lastjinstanding | Brothel meme continued

Brothel meme continued

Continued from here

Jin Ling had really hoped he'd have A-Yuan at his side for this, but he didn't blame the sweet man for being ill one bit. In fact, he really enjoyed holding him as they finished traveling up to Lotus Pier. He sends servants off the boat to arrange a discreet delivery of his ill and subdued guest to private chambers following Ling's disembark. He instructed only Fu Geming to carry A-Yuan with Liling.

Sadly, after that, he had to leave his pets in his servants care. Squaring his shoulders, he stepped onto the pier. He bowed humbly to all of his relatives and gave them each a proper greeting- or in Wei Wuxian's case, a cheeky one.

He was brought into the main hall and given the seat next to Jiang Cheng's throne. Wei Wuxian was seated beside him with Lan Wangji at the next seat. And yes, Wangji had been offered the throne but had chosen to stay at Wuxian's side. It was Jiang Cheng's wedding, after all.

Jin Ling is happy sitting to a nice cup of tea and some wine after a long day of travel with promise of dinner coming.

~~~

"Jin-Guniang, is the young master Zheng in this room?" A young, unfamiliar male voice asks. "I have some medicine I wish to offer if you'd announce me."

"Of course. Let me ask for you," Liling says in a warm tone. She knocks on Yuan's door and peeks in. She smiles when she sees him awake. She comes in and shuts the door behind her. "Zheng-gongzi? How are you feeling? A friend of Jin-zongzhu from the Lan Clan is here to offer you some medicine. Would you feel up to seeing him?"

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Jin Ling groans and decides his friend is secretly a genius. He doesn't bother hiding it anymore as he scoots up against Zizhen's side. He usually lays his head on the Baling native's chest with his arm around Zizhen's waist, but with how they're feeling he knows to avoid that. He settles for resting his head on his shoulder instead. His injured arm he keeps tucked against his own side cautiously not moving it as it quietly throbs.

It was too bad Zizhen was so in love with Jingyi, Jin Ling thinks idly as he closes his eyes. When this awful feeling goes away and his shoulder was feeling better he could really use a good fuck. His friend was attractive too and he could certainly show him a few things.. sigh. He won't be a bad friend though and try and seduce him. He won't. Probably.

Hmm, how could he find out if Zizhen even remotely saw him that way?

~~~

"But.." Jingyi begins, unsure. He's been through a lot over the last couple years, but his youth and inexperience could still be seen at times, like now. However, he trusts and looks up to the man talking to him more than his own family. "He wouldn't have been hurt if it wasn't for me?"

The concern for his safety while Wei Wuxian had to be losing his mind with worry over his own son brought tears to Jingyi's eyes. Lan Qiren shakes his head from nearby. Jingyi was so emotional! He was such a bad Lan! Xichen was also nearby thinking the exact opposite. He was so proud of him!

"I can be strong if I should learn to do this," he offers. He's willing to be taught and try to face his fear and this woman who wants to hurt him. Isn't it weak to let others protect him like this? If she's after him, then maybe this was his fight.

Zizhen is even happier than usual to allow Jin Ling to snuggle up at his side, since he's feeling pretty miserable himself. He gets comfortable with Jin Ling curled up at his side and closes his eyes as well, oblivious to what's going through his friend's mind in that moment.

Despite that, his thoughts are... not dissimilar, they're simply a much more innocent version. He's thinking about Jingyi, and how much he wishes he could curl up at his side like this, how nice it would be to wake up next to him - and whether or not he should be guilty for how much he enjoys sleeping like this with Jin Ling. He mostly wishes he could invite Jingyi here and they could all just sleep together in a comfortable tangle of limbs, though he'd feel bad leaving Yuan out. Maybe if he's getting settled Zizhen could convince them both to come for a visit, that would be nice.

