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

[jiang_cheng]

The imposing man in dark purple has a stern look on his face and in one hand, he's clutching a cream colored doupeng with a white embroidered peony on it. He brushes past his brother, not waiting to be invited into the room and shuts the door himself.

"What's the meaning of this?" He demands. As he unfolds the cloth, on the underside in very faint marks is one of Wei Wuxian's wards. It's not the 'officially' approved kind either, but something the Yiling Patriarch had created once upon a time. Of course, it's a ward of protection, not a curse, but someone who doesn't know anything about talismans and the type of cultivation tricks Wuxian was known for wouldn't really know that.

[patrianarchy]

Wei Wuxian turns, wondering why he has a doupeng that very clearly belongs to the Jin clan, and what he's doing bringing it to his room, though he doesn't have to wonder for long.

The demand is confusing for a moment too, until he sees the marks on the fabric. He reaches out to grab it and get a closer look, frowning.

"...Somebody in the Jin clan is using wards I invented?" he hazards, looking up at his brother "These are perfectly harmless talismans, you know, you don't have to go getting all grumpy about them." he pouts - yes, okay, some of his tricks are unorthodox, but his wards and talismans aren't that different from normal cultivation, and they're not the kind that present any risk to the person using them.

[jiang_cheng]

His fist clenches and just about the only reason the older brother isn't getting boxed in the ears is because they aren't actually still twelve years old and Wanyin remembers on some level the other is weak. Still, if looks alone could wound...

"Not somebody, our nephew. Why is our nephew using your bastard magic? Have you been teaching him this stuff behind my back?" He nearly growls. "And why is he giving his whole army warded doupengs? How much energy does that require? According to Jin Yatsen, half suffered injuries on the way here. Did Jin Ling tell you any of this?" He honestly doesn't know how much spiritual energy it takes to put that many wards on objects as he doesn't use wards and talismans. They were too similar to what Wuxian used.

[patrianarchy]

Jin Ling. Jin Ling was using his wards? He almost grins - except Jiang Cheng is still glaring at him and he does have some sense of self-preservation, however slight, so he reigns it in.

(Still, Jin Ling using his wards!)

"I haven't taught him anything," he holds his hands up defensively, mind already scrambling for some kind of explanation, because the only time Jin Ling's ever come to him about anything it was yesterday, and that definitely hadn't been about wards. Then it hits him.

"Jin Guangyao!" he says suddenly "He had a lot of my old books, remember? That's how Mo Xuanyu found- anyway. Jin Ling must have found them. I'm sure I wrote this one down."

That doesn't answer the other question, though, about why Jin Ling would expend so much energy creating his whole army warded doupengs (and, damn, their nephew had a strong core if he managed that much warding in one go).

"He didn't even mention any of this yesterday."

...he probably shouldn't have said that...

[jiang_cheng]

Jiang Cheng's eyes widen in horror. The only person worse for Jin Ling to be taking after besides Wei Wuxian was Jin Guangyao!

"What happened yesterday?" He asks.

As he does, he hears one of his disciples calling in the hall for him. He holds up a hand for Wuxian to wait and opens the door. "What?"

"Jiang-zongzhu, my apologies for interrupting, Ouyang-zongzhu and Yao-zongzhu are distressed over two of our disciples mixing up their requests."

The groom rolls his eyes. "Idiots. Ouyang-zongzhu is allowed to take advantage of my generosity till I marry his niece tomorrow, not Yao-zongzhu, that opportunistic shrew! Don't.. repeat that. Just tell them I'll be there in a minute." He huffs as the disciple runs. "Alright, speak, and make it quick. I don't have much time to mess with my nephew's nonsense today."

[patrianarchy]

His nephew's nonsense, was it?

"Look, whatever's going on between you two I don't know. He came to me for some advice on a personal matter yesterday, is all, and Lan Zhan pointed out it was strange that he didn't go to you." Even though Wuxian had his own ideas about why that was, he can at least admit it is still strange.

"He's clearly got a lot on his plate right now, I don't know the extent of it, but whatever falling out you had, you should probably figure it out."

[jiang_cheng]

Well that stops Wanyin in his tracks. All of the other chaos of planning his wedding and the demands of about a billion guests in his house fade. He turns and looks at We Wuxian with a look of utter confusion and real hurt.

