Jiang Cheng P.O.V
To say he wasn't nervous the whole way home was an outright lie. Jiang Cheng had the distinct impression that his father knew he was uncomfortable for some reason, but Jiang Fengmian seemed unable to find the words to ask him why. Honestly Jiang Cheng wasn't really sure how to explain it to his father even if he were to ask.
The trip back to lotus pier went faster and smoother than Jiang Cheng expected, and as they got within sight of the docks, a purple dressed figure came into view waiting for them. This was the first time he had seen his older sister in years, and it took everything he had not to burst into tears.
"A-Cheng! Welcome home!" Jiang Yanli shouts once they are close enough for her to recognize him. He waves back, glad that she can't see his face yet, he can feel his eyes burning... god he missed her so much... "I thought you had 6 more months of studying?" She says as they pull up to the dock a moment later.
"It's good to be home." He manages in response, still fighting the urge to cry... why is it so hard?
"I told you it wouldn't be a long visit, A-Li, but thank you for waiting." Fengmian tells Yanli, "Do you know where Ziyuan is? There are some things I need to discuss with her."
"A-Niang is at the training grounds with the older disciples." Yanli tells their father, "She's not in the best mood right now." she adds in warning.
"I'm sure she isn't." Fengmian responds, "I'll be fine though." he reassures his daughter before heading in the direction of the training grounds.
Jiang Cheng and Yanli exchange a worried look and follow after him. As they approach the training grounds Jiang Cheng can still hear his mother barking orders at the disciples. She's trash talking Wei Ying as well and effectively blaming him for the fact Jiang Cheng got into trouble. He wants to yell at her that it wasn't Wei Ying's fault, that the peacock was asking for it. But he swallows it for now, he won't embarrass her in front of the disciples... not yet. Yanli rushes forward to greet her, yelling that father has returned and Jiang Cheng came back too!
"A-Li" Yu Ziyuan says, turning from the disciples to smile at her daughter, her expression turns into a frown the moment she sees he and Fengmian however. "Your back." she says coldly, Jiang Cheng winces.
"Haste makes waste Ziyuan, they aren't going to learn faster because you push them harder." Fengmian tells her.
"They won't learn at all with the way You teach them." She snaps in response, "Tell me, How do you expect them to defend themselves in a battle, let alone our sect?" Yes, his mother is definitely pissed.
"What level these children reach is up to their fate to decide, pushing them harder won't change that." Fengmian defends, his tone is even and calm.
"You always defend them, no wonder they haven't improved!" Ziyuan barks, "Especially Wei Wuxian, he starts fights and creates messes but you never punish him! You always clean up his messes, and now A-Cheng has gotten in trouble defending him too! When will this madness cease?" she growls.
"A-Ying defended A-Li, Young Master Jin then attacked him verbally and A-Cheng defended his siblings. I'm proud of his choice, Furen." Fengmian tells her.
"Proud of his– Fengmian, he caused the loss of Yanli's engagement and You are PROUD of Him?" Ziyuan almost spits, "Who knows what else he may do while he's in Gusu. He brings nothing but shame yet you will Always rush to his defense."
Jiang Cheng is shaking because he wants to snap at her so badly, there was a time at which he would have thought she was being just in her anger but now he sees how unfairly she views Wei Ying.
"Furen, A-Ying has always rushed to defend others, regardless of how it makes him look." Fengmian doesn't rise to her challenging words, "But have you stopped to consider how Rarely A-Ying defends himself?" Jiang Cheng see's his mother's face falter... she genuinely hasn't paid any attention to the way Wei Ying responds to personal attacks.
"A-Xian takes others words to heart." Yanli says, "He pretends it doesn't affect him, but he cries himself to sleep afterwards." she would know, Jiang Cheng remembers how Wei Ying had told him that Yanli knew of his suicide attempts. Yanli had been Wei Ying's rock and his therapist in the previous timeline and that was why he'd been so destroyed by her death.
"He told me he's attempted suicide twice." Jiang Cheng speaks up, it's important that everyone knows just how fragile Wei Ying's mental health truly is. The Disciples here are all close to him and Wei Ying and he hears several of them gasp and sees shocked expressions appear on their faces. His mother looks horrified, Fengmian and Yanli look sad but not surprised.
"A-Li, Zhuren, is this true?" Ziyuan asks, she looks shaken with the realization... Jiang Cheng remembers how he had felt when Wei Ying told him the truth. Fengmian and Yanli both nod to the affirmative, and his mother looks like the wind has been knocked out of her.
"We haven't been the family A-Ying deserved, he hasn't felt secure enough to share that he was struggling." Fengmian tells her, "We've failed our Zhizi badly. Our children as well." calling Wei Ying 'nephew' seems to further deflate any aggression in Madame Yu... his mother looks a combination of saddened and distraught at these words... no doubt reflecting on the things she's said since Wei Ying came to live with their family.
"How can we fix this?" Ziyuan asks after a moment of silence.
"We can start by talking things out instead of avoiding our problems. Our daughter has effectively raised both A-Cheng and A-Ying while we were busy getting into arguments and avoiding each other." Fengmian admits, "It's time we started to act like responsible adults and stop avoiding our problems."
