Work Text:
If he'd known there was a chance that they'd run into an absurdly large and malicious snake yaoguai, he'd have prepared better. Packed rations. More signal flares. Medical supplies. Given a more extensive hunt plan to his juniors. Not invited his (potential future) brothers-in-law in the first place.
What he would have done hardly matters now, though. Wei Wuxian had managed to take down the snake, but the mouth of the den had collapsed in its death throes.
It had been a foolish plan to begin with. Inviting the two of them here to hunt game in the hopes it would somehow kindle even a mere sliver of camaraderie between them had been a risky gamble at best.
Jin Zixuan is well aware neither of them view him highly, and he can't say he doesn't view them in the same light. All his life, they'd been thorns in his side and now? They're the largest obstacle standing between him and his (entirely sincere and honest) desire to properly court their sister, with the intent to re-establish their broken engagement.
In the time since he'd realized his feelings, he's made several attempts to approach Jiang Yanli during crowd hunts and discussion conferences—a safe, public venue where the two of them could be seen together, getting along. Unfortunately, all of his efforts thus far have been swiftly roadblocked by a confrontation with either Jiang Wanyin or Wei Wuxian, or, on rare and horrible occasions, both of them at the same time.
After several months of this, he'd tried going around them by asking his mother to arrange a formal visit, only to realize his misstep when he'd arrived in Lotus Pier to find them tagging along as designated chaperones. In the end, he'd barely been able to catch a glance of Jiang Yanli, with how dedicated Wei Wuxian had been at remaining directly between the two of them at all times.
And thus, Jin Zixuan, after many hours of wallowing about his own sorry state of affairs, had finally come to the conclusion that something needed to change. Which is how he finds himself here: stuck in this awful cave with two people who he's fairly certain would gut him if political circumstances allowed for it, snake blood caked under his fingernails, and an entire night standing between him and the prospect of being rescued.
If he didn't think it would jostle his two cracked ribs, he'd be laughing about just how poorly this had ended up working out for him. Surely there must be an easier way to go about trying to court someone.
On the other side of the cave, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin have positioned themselves as far from him as they possibly can be, but in reality, Jin Zixuan could knock boots with them if he wished. He very much does not wish to though, as he thinks at least one of them would try to strangle him if he did.
Case and point: Wei Wuxian, in particular, has been watching him since they'd crawled out from the rubble, and Jin Zixuan is keenly aware that his hand is resting casually over the sheath of his dagger, as though he's suspicious that Jin Zixuan might…what? Attack them? Try to kill them? How foolish does he think Jin Zixuan is, really? If he wanted to kill them, there were far better ways to go about it than trapping himself in a cave with them. He may be confident in his own martial abilities, but he has no illusions that if a true fight broke out here, he would lose horribly, if only by virtue of being outnumbered.
Jin Zixuan closes his eyes for a moment and breathes, focusing on the stinging pain in his ribs as his lungs fill with air. Two cracked ribs, he thinks, maybe one broken. He cycles his qi with more intent and hopes that by the time his juniors realize he hasn't returned by tomorrow afternoon, he'll be in better condition. When he opens his eyes again, Wei Wuxian is still watching him, and he feels very, very tired.
"In my defense, this isn't how this was supposed to go," he says.
Through the small firelight afforded from Wei Wuxian's makeshift fire talisman laid between them, he catches the dark flicker of a sneer on Jiang Wanyin's face. He supposes he deserves that, considering he was the one who'd planned this hunt and inadvertently lured them into this death trap of a cave.
"A few of my juniors reported seeing a flock of deer over the northern ridge last week. I'd planned on us tracking them, taking one of them down, and then camping out for the night." He makes a short, awkward gesture in their direction, and sighs internally when even that is enough to get Wei Wuxian flick the hilt of his knife, clearly ready to draw it in full if Jin Zixuan tries to come closer.
"I have heard, many times over the years, that you enjoy hunting. Your acquaintances have mentioned it. Jiang Wanyin has mentioned it. My mother has mentioned it. 'All Wei Wuxian ever does is fool around and hunt pheasants.' I had thought it would be a good way to…" He trails off, his eye catching the way Wei Wuxian's jaw shifts, tensing beneath his skin. That's the wrong thing to say, then. He hadn't thought that would be a touchy subject, but what does he really know about either of them apart from the fact that they hate him.
"To what?" Jiang Wanyin asks, his tone sharp.
Jin Zixuan grits his teeth, reevaluating. To what, indeed.
"To become more familiar with one another," was what he'd intended to say. But that would have been a lie, and Jin Zixuan is certain they would know it was a lie. It would get him nowhere.
"To curry favor with you, enough that you'll stop getting in my way," would be closer to the truth, but he imagines that wouldn't go over well.
