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Chapter Text

The weather had started pretty good that morning, only to quickly degrade as time passed. It was nearly a full blown storm by the time the bride's sedan appeared down the road, with such rain and wind that would ruin everyone's clothes. Jin Ling took it as a bad omen. But of course, Jin Ling was in a mood where he would have found fault even with sunny weather. The blue skies were mocking his misery, he would have said. Still, it was very stormy, and that felt appropriate for the most mismatched wedding the world had ever seen. 

Naturally, Jin Guangshan was to blame. Jin Ling used to adore the man who spoiled him rotten, but in recent years he'd somewhat revised that opinion. At now fifteen, Jin Ling was starting to suspect that everything wrong with his sect could be traced back to his grandfather. It was an opinion he kept to himself. People were already quick to call him insolent, arrogant, or ungrateful, he didn't want to prove them right. Besides, grown-ups hated it when young people were smarter than them, and Jin Ling suspected many adults in his life hadn't yet realised what a problem their sect leader was. 

But really, it had been Jin Guangshan's idea, this wedding, as well as the alliance going with it. And he'd refused to listen to reason when anyone had pointed out the risks, which was one thing. But he'd also not paid any mind to his oldest grandson's very real emotions on the topic, which Jin Ling hadn't expected. He was the oldest grandson, the future heir. He'd thought his wishes would have more weight than that, but Jin Guangshan had been quick to put him back in his place, letting him know nobody cared about what he wanted.

And now Jin Ling was getting married, against his will. 

As the bride's sedan came closer, it became noticeable that people were accompanying it. Jin Ling squinted, trying to get a look at his future spouse's friends and relatives. Instead he saw nothing but a dozen corpses, some half rotten, others as fresh as if they'd just died, which had to be worse. There was only one living person visible, a gaunt man wearing dark robes who walked in front of the rest. Even without ever meeting him, Jin Ling knew this had to be Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch, the entire reason for this whole stupid wedding. 

At last, the bridal sedan arrived in front of Carp Tower's gates. The sedan's door opened and Jin Ling got a first peek at his bride, a slender figure dressed in red, whose head was covered by an opaque veil of the same colour. When that person stepped out, Jin Ling wondered if there had been a change of plan, if Wei Wuxian had found a daughter of his own after all, one he was willing to sacrifice for Jin money. There was no way this small, frail figure belonged to the boy of seventeen whom the Jin sect had bought. This bride was shorter than Jin Ling, and more slender too, when already Jin Ling was at that difficult stage of growth when his entire body seemed made of bones with no flesh attached. A girl would be a better deal, of course, as she could give the Jin sect an heir. But she'd be in more danger with some of her in-laws, especially if she had the misfortune of being the least bit pretty. 

But no, this had to be a boy. There was a very flat chest as a first hint, and then the hands peeking out of the sleeves, the only visible part of this newcomer, looked too big and rough for a girl. This really had to be Wen Yuan, the bastard son to whom Wei Wuxian hadn't deigned to give his own name. 

Jin Zixuan nudged his son, and Jin Ling stepped forward to offer his hand to his bride. This earned him a glare for Wei Wuxian, as if somehow Jin Ling was at fault for this situation, as if it weren't Wei Wuxian himself who had sold them his own child. Wen Yuan did not move. Perhaps the veil was too thick, and he couldn't see Jin Ling's hand. Or else he saw it, and just didn't want to take it, to make Jin Ling look foolish. 

“We welcome you here,” Jin Ling said, sounding awkward to his own ears. “We hope… we hope our preparations for this joyful day will satisfy you.”

Wei Wuxian's glare intensified, seizing Jin Ling with terror he couldn't control. It wasn't just him, either. Behind him, the adults were shifting uncomfortably. Even Jin Ling's mother looked ready to jump in, as if she didn't quite trust her childhood friend after all. 

“I will take the money before I give you the boy,” Wei Wuxian announced. 

Jin Guangshan stepped closer, although he did not dare approach as much as Jin Ling had. 

“We have it, of course. But surely such matters can wait until after the ceremony? We have prepared a banquet that you will surely…”

“I will have the money now,” Wei Wuxian cut him, his expression darker still. “And I will not step inside Carp Tower, not unless my people can follow me there.” 

Saying this, he gestured at the corpses which had now gathered behind him in two neat rows, like an army following its commander. 

“Someone go get the chest,” Jin Guangshan ordered. “Guangyao ! Hurry!” 

Jin Guangyao rushed away, and the wait began, made uncomfortable by the rain and the wind. Even with his pretty good cultivation, Jin Ling was starting to feel cold, and he knew he couldn't be the only one. His mother had to be miserable, and his younger siblings too. It gave Jin Ling some twisted joy to notice that Wen Yuan was shivering too, suffering as well from the capricious whims of his father, but that was short lived. Wei Wuxian himself appeared untouched by the dreadful weather, still standing tall and proud to glare at everyone, never noticing the discomfort of his own child. But then again, what more could be expected of a father so willing to sell his son? 

At last Jin Guangyao returned, carrying a small chest Jin Ling knew to be filled with gold. The price of Wen Yuan's life, of Jin Ling's own ruined future. Wei Wuxian opened the chest to check its content, something Jin Ling found unspeakably rude, while knowing his grandfather would have done the same had the positions been reversed. When he was satisfied with what he'd counted, Wei Wuxian handed the chest to one of his corpse soldiers. He then turned to Jin Ling, his expression severe. 

“If anything happens to my son, I will make your family wish you were never born,” Wei Wuxian warned. “And I'll make you watch everything I do to them, until there's nothing left of this sect but ashes. This is my son, and your treatment of him will be taken as a reflection of your respect for me. Am I clear?” 

Jin Ling quickly nodded, so nervous he could hardly breathe. Wei Wuxian turned his cold eyes to Jin Guangshan. 

“The same goes for you, and for that son of yours.”

While Jin Guangshan swore that Wen Yuan would be treated well, Jin Ling wondered why Wei Wuxian was worried his father of all people would do anything bad. It was fair to be wary of Jin Ling himself, who as a husband could easily mistreat his new bride if he wished, although he'd been raised better than that. And as for Jin Guangshan… The less said, the better. But Jin Zixuan ? He was universally well liked, and well respected, with a reputation for kindness. Why would Wei Wuxian think his son would be the exception to Jin Zixuan's kind disposition? Was Jin Ling's new bride so unlikeable that even his father might get irritated? 

While Jin Ling worried, Wei Wuxian took his son in his arms and hugged him tight. It would have seemed like a sincerely affectionate goodbye, had Jin Ling not known how much money his father-in-law was earning from this.

“Don't forget what I've taught you,” Wei Wuxian ordered Wen Yuan, his voice wavering. “Let me know immediately if anything is wrong. I meant it, I won't let anyone hurt you.” 

Wen Yuan nodded, but said nothing. And yet when Jin Ling was finally allowed to take his bride's hand to guide him inside Carp Tower, he found the older boy's fingers were icy and shaking from emotions he couldn't hide. 

Wei Wuxian watched as the entire Jin sect followed the young couple, all of them in a hurry to put distance between him and them. Glancing back, Jin Ling saw his mother linger a moment, hesitating to approach the man who had once been a boy she knew, before her husband lead her away so she wouldn't miss any part of her son's wedding. 

-

It felt wrong to get married to someone who didn't have a single person representing their family, nor a single friend. Wen Yuan might as well have been a ghost… But no, even a ghost wedding would have had relatives present, someone, anyone. 

Jin Ling knew he ought to have felt sorry for his bride, but he was too busy being humiliated that this was the spouse his grandfather had found him, someone so unwanted and isolated. Everyone his age was going to mock him and say even all of the Jin money wasn't enough to find him a decent spouse when Jin Ling's personality was so difficult. 

But the worst was yet to come. 

After every usual ceremony, Jin Ling and Wen Yuan were sent to the house they would now occupy as a married couple. It was another thing that upset Jin Ling about the whole business, being made to leave his old room to move too far away from his parents and siblings to see them as easily as he used to. He hadn't even had a choice in the decoration, so everything looked showy, the way his grandfather preferred. 

Once the door closed behind them and they were alone for the first time, Wen Yuan pulled on his veil to remove it. Jin Ling didn't have time to be disappointed he couldn't do that himself. Instead, he was faced with the greatest shock of the day, the final humiliation this marriage had to throw his way.

“Oh damn, you're ugly!” Jin Ling exclaimed. 

Wen Yuan's cold eyes turned to him, his face impassive. Maybe it didn't hurt him because he knew he was ugly. There was no way he didn't know, actually. But really, there was nothing appealing about him. He was skinny, even more so than Jin Ling had suspected. This was not the elegant slenderness of a talented cultivator, either. Instead, Wen Yuan looked as famished as a peasant after a decade of bad harvests. He was also deathly pale, making for a harsh contrast when his cold eyes were surrounded by dark circles. There had been an attempt to tie his hair elegantly, but the result was messy, his hair in such a bad condition that it couldn't hold in place. 

People said Wei Wuxian had been a handsome youth, comparable to the twin jades of Gusu Lan, and even to Jin Ling's own father. Apparently, his son had inherited none of that charm. It made Jin Ling want to cry from humiliation. They'd bought him a bride, such an expensive one, too, and this was all his family could find for him. Jin Chan and the rest of his cousins were going to laugh at him for the rest of his life. 

Jin Ling's existence was ruined for ever. 

Still, that poor half dead boy in front of him wasn't to blame. They'd both been treated like pawns by the adults around them, but maybe they could make the best of this. Ugly as he was, Wen Yuan might at least be clever, or kind, or funny, or anything at all, as long as it didn't bring Jin Ling even more shame. 

“Sorry, I was rude,” Jin Ling said. “I just didn't expect… Nevermind that. Do you want to eat?”

He gestured at the food which had been laid out for them before they even arrived, selected from the banquet his grandfather and his guests were having in the main hall. Every dish was more elaborate than the last, except for a pot of simple lotus root soup. Normally Jin Ling loved it, but everything was so awful that day, even the sight of that soup felt embarrassing. His mother was the wife of the future sect leader, she should behave like it. Now Wen Yuan was going to think this soup was among the best they could offer, and… And it was! No dish in the world could beat it, but it was just a simple soup, it had no place at a wedding banquet… But Jin Ling loved it, and his mother had made it because she loved him, and… 

“Come on, let's sit and eat,” Jin Ling grumbled. “You must be hungry.” 

He went to sit at the table. Wen Yuan hesitantly followed him, glaring at the dishes as if one of them might bite him. Maybe he really was scared, in fact, because he just sat there and didn't move to take anything. 

“You can have anything you like,” Jin Ling insisted, demonstrating by putting some food on his own plate. “All of this is for us. Or do you want to drink, first? There‘s wine here, but I can ask for water or tea if you'd prefer.”

Wen Yuan said nothing, and still didn't move. Maybe he was one of Wei Wuxian's fierce corpses, Jin Ling wondered, before quickly dismissing the idea. There were arrays in place around Carp Tower, a fierce corpse couldn't have gone in without notice. His new bride was alive. Rude, unpleasant, ugly, but alive.

“If you don't eat meat, that dish is vegetarian,” Jin Ling offered. “That one too, I think. And there's fried rice here, I don't think that has meat. Just eat something, alright?” 

Still silent, Wen Yuan watched him like a hawk. Maybe he was deaf. Maybe he was stupid? Maybe he'd grown up surrounded only by walking corpses, never getting a chance to develop social skills or learn any manners. 

Maybe… 

Maybe Jin Ling was too angry to care anymore. He'd done his best to be welcoming, he'd done his duty as a new husband, what more was he supposed to do? If Wen Yuan didn't want to eat, he could starve for all Jin Ling cared. But as for Jin Ling himself, he started scarfing down food, because he hadn't had anything since dawn anyway. 

Almost immediately, Wen Yuan served himself some of the same dishes Jin Ling was eating, and started his meal. He ate only small pieces, and very slowly at that, as if the richest foods the Jin sect could offer didn't quite satisfy him. Or maybe he feared poison, Jin Ling realised when he tried other foods, only for his new husband to try them after him, never eating anything that Jin Ling hadn't tasted first. As if they'd be stupid enough to hurt Wen Yuan, when it might start a conflict with Wei Wuxian. 

When they were done eating, Jin Ling had servants take away the leftovers. He made sure to stand near his new bride until they left, and to smile as if the situation were a pleasing one. He didn't want to give his grandfather any reason to be displeased with him, on top of everything else. 

Alone again with his husband, Jin Ling ought to have chatted with him. A wedding night was a good occasion to get to know one's spouse after all. But Wen Yuan hadn't said a single word so far, and Jin Ling doubted it was about to change. So although it was still early in the day, Jin Ling showed Wen Yuan his bedroom. Jin Guangshan, with his views of marital fidelity, had agreed the newlyweds should be allowed separate rooms. A small kindness, easily granted when he had no grandchildren to expect from that union. Wen Yuan did not look surprised to have his own space, nor pleased, nor even upset. His indifference appeared limitless. Without even thanking Jin Ling or wishing him good night, Wen Yuan entered the room and promptly closed the door behind him. 