Jiang Fengmian asks Ziyuan to walk with him and tells the disciples, who at this point are in shock, to take the rest of the day off. Jiang Cheng is shocked that his mother complies with his fathers request without argument and watches the two leave. He is about to greet the disciples when Yanli grabs his arm "We need to talk A-Cheng, you can greet them later." She says in a no nonsense tone. Yanli basically drags him back to her room, it's not the first time. It is something that might not have been considered appropriate in another Sect household, but Yanli, Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng have always been this close. When they are finally in the room Yanli slides the door shut so fast it crashes loudly against the door frame, and spins to face him. "What on earth happened at Gusu?" Yanli demands loudly, "Don't even think about lying to me, you and Wei Ying are both terrible at lying." she adds in a motherly tone, proving their fathers point.
"Nothing happened, Jin Zixuan is just a jerk." Jiang Cheng tries, Yanli hits him in the arm, not that it hurts, she doesn't have much in the way of physical strength.
"I said no lying, you were trying not to cry earlier..." Yanli says her tone is gentler this time. "I know my Didi, he never cries unless something is really wrong" Jiang Cheng flinches, he had hoped she wouldn't notice. Or at the least would just take it as his missing home, but it looks like Yanli is going to have to know everything as well... he really doesn't relish the thought of telling it again, but oh well...
"It's a long traumatic story A-Li." Jiang Cheng complains, "please don't make me repeat myself again?" he adds, he can see Yanli's look of concern deepen.
"All the better reason for you to tell me." Yanli says, "Is this something that A-Niang and Fuqin should also hear?" he can hear the concern in her voice.
"They might be able to help more if they know, but I'm not sure they will believe me or A-Ying." He tells her, he sits down on the edge of her bed.
"Tell me, and if I think they should know, I will help you tell them." Yanli says seriously, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Okay." He agrees reluctantly, "but don't say I didn't warn you." That said he begins his story. Yanli asks a few questions at first which he answers as best he can. However midway through describing the war Yanli has gone dead silent, and is looking paler and paler. "Are you okay A-Li? We can take a break..." Jiang Cheng offers his sister, he hates the next events with passion... they are at the portion involving Wen Chao's demise.
"I'm fine A-Cheng, please continue." She tells him, giving a reassuring smile. she still looks too pale for his liking but after he asks if she's sure she insists. He makes it through to the archery tournament without telling her any of Wei Yings side, he thinks it will make understanding his change thus far easier for her.
"You said A-Xian came back here with you, why haven't you told anything from his side?" Yanli finally asks.
"Because I need you to know why I'm trying to change." He explains, he must look absolutely shattered when he says it because Yanli looks like she might cry in response. She doesn't ask anything more, when he gets to the part where she died he can see the horror in her face, he wants to stop. "It only gets worse for a while... this is why I didn't want to tell you."
"You've already said this much A-Cheng, finish it." Yanli says, even though she's crying. So he does, she hits him in the arm when he finishes the past portion of the story. "How could you do that! A-Xian loves you; he would do anything for you." She sobs.
"I know, I know that now, back then I thought differently." Jiang Cheng admits through tears, "I let the other sect leaders, and A-Niang's bitterness poison me against him." he continued on after a moment. Yanli seems unsure how to respond as he tells her about the next 13 years, raising her son with the help of Meng Yao. Then he gets into the way Wei Ying had come back, she looks horrified. "A-Ying didn't like what happened either, he often stated that he felt terrible for the person whose body he claimed." He tells her before finishing with the reveal that hers and her husband's deaths had been orchestrated by the same Meng Yao who planned their wedding and helped raise their son. He then tells her Wei Ying's side and the revelation of Wei Ying sacrificing his core in such a terrible way for him makes her sob.
"He didn't want anything to do with me after everything." Jiang Cheng admitted a few minutes later, after they had been sitting in silence for some time. "I don't blame him, but I thought it was because he hated me... he would have been right to." He tells her, taking in a shaky breath. "When we woke up back here though, he told me he avoided me for a different reason." he tells her how for 13 years he'd carried Wei Ying's flute on his person, regretting his choices and wishing he could fix things. "He told me he thought I hated him, that was why he left me alone."
"A-Cheng..." Yanli's voice is soft now, the same softness Wei Ying's had held when he had told him not to talk badly about Jin Ling. She wraps her arms around Jiang Cheng.
"I don't hate him, I never have... I just didn't know... Why didn't he tell me?" Jiang Cheng half asks half states between sobs.
"You and A-Xian both want to do things on your own so that you won't cause anyone else trouble." Yanli tells him, "But you both forget that we are family, we need to be there and help each other."
"I won't let it happen this time." Jiang Cheng manages to say after he's calmed down, "I won't let anything come in between us." he means it, he's never been more certain of anything.
"Good." Yanli tells him, "Now that I know I can help both of you, I do think we need to tell A-Niang and Fuqin." she adds thoughtfully. He sighs, he really, really, doesn't want to go through all of this again... Yanli Promises to help him though, adding that they will be able to prepare better with this knowledge. After they leave the room, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli find their parents talking, the topic is Wei Ying.
"So he is involved with Qiren's nephew?" Ziyuan asks, "Is Qiren aware of this?" she sounds concerned.
"From the sounds of it he's not too thrilled with the situation." Fengmian tells her, "Qiren fears that Wei Ying's instability may cause him to hurt 2nd Young Master Lan." he explains.
"That's absurd! It's more likely that Wei Ying would be cornered by 2nd Young Master Lan." Yu Ziyuan's disdain for Lan's can be heard clearly in her tone, she's never forgiven them for her friend's imprisonment and untimely death.
