Chapter 89
It was several more hours after the assassination attempt before they were able to see Yanli-Jie. Several hours of her being checked over meticulously, as Madam Jin sat with her, to ensure that the baby was in good health and that neither she nor the child were in harm's way.
Wei Wuxian did not mind waiting. He had stayed with Lan Zhan in their chambers, or at least the chambers set aside for Lan Zhan that Wei Wuxian had moved into the minute they were able to get away with it. He had written to his brother immediately, letting him know what had happened, without saying all the things he wanted to say.
That this was Jin Guangshan's fault. That another person had suffered because Jin Guangshan thought he was entitled to them and their body. That this was going to keep getting worse. That they needed to serve justice before it was too late.
He didn't say any of that. Instead, he simply presented the facts of the crime, and the intentions, without making it seem as if the Jin sect had any fault, especially if the letter was intercepted before arriving in Qinghe.
The last thing they needed was for Jin Guangshan to figure out their intentions before they were ready.
"Jin gongzi is asking for you both to visit," an attendant said, as she came to the door of their chambers, "If it is convenient for you, Hanguang Jun, Bixie Jun, please follow me."
Wei Wuxian nodded, as he quickly stood up from his seat, and all but followed the woman with Lan Zhan by his side. They were in the guest wing, so it was rather the distance to arrive at the chambers designated for Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli, and he couldn't help but jitter the entire time. He didn't know how she was doing, and he hoped, he prayed, that she would be alright.
She had to be.
"Breathe," Lan Zhan said quietly, as his hand brushed against Wei Wuxian's. Wei Wuxian took in a deep breath at Lan Zhan's behest, as they arrived outside the chambers.
As they were announced, Wei Wuxian walked in, and let out a sigh of relief to see Yanli-Jie sitting in one of the chairs, sipping tea, as Jin Zixuan sat beside her.
"A-Xian," she said, with a tired smile on her face, "Wangji. A-Xuan tells me you caught the person who was responsible. I must thank you. I am relieved to know that they are behind bars, and that they will not come after me or the baby again."
"Of course, Yanli-Jie," he said softly, sitting across from her, "You're my sister. I would never allow anything or anyone to hurt you. And it helps that you have a husband who is rather protective of you."
Jin Zixuan looked at Yanli-Jie softly, "I would be devastated if I lost you," he told her, holding her hands in his own, "Especially because of my father's actions."
Yanli-Jie looked at him with concern in her eyes, "A-Xuan, you know this wasn't your fault, right? You had nothing to do with this."
"I should have kept you safe," he said, clenching his fist, "I promised your brother you would be safe here. This should be your home. You shouldn't have to worry about being hurt in it. It happened because my father once again did something that was beneficial to him, with no concern for how it would affect anyone else. Do you think he's going to allow the true reason for the assassination to get out? He'll probably spin some story about how this was the fault of some sect who wants to take power. Or make up something else harmful. This won't even remotely affect him in the slightest."
Jiang Yanli rubbed a soothing motion on Jin Zixuan's back.
He sighed, "I'm sorry. I am supposed to be comforting you. Instead you're here having to take care of me."
"It was just as terrifying for you as it was I," she said gently, "You had to entertain with the idea of losing me and our child. That is not easy."
"It is not," Lan Zhan said kindly, "It is just as terrifying to have to face the idea of losing someone you love."
He looked over at Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian felt a sense of guilt go through him. He knew he had put Lan Zhan through a lot. He'd gone missing for a few months. He used the Yin Tiger Amulet, despite knowing it affected him. He fought Wen Ruohan, and he'd nearly Qi deviated several times. He was reckless with himself, and to think about how much pain it would have caused Lan Zhan was distressing.
"Wei Ying is not at fault either," Lan Zhan said to him, "Mostly."
He let out a small laugh at that, as the mood in the room lightened ever so slightly, "Lan Zhan, always teasing your Wei Ying."
"Mm," Lan Zhan said, before looking back at the other couple, "You are allowed to be distressed. Do not stifle your emotions. We will get justice for the pain you suffered today."
"How?" Jin Zixuan laughed darkly, "While my father is still sect leader, there is nothing I can do to make things any better. Not with him constantly undermining me and acting in his own self-interest. There is nothing I can do. Nothing I can say to make this better. I do not want to have to spend the rest of my life trying to undo the damage he has done. How can we possibly make things better while he is still in charge?"
Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan looked at each other, and Jin Zixuan looked at them in realization.
"You wish to remove my father from power. That's why you really came to visit, isn't it?" Jin Zixuan asked, looking at the pair of them.
"Yes," Wei Wuxian admitted, knowing it could be easier with Jin Zixuan on their side.