This had to be the worst wedding in history, Jin Ling miserably thought as he walked to his own room. A fitting prelude for what was sure to be the most miserable marriage ever, worse even than that of his grandparents, who hadn't spoken to each other in five years at that point. It was just so unfair, and Jin Ling wanted to die, so everyone would miss him and regret that they'd forced him to marry that corpse-like boy. Or maybe he run away to Yunmeng and ask his uncle to adopt him and then someone else could get his husband. Jin Chan, maybe. They'd make a fitting couple, both of them unpleasant to look at, and even worse to be around. 

Or else, or else… 

Jin Ling fell asleep like that, imagining elaborate scenarios that freed him from this nightmare, quite certain that he was the most unfortunate person who had ever lived.

Chapter Text

Wen Yuan's first encounter with his new in-law didn't go quite as bad as Jin Ling feared.

Still, it was far from ideal.

First of all, Wen Yuan overslept. Then, he took an eternity putting on the new clothes of golden silk he'd been gifted, only to put all of them wrong. Jin Ling, kindly, stepped closer, reaching out to at least fix Wen Yuan's collar. His hand was promptly slapped away, and his husband glared at him as angrily as if Jin Ling had tried to assault him. 

“Fine, look like a mess for all I care,” Jin Ling snapped. “But I tried to help, remember that!”

Wen Yuan frowned, his too pale cheeks colouring slightly, as if he were the one who had any reason to be embarrassed, when it was Jin Ling who would be really humiliated to be seen with his new husband. 

And indeed, when they met with Jin Ling's parents and grandparents for breakfast, everybody looked shocked to discover Wen Yuan's face. None of them had met him beforehand. The whole engagement had been set up through letters, followed by one single encounter between Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao acting on strict instructions from his father. Wen Yuan's appearance had never been discussed, Jin Ling suspected, because they'd all assumed any young cultivator would look healthy and decently handsome. 

Wei Wuxian had to be laughing, all the way back in Yiling. 

Still, it was a little rude, the way everyone stared at Wen Yuan without a single movement to greet him. Jin Ling couldn’t be the one to breach the silence, or else he’d have been rude, but it became tempting the longer everyone refused to say anything. Thankfully Jiang Yanli soon recovered from her shock, and smiled warmly at her new son-in-law. 

“Wen Yuan, we are so pleased to meet you,” she said, gesturing for Jin Ling and him to sit down.

Jin Ling promptly obeyed, taking his usual place between his father and the twins, but Wen Yuan did not move, standing awkwardly next to the table, as if he couldn't see an extra spot had been left empty between Jin Zixuan and Jin Ruyi.

“I am honoured to be here,” Wen Yuan mumbled with a deep bow toward Jin Guangshan first, and then Jin Zixuan. His voice was rough, his enunciation poor, as if he weren't used to speaking. “Thank you for letting me join your family, I will try to be worthy.” 

Both of Jin Ling's grandparents frowned and exchanged a concerned look, before remembering they hated each other too much to bond over disdain for a new in-law. 

“I'm sure you will be fine,” Jin Guangshan told Wen Yuan. “Don't hesitate to tell Rulan if anything troubles you. It is a husband's job to make his wife happy and comfortable.” 

The entire family looked away from him, shocked that he'd dare to say such a thing, worried he might take offence at their shock. Only his wife dared to glare at him, but she was the only one who needn't fear him. 

“Speaking of which,” Jin Guangshan went on, “while you are more than welcome to join your husband and my disciples in training, we don't expect you to entirely drop your previous cultivation method either. Just tell us what accommodations you need, and it will be arranged.”

“Thank you,” Wen Yuan mumbled, finally going to sit with his husband. 

Jin Guangshan stared at him, clearly hoping for more of an answer so he could start gleaning information about the Yiling sect's methods, but Wen Yuan remained silent.

In fact, nobody managed to get more than a word or two out of him after that, much to the annoyance of Jin Ling's grandparents.

Jiang Yanli casually mentioned the great distance from Yiling to Carp Tower, and what a long and exhausting experience a wedding day was. With such an excuse provided for him, it was harder for Jin Guangshan to complain too much about young people and their bad manners. But even her skill couldn't have saved Wen Yuan from reproaches if anyone besides Jin Ling had noticed his odd eating pattern. Like the previous night, Wen Yuan never ate anything unless he saw someone else eat it first, and even then he ate very little, very slowly. When that pattern repeated at lunch and dinner, Jin Ling became convinced his new husband really feared poison, and he wondered if that was a reflection of his own sect's reputation, or of life in the Burial Mounds. 

The rest of the day was somewhat uneventful, although not quiet by any means. Wen Yuan had to be introduced to a number of elders and relatives, as well as the higher ranking disciples of the sect, and the servants who would work for Jin Ling and him. The entire time, Wen Yuan hardly said a word, which Jin Ling thought was for the best. His husband wouldn't embarrass him as much if he didn't speak.

On the next day, their new normal life was set to commence. Jin Ling was dreading going back to his usual training schedule, knowing he’d have to face his cousin Jin Chan and his opinions, so he allowed himself to be late for the first classes. It wasn’t his fault, he told himself. Wen Yuan still wasn’t awake at the hour training was meant to start, and Jin Ling couldn’t possibly leave without letting his poor husband know where he was going. Not that Wen Yuan particularly cared when he did wake up at last and Jin Ling told him, but it was as good an excuse as any.

“You can come along if you want,” Jin Ling offered. “To watch, or to participate. I think it’s hand to hand combat this morning. Otherwise, you’re free to do as you like all day as long as you don’t get in trouble.”

Wen Yuan frowned, and slowly shook his head. Wise of him, really. Being small, skinny, and associated with Jin Ling in any way was too much of an invitation to be bullied by Jin Chan. And then Jin Ling would be the one getting in trouble for not protecting his husband, while Jin Chan would probably be praised by his asshole dad. Everyone knew Jin Zixun held a deep grudge against Wei Wuxian, and that he’d threatened to leave the sect over that marriage. He'd only agreed to stay because Jin Guangshan himself had asked him to, as a personal favour from a nephew to his uncle. Or at leat, that was the official version. Everyone knew Jin Zixun had no friends outside the sect, and was involved in some shady business with his uncle.

Well Jin Ling thought he should have left, and taken his idiot son along with him.

Just as Jin Ling feared, Jin Chan started mocking him from the moment he joined the other junior disciples. Accusations of enjoying his new bride's company too much to be on time were thrown at him, followed by jokes about the ugliness of said bride, something which Jin Guangshan had apparently complained about to half the sect already.

Jin Ling did his best to ignore his cousin, knowing that Jin Chan would pose himself as the true victim if he dared to punch him in the face. Already, Jin Ling had a somewhat bad reputation among teachers, who thought he was arrogant (he preferred skilled ), capricious (determined), hot-headed (brave!) and unwilling to admit his faults (because he had none). He couldn’t add violent to that list, no matter how much his fists itched.

Also, it would upset his parents to learn he’d been fighting again, even though he was a married man now, practically an adult, someone his younger siblings should be able to look up to.

So Jin Ling withstood every horror his cousin shout-whispered at the other boys while the teacher pretended not to notice, and then escaped as fast as he could once the lesson was over. 

He was supposed to eat with the other junior at lunches, because his father believed it was good for him to be around boys his age. But really, Jin Ling usually went directly to the kitchen to get food, and then either ate there or took it somewhere hidden so his father wouldn’t discover him being antisocial. Sometimes it was his room, but currently that wasn't an option because his husband might still be there. Jin Ling wasn’t in the mood to deal with yet another person who didn’t like him. 

Instead he went to hang out in Jin Guangyao’s office. His little uncle welcomed him warmly, and let him play with his dog too. It should have been Jin Ling’s dog anyway, but his grandfather had refused it on his behalf for stupid reasons so his uncle had been forced to keep it. Jin Guangyao was so overworked he rarely had time for poor Fairy, so Jin Ling was really the one training it, and even secretly took it on Night Hunts if he could do it without his grandfather’s knowledge. 

Fairy might as well have been Jin Ling’s dog, really.

In exchange for letting him hide at lunch, Jin Guangyao made Jin Ling help sorting some papers. It was their usual deal, and it allowed Jin Ling to tell his father he was taking an interest in sect business, another thing Jin Zixuan was really weird and insistent about. 

A year or two ago, he’d overheard his father tell his mother that he, Jin Ling, was too much like Jin Zixuan himself had been at that age. The way he’d said it, it hadn’t sounded like a compliment. Soon after that, Jin Ling had been given new rules to follow, like having lunch with other juniors, and helping his father and little uncle with various tasks, and also his mother had a very awkward talk with him about how he should be nice to girls but not too nice either, in case they got the wrong idea and thought he was like his grandfather.

Grown-ups were weird.

In the afternoon, Jin Ling had more lessons to attend with his cousin, but he skipped them and went to practise archery instead. He’d seen enough of Jin Chan and the others already, and wasn’t sure he’d manage to keep his temper in check.

At the end of the day, Jin Ling finally returned to his house to pick up his new husband, so they could eat dinner with the rest of the family, the only meal they all had together, although his grandparents regularly found reasons not to attend. He couldn’t be sure, but he suspected that Wen Yuan had not left his room all day. Not only that, but it seemed as though he hadn’t eaten anything all along. There was a tray full of food on a table, probably lunch, and all of it was intact. And Jin Ling had already eaten breakfast by the time Wen Yuan woke up, so it was possible he’d eaten nothing all morning as well.

Jin Ling felt a little guilty for that. Sure it was stupid of Wen Yuan to fear poison, but Jin Ling should have made more of an effort to at least have breakfast with him. And did they show that boy were to go have lunch if he wanted to eat in company? The previous day had been so full, Jin Ling couldn’t remember. At least Wen Yuan was able to eat at dinner, but he was so thin that it couldn’t be good for him to skip meals like that.

The next day, Jin Ling was again unable to have breakfast with his husband. Wen Yuan overslept again, but Jin Ling had been threatened with punishment if he was late that morning too. He still made sure to return to their home at noon to show Wen Yuan where he could have lunch. He didn’t stay to eat with him, though, because he’d promised Jin Guangyao to give him a hand brushing Fairy.

As he walked away, Jin Ling glanced behind and saw that Wen Yuan, after some hesitation, decided not to enter the refectory and instead headed back for their home.

Well .

Jin Ling had tried . The rest was out of his hands.

The following days went on much the same. Wen Yuan still wouldn’t eat unless someone was present to taste the food before him, and he still refused to leave their home to be around people who could eat near him. Jin Ling tried to talk about it, but quickly got the impression that Wen Yuan wasn't really listening, so he gave up. But his husband's refusal to eat was bad enough that one servant mentioned to Jin Ling that the food they brought to Wen Yuan always remained untouched. And if servants were concerned enough to tell him, it meant pretty soon the entirety of Carp Tower would know as well.

It wasn’t much of a surprise when his parents demanded to see him one afternoon. Jin Ling had noticed some pretty sharp looks coming from them at dinners, and whenever they spotted him throughout the day. He'd made extra effort to not linger around them too much, certain he'd get scolded for something that wasn't even his fault. But if they asked for him specifically, then it couldn't be avoided anymore.

When he arrived at his parents’ house, the first thing Jin Ling noticed was the eerie quiet. His siblings weren’t there, then, not even the baby. Maybe his parents wanted to shout at him without scaring their younger children, the ones they loved so much they weren’t married to starving mute weirdos.

His mother was sitting on a sofa, looking purposefully relaxed. His father stiffly stood beside her, a disapproving frown already on his face.

“A-Ling, come sit with me,” Jiang Yanli gently invited, patting the spot next to her. “Oh, don’t make that face. You’re not in trouble, we just want to speak to you.”

Jin Ling shrugged, and stayed standing, just as stiff as his father. His mother sighed, as if she thought he was the most unreasonable person in the entire world, but she still smiled at him.

“Alright, if you’re more comfortable like this, it’s fine,” Jiang Yanli said. “Well, I think you can imagine why we wanted to talk to you, can’t you?”

“I can’t,” Jin Ling bluntly retorted. “You’ll have to tell me.”

“A-Ling, please,” his mother started, but her husband interrupted her.

“We want to know how things are between you and Wen Yuan,” Jin Zixuan stated. “It’s not an easy situation, for either of you. How are you dealing with it?”

Jin Ling glared at him, fighting not to let his hands form fists.

“ It’s not easy for either of us ?” he shouted. “Really? That’s all you can say? What’s not easy about this for him , exactly?”

“Watch your tone,” his father warned.

Jiang Yanli put one hand on her husband’s arm, the not-so-secret signal they had when she thought he should let her handle a difficult situation. It used to really be a secret signal, but since his grandfather has ordered his marriage Jin Ling had caused it to happen so often that he’d noticed it. Now it irritated him every time, while also making him feel ashamed that even his mother thought he was a problem to be solved.

“A-Ling, we know you are upset about the marriage,” Jiang Yanli told him. “I know you think we betrayed you, but I promise you we tried everything we could to change your grandfather’s mind. We always promised ourselves none of our children would be forced to marry someone they didn’t choose, and you cannot imagine how sorry we are.”

“Sure, you are,” Jin Ling grumbled.

“It wasn’t our choice,” his mother insisted, something like distress piercing through her voice, making Jin Ling even more upset. “Your grandfather was very determined. Things are what they are now, but we want to ensure everything is going as well as it can. For you, and for Wen Yuan too. You have your family around you, your home, but that poor boy is alone among strangers, and his struggles…”

“What struggles?” Jin Ling exploded. “He’s just a useless, ugly, stupid person!”