He falls asleep imagining all four of them sharing Jin Ling's bed - there's more than enough space, after all.

~~~

"Still doesn't make it your fault." Wuxian tells him patiently "There's a dozen different decisions by different people that led to what happened today, and the only person truly to blame is the man who did it, and the woman who paid him to do it, the woman currently waiting for us to go and talk to her."

He frowns thoughtfully at the offer, considering how good of an idea it was. After a long moment, he nods.

"You don't have to do this, but if you really want to, you can. Not alone, though, it's not safe. I can come with you, or you can choose somebody else to accompany you."

Jin Ling doesn't sleep well and unfortunately since he's sleeping against Zizhen- or started out that way- his friend might not either. He moans from the pain in his stomach and from visions in his mind. The past attempts on his life from these poisonings to a wire around his neck that broke his heart, he shudders and whimpers.

If Fairy was still in the room, this wouldn't be so bad since she'd likely be on the bed by now helping comfort him but she's not. She's still helping ~~torture~~ deal with the servant and the subsequent perpetrator behind the attack. For the rest of Carp Tower, the night is raw with purple electricity and an irate uncle. Fortunately Huaisang is there to keep him from literally burning the place to the ground.

~~~

Jingyi slowly relaxes as he's reassured he's not to blame for this- at least not completely. It might take a while longer for him to convince himself he doesn't share some portion however small for Yuan being hurt.

"Okay," he says, giving in. He considers the options and gives Wuxian a pleading look. "Would you? Then I'll know I'm not being tricked." He has faith in his elders with the Lan clan but he also wasn't blind to how 'street smart' Wei Wuxian could be in comparison. If he was being allowed to learn with this, he should do his best to minimize how long it'll take to get what they need for Yuan to recover.

Zizhen isn't sleeping all that heavily because of the pain anyway, so he's quick to stir when Jin Ling's distress becomes more obvious. At first he isn't sure what to do, whether to leave him to sleep through it and comfort him in the morning, or whether to wake him up. When the latest heartwrenching whimper makes him almost flinch, his mind is made up, and he shakes Jin Ling's good shoulder gently.

"Hey... Ling? C'mon wake up." he whispers softly "It's okay, it's just a nightmare."

~~~

"Of course." Wei Wuxian says firmly - he likes Jingyi, especially considering the way he worries about Yuan, and he wants to support him in this.

He steps back over to his husband, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking down at their son.

"Just keep him stable for a little while longer. We'll find out what she knows and fix this, I promise."

Jin Ling whines softly in his sleep. The subtle reminder he's not alone was so nice and he curls tighter against Zizhen's side. Whatever this warm, wonderful thing is he wants more of it. He wraps his arm more firmly around his waist and if straight up bear hugging him wasn't shameless enough, he hooks his leg around his friend too. Zizhen you always wanted to know what it was like to be used as a body pillow, right?

He snuggles his face against the nearest part to him and sighs contently. This was better. He didn't even remember those awful things that were bothering him a few moments ago. He'll have to remember to ask Jiujiu if he can keep this.. whatever it was.

~~~

Jingyi bows with gratitude. This was one more time among dozens Wei-qianbei has gone out of his way to treat the young man well- better than his own family. If it wouldn't be frowned on severely and make him feel too weird about it, he just might have been grateful enough to hug the man. Fortunately his pride held and they were all spared that unlanylike-display.

As they left, Lan Zhan places a light hand on Yuan's forehead and closed his eyes. He feels for his son's spiritual energy while his other hand on his wrist was channeling in his own. Was this working? Was there any improvements? If he has to endure the death of his son after everything he's had to handle with Wei Wuxian, he's not sure he's that strong.

Well, Jin Ling was definitely not waking up, but he also doesn't seem to be having a nightmare anymore, so that's.. Good, right? Zizhen isn't sure, his best friend is wrapped around him like an octopus with his head on his shoulder and he's kind of glad they've slept at least vaguely cuddled up the last few days or Jin Ling would be really embarrassed when he wakes up.

Zizhen contemplates the best course of action for a moment longer before deciding it's late, he's tired, and this is comfortable and warm. He sighs, wraps an arm around his friend and lets himself drift off back to sleep.

~~~

Wei Wuxian nods at the younger man and then leads him out to go to the guest rooms where Madame Mo is being held. He makes sure to step in first, in case she tries anything, keeping Jingyi partially shielded with his own body.

Yuan is fully unconscious, now, but his spiritual energy is still strong and he doesn't appear to be getting any worse, it's almost as though he's just in a deep sleep.

Maybe Liling should've warned Zizhen that the poison or the antidote (she isn't sure which) can have some strong side effects..

Jin Ling has his arms around a boy with a painted face and a scandalous teal blue robe that keeps sliding off his shoulders. Sometimes it's gravity and other times it's because Ling helps it along. He's nestled against the sect leader's body, in between his legs. He's on the throne in Glamour Hall with his legs spread and hooked over the arms of a prostitute. He's not wearing anything underneath his robes that have been shoved up to his waist.

There are voices behind this boy, who he can't remember in this dream, voices he knows belonging to the elders of the Jin clan and the cultivation society. They're talking over business and other boring details, as though he isn't being ravaged where everyone can see. He holds back cries, not wanting to draw any attention to himself in case somehow they haven't noticed him. But it feels so good! He also loves this boy and it's only a matter of time before he knows he'll be shrieking his name.

Outwardly he groans. He pushes his hips against Zizhen, brushing his erection mere inches from where his friend's would be if he were hard too. He presses his face under the other man's neck, breathing in his scent even if it wasn't quite the right one. He knows he likes it and it's safe. He really, really wants to have what this warm body could potentially give him.

