The morning after the full moon found all the servants in the estate of his Highness the Second Prince of Zui, gathered in the kitchen, avidly discussing the night’s events.

Little Pan, who took his assignment of taking note of his Grace’s moods very seriously, was the first to speak up. He read aloud from his ledger as he addressed his fellow servants:

“The three previous days his Grace woke up mildly to extremely annoyed, often starting his day wishing curses and plagues on all his enemies.”

A-Yang the youngest of all the servants, a curious boy with too much to say and little sense interrupted him: “Who are his Grace’s enemies?”

The elderly woman standing next to him pulled on his earlobe. “Don’t be nosy,” she chided, and then waved Little Pan on, “keep reading.”

Little Pan cleared his throat and  flipped his ledger to the next page. “Moreover, his Grace and his Highness have been sleeping in separate quarters,” he paused dramatically to look around at all the expectant faces around him. “That changed last night.”

A tall man with a broad forehead and an even broader nose slammed his hand down hard on the table. “I knew it! Pay up, Liao Sui.”

Liao Sui, a slender man with a pointy chin and an even pointier nose, sighed and fished inside his pocket for some bronze taels. He deposited them on the tall man’s open palm with a frown.

The elderly woman slapped Little Pan’s arm as if she was trying to swat a fly. “Did anyone hear anything? Last night was the full moon right? Did his Second Highness go into rut?”

Hua Nanyi who was sitting by herself in the corner, finally said something, “Honestly, this kind of speculation is too much.” She had no strong feelings for Xiao Zai either way, but Chu Yun she knew since the two of them were in their teens.

She would always be thankful that he showed her kindness and friendship when she was assigned as his personal servant. Many other masters would have rejoiced at the opportunity to humiliate a new servant. Chu Yun never held that kindness over her head, and she very much doubted it he saw it as one in the first place. 

He simply didn’t have it in himself to be cruel to someone just because they were his subordinate.

Hua Nanyi still felt she held him a modicum of loyalty. The least she could do was prevent people from speculating about his private affairs in his own home.

The other servants were all giving her judgemental looks, as if they couldn’t believe she was ruining their fun. She stared the group of them down. “They’re married, they can do whatever they want. What is it to any of you?”

One of the men in the back wrinkled his nose. “But they’re both alphas…it’s odd.”

Hua Nanyi got up from her seat and threw a dirty dish rag in his direction. “And we’re all betas here! Omega, alpha…what does it matter to us, either way?” 

Her words were met with silence. Little Pan caught the dish rag, and looked at her in apparent fright. 

“We have work to do, so let’s get to it,” Hua Nanyi said, already on her way out the kitchen.

The other servants filed out not long after her, but it was obvious the flames of gossip wouldn’t be so easily banked.

—

Xiao Zai woke up with a groan. There was a crick in his neck, and his back was killing him. 

He blinked his eyes open and realised he fell asleep on the floor last night. More than that, Chu Yun was draped halfway across him like a particularly clingy octopus.

His face was hidden in Xiao Zai’s abdomen, but his large, fluffy ears were twitching slightly as if he was dreaming. All of his nine tails were curled across his back and legs like a blanket, keeping him warm despite his nakedness.

Before he could stop himself, Xiao Zai was already running his fingers through Chu Yun’s messy hair, and then it felt too good to stop.

It was rare to see him in so unguarded, perhaps part of Xiao Zai wanted to enjoy the moment. 

Chu Yun shifted around with a sigh, adjusting his position on Xiao Zai as if he was an unyielding pillow. He mumbled something in his sleep, his red lips dragging across Xiao Zai’s skin and making his abdominal muscles jump.

His rut was over, that much he knew. He no longer felt that persistent heat under his skin that left him feeling as if he had gone weeks without a drink of water. He usually had to bring himself to orgasm several times for the rut to break, but last night with Chu Yun, he only needed to see the sight of his cum staining his face to feel something inside him settle down, his wolf keening in approval.

He didn’t want to examine any of that too closely, but he would be lying if he said that having someone else’s hand on him didn’t feel much better than his own.

It made him wonder how much more intense it could feel inside Chu Yun. 

It was possible that Chu Yun could read the filthy contents of Xiao Zai’s mind, because the next moment he let out a sleepy groan and his eyes fluttered open.

He spared Xiao Zai a dispassionate look and tried to push himself off of him, only to hiss in pain when the dried cum flaked unpleasantly between their stomachs.

“I need a bath,” he said with a sigh, then meeting Xiao Zai’s eyes added with a smirk, “So do you, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to share.”

Xiao Zai ignored the unpleasant swoop of his stomach and got up from the floor, picking up his discarded robes. “I’ll ask for a bath to be delivered to your rooms.”

Chu Yun gave him a look from under the curling sweep of his lashes. He was considering something, trying to come up to a decision. 

“What do you say we go pester your sister?” 

When Xiao Zai shot him a confused look, he elaborated. “The First Princess.. She’s always so busy with her military duties, maybe we should take the chance to pay her a visit in the army barracks.”