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

[notaturnip]

Wuxian almost falls backwards, he looks over at his husband with wide eyes and then finally, finally looks over at Jin Ling's companion.

Wen Yuan.

"A-Yuan...?" he asks, his voice breaking a little.

Yuan hadn't known what to think when Wei Wuxian asked - he would have thought the Yiling Patriarch, of all people, wouldn't have had a problem with him being a Wen, but there's a desperation in his voice that Yuan doesn't understand. He clings to Jin Ling's hand when he answers the question and prays, prays that he isn't about to die.

Then Wei Wuxian responds in that broken tone and his head jerks up to stare at the older man.

"Have... do I... have we met?" he asks slowly, hope creeping into his voice.

"Were you... what do you remember, from when you were small?" Wei Wuxian asks.

"I..." Yuan shakes his head "I had a fever, I don't remember anything before that, I was found by a family in Yiling-"

"In Yiling?" Wei Wuxian sits up again, his eyes intense, and Yuan nods.

"I just remember... little things, before that... paper butterflies, being..." he blushes "being buried in a radish patch.... I remember I was loved..."

"You were, you were so loved, my A-Yuan..." he turns to look at Lan Zhan "Lan Zhan it's... it's him, it's really him..."

[lastjinstanding]

What is happening? Jin Ling would've been grateful for the spotlight to be off of him so long as it had gone anywhere other than on Yuan. He stares baffled at his (clearly) lunatic uncle, only glancing back at Yuan when he hears that tiny bit of hope. As it slowly dawns on him what he's witnessing, he takes a step out of the way- but just a single step and he doesn't let go of Yuan's hand.

Lan Zhan rises and steps forward. His usual stoic calm is tinted in amazement. He moves closer and ignores Jin Ling completely. As he looks at Yuan's features though, he could see the boy he and his husband once loved so dearly and he looks back at Wei Wuxian with a nod. Turning back to the boy, he says, "I was told you had died."

[notaturnip]

"I don't understand..." Yuan admits, holding tight onto Jin Ling's hand as Lan Zhan comes to study him.

Wei Wuxian stands as well, stepping forward and staring at the boy he'd once called his son. He almost wants to reach out to him, but he holds himself back - instead he reminds himself that A-Yuan doesn't remember, he needs to explain.

"You've heard about the Yiling Patriarch and the Wens who lived in the burial mounds, yes?" he asks, Yuan nods "Among those Wens was a little boy, an orphan that I was... I was raising as a son. My little boy. Wen Yuan. You."

Yuan stares at him for a long moment, desperately seeking something, anything in his memory that will confirm what he's being told. Somewhere in the murky fog of his mind, a name comes to him..

"Xian-gege" he whispers.

That's too much for Wei Wuxian, he can't hold back anymore, he grabs hold of Yuan and drags him into a tight hug.

[lastjinstanding]

"Holy shit!" Jingyi cries when Yuan recognizes Wei Wuxian. He claps a hand over his mouth and scoots to hide a bit behind Zizhen when Jiang Cheng glares in his direction. Whoops!

Jin Ling moves back further, allowing Yuan to let go of his hand if he wants to. What is he supposed to do or feel right now watching this? He is so incredibly happy for Yuan to have found his family as bizarre as that is to have ended up being his own family but he's worried too. Suddenly their relationship seems a whole lot less important in comparison.

And Jiang Cheng? He gets up.. and leaves.

[notaturnip]

Wei Wuxian should probably notice his brother leaving, but he's a little preoccupied hugging his son - who looks more than a little dazed by this revelation. He has family.

Yuan doesn't let go of Jin Ling's hand though, even as his other arm comes up to hug Wei Wuxian in return, he stays clinging tightly, almost using the other boy like an anchor. When Wei Wuxian - his father? - finally lets go of him and steps back, he smiles hesitantly.

"I can't believe we've found you again after all this time." Wei Wuxian says, amazed. "We have to talk. Later. We'll - after dinner? We can tell you everything, you can tell us everything, we'll talk properly. A-Yuan, my little radish, it's really you."

