Chapter Text
Lan Zhan Pov:
It was a day like any other—quiet. Just how I like it. I was sitting in one of the many bamboo gardens in the Cloud Recesses Palace, at a little table placed in the sand, practicing my calligraphy while waiting for my older brother, the soon-to-be Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Gusu, Lan Xichen, to finish his sword lessons.
There is a poem I want to write, but I can never think of the words when I pick up my brush.
“Wangji?” a familiar voice called from one of the archways at the entrance of the bamboo garden.
Hearing my name, I set my ink brush down carefully. It shimmered a leafy green color with an intricate golden design.
I looked up to see my brother saunter over.
“Xiongzhang.” I stood and leaned forward to bow in respect, but my brother gently held my elbow, stopping me before I could.
“Wangji, it's just us at the moment. There's no need for formalities, please?” His voice was kind, and his smile pleading.
He has never liked formalities between us, but I also knew our uncle, the acting King, had our best interests in mind when he urged us to practice them. He said it would make it easier to avoid mistakes in front of the elders.
Practice is good and necessary if one wants to succeed in anything—but not wanting to make my brother sad either, I straightened and gave him a slight nod.
“Okay.”
Lan Xichen let go of my elbow and smiled brightly at me.
The elders always said how similar we looked—so much so that we could have been identical twins if not for the difference in our mannerisms, the shade of our eyes, and, of course, our age. Sometimes I wondered if that was how I would look in three years when I was twelve, or if my face would change at all. But those thoughts were unimportant. I'll see when I am older anyways.
“You said you wanted me to meet some people?” I asked, my head tilting slightly.
“Yes, I do!” Lan Xichen exclaimed. “Follow me.”
He started off, careful to step on the stone tiles and avoid the sand, mindful of the garden caretaker’s hard work—and his robes. I followed right behind him, waiting for him to tell me who we were meeting, but when he made no mention of them, I decided I’d find out when we got there.
Being too loud was looked down upon here, so as we walked through the palace, the only sound we could hear was the muted tap-tap-tap of our shoes against the decorated ceramic floor tiles. They were white, light blue, and pale grey, matching the aesthetic of the rest of the blinding bone-white palace.
We walked through a long hallway, and as we neared a turn, I saw a tall, slender but strong man dressed in purple walking through the hall with a confused expression.
He carried a sword but wasn’t wearing the Lan palace guard uniform. He didn’t seem like a threat, though—mostly confused. He’s probably lost. I looked toward my brother, whose eyes suddenly widened.
“General Jiang!” Lan Xichen shouted down the hall. He didn’t run to greet the man, even though it looked like he wanted to, because that would’ve been unbecoming of a prince. I couldn’t help but be grateful there weren’t any elders—or our uncle—around to lecture him for shouting.
The man in purple quickly turned at the sound of his title, and his eyes brightened when he saw us.
“Your Royal Highnesses, Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji!” He bowed deeply before us, every movement sure and deliberate.
“Wangji,” my brother said, “this is the leader of the Yunmeng military—General Jiang. You met him once before, but you were too young to remember.”
I said nothing but nod.
The man in purple chuckled lightly. “He may be older, but he’s just as quiet as the last time I was here,” he said, his smile reaching his eyes.
“Anyway, what are you doing here, General? Aren’t you supposed to be going to a meeting with His Majesty?” my brother asked.
General Jiang sighed before he spoke, looking down the hall lined with arches and scattered with doors that you might miss entirely if you blinked.
“Well, it’s been so long since we’ve had a meeting in the main palace that I think I missed the right door and got lost entirely. If you’re free, Your Highnesses, would you mind showing this old man where the room I’m supposed to be in is?”
“Of course! I’d be happy to,” my brother said, then turned to me. “Wangji, the people I was about to introduce you to are actually General Jiang’s children. They’re in the courtyard. I was going to bring them to the Fourth Greeting Room with you, but you know your way around the palace just as well as I do. Can you escort them for me, please?”
I didn’t really want to. I’ve never liked meeting strangers. Socializing has never been my strong suit—especially talking. There are too many unspoken rules that must be guessed, detected, and changed depending on topics, expressions, and tones. They aren’t absolute or written down. I much prefer to listen while others do the talking. But to be a good prince who listens to his people, I have to go through the awkward task of speaking to them face to face.
So I built up my strength and simply said,
“Mmh.”
Lan Xichen was elated. “Thank you, Wangji! I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
And with that, my brother turned and started down the hallway with the General, bowing goodbye to me before following after my brother.