Chapter Text
01
Lan Wangji asked: “Brother, are you going to the Carp Tower recently?”
Ever since Lan Wangji took the thirty-three discipline whip lashes, bedridden because of her injuries, Lan Xichen had been personally taking her dinner to Jingshi to see her every day. They would eat together, and then talk for a while after eating—especially since the Yiling Patriarch was fallen at the Burial Mounds two months ago, he had been afraid that his little sister would take it too hard.
However, usually, he would be the one talking, with Lan Wangji occasionally responding, while this was the first time in the past several months that Lan Wangji took the initiation to ask him anything. Lan Xichen replied immediately: “I just went there half a month ago, and there isn’t a particular matter recently… why?”
Lan Wangji lowered her gaze and said quietly: “I… feel sad. Want... to talk with someone.”
Lan Xichen understood at once: “Does Wangji want to meet with Young Madame Jin? Indeed, last time I heard that she was making a good recovery, and she will fully recuperate as long as she takes care.”
Lan Xichen wasn’t sure when did his little sister become friends with Young Madame Jin, but Lan Wangji did go to help the Yunmeng Army quite often during the Sunshot Campaign, and Jiang Yanli was also in the army as the logistics support. Maybe they got to know each other then.
Also, at this time, Lan Wangji and Jiang Yanli were probably the only people left on earth who were still sad for the Yiling Patriarch’s death.
“How about this: the Cloud Recesses has abundant spiritual energy, which is very beneficial for recuperation, so I will invite Young Madame Jin over for you, alright?”
Lan Wangji nodded: “Thank you for the trouble, Brother.”
“Then, you can write a letter for Young Madame Jin, and I will bring it to her.”
Lan Wangji did not hesitate. She got up and went to sit in front of the desk, took her brush and wrote a short letter, sealed it in an envelope, and gave it to Lan Xichen.
02
Lan Xichen left on the second day, and brought Jiang Yanli back on the third. Jiang Yanli did not want to leave Jin Ling, who was just a half-year-old, so she brought the kid with her together, as well as a maid who took care of the two of them. The maid covered her lower face with a veil, saying that it was necessary because her face was disfigured. Lan Wangji was not supposed to leave the Jingshi, so Lan Xichen took them to meet her there directly.
Lan Wangji got up despite her discomfort. She should greet her Brother and Jiang Yanli first, but when she saw the maid who was following behind Jiang Yanli and holding Jin Ling in her arms, she forgot all about the manners. Shocked, she called: "Wen Qing?!"
And that woman was Wen Qing indeed. She took off her veil, bowed to Lan Wangji, and said: "It's been a while, Hanguang-jun."
Lan Wangji did not know that Wen Qing was still alive until then. That day, at the Pledge Conference of Nightless City, Jin Guangshan was going to execute Wen Ning and Wen Qing in front of all the cultivators. However, right after Wen Ning was beheaded, and before they had the time to kill Wen Qing, Wei Wuxian was there. When Jiang Yanli saw that someone was attacking Wei Wuxian from his back, she pushed him away and was pierced through the chest by the attacking sword in his stead. Fortunately, Jiang Cheng was quick to react. He pressed Jiang Yanli's acupoints immediately to stop her blood from losing further, then pushed his way out of the crowd while taking Jiang Yanli with him. He grabbed Wen Qing, and brought the three of them back to Carp Tower with a transportation talisman. However, Wei Wuxian had already lost his mind and gone berserk, and everything was just so crazy that no one had the time to think of Wen Qing.
Jiang Yanli got extremely lucky. Her body was different from an average person, as her heart was at the right side of her torso, so she was not fatally injured. She also got Wen Qing, who devoted her full effort into saving her, so she did not lose her life. Even so, in the first three months, she was still in a critical condition, spending more time in a coma instead of awake. But as soon as she woke up for the first time, she begged Madame Jin to help her keep Wen Qing by her side as a maid, as Wen Qing saved her life.
This was still a well-kept secret. The Jin Sect told the rest of the world that Wen Qing had been executed afterward, body burned and ashes scattered, together with the Ghost General Wen Ning. Wen Qing hid her identity and changed her name to A-Qing, kept her face covered all the time, and never left the room. Her only responsibilities were to cure Jiang Yanli and to help taking care of Jin Ling. Thus, even Lan Xichen, who visited the Carp Tower frequently, did not know about it beforehand. Jiang Yanli heard that Lan Wangji was also severely injured at the Nightless City and still hadn't recovered, so she brought Wen Qing here so that she could take a look at Lan Wangji.