Jiang Yanli gasped audibly at that, covering her mouth, as Jin Zixuan spluttered.
"Wei Wuxian! That's treason!" Jin Zixuan said, stunned as he looked at him, "What you are planning is treason. You want me to dethrone my father because of your own political reasons. Who else is in on this? Chifeng Zun? Zuwu Jun? Jiang Wanyin? Is that what you all want? Me in charge because you think I'll be more of a pushover than my father? Because you think it'll make it easier for you to all push through your own agendas?"
"Is that what you really think of us?" Wei Wuxian asked, a bit quietly, "Of the Lans? You can say what you will about the Nie, but do you truly think Lan would allow anything like that to happen over political reasons? Do you think the Jiang would risk Jiang Yanli for a political move if something were to go wrong? Do you think Jiang Cheng would risk his sister's life like that? You know how he feels about his sister."
"Then why?" Jin Zixuan said, shaking slightly in indignation, "Why do you want me to dethrone him?"
"Because he wants more and more power," Wei Wuxian said simply, "Because it is clear he wanted the Yin Tiger Amulet for his own selfish gains, and it was clear how mad he was that it was destroyed, when everyone else was relieved. Why would he be mad otherwise? Because Xue Yang is right that someone must have been sponsoring him. How else would he have access to materials to forge a counterfeit Yin Iron? How else would he have escaped from the Lan sect if not for someone trying to keep him safe?"
He took a deep breath before continuing, "Someone tried to have my brother murdered, and wanted to use Xue Yang against him to raise his Qi levels. Xue Yang holds grudges, but my brother did not do anything in particular to him other than imprison him. By that same logic he would have targeted the Lans. He certainly likes to get his revenge on those who he thinks wronged him. You know what he did to my Jiujiu and Shushu. So why else would he have targeted Da-ge?"
"You think my father is responsible for all of that?" Jin Zixuan asked with an exhale.
"We do," Lan Zhan said finally, "We do not have proof, but Uncle strongly suspects it. If we are wrong, we will apologize properly. But we do not think it is unlikely. It is clear your father wants alliances and is unhappy that the Jin have been relatively excluded given their lack of contributions to the war."
"And because your father is a dick, no offense," Wei Wuxian snorted, "The rest of us bonded over mutual respect and care for the others. You're not like your father, Jin Zixuan. You're actually tolerable. While your father tries to constantly steamroll people at every opportunity and take and take and take. You saw how he treated Meng Yao. He wanted him when he thought it would give him a connection to the Nie and the Lan. But when Meng Yao had nothing and no one, he couldn't even have been bothered to see him himself to reject him."
Jiang Yanli squeezed Jin Zixuan's hand as he processed everything.
"And now the assassination attempt," Wei Wuxian said carefully, "You know as well as I do that your father doesn't try and hide his desires. If he wants something, he takes it. Sometimes, it is consensual. Meng Yao's mother was a brothel worker who had no choice but to serve her clients, even if she did love him. A-Yu's mother was underage and believed him because he was much older and more powerful than her. Both those cases had an imbalance of power and in both those cases, he abused their love for him."
He paused, "But in other cases, like the assassin's it is not always consensual. You and I both know that. We found your sister, Jin Zixuan."
He knew he wasn't supposed to say anything. Nie Mingjue had warned him not to mention it, and had only told Lan Qiren and the rest of them as it meant there was a chance that there would be other cases, in which they would have more victims who would come forward.
"I have a sister?" Jin Zixuan said a bit dazed, "Who is it?"
"I can't tell you," Wei Wuxian said regretfully, "She doesn't know. She thinks the man who raised father is her father. But your father forced himself upon your sister's mother and took her even though she was married. That's two cases where your father has raped women. Do you think they're alone?"
Jin Zixuan paled at that.
"I always…I never…I didn't," Jin Zixuan stuttered, "I knew he stepped out on my mother. But it never occurred to me that it was anything less than consensual. That they enjoyed what they got from him. I never…I didn't think he would take what wasn't given to him. I knew he was wrong for cheating on my mother, but I thought the women had all wanted it. That they were less in the wrong because it was my father who actually cheated. I didn't know."
"They never came forward," Lan Zhan said, giving Jin Zixuan a bit of a break, "But there will be more. Even if they never come forward, they are still victims of his crimes. They deserve justice."
"It's truly because you think he's committing all of these crimes?" Jin Zixuan asked, looking at Wei Wuxian directly, "Promise me that this isn't some sort of political move. That you are not just doing it to destabilize the Jin sect."
"My brother loves your brother," Wei Wuxian said, looking at Jiang Yanli, "He would never do anything that would hurt Jiang Cheng, and in turn you. We all think of you like an older sister, you know that. A power struggle would be risky, and we would never do anything that would cause you pain."
