Chapter Text
When the Shen brothers were bought together by Qiu Jianluo, they were secretly relieved. Being separated in a world where they only had each other would be a nightmare.
Well, they also had Qi Ge. Until he left anyway. Shen Jiu was adamant that Qi Ge was definitely alive and just figuring out how to get powerful enough to rescue them. Shen Shi knew he was dead. That boy, older though he was, had less spine than either of them. And he was stupidly kind. Shen Shi mourned the loss in secret and let his brother remain hopeful.
In the end, Shen Jiu’s hope kept them trapped under Qiu Jianluo’s rule for too long. Although Qiu Haitang was a wonderful young mistress, always feeding and pampering Shen Jiu, her brother was a demon. Shen Shi dragged his beat up body back to his brother’s arms every night and pretended he was fine day after day so Shen Jiu could remain by the girl’s side. She did claim she wanted to marry him (a slave - Shen Shi didn't dare question the absurdity of it).
Shen Jiu was forced out of his nearly peaceful life when he walked in on Qiu Jianluo dragging Shen Shi to the floor. After that incident, Shen Jiu never hoped again.
Shen Shi had been only half conscious when his brother set fire to the Qiu residence and only awoke when they were discovered by an elderly cultivator. Under the promise that Shen Jiu would be able to develop a core and then be able to protect his brother, they took on Wu Yanzi as their master. Shen Shi wryly believed they were simply glorified slaves.
“Jiu Ge, what if he’s teaching you wrong?” Shen Shi whispered to his brother under the cover of the night.
Shen Jiu rolled away, lifting his head to check if their master was still asleep. Then he waved his brother off. “He’s all we have.”
And he was, until the day Qi Ge walked back into their lives.
Shen Jiu stared down at Wu Yanzi’s bloody body like he couldn't believe what he’d done. Shen Shi contemplated reaching out to him, but instead turned to the reason for his brother’s outburst.
“You’re alive.” Shen Shi commented. Over time, emotions ran less frequently across his face, unless he was alone with his brother.
Qi Ge’s face, on the other hand, was an open book. Guilt trailed from his furrowed brows to his frowning mouth. “I- A-jiu, A-shi, I’m so sorry.”
Qi Ge, or Yue Qingyuan as he was now called, insisted they return with him. Shen Shi had taken one look at his sword, then another at his still frozen brother, and agreed.
Shen Jiu whipped around. “We will not!” His blazing eyes roved the forest, landing anywhere but on Yue Qingyuan.
Yue Qingyuan winced, stepping forward as if to grab Shen Jiu’s shoulders. He was briskly avoided. He stopped in place, gaze shifting frantically between the twins.
“A-jiu, I’m really sorry, but please listen to me. I can take care of you. I-” Yue Qingyuan’s hand clenched and unclenched over his scabbard.
“We don't want your help! Go fuck your help.” Shen Jiu snarled, and then stomped over to his brother to drag him away, stepping carelessly over the body.
Shen Shi tugged on Shen Jiu’s sleeve to murmur by his ear. “Jiu Ge, he’s a cultivator. He can help you cultivate.”
Shen Jiu bristled, ready to argue. Then he looked at Wu Yanzi’s body, Shen Shi’s thin form, and slowly wheeled around.
Without looking at Yue Qingyuan, Shen Jiu sighed. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Yue Qingyuan’s residence, Qiong Ding, is a far cry from the streets they used to run around in. Yue Qingyuan also has a family, a half-sister and step-mother that watch disdainfully as the twins trail after their head of the house. From what Shen Shi gathers, Yue Qingyuan’s cultivator father found Qi Ge, taught him what he could, and promptly died. He wanted to laugh over the irony of it all with Shen Jiu but the man seldom acknowledges Yue Qingyuan’s existence despite the fact that said man graciously settles them in.
He takes the twins to a different residence when it becomes apparent two slave teenagers will not be accepted in his aristocratic household and the two meet Qing Jing’s former lady. The master is exceptionally old with no children, doesn't appear to care for their background, and easily agrees to pass on her knowledge and wealth. She does, however, insist that they take on new names.
Shen Jiu insists that the name Yuan will not suit Shen Shi, but the latter shrugs it off. Shen Yuan is only happy to be free, finally, of their past. Although Yue Qingyuan does continue to visit often. And Shen Qingqiu continues to ignore him. He can't have everything.
