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In the following days it became apparent that Chu Yun\'s plan had come to fruition. All the servants gave the two of them a wide berth, as if afraid a confrontation would explode at any moment.

With the exception of Hua Nanyi, who continued to be Chu Yun\'s loyal shadow, and do all the information gathering he couldn\'t.

Chu Yun was reviewing some correspondence in his study, when she slipped in, just returned from another incursion into the city.

She slid her hood down her head and sat down across from Chu Yun at the table. "So, I found his mother and brother."

Chu Yun put down his letters. "Tell me everything."

---

Fan Jiang had kept to himself since coming to the Second Prince\'s estate. Chu Yun couldn\'t say he had done anything insidious, but that didn\'t mean he wouldn\'t, if given a chance.

From what Hua Nanyi had found, he was from a poor family, all betas, who migrated from the countryside to Haolin in the hope of finding a better life. That all went to shit when his father died in a work accident, and his mother had to shoulder the burnt of the family\'s expenses on whatever she could make as a seamstress.

The result was that the entire family ended up selling themselves into indentured servitude so they wouldn\'t end up begging on the streets with no roof over their heads. 

Fan Jiang\'s mother, Hui Li, got the better end of the lot, according to Hua Nanyi. She was currently working as a servant in the house of a wealthy young couple, where she was treated decently. The omega husband to the master of the house was pregnant, and apparently relied on her previous experience with childbearing, and even deferred to her when it came to which foods he should or shouldn\'t eat.

His elder brother on the other hand, had been sold to a rich coal miner, and did backbreaking labour in the mines just outside Haolin. The average life expectancy for miners wasn\'t many springs past 30, and Fan Qin was already 27. 

It was in those same circumstances that Fan Jiang ended up stumbling into the First Prince\'s path. Since he was attractive he was sold to a \'dancing\' troupe, which provided entertainment at the estates of high officials, nobles, and the royal palace itself. It was during one of those performances that Xiao Yuan first laid eyes on him.

So, technically, Fan Jiang wasn\'t working as Xiao Yuan\'s \'servant\' of his own volition -- and instead fulfilling the terms of an indentureship contract.

"I doesn\'t take a genius to guess who holds the deed to his contract," Chu Yun said, after Hua Nanyi explained the latest information she had gathered.

She nodded. "I couldn\'t confirm it, but it\'s most likely in the King\'s possession."

It would explain Fan Jiang\'s \'loyalty\'. It would also explain why the King indulged Xiao Yuan by letting him enjoy Fan Jiang\'s presence to begin with. He was just another thing the King held over the First Prince\'s head -- all the better to control him with.

Chu Yun was now certain the First Prince had no idea about A-Xiang\'s existence. Maybe that was even how Gu Wei had managed to negotiate her continued survival, and his own.

That cast Fan Jiang\'s presence in the estate in a whole new light, and it was the reason for Chu Yun\'s reduced blood pressure on the day he and Xiao Zai orchestrated their \'fight\'.

Chu Yun got up from his seat behind the desk and walked up to the intricate cabinet behind him. He opened one of the many tiny compartments and took out a silk pouch.

He deposited the pouch in front of Hua Nanyi with a metallic clink.

"Buy Fan Jiang\'s relatives\' contracts," he said, sitting back down at his desk.

Hua Nanyi raised an eyebrow. "I didn\'t know you were on the market for indentured servants." She didn\'t bother to hide the note of displeasure in her voice.

Chu Yun gave her an unimpressed look. "I\'m not. After buying their contracts give them back to them. They\'ll be able to negotiate an actual paying job with their masters if they want, or..." he laced his fingers together under his chin, "you can tell them there\'s gainful employment waiting for them at the Second Prince\'s estate."

Hua Nanyi relaxed back on her seat with a smirk, shaking her head in astonishment. "His Grace is really something else."

Chu Yun returned her smirk with one of his own. The King might own Fan Jiang\'s contract, but Chu Yun would like to see how Fan Jiang would react when he found out that Chu Yun not only bought back his family\'s freedom but also got them gainful employment.

---

With the matter of the contracts sorted, it was only a question of time before Fan Jiang learned about this lucky new development in his family life and came seek Chu Yun.

In the meantime, Chu Yun had spent the morning sorting through his correspondence. Much of which were calling cards, and thank you notes, from guests who had attended the feast.

Chu Yun took the trouble to reply to everyone, but one piece of correspondence in particular drew his attention.

It came bearing the seal of the Minister of Works, who hadn\'t been in attendance. The Minister was inviting Xiao Zai and Chu Yun for supper at his private residence.

That was curious, as one of the three highest officials in the Zui court, the Minister of Works was someone very close to the King. It could either be one of the King\'s schemes, or proof that Chu Yun\'s careful manoeuvring was paying off.

He went to see Xiao Zai at once. It was the perfect opportunity to create another domestic spat, strengthening the image inside their own household of a couple who "smiled in public and fought bitterly in private."

Either way, Xiao Zai was attending dinner at the Minister\'s home with him, whether he wanted to or not.