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Ever since the incident in the Ghost City, Ming Yi had become determined to train both physically and spiritually, to ensure that he was never again caught off guard so badly. It had cost others more than it had cost him that time, and that was frankly worse; he never again wanted to feel so weak and useless.
Training with Pei Ming was not... exactly making him feel less weak on the physical end of things. Spiritually, maybe, but that might also have been an approaching out-of-body experience brought on by the exertion.
It was less of a spar and more a test of how long Ming Yi could avoid being knocked flat on his back. He felt like he'd spent more time laying on the training grounds than walking them. He was battered and sweating, and his average time spent upright was still less than a minute; General Pei had yet to visibly break a sweat.
"Ming Yi."
On reflex, Ming Yi turned towards the sound of He Xuan's voice. A greeting was already forming on his lips that never made it to the air before Pei Ming swept his legs out from under him. He landed hard on his back once more, the impact driving all the breath from his lungs.
As Ming Yi lay there trying to remember how to breathe, He Xuan's face intruded on his view of the sky, leaning over him with a deliberately neutral expression.
"You can't lose focus so easily in a fight," He Xuan told him, as though he himself hadn't been the source of the distraction. Had he done that on purpose?
Ming Yi heard Pei Ming chuckle from somewhere above him. "Well said, Scholar He."
Ming Yi huffed indignantly, which honestly wasn't a very good use of the breath he'd just gotten back. He Xuan took the slightest bit of pity on him and offered a hand up, which Ming Yi accepted. "What did you need?" He asked once he was on his feet and able to speak without wheezing again.
"I was just passing by," He Xuan said, which was He Xuan speak for "I thought of something work-related that seemed urgent enough to find you in person, but on my way here I realized it wasn't actually that urgent, but now I'm here, and I don't want to admit I was out on a wild goose chase."
(Yes, that did happen often enough for Ming Yi to have cracked his code.)
Pei Ming evidently had been around long enough to figure out the code for himself, because he shot He Xuan a knowing grin. "You and Ling Wen are going to bury the poor Earth Master, and he won't even be able to dig himself out. Let me have him for a while before you give him more paperwork."
"I wasn't planning to take him away from you," He Xuan said. It was unclear how true that was, but Pei Ming waved him off, unconcerned. Ming Yi stood between them, feeling rather like a child whose parents were semi-politely jousting over who got to spend the day with him.
"Good, good. You ought to join us for a spar sometime yourself, you know," Pei Ming said.
"I'm not very well-trained in the use of a sword," He Xuan replied, expertly dodging the thinly-veiled social invitation. "It would be better to ask Shi Qingxuan if you want someone experienced to spar against."
"Really?" Ming Yi asked, surprised. Thinking about it, it was true that Ming Yi had never actually seen him use a sword. He sometimes carried a spear, but overall tended to prefer using his fan and more spiritual powers over physical ones. Between the two of them, it was Shi Qingxuan who had been the cultivator in life, with the martial training that required. Still- "Your ascension tale-"
"There is a difference between blindly swinging a blade at someone and actually knowing what to do with it," He Xuan interrupted, tone flat.
Right. Ming Yi did suppose that as far as anyone knew, He Xuan's most famous (and only) known use of a sword took place under quite dire circumstances. He Xuan's apparent distaste for the idea of using one again made sense if you looked at it that way.
The trouble with decapitating people was that even if you only ever did it once, you tended to get a bit of a reputation for it.
"Well, enough about that for now. I'm kidnapping your protege, and we're going for drinks," Pei Ming announced, slinging his arm around Ming Yi's shoulders. This was news to Ming Yi, but he opted not to argue against it.
"Alright," He Xuan replied blandly.
That evidently wasn't the response Pei Ming wanted. "I'm kidnapping him," he repeated, giving Ming Yi a little shake, which made Ming Yi wince. General Pei didn't always seem to know his own strength.
"I'm not his keeper," He Xuan said. "Ming Yi can go wherever he wants, with whomever he pleases."
It was a bit difficult to tell if he was missing the new social cue or deliberately ignoring it again. Ming Yi decided to hedge his bets and nudge He Xuan through their private communication array.
General Pei is inviting you to come drinking with us.
I am aware, He Xuan responded, his face not giving away so much as a twitch. He knows that if he asks outright, I will say no. And I know that if I say no outright, he'll only badger me.