“Ge, are you going to be mad at him forever?” Shen Yuan asks the day after Shen Qingqiu inherits his lord of Qing Jing status.
Shen Qingqiu looks up from where he is cleaning his sword. “A-Yuan, you forgive too easily.”
Shen Yuan shakes his head. “No, Ge, I just….He already gave us all this.” He gestures around the bamboo house, though he is referring to the entirety of Qing Jing.
“He could give us the moon and I would not forget. Back then, if I had not been a fool, I would never have stayed and let you get hurt.” Shen Qingqiu glares down at his sword.
Shen Yuan sighs and nods back. Can he fault Shen Qingqiu for loving him too much? But Shen Yuan is perturbed because he knows how his brother felt about Yue Qingyuan. At least, before they were separated. Looking at the two now, it seems unlikely they will be able to move past the broken promise. Yue Qingyuan had seemed mildly hopeful when Shen Qingqiu had accepted his help, but Shen Yuan was well aware his brother only changed his mind out of love and protection for Shen Yuan. Shen Qingqiu was the most stubborn person he’d ever met (excluding himself), and he was well aware Yue Qingyuan didn't stand a chance. Well, unless Shen Yuan interfered. Which he was definitely going to do.
#
“You’re making that face again.” Liu Qingge is tired. So tired.
Yue Qingyuan doesn't even pause, still smiling into the distance. “You don't understand, Lord Liu. Maybe one day you will.”
Liu Qingge doesn't have the energy to roll his eyes, so he just speeds up to fly past his most beloved, most naive, most cherished friend. Well, only friend. If he didn't count Mu Qingfang, who he refused to out of principle because the man had once mentioned that he was glad for all the times Liu Qingge got injured so he could practice his medicine.
Anyway. Yue Qingyuan continued to hover at his constant speed behind him, apparently unconcerned for the meeting they were about to miss. Liu Qingge briefly closed his eyes to swallow back any impatience. Liu Mingyan was always telling him to be gentler.
“Qingyuan, aren't you in charge of the trades presentation? Shouldn't we be a little more focused?” Liu Qingge grits out. He’s not worried if the other can hear him over the wind, Yue Qingyuan has become long used to conversing high up in the air since becoming Liu Qingge’s friend.
Liu Qingge can still remember the soft-eyed, friendly teenager he’d stumbled across so long ago. Back then, Yue Qingyuan was still new to his environment and didn't understand all the customs. If Liu Qingge had been in his position, he’s sure he would never have been able to adapt that fast. Nor would he have been so trusting with everyone around him - and yet the older boy had simply accepted anyone’s advice with no qualms. Sometimes Liu Qingge wondered how he had survived in the streets.
“It’s fine, Qingge, that means they won't start without us!” Yue Qingyuan announced, eyes crinkled up in a familiar smile.
This time, Liu Qingge did roll his eyes. He leaned further on his sword to put a solid li between them.
Yue Qingyuan’s personality had always been welcoming. But after he found and brought back his beloved childhood friends, he’d become a bit unbearable. In the beginning, he’d be somber and vaguely guilty, though Liu Qingge refused to poke into the matter. Recently, apparently his relationship with whichever of the two he was so infatuated with had improved, and so he had become completely insufferable. He’d hum to himself, point out the smell of flowers, and would often zone completely out of the conversation only to sigh softly to himself.
Personally, Liu Qingge felt quite bad for him. From the brief description he’d gotten of the infamous childhood friends, Liu Qingge figured they were simply using Yue Qingyuan’s kindness. Which he could excuse, since it was probably under their care the man had survived in the streets at all - but he really didn't think it was appropriate for the man to fall in love with one of them. Yue Qingyuan’s step-mother had already passed and his marriage would be a significant method in stabilizing his household for both himself and his younger half-sister. Even a man like Liu Qingge, who had refused to marry back when his parents had begged him when they were still alive, understood how necessary this was for Yue Qingyuan. And yet, he didn't have the heart to remind him.
Thankfully, Yue Qingyuan is still a man of discipline and reigns in his feelings long enough to act like a proper merchant during the meeting. Liu Qingge only listens for a few moments before trying to meditate with his eyes wide open. After the meeting is adjourned, a familiar pointed face seeks them out.
