Chapter Text
Yu Ziyuan snapped her eyes open when she came back to her senses.
She just had… The weirdest dream.
It felt more like a vision.
She felt like she lived that life.
But how?
She looked to her left side.
There was a baby cot with a sleeping baby wrapped in an orchid-colored blanket.
She just gave birth a couple of hours ago. Her precious A-Cheng.
She shut her eyes close as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She still feels tired but then she recalled the dream or the vision (?) once more.
In that vision, she saw a version of what she'd like to call her alternate life. She died there. She was not able to close her eyes but she felt her life left her body. The last vision she saw was Jiang Fengmian, her husband, reaching out to hold her hand. They both had swords pierced through their chests.
And she is certain that one person caused everything that went wrong in that alternate life of hers.
Yu Ziyuan gripped her knuckles until they turned white. She glanced at Zidian resting on her bedside. If she was wearing it, it could have crackled and oozed with killing intent.
Wei Ying. It was Wei Changze and Cangse Saren's son.
She called him a brat and good for nothing in that alternate life. He caused it all!
Fire lit inside her.
She does not know where the couple was but one thing is for sure: she would not allow such a child to enter their family.
That vision…
IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
And so Yu Ziyuan continued her life while counting the days.
Yanli was growing up weak and sickly. A-Cheng turned three and A-Li turned seven but she has not developed a fickle or any traces of golden core yet. Most novices begin their training for core formation at this age.
Yu Ziyuan decided that she’ll make sure to make her A-Cheng a promising one. In her vision, A-Li never became any stronger. She did not even see her after she sent her A-Cheng and the brat on that boat.
Yanli would look at her mother with curious eyes but her mother would just sigh in frustration after checking her wrist.
“When will you build a core?”
“Laoshi said I am getting there, a-niang.”
“I don’t see it, A-Li.”
She tried not to pout, “I’ll work harder, a-niang.”
“San-niang, do not pressure A-Li. Just because she has yet to form one does not mean she won’t be able to form soon. It will take time.”
Yu Ziyuan glared at him and stomped away, leaving the father and daughter bond over peeling Lotus pods.
Jiang Fengmian looked at his wife with a lingering gaze before he turned to look at her daughter.
“Come, let’s go to the market and see what we could buy there, okay?”
“Okay, a-die!”
When her A-Cheng turned four, Yu Ziyuan knew that the time was ticking. She knew that the couple died when their son and A-Cheng was four.
She could remember how her husband counted the years and realized that the brat was four when his parents died.
"A-niang and a-die left while snowing. Inn-jiejie asked me to leave when they never returned."
So when it started snowing, she frequented her night hunts. She went to Yiling most of the time. Jinzhu and Yinzhu are on both of her sides.
On her fourth visit, she finally found him.
Dressed in dark blue winter robes, the innkeeper pushed him out of the inn while he was crying.
"A-niang and a-die said they'll come back!"
But the innkeeper turned her back on him. He ran to the side alley and cried.
Yu Ziyuan knew she had to do something.
'This brat destroyed my family, my sect!'
And so she approached him and instantly rendered him unconscious.
The thought of killing him was tempting.
"Yu-furen, you are not thinking…" Yinzhu and Jinzhu never questioned her decisions. Never in that alternate life and never in her present too.
Zidian crackled as she looked at the child unconscious on the ground.
"He has a fever," Jinzhu announced when she stooped down to check him. He was still breathing, of course.
Right.
Yu Ziyuan knows that there is no point in killing the child. The child of her greatest enemy. The child of the woman her husband is still pinning until now. The child of the man her husband considered his greatest subordinate. The child that caused the destruction of her alternate life.
Then a smirk formed on her face. It must be something more than just a smirk as her handmaidens looked at her with uncertainty in their eyes.
In that alternate life that she saw in her vision, she never truly was friends with anyone aside from her sworn sister, Li Shiyu - Madam Jin.
But she had people she could not stand. Perhaps, handing this brat to someone and having them deal with the consequences will be a greater enjoyment for her.
She made her decision.
