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Today had been an easy day at court. Lan Wangji had listened to the townspeople and settled a few disagreements. Usually, Lan Xichen would be the one taking care of this, but since the King was patrolling the border, Wangji had to do it.
It wasn’t as bad as Wangji expected it to be. And yet, he felt tired. Lan Wangji was about to dismiss the court when the doors opened. A soldier walked into the Hall. He went directly to the throne and dropped to one knee.
“The King is dead,” he said. “Long live the King.”
Lan Wangji was never meant to inherit the throne. He was never meant to be king. That had always been his brother’s destiny. What Lan Wangji was expected to do was marry and put an end to the rivalry between two kingdoms. More exactly, he was supposed to marry Wei Wuxian, the protégé of Jiang Fengmian King of Yunmeng.
However, only a few hours before, Lan Wangji was crowned. The ceremony was rushed, but Wangji understood the reason: the kingdom needed a leader, it needed stability. Especially if they were in the brink of a war, and taking into account the unexpected way in which his brother had died this was almost a reality.
Lan Wangji couldn’t believe it. There was no way his brother was ambushed. He was a skilled fighter, surely he would have found a way to win. And yet, the soldier had brought two things: Shuoyue and Liebing, the weapons of Lan Xichen.
And to make the situation all the more alarming, the soldier claimed that the people who attacked did so under purple banners. The accusation was clear--those were Yunmeng colors. Fortunately, this information was only known by two people: Lan Wangji and the soldier. If word of this got to the Council of Elders, they would declare that the truce had been broken.
Lan Wangji knew that was not the case. Yunmeng hadn’t attacked his brother. And, no, he wasn’t being blinded by his feelings. It just didn’t make sense. Right now, both kingdoms were living at peace, and had benefited immensely from it. For Yunmeng to start a war now it would be completely foolish. And even if they did want to harm them, they wouldn’t announce it so shamelessly.
There was also another issue. The soldier had commented that in spite of their clothes, the attackers’ style of fighting differed greatly from the Jiang soldiers. It lacked the agility so distinct of the Jiang Kingdom. This could only meant one thing: someone was trying to frame Yunmeng for Lan Xichen’s death. They wanted to start a war between them.
Lan Wangji was never meant to be King, but he was taught to. He knew all the responsibilities such a title carried. He had seen his brother change under the weight of his new position: to harden and distance from others. Now the crown rested on Lan Wangji’s head. And the situation couldn’t be worse.
“The things which I have promised, I will perform.” It was the oath he had made and he ought to fulfill. But this oath couldn’t erase his previous one. The recently crowned King sighed. He slowly took off his new head piece. It had the cloud pattern carved on it. Wangji let his fingers trace the clouds and then put it on his desk.
There had been a time in which Lan Wangji saw his imminent marriage as a mere chore. A way to solidify his brother’s reign. And then, the Jiangs invited Lan Wangji to spend a summer with them. A summer was all it took for Wangji to fall in love with his fiancé.
He remembered sitting on a boat, surrounded by lotus flowers. He had taken Wei Wuxian’s hand between his and gently laid down his forehead ribbon in them. A slight blush colored the faces of both teenagers. And under the blazing sun, Lan Wangji had said: “I will always be with Wei Ying.” In return, he had gotten the red ribbon Wei Wuxian was so fond of. The same red ribbon Wangji now wore tied around his right wrist. The one he refused to take off during his coronation.
Lan Wangji was willing to give a lot for the Kingdom. He had been raised to be ready to lay down his life. But after loving Wei Ying, Wangji’s life wasn’t only his anymore. He would fulfill his vow to Wei Ying, even if that meant breaking the one to his kingdom.