Chapter Text
Something was different about the sect leader.
Qi Qingqi watched him carefully during the monthly sect meeting, trying to pin down what exactly it was. He was dressed just the same as he normally did, his dark severely cut robes the same material and the same style of robes he'd been wearing for decades. There was nothing even slightly slovenly about the way his robes were tied or the way his sash was cinched around his waist. His hair was the same as it had always been, dark and thick and half of it pulled back into his guan.
The way he conducted the meeting was just the same as he always had. The words he used were the same, the mild smile affixed to his face the same as always, his posture at the head of the assembly hall unchanged.
It was subtle, she decided after over an hour of staring him down. A softening of his shoulders, a gentle flush to the apples of his cheeks, a slight easing of his mood that allowed for more leniency with his fellow peak lords.
Something good must have happened, she decided, turning a sly eye toward Shen Qingqiu.
She wouldn't go so far as to say that Yue Qingqyuan was an aloof man, but he certainly was a man who was hard to know. After working with him for so many years, she could confidently predict his decisions and his preferences when it came to dealing with other sects. But, so far as his personal life, she couldn't claim to know that side of him.
All she or anyone knew, as far as she could tell, was that Yue Qingyuan had a weakness for Shen Qingqiu the size of a Black Moon Python-Rhinoceros. Many theories circulated the dozen peaks as to the origin of that weakness, but Qi Qingqi had no patience for baseless rumors. She wasn't about to speculate on their relationship.
But... Qi Qingqi was also a firm believer that the simplest explanation was also the most likely.
Shen Qingqiu's expression during the meeting dumped a bucket of cold water over that burgeoning theory, though.
She raised her eyebrows as she took in the frankly constipated expression on her fellow peak lord's face. If her staring had been rude, his was walking the line of outright insubordination.
Shen Qingqiu generally only came with two expressions: either he looked like he was bored out of his mind or like he had just smelled shit. The expression he was making at this meeting, however, was a rare departure from his usual resting bitch face. He was staring at Yue Qingqyuan like he had slapped his face, broken his mother's urn, and flirted with his fiance in front of his face.
And, for once, Yue Qingyuan hadn't glanced at Shen Qingqiu once to take notice.
Would that have been enough to send Shen Qingqiu into jealous hysterics? Usually Shen Qingqiu did everything he could to avoid being in a room with Yue Qingyuan. Maybe that was calculated? Running away to encourage a chase? Perhaps Yue Qingyuan had finally found the strength to harden that soft spot in his heart for Shen Qingqiu.
It fit the evidence, but something about that rang hollow. Too close to what she wished had happened, perhaps.
Once the meeting was over, Qi Qingqi made the decision to approach Shen Qingqiu. This was something she usually avoided as much as she was able, but in this situation she felt she was more likely to get information from her steaming shixiong than from her cool calm and collected sect leader.
"Shen-shixiong," she greeted him outside the assembly hall, where he stood clutching his fan so hard that his knuckles blanched white.
He barely pulled his eyes from Yue Qingyuan to glance at her before snapping out a curt, "What?"
Qi Qingqi clenched her jaw at the disrespect, but she couldn't let herself rise to the bait. That Shen Qingqiu wasn't even pretending to be courteous to her was yet more evidence that he was emotionally compromised. Emotionally compromised people made mistakes, they let slip information that they wouldn't otherwise. She could let his rudeness go, so long as it benefited her and the sect as a whole in the end.
She followed his gaze to watch Yue Qingyuan smile and nod at Wei Qingwei and Lui Qingge as they discussed something across the courtyard. For once, Yue Qingyuan's smile looked sincere rather than just polite. She wondered what they were talking about.
"Zhangmen-shixiong has been looking well these past months, don't you think?" she asked casually, watching Shen Qingqiu from the corner of her eye.
Shen Qingqiu snorted, his nose wrinkling and falling back into that just-smelled-fresh-shit expression that was more familiar to her before he covered it with his fan. She couldn't help but notice one of the middle tines were bent. "He is keeping secrets from us, you mean," he snapped, still burning a hole into the side of Yue Qingyuan's head with his stare.
Qi Qingqi felt her heartbeat speed up ever so slightly, but carefully circulated her qi to bring it back down to base level. It was always so satisfying when a plan worked out the way you wanted.
"Oh?" she replied in very mild surprise. "I hadn't gotten that impression. Zhangmen-shixiong can be very private, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's keeping secrets."
