Wolf King And His Fox Consort

Chu Yun was keenly aware that Xiao Zai had probably never cooked before, and so lowered his expectations. He had already decided to make a big production out of how great the food was before it even touched his tongue. 

He was so surprised by how good the fish tasted, perfectly charred on the outside, and juicy and smooth on the inside, that he could only say, "It's good."

Xiao Zai still beamed at him as if it was the effusive praise Chu Yun had plan to deliver, and served himself too, loading his rice bowl with cuts of meat.

"Did you do this on your own?" Chu Yun asked, genuinely amazed, especially once he realised it wasn't just the fish that tasted good.

Xiao Zai nodded. "I told everyone to leave the kitchen and cooked with what I bought fresh from the market."

For a moment, the image of the Second Prince of Zui buying produce in the market stalls alongside all the commoners was so charming that Xiao Zai didn't know what to do with himself, so he ate another bite of food to keep himself busy.

They ate in companionable silence for a moment, until Xiao Zai asked, "Where did you go, this morning?"

"I paid a visit to Gu Wei, I wanted to see if he knew anything about your Uncle," Chu Yun said, keeping his tone even.

Gu Wei hadn't asked him for secrecy, but he wasn't inclined to tell Xiao Zai about what he'd told him about Concubine Qin and his role in her current state. As much as he had done it to avenge the Queen Consort, Chu Yun didn't think Xiao Zai would appreciate learning about it.

Ironically, Gu Wei had gone to some effort to raise Xiao Zai into the kind of person who would think less of him if he knew just how far he took his revenge. Chu Yun valued family, he had loving parents and he treasured his relationship with them. Xiao Zai only had Gu Wei, and perhaps against his best interests Chu Yun didn't want to damage their connection.

"Did he know something?"

"Not much, just what he suspected, that the accusations of treason were fabricated, and that Xiao Yao had no interest in the throne."

Xiao Zai poured himself a cup of wine, and tea for Chu Yun. "He must have wanted something, otherwise why stay in Haolin?" He took a sip of his wine, his brows furrowed in concentration. "All other members of the royal family left for other provinces, it's safer to stay out of my father's sight. There must have been something in Haolin worth drawing my father's attention for."

Chu Yun hummed to himself, thinking that whatever it was, it was probably related to the mystery child.

Xiao Zai's eyes drifted to the leather-bound parcel Chu Yun had dropped beside the table before sitting down. "And that?"

"From my parents, we can open it after lunch."

"You can open it in private if you want, you don't need to show it to me," Xiao Zai said.

Chu Yun found it sweet how he could get oddly bashful sometimes. They were married, and were going to have a heaven defying child together. What wasn't Chu Yun already sharing with him?

"You cooked such great food for me, maybe I want to reward you."

Xiao Zai's face fell immediately. "Then I want a better reward." The bow of his lips curved downwards. "I want a kiss at least."

"I'll consider your case and deliberate fairly before delivering a sentence."

Xiao Zai shot him a glare, but it only lasted a split-second before he cracked into a grin.

---

After the table was cleared, Xiao Zai laid down in the lounge sofa and Chu Yun made himself comfortable against his chest so the two of them could read through the letter that came loose after unravelling the first layer of the tightly-bound parcel.

"My Son,

I trust that this letter finds you and his Second Highness well. As you can imagine the news you gave us shocked us greatly. We could have never imagined that Chu Hean would act in such a way. As far as we know he never came into contact with anyone from Su, aside Nanyi, and as you know, he wasn't even that close to her.

Your mother took things personally, I'm afraid. She is offended that Chu Hean, who she treated no worse than she did you, could act in such a selfish way. She had a huge row with his mother, and A-Mai has been crying since then, although we both believe she knew nothing of Chu Hean's plans. 

This was a great and saddening revelation, and perhaps because of that, I didn't have the heart to stop your mother when she insisted we go up to that Academy of his, to see if they knew something about his plans, or current whereabouts. 

Nothing looked amiss there, I must say. The elderly master, while blind, is sharp and seems to keep his students in order. They all looked like perfectly ordinary young omegas, and nothing we saw revealed they got up to anything beyond practising their musical skills and calligraphy.

Your mother wasn't satisfied with any of this, though, and demanded to be shown to Chu Hean's quarters, whenever he stayed over at the academy. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary there either, but when we were about to leave we found the box we now send you. The other students confirmed it belonged to Chu Hean. The lock mechanism is complex, and all our attempts to open it failed.

As it is made of iron, it is impossible to break open, and using fire on it could potentially damage its contents.

Unsure of how to proceed we're sending it to you. Hopefully it can be of some help.

Please write if something happens, you know how your mother worries. So do I. 

If you see Chu Hean, in the meantime, remind him that the only thing that can't be undone is death. Everything else, as his father, I'm willing to forgive if it is forgiveness he seeks.

It relieves me of many burdens to know that you are well and being well treated. 

Heavens willing we will see each other soon.

Your father,"

Chu Yun folded the letter carefully, intent on keeping it, as he had all others. Xiao Zai tightened the arm he had banded around his waist.

"You told your father nice things about me." It wasn't a question, his voice sounded smug. He could have inferred as much from the letter's content.

Chu Yun still bumped the back of his head against his chin in warning. "I can write another one right away telling them how much you get on my nerves."

In retaliation, Xiao Zai tried to bite his ear lobe. "Only if you tell them I cooked an entire banquet for you as well."

Instead of answering him, Chu Yun pulled away from his embrace and relocated to the floor to better examine the box. It wasn't a very large box, no bigger than the average jewellery box, but it was very unusual. It was obvious why his parents had wrapped it in leather when Chu Yun pulled it away and saw the intricate carvings along all sides of the box. 

He ran his fingers through them, trying to find any hidden mechanisms, but had no luck.

Xiao Zai examined it next, lifting it to eye-level and peering into it deeply. "It seems like there's a keyhole here, but it's oddly shaped."

Chu Yun examined the opening too. It didn't look like it could fit a regular key, instead it seemed to be cut in the shape of a relief of some kind. Almost like-

He got up to his feet suddenly, and rushed for the dark cabinet against the north wall. After rummaging in a drawer he found what he was looking for and returned to sit on the floor next to Xiao Zai.

"This is nothing like the ones we have in Xin, but I think the principle is the same."

"What are you talking about?" Xiao Zai asked, as Chu Yun settled the box on his lap.

"It's a watcher box." He took out the jade waist token from the mysterious masked man that Hua Nanyi had followed outside Chu Hean's inn. The carving of the crane soaring amidst clouds had a similar relief to that of the box's keyhole.

"They're different in Xin but they're supposed to be used by operatives, either soldier or spies, working in hostile territory, to keep stolen documents, orders that need to be passed along in person, proof of identity, that kind of thing." He ran his fingers over the odd keyhole. "It seems that this is something like that, but the key is the waist token only someone in the royal family of Su, or high up in their employ would have."

They both watched in silence as Chu Yun slid the bottom of the token into the box's opening, slipping it home easily.