"I was also concerned about that." Fengmian admits, "Zhizi insists however that 2nd Young Master Lan is good to him."
"Perhaps 2nd Young Master Lan and his father differ where it's important." Ziyuan sighs, "QingHeng-Jun never gave much thought to his wife's happiness." Upon hearing this, Jiang Cheng mentally notes to ask what happened to their mother next time he talks to Xichen or Wangji.
"We shouldn't judge Qiren too harshly, he did raise both those boys." Fengmian says, "2nd Young Master Lan apparently hasn't spoken to QingHeng-Jun in years, you and he both seem to hold onto your resentment about Lan Furen's death."
"He doesn't deserve any less." Ziyuan hisses, up until now neither have acknowledged their children, engrossed in their conversation. Jiang Cheng clears his throat after his mother says this however and gets their attention.
"What happened to Lan Furen?..." Jiang Cheng asks, curious to know what his parents know about Madame Lan."I overheard Jin sect disciples talking about how Wangji defended A-Ying and got in-trouble with his Shufu." He tells them, "He was kneeling at the punishment hall when I arrived there, he was still there after I was released too."
"Qiren never changes, overly strict old goat." Ziyuan laughs mirthlessly in response to this revelation, "Qingheng-Jun's laoshi got into a fight with Lan Furen back when she was a student, she killed the laoshi in self-defense and the clan elders wanted her put to death, Qingheng-Jun forced her to marry him instead and then locked her away for life." Jiang Cheng isn't sure what to say about this, but the thought of Wei Ying being locked away makes his blood boil... he's grateful that he knows for certain Wangji would never allow it.
"Lan Wangji would just leave with Wei Ying if they tried that." He tells his mother, "Those two are so in love it's disgusting." he makes a face, remembering every time he'd walked in on the two making out or in some state of undress... he can only hope he never walks in on that again.
"I'll take that as meaning they'll be needing a chaperon whenever they're together." Ziyuan says, wrinkling her nose. He might have thought it a disgust expression once but he can clearly see her amusement.
"Please don't make me, I've witnessed enough dog food already..." He complains, beside him Yanli giggles something about 'that bad?' and he rolls his eyes.
The rest of the day is surprisingly peaceful and his mother even asks him exactly what happened with Zixuan at one point, for once she doesn't get angry with him for it. For the first time in years, he feels like there might actually be a chance to fix things. He and Yanli tell them they have some things that they need to go over later and their parents promise to listen to them later in the evening, after Fengmian finishes paperwork relating to work with another sect. They end up telling them that night after dinner, Yanli has a good memory and is able to trade off with him in places. Fengmian and Ziyuan listen quietly for once, outside of asking the occasional question. Jiang Cheng has never been so grateful to have his family around him, he goes to bed feeling safe and happy for the first time in years.
The next few days are relatively peaceful, the first letter from Wei Ying is filled with his ideas to improve the safety of lotus pier. Jiang Cheng tells his father about them and Fengmian immediately starts to implement his ideas wherever possible. Ziyuan seems genuinely impressed by the shield array plans Wei Ying sends in the next letter, commenting that he's a genius with spells the same as his father. Jiang Cheng hands down Ziyuan's compliments when he responds, knowing that his brother could use encouragement from his aunt.
Jiang Cheng is floored when Wei Ying sends him a message about the nighthunt, telling him about how Zixuan had apologized to him. Wei Ying goes on to talk about how he and Zixuan have actually ended up talking quite a bit since the night hunt and he thinks he may actually have found a friend. Wei Ying also complains about how Qiren has yet to give him a chance, stating "I could stand outside his residence all night and day and he still wouldn't listen to me.". Jiang Cheng shares all of the letters with his parents, and upon hearing the statement about Qiren, Ziyuan makes a comment about giving him a nephew or niece, which sends him and Yanli into a coughing fit.
"A-Niang!" Yanli chokes, "A-Xian and the 2nd jade are both male, and they can't adopt at their ages their still children."
"It hasn't happened in a long, long time, but a soulmates blessing is very possible." Ziyuan tells them, "Especially when they are already as strong as Zhizi and Qiren's nephew, I wouldn't doubt Qiren already knows this." Jiang Cheng is disturbed by these words, he really, really doesn't want to know how that would work he decides. Unfortunately, Yanli is curious.
"What is a soulmate's blessing?" Yanli asks, she's intrigued and they can all see the gears turning behind her eyes... At least Jiang Cheng thinks so.
"two powerful cultivators who are also cultivation partners, can have children together regardless of their genders." Yu Ziyuan explains, "A-Cheng, you said Zhizi was sickly after coming back last time."
"He could barely use his sword at all, like A-Li." Jiang Cheng confirms, "So you're telling me the reason Gusu wasn't taken over by little A-Ying's, was... because he wasn't healthy when he returned?"
"Exactly." Ziyuan confirms, "this used to be a more common occurrence; however, the last case was when I was a small child." she adds. Ziyuan doesn't need to say why, the attitude towards such unions has become very ugly in the last few generations.
"Great... So be expecting a scandal before too long." Jiang Cheng groans, "Knowing Tang-ge, he'll be halfway to being a parent before he knows what's happening." Yanli and Ziyuan both look horrified, Fengmian- who's been quietly listening- has a complicated expression. Jiang Cheng can't decide whether he's amused, concerned or disturbed... maybe all at once? Sort of mirrors his own feelings at the thought.
