Chapter Text
There is a boy to be married into the Clan.
An eighteen-year-old. Not fully a boy yet not exactly a man either.
And though it struck him as odd that an eighteen-year-old would be willing to get married to his ashen, wrinkled-by-age Senior Uncle well over a decade, maybe even more, older than him, it was none of his concern.
The Elders knew best after all.
WangJi was not excited. His introverted self couldn’t imagine inviting someone new into the family. He was anxious and terrified. His XiongZhang kept reminding him that the boy would be around his age. He should befriend him to at least make him feel welcome.
He was not inclined to do so. Nope, he is perfectly fine with his bunnies. Besides, it’s not like he’ll ever have to interact with him for more than a few hours at the occasional dinner. He’ll go, keep his head down, call him Senior Uncle Number Two just to be polite, eat and leave.
Right?
Wrong.
Because apparently the universe hated him and all the metaphorical shit hit the fan when someone called Wen Qing visited the family the night before the wedding.
…
Amanita muscaria
Rarely fatal but always potent.
The plan was simple. Wen Qing would go to the Cloud Recesses (a fancy name for a fancy place; the Lans were crazy rich…) and meet her brother’s fiancé. She did not trust Madam Yu nor did she trust her choices.
However, she supposed, she could give her the benefit of doubt. Afterall, it had been years since Madam Yu had troubled him thus. If Madam Yu surprised her (highly unlikely) and the man she’d chosen turned out to be perfect for her brother, Wen Qing wouldn’t lift a finger. If not… Well, Wei Wuxian never wanted to get married anyway.
That meal box containing her specially prepared mushrooms would somehow find its way into the jerk’s dinner. Then, a dizzy spell here and a couple of bouts of vomiting and diarrhea there… the man would be completely unable to attend his own wedding.
Wen Qing patted herself on the back, she was very proud of her solution to Wei Wuxian’s disastrous circumstances.
(“But won’t you be arrested, Qing-Jie, when they find out?” Wei Wuxian had asked with his innocent wide bambi eyes.
“Nope. Amanita muscaria isn’t illegal… It's a wild mushroom that typically grows alone or in groups, forming what is known as ‘fairy rings’ or ‘elf paths’ in forests. Besides, it’s not as if I’m committing murder; it’ll be a simple case of food poisoning because the cook got a bad batch of fresh produce, and he’ll recover within the week. We just need him gone long enough to cancel the wedding.” Wen Qing smiled at her brother and gently ruffled his hair.
“And what if they get to know you were the one who had given him the poisonous mushrooms?”
“Then I will claim that I had mistaken it for Amanita caesarea, which is similar in morphology but unlike muscaria, is edible. Don’t worry kiddo, Jie’s got this.” )
Oh boy, if only she knew what awaited her!
…
WangJi was not fond of his Senior Uncle. He didn’t have even a pea-sized space for him in his heart. But well, respect your Elders, right?
WangJi tried not to show it, but he didn’t respect him… And how could he? His Senior Uncle disgusted him.
And after what happened at today’s dinner, WangJi was certain that whosoever shall marry that man shall be miserable for the rest of their lives. So, he took it upon himself to free the unknown boy of his misery.
Yes, he decided. Tomorrow morning, before leaving for the wedding venue, he’ll be feeding his precious uncle peanuts. The man was dead allergic to them; he’ll eat them, develop severe itchy rashes, (and maybe some breathing problems), he’ll be taken to the hospital, and the wedding will be cancelled.
The only uncle that matters, Uncle Lan QiRen, wouldn’t mind (probably) and his brother would probably (definitely) support his intrusive thoughts. Hmm, he must get to work. He had a boy to save and no time to waste.
…
“Welcome to the Cloud Recesses, Ms. Wen. How may we help you?”
“Thank you, I’m Wei Wuxian’s JieJie… and I have come bearing gifts from the bride’s side for his fiancé.”
“But Madam Yu didn’t mention any such ritual…?”
“Oh no… the gifts are directly from me, Wei Wuxian’s elder sister. It’s auspicious. You wouldn’t want the wedding to be ruined, would you?”
“No, no, absolutely not. Please come in.”
