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Chengzhong was called back from the border in time for his brother's wedding.

He had received the news that little Xie Bi'an had been promoted to Colonel months ago, after his exemplary work performance in the war against Beiqi. And now he was a General, and more.

Little Xie Bi'an had always been something of an achiever. Maybe an overachiever.

Chengzhong had not been even a little surprised. Twenty and taking on famous fighters of Beiqi's Jianghu; he more than deserved the title. Chengzhong had seen how much potential Bi'an had, when he, a scrawny thirteen-year-old, had taken on more than twenty full-grown guards in defense of Chengzhong's little brother.

When Chengzhong was six, nearly seven, just before the new year, his mother took him by the hand.

"You have a new little brother," she'd said, and took him to Shu-fei's - soon to be Shu-guifei - quarters to see him. His new little brother had looked like a squashed prune, all red and wrinkly, wrapped up in blue and silver.

"He's a little omega princess," she had said, and they both let him sit, legs dangling, on Shu-fei's bed, to hold the tiny, incredibly precious bundle. "As his older Alpha brother, what should you do?"

He had inhaled the milky sweet scent of his tiny brother, and said, "Protect."

He was ten when there was a new omega addition to the Imperial Family, old enough to understand the blessing and fortune of yet another omega child, for all that she was a little sickly, and much smaller than his little brother Ze'er.

By then he had been training with his mother for three years, already knowing that he might bear the title of Imperial Prince, but his job was to protect his future Emperor, because he was half-Dongyi.

He had not really understood that reasoning, but it made sense that he was to protect; little Ze'er followed him everywhere as soon as he could walk, and it had been his instinct and duty to keep Ze'er from falling down or getting hurt, ever since he'd first held his little brother in his arms.

An Alpha was meant to protect, just as it was in his little brother’s and now his cousin Wan'er’s natures to be protected and taken care of.

He was eighteen when he first went to the border, and Ze'er had cried, clutching him and not wanting to let go.

At barely twelve, Ze'er didn't understand duty, and only wanted his Da Ge to stay with him.

Even though Ze'er shared more interests with Wan'er, liked the books and poetry that they, two little omega cousins, whispered secrets of literary meaning to each other that Chengzhong couldn't understand, Ze'er would sit long hours at night while Chengzhong studied, trying to read and follow along with the strategy and tactics and leadership that his Da Ge read by candle light.

More than once, Ze'er had fallen asleep on top of Chengzhong's books and maps, while waiting for Chengzhong to return from patrols around the Palace.

"You can always play with your other brother," Chengzhong tried to reassure his little brother, because by now ten-year-old Chengqian, the little Crown Prince, liked paintings and reading too, so surely he would be a nice companion and protector for Ze'er, though Chengqian did need to pick up on his swordplay as well.

"I don't want him, I want Da Ge!"

It had taken a while for him to gently disentangle his brother's hands from his armour, soothe the red marks cut into his tiny soft palms by the hard edges, and only the promise of letters would convince Ze'er to be taken back to his mother's side, sniffling as he was.

Chengzhong had never understood why his little brother at almost fifteen decided to take on the title and role of Prince, and it hurt him more than a little that Father had accepted it unequivocally, calling him Lao Er instead of the Ze'er he had been all Chengzhong's life until now.

But it had been Ze'er's - now Er Di - choice, and he'd wanted it, so even if it hurt him to do so, he taught his little brother the lessons of being a Prince that he himself had learned when he was that age.

It had hurt to hear himself called Xiongzhang outside of the formality of Court, but then, Chengze had found little Xie Bi'an, a tiny protector in the making, and well.

His role was to protect, but eventually, that role would have to be passed to his brother's mate, and Chengze had chosen Xie Bi'an.

Chengzhong had been on the far east side of the Beiqi-Qing border when he'd heard the news of Xie Bi'an's promotion to General, and had been pleased to hope that he could marry his little brother. While he was not actually fighting anyone then, there were still bandits to be vanquished and rebels to be put down.

