Chu Yun found his brother in the guest quarters, but he didn't find him alone.
Lieba Chun was with him, when Chu Yun walked in. Chu Hean had told him to come in but he still looked stiff and a little flustered to be caught with the Wise Prince.
Chu Yun looked between the two of them with a raised eyebrow, but decided not to comment.
"Well, maybe it's a good thing the Wise Prince is here since this matter concerns him as well," he said, taking a seat around the rectangular table near the open windows overlooking the courtyard, the fresh spring breeze rustling the leaves on the flowering pear trees outside.
Lieba Chun and Chu Hean sat opposite him clearly expectant.
"I have reason to believe Ru Long is involved in the assassination attempt against Xiao Zai," he cut his eyes directly to his brother. "Did you know anything about that?"
A flurry of emotions crossed Chu Hean's face, he frowned, grimaced, and finally sighed and hung his head.
For a moment Chu Yun feared the worst.
He didn't know what he would do if Chu Hean admitted his involvement, or even if he tried to lie to Chu Yun and convince him of Ru Long's innocence.
"I didn't know, but it doesn't surprise me."
A breath that had become lodged in Chu Yun's throat escaped in a single exhalation. That wasn't reassuring, but it wasn't the worst thing he head heard yet.
Chu Hean looked up into Chu Yun's eyes, his own clouded by a painful emotion. "One of our biggest disagreements was always over you, and his plans for Zui."
Chu Yun interjected, "I think so too."
Chu Hean glared pointedly first at Lieba Chun and then at Chu Yun.
"Don't be offended, I think your violent tendencies and bad temper are very charming," Lieba Chun said, touching Chu Hean's protruding wristbone with the tip of a finger.
Chu Hean pulled his hand away as if scalded and glared at him. "Anyway," he turned to Chu Yun, ostensibly ignoring Lieba Chun, although the way he kept touching his wrist gave him away.
"It was both the contract from Harmonious Resonance and Ru Long's own ambiguous plans that brought me back the second time around, but my goal back then really was to find a way to get out of the contract, and obviously not kill you."
That Chu Yun believed on account of still drawing breath.
"Ru Long had some kind of personal grudge against the former King, so I guess for a time he was satisfied that it seemed that you and Xiao Zai were working against him."
Chu Yun's mind went back to those letters they'd found in the Second Prince's estate. Xiao Zai's uncle. The child with the same birthmark as Ru Long.
Yes, he could imagine Ru Long held a grudge.
"He wasn't happy to hear he had died, or that Xiao Zai had become king," Chu Hean said, bringing Chu Yun out of his thoughts. "It was around that time that we split. He grew more demanding, started not listening to me...," he drifted off with a pained sigh.
He shook his head, wiping away all traces of sentimentality off of his beautiful face. "I guess I was wrong about him, and the two of us were wrong about each other." He met Chu Yun's eyes. "So, no, I wouldn't be surprised if he was involved in the attack."
Chu Yun nodded. "Well, I'm having Minister Hu get in touch in the hope of drawing him here."
Chu Hean was shaking his head before Chu Yun was even done talking. "It won't work, he's better informed than you think. I wasn't the only one who spied for him, just the one he slept with," the resentment was back in his words, "but that's exactly why I can draw him here."