Chapter 183: The Fox Hears Concubines' Grievances

The only throne in the throne room was the King's, as well as the Queen Dowager's lounging sofa behind the beaded curtain, but in certain occasions, another throne could be brought in for the Royal Consort.

Chu Yun told the servants to do so, and asked them to place it right next to Xiao Zai's throne. He sat down and told the guards to let the concubines in.

They streamed in orderly, impeccably dressed and well-mannered, some dozen women and about five men. Chu Yun noticed immediately that Min Sezhui wasn't among them.

The concubines all prostrated themselves at the foot of the dais. "Greetings to his Royal Highness, the King Consort," they said as one, their voices rising harmoniously.

Chu Yun greeted them, and bid them to rise. "I'm afraid the his Majesty is otherwise occupied, but I'll be happy to hear what the noble concubines have to say."

He could tell they were disconcerted to see him. Several pairs of eyes drifted towards his abdomen, where the fall of his robes hid the roundness of his stomach from view. They were probably speculating if he was pregnant at all, if what they heard were only rumours, or worst of all, if it was all a ploy he and Xiao Zai had come up with.

One of the younger concubines, a girl who couldn't be much older than Min Sezhui took a step forward, her hands folded demurely at her side. "His Royal Highness might not be aware but while it isn't required that concubines have a dowry, most of us did, when joining the harem." 

She cleared her throat. "All of us sisters and brothers have been wondering what would happen to it, and to us, now that there's a new King."

Chu Yun smiled at her, leaning his elbow on his throne's armrest and his cheek on his closed fist. He imagined just how worried they could be. Xiao Zai had never gone into details, and neither had Gu Wei, but he knew that some of the people looking innocently up at him were responsible for causing him a world of pain. 

They were probably afraid that Xiao Zai would seize the opportunity to get revenge on them. Chu Yun would be more than happy to do it in his place, but he was also aware that some of these people came with powerful family connections that could cause them a lot of trouble down the line. Some of them had had children, those children were Xiao Zai's brothers and sisters, and needed to be provided for adequately. 

Which was why Chu Yun had asked Hua Nanyi to get Gu Wei's input on the matter. He'd know better than anyone just what those family connections were.

Chu Yun had helped Xiao Zai secure the throne, and renovated the estate Gu Wei was currently living in -- Gu Wei owed him.

He had been silent for so long that the young concubine grew restless, shifting a worried look behind her shoulder at the others. 

"I want to know what the royal concubines would like to happen," Chu Yun said finally, widening his eyes as if the idea had just come to him. "Maybe it's better if we can come to an agreement, uhm?"

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Most of them nodded with relieved smiles. They were probably assuming that Chu Yun was soft, and that would just follow whatever course created the less commotion.

One of the older concubines, only a few years younger than Gu Wei, stepped out of the Group and towards the dais. She curtsied briefly before addressing Chu Yun. "I think everyone should get their dowries back and receive compensation according to how many children they provided the royal family with." 

She was a shrewd one, very tactfully she hadn't mentioned the previous King, highlighting instead the contributions of the concubines to the royal family line.

There were several people in the throne room, and it was impossible for Chu Yun to pick apart their scents. He wasn't able to tell how many of the women were betas and how many were omegas, but the one who had just spoken struck him as a beta. Zui omegas were rarely ever that direct.

The other concubines didn't seem to agree with her suggestion, which was to be expected. Not all concubines had had children with the King. Some of them might not even have slept with him -- a concubine wasn't an official spouse, there was no need to consummate the union.

One of the men shot a glare towards the concubine who had just spoken and addressed Chu Yun. "What Concubine Lin suggests is unfair to everyone who didn't bear a child, we all served the royal family equally."

Some of the concubines shot him openly scornful looks, even some of the other men. Chu Yun remembered what Min Sezhui said, that the King was particularly cruel to male omegas -- obviously that didn't create any bonds of loyalty among them.

Chu Yun hummed loudly, pretending to consider what they had just said. "What about this? We pile all the dowries, divvy them up equally among all the members of the harem, and stipulate a fixed value per child for the stipends?"

Immediately a chorus of discordance rose, even though Chu Yun knew he was being very reasonable, he mostly said that to see how the concubines would react.

A woman who hadn't spoken before hiked up the skirts of her robes to walk more quickly to the front of the Group. "With all due respect, his Royal Highness is being very unfair! We should take into account the skills and talents of each child! Besides, our dowries are our own! How is it fair for those who had larger dowries to share with the ones who didn't?"

Chu Yun was about to send them all out, and announce that he was going to hear them one by one like he had planned, when a servant came to his side to announce that Gu Wei was waiting on the other side of the doors.

Of course.

Chu Yun should have known he would want to come in person.

He nodded towards the servant to let him in anyway.

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