"But you think these women are in pain because of him," Jiang Yanli said, closing her eyes.
"I know they are," Wei Wuxian nodded, "Look, if it is too much, you do not need to help us. We can find the proof on our own. We won't drag you into this, and we'll present the evidence fairly and give your father a proper chance to dispute them. You do not need to do anything."
"I cannot sit back passively my entire life," Jin Zixuan said, squeezing his fists, "I couldn't convince my father to fight in the war. I barely managed to bring a group of cultivators with me, and even that was a struggle. I tell him that his parties get too wild, that people are not always safe, and he laughs in my face. Any time I make a suggestion to make life easier for the common people, he ignores me. He doesn't take requests for night hunts if they cannot pay adequately, because he says they are not worth it. He's my father, but he is not a good man."
He took in a deep breath, "I will help you. I will speak to my mother. She tolerates him but she has no care for him. If anyone can help find evidence, it is her. If anyone knows of all the people he's wronged, it is her. I will find the evidence that you need. But if it isn't there, I expect you to only punish him for crimes you can prove. Nothing else. Nothing more."
"Nothing more," Wei Wuxian agreed, knowing that there were definitely more crimes than they knew. It was the issue of proving it that remained.
"If you do not mind, I want my wife to get some rest," Jin Zixuan said, clearly wanting them to leave, "I will see you out. I will write to you if I have anything to report."
Wei Wuxian nodded, knowing that they had imposed on the two for long enough. He gave Yanli-Jie a quick hug, before turning to leave with Lan Zhan.
All they could do was trust in Jin Zixuan and have hope he would find something.
Wei Wuxian walked out of the room with Lan Zhan, before being met with a cultivator, who looked like they had been waiting there for quite some time.
"Bixie Jun," the cultivator said, and Wei Wuxian was a bit started at that.
"Hi?" he said, unsure of what else to say.
"Jin Zongzhu wishes to speak to you, if it is convenient for you," the cultivator said, "Will you please follow me?"
"And Hanguang Jun?" he asked, not wanting to be alone with Jin Guangshan.
"Ah, his invitation was for Bixie Jun only," the cultivator looked sheepish, "I'm sure you understand."
"I understand just fine," Wei Wuxian said, feeling extremely displeased with the situation. It would be rude if he didn't visit Jin Guangshan after coming to his sect, and the last thing they wanted to do yet was reveal to Jin Guangshan that they knew the true extent of his crimes. Not before they had proof. Not before they tried him.
"I will wait for you in our rooms," Lan Zhan said with a nod.
Wei Wuxian shot him a helpless look, before following the cultivator, off with Jin Guangshan, wondering just what it was that the man wanted from him.
He just hoped it wouldn't be anything too traumatizing.
He waited as the cultivator announced his presence as he stood outside the room, and when the doors to Jin Guangshan's study were opened, he entered, seeing the man sitting at the other side of his desk, looking at Wei Wuxian with a warm smile.
Ugh.
Whatever this was, couldn't be good if the man was already smiling.
"Wei Wuxian," Jin Guangshan said, gesturing him to sit down across from him.
Ugh. Why wasn't Er-ge or Da-ge here? Da-ge may be bad at politics but he was so much better at handling Jin Guangshan than Wei Wuxian was. And Er-ge was so good at being so polite but insulting that he would be perfect for this situation.
"Jin Zongzhu," Wei Wuxian said, doing his best to be diplomatic, "What may I do for you?"
"I wanted to thank you, for capturing the man responsible for trying to murder my daughter-in-law and my grandchild," Jin Guangshan said, sounding warm and earnest, "I know we haven't exactly had the warmest relationship in the past, but it means a lot to me that you were willing to risk so much to try and save them. It would be truly devastating to the Jin sect if these traitorous rebels got their way. You know how it is with them, always trying to cause discord and strife for their own agendas."
"I don't," Wei Wuxian said, before clarifying as Jin Guangshan looked at him with confusion, "I don't know how it is. I've never seen anyone act that way on their own before without politically motivated reasons. Such as going to another's home uninvited and trying to murder the sect leader under someone else's orders."
He paused for a moment, as Jin Guangshan looked at him while pretending he did not understand what Wei Wuxian was pointing out.
"I'm talking about the Wen of course," Wei Wuxian said after a moment, "Showing up in the Unclean Realm and demanding to take control of the sect under the guise that it was for the betterment of the cultivation world, when really it was about control, and Wen Ruohan extending his power far beyond what he was entitled to. It is a sad day when those with power abuse it as such to take what they do not deserve."
