Jiang Yanli is 12 years old when she wakes up with the memories of another life. They're muddled like a dream, but she is able to pull some lessons from them. War is coming. Her home will suffer. Her family will suffer. Everything begins with the Wen.
She hides her dream and then stays up all night thinking about it and what she can do. Wen Ruohan is the first problem. Jin Guangshan is another.
She looks down at her hands. No one would see her coming.
In the morning, Yanli seeks out her mother and asks about poisons. She also writes a letter to Wen Xu admiring whatever she's heard of him. She knows he is not a good man, but she has fewer dreams of him. He did not destroy Lotus Pier. He did not hurt her brothers. She can work with that.
She hopes.
Yanli asks Wen Xu to visit and he surprises her by doing so. She watches him carefully and sees how he treats those around him. He is cold, but not overly cruel. It will be enough.
She flirts.
When she is 15, she receives an invitation to the Nightless City and begs her parents to send her. When her mother reminds her of her engagement, she says, "If he cannot handle competition, he is not worthy of me."
Her mother laughs and promises to pass the message along. She also notices the poisons Yanli packs among the various culinary ingredients. "What are you planning?"
"The Wen will lead us to war if we do nothing," Yanli says, deciding to trust her mother. Their relationship has improved over the past couple years with Yanli approaching her for private tutoring.
"If you get caught," her mother says, her voice slow. "You cannot go alone. Take Yinzhu with you. And Wei Wuxian."
A-Xian is 10 years old, but her brother is already too talented at making friends and getting into trouble. He is also fiercely loyal. She does not want to bring him with her--her dreams echo hateful and impossible stories about him--but she will not deny her mother.
She does not kill Wen Ruohan during that first visit. She does befriend Wen Qing and she shares a kiss with Wen Xu. He is still cold, but he shields her from his father and brother. He takes her for long walks. When she asks questions, he talks about his worries for his father, his disdain for his brother who has grown into a stranger, and his plans for his Sect. He does not dream of conquering the world, but he is exceedingly proud of his Sect and very loyal to his father.
A-Xian befriends Wen Ning and other disciples. And, in the thick shadows of the night, shares what he's learned. Wen Ruohan is experimenting with resentful energy. He is holding families hostage. He has raised the dead. He is planning to kill the Nie Sect Leader.
Yanli knows better than to send a letter, but she has the vague memories of the Jin butterfly spell. She knew it in her dreams. Quietly she practices the unfamiliar movements until she can create the message spell while awake. She warns the Nie Sect Leader and both of his sons. She tells them about Wen Qing and how the young doctor could help if they could get her free.
Wen Qing is a problem. Her skill is too great and she will counter anything Yanli does. Yanli does not want to hurt Wen Qing. Wen Ruohan. Wen Chao. Wen Zhuliu. That is her list for now.
The visit ends and they return to Lotus Pier. Before they go, Wen Ruohan compliments her and says she would be a good match for his son. "I'm glad you agree," she says, borrowing some of A-Xian's cheekiness. The Sect Leader smiles, but it does not reach his eyes. She bows low and they leave.
Once home, her mother takes her, Yinzhu, and A-Xian to her pavilion and demands to know all they learned. Yanli sees the way her mother's eyes widen when A-Xian shares all he learned through conversations. Mother had not sent him to be useful. She'd sent him to be a scapegoat, but useful he had been.
Mother tells Yinzhu to arrange for private lessons for A-Xian. And she tells A-Xian, "You will serve your brother well." Yanli sees the manipulation for what it is, but A-Xian's eyes grow large and shiny.
"Always," he promises.
Over the next few years, A-Xian travels more and more making friends. His style of spycraft is not Mother's style, but it is not less effective for that. People flock to him because he is good and righteous. He listens. He helps. He collects every single secret he can and sends home coded letters with intelligence to grow the Sect.
Jiang Cheng misses him as Yanli misses him, but her brother also flourishes in his absence. Yanli teaches him the message spell and he uses it to send short, frequent messages to their oft-absent brother. A-Xian responds with less frequent letters, but they are long and rambling.