Jiang Cheng allows his mother to respond to Wei Ying's letter this time, Wei Ying needs to realize this is a possibility but he DEFINITELY doesn't want to explain that thank you very much. He's content to let his parents be parents, and avoid that conversation.
Wei Wuxian P.O.V
When Wei Wuxian gets the letter with Ziyuan's compliments on his arrays, saying he's in shock is an understatement. He doesn't remember Madame Yu ever being happy about something he's done, and he definitely doesn't know how to respond. He sits on the bed in the guest room for a good 15 minutes flustered and unsure how to cope with being praised. He then composes a response, Telling Jiang Cheng and the rest of his family about how Zixuan apologized to him, and how they are actually becoming friends. Wei Wuxian is still annoyed with how the peacock talked about his Shijie and his relationship with Lan Zhan. But he seems genuinely apologetic and has been accepting and friendly towards him since. He also tells them about how Zixuan had chased a dog off for him when he'd realized Wei Wuxian was terrified of them during a trip into town.
The next letter from lotus pier totally shocks Wei Wuxian to his core, he's nervous to open it at first, because instead of being from Jiang Cheng, it's from Madame Yu, his aunt. He procrastinates about reading it all day, borderline scared of what might be in the letter. That day after class though, he finally sits down to read it.
"Wei Wuxian, A-Ying, Zhizi, if you'll allow me to call you that. I know I haven't been the best A-Yi to you, I hope I can make up for my past behavior..." Yu Ziyuan begins, Wei Wuxian rereads it several times, not able to comprehend that his aunt is apologizing. It takes him a couple of minutes to regather his thoughts enough to continue reading.
"Fengmian and A-Cheng have informed me of everything that I had been to blind to realize, and I truly regret the way I've treated you. A-Cheng has also told me of the other timeline, I must confess, I was skeptical until... that was until A-Cheng told us of your sacrifice for him.
I know, even as hard as I've been with you, you would still do anything for your Tang-di and Tang-jie. They would also do the same for you.
I was happy to hear that you've found someone special at Gusu, but I was also concerned about the nature of such a relationship. A-Cheng has put my worries to rest for the most part, but I still feel it's important to tell you that, should you need help, Your Bobo and A-Yi are here.
I also was made aware of the fact that Qiren has yet to approve of your relationship. It is my hope that he will learn to accept it in the following weeks, however if he doesn't there are other ways to nudge him. Please be considerate of both of your ages at present and don't go too far in your relationship..." Wei Wuxian chokes on air at the 'don't go too far', thinking something along the lines of too late for that... he continues reading.
"In the event that teenage hormones have caused that plea to fall on deaf ears, there is something you should know. It has come to my attention that many in your generation are unaware of the soulmate's blessing. The last time it happened on record, I was still a child, however it is still possible now, especially given your and 2nd Young Master Lan's cultivation levels. A soulmate's blessing requires both to be quite high in cultivation, but allows for pregnancy between two individuals of the same sex." Wei Wuxian rereads that line several times to be sure he's comprehending what she's written... He and Lan Zhan could end up having a child out of wedlock? Seriously...?
"You will be able to tell if it has happened by searching your own Qi, from what I have read. I would prefer that both of you remained chaste until your bodies have matured, but I do remember what it felt like as a teenager.
I also fear it may take such an event to move Qiren to accept your relationship, he's a hard headed one for sure... That being said I don't doubt Young Master Lan's affections, Lans are nothing if not single minded in their feelings.
I hope that the rest of your months in Gusu are happily spent and you learn much, and I look forward to hearing from you. Your A-Yi, Yu Ziyuan." Wei Wuxian feels a strange mixture of emotions upon reading the letter, he decides to read more on the 'soulmates blessing' at the library pavilion, but first decides to feel through his own Qi. Thankfully it feels entirely normal, he knows his body is still growing at this point in time. He will share this letter with Lan Zhan tomorrow after he's had a chance to do some more reading on its main topic.
He heads to the library pavilion after dinner. There are about two hours before the last bell so he figures he can at least figure out where the books he needs are. He quickly discovers that the books he needs are in the medical section and -thankfully- clearly marked. He borrows a couple of them for the night to return the next morning, since Er-gege is currently on an overnight stay with younger disciples.
He waves a greeting at Xichen on his way back to his guest quarters, the older boy is on his way to the jingshi to do the final check on his brother's rabbits for the evening.
When he arrives Nie Huaisang is sitting outside of his guest house with a non-descript box. "Wei-xiong you're back!" Huaisang greets, "I've been waiting for you, I brought emperor's smile."
"What do you want in return?" Wei Wuxian asks, not fooled, Huaisang always wants something... sneaky brat.
"I want to know what's bugging you... you looked really worried in class Wei-xiong." Huaisang looks genuinely concerned, but Wei Wuxian isn't sure he can trust it.
"this doesn't have anything to do with today's lesson does it?" Wei Wuxian asks, still suspicious.
"I had one or two questions..." Huaisang sighs– admitting defeat, "But I really do want to know why you looked so worried earlier... 2nd Young Master Lan isn-"
"DAMN IT, why does everyone jump to that!?" Wei Wuxian almost shrieks, he's getting really tired of that particular insinuation. "Er-gege would never hurt me! I'm getting really sick of people thinking he would."
"Easy Wei-xiong, I was going to ask if you were fighting..." Huaisang says, waving his fan in a panicked manner. "If it doesn't have to do with your 2nd jade, then what is it?"