Shen Qingqiu clicked his tongue in derision, but his brows betrayed his frustration as they furrowed over the edge of his fan. "Private? What right does our sect leader have to keep his constant visits to Qian Cao private? Is his health not the business of all of us, his strength not needed to be replied upon? No, Yue Qingyuan has more secrets than even I could begin to fathom," Shen Qingqiu hissed.
"He's been visiting Qian Cao?" Qi Qingqi prompted, careful to keep the tone of her voice placid and only casually curious.
Like a spell breaking, Shen Qingqiu turned to her in surprise, as if he had forgotten she was there at all. His expression spasmed and Qi Qingqi suppressed her own satisfaction at having taken him so completely off guard.
"As the Peak Lord of Xuan Shu you don't even know that?" he snapped, loud enough to gain the attention of all the other peak lords still lingering outside the assembly hall. "How embarrassing for you!" he said, tilting his chin up, though not high enough to cover the glimmer of fear in his dark pheonix eyes.
"I shall be more focused in my attentions in the future," Qi Qingqi purred, letting some of the smugness steal over her own face as she let him know just how well she had played him. Perhaps it would help him remember to put some respect in his tone the next time he spoke to her.
In a flutter of his grand robes, Shen Qingqiu turned on his heel and stormed out of the courtyard. The rest of the peak lords watched him go in a mix of exasperation and confusion. Qi Qingqi only had eyes for Yue Qingyuan and her focus did not go without reward.
That wistfulness that she was so used to seeing on his face when he watched Shen Qingqiu stole across his face for but a moment before being plastered over by a polite smile. She was too far away to hear him murmur his polite excuses before exiting the courtyard in the opposite direction, likely returning to his home.
Or, perhaps, Qian Cao?
Curious about this new lead, she glanced to Mu Qingfang and, sure enough, he was also watching Yue Qingyuan disappear into the rock gardens that made up most of Qiong Ding peak. It didn't take long for the Qian Cao Peak Lord to notice her watching and glance in her direction.
Mu Qingfang kept himself too well contained to give away whatever he was thinking on his face, but he still bowed courteously to her before excusing himself as well. Leaving in the direction of Shen Qingqiu rather than Yue Qingyuan.
Curious. Possibly, a bluff to direct her suspicions in the wrong direction? Or, possibly concerned for their historically unstable shixiong and his even more unstable cultivation?
Curious. How very curious...
Xian Shu Peak was easily dismissed by the rest of the cultivation world as the women's peak. The jianghu was a man's world, as was most of the world if she were being honest, so whatever places women carved out for themselves were not taken seriously. Xian Shu, despite the respect and acclaim that should have been afforded to them as one of the twelve peaks of the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, was best known for being the home of beautiful women.
Not the sort of reputation that Qi Qingqi, in her youth, would have been happy to claim for her Peak. But, it certainly had its uses. Being unnoticeable the primary among them.
Women could go just about anywhere, given the right clothing and etiquette, and blend into the background. Men spoke about all sorts of things in front of serving girls and wives and pretty dancers. It was almost laughably easy to gain all sorts of advantageous information from all over the kingdom just by sending some of her girls here or there for a few weeks of undercover work. It wasn't glamorous and it wasn't righteous, but the jianghu didn't call women heroes. They were fairies, and fairies were beautiful regardless of what they got up to.
Better to make the most of the cards you're dealt, as far as she was concerned.
That being the case, Shen Qingqiu's insult was a little correct. How embarrassing for a peak full of spies not to have known that their sect leader was going through some sort of health event. But, in Qi Qingqi's defense, she was not in the habit of spying on her sect mates. She was sure that if Shen Qingqiu had it his way, her intelligence reports would include information on all the peaks in addition to events in the wider world. He had hinted at including such information before, as if he assumed that she had boxes full of reports on the people they were supposed to trust the most. Perhaps he did.
Unfortunate for him that she did have some pride and it extended to taking her vows of loyalty seriously.
Still, if Zhangmen-shixiong was in any kind of danger it was her responsibility as both his martial sister and the head of their intelligence gathering operation to manage it.
It was for that reason that she wrote to Mu Qingfang that very day to invite him to tea. Courteous as always, he responded promptly that he would be happy to attend.
She made sure to have his favorite blend of tea ready, had the kitchens make the walnut cakes that he liked the best, and set everything up on the pavilion in the east garden that had the nicest view of the ginkgo trees as they turned a gorgeous yellow in the cool early autumn air.
"Mu-shidi," Qi Qingqi greeted him warmly once he finally arrived, gesturing him to the seat beside her on the luohan couch.
