so.”

Jinde let go and stepped back, following him out of the room where everyone else was waiting. They didn’t waste time with any additional words and instead set off to the Nine Heavens at once. After all, one of them still had to sneak to his lover’s side so his father-in-law wouldn’t be informed of anything.