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“Good morning, your Highness. Forgive my intrusion, but I have been instructed to deliver a most urgent messages from his Majesty.”
The chief advisor to the emperor, an A-tier Alpha by the name of Chen Pin Ming, bowed deeply in front of the opulent sofa, not quite daring to meet the sharp, calculating gaze of Crown Prince Wenlang, who was smiling mockingly and lounging on the pillows in a red silk robe that had partially fallen open to reveal his pale, muscular chest.
“Perhaps, I should deserve the right to decide whether a morning that starts off with an urgent message from my divine father can, indeed, be classified as good,” Prince Wenlang replied, lifting his porcelain cup and taking a sniff of his tea only to wrinkle his nose in obvious distaste.
“Gao Tu!” he snapped, ignoring Chen Pin Ming and glaring towards the door, his eyebrows rising impatiently when a lithe, young Omega dressed in a long-sleeved blue robe hurried into the room with his eyes downcast and his thick, dark black hair falling into his face as he bowed at the foot of the sofa.
“Your Highness?”
“Who made this? It tastes like dog piss! Did I not give you specific instructions that nobody except you should prepare my morning tea?” the prince barked, leaning forward slightly and giving his servant a searching, unimpressed look.
Gao Tu instantly bowed deeper, reaching out for the offending cup and carefully avoiding eye contact as he answered in a low, apologetic voice.
“I beg that it pleases your Highness to forgive me. I asked Yang Xiu to prepare his Highness’ tea this morning because I was ... distracted by another request made by his ethereal Highness.”
“Distracted by ... Gao Tu! For the millionth time, how often must I tell you to...”
The crown prince’s angry tirade abruptly broke off as he pressed his lips tightly together, and for a moment he looked so tense and genuinely upset that Chen Pin Ming almost feared for the pitiful Omega’s safety.
After all, it was possibly the kingdom’s worst guarded secret that Crown Prince Wenlang barely tolerated the presence of Omegas and had increasingly grown to despise them ever since he’d presented in his early adolescence and had become the object of – oftentimes rather shamefully declared – desire for what seemed like every single eligible noble Omega in the kingdom.
Indeed, if Gao Tu hadn’t loyally tended to the prince’s every need for the past ten years and never once forgotten his place, Chen Pin Ming was sure that Prince Wenlang would have banished him from the palace this instant.
To some, Gao Tu’s access to Crown Prince Wenlang made him one of the luckiest Omegas in the kingdom, but as far as Chen Pin Ming was concerned, the wretched Omega must have greatly offended the gods in his previous life to be punished with a fate as cruel as having to tend to an Alpha as insufferable as the young prince.
Still, he could not help but admire the Omega’s calm even when faced with one of the prince’s most ridiculous tantrums, no matter how sharp his words could get and how unpredictably his moods could change from utter elation to downright hostility in an instant.
Sometimes, it even seemed as though the Omega could calm Prince Wenlang by virtue of his sheer presence alone, just like he was clearly doing right now, as Prince Wenlang took a deep breath and closed his eyes instead of launching into a tirade that would have caused even the palace’s walls to tremble in fear.
For a moment, Chen Pin Ming even caught the powerful scent of an iris in full bloom wafting through the air.
The smell dissipated within the blink of an eye, though and Chen Pin Ming cleared his throat politely, partly to regain the prince’s attention and partly because he was not in the mood to deal with Prince Wenlang’s wrath if his powerful S-tier Alpha pheromones accidentally knocked out the pale A-Class Omega still cowering before him.
“If I may return your attention to his Imperial Majesty’s urgent message,” he said carefully, trying hard not to flinch when Prince Wenlang’s gaze shot towards him and he could almost feel the young Alpha’s hostility like a thousand sharp knives cutting into his skin.
“You may, as I feel there is nothing you can say that can ruin this already disastrous morning even further!” he said sharply, glancing at Gao Tu’s retreating back as the Omega hurried out of the room with the rejected cup of tea and thus giving Chen Pin Ming the opportunity to spare a second in contemplation of horrendously spoiled and utterly insufferable princes whose only concept of a disastrous morning was a cup of ill-tasting tea.
Unfortunately, Prince Wenlang’s outrageous behavior when it came to tea grievances were not the only reason the emperor considered his only son a shameful disgrace.
Hence, his very urgent message, the delivery of which Chen Pin Ming would have gladly traded with a delightful opportunity to have every single one of his teeth pulled with a rusted wrench in a butcher’s shop smelling of pig feces and cow’s stomach acid.