Jin Zixuan takes another breath, steady and stinging, and mulls over his options. Even if this isn't how he'd wanted things to go, they were still spending time together, and with the cave-in keeping them here the other two would have to sit and listen to what he had to say. This might be better, all things considered. He could tell them his piece, convince them he was worthy of Jiang Yanli’s affection, and they would all leave in the morning as reluctant but cordial allies with a common goal shared between them.
Feeling settled, Jin Zixuan says, "I know in the past we have not gotten along. We have all said things we regret—"
"Have we?" Wei Wuxian cuts in, "What, exactly, have I said that Jin-gongzi thinks I should regret?"
Wei Wuxian cocks an eyebrow at him, and Jin Zixuan feels a familiar annoyance settle in his skin. He tries again, "There has been conflict between us—"
Jiang Wanyin stops him this time. "Conflict that you have always started. You've been making A-Jie cry since we were kids, and you think you can just take us out on a hunting trip and we'll forget about all of it? If my mother hadn't insisted we come, I would have burnt that invite of yours and sent back the ashes."
"I was young—"
"You're really using that as an excuse?"
"My anger about the engagement was misplaced—"
"And that gives you the right to take it out on Shijie?"
"It's not that simple—"
"Right, I'm sure you had a very good, complex reason for dragging A-Jie's reputation through the mud when all she's ever been is kind to you."
Jiang Wanyin's words echo through the cave as a silence falls between them. All three of them are watching each other now, tension thick in the air.
Wei Wuxian breaks first, elbowing Jiang Wanyin to whisper loudly enough that Jin Zixuan knows he's meant to hear. "What do you want to bet that this is just some play on Jin-zongzhu's part, since we've been doing so well at conferences lately. Now that Yunmeng Jiang is in a good position, he wants to re-secure that alliance. You really think that Peacock, of all people, would have a change of heart?"
The wavering flicker of the firelight dances across the cave walls, perfectly complimenting the sweet, metallic tang of blood hanging in the air. Jin Zixuan's stomach sours.
When he first made these plans, he really thought they might work. Any time he had conflicts with his cousins or his shidi, as long as he explained himself and told them he didn't mean it, they'd always tell him it was fine and things would move on from there. Never once, in all his life, had someone refused to take him at his word or doubted the sincerity of his actions. Faced with this for the first time, he feels strangely lost.
The fire talisman burns out, blanketing the three of them in darkness. In the void all around him, all Jin Zixuan can hear is the beat of his own heart. He takes another breath and curls his fists on his thighs.
"I was wrong. I know, now, that I was wrong. I was young and stupid and I just..." Jin Zixuan steadies himself as the talisman lights the cave once more, "I want a chance to make things right."
A pause. Wei Wuxian's hand is still hovering next to the firelight when he looks back at Jiang Wanyin. Neither of them speak, but they seem to share something between them.
When they're done, Wei Wuxian shuffles forward, leaning over the fire. It casts an eerie shadow over his face as he glares at him, his mouth pulled into an unimpressed frown. "What do you like about Shijie?"
Jin Zixuan blinks. Stares at him. Blinks again.
Wei Wuxian clicks his tongue, "He can't even think of a single thing."
Embarrassment washes over him, creeping up his neck in a hot flush. "Shut up! I'm just...thinking."
Jiang Wanyin scoffs. "Right. You brought us all the way out here for this, and you can't even come up with a convincing lie."
"Exactly. If you like someone as much as you claim to like Shijie, you'd know what you like about them." Wei Wuxian says, and Jin Zixuan feels that's distinctly unfair. He likes many things about Jiang Yanli. It is simply difficult to find a way to phrase them, and far more difficult to find a way to say them in front of her brothers.
"How would you know? If you think it's so easy, why not try it yourself?" Jin Zixuan replies.
He means for Wei Wuxian to list off things he appreciates about his Shijie, but what he receives instead is:
"What do I like?" Wei Wuxian laughs and falls back against the wall, "He's righteous, disciplined, and strong. I mean have you even seen his hands and his—"
"Can you not shut up about that iceblock for more than a day?" Jiang Wanyin groans from the shadows, making it all the more apparent that whoever Wei Wuxian had been speaking about, it certainly was not Jiang Yanli.
Wei Wuxian grins and knocks their shoulders together, "But ChengCheng, his arms—"
"That's it—"
Jin Zixuan stares on in palpable confusion as Jiang Wanyin starts trying to wrestle his shixiong into a headlock.
Whoever Wei Wuxian had been talking about, it seems they might be on even worse terms with Jiang Wanyin than he is, but they had charmed Wei Wuxian. Jin Zixuan himself is righteous, disciplined, and strong, so he's already fulfilled those requirements. If he could figure out who this person is, he could adjust everything else accordingly, get in Wei Wuxian's good graces, and then maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to finally move forward with courting the love of his life.
Despite the physical aggression on display in front of him, the overall mood within the cave seems to have lightened, inexplicably. Jin Zixuan smiles, trying to match the now lighthearted air around him, and asks, "Who are we talking about?"