"Thank you for the invitation, Qi-shijie," he said graciously, taking the seat she offered.
"I know how busy you are," she said as she poured tea for both of them and set to work filling his plate with all his favorite snacks. "It is I that I am grateful you could come."
Mu Qingfang smothered a laugh. "Somehow, I think I believe you," he said, a sparkle of mischief in his eyes.
It was Qi Qingqi's turn to huff at that. "Don't tell me I'm getting transparent in my old age," she joked wryly.
"I interpreted it as trust between martial siblings. Hopefully you don't feel you have to employ anything more than the barest pretense of scheming with me," Mu Qingfang responded, taking a dainty sip of his tea before humming in appreciation.
Qi Qingqi raised her eyebrows in surprise at his accurate grasp of the situation. Not for the first time she mourned that Mu Qingfang had been born into the unfortunate role of a man. If he had ended up at Xian Shu, he almost surely would have had her job and perhaps she could have happily found some pretty and stupid man to marry and gleefully grind beneath her heel rather than constantly wrangling the feral cats that were her disciples.
"Then, I hope you don't mind if I jump straight to business," she asked.
"Please," he responded with a nod. He had moved onto the walnut cakes with some relish. Qi Qingqi suspected her offerings were sufficient based on how quickly he was making them disappear.
"I can't help but notice that Yue Qingyuan is looking a bit better these days," she said slowly, watching Mu Qingfang for any reaction. Of course he had none, the bastard. "And that Shen Qingqiu looks quite a bit worse. Surely these two things have nothing to do with each other," she said.
"I'm sure I have no idea," Mu Qingfang said mildly.
Qi Qingqi waited a beat to see if he would add anything, but he only proceeded from polishing off the walnut cakes to taking another dainty sip of his tea.
"I may have also heard rumors that Yue Qingyuan has been to Qian Cao Peak a number of times in the past few months. Normally I pay no attention to rumors, but the source of this one is generally reliable," she added.
Mu Qingfang's lip twitched at that and Qi Qingqi was fairly sure which part of her statement he found amusing, though it was no help in sussing out the truth of the matter.
"You know I can't comment on the medical conditions of others," Mu Qingfang reminded her.
"Yes, I do know that," she said with a wrinkle of her nose. He had rebuffed her more than a few times in the past with just that statement. "But, perhaps you can be persuaded to at least tell me if it is something I should be concerned over. If I need to be making any preparations with my girls, if you understand," she explained.
Mu Qingfang's expression turned thoughtful at that. She had hoped it would. Mu Qingfang was a man after her own heart, careful and professional above all else. He wouldn't violate his own rules and principles unless the situation were very dire, but if she appealed to his sense of duty then perhaps she could get him to let something slip in the name of operational efficiency.
Sighing, Mu Qingfang sat back. "I cannot disclose anything about Zhangmen-shixiong's situation. However, I can assure you that it is nothing overly dangerous either to him or the sect as a whole," after another moment spent sipping at his tea, Mu Qingfang added, "In fact, if you're curious, I recommend to speak to him directly. I can't make decisions for him about what to share, but you might find him more willing to speak to you than you expect."
Qi Qingqi absorbed that for a moment. It seemed silly. Yue Qingyuan was a closed book, everything about his past, his true opinions, and his feelings were private (with, of course, the glaring exception of Shen Qingqiu). She usually appreciated that about him, from an information security perspective, but in other situations it could be a pain.
But, if Mu Qingfang thought he might be willing to disclose what was happening to her, what was the downside of asking?
"A novel approach, I know," Mu Qingfang teased, watching her ponder over the rim of his teacup. "But sometimes when you ask a question you get an honest answer."
Qi Qingqi snorted. "Not in my experience," she responded, but refilled her shidi's teacup anyway.
"Maybe this time you'll be surprised," he responded.
"Maybe," she allowed.
Getting an appointment with Yue Qingyuan was more difficult than securing a relaxing afternoon with Mu Qingfang. Not that Qi Qingqi was surprised about that. She was not naive enough to assume that leading a sect as ridiculously large and complicated as Cang Qiong was anything other than endless toil. As such, she exercised patience as she waited until he found an opening in his schedule. Her needs weren't urgent, after all.
Even if it felt like her curiosity was killing her in the meantime.