Wen Qing heaved a sigh of relief as soon as the butler turned around. Whew! That was a close save. Now where was that son of a—
“I heard I’ve got a visitor.” A man with a few wisened white strands among his silky black locks and a face marked with the creases of age remarked, entering the room rather haughtily.
Wen Qing’s jaw dropped.
That? That was the man her brother was supposed to marry? He looked old enough to be her father, and Wei Wuxian was at least five years younger than her. Never mind; maybe there is still some good in this yet…
Nope. There is nothing good about this match.
After the initial introductions, Wen Qing had been directed to the dining room. The rest of the family had already been seated at the sprawling table filled with a variety of dishes. They had been waiting for her to join so that they could start eating. Well, that was touching at least.
The rest of the dinner? Not so much. It was downright appalling.
It started with a toe. A toe touching her calf. Initially, she didn’t think too much of it. Someone must have hit her by accident. But, no. Even after shifting her leg away, the toe followed. It continued its caressing path up her calf and halted mid-thigh.
She looked around to check who appeared to be straining their foot, but nothing was out of the ordinary. She shook off the toe and shifted uncomfortably. The toe didn’t return.
If it had ended at that, she would have never found out who the jerk was.
But apparently, he was too confident in his charms. Halfway through her dinner, the jerk returned to his ministrations. This time, with his hand. On her inner thigh.
She followed the hand to where it was attached to a shoulder and was met with him. Wei Wuxian’s fiancé. Staring back at her. And he even had the audacity to wink.
Wen Qing’s anger was through the roof now. No way in hell was she going to let her precious Wei Wuxian marry this lecherous man.
She smiled at him through gritted teeth and took out her carefully prepared (with the right amount of toxins) dish of mushrooms.
“For you.” She whispered sweetly.
The man’s grin widened. He squeezed her thigh in thanks and gobbled up the mushrooms. Ha! The fool!
By the end of dinner, Wen Qing wished that she’d had something stronger to feed the man than those stupid mushrooms.
Men like him didn’t deserve to live.
…
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who thought so. His Senior Uncle’s actions had ignited a flame as hot as hellfire within WangJi and may God save him from its scorching path.
…
The night had been terrible for Elder Lan. Right after dinner, he’d been feeling a bit nauseous, but he’d chalked it off to the superfluous eating that he’d done as an excuse for lingering at the table and flirting with the pretty lady.
Ah! What a fulfilling night it had been! He thought dreamily. What a shame he was to be married tomorrow! Why should he be limited to one person when he could have so many?
No matter… The boy was said to be very timid and obedient; he wouldn’t interfere with his lifestyle. Besides, what was one more person to hide from? He’d already been hiding his nature from his family for years.
He went off to sleep, sated and happy.
Though he didn’t stay that way for long.
The first time he woke to a burning, bubbling feeling in his gut, he barely had a minute to rush to the bathroom before his stomach emptied its contents into the toilet seat. The ordeal left a bitter acidic aftertaste at the back of his tongue and throat.
Still, he ignored it and went back to sleep after washing and rinsing. He just had something bad. Nothing to worry about.
The second time, he woke up to the intense cramping of his upper abdomen and excessive sweating; the pain stole the breath away from him. It didn’t go away until he’d successfully passed out some of the undigested food from his intestines.
And so, the night continued with Elder Lan suffering from alternate bouts of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. He caught up with sleep in between as much as he could; which wasn’t much at all. By dawn, he’d been absolutely wrung out; a ghost of his former self.
Still. It was his wedding day. He couldn’t not show up.
He slowly got out of bed and readied himself to the best of his ability. He also dabbed on some makeup for good measure to hide the pallor of his skin and the dark circles under his eyes.
After a few minutes (hours) of tinkering, he finally deemed himself presentable and headed out to face the day.
He did feel weak and his head did seem to be spinning but it was okay. He’d manage.
…
WangJi couldn’t get his Senior Uncle alone even for a second. The morning preparations at the compound had passed and the car to the wedding venue had been packed with the other Elders.
He had been carrying his packet full of peanut butter cupcakes uselessly since dawn. Now, they were already at the venue and how was he supposed to stop the wedding if he couldn’t feed his Senior Uncle those cupcakes?
