Against all odds, the day of the feast arrived and Chu Yun managed to have everything ready on time.

He had scheduled everything for a later supper, which gave him the time to spend the morning and early afternoon overseeing the finishing details. 

He hadn’t spoken with Tan Ruo since they went to her house, but from what Hua Nanyi had gleamed from her incursions into Haolin’s busiest teahouses and restaurants, the Second Prince’s ‘housewarming’ feast was the talk of the capital, and everyone who was anyone would be in attendance.

Chu Yun’s goal wasn’t to rub elbows with Haolin’s finest, he had an inkling the Zui nobility was bound to be just as insufferable as the one in Xin, but he needed to establish Xiao Zai’s presence in society. 

He had left the palace, established his own household — he was his own person now, no longer living under the King’s shadow.

Chu Yun wanted people to look at him and see everything the King wasn’t. He wanted them to see an alternative.

But first, he needed to find out what exactly were their grievances with the King. The were always some. Even if the nobles were the hardest to sway. 

The people’s grievances were always the same: taxes too high, which meant the feudal lord they worked under was stealing from them, and the king didn’t care because they were on friendly terms; natural disasters threatening crops, which meant the king wasn’t investing on infrastructure or not providing disaster relief. Chu Yun knew just how to handle each of those scenarios, so the support of the people didn’t worry him.

It was the court and the ministers who could make or break a king. To say nothing of the harem. 

Tonight, Chu Yun would learn which were the King’s weaknesses, and how he could exploit them. He still had his ongoing project with Min Sezhui, and even though he could only visit her once the past week, it was obvious from her actions how much she appreciated not being alone. 

In no time at all, he’d be her closest confidant. She was completely guileless, and probably had the King’s ear. It was especially because she was too slow to realise that the things being told to her held any relevance, that Chu Yun was sure the King trusted her.

Even an incompetent, cruel monarch, needed to unwind from time-to-time, and they all preferred doing it in the arms of their favourites. Min Sezhui must have played the silent witness to countless of the King’s rants, letting the words flow through her like water across a stream.

Chu Yun knew he couldn’t move fast when it came to her. He was no doubt being watched, by the King’s people, or someone else. In any case, he had to make himself seem harmless.

Someone as lonely as Min Sezhui, herself.

The last time he saw her he told her she reminded him of his sister, and that was why he enjoyed her company. She seemed to like that. If whoever she shared that information with was aware that Chu Yun’s sister was still a toddling child, they would still see the resemblance between her and the wide-eyed Concubine Min.

Keeping all of that in mind, Chu Yun got dressed in elegant robes in the Xin style, but paired with a Zui rabbit fur cloak that he would wear outside in the courtyard and to to greet guests at the gate. He wanted to be just exotic enough to attract these people’s attention, but not too much as to scream ‘foreign’.

He finished off his outfit with the fan Xiao Zai bought for him, the one depicting the pack of wolves on the prowl. He had a little surprise stashed up his sleeve for when he really wanted to fuck with people.

Xiao Zai’s eyes widened as soon as they met outside his quarters. “Why that fan?” he groaned. 

Chu Yun fanned himself with a smirk. “What? Don’t I look like someone who enjoys hunting with my large wolf pack?”

Xiao Zai just glared at him, Chu Yun chuckled at his pinched expression and adjusted the lapels on his dark purple, brocade robes. 

“You look very handsome,” Chu Yun said, inspecting Xiao Zai at the same time he changed the subject, “You should always wear dark robes.”

Something flashed in Xiao Zai’s dark eyes, almost hungry. It reminded Chu Yun of the look in his eyes during the full moon.

Xiao Zai cleared his throat, in a blink the intensity was gone from his eyes. “Shall we? Best not to keep your guests waiting.”

Chu Yun took his elbow with a nod, his thoughts momentarily scattered.

—

Tan Ruo and Minister Song were the first to arrive, as expected. Minister Song approached them with her hands clasped behind her back, still wearing her court official robes, with her hair neatly pinned on top of her head in a neat queue. She greeted them both with a nod and short expression of thanks for the invitation.

Her wife on the other hand had come wearing the latest fashions. Her outer robes were made of the thick, heavy fabrics people in Zui favoured, but her overall look was softened by the wrap-around rabbit fur collar she was wearing.

“I’m so happy to be here,” she said, touching Chu Yun briefly on the elbow. Sheepishly she added, “I might have gotten a little too enthusiastic with the invitations.”

Chu Yun patted her shoulder. “It’s no problem, I’m sure there will be food enough for everyone.”

The servants showed Tan Ruo and Minister Song inside the heated reception hall, so they could take off their cloaks and try some of the refreshments.

Chu Yun remained resolutely outside. He wasn’t going to miss the guest of honour.

More people came, many of which had to introduce themselves to Xiao Zai and Chu Yun for the first time — not that they felt any embarrassment about it.

Chu Yun’s guess had been right — Zui nobles were just as insufferable as those in Xin.

Finally, the First Princess and her private honour guard crossed the gates. She cast an uneasy glance at the main courtyard and the open doors leading to the reception hall, where several guests were chatting animatedly.

“I was under the impression this was going to be a small gathering,” she said, doing a poor job of hiding her recrimination.

Chu Yun fanned himself with a laugh. “Believe it or not, your Highness, I only delivered two invitations.”

He could feel Xiao Zai’s gaze on him, half admiration, half recrimination. Technically, Chu Yun wasn’t lying.

A brash lough sounded from behind Xiao Ziyi and her guard.. “That would explain why I never got mine.”