Wolf King And His Fox Consort [BL]

Xiao Zai didn't let any emotion show on his face, waiting instead to hear all Hua Nanyi had to say and withholding his own remarks until then.

"To Chu Yun's credit, Chu Hean has always acted different around him, more agreeable, indulging even, while he could be a little truculent with everyone else." She shrugged. "I didn't think much of it beyond him being a spoiled brat who only respected his older brother, but now I'm not so sure."

"How so?" Xiao Zai prodded. There might be a number of inconsequential things that Hua Nanyi had ignored at the time but that once reexamined might shed light on Chu Hean's current goals.

"More than being rebellious, it felt as if he was chafing at being a Prince's son, at being an omega. He seemed to hate spending time in the Prince of Jing's estate." She fidgeted with the fabric of her outer robe, adjusting it over her knees. "Things got a little calmer once his father sent him to that academy for omegas in the mountains."

Xiao Zai remembered hearing about it when he and Chu Yun went back to pay their respects to his parents as per tradition. At the time he assumed it was some sort of etiquette school, similar to what omegas in Zui sometimes frequented.

"What did he do there?"

Hua Nanyi shrugged. "On the surface it's just a place for wealthy omega children to learn the Four Arts."

So, a place to learn how to play the guqin, master the game of weiqi, and learn proper calligraphy and painting. There weren't many omegas in Zui lucky enough to be allowed to learn the skills associated with scholarly pursuits. Chu Hean had been very lucky.

The frown between Hua Nanyi's eyebrows gave him the impression that wasn't all there was to it. "And beneath the surface?"

"I can't say for sure, but after some time the positive impact in his behaviour reversed, and he became more combative. He refused to call Madam Jing 'mother' saying that he already had a mother and wasn't going to recognise her as such just because she was his father's first wife." 

Hua Nanyi's charming, lively features took on a complicated look. "I won't lie and say I was ever close enough to him to learn what was going on in his mind, but, I suppose he felt trapped. Maybe after spending some time with other omegas he realised he wasn't the only one feeling that way and only became more disillusioned over time."

Xiao Zai knew well how hopeless an omega's position could be. He had spent many years trapped inside the harem, seeing his father humiliate and brutalise his dam, with no one and nowhere to turn to. Even though Xiao Zai was an alpha, that didn't mean anything in the harem where the King's words was law.

Someone was always answering to someone else.

He understood why Chu Hean would find his status as an omega grating, but that didn't give him the right to take it out on Chu Yun, who was neither responsible, nor someone who mistreated him.

Ironically, Xiao Zai now found himself in a very unusual position. For the longest time he thought that he would one day marry an omega and show them all the care and respect his dam had never gotten. Now, his husband was an alpha, and he was about to go against an omega to defend him.

It was true what the common people said: "in the end, Fate makes fools of us all."

---

Tan Ruo was already waiting for them when the carriage came to a stop outside the estate's gates.

"The physician arrived just a few minutes ago," she said, guiding Xiao Zai inside the house. "He's already with Miaoyan. I don't even know what to say to his Highness, I- whatever this one can do to assist shall be done at once."

Xiao Zai thanked her for the concern, but at the moment he didn't have the time to comfort her. He had his own worries to handle. He stepped inside the room Tan Ruo led him to and everything fell silent around him, as if wool had been stuffed inside his ears.

Chu Yun was lying on his back on crisp white sheets, his outer and inner robes loosened around his slender throat and slim chest. The physician was hovering by his bedside, taking his pulse. 

In one corner of the room stood Chu Hean, his face bloodless. His eyes barely moved away from Chu Yun's still form when Xiao Zai entered the room.

Time stood still as Xiao Zai took in Chu Yun's condition, zeroing on the slow rise and fall of his slender chest. His clavicles seemed more pronounced than the last time Xiao Zai had seen him naked, a result of his constant nausea and refusal to eat.

"How is he?" Xiao Zai asked, talking around the tightness in his throat.

The physician's bushy eyebrows knotted for a moment, before his expression smoothed out. "His Grace isn't under any eminent danger, however his condition...how to say this," he cleared his throat, "If I may...could your excellencies leave for a moment so that I can perform some other examinations?"

Tan Ruo clutched her throat, chancing a worried look with Xiao Zai. "Ah, sure, I'll leave at once."

Xiao Zai wasn't so agreeable. "I'm his husband, everyone can leave, but I should stay."

The physician blustered somewhat, clearing his throat several times. "Please, begging your Highness, this old man isn't as young as he used to be, and it's possible his senses are deceiving him. It would be better if a more thorough examination was performed to ensure an accurate diagnosis." 

Xiao Zai stared at Chu Yun's pale face in deliberation. Finally, he relented and left with a silent nod.

He waited outside the bedroom's door for Chu Hean, who almost bumped into his chest.

"The two of us need to talk."