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Predictably Jiang Cheng found Wei Wuxian in one of the entertainment houses in the redlight district of Chang’an. His wayward foster brother was holding court in the middle of a group of admirers, a splash of gray among the colourful silk or brocade robes. Wei Wuxian was hardly the most wealthy visitor, but his good looks, sunny temperament, and his way with words earned him the favour of the courtesans and clients alike. Many times he didn’t need to pay for the alcohol and food because some rich young masters in his thrall would open their pouches for him, or he got treated by the owners. He was reciting something about heavenly music to a blushing girl and a rapt audience when Jiang Cheng stepped in. Grinning shamelessly and raising his cup, Wei Wuxian called out:
“Yo, Jiang Cheng! Finally emerge from that hole? Come join us!”
“Join us! Join us!” The giggling girls and some of Jiang Cheng’s acquaintances in the group repeated the invitation like a chorus. Jiang Cheng didn’t move an inch. He folded his arms as if he was talking to a naughty child.
“I know you’re stupid but not so stupid to be drinking the day before the Palace round of the Imperial Examination! Go back now or I won’t wake you up tomorrow!”
A few young men in the group looked guilty, no doubt reminded of how irresponsible they were being. Wei Wuxian on the other hand laughed.
“Youthful hair becomes white in a blink of the eyes. Enjoy yourself wholeheartedly when you have the chance. You won’t get Zhuangyuan with your ability, but you will definitely make the top ten ranking. What are you worrying about then? What’s the use of holing yourself up and fretting?”
Wei Wuxian didn’t discuss his own prospect but Jiang Cheng knew he considered himself a contender for the Zhuangyuan title. Resentment was a feeling Jiang Cheng was very familiar with. When he crammed day and night for the examination, Wei Wuxian went out drinking and flirting, yet it was the slacker between them that won the top spot of their province. However, being an old hat, such feeling wasn’t hard for Jiang Cheng to push aside. He only sneered.
“You’ll find yourself ranking nowhere if you fail to show up tomorrow. Get up before Mother hears about this and cuts our allowances again for bringing shame to the family,” he pointed at Wei Wuxian. “It’s you who are a drunkard in broad daylight. Why do I have to suffer with you?”
Wei Wuxian winced at the mention of the matriarch of the Jiang family. Madam Yu was a disciplinarian who practiced a no tolerance policy against his antics. He dusted himself, stood up, and announced to his admirers:
“My dear friends, it looks like we have to part today. It breaks my heart but such is life.” A regretful “aww” swept through the group. Wei Wuxian continued. “Still, let’s meet each other again here in fifteen days. You guys can drink to my glorious success then!”
Amidst the cheers, Jiang Cheng said in a stage whisper. “Or they can console you for your spectacular failure.”
Wei Wuxian stuck out his tongue at him. They returned to their inn mocking each other’s poetry.
The drinking party resumed as promised fifteen days later. This time Jiang Cheng was dragged along from the beginning. He did not protest because there was a good reason for partying. Both he and Wei Wuxian were in the top three of the entire Empire. The joy was not completely without shadow as they lost the Zhuangyuan title to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian as was his wont still got higher ranking than Jiang Cheng. What bothered Jiang Cheng the most, however, was the comment on Wei Wuxian’s entry. Talented, but not knowing boundaries. Wei Wuxian’s attitude, not his ability, was the reason he fell to second place. When confronted about it, Wei Wuxian just laughed and made a nonsensical ditty about Jiang Cheng being a worrywart. It then devolved into their usual trade of insults.
Nevertheless it was hard to stay gloomy when surrounded by laughter and cheer. Their friends and Wei Wuxian’s admirers had chipped in for a big celebration party with the appearance of the most popular entertainers in the redlight district. The brightest star still was Wei Wuxian, who drank bowl after bowl of the sweet rice wine and pouring out as many poems. Jiang Cheng and the others were requested to contribute too but sooner or later the attention was on Wei Wuxian again.
Talents will always be recognised; money spent will return to your pouch; so let’s just have fun first; drink this sublime wine and worry later.
Lulled by the wine, the poems, and the smile of his brother, Jiang Cheng let himself fall into a sweet vision of a bright tomorrow.