It was over a week after she met with Mu Qingfang that she finally got a chance to speak with Yue Qingyuan face to face. She didn't know Yue Qingyuan's favorite snacks, so instead she had the kitchens make some of the cakes that her disciples enjoyed the most. She hoped that made the gift sufficiently personal without feeling demanding. She also wore one of her casual robes, trying to indicate as much as she could that this was a friendly visit as much as she could call the two of them friendly.
They met at a stone pavilion halfway up Qiong Ding Peak. It was a concession often made for visiting cultivators, to use this place as a meeting spot. Many cultivators found the height of their tallest peak difficult to deal with and the concentration of spiritual energy at the top even worse. But, the pavilion was private and had a beautiful view, so Qi Qingqi didn't begrudge him picking that place to meet.
When she got to the pavilion, Yue Qingyuan is already waiting for her with two disciples attending him. Though she had seen it before, she was struck again by the beauty of the view. From where she stood she could see the whole mountain range laid out before them.
Yue Qingyuan's skin still looked dewy and flushed like he had at the last meeting he attended, even if his expression looked a bit stiff and unsure, insofar as he ever expressed those kinds of things.
"Qingqi-shijie," he said warmly, standing to greet her. She greeted him as well, before taking her place at the table across from him without being invited.
"Thanking Zhangmen-shixiong for having me," she said, pulling the box of sweets from the pocket in her sleeve. She opened the box and pushed it across the table to him. "I hope you don't mind that I had the kitchens make up a few snacks for us to enjoy while we talk. They're the current favorites of my girls," she said warmly. She hoped she was giving warm aunty you could tell your problems to vibes as she smiled across the table.
Yue Qingyuan looked a little surprised, but smiled at the arrangement of pink and yellow cakes in the box. "Thank you," he said warmly. "You didn't have to bring a gift," he said hesitantly.
"It would have been rude to show up empty handed," she said, waving her own hand through the air as if to banish the thought.
She watched Yue Qingyuan bring a bright pink cake shaped like a flower to his mouth and take a small polite bite. His thick eyebrows went up as he chewed and he quickly put the rest of the cake in his mouth. "It's very good," he mumbled, covering his mouth with his hand as he chewed.
Qi Qingqi smiled at him as one of his disciples quietly poured them both tea. "It's cherry blossom," she said, "We don't have many of the dried petals left, so the girls were excited when I asked the kitchens to make a batch. They're surely enjoying our leftovers now."
Yue Qingyuan huffed a laugh behind his hand, still chewing. The corners of his eyes crinkled in amusement and Qi Qingqi couldn't help but feel satisfaction at the subtle relaxing of his shoulders. She patted herself on the back for the idea of using her disciples as a bridge to connect with Yue Qingyuan. He always had seemed fond of children.
Giving him a moment to swallow, Qi Qingqi drank from her own cup. Pu-erh tea, very well aged. Expensive indeed. She wondered if Yue Qingyuan even liked it or if, like many of her own decisions, it was something chosen carefully to give the correct impression. Still, she'd enjoy it. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.
"If it's not too bold of me to say, Zhangmen-shixiong has been looking especially well these past few days-" she paused as Yue Qingyuan choked on his tea in a move so unlike him that it made her freeze for a moment.
Coughing, Yue Qingyuan even went so far as to blush, his tanned cheeks turning darker in embarrassment as he used a handkerchief to cover his mouth.
"I'm sorry," he croaked, "Please continue."
Even Yue Qingyuan's disciples were giving him shocked looks, but Qi Qingqi recovered from her surprise quickly. If that wasn't a tell, then Qi Qingqi would eat her qiankun pouch.
"I had heard rumors that Zhangmen-shixiong had been to Qian Cao Peak recently, but obviously these rumors are baseless. Certainly, your skin wouldn't glow if you were unwell in anyway," Qi Qingqi said warmly, still eyeing the charming blush that clung to the top of Yue Qingyuan's cheeks.
If anything Yue Qingyuan just coughed louder.
"Maybe Zhangmen-shixiong should drink some more tea," she suggested slowly. "Just, carefully, this time..."
Nodding, Yue Qingyuan raised his cup and took a few small sips, which seemed to help. He then turned to his disciples and said, "You two can go. I'm capable of serving your Qingqi-shishu from here." At the protests of "Shizun!" that came from both of the earnest young men, Yue Qingyuan only waved them away. Eventually, they both turned to walk back up the steps to Qiong Ding Peak, only slightly sulking based on the curve of their backs.
After the disciples left, the two of them sat there in silence for a time, Qi Qingqi watching Yue Qingyuan while Yue Qingyuan contemplated the bottom of his empty teacup. Eventually, he sighed and began refilling both of their cups.