Yuan blushes, ducking his head in a nod as he agrees to talk later - he's glad of the time, he'll need it to process what's happening.

"Right now, we have to figure out what we're going to do about- Wait, wait, where did Jiang Cheng go?"

Yuan edges closer to Jin Ling again, seeking out the comfort of his presence.

[lastjinstanding]

Once Ling realizes Yuan needs him to hold on, his grip tightens reassuringly. After hating Wei Wuxian for so many years, it took a while for him to get over it. They still have their moments but he knows his uncle loves him and he loves his uncle. Right now, he's really happy to see the joy that he knows was missing for so many years in his life. However long Yuan has been separated from him, probably.

Lan Zhan has said very little but he's been watching Yuan intently. There's more emotion on his face, though it would be so hard to tell for someone who doesn't know him- so Jin Ling misses it completely. If Jiang Cheng was still in here, he probably would've too. However for Wuxian, his husband's heart was in his eyes glowing brightly.

It's so intimate really, that Jingyi is having to look away from his master. However, he does try to be helpful when the question arises about Jiang Cheng. "He left." So helpful.

Jin Ling puts an arm around Yuan and draws him close to his side. He doesn't want to think about what this means if his uncle doesn't want to see him anymore. "He still has a house full of guests to feed. Maybe if he doesn't want to see me right now, Yuan and I could just go back to our room and stay out of his way for a while?"

[notaturnip]

Yuan leans against him gratefully, not entirely sure he trusts his own legs right now.

Wei Wuxian frowns slightly, shaking his head despairingly at Jiang Cheng running away. He isn't so sure just letting him escape is a good thing.

"It might be a better idea for you to find him. You should talk to him about all of this instead of letting him stew." It would probably be volatile, yes, but if nobody pushed them to talk about it they probably never would.

"Maybe you should," Yuan says softly "I'll be okay, you can go and sort this out with him, you should clear the air before the wedding."

[lastjinstanding]

Jin Ling's automatic reaction to the advice, any advice, is to reject it but after this whole experience and with the added encouragement from Yuan, he reluctantly nods to his uncle's advice. "Okay. I'll go find him." He gives his love a grateful smile and starts toward the door. He pauses and looks back. "Zizhen, he's marrying your cousin so he can't kill us both!"

Jingyi covers a laugh and gives his buddy a light shove. "Good luck," he says under his breath. However, he hops up and goes over to Yuan. "Come on, I'll walk you back to your room and keep you company. I have a pocket full of lotus seeds we can snack on while we wait for lunch." At this rate, it'd just be a big long dinner!

Lan Zhan turned to Wei Wuxian as the room cleared. "Are you alright?"

[notaturnip]

Yuan squeezes his hand reassuringly before letting him go, hoping that this will all work out - for Jin Ling and for his uncle.

Zizhen gives his friend a terrified look, but he sighs and shoves himself to his feet - he's spent this whole time talking about how they're all there to support Jin Ling, he has to put his money where his mouth is, so he follows the young sect leader out of the room.

Yuan gives Jingyi a grateful smile, falling into step beside him as they head out. He asks him again about being a Lan, mostly with the intention of getting him talking so he can just let the chatter wash over him as they walk, allow him to half-listen without the effort of joining in the conversation while he's still processing everything that just happened.

They arrive back at Yuan's room in a few minutes and he enters first - he doesn't realise, immediately, that anything is wrong, until he hears a thump behind him and turns to see Jingyi's surprised face as he slumps to the ground, unconscious by the time he hits the floor.