~~~

Madam Mo is being kept in the Mingshi, the watchtower where spirits are summoned. To be honest, the other Lan disciples weren't sure if they were going to need to prepare an exorcism or some other horrible task on her (or Wei Wuxian) when this was done. It just seemed smarter to be somewhere already designed for things to go messy. There are three disciples with drawn swords around her and she's bound and sitting on a chair in the center of the room.

"You have to listen to me! You can't let him get me! I'm just an old woman! I was crazed out of grief from my dead husband and son and- Oh my god! There he is! Someone! Help! HELP!" She shrieks seeing the two enter. "You brought the little bitch with you?? How could you do that?! He's the one who botched the whole thing last time!"

Jingyi frowns and looks at Wei Wuxian. There's a moment of doubt on his face. Wait, he botched things with the severed arm? He knew they'd gotten overwhelmed quickly but he'd thought that was just because they hadn't known what they were dealing with and they were just juniors. He'd called for Hanguang Jun as soon was he'd realized they needed help. He tries to think where he might have gotten things wrong.

Zizhen is a little turned on right now, maybe it's the same effect that Jin Ling is going through or maybe it's just something to do with the warm body pressing so wantonly against him. His own dream features white robes and teasing flashes of skin, a familiar laugh and warm arms around him, innocent kisses that slowly turn into something else as those layers of robes are stripped away.

He shifts closer to the warm figure next to him, seeking out the contact and friction that match what he's experiencing in his dream. The actual press of an erection against him seems to register, though, and he blinks awake.

"Ji-" he starts sleepily, and then remembers that, no, Jingyi isn't here, and the warm figure wrapped around him, the length digging into his hip, that's-

His eyes widen in sudden embarrassment and he freezes, unsure how to react.

~~~

Wuxian folds his arms, watching her with unconcerned amusement as she rants - until she starts throwing such harsh words at Jingyi, and then his eyes go hard and he frowns, stepping forward to ensure he remains just in front of the boy.

"He didn't botch anything, you old hag," he retorts "Lan Jingyi did surprisingly well dealing with a powerful and angry ghost that any cultivator would have had trouble with. He's not his fault that something so vicious showed up where it wasn't expected to be, which you would have known if you had thought to discuss the matter with anyone instead of planning some half-baked revenge that has poisoned my son." he finishes in a low, dangerous hiss.

Jin Ling shivers when he feels something wonderful hard against his stiffness. He rolls his hips forward, wanting more. One of his hands slip to 'Yuan's' face and tugs him down. He kisses lips with a desperate longing, wanting to show just how much his precious lover has been missed. The other slips into his robe, brushing past layers, seeking skin.

But.. he doesn't taste quite right? He kind of.. tastes awful. Like.. really bad. Antidote bad.

He draws back and blinks reluctantly against the dim light of the bedroom. He stares at Zizhen dumbly. Where'd Yuan go? He wants to ask but isn't quite awake enough to say.

~~~

The woman flinches and trembles. "My family is dead! I- I didn't mean to hurt your son!" She cries. It's hard to tell if her tears are real or not.

"Do you think she's gone crazy?" Jingyi asks peeking around Wuxian. She was old and how does a person act this emotional. However, this was a Lan disciple not used to watching someone hysterical trying desperately to get out of trouble. "Should we see if she's possessed?"

Zizhen bites his lip as Jin Ling rolls his hips against him, despite all his objections it still feels good, because the body doesn't really care what the brain wants. He's still debating what to do about any of this when he's suddenly being pulled in for a kiss and he's too shocked to react.

