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Perhaps, thought Lan Qiren as the dark miasma enveloped him and dug its thick and poisonous fingers into his skin with an agonizing burn-like pain, this was karma. Quickly, while there was still breath in his lungs he glanced at Wei Wuxian’s pale and resigned face, for once, he could not blame the boy for this.
This mess could have never been predicted. For who among them would have suspected the Mingshi’s protections would fail?
To die next to Wei Wuxian in the very heart of the Cloud Recesses was his karma, and he deserved it for all that he had put the boy and Wangji through. Moving on shaking legs, he thought back to Wangji’s silent despair during those first years of his marriage when Qiren and the elders had run a vicious and prejudiced campaign against his husband. He thought of Wangji’s coldness that remained to this very day and Wei Wuxian’s wide and forced smiles whenever he was in Lan Qiren’s presence.
He thought of the burnt bridges and lost opportunities that had become his family and decided that for once, he would do the right thing.
As his breath began to fail, the evil energy suffocating him and strangling his lungs with dark scorching fingers, he recalled Wangji’s love for the boy, and as the dark mist became thicker and thicker he reached blindly for Wei Wuxian’s wrist and dragged him against his chest, hiding his face from those that observed from the outside, powerless to stop what the Yiling Laozu had not been able to defeat. Wangji did not deserve to see his beloved die a second time.
“Thank you,” he whispered to the boy's hair with his last breath, “for loving Wangji.”
The last thing Lan Qiren saw before his lungs collapsed were the red eyes of the Yiling Laozu as the ringing in his ears was replaced by the desperate echo of Wangji’s guqin.
“Shufu? Shufu, can you hear me?”
Truth be told, Lan Qiren had not expected to breathe again, nor to feel the soothing reassurance of his heart beating inside his chest, so he took a deep breath in and held it until it hurt before exhaling. Doing it all over again a few more times to remind himself that he’d survived that dreadful event, before opening his eyes and nearly choking on his spit at the sight that greeted him back into the land of the living.
His nephews were at his bedside as expected but, Xichen had not looked so young and unburdened since before the war, his round cheeks free of the wariness that had marred the pale porcelain of his face the last time Lan Qiren had dared to visit the Hanshi and tried to make Xichen leave seclusion. But it was Wangji’s face that made him choke up in unshed tears and guilt, there was no caution in his younger nephew’s eyes as he looked at him. When had it been the last time Wangji had looked at him without the weight that Qiren’s mistakes had placed upon his eyes? When had it been the last time Wangji had looked at him with complete trust?
Lan Qiren could no longer remember.
But that was not the crux of the matter, no, what baffled him was the fact that his nephews were teenagers and Lan Qiren had the sudden certainty that he had indeed been dead a few minutes ago. Thus, he allowed himself some internal panic and cursing as he analyzed the situation and tried to make sense of it.
“What happened?” he asked through cracked lips.
Xichen sent a glance to his brother before trying to give his uncle a comforting smile, but Lan Qiren saw straight through it. Back then he’d used to be able to read his nephews--or at least Xichen-- so well.
“Tell me.”
“Shufu had a Qi deviation yesterday,” explained Wangji, “during the middle of the lesson.”
“And?” prompted Qiren as Xichen helped him sit up against the headboard and gently sipped on the cup of water offered to him.
Xichen carried on softly. “Wei-gongzi attempted to assist, but he suffered a Qi deviation the moment he touched you, Shufu.”
We died together, does that mean we are in the same predicament? Had the circumstances of their death truly sent their souls back in time?
“Is he well?”
“He remains unconscious as of this morning,” said Xichen. “The healers still don’t know what caused your Qi deviation and by consequence Wei-Gongzi’s.” At Lan Qiren’s frown he rushed to add, “But they have some theories and are working hard on it, Shufu.”
Of course, they only had theories, Lan Qiren had never suffered a proper Qi deviation in his life despite Wei Wuxian’s and later on Wangji’s best attempts, and despite his blood pressure, it had been nothing his golden core had not been able to manage. By the time of his death, Lan Qiren had been as healthy as he could have been.
Now, almost two decades before the war and all its ramifications, there should have been no cause for him to suffer a Qi deviation so strong as to knock him down for almost two days. If he’d truly been sent back through time then there was no way he would tell his nephews the truth, he would not submit them to the horrors that had haunted their family again, not by word and not by their vivid imagination. Thus, he required a plausible explanation for his current condition, one that would lead to no further questioning or examination so he could ponder on his next actions carefully. He needed to be ready to counter whatever wild scheme Wei Wuxian would, no doubt, come forth with. Except, when it finally came to him he had to clear his throat roughly to mask the heat pooling at his cheeks, and avoid looking at his nephews’ eyes.
The boys he had failed once.
He would not fail them again.
What did his honor matter, compared to his nephews’ happiness?
The truth, if his assumptions were correct, was that both he and Wei Wuxian were in a position to prevent many wrongs. And even if his…nephew-in-law’s consciousness had not joined him in this mess, then Lan Qiren would do his best to steer him away from the path that had destroyed him. For his family and his sect, of course.
This whole situation reeked of Wei Wuxian’s bad luck and Lan Qiren reaffirmed his thoughts that this was karma for his prejudice against the boy. If this was his punishment, then Lan Qiren would endure it and outsmart it, there were no other alternatives.
And, if much to his shame, life had taught him something was to lie. A little white lie here and there had spared him during some difficulties, and the one that would soon roll off his tongue was more than worthy of the rules he would break and the punishment he would assign himself at a later day.
“I’m ashamed to admit this may be my fault. Call the healers, Wangji, I only wish to say this once.”