He gasps, stepping back with wide eyes.

~~~

Wei Wuxian turns to his husband and basically throws himself into Lan Zhan's arms.

"He's alive!" he says giddily, grinning "He's alive and he's here and-"

He's here because he's a prostitute. Because Jin Ling hired him to be here. Jin Ling might be intending on freeing him now, but how long has he been living this life? How long has he been alone and scared and missing the family he barely remembered?

His smile fades, his arms around Lan Zhan tightening as he finally starts to consider the life that Yuan has had to live without him.

[lastjinstanding]

Jingyi is happy to fill the space with friendly chatter. He's a bit nervous so it comes easily enough, especially given the great topic Yuan picks. He hopes once in the room he could maybe answer some more questions about Yuan's fathers or Cloud Recesses where they live. He's mentally making a list of everything he needs to show him when he sees stars.

"Hmm, not the one I expected you with but.. whatever," Xiaowen began, tapping a long, narrow candlestick in his hand. It was a little bloody on one side where he'd struck Jingyi in the back of the head. "'You can't trust Xiaowen'. You thought, of all things to say, that was the smartest. In case you get any other genius plans, that talisman on the wall there.. that's a silencing spell. It's what you should've used last night while your new boyfriend was sticking his little prick in you and making you squeal like a slutty pig."

~~~

Lan Zhan drew his husband closer as he too began thinking about what all of this must've meant for the boy. The sweet child that he'd tried so hard to find and had thought had died. The wave of guilt that flooded his senses was unbearable and rivaled only one other time he'd felt such remorse.

"I'm so sorry, Wei Ying. I thought.. they told me he'd died. I never would've stopped looking..."

[notaturnip]

Yuan wants to check on Jingyi, desperately wants to make sure he's okay, but he's frozen in fear and he daren't step any closer. When Xiaowen starts tapping the candlestick, he backs off, not stopping until he bumps into a low table and almost falls over it.

He'd heard... he'd heard Yuan accuse him and now Yuan is stuck here, alone, in a silenced room with no way of defending himself and he's an idiot. Xiaowen's words made him feel sick - the whole situation makes him feel sick.

"Wh-what do you want?" he asks - is he just here for revenge? Or does he have some other twisted scheme in mind?

~~~

"It's not your fault," Wei Wuxian murmurs, head buried against his husband's chest "You looked for him, you thought... it's not your fault. I'm grateful you looked for him at all. My poor little radish...."

He looks up suddenly, desperate.

"But we'll make it up to him. We have him back now. He's never going to have to... we'll keep him safe."

[lastjinstanding]

Xiaowen slowly saunters forward. There's a smirk on his face with nothing but cruelty in it. "First, I'm going to remind you exactly what you are, since you seem to have forgotten. You're just a toy for men like me to play with and throw away. Next, once I've taken everything you swore to Jin-Xiao. You're going to help me take it from him."

He now stands directly in front of Yuan. He holds up the large, decorative, knobby (not in a pleasant looking way) candlestick. "Or would you like to see what kinds of fun we can have with this?"

~~~

"Where the hell is he?" Jin Ling groans with frustration. He looks up at Zizhen. "What am I going to do if he really does hate me for this? Zizhen.. I can't.. I can't lose him too."

They were back toward the training grounds and so far there hadn't been any sign of his uncle. Wherever the man went, he hadn't seemed like he wanted to be found. Instead, they'd been met with a lot of annoying and hungry guests. So far Ling had been fairly polite to them if a little brisk with his answers. However, now it was clear he was starting to really lose it.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Yuan. His background was just so messed up.. and I.. I didn't know how to.. you know, to tell you and Jingyi. With everything going on.. I just I thought hiring someone would be one less worry since I knew they wouldn't be pressuring me to marry them or trying to trick me into a child." He gives a weak laugh, that was on the verge of tears again. "It was supposed to keep it simple." Irony.

~~~

He kisses his husband's forehead, hoping to calm some of his worries. They were both in full agreement here.

"Would you allow me to give him my name?" He wasn't going to say it directly but Lan held a lot more protection than Wei or Wen did. Even though the boy had been Wuxian's first and more of his heart belonged to the boy, Wangji knew he could do this. It... also meant, he was saying- again indirectly- that they were in fact adopting him immediately.

[notaturnip]

Yuan scrambles to get around the table and further away from him as he approaches, but all that really does is get him backed up against the wall. There's nothing here, nothing he can use, nobody he can call with the silencing spell over the room, no escape. His gaze flicks to the candlestick in terror and he struggles for something, anything he can do.

His eyes close briefly and he wills away the tears that threaten to gather, because he knows what he can do, he knows exactly what he can do - the only thing he's always done to keep himself safe. He licks his lips nervously and swallows, opening his eyes.

"Xiaowen," he says, his voice trembling even as he fought to keep it even, trying to force a pleasant smile onto his face "Y-you're right. Of course, you're right..."

Slowly, he sinks to his knees, looking up at Xiaowen through his lashes.

"Please... I can be good for you..."