Oh honestly. Ming Yi had thought that dealing with bureaucracy as a mortal was exhausting; gods were something else altogether. He Xuan had the thickest face of anyone he'd ever met (Shi Qingxuan's ability to demolish it in one fell swoop notwithstanding), and if he was determined to not say what he was really thinking, that was a battle of attrition that General Pei was almost guaranteed to give up on. Temporarily, at least; from what Ming Yi had heard, this social judo had been going on between He Xuan and Pei Ming for centuries.
Unfortunately for He Xuan, he had just revealed vital information on this conflict to a third party, and Ming Yi made the snap decision to go turncoat with it.
Why not just come along, instead of bothering with all this? Just this once?
No, came the expected reply.
Ming Yi launched his counterattack. Come onnn.
He Xuan's brow furrowed ever so slightly. ...No.
Come onnnnn.
"You know," Pei Ming spoke up, "it's very obvious that you're having a secret conversation when you stand there and stare at each other silently for minutes on end."
Neither one of them responded to him.
Why are you so opposed in the first place? Ming Yi finally thought to ask.
Pei Ming and Ling Wen, as a pair, were frequently derided as the Twin Tumors of Heaven. Ming Yi had always found that to be rather cruel (not to mention poorly thought out; if Ling Wen ever decided she'd had enough of her ingrate compatriots and stopped working, Ming Yi estimated that Heaven's infrastructure would collapse within the week). He Xuan seemingly avoided Tumor status by refusing to associate closely with them outside of work boundaries, despite Pei Ming's apparent effort. If Pei Ming hadn't seemed to treat it like a game, Ming Yi might have pitied him for it.
I do not want to be hassled into frivolity every time I see General Pei. Saying yes will only encourage him to do it more.
And how do you know, if you've never gone along with it before?
He Xuan blinked at him, mouth twisting in perturbation. He didn't seem to have a retort for that.
Ming Yi nearly snorted. The two of you always do this, so constantly turning down his invitations obviously doesn't make him ask less. Why not come along, just once?
He Xuan let out an exasperated sigh. "They educated you too well, brat," he said aloud.
Ming Yi grinned at him. "Thanks to my work, I'm highly experienced in arguing with stubborn old men," he shot back. He quickly had to dodge a swing of He Xuan's fan aimed at his head.
"I don't suppose you two could let me in on the argument," Pei Ming interjected, resting his free hand on his hip as he surveyed them with raised eyebrows.
"Lord Water Master has agreed to go for drinks with us," Ming Yi announced, seizing on the apparent surrender before He Xuan could change his mind. He Xuan pursed his lips as he tucked his fan back into his belt, but Ming Yi was victorious in his correct assumption that he had in fact caved.
Pei Ming looked at them both with bemusement for a moment before snorting and shaking his head. "I suppose it does take a scholar to do what a warrior can't, at times," he said, slapping Ming Yi on the back and making him stumble. He took the opportunity to swing his other arm around He Xuan's shoulders and haul him over, just in case He Xuan got ideas about escaping. "Then let's not delay any longer! Women, wine, and song await us!"
"I am married," He Xuan muttered. "And I do not sing."
"Oh-ho, you do not sing yet, my friend." Pei Ming waggled a finger at him. As he was still holding He Xuan's shoulders, this mainly accomplished poking him in the cheek, to He Xuan's visible irritation.
Ming Yi wisely stayed quiet as Pei Ming led them on to the evening's entertainment.
To Pei Ming's credit, the restaurant he'd chosen from among his favored locations in the mortal realm was indeed plentiful in all three promised areas. The wine was sweet and worthy of its hefty price tag, the hired musicians were bright and lively, and the place seemed to be staffed almost exclusively by attractive women who were very attentive to the trio of well-paying customers in their midst. No doubt that last point had something to do with why this was one of Pei Ming's favorite places.
Ming Yi wasn't complaining. When he'd started making a name for himself as a talented architect, he'd had clients now and again who would treat him to flashy outings while they discussed the buildings they wanted to commission. Most had big visions and little patience for his explanations of building code, or why, for example, you couldn't build a manor on swampland. He still looked back on those occasions fondly, even the frustrating ones. It was different when he was being treated as a friend rather than a business partner, of course - though in this case it was really more like he was an accessory, possibly to murder if He Xuan got fed up enough.
Fortunately, as the wine flowed, it had done a good job of loosening He Xuan's tongue rather than his temper. Pei Ming had managed to ensnare him in a heated discussion about cultivation techniques, and Ming Yi was content to listen in.