The healers, led by their distant uncle Lan Huian— white-bearded and wrinkled, they had lost him during the burning, trapped between the flaming shelves of the healing section of the library, trying to save the life work and progress of countless Lan physicians—rushed inside and greeted him with a nod, before prodding at his meridians with his cold fingers, the healers spiritual energy traveled lightly across Lan Qiren’s body searching for any injuries his deep sleep might have hidden before retreating and pinning him down with an unamused look.
“Acting sect leader, your nephews inform us you might know the cause of your ailment?”
Lan Qiren cleared his throat once more and stroked his beard to calm himself. “I do, yes.” He looked at a distant point of the room and did his best to avoid eye contact as the words fell from his lips. “As my personal healer, you are aware of my ascetic lifestyle, I’m afraid that changed a few days ago. I’ve fallen into the temptation of such acts, my male partner might have been overexcited, and my core has been unstable since then which I’m afraid might have led to yesterday’s events. It was my stubborn belief that meditation would cure the misalignment in time, now I see I should have consulted you, Huian.”
No sooner had the healer understood the meaning of his words had he backed away with a blushing face, and, idly, at the sight of Wangji’s blushing ears and Xichen’s wide uncomfortable stare, he thought Wei Wuxian would be proud of this lie of his.
“Ah,” said the healer after a long pause. “Yes, that would explain the misalignment and the excess of Yang energy circling your meridians, it’s likely that when Wei-gongzi attempted to assist he took some of that Yang energy into himself and destabilized his own young and inexperienced core. It certainly matches the current state of his meridians.” Lan Huian shook his head and pointed a finger at Lan Qiren. “You’ll remain in observation for today, if there are no more episodes you’ll be released in the morning. I recommend mediation and no more nighttime activities until your core has settled. I shall send you the meditation manual later today. Good day, Qiren.”
As the healer rushed out of the room Lan Qiren knew he had succeeded and no one would question the reason behind his Qi deviation anymore, no one would dare to speak of it again.
He would be left to ponder on the consequences of this unexpected time travel in peace. Gods’ knew he needed silence and a good deep meditation session after all the havoc he’d been through.
Two days later, Wei Wuxian failed at muffling his laughter inside Lan Qiren’s quarters after he finished retelling the events following his awakening.
“Old man! You are shameless now! I’m proud!”
Lan Qiren exhaled harshly and fondly. “You insufferable boy.”
For some reason that made Wei Wuxian laugh harder, until Qiren placed a copy of ‘conduct’ in front of him and told him to do lines. After all, Qi deviation or not, the boy had still disturbed his lessons.
Lan Wangji had been taught the rules of his sect at his uncle’s knee, it had been his uncle who had raised him, and it had been his uncle who’d become the proudest of the disciple Wangji had grown to be. Even when Wangji broke tiny rules, his uncle turned a blind eye to it, as he turned a blind eye to Xichen’s behavior when sect leader Nie visited, and they both turned an eye when uncle raised his voice beyond what was permitted by the rules. They were not perfect, but as the descendants of the main line of the Lan clan, they tried their best to live by the precepts of their sect.
Which is why Lan Wangji was certain that he'd just suffered from a hallucination. He must have stumbled across some mind-altering plant or creature at the start of his patrol. Raising a shaking hand, Lan Wangji slapped himself in hopes of freeing himself from the power of the creature that made him hallucinate such blasphemy .
But the scene did not change and the voices that reached his cultivation-enhanced ears belonged to the individuals in question. Wei Ying’s laughter and Shufu’s voice brimming with fondness crawled inside his ears, much like he had witnessed Wei Ying sneaking inside the window Shufu’s hand had opened for him a few minutes ago.
It could not be.
Deciding his brain was playing tricks on him after today’s encounter in the library with Wei Wuxian and that cursed spring book, he turned on his feet and walked away to the other side of the Cloud Recesses trying to convince himself he’d imagined it somehow.
Except, it kept happening.
During the next few days, Lan Wangji found himself noticing more and more unwanted little things between Shufu and Wei Ying. Eyes meeting, fleeting smiles and touches than more often than not were initiated by Wei Ying but that, in Wangji’s young and inexperienced eyes seemed more at place at the courtesan houses of Caiyi, with their trusting and intimate nature, than during the detentions Wei Wuxian served with his uncle.
Even Wei Ying’s smiles— that Wangji had only begun to see for the wonder they truly were— seemed brighter and more carefree in Shufu’s presence. As if the nascent star in Wei Ying’s smile had matured and imploded into the light of a sparkling sun that bloomed only in Lan Qiren’s presence.
It caused a strange tightness to grow and twist inside Wangji’s chest every time he noticed it. His fingers would curl under his long sleeves as they ached to touch, to be held by Wei Ying’s calloused fingers, but it were Shufu’s sleeves, no longer Wangji’s, that Wei Ying tugged playfully at with that wide smirk of his.
Lan Wangji became prey to an itch that, he realized with dread, would only be satisfied when he managed to direct the splendor of Wei Ying’s laughter back to him, where it belonged, where it had initially sprouted on.
And so, sick with an illness of the heart few find a cure for, he returned to the tree in front of Shufu’s chambers, hiding behind its broad body, and watched— golden eyes fixed in the dark for the tiniest of movement— for an entire week, carefully tweaking his night patrol schedule as to be the only one patrolling the surroundings of Shufu’s chamber; and the cold hard truth stared back at him with a sharp mocking smile.
