The disciple charged with escorting him off the premises at least has the presence to look mildly apologetic. He stands in the doorway of the guest quarters as Wangji packs his robes and calligraphy materials back into his qiankun pouch. They both operate in silence, all the way from the infirmary, to the guest quarters, to the front gates. There he leaves the Lan with a bow, shutting the doors behind him.
Despite having been in Yunmeng for three months, rarely has he ventured out into the city. The streets are long and wide, fishermen shouting today's catch while weavers carefully extract delicate lotus stems for silk.
He's drawn to one stall in particular. Just in front of the steps of an apothecary, a young woman gently folds robes and undergarments of this prized textile. Wei Wuxian had told him about it, back in the Xuanwu Cave after his red silk robe had been destroyed, "Nothing goes to waste in Yunmeng, especially the lotus. The seeds are eaten, the flowers pressed into perfumes, and the stalks into silks and my shijie's soup. Someday, Lan Zhan, you need to visit Lotus Pier and try my shijie's cooking…"
Well I'm here, Wei Ying. I've been here for three months. I've been living in the shadows of your past for three months. You know Jiang Yanli offered once? She asked me if I'd like to join her for a meal and I said no. It wouldn't be right, not without you.
On the table before him, there's a deep blue robe, clearly dyed with the finest indigo. It's darker, richer, and more luxurious than he could ever wear in Cloud Recesses. But he wasn't in Cloud Recesses anymore. Next to it, a safflower-dyed red one shines in the watery sunlight. Having seen the state of Wei Ying's robes back in the doctor's room, the man would be due for a new set.
He buys them both, firmly ignoring the voice in his head whispering rule fifty-one, being frugal is a virtue.
Purchases safely stowed in his pouch, he turns his attention to finding accommodations. Asking the woman running the silk stand, Lan Wangji learned there were only two inns in Yunmeng. She recommended the nicer one (and conveniently the one closest to Lotus Pier). Thanking her, he heads on his way.
After securing a room for the evening, he settles down at a table in the teahouse. Bichen rests against the edge beside him, a not-so-subtle signal he wants to be left alone.
Experience in travelling has taught him to take his meals whenever he can but the bowls in front of him are less appetising every time he looks at them. He can ignore the stares of the other patrons, in hushed awe of seeing a Lan cultivator in person. He can ignore the clamour of the street outside, people trading and animals braying, all of that. But he can't ignore the tide of animosity towards Jiang Wanyin that rises with every moment he sits.
A voice cuts through his attitude and he turns to see the physician give a low bow, his gentian-blue robes swaying gently with the motion."Lan-ergongzi, please excuse the interruption."
Lan Wangji places his chopsticks down on their rest and gestures to the stool across from his. "Not at all, Tie-daifu. Please sit down."
A server scurries over and the doctor orders himself a steaming pot of biluochun. Lan Wangji hides the beginnings of a smile behind a sip of his own cup. See Wei Ying, other people like biluochun too.
"I must apologise on behalf of the Jiang clan for the way our zongzhu has treated you. Jiang Wanyin is a good leader, fierce and loyal to us, but his temper can bite like a viper. He should not have spoken to you that way and I apologise for your sudden relocation from the guest quarters."
He would be lying (breaking rule thirty-two, his thoughts helpfully remind him) if he said he wasn't surprised by the physician's conduct. Wei Wuxian had waxed poetic about the members of the Jiang clan and their kindness and until now he had written it off as clan pride. But barring Jiang Wanyin, he had been treated with nothing but respect and hospitality in his time here. The other clans may be content to claim that Yunmeng Jiang is carefree and undisciplined but as is becoming increasingly usual, the other clans were incorrect.
"There is no need for any apologies, Tie-daifu. The actions of Jiang Wanyin are not yours to atone for."
"That does not make them sting any less, I'm afraid."
The man is young, probably only a year older than Xichen if that. Too old to have been spared by the Wens under the guise of childhood, too young to have been practicing medicine for long.
"Forgive me for intruding, daifu, but how did you survive the massacre?"
The man winces minutely, regret glancing across his face. "I was only an apprentice of the previous physician at the time of the massacre. I had left Lotus Pier to visit my brother in a nearby town. A villager was sent to recall me. When I returned home, I learned that I was one of few survivors and now the only doctor of the Jiang clan."
Sensing the man's growing discomfort, Wangji diverges in an attempt to distract him, "Is there any news on Wei Wuxian's condition?"
The other man perks up, quietly grateful for the change. "I've treated and wrapped his injuries. Now it just seems to be a matter of waiting for them to heal. While numerous, none were too severe. It is unusual however. The wounds on his back appear to be from our distinguished leader's Zidian." The man adds, his sudden displeasure towards Jiang Wanyin heavy on his tongue. "Where on earth was he for the last three months?"
"That is a question I would like to know the answer to as well. Has he regained consciousness?"
"Not as of yet. I am both content and concerned with this. He should have awoken by now which worries me but I also fear what may lay in his mind when he wakes. Regarding that, I believe that Wei-gongzi would be more comfortable with you at his side than his brother. If I could provide you a way into Lotus Pier without attracting any attention, would you do it?"
"Of course." There is no hesitation in Lan Wangji's voice. "But what of Jiang-guniang? Would she not be a better companion to Wei Wuxian?"
