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Chapter Text

So, look.  Lin Chen is amazing.  He works magical cures and has at least five flocks of white pigeons that carry messages and secrets, and he has eyes and ears almost everywhere, and he can fight.  There is very little Lin Chen cannot do when he puts his mind to it.

It’s some day right before Mei Changsu leaves the capital as Lin Shu once more, that everyone approaches Lin Chen asking “How is he, really?”  “Can he really make it up North?” Will he really come back? Is what they all want to ask, but none of them do.

And Lin Chen, well, he gets tired of this, very easily.  And when he’s tired of stupid questions, of annoying, horrible questions, he turns sarcastic.  So he jokingly replies, “He has as much time as he has, and the only way to get more is going back in time and making sure he gets more time that way!”

It’s a throw away comment.  A sarcastic response, he’s done with all these people even if Mei Changsu means something to them, something to him, he’s not a deity, and he can’t give his friend any more time than he possible can with mortal hands.

But then again, there might be a way to give him more time.

Because as much as Lin Chen is a doctor, is a scientist, is a sceptic, to some degree.  Langya Hall is a mysterious place, even to it’s master, and there are tomes that only he has been allowed to see, under instruction from his father.

And time, that’s something he might be able to give.

Or take, it really amounts to the same thing, right now.

So he convinces Fei Liu to help him set up the ritual, and someone lets it slip what he’s planning and suddenly the Su residence is going to be packed with people who want to see how it goes and Lin Chen really, really doesn’t need the audience, but hey, maybe they’ll help.  If their prayers are answered, all the better.

“You’re going to put all of us in a magic circle, and then somehow I’ll get better?” Mei Changsu asks, nonplused.

“It’s a better idea than the pill you want, so shut up.”  Really, Changsu should be thanking him for this....

“I didn’t know you practiced magic.”

“Yes, well.  It’s not a service we exactly advertise.”

“Until now.”

“Well, someone let it slip that I was planning something and now everyone is practically here, and it’s not worth the effort of sending them away at this point.  Besides, who knows, maybe their hopes will be enough to stir the deities’ hearts in your favor.”

“Lin Chen…”

“Oh be quiet.  You can thank me with your first born – oh, wait, never mind, you can thank me by letting me return with Fei Liu.”

“No!” Is the quick response from the ceiling.

 But then everyone starts piling into the main room, and that’s the end of that conversation – for now, at least.  Lin Chen will get his compensation in the end (even if it’s probably going to be in the form of pranks and witty banter).

So he starts directing people to stand – the Mu siblings in the south of the circle, Meng Zhi near the middle, His Highness the Crown Prince in the north-eastern area, and so on.  Really, Lin Chen should be congratulated on having created a circle big enough to fit all the people who want to watch and help.  Honestly, he really should get an actual reward this time.  Like money.

It’s time for the ritual, though, and such thoughts can come later, when he’s succeeded.

There are flickering candles, and incense, and words – Words, that if anyone else were asked about, once the ritual is complete, they wouldn’t be able to tell anyone else what they were…but such are the secrets of Langya Hall.

There are whispers, and hopes, and prayers.  Supplications and requests for success, for health, for happiness.

There is darkness.

There is darkness, the kind of darkness that comes from the wild, and not from the inside of a manor house.  The kind that comes on a moonless night, that nevertheless sparkles with stars.

Lin Chen looks around and knows where they are.

“Changsu…Did you really have to take all of us over half-way to Meiling?”

Everyone else starts to look worried, even Tingsheng, who probably has only heard stories about that place and what, exactly, happened there.  Fei Liu, though, remains unconcerned with the location, and continues holding Mei Changsu’s arm.

Mei Changsu, who is not looking any better than before the ritual, if not any worse, is also relatively unconcerned and merely blinks, denying, “I didn’t do anything.  This is all Lin Chen’s idea.”

Which promptly results in everyone panicking, because no one else actually knows what happened.  Lin Chen is not looking forward to informing them, not when he has a sneaking suspicion of when they landed.