Five times Lan Wangji saw Wei Ying sneaking into Shufu’s room in the middle of the night. Five times. That he knew off. And so, Lan Wangji did what he usually did when he was confused and in need of answers, he went to his brother and dragged him down to their Shufu’s rooms the next night to stand vigil. If Xiongzhang saw it too, then Wangji’s eyes had not deceived him and Wei Ying had entered their uncle’s chamber multiple nights in a row, alone, and had not left till morning.
Promiscuity is forbidden, Shufu.
Besides, what had Shufu done to make Wei Ying like him that way?
“Wangji,” hissed Xichen beside him, both of them hidden behind the thick trunk of the tree that stood directly across from their uncle’s chambers. “Are you certain of this? Maybe you are mistaken and Shufu’s partner bears a resemblance to Wei-gongzi?”
Xichen knew that recently, as his little brother’s feelings shaped into a romantic-oriented direction regarding Wei Wuxian his mind had become a bit unstable when it came to the object of his affections. Wangji had come to him in distress a lot this past few months after being submitted to Wei Wuxian’s bright and lovely smile. Wangji’s words, not his. Perhaps the denial of his blooming feelings had made him conjure the scene he’d used as an excuse to drag Xichen here today.
Uncle would not bed a man younger than Wangji. Uncle would no-
Quick as lightning Wei Wuxian, identified by the red ribbon in his hair and the moonlight shining across his pale face, sneaked to the side of their uncle’s room and knocked lightly on the window. And to Xichen’s eternal astonishment they became witnesses to their uncle’s hand opening said window and helping Wei Wuxian climb inside his chambers.
Wangji was right. Uncle and Wei Wuxian…had their Qi deviation been a coincidence at all? or had it been the consequence of their nightly activities? And uncle had said…he had recently been overexcited in acts of…of sexual manner.
Oh gods’ Wangji was right.
Their uncle…Their uncle was…
“Old man! Did you miss me?” They heard Wei Wuxian’s voice as they approached Shufu’s house, their ears strained to listen despite using their Qi to enhance them.
“Less and less every day, boy.” Came uncle’s reply, the bluntness of his words contrasted by the tenderness of his voice. “We have an important matter to discuss today, it must be resolved once and for all.”
“What matter?” asked Wei Wuxian, they could hear him dragging his feet inside the room.
“Marriage.” Said their uncle. “We have delayed the matter long enough as it is.”
Lan Xichen was unable to discern the next words for Wangji made a strange, strangled sound and stumbled backward into his bum. And while Xichen rushed to help him back on his feet, his little brother’s face twisted into an expression Xichen had never seen before, his eyes were too wide and his lips pressed into a severe white line, and he was not breathing! More accurately, Wangji seemed to be breathing wrong, inhaling too harshly and too quickly and exhaling in short erratic puffs of air as his hand shook in Xichen’s tender grip.
“Wangji!” Whispered Xichen in a hushed scream. “Wangji! Breathe!”
He placed his hands on Wangji’s shoulders and squeezed firmly, resisting the urge to shake his brother until he regained his senses, he watched avidly as color returned to Wangji’s face, and with a terrified whisper, his brother seemed to exhale his heart out of his lungs.
“ I like Wei Ying.” He realized dreadfully.
Wangji’s lip wobbled and the sight of his brother staring down at his soil-stained hands in front of their uncle’s house, with quiet tears in his eyes, broke Xichen’s heart.
“XiongZhang, I like Wei Ying. And he- he’s-“
Unable to stand the sight of his little brother falling apart any longer, Xichen pulled him into a tight hug, Wangji’s face hidden into his chest, and patted at his hair, fingers massaging the base of Wangji’s skull as he used to do when they’d been younger.
“Oh, A’Zhan, it will be alright,” he pressed his cheek to Wangji’s temple, “you’ll see.”
“How?” Wangji buried his nose into his brother’s neck and sniffed loudly. “XiongZhang I thought he… maybe he… it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Shh, come on, A’Zhan let’s go back. We’ll deal with this in the morning, you can stay at the Hanshi tonight, how does that sound, didi?”
Hands fisted into the back of Xichen’s robes, Lan Wangji gave a small nod. “Hm.” And allowed himself to be taken away by his brother.
But morning did nothing but rub Wangji’s loss into his face. During the morning meal, as Shufu walked up to his seat at the head table he stopped briefly at Wei Wuxian’s spot among the visiting disciples— and Wei Ying who’d seemed about to fall asleep into his bowl of rice suddenly perked up with a wide grin that brought up the pink of his lips against the white of his teeth. A sight Lan Wangji was bewitched by and that was not his to feast upon. Shufu produced a small jar from his sleeves and handed it over to Wei Wuxian, who gave up such a happy trill at Shufu’s present, his delight almost palpable in the air, that Wangji’s fingers curled into fists under the table and he forced himself to look away.
Of course, now that they’d decided upon marriage it was only natural for Shufu to court his intended with small gifts before the official announcement was made.
Another delighted sound left Wei Ying’s lips as he opened Shufu’s present and proceeded to pour its contents— an extremely offensive red-looking sauce— into his food with that toothy grin that Wangji had been drawn to a few days ago when Wei Wuxian had gifted a couple of rabbits. Of course that had been before Wangji knew about his relationship with Shufu, before he realized he should not even dream of that smile directed at him.
That smile belonged to Shufu. It should have been Wangji’s, maybe if he’d realized his feelings sooner before Wei Ying fell for Shufu’s charms. It should have been his.
At his seat by Xichen’s side, Shufu seemed to be hiding a smile behind his cup of tea, and under the table, Xichen squeezed Wangji’s knee soothingly when Wangji’s chopsticks cracked between his fingers at the moan that left Wei Ying’s mouth at the first bite of bright red food.
Shufu had caused that.