Then thankfully, blessedly, Ling pulls away and seems to be awake - only now Zizhen's cheeks are on fire because his best friend just kissed him and did he just cheat on Jingyi? Does that count?

He clears his throat awkwardly.

"Uh... morning?"

~~~

"She's not possessed, she's just facing the consequences of her own actions." Wuxian says coldly, staring the woman down and unmoved by her tears.

"You didn't mean to hurt my son but you did mean to hurt one of our disciples. Save your crocodile tears, old woman, and tell me what poison was used on that spear."

If it were anyone but Yuan injured, he might have been nicer, more understanding, but all he can see in his mind is that pale face and the blossoming blood on his son's shoulder.

Jin Ling gets a suspicious look on his face seeing how flustered Zizhen is and his gaze lowers. His cheeks start to heat when seeing his lips reminds him of what he just saw in his dream. Oh no! That must mean! But wait, there's more.. he keeps going and sees both the indecent way he's spread his legs, hooking one around Zizhen's and.. Oh god! His hand is in his robes too!

"Holy shit!" He gasps, scrambling back. "Wha- no.. I.. oh.. shit.. I'm so- so sorry! I.." Really wanted to screw you so apparently I tried in my sleep. "I didn't.. mean to.. you must really hate me right now!"

~~~

Lan Zhan's worry deepens as Wuxian and Jingyi don't come right back. He slips onto the bed and draws the young man into his arms. He doesn't care that his brother or uncle are witnessing this. They should see what a real father does when a child is sick or wounded not the bullshit they were raised with. A real man holds his son and kisses his forehead. A good father whispers to him encouragement and loving words while threading his fingers through his hair. The best father.. never lets him get hurt in the first place, which makes his heart ache with guilt. If he hadn't walked away from the group to chase that stupid tiger..

~~~

She looks ready to argue again, but thinks better of it. That nor the tears seem to be helping her cause, so with a heavy, shuddering sigh she tried to 'calm down'. She doesn't bother denying she meant to hurt Jingyi, even shoots a brief glare at him. However, the question has her raising her head.

"What incentive do I have to-"

Jingyi springs in front of Wuxian, cheeks flushed with sudden rage, and catches the woman by the scruff of her robes. "Listen here, woman! You tell us right now what was in this poison or we're going to make your son and husband come back and eat you starting with your feet while you sit there and watch! Now cut the crap and do as Wei-qianbei says!"

The other Lan clan disciples who had been standing there guarding her gape at Jingyi completely horrified. One of them looks like they're going to be sick.

"N-no, it's okay!" Zizhen says quickly - as awkward as all this is, he really doesn't blame Jin Ling for what he was doing in his sleep, and truthfully he'd much rather move on from this than get into any sort of argument about it or make Jin Ling feel guilty - if he felt like he needed to make up for it somehow, that kept it at the forefront of both of their minds, and it would probably be far better to try and forget it.

"You were asleep. I guess you were... uh... dreaming about something good. Anyway it doesn't matter, it's just... it happens, right? Let's just... laugh about it and then not tell anybody else about it ever." he chuckles awkwardly.

~~~

Yuan is still unconscious - his breathing is steady and his heartrate stable but he's unresponsive to being pulled into his father's arms, doesn't react to the encouraging words or fingers through his hair.

He feels it, though, somewhere in his mind, he hears those words and they bring him comfort, even though he's not really aware of it. They mingle into his dreams and soothe his troubled mind, keeping the nightmares at bay.

~~~

Wuxian's honestly about to start when Jingyi springs forward, and his eyebrows shoot up in surprise - he's impressed, though, at the ferocity the young man shows. The other Lans are too stuffy to appreciate it, but a nice graphic threat can work wonders.

Wuxian puts a calming hand on Jingyi's shoulder, effortlessly switching to 'good cop' as he gives the old woman a surprisingly calm look.

"Lan Jingyi here is my son's best friend, so he's understandably upset at the harm that's come to him. Lans can be ruthless when pushed, I wouldn't risk it, so as he so eloquently pointed out your incentive is that things are going to get very unpleasant very quickly if you don't tell us what we need to know. If you do, and your words cause A-Yuan to recover, we can have a much more pleasant discussion about what reparations can be made for your own suffering."

He rubs the back of his neck and nods, because, yeah, he was definitely thinking about something good. He tries to laugh at it too. "Yeah.. guess you're right. And we were talking about you and Jingyi and.. you know, earlier." He shakes his head and rolls onto his back with a huff.

"It's kinda too bad, you know?" Wait, no. Back up. He doesn't really want to start that conversation. "Never mind. Just.. should figure this thing out with Huaisang and get you to Jingyi as soon as possible." Then if he hires someone else from that brothel, Zizhen won't have to witness it.

