Brothel meme continued

[lastjinstanding]

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?"

Comments

[young_mistress]

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.

[notaturnip]

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.

[young_mistress]

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?"

[notaturnip]

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.

[young_mistress]

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.

[notaturnip]

"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."

[young_mistress]

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.

[notaturnip]

"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.

[young_mistress]

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.

[notaturnip]

"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."

[young_mistress]

"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.

[notaturnip]

"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."

[young_mistress]

"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..

[notaturnip]

"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.

[young_mistress]

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.

[notaturnip]

"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?"

[graceandguqin]

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.

[notaturnip]

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.

[young_mistress]

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?

[notaturnip]

"Oh!" Zizhen says brightly, nodding "That's not a bad idea! I'm sure die will be worried about our ties to the Jin clan because he knows how close you are with your uncle, but this would make everybody feel better I think! And you're right, maybe it could even help Jiang-zongzhu too."

(And maybe reduce the time he and Nie-zongzhu had to wait to be public, because the less time anybody had to keep that secret the better)

"I don't think we have anything during the fall that we could make use of, but that also means we don't have anything that could get in the way. We could definitely just come up with something harvest related, or maybe make it a mid-Autumn festival thing? Something we all celebrate?"

He doesn't entirely understand how the night hunt part goes either, so he shrugs - but Jin Ling seems to have that already in hand, and he can't deny Wei Wuxian probably knows exactly how to do that.

~~~

Wuxian stays with Yuan, holding him close (despite him saying he was fine and he didn't need to fuss), but he watches Lan Zhan as he moves across the room, and when his husband touches the younger Lan's shoulder, Wuxian gives him a soft, grateful smile as well.

"What happened?" Yuan asks quietly.

"There was poison on the blade that got you. Luckily, Jingyi helped us find out what it was and create the antidote."

"So you helped save me?" Yuan asks his friend

[young_mistress]

Jin Ling grins, pleased that he's come up with something Zizhen approves of so strongly. He spends the next hour coming up with other random details to get excited about with his friend until he realizes the nausea from the antidote has worn off.

He snuggles back against his friend, even if he's starting to question if this is such a good thing (since he got horny last time- whoops) and gets some more sleep. Fairy returns before long and Liling checks on them.

By morning, Jiang Cheng has made sure everything is as secure as he possibly can make it and sets out to Yunmeng quietly. He leaves one more gift of a trio of purple aster blossoms on the nightstand beside a peacefully sleeping Nie Huaisang.

~~~

Jingyi gapes at Hanguang Jun and then finds Wuxian grinning at him too. He doesn't get a chance to compose himself either before Wei-qianbei was giving him credit.

"Er.. well.. I helped some. B- but it was mostly your dad- er- dads! I just yelled at someone."

[notaturnip]

Zizhen is more than happy to sit and plan the tournament, he's getting pretty excited about it as well - actually it makes him wonder if he should ask him father to plan one, sometime in the future, just so he can get involved with it, because actually coming up with this stuff is pretty fun. In the meantime, he'll help out Jin Ling as much as he can.

He's content to curl up with him again and fall back asleep, feeling contented and pleased that he was able to do something to help his friend.

~~~

When Huaisang wakes and sees the flowers waiting for him, he's utterly delighted, and spends a little of his time just enjoying the blossoms and basking in the glow of being so well loved.

After a while, though, he arranges for some breakfast and dresses and then decides it's time - time to have a frank conversation with Zizhen and Jin Ling about spying, and how to be better at it, and see what he can work out about Jin Ling's condition and what help he needs. He worries, briefly, that he might be overstepping, but he decides in the end that Jin Ling is old enough to make the decision for himself - he'll offer his help, and the other sect leader can take it or not as he wants. He'd much rather actually talk to the young man than skulk around in his castle as his uncle's guest.

So after breakfast, and after checking with Liling that her master is awake, he asks her to see if he's willing to receive a visitor.

