Work Text:
Lan Wangji is determined when he shows up to Lotus Pier, accompanying a Gusu Lan delegation. He nods at his brother and marches off to find a servant and ask to be escorted to Maiden Jiang. She isn't in her quarters, and the servant suggests checking the orphanage that the Jiang family sponsors, down in the slums.
They find her feeding children there. All of them are thin, beggars the Jiangs have taken off the streets and given a roof and food to. It is clear that not all of them were taken in at the same time: some are still very skittish around the quiet miss, anxiously taking their surroundings in. She is patient and just deliberately holds lotus root-stuffed buns out without looking around until the children inevitably snatch it away, running off to a corner to eat in peace.
She gets up and pats the dust on her robes off when she sees him approach.
"Greetings Second Young Master Lan, were you looking for me?" she asks.
"Maiden Jiang." Wangji bows.
She smiles at him, and he can understand why Wei Ying misses her so badly. He doesn't know her, but her simple presence still feels comforting.
"Did you want something?" she says, before the silence becomes uncomfortable.
"Mn. I wanted to know if Maiden Jiang would... teach me to cook." He can't help the burn that takes over the tip of his ears at the shameless demand. He doesn't know Young Miss Jiang. As a young master, he should be keeping his distance: people could use seeing them together as an opportunity to disparage her virtue.
Her fiancee would probably use any opportunity available to him to break off the engagement at this point in time. Jiang Yanli, for her part, was already in love with Young Master Jin according to Wei Ying. It wouldn't do for Wangji to make the match harder for her than it already is.
"Teach Young Master Lan to cook?" She looks surprised. She probably wasn't expecting this. "But why? Is it... Forgive me, Young Master, it is none of my business."
"... For someone." Wangji shuffles his feet a bit.
"I'm sorry?" she asks.
He doesn't repeat himself, but her expression softens somewhat. He doesn't know what ends up convincing her but she agrees, and they walk back together. She seems to understand that he doesn't like talking, and fills the silence with calm descriptions of everything they encounter that he might not know while walking through the city.
Wangji finds himself accosted by a prostitute at some point – it doesn't happen a lot, most people recognize Gusu Lan's uniform and know to avoid offering him services when he will inevitably decline – and Young Miss Jiang handles situation without a fuss, gently thanking the girl for her offer but firmly saying that they are not interested. It avoids a scene, and Wangji feels thankful.
All the servants in the kitchen greet them when they eventually enter but none of them seem surprised to see their young mistress start to take out pots and pans. They seem more surprised to see her in the company of Lan Wangji, and he catches the tail end of a few whispers about how unseemly it is for an unmarried girl to accompany a man in this way from the more mouthier of the lot. A stern glare from him makes them shut their mouth and sends them back to their tasks.
Jiang Yanli feels visibly at ease in this environment and eventually asks him if there is some specific recipe he wants to start with.
"... Lotus and pork rib soup, if you please," he answers.
She smiles at him, and she looks so similar to Wei Ying that Wangji almost loses time for a second.
"You're in luck then, Young Master Lan! It's one of my favorite recipes, and I find myself cooking it often for my family. I've only ever heard good things about my take on our classic."
She clearly takes pride in making her family happy. She will make Jin Zixuan very happy in the future. Wangji wonders how long it will take for the young man to notice her without the Sunshot Campaign. He wishes that the continued happiness and peace of the cultivation world will not rob her of her happy marriage.
She has gathered all the ingredients and other things needed to make the soup while his thoughts wandered. She looks at him hesitatingly; they don't know each other very well, and she knows the Lans are... peculiar. She probably doesn't know which approach to teaching him she should take.
Ending her internal conflict he just steps up to the stove. "You do not have to worry. I will watch."
She raises an eyebrow at him, "Have you ever cooked, Young Master Lan? Cooking isn't something you can learn without actual practice."
"Wangji has helped in the Gusu Lan kitchens, Jiang-laoshi," Wangji says.
She laughs at the formal address, "No need to call me teacher, Young Master Lan. It is unnecessary! In fact, would you call me Yanli?"
"Very well, Jiang Yanli," he answers after a long pause, "This disciple, Lan Wangji, is in your care. You may address me with my courtesy name as well."
She is a very attentive teacher, who shows him exactly what to do. She explains how to see if the produce he is buying is fresh, explains how adding certain spices at different times will add up to a different taste in the end product. The smell is very spicy; not quite to his tastes, but he is sure Wei Ying will enjoy it.
He is on his best behavior and tries to take in as much as he can. He wants his rendition of his husband's favorite dish, originated by one of his favorite people and cooked by another, to be as faithful as possible.
A few hours in the kitchen together has loosened the atmosphere to a degree.
"Lan Wangji, forgive my forwardness but... Are you alright?" Jiang Yanli slowly asks.
She avoids his questioning gaze, not looking away from the slow bubbling of the liquid in the soup pot. If he remembers what she told him correctly, it should simmer for about half an hour more before being taken off the fire.
She eventually continues speaking after she understands that he isn't going to answer her with so little to go on.
"I am not trying to pry, and I am not aware of everything that is going on, but people talk. If you have by any chance come here to try and find someone to talk with... I wanted you to know that I would be willing." Jiang Yanli stirs the soup with a wooden spoon.
Wangji doesn't know what to say. He knows that rumors are going around, people talking of all the wicked deeds of the terrifying Yiling Patriarch and the tragic destiny that awaits the youngest Lan master. He usually does not pay attention, and doesn't know how to react to the genuine concerns he hears in the voice of the woman who could have become his sister-in-law had she not died protecting her brother.
She had seen Wei Ying when up on Burial Mounds. She had listened to his stories. But there had been a guarded distance there. Wangji wonders if that is because of those rumors od Wei Ying taking advantage of him. If this was the way for the conscientious and dutiful Young Miss to state her position on the question.
He takes a moment to gather his thoughts, choosing the words carefully.
"I -" I am happier than I have ever been "- am fine, Jiang Yanli," Wangji says slowly. "Thank you for your concern."
She hums noncommittally, and they continue cooking peacefully.
The sun disappears behind the lotus fields, painting the sky in soft pastels and shining off the water. As he prepares to leave with the rest of the delegation, she bows to him, wishing him a safe flight home.
"I enjoyed cooking with you, Lan Wangji. I would like for you to come again, if you wanted to." The last rays of the sun make her skin glow, and she looks like a benevolent deity come down to earth in her pale purple gown.
"This disciple Lan Wangji enjoyed the lesson, and thanks Young Miss Jiang for imparting her knowledge," Wangji says as servants and disciples busy themselves on the dock. He bows low before her and speaks again as she helps him up, quietly enough so that no one else is able to hear him.
"Wangji is aware that he is not... good with words, but he would like Jiang Yanli to know that he would like to listen to her if she wanted to talk."
She looks surprised for a second.
"I do not have much cultivation background," she says with a smile, "but I would be honored to be your friend, Lan Wangji."
He nods decisively, "Friends."
She once again reminds him of Wei Ying as she waves him goodbye from the pier while he flies away.
Wangji cooks Wei Ying the lotus and pork rib soup the next time he sees him. He pretends not to see the wracking sobs shaking his husband's shoulders, and thinks about writing a letter to Young Miss Jiang.