"Congratulations, sir," his Lieutenant had said, because he'd exclaimed his delight when he'd gotten the news on a pigeon's wing, a week ahead of the official messenger. Soon enough the entire contingent would know. "When can we expect a wedding?"

"Whenever Father decides," Chengzhong had laughed, and thought maybe in less than a few months, he thought, he'd be recalled.

But weeks passed, and there was still no word from the capital as to when his brother might finally marry, and he was…concerned.

For by now, his brother was twenty-two, nearly twenty-three, and that was old for an omega not to be married and secure, and he worried enough to pen a message to his Father, asking when he might be recalled. The border was at peace, as much as it could ever be, and his Lieutenants were trustworthy and capable to hold the border without him.

His father's only response was Not yet.

It was almost a year before he heard the official news; that the Empress had tried to kill the new Imperial Noble Consort, Chen huang-guifei, and threatened the two as yet unborn children of his Father.

To think that the Empress could be so vicious and ruthless! Chengzhong had known how much she didn't like him, and had spoiled her son Chengqian, to the point that he wasn't as good at swordplay or military tactics as he ought to be, nor was he as properly educated as he should have been.

(His Er Di could argue circles around the Capital's best lawyers, he was so clever. Surely his younger brother the Crown Prince ought to have stepped up his own studies at that sight?)

But to attempt to assassinate Father's newest consort!

Fortunately, General Xie had been there to defend the Imperial Noble Consort, and saved him and his Father's children. The consequence was that General Xie was granted the title of the Count of Hudong, while the Empress and Crown Prince were stripped of their titles.

And Chengzhong was recalled home.

As bad as he felt for Chengqian, now San Di, he couldn't help the elation that this meant that his little brother could finally be married to the Alpha he'd chosen years ago.

He arrived in time to meet his San Di before he was to be married off to Beiqi and went to visit him in the residence he had been confined to.

He did try to reassure his third brother, and was glad that Chengqian at least retained enough honour and integrity to not cry and beg for Chengzhong to intercede.

His mother had committed treason, after all; both her and her son could have been executed for it.

Well, it was a little bit of a pity, but Chengzhong had met Shangsan Hu on the battlefield several times. The man was strong, had solid tactics, but most of all, was honorable and kept his word. He would treat his San Di well.

He went to meet the new Imperial Noble Consort, after greeting his mother, and had been happy to have his suspicion that the Chen huang-guifei was the same Chen Pingping he'd known all his life, confirmed.

"Good job, Dad," he'd told his Father, who had been there at the same time. "Chen huang-guifei does deserve to be finally married!"

He'd always liked Chen Pingping, who had been kind and gentle for the entire time he'd known him. Chen Pingping adored and cared for all of his Alpha mate's children - he'd never been jealous at all.

It was only right and expected that his father would finally bend over his pride and marry his omega, and give Chen Pingping a new high rank besides.

He didn't know why his mother was choking.

His little brother introduced him to their new brother, Fan Xian.

"This is our brother Shanzhu," Ze'er had said, which, considering how fond Ze'er was of shanzhu, said plenty about how he felt about the boy.

This new brother -- one who was actually older than his San Di, by several months - the boy who was to marry his cousin Wan'er.

The child of his Father and, apparently, Ye Qingmei.

He remembered her, this entertaining Alpha lady who had told him to call her Auntie. She had had so many gadgets and toys, things that moved even if he'd not known what they were, just that they were fascinating.

It seemed perfectly reasonable that she should be the mother of his lost brother. He didn't question it; she had once shown Chengzhong how to capture a solar eclipse on a piece of metal, the little waves frozen for eternity. Of course she could do the impossible, as Alpha women all could, and give his Father a son.

Parentage aside, Fan Xian had gone with Bi'an to Beiqi, and brought Bi'an back a General, so that little Xie Bi'an might have the rank to marry their brother. Of course Chengzhong liked him. He talked a little like Auntie Ye, whom Chengzhong missed sometimes, when he looked in the box of curiosities he had taken with him when he first went to the border all those years ago.

