Jinde looked at Qiu Ling with a smile when he came over. “Not bad, bear child.” He knew how difficult it could be to deal with your advisers. Even though they were your closest people, everyone was still their own person, and often enough, their history and temperaments could cause issues in the relationship you had with them, influencing how they did tasks.

Qiu Ling had done well in choosing his people. He had seen this as soon as he returned to the dragon realm and interacted with them more often. Seeing the exchange just now, he was once again reminded of how strong the relationship between them was, despite the fact that they hadn’t grown up together. In fact, maybe their not growing up together was part of the reason things were working so well.

Thinking back to his own youth and the people around him, he also knew that the advisers he had picked had been conflicted between loyalty to this new king and their own beliefs which usually included the idea that Chun Yin should have been in his stead. It hadn’t made for a harmonious start and that tumultuous phase in the beginning might have set the tone for later actions.

It was impossible to say now but Qiu Ling had once again shown him a different way to reign. It reminded him of what he had said to General Min Jun earlier: That Qiu Ling was the better king if he compared their two reigns. And yes, in this case, he also felt that Qiu Ling had made the best choice, not just based on his personal history, which didn’t allow for people he knew in those positions but also for the dragon realm. After all, everyone had been chosen based on merit and not just based on connections. It ensured that each adviser was the best in what he did.

Another part was Qiu Ling’s way of interacting with them though. He didn’t know if it had been the same in the past but what he had just seen was the perfect way of handling one’s advisers.

To be frank, the position of adviser was somewhat thankless. It was a lot of work and while everyone admired the sovereign, the advisers only received recognition from a small part of the people that was related to their specific tasks. For example, Fu Heng was admired by the soldiers because of his strength while An Bai was famous among the scholars for the research he had done in the past and the vast knowledge he had gained that way. The others though? They seldom received the recognition they deserved.

Because of this, it was important that their role was at least acknowledged by the sovereign they followed. It didn’t have to be all the time. After all, this was their official position, and being able to take it on was an honor in and of itself. But it wasn’t enough forever. The dragons lived long lives, after all. Being acknowledged by their king and receiving his heartfelt words every now and then was still necessary. Clearly, Qiu Ling was aware of that.

Jinde stepped closer and reached out, cupping Qiu Ling’s cheeks. “You’ve grown up.” He really had. Somewhere he couldn’t see, the child that would run through the palace halls, escaping from his father, happily hugging him and letting him tell stories, had turned into this man who could prop up a whole realm with his own hard work and visions of the future, being a guiding light to his people. “If you do as well in your marriage as you are doing as king of the dragon race, then I won’t have to worry.” He kissed Qiu Ling’s forehead and then turned to Jing He.

He had already said all he wanted to say in the past days and this morning in the Nine Heavens but seeing that Jing He was new to the dragon realm, he still felt the need to add a bit to help him calm down. “Everything here must be new to you. If it’s overwhelming, don’t hesitate to mention it. If Qiu Ling is busy, you can always come to me or my husband as well. Going forward, we are just as much your family as your mother and your uncle are and we will always be there to help you. I hope you know that and will think of it if something happens.”

Jing He hurriedly nodded. “Yes, father-in-law.” He still felt somewhat intimidated in front of Jinde and he wasn’t sure how long he would need to get over this but he did understand that Jinde wanted to help him and he wouldn’t turn down such an offer.

Jinde could also see that Jing He was being polite but couldn’t be said to be all that open with him. Well, it also was to be expected. They didn’t know each other well, after all. He smiled at Jing He and looked at Qiu Ling again before stepping back. Anyway, there was more than enough time to get to know Jing He better after this and he trusted in his own winning personality to allow this meek god to warm up to him over time and learn to trust him. Until then, he’d be happy with even this polite distance.

Jing He felt relieved when the attention wasn’t on him any longer and looked up at his husband. Qiu Ling was still holding him tightly while smiling at the four people in front, his thumb slowly moving, caressing his side. Bai Mu and Nie Huang had already left at this point. Even though they were technically family members as well, they only somewhat knew Qiu Ling but had barely even met Jing He. Thus, they hadn’t waited with the others so that now, only the older generation was left with the couple.

In this atmosphere, Jing He slowly calmed down, the tension he had upheld while the crowd was around leaving his body. With it, the knowledge that they were indeed married now seemed to sink in more, making his heart flutter.