"Now, this- what did you call it? Qi sign tracking?" Pei Ming was saying. He was the very picture of ease, sitting at an angle in his chair with a cup of wine in one hand and his free arm dangling over the back of his seat. If this had been a crowded sort of establishment, he would have posed a significant impediment to reaching their table, with the way his legs were sticking out. Naturally, he seemed totally unconcerned about all of this.
"Qi signature tracking," He Xuan corrected, taking a sip of his own wine. He remained composed, though less stiff than he'd started out. Where Pei Ming had barely bothered to change his own appearance at all, He Xuan wore one of his go-to disguises: handsome in a perfectly plain and unremarkable way, the only distinguishing feature of this crafted face being a beauty mark on one cheek. Ming Yi was pretty sure that it wasn't even the same cheek every time. It could have been, but it just as likely could have not, and he'd never be sure. He supposed that meant that the unmemorable disguise was working as intended.
"That's what you and Jie were talking about when discussing that ghost?" Ming Yi guessed. He carefully dodged the details of what had transpired in the Ghost City; it was still a fresh unpleasant memory for all of them.
"Yes. It's rather like..." He Xuan took another sip of wine, considering how to explain. "You know how everyone has unique fingerprints?" He raised his own hand, fingers spread. When Ming Yi nodded, he continued. "Any being with a soul, even ghosts and demons, has a unique aura as well. Some are stronger than others, but if you learn to recognize them, it makes tracking a specific individual very simple."
"Right, that. Anyway, it sounds terribly inefficient, at least for those of us who aren't as strongly spiritually inclined as you. Maybe you can make sense of all the information you'd get back from reading traces of qi, but you'd have a hell of a time teaching anyone else to do the same," Pei Ming opined, pouring himself more wine. "It's a useful technique, but one that you'd need a natural inclination for, or else you'd need to spend time cultivating it at the expense of other things."
He Xuan looked a bit put-out by this assessment, but he had to concede that Pei Ming had a point. He was in the middle of taking another drink when Pei Ming spoke again.
"'Course, I imagine all the dual cultivation you get up to has helped with that," he said with a wolfish grin. He Xuan promptly inhaled his wine the wrong way and slammed his cup down onto the table, bowing his head to hack and cough behind his sleeve.
"You did that on purpose." Ming Yi was just buzzed enough to be able to chide Pei Ming without feeling self-conscious.
"Dunno what you're talking about," Pei Ming replied breezily. Ming Yi felt murderous intent from He Xuan and tried to casually shift his chair away from him.
A short time later, Ming Yi and He Xuan each had a full jar of wine placed on the table before them. Pei Ming, sitting the right way forward now with his hands braced on his knees, raised one arm like the referee of a duel.
"Three... two... one! Go!!" Pei Ming gave the surface of the table a firm chop. On his cue, the other two each tipped their own jar back to drink deeply. Ming Yi managed to gulp several mouthfuls, but then one went down wrong, and he quickly had to stop, sputtering in an effort to not cough it all back up. Pei Ming leaned over and thumped him on the back; it was hard to say whether that did more harm than good.
He Xuan continued undeterred, giving Ming Yi a sidelong look around the edge of his jar. Head swimming with the alcohol and his coughing fit, Ming Yi had to resist the childish urge to stick his tongue out at him.
"Ah, it's not fair anyway," he said, slumping back in his chair and waving a dismissive hand. "He can breathe underwater."
He Xuan set the freshly-emptied jar down with a thump. His cheeks were deeply flushed, and he blinked several times, staring into the middle distance, before regaining some composure. "Sort yourself out," he mumbled to Ming Yi, which would have had more impact if they weren't equally impaired at this point.
Pei Ming grinned at them. "We'll see if his technique enough to topple the reigning champion," he declared. He was, of course, referring to himself. "Ready yourself, Scholar He- I might go down, but I've never gone down easy!"
None of them had the faculties to work out if that was a euphemism or not, not even Pei Ming.
A few more jars of wine later, Ming Yi had fixated on the idea of increasing the intensity of his training regimen in order to build combat prowess faster. His intent was pure, but the ideas that came to him were... perhaps a bit flawed.
"I jus' think... what I mean is, y'know, there's that saying. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. So, I mean, I think it's worth a shot-"
"'M not stabbing you," He Xuan interrupted him. "You can't build immunity to stabbing."
The fact that He Xuan had entertained this track of conversation for as long as he had already was a testament to the mellowing effects of the drink, and just how much of it he'd had.