"So I hear that you fought alongside Bi'an? You must be good then."

Fan Xian turned out to be pretty damned good, a worthy opponent, with an exceptional amount of zhen qi, which he didn't use against Chengzhong, showing that he had a respectable amount of restraint. Very good, especially considering that Chengze had introduced them, and then decided to stay and watch the duel.

If Fan Xian hadn't shown any restraint in the presence of their omega brother, well, then, Chengzhong would not have been pleased.

"You're very good!" he called out when he put a stop to the fight; Fan Xian looked exhausted, and Chengze looked vastly entertained, so he only reached out to clasp Fan Xian on the shoulder, tightly. "Xian-di," he said, and leaned in, pulling the boy in closer, "you will treat Wan'er right, won't you?"

Fan Xian paled. "... ye-yes. Sir. Your Highness."

"You don't have to stand on ceremony around me in private," Chengzhong said cheerfully, and clapped him on the back. "You're a decent sort, it seems. C'mon, let's go and have something to refresh ourselves, Ze'er can't have finished all the grapes."

It was nice to see that Chengze was Ze'er again, hair down in the soft omega style he should have had, even if he sometimes still wandered around in blue-green beta robes. "I get cold easily, Da Ge," he told Chengzhong, "and the Palace isn't as warm as my residence."

If he really didn't like the cold of the Palace, he'd have moved back out to his Residence. But Chengzhong could see how often his little brother snuggled up to Bi'an, now a Count and wide-eyed about the preparations that were underway, so he said nothing except to smile at his brother.

He was sitting with his brother and his future brother-in-law, happy to peel yet more oranges for the former and discuss military strategies of Beiqi and Dongyi with Bi'an, when a maid came to announce the arrival of guests.

"Oh," Ze'er said, "I lost track of time! I was going to have a poetry discussion with our cousin and a few friends - Fan Xian's sister, you know who she is? The omega daughter of Assistant - ah, the Minister of Revenue, Fan Jian."

"Ah," Chengzhong said, "little omega baby girl?"

"Yes," Ze'er said, laughing a little. Chengzhong grinned and handed him several orange segments. "She's not a baby anymore, and she has a lot to say about poetry. She's the top talented omega in the Capital, you know."

"Surely not as talented as you, Ze'er."

"I'm different, I'm a princess," Ze'er said and leaned in, all conspiratorial, "I think our cousin Hongcheng might be suitable, he admires her talent after all."

Chengzhong laughed; his little brother was cheekily trying to play match-maker now! Even if it wouldn't work - Hongcheng’s high rank didn’t take away from the fact that he was a beta, and that just wasn’t good enough for an omega, not even an omega daughter. But it was cute.

"Show them in," Ze'er said imperiously, even as Chengzhong got up - he wouldn't intrude on his little brother's time with his friends.

"Da Ge could stay?"

Chengzhong shook his head. "I should go and talk to the Commander of the Guard about security for your wedding," Chengzhong said, and dropped the rest of the orange to Bi'an to feed to Ze'er. "We can talk more tonight."

So he was on the way out of the room as Ze'er's guests came in --

And the soft waft of flowers from Fan Ruoruo almost turned his head.

Fan Ruoruo was two years younger than his newest brother, and hugely talented besides. Ze'er had not been exaggerating when he'd said she was the top talented omega of the Capital.

Her own compositions were light, yet full of feeling, and even an ignoramus like Chengzhong could understand them. She was close to her brothers, yet had a delicate understanding of the politics in the capital, particularly from the perspective of the wives and concubines, which Chengzhong had never really realized was so informative, since he had been away from the Capital since he was eighteen.

All this, Ze'er told him when he'd inquired, as casually as he could, about Ze'er's friends.

And the Minister of Revenue was a particular friend of his Father's; he had to approach him appropriately.

