Chapter 96 - The Wolf Runs To The Rescue

Chu Yun shook off Chu Hean's fingers, who didn't seem surprised by his dismissiveness.

"Have I ever done something to warrant this?" Chu Yun asked, looking into his brother's eyes and searching for any sign of that terrible wound he might have left to now deserve his younger brother's hatred.

Unexpectedly, Chu Hean smiled sadly, his peach blossom eyes brimming with tenderness. "Again, you seem to think this is all about you."

"What am I supposed to think?" Chu Yun chuckled darkly. "Tell me why you're doing this."

Chu Hean's eyes narrowed and he tilted his head to the side, inspecting Chu Yun. "You're the one who said I'd have to get married one day. Aren't you happy I'm not going to be mistreated?" He smiled. "Or did you never actually care?"

"How can you..." Chu Yun shook his head, trying to get his thoughts in order before he said something that could make everything worse. "How can you not think the idea of the two of us calling the same man 'husband' is fucked up!"

It wasn't unheard of, omega siblings marrying the same alpha. It certainly wasn't common in Xin, and it was the kind of thing most people would find unsightly, and that loving parents would try to prevent at all costs. A person who wanted to marry siblings usually didn't have good intentions with either of them. And was instead moved by some kind of sexual fetish, rather than genuine feelings or even pragmatic concerns like expanding territory or advantageous family ties.

Chu Hean shrugged. "It's more common in Zui than Xin, who am I too judge other people's customs?" 

Regardless of how common it was, Chu Yun would never accept something like that. "I'm Xiao Zai's official spouse, his First Husband, I have to accept any concubines he brings into our household for the union to be valid," he straightened his shoulders, "and I'm never going to accept you."

The corner's of Chu Hean's lips turned downwards, although he wasn't genuinely upset. "Gege is not going to allow me to serve him tea?" He pouted. "But this way we could be brothers forever."

"We are already brothers, why would you want something like this?" Chu Yun felt a darkness closing in around his field of vision, but he fought the dizziness. This wasn't the time to show weakness.

Whatever Chu Hean was trying to accomplish with his tantrum, Chu Yun wasn't about to give him any quarter. 

"There's an alternative," Chu Hean started, his tone leading. "If you find the idea of the two of us being married to Xiao Zai you can always divorce him."

A ringing started up in Chu Yun's ears, like the reverberations left after a brass bell was struck in an empty chamber. "What?"

His brother shrugged. "If I marry Xiao Zai the treaty between Xin and Zui still holds, and you can be freed of this unnatural union."

"It's not...not unnatural," Chu Yun's voice faltered. 

"No? But at least I'll be much happier with Xiao Zai than you ever could...after all I'm an omega and he's an alpha," he smirked derisively. "We're a natural match. Wasn't that the gist of your advice to me when I came to you worried about a fake marriage?"

He approached Chu Yun, grinning wide. "Has the advice changed now that the marriage is no longer fake?"

Before Chu Yun could come up with an answer the ringing in his ears grew to a deafening spike and the very next moment everything went dark.

---

Xiao Zai was once again focusing his attentions on the small plot of land that used to be the estate's old vegetable garden, in an attempt to manage his anger over the events of Xiao Yuan's wedding ceremony.

He was mostly failing, and Hua Nanyi's figure approaching him in a dead ran meant that he should probably stop trying.

Dusting the front of his dark robes, he stood up from the ground and waited for her to reach him.

Hua Nanyi's face was at once red with the effort of her run and pale with fright. "His Highness...Chu Yun -- his Grace -- he, he fainted while at Minister Song's estate. A physician is already on the way, but I thought I had to come here and warn his Highness."

Terror seized Xiao Zai's chest. Chu Yun had been feeling sick for days now, what if...

He swallowed his worry and squared his shoulders. Panicking wouldn't solve anything.

If something happened to Chu Yun, Xiao Zai was going to make sure everyone involved paid for it dearly.

---

Minister Song's house wasn't far, but it felt to Xiao Zai like he'd been stuck in the carriage for hours.

"What happened exactly? How did he faint," Xiao Zai asked Hua Nanyi, to try and get his mind off the anger at their slow pace.

"I don't know, he was in his brother's room having a talk with him...," she sighed hopelessly, "he told me to wait outside. A few minutes later Chu Hean came out looking pale, saying to call for a physician because his brother had collapsed."

A muscle jumped in Xiao Zai's jaw.

Chu Hean.

He couldn't get the thought that he was somehow responsible for Chu Yun's mysterious illness out of his mind.

Chu Yun fell ill not long after Chu Hean gave him that parcel with food and wine from Xin.

What if he had poisoned Chu Yun?

Xiao Zai clenched his hands into fists and looked out of the window, trying to wrestle his wolf into compliance. 

He breathed in deeply, still looking out of the window. "You spent many years at Chu Yun's side, isn't that right?" 

Hua Nanyi hummed in assent.

"Chu Hean...what was he like, during the time you spent at the Prince of Jing's estate?"

There was silence for a time. It wasn't until Xiao Zai looked away from the window and towards Hua Nanyi that she let out a trapped breath, deflating like a crumpled paper lantern.

"He's....I've always thought that Chu Yun was too lenient when it came to him."