Lan Wangji took a deep breath and bore down on his food, chewing with more force than necessary as he reminded himself that jealousy was forbidden, that if Shufu was happy, Wangji should be happy for him.
Wangji would be happy for Shufu, even if it killed him.
Things continued to escalate in the coming weeks, as Wei Ying finished yet another punishment assigned by Shufu and supervised by Wangji in the library pavilion, where more often than not Shufu would drop by unannounced to ‘supervise.’ Events tested Wanjgi’s resolve as Wei Ying babbled about millions of things, he talked about marriage, falling in love with such an awesome person, and journeys he would like to make on a donkey’s back in the same breath as he suddenly grew silent and pensive, staring deeply at Wangji, scanning his every movement as if attempting to sear the picture of him into his overexcited mind. With his outgoing nature and easy touches, he kept giving Wangji hope where there was none.
And when that hope was born, delicate and warm, in the way Wei Ying would lean against him or rest his head against his shoulder and call his name so eagerly; it was crushed when Shufu entered the room and commanded the full of Wei Ying’s attention.
Wangji may not have known much about people and social interactions but he knew enough to interpret the mischief-filled glances Wei Ying kept sending to Shufu and his uncle’s answering pinched expressions. If Wei Ying looked at him like that he would also have trouble reigning himself.
That kind of thought made him wish to go into seclusion, to yearn for the undisturbed peace of the Jingshi, but he would be locked down while Shufu and Wei Ying were free to do other things. The thought irked him more than it should and he knew that if went into seclusion he would drive himself mad somehow with dreams of Wei Ying being his instead of Shufu’s.
This way, though painful, reminded him of the cold truth of the events.
Shufu, he complained internally, couldn’t you have chosen someone else? Why did it have to be Wei Ying?
“Lan Zhan!” Cheered Wei Ying during one of the rare occasions Shufu did not join them. “Guess what happened! Aiyo, Lan Zhan, it was so cool!”
Wangji kept his mouth shut and his eyes firmly fixed on the book he’d chosen for today’s supervision of Wei Ying’s freshly ordered punishment— punishments that Shufu kept adding to or instructing to happen for some reason as if he enjoyed knowing where and when he could find Wei Ying during the day, or to ensure Wei Ying would be on his best behavior so that the elders had no objections toward the match when the suggestion was brought before them— and carried on with his resolve to put down his feelings for Wei Ying. Wei Ying was about to marry Shufu, and Wangji had to learn to keep his distance.
“Lan Zhan! Lan-er-gege, don’t ignore me!”
It was proving difficult.
Wangji risked a glance at Wei Ying’s wide gray eyes and his pink, puffed cheeks. His resolve crumbled with the might of a boot crushing an ant. Wei Ying was adorable, fuck. Swearing was also forbidden, just like his feelings for Wei Ying. Shifting on his knees until there was only a book width of space between them, he looked straight into Wei Ying’s eyes.
Lan Wangji was weak, but no one could have resisted the temptation of Wei Ying’s pouty lips and wide eyes, nor the effect of the bright blush across the bridge of his nose that became brighter the moment their knees touched. Wangji would assign himself a harsh punishment for this…for this defiance.
“What?”
“Hm?” Blinked Wei Wuxian, looking up at Lan Zhan’s eyes, their noses so close to each other they were a breath away from touching, the delicious blush on Wei Ying’s nose extended across his cheeks and down his neck, Wangji’s fingers ached to touch, to feel the warmth of his flesh, he even dared to wonder what it would be like to place his lips upon that rose-tinted cheek.
He was doomed. So fucking doomed.
Lan Wangji took a deep breath and dug his fingernails into his thighs to ground himself, but did not move to separate himself from Wei Ying. “What happened today?”
Wei Wuxian did not seem to mind the lack of personal space between them and proudly announced, “XianSheng was so cool!”
It soured Wangji to no end and he found himself fighting down a scowl, he should not have asked. Of course, it was about Shufu.
“The peacock was being rude and he dared to disrespect my Shijie! Shijie is the nicest, Lan Zhan, you would love her! But— that annoying Jin peacock who does he think he is, ha?!— he bad-mouthed Shijie! Called her plain and weak and said he dared to be dissatisfied with her! Can you believe his nerve!”
“No.”
Wei Ying nodded, appeased, and carried on with his tale. “Exactly! So, I was about to make him shut his mouth when XianSheng stepped in and silenced him with that fancy silence spell of yours. The peacock went so red, haha!” Wei Ying threw his head back as he laughed, exposing the tantalizing column of his neck to Wangji’s hungry eyes. “And the best part was that XianSheng scolded the lights out of him, he even made him write Shijie a letter detailing everything he did wrong and expressing his sincere apologies for it! Serves him right! How dare he think himself too good for my Shijie!”
It was very clear by the spark in Wei Ying’s eyes that he thought the world of Shufu. Exhaling softly, he pointed at Wei Ying’s unfinished assignment and urged him to finish before mealtime. Wei Ying pouted, his lower lip sticking out prettily, and Lan Wangji had to look away at the sudden and unwelcome urge to bite it.
“Lan Zhan, you are no fun!”
I could be fun, Wangji thought distractedly, and just as he was about to send his self-restraint down the hill, Shufu came into the room and cleared his throat harshly, making Wangji push himself as far from Wei Ying as he could, and look down at the floor with burning ears.
“Wangji, with me. Now.”