~~~

"Okay, okay, I uh.. it's a toxin made from yellow capped mushrooms from the mountains. It's not something I'm too familiar with, I give you my word on that!" Madam Mo relents finally. "The leader of the town, Tian Niu, is the one who makes it. His brother is the one who leads the bandits who have the tiger."

How could a whole village and a group of bandits with a tiger still lose? It had seemed like some a solid plan until Hanguang Jun and Wei Wuxian showed up.

"Yellow capped mu- I know what those are!" Jingyi blurts out to Wuxian. "I know where the medicine is!" He takes off running toward the healer's where their herbs and remedies would be kept. He isn't as good as Hanguang Jun is at this, but now that he knows what they're looking for he remembers being taught this in class. Wuxian likely also knows, but the kid is hellbent on getting there first.

"Exactly," Zizhen agrees, because of course that kind of conversation was likely to put those thoughts in Jin Ling's mind, even subconsciously. It's all totally normal.

For a moment it seems like he's going to accept the change of subject, he nods along with what Jin Ling is saying because, well, he does want to get back to Jingyi, and he also wants to help his friend figure out what's going on here, but after a moment curiosity gets the better of him.

"What were you going to say?"

~~~

It takes Wuxian a second to catch up with what's going on, the toxin sounds familiar but he can't think immediately what it is or what the antidote is, and Madam Mo's explanation is hardly helpful. He's just wondering if he'll need to go back to the village and interrogate more of them when Jingyi suddenly blurts out that he knows what the toxin is - and more importantly what the cure is, too.

He opens his mouth to reply but he's already running off, so Wuxian turns his attention back to Madam Mo.

"You'll wait here until Yuan recovers, then we'll talk." he says, then turns on his heel and follows Jingyi up to the healers - by the time he gets there, his shoddy memory has provided him with exactly what the younger man should be looking for, so he knows he'll be able to confirm he's got the right thing. As long as he has, though, he'll let Jingyi save the day.

He was about to roll the other direction and attempt to.. sleep? He wasn't sure. He had a throbbing problem down below and an inability to leave the bed easily. What was he going to do? Kick Zizhen out? Make him watc- no! Not that one. He almost groans.

"Huh?" His attention snaps back to the other young man and he almost blushes. He really hadn't expected that comment to be pursued. He clears his throat and tries to pretend like he was way more relaxed than he felt. "Oh.. you know. That uh.. if we weren't talking about your very first time and stuff then it wouldn't be a big deal if two people in our situation were to entertain ourselves like that while you're here." As he talks he brushes some non-existent piece of fuzz off the blanket.

He hazards a glance at Zizhen after a moment. Just how freaked out did he just make his friend? Maybe he should add to it..

"I'm not saying we should! I'm just saying.. it's too bad we can't given your situation is all." Did that make things any better?

~~~

Madam Mo immediately starts begging to be let go as soon as the other two leave. Fortunately, the disciples are way more scared of Jingyi and Wei Wuxian than here so they don't budge.

Jingyi ends up needing a bit of help getting the proportions just right between three herbs to counter the effect. "We need to brew this and get him to drink it or rub it directly on his wound. We'll see how conscious he is."

He pauses before racing back to Yuan's side and glances about. With no one paying them any attention and seeing him being un-Lan-like again, he reaches out and hugs the older man gratefully.

"Oh." is Zizhen's oh-so-eloquent response, because that's about all he can manage for a moment or two. His cheeks are burning and he can't quite look at Jin Ling.

He's not... freaked out, as such, more just flustered and embarrassed.

"Yea..." he manages eventually, clearing his throat awkwardly "If I'd... I mean, you know, before, and if I wasn't in love with Jingyi, I guess it wouldn't be that big a deal, really, when you think about it. That'd probably.. solve a lot of problems..."