The proper way was to carefully sound out the omega first; as much as he might want to talk to her father, it would be a waste of everyone's time if she had already someone else in mind.

But since she was nearly nineteen and there was not a betrothal in sight, it likely meant that she had no particular interest yet.

So he asked when Ze'er would next have a poetry meeting, and asked if he might stay - for, he told his brother, he should probably understand poetry a bit better.

"To entertain my future Da Sao?" Ze'er said, and laughed. "I doubt Ye Ling'er would be interested in much poetry, for all that she always comes along with Wan'er."

Ze'er had immediately guessed that his Da Ge wanted to meet someone at these poetry meetings; and since he had much to discuss with Ling'er when he visited Wan'er, Ze'er had jumped to the reasonable conclusion that Ling'er was his person of interest.

Chengzhong wasn't going to disabuse him of the notion; Ze'er had looked so pleased with himself.

In his attempts to help, Ze'er brought out love poetry to discuss at these meetings; it looked like Miss Fan was intrigued.

"Those are my brother's poems," she'd said.

"Wan'er said they were written for her," Ze'er said, amused and casting his brother what he thought was a secretive wink.

"They are very good poems," Chengzhong said, "They truly seem to describe the emotions one feels at meeting a beloved. What do you think, Miss Fan?"

She had blushed at being addressed directly, but hadn't shied away. Bold, bright-eyed and willing to hold her own opinion against Ze'er. When the discussion got heated, her complexion got brilliant, and while Chengzhong didn't understand all of it, it was clear she did, and was enjoying herself.

When he'd offered to walk her out to her carriage afterwards, she hadn't demurred, and had met his eyes for a brief moment before thanking him and ducking into her carriage.

"So," Ling'er said, head cocked thoughtfully, as her carriage trundled away. "You and Miss Fan, huh?"

"Well," Chengzhong said, and shrugged.

Fan Xian visited often, in both his capacity as the Chairman of the Investigative Bureau, and the unofficially acknowledged brother of Ze'er. Not to mention that the Imperial Noble Consort had a soft spot for Fan Xian, which was sweet, and it was exceptionally good for Chengzhong, seeing that that was Fan Xian's sister he was trying to court.

Fortunately, he liked Fan Xian too. If he was to sound out how Fan Xian's father might react to his suit, it was a good thing to have Fan Xian on his side.

When he went to visit Chen Pingping, as a pretext to locate Fan Xian for a spar (and maybe a talk about his sister), the Imperial Noble Consort wasn't alone with his brother; there was a little omega boy there too.

"Oh," he said, blinking at the way the boy had his hair done in a beta manner.

But with more flowers.

Considering that the Imperial Noble Consort had a whole vase of flowers at his elbow, and he had been carefully picking little plum blossoms off the stems, it was clear who had put those in the boy's hair.

"This is Niang's doctor," Fan Xian said, hurriedly.

(He'd been mildly confused about at Fan Xian calling Chen Huang-guifei Niang, but then everyone knew that his Father's omega mate was going to be Empress, since he was clearly only waiting for the children to be born. So it made sense, since Fan Xian was technically a bastard son of their Father.)

"Oh," Chengzhong said, and then patted the boy's head, accidentally dislodging a few flowers. "So you're the one who is taking care of our Imperial mother and his children."

That was good! A doctor who was both omega and male. "You are perfectly suitable to understand our Imperial Mother's unique physiology."

The boy blinked at him; for some reason, it was a very familiar sight.

"... Is your surname Ye, by any chance?" he asked.

Fan Xian gargled beside him.

"No," the boy said, slowly, watching him.

"Oh. Well. You remind me of someone," Chengzhong said. Paused and then continued. "Are you already mated then?" He smelled of sunflowers, warm and golden under the lighter scent of those plum blossoms, no Alpha scent to be detected. "Your Highness," he said to Chen Pingping, "perhaps when you no longer have need of his services, you can ask Father to locate one for him."

