Chapter Text
It felt like only a few minutes had passed in the time it took for Shen Qingqiu's life to fall utterly apart.
One day the decree was read out publicly, and within that same day everything was different.
“His imperial majesty, son of the heavens, Tianlang-Jun decrees:
He will appoint a wife to his heir, so that the empire's future shall be secure!
As only the best shall be fit to be mated with the crown prince, a list of requirements was given to us by his majesty!
The crown prince's wife shall be:
Of immaculate countenance and temperament
Of noble standing in court and cultivation
In good health, fertile and youthful
All candidates shall be welcomed to the imperial court in a fortnight, on the first day of the third month.”
At first glance it would be hard to see how such a decree might relate to the fate of a teacher such as Shen Qingqiu. That is of course, if you don't know that he is an omega.
Still, Shen Qingqiu paid the decree no mind. He was neither immaculate in countenance nor temperament – far from it, in fact – and neither was he of noble standing in court or cultivation. Least of all was he in good health, fertile or youthful.
He did have a young student who might technically fit these requirements, but Shen Qingqiu knew better than to curse her fate by presenting her in the imperial court. Her parents might even approve of it, but he would never.
He knew that court was far from the gilded luxurious life of ease and security that many commoners thought it to be.
Admittedly, the closest he had gotten to the gilded life of the imperial court, was serving a low-ranking official in his youth, but in his opinion... the less that was said about that the better.
So no, he did not care about the decree, neither on a personal level, nor as a proud teacher.
He was quite proud of Ning Yingying, but that was besides the point.
No, he was not going to pay any attention to this wife-finding nonsense the emperor was doing, until he was summoned to his school's main office.
He asked what the summon was about, but he got no clear response, so he had no choice but to go there in person to see what was going on.
This... he later thought, was a terrible mistake.
Shen Qingqiu found himself in Yue Qingyuan's office, alongside all other teachers of the esteemed Cang Qiong school.
All eyes landed on him.
At the head of the oval table in the middle of the office sat Yue Qingyuan, his expression miserable.
Shen Qingqiu swallowed shallowly and stepped forward.
“Yue Xiaozhang... what did you summon me for?” he asked, when the silence in the office wore on.
Yue Qingyuan finally met his eyes. Instead of replying, he slid forward a folded up letter. Shen Qingqiu snatched it off the table and read it.
He read it again... and again...
and again, and still the words “I have taken the personal liberty of asking each teacher to bring at least one of their students to the imperial court, to be appraised as potential brides for my son” flashed back at him, written in the emperor's own script. He slammed it back onto the table as though it had burned him.
Shen Qingqiu only had one student who could meet the emperor's criteria. Ning Yingying.
He'd sooner die than hand her over to the clutches of the imperial court.
Now he knew why everyone looked at him like that. They knew that he was one of the few teachers who had female or omega students.
He glanced at Qi Qingqi. She looked so proud, yet so miserable. He could already guess whom she'd take to the imperial court.
He peeked at Liu Qingge instead. He was staring at the letter on the table like he wanted to tear it to shreds.
Of course, Qi Qingqi's best student was Liu Qingge's younger sister, Liu Mingyan.
Shen Qingqiu could guess how he felt about this. He wanted to excuse himself, but stopped short, sensing the way Yue Qingyuan's gaze was boring into him.
“Yue Xiaozhang, would that be all?” he asked, wanting to get out of this room as soon as possible.
Yue Qingyuan grit his teeth.
“I can only hope,” he said cryptically, before dismissing Shen Qingqiu.
The first day of the third month came way faster than anyone had hoped. Shen Qingqiu felt as though he was bearing his favorite student to her grave, rather than presenting her to the imperial court as a potential bride.
He was dressed elegantly, befitting the occasion; wearing his usual greens and teals with no unnecessary jewelry or glitter. He was a teacher after all. It wasn't his job to be pretty.
Ning Yingying on the other hand was decked out in the most blinding finery her family could afford, dressed as richly as any bright-eyed bride to be might hope for.
Shen Qingqiu found it nauseating.
He guided Ning Yingying through the gates of the imperial palace, up the stairs to the imperial court, where droves of girls, women and omegas were lined up already.
Reluctantly, fighting against every single cell in his body, Shen Qingqiu joined the line with Ning Yingying. He did his best to shield her with her long, dragging sleeves, not wanting anyone's attention to fall on her.
Liu Qingge and Qi Qingqi hovered with similar intensity around Liu Mingyan. Since Liu Qingge had no female students, he would be presenting his sister as a potential bride alongside her teacher.
He looked as though he'd rather stab himself with his own sword.
Shen Qingqiu couldn't begrudge him for once. He felt the same.
At long last Tianlang-Jun showed up with an entourage of ministers and officials. He began walking down the line of candidates at a surprising speed. Most he didn't even glance at! Only a few did he ever bother to look at in full, and even fewer were given a polite nod before he walked onward.
All the while his ministers and officials trotted behind him, ever chattering and discussing, reading out names and qualifications as necessary, only to be ignored.
In the shadows of her sleeve Ning Yingying clutched Shen Qingqiu's skirt.
She may just be a beta as of yet, but already her distress was tinting the air with its sour fragrance.
Shen Qingqiu couldn't help but try to soothe her. With his comfort Ning Yingying's scent turned tart and sweet, though it never quite lost the bitter undertone of her anxiety.
Tianlang-Jun glanced in their general direction.
Another flurry of information was poured into his ears, “Your majesty, as you requested here are the esteemed teachers of Cang Qiong school, starting with Shen Xiansheng and his student Ning Yingying-” Tianlang-Jun cut the official off.
“Shen Xiansheng?” he asked. “Any notes on him?”
Shen Qingqiu felt his blood freeze in his veins.
Tianlang-Jun raised an eyebrow at the official by his side.
“Ah, euh... ah, you see... Shen Xiansheng is said to be a strict teacher, whose students, while not always best mannered, are often of supreme intellect and wisdom!” the official hurried to recount, but Tianlang-Jun waved a hand at him.
“Yes, yes. I've heard all that already. What about his cultivation?”
The man sputtered a few times.
“H-he... rumors say... he may be-” but by the time he had spat out this much, Tianlang-Jun had simply walked up to Shen Qingqiu himself.
Instead of speaking he leaned into his space and inhaled deeply.
Shen Qingqiu paled to an unhealthy degree. Instead of Ning Yingying clinging to him, now it was him clinging to her, as though she was the last thing tethering his sanity to this realm.
Tianlang-Jun hummed.
“I knew it,” he said.
With that he turned on his heel, never even bothering to walk down the rest of the line.
And thus, a mere week later, Shen Qingqiu was summoned back to the imperial palace.
He of all people... was to be the wife of Tianlang-Jun's first and only heir.