~~~

"He can't hate you, Jin Ling, he's your uncle, he'll never hate you."

He's pretty sure, anyway. He hopes. Still, he'll feel an awful lot better when they can actually find Jiang Cheng. Especially since it is becoming rapidly clear that Jin Ling's already rattled temper is fraying.

"It's okay," Zizhen says, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder "your logic makes sense, it's not like you knew you were bringing the last surviving Wen who happened to be your uncle's long lost adopted child...uh... yea I think I've read less complicated novels."

He's sure they can figure this all out.

"Let's just find your uncle. Maybe try near the guest rooms, we haven't looked there yet?"

~~~

"You mean it?" Wei Wuxian looks up at his husband with wide eyes. They can probably keep Yuan's past from getting out, he thinks, but there's always a chance they won't be able to, and the fact that his husband is willing to shoulder the possible shame of it? For him, for Yuan? He isn't surprised, but at the same time Lan Zhan never ceases to be the most wonderful thing in his life.

Now, though, he's going to have two wonderful things.

"As long as Yuan agrees, of course."

[lastjinstanding]

Xiaowen grins victoriously over Yuan. He leans down like he's about to caress his cheek, he slaps him across the face instead. He reaches down and grabs a fistful of his hair only to yank his head roughly upward.

"Tsk tsk, little slut. We're not doing this your way. You're not going to enjoy any of this!" His grip tightens and he drags the young man by the hair across the floor to the bed.

~~~

Ling nods, praying his friend is right. This has to work out somehow. He can't lose his uncle too! He's relieved though that his friend hasn't turned on him and isn't mocking him for what's happened. In fact, as he thinks about that, he does a very unusual thing for him (and almost regrets it as soon as he does it because it's so weird). He hugs Zizhen. For like.. five whole seconds.

"Okay.. let's.. um.. let's go." He stammers, trying really hard to pretend like that didn't just happen.

~~~

"He will," Lan Zhan says with the same certainty he had when he told his brother Wuxian was speaking the truth. It was a fact, no more no less. This was going to happen.

He gestures toward the walkway that lead toward the boats. His husband needs some fresh air and the short walk would help them both calm down. However, they hardly get more than a couple meters past the door when a man in gold and cream robes gets blasted by a streak of purple from one of the boats.

"Where is he?!" Bellows Jiang Cheng's voice as he leaps from the boat to the pier, Zidian sparking around his hand. He catches the Jin disciple by the collar of his robes and drags him to barely an inch from his own intimidating face. "Answer me, you worm!"

[notaturnip]

The force of the slap nearly sends him tumbling to the floor, he catches himself but not before the sharp tug on his hair makes him gasp with pain. He doesn't fight as he's dragged, only grabs at Xiaowen's wrist to try and ease some of pull to his scalp, scrambling with his legs for the same reason.

He can do this, he can survive this, Xiaowen has been in moods like this before - not exactly like this, never quite like this, but close enough that Yuan knows (hopes) he won't do anything he can't handle. As long as he isn't hurting anybody else, as long as he isn't hurting Jin Ling, he can figure this out.

~~

Zizhen is frozen for a second, because did... did that just happen? He knows they have more important things to worry about but this is going to take him a second.

He's so telling Jingyi about this.

"Uh, yea. Let's go." he agrees, deciding wisely not to say anything (until he tells Jingyi. Even though the other boy won't believe him) and heading off towards the guest quarters.

~~~

"...Jiang Cheng!" Wei Wuxian looks up at his yelling brother in surprise and alarm "What's going on?"

Who is he looking for? Jin Ling? He only left a few minutes ago, surely that can't be right...