"I'm Sorry, it's just, lately everyone I know has asked me if he was hurting me... it's getting old." Wei Wuxian explains apologizing. "I got a letter from A-Yi and I was nervous, thats all."
"Yu Furen is fierce, I wouldn't know how to feel if she wrote to me either." Huaisang admits, seeming to understand.
"She actually apologized to me..." Wei Wuxian tells him, opening the door to his guest residence and inviting Huaisang in with a gesture. "She also gave me a warning about being careful when it came to intimacy with Lan Zhan." he adds, raising an eyebrow.
"How scandalous! She didn't tell you to avoid it?" Huaisang fans himself.
"She just told us to be careful until we're finished growing." Wei Wuxian says, "Want to see the letter?" He holds it up off the dresser and Huaisang snatches it.
"I can't believe she'd be so nonplussed about it." Huaisang says, "Lets see what she actually said." he adds, before proceeding to unfold the letter and begin reading. Wei Wuxian watches his friend's face in amusement, Huaisang looks progressively more shocked. Eventually Huaisang throws the note at him and he cracks up laughing.
"I told you!" Wei Wuxian cackles.
"You didn't tell me why though!" Huaisang cries, "You've given me another reason to skip on cultivation." he adds, "I really don't want any of those thank you."
"Why not though! they're adorable!" Wei Wuxian protests.
"They cry constantly and they ruin your fun." Huaisang deadpans.
"not if you have someone babysit occasionally!" Wei Wuxian argues, "Besides, you get to dress them up in tiny clothes and buy them toys!" He's almost giddy at the thought, he still remembers Lan Zhan buying toys for A-Yuan in the previous timeline.
"I'll stick to my birds, they don't soil themselves." Huaisang teases wrinkling his nose. "Will you help me with the class work?" he finally asks.
"Aiya! Fine, fine." Wei Wuxian sighs, exasperatedly.
Huaisang ends up spending the night at his guest residence, the two drink far more of the aforementioned emperor's smile than they should before going over the books Wei Wuxian borrowed. They are up until 1am drinking and laughing before they finally fall asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Both boys sleep through the morning bells and are woken up when Zixuan realizes they aren't at the dining pavilion for breakfast before classes. Zixuan finds Wei Wuxian passed out leaning against his bed and Huaisang slumped over the tea table.
"Wuxian! Wake up! You're going to miss classes!" Zixuan barks at him, shaking him roughly. Wei Wuxian startles awake and almost crashes their heads together. "Good! Your up, I was about to go get Qiren -laoshi"
"You wouldn't!" Wei Wuxian squawks sleepily in indignation. "You'd get in trouble too, because you were up just as late..."
"Last night I wasn't!" Zixuan argues, "I studied and went to bed when we're supposed to!"
"Sure you did!" Wei Wuxian snips, rolling his eyes "and my last name is Jiang."
"Don't believe me, see if I care..." Zixuan sighs, he and Wei Wuxian rush to wake Huaisang up, and then the three make their way to the dining hall with 15 minutes to spare.
"Jin-xiong, Wei-xiong, Will you come with me to Caiyi again next day off?" Huaisang asks while they eat their Congee at the dining pavilion.
"Sure, Er-gege has been busy copying books lately." Wei Wuxian responds between mouthfuls of bitter herbal congee. "I don't see why I wouldn't be able to." Lan Zhan had been making copies of the sacred texts and hiding them in the caves, this way there would be no reason for his brother to flee and ultimately meet Meng Yao. Wei Wuxian had also helped design arrays that Xichen was about to seek their fathers approval for. Arrays for Gusu Lan's defense.
"Can I bring MianMian?" Zixuan asks after gulping down another bite, "I promised her I'd bring her next time I went to Caiyi. She wants to do some gift shopping." he makes a face at the last word, and Wei Wuxian is reminded of the fact that Luo Qingyang and Zixuan grew up together, and are good friends... It makes him feel lucky that she sided with him even when everyone thought he caused Zixuan's death last time. This time around he's getting to see beneath the arrogant exterior, and he's finding Zixuan to be much like Jin Ling, proud, and sharp tongued but ultimately kind and honorable... completely different from his father, Jin Guangshan.
"I don't have a problem with that." Huaisang tells him, "She will definitely enjoy talking about make-up more than either of you do." he says with a flourish of his fan. Zixuan cringes when he says this, and Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes.
The group finishes eating and then rushes (without running) towards the school building. They are the last group into the room before the bells for classes to begin chime. They just barely get seated before Qiren enters the room, he eyes Wei Wuxian distrustfully as usual, Wei Wuxian smiles at him... desperate to turn the other cheek as it were.
Class passes by peacefully, Wei Wuxian somehow manages to keep himself awake through Qiren's endless droning. The moment the bell for the end of class rings, Wei Wuxian is headed for the door... He needs to return those books, and then he is going to see his Er-gege... sneakily of course, he doesn't want a chaperon present with this topic thank you!
After returning the books to the library he heads for the exit when he hears a voice behind him, "A-Ying, going to see Wangji so early?" Xichen's tone is light and teasing.
"SSShhh" Wei Wuxian whispers, hand over his mouth... "I really don't want your Shufu to hear! Please Xichen-ge" he doesn't say, 'it will be awkward enough with just the two of us' but he's sure his face is clear enough.
"Something important you need to talk about?" Xichen asks, smiling mischievously, "I saw what you returned, an interesting choice of reading A-Ying."