Shame filled him to the point it made him dizzy, and he missed a step as he stood up and followed Lan Qiren out of the library pavilion, he tried to decipher his uncle’s mood by the set of his shoulders but all he could think about was how close he’d been to Wei Ying just a moment ago, the warmth of their touching knees and their breaths mixing, of how easy it would have been to steal a kiss. Had Shufu noticed as well? Would he have known if Wangji gave into his basest of instincts and kissed Wei Ying as wildly as he’d dreamed of doing?
He must have noticed how close they were, and if the situations were reversed and Wangji were to marry Wei Ying and found him in such a compromising position, he would be enraged and jealous to the point of blindness.
Wangji, resisting the urge to fight for Wei Ying, for the right of also courting the man Shufu loved, lowered his head. He was thinking like his father as if Wei Ying was something he could own, and he wasn’t. Wei Ying was the prettiest person he’d ever seen because he was free, with his words, with his laughter, with his friendship, sharing his joy and brightness, Wangji would not take that from him. Not now, not ever. And if being with Shufu added to that joy…
“Shufu, I apologize”
Even when he did not want to be sorry.
Lan Qiren stopped walking, his back to Wangji, his hands, which were folded behind his back, had knuckles so white it gave testament to the strength of his uncle’s anger. Lan Qiren inhaled sharply, never turning to look at Wangji’s face, but it made his voice no less severe.
“Wangji,” began Lan Qiren. “I know this is hard. That the situation is not ideal, nor what was expected. But I had hoped you would understand and restrained yourself accordingly. I know it’s difficult to resist the impulses born from our deepest feelings and the temptation they bring along. But the wedding will be soon, and as my nephew I expect you to be on your best behavior until then.” Lan Qiren gave Lan Wangji a reprimanding glare from above his shoulder. “Is that clear, Wangji?”
A muscle jumped in Wangji’s jaw from how hard he was clenching his teeth as he replied. “Yes, Shufu. It will not happen again.”
“See that it doesn't.”
It was easier said than done, the next time Wangji saw Wei Wuxian since what he’d labeled as the “library incident” due to Shufu’s machinations stopping Wangji from supervising any more of Wei Ying’s punishments, instead it was Shufu who did it now, spending entire afternoons with Wei Ying’s chatter filling his ears, while all Wangji could do was watch him from afar. Thus the next time he saw Wei Ying, Wangji was totally and completely unprepared for it.
“Lan Zhan!” cried out Wei Ying from outside the Lanshi as they exited the classroom, finally free of today’s lesson. “Lan Zhan, come here, look at this!”
And Wangji turned around in time for Wei Ying to hop up to him with a bright grin and two sticks of tanghulu in his hand. “Lan Zhan look! Old man Qiren gave them to me! Want one?”
“No.”
“Come one, Lan Zhan! Share with me, you fuddy duddy!” whined Wei Wuxian as he poked at Lan Wangji’s cheek with a stick of tanghulu. “Friends share candy! We are more than friends!”
“We are not,” replied Lan Wangji valiantly, but it paled in comparison to the pout on Wei Ying’s lips as he realized Wangji was serious.
“Fine! If you don’t want it, then more for me!”
And proceeded to shove the two tanghulu sticks into his mouth, his lips stretching wetly around the hard candy, and the slurping sounds obscene against the air, even Wei Ying’s smile, glistening with spit, around the candy seemed to be drawn out of the depths of a lascivious spring book.
Wangji took a step forth, and Shufu was descending upon them with a furious scowl and a scream, brandishing a book as if it was a sword and pointing it at Wangji as he dragged Wei Ying away from him.
Perhaps he should give seclusion a second thought.
When news arrived of sect leader Jiang’s imminent arrival, Lan Wangji spent the entire afternoon hiding in his brother’s room, hoping the vivacity of the Hanshi would help him where the silence of the Jingshi had turned the song he’d begun to compose with Wei Ying into a melancholic and bitter melody in comparison to the soft, tentative notes of love and sunshine that had adorned the beginning of it.
“Have you talked to Wei-gongizi about this, A’Zhan?”
“No.” Why would he? He had no desire to see Wei Ying’s eyes sparkle as he spoke about Shufu.
XiongZhang offered him an encouraging smile. “You should do it, with the wedding date close to being set, it might bring you some closure.”
Wangji did not want closure. He wanted Wei Ying. But he knew he stood no chance against a man as experienced and honorable as Shufu. It was hopeless.
Wei Wuxian took a shuddering breath, rubbed his sweaty palms on his clothed knees, and gave Lan Qiren a quivering glance. “Are you sure it will go well, old man?”
Lan Qiren pinched the bridge of his nose. “Wuxian, for the tenth time, Jiang Fengmian has no reason to reject the marriage. I’m certain, his doubts will disappear the moment he sees you and Wangji interact together.” He offered the boy what he hoped was a reassuring pat on the shoulder before shooing him toward his seat. “Everything else has gone according to plan, why shouldn’t this?”
Lan Qiren was right, once the initial shock and psychological trauma had passed, their plans had gone smoothly. Already the fire-extinguishing talismans they had created together were drawn into the borders of the Cloud Recesses as a contingency plan in case things went south and they could not keep Wen Xu from reaching GusuLan. Their first contact with Wen Qing had gone better than expected after the initial suspicion had diminished, and the surprising trust Wen Ning was showing Wei Wuxian had caught them off guard, like the apparent glimpses of the future that plagued the young man. An echo of the bond he’d shared with the ghost general, he had explained to Lan Qiren upon his return from Yiling to where he’d sneaked with the help of Lan Qiren and a training night hunt as an excuse.
Pieces were falling into place, some more easily than others, but they were making changes. And of all the wrongs they’d sought to right, the idea of his marriage to Lan Zhan not happening or going askew in this new timeline had him crawling up the walls.