He's trying to sound cool and worldly about it but he's pretty sure he's failing. Still, after the initial wave of embarrassment starts to pass, he stares up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"I guess I never thought about doing anything like that with a friend before."

~~~

Wuxian is happy to provide the guidance he needs, but ultimately lets Jingyi be the one to actually make up the antidote, he thinks it'll help the younger man to be the one to actually fix the problem, it''ll help assuage some of that guilt he suspects is probably still lingering.

When he's hugged, he smiles softly and wraps Jingyi up in his arms and squeezes, the kind of proper hug he probably hasn't had in a very long time, maybe even ever, the kind of hug everybody needs now and then.

"He's going to be okay." he says, reassuring himself just as much as Jingyi "Let's just get this antidote to him."

"Right. That's all I was saying." Jin Ling says with a shrug. Except it wasn't really. He was saying he was really horny, lonely, didn't think he'd ever see Yuan again and if he did Yuan would have moved on by then. For self-preservation, he needed to start distancing himself some more emotionally from Yuan since the physical distance didn't seem to be enough.

He glances over at Zizhen, curiously. "Do you have close friends besides us?" Were there others in the young man's life he might have been with if Jingyi hadn't been around? If Yuan wasn't in the picture, Jin Ling could see himself being interested in someone like Zizhen. Although, maybe his emotions were just all out of whack after sleeping next to the man for the past couple weeks and having him witness some very vulnerable/ intimate parts of his life. Who knows?

~~~

Jingyi remembers once a while ago he was really upset about something and Hanguang Jun had put his arms around him. It hadn't been quite this firm of a hug, but it had felt as genuine. It brings tears to the young man's eyes now and he buries his face in Wuxian's shoulder for a moment. He tries to cover the emotion as he steps back with a cough and some blinking- like way too much to not be obvious.

"Right He'll be fine!" He says overly enthusiastically. A little embarrassed, he scurries back to his best friend's side.

Lan Zhan looks up from where he was holding Yuan. He has to direct the young man to put the salve on the wound since their patient has passed out. He helps Jingyi with his son's robes but looks to Wuxian while the young man works on his shoulder, knowing he'll do that part well.

"Everything go alright?" He asks, not hiding his worry. There are traces of weariness in his tone, but they both knew he wasn't going to stop doing what he was currently doing unless he was dead or Yuan was well, so there was no point mentioning it.

"Close... not really..." Zizhen admits, still staring up at the ceiling "I mean I have friends back home, cousins and other disciples and that sort of thing, but... none that I'm really close to, not the way I am with you or Jingyi." Or even Yuan, though that's still quite new. He decides not to mention that, though, since he's not actually sure how good an idea it is to bring him up right now.

There's definitely nobody he would have done anything of that nature with, which is maybe why it's never crossed his mind before - Jingyi had always been so innocent, and Zizhen's feelings for him sort of complicated things, and Jin Ling... well, the closeness that's developed since he arrived here in Lanling is something new, he always would have counted him one of his best friends before, but this is different. They've got a sort of bond, now.

~~~

Wuxian just lets him stay in the hug as long as he needs, and when Jingyi steps back blinking furiously, he kindly doesn't mention it, just squeezes the younger man's shoulder before letting him go and nodding.

He follows him back to Yuan's side, concerned to see their son still unconscious, but he's relieved they have a possible cure for him now. He doesn't want to get in the way so he just watches over as the other two get the salve applied to Yuan's wound, saying a silent prayer that Madam Mo has told them the truth and that this will help.

"It was fine," he reports, his gaze still on Yuan "she resisted at first, but we convinced her it was in her best interest to tell the truth soon enough."

"All my cousins used to try to beat me up or hoped something happened to me so they'd get in line to be heir," Jin Ling says with a sigh. "I remember until I was like.. 8? I think? Xiaoshu's son Jin Rusong was fun to play with." Of course.. he had to go get murdered. Sigh. He wasn't sure if the accusations that his uncle had been behind that were true or not, but he hadn't known who to ask. Now he kind of didn't want to know.

"I'm guessing that's not normal, right? You haven't experienced that sort of thing with your cousins?" He asks, looking over. "It's something in my clan I need to fix?" Some kind of attitude adjustment or priority adjustment that needed to happen. Somehow he needed to unite this clan or find a way to cripple it permanently so it wouldn't hurt anyone else.