"Yeah, I- A-Yi's letter told me I should read up on it." Wei Wuxian laughs nervously.
"So you're not-" Xichen starts but Wei Wuxian cuts him off.
"NO!" Wei Wuxian almost shouts, barely catching himself. "I mean... she was just warning us to be careful." he says more quietly.
"If that's the case I will let you go without a chaperon this once." Xichen tells him, "Please don't make me regret trusting you." he adds pleadingly.
"You won't Xichen-ge, I'm too young for that yet." Wei Wuxian laughs, genuinely. "I want to be finished growing before I worry about someone else doing so." With that he leaves the pavilion and heads for the jingshi.
When he arrives at the jingshi he can hear the familiar notes of the song his Er-gege had written for him in the other timeline. It hadn't been written here yet, and Jiang Cheng hadn't known about it so the fact it's apparently being worked on now must be fated. "Er-gege! I came to see you!" Wei Wuxian chimes through the thin door. The music stops.
"Come in." Lan Zhan responds softly through the door. Wei Wuxian is quick to obey, entering the room. The door to the Jingshi's private courtyard is open and the rabbits are hopping about exploring the room.
"Did Er-gege miss me?" Wei Wuxian asks playfully, Lan Zhan is still seated with his Guqin In Front of him, clearly having been playing it up until Wei Wuxians arrival.
"Mn. Always miss Wei Ying." Lan Zhan confirms with a nod. "Wei Ying wants to ask about something?" Wei Wuxian wasn't expecting the question but he supposes he shouldn't be surprised... Lan Zhan has always been good at reading him even if he's not so good with his words.
"Ehn." Wei Wuxian nods, "A-Yi sent me a letter, she was warning me about something." he explains, "I thought I should share it with you as well." He pulls the letter out of his sleeve and hands it to Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan takes it and Wei Wuxian sits down on the floor opposite the Guqin and begins petting one of the rabbits who had hopped over to investigate the instrument.
"Soulmates blessing?" Lan Zhan says after he's been reading Madame Yu's letter for a couple of minutes.
"Ehn." Wei Wuxian confirms, "I had never heard of it, I did a lot of reading about it last night after I got her letter."
"Mn." Lan Zhan nods, "Wasn't possible in the other timeline?" he asks after a moment.
"According to what I was reading, I was too weak for it to happen after I came back." Wei Wuxian explains, "After I came back in Mo XuanYu's body my core was as weak as my Tang-jie's, it requires a strong core to be possible at all." He looks at the ground, but mentally is far away... if it had been possible in the other timeline, he has no doubts that he and Lan Zhan would've had a lot of kids. He remembers how he'd told Xichen they were going to adopt orphans once Lan Zhan retired from teaching.
"Need to be careful then." Lan Zhan says, and then deadpans "Shufu would Qi deviate." Wei Wuxian can't help himself and starts laughing at that comment. Wei Wuxian scoots himself to his future husband's side of the instrument.
"Aiya, he definitely would." Wei Wuxian agrees with a whine, "I don't need that on my conscience for several years." next to him he hears Lan Zhan's little puff of laughter, and leans in to kiss the other on the lips.
"Mn." Lan Zhan responds, his ears are pink again... Wei Wuxian finds it amusing how quickly his Lan Zhan gets flustered. "Will give Shufu a few more years to accept it." Wei Wuxian arches an eyebrow.
"Ah, Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian starts, his tone is teasing "You don't plan on waiting for a proper marriage? Qiren would be horrified." he moved at some-point in their conversation and is effectively sitting in Lan Zhan's lap now, his arms loose around his neck.
"doubt Shufu would change otherwise." Lan Zhan says, face solemn as ever.
"Aiya, true! He only accepted me last time because of our Sizhui." Wei Wuxian admits, "Your Shufu only cares about children..."
"Shufu cares." Lan Zhan objects, "Just stubborn."
"Lucky me that my Er-gege is more so." Wei Wuxian whispers in his ear. Pressed this close he can feel Lan Zhan's body reacting to his touch, it's thrilling and addicting being the cause. Just because they can't do certain things doesn't mean they can't do others... he nips playfully at Lan Zhans ear, relishing the silent gasp from his beloved.
"Encourage-able." Lan Zhan says affectionately.
"Mn, but You love that about me." Wei Wuxian teases.
Wei Wuxian ends up staying the night in the jingshi and sneaking back to his room early the next morning before the first bell. He studies for the morning lessons and finishes the previous night's homework before the time to head to the dining pavilion for breakfast.
The day slips by fairly quickly and before Wei Wuxian knows it he is heading to the pavilion for dinner. Jin Zixuan and Nie Huaisang are sitting together, a female disciple who Wei Wuxian recognizes as Luo Qingyang has joined their normal table. They wave him over, "Wei-xiong! We were wondering when you would arrive." Huaisang greets as he takes his seat. "Jin-xiong said he thought you would be eating with Hanguang-Jun."
"What? You know Qiren wouldn't allow that." Wei Wuxian squeaks, "even if I wanted to, he'd make some other poor disciple chaperon... and there is no way I would sit in silence." They all know that's true, thankfully with the number of foreign disciples in the dining pavilion, the Lan sect members have mostly given up enforcing silence.
"You'd get all 3 of you in trouble and end up at the discipline hall." Zixuan agrees, "Oh! Wuxian, You haven't been introduced yet, this is Luo Qingyang." He introduces the female disciple.