Jin Guangshan smiled sagely, "Yes, it truly is a shame that he stooped to such levels. But those days are behind us. Wen Ruohan is long dead. And we will capture any other remaining rebels who are sympathetic to his cause."
"You think the assassination attempt was on behalf of the Wen Sect?" Wei Wuxian asked, a bit incredulously.
Jin Guangshan shrugged half-heartedly, "It is not an impossibility," the man said, looking at him, "After all, they have been taken into your sect. It is like allowing in a wolf in sheep's clothing. They pretend to be weak and innocent, so they are not punished, but in the end, they bite their master all the same. The Jin sect is a good place to start and sow discord, after all, since we do not have all the alliances of the other major sects. If they kill Jiang Yanli, a former member of the Jiang sect, it will cause a rift between us and her marital sect. All the while stripping the Jin sect of their future heir."
Wei Wuxian cocked his head up to look at Jin Guangshan. It wasn't entirely a bad suggestion as to why, except for the fact that Wei Wuxian knew all too well why the attempt had taken place. And it had nothing to do with the Wen or starting another war amongst the sects.
And it had everything to do with the man in front of him not being able to keep his hands off people that he had no right to.
"Perhaps," Wei Wuxian shrugged, "But you didn't bring me here to talk about my thoughts on the assassination attempt, did you?"
"I did not," Jin Guangshan said with a smile, "I brought you here because I think you and I can work together, Wei Wuxian."
"Oh?" he asked, not wanting to offer anything more than a curious question before they got into it. Because truly, what did Jin Guangshan think Wei Wuxian would stay to a proposition like such.
"You and I are similar," Jin Guangshan started, and Wei Wuxian wished he could laugh, "We both know what it is like to seek power that is far greater than anything the cultivation world has ever seen before. We want to reach new lengths and achieve greater feats. But we are bound by the restraints of our own limitations. The Nie do not approve of demonic cultivation. I know it caused a rift between you and your sect to use your weapons, even if they claimed to support you."
That much was true. Da-ge and Er-ge hated that he used it, not because of what it did, but because of what it did to him.
"I'm sure destroying it was an accident," Jin Guangshan said gently, "An accident as a result of trying to break the Nie family curse. After all, who would willingly throw away such a powerful weapon on their own violation?"
That had been exactly what he had done. Destroyed it because it was too powerful for any one person to have control over. Even himself. It was a tool created out of necessity, and any need for it no longer remained.
He did not need that kind of power remaining in his hands or anyone else's.
"It was an accident, but one that I am not regretful of," Wei Wuxian said simply, "After all, who would not trade something like that for the life of one you love. I'm certain you know how much I care about my brother. It was never a choice I even had to consider."
"How admirable of you," Jin Guangshan said in a voice that suggested it was anything but, "Nonetheless, it is destroyed. However I do not think the power needs to remain lost to the world forever. It is always useful to have a weapon as such in the case of emergencies. I'm sure it would be helpful when night hunting and such."
"It would make things easier in certain cases," Wei Wuxian acquiesced.
"I would like to commission you to create a version of it," Jin Guangshan said to him, "I know you have taken a commission from my son. If you are willing to create a version of it that is far more manageable, I will fund your research, generously, and provide a little extra stipend for you."
Wei Wuxian looked at him blankly. Did Jin Guangshan honestly think he would accept such a proposal? To create another Yin Tiger Amulet just because Jin Guangshan asked for it? Did he think Wei Wuxian could be bought with the temptation of a few coins to create a weapons that was beyond evil so Jin Guangshan could control it?
Did he truly wish to become the next Wen Ruohan?
"You don't need to answer now," Jin Guangshan said to him with false kindness, "I'm sure such an offer is overwhelming and with a lot of considerations. Think on it, and when you have an answer, you may write back to me. I truly would like to build a relationship with you Bixie Jun."
"I will write back to you," Wei Wuxian said after a moment. He wanted nothing more than to tell Jin Guangshan where he could shove it. After all, why would he create something like that for Jin Guangshan to use? It was one thing to commission a talisman that was relatively harmless. It was another to try and commission a recreation of the Yin Tiger Amulet. How easily did Jin Guangshan think he would sell out the rest of the cultivation world and give that power to Jin Guangshan to use unilaterally?
But he knew Er-ge would be unimpressed if he threw away this chance. A chance to get closer to Jin Guangshan and learn his plans. A chance to gather more evidence to use against him.
He wouldn't accept it so easily, but he wouldn't reject it without talking to his brothers as well and gathering their perspective on the matter. Not yet anyways.
"Thank you," Jin Guangshan said, clearly dismissing him, and Wei Wuxian stood and left the room as quickly as he could. The sooner they could leave Koi Tower the better.