Seeing as he valued his head above his shoulders and not haphazardly thrown next to the still twitching remains of his body in a dirty ditch, however, Chen Pin Ming took a deep breath and bowed in resignation.
“Your Highness ... forgive me my insolence, but I must inform his Highness that his Imperial Majesty has now declared that his Highness’ imminent mating is indispensable for the nation’s continued prosperity.”
On the sofa, Prince Wenlang let out an angry snarl and sat up so abruptly that the loyal advisor took an involuntary step back in fear.
“I was wrong. You did manage to say something to make this morning even more disastrous!” the crown prince said sharply, rising from the sofa and stepping towards the poor advisor as though he was a tiger about to pounce on his prey.
“Surely, my father has not forgotten that I made it perfectly clear that I do not intend to marry anytime soon! In fact, I seem to recall mentioning it only last week, when the lot of you paraded that ridiculously dolled up man in front of me and dared to suggest I’d ever be taken in by such garish displays of coquetries and deceit!”
This time, Chen Pin Ming took two steps back.
“Forgive me, your Highness, but I fear that it was precisely your Highness’ harsh words uttered in front of the entire court that has caused his Imperial Majesty to accept no further objections on the matter of your nuptials.”
He took a deep breath, praying to the ancestors for strength and protection and hurriedly continuing before Prince Wenlang could so much as draw in an angry breath.
“I have therefore been sent to politely request that you may dress in your finest robes this afternoon and join your divine father in the throne room, for his Imperial Majesty has arranged for all the remaining eligible noble Omega you haven’t ... uhm ... what I meant to say is that the kingdom’s most beautiful and accomplished Omegas shall appear before his Highness today, so he may choose his future empress.”
“You’re joking.”
Prince Wenlang’s voice was dangerously flat, and Chen Pin Ming would have given anything for a hole in the ground to open up and swallow him whole as he finally dared to look at the young prince.
“I am deeply regretful to say that I am not, your Highness. I can assure you, however, that the Omegas who will be presented to you today were picked with the utmost care and consideration of the future happiness of his Highness and the kingdom.”
It was, perhaps, a somewhat creative way to say that Emperor Yu had thrown a scroll against the wall and roared that any noble Omega who was not entirely hideous be dragged in front of the stubborn prince until he either chose a consort or a decorative placement of his head on a spear in front of the royal palace, but Chen Pin Ming figured that Prince Wenlang was smart enough to understand his options were quite bleak indeed.
“Your Highness ... may I report good news regarding your attendance at this blessed event to his Imperial Majesty, then?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Pin Ming saw Gao Tu hurry back into the room while balancing a cup of tea on a golden tray, his expression somber as he bowed before the crown prince and held the tray towards him with both hands.
For a long, awkward moment, Prince Wenlang did not say anything.
At long last, however, he reached for the tea, took a small sip, sighed softly, and turned back towards Chen Pin Ming with the ghost of a calculating smile playing around his lips.
“Very well, then. You may inform my divine father that I shall attend this ... blessed event.”
The scorn was dripping from each syllable, but Chen Pin Ming decided he would take what he could get.
Bowing deeply, he made his retreat, and the last thing he saw before closing the door was Prince Wenlang looking down at his servant with the smile falling from his lips, and Chen Pin Ming swore he could almost hear the first words of the prince’s inevitable tantrum ring in his ears as he hurried back towards the throne room.
It was just like he’d always said – forced to yet again bear the brunt of the prince’s anger, the loyal and long-suffering servant truly was the most pitiful Omega in the kingdom.
===============
“Your Highness, may I present the honorable Wang Xiao Mei, the oldest Omega daughter of the noble Wang family, who-“
It was almost midnight, and the long line of young, pretty, accomplished Omegas who’d filled the throne room earlier had dwindled down to just a mere dozen, but Crown Prince Wenlang still showed no sign of being even remotely interested, no matter how impressive the accomplishment, how delicate the features, and how utterly alluring the smell of the young men and women who had been paraded in front of him for almost eight hours.
At first, he’d still upheld the minimum of decorum by giving them a brief glance and at least acknowledging their presence, but somewhere between the fiftieth and five-hundredth Omega who’d been presented to him he’d seemingly lost all pretense, his gaze firmly stuck to the floor and only interrupted by brief glances to his side, where Gao Tu was quietly kneeling in anticipation of the young prince’s commands.
Indeed, as the night dragged on and the council and emperor grew visibly restless and agitated, the prince’s brief glance became longer, more frequent and more intense, his eyes darting towards Gao Tu at the Omega’s slightest twitch and his expression growing darker the more signs of exhaustion became visible on his trusted servant’s face.
