Page 11 of Love and Chaos

Jin rolled out of bed and snatched his robe, intending to hunt down his elusive fiancé. While they had separate bedrooms, they never slept separately. He remembered cuddling West as he’d fallen asleep, his lover’s fingers threading through his long hair. When had he gotten up? Why hadn’t he woken Jin?

As soon as he opened the door, he found Qin Hongyi waiting for him in the corridor.

“Dianxia⁠1, how are you just getting up now? You’ve overslept!”

“What? What time is it?” He scurried back to the bed and grabbed his phone off the nightstand to find it was dead. He’d forgotten to put it on the charger, which would explain why his alarm didn’t go off.

“It’s after nine. You should be showered and dressed already.” Qin ushered him toward the bathroom, but Jin batted his hands away.

“Wait! Where’s West? I haven’t seen him yet.”

“He has been down to breakfast and is with his tutors. He’s then off to a last fitting for his robes this evening.”

“But I need to see him first.”

“Absolutely not!” Qin squawked, sounding as if he were on the verge of a complete breakdown. “We are running behind schedule. He will join you, your brother, and His Majesty for the handing out of the red envelopes to the staff.”

Reluctantly, Jin took pity on his poor assistant. Today was going to be an incredibly busy day with proclamations, gift giving, appearances, the officials’ luncheon, and the countdown celebration.

With a little growl, he almost stomped to his closet to prepare for his shower.

“You’ll be happy to know, Dianxia, that the press release has gone out this morning announcing your engagement. We’ve had more than twenty offers from experts to calculate the most auspicious date for your wedding.”

“Ha! If that auspicious date is more than a month away from today, I don’t want to hear it,” Jin called back to Qin.

He was sure Qin had some annoying reminder about how they needed to wait at least six months before they were married, because it was most appropriate, but Jin didn’t want to wait. Yes, he and Westin had known each other for only four months. However, Jin had fallen so hopelessly in love with the man, he couldn’t stand the idea of them not being permanently bound together. He wanted to start building their life.

The only problem was that the people of Gaoxing felt they had a right to say how he lived that life. He wanted to respect their wishes because he loved his people, but that love had boundaries, and it began with Westin St. James.

Jin showered and jumped out again. As he was drying off, the door opened and the best face in the world peeked inside.

“Good morning, fiancé,” Westin purred as he slipped into the misty room.

Jin wrapped his towel around his waist and closed the distance between them. He slammed into Westin’s chest and draped his arms behind his neck, pulling him in for a slow, deep kiss. “Good morning, my handsome fiancé. Why didn’t you wake me when you got up?”

“Because you were sleeping so soundly. I couldn’t stand to disturb you,” he murmured between kisses. “I also had early morning language and etiquette lessons. You’re showing me off to all the officials and aristocrats today. Remember?”

“Of course I remember. And if they decide not to like you because of your accent or because your bow isn’t a perfect thirty degrees, they can go f⁠—”

West cut him off with a chuckling kiss. He broke it off as Qin’s howling about not making Jin even later grew too loud. “Everything is going to be fine. Go get dressed. Your hair stylist is here. I brought you some breakfast to eat while Fan works on your hair.”

“You are the best fiancé in the entire world. No one takes such good care of me,” Jin claimed, trying to steal another kiss.

“No one better take care of you like I do. Now, hurry and get ready. I’m going to keep your father distracted while we wait for you to show up.”

“You’re the only person I know who volunteers to visit with my father, who doesn’t want some special boon from him,” Jin stated as West slipped out of his arms.

“Who says I don’t want a special boon? Each time I can get a moment with him that doesn’t include you, he tells me all these wonderful, embarrassing stories of how you got in trouble as a child.”

Jin gasped in horror, but Westin was out the door again before Jin could find something to throw at him. Of course, that sounded like his father. He was more than happy to talk about the chaos his kids had gotten into when they were growing up. Jin was grateful the emperor approved of Westin. If not, Jin was all too ready to give up his title as crown prince and hand it off to his little brother, Ming Tao, so he could run off to live happily ever after with his prince charming.

As soon as Jin was dressed and his long hair styled, he rushed along to one of the large halls, which held a small dais. A regal and only mildly imposing chair rested there. His father sat in it while West stood beside him, nodding at whatever story the emperor was telling as he waved his hands wildly about.

On the other side of the emperor stood his father’s assistant and advisor, Shen Xiao Dian. Jin caught his attention, and the man had the gall to smirk at him, which just proved his father had thought of yet another embarrassing story to tell.

Jin hurried between the two rows of tables that had been set up on either side of the room. Servants were bringing in the baskets filled with red envelopes, while others were setting out snacks and drinks. After people received their lucky money, they could stop and grab a snack.

At the foot of the dais, Jin stopped and deeply bowed to his father, his hands held together in front of him. “Blessings of the New Year, Royal Father,” he greeted formally, since there were so many others running around.