~~~

"Don't sell yourself short," Wuxian nudged him, shaking his head in fond despair "You Lans, you're all so self-effacing. He helped a lot." the last part is directed at his son.

Yuan smiles brightly - he knew that Jingyi was just being modest, but he likes that his father is encouraging him to own his accomplishments.

"Thank you. All of you, so much."

[young_mistress]

The next morning, Jin Ling wakes up early and shakes Zizhen awake. It was still a bit before dawn. If they hurry and are quiet, they might be able to get the first awkward attempt at a walk in before anyone else sees them.

It turns out to be very frustrating, but Jin Ling goes every step they set as their temporary goal out of sheer stubbornness. Afterward, he lets Zizhen go back to bed or whatever while Liling helps him change both his robe and the bandages. He lays down for a little while again before his servant comes back with their breakfast.

By the time Huaisang arrives at his door, Jin Ling has relocated for the first time since his accident to a writing desk where Zizhen is helping him with a letter to announce the tournament. The young sect leader looks at Zizhen when Liling announces who is wanting to visit with him. "Nie Huaisang is here? Why? Why wouldn't he come in with Jiujiu?"

Liling shrugs. "I don't know. He came alone."

~~~

Jingyi blushes, but he smiles too. The rare compliment brightening up his face as he looks at Wuxian. "Thank you."

When his attention is drawn back to Sizhui, he comes over to sit on the edge of his bed. "You know, you were really brave too! You were protecting people, that's how you got stabbed. So don't do that again!" He snickers, obviously just joking around.

[notaturnip]

Zizhen is so proud of Jin Ling. He's trying not to be too over the top about his enthusiasm but he can't hide how pleased he is with the other young man's recovery. He doesn't really sleep while Jin Ling changes, but he vaguely dozes and he figures it's better to lie down and pretend and give Jin Ling a little privacy.

He doesn't bother to hide his enthusiasm about the tournament once they're sitting writing, though the news does distract him a little.

"Maybe it's about.. uh.. you know, the other day..." Zizhen says with a frown, referring to his failed spying attempt. "Do you want to let him in?"

(Huaisang waits patiently outside, wondering what Jin Ling's decision will be, he honestly doesn't know if he'll even want to see him)

~~~

Yuan blushes, looking down.

"We were there to help people, it seemed important to protect them..." he says softly. Wuxian sighs dramatically, eyes twinkling with mischief.

"That's it, he's too far gone, my poor little Radish has gone full Lan. Just like his father, rushing into danger!" He wails. He's well aware of the irony given his own tendencies, but he's having too much fun.

Yuan giggles dutifully, but the pink in his cheeks doesn't diminish and it's clear that being compared to his father pleases him a lot.

[young_mistress]

"Hmm, maybe." He isn't sure still how he feels about his uncle sleeping with the man who took down his other uncle.. even if someone should've- it's complicated.

He sighs and nods. He asks Liling for a mirror first to make sure he was presentable. It was one thing to look a mess in front of Zizhen, but quite another to look weak or ill in front of someone else. After he decides he's okay (though he still doesn't look as healthy as he'd like), he gives permission for Huaisang to be let in.

When the other sect leader enters, Jin Ling gives as proper a bow as he can manage while remaining seated. He's assuming if the other man is here and has been spending time with his uncle, he knows of his condition. "Nie-zongzhu, welcome. I trust your visit has been a good one so far? I hope you'll forgive my rudeness of not having a meeting with you earlier."

He didn't really mean any of that crap, but whatever. Politics, you know.

~~~

Jingyi snickers at Wuxian and shoots his friend a grin. It was true! The boy who was once working in disgrace was now a very lovely Lan clan member- physically and mentally. It was really impressive.

Lan Zhan smiles a bit at his husband's theatrics. He passes a cup of tea to his son and gently touches his head affectionately. "You shouldn't encourage him," he admonishes playfully.