The other two pause, and as they seemingly remember that he’s here with them, the tension from before immediately resurfaces.
Jiang Wanyin leans forward, his arm still wrapped loosely around Wei Wuxian's throat, and says, “That’s none of your business."
Back to square one, then.
Jin Zixuan lets out a long, frustrated breath. "What could I possibly do to make you take me seriously? I have tried everything, and you have thrown it back in my face time and time again." He stares into the sharp glint of their eyes, gaze flitting between them. Annoyance and desperation swirl uncomfortably in his chest as they make no move to answer him.
"Name a price, a truth, a challenge, and I will meet it." Jin Zixuan says, "Anything."
This seems to catch Wei Wuxian's attention. "Anything?" He asks.
"Anything." Jin Zixuan answers.
Wei Wuxian smiles at him for a moment, and then curls his fingers around Jiang Wanyin's wrist, leaning in close to whisper amongst themselves. This time, he cannot hear them. All the more evidence that they had simply been trying to rile him, earlier. He bites his tongue.
When they've seemingly finished their little discussion, Jiang Wanyin is the one to speak.
"A challenge, to see if you're worthy of A-Jie's time." He says.
Jin Zixuan nods, "Name it."
Grinning, Wei Wuxian says, "Come to Lotus Pier in three months. We'll have everything worked out by then."
"If you don't show or you back out halfway through, there won't be a second chance." Jiang Wanyin continues, "So you'd better be serious about this."
"I am." Jin Zixuan says quickly, relief washing through him. Finally. Finally!
"Even if the heavens try to stop me, I'll be there."
This earns him a laugh from Wei Wuxian and reluctant grumble from Jiang Wanyin, both of which, he thinks, are a sign of good fortune.
If you were to ask Jin Zixuan how he thought his romantic endeavors would play out after he'd managed to break his childhood engagement to Jiang Yanli, he would have said something along the lines of:
"I'll find someone who truly suits me now that I'm no longer bound to someone so plain and dissatisfactory."
And, riding the high of finally having gotten what he'd wanted, he'd fully intended on carrying that out.
But over the years he finds the gardens around Lanling lacking, full of flouncing gold and cloying perfume that sticks to his skin and makes his stomach sink instead of flutter. He finds, through his travels, that disciples of other sects are equally unappealing. Too brash, too timid, too tall, too short, too much of everything, and yet also not enough. He's met dozens of women on night hunts, been paraded through reluctant courting meetings, and walked aimlessly through city streets looking for someone, anyone who might catch his interest.
His father has always made it seem so easy, to be entranced by someone to the point of indulgence. And though on some level Jin Zixuan is glad they are unalike in this regard, he finds himself weary at the idea that, perhaps, he is simply destined to live a loveless life.
But fate, in the end, is a capricious mistress who strikes when one least expects. For Jin Zixuan, this strike comes in the spring of his twentieth year, during the annual Lanling Crowd Hunt.
Jin Zixuan rides into the archery grounds, his face turned up to catch a single white peony he expects to be thrown from his mother's private seat. Only, when he shields the sun from his eyes, he finds someone sitting next to her.
And it occurs to him in that moment, that while Yunmeng Jiang has attended every season since their broken engagement, it has been nearly four years since he had last seen Jiang Yanli.
The last time he'd seen her was a formal meeting his mother had forced him into, back when they'd still been engaged. It had been only a few days after his fifteenth birthday, and the entire time she'd visited his cousins had teased him endlessly about his betrothed being so much older than him—those two years between them had seemed like a decade when he was younger.
He remembers how he'd refused to speak with her over tea, how she'd sat across from him in uncomfortable silence for nearly an hour until his mother returned, how she'd seemed so lifeless, quiet, pale. What a poor match, he'd thought. How could anyone expect him to be happy with this?
Jiang Yanli looks down at him from the stands, now, and throws a peony along with his mother. It flits through the air in weaving circles, and Jin Zixuan almost falls from his mount when it catches the wind and strikes him dead center in the face.
The wind dies and the peony falls into his lap, and Jin Zixuan watches as Jiang Yanli's lips turn up into a small smile. Her face is painted in a warm auburn flush as she looks down at him, shoulders shaking with restrained laughter. A flower in full bloom, blushing in the sun.
All at once, every single thought Jin Zixuan has ever had promptly leaves his body.
He can feel his heart spring to life in his chest, odd and new and unsettling. Horrifying? Suffocating? No, his heart decides. Exciting.
Jin Zixuan freezes, reins falling lax between his fingers, and his horse comes within a hands-width of careening sideways into his cousin, saved at the last second by a shout from the Jiang contingent lined up behind them.
Lotus Pier has long been a place of misery for Jin Zixuan. With the exception of the past year, there has never been a time where he has willingly found himself in Yunmeng. His mother would bring him when he was young and he'd, at times, find himself near the border accidentally during a night hunt, and then be forced to pay a visit for propriety's sake. The climate is hotter than Lanling and far more humid. It is uncomfortable for him, even during the dry months. He's always found being here to be a heavy, trying endeavor, only lessened now by the newly added benefit of getting to see the woman he loves when he visits.