Both of his parents startled, and exchanged a concerned look.

“A-Ling…”

“ He is !” Jin Ling shouted. “He really is stupid! Only a stupid person would still think he’s going to be poisoned after so many days here! And he’s so stupid that he never wants to leave the house, even when I invite him to come walk around with me! And he looks so bad, with his hair that’s always messy and the way he can never dress correctly! Jin Chan keeps telling me I’m married to a scarecrow and he’s not wrong! I’m the heir of the Lanling Jin sect, I’m going to rule it someday! Why do I have to be married to that guy? I’m the heir of the greatest sect, I should have my pick among all the prettiest and smartest people in the cultivation world, but instead I’m stuck with that !”

His mother’s face turned red. His father’s, white. Both of them stared at him with undisguised horror, as if they couldn’t believe that their son dared to have such feelings, when Jin Ling couldn’t imagine anyone feeling any other way if they were forced into such a cruel and unfair situation.

“He’s just the same,” Jin Zixuan whispered with undisguised horror. “Listen to him, isn’t he just the way I was?”

Tearing her eyes from her son, Jiang Yanli weakly smiled at her husband and patted him on the arm.

“Dear, now isn’t the time for this.”

“But…”

“Why don’t you let me talk with him alone?” Jiang Yanli suggested in that very gentle tone of hers that was always to be understood as a firm order. “If you’re upset over nonsense, you won’t be helpful, and this is a situation we can’t leave to fester.”

Jin Zixuan nodded with some hesitation. He strode out of the room, purposefully avoiding looking at his son. It wasn’t the first time Jin Ling felt his father was disappointed by his bad temper, but that day it particularly hurt.

“A-Ling, come sit,” his mother said when his father had closed the door behind him, still using that same gentle-suggestion-but-actually-an-order tone.

Jin Ling wanted to refuse, but a lifetime of habit was stronger. Before he knew it, he was next to his mother on the sofa. Still, as a vain act of rebellion, he sat as far from her as he could. She did not comment on it.

“A-Ling, I am not angry at you,” Jiang Yanli said. “Neither is your father.”

“ Yeah, right !”

“Right indeed,” she insisted. “He’s upset at himself, that’s all, and only because he doesn’t see things the way I do. And you… my poor little boy, have things really been that bad with that new husband of yours? Has he made you very miserable?”

“Like that matters,” Jin Ling grumbled.

“It does,” Jiang Yanli assured him, reaching to take his hand. 

Jing Ling pulled it away, but she grasped for it again, and once she had it she held it too tightly for him to think of escaping.

“A-Ling, even if we cannot dissolve the wedding when your grandfather is so determined on having this alliance, it doesn’t mean I’ll let you suffer for the sake of his ambition,” Jiang Yanli said. “If Wen Yuan is cruel to you in private, if there is something about his behaviour or manners that is objectionable, we won’t force a cohabitation.”

“He is objectionable. He is unpleasant and unworthy of being married to me.”

Jiang Yanli grimaced, but managed to turn that into a smile.

“You’ve certainly made that clear. Is it what you really think, though, or are you just angry because your cousin is mocking you about this?”

“I don’t need Jin Chan to tell me how to feel about things,” Jin Ling haughtily retorted.

“ Indeed you don’t,” Jiang Yanli agreed. “So tell me what you think of your husband, not what your cousin feels. Is Wen Yuan difficult to live with?”

Jin Ling hesitated. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to hate Wen Yuan whose arrival in his life had made everything worse. But it was always harder to be furious when he was around his mother. Maybe it was the way she really seemed to listen to him, when most grown-ups didn’t.

“ He is not… difficult as such,” Jin Ling reluctantly admitted. “Sometimes, it’s like there’s nobody at all living with me. He’s really weird, you know. I meant it, he doesn’t know how to dress or do his hair, and he refused to have servants do it for him. And also, he thinks we’re going to poison him.”

Jiang Yanli's eyebrows rose in surprise.

“He told you that?”

“No. He never speaks to me at all!” Jin Ling complained. “But it’s clear he’s scared of poison. He never eats anything if someone else hasn’t also eaten it. I know grandfather hasn’t noticed, but I worry grandmother has, and I thought you did as well.”

Jiang Yanli shook her head, a crease forming between her eyebrows. Her hand tightened on Jin Ling’s, almost painfully so.

“ I only saw that he wasn’t eating very much,” she said, “although his portions have gotten a little more lately. I thought maybe… during the Sunshot Campaign, if we rescued from the Wens someone unpracticed in inedia who had been left without food for a long time, they weren’t allowed to eat a lot, not right away. It can be dangerous, I've been told. But I don’t think… Wei Ying would never let a child of his starve, not unless something was very wrong. After what happened when he was young… he could not, I am sure of it.”

Jiang Yanli sounded so sure of herself as she said that, as if Wei Wuxian were still the same childhood friend she’d grown up with, and not a man inspiring fear in the entire cultivation world. Her mother had been very close to the man who became the Yiling Patriarch, Jin Ling knew that. He’d even heard people say that the true reason Wei Wuxian had left the Jiang sect was because Jiang Cheng hadn’t allowed him to marry his sister, opting to let her have a love match.

If that was true, then nobody must have told Jiang Yanli. She still believed that Wei Wuxian was at heart a good person, even when there was ample proof he wasn’t, like the way he was rumoured to sometimes kill his own disciples in the streets of Yiling if they displeased him.

“So these are your reproaches?” Jiang Yanli asked her son. “He has odd eating habits, he doesn’t speak a lot, and he does not pay attention to his looks. Those are things we could try to solve, I think. I will have a talk with him, if you don’t mind. Unless there are other issues?”

“Just that is already pretty bad!” Jin Ling insisted, but in spite of himself he already felt less angry at Wen Yuan.

It really was just those things that annoyed him about his husband. Anyway, the food thing mostly irritated him because he was worried Wen Yuan was going to fall sick if he kept not eating, which everyone would blame on Jin Ling. The silent treatment was also not great, but Jin Ling hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to chat either after the first day or two, so he wasn’t exactly on steady grounds to complain about that. As for Wen Yuan’s looks… well, he looked like an underfed wet rat who someone wrapped in silk robes. There was no denying it. But it wasn’t exactly his fault.

All of the rest of Jin Ling’s anger was really against a lot of other people, mostly Jin Chan and Jin Guangshan. But he wasn’t really supposed to be angry at them because they were family, so it was easier to blame Wen Yuan for everything.

“I’ll go visit your husband right away,” Jiang Yanli decided, as she got up from the sofa, pulling her son’s hand so he’d stand too. “Why don’t you go and visit your little uncle? I think playing with his dog would do you good right now.”

“ She’s a spiritual dog, mother, I don’t play with her!” Jin Ling protested, rolling his eyes. “I train her for him, because he’s so busy. It’s not fun, it’s very serious!”

“Well, go and train that puppy then,” his mother gently suggested-but-really-ordered, releasing his hand at last.

There was no resisting her when she was like that. Jin Ling walked toward the door, but stopped short of opening it.

“Mother…” he hesitantly started. “Father, he… he seemed really angry at me, earlier…”

“ I will talk to him, A-Ling,” Jiang Yanli said, coming closer to press a kiss on his temple, like Jin Ling was some sort of upset baby to comfort. “I think once I tell him what we’ve talked about, he’ll actually be proud of you. I know I am. You’re dealing with this so much more maturely than we had any right to expect.”

Jin Ling huffed, trying to pretend he didn’t need anyone’s approval, but he couldn’t completely refrain a smile as he left the house.

Chapter Text

The morning after Jin Ling had that talk with his mother, Jin Ruyi came early to her brother's door to pick up her brother-in-law. She was pretty cheerful about it, even when it turned out that Wen Yuan had failed to wake up at the agreed hour. 

This was all part of Jiang Yanli's plan to help her son-in-law feel more comfortable in his new home. Wen Yuan might have turned down all of Jin Ling's attempts at cordiality, but he hadn't dared be that rude toward his mother-in-law. So it had been decided that from that point forward, Wen Yuan would join Jiang Yanli and the children for breakfast and then spend the day with them. Jin Bai was still young enough that he was in class only half of the day, and the twins's lessons were also fairly short, because the Jin sect currently didn't try hard to educate female disciples. With those three as company, in addition to Jiang Yanli and the baby, Wen Yuan wasn't going to stay shy very long. 

Still, that first morning was a little difficult. Mostly because Jin Ruyi didn't like to wait. She must have been warned to be forgiving with her brother-in-law though, so instead she scolded Jin Ling for not waking his husband. 

“I've tried,” he retorted, rolling his eyes as he often did around her. “You go and see if you can do better!” 

“Of course I can,” Jin Ruyi claimed, confidently walking into Wen Yuan's room. 

Watching her go, Jin Ling almost pitied his husband. Jin Ruyi was an annoying brat with more ego than brain, who hated to lose and didn't care much about being rude. Some people said she was very much like Jin Ling, for all that her twin and her had their mother's gentle face. Jin Ling himself found no resemblance between them. Jin Ruyi was just supremely annoying most of the time, though he couldn't deny they made a good team whenever they were angry at the same thing. 

At the moment, Jin Ruyi being rude and annoying was an asset. She really managed to get Wen Yuan to leave his bed and get ready much faster than Jin Ling could ever have managed. She then dragged him out of the house, and Jin ling didn't see him again until dinner in common with the rest of the family. 

The same thing repeated the next day, and then the one after, until that became the new habit. 

After about a week, Wen Yuan was used enough to this new rhythm that he no longer had to be dragged out of bed. If anything, he was regularly fully dressed before Jin Ling woke up, and waiting for one of the twins to pick him up. Jin Ling took that as a sign that his husband was happy with the new way his days went on. Wen Yuan never confirmed it, but his eager wait for the girls, and the way he finally started putting on some weight, were good hints of his enjoyment. 

There were apparently more overt signs of Wen Yuan's improved happiness, but Jin Ling was not privy to those. Around him his husband remained perfectly silent and closed off, the same he'd always been. But according to Jin Bai and the twins, he was very different with them and Jiang Yanli. 

“He always plays with us when we asks,” Jin Ruyi claimed when Jin Ling caught the twins and Jin Bai one day to interrogate them. “And he laughs at all my jokes.”

Jin Ling nodded. That was fair. Jin Ruyi was annoying, but she could also be pretty funny when she wanted (although never as much as Jin Dongmei, whose subtle remarks could be as dangerous as they were hilarious, especially when she felt like being insolent to their grandfather without him ever appearing to realise it)

“He also laughs at BaiBai's jokes too,” Jin Ruyi added.

Jin Ling raised an eyebrow. His little brother, aged ten, was sweet and adorable and nearly perfect in many ways, but he couldn't tell a joke properly to save his life. He was too much like their father for that. 

“He also likes mom a lot,” Jin Ruyi went on. 

“Everyone likes mom,” Jin Ling immediately retorted. 

“But he liked her even before he met her!” his sister insisted. “His dad had told him about her. Stories about when he was little, and she took care of him. They talk about that a lot. I had no idea mom had so many stories about Wei Wuxian!”

Jin Dongmei nodded quietly when Jin Ling looked at her for confirmation. Jin Ruyi was known to sometimes exaggerate her stories, but Jin Dongmei was usually a trustworthy source, unless she felt like supporting her sister’s boasts for a laugh.

“It must be a shock for him to learn that the Yiling Patriarch used to be a funny kid,” Jin Ling said. 

Unlike his sisters, he’d heard many stories about Wei Wuxian when he was younger. At the time, there had still been hope that Yiling might turn into a normal sect. Even if Wei Wuxian had been unable to come to Jin Ling's hundred day celebration for reasons unknown to him, in secret good relationships had been maintained for a while. But a couple years after the twins were born, the Burial Mounds had stopped all communication with the rest of the world. Everyone there might as well have been dead, except for Wei Wuxian and his Ghost General going into town sometimes to exact violence onto men who had claimed links to the Yiling sect to terrorise ordinary folks. After that, Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng had stopped sharing stories about their childhood friend, so the twins and Jin Bai mostly knew Wei Wuxian as a boogeyman of sorts, the same as every other children.

“No, he’s never too surprised,” Jin Ruyi replied. “He said the Yiling Patriarch is still kind of like that, and still likes to laugh and joke.”

Again Jin Ling turned to Jin Dongmei, who nodded solemnly.

“He really said that,” she confirmed, before pouting pensively. “He said when he was little, one time his father buried him and told him he’d grow like a radish if he was watered. But then… he stopped talking for a while, and he looked sad.” She paused, looking concerned. “I think he misses home.”

“ Why would he miss home?” Jin Ruyi scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Here we have all the good food he can want, and pretty silk clothes, and we have flowers, and birds… Ge, he was so excited when we showed him my birds! He said birds don’t sing like that in Yiling. If you’re a good husband, you should get him some birds, it’ll make him happy for sure!”

The twins had received a pair of birds from Nie Huaisang when they’d turned seven. Jin Dongmei hadn’t cared too much, but Jin Ruyi was obsessed with them and had obtained more in the years since. It was her opinion that everyone should have birds, so Jin Ling never listened when she suggested that. He was more of a dog person anyway, and didn’t see the point of pets that did nothing except sit in a cage all day. Still, he was willing to reconsider, if it could improve his marital life. He made a note to ask his mother. If she also thought it might make his husband dislike him less, then Jin Ling would spend all of his allowance on really nice birds.