"What? I haven't.." He begins before glancing toward the door again, vaguely toward the room he's set aside for Jin Ling and his guest. They were the best guest rooms he had. Was that why his nephew so rarely visited or wrote to him or invited him to visit? He thinks through all the interactions he's had since the temple and can't think of anything he's done to cause a rift.

His expression hardens again, like it always did when he was uncomfortable. "I'll handle it. See you at lunch." His gaze drops a bit to what Wuxian was wearing. "Try to be presentable for once."

[patrianarchy]

Well, that's unexpected, he honestly thought Jiang Cheng would have at least some kind of idea of why Jin Ling had been distant (and, secondarily, why he might bring a prostitute to his wedding), but he looks almost like Wei Wuxian just pulled a rug out from under his feet.

Still, he says he'll deal with it, so that should get them talking at least. He still intends to talk to Jin Ling about this too, so surely they can get this sorted out before the end of the week, right? It's not like they're really good at making family drama into more of a problem than it needs to be or anything..

Fuck.

Oh well, it's out there now.

"Just for that I'm showing up to lunch dressed exactly like this," he lies cheerfully, shoving his brother towards the door "go on."

[lastjinstanding]

The morning was just as wonderful as falling asleep had been. Jin Ling wakes Yuan to make love to him again. He's a little more aware of people in the other rooms this time though and keeps both of their vocals quiet with kisses. He helps afterward to get them both cleaned up and dressed properly in fresh robes. After the late night and the private morning, they're almost late to lunch.

It's the first time they walk in together to face his family and the other guests, so Jin Ling gave his beau as many words of encouragement as he can beforehand. The first seat to Jiang Cheng's right- the most honored seat- goes properly today to the Chief Cultivator and .. spouse. However, the very next one, which is still highly honored has been reserved for Jin Ling and his guest.

After bowing properly to everyone, including the host, Jin Ling sits down and gives Yuan a reassuring smile. He knows they're at a prominent table putting them on display, but his date is beautiful and elegant. He has faith Yuan is able to handle these people. His gaze moves around the room to his uncles and the other leaders, nodding again a slightly unusually pleasant greeting- settling last on Wei Wuxian, who even gets a small, subtly grateful smile.

A servant hurries forward and pours the sect leader a cup of tea before moving to Yuan. As Jin Ling picks it up and lifts it to his lips, he freezes. No! Not here! Not on the day before his uncle's wedding! He inwardly panics and glances toward his uncle, knowing what damage this was going to do. Briefly he shuts his eyes, but pushes himself to act anyway. His hand quickly moves to touch Yuan's arm lightly, getting his attention. The servant startles and looks at Ling confused.

"This tea is stale. Remove it from our table at once!" He says in the most haughty, no-arguments tone. He snaps his fingers over his shoulder. "Liling, bring a fresh pot and leaves."

Jiang Cheng gapes at his nephew. Of all things for the little shit to say, that was the very first? "Ling! You dare try and embarrass me on the day before my wedding?"

Jin Ling refuses to even flinch at the tone. He stays unmoved even as the others around him begin muttering that he's 'arrogant' and 'spoiled' and 'just like he was when he was a child' and the one that gets just the slightest tightening in his jaw 'just like his dad'. Please Jiujiu forgive me! He returns his uncle's gaze and states with almost a faint sneer. "You'd dare serve my guest and I poor quality tea in your house?"

Wanyin is on his feet in a second, barely holding back his sudden rage. He stalks over to Jin Ling, who somehow must have taken a lesson from Wangji, because he doesn't move a muscle. "How dare you speak to me that way! Have you now shame? Have I not raised you and cared for you like you were my son? This is the respect I've earned? There is nothing wrong with this tea!" He picks up the cup of tea and moves to taste it.

"No!" Jin Ling cries leaping to his feet in a flash and slaps the cup from his uncle's hand. The liquid sprays disgracefully on part of the groom's robes and the cup shatters on the ground. However, before it even reaches there, a hand print is blossoming on Jin Ling's face. Wanyin stares in disbelief and looks from his nephew to his hand stinging from how hard he just struck the younger man.

Jin Ling usually cowers or blocks with his hands or some other childish reaction when he used to make a motion like that. Instead, this time, he hadn't even flinched- like he knew it was coming- like.. a full grown man would've.

[notaturnip]

Sex had never been something Yuan considered relaxing, he'd seen the way his clients left with contented smiles and less tension, but he'd never experienced that himself - until Jin Ling. Making love to Jin Ling made everything seem alright.