When he arrives in Lotus Pier, three months after that fated day where they'd been trapped in that cave, he is expecting the visit to be largely unpleasant, but worth it in the end. He's packed all of the courting gifts he's been accumulating over the last year and hidden them in his luggage in the hopes that he'll be able to give at least some of them to Jiang Yanli by the time he has to leave. Perhaps he'll even get a chance to speak with her before he has to go through with whatever nonsense her brothers have planned for him.
They'll likely give him time to settle in and rest from his travels, given the flight from Lanling is nearly three shichen long, and he might be able to sneak off and convince a maid or two to tell him where Jiang Yanli is. Or, maybe, she'll be waiting for him at the docks, so glad to see him that they'll have to let him speak with her, at least for a little while—
Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian meet him at the gates, unaccompanied. It is surprising, if only because Madam Yu typically makes a big show of greeting him and welcoming him into their home.
Both of them are in plain robes, unadorned with the finery Jin Zixuan has grown used to seeing them in. If he didn't know them, he'd have taken one look and thought they were outer disciples.
Strange. He thinks, as he steps onto the pier, his own bright gold standing in stark contrast. He'd worn one of his favorite sets for the occasion, once more in the hopes that he'd get to show them off to Jiang Yanli. They were a fine cut with elaborate, expensive embroidery fanning down the sleeves and curling around the hems. When his mother had gifted them to him, she'd bragged about how it had taken the seamstress over a year to finish, and one could plainly see the effort in the details. He's treasured them since and has always been careful to wear them only on special occasions.
The golden bell on his belt rings softly as he moves to greet them, and he feels unsettled by the grin that curls on Wei Wuxian's lips.
His gut instinct upon seeing that mischievous smile on Wei Wuxian's face was to turn around and head back to Lanling, and as it turns out, he was right to be wary of what that grin promised him.
The moment they'd finished formal greetings, Jiang Wanyin had pushed him into a rowboat and taken him far into the weaving maze of offset streams behind the main Jiang manor. No time to settle in or even put his things away—just a swift and efficient kidnapping that resulted in him standing at the edge of a teetering rowboat, staring at a vast field of puddles and mud.
"Shijie has always loved this one Yunmeng folktale about the Mud Blossom Flower," Wei Wuxian says, "Have you heard it?"
Jin Zixuan shakes his head, despair settling in his gut as Wei Wuxian's grin gets wider.
"It's about a maiden who is so pretty that she receives betrothal offers from nearly every man she crosses paths with, but she knows they only like her for her beauty. So she sets a challenge for her hand, knowing that only the most devoted would venture out into the forest to try to find a very special flower—a flower that only blooms once per year."
Jiang Wanyin glowers at him, "The Mud Blossom Flower."
"Right, the Mud Blossom Flower." Wei Wuxian laughs, an excited sparkle in his eye, "And do you know what day it is today?"
Jin Zixuan can certainly guess what they're trying to get at here. He stares out at the mud field, and then looks back at Wei Wuxian, "You said it's a folktale."
"But there's always some truth to folktales, isn't there?"
Silence blankets them, only broken by the soft rustle of the reeds knocking against the boat. Both Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian look at him, expectant. He imagines they're under the impression that this will be too much for him, that he'll refuse, or ask for some sort of concession to prepare—but that would break the rules of their deal, wouldn't it? They would see it that way, he's certain.
Jin Zixuan stares down at the stark white cuffs of his sleeves and laughs. He'd played right into their hands, hadn't he?
Well done, he thinks. And he vaults himself over the edge of the boat, into the water.
There are two things that Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin have not accounted for. The first is, of course, that he is genuinely devoted to winning Jiang Yanli's affection. She is the only person he's ever loved, and they think he will cast this chance they've given him aside? The second is his willingness to shove his pride into a tight little lockbox, never to be seen again, if it means he can wipe that smug grin off of Wei Wuxian's face.
He can tell he's surprised them (a win in its own right) when he pops up out of the water and they're leaning over the side of the boat, frantically looking for him. Wei Wuxian has one leg halfway in the water, presumably because they thought he'd drown? Ridiculous.
Jin Zixuan laughs to himself as he wades out of the water. The sun is high in the afternoon sky, and he has an entire day ahead of him to find something that looks like it might be a mythical flower from a fairytale.
As he pulls himself from the shallows, he loses his boots. He leaves them behind and hears a far-off shout from the direction of the boat—it's Jiang Wanyin's voice, but the wind carries it off until it's nothing.
The mud is deep enough that he sinks into it when he steps into the field, and after a minute, he makes the decision to bunch up the end of his pants until they're tied roughly around his knees. Everything is stained and waterlogged and he's honestly still laughing about it, even when Wei Wuxian's voice reaches him and tells him that the flower is said to be buried beneath the mud, which is even more ridiculous than a flower that blooms for only one day.