"MianMian is fine, that's what everyone calls me." She says, "So you're really dating the 2nd jade? I thought it was just gossip." her tone is friendlier and chattier than it was in the previous timeline... of course last time he'd been teasing and flirting with her.
"You already know my name so there is no point in me saying it, but call me whatever you like." Wei Wuxian tells her, "I'm not super particular about it." it's true, everyone he knows has a different way of calling him. "I wouldn't listen to the gossip, but it's true that we're together." he confirms, a lot of the gossip going around is nasty and Wei Wuxian wishes he could forget it. Thankfully Zixuan, Huaisang and Xichen have been helping to shut it up whenever they hear it.
"Wei-xiong it is then" MianMian tells him, her nose wrinkling in amusement. "Are you going to look for courting presents when we go into Caiyi?"
"That's a wonderful idea Luo-guniang!" Huaisang says, "You should buy him a belt ornament or something Wei-xiong."
"I haven't even gotten permission to court officially yet!" Wei Wuxian whines, "Qiren keeps ignoring me." he adds irritably.
"I don't think he's going to, Wuxian." Zixuan snorts, "He seems to think Hanguang-Jun will move on to a beautiful woman eventually..." Wei Wuxian would take offense if not for the way Zixuan rolls his eyes as he says it.
"What!? You mean I'm not BEAUTIFUL enough Zixuan?" Wei Wuxian gasps in a mock hurt tone, and Zixuan shakes his head in an exasperated manner very similar to Jiang Cheng.
"Hanguang-Jun is definitely besotted with you, Wei-xiong!" Huaisang tells him, clearly missing the sarcasm.
Luo Qingyang rolls her eyes at the group, "I just figured out why Zixuan hangs out with you, You treat him like a sibling!" Wei Wuxian is shocked at this comment, but when he thinks about it, she's right. Zixuan reminds him of Jiang Cheng, and also of Jin Ling though he can't admit that to anyone except maybe Jiang Cheng.
"Zixuan is a lot like Jiang Cheng, so of course I feel comfortable with him." Wei Wuxian admits.
"How am I like Wanyin?" Zixuan asks, he seems curious, if a little incredulous.
"You're both very serious, though it's about different things." Wei Wuxian says, trying to word carefully. "You both are very honest, sometimes to the point of starting fights. And you both are sarcastic, but you both put up with my dramatics without getting too offended..." He trails off in thought for a moment before adding "that takes work, I'm self-aware" this last statement makes Zixuan snort.
The chatter continues until one of the Lan disciples comes in and reminds everyone to be quiet. They all finish their food before returning to their guest housing areas. It's a few days later that they finally get a break day, Caiyi town is busy and loud in comparison to Gusu Lan, vendors selling their wares shouting out prices and sales. Wei Wuxian ends up rushing to catch up after oversleeping, he's just made it to the inn they agreed to meet at when the others are about to give up and leave. "Wait for me! I overslept..." He shouts, Zixuan hears him and turns.
"I thought your 2nd jade wouldn't let you sleep in?" Zixuan teases, "Geez, you could have taken a moment to put your hair up." he adds, making Wei Wuxian feel slightly self-conscious about his appearance... it's not that bad is it?
"Let me help you with that Wei-xiong" Huaisang offers, tucking his fan in his sleeve. "Do you at least have your ribbon?"
"Ugh, I think I left it at the jingshi" Wei Wuxian admits sheepishly, "Er-gege tried to wake me up but apparently I was sleeping like the dead." he tells Huaisang, quietly. Unfortunately, not quietly enough.
"Seriously!? Hanguang-Jun let you sleep in AND let you out of the jingshi like that?" Zixuan asks, he looks like he's going to burst into uncontrollable laughter at any moment and Wei Wuxian feels his cheeks heat up.
"Leave him alone Zixuan, I'm sure the 2nd jade just didn't want to disturb him." Luo Qingyang says, "I have a brush Nie-xiong, you can use it." She adds pulling it out of a qiankun pouch in her sleeve.
"Thanks MianMian, you too Huaisang." Wei Wuxian tells them, "Lan Zhan did try to wake me up, but then his brother came to ask him for help with something so he had to leave." he'd found a note when he'd woken up that said: 'sorry, tried to wake you, but couldn't, brother needed help.'
"I bet he raced out of there the moment his brother came knocking because he didn't want to get caught." Zixuan laughs.
"Xichen-ge has seen worse I'm afraid." Wei Wuxian tells him sticking his tongue out. "He's walked in on us twice now." This shuts up the teasing and Zixuan looks mildly horrified.
"I've heard enough, I don't want details, thanks." Zixuan blurts out, Wei Wuxian giggles victoriously.
"I do." Huaisang proclaims, "Tell me later, I'm going back to your guest residence." He invites himself.
"Aiya!" Wei Wuxian squeaks, "You can't just invite yourself!" he whines at Huaisang.
"I'm doing your hair, you can consider it repaying my kindness." Huaisang states, brushing out a knot.
"How is it kind when you're demanding I give you black mail material!" Wei Wuxian whines, wincing as Huaisang accidentally tugs his hair brushing out a tangled ball of it,
"I demanded nothing, and you can't tell me you want everyone to know what you were doing last night." Huaisang insinuates, "Your hair makes that much obvious." Wei Wuxian tries to defend himself but much to his chagrin, apparently Luo Qingyang also thinks his hair is making it obvious what he and Lan Zhan were up to... They won't believe it's just bedhead from restless sleeping (he swears it is, damn-it. They didn't do anything.)