~~~

"Dare we ask what you did?" Lan Qiren asks concerned over what method had likely been used.

"He didn't do anything. I threatened her," Jingyi snaps immediately. "Should it matter either way? This is Hanguang Jun's child! Is there a method we shouldn't use?"

"Jingyi!" Lan Zhan scolds, but not nearly as harshly as he normally would. It was more of a warning.

"There certainly is! And I thought.." Lan Qiren looks from Lan Zhan to Wei Wuxian and back. "I thought he was adopted.." He looks ill. Was this really a bastard child?

Lan Xichen is staring shocked at all of them. Sizhui does look just like his brother..

"One or two of them," he admits, not wanting Jin Ling to feel completely alone "I think every clan has at least some people who think they'd make a better heir or leader than whoever currently fills a position. But... well..." he hesitates for a moment, wondering if he should say what's on his mind but then deciding that Jin ling deserves his honesty.

"I might be wrong," he starts "but I think maybe... it's not that it's something wrong with your clan, but with all the recent turmoil the lines of succession aren't quite as... clear? I mean my father is still sect leader, I'm his eldest son, it's straightforward. Your father was going to be clan leader, and then your uncle took over, and then when he... I just think people who wanted to take advantage of all of that were probably disappointed when you became sect leader, if that makes sense? They got it into their heads that they might have a chance. I think it's just going to take some time for them to come around, but before too long you'll be married and have heirs of your own and things will settle. You just need... oh! You need something to take their mind off it. Something else for them to focus on. Maybe your uncle or even Nie-zongzhu can help you find something?"

~~~

"Does it matter where he came from? He's our son." Wuxian says stubbornly - and, of course, entirely unhelpfully given that it does nothing to clear up the confusion of Yuan's birth. He doesn't mean to be obtuse about it, he's just being defensive because this idea that he's not really their son because he's adopted hits a little too close to home, reopens some old wounds he never really addressed himself.

"We didn't do anything, we simply made her aware of the potential consequences for not telling the truth, and of the benefits for doing so. There were others present, they can confirm we didn't go too far."

Well, maybe. Jingyi's threat had been a little graphic, but it got the job done so he didn't really care.

Yuan is still unconscious, right now, but his breathing is stronger and he's already starting to look a little less pale.

Zizhen was making a really good point. He hadn't thought about that being the big difference between his clan and others. It wasn't that his clan was inherently bad- although it had done some terrible things recently. Those things he still needed to be a better example for, but over all.. maybe it was just the confusion over succession. It'd really help when he could name an heir, even if he was still too young for that sort of thing. Hmm.

He frowns. "Like what? A war?" He asks. "Oh! Or like.. what about one of those tournaments? We haven't had one of those in awhile. I could.." He deflates. "I could do absolutely nothing in it." Except sit there like an old man or a woman. Although if he could get to the point he could walk and be seen, that would be a benefit (though he isn't thinking of that right at the moment. He's stuck on the negative).

~~~

Lan Zhan reaches a hand out and lays it on his husband's forearm lightly. He gives him a comforting look. It didn't matter what Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen or anyone else thought. The two of them understood what was important and who Yuan was. It seemed Jingyi did too, more or less.

Xichen bows to them both. "My apologies. I didn't mean to imply anything to the contrary, Brother Wei. I'm relieved my nephew is getting help and that's all that matters. Shufu, it seems our assistance is no longer needed here. Let's give them some time to rest in peace."

Lan Qiren hesitated but then recognized what his nephew was doing. He grimaced a bit, but got up and bowed his head and wished the couple a good night. Lan Zhan mouthed a 'thank you' to his brother.

"A tournament is a great idea!" Zizhen perks up, wanting to encourage Jin Ling so allowing himself to show his enthusiasm "It's a way to show to your people - and everybody else - that you're recovering fine, and since it'll take a little while to organise you still have time to get better before then, and we don't know you won't be able to do all the same things you used to once you're healed. Even if you can't, we can always tell people you're still healing, or that you didn't want to join in because you wanted to give everybody else a chance to show off instead of being beaten by you, or something."