"Jus' once, though. To see," Ming Yi tried wheedling.
"Ming Yi," He Xuan said, with incredible patience, "if I stab you, you will have been stabbed."
"An' people die when they are killed," Pei Ming added, nodding wisely. He'd been half-slumped over the table, humming vaguely, ever since He Xuan had soundly defeated him in the second round of the drinking contest. "'Cept for when they don't, of course."
"Of course," Ming Yi agreed, as though he had any idea what Pei Ming was talking about.
Even more wine later...
"Scholar He. Hey. Scholar He. He Xuan. C'mon. Yer from a fishin' village, you gotta know some songs."
"I don't..."
"C'mon, He-xiong... just one?"
"...Well... have either of you heard 'The Pearl Fisherman's Conquest'?"
Quiet, uneventful evenings were perhaps Xie Lian's favorite kind. He'd passed countless quiet hours in his 800 years, but looking back on those times in his memory, they never seemed to be enough. The fantastical life of a god and all its ups and downs had led him to appreciate mudanity to a degree that most people didn't quite understand.
He had been surprised to learn that for all their boundless energy, Shi Qingxuan did have their moments of craving peace and quiet too. They were good company even when he struggled to keep up with them, but when they had asked if he'd like to pass the evening with a pot of tea and friendly gossip, he had been more than happy to oblige. He Xuan had apparently been caught up in something work-related and had yet to show himself, despite how late the hour had gotten.
"Ling Wen never keeps him this long," Shi Qingxuan huffed, refilling Xie Lian's teacup just to have something to do with their hands. "You'd think he was one of her deputies instead of having his own domain to manage, the way he's always picking up the civil gods' slack. I wish he could relax more, but he gets so anxious when he doesn't have something to work on."
Xie Lian tried and failed to imagine He Xuan looking or acting anxious, so he supposed he'd have to take their word for it. "I don't envy the civil gods' lot," he admitted. "I might feel inclined to offer my help sometimes, since I'm often making more work for them, but..." He trailed off, momentarily lost in nightmare visions of toppling towers of scrolls tumbling onto fleeing officials, somehow unbalanced by Xie Lian's mere presence.
Or everything just catching fire again. That was always a possibility.
"Don't offer," Shi Qingxuan said, uncharacteristically sour. "I think they all whine and moan more because they know there are capable people who will take on the extra work. They've roped Ming Yi into it now too, because he's too nice to turn them down."
"...It's probably better for everyone that I don't," Xie Lian conceded. Trying to gently guide the conversation away from the topic of their annoyance, he asked, "What about that book you mentioned you were reading, have you finished it?"
Shi Qingxuan brightened. "Oh, that! I didn't finish explaining the plot to you, did I? See, the main character is a prince, and his bodyguard is in love with him, but the bodyguard is secretly a long-lost member of the royal family from the enemy kingdom-"
They spent the next hour telling Xie Lian about the novel, down to the smallest detail; in spite of billing it as a romance between star-crossed lovers, there was a lot of attention devoted to economic policy. Possibly more than was devoted to the romance itself. Xie Lian did his best to follow along, or at least nod and make affirmative noises in the proper places, but he could feel his eyes glazing over by the time Shi Qingxuan started explaining the third trade embargo between the warring kingdoms and how it was impacting the silk industry in the latter half of the book.
Just when he began to fear that he might nod off during Shi Qingxuan's recounting, the general communication array sprang to life, barraging them both with messages.
Momentarily disoriented from the sudden shift and the overlapping voices, Xie Lian took a moment to work out what everyone was discussing. Something about... some drunks stumbling around the Grand Avenue?
Lord Wind Master, Ling Wen's voice cut in, dry and business-like as always. You may wish to come to the Grand Avenue of Divine Might, in order to collect your spouse. Also as usual with her, the "may" didn't sound very optional.
Collect him? What's happened? Shi Qingxuan set their teacup down, brow creasing with concern.
A different official's voice cut in, sounding much more scandalized. They are very intoxicated, and the songs that they are singing are extremely inappropriate!
They what!? Shi Qingxuan let out a little disbelieving laugh. Who else is there?
Glancing over at Xie Lian, they said, "I suppose I need to go see what that's about. Do you want to come?"
Xie Lian nodded, equally confused and curious. They rose, leaving their tea behind to go investigate.
It was quickly apparent upon reaching the Grand Avenue just what everyone had been in a tizzy about, and that the squawking over drunken singing hadn't been inaccurate at all. The accuracy was almost as surprising as the sight of the three figures stumbling up the street, leaning heavily on each other for support.