Then the Cloud Recesses send out invitations for the lectures. Yanli goes with her brothers. As soon as the Wen arrive, though, she realizes this is her chance. She has a half-formed memory of Wen Chao being their escort. This time, however, it is Wen Xu and he invites her to follow him home.
The invitation is not proper and his father meant it as an insult. She can tell, but Wen Xu also confides in her. He says he had thought not to ask, but that he also wanted her company. She writes a letter for her brothers, says her good-byes, and goes.
Once again in Qishan, Wen Ruohan welcomes her. She thanks him for the invitation. She accepts the elopement. He will paint them as foolish lovers. He will use her to destroy her home. He will not get the chance.
She and Wen Xu wed. The wedding is a mockery and few attend. To serve the tea she uses a Meishan pot that allows her pour cups, some poisoned and some not. She has a duplicate without this feature and, once Wen Xu sleeps, she will destroy this one to hide her crimes. The poison is not instant, but when the morning arises, Wen Ruohan, Wen Chao, and Wen Zhuliu do not.
"Poison," he says in a snarl. "Someone dared to use our wedding day to poison them."
Yanli wraps her arms around her husband. "What did they eat or drink or do that we did not?" she asks.
Wen Xu is relentless in his investigations. He does not find the crushed tea pot hidden under the foot of their mattress. He does not notice the sherds she carries outside each day and destroys further.
Yanli comforts him through his despair and points his attention inward. After all, only other Wen knew of their wedding. Then she hides her poison in the kitchen and waits for it to be found. The chef is blamed for her crimes and executed. Yanli memorizes his name and sheds tears over his death in secret.
But. One threat from her dreams is gone. Wen Xu becomes the Sect Leader. She is his wife. She reminds him of the dreams he had for his Sect. She encourages him to be his own person rather than a copy of his father. She begs him to avoid the Yin iron.
"You said this iron changed your father. Do you think I want you so changed? The sun does not require the night to dominate the sky."
He agrees not to touch it, but she knows it is only a matter of time. She writes to her brothers and ask them to consult with Wen Qing for a way to destroy it.
A Discussion Conference is called. Yanli attends with her husband. She apologizes to her disappointed father, but Mother only gives her an understanding nod. Yanli has prevented a war. Only Mother and A-Xian can know.
While sipping tea with the other wives, Yanli tells the story of her wedding and the deaths that resulted. She says A-Xu found the culprit, but she is less sure. "What if some poisoner is trying to weaken the Sects?" she asks.
She does not say more, but her mother reminds her martial sister of her heritage and shares a sachet of tea. The tea is harmless; it is only a confession and reminder.
Jin Guangshan is dead within a month. The clans and Sects all share rumors of a poisoner. Even the Nie Sect Leader who, despite her best efforts, had died of a Qi deviation is considered a victim of poison.
More months pass. Yanli grows to love her husband. He is caring and protective. He is passionate and reserved. He is cold to others, but warm to her. She feels life quickening within her and, after confirming with Qing'er, she goes to find and tell her husband.
He is in their rooms, holding her tea pot in one hand and a small sherd of ceramic in the other. Had he found it on the grounds? In their bed? Her skin freezes with fear. He looks up at her entrance and she realizes he knows.
He does not demand an answer. He merely holds the broken fragment and the whole pot out for her inspection. The fragment is small, but the pigment and sculpted design are still unmistakable.
Yanli takes a deep breath and her heart calms. She kneels before him and carefully takes away the pot and sherd. She places both on the floor and takes his hands with hers. His gaze does not leave her face, but she cannot read him.
"Our child," she says, "should grow up where the sun is warm and bright and does not scorch the ground."
His eyes flicker to her stomach, to the tea pot, and then finally back to her face. He leans over and presses a kiss to her forehead. "Get up," he tells her, pulling her to her feet as he also stands. "I cannot have the mother of my child kneeling on the floor. Come, let's go for a walk." She takes his arm. As he leaves, he steps on the ceramic fragment and grinds it with his heel. "We have a future to plan," he says.
She smiles and rests her head against his arm. "Indeed, we do."
