Chapter Text
Many would think the rooftops of Lotus Pier to be a lonely place to linger. Most, regardless of their thoughts of how lonely the rooftops might be, would undoubtedly question why a young boy would choose to spend many of his nights lounging on the hard tiles directly above the mansion he supposed to be lounging in, rather than in his warm bed. A select number of people also questioned, in private obviously, why this particular young boy was even allowed to be lounging in the Jiang Clan mansion anyway.
Wei Wuxian, the young boy in question, didn’t know the reason for any of these things. He was only 10 years old; he didn’t want to have to think about his place in the Jiang Clan or what right he had to it or what was expected of him now that he was in it. All he knew was that when he climbed atop the tiled roof and watched the stars above him and listened to the trickling rivers surrounding him, he finally felt like he could breathe deeper and relax his mind. He also thought that one didn’t truly get the chance to appreciate the beauty of Lotus Pier from only the ground. From down there, you couldn’t see how the lanterns on the walkways glittered against the water and created shadows that moved with the breeze. You couldn’t see the warm glow of candlelight from the windows, the flames flickering and bobbing like a little dance. It didn’t sound like the birdsong was surrounding you from all angles, singing a song only meant for your ears, when you were walking the paths between buildings.
And from down there, everyone could see where you were. So, they would hold off on speaking about you until they thought you were out of earshot.
This was what Wei Wuxian was experiencing as he strained his ear to hear the voices below him.
“He is only a young boy, my lady” This was Jiang Fengmian. Also known as the man that had saved Wei Wuxian from a slow, hungry death on a cold street corner. The man that seemed to spend every moment of his life justifying that decision.
The answering voice came from his wife, Yu Ziyuan, or Madam Yu, as she instructed Wei Wuxian to refer to her, “And thus the perfect time to secure his future.”
“Would it not look better to Jin Guangshan if we were to offer the hands of A-Li, or even A-Cheng?”
The stuttering apology that quickly followed that statement told Wei Wuxian that that had apparently been the wrong thing to suggest. He could picture in his mind the look that Madam Yu had sent his way, the steely glare of her eyes piercing into him as though she had physically cut right through you. He could picture it so vividly because he, himself, had been on the receiving end of it more times than he could count.
“So eager to marry off your own children!” She accused.
Marriage? Wei Wuxian frowned. Then he doubled his efforts to listen to the conversation, pressing his small body hard against the tiles, his ear against the surface of them in the vain hope that the words below would become clearer.
“Need I remind you, dear husband, that A-Li is set to lead this clan. To marry her into another clan would only give the message that you do not trust her to be a good clan leader. I expect A-Cheng to be by her side, to aid her in defending the clan and making important decisions, I will not allow a child not of Jiang blood to hold this position.” She paused momentarily, “And certainly not some urchin you found on the streets.”
“But, my lady…”
“Shouldn’t you be happy?” She questioned, her tone rising with each word to the point that Wei Wuxian didn’t feel he needed to press his ear against the roof tiles, “I have gone out of my way to ensure Wei Wuxian’s usefulness to this clan.”
“By marrying him into another clan?”
“The union between the Jin Sect and the Jiang Sect will ensure strong relations. The Jin Sect are a powerful, and wealthy, clan. Strong relations with them could prove extremely advantageous to us.”
Wei Wuxian could feel his breath catch in his throat, and in his shock, he pushed himself away from the roof and almost stumbled backwards to the ground below. He caught himself just in time to hear the end of the conversation.
“…won’t halt his studies.” Madam Yu was saying, her tone had taken a somewhat softer lilt, “I understand that he has the bearings of a strong cultivator. I am sure the Jin Sect will be pleased that we have chosen such a strong match for their son. The marriage won’t happen until their studies have concluded, Madam Jin has already ensured that and I agreed with her.”
“And what of young Jin Zixuan?”
At that, Madam Yu paused once more. She seemed to be considering her response. Finally, she replied, “He is a fine young man. I am sure he and Wei Wuxian will be a wonderful match for each other.”
***
“He’s stupid and he always smells of too much perfume”
“Jiang Cheng!”
Upon overhearing the news on the rooftops - or eavesdropping as his shī jiě had referred to it in her admonishment to him - Wei Wuxian had immediately run back to his and Jiang Cheng’s bedroom. To his surprise, he found Yanli there as well, her brothers head in her lap and her fingers running through his hair in comfort.
Apparently, Jiang Cheng had woken up to find Wei Wuxian missing and, in his panic, had gone to find his big sister. Wei Wuxian felt suitably guilty for causing his brother such grief yet also touched that his disappearance had cause such worry.
All of that had changed, however, when he relayed the news to his adopted siblings and Jiang Cheng’s young body had puffed up with all the righteous fury he could muster up. It was only panicked alarm from Wei Wuxian and the commanding, yet soothing, words from Jiang Yanli that had calmed him down enough to stop him from marching to the Sword’s Hall to confront his parents himself and demand they change their minds.
“But it’s true jiĕ jie” Jiang Cheng crossed his arms over his chest and stomped his foot on that ground. Wei Wuxian thought the news might have hit his adopted brother harder that it had hit him.