He turns, mud squelching around him, and shouts, "Thank you for the kind advice, Xiǎojiùzi."
Seeing Wei Wuxian's jaw drop, even from a distance, is well worth the effort of having to wiggle himself out of the mud hole he'd sunk into for staying stationary for too long. He picks a spot with a bundle of reeds growing out of the mud, and starts to dig.
By the time the sun starts to set, sinking beneath the tops of the trees, Jin Zixuan has found two things: one, a stone that looks passably like a flower; and two, a newfound delight in messing with Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian.
It has been hours. A full day, almost. They've tried to convince him to give up several times. Wei Wuxian, after dinner time had come and gone, had even said they could come back tomorrow. But that would defeat the purpose of all of this.
Darkness falls around them, and Jiang Wanyin pulls the boat up as close to him as he can without it getting caught in the mud by the shallows.
"Jin Zixuan!"
He ignores them, flips over another large rock. Nothing.
"You've made your point! Get in the boat!"
Jin Zixuan sighs, shaking his head. Another rock, more nothing.
"We'll leave you here!" Wei Wuxian adds. "You'll have to stay out here all night!"
Fine, he thinks. Go ahead.
"Oh, will you just—!" There's a splashing noise behind him, and he looks back to see Wei Wuxian in the water, coming toward him.
It will take Wei Wuxian some time to reach him, so he continues on, chuckling to himself as he listens to Wei Wuxian struggling through the mud.
Another rock, this one settled on a little bed of grass. He lifts it just as Wei Wuxian's hand claps down on his shoulder. Both of them freeze the instant the rock flips as a strange blue light flickers into waking. A flower unfurls, petals blooming bright and luminescent in the pitch dark.
"What the fuck." Wei Wuxian breathes, and Jin Zixuan turns to him, stifling a laugh.
"Did the two of you bring a pot or a bag or something?" He asks, "She'll like it better if it's alive, don't you think?"
Jin Zixuan had thoroughly botched the archery competition that started off the crowd hunt. He's never come in first when Wei Wuxian has been in attendance—a fact that has been lorded over him for years, by the man himself—but he usually comes in second at the very least. He'd barely landed one center hit this time. A complete and utter failure, all because he couldn't stop thinking about Jiang Yanli watching him from the stands.
Of all things! He didn't even like her? He'd fought for years to get their engagement broken, and now he sees her once and it feels like his heart is trying it's very best to take flight from his chest. Shameful. Absolutely, completely ridiculous—
"Jin-gongzi?" Jiang Yanli's voice has changed in the time they've been apart. It's deepened, just a little bit, rounding out into a smooth, confident tone that sparks his blood in his veins.
He turns toward her voice, and is met immediately with the whole of her, standing to the side of the entrance to the hunting grounds. Her eyes linger on his collar when he steps closer, where he's pinned the peony that had nearly caused a horse-on-horse collision earlier.
"Your mother asked me to wish you luck with the hunt before you set out," Jiang Yanli says, "She was called away for something, and asked me to come in her place."
Jin Zixuan stares at her, his jaw tensing. There are several things he should say here. Nice things, polite things. Things that are not: 'What wicked magic have you done to me to make me feel like this?'
He says nothing. Wind whistles through the trees, and after a long moment, Jiang Yanli bows. When she rises, she looks resigned in a way that pulls at his chest. It is uncomfortable, this flighty, nervous feeling that settles in and roosts in his ribcage.
As she turns to walk back to the stands, he finds himself moving without thinking, startling her when he catches her wrist. He drops it immediately, shame lancing through him as she cradles her hand close to her chest, that warm blush blooming on her cheeks once more. His heart beats louder, pounding in his throat.
Before he can think better of it, he asks, "Would you…like to walk with me?"
Jiang Yanli stills, and he holds his breath as she looks at him, her wide, dark eyes searching his face. A moment passes, and she smiles. A small, tentative turn of her lips—nothing like the grin he'd seen in the stands that morning. He wants, suddenly, to make her smile like that again.
"Yes," She says, and she takes his hand when he offers it, "I think I would like that very much."
The flower goes over well, he thinks.
Before they'd left the mud field, Jin Zixuan had carefully dug out the roots and bundled everything up in a torn off strip of his outer robe to keep the mud secure around them until he could plant it properly.
It is well into the evening when they make it back to Lotus Pier, and he insists they must let him present it to Jiang Yanli tonight. It only blooms once per year, after all. If they waited until morning the petals would close back up and all they would have is an unbloomed bulb.
Both he and Wei Wuxian are still damp and covered in mud from the waist down. He's certain they make a very amusing pair, tracking mud through the winding piers. Jiang Wanyin grumbles when they reach a lone path, stretching far out over the water.