[lastjinstanding]

Xiaowen leans menacingly over Yuan, catches him by the throat, and sneers. "Take your clothes off." He orders. "I want you to know you allowed this to happen. You gave yourself to me." He gives Yuan's neck a squeeze, warning him of the consequences of disobeying.

~~~

Nope. Zizhen, you imagined it.

*Coughs*

He doesn't know why he just did that. He has such a bad feeling. A panic that is sweeping over him, making him move faster as he moves as swiftly as socially allowed for a sect leader to go back toward the rest of the house. This was a stupid place to come and check! Anything could be going on back there! Where was Yuan?!

~~~

Wanyin shoots a dangerous look at his brother. "You're dealing with your family, I'm dealing with mine!" As his glare turns back to the disciple, the man quivers.

"I don't know! I swear I-!" He doesn't get any further before a hard fist strikes across his face sending him to the ground. The crackle of Zidian threatens to be unleashed again. "Someone said Xiaowen was listening t- to the main hall after we were sent away. He stormed off a- and we haven't seen him since!"

"I entrusted you bastards! You swore to keep him safe! Tell me why I shouldn't gut you right here like the worthless guppy you are!"

"Please! Please have mercy, Jiang-zongzhu! I didn't- He threatened my family too! Please.. I'm sorry!"

Wrong answer..

Wanyin's eyes narrow and he draws his hand back as the purple whip of lightening appears.

[notaturnip]

Yuan gasps for air, feeling the fingers press into his throat so hard he's scared they're going to bruise, but he reaches for his sash with trembling fingers and starts to undress - he's going as slowly as he dares, wanting to drag this out, but not wanting to encourage Xiaowen to further violence.

~~~

"That's weird," Zizhen comments - and not just the fact that Jin Ling seems to be getting weirdly desperate "didn't Jingyi come with Yuan? Normally we would have heard him by now..."

It's mostly a joke, a little attempt to lighten the mood, but he is a little surprised he hasn't heard a laugh or something. They could be talking about something serious, but he's getting the same creeping feeling that something is off.

~~~

Dealing with his? What's that supposed to-

The guy mentioned Xiaowen and Wuxian suddenly recalls he's heard that name before. It takes him a second to place it, the Jin guard's pleading in the background making it hard to concentrate, but he suddenly realises.

The guard A-Yuan had told Jin Ling he couldn't trust. The guard who had stormed off after hearing something from the main hall.

He catches Jiang Cheng's arm before he can hit the guy with zidian again.

"Leave this one, Jiang Cheng," he says, looking at the cowering guard "Where did he storm off to? What direction?"

If Xiaowen knew his cover was blown, Jin Ling could be in danger. A-Yuan could be in danger.

[lastjinstanding]

Xiaowen leans down and catches Yuan's mouth in a kiss. It's punishing and bruising instead of an of the sweetness that's supposed to be there. He pushes Yuan's robes open and roughly grips one of his hips. The hand around his throat doesn't let up, squeezing tighter and tighter with each passing minute.

~~~

Jin Ling certainly doesn't take it as a joke, especially since he was thinking along the same lines. It doesn't occur to him that maybe some of this worry might be paranoia from all his stress or something to focus on instead of Jiang Cheng disowning him. There's only one thing he's listening to and that's his gut- and it's screaming at him.

He comes to his own guest room and tries the door. He frowns when he finds it locked. "Yuan? Yuan, it's me!" He stares at the door and his frown deepens. He doesn't hear rustling in there or voices, so why would their room be locked.

He steps back, eyes narrowing, and draws his sword. "HH-YA!" He cries, leaping forward and kicking in the door.

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Jin Ling sees red, giving Xiaowen only barely enough time to move before he's run through. Sword clashes with candlestick, but there really isn't a match here. As strong and large as the captain is, Ling hadn't been kidding about his skill growing. "I'm going to feed you to the rats in the streets! You aren't worthy of being food for my dog!"

~~~

Wanyin looks half ready to strike Wuxian with zidian instead when he stops the blow, but just beyond his brother his Lan Zhan with his hand on Bichen. Don't even think about it!