“So you’ll be coming right?” Qi Qingqi does not bother with salutes or any type of formal greeting. Liu Qingge kind of respects it. He has long since become accustomed to her straightforward attitude since they were young, and even more frequently when she began to visit to tutor Liu Mingyan.
“Oh, I’m not quite sure, Lady Qi.” Yue Qingyuan pulls up his most used polite smile. Liu Qingge just grunts.
Qi Qingqi squints. “First of all, I’ll be Madame quite soon. Second, you have to come Lord Yue, I’m even inviting those at Qing Jing.”
Oh dear. Liu Qingge risks a glance at his friend. He has to commend his almost passable mask, but the immediate gleam in his dark eyes gives everything away.
“Oh. Well, I suppose I will have time after all.” Yue Qingyuan nods as if he’s thinking about it. Qi Qingqi does not bother to cover a snort. “And I’ll bring Lord Liu as well, of course.”
Liu Qingge stiffens, thinks of yelling, remembers his little sister’s advice, and deflates without a word. As soon as Qi Qingqi walks off (with a very smug face) he shoots a glare to his friend.
Yue Qingyuan shrugs it off. “I need you to see him, Qingge. You’ll come, right?”
Liu Qingge is starting to think following his sister’s advice will not lead him to the peaceful life she promised.
Liu Qingge hates dressing up. His robes at home tend to border on blasphemous, the amount of layers he forgoes. In public, of course, he keeps up the image his parents had tenaciously built over the years. But he still loathes the formal attire.
“How long do we have to stay?” Liu Qingge mutters, tugging at his collar aggressively. It doesn't even budge.
“Lord Liu, you must stay for the food and at least three dances. Otherwise people will whisper.” Yue Qingyuan’s younger half-sister, who has come with them for some reason, smiles too brightly at Liu Qingge.
“No, Ziyuan, Qingge can leave whenever. He just needs to stay for a bit.” Yue Qingyuan pats Liu Qingge’s shoulder and misses the way his sister burns her stare into the back of his head.
Liu Qingge, in typical fashion, grunts his response. He hates all public gatherings. No wonder his sister refuses to attend any. It must be in their blood.
Liu Qingge refocuses long enough to note how silent the hall goes at their entry. He pointedly ignores the stares and glances at his friend instead. Yue Qingyuan seems completely unaffected by the strange atmosphere and is instead staring fixedly somewhere in the crowd. Once they’ve entered and are being bombarded with introductions, Yue Qingyuan leans close.
“Look, Qingge, that’s him. Isn’t A-jiu so pretty?” Yue Qingyuan, even in such a low voice, manages to sound like he’s close to squealing.
Liu Qingge follows his gaze to a cold, bored-looking man. He’s adorned in pale green robes embroidered in some type of foliage, his long hair is pulled away from his face with a silver crown. In his thin, pale hands he flutters a intricately decorated fan, eyes slightly narrowed over the top of it.
Thankfully, someone interrupts them with a need to introduce another stranger so Liu Qingge is saved from saying he’s not so sure about the word pretty to describe such a man.
When the stranger is banished after too long an awkward silence where it’s clear neither him nor Yue Qingyuan is interested in pursuing further conversation, Yue Qingyuan tugs on his sleeve.
Liu Qingge shoots him a look. His friend never breaches any type of public conduct when there are others around, going as far to use formal language. And yet, he pulls insistently until Liu Qingge looks to where he’s been nodding. Shen Qingqiu has seated himself and is drinking from a teacup behind his fan. Standing behind his chair is… another Shen Qingqiu? This one is wearing less elaborate pale green robes, and uses a fa zan rather than a crown to pull his hair back in a similar style. He is also talking to a familiar person - the lanky Shang Qinghua. The only reason Liu Qingge knows the man is because he is betrothed to a high-ranking aristocrat from the North.
“How about A-yuan, isn’t he pretty? It looks like everyone here would love to dance with him.” Yue Qingyuan lowers his voice and leans close again, looking expectantly at Liu Qingge.
Liu Qingge brushes him off his sleeve and strides off towards the refreshments. As he passes by, Shen Yuan does not look away from his friend, apparently completely focused on the eccentric man.