His blood boiled seeing the man strutting around proudly as if he wasn’t about to ruin someone’s life.
He finally cornered his Senior Uncle just as he was about to enter the bride’s chamber.
“Greetings Senior Uncle, you should eat this before seeing the bride.”
His Uncle simply raised an eyebrow.
“It’s auspicious.” He insisted with that blank face of his. “Just one bite.”
Elder Lan had a bit of a déjà vu… ‘It’s auspicious’ Hadn’t he heard that yesterday too?
He shrugged it off.
“Just one bite.” he agreed.
He really shouldn’t have.
…
WangJi sincerely didn’t think that he wouldn’t even have time to save his Senior Uncle.
He didn’t even make it past the doorway before clutching his throat and collapsing. His eyes turned red and bulged out of their sockets from the effort it took him just to breathe. Angry red rashes erupted all over his skin and his pressure dropped rapidly.
Fifty-nine seconds. Fifty-nine seconds and it was all over.
By the time WangJi regained his senses, Elder Lan’s heart had stopped.
…
The news spread like wildfire.
Elder Lan was dead.
He died just as he was about to meet his bride.
His bride was a curse.
…
Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing were huddled together in the dressing room. The news, both the original and the twisted, had naturally reached their ears too.
“J-J-Jie?” Wei Wuxian asked with shocked and teary eyes.
“He wasn’t supposed to die. I don’t know how he died! I swear the mushrooms weren’t poisonous enough to kill!”
“Jie!”
“AndIknowIwishedforhimtodiebutIdidn’tactuallykillhim!”
“WHERE IS THAT WRETCHED BOY! HE’S A CURSE TO MY FAMILY! THE SOCIETY! AND NOW HIS VERY PRESENCE HAS KILLED HIS FIANCE! ON THEIR WEDDING DAY! HE DESERVES TO DIE!” They could both hear Madam Yu’s voice booming through the hallway. Any moment now, she’ll find them and…
“Jie…what now?” Wei Wuxian whispered fearfully.
Wen Qing looked around helplessly. “I don’t know.”
The doors to the bride’s room were yanked open and Madam Yu entered in all her raging glory. Her eagle eyes hooked onto Wei Wuxian. She ripped him from Wen Qing’s arms, grabbed a fistful of his hair and dragged him out into the open where everyone else had gathered.
She was beyond furious… everything had been going to plan; she would finally have gotten rid of the boy and signed a successful business deal. But now? Now, it was all for naught.
She threw him down to the floor and took out her infamous whip Zidian.
“YOU JINX! WHO IS GOING TO TAKE YOU NOW? NO ONE WANTS A CURSE IN THEIR HOME! FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE, HONOR OUR REPUTATION AND GO JOIN HIM! SPARE US THE TROUBLE!”
WangJi’s eyes widened. He’d only wanted to help the boy. Never in his wildest dreams did he think the matter would escalate so.
And he never expected the boy's family to be like this. He’d lost his fiance too. Why was he being accused of murder? He literally had no hand in anything. WangJi could testify. But looking around him, he understood that it was of no use.
The crowd had been charged. His family wanted someone to blame for Elder Lan’s death and the Jiangs were all too willing to let the boy be their scapegoat. Uncle QiRen and XiongZhang had that look on their faces that said they didn’t agree with what was happening but preferred to stay out of the commotion.
He was on his own. He had to do something fast. His Senior Uncle’s death would always be on his hands and batter at his conscience. He can’t do anything about that but… he could still save the boy from what looked like certain death. Or a pitiable existence, banished from society. No, he couldn’t allow that to happen.
He had made this mess, so he had to clean it up. It was his duty.
If he’d come all this way and murdered (he shuddered to even think of it; it really hadn’t been his intention…) his Senior Uncle to help the boy, he couldn’t give up halfway now.
So, he did the only thing he could think of; consequences be damned.
He rushed to the boy on the floor and wrapped his arms around him, shielding him with his body.
Then, ignoring the strike that landed on his back, he angled his mouth towards the boy’s neck, elongated his fangs and bit.
There.
They were mated.
No one could harm him now.