There are lanterns still lit in the pavilion, casting an orange glow out over the water. It feels inviting, like he's coming home after a long, weary day. Has she been waiting for them all evening? Warmth fills him at the thought.
Wei Wuxian pushes him, gently, to keep him moving. And soon, he finds himself greeted by a sight he's been longing to see for months.
Jiang Yanli laughs at the sight of them, and Jin Zixuan feels very much like he's won.
Jin Zixuan wakes the next morning thinking he's finished. That, when he makes his way out of the guest house, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin will begrudgingly congratulate him for besting them, and they'll all move on. He even tucks one of the smaller courting gifts he'd brought into one of his pockets, thinking he'll have time to give it to Jiang Yanli later. Maybe he'll see her after breakfast and they can take a stroll around the markets, and this time he'll pay attention. He'll listen, he'll log away anything that catches her attention, he'll be present here, with her.
Because he's won, hasn't he? He's passed their test, beat their challenge. He's proved himself worthy.
Right?
He finds them in the training grounds, sparring. It's odd that it's empty at this time of day, but Jin Zixuan chooses not to question it. Instead, he stands on the edge of the grounds, watching the two of them dance around each other.
The Jiang sword style is quicker than what he's familiar with. His father has always called it artless, in private. "There's no finesse to it, Zixuan. Imagine learning that—boorish, all of them."
Over the years, he's fought both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin a handful of times in sparring competitions, and he thinks his father's opinion is misguided. He and Jiang Wanyin tend to best each other in equal measure, trading wins with the seasons, but Wei Wuxian has never fallen to Suihua's flare.
Suibian meets Sandu, and the clash of metal echoes through the training grounds, ringing high when Jiang Wanyin puts his weight behind it, pushing Wei Wuxian back until he retreats—dipping low to knock the sword from Jiang Wanyin's hand. Sandu clatters across the tile, and Suibian hovers, a hair away from cutting into Jiang Wanyin's neck.
Jiang Wanyin closes his eyes and takes a breath, as if trying to steady himself.
"Fine," Suibian's blade withdraws as he stands, and Jin Zixuan finds himself on the receiving end of a glare.
"You're fighting him." Jiang Wanyin says, gesturing angrily at Wei Wuxian.
Jin Zixuan blinks, and stares dumbly at them while Jiang Wanyin collects Sandu and plops himself down on the tile outside of the sparring ring.
"Why am I fighting you?" He asks.
Wei Wuxian spins Suibian in his hand, "For the challenge."
"The challenge?"
"Yes, the challenge." Wei Wuxian laughs, stretches, and puts himself in a starting position, clearly waiting for him to unsheathe Suihua and enter the ring. When Jin Zixuan doesn't move, he cocks his head, mocking, "Unless you're too tired to go on after yesterday?"
Jin Zixuan wants to laugh. "All of that—all of yesterday, wasn't the challenge? You're joking."
"Of course you would think this is funny." Jiang Wanyin scoffs, and Sandu pops from its sheath, a sliver of shining steel glinting in the morning light. "Obviously you're not serious, then."
"Fine." Suihua sings when he pulls it free, and he steps into the ring.
The last time he'd fought Wei Wuxian, he'd managed a good, even fight for about five minutes before Suibian had him by the throat. This time, he's down in five blows. Wei Wuxian towers over him, blocking out the sun as he presses the tip of his sword to Jin Zixuan's chest. He can feel the cold steel of it radiating through his robes, and he wonders, idly, if Wei Wuxian has always been able to take him down this quickly. If every time they'd fought before, he'd been putting on a bit of a show. They've never fought off of a sparring stage, he recalls.
Suibian withdraws and Jin Zixuan suppresses a shiver.
When he sits up, they're watching him. Wei Wuxian is back in position, Suibian ready at his side. He catches on quickly.
Suihua comes to him when he calls, and he sets himself at the opposite side of the ring once more.
It takes an entire day for him to fight Wei Wuxian to a draw. Fifty-six spars, and he'd only brought Suihua close to him once. The only part of him that feels vindicated is his gut instinct that had told him, three months ago, that they would definitely be able to kill him in that cave if they wanted to. Small wins, he supposes. He knows when to pick his battles.
By the time they're finished, Jin Zixuan is too exhausted to even think about trying to see Jiang Yanli. He fights to keep his eyes open for a bath and then flops down in bed, dreading whatever is planned for him come morning.
The next day brings with it another boat, but this time they row out onto an actual lake to go lotus seed picking. It's an oddly easy start to the day, enough that it has him a bit on-edge.
Wei Wuxian has a few bandages scattered across his arms and he winces, slightly, every time he leans forward to pick a lotus stem. Jin Zixuan would sympathize, but all of the bruises yellowing on his own torso were put there by Wei Wuxian himself.
When they've collected a few bundles, Wei Wuxian turns to him. He seems hesitant, his eyes darting back to where Jiang Wanyin is leaning over the side of the boat, watching something in the water.