They will bring him to a sect they do not have any connections to. A sect that fell in the vision that she saw.
The thought of that sect falling because of this brat instead of theirs gave satisfaction inside her.
The smirk on her face did not leave as she gripped her knuckles once more, Zidian crackling in the middle of the winter cold.
"Carry him. We're going to Gusu."
She never liked Lan Qiren, both in her alternate life and her present. They have met several times and he was just a pedantic man who followed his brother, Lan Qijun around until his brother went into seclusion. He became the acting sect leader and later became the sect leader after Lan Qijun's death six years after his wife's demise.
And of course, Lan Qiren was another victim of Cangse Sanren.
When they reached Caiyi, she decided that it was enough. The brat paled and shivered on their way as the snow became heavier when they reached the borders of Gusu. North has always been colder.
"Leave him there," she pointed at the broken cart on the back alley they landed on.
Her handmaidens did not move.
"Are you questioning me?!"
Jinzhu and Yinzhu immediately followed her orders. Jinzhu tried to take off her winter cloak but one crackle from Zidian made her stop.
She gave the brat one last glance.
If he's lucky, Lan Sect or someone will find him. If he's not, then it's his end, probably the last winter of his terrible life.
This is the extent of mercy that Yu Ziyuan could give a child.
Yu Ziyuan continued to live her life.
She trained the disciples and fought with Jiang Fengmian who spent too much time looking for a child he would never find. Yu Ziyuan does not even know if that fevered child survived that winter.
When the news of Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren's death reached them, her good-for-nothing husband went on a search. Like in her alternate life, they learned that the two cultivators succumbed to their wounds after killing two enraged beasts that were attacking villagers north of Yiling. Their swords were given to Jiang Fengmian when the villagers found them in the forest, mangled and almost unrecognizable.
In her alternate life, they never told anyone, even that brat about this. It was three years after the death of the two when the news arrived in Lotus Pier, both in her alternate life and present. Fengmian looked for the kid and found him when he was eight, a certified street urchin who lived in the street for four years.
Like in her alternate life, Jiang Fengmian insisted on putting memorial tablets in their Hall.
"Are they so important to you that they deserve to be included in the sacred hall of OUR family?!"
"San-niang, you have to understand! Changze and-"
"Isn't this a decision made by the two of us?! Or are you undermining me, Fengmian?!"
The conversation ended there.
Jiang Fengmian continued to look for the brat and Yu Ziyuan had enough.
"Jinzhu, I have an assignment for you."
The next time Jiang Fengmian returned home, his shoulders were slumped.
"I was too late. A-Ying was one of the children who died of the fatal flu that plagued children in Yiling and nearby territories. The one we were able to contain before it spreads in Yunmeng. One of the innkeepers confirmed his identity and showed me the mass grave where he was buried."
She did not show sympathy and instead, proceeded to train her A-Cheng to form his core early. In her vision, he only formed it when that brat arrived in Lotus Pier and now, he will never come.
Then news arrived in Lotus Pier three years later. Her A-Cheng turned nine while A-Li turned 12. Qinghengjun and Lan-furen - Liu Meiyue have officially left seclusion.
It was a total surprise to everyone. In her alternate life and present, they never truly learned the reason why Madam Lan lived in seclusion. Rumors spread of course, but no one truly believed the different versions of the stories. They just know that they eloped and that is why Qinghengjun went into seclusion for punishment. She will never understand how Cloud Recesses works and so she does not care.
Then Yu Ziyuan realized something.
Madam Lan - Liu Meiyue died when her A-Cheng was six in her alternate life. She could remember sending their condolences to the Lan Sect. It seemed like something changed.
And yet she does not care.
She continued to live, pushing the vision she had to the side.
Yu Ziyuan has successfully removed the bane of her existence in both lives. She does not care about the rest.
She'll focus on her life, her children, her husband, and their sect.
Jiang Cheng frowned when his father just patted his head after successfully pulling off the basic sword techniques.
“Good job, the rest of you,” Jiang Fengmian said to the rest of the disciples and dismissed them.