As it turned out, He Xuan had delighted his drinking partners with the revelation that he in fact knew several rather bawdy sailing songs, and he was now trying to coach them through one as the trio made their way unsteadily up the path.
"Southern coast girls
Will do it for pearls
So I take 'em right out on the water
But the naughtiest maid
I ever have laid
Was my poor old captain's daughter!"
"Oh my," Xie Lian said. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry when they launched into a second verse that in reality was merely a list of increasingly thinly-veiled euphemisms. He wouldn't have put it past Pei Ming, but hearing such things from He Xuan and Ming Yi's mouths was downright surreal.
For Shi Qingxuan's part, it was all they could do not to cackle behind their fan. They waved to the three men. "Helloooo! I can't believe you all went out drinking without me!"
At the sound of their voice, He Xuan stopped singing and instead positively lit up with joy in a way that nobody who knew him would have believed if they didn't witness it themselves.
"Ming Yi. Ming Yi." He Xuan slapped Ming Yi's shoulder several times to get his attention, then pointed in Shi Qingxuan's direction. "That's my wife!"
He broke away from the other two and made a beeline for Shi Qingxuan, with much more confidence than balance. Shi Qingxuan quickly stowed their fan and hurried to meet him halfway. They didn't really "meet" so much as collide; Shi Qingxuan managed to get a secure hold on He Xuan's waist to hold him up, laughing openly now as he folded them into a tight, if clumsy, embrace.
"Hello, dearest," they said into his shoulder.
"Mmm," He Xuan replied elegantly, burying his face in their hair and knocking their crown slightly askew. "Qingxuan," he added, as though that punctuated whatever point he meant to make.
Xie Lian swiftly decided to not interrupt that. "What's the occasion?" He asked Pei Ming and Ming Yi instead as they approached, mostly just to give himself something to do so he could ignore the couple.
"The occay-shun, is," Pei Ming slurred, "Th' Lord Water Mashter's... drunk."
"I see," Xie Lian said, not seeing at all how they had actually gotten there.
"It's, um. We, we had a drinking contest, and. And." Ming Yi tried to elaborate, only to break into a fit of drunken giggling. After taking a few moments to recover, he continued. "We had a contest, and. He Xuan. Won."
Pei Ming, finally realizing that Xie Lian was within grabbing distance, promptly slung his free arm around him and dragged him closer. "Y'know, Yer Highness," he said over Xie Lian's startled squawk, "you, you oughta- come with us nex' time, eh? How much can ya drink?"
"Oh-! Well, I don't know-"
"It's okay," Ming Yi interrupted. "It's, see. It's actually, it's secret. To make He Xuan relax, and. And have fun." He did his best very serious nod, looking Xie Lian in the eye. "...Don' tell him, okay?"
Xie Lian looked over at He Xuan, standing less than five feet away. Fortunately for Ming Yi, He Xuan seemed to have made it his mission to drape himself all over Shi Qingxuan like a particularly handsy cloak and was not paying the rest of them the least bit of attention.
"...Okay."
"I'm going to take this one home," Shi Qingxuan announced, turning so that they could address the group. He Xuan remained in place, lazily running both hands through their hair. Xie Lian had a sinking feeling as Shi Qingxuan adjusted their hold on He Xuan's waist so that they could lead him away.
"Oh- wait-" While he tried to figure out a polite way to beg Shi Qingxuan not to leave him alone with the other two drunk men, Pei Ming squeezed his shoulder in what he supposed was meant to be a friendly and jovial manner.
"Any three's as good as any other three," Pei Ming said, which Xie Lian supposed made some kind of sense to him. Ming Yi nodded as though it did. "C'mon, Yer Highness- do ya sing?"
And so, Xie Lian was dragged along and forced to listen to sixteen more verses of "The Pearl Fisherman's Conquest," until Ming Yi finally passed out; while Pei Ming was occupied with him, Xie Lian made his escape. He spent the rest of the night chanting sutras in an effort to get the song out of his head.
He Xuan fortunately didn't make things especially difficult for Shi Qingxuan as they led him back home. He didn't help very much, leaning heavily on them and letting his hands wander, but he went willingly wherever they did. They had thought that the walk might sober him up a bit, but he was well and truly sauced.