"Have you ever peeled lotus seeds?" Wei Wuxian asks. A deceptively neutral question.
"No."
Wei Wuxian looks at him for a moment, lingering on his neck, where Jin Zixuan knows a deep purple bruise had bloomed overnight, and then he seems to decide on something. He hands Jin Zixuan a seed pod, and then pops seeds out of his own, peeling them slowly. Jin Zixuan tracks the movements like they'll reveal something vital to him.
"Shijie always peels lotus seeds for everyone else," he says.
Ah.
Jiang Wanyin throws a discarded stem at his shixiong, sneering, "No, she peels seeds for you. I have to peel my own."
"Maybe if you were nicer—"
"I don't need to be nice." Jiang Wanyin bites. And Jin Zixuan, for the first time, catches a hint of actual discordance between them. He's noticed over the years that the two of them tend to fight playfully and have mock arguments, but there was never any real fire behind their disagreements. They'd fight, and then before you knew it, they'd be laughing. Jin Zixuan had always found it puzzling, to say the least, but this time it feels different.
They're fighting. Actually fighting. He thinks. About what?
"Anyway." Wei Wuxian says, and he turns pointedly toward Jin Zixuan. He brings the lotus pod close between them, and takes out another seed, peels it, and pops it into his mouth. "Like that."
Jin Zixuan watches him peel another, and then tries it himself. "Like this?"
Wei Wuxian hums, grinning. "Maybe by the time we get back we'll have a bowl for Shijie?"
Jin Zixuan huffs a laugh and peels another seed.
He manages to make it to dinner without either of them springing anything strange on him—a feat made all the more puzzling by the sheer wall of displeasure radiating from Jiang Wanyin all afternoon.
The two of them are definitely fighting, in some capacity, for some reason that eludes Jin Zixuan. He has no idea what they're fighting about, despite spending all day with them parading around town, visiting all sorts of different shops in the market district. He's also not sure what angle this day's presumed challenge is going for. All he's done is peel lotus seeds and buy gifts Wei Wuxian pointed out that Jiang Yanli might like.
All in all, it's been a relatively calm day. Deceptively calm. So, when dinner comes, and he finds out that not only will they be eating with Jiang Yanli, but he's also being treated to a meal made by Jiang Yanli, he's thrilled. And wary.
The soup smells heavenly, aromatic and rich. There are also a small array of side dishes placed around the table. He lingers on a few of them set close to him—some of his favorites, one of which he knows is not popular in Yunmeng. When he looks up, Jiang Yanli is smiling at him, and he feels warm, loved, cared for. He almost wants to cry.
Oddly, Jiang Wanyin is the one who dishes up the soup. He thinks little of this, too caught up in his feelings for it to matter, until his bowl is set down in front of him and it is…red. Very red. A distinctly different shade from both Jiang Yanli's bowl to his right, and Jiang Wanyin's to his left.
Across the table, Wei Wuxian gives him an apologetic look.
Jiang Wanyin just stares at him, his mouth set in a tight line. "What? You're too good for A-Jie's soup?"
"A-Cheng—"
"No, it looks delicious." Jin Zixuan cuts in, "I was just appreciating the arrangement for a moment. Thank you for the meal, Jiang-guniang. It smells lovely."
That earns him a smile and a blush. A deadly combination. His heart swoons, and he feels light, even as he burns all of the taste buds out of his mouth with his first bite. If either of them think this will be the thing that breaks him, they understand him less than he thought.
He's suffered through endless banquets with his father's council over the years, kept a neutral face at countless dinners where his mother would openly accuse his father of having affairs, and even once talked his way through a meeting where he'd been lightly poisoned.
An overly spicy bowl of soup is nothing to him, and if it had a chance of making Jiang Yanli smile, he'll gladly ask for a second helping.
He finishes his bowl quickly and does just that. Wei Wuxian, whose bowl is a similar shade to his own, looks strangely relieved.
After dinner, Wei Wuxian pulls Jiang Wanyin outside and Jin Zixuan is left alone with Jiang Yanli for the first time since he'd arrived. There are still her maids to chaperone them, but it is still a welcome reprieve to speak with her, more freely than he could with her brothers watching over them. He gives her the gift he'd stowed away in his pocket that morning: a set of fine calligraphy brushes. She gasps when she sees them and holds his hand while they talk late into the evening.
When it comes time to part ways, Jin Zixuan stays out on the pier, watching fondly as she disappears into the shadows of the manor.
If you were to ask Jin Zixuan, now, about how he thought his romantic endeavors would play out, despite his broken engagement to Jiang Yanli, he would smile and say:
"Well. They're going very well. I have never felt more loved in all of my life."
This is how Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian find him: sitting with his feet dangling over the edge of their sister's pier, staring out over the water. With how tense Jiang Wanyin had seemed throughout dinner, he supposes he shouldn't be surprised that they'd come to see him.
