Chapter Text
Shang Qinghua sighed as he looked himself up and down in the mirror. This is it, he hoped. He prayed, actually. He repeated to himself over and over that today was the last day of dealing with his colossal, god-tier fuck up. He was currently counting down the minutes until the arrival of the North’s guests. Well, as close as he could to one minute, seeing as his brain was completely and utterly scrambled from last-second preparations and briefs to the highly inconvenienced staff of the Northern Palace. Shang Qinghua tried his best to calm himself, to convince his overactive mind to just stop for a bit, to give him any semblance of a break, but nothing he did seemed to work. No matter how many melon seeds he ate or how many times he screamed into his pillow, they all proved useless.
The cultivator’s noisy mind was silenced by frosty breath ghosting over his neck and a pair of hands snaking around his waist. Shang Qinghua gazed behind his reflection and into a set of radiant blue eyes, which seemed to be studying him.
“Qinghua has been worried,” Mobei Jun started, “which is unprompted, seeing as this king has already assured him that I would show mercy toward Sha Hualing,” he finished with a frown.
Shang Qinghua sighed and responded, “It’s not just that, who would’ve thought that keeping news from your boss would majorly disrupt the staff and make them hate you?” he chuckled. Mobei Jun looked puzzled, he couldn’t understand what exactly was humorous about their situation.
The larger man sighed and spoke, “This king has been informed that Jiuchong Jun and his daughter will be arriving shortly; it is best if we prepare to meet them.”
“Mn,” Shang Qinghua agreed. Mobei Jun stepped back to allow the other man some room whilst he made sure his appearance was acceptable. Then, once Shang Qinghua felt he was at least decent, he followed Mobei Jun out into the hallway.
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Shang Qinghua had recently found that there were many things in this shitty world that he had written which he didn’t show enough appreciation toward. Like the melon seeds he hadn’t been able to eat for the past hour, or maybe just the peace and quiet he felt as though he would never have again. Currently, he was sat at a table, a quite large table in fact, and beside him was Mobei Jun. The permanent scowl that was always plastered onto his face seemed to be getting worse by the second. Jiuchong Jun’s arrival had been predicted to occur half an hour ago, so where was the demon?
That question had, presumably, been left as homework for all the servants and staff in the north, but the due date had never been specified, as no demon could give Mobei Jun an answer for the absence of Jiuchong Jun.
Shang Qinghua glanced back at Mobei Jun, who kept his eyes on the entrance to the dining room. To describe the room as big could only serve as an understatement; it was considerably massive in size, and bore three entrances. One was the main entrance, which was guarded by personnel at all times, especially now. The next was an inconspicuous little door next to a grand throne, situated at the back of the chamber. The last was another very plain, very small door that sat in the far right corner. While it held no splendor, behind it was something very dear to the owner of the palace.
At that moment, an unfamiliar demon walked into the dining room and with long, confident strides, made his way over to where Mobei Jun was seated. The King quirked a brow at the newcomer, but made no move to stand. While Mobei Jun didn’t have the faces of every servant under him memorized, he could tell this servant was not one of his own.
Shang Qinghua studied the demon and found that he was certainly small. Standing almost two heads shorter than Shang Qinghua, he wore red robes with a crest embroidered into them that Shang Qinghua assumed to be one correlating to Jiuchong Jun’s kingdom.
When the servant arrived at the table, he knelt to one knee and spoke, “Greetings, your highness. My lord, Jiuchong Jun, wants to extend his apologies for not only his tardiness, but for the unexpected nature of his visit. My lord has informed me that he will be no more than a few minutes longer.”
Unexpected is certainly one way to put it, Shang Qinghua thought as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and looked over to Mobei Jun, who looked more annoyed than anything else.
Since Mobei Jun decided he was going to stay silent, Shang Qinghua took it upon himself to reply to the servant. He stood and stated calmly, “Your heads up is appreciated. You may take a seat if you like; otherwise, see yourself out.”
The small servant, which Shang Qinghua had taken to calling him, seemed surprised by the lack of reaction from either party. Shang Qinghua thought it likely that Jiuchong Jun and his tag-alongs had always been treated like royalty any time they decided to grace an area with their presence, so not being received well was not something they were akin to.
Small Servant, who seemed to be embarrassed, gave a curt bow and left the room.
