Qiu Ling needed a moment before his tumultuous heart calmed down again. Admittedly, Jing He had opened up a little more for some time already. He didn’t know what had finally caused this change but after hesitating again and again, he would still utter a sentence or two about how he felt or what he wanted. Maybe it had simply been that they had gone through too much and even Jing He couldn’t stand holding back any longer. Either way, he had somewhat doubted how long this would last. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time that his beloved was indecisive. Now though … it seemed that worry had been for naught.

Qiu Ling gently took Jing He’s hands and peered into his eyes. “If you want to go traveling through the realm, then we’ll do that. I will take you everywhere you want to go.” He had already planned to do this and had mentioned it once or twice but hadn’t been sure how on board Jing He truly was. His beloved had the bad habit of simply agreeing to things for the sake of others after all. With Jing He bringing it up by himself though, there was no doubt about whether he wanted this or not.

Thinking for a moment, Qiu Ling felt that he should strike when the opportunity presented itself. “I want to show you the palace and the capital city first and there are also more congratulations and gifts we’ll receive in the next few days but after that, we’ll be free to do whatever we want.” In fact, he wouldn’t mind running off with Jing He before those things were done but his beloved would likely be scandalized if he proposed that so he had to accept this delay. “Do you want to start traveling right after?”

Jing He hadn’t thought too much about it yet. It was just that after Qiu Ling mentioned wanting to show him more of the realm and Jinde also stressed how this should be important for them as a couple and would also benefit Qiu Ling in his position, he wanted to make sure that Qiu Ling knew he was ready to take on this task.

As for how exactly it would play out … “I … don’t really know. There still seems to be a lot to do and your sibling is about to be born. Maybe now isn’t a good time? After all, we should be gone for a while …” He had never traveled before so he had no frame of reference but imagining how they would travel through the whole realm, it didn’t seem like this could be finished in a short amount of time.

According to the maps he had seen, the dragon realm wasn’t smaller than the Nine Heavens and those were divided into nine parts to make reigning over them easier. Going from one place to another, dealing with everything there was to do there, and then once again being on the road to the next city … it should take days or even weeks for every place. In that case, wouldn’t they be traveling for months on end? In that case, they would miss the birth of Qiu Ling’s sibling and he knew how important this was to his husband. Obviously, it would be better to plan around this.

Qiu Ling simply shook his head. “Traveling the dragon realm doesn’t have to happen in one continuous journey. The easiest way is to pick one place at a time and travel there, look around for a few days, and then return to the capital city after we are done. Then later, when we feel like it, the next place can be chosen.”

Jing He’s eyes widened. Could it still be done like this? “Won’t people feel dissatisfied if we take so long to reach their homes?” It didn’t seem quite fair to see some places very early and others much later due to taking a break in between.

Qiu Ling saw no issue with this though. “Someone always has to be first and other places can only get spots later on the list. Also, it’s not like most sovereigns do these kinds of travels often. It’s a chance for people to get to see our faces. They’ll be happy no matter when it happens. Not to mention …” He looked at Jing He’s hands in his and gently rubbed his fingers. “I just got married. It’s understandable for me to prioritize you over anything else, isn’t it?”

Jing He almost wanted to shake his head but then once again remembered Jinde’s words. Apparently, it was very normal for the dragons to stay close to their partner right after the wedding. This was definitely different from the gods where holding a ceremony only seemed to be a formality without much impact overall. So maybe … this would really be deemed normal in the dragon realm.

Thinking about it another way: He couldn’t judge any of the things happening in the dragon realm but his husband naturally could and so could his father-in-law. If they didn’t see an issue with this, then there naturally wasn’t one. He indeed shouldn’t worry. Realizing this, Jing He finally nodded. “I’m glad if it is this way. I wouldn’t want to cause issues by being willful.”

Qiu Ling shook his head with a smile. “You being willful would never cause issues. At most, it’ll make me happy.” He squeezed his hand and leaned closer again, his lips almost brushing Jing He’s. “If you want to act a bit spoiled, I would definitely fall for every demand of yours.”

In fact, even without acting spoiled, as long as Jing He said the word, he’d follow along as well as he could. Seeing him acting spoiled was just something he’d love to see and now that they were married, there seemed to be a faint chance to make this come true. At the very least, he hoped he’d get the chance.

Qiu Ling’s gaze evaded Jing He’s for a moment before focusing on his beloved again. You had to work hard to get what you wanted so … “Would you like to give it a try? Acting spoiled, I mean?”