Secret mission

The next day.

Seven hours remained until the banquet.

Pei Ji and Shen Que woke to Old Hall pounding on the door.

"It's already one in the afternoon! General, my lord's wife, there's a limit to sleeping in! The guests are arriving, and if you don't show up soon, the lord is going to lose his temper!"

Pei Ji sat up, clutching his head. The mound of blankets beside him stirred, revealing the top of a tousled head.

Shen Que opened his eyes groggily.

His exhausted mind was slow to wake, still steeped in those dry, warm pheromones. He felt too languid to move even a fingertip.

"...What time is it?"

Pei Ji hugged him through the blankets and kissed his messy hair. "Still early. Take your time waking up. I'll get break... lunch."

He sprang out of bed, dressed in three minutes, ran a hand through his hair, and headed out.

Shen Que slowly sat up.

The Alpha's pheromones put him at ease.

Pei Ji was actually quite a considerate Alpha. He always used suppressant spray in public.

Apart from at night and after that training session, Shen Que had barely ever smelled his pheromones.

His own pheromones were beyond his control, so he had never experienced the intimacy others described between Alphas and Omegas, expressing their feelings and soothing each other through pheromones alone.

But this was nice, too.

It kept them from getting too close.

And let him have a good night's sleep.

He had no idea how long he had been sitting in bed when Pei Ji returned, followed by Demi pushing a food cart.

"Ten minutes! Wash your face, get dressed, and eat!" the maid ordered, hands on her hips.

"That's too rushed! We can't finish eating!" Pei Ji pulled the cart inside, leaving Demi outside the door. "Come back in an hour."

Six hours remained until the banquet.

Demi, who had nearly broken down the door, finally saw Pei Ji emerge with Shen Que.

"Aaah, you took forever!" Demi wailed.

Anya comforted her from the side. "It can't be helped... He eats slowly..."

Shen Que frowned slightly. "It wasn't me."

He shot the Alpha beside him a disgruntled glance.

"He spent half an hour choosing clothes."

Anya covered her mouth and looked her two masters up and down.

Their clothes were essentially no different from yesterday's: traditional White Sand Star formal attire.

They had merely added short, one-shouldered capes and slightly fewer gold ornaments.

The jewel resting between Shen Que's brows was still pigeon blood red.

Pei Ji held Shen Que by the shoulders and positioned him squarely before the two maids.

"Looks good, doesn't he?"

Anya nodded eagerly. "Very good! Very good!"

Demi said, "Help. You two look good in anything, so could you please stop wasting time on pointless things?"

Phil poked her head out at the end of the corridor. "General! If you don't come greet the guests, the lord is going to send a fleet to bombard your Fallen Star Palace."

"He wouldn't dare! I'll have the Fourth Fleet bombard his Moon Palace!"

Pei Ji retorted without a hint of embarrassment, then offered his elbow.

Shen Que paused, then took his Alpha's arm.

The formal banquet would be held in the Moon Palace's largest banquet hall.

It stood at the highest point in the First Oasis-the summit of the enormous rock.

Before that, the guests would be received in Green Mo Garden.

Pei Ji hurried toward the reception room with Shen Que.

As they passed through a covered walkway, Pei Ji suddenly spotted a furtive figure peering out nearby.

Recognizing him, he stopped and patted Shen Que's hand. "Give me a few minutes."

Shen Que gave him a puzzled look but asked no questions. He simply nodded and waited where he was.

The afternoon sunlight shone across the clean, bright walkway, tracing Shen Que's slender silhouette.

Occasionally, lavishly dressed people passed by.

Several young noblewomen recognized Shen Que and began whispering.

"Wow... isn't he the First Commander? I've seen him on the Star Network."

"He really is handsome... No wonder the Empress likes him."

"The Empress is an Alpha, too! Alphas all like pretty Omegas."

"Why is he here alone? Where's Pei Ji?"

"Pfft, don't tell me he ran off again?"

The nobles' remarks were less blunt than the comments online, but they still grated.

Shen Que frowned slightly.

Just then, a tall figure passed him and approached the young women, striking up a conversation with easy familiarity.

Shen Que keenly noticed that the man had discreetly positioned himself between him and the women, blocking their prying gazes.

He caught a few indistinct words, something about the "Lord's Wife," "Melancholy Garden," and a "tea party."

The young women giggled, saying something like, "Dr. Li, you'd better not be fooling us!" Then they left arm in arm.

Once they were gone, the tall man approached Shen Que and spoke first. "Commander Shen, how has your health been lately?"

Shen Que paused, then nodded politely. "You know me?"

The man gave him a reserved look and offered his hand.

"I'm the lord's personal physician, Charles Lee. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Shen Que shook his hand, and the man released it after only a moment.

The man before him had a gentle expression and refined, handsome features. He was older than Shen Que and seemed like a very traditional Alpha, cultured and courteous in speech and manner, clearly from a distinguished family.

Asking about his health right off the bat...

Shen Que asked, "Dr. Li, have we met before?"

Charles hesitated briefly. "In a sense, yes. In another, no."

"I've read your medical records," he said evenly.

Meanwhile, Pei Ji hauled Luo Yuan out of the Small Woods.

"Well, well! I haven't settled the score with you for getting me drunk yesterday, and now you're skulking around right under my nose?"

A full head shorter than Pei Ji, Luo Yuan struggled and kicked.

"General, General! I'm in uniform! Don't pull my ear! There are Interstellar Paparazzi lurking all along here! Aaaah, that hurts!"

"Interstellar Paparazzi?" Pei Ji paused. "Isn't this Dad's private banquet? What are those pests doing here?"

Luo Yuan said, "Didn't you read the invitation? This banquet is semi-public. Interstellar reporters are allowed in, and plenty of paparazzi slipped in with them."

"The lord is going to publicly announce the share of his assets he's giving you. Everyone on the Star Network is waiting to hear how you're going to strike it rich today!"

Pei Ji frowned. "Why make such a spectacle of it? Dad's one thing, but why did Mom agree to this?"

Luo Yuan said, "Maybe she's proud that her son's all grown up."

Proud?

Pei Ji's expression became indescribable.

Proud? It was merciful enough of her not to give up on raising me halfway through and toss me into the desert to feed the Fox Wolves.

Back then, Ai Fan had been utterly determined to raise him into an outstanding lord who could navigate both banquet halls and slums.

His prenatal education had begun in the womb. At two, she had hired tutors for him, and at three, she had started taking the tiny Pei Ji to important occasions.

She had instructed him tirelessly, teaching through both words and example.

Finally, when he was seven, she had given up on him as a hopeless case, packed him off to the Military Academy, and left him to grow on his own.

"Proud? Not a chance," the very self-aware Pei Ji muttered.

With Interstellar Paparazzi prowling around, he did have to preserve the dignity of a second-class major in the Fourth Fleet.

Pei Ji released Luo Yuan's ear and grabbed the back of his collar instead.

"In that case, I have a mission for you."

Luo Yuan pressed his index and middle fingers together and gave a practiced tap to his forehead. "Your orders, General!"

Pei Ji whispered a few words in his ear, and Luo Yuan nodded repeatedly, his expression solemn.