“Barely tolerable. Nothing to tempt me.” Liu Qingge finally decides to say when it is clear Yue Qingyuan is not going to let him off.
The man has the audacity to frown (though if they were alone Liu Qingge is afraid he may have even pouted ) and then goes right back to staring at the seated twin.
Unbeknownst to either, Shen Yuan has progressed under his brother’s strict tutelage long enough to develop the advanced hearing of all cultivators and was clenching his own cup quite tightly. He squints up at Shang Qinghua.
“Am I not a pretty boy?” Shen Yuan whispers to his friend, pointedly ignoring his brother’s judgemental look.
Shang Qinghua nods hurriedly, reaching out to pat Shen Yuan’s shoulder. “Yes, of course you are. That man is just asexual.”
Shen Yuan and Shen Qingqiu turn to share a look that appears to be completely blank. Shang Qinghua does not catch either’s amused twitch nor the way they resolutely look at him like he’s insane. Thankfully, it’s enough to distract Shen Yuan into going back to teasing his friend. He lets out a short laugh when Shang Qinghua launches into his personal torture thinking the man he loved had never felt an emotion in his life even though they’d had so much history since childhood and doesn't notice the way Liu Qingge turns from his table and watches the smile spread across Shen Yuan’s face.
Mu Qingfang, who had been explaining a particular herb and it’s difficult location to Liu Qingge, noticed his friend’s attention was drifting and decided to help him out.
“Oh, have you met Shen Yuan before?” He asks.
Liu Qingge whips his head back, ponytail almost smacking Yue Qingyuan in the face. “What? No.”
Mu Qingfang drops his cup and drags Liu Qingge over. The man could easily dig his heels in and resist but Yue Qingyuan is eagerly following after and the party of three they're approaching has already noticed.
“Hello, Master Shen, Lord Shen, Master Shang.” Mu Qingfang nods towards all of them in turn, though only Shen Yuan and Shang Qinghua bow back. Shen Qingqiu slowly deigns to stand in front of them, though his expression is decidedly bored. “Let me introduce my good friend, Lord Liu.”
Again, Shen Yuan salutes in his direction, though Liu Qingge notices the lack of eye contact. What, he’s not as interesting to look at as Shang Qinghua?
Speaking of, the man begins to speak. “Oh, we know. They did that whole announcement thing before he walked in. And like, who doesn't know the Liu’s? They’re load-” Shang Qinghua is promptly cut-off by a choked sound. When Liu Qingge glances down he sees Shen Yuan lifting his foot away after presumably stomping on his friend. “Ahem. S-so… how are you, Lord Liu? Last time we met you were trying to understand those interesting sonnets sent by Lady Gu.”
Liu Qingge is mildly taken aback. He can't even recall the last time they met, though it’s likely Shang Qinghua’s mousy figure was completely obscured by his very large fiance. As for which lady and what sonnets he referred to, Liu Qingge almost feels like they're speaking a different language. For some reason, when Shen Yuan’s curious gaze drifts over to him, he feels incredibly hot around the ears.
“Oh, I remember that. I think she started the trend for comparing men to swords with her poetry.” Mu Qingfang suddenly says, which immediately sends Shang Qinghua into a peal of laughter.
“Oh, is that where it originated? This one wonders if she was the first to discover the power of poetry in driving away love.” Shen Yuan says, pale eyes glinting with what Liu Qingge assumes is snark.
Liu Qingge, who does not even remember this woman nor the lines she wrote, suddenly feels quite defensive. “I thought that poetry was the food of love.”
He ignores how everyone turns to look at him, instead watching when Shen Yuan finally looks at him.
“Oh for fine, stout love it may.” He answers, the corners of his lips quirking up. “But if it is only a vague inclination this one is convinced one poor sonnet will kill it stone dead.”
Shen Qingqiu shifts slightly at his brother’s side, like he wants to interrupt, though his expression remains hidden behind his fan. Yue Qingyuan has not stopped watching the man throughout the entire conversation.
“So what do you recommend? To encourage… affection.” Liu Qingge lets the foreign word slip past his tongue, focus entirely on the way a real smile begins to spread across Shen Yuan’s face.