Well, at least they probably won’t destroy the space-time continuum that was warned about at the top of the ritual. Right?

…Who is he kidding, these are all the people that Mei Changsu has come to care for, will move heaven and earth for.  The space-time continuum and Da Liang are doomed.

As always, comments and kudos welcome!

~Fini

Chapter Text

It was a trap.

Oh, heaven, it was a trap, and Lin Shu was going to die here.

Lin Shu had never much thought about death before. He was nineteen, and seeing death, coming close to death, those were not the same things as being filled with the bone-deep certainty that he was going to die.

He was going to die here, on the cliffs of Mei.

Jingyan hadn’t even given him his pearl yet.

Lin Shu’s vision suddenly became blurry, and he shook away the moisture. Jingyan was the crybaby, not him, and if he was going to die, he would die with all the dignity and ferocity that suited his house of Lin.

Suddenly, the drums of battle shifted, and Lin Shu heard a shout arise from the north. Although Lin Shu couldn’t afford to turn his head, he knew what this particular pattern of drums meant.

Reinforcements.

He struck down another enemy soldier, mind reeling. There was no one besides Prince Qi who would send reinforcements for the Chiyan army at a time like this, and if his guesses were correct, Prince Qi must be facing his own battles in the palace. He wouldn’t be able to spare the manpower. The only other option was that Jingyan had come from the East Sea, but that was impossible. He was too far, and he wouldn’t have heard in time.

“Vice Commander Lin!” he heard someone gasp from behind.

Lin Shu whirled around to see one of his Lieutenants stalling on horseback. “Lieutenant Yan!” he shouted. “What’s going on?”

“We don’t know sir! All of a sudden, a small force came in from the north and started to attack our ambushers! They appear to be trying to help us!”

“Small?”

“Only seven or so people, sir, but they’re all individually highly skilled. They’re each taking down ten or twenty people at a time.”

Lin Shu didn’t have time to consider the ramifications of this. “Spread the news that we have reinforcements!” Lin Shu shouted as he threw himself back into the fray. “Raise morale! That’s the best we can do now!”

“Yessir!” Lieutenant Yan said, and rode back towards the middle of the fighting.

Lin Shu refocused on defeating his enemies, blocking out all distracting thoughts and honing his mind only on the next strike, the next parry, the next slash. He didn’t notice for some time someone dressed all in red falling into sync beside him.

When he finally turned around, his first sight was of the bright red color and without input from his brain his mouth said, “Jingyan!” His eyes then focused on the warrior’s face, and he realized with a flush it was not Jingyan, it was an older man he’d never met before. This had to be one of the reinforcements Lieutenant Yan had spoken of; he wasn’t even wearing proper armor.

“No. I’m not,” the man said, easily blocking a swing from an attacker.

“Then who are you?” Lin Shu demanded. “Can we trust you?” He was well aware that this was not the best time to be asking such a question, when they were both surrounded by many people who wanted to kill them, but he suddenly felt as if he had to know.

The man’s expression softened, even as he ran another soldier through with his sword. “Just a friend. And you have my word, Lin Shu… I won’t let you die here.”

Lin Shu believed him.

Please leave a kudo or a comment if you have the time!

~Fini (who is posting on spj's behalf haha)

Chapter Text

Prince Qi knows that something is happening, someone’s machinations are bearing fruit and the worst thing is, he knows who it has to be – who have to be doing this, but he can’t prove anything and the Emperor has, over the last few years, become increasingly reluctant to listen to his eldest son, his previous, precious golden child.

He’s adjusted to it, adjusted his plans to it, but it makes it no less easier to bear, and is just downright inconvenient and frustrating right now.

There’s a noose tightening around his neck, around his family’s necks, and Prince Qi is helpless.

But, that’s something he’s only allowed himself to ponder in the middle of the night, like right now.  It’s not a thought that he can have during the daylight hours, when he needs to be as effective as possible.

He might die soon, but at least he’ll have propped up Da Liang’s government for a few more years – so someone else might be able to transform the crumbling empire into something beautiful someday.