He’d never have admitted it, not even under torture, but it was starting to annoy him that Wen Yuan was apparently opening up to everyone in the family except his own husband. Well, his own husband and of course Jin Guangshan and his wife, but nobody who joined the family was ever expected to like them , anyway. And maybe Wen Yuan was not really warming up to Jin Zixuan either, come to think of it. But he was getting on really well with his mother-in-law and Jin Ling’s siblings, and it was so frustrating.

Jin Ling knew Wen Yuan and him didn’t need to like each other. His grandparents had ensured he knew that much about married life. But since Wen Yuan and him lived together and would continue living together for years to come, he thought it’d be more comfortable if they could get along. His grandparents’ example had also taught him how unpleasant the alternative could be.

So Jin Ling tried. He did! He made sure to ask Wen Yuan about his plans in the morning, and asked him about his day in the evening. When they ate together, Jin Ling tried his best to notice which dishes Wen Yuan liked best, and he’d make a show of eating those first, so his husband knew these weren’t poisoned. Nothing worked, though. Wen Yuan never replied to his questions, and if he noticed what pain Jin Ling took to eat things he personally sometimes hated, all for his sake, he never thought that was worth even a ‘thank you’.

It was quickly becoming exhausting, and more than a little frustrating. There were evenings when Jin Ling wanted to shout at that cold husband he was stuck with, especially on days when Jin Chan had been particularly nasty. Or if he’d seen Wen Yuan smile at his siblings, his face so bright for a moment that he became really pretty, only to turn to ice at the sight of him. Sometimes Jin Ling felt like he might explode, except he wasn’t allowed to be angry like that. His mother had said she was proud of him for the way he’d dealt with everything. He wanted her to remain proud of him. He didn’t think she’d really stop loving him if he disappointed her, but he also didn’t want to risk it.

After all…

It was a very stupid thing to worry about. But one day, about a month after Jiang Yanli had started taking active interest in her new son-in-law, Jing Ling had overheard his cousin and some other boys talking in the gardens.

At that moment, he’d been crouched behind a bush, looking for some small wild flowers that occasionally grew around. The disciples in charge of the gardens would destroy them on sight, but Jin Dongmei found them pretty, so Jin Ling sometimes collected them for her, so she could replant them somewhere hidden. When he’d heard people coming that way, Jin Ling had been worried they’d seen him and mock him for doing something so silly and he'd tried to stay hidden to avoid explaining. But when he heard their conversation, he froze entirely.

“I hear she's sleeping with him, you know,” one boy was saying, an older teenager who had poor cultivation but rich parents. There were more than a few of those in the sect. ”Since Wen Yuan is the son of her first love!” 

Jin Ling almost revealed himself by laughing. It wasn't the first time people accused his mother of once loving Wei Wuxian. He’d had that thrown at his face since before he could understand the insult. Whether that was true or not, he knew for a fact she would never betray the husband she had now, so he’d learned to ignore it. And as for having that sort of relationship with Wen Yuan… how could she, when the twins and Jin Bai were always around?

“No, you've got it wrong and it's worse than that,” Jin Chan claimed, and Jin Ling grimaced. Of course if someone was trying to badmouth his mother, his cousin was first in line. “He's not her lover. He's the son she secretly had with Wei Wuxian, before her marriage. Why else would she care so much about his education? He's her true first born… And she seems to like him more than the official one, not that I blame her. Even that half ghost kid is less of a pain in the ass than Jin Rulan!”

The boys started laughing as they passed by the bush where Jin Ling hid. he almost jumped in the middle of them to beat them up. His mother wouldn't…she hadn't ! She would never ! And even if she had , only the worst sort of monster would push one of their children to marry a half sibling!

Even if it was the only way to have him near, even if… 

Anyway, Wen Yuan didn't look anything like Jiang Yanli, or Jin Ling, or any of Jin Ling's siblings, not even his youngest brother Jin Hui, a baby who everyone said took so much from the Jiang side. Jin Chan had to be blind if he couldn't see that. Or maybe he saw and didn't care, as long as the story made his friends laugh, as long as it made Jin Ling sound stupid.

And it wasn’t true either that Jiang Yanli liked Wen Yuan better than her eldest son. It couldn’t be true. Even if she barely had any time for him these days, hadn’t really had time for him in a long while, with four younger kids to raise and all the duties of a sect leader’s daughter-in-law. Even if she had made that time for Wen Yuan, a stranger.

Even if…

She couldn’t…

Long after his cousin and the others had walked away, Jin Ling had stayed crouched by that bush, with crushed little pale flowers in his hands. His eyes had burned from trying not to cry.

He hadn’t bothered asking Wen Yuan about his day that night.

Why should he keep trying anyway, when the other party thought he wasn’t worth any effort?

Chapter Text

It wasn’t Jin Ruyi alone who came to fetch Wen Yuan that morning. Jiang Yanli was there as well, and she’d brought baby Jin Hui with her. As puzzled as he was by this change in their routine, Jin Ling greeted his mother and offered her to share their breakfast (his breakfast, really, since Wen Yuan rarely had it with him).

“I think I will, thank you,” Jiang Yanli replied, coming to sit at the table. “But A-Hui is a little fussy this morning, I think he could sleep some more after all. A-Yuan, would you mind taking him back to my house with Ruyi and putting him back in his cradle? She’ll show you how.”

Instantly, Jin Ling found that suspicious. He’d seen enough babies in his life to tell that Jin Hui didn’t seem particularly sleepy. And normally Jin Ruyi would be clamouring that she could take care of her youngest brother without help, but instead she remained meek and smiling, as if she’d been coached for it. 

Wen Yuan, less used to their family dynamics, obediently nodded and took the baby from his mother-in-law, holding him as if it were the most precious treasure in the world as he left the house with Jin Ruyi.

A little on edge, Jin Ling poured his mother some tea, which she took with a smile.

“A-Yuan really seems to love children, doesn’t he?” she remarked. “I don’t think he’s seen many of them before coming here. At least, he never mentions anyone his age or younger from Yiling. But he’s very good with them, very patient.”

Jin Ling shrugged. “Well, he’s never going to have any, so I don’t know if that’s a good thing that he likes them.”

Jiang Yanli shot her son a surprised look, but did not comment on that remark. She didn’t need to. Of course Jin Ling had said the wrong thing again, even if it was the damn truth. Wen Yuan would never have children. Jin Ling might , if he decided to become the sort of man his grandfather was, but Wen Yuan couldn’t afford that sort of scandal, not when he was the wife in this marriage.

Breakfast passed silently, which unnerved Jin Ling. His mother had to be there for a reason, and that reason couldn’t be that she just wanted to see him. Nobody ever just wanted to see him anymore. Now that he had joined the world of grown-ups thanks to his marriage, people only made time for him when they needed something from him, or so it seemed to him.

“ A-Ling, I have a favour to ask you,” Jiang Yanli said when they were done eating, proving Jin Ling right. “It is a favour, not an order, I want this to be clear. You can refuse, and I will make other arrangements. But I also think it would be best for everyone if you agreed.”

Jin Ling grimaced. “What do you want, mother?”

“It’s about Wen Yuan,” she explained, and of course it was. Nothing else seemed to matter lately except that boy. “I don’t have all the details yet, but it seems that his education is… somewhat incomplete.”

Jin Ling shrugged. “Yeah, we’ve all noticed. So what? Aren’t you already teaching him?”

His mother nodded.

“Where I can, yes. But it seems he also hasn’t been trained as a cultivator,” Jiang Yanli explained with a concerned frown. “Or at least not enough to develop a golden core. It is not from lack of skill: I’ve tested him in what capacity I can, he has potential. And it is not a lack of interest on his part, either, his attitude when the twins and BaiBai talk about their lessons made that clear. I think he just wasn’t given the chance.”

“ Then just have him train with the rest of us,” Jin Ling dismissively replied, before quickly grimacing as he realised what that meant. “Wait, no, don’t do that! Jin Chan would make his life a living hell, and mine too. He thinks anyone who didn’t have their golden core at twelve is an idiot and should be kicked out of the sect!”

Jin Chan himself, naturally, had performed that extraordinary feat. 

Jin Ling’s own core only formed a little before his fourteenth birthday. It was a reasonable age by any logical standards, but Jin Chan liked to act as if that was a complete disgrace. Maybe because his cultivation had never really improved after that important milestone, while Jin Ling was still making steady progress.

“ Your cousin’s treatment of him is one thing that has me concerned,” Jiang Yanli agreed. “Jin Chan can be… a difficult child. And speaking to his father would do little good.”

Jin Ling nodded. He didn’t like Jin Zixun. More importantly, he suspected his mother had nothing but disdain for her husband’s cousin, although she was never anything less than polite when forced to be around him. But she had to be forced to be in his company, and her politeness lacked any warmth. She might as well have spit in Jin Zixun’s face and called him a toad, it would have been the same for anyone who knew her.

“That’s why I was thinking maybe you could try tutoring Wen Yuan,” Jiang Yanli went on with a smile.

“ Me ?” Jin Ling exclaimed. “Why me? Why not a senior disciple? Or even a proper teacher? We have so many elders in the sect, surely one of them could do something useful for once?”

His mother sighed, looking more severe than he’d ever seen her. Once more Jing Ling had the feeling he was disappointing her, as he now did every time he showed any emotion over that damn stupid marriage.

“A-Ling, I’m going to talk to you like an adult, and I hope I can trust you not to repeat these things,” Jiang Yanli said in a tone of voice so serious she sounded like a stranger. “I am not sure why your grandfather has decided he needed an alliance with Yiling, but I think we both know him well enough to suspect he is planning something, especially considering the current tensions between the great sects. And whatever he is planning, I fear your father and I don’t agree with it.”

It surprised Jin Ling to hear his mother speak so plainly. She never openly involved herself in politics if she could help it, but of course she couldn’t have missed what was going on. Even Jin Bai and the twins had noticed enough to incorporate it into some of their games. They’d play at a new war sometimes, one between the Jin and the Nie, for which they imagined extraordinary causes.

Usually, they’d spend most of the game arguing over who got to be Nie Mingjue and Jin Zixuan, clearly the superior characters to play.

Jin Ling didn’t think it’d ever get as bad as an actual war, because most of the Jin sect opposed such a conflict. But there was no denying Jin Guangshan and Nie Mingjue disagreed on everything these days. Even Jin Ling’s marriage had caused its own tensions. Apparently, Nie Mingjue had opinions about allowing anyone named Wen back into a major sect.

Jin Ling would never accuse his grandfather of purposefully angering Nie Mingjue in hopes he’d start something, forcing the Jin sect to heroically defend themselves with the help of their new ally the Yiling Patriarch.

He wouldn’t have accused Jin Guangshan, but he also wouldn’t be surprised if that turned out to be the truth.

“I would feel safer if Wen Yuan did not have to be alone with people I am not sure I can trust,” Jiang Yanli said. “All of the sect’s teachers answer to your grandfather and would find it difficult to resist his demands to influence him. I cannot tutor him myself, it would be ridiculous to pretend I can teach cultivation. Your father could not spare the time. I considered sending him to learn alongside the girls, but I fear it might be awkward for him to be around much younger children, and I could not ask them to protect him the way I can ask you.”

“But I’m too young to be teaching anyone!” Jin Ling protested. “Also, he hates me!”

“I’m sure he doesn’t hate you, A-Ling,” his mother replied, the slightest hint of scolding in her voice. “He’s a little shy, and might have a bad impression of Jin cultivators due to some things that happened when your father was young. If Wei Ying told him certain stories… but you’re not like that at all, and Wen Yuan can see it. And I don’t think you’re too young to teach, either. The Jin sect is just really unusual with this,” she sighed. “Were you born in any other sect, you’d have started helping teach the younger disciples a long time ago. At your age, Jiang Cheng was already overseeing even the adults’ training sometimes.”

“At my age, jiujiu was a sect leader,” Jin Ling grumbled. “You can’t compare us.”

His mother smiled, something a little sad showing on her face. She had that expression sometimes when the conversation went to the days before the Sunshot Campaign. Just like her brother, she’d never really spoken of that period since Wei Wuxian had completely cut them off, and Jin Ling had been discouraged from asking. They had both lost so much, and that’s all everyone thought he needed to know.

“A-Ling, I am asking this because I believe you can do it,” Jiang Yanli said, reaching over the table to take his hand. “If I thought it might be too much for you, I would have directly looked for another option. If my trust in you is not enough to convince you, though, consider the advantages.”

“You mean like more time with Wen Yuan?” Jin Ling scoffed.

“And less time with Jin Chan,” his mother retorted with a smile. “Naturally you would no longer attend as many shared lessons with other disciples if you were to tutor your husband. Your father has agreed that if you accept to do this, your own progress should be supervised in individual sessions with teachers instead of the group classes you have at the moment.”

Jin Ling stared, a grin creeping on his face. For years he’d begged and threatened to be granted that exact thing, and finally it was within reach. To finally be spared the company of his cousin… Sure Wen Yuan wasn’t fun to have around, but he was miles better than Jin Chan .

“Father knows this?” Jin Ling still cautiously asked. “He’s fine with it?”