“It is not true A-Cheng,” she reprimanded, “And besides, you were so young I doubt you would even remember him if he walked up to you right now”
Jiang Cheng grumbled, pouting his lip out as he flopped back onto his bed, “It’s not fair though. If A-Xian has to get married,” he spoke the word as though it physically pained him to do so, “then he’ll have to go away and he won’t be able to play with us anymore!” he whined, his voice growing thicker with each word and his hands coming up to rub viciously at the tears that had begun to well up again.
Wei Wuxian panicked and ran to the other boy, wrapping small arms around him in a tight embrace, “I’m not going anywhere yet!” He declared, squeezing the boy tighter as he said it, “Madam Yu said I can finish my studies first, so we have a long time to play yet!” He injected as much enthusiasm into his voice as he could muster, though he could feel his own throat tighten in response to Jiang Cheng’s cries.
Jiang Yanli pursed her lips together. She had half a mind to ask her mother and father to switch the union and allow her to take Wei Wuxian’s place. But she knew she couldn’t. As the older child, her future lay at the head of the Jiang Sect, a position she’d been training for since she first started to cultivate and develop her own golden core. She knew the burdens that leadership would place upon her shoulders and she wasn’t sure she wanted to place those burdens on her siblings.
Her mother was right. Logically Wei Wuxian was the best choice for a union, if there even needed to be union in the first place. It was better for Jiang Cheng to stay within the Jiang clan, too many within the clan already questioned Wei Wuxian’s place here, there would be discontentment among the other disciples if he were to be risen to a position of authority as well.
She straightened her posture and took a deep breath, then she wrapped her arms around both of her brothers, “Everything will turn out okay, you’ll see.” She reassured them, squeezing them against herself as she tried to give as much comfort as she could. She cleared her throat as she separated them all, her hands clasped on each of their shoulders, “Now then, I think we’ve had quite enough excitement for the evening. You better get some sleep before morning comes; you wouldn’t want to be tired for your lessons. I hear father wants you practicing your archery in the morning.”
She saw their faces light up in delight. Wei Wuxian, in particular, had taken quite the liking to using a bow and arrows and the two regularly enjoyed challenging each other to see who could hit the most difficult target.
Jiang Cheng nodded his consent vigorously, practically jumping back into bed and under the covers, pulling them right up to his chin and squeezing his eyes closed, as though Jiang Yanli would believe that he had gone straight back to sleep. Wei Wuxian was less enthusiastic, crawling back into his own bed with a quiet ‘night shī jiě’, his dark eyes following her movements as she slid their door shut behind her.
It came as no surprise, then, when only a few minutes after she’d returned to her own room, did she hear small knocks rapping at her door and a sheepish-looking Wei Wuxian with his head bowed and his feet shuffling on the spot outside the room.
“Sorry, shī jiě,” he mumbled, “but I just wanted to ask you…”
He trailed off somewhat awkwardly, teeth worrying at his bottom lip as he considered his next question. Jiang Yanli smiled, soft and warm, and stepped aside to let him in.
“A-Cheng will be worried again if he notices you’re not there.”
“Ah,” he returned, holding his hands up, “I told him you had left your hairpiece and I was returning it to you.” Explanation given, he suddenly looked awkward again, “Sorry, I… I didn’t want to lie, but… I just…”
She took pity on the young boy and took his hand into her own, before leaning down to his eye level and brushing a stray strand of hair from his face, “What is it, A-Xian?”
“I’m scared,” Wei Wuxian confessed after another moment’s deliberation, “I – I always thought you were supposed to like the person that you married, but… but I don’t know Jin Zixuan,” he paused, chewing on his bottom lip again, before continuing with, “And Wanyin said he’s stupid and smells of too much perfume!”
She shushed him when his voice started increasing in pitch, worried that her parents might hear Wei Wuxian’s distress and wonder what might have caused it. She could only assume that her mother wouldn’t be best pleased to find out that the young boy had been climbing on the rooftops of Lotus Pier.
She tutted at him after she had successfully quietened him down, “You know you mustn’t listen to everything A-Cheng says.” She told him firmly. She remembered how Jiang Cheng’s first meeting with Jin Zixuan had gone. He had only been six at the time, the other boy was a few years older and had already been gifted with his first sword. It was a magnificent piece of craftsmanship and the quality of it made itself known in the shine of the silver and the intricacy of the carvings upon it. She had watched jealousy etch itself onto Jiang Cheng’s features, a scowl twisting on his small lips as he glared at the other boy.
Since then, Jiang Cheng had refused to accompany their father or their mother on any trips they had taken to Lanling and his collection of insults towards the young future clan leader had grown more imaginative with each year.
“I have met Jin Zixuan more times than A-Cheng,” Yanli assured the young boy in front of her, “and I can tell you that he’s a very polite, well-mannered young man. I’m certain he’ll be a wonderful husband.” She wasn’t certain, no one could ever be certain of these sorts of things. She didn’t know exactly what Jin Zixuan’s reaction to the news was going to be either. She hoped, with everything she had, that he would be at least content to have Wei Wuxian as his husband. She dreaded to think that he might reject the union.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded, tight lipped and eyes closed as she did so, and drew him into her in a soft embrace. “Certain” She whispered, unable to lie with those wide eyes searching her own. Besides, she thought, she’d just have to make sure that her shī dì was treated with the respect that she knew he deserved.