Chen Pingping would know how to be circumspect, after all. As much as he loved and respected his father, he knew that his father had basically seduced his own mother Ning Xia from Beiqi even when he was mated to Chen Pingping. It wouldn't be nice for the poor boy to have to share an Alpha mate; omegas deserved to have their own mates after all.

Fan Xian made a noise quite like choking. "You wanted to see me though, didn't you?" he said, sounding hoarse.

"Oh! Right, yes, I was going to ask if you were free for a spar."

"Niang?"

"Sure," Chen Pingping said. "Go on ahead, Xian'er."

The news that the Eldest Prince was on his way to the Capital city actually came two hours before he and his entourage did. Unlike the rest of the Imperial Family - or even most high ranking officials, he didn't ride into the city in a carriage, but on a horse like the rest of his men.

Ruoruo had been watching from the balcony of one of the tea-houses that lined the main street. With her Da Ge being in the Investigative Bureau - the Chairman of the Bureau! - she had decided she needed to know more about the Imperial Family - and to acquire that knowledge first hand. After all, her Da Ge was so busy at the Bureau, he wouldn't have time to check out this Prince himself.

There hadn't been much from the other wives and daughters of the capital. The Eldest Prince was so rarely in the Capital, all she really knew was that he only returned once every year or two.The last time he had been in the Capital, Ruoruo hadn't paid much attention, more preoccupied with the fact her Da Ge, newly arrived in their Father's house, was trying to locate the girl with the chicken drumstick.

But this time she was there to watch for the Prince; he was the only one that her Da Ge hadn't met in person and well.

Of course Ruoruo was curious and this was a way she could help her brother.

When the entourage thundered into the city, everyone in the streets started cheering, even Ruoruo got caught up with the festive, celebratory air - the horses were all battle hardened, well-trained, and all of them were basically cantering in-step, heavy armour clinking and -

At the head was the Eldest Prince, only mark to his status was the red feathery plume to his helmet, and the gold accents to his red armour.

Even from her vantage of the second floor balcony of the tea-house, she could see how he sat upright and tall on his horse, how broad and strong he looked, his hands light on the thick reins, his horse's hoofsteps
as powerful as his aura.

The Eldest Prince had a sheer presence she could feel all the way up here, as his entourage cantered past, the Eldest Prince's banners fluttering with their passage.

He was, Ruoruo thought, distantly, so handsome.

It felt like the air of the capital city shifted with the Eldest Prince here. Maybe it was because she was finally aware of his presence.

But then any one of the Imperial Family's movements would cause a shift in the Capital, Even if the Eldest Prince had very little to do with the power plays within the capital. He was, after all, still an Imperial Prince, and enjoyed his Father's favour, for all that he would only serve as the military arm of whichever sibling ascended to the Throne.

Ruoruo of course heard much of the Eldest Prince and his doings since he returned. His official Residence, barely used and empty of its Master for most of the year, had been prepped in anticipation of his arrival a week before; anyone with a finger to the pulse of the City would have known that.

"He's so handsome," Xin Rui, the daughter of Xin Qiwu, an official within the ministry of Rites, said with a sigh.

"He's still unmarried," Liu Qin said, looking thoughtful.

The Eldest Prince hadn't even had a concubine yet, though he could have taken one.

The other girl in their party didn't say anything, though she looked slightly wistful.

"Would you have liked to be his Highness', Huang Shi?" Xin Rui teased, and the omega concubine blushed.

"Of course not," Huang Shi replied, hiding her blushing cheeks behind her fan.

"Don't tease her," Ruoruo said, "she's so happy with her husband!"

"No harm in looking though," Xin Rui said, and it was only because they had been friends for so long, and Liu Qin, Sizhe's cousin, was here, that Ruoruo allowed the teasing to pass without more censure.