Huaisang finally finishes brushing it out and pulls a simple hair pin out of one of his qiankun pouches. Carefully pulling it up as if to put it in a ponytail, he braids it, then coils it into a bun and uses the hair pin to lock it in place. "There, you can give me the hair pin back later, since you forgot your ribbon." Huaisang tells him, handing the brush back to MianMian.
"Thank you." Wei Wuxian tells him, all he can think seeing the way his hair is pinned up is that he looks like a girl. MianMian hasn't said anything, but he can tell she's also thinking it.
"Are we ready to go now, Wei-Guniang?" Zixuan teases quietly enough that only their group can hear. Wei Wuxian elbows him in the ribs.
"Shut up, peacock." Wei Wuxian chides, keeping his own tone equally teasing. "Let's go! While the vendors are still here"
The group spend almost two hours looking at the wares and buying snacks from street vendors, Wei Wuxian ends up buying a set of Guqin strings and a tassel for Lan Zhan's sword. He also surprises them when he manages to find and buys a deep scarlet hair ribbon with a design showing clouds in-front of the sun. "wouldn't that be for a Wen marrying into Lan?" Luo Qingyang asks him, curiously.
"maybe it was supposed to be, who knows, it's my favorite color and has clouds on it." Wei Wuxian says flippantly, "so it's perfect to tease Qiren with."
"That's very bold of you Wei-xiong." Huaisang chirps, "Qiren-laoshi will definitely panic when he sees it."
"That's the idea." Zixuan snorts, "Wuxian is trying to force Qiren to accept that he is courting Qiren's Zhizi." Wei Wuxian is glad that MianMian and Zixuan both understand what he's doing, Huaisang is dense about these things.
"I'm going to laugh when he tries to punish you for it." Luo Qingyang snickers adding, "Of course the 2nd jade will remind him of the rules and get into a fight no doubt.'' At this point everyone in the cloud recesses is aware of Lan Qiren's forgetfulness of rules when it comes to Wei Wuxian.
The day goes on, they end up having to rush back to Gusu as usual because they stay out later than they should have been, drinking and goofing off. When they get back, they barely have time to get back to their guest residences before the last bell. Unsurprisingly, Huaisang is true to his word and follows Wei Wuxian. Barely waiting for him to close the door before stating, "Tell me about what happened with Xichen-Da-ge!"
"Ugh, you are a pest!" Wei Wuxian groans, "If I tell you, you had better not say anything to anyone!" All he can think about is if word were to make it to Qiren, at least he knows Xichen-ge won't tell.
"I won't, I'm great at keeping secrets!" Huaisang reminds him chirpily.
"Good, because if Qiren were to hear about any of this I'd be royally screwed." Wei Wuxian grumbles, flopping onto his bed with a huff. He tells Huaisang about the first time and Xichen telling them to 'lock the door' (and how they'd said they would and then promptly forgot).
"So the first time was when You gave him the rabbits, when was the second?" Huaisang asks, "You said there were two times, I want details."
"Ugh, the second time was horribly embarrassing... PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME!" Wei Wuxian wails, his face is already red as a beet just thinking about it.
"I'll buy you more emperor's smile" Huaisang offers, smirking like a fox.
"5 jars and you have a deal." Wei Wuxian huffs, he's going to need at least five jars if he's going to relive that experience.
"Deal, I'll throw in one more if you add enough detail." Huaisang tells him, making Wei Wuxian a bit like a cornered deer.
"Fine." Wei Wuxian sighs in defeat, and then starts telling him about it, it was right after they returned from the nighthunt where he had been teamed up with Huaisang and Zixuan. It was well before he'd found out about the whole 'soulmates blessing' thing, and frankly it was amazing that he hadn't ended up knocked up by the time he'd gotten that letter from his aunt. At any rate, he and Lan Zhan had been on their second round the following morning (neither of them had gotten much sleep, to excited from the action the night before.), when Xichen had apparently walked up the path to the jingshi to ask Wangji for help with something before class. They had apparently remembered to use silencing charms, but forgotten to lock the doors. This resulted in poor Xichen walking in right as Wei Wuxian climaxed. Wei Wuxian's face is redder than wedding robes, and he's stuttering over himself as he tells this to Huaisang. "Xichen has so much face, he just turned and walked back out of the room and waited for us to make ourselves decent." Wei Wuxian tells him, burying his face in a pillow. "Ugh I couldn't look at him for several days."
"..." Huaisang is quiet for several seconds before bursting into laughter, "I'm sorry Wei-xiong, that must have been sooo embarrassing, poor Xichen-Da-ge having to see that too! Oh my god!" it takes him a while to stop his near hyperventilating from laughter... Wei Wuxian is tempted to go get a bucket of water.
"Happy now? This is why I said he'd seen worse." Wei Wuxian grumbles, "ugh, I wanted to vanish through the floor that time." actually, he still wants to vanish through the floor to be perfectly honest... He's just grateful that Xichen never told Lan Qiren.
"Sorry Wei-xiong..." Huaisang says again, this time more apologetic. "If it makes you feel any better, Da-ge has walked in on me with a lover too." he tells Wei Wuxian, "I learned to lock the door really quickly after that, and make sure Da-ge was either away or busy." Wei Wuxian can only imagine how nasty Nie Mingjue would have been, the sect leader is notorious for his short temper after all.