(Prince Qi doesn’t think Jingyan, but he also can’t help his heartbreak when he thinks of his younger brother.)

This isn’t the time for thinking, though, despite the night.  There’s a presence – three presences – sneaking over his rooftops, and he’s about to call for guards, when three faces pop upside down from the roof and say, “We’re here from Lin Shu-gege!”

(Later, much, much later, Prince Qi will laugh at that statement as he drinks tea with versions of his cousins and brother that are older than he.  Lin Shu never does manage to fully grow out of bossing the younger cousins around and bullying them, even if he’s much better about it.)

“The Chiyan army was about to burn, but they’re safe, and we need to get you and the Princess out, too!”  The one on the left whispers – perhaps a little too excited by all the goings on than he should be.

“If the Chiyan army was nearly destroyed, then I am needed here – who else will placate Father from implicating all their families, and the entire Lin Household?”

“If you stay, you’ll die, too.”  The middle one points out, solemnly.

“If I don’t stay, who’ll protect Jinling?  Who will protect the empire?”  Because Prince Qi has absolutely no trust in the Empress or the Nobel Consort to not have their sons engaged in a battle for the position of Crown Prince as soon as he’s gone.  And if they do so, Jinling will burn – of that Prince Qi has no doubt.

“Ugh, I know where Jingyan gets it from now…” The one on the left mutters, flinching back from the middle man, who seems to have elbowed him in response to his comment.

“Look, can we just knock him out?”  The one on the right asks.  “Two of us can carry him, one of us can carry the Princess, and then we can just stage a confrontation and make it look like they were kidnapped.”

“Seriously?” The middle one despairs.  “This is why Lin Shu-gege gave me the plan.”

“No, he just likes you best.”

“Alright,” Prince Qi cuts in, “I see you are determined to save me, and I thank you – but I cannot abandon the capital, and even if you were to kidnap me and my wife, the Emperor would find it even more suspicious.  So, I thank you, but…”

“Wait!  Lin Shu-gege has a plan!”

Oh dear.  (That wasn’t the knocking him out plan? It seems dramatic enough for his cousin….)

“Well, it’s not actually Lin Shu-gege, it’s a friend of a friend, but it’s a good plan, and you can stay here, mostly, and we won’t kidnap you, so please, just hear us out?”

“Fine, I’ll hear out this plan of Xiao-Shu’s friend.”

“Alright.  What we have is evidence, and a witness for crimes done against the Emperor by Xia Jiang and Xie Yu.”

Xia Jiang is not a surprise.  Prince Qi just wishes that Xie Yu wasn’t, because that’s his cousin, his brother’s best friend, a child he’s helped raised, and he’d watched with relief as his possible murderer walked out the front gate right in front of him, and –

“It’s okay, he’s dead.” The one on the right says, gleefully.

The one on the left makes to punch him, and the middle one slumps slightly, but recovers, and soldiers on.

“We don't actually need to get you out of Jinling," the middle one says, reassuringly. "We have the evidence of the false notice General Nie sent to the Emperor requesting help subduing the Chiyan Army, and evidence that they were going to forge more letters implicating you in a rebellion attempt.  They should probably be mentioning it to His Highness tomorrow or the day after, so you need to get there as early as possible and request a private audience.”

“And then?” Prince Qi asks, because that can’t be all.

The middle one sighs, “And then you’ll need to do your best to convince the Emperor that Xia Jiang and Xie Yu are the ones conspiring to usurp his power by becoming his confidents over Marquise Yan and General Lin.”

“Ah.  That will be a tough battle.”

“But you can do it,” the middle one says with quiet confidence.

“Yeah, do it for Lin Shu, and Jingyan, and your Princess, and your household, and yourself, and your mom, and the whole of Da Liang.  Because otherwise bad stuff's gonna happen for the next twelve years.”

“It’s not gonna be that bad,” the one on the right argues back.

“It really is, actually.”

“Alright, enough.  …What do you say, Prince Qi?”