That uncomfortable distance between the two of them is still apparent when Wei Wuxian sits next to him. His talk with Jiang Yanli had enlightened him on some things, but not enough to be sure, and in this, he wants to be certain. One day, he hopes they'll be family, after all. And while he's never wanted little brothers, they can't be that bad if Jiang Yanli likes them so much.
"A-Xian has always valued kindness and caring. He can see that you're trying and that's what matters to him."
Jiang Wanyin sits on his other side, straight-backed with his legs crossed beneath him. He's focused on something in the distance, out in the yawning dark.
"A-Cheng is different. He's worried about losing people. He looks at you, and he sees you wanting to take me away. He'll need reassurance."
Wei Wuxian clears his throat and leans back onto his arms, staring up at the sky.
"It's a really pretty night, huh? A lot of stars." He says.
Jin Zixuan agrees, a small smile curling on his lips. Waves lap against the pier, a gentle rhythm for a quiet night.
"A-Jie is engaged to someone else." Jiang Wanyin says, his tone bitter.
Jin Zixuan sits up, startled, and catches the pained crease of Wei Wuxian's brows as he looks over at his shidi.
"She loves him, you know. The guy she's engaged to." Jiang Wanyin looks at him, then, his face impassive, but his eyes burning. "Are you really going to stand in the way of that?"
Behind him, he hears Wei Wuxian let out a long, harsh breath. He knows that sound—it's the exact same sigh he'd made when he'd knocked Jin Zixuan to the ground on the sparring ring two days ago. Disapproving, Jin Zixuan thinks, disappointed.
If Jiang Wanyin had said this to him three months ago, he'd have been distraught, bereft. But he'd just spent the entire evening gazing lovingly into Jiang Yanli's eyes, holding her hand, eating her cooking, and talking about everything they wanted to do once they were married.
He's fairly certain he would know if she was engaged to someone else.
Jiang Wanyin huffs and looks back out over the water, "You should just go home and leave them be. It'll be better for everyone that way."
"She loves him?" Jin Zixuan asks.
Jiang Wanyin nods, his shoulders tight.
"I see." Jin Zixuan says. "Does he make her happy?"
"Of course he does." Jiang Wanyin bites.
Jin Zixuan takes a breath, and then moves to stand, an odd fondness in his chest when he shoots a glance at Wei Wuxian and finds him watching him, still. This time it isn't hostile or tentative or careful, though. It's understanding, comprehension. Wei Wuxian has always been a quick learner, Jiang Yanli had said.
"Jiang Cheng is right," Wei Wuxian says, crossing his arms, "A-Jie is so happy with him that she can't stop smiling when she talks about him and she's always working on embroidery projects to give to him. A few days ago, she even started working on a set of robes! So you can see how serious this is, Jin-gongzi. She'll be really sad if something happens to break them up."
While Wei Wuxian talks, Jin Zixuan busies himself with watching the tension work its way through Jiang Wanyin's jaw. He's grinding his teeth, so on-edge that the emphasis on Wei Wuxian's last sentence makes his bones audibly crack.
Jin Zixuan turns fully to Wei Wuxian and gives a short, polite bow. With a soft, sad sigh, he says, "All I want is for Jiang-guniang to be happy. If she loves him, and it is truly what is best for her, then I will stand aside."
He cups his hands and bows to Jiang Wanyin next, "I understand it must have been difficult for Jiang-gongzi to put up with me being so discourteous these past few days. If I had known sooner—"
"Stop." Jiang Wanyin covers his face with his hand. "Just shut up and sit back down. You know I'm lying."
Jin Zixuan huffs and joins them back on the edge of the pier. On one side, Wei Wuxian knocks their shoulders together, a conspiratorial grin aimed in his direction. On the other, Jiang Wanyin unfurls, his legs dropping over the edge to knock boots with him over the water.
"You'd better make A-Jie happy, dumbass. Or we'll come after you. Don't think we won't." Jiang Wanyin says.
Wei Wuxian laughs, "We'll come all the way to Lanling and I'll knock you around again, right in front of your father and all those juniors that freaked out when they found us in that cave."
Jin Zixuan laughs with him, "They were really freaked out, weren't they? My fifth shidi wouldn't let me out of his sight for weeks after that."
"Serves you right for being so shit at planning hunts." Jiang Wanyin says, "Who doesn't notice a giant snake den right in the middle of a sect hunting ground?"
"Me, apparently."
"Ahh, don't worry! We'll make up for it soon—you know, I had a hunt planned for tomorrow, right! We were going to take you out to where I hunt pheasants and leave you there."
The chill of the wind drifting in from the lake cannot reach him here, he thinks, not with how warm he feels right now. Lotus Pier, overall, might not be as bad as he thought it was. On nights like this, he thinks he can see the appeal, even if it is humid enough that his robes stick to his skin.
Jin Zixuan smiles, "Sounds fun."