“A-Cheng,” he called.
“A-die.”
“Your dogs, have you fed them today?”
“I did! I’ll play with them later.”
“Leave the playing to some disciples.”
“Why?”
“We need to improve your stance.”
“But a-niang said it was fine-“
Something passed on Jiang Fengmian’s face and then he sighed.
“I’ll show you and see where you can improve.”
Jiang Cheng wanted to argue, it was his mother who taught him after all. His face scowled but he nodded. Jiang Fengmian momentarily saw his wife on that expression before he proceeded to show the form.
Jiang Cheng followed and mimicked his movements. He lost balance a couple of times and Jiang Fengmian helped him.
It is what Yu Ziyuan saw.
“Ah, so you finally realized that you have a son that needs your guidance?”
“San-niang-“
“Perhaps, if you showed the same enthusiasm from the beginning then you would not need to correct him in front of-“
“I dismissed everyone, no one is watching, san-niang. It is just A-Cheng and me here.”
“And yet I heard you did not compliment him in front of them!”
“San-niang-“
Jiang Cheng sighed as he pointed the practice sword to the ground. He does not think there will be more training after this. He’ll just go and play with his dogs then.
Yu Ziyuan still argues with her husband.
She still thinks that Jiang Cheng still gets less than what he deserves.
Yanli still has weak cultivation with a little spark of her golden core. It is good that she could at least do well on arts and history but that would not save her from any night hunts. She has yet to join one.
Yet Yu Ziyuan lives her life and she'll stay that way especially without a brat loitering around Lotus Pier like what she saw in the visions she had of her alternate life.
Time passed and the news of Nie Yongwu's saber breaking in a night hunt with Qinghengjun with their eldest sons and few disciples were heard across the Cultivation World.
Nie Yongwu was fine but the saber was destroyed. It was said that Qinghengjun saved him when the saber suddenly broke in the middle of the fight.
Yu Ziyuan's brow raised.
In her alternate life, Nie Yongwu died a year after that night hunt after succumbing to the injuries he earned and a fatal qi deviation. The broken saber was only able to do much to protect him and the disciples he brought died. His son was not with him at that time.
But now, he had Qinghengjun on that hunt, his son, Nie Mingjue, and Lan Qijun's eldest son, Lan Xichen were there. Both teenagers were building their names for themselves especially due to their accomplishments.
Nie Yongwu did not die of qi deviation after earning major injuries from that hunt.
Instead, he remarried for the third time. The Third Madam Nie was named. There was no Third Madam Nie in her visions. Nie Yongwu died too early and passed the leadership to his 17-year-old son.
Yu Ziyuan clicked her tongue. She does not know what causes these changes but it is fine.
Life in Lotus Pier continues.
"Who told you that you could loiter around just because I said it is break time?! No more break times for the next three weeks until you learn your lessons! What break time? Go do thirty laps on the lake! The last one to complete takes the punishment!”
"How will you lead a sect if you could only swing your sword that way?! Even a fly won't die with that attack! Jiang Cheng! Run twenty laps and repeat that form until you do it right!”
"A-Li, why are you just standing there?! You are not a servant, you are a cultivator! Go practice your forms with the female disciples! Yinzhu, facilitate!"
"Fengmian! I told you I would handle that! How could you make a decision without consulting me?! Are you undermining me now?!"
Truly, life in Lotus Pier continues.
Stories about the sons of Qinghengjun are once again heard. People were talking about Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji and some Lan disciples and it made Yu Ziyuan frown.
“Have you heard of Lan Xichen?! He is the sect heir. Have you heard of Nie Mingjue?! He is the sect heir. They have been making their names already, and you? Jiang Cheng, pick up your sword!”
“Even Lan Wangji, their spare heir is doing better. You’re going to a solo night hunt and I want you to return with a successful night hunt report!”
But her son was aided by Baling-Ouyang disciples and was injured in the said hunt. The mountain demon slipped away and was captured and killed by Lan disciples headed by Lan Xichen on their way back to Gusu after going on a hunt.