That and the prospect of seeing the Jiangs again.
By the time they’d died, Wei Wuxian had not seen Jiang Cheng for years and knew only of him by way of Jin Ling’s tales. He’d long since made his peace with the memories of Jiang Fengmian, Yu-furen, and Shijie (beautiful Shijie to whom he’d taken to write letters the moment he realized she was still alive, because he was selfish like that and he wanted Shijie to be part of his life). Seeing them again would surely mess up his head in a way only Lan Zhan’s hugs could heal.
Exhaling harshly he sat down on his hands to hide their tremors and looked back at Lan Qiren. “It’s not just my silly fear of Lan Zhan not agreeing to such a quick wedding, I know Er-gege will be happy to marry me and he would have already kissed me if you stopped interrupting us!” He pointed an accusing finger at Lan Qiren’s face before looking down at his hands again. “I’m not used to having a guardian anymore. It’s strange to need someone else’s approval to marry the man I love.” Wei Wuxian rested his chin in his palm and pouted. “You should have let me drag Lan Zhan away and elope again! I’ll be having my every day already! The wait is torture!”
“Wuxian!” Lan Qiren shouted halfway scandalized and halfway fondly as he threw one of the books on his desk at the boy’s head. He ducked, as always. “Be patient, you menace! This is but a formality and the wedding will happen soon enough. This time, I will see Wangji in red and you properly registered into the family records, and you will not deny me of it.”
Wei Wuxian’s pout gave way to an unusually serious expression, his eyes took a distant air as he stared at something above Lan Qiren’s shoulder. “Your support was all Lan Zhan ever wanted, you know? Back then, you didn’t have to approve, he did not expect you to. But he wanted your support, you are the only father he ever knew and your disapproval hurt him. Deeply.” Wei Wuxian looked down at his hands. “We almost left, when the elders placed those rules about me on the wall.”
Lan Qiren’s chest constricted at the thought of his nephew walking past the archway and never coming back again, driven away from his home because of Lan Qiren’s stubbornness and prejudice. “Why didn’t you?”
Wei Wuxian shrugged helplessly, “I had already lost my home, twice. I was not going to let Lan Zhan experience what that felt like, my baobei did not deserve it.” He shook his head as if dispelling dark thoughts and added softly. “ Also, Sizhui. We didn’t have in us to strip him from another home.” He rubbed his face into his shoulder to dry an errant tear and smiled again. “Aiyo! I cannot wait to see him grow up! This time I’ll be there for him too!”
“Yes,” said Lan Qiren firmly, vowing to never make the mistakes of his past (future?) again, besides the boy had grown on him, like a pest that never left. “You will. And since you are no longer a criminal, I expect many more grandnephews.”
“Five! At least! Note that in the negotiations! I want lots and lots of babies with Lan Zhan!”
Lan Qiren fought down a smile. “Lower your voice, menace. They should be here any moment now.”
Lan Qiren hoped fervently that the meeting would go smoothly, for he could not take any more of Wangji’s “kicked puppy” expressions whenever he took Wei Wuxian away from him to preserve whatever honor the boy had left. The sooner the negotiations were over and the date set, the better.
A sharp knock on the door halted their conversation and Lan Qiren sat straight and shot Wei Wuxian a glare telling him to behave before the doors were opened, Jiang Fengmian entered accompanied by his wife and son, Lan Qiren’s nephews escorting them to their seats before taking their own, each on one side of Wei Wuxian.
From the corner of his eye, Lan Qiren saw Wei Wuxian’s tense shoulders and the way he paled under his tan. If this went according to plan this would be the last time Wei Wuxian would be subtimed to Jiang Fengmian’s poor parenting and Yu Ziyuan’s glares.
After hours and days of listening to the boy babble incessantly about his life in the Jiang household, Qiren decided that Wangji’s beloved would not be subjected to that treatment ever again, not from him and not from Yu Ziyuan.
Wei Wuxia would be safe inside the Cloud Recesses. The wedding date would be set to the day after the lectures ended, even if he had to fight tooth and nail for it, Wei Wuxian would never be away from Wangji ever again. Lan Qiren wanted him where, if he decided to follow that unholy path again-- as he already showed signs of doing--, he would be cared for and sheltered from the imbalance that created the chaos that led to his first death.
The first step for that just happened, very conveniently, to be Wei Wuxian’s marriage to Wangji.
Oh, he thought sardonically, how the tables had turned. Him caring for the Yiling Laozu.
“A’Xian,” greeted Jiang Fengmian after his greeting to Lan Qiren, a small grin on his face that did nothing to hide the concern in his voice. “It is good to see you.”
“Jiang-Shushu,” and Lan Qiren could not be the only one who saw the way Wei Wuxian’s lip trembled as he struggled to form a smile. “A’Xian is happy to see you, thank you for coming so quickly!” His voice chirpier as if he had not been about to cry the moment he saw Jiang Fengmian enter the room.
Jiang Fengmian gave a not-so-subtle glance at Lan Qiren before centering back on his ward. “Of course, both yours and Qiren’s letters were insistent on the urgency of the matter, though it still baffles me, A’Xian. You’ve never mentioned marriage before, and it’s so sudden.”
Wei Wuxian beamed up. “It’s love at first sight! The moment I saw him, I knew he was it for me, Jiang-Shushu!”
Lan Wangji made a choked noise from the side, so quiet Wei Wuxian would have missed it had he not been a cultivator and he smiled brighter, it made him giggity, that at this moment in time, he could still surprise Lan Zhan with his bold declarations of love.
Yu-furen scoffed at him eyes filled with scorn, Lan Qiren, feeling the atmosphere sour, cleared his throat loudly.