But gossip of him was everywhere - even the longest married concubines of Ruoruo's acquaintance wanted to talk about the Eldest Prince, for, everyone knew, he was here for his younger brother's marriage, in time to see off the ex-crown prince, his third brother, and, as Xin Rui no doubt told everyone, when marriage was in the air, it made everyone's minds turn to their own nuptials.

Not, Xin Rui had said with a coy air that made Ruoruo want to roll her eyes, that she had set her gaze on the prince himself; after all, if he did marry, the wife would have to go with him to the borders.

They all knew that the Eldest Prince was here only temporarily. And maybe the emperor would bestow a marriage on him, but his wife would no doubt end up suffer from loneliness at best, surrounded by only soldiers at the edges of civilisation, for all that he was an Imperial Prince with the rank and status to go with it.

"He is, however, very handsome," Liu Qin agreed.

The Eldest Prince was close to his brother, for all that he was quite a few years older than him, closer to thirty than the Second Prince's early twenties - no, she should call him the Second Princess, now. As a princess, his Highness visited Wan'er more, and invited Ruoruo, as Fan Xian's sister, and Ling'er, to come and visit him -- it wasn't quite as convenient for him to wander around outside on the streets now that he had discarded the title of Prince, but Ruoruo figured that he seemed happier, curled happily against the stalwart, brave and strong Count of Hudong, waving careless hands at the bounty of fresh fruit - both in season and out-of-season from the Palace hothouses.

And Da Ge seemed to be more or less fine with the Eldest Prince.

"Though I could sound him out to see if he's alright with you and Lin Wan'er?" Ruoruo offered; not that the Eldest Prince could have much to say against the marriage because even if it was delayed for so long, the Emperor had not broken off the engagement. Fan Xian had reassured Ruoruo that his Niang would definitely hold the Emperor to his promise, it was just a matter of time .

Still, if the Eldest Prince, also an Alpha, disapproved of her Da Ge, then there might be yet more delays, for the Eldest Prince was not only a particular favourite of the Emperor, but also close to the Second Princess, who himself was now an indulged and patted child of the Emperor, as all omegas were.

"I don't have to seek his permission or approval as well, do I?" Da Ge had said, but he had seemed a little twitchy. "Anyway I've sparred with him, we're good."

Alphas tended to communicate with their fists, even Da Ge had said as much to her in the stories he'd used to tell her; but Ruoruo wanted to be sure.

She was glad then, that the Second Princess invited his brother to join them for one of their poetry discussions, though this time Wan'er wasn't present. And then the Second Prince had pulled out the publications of her Da Ge's poems, specifically, the Second Princess said, arch and teasing, to his older brother, the love poetry.

And then made his poor older brother read three of them.

Even if he didn't seem to understand them more than the surface meaning, the Eldest Prince's voice was warm, mellifluous -- exceptionally pleasant to the ear.

Ruoruo thought she might be able to listen to him read all day.

The prince liked her Da Ge enough, wan'er and the Second Princess thought the world of him, and…

She'd watched him spar once -- the Second Princess had dragged her and Ling'er out to the yard, and then all but shoved Ling'er at the Eldest Prince, loudly demanding a spar for their entertainment, and the Eldest Prince had obliged.

The Eldest Prince was really very strong, and so so lithe, light on his feet and the way he made the sword dance against Ling'er's was… was…

It made her heart race.

"Lao Da," Father said, idly running his hands over the fletching of his arrows, "you're almost thirty."

"Twenty-seven, come this spring," Chengzhong said, watching his father - and his to-be-imperial mother, though the Imperial Noble consort looked like he was dozing.

He was huge now, fit to burst, and Chengzhong worried that even the slightest breeze would send him into labour.

"And still not even a concubine," Father said, and Chengzhong went still for a moment.

Ah, he thought, marriage. His tongue went numb, and he cursed the fact that he wasn't good at words the way his little brother was, or even his new unacknowledged brother was.

"You and that girl -" he almost thought, almost thought, father knew what was in his heart - "- Ye ling'er, get along well."

Chengzhong exhaled sharply, "Father."

