Chu Yun watched the interactions between daughter and father with interest. He couldn’t hear the hushed conversation they were having, but it was obvious from the king’s smile how happy he was to see the First Princess.

There was an empty table on his left reserved for her. Chu Yun would bet his left arm, he would have sat her on his right if it hadn’t been Xiao Yuan’s engagement ceremony.

The Princess’s face didn’t reveal any emotions. She took her seat with barely a nod of acknowledgement towards the First Prince and his bride-to-be.

She was clearly an alpha — it was impossible to make out her scent among so many people, but it was obvious from the way she carried herself — moreover, Chu Yun very much doubted that an omega would have any kind of military rank.

“Is she the daughter of the late Queen Consort?” Chu Yun asked Xiao Zai, trying to confirm the family tree Hua Nanyi had shared with him.

Xiao Zai simply hummed.

This was a touchy subject for him, apparently.

But it meant that the First Princess, Xiao Ziyi, was the only child of the late Queen Consort, and an alpha to boot. In Xin, that would have made her the undisputed heir to the throne.

It was hilarious that in Zui an alpha female couldn’t inherit the throne, because the King clearly favoured his daughter above all his other children.

Chu Yun smiled a little to himself. Fate knew what it did — on occasion. If it wasn’t for Zui bigotry he would have nothing to look forward to beyond restoring his cursed estate at the edge of the city gates, and growing fat. Possibly commissioning Haolin’s first brothel too — out of sheer boredom.

“Do the two of you get along?” Chu Yun asked, already anticipating the answer.

Xiao Zai’s shoulders tensed, and he poured himself a glass of wine. “We used to.”

That was a surprise. Chu Yun expected to hear an undisputed “no”.

It was clear from the look on his face that Xiao Zai didn’t want to discuss the matter any further, so Xiao Zai didn’t press him.

He cast the princess a look over the sleeve of his robe as he brought a wine cup to his lips; of course, that didn’t mean Chu Yun wouldn’t make his own enquiries.

—

The meal was already underway when they arrived, and further delayed by the First Princess’s dramatic entrance. Chu Yun ate his food, quietly, folding back his sleeves and covering his mouth when drinking, as was polite to do — but mostly he watched.

Several pairs of eyes drifted towards him and Xiao Zai, curious people certainly, but maybe there would be allies among them as well.

A couple drew his attention. An older woman, with a hint of grey at her temples, finely, but austerely dressed, and the slightly younger woman sitting at her side — most likely her wife.

They were talking among themselves, but would on occasion look towards him and Xiao Zai, obviously discussing them afterwards.

It was hard to tell the nature of their conversation from the look on their faces. The older of the two gave nothing away, and the younger hid half her face behind a stiff, exquisitely painted, paper fan.

After an uninspired performance of sword dancing, and an even more abysmal fan dance, the guests were finally free to mingle among themselves.

Chu Yun took Xiao Zai’s arm and made a beeline for the two women.

“Hello, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” he said, plastering on his most charming smile. “Of course, I can’t say I have been introduced to many people around Haolin,” he laughed, and patted Xiao Zai’s arm. “I’m afraid we’ve been too busy to be social.”

Xiao Zai was too dazed from being dragged all the way there, and by the torrent of words leaving Chu Yun, to say anything.

The younger woman finally lowered her fan, revealing a dimpled cheek. “So nice of you to come say hi.”

This close, Chu Yun was able to scent both of them, and was shocked to realise the shorter, younger woman was the alpha of the two, and more surprising — that her wife was a beta.

The lack of any distinctive scent, beyond what they flavoured their bathwater and soap with, was the defining characteristic of any beta. And Chu Yun was sure no scent was coming off from the tall, stoic woman.

By then Xiao Zai had composed himself enough to greet them. “Minister Song, Madam…” he stopped himself, perking Chu Yun’s interest. It seemed there was some confusion regarding how to address the alpha woman.

She smiled and waved at them with her fan. “Just Ruomi is fine.”

This was delightful, Chu Yun should have known his senses wouldn’t have led him astray.

So, a beta court Minister, with an alpha wife who didn’t mind acting like arm-candy? They must have been the talk of Haolin before Chu Yun’s and Xiao Zai’s marriage.

The potential for an alliance was obvious. If nothing else, they had their unconventional unions in common.

The woman with the fan must have reached the same conclusion. Her dark eyes curved in mischief. “Darling, please entertain his Highness with boring statecraft, I’m going to show his husband around.”

Chu Yun returned her smile. “I would be delighted.”

But first…He placed a hand on Xiao Zai’s shoulder and rose up on his tiptoes, to plant a soft kiss on his sharp cheekbone. “I’ll see you later, dear.”

He barely had the time to admire Xiao Zai’s stunned look before Ruomi whisked him away.

She dove right into the crowd, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Xiao Zai, and using her fan to hide her mouth as she gossiped freely.

“My name is Tan Ruo, but as I said, Ruomi is fine, please don’t stand on ceremony on my account.”

Chu Yun nodded, this Tan Ruo was clearly an interesting character.

“I don’t know much about the court yet, so I appreciate sister Ruomi’s guidance.”

“Well, it’s a den of wolves,” she chuckled at her own joke. “Ah, forgive my glibness, I’m sure must of them are delightful people if one takes the time to play their games.” She shrugged. “I come from a merchant family with a beta father, an omega mother, and three omega siblings. I was the only alpha in my family.”

Talking about her family brought her pleasure, her candid smile grew even wider. “None of my parents knew anything about raising a ‘proper’ alpha, and frankly, I’m all the better for it.”

Her cheeks dimpled further. She was unusually pretty for an alpha, or perhaps that was just something Chu Yun grew up hearing.

Tan Ruo’s unusual family dynamics got him thinking.

“Not that many people around here would see it that way,” she added, reminding Chu Yun that people thought a certain way for a reason, too.

She nodded to a corner of the room. “That’s the kind of alpha that makes the two of us look bad.”

Chu Yun followed her line of sight across to where the First Princess was standing all by herself.. Before he even had time to be offended — Chu Yun was everything an alpha should be — the Princess noticed their stares, and made her way towards them.