He did prove more of a distraction once they'd gotten him inside, clinging to them from behind and planting sloppy kisses on their face. They'd intended to deposit him in bed, but changed course for the nearest sofa and maneuvered He Xuan down before sitting themselves. "Oof. Here we go." He Xuan promptly became boneless and splayed himself over the sofa and Shi Qingxuan's lap.
"Qing-xuan," he slurred their name. They looked down at him with a softly amused smile, stroking a few errant strands of hair back from his face. He Xuan returned a broad, lopsided grin of his own, eyes hazy and cheeks flushed with drink.
"You're going to regret this soooo much in the morning," Shi Qingxuan teased him, bending to kiss his cheek. He brought a clumsy hand up to cup their face and redirected their mouth to his own with some effort. They wrinkled their nose a bit at just how strong the taste of alcohol was in his mouth, but they returned the kiss briefly.
"Love you," He Xuan mumbled as though he hadn't heard their previous words at all, winding his fingers in their hair.
"Do you love me enough to stand up and walk to the bedroom?" They asked.
"Mhmm." He Xuan fumbled with the collar of his outer robe, managing to pull it partially open before Shi Qingxuan caught his hand.
"A-Xuan. Not like that." They brought his hand up to kiss his knuckles, partly as a distraction. When they glanced back down at his face, he was staring up at them with as much concentration as he could manage. "What?"
He Xuan freed his hand from their grip and poked the tip of their nose with his index finger before giggling to himself. Shi Qingxuan laughed too.
"You are very silly," they said, voice warm with affection. "Bedtime now, come on. You've had a moment to catch your breath." They pushed his shoulders until he sat up, then secured their arm around his waist again to lead him once more. They couldn't quite stop him from shedding his outer robe on the way, but they finally got him into bed without real incident. Once he was settled comfortably, the alcohol did the rest of the work of carting him off to sleep in short order.
Nighttime peace settled softly over their palace.
Morning, by contrast, did not come slowly or kindly. It came to He Xuan like a boot to the face. Shi Qingxuan's soft humming from somewhere in their bedroom was a completely unfitting ambience for the way the sunlight stabbed at him as soon as he cracked his eyes open.
"Ffffuck," was all He Xuan managed to say in response to consciousness rudely greeting him so. Shi Qingxuan looked up from the side table where they'd been painting and smiled.
"Good morning, my sleeping beauty," they called to him, sing-song. He Xuan groaned and pulled his pillow over his face.
"Kill me right now," came his muffled voice from underneath.
"No," Shi Qingxuan sang back.
This received more grumbling and groaning. Fuck, he must have drank an actual boatload of wine to feel this wretched even with his divine constitution. Even more wretchedly, he remembered more or less everything that had transpired the previous night.
"I can never show my face to Pei Ming again."
Shi Qingxuan rose and moved to the bedside. They patted the pillow covering He Xuan's face, and he didn't need to see them to know how they were grinning down at him. "Aw, what about Ming Yi?"
"I am going to drown Ming Yi," He Xuan growled.
"A-Xuan! You can't say that!" Shi Qingxuan was laughing too hard to sound outraged, despite their efforts. "He's practically our son!"
"And I'll be casting him into the sea as a sacrifice the next time I see him, just like they used to do with firstborns when there was a famine," He Xuan muttered darkly. "Little rat."
"If it's any consolation, he's probably suffering just as much as you are right now."
"Hng."
Shi Qinxuan mercilessly pulled the pillow away from his face, though they softened it slightly by bending to kiss his forehead when he made a noise of protest. "Get up and go have a bath, and I'll bring you some tea," they said over his grousing. They were a seasoned professional when it came to dealing with hangovers.
He Xuan huffed but did as instructed, rolling over to swing his legs out of bed. He paused with his eyes closed after sitting up, waiting for the pounding in his head to recede again. "Qingxuan, they made me sing," he complained.
"Oh, it's better than that. When His Highness and I found you, you were teaching them to sing," they informed him with a grin.
"Ugggh." He Xuan would have flopped petulantly back into bed, but Shi Qingxuan caught him and pulled him to his feet.
"Consider it your due karma for not inviting me along. You would have escaped before things got as far as they did, then."
That was true; nothing caused a convenient diversion under which to slip out of a social obligation like an outrageously drunk Shi Qingxuan. It was a tactic He Xuan had used liberally over the years.
"And," they continued brightly as they steered him in the direction of the bath, "Pei Ming invited the two of us to join you next time!"
"There is not going to be a next time."
Shi Qingxuan just smiled at him with the air of someone who knew they had already won and ushered him on to greet the day.