"I- I don't know! I wasn't.." Oh wait, maybe if he made something up they won't kill him? "I- I think he went toward the uh.."

They all hear the loud crash and scream from somewhere in the house.

[notaturnip]

Between the rough kiss and the hand squeezing his throat, Yuan is so breathless he's starting to see black spots swimming at the edge of his vision. He just lets the kiss happen until suddenly there's a crashing sound and yelling and he's falling back against the bed and gasping for breath.

Dazed, he lashes out with his foot towards Xiaowen - it's barely anything, he doesn't have a lot of strength right now and the angle is awkward, but all he needs is to be a distraction, is to give Jin Ling even the slightest extra help.

Zizhen is drawing his own sword but truthfully he can see how this is Jin Ling's fight, he's there to be backup and nothing more, he's happy to let the sect leader handle this by himself - and it seems he's more than capable of doing so.

Which is probably for the best, because it's at that moment that he spot Jingyi slumped to the side and he dives for the Lan boy, sword forgotten in favour of checking him over with wide, panicked eyes.

~~~

Wuxian's head whips round at the noise, giving his brother the barest of glances before he takes off towards it, quite certain that both Jiang Cheng and Wangji will be right there alongside him.

It doesn't take them long to get to the source of the chaos and it's quite the scene they arrive to - Yuan slumped on the bed with his robes half open, dishevelled and gasping for breath, his throat already blossoming with bruises. Zizhen cradling an unconscious Jingyi in his lap as he clings to his wrist, pouring his own spiritual energy into the boy and begging him to wake up - and Jin Ling attacking Xiaowen with a ferocity that was bordering on extreme even for him.

[lastjinstanding]

The guard who has always seen Jin Ling as weak, is helpless against the wall as the sect leader wails on him. In a series of stab wounds that each would've been fatal on their own, the last move in this one sided fight is to take Xiaowen's head clean off his shoulders. The young man looks ready to just keep going too, but by then Jiang Cheng catches his sword arm. As Ling turns to fight his uncle, still lost in his rage, the one called Sandu Shengshou wraps his arms tightly around him and pulls him to his chest. A bloody Suihua falls to the floor with a clatter.

Lan Zhan ignores Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling in favor of the other boys, unfortunately he's torn between his responsibilities here. He wants desperately to go to Yuan, but seeing Jingyi is unconscious, he has to tend to him first. He touches the young man's hair, not getting in the way of Zizhen's aid and frowns. He reaches into his robes to draw out a small pouch with some powder. He spills some into his hand and slips it behind Jingyi's head. Not wanting the young man to move, he gently presses the medicine against the wound. "He's lost a lot of blood. Can you continue what you're doing for a while longer?" He asks Zizhen.

[notaturnip]

Yuan lets himself slump back against the bed when Jin Ling takes Xiaowen's head off, a dizzying flood of relief rushing through him with such suddenness he almost passes out. As Lan Zhan moves to his unconscious disciple and Jiang Cheng embraces his nephew, Wei Wuxian makes a beeline for his son.

He helps Yuan sit up, pulling his robes back around him as he pulls the boy carefully into his arms, shushing him softly when he tries to speak - he can see the bruising, he knows speaking is going to be too painful for him right now. The shock and adrenaline of it all finally wears off and Yuan lets himself be comforted, the tears coming as his shoulders shake with gasping sobs that he can't stop despite the agony each one brings. He wants nothing more than to go to Jin Ling, but he doesn't want to intrude upon the moment he's having with his uncle - even if he could move, which right now feels a little bit like a step too far.

Zizhen nods firmly, looking up with relief at Hanguang Jun.

"I can keep going as long as he needs me." he promises.

[lastjinstanding]

Jiang Cheng steps back, perhaps too soon for Jin Ling but they had their moment. That was enough. He feels numb, remembering another time these floors were soaked in blood and violence was prevalent within the walls of his home. This was quite different from back then, but the shock and horror was uncomfortably similar. Even worse, he has his nephew and these other people relying on him. He has to be the one to remain calm and do the practical things now.