He sighs.  “If my only other choice is being kidnapped, how can I refuse?”

“I knew he’d see it Mei Changsu’s way,” the one on the right murmurs happily.

The one on the left rolls his eyes.

Really, these three remind him of his younger cousins, especially Jingrui and Yujin.

Comments and kudos welcome!

Thanks for reading!

~Fini

Chapter Text

“I have made a grave mistake,” Lin Chen reflected to himself.

Changsu, who was in the middle of setting down a black weiqi piece, shot him a dirty look. “Do you mean getting involved in my business? Because I have told you time and time again, that is a mistake.”

Lin Chen sighed. “Maybe I should have given you something to paralyze your vocal cords,” he said nastily. “You talk so much. Isn’t a gentleman supposed to be quiet and reflective?”

“It’s a good thing I’m not in the company of a gentleman, then,” Changsu said.

“After everything both of us have done, perhaps not,” Lin Chen allowed. He set a white piece in the corner, eating three of Changsu’s black pieces. “What I wonder is, will we be allowed to atone?”

“It’s not a question of allow,” Changsu said, his voice suddenly forceful. “We have to. I’ve already taken away Jingyan’s life once. I won’t allow it to happen again. Prince Qi must live.”

“And Lin Shu?” Lin Chen asked.

“He can help protect Jingyan and Prince Qi - ”

“Ahhh,” Lin Chen sighed, cutting Changsu off, “you’re so cruel to all incarnations of yourself! Lin Shu was only a child, guilty of none of your actions. He has no reason to commit them. And we will make sure he will have no reason to ever commit them.”

“It is not possible without him - ”

Suddenly, Lin Chen swept all their weiqi pieces off the board. Changsu started, but Lin Chen didn’t seem angry; he only rested his elbow on the board and leaned closer to Changsu. “Aren’t you giving yourself too much credit?” Lin Chen asked with a lopsided smile. “Lin Shu is not Mei Changsu. The greater world will not collapse without him. However, Jingyan’s world will, and you know this. Give Lin Shu credit for the things he can do, and don’t force him into a role that isn’t his.” Lin Chen’s smile became brighter. “Let’s give him the choice he wasn’t able to have fifteen years ago, hm?”

Changsu huffed, but couldn’t stop a smile. “When did you come to care so much about Lin Shu, hm?”

Lin Chen leaned back in his seat and laughed, the sound too bright and boisterous for such a quiet place. “When Mei Changsu started to top all the Langya Lists. The Young Master of Langya Hall couldn’t even top his own lists, and was kicked out of the top spot by a newcomer! How embarrassing!”

“You’re so childish!” Changsu said, but soon he was laughing as well, and the sounds of their happiness resonated in the mountains, too much to hold.

“He was so cool, Jingyan! Jingyan! Are you listening to me?” Lin Shu rapped his knuckles on the back of Jingyan’s head.

“I heard you, I heard you!” Jingyan said, adding under his breath, “The first ten times….”

“I heard that.” Lin Shu rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t have that attitude if you were there, Jingyan. He wasn’t the best fighter on the field, that was clear - there was another guy in red and black armor, and a young boy - probably a little younger than us - who were both truly pugilist-level good, but this guy… he fought like a - ”

“A graceful phoenix, I know, you’ve said. Ten times,” Jingyan said. He couldn’t help but feel a little hurt - he was already angry enough at himself for not being there when Lin Shu was in trouble, but Lin Shu didn’t have to go on and on about his mysterious savior. It only reminded Jingyan all the ways that he failed.

Lin Shu pouted. “You know, you could try to be a little more like that,” he said. “Instead of just being like a raging water buffalo all the time.”

Ah, so that was the sort of person Lin Shu preferred. Anyone who was not Jingyan. Jingyan felt the first pricks of tears in his eyes and he turned his face away. He didn’t want Lin Shu to see and call him a crybaby water buffalo, which was worse than just being a water buffalo. Keeping his voice even as he could, he said, “I am how I am.”