"Qingqi-shimei is perceptive as always," he said with a self-deprecating smile.
"You flatter me," she said, but otherwise waiting for Yue Qingyuan to go on.
"I was going to make an announcement in a few months. By then, it will be rather obvious to everyone what has happened anyway," he said, turning his teacup around and around in his hands in a nervous fidget she hadn't seen from him before.
"What is that?" Qi Qingqi prompted when it seemed that Yue Qingyuan wasn't going to go on.
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Yue Qingyuan finally said, "I'm pregnant."
A pregnant (ha) pause hung over the pavilion as the two of them stared at each other. Somewhere overhead a hawk let out a screech and a grasshopper sang out from the tall grass.
"I'm sorry?" Qi Qingqi said faintly once she managed to pull her thoughts together enough for speech.
"Oh, no condolences necessary!" Yue Qingyuan was quick to say, "I'm actually quite happy-"
"Not that kind of sorry!" Qi Qingqi said, only belatedly noticing the screeching quality to her voice. Trying to wrangle her emotions back under control, she said, "I was asking if I heard you right."
"Ah, yes," Yue Qingyuan said awkwardly. "Yes, you did. I'm pregnant."
Qi Qingqi almost rubbed her forehead before she remembered the red hualian she had painted there that morning. For lack of something better to do with her hands, she grabbed her teacup and tossed the whole thing back before slapping it back on the table much more roughly than such delicate porcelain should be handled.
"Okay," she breathed. "Wow, I was not expecting that."
"It's quite unusual, I know," Yue Qingyuan said, politely refilling her cup.
"I wasn't aware you, ah, had the anatomy to become pregnant," she stumbled over her words, looking Yue Qingyuan over head to toe again. No, even knowing what she knew, he looked like he was built like a brick shithouse. Which, of course, didn't necessarily mean he didn't have a womb, but it was certainly unusual to have that much muscle mass and also have a menstrual cycle.
"Oh, I don't!" Yue Qingyuan was quick to say.
Qi Qingqi frowned at him hard. He seemed to wilt somewhat under her stare.
"Then, how...?" she asked, gesturing vaguely at his person in a way that was incredibly rude. But, she was a bit beyond caring about etiquette at that moment.
"I'm not quite sure, honestly," Yue Qingyuan said, glancing away. "I've talked it over with Mu Qingfang, but he's not sure either. We're currently investigating possible causes, but we're not-"
"You not sure," she interrupted him to say. Suddenly filled with fear, she grasped his hand in hers. His hand was large and warm and calloused. His fingers twitched as she touched him, but he didn't try to pull away. "Are you sure it's not dangerous? It's not a curse or some kind of parasite or-"
"No no no! None of that!" Yue Qingyuan said, waving his free hand through the air. "Qingfang-shidi checked for anything malicious it could possibly be, but it appears to be a completely normal pregnancy. With the exception of the unusual aspect of my sex being added into it," he added awkwardly.
"And, you're keeping it?" she asked, squeezing his hand hard. "You're happy?"
"Ah, yes," he said, looking down at his lap. "When I make my announcement, I hope we can discuss as a group how to handle the child. I know it will be bad for the reputation of the sect for me to publicly claim a child while unmarried, but perhaps we can-"
Before she had time to think about it, she had rounded the table to take Yue Qingyuan by the shoulders and turn him towards her. She shook him roughly.
"Fuck everybody else!" she declared.
"Qingqi-shijie!" Yue Qingyuan exclaimed, looking torn between laughing and looking scandalized.
"This is your child, Yue Qingyuan! Yours! Not ours, not the sects, not anyone else's! If anyone tries to tell you to hide your child away or get rid of it, you tell me and I'll handle them," she told him with a malicious sneer.
Laughter seemed to win over Yue Qingyuan, though his eyes looked suspiciously wet. "Thank you, Qingqi-shijie," he said thickly. "I don't deserve such kindness, but I am incredibly grateful for it."
"What idiocy is this?" she snapped, pulling the weepy bear of a man towards her and tucking him under chin. "You spend all your days protecting and guiding this sect. The least we can do is support you during this time of your life. You can always rely on Xuan Shu, but in this especially please rely on your shijies."
Sniffling wetly, Yue Qingyuan curled himself smaller and let himself be tucked into someone else's arms for the first time in a long time.
"Yes, Qingqi-shijie," he agreed, his words muffled against her hanfu.