I am not Chinese, and although I've tried my best to research for this fic and other MDZS fics I'm writing, there may still be errors that I am unaware of. If so, I apologize. If anything is offensive or incorrect, please let me know.

There are some world-building aspects of this AU that are different from canon, but most of them will be explained as the story goes. There is one aspect that's important to know from the beginning, however, and that is that the sects in this AU are far more distant and separated than they are in canon. The only people who really interact with anyone from the other sects are the sect leaders.

As the summary said, the endgame ship for this fic is Nielan. This is not necessarily a story for Meng Yao or Xiyao fans. I don't want to spoil too much, but I will say that the (platonic) relationship here between Lan Xichen and Meng Yao is not all that it seems.

This fic will have seven parts in all. My goal is to update on Fridays and Tuesdays, but it's entirely possible that chapters may come out a day late sometimes. If that happens, I apologize in advance.

Title comes from "Lavender's Blue," an English folk song that was featured in the 2015 Cinderella movie, which this fic was inspired by.

Even as Lan Xichen's legs threatened to give out beneath him from exhaustion, he knew he hadn't run far enough. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to run far enough. He could still feel the heat of the flames, could still feel his uncle's hand on his shoulder as he pressed a qiankun pouch into Lan Xichen's hands and told him to run.

"I can't!" Lan Xichen had protested. "Shufu, I can't run while you-"

"A-Huan," Lan Qiren had interrupted, and Lan Xichen had frozen at the diminutive. His uncle hadn't called him A-Huan since he was a child without a courtesy name, and even then, Lan Xichen was fairly certain he could count every instance on one hand. "Go. You are the heir, and you must survive. Run, and do not look back."

Lan Xichen ran. He didn't look back.

He had Shuoyue in one hand and Liebing in the other, at least, while the qiankun pouch of some of the greatest Lan writings hung from his belt. He didn't have any supplies, but he would deal with that later. He could sustain himself with his core for a while. At least he was mostly unharmed. He was lucky, he knew, to be alive. He didn't know if the rest of his family still was. He didn't know if his uncle was alright, if his brother was alright, if his father was alright…

His uncle had told him to run, and he had obeyed, but Lan Xichen wasn't sure if he'd ever forgive himself for it.

He kept running, pushing himself even as his legs burned and his chest heaved. It had begun to rain, but Lan Xichen kept moving. He didn't know if he was being followed, but he couldn't risk being found. He'd fought enough Wen soldiers in his escape that they had to know he was gone. He knew they'd track him down. He remembered the cruelty in Wen Xu's eyes when he started the fire that greedily devoured their library, and he knew Wen Xu wouldn't let any of his prey escape easily. He knew he had to keep moving.

Then Lan Xichen slipped on a muddy incline, and he scrabbled for a handhold but couldn't stop himself from falling into the ditch beside the road, and he tumbled and tumbled until he hit the bottom and his leg snapped with a crack.

It was raining hard enough that any tears on Lan Xichen's face were indistinguishable from the raindrops, but Lan Xichen still knew which were which. Control yourself, he instructed himself firmly. Have restraint. You are the Lan heir. Control yourself.

But his leg hurt, and his home had burned, and his family had been attacked, and Lan Xichen couldn't stop crying. He'd never been alone like this before. He'd never faced anything like this before. He didn't know what to do, and he knew he had to survive so the Lan Sect would survive, but he didn't know how-

"Gongzi?" a voice asked, and Lan Xichen choked on his tears, trying desperately to silence himself. He couldn't let himself be found. He had to hide, he had to run, but he didn't think his leg would bear his weight, so the only recourse he had was to be silent and hope he was overlooked.

"Gongzi?" the voice repeated, and a young man appeared at the top of the ditch. "Are you alright? I saw you fall. Do you need help?"

"I'm alright," Lan Xichen called up, his voice hoarse. "You don't need to stay."

"Are you sure?" the young man asked, his brow creased with concern. "You're bleeding." He made a gesture towards his face. Lan Xichen lifted a hand and found that there was a stream of blood coming from a cut just below his hairline. He must have hit his head on something as he fell. It didn't hurt, but perhaps that was because the pain in his leg was too overwhelming to allow for anything else.

"I live nearby," the young man added. "Please let me help you, gongzi. I won't ask any questions if you don't want me to."

Lan Xichen looked down at his leg, then sighed. He wasn't going to be able to get far with his leg in this condition, and if he stayed in this ditch, the Wen soldiers would find him eventually. Of course, there was a chance this young man was working with the Wen Sect and would betray Lan Xichen to them, but there was also a chance he wouldn't. Lan Xichen would have to take it.

"If you could help, I would be very grateful."

The young man's face relaxed and he smiled, revealing dimples in his cheeks. "I'm happy to help, gongzi. Do you think you can get out of the ditch on your own?"

Lan Xichen did his best to lever himself to his feet, but his leg burned beneath him, and he knew climbing would be beyond him. The shame burned almost as much as his leg, but he pushed past it and admitted, "I'm not certain. I don't think so."

"Then I can come down and help," the young man replied. He clambered down from the road carefully, managing to keep his balance, and ended up in front of Lan Xichen. He was shorter than Lan Xichen by a considerable amount, and he looked to probably be a bit younger. He tried to bow, but Lan Xichen shot out a hand to stop him.

"You are helping me. If anyone should be bowing, it should be me."

"I'm happy to help," the young man repeated. "I couldn't leave you here after I saw you fall."

"I thank you for that," Lan Xichen replied. "What is your name?"

The young man bowed quickly, this time too quickly for Lan Xichen to stop him. "This one's name is Meng Yao."

Lan Xichen had never heard of anyone with the family name Meng being associated with the Wen Sect, but he still knew better than to risk telling him anything without knowing more. "Then I thank you for your help, Meng-gongzi."

Meng Yao smiled again, and Lan Xichen felt as if the kindness were warming him from the inside out. "Come on, gongzi. Let me bring you home."