Which is why he feels so serene when they enter the hall for lunch, despite knowing this was very much a make or break moment for him. He had to make a good impression for Jin Ling's sake now more than ever. He went over his etiquette silently in his head, determined to do everything right - and every time his faith in himself wavered, he just needed to look to Jin Ling. He can do this, he has to.

So when it's Jin Ling himself who makes the first misstep, Yuan is just as shocked as everyone else.

The tea is stale? That doesn't make any sense, why would Jin Ling make a fuss about such a thing? The man who takes such diligent care of him, the man who is so determined to save him from his life, he would never...

Unless there's more to it than that. He remembers the rumour he heard before they left, that Jin Ling had made a fuss about stale tea back at Carp Tower, as well...

He bites his lip, reaching for his own cup as the argument starts, taking a careful sniff - and very pointedly not taking a sip.
There is something slightly off about it, something he can't quite place his finger on. It's not a scent he recognises, but he puts the pieces together and gasps, horrified.

Could it really be...

Before he can say anything, the slap echoes and his head jerks up in surprise, the cup tumbling from his own fingers and spilling across the table as he pushes himself to his feet.

He can't do anything, though, he has no weapon, no way of defending Jin Ling, and he honestly has no idea if it will make this worse to challenge sect leader Jiang in his own home, it would likely draw attention upon him that would be a very bad idea.

Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, can get away with a whole lot more (or, more accurately, gives way less of a fuck), so he raises his voice to get their attention.

"Now, now, why don't we get to the bottom of this, we'll find out who's in the wrong, they can apologise and we can get back to celebrating, hmm?" He looks around "where's that pot of tea? Lan Zhan, you know tea, you can taste it and decide if it's stale." He grins.

[lastjinstanding]

While everyone else is staring at the drama unfolding over Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling, Lan Zhan notices Yuan's actions. His eyes narrow a bit at the look on Yuan's face when he sniffs the tea. However, even he can't keep his focus completely on the the suspicious boy though when he hears Jin Ling get slapped. He doesn't stare intently like the majority in the room though. Instead, he keeps paying attention to everything else in the room as well.

When his husband cuts in, his silently proud of him. People underestimate Wei Wuxian and were always surprised later. At his suggestion, Lan Zhan could've smirked, but instead holds out his hand without a word for the tea.

Jin Ling's face hurt. It feels like he'd been hit with a rock instead of the backside of his uncle's hand. Even that isn't a comparison to how his heart is breaking. He knows his uncle would never mean to hurt him and that this wasn't really his fault, but his jiujiu just hit him. He tastes blood from how hard the inside of his cheek hit against his teeth. And he really has no idea what to do now to save face. If he just sits back down he will look so weak to allow another sect leader to hit him without demanding an apology. If he demands an apology from his uncle after how he just acted..

Fortunately(-ish) Wei Wuxian intervenes. Although just like last night, he does so in the least helpful way possible! A servant moves to take the teapot from the table and jumps back when Jin Ling's hand touches the hilt of his sword and he barks. "Don't touch that!"

Jiang Cheng grabs his nephew's wrist away from his sword. "What's gotten into you? Have you no respect for either of your uncles?"

"The tea is poisoned." Wangji's voice cuts in.

[notaturnip]

Yuan looks a little horrified at the suggestion that the chief cultivator taste the tea - he doesn't want to blurt out his suspicions in case he's wrong, but he also doesn't want to risk the possibility that Lan Wangji may drink poison that was meant for Jin Ling - and, he realises with a dizzying wave of fear, for him, too. He doubts he would have been anything more than collateral damage, but the idea that he might have drunk it if Jin Ling hadn't stopped him makes him feel a little unsteady on his feet.

Jin Ling steps in instead, which makes him even more certain that the problem is far, far more serious than the tea simply being stale - why else would he be so determined that nobody drink it. He's about to throw caution to the winds and say something when Lan Wangji speaks up and he has to stop himself breathing a sigh of relief. It wouldn't have meant much coming from him, but from the chief cultivator? People will have to pay attention - and they do, a gasp ripples around the room at those words.

"That does seem to be the obvious conclusion, doesn't it?" Wei Wuxian says smugly "Jin-zongzhu, if we promise nobody will drink it, would you allow his excellency to inspect the tea?"

Look he's being properly polite and everything.

[lastjinstanding]

Everything is falling apart around him. Jin Ling feels like he's just been tossed in the center of the room without robes on. He can feel the judgment and worse, the pity as Wei Wuxian and his stupid husband further expose what he's been dealing with. Why can't everyone just leave him alone? He had this under control! He just.. he needed different tea.

