Incredibly, the last leg of the journey into the capital, seemed to Chu Yun like the longest, even though it took less than a day.

It was probably a result of his nerves, but Chu Yun thought they would never get there.

Once they did, he wished he hadn’t been in such a hurry, because now there was nothing else he could do to delay the inevitable.

Haolin(1) was a large city built in the valley between two towering mountains. There were still signs of the dense, lush, woods that gave the city its name. Great efforts had been made to preserve the old forest, even inside the city walls. The white stone buildings with their dark sweeping roofs cut an idyllic picture among all the dark green, and pale blue of the sky — looking just like another part of the landscape.

The mountains cast their vast shade over the city, making it even colder than the surrounding areas. A series of streams came down from the mountains to form little canals in the city, wide enough for a single boat only, yet seeing as much traffic as Haolin’s dark, cobbled streets.

Even hidden from view by the sedan’s red curtains, Chu Yun was aware of how much attention the wedding procession was drawing.

He could hear conversations stopping as the horses and the sedan crossed through the streets, a curious hush falling over the usual din of stall owners trying to sell their wares.

Chu Yun wondered how much the citizens of Haolin, and even Zui at large, knew about the upcoming wedding. Maybe they hadn’t even heard about it.

He couldn’t imagine anyone in Xin being happy about a wolf marrying a member of their royal family. At least Chu Yun was just a nephew to the king, someone the common people seldom thought about.

He tried to cheer himself up with the thought that maybe Xin was getting the better end of this alliance, as his sedan made its way to the royal palace in funeral silence.

—

Chu Yun couldn’t resist his curiosity, and lifted up a corner of the curtain to take a peek outside as they crossed the gates into the royal palace’s complex.

The Crowning Moon palace was a series of tall, single level buildings, disposed in the shape of a hexagon, linked by lush courtyards, and surrounding a central pavilion comprised of the king’s quarters, the throne room, and some of the harem’s quarters. Obviously, favoured concubines and consorts had their own private wings in other pavilions, with private access to certain courtyards.

Chu Yun cast a long glance at the central pavilion and scrunched up his nose in derision, letting the curtain fall shut again. Like everything else in Zui, its walls were whitewashed, accented with black wooden details, and the roof tiles were made of dark clay. Nothing like Lanzhou’s beautiful, extravagant royal palace.

Everything about Haolin had an air of melancholy about it, including the royal palace. The sound of running water was inescapable, as was the hissing of the wind rustling through pine needles.

Chu Yun pulled the ends of his rabbit fur cloak closer together, and got ready to face the rest of his life.

—

He was led directly to one of the smaller buildings surrounding the central pavilion. A group of palace servants was already there to escort him into a private room.

Luckily Hua Nanyi and some other of his family’s servants were allowed inside with him.

The Zui servants instructed him that he should bathe, and then change into the Zui wedding robe that had been prepared for the ceremony.

Chu Yun cast a longing look at the bath tub, and then dismissed everyone except Hua Nanyi, telling them he would call for them when he was done bathing.

As soon as the two of them were alone, he took off his travel-worn wedding robe behind the privacy screen, and jumped into the tub unceremoniously.

Hua Nanyi sat on the edge of the tub, as she was used to doing ever since she became Chu Yun’s private servant.

“What a trip, uh?” she sighed, shaking her head.

Chu Yun grunted inelegantly and gestured for her to pass him the washcloth.

“Well, I couldn’t see much since I was inside a curtained sedan the entire time. My impression of everything was just red as far as the eye could see, which wasn’t very far at all.”

Hua Nanyi let out an amused snort and passed Chu Yun the washcloth along with the wash basin, for him to lather up the soap.

“You got to see more than me, what was your impression?”

She thought it over for a moment, before admitting. “No one really talked much with us during the journey. There are human Su servants in Zui as well, but even they wouldn’t give me the time of the day.”

It wasn’t unusual to see people from Su working in Xin, and apparently Zui was no different.

Humans from Su were always betas, and were unable to produce any children that weren’t betas as well. This meant they were highly valuable as workers where there might be an otherwise high concentration of alphas or omegas. Of course there were betas among the people of Xin as well who fulfilled the same role, but Su immigrants always had an easy time finding work.

Chu Yun had never asked Hua Nanyi why her family left Su, afraid it could be a source of unpleasant memories.

“They didn’t say much, but I did hear some interesting gossip in the last inn we stayed at.” Hua Nanyi said, an amused grin making her already pretty face even brighter.

Chu Yun could never resist gossip and leaned over the edge of the tub, resting his chin on his crossed arms. His long hair trailed behind his back, floating in the water in inky rivulets.

“Tell me.”

“It concerns the Second Prince, so you should definitely want to hear about it.”

One of Chu Yun’s eyebrows rose up into his hairline. “Is this good or bad?”

Hua Nanyi smiled enigmatically, before telling him what she’d heard.

—

(1) – Haolin means howling woods.