Truly, if Chen Pin Ming hadn’t known for a fact that Prince Wenlang detested Omegas, he might have almost mistaken the prince’s attention for genuine concern.
Affection.
Devotion, even?
No.
Chen Pin Ming’s head would have rolled for treason for even thinking such preposterous thoughts, even if it did, indeed, currently seem as though Gao Tu was the only Omega in the entire kingdom who could manage to hold the Crown Prince’s interest.
It was ... alarming.
Strange.
Scandalous?
Whatever it was, it made Chen Pin Ming’s heart pound in agitation, because there was clearly something he was missing and he did not like it one tiny bit.
Going by the increasingly enraged expression on Emperor Yu’s face, neither did his Imperial Majesty.
Therefore, Chen Pin Ming held his breath when the last Omega – a beautiful young man with features that seemed as though they’d been carved from marble – stepped in front of the crown prince and bowed.
Again, Prince Wenlang did not so much as spare him a glance.
Before the guards could lead the young man away, however, Emperor Yu’s patience finally snapped.
“Enough! This is completely unacceptable!” he roared, slapping his hands on the armrests of his throne and looking like he was seconds away from throwing all royal decorum to the wind and throttling his son, who had turned towards him with a defiant expression on his face and tension radiating from every line of his body.
“Finally, Father! Something we can agree upon!” Prince Wenlang shot back, and Chen Pin Ming held his breath in anticipation of the inevitable onslaught of S-tier Alpha pheromones, his gaze snapping to the guards to ensure they were ready to evacuate everyone from the room if father and son both unleashed the physical manifestation of their fury upon each other.
To his great surprise, however, Prince Wenlang managed to control himself, and Chen Pin Ming did not miss the way the crown prince stepped in front of a still kneeling Gao Tu as though to protect him from getting in the way of the emperor’s wrath.
When he spoke, however, his anger was clear in every syllable, each word cutting the air like a knife as he narrowed his eyes at his father and smirked coldly.
“Well? Are we done with this sharade or do you have more candidates for me to reject?”
“Silence! Insolent child!” the emperor snarled, rising from the throne at last and drawing agitated whimpers and sharp breaths from the council members and the few remaining rejected Omegas who had not yet left the throne room.
“I have indulged your ridiculous antics for far too long, Wenlang! You will get married and by the mighty powers bestowed upon me by the heavens, I command you to choose an Omega in this room to be your bride before the clock strikes twelve!”
Wincing, Chen Pin Ming steeled himself for the crown prince’s reply, expecting him to either scream, start throwing things, or storm out of the throne room and thus forcing the guards to intervene in what would undeniably be a most unfortunate situation for all involved.
However, Crown Prince Wenlang surprised him once again by merely raising a finely shaped eyebrow and giving his father a calculating look.
“An Omega in this room, you say? Any Omega?” he asked slowly, glancing towards the row of rejected Omegas huddling against the wall and whispering to each other in suddenly renewed spirits.
“Yes! And do not think you will be allowed to leave this room until you do!” the emperor growled, slowly sinking back down onto the throne and giving his son a cold look.
At first, Prince Wenlang didn’t say anything.
Then, his lips stretched into a smile that sent shivers down Chen Pin Ming’s back.
When he spoke again, his voice was firm and his eyes were blazing with fire and devotion.
“Gao Tu! I choose Gao Tu!”
The room erupted in frantic chatter and the emperor reeled back as though he’d been slapped, his eyes widening almost comically and his face losing all color as he watched his son turn on his heels and stride towards the kneeling Omega servant without looking back, his expression betraying no emotion as he held out his hand and pulled a frightened but determined looking Gao Tu to his feet with surprising gentleness.
“I choose him. Gao Tu will be my empress.”
“He will be nothing!”
The emperor had gotten to his feet again, his previously pale face turning beet red in fury as he advanced with murder in his eyes.
“How dare you lay a hand upon the Crown Prince, you dirty, filthy who-“
“DO NOT TOUCH HIM!” Prince Wenlang roared, whirling around and inserting himself between the pale Omega and the furious emperor with outstretched arms and a fiery determination on his face that Chen Pin Ming had never seen before.
“You granted me the power of the heavens to wed any Omega of my choosing, and rejecting my choice now would be akin to waging war against the ancestors!” he continued in a quieter but still sharp voice, his shoulders drawing tight as he pulled himself up to his full impressive height and towered over the fuming emperor.