"She might be a little low in rank," Father said, "but she's an accomplished student of Ye Liuyun, after all. He'd accomplished much, is a credit to our Great Qing, and she is clearly not afraid of harsh living."

Chengzhong finally found his tongue. "I - I prefer someone else, father."

Father blinked. Chen-Huang-guifei's eyelashes fluttered faintly - he wasn't fully asleep.

"Ze'er said that you liked her."

"Ze'er…" Chengzhong couldn't help the smile at the thought of his little brother's pout. "I don't like Miss Ye in that way, but Ze'er is cute when he tries to matchmake so…"

Father laughed, and went back around to his desk, sitting down. "Alright, understood then, Lao Da. Who do you think Ling'er likes enough to marry?"

Chengzhong had liked Ling'er well enough, she was a good fighter and sturdy character, but it wasn't as if she had ever confided anything to him.

"... Hongcheng, perhaps?" he hazarded.

Father laughed again, and waved his hand at Chengzhong. "Then we shall see. Who is this fortunate girl, then, that you reject poor Ye Ling'er for, Lao Da?"

He hadn't even spoken a word to Fan Ruoruo, Chengzhong thought with a mental wince. He couldn't put a name to his father and then surprise the poor girl in less than a week.

"I dare not say," he said, "but that it would have been an insult to her and her father to have her be a concubine, if I married Miss Ye, just as I cannot insult Miss Ye and her accomplishments with a marriage that does not fully appreciate her."

"Truly, you are a credit to Xia-jie," the Imperial Noble consort murmured, and Father reached over to touch his hand.

"I wouldn't dare accept such praise, Chen-huang-guifei," Chengzhong said.

Father laughed and dismissed Chengzhong; he passed by Ze'er on his way to bother their Father and Chen-huang-guifei.

He wasn't far enough away to hear Ze'er's gasp and exclamation, "But my future Da Sao! Die-die, how could you?!"

Ruoruo was surprised, after coming to visit Liu-guipin, to find the Eldest Prince waiting outside as she was about to leave.

"If you might… have a moment, Miss Fan?" the Eldest Prince said, "I thought, since you'd liked the plum blossoms so much, the gardens near my mother's quarters are particularly pretty."

She blinked at him, and bowed, hands to her waist, knees bending deep. "Of course," she said.

He smelled - ah, he smelled like leather, a faint hint of horse, which meant he'd ridden just moments before, and steel; steel from his armour, steel from his weaponry, and steel from the horse's gear.

Underneath that, was the faintest hint of his natural scent, possibly rosewood, warmed with amber notes.

She didn't lean in, because she knew how to behave.

"How did you know that I liked plum blossoms?" she said after a few moments - a few corridors.

"I am not very good with poetry, unlike my little brother, let alone have the talent of yours," the Eldest Prince said, "but I did notice, the poems you were most vehement about, featured plum blossoms."

"Oh," she said, and tipped her head down, not daring to look up at him. "I… I do indeed like them," she said, and out of the corner of her eyes, she thought he smiled.

"I cannot believe," Fan Jian said, scowling in the Emperor's study, "that I am going to be the father-in-law to your son!"

"Shall I repeat myself?" the Emperor said, smirking up at him. "Or perhaps you have temporarily forgotten how to read letters."

"There is no need for Your Majesty to repeat it," Fan Jian said. "I just. I won't let my daughter be sent to the border with --"

"Lao Da had insisted on a posting to stay in the Capital," the Emperor interrupted.

"The Eldest Prince said," Chen Pingping murmured, picking out the soft furry puffs from the branches of pussywillow that were, for reasons unknown for Fan Jian, haphazardly stuck in next to the Emperor's arrows, "he would never ask Miss Fan be taken from the family that loves her so well, nor the comforts and bustle of the Capital City."

Fan Jian huffed at them both. "So you'd planned it all?"

"Well, he had a discussion with me," Chen Pingping said, "and I believe he's going to go ask you formally anyway. Ning-cairen's son is very much the proper Alpha gentleman."