Yu Ziyuan snarled and doubled her son’s training.
“You’ll be facing them soon. Do not let them look down on you, you understand me, A-Cheng?”
“Yes, a-niang!”
“Good. Another round!”
Now that the brat is not in their life and probably not living in this world, it is time for her son to rise higher. It is time for his name to be known… to be the only name associated with Yunmeng-Jiang among the young masters.
That alternate life in her vision will be nothing but a dream.
Then the first discussion conference where Jiang Cheng, bestowed with his courtesy name Wanyin would join finally came. He is now 15 and in the same age group as the rest of the heirs.
The conference was in Qishan and she sent her son with a warning to come home as a victor. Yanli stayed behind even if she encouraged her to go since her betrothed was going to be there. She is still mad at how the visits of the two to each other's homes were nothing but a headache.
The brat was not there anymore to ruin it as he did in her alternate life and yet…
In that alternate life, that brat made Yanli sad after he cried and ran away from dogs when Jin Zixuan and his cousin chased him around with dogs in Koi Tower. Yanli did not talk to Zixuan and it seemed to have delighted her betrothed.
In her present, Yanli had to stop Jiang Cheng from attacking Jin Zixuan and his cousin for forbidding him on areas in Koi Tower, especially the kennels, claiming that he does not know how to take good care of his dogs.
"Ah, they are young, Ziyuan. They'll get by."
She recalled in her vision how her husband gave away their son's dogs just because the brat was afraid of it.
This time, her son got to keep the dogs but two of them were lost after their kennels were left open, only Princess was left. They weren’t trained to be spiritual dogs and probably lost their way after leaving Lotus Pier.
In that alternate life, that brat pushed Jin Zixuan into the lake on his first visit. She punished him thoroughly.
In her present, her son pushed Jin Zixuan to the lake and the heir stomped out of Lotus Pier claiming he'll never return but he did come by the next day after staying in an inn for the night. She had to lock her son up in his room to study and meditate so they wouldn't cross paths in the duration of Jin Zixuan’s stay.
"Ziyuan, my son hates it when he gets dirty. He still returned the next day so do not worry. I talked to him already."
Yu Ziyuan expected good results from the competition. Her alternate life showed that Yunmeng-Jiang did well.
Yet her son returned home with his shoulders slumped and her daughter ushered him to eat her soup, as always.
"I cannot believe Lan Qiren decided to keep this from me!" Her husband was smiling as if their sect's face was not damaged after the results were out.
"Fengmian! How could you still smile after-"
"San-niang! Wei Ying! Changze and Cangse's son is alive! I do not know how he reached Gusu but he is a Gusu-Lan inner disciple! He is Qiren's ward! He won first place in the archery competition!"
Yu Ziyuan felt her brows twitch as something ignited in her.
She could not name it but her eyes narrowed to the Lotus throne inside the Swords Hall.
That problem child… is alive and is in Gusu-Lan Sect.
Then she learned more from what happened at the conference.
The brat ranked first in the archery competition.
Followed by Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji tying on second.
Nie Mingjue on third.
Jin Zixuan on fourth.
Wen Qionglin, an unknown Wen disciple was even recognized for ranking fifth.
Her son did not place.
Yunmeng-Jiang, despite the rigorous training they had for archery still went short against Gusu-Lan and Qinghe-Nie for their overall standing.
Her visions of her alternate life reminded her that Lan Wangji did not join the competition as he was on secluded cultivation and was only out before the lectures where her children and that brat attended.
Her A-Cheng ranked fourth at that time. The brat still ranked first followed by Lan Xichen and Jin Zixuan.
Zidian crackled. All disciples stayed under the sun, shooting kites no matter how far they went until some passed out because of heat and fatigue.
No one said anything. She is the Madam of the Sect, the co-sect leader. It is her right to discipline and train their disciples as she sees fit.
Three months later, the ranking for the young masters of the present generation was made. It was based on level of cultivation, skills, gentry, and of course, looks.
Lan Xichen ranked first.
Lan Wangji ranked second.