Jiang Yanli smiled at him. “All he wants is for you to be around people your age. When he was young… your father was very isolated, inside the sect and outside. It caused him a lot of problems, especially with your uncle and with Wei Wuxian. And since you're…”

“Proud and bad tempered,” Jin Ling finished for her. 

“Very secure in your beliefs for a boy your age,” his mother corrected with a fond smile. “Which isn't a bad trait to have as an adult, even if it can make life difficult at your age. Your father was like that too. He remembers how much pain it caused him, and he worries you will be hurt too. He's trying to protect you.”

Jin Ling scoffed and crossed his arms on his chest. He'd heard variations of this for a while. It sounded stupid the first time. It still sounded stupid now. 

“I hate Jin Chan.” 

“We know that now, A-Ling. And that's why your father and I hope you will agree to tutor your husband. It would be the easiest way to remove you from your cousin's company without making it look like you're avoiding him, wouldn't it?” 

With great reluctance, Jin Ling nodded. For all that he'd dreamed of no longer being around Jin Chan so much, there was no doubt his cousin would have still found ways to sour things for him if their time together stopped without good reason. Even like this, Jin Chan would manage to laugh at Jin Ling, saying he was too obsessed with his ugly wife or something. But it was normal for a married couple to cultivate together, and Wen Yuan didn't look bad these days, now that his cheeks weren't so sunken. 

“Then let's start this as soon as possible,” Jiang Yanli said, smiling brightly. “You are excused from your classes today to start preparing for your new task. The Library would be a good start I think, but see if you can talk to your little uncle. Guangyao started learning around the same age as Wen Yuan, I'm sure he can provide some insight. And tomorrow afternoon, you can start tutoring Wen Yuan.”

Jin Ling frowned, a little unsettled that things should move so fast. He couldn't complain, though, when it meant one less day around his dreadful cousin. 

Chapter Text

At noon Jin Ling went to his parents’ house where his husband had spent the morning. They all had lunch together, after which Wen Yuan and him would head back home to start training. Following Jin Guangyao's advice, Jin Ling planned on testing his husband's knowledge of internal cultivation and to work on that as a first order of business. If Wen Yuan proved to have been taught already, they could move on to martial arts. Jin Ling hoped that could be delayed, though. If they had to go to the training grounds, Jin Chan might see them and try to cause problems, which he hadn’t decided yet how to handle.

It felt unbearably awkward to be alone together in the middle of the day. They never spent time like that in each other’s company, so Jin Ling felt his husband was still pretty much a stranger. Making things worse, Wen Yuan was as silent as ever, waiting in the middle of the room, staring at Jin Ling with cold eyes. 

Jin Ling wondered if it had been a mistake to accept his mother’s request. It probably was. But between his unresponsive husband and being around Jin Chan and his idiot friends… 

“My mother told me you already have some training?” Jin Ling asked, trying to sound imposing and confident, like his cool uncle Jiang Cheng. “Tell me more about that.”

Wen Yuan nodded, not the least bit impressed by his husband’s tone.

“When I was young, Wei zongzhu taught me a few notions. It was a long time ago. I was younger than Jin Bai when the lessons had to stop.”

“Do you know why he stopped teaching you?”

“Yes,” Wen Yuan said.

Jin Ling waited for his husband to elaborate. No further explanation came. Wen Yuan just placidly looked at him, radiating indifference.

“I’m not asking because I’m nosy,” Jin Ling announced, which was mostly true. “We’re not friends, we don’t have to know everything about each other! But I need to know if your lessons stopped because you were bad at cultivation, or if there was some other reason.”

“Oh,” Wen Yuan said, blushing a little. He quickly shook his head. “No, it was another reason. Wei-ge… I mean, Wei zongzhu said I showed promise when he was teaching me. But circumstances forced us to give up.”

It wasn’t the answer Jin Ling had expected. Considering Wei Wuxian’s reputation as a cultivation genius, and his animosity toward all other sects, it would have made sense for him to train any child of his that had any skill. He would have needed some disciples now that he’d left the Jiang sect, and also some people to fight for him in case the other sects decided to attack him. The undead were a useful weapon, but they could only do so much.

After being told by his mother that Wen Yuan had only minimal training, Jin Ling had assumed that his husband lacked natural predisposition for cultivation. It was the reason most cultivators gave up on their own child. His own mother had been like that, interested in cultivation to a degree but with a body too frail for it. So either Wen Yuan was lying (but why would he, when Jin Ling was sure to soon find out the truth?), or Wei Wuxian had lied to him to spare his feelings (but would an evil genius ready to sell his son care about that?) or… or there was something fishy going on.

“ Well, alright, let’s see that then,” Jin Ling said, once more trying to sound imposing like Jiang Cheng. “Let’s test your breathing first. If you’ve really learned anything at all, it should be that.” He paused and hesitated, something Jiang Cheng would never have done. “I, uh, I’m going to have to touch your chest to check that. Don’t go getting ideas, it’s just to see if you’re doing it right!”

To his surprise, Wen Yuan blushed again. Which was stupid, because Jin Ling had just said there was nothing personal to it. But of course seeing Wen Yuan blush made it weird , and suddenly Jin Ling too was blushing

“Sit down,” Jin Ling ordered. “And, uh, get in position to meditate and all.”

Wen Yuan obeyed, sitting down in the middle of the room. Strangely, the position he adopted was the same one Jiang disciples usually took to practise their breath and improve their inner cultivation. It seemed Wei Wuxian, however creative he’d been for other things, still used the basics he’d learned in the Jiang sect. Jin Ling wondered if Jiang Cheng would be happy or angry about that. It was the sort of thing that was often reproached to new sects (Jin Ling had heard so much criticism of the Moling Su sect) but in that particular case, maybe Jiang Cheng wouldn’t mind that much.

After giving his husband a moment to get started, Jin Ling knelt down next to him and placed one hand over his ribcage. The first thing he noticed was Wen Yuan’s heartbeat increasing the instant he was touched, but Jin Ling ignored it, refusing to make this whole thing any weirder than it already was. Instead, he focused on Wen Yuan’s breathing, its slow and steady rhythm, the way it helped energy gather inside his body, making it pool in the right places.

Wen Yuan hadn’t lied, and neither had Wei Wuxian. He really had a lot of potential. Well trained, Wen Yuan would have formed a golden core years ago. It was baffling that he didn’t have one. With such good bases, even just handing him a cultivation manual and checking on him every few weeks would have been enough, as long as he practised dutifully. So why had Wei Wuxian given up on him?

Jin Ling didn’t bother asking. Wen Yuan wouldn’t have answered. Still, it was hard not to be curious. Nothing about this made any sense. Even Jin Guangshan, not particularly known for caring about junior disciples unless they were rich, would not have given up on someone who showed such promises.

Jin Ling removed his hand from his husband’s chest. Wen Yuan looked at him, his expression a little less cold than usual.

“You’re doing alright,” Jin Ling said. “More than alright, really. How long can you last doing that?”

“All day,” Wen Yuan replied, some pride piercing through. “I can also keep it up when I sleep sometimes, but it’s harder and I'm equally likely to fail.”

“No surprise there. It’s hard to learn to breathe right in your sleep, unless you have a teacher who’s willing to watch you and wake you up every time you go back to normal. Xiao-shushu said he’s never gotten the hang of it. It’s mostly fine, though. It’s not as good as if you could maintain the right breathing all the time, but you can still cultivate like that. Can you control the energy inside you at all?”

It was the expected next step. There was hardly any sense in gathering energy and then not doing anything with it. Even Jin Bai had already learned how to do that. And yet, Wen Yuan shook his head, looking embarrassed.

“Only a little,” he confessed. “Wei zongzhu… didn’t have a lot of time to teach me, even when he still had time at all, and I was often busy as well.”

“You’re a sect’s disciple, what could be more important than your training?” Jin Ling exclaimed. “It's a real waste, with natural skills like yours! If your father was just some rogue cultivator it would be one thing to prioritise other things, but someone like Wei Wuxian should know better. To leave you to your own devices like that…”

“You don’t know him,” Wen Yuan cut him off. “So don’t talk about him.”

He didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t even frown. But coming from a boy that normally couldn’t even be bothered to speak to Jin Ling at all, well, he might as well have been shouting.

“I know enough about him,” Jin Ling snapped back. “I know he sold you to us and couldn’t be bothered to see you get married. I know that he couldn’t bother to properly teach his own son. He’s really just as bad as everyone says, in the end.”

“ You don’t know him,” Wen Yuan softly repeated, looking down at the floor. “Wei-ge is a good man. The things he’s done, the good he’s done… but you wouldn’t understand.”

Jin Ling clenched his fists. Of course he didn’t understand, when his husband refused to tell him anything about anything! Was he supposed to read Wen Yuan’s mind to learn in what ways Wei Wuxian was entirely unlike everything everyone knew about him?

To Jin Ling, it was clear that Wei Wuxian was a cold and uncaring person. Everything he'd done in the past had proven it, everything Wen Yuan had said now confirmed it. That Wen Yuan still wanted to defend his father was to his credit, it made him a filial son… but it also made him a bit of an idiot. If Jin Ling could accept the truth about his grandfather, then he expected everyone should look at their own family with the same clarity.

The only reason Jin Ling kept from saying these things out loud was that he didn’t want to disappoint his mother. It was clearly important to her that these lessons go well. Jin Ling couldn’t let her down.

“Nevermind your father, none of this is about him,” Jin Ling said. “It’s about you. So you’ve got some basics when it comes to internal cultivation, that’s already more than I expected. What about fighting? Has anyone taught you that? Hand-to-hand styles? Or some swordsmanship maybe?”

“I’ve never used a sword,” Wen Yuan replied, looking embarrassed again. As he should be, even the smallest and poorest of sects found enough money to get their disciples a blade. “But I can defend myself, and I’m alright with a bow.”

In spite of himself, Jin Ling felt a spark of interest at the mention of archery. A bow was not the most common weapon for a cultivator, but it was one he’d always liked. It was in his blood. His father was after all a renowned archer, as was his uncle Jiang Cheng. But come to think of it, Wei Wuxian too used to be a reputed archer in his youth, so perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that his son had inherited his skill.

“Has your father taught you?” Jin Ling asked.

“No,” Wen Yuan said. Then, to Jin Ling’s shock, his husband actually elaborated on his answer, on his own. “It was my cousin Wen Ning who taught me archery, and most of what I know about hand-to-hand combat as well. He’s the one who really took care of me after…”

Realising he’d said more than intended, Wen Yuan trailed off with a frown.

“After what?” Jin Ling asked.

Wen Yuan looked away, his frown deepening.

“It’s not important. Do you want to test me for this, too?”

Although disappointed that his husband had stopped talking just as the conversation was becoming interesting, Jin Ling considered their options. On one hand, he definitely needed to assess Wen Yuan’s level. His mother had given him the impression that his husband was a complete beginner and he’d planned some lessons accordingly, but Jiang Yanli seemed to have underestimated her son-in-law. 

On the other hand, trying to test someone who had trained with a fierce corpse was a little scary. It was possible that Wen Yuan wouldn’t know how to control his strength, nor how to avoid seriously harming a living opponent. 

Ultimately though, Jin Ling had to test him, and he had to do it without showing any fear. He was the teacher in this situation, and what could he hope to teach if his student knew he was scared?

“Let’s get up,” Jin Ling ordered. “You’re going to try to strike me.”

“What if I hurt you?” Wen Yuan asked, unfolding his legs and getting up while his husband did the same. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“Have you hurt people before?”

“Yes, once or twice,” Wen Yuan calmly said. “Sometimes, people would try to enter the Burial Mounds in Yiling. Uncle Wen usually took care of them alone, but in recent years I’ve helped him when necessary.”

Jin Ling shivered. “Have you… killed anyone?” he asked, dreading the answer.

Wen Yuan hurriedly shook his head, looking horrified.

“Oh, good then,” Jin Ling awkwardly said, more relieved than he could admit. “If you couldn’t kill some low level robbers, then I don’t think you’ll really be able to hurt me.” He took a fighting stance, bracing himself. “Go on, show me what you can do. Hit me as hard as you can.”

Visibly reluctant, Wen Yuan got in position to strike. Before he’d even moved, Jin Ling noted that his posture wasn’t very good, his legs weren’t as solid on the ground as they should have been. It would have been easy to knock him over. He kept that thought to himself, and waited for his husband to hit. 

When he finally did so, Wen Yuan’s attack turned out so weak that Jin Ling easily took the blow without flinching. It would have hurt a common person, sure, but that was all the good that could be said about it. It had lacked power, proving that Wen Yuan had never learned to use his energy to strengthen his blows, something any child would learn in a sect. It also lacked speed. A common person with some knowledge of martial arts could have avoided it. A cultivator, even a low level one, definitely would have dodged, and found Wen Yuan open for a counter-attack. 

Overall, Wen Yuan had attacked the way a fierce corpse would, but he lacked the raw power of one.

“Are you alright?” Wen Yuan asked. “Did I hurt you?”

“Was that the best you can do, or did you hold back because you were worried about hurting me?”

Wen Yuan looked embarrassed by the question, which was already an answer in itself.

“I held back a little. If something happens to you because of me… I don’t want to risk the wrath of the Jin sect.”

That was a fair concern to have, so Jin Ling couldn’t scold him. At the same time, it was insulting that Wen Yuan thought him weak.