"As sure as I am that she would never leave her brother's side given the choice, Jiang-guniang is human and requires rest of her own. She is aware of my plan for you and agrees fully that you should not be kept away from Wei-gongzi. It seems upon hearing of Jiang-zongzhu's conduct towards you, she inflicted the full might of her elder sibling capabilities upon him. I expect it will be a long while before he is treated to his favourite dishes again… I must be returning now but I'll meet you here after the evening meal."
He places a silver piece large enough to cover both his tea and Lan Wangji's meal on the table and bows once before leaving.
With the clench of his heart significantly loosened at the prospect of seeing Wei Ying, Wangji tucks back into the dishes in front of him. They're suddenly much more appetising.
The sun has slid below the hills of Yunmeng when the doctor returns. In the dim glow of the candles, the man looks older, more serious. When you are sneaking an outsider into your clan's compound one must be serious, Wangji supposes.
There's a hole in the back wall, Xiuying explains quietly, Wei Wuxian put it there. One needs only their sword to open it. Use your blade and write dao, the bricks will fall away. They will seal up behind you but jian will set you free.
Wangji knows why Wuxian had chosen these words. He'd said multiple times, our greatest thief is the one in the mirror.
We are our own enemies. This, Wangji knew deeply.
The stone blocks peel away silently to let him pass. The courtyard on the other side is compact and completely deserted. In the corner is a small jiashan rock surrounded by a pond. A few malnourished lotus rise from it and Wangji hopes there are no koi living in the murky waters. The only building with access to this retreat is small, much smaller than the jingshi. From behind the shoji screen, a candle flares to life. A rush of fear tightens his muscles and he ducks beneath the coarse branches of a pine. In quick succession, the light flashes once, twice, three times.
They must be the person I am supposed to meet.
As he approaches the door, a voice behind it takes him by surprise. "You can come in, Lan-ergongzi." So he does, stepping over the threshold with the quiet rustle of robes.
A young woman uses her tiny candle to light a larger candelabrum and the glow washes the room with warmth. His eyes wander from her to the space around him, this must be Wei Ying's quarters. The shoji screens are delicately painted with trees and plum blossoms while a pair of dragons soar together from end to end. He must have done this himself, Wangji considers thinking of the hand-painted lantern set aloft from Cloud Recesses.
In the snug room, the desk is stacked high with talisman papers and scrolls. Calligraphy brushes hang neatly from a rack, their bristles dry and fraying from months without care. In the opposite corner, Wei Ying's bed is surrounded by low shelves packed with bamboo strip manuscripts, their storage bags simple and unadorned. It's a room so perfectly fitting of his personality and only serves to make Wangji's heart ache more. How had this man created such an unfillable void in his life so quickly? When had he ever rushed into a decision as rashly as he did with Wei Ying?
The more people in the Jiang Clan he meets, the more he realises all the places his friend's unruly influence has permeated. The doctor's method of smuggling the man into the compound prepared him to meet this young woman, Cang Luoyang, who is a groundskeeper. She tends to the many lotus plants in the canals of the compound and from her seemingly endless knowledge of places to hide, it's clear she has spent a lot of time with Wei Ying.
A surge of rueful jealousy rushes in his veins. Wei Ying had annoyed him at first meeting, always knowing exactly how to ignite his nerves and so he had stayed away. But now, standing in the room the man had grown up in, surrounded by people who watched him grow up, he found himself wishing he had been a part of the man's life for longer.
"I'm afraid you'll have to cover yourself with this, Lan-ergongzi." She apologises, pulling out a dark grey outer robe. He'd already removed his silvered hairpiece, leaving just the binding ribbon. "White will stand out against the dark evening. Once you make it to the physician's quarters, you can take it off."
"I understand completely. Thank you for helping me." He bows low, feeling his headband tighten with the movement from its temporary place bound on his wrist.
Luoyang laughs quietly, "Wei Wuxian has helped me more times than I could count and if I can repay even a single one with this, I would do it in a heartbeat. Come on."
She doesn't mention his lack of headband, and Wangji is ever grateful for it. It was sacred to his clan and to remove it, a serious matter. Shufu would have scoffed at such a frivolous reason as if Wei Ying was of no importance… which is exactly what Shufu thought of him. Nothing special, just an unruly boy, last remnants of parents who traded this world for one of their own.
It seems that she has also learned Wei Ying's physicality. Every time they encounter another person, she pushes him into any nearby corner, room, or niche with a hastily-whispered sorry. After the third time, he wishes he had just climbed up to the rooftops instead. The physician's quarters are near the training hall at the front of the compound, far from the inner sanctum where Jiang family members like Wanyin and Yanli lived. Wei Ying's are even further still, in the most secluded corner of the estate as if tacked on last minute and forgotten.
Painstakingly slowly, they make it to the familiar entrance. The woman turns to him and gives a deep bow, "thank you Lan-ergongzi."
"There is no need for your thank you, dajie. You have been a great help getting me here."
"You are good to him. For that, the few of us he calls friends are eternally grateful. Most others would not extend such kindnesses."
"It is not kindness. It is friendship. I am honoured to call Wei Wuxian a friend." More than a friend, his heart stubbornly reminds him.
An odd expression glances off Luoyang's face before settling. "Make sure you tell him that."
1) 姑娘 (Gūniáng): daughter or lady (as in Lady Jiang, the feminine version of gongzi)
2) 盗 (Dào): a thief
3) 鉴 (Jiàn): a bronze mirror
4) 大姐 (Dàjiě): literally means 'big sister' but it's really used as an address for a woman who is older than the speaker but not old enough to really use 阿姨 (Āyí) for aunt