"I have no objections to the boy himself," Fan Jian groused.

"But plenty to me?" the Emperor said, grinning.

"You know precisely what you're like," Fan Jian said.

"I'm too old to change," the Emperor said cheerfully. "You're just going to have to get used to it, my dear in-law."

Fan Jian glared, but there was really nothing he could say; Ruoruo had had nothing but the Eldest Prince on her lips for the past week -- even Fan Jian could read the writing on the wall long before the Emperor had sent for him.

"Surely it would be too soon, since Fan Xian isn't married yet," Fan Jian said.

"Oh of course," the Emperor said. "Once Ze'er is happily settled, we can settle the lovely and talented Miss Fan. I'm sure Fan Xian wouldn't mind waiting on his sister's happiness."

The Emperor, Fan Jian thought, was a bastard.

EPILOGUE

It was with great pleasure that Yan Bingyun received the order from his father to hunt down Fan Xian.

The kidnapping of Lin Wan'er from the Imperial residence was bad enough, the intent to elope was worse, but he'd also embezzled a huge amount from the Neiku when he'd absconded with the Emperor's omega niece.

"Finally I have caught up with you, traitor!" Yan Bingyun declared when he tracked the man down.

"Oh, is that what it takes for you to finally smile?" Fan Xian said, and, before Yan Bingyun could run him through, heaped three huge red-coloured boxes into Yan Bingyun's arms.

He caught them automatically.

"Don't drop your betrothal gifts!" Fan Xian said, before Yan Bingyun could chuck them into Fan Xian's face. "And don't throw them either!"

"What the hell," Yan Bingyun said, "are you up to, Fan Xian?!"

"First of all, I'm still the Chairman of the Investigative Bureau, you gotta be a bit more respectful than that--"

"You are a traitor! You embezzled from the National Treasury!"

"And second of all, I left a receipt and it's all filed under Miscellaneous expenses, you should have asked the accountant --" Fan xian waved a sheet of paper with a bright red stamp on it in front of Yan Bingyun's face.

"What - but -"

"--and you can't speak like that in front of your fiancee!"

Fan Xian gestured to the bed in the corner of the room and it took Yan Bingyun two long moments to realise that the girl lifting the red veil was not, as he'd thought, Lin Wan'er, but Miss Shen.

"Congratulations on your wedding," Fan Xian said cheerfully.

"My duty is to apprehend you," Yan Bingyun said. "My duty--"

"Is to get married to Miss Shen," Fan Xian said. "As the Chairman of the Investigative Bureau, I order you to get married to Miss Shen."

"I will not be swayed from my duties! I'm an amoeba!" Yan Bingyun declared, yelling.

Fan Xian paused. "You've been talking entirely too long to my Lao Niang," he said after a moment, and jammed a hat hard over Yan Bingyun's head, practically over his ears. His hands were too full to stop him.

"Go on, congratulations! I'll see you back at work after the honeymoon!"

"What," Miss Shen said as Fan Xian backflipped out the window, "is a honeymoon?"

"Oh?" the Emperor said when Yan Ruohai of the Fourth Division of the Bureau finished the report on where, exactly, Fan Xian had absconded to, "so he finally made a move."

"And you can avoid the actual wedding expenses," Chen Pingping murmured.

"After two Imperial weddings, don't you think my treasury is running a little low?" the Emperor said, innocently. "How kind of Fan Xian to take it out of my hands. Fan Jian has indeed raised a very considerate boy."

Fan Jian pinched the bridge of his nose for a long moment and didn't say anything. He most definitely didn't state a word about the extremely robust health of the treasury, even after two weddings and the sum that Fan Xian had absconded with.

In the corner, the Imperial Noble Consort's doctor, Han Guangling, was laughing so hard that he was literally crying. Yan Ruohai didn’t know what he was doing in the room, listening to this report, and did not want to find out.

END