Jin Zixuan ranked third. They said that Jin Guangshan paid for him to rank higher. They said that he only had an advantage on being part of the gentry so he got third place…
As Wei Wuxian ranked fourth.
Nie Mingjue ranked fifth.
Her A-Cheng ranked sixth.
They said that there are Three Jades of Lan. Her blood rose when she heard… that Wei Wuxian was called the Third Jade of Lan. He does not have Lan blood but he was named Lan Qiren's prize ward, he is technically a Lan. The third disciple of Gusu-Lan Sect.
She never heard of him in the South but it seems like he has been making his name with Lan Wangi in the North… or perhaps, she chose not to listen as she does not care at all.
They called him a genius. Friendly, outstanding, total sunshine -
Zidian broke five training dummies.
"Jiang Cheng! Pick up your sword! We're sparing until you could have Zidian retract back to its ring. How could an unknown brat rank higher than you?!"
"A-niang?"
"That Wei Ying! Find a way to beat someone who should be on a lower level than you in all aspects. I cannot believe this! I did not raise you to be a pushover!"
Jiang Wanyin gritted his teeth. Of all the people his mother would compare him to, it would have to be on that Wei Wuxian. His father patted his shoulder after ranking first when the competition was concluded.
He could remember how his father left a lot of times when he was younger, trying to look for the son of their friends. He realized that it was Wei Wuxian.
“Meet my son, Jiang Cheng.”
“This one is Wei Ying, courtesy name Wuxian. It is nice to meet you Jiang-gongzi.”
“Jiang Cheng, courtesy name Wanyin.”
That Wei Wuxian made a lot of friends in that conference… and he captured his father’s attention a lot of times whether he knew or not. That Wei Wuxian was mostly focused on being around Lan Xichen, Lan Wangji, and Qinghengjun seemed to dote on them a lot.
Now, his mother seemed to have her attention on him too.
Jiang Wanyin gripped Sandu.
First is Lan Xichen, then Lan Wangji, now there is Wei Wuxian to deal with. He still needs to deal with Jin Zixuan too.
Jiang Wanyin slashes on the air only for a strong whip to deflect his sword and made it land on the ground, clattering.
“What are you doing?! FOCUS!”
Then to Yu Ziyuan’s surprise, Li Shiyu, Madam Jin, her sworn sister invited the madams of the great sects to Koi Tower for tea.
She has not met Liu Meiyue since she left seclusion but she heard stories. She is an outstanding furen to the Gusu-Lan sect… they said.
Nie Mingyu is the third wife of Nie Yongwu. She suffered miscarriage twice and decided not to try again for the sake of her health and instead, focused on raising Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang with motherly love.
Then there is Wen Yu, Wen Rouhan's famous concubine whom he bestowed his last name with but never bedded her.
She recalled her in her vision but she was never someone significant there. She could guess that her sworn sister just invited her to not anger Wen Rouhan.
And so she went.
She could see that Nie Mingyu and Liu Meiyue developed a close friendship. There were rumors that Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen are courting but no official announcements were made. Cut-sleeve relationships are quite common but members of the gentry families do not deal with such. It is mostly about building alliances, having heirs, and of course, having a trophy partner beside you. She'll gut Jiang Fengmian if he ever treats her as one.
They shared stories while Yu Ziyuan chose to just listen.
“Zixuan was able to defeat that monster with his cohort of disciples. Guangshan was not pleased since it was a simple hunt but it was enough for a young teen.”
“Ah, my heart almost gave away when A-Jue arrived in the Unclean Realm with blood all over his body! He had to repeatedly tell me and A-Sang that they were not his blood before I could even think of my next course of action. No one could blame me, they are sometimes too reckless and enjoys fighting way too much.”
“Wen Xu does not stop training. I truly do not know how he and Wen Chao are on the opposite ends of a pole. While the other focuses on cultivation, the other focuses on… other things.”
“My A-Huan and A-Zhan should get a break in between these hunts and cultivation training or I ask my husband to duel with me if they do not. Qiren would huff and turn away, always!”