He tries to think of anything he can do to discourage this and hide his shame, but there's nothing he can do. The bruising grip on his arm leaves and he stands there trembling, almost lightheaded as his uncle takes the teapot and hands it over to Wangji. He takes the smallest step back, only to realize for the first time Yuan is and has been at his back this whole time. He brings a hand back as subtly as he can (which isn't much given everyone is staring at him and he's in the center of the room) to take Yuan's hand.

Lan Zhan nods when he sniffs it. "Hemlock."

"Ling?" Wanyin asks, turning around. "Has this happened before? How did you know what that smelled like?"

Jin Ling's cheeks color and he glances resentfully at Wei Wuxian but.. "I didn't the first time. It made me sick but I found an antidote among Jin Guangyao's medicine. I.. it's happened a couple times since. B- but I can handle it. It's my problem." With as much dignity as he can muster, he takes back his hand and uses it to bow to his family. "I'm sorry for the insult and scene. I-"

"Stop that!" Wanyin shouts, catching Jin Ling's arm again and giving him a shake. He really wants to shake his stupid nephew. He looks around at everyone else in the room. "Leave us. This is a family matter that needs to take precedence over this meal. Go on!"

"Yuan. Stay." Wangji adds- also not moving to leave.

Fuck my life! Ling thinks.

[notaturnip]

Yuan grasps his hand, shifting slightly so the fall of their robes hides it a little, and squeezes reassuringly. He can only think this is a good thing, some proof that Jin Ling was actually trying not to make a big scene - yes, he was a little bratty, but that could have been easily brushed aside. Still, Yuan is glad that this has come to light, as much as he has every faith in Jin Ling, he's grateful that this danger is being brought to more people who can protect his love.

He gasps despite himself when Jin Ling admits that he was already poisoned once, that he's been dealing with these attempts for who even knew how long, and he's even more grateful that his uncles now know about this, that they might be able to help.

When the command comes to leave, Yuan regretfully starts to step away until Lan Wangji's words stop him and he looks at the chief cultivator in surprise, then glances uncertainly at Jiang Cheng.

"Are- I'm not... family...?" he says slowly, flushing slightly when Wei Wuxian mutters a cheerful 'yet' under his breath (and isn't that ridiculous? Jin Ling keeping him is one thing, but he knows he can't be anything more than a 'mistress' to him).

Wei Wuxian, for his part, is curious why Wangji wants the other boy to stay, though he supposes it makes sense - better get this all out in the open in one go. Besides, he trusts his husband, he knows he must have his reasons.

"Alright," he says, once the rest of the guests have filed out "Why don't we sit down with some non-poisoned tea and talk about this."

[lastjinstanding]

Look, he's dealt with young men for a long time. He knows his junior disciples. This was scary and Wangji isn't heartless. He can see Jin Ling is hanging on by a thread. In fact..

"Wei Ying? Bring Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen back." Alright, now he can let everyone else handle this mess. He's done his part.

Oh.. great. More people to witness this. Jin Ling thinks as he watches some servants set mats in the center of room, making a sort of square out of the throne, Wei Wuxian and Wangji's table, Jin Ling and Yuan, and the two boys coming back in. He gets shoved in the direction of one of the mat pairs by Wanyin, similar to how he might've been treated as a misbehaving child.

Ling, however, remembers his manners and holds his hand out to help Yuan sit on the mat before taking his own seat. He is a bit reluctant to take the tea when it's offered again, but now, who can blame him?

[notaturnip]

Zizhen has to admit, he's intrigued and glad and just a little bit secretly thrilled when they're asked to come back into the room - given the way Jin Ling had basically confessed that he was in danger during their conversation last night, it was clear that something needed to give. They'd told him his uncles would be there for him, and now they would be able to prove it.

He'd never thought somebody would dare try and poison him here though.

He gives Jin Ling a nod as they return, taking his place on one of the mats, and he gives Yuan a small smile too - he noticed the way the other boy immediately had Jin Ling's back when everything went to hell.

Yuan, for his part, gets settled on one of the mats a little uncertainly, still feeling as though he's intruding but also glad he could be there for Jin Ling. He gives Zizhen a small smile and nod in return, even though they haven't yet been properly introduced, and he gives a nod to Jingyi as well, before turning his attention back to Jin Ling. He squeezes his hand reassuringly before letting go, and very pointedly drinks the tea first (after a cautious sniff, just to be on the safe side) to show him it's safe.

