Chapter Text
Jiang Cheng is no amateur. Days back in Cloud Recesses were spent keeping Nie Huaisang company and by company, it meant helping him with his studies and offering rewards for every exam he passes.
Really, when Nie Huaisang graduated, the celebration was marvelous.
During the Sunshot Campaign, wartime trysts were common too. Jiang Cheng initially had no plan to participate in such activities, until he was propositioned by Nie Mingjue, who he sparred with and debated battle strategies with, which led to hours in caves, forests, and on top of a table. You name it.
The regular intimacies helped quell the effects of Qi Deviation—with Nie Mingjue put in a coma instead of dying .
And Lan Xichen, well, after the war, Lan Xichen needed to let off some steam whenever his two sworn brothers are hostile towards each other, and Jiang Cheng is always there to offer solace. That, and he enjoys the look on Lan Wangji's face whenever Jiang Cheng reminds him that "I am fucking your older brother".
With the matter of his children, it all started out of spite.
It was a passing comment, by Sect Leader Yao, saying that the Jiang bloodline is doomed. And Jiang Cheng, who had to fight for scraps of approval his whole life, had to prove him wrong.
The first opportunity started with his Meishan Yu aunt, arranging him a date with a maiden from a prominent minor sect. Young Mistress Sun checked every mark on Jiang Cheng's list of an ideal madame, but of course he ruined their date with his snarky attitude.
So it came to him as a surprise when Young Mistress Sun still offered to ‘spend the night together since it's obvious that we wouldn't be able to spend our lives together’ .
The first moments were tender—the softness that Jiang Cheng couldn't give through words, he gave through actions. Until Young Mistress Sun, blissful in her hazy stupor, held Jiang Cheng by the jaw and exclaimed, "Spit on my mouth and call me a whore."
To which Jiang Cheng complied. He loves to be of service.
Oh, it's not that Jiang Cheng and his paramours do not practice safely. It's just that Young Mistress Sun expressed her desire to conceive Jiang Cheng a child (and so did most women after her) and even when Jin Ling costs too much effort, Jiang Cheng still took the opportunity.
And after the intense night, Young Mistress Sun bid him farewell with a chaste kiss on the cheek, and another as a gratitude for taking care of her after the deed.
It's only the first date. There was a second one. Then, a third. And the rest were mostly chance encounters and appointments..
The cycle is similar. A date. His attitude (which some women do like, but only during bedroom activities). Then an offer to spend the night in each other's arms. Though there are times wherein some ladies have a particular practice to get into the mood, which features playing a character and yes, Jiang Cheng already played an Emperor, a war veteran, a teacher (Zidian had to be put to good use), a farmer, and, well, a father.
—Jiang Cheng was haunted at first before he started to see the appeal.
Sometimes it is not only women he was arranged to date. Some are cultivators from other sects who he happened to encounter with during night hunts, some are engaged to be wed who wishes to experience the best (which is a horrible idea since they will ultimately be disappointed by their husbands for the rest of their life), some recently had spouses who passed away, some, cultivators or not, would just drop their letters to Lotus Pier detailing their request.
Lots of letters. So little time.
One cannot fault Jiang Cheng for responding to some of these requests all at once. In the ladies' hidden society, Yunmeng Jiang is notorious for the massive dinners they observe weekly. That's why it's no wonder that when the news of Jin Guangshan's demise reached Lotus Pier, Jiang Cheng's 2nd-in-command advised him to tone it down, especially when he still meets with Lan Xichen on occasion.
So weekly became monthly but apparently, the number of women scheduling an appointment doubled so they had to revert back to weekly except that this time, there's a healer involved.
But Jiang Cheng wanted to spend more time with his children, and so the weekly became a quarterly event.
"Just how good are you that even mistresses from far beyond would hop on your dick?" Yu Meihong sighs, taking another sip of liquor as he exasperatedly creates another schedule.
Jiang Cheng snorts, self-deprecatingly, "Not good enough for marriage."
Yes, Jiang Cheng is still blacklisted in terms of romantic relationships and marriage, but if you check another semi-private document regarding who is prolific (and has the best skill in bed), well, someone has to rank first.
Women love him enough for sex but not enough for marriage and Jiang Cheng does not begrudge them for that because a) he does have issues which people find unbearable, b) his own parents' example ruined the whole concept for him, and c) women have needs too.
(Jiang Cheng is still trying to get rid of the memory of accidentally seeing his mother's trusted maidens assisting her with her physiological needs.)
But even when this whole endeavor only started out of spite, Jiang Cheng does not deny the happiness and pride he has felt when his eldest child, a daughter, is handed to him.
And he has felt that happiness over and over again whenever a baby, swaddled in a blanket and placed in a basket, is brought to Lotus Pier.