After hearing the whole story, Lan Wangji pressed her lips together, almost smiling: "Your timing was exactly right."
Before the others could ask her what she meant, they heard a very light sound of steps from outside of the Jingshi, followed by a childish voice: "Hanguang-jun, I'm back from class!"
Wen Qing widened her eyes slightly when she heard that voice.
Lan Wangji raised her voice and called: "Come in."
The door was pushed slightly open, and a tiny silhouette flashed in. It was a four- or five-year-old little boy in the Lan Sect uniform and a forehead ribbon with cloud patterns. The child seemed to be surprised by so many people in the room, but he still greeted Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji calmly: "Sect Leader. Hanguang-jun."
Then he turned to look at Jiang Yanli and Wen Qing. Not knowing how to address them, he turned back to Lan Wangji again.
Lan Wangji taught him to say: "This is Young Madame Jin, and this is Auntie Qing."
So the child also greeted them maturely: "Young Madame Jin. Auntie Qing."
Wen Qing watched the child, in a daze, and murmured as if she was speaking to herself: "A…Yuan?"
The child asked puzzledly: "I think I haven't told you my name is A-Yuan. Did Auntie Qing know me?"
If Wen Qing weren't holding Jin Ling in her arms, she probably would have thrown herself to him. It was A-Yuan right before her eyes, her cousin-nephew! But how come it seemed like A-Yuan didn't know who she was?
Lan Wangji said: "A-Yuan, you used to know Auntie Qing before, too. You were sick, so you forgot."
A-Yuan flew to Wen Qing's side. He hugged her leg, raised his little face and told her: "I'm sorry, Auntie Qing!"
"It's okay. It's okay…" Wen Qing's tears had fallen down before she noticed them, "You were sick? Are you well now?"
"I'm well!" A-Yuan said, laughing, "Auntie Qing, you are so pretty! I will never forget you again!"
He turned to Jiang Yanli and also told her: "Young Madame Jin is pretty, too!"
Lan Wangji said: "A-Yuan, go feed the bunnies."
"Yes!" A-Yuan nodded happily. He almost ran out of the room before he suddenly stopped, telling himself: "Running is prohibited in the Cloud Recesses." Then, he walked away with the correct posture.
Wen Qing asked while crying: "Hanguang-jun, how did A-Yuan get here? I thought… thought that he died at the Burial Mounds, like everyone else… Why is he here at the Lan Sect, even wearing the Lan Sect uniform…"
"Now he is Lan Yuan, Yuan for 'wish'." Lan Wangji paused for a second before she continued, "… Sorry, I did not know which Yuan he used."
Lan Xichen explained to Wen Qing instead of Lan Wangji: "Two months ago, I only told Wangji about the Siege of the Burial Mounds after it was finished, and she flew to the Burial Mounds right away. She searched for two days until she found A-Yuan in a tree hollow. She took him back to the Cloud Recesses, and kneeled in front of the Wall of Discipline for a whole day before Uncle finally allowed him to stay. She adopted A-Yuan as her child, changed his name to Lan, and added him into the genealogy book. We didn't know that Maiden Wen was still alive; otherwise, we definitely would have talked to you before we decided these things. And speaking of his memory, the kid was having a high fever at the time. He finally recovered from it a few days later, but he lost all of his memory. Doctors of the Lan Sect had checked his condition, but they said that they couldn't do anything—since Maiden Wen is here now, maybe you could examine him again."
"Thank you, thank you so much, Hanguang-jun and Zewu-jun…" Wen Qing wiped her tears away and shook her head, "It's better that he forgets about the past. Let him start a new life that has nothing to do with the Wen Sect."
Jiang Yanli, who had been quiet until now, asked curiously: "Second Maiden Lan has just told A-Yuan to feed the rabbits. Since when did the Cloud Recesses start to raise rabbits?"
Lan Wangji was silent, so Lan Xichen answered for her again: "They are Wangji's. The first two were gifts from Young Master Wei, and now there are several dozens of them. Would Young Madame Jin and Maiden Wen like to see them?"