“Dancing.” He answers, turning his face slightly. “Even if one’s partner is barely tolerable.”
In the few beats of quiet, wherein Liu Qingge stops hearing the chatter and music around him and only the thump, thump, thump of what must be his heartbeat, he finds that Shen Yuan is indeed quite pretty. Even prettier when he bows and walks away, tugging his brother after him. For once, Liu Qingge cannot fault Yue Qingyuan for the way he stares after them, since he is doing the same.
“And why do you need me to get them?” Liu Qingge stares down at the list his sister has dumped into his hands. “Why not a servant?”
Liu Mingyan turns away to rearrange things at her writing desk and answers without looking at him. “It’s sensitive content, Ge, how can you let just anyone see Mingyan’s things?”
Liu Qingge is not completely stupid. He is fully aware his sister is exploiting his reluctant love for her but he sighs and accepts the task regardless. He hates going into town to shop. Or just going into town at all. But Liu Mingyan has long known he would do anything for her.
So that’s how he finds himself in a strangely decorated bookshop getting a very suspicious squint from the owner. He pauses to wonder what his sister could possibly be buying but concludes even if it isn't educational, he should allow her to be spoiled. Liu Mingyan had been very young when their parents passed away, and she probably missed out on all the ways they would have ruined her.
Armed with the knowledge that he is doing a good deed, Liu Qingge allows the bookshop owner to gather the materials he requested and stares out into the market street. A willowy, elegant figure in white and green immediately catches his eye.
Liu Qingge gapes as Shen Yuan (it must be Shen Yuan, since he is not holding a fan and there is even a small smile on his face) takes another sack of what seems to be food and adds it to his already full cart.
To his astonishment, the man does not stop there. He continues to stop at each stall, packing up some sort of snack or food and adding it to his collection like he’s a bear hoarding for the cold.
Liu Qingge wonders, have the Shen brothers somehow lost their residence? Why would he be acting like such a glutton in a public space?
“Your….books, sir.” The bookshop owner interrupts his thinking, and Liu Qingge snaps forward to pay for his sister’s things. He grabs the package (which is surprisingly heavy, has Liu Mingyan always been this dedicated to reading?) and strides out into the street. A quick glance lets him catch sight of the corner of a flashing robe as it turns the corner, and he finds himself following.
This is a good opportunity, he thinks as he chases the distant figure floating along the thin alleyway they’ve entered. If he can catch Shen Yuan in a morally questionable act he can finally convince Yue Qingyuan he must direct his interests towards another family.
And yet, all thoughts of his beloved, unsuspecting friend are wiped from his mind when he realizes where Shen Yuan has stopped.
The man in question has yet to notice Liu Qingge’s presence, as he’s busy smiling down at a gathering of excited, babbling children. They’re all dressed in barely stitched together rags but they beam brightly up at Shen Yuan as he carefully hands out his packages.
Oh.
A voice sounding suspiciously like his sister berates him in his mind. But Liu Qingge isn’t listening, his brain seems to fill with white noise the longer he watches the man in front of him squat down and pet one of the kids’ matted hair.
Liu Qingge eventually shakes himself out of it, turning away and walking back into the busy street. He prides himself on being a logical, steadfast man. He has been so for a long time, having to grow up fast to understand the weight of his inheritance and then raise his only family. And yet, he’s completely misunderstood a man just by the actions of his brother.
“Ah, Lord Liu?” Liu Qingge’s head snaps up to find Shen Yuan has returned, now with an empty cart. “How are you?”
He watches as Shen Yuan bows faintly, polite smile stamped onto his face. It’s quite different from how he looked with the children, eyes shuttered off from emotion. Liu Qingge does not realize that he has not answered in any human way and is just staring into the cultivator’s soul.
Shen Yuan clears his throat and shifts on his feet. “Um… sorry to bother you. You must be busy. This one will disturb you no longer.” He saltures again, turning the other way and briskly walking off like he can't stand to be there. Liu Qingge finally snaps out of it, but Shen Yuan is a blurry figure by the time he thinks of what he could have said.
Well. So much for all of Liu Mingyan’s “polite smalltalk” training. Liu Qingge, uncaring he is in a public space and one of the most well-known aristocrats in the country, sinks into a crouch and buries his face into his hands.