Yang Qing blinked a couple of tis, looking at Fei Chen in disbelief. Maybe because he wasn’t very good at multitasking, he wanted to speak, but the shock of the casually dropped news had overtaken his body’s control to the point he couldn’t do anything else.
"What now?" he asked in shock. "You and Minggong..." he continued before his voice failed him again.
"How?" he mumbled in confusion.
It was surprising enough to Yang Qing that Fei Chen and she were an item, but when Fei Chen had let it slip earlier, he’d thought their situation was maybe closer to his and Mao Mao’s— in that phase where it was evident to both of them that they had special feelings for one another but were still too awkward or shy to confront it and actually act on it to push things to the next level.
But as it seed, Fei Chen was not like him at all. They were getting married!
That was more than a few steps ahead of Yang Qing.
After the shock had passed, well, at least enough for him to regain so control of his senses and mind, Yang Qing cleared his throat and smiled apologetically at the shyly smiling Fei Chen. "I would be more than honored if you held it there. My abode and everything in it is entirely at your disposal."
"Thanks, Yang Qing," Fei Chen said, smiling sheepishly. "You’ve really saved . I have had continuous unrelenting nightmares about it. Being stationed in gloomy places like Requiem or the other postings I was sent to doesn’t exactly leave one with much inspiration for what a good wedding venue would look like. You’ve really saved there," he added, sighing in relief.
"It’s no problem," Yang Qing said gently, patting him on the back. "Have you decided on a date?"
"I wanted to wait maybe six months, until my training here completes and the posting becos permanent, but now..."
Yang Qing saw a flicker of fear and desperation flash in Fei Chen’s eyes during the pause.
"I’ll try to see if I can convince Minggong to do it earlier," he said, his tone and expression fluctuating between grim determination and cowering hope.
"Because of Lu Yuan?" Yang Qing asked, smiling.
"Yes," Fei Chen answered, offering a pitiful smile of his own. "I can’t live alone now that you’ve told what he’s been up to. It’s better to switch abodes before he gets a whiff of my presence. Hopefully he doesn’t know about Minggong and ," he softly muttered with desperate hope.
"The wedding will have to be private too, just in case. But will Minggong agree to it?" he wondered, fraught with worry and guilt.
"You could just tell her everything and see what she thinks," Yang Qing advised. "She’ll understand. After all, you received the most healing from her during that ti," said Yang Qing, smiling teasingly. "How could I not have seen it," he added.
"Well, working with no sleep and under constant fear for your life will affect one’s ability to notice things outside of their own survival," Fei Chen said jokingly.
"It didn’t seem to stop you, though?" Yang Qing quipped back.
Puffing out his chest slightly, Fei Chen said, "Well, my survival was on the line, and said survival depended on her. So I think I had my attention where it needed to be."
"That you did," said Yang Qing before they broke out into laughter.
"What about you?" Fei Chen asked as he resud walking, leading Yang Qing through the door ahead of them into another hallway. There were three doors to the right, three to the left, and one door at the end of the hallway facing north.
From Fei Chen’s movent, it was clear that the loneso door at the end was their target.
"I found soone, but it’s still early," Yang Qing said softly, smiling tenderly as a certain chronic gossip hoarder flashed in his mind.
"Anybody I know?" Fei Chen asked, throwing a smiling glance over his shoulder.
"No, I don’t think so," said Yang Qing. "She wasn’t from our year. She was my judicial assistant. It’s how we t, actually," he said, his smile tender.
"She must be special to get you to smile that goofily," Fei Chen remarked.
"She is," Yang Qing said with a wistful sigh.
"We are here," Fei Chen said, cutting their conversation short. Out of old habit, they both seed to straighten their robes at the sa ti before Fei Chen knocked on the door to announce himself.
"Pardon the intrusion. Silver Guard Fei Chen here, along with Outer Palace Court Judge Yang Qing. We are seeking an audience with the administrator to request assistance for a matter pertaining to a case related to one of the business owners here in Gold Eagle Town," Fei Chen announced.
"You may enter," ca a voice from within the office. It was slow and gentle, yet held a certain regal weight.
Fei Chen smiled at Yang Qing and nodded to him, motioning for him to follow as he opened the door and stepped into an office four tis as large as Yang Qing’s.
It had a dod ceiling crafted entirely from ember cloud wood, which gave the illusion that the entire ceiling was composed of warm, golden-orange clouds. It felt like watching the sun’s morning rays spill over cottony clouds.
The view was breathtaking, to say the least, as was expected from ember cloud wood. The fragrance was heavenly too, feeling like a sumr blossom had just erupted in the office and filled it with soft, refreshing sweet notes that were not overpowering yet unforgettable.
Yang Qing felt his mind relax, his spirits lift, and the fatigue wash away from his body, which was yet another consequence of the ember cloud wood above him.
Most places would craft incense sticks from such wood and light them for ditation or when handling intensive tasks that required prolonged concentration, such as poring over one’s cultivation, studying a cultivation art, brewing a powerful potion, or crafting a powerful talisman.
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