“GusuLan appreciates the promptness of your arrival, Fengmian.” He made a gesture to the copy of the document at Jiang Fengmian’s low wooden desk. “ It would be of great benefit for the sake of the honor of those involved if we proceed with the wedding planning at once.”
Yu-furen turned to give Lan Qiren a derisive smile, before turning her poisonous glare back to Wei Wuxian. “Assuming you have left him any honor, Lan-Xiansheng. ” She said mockingly.
It took precious moments of heavy silence for Lan Qiren to understand the meaning behind her words, he opened and closed his mouth several times willing his voice to resurge back from where the shock of the accusation hurled at his feet had dragged it down. He crossed a baffled look with Wei Wuxian, whose face had gone pale and pink and was turning an alarming shade of red.
“Excuse me!” Demanded Lan Qiren, slamming his palm against the desk. “What exactly are you implying, Yu Ziyuan!”
“Oh, please,” her lips twisted into a poisonous smirk and carried on speaking despite Jiang Fengmian’s attempts to silence her. “Now that we are at this point, there is no use in denying it anymore. Wanyin has informed us of the care you’ve been providing him with, as well as the nighttime visits Wei Wuxian has been eagerly gracing you with.” Yu Ziyuan made an expression that managed to be both insulting and filled with disgust. “It should not have surprised me that the son turned out to be as easy as the mother.”
“Sang-Niang!” Roared Jiang Fengmian. “That is enough!”
Yu Ziyuan crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at Wei Wuxian. “It’s not like it’s not true. At least your bastard had the decency to get himself an unmarried man, and a Lan to that. At least he has some ambition.”
Lan Qiren was certain she had managed to insult her husband, Wei Wuxian, Cangse Sanren, and him in a single sentence.
This woman! Fumed Lan Qiren.
“The wedding,” said Qiren through gritted teeth, “is for Wei Wuxian and Wangji, my nephew. And I assure you, your ward's honor remains intact, despite Wangji’s wishes.”
Lan Qiren turned to give his youngest nephew a nod, so he might help Qiren diffuse this stupid misunderstanding, only to find Wangji looking back at him with wide unblinking eyes. A mirror of Xichen’s expression.
No.
Surely his nephews had not thought… Him and that…that boy!? The thought sent shivers down his spine and a sudden bout of nausea made his face turn slightly green.
“Ah, haha, Lan Zhan,” began Wei Wuxian with a stretched smile and a pleading tone in his voice. “Lan Zhan, you know I fancy you, right? Er-gege please tell me you didn’t think I was banging your uncle. Please. ”
And Lan Wangji, dazed and disoriented by the fact that this meeting was for his marriage negotiations-- his and Wei Ying’s wedding-- could only reply numbly. “Lying is forbidden.”
Wei Wuxian let out a whine of utter despair and proceeded to climb into Lan Wangji’s lap, pressing their chests together and shamelessly tugging on the second jade’s ribbon. “Er-gege! Lan Zhan! You almost kissed me in the library! And I saw the way you looked at me! I talked to you about marriage!”
“Thought Wei Ying would marry Shufu.” Lan Wangji blinked several times and looked down at where Wei Wuxian’s thighs parted around his waist, his ears turned red as he looked at Wei Wuxian from under his eyelashes. “I want to kiss Wei Ying.”
“Yes!” Cried out Wei Wuxian and-- much to the mortification of those inside the room that had grown silent at the shameless display (except Lan Qiren, he had suddenly decided the roof was his new favorite spot)-- began to place quick and short kisses on Wangji’s lips.
“Want to marry Wei Ying.” Sighed Lan Wangji between kisses, ears red and eyes glazed as Wei Wuxian rubbed their foreheads together. “Now.”
“Yes!”
And there they went, Wei Wuxian dragging Lan Wangji out of the room by his forehead ribbon and in the direction of the ancestral hall where they would make their three kowtows, eloping. Again.
Lan Qiren was having none of it. Not in this life, not under his roof.
Not again.
Lan Qiren stood up in one swift movement and ignoring the Jiangs and his own nephews' questions he barked orders at Xichen and to the poor disciples passing by his office as he stepped down the stairs.
“Xichen, bring two red robes, they don’t have to fit, and a veil for Wei Wuxian. Hurry! Hurry!” Then he turned to the disciples. “Bring the elders and the family registry to the ancestral hall, at once! Run if you must! Wangji’s honor is at stake!”
Orders given, he took one deep breath, reading himself mentally for his next actions, and broke into fast running steps, arriving at the ancestral hall in time to stop Wangji from kneeling next to Wei Wuxian. Lan Qiren pointed a finger in Wei Wuxian's direction. “You will do this properly!”
Wei Wuxian pouted, reading himself to protest when Lan Xichen arrived with two red, oversized robes in his arms and a red veil that Lan Qiren threw hastily at Wei Wuxian, before helping Wangji fasten the belt of his red robe and Xichen rushed to stand before the two of them as the elders entered the room in varying degrees of panic and rush.
Distantly, Lan Qiren could hear the elders' outraged voices and questions, he could hear Wei Wuxian’s delighted laughter echoing inside the room and see the amusement in Wangji’s usually glaring eyes, but Lan Qiren did not have time for this, no instead he dragged Jiang Fengmian to stand at Xichen’s right while he positioned himself at his nephews left.
His fellow elders might not see the need for such drastic actions, but Lan Qiren knew Wei Wuxian. Hell, Lan Qiren knew his nephew better than anyone, and he knew the shameless things they were capable of doing together. Who knew what mischief they would manage if their wedding was put on hold?