*******
It was often said that Wei Wuxian couldn’t take anything seriously, that all he cared about was good alcohol and having fun. To Lan Wangji, nothing was further from the truth. Wei Wuxian took the sufferings of other people he had seen too much to heart that he was willing to walk into fire to help them. It was foolhardy of Lan Wangji to be more occupied with Wei Wuxian’s pale face and blazing eyes than his own fate, kneeling in front of an irate Emperor and surrounded by petty court flatterers who were gleefully watching the fall of young geniuses. Still, Lan Wangji had never claimed to be wise when it came to his former classmate and current colleague.
“Wei Ying, do you accept the charge against you?” the Emperor growled.
“Your Majesty, this servant confesses to delaying the construction of the new temple complex,” Wei Wuxian replied, his voice pitched to the utmost coldness permissible for addressing the Son of Heaven. “However, in my humble opinion, relief for the workers in the summer heat does not constitute an insult to the honour of Your Majesty.”
“Impertinent!” The Chief of the Imperial Household Staffs roared. “It is clear to everyone what the new temple means to His Majesty and our great dynasty. Yet you have the gall to obstruct its completion. You fancy yourself a great talent but you can’t even comprehend something so simple?”
“My Lord,” Wei Wuxian didn’t miss a beat. “I already apologised to you for my impolite request. I admitted that I was wrong. Why are you still angry with me about that?”
Some of the people present hid their smiles behind the sleeves of their robes. The banquet in honour of the ten best scholars in the most recent Imperial Examination had become legendary thanks to Wei Wuxian’s antics. He was already tipsy when called upon by the Emperor to compose a poem to celebrate the occasion. While walking to the centre stage, he realised that he hadn’t changed his boots to the pair granted to him and asked the nearest person to help him with the task, who just happened to be the Chief of the Imperial Household Staffs. The incident was remembered as a youthful joke, but in hindsight, Wei Wuxian had made a nasty enemy.
“You…” The Chief of the Imperial Household Staffs turned red in the face. Lan Wangji cut in before the exchange escalated further.
“Your Majesty, the governance of the people has root in compassion. The conditions of those workers are indeed hard to bear. They deserve a relief.”
As Lan Wangji had hoped, the attention of the hall was transferred to him. The Chief of the Imperial Household Staffs snorted, his voice full of contempt.
“You too, Assistant Official Lan? Everyone says you are level-headed and responsible, but you abetted Assistant Official Wei in this heinous act,” he shook his head piously. “What great misfortune, to let the praise of your talent get to your head and wrongly believe that what you think is always right.”
Wei Wuxian’s hand balled into a fist. His breathing became heavy, a sign that he was trying to keep himself from losing his temper. Dread pooled heavy like lead in Lan Wangji’s stomach. He knew by heart all the classics, all the teachings on ethics and good governance. The court however ran on much baser sentiments and he never quite knew how to navigate those. He had been so confident in his faith that righteousness would always prevail. He didn’t know how impotent those ideals were.
As tension rose in the atmosphere, Lan Wangji’s brother Xichen, who had been made Minister at only thirty, stepped up and knelt in front of the Emperor. His gentle voice filled the hall.
“Your Majesty, as their superior, it is my fault as well for not guiding them better. Please punish me and not them, who only followed the impulse of youth.”
“Minister Lan,” Wei Wuxian started but Lan Wangji pulled the sleeve of his robe. He fell silent again.
The Emperor chuckled. “It must be hard having such unruly children under your wings, huh? Rise, Minister Lan, your family have always served Our dynasty faithfully. In regard of that, We won’t punish these children. However, they will be demoted to junior rank and have to learn the proper order of the court again. That’s Our final say on this matter.”
Wei Wuxian looked mutinous but at the end, he still bowed down with the others and expressed his gratitude for the Emperor’s magnanimity. Later, as they walked in the courtyard, he didn’t say a word. For once, Lan Wangji found the silence stifling.
That day marked a turn of fortune for Wei Wuxian. He still enjoyed the popularity of the most talented poet in Chang’an. The Emperor called on him to compose something almost every time there was a banquet in the Imperial Palace, especially when foreign ambassadors were present. His works were highly sought after. The well-to-do who wanted to show off their good taste and wealth showered him with precious gifts, all of which he gave away. However, his opinions as an imperial official fell on deaf ears. A naïve artist who knew nothing about reality, he was branded. Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng, one gentle one forceful, urged him to be patient. Lan Wangji too tried to be an outlet for him to vent his dissatisfaction. However, there was unmistakably the feelings that they were only delaying the inevitable.
It wasn’t a surprise that Wei Wuxian handed in his resignation and rejected the offer to be a poet under imperial patronage as well. Walking with him one last time from their office, Lan Wangji asked. “What are you going to do now?”
