Thankfully for Qiu Ling, even though the dragons tended to be very directed and easily became excited where love matters were concerned, there were still many people among them who were at least slightly more reserved and could easily appeal to the sensitivities of the trueborn gods.

The next person to come forward was another inhabitant of the capital city and in this case, indeed a soldier like Jing He had imagined the first person to be. He had a stoic expression, similar to what he had often seen from the people working at the Court of Justice. Seeing a bit of similarity to something he was used to, he almost heaved a sigh of relief, feeling that maybe it wasn’t impossible to get through this without making a blunder after all.

The dragon quickly inclined his head and took out a small box, handing it to Qiu Ling. “Congratulations, Your Majesties. I figured there would be many gifts today to celebrate the occasion, so I opted for something smaller. I hope you won’t take offense.”

“Don’t worry.” Qiu Ling lightly shook his head. “It is much appreciated, no matter what it is. Simply knowing that you are happy for us and celebrating together with everyone is precious to us.” He made it a point to open the box to show that he meant what he was saying and found a few pieces of square cakes inside. They were delicately made with a faint carving on top that was meant to symbolize happiness.

Seeing this, Qiu Ling turned to Jing He. “Do you want to try a piece? This is a delicacy from the eastern region of the dragon realm. Everyone who travels there will go and get a piece as soon as they arrive.”

Jing He looked into the box with some curiosity. Qiu Ling had shared snacks from the dragon realm with him before so he was familiar with some but he hadn’t seen this specific one before. It was delicately made though and each piece was barely as big as the digit of a finger so eating it shouldn’t be an issue.

He nodded faintly and carefully reached out, afraid that the cake might crumble if touched with too much pressure. Surprisingly, it felt a lot more sturdy than it looked when taken out. He held it in his hand for a moment, looking more closely before carefully taking a bite.

Qiu Ling watched happily, feeling that things were going very well. Obviously, everyone accepted Jing He’s arrival just as he had thought they would and they were even more thoughtful than he had hoped for. His beloved should feel that he could easily fit in if things continued like this.

The soldier who had presented the gift looked at the two of them, feeling that he was somewhat superfluous. Well, this was somewhat expected. Which dragon wasn’t somewhat preoccupied with their partner on their wedding day of all times? And for a trueborn god who was visiting the dragon realm for the first time, everything had to be new and maybe even overwhelming.

Thinking of this and how he had felt when he moved to the capital city despite being from the dragon realm, he lightly cleared his throat to get some attention. His king didn’t look at him immediately but his husband did turn to look at him.

The soldier smiled and inclined his head. “His Majesty is naturally right. This is a special product that originated from the eastern region. I was born and raised there before my family moved to the capital city. This is one of the many fond memories I have of my place of birth. I figured Your Majesty might not have encountered too many things from the dragon realm yet so I wanted to share something I very much enjoy and hope that it will bring joy to you too.”

Jing He hastily nodded. “Yes, it is very nice and I am glad that I get to learn more about the dragon realm this way. Your thoughtful gesture is very much appreciated.”

The soldier nodded again and then turned to leave. Anyway, the other dragons were already itching to have their turn so he didn’t want to cause a ruckus.

Qiu Ling glanced at everyone who was inching closer and sighed. It seemed that no matter what he did, they would turn this into a mess. Well, he’d just let them then. He simply leaned back and used the opportunity to reach to the side, putting his arm on the backrest and enveloping Jing He at the same time. Anyway, if he had to sit through another session of congratulations and gift-giving, he should at least be allowed to do this.

Jing He glanced at him but his attention was soon called away by the dragon that stepped forward. This time, it was a very petite woman but he had already learned from earlier that he couldn’t judge a book by its cover. He simply tried not to think too much. Anyway, he wasn’t used to the ways of the dragon realm yet so he could hardly make any guesses.

The woman smiled and pulled out a delicate gift box wrapped in a brightly colored piece of cloth. “Congratulations from me as well. I also only got something small so as to not overwhelm Your Majesties but I hope you will like it nonetheless.” She stepped forward and handed the box to Jing He. She herself had gotten married and even better than receiving gifts for their wedding herself, was watching her husband be handed gifts and be happy. In the case of their king, his husband wasn’t even a dragon so she only felt that it was a matter of course to give the gift to him.

Jing He carefully received the gift with both hands and inclined his head. “Thank you very much for your congratulations and I am honored to receive this gift.”

The woman beamed, also glanced at Qiu Ling, and then already hurried back to her husband’s side. Anyway, the couple would receive so many gifts, she shouldn’t hold everyone else back. This way, the next person could already step forward while they opened her gift.