Lan Qiren shivered to think of it.
He instructed one of the elders to record Wei Wuxian into the family registry as soon as the ceremony was over, and he found himself pleasantly surprised when Jiang Wanyin entered the room with a piece of red cloth that had seen better days, and placed it between the grooms, such crude item, but it would do given the circumstances.
“First bow, to heaven and earth!” Said Xichen, fulfilling his role as impromptu officiator, effectively silencing any protest left by the elders or the Jiang family. Lan Qiren watched critically as Wei Wuxian--veil almost slipping from his head-- and Wangji made their first bow together.
“Second bow, to the parents!”
They bowed in synchrony to Jiang Fengmian and Lan Qiren, from the corner of his eye, Qiren could have sworn he saw Jiang Fengmian shed a tear.
“Third bow, to each other!”
After the final vow, Wangji removed the veil from Wei Wuxian’s face and using the bolt of red cloth, that Lan Qiren realized was one of Wei Wuxian’s sashes, Xichen tied their hands together and announced the married couple as Qiren made sure the family registry was updated.
When Wei Wuxian dragged Wangji away to the Jingshi, Lan Qiren turned his harsh eyes to Jiang Fengmian, they still had a marriage contract to negotiate. GusuLan would get a proper dowry for Wei Wuxian if only to see Yu Ziyuan squirm after the accusations she had hurled at him.
Honestly, how disgusting. Only Jin Guangshan would sink that low.
Lan Qiren sat snugly at the library pavilion, a book in his hand and his grand-nephew sleeping softly against his chest. Not A’Yuan who had arrived to them just five years ago after his parents passed during an illness outbreak in Dafan, but the newborn that had lost his parents last week to a yaoguai and had been brought home by Wei Wuxian.
His fifth grandnephew, Wei Quan.
Soft, ink-stained hands tugged at his sleeve, Lan Qiren turned and looked down at the boy who would one day be Sizhui. “Yes?” He asked softly.
Lan Yuan beamed up at him, “I wrote for Shufu!” he said excitedly and showed Lan Qiren a page of what were supposed to be characters but came across as a blurred blob.
Lan Qiren smiled, “Such great calligraphy, Yuan-er, just like your A’Die.”
Lan Yuan let out a quiet laugh and went back to his messy table to keep practicing his writing alongside A’Yi (JingYi) and under the supervision of his older brothers-- a pair of twins Wangji had found orphaned as he returned from one of his night hunts-- Lan Lei and Lan Xíng.
Ten long years had passed by since Wangji’s hurried wedding had taken place, and in the slow crawl of those days long past many things had led to the peacefulness that currently filled Lan Qiren’s chest with an ease he had all but forgotten after the war. Under Wei Wuxian’s and Wen Qing’s scheme, Wen Ruohan and his sons had died nine years ago from a sudden illness that had also taken some of Wen Ruohan’s most fanatic retainers; the resulting chaos had led to Wen Qing becoming sect leader with her brother as her right-hand man. The utter chaos that had followed Wen Ruohan’s death and QishanWen’s sect succession fights had ensured war and world domination could not fit into the sect's budget for a few more decades, that and Wen Qing’s superb leadership.
War avoided, Lan Qiren had presented Wei Wuxian with the wedding gift he’d been working on since before their hurried ceremony and led him to a small house in the distant forests of the Cloud Recesses, where he would not be disturbed during his invention process or preoccupied if his tinkering led to explosions, as it had often done in that nightmarish future they had left behind. Now, GusuLan and Wei Wuxian were making incredible profits not just from the compass of evil and the spirit attraction flag, but from dozens of inventions that seemed to burst out of Wei Wuxian’s genius brain every year. And if he’d made sure Wei Wuxian had a teacher spot in Talisman and array lessons as well as a jar of wine for dinner, no one could fault him for his favoritism, not even Wangji.
It would have been better if Wei Wuxian had not gone back to that cursed mountain to carve his cursed dizi again, but Wei Wuxian had given no further explanation aside from “Chenqing keeps me grounded,” and in light of his continuous, if more moderated, exploring of the unorthodox path, Lan Qiren had no choice but to allow the cursed flute to exist.
At least, the menace allowed Wangji to play clarity for him every night and the healers to examine his golden core every month.
Some things could not be avoided.
Some things had solved themselves in unexpected ways. For example, amid QishanWen’s struggle, Jin Guangshan tried to take advantage and seize the opportunity to place his sect at the top, only for him to choke on an olive during one of his more passionate speeches and left the sect in the hands of a young and confused Jin Zixuan--who, by now, had been happily married to Jiang Yanli for five years and was the happy father of a toddling Jin Rulan.
Jin Zixuan who had taken one look at Meng Yao and welcomed him into the sect and in time promoted him to his right-hand man, a path that while it had made him cross paths with Xichen, had not seen them forge the same bond as before. Lan Qiren was happy to note that his oldest nephew remained in blissful happiness in his not-so-platonic relationship with Nie Mingjue; and now that Xichen had adopted A’Yi as his heir, there was nothing the elders could do to protest Xichen’s choice of remaining single.
It should also be noted that no one, absolutely no one, dared to speak of that brief period when everyone had thought Lan Qiren had an inappropriate relationship with his nephew-in-law; the only sect leader that had tried to-- Su She-- had left the cloud recesses in shame and disgrace after Wangji had ended him in three short sentences sharper than Bichen’s edge.
Yes, thought Lan Qiren joyfully as Wei Wuxian entered the library pavilion, loudly calling for his children, Wangji happily trailing after him with a rabbit in his arms, dying and traveling back through time with the Yiling Patriarch had been his karma and his redemption.