Wei Wuxian watches him approvingly, noticing how attentive they both are to each other, even in the midst of this chaos. Maybe Jin Ling doesn't have such dumb ideas after all (and he definitely approves of him trying to free the sweet boy from his current life).

"Right," he claps his hands together once everybody's settled "Jin Ling, why the hell didn't you tell anybody somebody was trying to poison you?"

[lastjinstanding]

Jin Ling's stomach clenches painfully the brief second after Yuan drinks the tea and before he can rationally push away that fear. He has to fight his thoughts away from slipping toward the realization that Yuan could've been killed earlier had he not moved faster. He just can't deal with those thoughts yet.

His cheeks color at Wuxian's rather blunt question. He has about a hundred different reasons but of course the majority of them sound really stupid now that he's being asked to say them aloud. He swallows nervously and wishes Yuan hadn't let go of his hand. "It's complicated. I did tell someone. I told my guard and I've been working with them. Jin Xiaowen has made some arrests." He doesn't have an answer on why this has happened again. He is suspicious of some things but he's can't just say those to people who aren't of his clan, can he? "But this is my problem. What kind of sect leader would I be if I went crawling to my uncles every time I had a problem?"

[notaturnip]

"You told Xiaowen?" Yuan's head jerks up in surprise, the words spilling out of his lips before he can stop them. Xiaowen, the man who tries so hard to make a fool out of Jin Ling every chance he gets, and then boasts about it later. The man who hates his boss with such a passion he takes that hatred out on somebody else... is it possible he's somehow behind this? Yuan doesn't know, but he doubts Xiaowen has made the effort he should have done to catch whoever was behind this.

"Rulan, when the problem is somebody trying to murder you, it's okay to ask for help." Wei Wuxian says with a shake of his head, but then his gaze moves to Yuan and he frowns curiously.

"Why are you surprised Jin Ling told his guard?" he asks, an edge of suspicion creeping into his tone - Xiaowen the boy had said, not Jin Xiaowen, not the captain, nor any other name that would make sense for someone you'd only known a few days at most. Yuan seems very sweet, and Wei Wuxian is a little inclined to trust somebody with that name, but everybody in this room knew that a sweet facade didn't always mean you could be trusted.

Yuan flushes, ducking his head - he knows it's important to tell Jin Ling what he knows, but he can't do it in front of all these people.

"It's nothing." he mumbles.

[lastjinstanding]

Jin Ling nods at Yuan, but can't say more before Wuxian is admonishing him for not telling. He also might have argued more about that point too, but his uncle has a very good question. Although, he shoots the older man a warning look for the tone. Back off!

He turns and reaches out to take Yuan's hand. He thinks the reason Yuan used his name like that was because he told him to on the trip. "A-Yuan, Xiaowen is the captain. Of course I told him. I rely on him. Jiujiu, you remember him. He's one of the men you met when I took over after Uncle Yao died."

Wanyin frowns. "Right. I liked Jin Yatsen better."

Jin Ling scowls just a bit, finally looking a little less afraid and a little more like that irritable young man they all know and love. "Him? He's so old!"

"He also told me about those cloaks you made and using Wuxian's old tricks to ward them. Since when did you start using magic like that?" He growls. "Bloody cloaks, I might add."

"Huh?" He looks over at Wei Wuxian surprised. "I thought.. did you write some of the books in Uncle Yao's study?"

[notaturnip]

Yuan takes Jin Ling's hand and squeezes it, trying to tell him with his eyes that there's something wrong - but he's already looking away to his uncle and the conversation turns to the warded cloaks instead.

If it was just his own reputation that he had to worry about he'd reveal himself instantly, but he doesn't want Jin Ling to get in any trouble for bringing him here, doesn't want the other people to know that their relationship started as a lie.

Wuxian is still watching Yuan curiously, but he looks over at his nephew and nods at the question - just as he suspected.

"Mmhmm, Jin Guangyao stole a lot of my things, including my books. The wards you used on the cloaks were mine," he grins a little smugly.

"We were attacked on our way here," Yuan speaks up softly "the cloaks kept it from being much worse than it was."

He'll tell him about Xiaowen later, he vows to himself.

[lastjinstanding]

"So again we learn you were in danger without telling anyone. You turned to using a ward from Jin Guangyao's books rather than ask for our help? That's not bravery, that's stupidity. That's like when you ran out to fight those puppets in the Burial Mounds after I offered you Zidian and you refused to take it!" Wanyin scolds, slamming his fist against the arm of his chair.