“Ah, Lan-furen, the joy of crossing swords with your husband,” Li Shiyu said and it made Liu Meiyue laugh.
“We met on a night hunt, we are both cultivators. I seldom night hunt unless I join my sons but I still like lifting my sword from time to time.”
“I know a little about cultivation. I’m just lucky to have formed a core and… well… receive my husband’s attention,” Wen Yu drank her tea and they looked at her and nodded, not needing her to say more. Aside from her beauty, the fact that she could cultivate was one of the reasons why she captured Wen Rouhan’s attention.
“I would not really know since I do not cultivate but my husband let me bring… things every time I leave Qinghe.” Nie Mingyu chimed in.
“How about Jiang Cheng, Ziyuan? He has been training a lot lately, doesn’t he?” Li Shiyu seemed to have noticed that she was not speaking.
She settled the teacup on the table.
“Doing better than before but needs more improvement.”
Perhaps, finding someone to challenge her son will push him more to his limits. While listening to their conversation, she was already thinking about finding someone from Meishan to train with her son. Maybe, she could also find someone to train with Yanli. The training with Yinzhu and Jinzhu seemed to only do much to her level of cultivation.
She also had to sit there and listen to some stories that she does not wish to hear at all. She had to control her emotions to not let them show through Zidian.
Liu Meiyue was all praises to her A-Ying.
"Qiren found him in Caiyi, passed out, and was suffering from a very high fever. We almost lost him but thankfully, he survived. He lost all his memories but Qiren was able to conduct some -" she waved her hands, signifying that it was something she could not tell and they understood. Probably a clan secret.
"It was dangerous but it had to be done because the child already had a strong qi, there was a huge possibility that his parents were cultivators, Lan cultivators even. That is where we found out that he was Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren's son."
She just sipped her tea while the rest showed sympathy.
"We tried our best to tell him things about his parents based on those few interactions we had with them. Even Qiren painted portraits of them. He used to be quiet and sickly but as he grew up, he showed that he has Cangse's energy and personality but he also shared Wei Changze's temperament if needed."
Then Nie Mingyu fondly laughed and nodded.
"Aiyah! A ray of true sunshine! He befriended A-Sang who was too shy to everyone! My husband enjoys every conversation he has with him. A-Jue carried him to his saber when he was young and he cried so hard when it was time to go back to Gusu! I almost thought we'll have a saber made for him!" She shared.
"Ah, he befriended A-Ning, Qionglin when he came to Qishan. Our A-Qing was pleased that her brother has a friend because well… it is not a secret how my… stepsons are to others, even their cousin." Wen Yu added.
To her surprise, even Shiyu, her dearest sworn sister wanted to meet "this Wuxian that you all talk highly about! My Zixuan could use some friends!"
She did not say anything and just nodded. No one really asked if she wanted her A-Cheng to be friends with that brat.
No. She does not wish for any members of her family to be acquainted with the person who brought destruction to them in her alternate life. She has prevented that from happening by not letting her husband find the brat all those years ago.
He is Gusu-Lan's problem now. She'll wait and drink her tea when the time comes that news of the brat bringing destruction to Gusu-Lan reaches Lotus Pier. Sooner or later, it will happen because that child is a form of bad luck.
Yu Ziyuan clicked her tongue.
She eyed Liu Meiyue. She is beautiful and she could feel her core, powerful. She was a rogue cultivator with an unknown background. Gusu-Lan does not really look into someone's background. They are too romantic that it sometimes makes her want to puke.
Best furen? Perhaps they could cross swords one day and see.
When she returned to Lotus Pier, she finally got to release the anger she bottled up in Koi Tower.
She pulled Jiang Cheng from picking Lotus pods. Everyone scampered away.
"How could you waste your time doing useless things while other young masters your age are busy making names for themselves?!"
"What-"
She was seeing red at how her son was scowling. She could see Yanli trying to intervene but one look from her made her daughter sigh and turn around to leave.
"You're an heir! A rightful young master! How could some ward, A BRAT rank higher than you?! Have you heard of his achievements?!"
