They’ve been in Cloud Recesses less than a day when she’s summoned to Lan Qiren’s quarters on her way to dinner. Jiang Yanli smiles at her sect sisters, grateful for the first time that her brother is on the other side of the grounds, and clasps her hands together inside her sleeves so no one can them shaking.
She enters, bows, and Lan Qiren says, “This boy claims he’s part of your clan. Wangji found him breaking in and he had alcohol on him.”
She blinks slowly, glad her face is turned towards the ground, then looks up. There’s not only Lan Qiren, but Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji.
Between them is a boy who can’t be much older than A-Cheng, wearing scruffy dark clothes and his hair in a disgrace of a ponytail. He looks at her, wide eyed and pleading, and she doesn’t know him but she feels her heart soften. He’s too skinny. She wishes she had something to feed him.
“Lady Jiang?” Lan Xichen prompts her.
She bows again and is speaking before she can think better of it. “I apologize for his disruption. Please forgive him, he is unaware of the rules of Cloud Recesses.”
“So he is part of your clan?” Lan Qiren demands incredulously. “Why didn’t he arrive with the rest of you then?”
That’s a good question. She should answer it. It better be a good answer. “He’s our new first disciple and there were several things he needed to arrange back home before leaving.”
They don’t currently have a first disciple. Mother wants A-Cheng to be given the position, but both Father and A-Cheng know he’s not ready for that yet, so instead they haven’t appointed one at all.
“I didn’t hear about this,” Lan Qiren says, glaring.
The boy steps forward, winking at her before all the Lans turn to face him. “Apologies, let me introduce myself properly. I used to be a rogue cultivator, so I doubt you’ve heard of me, but I’m Wei Wuxian, the first disciple of Lotus Pier.”
“Wei Wuxian,” Lan Qiren repeats, pale and eyes wide. “Not – not Cangse Sanren’s son?”
“Uh,” he blinks. “Yeah, that’s me. Did you know my mom?”
“You’re supposed to be dead,” Lan Qiren says, staring at him like he really is looking at a ghost.
Wei Wuxian glances at her, like he’s looking for help or maybe just for someone else to be in on the joke. “Well. I’m not.”
There’s some more awkward silence, and Jiang Yanli wants them out of there. The longer this goes on, the more likely it is they’re going to get caught. “If we may go to dinner, Master Lan? I’m sure A-Xian has had a long journey.”
She hopes he doesn’t mind the familiarity when they’ve just met, but it makes the whole story a little bit more believable, she thinks.
He doesn’t seem to mind, instead lighting up and saying, “Shijie needs to keep her strength up, Master Lan, please excuse us. I really am very sorry about breaking the rules.”
He doesn’t sound very sorry, but Lan Qiren still seems to be in too much shock to call him on it. Instead they’re dismissed, no punishment doled out even as Lan Wangji scowls and Lan Xichen only looks slightly less surprised than his uncle.
Wei Wuxian waits until they’re in the hallway to turn and grin at her. “You are literally the coolest person I’ve ever met.”
She flushes, tucking some of his hair that has gotten loose form its tie behind his ear. “Don’t get caught sneaking out this time.”
“Sneaking out?” he repeats, then shakes his head. “No way, they’ll totally figure it all out and then you’ll get in so much trouble. I’ll stay. Maybe I can get them to kick me out or something instead.”
She pauses, because she likes him already, obviously, otherwise she wouldn’t have lied for him, but. “I told them you were our first disciple.”
When nothing else is forthcoming, she asks, “Can you … pass as a first disciple?”
He looks at her and laughs, holding out his wrist to her. She hesitates, but he is offering, so she pressing her fingers against his pulse and then he has to wrap an arm around her waist to keep her from staggering. His golden core thrums under his skin like a tidal wave, the bright, powerful rush of energy feeling like an endless well, like the deepest of their lakes back home. “I might need a refresher on some of the Jiang forms, but I wouldn’t worry about that.”
“Refresher,” she repeats, looking at this boy that is supposed to be dead, who is the son of the famed Cangse Sanren and has a golden core stronger than any she’s ever felt and who absolutely no one has heard of before now. “You know them already?”
“I know all the major clans’ forms,” he says carelessly and offers her his arm as they walk towards the dining hall.
She takes it, head spinning. It’s the only thing that makes sense, but at the same time it doesn’t make any sense at all. She thinks she’s right anyway.
Wei Wuxian is a disciple of Baoshan Sanren.
She doesn’t have time to overthink it, because then they’re entering the dining hall, the meal just about to start. They walk over to where all the other Jiang disciples are clustered and all their eyes are on them, outrage hovering around the edges of A-Cheng’s mouth when he sees her hand on Wei Wuxian’s elbow.
“Our first disciple got in a bit of trouble,” she says, smiling, aware of all the eyes and ears on them that don’t belong to her clan. “A-Xian, you should really apologize to all your sect brothers and sisters.”
Wei Wuxian goes into an elaborate bow. “This Wei Wuxian begs forgiveness and promises to do a better job of upholding the honor of the Jiang Clan.”
There’s a beat of silence where everyone looks at her, then to him, and she loves her clan because as one big smiles come over their faces and they groan, acting like this is another one of Wei Wuxian’s antics, like he’s familiar and one of them and this is just to be expected, really. She sits down next to A-Cheng, dragging Wei Wuxian with her.
“A-jie,” he hisses, “what’s going on?”
“Ah, my dear sweet brother,” Wei Wuxian says, sitting on the opposite side of A-Cheng and draping his arm around her shoulders. A-Cheng scowls but doesn’t push him away or start screaming, so clearly she’s not the only one who likes him. “We’ll fill you in later, yeah? It’s been a really interesting night.”
A-Cheng ignores him to look at her, raising an eyebrow. “Really, A-jie?”
“Be nice to A-Xian,” she says. “Our brother has had a long night.”
He looks between them, then clearly gives up, slouching into his seat. “Fine, okay, whatever.”
The gong rings and there’s no more talking no, as the food is brought out, and she serves both A-Cheng and A-Xian and they both turn to stop her, meet each other’s gazes, and grin, united in maneuvering her back into her seat and putting food onto her plate.
She allows it, because she’s had a long night too, but they better not get used to getting away with this.
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