However, he should have known better than to try to hide something from Lin Shu. With a simile in his voice, Lin Shu said, “You’re crying again, aren’t you?”

Fighting the urge to childishly say, “No!” and stomp off, Jingyan dried his tears with his sleeves and turned back to Lin Shu. “I was, yes,” he said. If he couldn’t stop his tears and he couldn’t hide them, then the least he could do was face the truth like a man.

“You know better than to try to hide yourself from me,” Lin Shu chided.

“I was trying to be more graceful,” Jingyan said. “Like a phoenix. Instead of a water buffalo.”

The flick on the nose came as a surprise. As Jingyan reeled back, Lin Shu followed and toppled them both over. “You’re such a silly water buffalo,” Lin Shu said, hairs loose from his topknot tickling Jingyan’s face. “You’re never going to be a phoenix. You’re going to be something better.”

“What do you think is better?” Jingyan wasn’t able to stop himself from asking. If it was something better, maybe he could...

Lin Shu pulled back just enough for Jingyan to see his bright grin. “I don’t know yet. I’m waiting for you to become it.”

Chapter Text

Nihuang is elated, and exhausted in equal measure.  They had arrived at Mei Ling in time to turn the tide against Xie Yu (and a satisfied, bloody smirk crosses her lips when she thinks of that traitor’s death), but they had needed to ride hard on borrowed horses, in the bare minimum of armor they could scrounge up or Lin Chen pulled from his impossible robe sleeves, and fought for days, after having apparently time traveled back nearly fifteen years.

She is a warrior princess, but this is the strangest day she has ever had.

Resting her head against the wall of the room Lin Chen has bullied his father (and wasn’t that an amusing thing to see, especially when Lin Chen saw his younger self!) into letting her have, Nihuang takes a moment to breathe.

Breathe, and foster the quiet happiness that is almost burning in her chest. That happiness of fighting alongside her friends, of listening to her Lin Shu-gege command troops (even if it’s odd to see him both young and old, in the same hall – and they really need to decide on new names for everyone besides Lin Shu-gege, because as funny as the nicknames they’ve come up with are, they’re not exactly passable as real names) and making plans, of saving lives.

But she is exhausted, and soon enough she settles herself into bed, happy and determined to remain so.

(If her last thoughts before drifting off flow along familiar lines of ensuring Lin Shu-gege, Mei Changsu, or whatever else he decides to call himself is not allowed to run off and abandon all of them again – if only because Prince Jing will be sad, and now that Consort Jing isn’t here to scold him, Nihuang might as well step up, to say nothing of how it would make her feel – well, she has good cause to have such thoughts.  It’s not like Lin Shu-gege doesn’t have a history of doing so, after all.)

~IiI~

She sees Prince Jing the next day, as they’re both running back and forth with bandages and other necessary items for the various injured at Mei Ling.  Slowly, by lunch time, things quiet down enough that she can take a moment and mention something about Lin Shu-gege’s personal decision making skills, and how he keeps trying to protect the two of them.

Prince Jing gives her his sad, sad eyes, and says, “I know.  But he won’t let me help, and he won’t tell me anything so I could help in other ways.”

Nihuang sighs.  Lin Shu-gege doesn’t tell her much, either, but she’s heard more than Prince Jing over the past few years, if only because she actually knew who Mei Changsu was before he did.

“So we need to find some way to ensure that we are included.  Even if it’s only to stop him from running off into the jianghu again.”

That’s a reasonable goal.

“And making sure that he lets us protect ourselves, too,” Prince Jing adds.  “If we can take some of the burden off of him, he might actually rest.”

Nihuang’s face must clearly deliver how much she actually believes that last sentiment, but Prince Jing, for all that he blushes a little, mumbles something about having an idea.

Excellent.  One less thing she needs to do for those two, then.

As much as she loved Lin Shu-gege, as much as she loves him now, and as excited as she was to be betrothed to him, Prince Jing has been making water buffalo eyes at Lin Shu-gege for far too long without having something to show for it.

