The day passed.
At so point, Chu Hean fell asleep, likely due to boredom.
Chu Yun struggled to remain still through his own vigil by the bedside. He had only a pillow for his knees, and his back was killing him. Once or twice he even considered the rits of crawling into bed next to his brother, and sleeping a little himself.
But with his luck he just knew that would be when Ru Long walked in.
So he endured, as Chu Hean slept and the light of day turned into the warm glow of dusk. Orange light spilled into the room through the wide open windows, and made Chu Yun's white robes look like they'd caught fire.
He was so distracted by the play of light across his thighs that he almost didn't hear the soft sound of a foot stepping on the wooden flooring, over one of the few boards that had a tendency to creak.
He remained still, pretending not to have noticed, but alertness prickled all the way down his spine. He could feel the eerie presence of soone else in the room. There were several guards outside the room, Chu Yun had a brass bell closed in his left fist, its chain wrapped around his index finger. He only needed to jingle it for a score of guards to co flooding in.
But he waited.
He wanted to know what Ru Long would do.
His head remained bowed as if he was lost in silent prayer. From the corner of his eye he could see Ru Long's shadow stretching towards him.
And then he heard a relieved sigh. "He's alive," Ru Long said, the breath leaving him all at once.
Chu Yun couldn't stay still after that. "I didn't think you'd care."
He got up to his feet, by supporting himself on the mattress. His knees and his back were killing him, but he wasn't going to show any weakness in front of Ru Long. He faced him with a glare, and said, "He understands now that the only thing you wanted was to use him."
Ru Long's gaze drifted towards the bed, where Chu Hean was still asleep, completely unaware of the conversation happening around him and about him.
"You're simpleminded," Ru Long said with chuckle. "We had common interests, Chu Hean just spent too much ti indulging teenage revenge fantasies. Despite all his talents, he never recognised his own worth."
His gaze turned harsh as he looked up from the bed and towards Chu Yun. "He still acted as if he had sothing to prove...to those fools on the hill, to you..."
Chu Yun clenched the bell tighter in his fist, feeling the sharp edge bite into his palm. "The only difference between you and 'those fools on the hill' is that you wanted to use him for your own goals. You both only see him as a weapon."
A dark slash of a smile cut across Ru Long's handso face. "A weapon is only as good as its master."
Chu Yun bit back his disgust.
Now there was sothing he wished his brother had been awake to hear.
"Well, you clearly put on this spectacle because you wanted here," Ru Long said, widening his arms, the sleeves of his dark robes tight around them. "Here you have ."
"You aren't going to leave this room," Chu Yun said, but he suspected Ru Long already knew that.
"You think that changes anything? Feel free to throw in the dankest, darkest dungeon you have," he smirked, "it still won't matter. Everything is already in motion. That's why I ca. Because I could."
He derived great amusent from knowing sothing Chu Yun didn't. It was plain to see how much the entire situation entertained him.
"What is in motion exactly? A protracted revenge against Xiao An? He's dead and buried," Chu Yun said, "what happened to Xiao Yao was a tragedy but no one alive today is to bla for it."
Ru Long chuckled, the sound started small but grew in volu in the back of his throat. On the bed, Chu Hean stirred as if he was about to wake up.
"No one is to bla? This entire country thinks he died a traitor. What have you done to clean his na?" His lips curled in disdain. "Xiao An died alone in his own cell. Where was the justice in that? His cris were never exposed."
Chu Yun squared his shoulders. "We did bring up Xiao Yao's unfair trial as one of the reasons why Xiao Zai wasn't fit to rule."
Ru Long shrugged. "So? Half of those people are in jail now. The truth is that it's not convenient for you to bring it up, for two reasons." He smirked, gaze fixed on Chu Yun's abdon. "You have no interest in bringing attention to Xiao Yao having children of his own, because you fear that the succession discussions it would bring up would be detrintal to Xiao Zai."
A muscle on Chu Yun's jaw jumped. "You know as well as I do, that you have no claim to the Zui throne, you are a full human, despite Xiao Yao being your dam."
"Oh, I know, but the discussion around it would cause you plenty of trouble, wouldn't it?" One corner of his lips kicked up in amusent, as if imagining the scene was almost enough to satisfy him. "Of course, that's not the biggest reason as to why you'd rather let sleeping dogs lie."
Ru Long clasped his hands behind his back and took a decisive step towards Chu Yun, eyes never leaving his stomach. "You don't want to attract any undue attention to your own 'unusual' pregnancy? Better that everyone goes on thinking it's just a sign of how favoured their king is, isn't that right?"
Chu Yun felt all his words dry up in his throat. He didn't have any left to defend himself with.
Ru Long was right.
What did that make Chu Yun?
A sound of rustling sheets ca from the bed. Chu Hean sat up. "I think you've said enough," he said, thunderous gaze fixed on Ru Long,
And then he reached for Chu Yun's hand, prying the brass bell from his fingers and rung it himself.
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