Lan Wangji and that Wei Wuxian were already making their names. Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue gained the titles Zewujun and Chifengzun respectively. They said that it is only a short while until people would come up with titles for the Second and Third Jade.
She had to tune out of the conversation which involved that brat the whole time they were having their tea. She is contemplating going to another one if her sworn sister decides to invite them once more.
“Maybe we could bring the boys together and hunt and perhaps share skills, yes?”
She’ll make sure that even if his son is the youngest basing on the birth month against Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan (because she will not include that brat in the list of the ‘boys’ that they were talking about) she’ll make sure that he shows that he is an extremely capable young master as well.
Then finally, they were to send their children to Gusu for lectures. A lot of people are talking about how promising this batch of students will be as they were mostly heirs and high-ranking disciples from gentry families.
She prepared her children for this including the disciples who will accompany them.
"Do not ruin the face of the sect! Do not embarrass us and do not allow others to intimidate and be any higher against you! Show them what Yunmeng-Jiang is capable of!"
Jiang Wanyin has been waiting for this event to finally come. The famed Gusu-Lan lectures.
“A-jie, we will be meeting the other young masters there.”
“We will, A-Cheng. Are you looking forward to it?”
He scoffed.
“I am.”
Jiang Yanli smiled and patted his head. They were seated on a boat on their way to Gusu. He will show everyone, especially his mother that they will not tarnish the name of Yunmeng-Jiang, especially in front of those young masters.
“Let’s have fun and learn a lot on this trip, A-Cheng. I am sure that a-niang and a-die will like that.”
“Of course, a-jie.”
He gripped Sandu tighter.
He also looks forward to seeing Wei Wuxian.
‘Let’s see what he could do as to how and why he captured my parents’ attention.’
He has worked hard not to lag behind the other disciples. He is in his best shape. He’ll show them what Yunmeng-Jiang is capable of.
News came from Gusu and reached Lotus Pier.
Wen Chao, the Second Young Master of Qishan-Wen threw tantrums for not being allowed to enter Cloud Recesses despite escorting his cousins who did not have any invitations for the lectures. It has been decades since the last batch of Wen disciples came to study in Cloud Recesses.
Stories about how he tried to cause a fire but he could not burn even the robes of the Lan disciples to threaten them. They never heard of fireproof robes… but it seems like Gusu-Lan came up with one.
Yu Ziyuan raised her brow.
Wen Qing and Wen Qionglin were allowed to enter as "Gusu-Lan does not turn down anyone, especially students who came for additional learnings."
She wanted to call them hypocrites yet she realizes that that anyone included the brat. Lan Qiren found him and brought him to Cloud Recesses. Took him as his ward and named him his Prized Student aside from his nephews.
Wen Chao was not allowed to enter because he was not going to study there. He came as an escort and the two disciples, his cousins, arrived safely.
Months passed and life continued on Lotus Pier. Yu Ziyuan trained the disciples, goes on her personal night hunts to spreads her title Violet Spider further, and of course, she deals with her husband daily.
They were arranged and they never showed affection to each other. The gifts and accessories that Jiang Fengmian gives her are just stacking up in a lacquer box in her room.
“These are gifts that do not fit my taste. He must be thinking of someone else when she bought them.” She clicked her tongue.
And then Jiang Fengmian was called to Gusu.
Jiang Wanyin punched Jin Zixuan.
Yu Ziyuan was too angry as she recalled who did it in her visions. She destroyed five new dummies using Zidian but her anger was still flaring inside her.
She went with her husband.
"That brat must have something to do with this! He'll see!"
Zidian crackled in the air as they flew in the direction of Gusu. There was no point in riding a boat since it is for their son after all.
Ending notes:
The next chapter will be about what went on in Gusu because of course, it should be😜 No WangXian for this chapter yet but I promise, this is about them🤭😜😅
I never really thought I'll get to finish it but here I am posting😅
Happy Birthday to our dear Wang Yibo🥳
Keep safe and have a nice day🤍