Just what he was going to tell his fiancé and guests, he didn't know. No one here needs to know what this was about to cost him. In comparison, it didn't matter, even if it was him once again making the silent sacrifice. He'd promised her a scandal-less marriage. Peaceful. They could opt out of the drama if there ever was any and live their quiet lives together. To gain an heir and a stable home for that child, it had seemed like enough. Now?

He looks back at his nephew and the guilt almost made him scream. He'd left his nephew alone for too long. He'd known the boy had pulled away and was trying so hard to be brave and independent. Jiang Cheng had encouraged that. However, he hadn't known what Jin Ling had really been fighting all alone. Wanyin had just wanted peace.

"Go to your bedroom next door and wash the blood off," he instructs his nephew in as even a tone as he can muster. "Hanguang Jun, Wuxian, take your son either to Ling's room or back to your own. Ouyang-gongzi, give me a moment and I'll get one of your cousins to help you with Lan-gongzi." This room needed to be sealed until it could be cleansed.

Jin Ling staggered slightly when his uncle first let go of him. He had been far from ready. He tried to recover quickly and act like he hadn't been affected by it. When he was told to leave the room, he scooped down and picked up his sword, but he waits, turning to look at Yuan. "I'm not leaving him," he informs whoever cared to listen to him.

[notaturnip]

Nobody seems in the mood to argue with Jiang Cheng in that moment, not even his brother.

Yuan's sobs have died down a little, but he's still crying into his father's shoulder - he wants to tell Jin Ling he doesn't want to leave him, either, but he can't seem to stop the tears long enough to get actual words out, even if he could speak. Wuxian seems to understand, though, he nods a confirmation at Jin Ling and shifts, lifting Yuan easily into his arms as he stands.

"I'll bring him to your room." he tells his nephew simply.

He glances at his husband, a silent question whether he's going to come with them or stay with his disciple - either answer completely acceptable, under the circumstances.

"Yes, Jiang-zongzhu," Zizhen nods obediently, still focused on giving Jingyi spiritual energy - if he needs to be the moved that's fine, but he's not leaving the other boy's side until he's awake.

[lastjinstanding]

Lan Zhan gives Wuxian a sad nod when he looks his way. He needs to say with Jingyi. He's worried about his disciple and Zizhen shouldn't face this injury alone. However, his husband knows he wants to be there and he hopes Yuan will know too soon enough.

Also, before Jiang Cheng can leave the room, Lan Wangji proves he might not feel like arguing with the man, but he's not following his instructions perfectly either. He scoops Jingyi up in his arms and nods for Zizhen to follow him. He takes both boys back to the room his own room (which he's glad the servants have changed sheets since that morning).

Jin Ling leads Wuxian and Yuan to the room next door and offers the bed.. that clearly hadn't been slept in the night before. Shh. Don't notice that Uncle Wei! He goes over to wash his hands of the blood and remove his outer robe before hurrying over to the bed to join them.

Once everyone is gone, Jiang Cheng is highly tempted to whip Xiaowen once more for his own gratification but he knows from experience that doesn't actually make you feel any better.

He steps out of the room and puts a ward on the door to seal it. He pauses to look at one of the many red and gold decorations along the halls and picks it up. With a sneer, he crumbles it in his hand before turning to go speak with his fiancé, knowing what the outcome was going to be.

[notaturnip]

Wuxian raises an eyebrow at the pristine sheets but doesn't comment - he's showing marvelous restraint, of course, but under the circumstances it seems inappropriate even to him.

(Maybe just because the other boy involved is his A-Yuan)

He settles Yuan on the bed, sitting beside him and making sure there's space on the other side for Jin Ling. Yuan stays leaning against him with his face tucked into his shoulder, but as soon as Jin Ling joins them he turns, curling up against his side instead. His father keeps hold of his hand, though.

"I'm sorry," Yuan whispers hoarsely to Jin Ling. He feels like everything going so wrong is all his fault. It's ridiculously painful to speak, but he needed to say it.