“You asked me to choose anyone, and Gao Tu is my choice. I sincerely hope you were not joking about my nuptials taking place before the month is over, because I fully intend to wed my Omega by the end of this week!”
“Your ... he ... how dare you!?”
“I dare because your order has given me permission from the gods themselves,” Prince Wenlang said coldly, turning briefly towards the Omega and giving him the hint of a reassuring smile before meeting his father’s heated gaze once more.
“I’ve made my choice, father. With the gods and ancestors’ blessings, Gao Tu is my choice.”
This time, the crown prince didn’t wait for an answer, and the room once again erupted in gasps and murmurs when he took Gao Tu’s hand and led him out of the throne room, past the line of shocked noble Omegas and even more horrified members of the court.
When the heavy doors slammed shut behind the pair, Chen Pin Ming finally allowed himself to take a deep breath, and because he was not facing the emperor, the young man’s lips stretched into the barest hint of a smile.
Perhaps, Gao Tu wasn’t the most pitiful Omega in the kingdom after all.
In fact, there was significantly more to him than anyone had ever suspected.
===============
“That was reckless, A’Lang.”
Gao Tu gave the crown prince an admonishing look as he helped him unbutton his ceremonial robes, his fingers working swiftly and with practiced ease as and his lips curled into a tired but mostly amused smile.
“What would you have done if he hadn’t said yes?”
“I would have still found a way to marry you,” Prince Wenlang said with conviction, shrugging out of his robes and pulling the Omega closer by the waist so he could look up at him with an utterly besotted expression.
“I’ve been pretending to hate Omegas for ten years so no one would ever suspect our love, Tutu. Do you really think I would have been deterred by one little no?”
Gao Tu rolled his eyes, but he was smiling brightly, his hands gently carding through Wenlang’s hair when the Alpha rested his cheek against his stomach.
“I still can’t believe that outrageous plan of yours worked, A’Lang. Pretending to hate Omegas and refusing to get married for years just to wear down your father to the point he would have accepted anyone as your consort might just as well have ended with you locked away in the dungeons forever. Or losing your head.”
”And yet, I only lost my heart,” Prince Wenlang said softly, glancing up at the smiling Omega through his dark lashes and giving him a wink before he carefully started unbuttoning his robes.
“Speaking of my heart, my precious bunny,” he continued, sliding the robes off the Omega’s uncharacteristically broad shoulders and giving his lover an admonishing look.
”Why do you still insist on giving me palpitations by hiding your sickness from me?”
”That would be because I’m not actually sick, A’Lang,” Gao Tu said gently, his expression softening as he carefully straddled the Alpha’s lap and Prince Wenlang’s hands instantly found the gentle curve of a secret even more precious than a decade of hidden love.
“The state of my chamberpot this morning tells a different story, Tutu. Just like it did yesterday. And the day before that," Prince Wenlang countered, stroking his thumbs across the swell in a tender caress and letting out a soft sigh.
Above him, Gao Tu's smile widened as he reached down and covered Wenlang's hands with his own.
"It is quite normal, A'Lang. I'm sure my sickness will have passed by the time the flowers are in full bloom."
"There's still snow outside, Tutu," Prince Wenlang retorted immediately, looking so unimpressed at his lover's attempt to comfort him that Gao Tu couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
"It is very early still, A'Lang. The moon has barely filled two times since my heat."
Prince Wenlang couldn't help but smile at the memory of just what had led to the creation of the little life now growing inside his beloved mate, his expression turning thoughtful as he gently ran his fingers over the supple skin of his Omega's thighs and hummed in contemplation.
"A good thing, too, Tutu. I hate to deny you the opulent wedding that could have been arranged with months of careful planning, but I fear that very soon your robes will no longer conceal my heir."
Gao Tu chuckled, placing a hand on his stomach and giving his Alpha a little wink.
"Perhaps, we should send our kindest regards to A'Yong and Shaoyou, then. If A'Yong had not agreed to pose as a potential Omega suitor and subject himself to an outburst so shameful and severe that your father finally lost his patience with you, your plan might have failed after all."
"We shall travel to the mountains and visit them and little Peanut as soon as you're no longer troubled by constant sickness," Prince Wenlang promised dutifully, pushing himself up into a sitting position and pulling Gao Tu snug against him so that the Omega's little belly was pressing against his own flat stomach.
"Are you happy ... lao gong?"
Gao Tu didn't reply.
When he leaned forward to kiss him, though, Prince Wenlang not only held his answer but also his greatest treasure in his arms.