The Fox receives a gift from his father-in-law

Chu Yun had a very tense meal in the company of his father-in-law. He rolled up the veil over his head to eat, thinking that since Gu Wei took the initiative to visit him he must not have expected him to eat with it on.

He could feel Gu Wei's keen gaze on him for the entire time they ate and made small talk. His words were amicable enough, but his eyes never stopped roving, taking in all of Chu Yun. Surely making up his mind about him.

For his part Chu Yun couldn't say he wasn't doing the same thing.

Gu Wei wasn't like any of the omegas he had met in Xin. There was an iciness to him, a guarded distance that kept everyone at arms-length. It made Chu Yun curious about his relationship with Xiao Zai. Where they close, or did Gu Wei's coldness permeate even his relationship with the son he birthed?

Did he have more?

He looked the part of a spoiled concubine, his fingers were long and slender and his skin was soft. It was obvious he had never spent a day out in the sun, or held anything heavier than his own children.

Yet, seemingly, he begrudged his place in royal harem.

"Miaoyan is a very contemplative person," he said, pouring another cup of wine for Chu Yun. "You've been quiet for some time."

Chu Yun downed the entire cup to save himself from answering.

Whenever there were many people around, it became difficult to differentiate between the mix of all the scents -- unless an omega was in season or an alpha in rut.

Now that it was just the two of them, Chu Yun found himself overwhelmed by Gu Wei's presence.

There was something about Gu Wei's scent that was as beguiling as it was repulsive. It reminded Chu Yun of fruits too bitter to eat. All sour, no sweet.

"I apologise for boring father-in-law, I'm nervous," he smiled, hoping it looked genuine. "I'm sure father-in-law can understand."

Gu Wei hummed, his breathe disturbing the surface of his wine cup. "I can imagine, but Miaoyan needn't worry. Zaizai is the son I raised personally, he'd never behave in an ungentlemanly way."

Chu Yun smiled tightly. "Father-in-law should call me Chu Yun."

"Very well, Yun-er."

Chu Yun grimaced inwardly. That was a very different thing from calling him by his birth name. Not even Chu Yun's mother called him Yun-er these days, unless she was feeling particularly sentimental.

Gu Wei finished his wine and stood up from the table. He rummaged for something inside the inner pockets of the long, billowy sleeves of his robes, and took out a small, glazed clay pot with a wax paper seal which he handed to Chu Yun.

"In case he behaves like anything less than the gentleman I raised, this should help."

The little pot burned Chu Yun's palm almost as hotly as embarrassment burned his cheeks. He looked from it to Gu Wei in stunned silence.

Almost at the door, Gu Wei turned around and said, "I'm told male betas use it, and it comes highly recommended by a Su physician in the palace's employ."

Chu Yun choked some more on his own spit, but by then Gu Wei was already out of the room.

---

Chu Yun was in the process of finding a suitable place to hide the little pot when the doors to the wedding chamber opened again, this time admitting Xiao Zai.

He found Chu Yun on his tiptoes trying to reach the top of a cabinet so that he could roll the pot there, where it would remain out of sight, hopefully forever.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his gaze was fixed on the red veil that had fluttered to the floor at Chu Yun's feet. The veil Xiao Zai was supposed to remove as soon as he entered the room.

Chu Yun tried to come up with a suitable answer, but words failed him. He came to the realisation that he was much drunker than he thought. Gu Wei had plied him with wine during the whole time he was in the room, and now Chu Yun was almost seeing double.

"Your father...," Chu Yun slurred, pointing an accusing finger towards Xiao Zai.

Xiao Zai's frown deepened. He crossed the room in three long strides and took the pot from Chu Yun's hand. His face underwent a remarkable change as soon as he read the lable.

"This..."

Chu Yun was the kind of person who would stop being embarrassed the moment someone else became more embarrassed than him. With his inhibitions lowered, he didn't hold back from laughing at Xiao Zai's red face, falling into the bed and clutching his stomach in amusement.

"Someone is really invested in us consummating this marriage."

Xiao Zai rolled the little pot in his hands and then sat it on top of the table, which still hadn't been cleared.

"We'll have to, eventually," he grumbled under his breath.

Chu Yun didn't appreciate the reminder, so he raised one finger in front of his lips and hushed Xiao Zai. Even drunk, he hadn't forgotten he was at a disadvantage, he was the one who married into Xiao Zai's family, after all.

Xiao Zai looked at Chu Yun rolling around in their marital bed, drunk off his head, and felt several emotions he couldn't put a name to.

Inebriation had made Xiao Zai's grasp on his own pheromones slacker, and his scent was stronger than ever. The whole room smelled of orchids and pine tree, completely drowning out everything else.

Such a strong scent would bring out any alpha's need to dominate and stake his claim. Chu Yun's scent was all over the room, but this was Xiao Zai's space too.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Xiao Zai was climbing on top of Chu Yun on the bed, and pinning his wrists down on the mattress. "Stop that, the whole room smells like you."

Chu Yun bared his teeth. "I suppose you think it should smell like you."

Yes, and also no. Xiao Zai just didn't want it to smell so overwhelmingly of Chu Yun.

Chu Yun struggled in his grip, making a sound of warning as if he was seconds away from biting Xiao Zai's throat open.

After Xiao Zai didn't budge, Chu Yun went still. "Oh, I just remembered, there's something else we're supposed to do on our wedding night. That annoying little ministry of rites envoy told me all about it."

Before Xiao Zai could ask the drunkard in his arms what he meant, Chu Yun closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his pupils where bright yellow, and two, large, fluffy white ears stood up from his messy, black hair.

Something soft touched Xiao Zai's wrist and he scrambled off Chu Yun with a yelp.

Chu Yun laughed at him as his nine tails coiled around his body, almost as tall as he was, fanning behind him like a fluffy peacock's tail.

"What do you say, husband? I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Chu Yun said, his yellow eyes flashing in the red haze of the room.