Jin Ling jumps to his feet. "What if something had happened and those puppets had gotten through our rank and reached you? What would you have used?"

"I was out of spiritual energy, you fool! I couldn't have used it anyway!" Wanyin shoots back, rising as well. "Stop trying to protect your elders! We don't need it. We need you to live!"

"I need you to live more!"

[notaturnip]

"Jin Ling..." Zizhen speaks up hesitantly "You're trying to protect everybody else, right? But don't you see that we all want to protect you, too? And when you're the one in danger... there's nothing wrong with telling people."

"I like that one," Wei Wuxian tells his husband, pointing at Zizhen, then turning his attention back to his nephew.

"Rulan, remember what I said to you yesterday about power from the right corners?" he asked "That doesn't just apply to the situation we were discussing, that applies to things like this too. We are your corners. You're right that you can't turn to us for every little thing, but the big things? Especially the big things when your life is in danger? There's no shame or dishonour in asking for help, not from family."

Yuan smiles softly, he can't help it - it's so clear that everybody in the room loves and supports Jin Ling, that they want to help him, even if they're mad at him for keeping secrets and putting himself in danger - it warms his heart even as it makes it ache for the family he barely remembers, the family he lost.

[lastjinstanding]

Jin Ling looks down at Zizhen and seems like he wants to argue but how does he combat that? Then Wuxian adds to it and he realizes what his uncle had meant yesterday that he'd misunderstood. Slowly he sinks back to his mat. The fight just goes out of him. This is completely humiliating but it's also the only point in his life he's felt so surrounded in love like this. It's overwhelming and he hates that old familiar feeling of tears in his eyes.

"It's constant.." He finally breathes out. His voice much lower and just.. plain exhausted. "I can tell I'm always been watched. Things that I know I've done right get screwed up somehow. My men are always questioning me and making me second guess myself or what I remember. I know at least one of the guards is involved but I don't know how far it goes. I've been trying to catch them. My servant Liling is the only one I really trust. I had another, Daiyu, but there was poison on a robe recently and somehow it got on his skin first.."

He shakes his head and makes a vague gesture to the cloak. "I've spent the last two days making those but I was asleep in the carriage and half the guard took them off. I had intercepted word that an attack was going to happen on the way here and I wanted to protect them, but.. they still got hurt. Between this and Uncle Yao, I don't feel like I can trust anyone. I find myself doubting if I can trust even you all."

[notaturnip]

Yuan's heart just breaks for him as he explains the situation and he reaches out to take Jin Ling's hand. It makes him feel even more overwhelmed that Jin Ling has chosen to trust him, chosen to accept the truth of his identity when he could have so, so easily just pushed him away and nobody would have blamed him even without knowing all of this.

"I know you can't trust Xiaowen." he says finally - he has to, he can't wait a single second longer and risk anything more happening, he just can't. Jin Ling needs to know the truth "I haven't... I haven't had the chance to talk to you about this, and I'm sorry, I just... I didn't know the situation was so awful."

He takes a breath, considering for a moment how to phrase the next part without giving anything away, but so that Jin Ling understood. Eventually he decides to be vague, he can clarify if Jin Ling needs him to, but he thinks he'll get it.

"I've met him before. He bragged about the ways he undermined his boss. It wasn't until I saw him yesterday that I realised he meant you."

[lastjinstanding]

"What?" Ling asks, surprised. Of all people to speak after that, he hadn't expect it to be Yuan. In all honesty, he sort of wanted his sweet pet to just stay there and hold his hand and not say anything. The less people noticed him the better- one issue at a time, right? However, to hear him speak and for him to actually have something to say that was prevalent.. it really throws him off-guard.

"How.." He begins before it hits him. He glances away, which unfortunately has his face turning toward Zizhen as the pain just explodes behind ribs and skull. Oh god no! Yuan knows Xiaowen because of that?! He really might be sick. As if this wasn't mortifying enough now he finds out his captain of the guard was mocking him and undermining him while sleeping with his new lover?

He feels a hand on his shoulder and a cooling effect. As he opens his eyes, he sees Jingyi's face with his eyes closed. His spiritual energy radiating through Jin Ling's body to prevent him from at least hurling. Sparing at least one embarrassment? (Especially since he was the one sitting next to him and might be in the splash zone- ew).