That’s one person she can count on to help limit Lin Shu-gege’s inadvisable personal decisions.

~IiI~

That afternoon, Nihuang corners Lin Chen, who’s taking a break from treating the various injuries – although no sufferers of the Poison of Bitter Flames this time, something they’re all incredibly happy for – and asks, “Will you help ensure Lin Shu-gege doesn’t make any more horrible personal decisions?”

Lin Chen, bags dark under his eyes, accentuated by the current mischief in them, smirks.  “Rein in Changsu?  Oh, Princess, it would be my pleasure.  May I assume the Crown Prince is also involved?”

Nihuang would say something about the way “Crown Prince” rolls off Lin Chen’s tongue, but the man is exhausted and stressed, and she does want his help, even if he’s apparently all too willing to give it.

“Yes, Prince Jing has already pledged his support.”

“Of course he would,” Lin Chen mutters, rolling his eyes, and opens his mouth as if to continue, but a scream cuts him off.

Then, he’s gone in a whirl of white robes and black hair, and Nihuang is left with the impression that Lin Chen is, of all things, quite possibly jealous of Prince Jing and resolves to bring up the possibility to Prince Jing…eventually.  First they need to ensure that Lin Shu-gege is still going to be present for any potential wooing or matching making to occur. Although, Nihuang is quite sure that between her and the rest of the time travelers and possibly the current Master of Langya Hall they could find Lin Shu-gege if he does choose to disappear.

~IiI~

“Lin Shu-gege,” Nihuang says the next morning, voice flat and eyes hard.

“Nihuang?” His brows are slightly furrowed, and he’s taken the hem of his sleeve between his fingers, beginning to worry at it.

Good.  He deserves to worry for a moment or two.

“Lin Shu-gege, you’re not going to run off and create the Jiangzhuo Alliance and not talk to any of us ever again except for plans.”  Telling Lin Shu-gege that he’s not going to do something has only ever really worked for Prince Jing, but Nihuang herself has had some success in the past. Considering his widening eyes, she’s hopeful that this will be such a case.

“Nihuang, I have no intention of doing so….”

Nihuang cocks an eyebrow. Yes, he had no intentions as of yet, likely because he needs to double check various situations across the jianghu to see where he might best put his talents to work.

“No, not ever.  Not in an hour, or two days, or five years.  You’ll tell someone, and take someone besides Fei Liu with you.  Please, Lin Shu-gege.”

“Or, I could just bind you to all of us,” Lin Chen suggests from behind her, “and then you’d never escape, to go and see – who was your first victim?  Oh, right, the slave traders over West a-ways that you eventually used as a base for helping dismissed brothel girls, right?” 

Lin Shu-gege blanches, just a little, and Nihuang really wants to laugh.

Prince Jing, who’d followed Lin Chen into the room, follows that statement up with sad eyes, and a heartfelt, “Please, Xiao Shu, I don’t want to lose you again.”

Lin Shu-gege deflates a little at that, and Nihuang knows by the set of his mouth that they’ve won, even if he’ll continue arguing for a while longer.

So the Mei Changsu Personal Decision Board is created.

~IiI~

It takes exactly two cases of, “But I need to make sure X plays out, or Y happens in time” with both Prince Jing and Nihuang vetoing that plan of high stress actions – one time involving Lin Shu-gege getting caught by slavers himself, the other time involving him out-talking the slickest Minister and the entire jianghu sect sworn to his service (even if they didn’t actually want to still be in his service) – while Lin Chen approved of them both, for Nihuang to remove him from the Board.

“You deserve him,” she mutters under her breath as he complains about the injustice with a smirk on his face.  “You deserve him and all the trouble the two of you get into, and I am so very, very glad he didn’t meet you earlier.”

“What was that, Princess? You think I should message his earlier self?  Excellent idea – I wonder what he’d have to say about that plan for the Twin Swords sect.”

Nihuang would like to groan, she really would.

Then she sees Prince Jing’s face, a small amused smile gracing his features.

She does groan, then.

Comments and kudos are very welcome!

~Fins