Shang Qinghua let out a small sigh as he returned to his sitting position and looked up at the ceiling. It wasn’t that there was anything interesting up there; it was just the only place he hadn’t stared at already.
“Qinghua.”
Shang Qinghua turned to find Mobei Jun staring at him with an almost worried expression. Quickly, Shang Qinghua replied, “Yes, My King?” He tilted his head, “Are you feeling well?” he questioned.
“Mn..” Mobei Jun answered, “Once Jiuchong Jun has been dealt with, would you care to...”
Unfortunately, at that moment, Mobei Jun was cut off by the sound of footsteps, lots of them. Shang Qinghua swiftly turned and listened as the footsteps approached. Even though he lacked the status of a demon, Shang Qinghua still had adept hearing, even by cultivation standards. He concentrated intently and counted along with each step as they grew closer. Every stride lacked any type of diversity; it was almost as if the same soldier had their bodies copied and pasted, and their clones were told to march in sync. It made Shang Qinghua curious. The North had such a wide variety of subjects and employees of sorts working beneath it, and Shang Qinghua couldn't name one demon who looked and acted like another, save for familiar relations. These demons, however, would have to at least vaguely resemble one another. How else would they all be so perfectly in sync?!
The footsteps trailed on for a few seconds longer, then stopped abruptly as they reached the entrance to the Grand Hall. Although the doors had been propped open, the party didn't seem overly eager to make their way inside. Instead, they stood there, almost as if waiting for some type of signal to enter.
Almost on cue, Shang Qinghua heard a resounding, "Proceed," come from just beyond the doors. At the voice's command, the soldiers continued their steady march forward and into the hall. Shang Qinghua glanced at Mobei Jun, who looked wholeheartedly disinterested, and who once again made no effort to stand and greet their royal guests. The cultivator sighed internally and stood. Come on, My King! Please don't be so impolite! The guest of the night didn't keep them waiting much longer, thank fuck, Mobei Jun probably would've gone ballistic had he been waiting even a second more.
Though seeming impossible for Mobei Jun, Shang Qinghua did possess the ability to stand as a greeting. Nervously, he began to rise, but was stopped as a hand was placed on his knee.
Mobei Jun spotting a bewildered look on Shang Qinghua’s face, only grinned and whispered, “Not now.”
Just because you’re an uncultured brute doesn’t mean I have to be! Andalsowhyisyourhandrightthere-
Nonetheless, Shang Qinghua remained firmly planted in his seat.
Coming to a stop in the middle of the hall, Jiuchong Jun had at last fully revealed himself. Adorned with fine silks and glittering jewelry, it was hard to take one’s eyes off him. That was until Shang Qinghua saw the dazzling beauty behind him. Although sporting a helplessly annoyed expression, Sha Hualing was undeniably attractive. A tall, lean figure decorated with gold surely worth more than Shang Qinghua’s life made for an impressive sight. Well, impressive if Shang Qinghua wasn’t nearly as gay as he was and also living with the hottest man that had ever graced this shitty world he had created.
The two parties were at a standstill, nobody spoke and Shang Qinghua was starting to wonder if he was going to have to make the first move. Casting a curious look at Mobei Jun, who might as well have been daydreaming, Shang Qinghua sighed inwardly realizing that, yes, he would have to talk first.
Still hindered by the wandering hand on his lower half, Shang Qinghua began from his seat, “Lord Jiuchong, Sha Hualing, the North welcomes your arrival. The topic of discussion is the betrothal of Lord Mobei Jun and Miss Sha Hualing. It’s preferable for the North if this matter is resolved in a timely manner, so if you would take your seats in the order they are assigned, we can begin.”
Each demon had a seat assigned to them for peace sake. While lower ranking demonic affairs weren’t of much concern, royal ones were. Seating two particularly nasty willed demons next to each other wasn’t ideal, so Shang Qinghua had taken it upon himself to arrange a seating chart. A seating chart that he was sure would go completely ignored, but he wanted to at least make an effort.
Once everyone was situated, Jiuchong Jun started, “Your highness, before we officially start this one would like to ask that you at least consider taking my Hualing as your wife,” he gestured towards Sha Hualing. Shang Qinghua found that up close, she looked, one: almost most pissed off than Mobei Jun, and two: rather… familiar?