“No idea,” Wei Wuxian cheerfully answered and became once again the carefree student who would rather go fishing than review the sages’ teachings. “I suppose I should go back to Yunmeng to greet Uncle Jiang and hear out Madam Yu’s anger first. Then I’ll travel wherever my whims takes me, I guess.”
Feelings welled up in Lan Wangji and again words refused to come to his tongue. There was no paper and ink for him to write out what he wanted to say either. He took off the jade ornament from his belt, a gift from his family for winning the Zhuangyuan title, and handed it to Wei Wuxian. “For protection.”
Wei Wuxian didn’t take the piece of jade. “Lan Zhan, this is too much,” he added, somewhat bitterly. “You’ll need protection much more than me. No, no, I’m not shaming you for hanging on. The country needs someone like you.”
We need you too, Lan Wangji didn’t say. He took Wei Wuxian’s hand, put the ornament in his palm, and closed his fingers around it. “Please, for my peace of mind.”
Wei Wuxian scratched his head with his free hand. “Fine, I’ll accept it. I’ll get you something in return when I pass by Chang’an. Jiang Cheng won’t let me hear the end of it if I don’t visit him from time to time.”
“Write to me,” Lan Wangji surprised himself by making a request so boldly.
By the looks on his face, Wei Wuxian was surprised too. He smiled. “If you say so.”
*******
A complicated mix of emotions rose in Jiang Cheng and suffocated him. For once, Wei Wuxian didn’t grin like a fool or babble his cheap third-rate ditties. He was pale and grimly quiet, heavy bags surrounding his eyes and dirt clinging on his clothes. It would be pathetic to cling to his foster brother and cry so Jiang Cheng reached to his anger.
“What are you doing here? I’m surprised you still remember us.”
Wei Wuxian looked like he had just been slapped. It brought Jiang Cheng no satisfaction, but he still talked on, letting out the feelings he had been keeping all this time.
“You didn’t show up for Jiejie’s wedding. You stopped visiting. It took those bastards breaking everything and my parents dying for you to show up. What are we to you, Wei Wuxian?”
Jiang Cheng knew why his stupid brother had kept away from his family. A few years ago, there was a flood. Many people died or lost their homes, and a plague broke out. Soon sharp, biting satirical poems about greedy and ineffectual officials were spread everywhere. Some of those alluded to the decadence of the Emperor himself. The impertinent verses were quickly traced back to Wei Wuxian. His life was spared thanks to the pleading of Jiang Cheng’s father, who was married to the childhood friend of the Empress. However, he was still lashed in public as an example. Association with him became politically toxic in Chang’an and his poetry quickly fell out of favour.
That knowledge didn’t cool Jiang Cheng’s anger any. How dared Wei Wuxian think so lowly of the Jiang family, that they couldn’t weather a storm for his sake?
“What? Still no answer? What happens to the silver-tongued poet? You were certainly eloquent enough in that letter rejecting Jiejie’s invitation to her wedding. Do you know how much she cried when she read it? She had had to be brazen and used her husband-to-be’s position as a prince! She had hoped she could pave the way for your return to the Capital, yet you threw it in her face! You fucking arrogant third rate scribbler! Why did we even bother with you?!”
Wei Wuxian’s face was white as a sheet but his steps were steady as he walked towards Jiang Cheng. “I- I will leave. But please eat something first. The people outside said you haven’t eaten or slept for days.”
Jiang Cheng tried to shrug off the hand on his shoulder but found he didn’t have the strength to do so. The horror and grief of the past days had wrung him dry to the bone. Anger was what kept him going. “Take your hand off me! I don’t need you caring! I can handle it alone! You left me to handle it alone!”
Wei Wuxian uncharacteristically did as he was told but he still stood too close to Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng grabbed his brother and thumped him on the shoulders. To Jiang Cheng’s mortification, tears began to fall down his face. Wei Wuxian hesitated a beat then reached out and drew Jiang Cheng to a tight hug.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong to keep my distance. I’m sorry I didn’t keep my promise of walking on the same path with you. I’m sorry I wasn’t home with Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu. Hate me if you wish. But, please, eat something first.”