“Don’t worry about hurting me, you’re not capable of it,” Jin Ling assured him. “If you’ve hurt anyone before, it was just luck on your part. We’re going to have to start over from scratch, you’re really bad at this. Your family and your sect have failed you, if this is all they’ve bothered teaching you.”

It might not have been the nicest thing to say, Jin Ling realised after he’d already said it. But he was starting to get angry on Wen Yuan’s behalf. Bad training could be worse than no training at all. It was going to be so hard to undo all the bad habits he’d probably picked up over the years, something Jin Guangyao had told his nephew he’d also struggled with after using fake cultivation manuals when he was young. Right then, Wen Yuan was offended at the insult against his family, but Jin Ling didn’t doubt that in a few months, Wen Yuan would be furious that they had failed to properly guide him.

For now, Wen Yuan took a deep breath. There was a spot of red on his cheeks, this time likely from anger rather than embarrassment, but aside from that he still looked perfectly calm. It made Jin Ling feel like he wasn’t even worth getting angry at, which in turn made him angry.

“What is next in the lesson?” Wen Yuan quietly said, like a dutiful student talking to his teacher. “More testing?”

“No, I know everything I need to know,” Jin Ling scoffed. “You’re much better than I expected, but also much worse. I have to change my plans for you, nothing I prepared will work for someone like you. You can go if you like, or stay here and hide in your room until dinner. I have to go to the library to figure out how to deal with you.”

His face still red, Wen Yuan bowed deeply and, Jin Ling thought, with a touch of disdainful irony.

“Thank you for your patience with this unworthy student,” Wen Yuan said, and definitely that had to be ironic. “I am grateful for my husband’s help.”

Jin Ling scoffed, refusing to answer that veiled insult. His patience indeed! Next, Wen Yuan would thank him for his gentleness. Maybe it was better when Wen Yuan didn’t speak to him at all, if all he could do was mock him when he spoke.

But Jin Ling didn’t have time to deal with that. Without another word, another look at his husband, he left the house and strode toward the sect’s library, hoping something in there could help him deal with a student who was at once too good and too awful to be taught the usual way.

Chapter Text

Jin Guangshan took a second to look up from the papers on his desk when the door opened, but smiled warmly when he saw that Jin Ling was there. 

“Come in, my boy,” Jin Guangshan said. ”And close the door behind you, won't you?”

Jin Ling quickly obeyed and walked up to the desk, trying not to gawk at the unfamiliar room. It was rare for his grandfather to use his office, and rarer still for him to allow anyone inside. Jin Guangyao was a frequent visitor, Jin Ling had noticed, but aside from that, the only people ever called to the sect leader's office were disciples who had gotten themselves in trouble. 

“You have asked to see me, zongzhu?” Jin Ling asked with a polite bow. 

“ Zongzhu ? Since when are you so distant, Rulan?” Jin Guangshan protested, looking so sincerely wounded Jin ling almost believed it.

“I only meant to be respectful, grandfather,” Jin Ling said with another bow. “You always say youngsters should be more respectful of their elders.”

“It is only the two of us, there's no need for that,” Jin Guangshan assured him, his tone too warm to be trusted. “Sit down, my boy, and let's take a moment to talk. It has been a long while since we've had a chat, hasn't it?”

Jin Ling nodded as he sat. It had been a while since he'd spent time alone with his grandfather, that much was true. They used to have a good enough relationship, but being forced to marry a stranger had helped Jin Ling see what sort of a man his grandfather was, and now his company was repulsive. Of course if Jin Guangshan had demanded that they spend time together since that falling out, Jin Ling could not have easily refused in spite of his disgust. However his grandfather had shown little interest in him since the wedding. 

Until that morning. 

“Is there anything in particular you want to talk about, grandfather?” Jin Ling asked, as if he couldn't guess why he was there. 

“With so much going on in your life these days, I wouldn't know where to start,” Jin Guangshan replied with a huff, sounding so much like the man he was in Jin Ling's better memories. “Your marital life, perhaps? But maybe that is not the right topic. We've had some disagreement regarding that, haven't we?”

He chuckled, as if Jin Ling’s rage and despair had been some amusing little incident, something they could now all laugh about. Maybe he even sincerely believed that. Or at least, as much as he was capable of any sincerity.

“I understand that grandfather had his reasons for doing the things he did,” Jin Ling flatly said, clenching his fists over his knees, where the desk would hide them. “It was not my place to judge your decision.”

“No, it was not,” his grandfather sharply agreed, before quickly softening again. “But I think my decision was not so unpleasant to you in the end. You get along well with that wife of yours, don't you?” 

“We are making the best of things,” Jin Ling said. 

An understatement, really. 

Wen Yuan’s lessons were going tolerably well. It was a surprise, as Jin Ling had half expected his husband would complain to his mother about his temper after the first lesson, and that would have been the end of that experiment. Instead, Wen Yuan had apparently expressed gratitude to his mother-in-law for organising this, and promised her to work hard to be worthy of the praises he’d received from Jin Ling.

The following lessons had still been tense, but by the middle of the second week they’d found a balance and things were… not bad. Wen Yuan knew to ignore Jin Ling’s outbursts most of the time. And Jin Ling was starting to accept that his husband was genuine when he thanked him or complimented something he did. They weren’t friends or anything, and maybe they’d never be, but at least they could get along, and that was more than Jin Ling had dared to hope since the moment his engagement was revealed to him.

“It must not be easy for you,” Jin Guangshan lamented. “Considering his father’s reputation, and that cold temper he's shown so far… I do hope your wife has not used his knowledge of his father’s methods to make you feel uneasy inside your own home?”

So that was the reason for this meeting, Jin Ling realised. He was grateful for his mother’s warnings, which had given him time to prepare something to say.

“Wen Yuan never mentions his old life,” Jin Ling replied. “He is very dedicated to learning the ways of the Jin sect and making them his, like a good wife should.”

That remark earned him a frustrated glare from his grandfather. Jin Ling knew it was a source of tension in his grandparents’ marriage that his grandmother still preferred to use the cultivation path that she’d learned from her parents, even after a lifetime in Lanling. Everyone knew that. It ought to make it harder for Jin Guangshan to openly complain that Wen Yuan wasn’t using demonic cultivation.

“It is a wife's duty to mould herself to the new family’s expectations,” Jin Guangshan agreed. “But a good husband should also show interest in his wife. If that Wei boy doesn't talk about his family, it might be because you do not inspire enough trust in him yet. If so, it is regrettable. I would have thought you had taken after your father.”

Jin Ling lowered his gaze, his eyes burning with rageful tears he couldn't afford to spill. 

He really wished people would stop only comparing him to his father when they wished to insult his temper. When his father did it, it was usually because he found Jin Ling too quick to anger, or too unsociable. When his grandfather said it, he meant that Jin Ling was weak for not realising rules and morality only applied to lesser people. Jin Zixuan was a well loved man, why couldn't anyone ever see his qualities in his eldest son?

“I'm doing my best, grandfather,” he said between clenched teeth. 

“Then maybe your best needs to be better, boy. Do you understand what I mean?” 

Jin Ling understood too well, but shook his head. 

“Grandfather will have to be more clear. I only want to please you, of course. But I can only do that if I know what you want from me. Does grandfather have certain expectations regarding my marriage to Wen Yuan, maybe? Grandfather should have said so from the start, then, instead of expecting me to guess things.”

As soon as he said that, Jin Ling regretted it. His grandfather tolerated few things, and insolence least of all.

“You know, it is up to me to choose my heir,” Jin Guangshan casually remarked. “Tradition would prefer it be my son, or my eldest grandson, but I could pick someone else. I have other grandsons after all, and a nephew who has a child of his own. If these options appear better for the future of my sect, I will not hesitate to make tough decisions.”

Jin Ling clenched his fists. He didn't care about being sect leader, it was a stupid job, full of dealing with stupid people. But that didn't mean he didn't recognise a threat directed at him, at his family, and that pissed him off. 

If it had been anyone else talking to him like that, Jin Ling would have let his anger explode. Or else he'd have laughed in their face, because in what world were Jin Zixun and Jin Chan better options than him to someday lead the sect? They were just stupid bullies and… 

And so was Jin Guangshan. So maybe they were better candidates, from his point of view. They were all pawns to him anyway. Jin Ling knew it too well, after going from favourite grandchild to someone who could be sacrificed to an unpleasant match. Nobody in this family mattered when compared to his grandfather and his ambitions. And still Jin Ling had been lucky, because Wen Yuan was a good person. If he hadn't been, would Jin Guangshan have cared to protect his grandson from a demonic cultivator? Or would he have allowed his new spouse to torment him, as long as he could get his hands on someone who could help him in that war against the Nie he wanted?

Jin Ling smiled.

“Of course, Jin zongzhu should be free to decide the future of his sect,” he said, imitating the placid tone Jin Guangyao used on very unpleasant people. “It makes sense. What does this have to do with our conversation, though?”

“Nothing at all,” Jin Guangshan pleasantly agreed. “It was just a thought that crossed my mind. Well, boy, I fear I'm already running out of time to talk to you. I have other business to attend, so you may go. But do think about what I've said, regarding your wife and gaining his trust. Otherwise he might find someone else to confide in, and we wouldn't want that, would we?”

Again, Jin Ling just smiled, the only safe answer against that man he'd grown to hate. He then bowed politely and left the room as quickly as politeness allowed. Once outside, he slowly walked away, willing himself to look calm under the watchful gaze of his grandfather's disciples, knowing any of them could betray him if he didn't hide how much that meeting upset him. 

More than once, he'd heard his uncle Jiang call the Jin sect a nest of vipers. Jin Ling disagreed. He didn't believe even animals would turn so viciously on their own kind.

It felt like an eternity before Jin Ling finally reached his home, the only place where nobody could spy on him. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Jin Ling let out a frustrated cry, and kicked the wall. 

“Is something wrong?” Wen Yuan asked, running to the door. 

On top of being angry, Jin Ling was immediately overcome with shame. He hadn't thought his husband would be home, since Wen Yuan usually spent mornings with his in-laws. It was one thing for Jin Ling to let his anger explode like that, and quite another to let anyone see it. Jin Ling opened his mouth to apologise, only to realise there was something more urgent to discuss. 

“Wen Yuan, has anyone approached you to befriend you since you’ve arrived in Carp Tower?” Jin Ling asked

The odd question puzzled his husband, but Wen Yuan soon shook his head. 

“No, no one except your siblings. Others find me… unsettling, I think.”

“Good, perfect even!” Jin Ling exclaimed at this confirmation his grandfather hadn't already started other schemes against his husband. “The less friends you make here, the better.”

Wen Yuan threw him a wounded look, but Jin Ling was too distracted to see it.

“Is that an order, husband?” Wen Yuan stiffly asked.

“You know, it just might be,” Jin Ling pondered. “It’s better for everyone that way.”

After all, there was nobody trustworthy in the entire sect. Which wasn’t to say there wasn’t anyone nice. Lanling Jin was a large sect, and not everyone in it was as awful as Jin Chan. In fact, most disciples were probably pleasant to chat with, charming even. But it didn’t matter how nice they were, because this was a sect where bullies were in charge, and they knew how to make nice people do awful things.

“Are you worried that I’ll betray you if I get close to others, husband?” Wen Yuan asked, his tone so icy that at last Jin Ling had to notice it.

“ It’s not like that!” Jin Ling exclaimed. “I don’t care if you sleep with someone!” he winced, realising that probably sounded worse. “No, I do care! I just… don’t care who you… what you… I just care…”

He bit his lip to silence himself, expecting his husband to get angrier, but Wen Yuan only looked at him curiously.

“Are you trying to say you’re not ordering this out of jealousy?” he helpfully suggested.

“Yes, that’s what I meant!” Jin Ling agreed, relieved that his husband was getting used to his manners. “If it were just about making friends, you could be friendly with anyone, it’d be fine.”

“I see. Then why is it you don’t want me to have friends?”

“ Only within our sect!” Jin Ling protested. “You shouldn’t have friends within our sect . Or within sects that are too closely linked to ours either, I guess,” he added after a moment of reflection. “If you happen to meet Jiang disciples and you hit it off, it’s fine. Or Lans, I guess, even though I can’t imagine why anyone would be friends with them .”

Of course the closest thing that Jin Ling had to a friend his own age was a Lan, Lan Jingyi, but that acquaintance only proved that the Lans were annoying. Lan Jingyi and him argued every time they met, and only sometimes hung out together because nobody else would put up with them.

“Any other sects I’m allowed to be friendly with?” Wen Yuan asked, smiling.

Jin Ling considered it, and shrugged.

“Just about anyone who doesn't lick my grandfather's boots. Well, maybe avoid the Nie, we’re not on good terms with them. But I doubt any Nie disciple would want to talk to you. They’re… they’re not very happy that you’ve entered our sect. For obvious reasons.”

Wen Yuan frowned at first, as if this remark too had hurt him, but his expression quickly shifted into something that was nearly a smile.

“You mean Wei zonghzu,” Wen Yuan said, sounding almost amused by the effort needed to decipher what Jin Ling meant.

“Him, yes. And he’s also why you need to be careful around Jin disciples. I probably shouldn’t tell you…”

Jin Ling bit his lip, but one look at Wen Yuan's handsome, honest face was enough to convince him. Wen Yuan not only deserved to know what was going on, but he also needed to. Anyway, hadn't his grandfather told him there should be trust in a married couple? 