His ideas aren't all perfect, but he's not wrong in the most part - he also thinks it'll give Jin Ling something to focus on rather than sitting around feeling sorry for himself, because he seemed much healthier when he was plotting to get to the bottom of what was happening between his uncle and sect leader Nie.

~~~

Wuxian at least manages a nod at both of them as they leave - Xichen because it was easy, he genuinely likes the sect leader and he's very glad to see him out of seclusion (and not just because it reduced Lan Zhan's duties a little), and Qiren because he doesn't want to piss the old man off more than he already does. He doesn't often capitulate to him in any way, but sometimes he tries, just to smooth things over a little - especially when their son was involved.

Yuan starts to stir, then, blinking his eyes open groggily as he stares up at his parents.

"Baba? A-die?" he says, soft and uncertain, his voice rough "What's going on?"

It was a good thing someone was paying attention to this stuff. Liling and Jiang Cheng had been too busy and Jin Ling was far too close to the situation to figure any of this out himself. Left mostly to his own thoughts had not been healthy for the young sect leader.

"You really think so?" He asks, latching onto the idea of this tournament like a drowning man to a raft. How hard could it be to pull one of those off? The people here would know how to do it and he wasn't above asking them for advice. He could easily have the Jiang clan disciples around to help protect him without causing any additional questioning as the tournaments would be an interest for all the main clans.

Maybe.. perhaps.. would the.. Lan clan maybe.. no. He couldn't ruin this moment by starting to think about that.

"What would we need to do to set that up? Do you think it would just take announcing it?" He asks.

~~~

There are a few rare times when Lan Zhan gets really genuinely excited about something. He loves the first time it snows every season. He loves baby bunnies- even more than he loves regular bunnies, which is a lot. When Wuxian brings him a surprise gift after being away for a while. Apparently, they can add 'when his son wakes up' to the list.

His face lights up and he smiles wider than he usually does. His arms quickly go around the poor confused boy, so utterly grateful to hear that voice again. "A-Yuan! A-Yuan! Nothing important now that you're with us."

Jingyi is taken back by the emotional display of Hanguang Jun, even though he knows it's appropriate and approves! It's just.. weird. He glances toward Wuxian although he might not get any grounding there either.

Zizhen nods eagerly, encouraging and cheerful. The question of how to set it up, however, reins him in just a little.

"I don't know..." he admits. His father has never actually held a tournament, much to his disappointment, but he's sure it can't be that complicated! There's probably staff to take care of most of it, right? "You'd need to choose a day you want to hold it on, and announce it, and then people would need to organise all the things you want to have and banquets and stuff like that..."

He's not going to mention it, but it's actually sort of a shame Jin Ling's other uncle isn't around anymore, he was great at this kind of thing.

"We can plan all the stuff you want and then talk to your uncle, maybe, or some of your staff, and they can make it happen the way you want it."

~~~

Wuxian's excitement is displayed by Jingyi getting another exuberant hug before the man bounces over to wrap Yuan up in his arms as well, leaving the confused young man sandwiched between his parents and looking a little startled. After a moment, he relaxes into the embrace and smiles softly at their enthusiasm, though his gaze seeks out Jingyi as well and he's clearly pleased and relieved to see him there and well.

"A-Yuan," Wei Wuxian says cheerfully, kissing him on top of his head "how are you feeling my little radish?"

"Terrible," Yuan admits with a faintly amused huff

"But awake!" Wuxian adds brightly.

Judge him for all his wicked deeds, but his uncle knew how to throw a party!

"You know what! Since you're here. Let's do something that honors your involvement too! Yours and your clans. It could help my jiujiu out a bit too if we make it clear there's no hard feelings between our clans? Mine with the Jiang clan and yours." Zizhen deserved some kind of honor after helping him, after all. Never mind that this would only further cement the rumors the two young men have an affair going. "Do you have any kind of special regional harvest or tradition or something during the fall we could play with?"

"Wonder what the ethical way is to lure a bunch of evil things to a certain mountain like they did for the night hunt part?" He ponders. "I'll leave that mess up to Uncle Wei. I'm sure he can figure it out."

~~~

Jingyi is staring doe-eyed at Yuan when the other boy looks at him. It was so sweet! He was so terribly jealous too! Why couldn't his family ever treat him like this? Well, that was beside the point. He was really happy for his friend. He definitely deserves some extra special happiness after all he's been through.

Lan Zhan gets up to make some tea for his son. Hopefully it'll make him feel better. As he passes by, he places a hand lightly on Jingyi's shoulder. Who said sworn brothers couldn't benefit from the parents too?

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