Ignoring whatever other weak pleas Jiuchong Jun had for Mobei Jun, Shang Qinghua took a moment to really study Sha Hualing’s features. Perhaps a spy? It wasn’t uncommon for the North to deal with a couple of spies here and there, but for Jiuchong Jun to not only risk his daughter’s life for espionage, but then proceed to propose a marriage with the nation he had committed crimes against? Even for Jiuchong Jun that may have been too much. That left the question unanswered however, where had Shang Qinghua seen Sha Hualing before?
Deciding to find answers later, Shang Qinghua honed back in on the current conversation, but not before receiving a glare from Sha Hualing. Brushing it off, Shang Qinghua looked at Mobei Jun as he began to speak.
“The North cannot accept any marriage proposals at this time.”
…
“What about-“
“No.”
…
You’re becoming so skilled at using your words, My King!
Shang Qinghua decided he would step in before anyone became violent. “While it’s true My King has no current consort, the North never issued statements saying it needed one. Therefore, it’s not a concern as of now for My King to marry.”
“No,” came a voice beside Shang Qinghua.
Too skilled, My King!
Shang Qinghua whipped his head around.
“Qinghua is mistaken, this king does intend to marry. Soon.” For the first time since Jiuchong Jun’s arrival, Mobei Jun stood. “This king hasn’t had the time to make the proper arrangements… but,” Mobei Jun pulled Shang Qinghua up to his level, “I fully intend to take Shang Qinghua as my consort.”
Um, when were you going to tell ME about this?!
As he was being pulled into an embrace, Shang Qinghua’s head began to spin. Was he shaking as well? Did that even matter? Mobei Jun, the cold and callous king of the North, had just expressed his intent to marry his very human, very disliked spy. Was this a dream?! That definitely did matter. Shang Qinghua looked up at Mobei Jun and met his gaze. He was met with an almost tender expression, but only for a second before Mobei Jun acknowledged the stunned crowd.
“Qinghua has proved himself loyal time and time again, a worthy and intelligent man is not to be lost, this king will make sure of that.”
“You…” Jiuchong Jun started, obviously seething. Then, with a collected smile began again, “How can you call yourself a king? Should I have proposed my daughter to the human instead? Everyone in the demon realm knows of the human spy that runs the Northern Palace,” the temperature dropped rapidly, but that didn’t stop Jiuchong Jun. A blazing fire once started, couldn’t be easily stopped. “Mobei Jun, do you even know your place?”
That was the last straw for Mobei Jun, and even Sha Hualing looked horrified as she stared at her father in disbelief. In an instant, Jiuchong Jun’s face connected with the table, far too fast for anyone present to react. A harsh SMACK!! filled the hall as everyone went silent.
Not fatal, Shang Qinghua noted.
Sha Hualing was, surprisingly, the first to make any move. With a small, exhausted sigh, she carefully rose from her seat and dropped to the floor in a kotow. “Lord Mobei, I beg of you to show mercy to my ignorant father. He has more pride than is reasonable for someone of his status, so please, let us leave here with our lives.”
With a low growl, Mobei Jun nodded and turned away from the scene, “Leave here at once,” he then turned to Shang Qinghua, “come, Qinghua.”
Desperately wanting to get away from the situation, Shang Qinghua wasted no time in scrambling to follow Mobei Jun to a plain little door sat in the far right corner of the hall.
Once they were out the door and had some privacy, Shang Qinghua couldn’t stop himself from staring at Mobei Jun. His braided hair, his gorgeous eyes, his lips. Flushed, Shang Qinghua turned away, only to be grabbed from behind.
“Qinghua…”
“My King…” Shang Qinghua wasn’t quite sure what to do next, he couldn’t say he had ever been publicly claimed as a consort, or even confessed too, but here he was. “My King-Mobei, did you really mean it? Will I become your consort?”
Mobei Jun chuckled, “Yes, Qinghua, my royal consort. My husband.” At that Shang Qinghua felt his eyes begin to water. Fearing that his voice would crack and give away his tears, he swiftly spun around to return Mobei Jun’s embrace.
After firmly closing them to hug Mobei Jun, Shang Qinghua opened his eyes to take in his surroundings. Around them was a sea of spirited sapphire flowers that Shang Qinghua had failed to notice upon his arrival.
Almost like…
“My King!” Shang Qinghua cried, “When did you..?”
Grinning, Mobei Jun answered, “Qinghua likes them?”
Gaping at the demon, Shang Qinghua could only affirm, “I love them… I love you.”