“The thing is, Jin zongzhu is very interested in demonic cultivation,” Jin Ling explained. “He thinks it’d be the best way to protect ourselves from our enemies. And he also thinks that you can use demonic cultivation, but you’re withholding it from us.”

“But I’m not,” Wen Yuan protested, offended. “I’ve never learned!’

“I know,” Jin Ling replied. “I'm pretty sure it would have left marks on you, on your qi. I’d probably have noticed it from the moment we had our first lessons. But my grandfather is… when he’s decided that something is a certain way, nobody can convince him otherwise. And he thinks that you’re refusing to share your knowledge with us.”

“I'm not,” Wen Yuan insisted. “You can tell him that, I really have nothing to share on that topic.”

Strangely enough, it was a relief to hear that. Jin Ling couldn't deny that he'd been worried concerning the possibility of demonic cultivation. It was easy to say he would have noticed it immediately, but in truth considering Wei Wuxian's skill, he may well have come up with ways to hide the effect of his heretical paths on the body and mind. Of course there was the possibility that Wen Yuan was just lying, but Jin Ling didn't think that was the case. His husband hid many things, but so far none of the few words he'd said had ever been lies.

“Whether you know your father's craft or not, I'd encourage you to keep it secret,” Jin Ling advised. “Don't tell anyone, not even me, or my siblings, or even my mother. We've all lied to my grandfather before, but it's easier for everyone if we don't have to.”

Wen Yuan shot him a curious look, and shook his head. 

“I appreciate that, husband. But I am not lying. I really don't know anything at all. Wei zongzhu was always very firm on that, he’d scold me terribly if I showed too much interest in his methods. He knows too well how dangerous it is. He... he didn't want that for me.”

“Don't let anyone know that either,” Jin Ling said after a moment of reflection. “If my grandfather knows you can never fulfil the purpose he has in mind for you, he might try to get rid of you. It's better to keep an air of mystery about this.”

Wen Yuan tilted his head to the side. 

“I thought… Don't you also want to be rid of me?”

The question took Jin Ling by surprise. Not so long ago, he would have agreed that this marriage was the very worst thing that had ever happened to him. He wasn't so sure about that anymore. Wen Yuan was not unpleasant to have around, and their daily lessons were... nice. There was nothing particularly romantic about their marriage, but there was nothing awful either.

“You're not the worst spouse grandfather could have found for me,” Jin Ling replied. “If you were gone, I might just end up with someone worse, if my grandfather thinks it's his interest. He might try to marry me to Nie Huaisang for all I know! Do you know how annoying he can be when he's unhappy? Or… Or to one of Yao zongzhu's kids, and they're all duller than dirt, I've never heard them say something that wasn't boring. Or he'd find me someone ugly, which is just as bad as being boring. Anyway, I'm used to you now. It'd be a bother, having to deal with someone new, especially when they wouldn't be as good as you. And… And I wouldn't enjoy regaining my freedom, if it meant you had to suffer for it! Which you would. Grandfather is… not a kind man.”

Jin Ling blushed, all too aware that he was saying things in the worst possible way, once again. And yet Wen Yuan didn't take offence. If anything, he looked a little pleased by his husband's rambles. Truly, Jin Ling did not understand his husband in the least.

“I am grateful that my husband feels this way,” Wen Yuan said, fighting a smile. “I will try hard to be worthy of the praise.”

Without thinking, Jin Ling nodded.

He couldn't say it, because it would sound wrong and mean again if he tried to express it, but at that moment he actually felt very happy with the husband fate had chosen for him, that odd boy who had just enough patience to unravel the mess of words that often spilled out of his mouth.

Chapter Text

Wen Yuan dropped his spoon for the third time that evening, soup staining the table once more. He quickly wiped away the liquid without a word. His bowl was still half full, but was pushed to the side. With some hesitation Wen Yuan picked up chopsticks, only for the trembling in his hands to increase. The chopsticks were put down without Wen Yuan having tried to eat anything. 

All of this was observed by Jin Ling. At first he did not intend to comment on it, but realising that his husband intended to skip dinner altogether made it impossible to remain silent. 

“You really need to be more careful when training,” Jin Ling remarked, startling Wen Yuan. “I know you like it and you're excited to learn, but it won't do you any good if you hurt yourself trying to do too much.”

Wen Yuan blushed and looked away, embarrassed that his moment of weakness had been caught. It was something Jin Ling had started to notice about his husband; Wen Yuan had very high expectations of himself, and didn't like it when others caught him being imperfect. 

“I only did the exercise you recommended,” Wen Yuan pointed out. 

“The number of times I said you should do it?” 

“Of course,” Wen Yuan said, looking the very picture of innocence. 

“And you didn't go over that number at all?” Jin Ling insisted. 

To this question, Wen Yuan offered no answer, but his cheeks coloured in a way that said it all. Jin Ling was tempted to scold him, but realised he would feel like a hypocrite if he did. When he was younger and started getting more serious when training with a sword, as Wen Yuan was now doing, he'd pushed himself beyond his limits multiple times. Being scolded by his teachers always annoyed him so much when that happened, but it never stopped him from trying too hard. What convinced him to be more careful, instead… 

“Fine, if you can't eat on your own, there's no choice!” Jin Ling huffed, pulling his chair next to Wen Yuan. 

Before Wen Yuan could react, Jin Ling snatched his husband's chopsticks and used them to pick up a piece of cabbage which he brought to the other boy's lips. 

“Open up,” Jin Ling ordered. 

Far from obeying, Wen Yuan leaned away and stared at his husband as if he'd gone mad. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Feeding you, since you can't do it yourself!” Jin Ling retorted. “And I'll do it every time you overwork yourself from now on!” 

It was what his mother used to do when he pushed himself too hard. His boyish pride had been deeply wounded by the shame of being handfed by his mother. Once Jiang Yanli started doing that, he'd quickly learned to accept his limits. 

It was Jin Ling's expectation that his husband would be deeply offended and humiliated to be treated like a little child. But after that initial moment of surprise, Wen Yuan didn't appear angry at all. His cheeks coloured red, but a smile lifted the corners of his lips, and he willingly bit into the piece of food. As Jin Ling picked something else for husband to eat, he couldn't help thinking this felt very different from his mother feeding him, or those moments when he'd helped his younger siblings. The way Wen Yuan looked at him as he ate, his smiling eyes… Before long, Jin Ling too was blushing, without really knowing why. 

“Soup, too,” Jin Ling mumbled, putting down the chopsticks to pick up the spoon instead. “You like that one, right?”

“It's my favourite thing of all the food I've had since coming here,” Wen Yuan confirmed.

Jin Ling knew that, but somehow hearing it said so plainly made his heart beat faster, as if he'd passed a secret test by noticing something like that. What a stupid thing to be embarrassed about… And why was Jin Ling the embarrassed one anyway, when he had planned to make his husband feel awkward? It wasn't at all the way this was meant to be, so Jin Ling should have stopped, but there was something nice about this. Wen Yuan used to be so distrusting when it came to food, so for him to let Jin Ling feed him… 

“You know, when we married, I didn't expect you would be like this,” Wen Yuan remarked when the soup was all gone. 

“Bossy?” 

Wen Yuan laughed, and shook his head. 

“Kind,” he corrected. “When I came here, I thought you were just rude and haughty. But no matter the way you speak to me and others, when I look at your actions instead… You are a good person, I think.”

“Am I?” Jin Ling mumbled. 

He usually thought he was pretty great, of course, but he wasn't so used to others saying so out loud, except for his mother and siblings. Everyone else thought he'd let it go to his head if they complimented him too much… and then they all complained that he did too much to prove he was better than everyone if he tried to get them to acknowledge that he was, in fact, pretty great.

“I think… I’ve been very lucky with this marriage,” Wen Yuan mused. “I knew from the start I was taking a risk by choosing this, but I didn't realise how bad it could be until I arrived here. I was really scared all the time at first, and you always seemed so angry but… You never hurt me.”

“Of course not! I'd never!” 

Wen Yuan smiled at him, the bright, joyful smile he had sometimes around the twins and Jin Bai, but which he'd never before directed at Jin Ling. He was radiant like that. How had Jin Ling ever thought his husband was ugly? 

“I know now that you're not like that,” Wen Yuan agreed, seemingly unaware of the effect his smile had on his husband. “It's not just that you didn't hurt me, though. You've been kind even when I didn't give you reason to be, and patient too. Out of everyone I could have ended up married to… I’m glad it's you.”

Those were Jin Ling's exact feelings about their marriage, but hearing that Wen Yuan thought the same was startling. Jin Ling's heart now beat so far he briefly wondered if he might be dying. He certainly felt a little faint, and only recovered somewhat when he looked away from his husband. 

“I'm glad too,” Jin Ling managed to mumble. 

He dared a glance at Wen Yuan, and immediately regretted it. Not only was his husband's smile still brighter than the sun, but there was something in the way he looked at Jin Ling that made him blush so hard that every drop of blood in his body must have rushed to his face. 

Nobody had ever looked at Jin Ling that way.

It was agony. 

And yet if Wen Yuan ever looked away, Jin Ling might just die, like a flower deprived of sunlight. It made no sense. 

It didn't need to make sense. 

Perhaps sensing at last the turmoil he was causing, Wen Yuan now turned away too, his face nearly as red as Jin Ling's. 

“I think I'm done eating,” he mumbled, getting up so quickly his chair nearly fell back. “Thank you for your help. I'll be more careful in the future.”

Lately they'd sometimes stayed together after dinner to chat about cultivation or the latest gossip occupied the Jin sect at that moment. But that night, Wen Yuan quickly disappeared to his room, leaving Jin Ling worried he'd done something wrong. 

He was still worrying about it by the time he went to bed. Lying under his blanket, Jin Ling stared at the ceiling. Had he been creepy, staring like that at his husband? It was bad manners in general, he knew it, but everyone still did it when someone particularly beautiful was around. If grownups could openly stare at the twin jades of Gusu like they were prime cuts of meat, surely it was fine for Jin Ling to look at his husband, wasn't it? 

It was funny to think of Wen Yuan as being comparable to the twin jades. Jin Ling still remembered the first time he saw his husband, and how ugly he'd found him. But some months of rich food and regular exercise had done wonders for him. In fact, as Jin Ling tried to think of anyone in their generation who could compare, he came up blank. There just wasn't anyone their age that was even half as handsome. Or as nice to be around, come to think of it. They'd had some misunderstandings, but they made it work, and Jin Ling just… Liked being around him. Even taking care of him was nice. 

His hands clenched on the blanket. 

If Wen Yuan pushed himself too hard again… If Jin Ling had to feed him again… 

Of course he wasn't hoping that Wen Yuan would hurt himself. And he wouldn't give bad advice on purpose. But if it happened anyway, if he could see Wen Yuan trust him like that again… Just thinking of it made his heart beat faster for some reason, and it was worse if he let himself remember Wen Yuan's sunny smile.

Maybe… maybe it wouldn't be the worst if just this time, Wen Yuan decided to be a slow learner. 

Chapter Text

As Wen Yuan's skill progressed, Jin Ling decided his student needed to test his strength against a real threat. Practical experience was always more valuable than theoretical knowledge, his uncle Jiang always said. That had nothing to do with the fact that Jin Ling was going crazy, stuck day after day in Carp Tower. It wasn’t about him. It was all for Wen Yuan’s benefit, and a very reasonable next step in his training.

Yet as soon as Jin Ling mentioned the possibility of taking his husband to a Night Hunt, everyone in the family came together to disagree. They all worried that Wen Yuan might get hurt, drawing the ire of Wei Wuxian upon their sect. Since it was not an unfounded fear, Jin Ling tried to offer reassurances, and suggested they deal with cases that appeared easy. Jin Ling was willing to take on cases that clearly had nothing supernatural to them, telling himself those two brought important lessons. But even that was denied, unless he agreed to let a senior from the sect come along… Jin Ling, who had gone on Night Hunts unsupervised since he was fourteen, couldn’t have borne the humiliation.

Just as Jin Ling was resigning himself to his fate, a letter arrived from the Cloud Recesses that changed everything. 

Lan Jingyi, who was Jin Ling's least favourite friend, yet also his only friend, was inviting him to a Night Hunt which Lan Wangji himself would supervise.

Jin Ling immediately presented that invitation to his parents and grandparents at dinner. It would have been rude to turn it down, he argued. And if he brought Wen Yuan along, the Lan sect would see that he was a well behaved young gentleman, so they would support the Jin sect's decision to welcome him in the family. As for the previous argument of danger, Lan Wangji's presence made it irrelevant. Everyone knew Hanguang-Jun was a peerless cultivator who always kept juniors perfectly safe. And since Jin Ling knew Lan Wangji was the sort of senior who let juniors deal with their own challenges and only intervened if truly necessary, he was a tolerable chaperon. Things couldn’t have been more perfect.

There was still some resistance. Jin Guangshan in particular was worried that Wen Yuan might demonstrate feats of unorthodox cultivation in front of the Lans and so cause trouble. Of course he did not say it explicitly. Instead he pretended to be worried because Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had famously had many arguments during the Sunshot Campaign and after, and that animosity might resurface. Jin Ling argued back that it was all the more necessary to show the Lans that Wen Yuan was nothing like his father. Once Lan Wangji saw it for himself, he was sure to influence the opinion of his brother and sect leader, who in turn might let a certain sworn brother of his know that their worries had been unwarranted.