Jiang Yanli froze for a second, then said half sadly and half happily: "When A-Xian went back to the Lotus Pier from the Cloud Recesses, I once heard about those rabbits from A-Xian, but we didn't think that Second Maiden Lan would keep them till now…"
Lan Wangji said suddenly: "We will see them later."
Lan Xichen said: "Of course. Wangji should talk with Young Madame Jin and Maiden Wen first, and maybe I should just…"
"Brother, please stay with us, too."
Lan Wangji asked the other three to come to the table and sit down, then raised her hands and extended her ivory-like wrists, showed them to Lan Xichen and Jiang Yanli who were sitting by her left and right sides: "Brother and Young Madame Jin, please take my pulse."
Both Jiang Yanli and Lan Xichen were slightly surprised by this. They both knew a bit of medicine. Jiang Yanli had been patching up her shidis' injuries since young, and later she learned some more during the Sunshot Campaign; Lan Xichen was simply interested in it. However, since Wen Qing was here, if Lan Wangji was feeling unwell, it shouldn't be them who made a diagnosis for Lan Wangji.
Nonetheless, they both did as Lan Wangji requested, respectively examined her pulse from her left and right wrist. After a moment, Lan Xichen suddenly widened his eyes, and cried: "Wangji! What, what is this?!"
Jiang Yanli's reaction came a bit slower, but not too much later, she also took her hand back in surprise: "Second Maiden Lan, this is…!"
After seeing how the other two reacted, Wen Qing already could make an educated guess, but she still grabbed Lan Wangji's hand and rechecked herself: "Pregnancy, indeed."
Lan Xichen asked angrily: "Was it Wei Wuxian?"
Jiang Yanli asked nervously: "... It was A-Xian?"
And Wen Qing said assuredly： "It was Wei Wuxian."
The three of them spoke in chorus, with entirely different emotions and voices. Wen Qing, in particular, somehow did not seem to be surprised.
Lan Wangji lowered her head in silence.
Wen Qing said: "You are five months along. It was the second time you went to the Burial Mounds, when you delivered the invitation to Wei Wuxian."
Lan Xichen took a second to recall that event, and he found his answers immediately: "Wangji, you said you were late because you met evil beings on your way back!"
"The second day, on my way back, I did encounter evil beings…" Lan Wangji didn't dare to look at Lan Xichen, so she fixed her gaze on the table in front of her.
"But Hanguang-jun spent the night on the Burial Mounds." Wen Qing sighed, "That day, Hanguang-jun came to deliver the invitation of A-Ling's full-month celebration. Not only the invitation letter, she also brought Emperor's Smile, the famous liquor of Gusu. Wei Wuxian was so happy. He insisted that Hanguang-jun stayed for dinner at the Burial Mounds, and he drank a lot of liquor."
"I drank, too." Lan Wangji admitted, "Getting drunk, lying, and… promiscuity. After I went back, I have already assigned punishment for myself."
Lan Xichen was about to lose his mind: "Wangji! Do you really think it's about punishment!"
Wen Qing said: "That day you got drunk after having only one cup. You closed your eyes, fell asleep while still sitting up. There wasn't enough room on the Burial Mounds and we didn't have a place to accommodate you, so Wei Wuxian carried you into the Demon-Slaughtering Cave. He said that he could let you have his bed since he often slept on the ground."
Lan Wangji saw that Lan Xichen's expression was dark. Afraid that he would think that Wei Wuxian took advantage of her when she was drunk, she explained quickly: "I sobered up later. At the time, we were…"
Lan Wangji couldn't continue her words. Her face was still as white as jade, but her ears turned scarlet as if blood would be dropping from them.
And actually, even she didn't really know how things turned out like that. When she woke up from her drunkenness, she was sitting in Wei Wuxian's lap, the two of them kissing. Their clothes were still decent until the kiss got deeper, Wei Wuxian's hands started roaming around on her body and began to fumble with her belt and collar.
She tried to call him: "Wei Ying, Wei Ying."
Yet Wei Wuxian did not respond; instead, he sucked on her exposed clavicle. She took his face in her hand, looked into his eyes, and saw that they were cloudy. And it was then she realized that he was still drunk.
Lan Wangji still held her head down. She said in a voice low but firm: "At the time, Wei Ying was drunk, and I was sober. I could have pushed him away."
But she didn't.