Jiang Cheng meant to push Wei Wuxian away but found that he didn’t really want to. He was too tired and lost. The civil war had broken out like lightning on the clear sky. Losing the battle in his own Capital, the Emperor had quickly evacuated to another city with his family, leaving the Imperial Government to scramble after him. Jiang Cheng’s parents had left their home in Yunmeng to join their son in the provisional Capital. However, their carriage was attacked by the bandits and they were among the casualty. The dreadful news was brought to Jiang Cheng by the surviving servants. In this unfamiliar city, he didn’t know how to contact his sister, who had to follow her husband’s family and was kept away from the chaos outside. He didn’t know where his wayward brother was either.
At least, Wei Wuxian had reappeared from whatever hole he had been in. Jiang Cheng was still very angry with him, but it was a relief to see him again.
Wei Wuxian helped Jiang Cheng to a chair and ran out to call for some food. How strange it is for Wei Wuxian to be the carer between them, Jiang Cheng thought somewhat hysterically. He took a deep breath. His brother was with him again. They would reach their sister somehow. They would overcome this blasted civil war. For the first time since he left Chang’an, Jiang Cheng felt hope.
*******
Lan Wangji set out the wine service set for two people while Wei Wuxian carried two jars of Emperor’s Smile, the famous rice wine of Gusu – Lan Wangji’s home province. The first full moon of the year was enticingly beautiful but it was too cold for outdoor drinking. They compromised by keeping the front door wide open and bringing out the brazier, which was also used to heat the wine. Lan Wangji insisted his companion to bundle up in a thick wool cloak lined with fur as well.
The moonlight mixed with the dancing light of the lanterns gave the white jade of the bottle and cups a warm glow. The set was a not-quite gift from Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji had been surprised when his lover brought it to him. Outside of good wines, for which he was a notorious spendthrift, Wei Wuxian wasn’t one to indulge in such extravagance.
“Great wine like your Gusu’s Emperor’s Smile deserves to be accompanied by fine cups,” Wei Wuxian had explained loftily. He raised a cup to the level of Lan Wangji’s face, his voice turned sly. “Of course, drinking in the presence of a heavenly beauty carved from ice and jade is a great pleasure of life too.”
Lan Wangji had blown off the candle on the table between them to prevent Wei Wuxian from watching how his ears had reddened. That hadn’t deterred the ridiculous man much as he continued to come up with corny line after corny line about Lan Wangji’s supposedly extraordinary good looks comparable to Cixi or Zhaojun of old.
As they sat opposite each other by the fire of the brazier, Wei Wuxian hummed as he stared at the moonlit sky through the lanterns. “Mortals cannot reach the bright moon, yet the moon follows our every step.”
“As long as you don’t jump in a lake in winter trying to catch it,” Lan Wangji wasn’t one for taking pot-shots but he gave in to the temptations from time to time. His long-time friend and present lover could try the patience of Guanyin herself.
Wei Wuxian winced. “Are you still mad about that? I have stopped drinking close to the water as promised.” Taking a slow appreciative sip for savouring rather than getting drunk as he was wont to do when drinking Emperor’s Smile in Lan Wangji’s company, he laughed. “Alright, alright, it is bad form to keep talking about Lady Chang’e when you are right in front of me. What does my Hanguang-jun ask of me tonight?”
“I like anything you make,” Lan Wangji said sincerely.
Wei Wuxian, who had received countless flattery in his life, always stumbled a little whenever straightforward admiration was directed his way. He quickly recovered, though, and made a theatrical salute. “What high praise! Hmm, let me tell you about that city up north near the desert.”
Wei Wuxian had always been restless from his thirst for life and his pains and grief. Lan Wangji on the other hand was tired from the endless wandering during the civil war when constant moving was a must. The old injuries he had sustained didn’t make travelling anymore appealing. So they had come to a compromise. For some months in the year, Wei Wuxian would stay at Lan Wangji’s cottage in Gusu. He would exchange his travelling clothes for a hermit’s robe, tend Lan Wangji’s herb garden instead of doing errands for the merchants who had been busy again in the recovering country, lecture the village children in Lan Wangji’s modest school instead of dazzling an admiring audience in a tavern somewhere, and recite his new verses to Lan Wangji face to face instead of writing them in the almost-weekly letters. Then he would disappear into the wide world again and Lan Wangji would pray everyday for his safety, until the day he unfailingly came back, bringing gifts from faraway for not only Lan Wangji but the school children together with the many, many stories.
As I sing, deep in the wine, may the moonlight keep filling my cup.
For the time being, they would enjoy together the full moon of peace, garnished by the poems they improvised in response to each other’s challenge. Even the immortals could not be more blissful.