Jin Guangshan was still reluctant, until Jin Zixuan announced that he agreed with Jin Ling, and supported that little adventure. 

It was something of a shock. Jin Ling sometimes felt his father never approved of anything did. Worse still, it was clear that Jiang Yanli was less than convinced by the whole plan, so it couldn't be that she was using her husband to support her cause. It was his father's own choice to side with him.

Because he wasn't without influence, Jin Zixuan won that argument for them, but Jin Ling’s enthusiasm for that Night Hunt was tainted by that strange victory.

When everyone left the room after dinner, Jin Ling asked his father for a moment of his time. The two of them stayed behind, and Jin Ling pretended not to notice the worried looks both his mother and his husband threw at him on their way out. 

“What did you need from me?” Jin Zixuan asked once they were alone. “I hope you can be quick, I have to go help Guangyao with some business.”

“I just wanted to know if you were expecting something from me, for that Night Hunt,” Jin Ling said. 

His father stared at him, baffled by the remark.

“Expecting? Why would I expect something?” 

“You helped convince Jin zongzhu, I figured there had to be a reason.”

Nobody ever did anything nice for him without wanting something these days. 

It was just how the world worked, his grandfather would have said. And it wasn't always bad: his siblings demanded hugs or small favours, as did his mother, which was fine. But nothing was ever free. 

“I don't want anything,” Jin Zixuan protested. “I just think it’s not good for someone your age to stay cooped up inside so much,” he awkwardly added. “And I like that Jingyi boy.”

“You’ve never even met him,” Jin Ling retorted.

Sect politics were complicated, so Jin Ling found it safer not to bring home any friends. Besides, he knew his grandfather would not have approved of Lan Jingyi who was loud, rude, insolent, and many other things Jin Ling was also scolded for. More than that, their sect’s relationship with the Lans was complicated. Lan Xichen was overall a neutral figure politically, but Jin Guangshan suspected he would side with the Nie if it came to open conflict, something Jin Guangyao was doing his best not to confirm.

“I don’t need to have met him to know you’re always in a good mood when you go meet with him,” Jin Zixuan said. “And you always have fun stories to tell when you come home after. Actually…” 

Jin Zixuan paused, his face a little red as he averted his eyes.

“When your grandfather ordered your engagement, I worried that maybe it was ruining something of a romance between you boys.”

Jin Ling gasped in horror. He nearly dry heaved, too, for effect. 

“Me and Jingyi?”

“I really feared you might try to run away with him,” Jin Zixuan went on, unaware of the visceral disgust his mistake elicited. “Your mother too had her doubts, but…”

“Mother thought I liked Jingyi?”

Horror could no longer sufficiently express what he felt. It was something stronger. Betrayal, maybe, that people who knew him, loved him, could think he would have such awful taste. Lan Jingyi was the most annoying person in the world, not least of all because he thought that title should have gone to Jin Ling instead.

“I thought I would find a way to support you if you eloped, but your mother was sure you wouldn’t,” Jin Zixuan mused. “She told me your sense of duty was too great, and you’d never do anything that might harm our family’s reputation. She said I shouldn’t compare you to myself so much. She was right. You’re doing much better than I would have at your age.”

Instantly all of Jin Ling’s outrage that anyone could think he liked Lan Jingyi evaporated.

He was used to being compared to his father, of course, but it was always done to criticise him. How was he supposed to deal with a comparison in his favour? 

“At my age, you were a war hero,” Jin Ling muttered.

“I’ve done less for the war than A-Yao, or Jiang Cheng,” Jin Zixuan awkwardly replied. “I’ve done less than your mother, I suspect. She was feeding people in spite of her health, and refused to hide with her mother's family. I did little, except cause problems for everyone and get into a feud with Wei Wuxian.” He laughed uncomfortably. “To be honest, I’m surprised he did not kill me back then. I would have half deserved it.”

“What? Why?”

Of course Jin Ling knew that Wei Wuxian had arguments with nearly every living person around him during the Sunshot Campaign, and some dead ones as well. But as the stories were told to him, it was always Wei Wuxian causing problems, and others being victims of his pride and disregard for tradition.

Jin Zixuan hesitated, then waved his hand dismissively.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Your mother forgave me, and she’s the only person involved whose opinion counts.”

“So she was angry at you?” Jin Ling insisted, fascinated.

His mother so rarely showed when she was upset, and he never got to hear much about the Sunshot Campaign aside from the things everyone else also knew, and…

“I’d rather not talk about that,” Jin Zixuan replied, looking deeply uncomfortable.

In truth, he looked the way Jin Ling felt most of the time, whenever he realised too late he’d said something rude. It was fascinating to watch, and comforting as well.

“Listen, A-Ling, what I’m trying to say is… you don’t need to compare yourself to me, or to your uncles,” Jin Zixuan said. “I’m glad you aren’t a war hero like we are. I hope you never become one, that we can keep the peace going, in spite of… certain people. I hope you never know greater danger than a Night Hunt with your friend, your husband, and A-Yao's dog if he lets you bring Fairy.”

Jin Ling nodded, although he had conflicting thoughts on that. He wanted to be a hero too, just as great as the rest of his family. He wanted people to admire him the way they admired his father, his uncles. Then everyone would see how great he was, and they’d never dare criticise him again, especially Jin Chan.

But he also understood that wars were not fun. Many people had died to defeat the Wens, and those who survived were not always unharmed. Sometimes, when he went to stay for some days in the Lotus Piers, Jin Ling could hear people still having nightmares about the Sunshot Campaign, nearly two decades later. He suspected Jiang Cheng was among those people. He’d never dared to ask. He was certain his uncle would never admit it.

“Don’t you want me to be someone great?” Jin Ling asked.

There was a whine to his own voice he found humiliating. He couldn’t help it. It was so hard to live in the shadow of so many great men.

His father gave him a long, thoughtful look, as if the question took him by surprise. 

“Your grandfather always wanted me to be a great man,” Jin Zixuan eventually replied. “He wanted me to be important. To be like him. Now that I'm the one with a son, I can only think… I would rather see you be a good man than a great one. You are on the right path for it, I believe, and I’m… I’m proud of you for that.”

“You are?” Jin Ling whispered.

Jin Zixuan was again taken aback by that question. He pinched his lips and, rather awkwardly, stepped closer to hug his son. It had been a while since he’d done so. Jin Ling’s temper, his father’s fears regarding said temper, had drawn a wedge between them which Jing Ling’s engagement and then marriage had deepened. Being held like that, Jin Ling could admit to himself that he’d missed being close to his father, the way he’d been as a young boy.

Just as Jin Ling thought that his father was not very good at hugging, there was a knock on the door. Jin Zixuan quickly let go of his son, his eyes red and shiny as if he might have been fighting tears.

The door opened, and Wen Yuan's face peaked inside. 

“I just wanted to talk with Jin Rulan about preparations for that Night Hunt,” Wen Yuan explained, his voice shaking nearly as much as the rest of him. “I can wait a little more if you need.”

Jin Zixuan assured his son-in-law that he wasn't interrupting anything, which Jin Ling rather disagreed with. He would have liked to hear more about his father being proud of him. That hug could also have been longer. 

His disappointment was pushed aside by two things. First, his father squeezed his shoulder before leaving, which was almost as nice as a hug. Second, once Jin Zixuan had left, Wen Yuan slipped into the room and came closer, his expression one of intense worry. 

“Everything is fine?” he asked. “You're not in trouble, right?” 

“No, not this time.”

“Then… does he want something from you? Is it still about Wei zonghu's methods… if he's trying to force you to find things out… I really know nothing, and…”

Jin Ling shot him a surprised look. “No, my father doesn't care about that. He's not at all like Jin zongzhu.”

“He's not?” Wen Yuan repeated with so much disbelief it shocked Jin Ling.

His own relationship with his father was tense, and there were disagreements with Jin Guangshan and his lackeys, but other than that Jin Zixuan was usually well liked. He was kind to juniors, respectful to seniors. Although he'd had few interactions with Wen Yuan, Jin Zixuan had been far more welcoming than some others in their family, and yet it seemed not to have endeared him to his son-in-law.

Realising his tone had shown greater distrust than was polite, Wen Yuan blushed. 

“Isn't he very…” he mumbled. “That is, I'd heard… about your father, and about… Of course what I've seen of your mother isn't… But I was told… “

“Told what?” Jin Ling cut him. 

He suddenly recalled those rumours Jin Chan had been spreading, that Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian had been lovers, that Wen Yuan was their child. 

Jin Ling was certain there was no truth to it, but maybe Jin Chan hadn't invented that story. He was too stupid for that. And Wei Wuxian was so evil, who knew if he hadn't lied to his son, pretending he'd slept with a woman who never saw him as anything but a friend, a brother. 

“I've been told your parents made a political match,” Wen Yuan confessed. “That she didn't love him but her sect needed funds, while he only did it to obey his mother. I was also told he was often rude to people, and especially to her. That he was vain and sometimes cruel to her.”

Jin Ling let out a relieved sigh. While unpleasant, those rumours were so familiar he nearly found them funny.

“Some of that might be true,” he told a very shocked Wen Yuan. “About them having a political marriage, I mean. But if it is true, they still fell for each other pretty fast once they were married. And I know my grandfather wasn't too thrilled about their match, either, because the Jiang sect was so weak back then. He wanted my father to marry Qin Su instead.”

Wen Yuan stared at him, his mouth opening in surprise. He looked very cute like that, much to Jin Ling's agony. 

“I had no idea! I figured they just learned to make the best of it. I've heard it's very common for heirs of great sects to have unhappy marriages!”

“I'd likely be an only son then,” Jin Ling said. “Or they would have stopped having kids after Jin Bai, for sure, but instead they also had A-Hui. Mom was so happy, she always wanted a big family.”

Wen Yuan's astonishment only grew, as did his cuteness when his mouth opened into a perfect circle. Jin Ling had to fight a sudden impulse to kiss his husband. Before he could do something stupid and ruin their fragile trust, Wen Yuan started laughing. 

“I'm so relieved!” he exclaimed, tension fleeing his body. “Before coming here I was so worried for your mother, because Wei zongzhu certainly was! He was so upset every time we heard she'd had a new child, he thought she was forced to have them. I wish I could tell him! He'd be so glad to know she's really happy! Or… maybe not,” Wen Yuan mused with an adorable snicker. “He might feel betrayed instead!”

He said it like a good joke, but Jin Ling could only think of those rumours, of Wei Wuxian in love with his mother, enough to leave the Jiang sect when he couldn't have her. 

“Ah?” was all he managed to say. 

Smiling brightly, Wen Yuan nodded and stepped closer. He glanced around the empty room, grabbed Jin Ling by the arm, and leaned toward him. 

“Wei zongzhu is very dramatic,” he whispered into Jin Ling's ears, half laughing as he shared that shameful secret. “He gets so silly sometimes! If he knew your mother is very happy, he would whine so much, and say she has awful tastes! Oh, but he'd actually be happy, don't worry,” he added, laughing again. “He just likes to complain, because then Wen Qing and him get to argue, and it's always fun.”

Jin Ling wanted to run away. Wen Yuan was too close, his hold on Jin Ling's arm too pleasant, his breath too warm against his ear. It was torture already, and the topic discussed really didn't help. 

“Are you sure Wei zongzhu wouldn't be unhappy for real?” Jin Ling mumbled. 

Again, Wen Yuan laughed. 

“Quite sure! I don't know what people say about him, but he's very fond of her. He doesn't speak much of his life before the Burial Grounds, but when he does he tells stories of the Lotus Piers, about your mother and your uncle.” Wen Yuan paused, and his voice dropped lower, little more than a breath. “I think he misses home.”

His hold on Jin Ling's arm tightened. Perhaps he too missed home, though for him it must have meant a much less pleasant place than the Lotus Piers. Jin Ling wondered if Carp Tower would ever become home for Wen Yuan, or if he would always long for a place filled with corpses and curses, no matter how well Jin Ling treated him. 

“Wei Wuxian chose to leave his home,” Jin Ling pointed out. 

“So did I,” Wen Yuan sighed. “It's still home.”

His fears confirmed, Jin Ling didn't know what to say. All he could think was that he truly hated seeing Wen Yuan even a little bit sad. 

“If you want, we can go to the Lotus Piers together one day,” Jin Ling impulsively suggested. “Then you can see if it's like the stories your father told you.”

Wen Yuan let go of his arm and stared at him. 

“Would you really?” 

“Sure, if you want. We can go after that Night Hunt, if you like!” 

“Won't your uncle be unhappy to see me?” 

“It doesn't matter, I'll make him agree!” Jin Ling boasted. “Out of all his nephews, I'm his favourite. If I ask him for something, I always get it. And if I say he must let my husband stay with me in Yunmeng for some days or some weeks, then he'll do it!”

Even as he said that, Jin Ling knew he was biting off more than he could chew. He was only somewhat sure he could convince his uncle, but the way Wen Yuan's eyes lit up told him that it'd be worth the effort. 

First, though, they'd have to survive a Night Hunt with Lan Jingyi, who was supremely annoying, and Lan Wangji, who hated Wei Wuxian at least as much as Jiang Cheng did.