Chapter Text
No one cared about his lack of secondary rank when he led their armies to victory. No one batted an eye when he flirted with anyone and everyone. No one even bothered to think about it until that fateful day.
“Maybe it’s a mistake? There’s no way that – Wha…” And yet, the Selection Mirror never lies. A Gusu treasure that has been passed down for generations ever since their founder; with a gilded frame made from the stars themselves, it was rumoured at Lan An implanted a part of himself in it – to dispute the mirror would be to disrespect the very clan that he serves.
Wei Wuxian glances from the mirror with his name to Lan Xichen’s confused face, to focus on Lan Qiren’s forehead vein that is threatening to pop, then to the emperor’s impassive face. How can anyone be calm in a situation like this?
“How can this be? Wei Wuxian is not an omega!” Lan Qiren growled as he turned to the parliament of Lan elders on either side of the mirror. The crowd below start to mumble in scandal and shock. “Surely, this is an error?” Picking up the dagger with the emperor’s blood, he feeds into the object. Ripples form around the dagger, like water, as it takes in the blood, before revealing the name. “Wei Wuxian again?” The elder’s legs give slightly as his eldest nephew, the most elegant beta, comes to hold him up.
Lan Xichen offers an awkward smile to the object of scandal. “A-Xian…” He normally uses that name when he’s trying to soften a blow; there’s no way he’s going to… “It is only for one night and –”
“Da-ge, you can’t be serious!” Something akin to anger flushes through his body – an emotion he rarely feels with the elder, Wei Wuxian doesn’t like it. “I’m not even part of your clan! How can I even be eligible? Where did it get my name from?”
Not only that, but he’s a decorated war general with the highest rank in the military! People admire his strategic talent and strong cultivation – everyone practically accepts that he’ll be an alpha if he ever presented. To have that reputation and to submit to the emperor like that… sounds preposterous!
At his reasoning, Lan Qiren shoots up. “He is right! This mirror is for Lans only, how can his name appear?” Never in his life, did Wei Wuxian expect the elder alpha to be on his side. Ever since Lan Qiren taught him from the age of 13, they always disagree with loud arguments and multiple things being thrown at the younger.
“Sometimes these things just happen.” Lan Xichen offers. “I am sure that Wangji sees no issue with it.” Everyone turns to the emperor, who has yet to say anything.
“Your highness, I deeply apologise for this mistake. Your next rut will be –” One of the elders bows his head, but stops when the emperor holds up his hand. Everyone holds their breath as they wait for his words.
Lan Wangji stands up, looking majestic and imposing, before declaring, “I shall honour my ancestor’s wish.”
The emperor’s word is law.
Finally, Lan Qiren collapses for real and Wei Wuxian feels like joining him on the floor.
*
Having lived in Gusu ever since he left the Yunmeng Jiang clan at 16 in search of an answer to his lack of secondary rank, but ended up with the role of the emperor’s general, Wei Wuxian is well-versed in the culture of the Lans. For example, they have almost 3,000 rules that they need to follow (well, 3,250 since he’s lived there – they may or may not be related to his antics!) with the emperor, Lan Wangji, being the model in following them. They mainly have alphas in the clan, which makes them a desirable mate in the eyes of the other clans.
They also have traditions that have been carried from their first ancestor, Lan An. The Selection Mirror is one of them. The emperor’s alpha rut is closely tracked by the group of elders who tend to the mirror in a monthly ceremony in front of the citizens. Although a rut lasts 7 days, the selected omega is expected to spend at least one night with the emperor, but if things go well, then they stay for the whole week and join the royal harem. The idea is for the emperor to spread their seed in hopes of producing many heirs for the throne. Sometimes, good things happen, like how the previous ruler, Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji’s father, met his mate through the mirror. However, Lan Wangji is infamous for only spending one night with the selected person. Lan Wangji has been taking part ever since he took over at the tender age of 18, and has never refused anyone.
But Wei Wuxian wishes that he would refuse him. Who would even want to spend the night with him? Wei Wuxian may be a flirt, but he rarely follows through with his promises of a wild night! Plus, he’s not an omega, so he can’t produce slick, and what if he turns out to be an alpha? Hell would surely break loose!
After the ceremony, the general makes the excuse of going to visit his family in Yunmeng, but guards were already placed at his door before he even entered! Apparently, it was the prince’s orders to keep him in place. What is Lan Xichen planning? He is the least conniving person in the place!
Frantic to find a way out of this – not because he doesn’t find his friend attractive enough to spend the night with, but because he wants to avoid a disaster – Wei Wuxian makes a beeline for the library when his weekly war meeting ends. It is awkward enough being in the same room as the person he’s supposed to spend the night with, especially after ignoring him for the whole week leading up to it. Somehow, his schedule crowds with useless meetings and ceremonies that he barely has the time to do any research.
The Gusu palace library is famous all over the land for having the most extensive collection of rare and ancient text, so it is the best place to find some answers. When the doors to the deepest archives open, Wei Wuxian is not even surprised to see a familiar face in a circle of scrolls. “Seems like we had the same idea…” He coughs awkwardly as he enters.
Lan Qiren scoffs as he continues to read the scroll in his hand. “There must be an answer to this mystery!” He shakes his head. “I can’t let my nephew be with someone whose parents were –”
A glimmer of hope stirred within the general. The most he knew about his parents was that they were rouge cultivators who were good friends with the Jiang clan leader. “My parents? What about them?”
“I mean – it is not your place to ask! Be quiet. I am trying to read!” The elder avoids his eyes as he thrusts his nose back into the text, leaving a confused Wei Wuxian behind. In usual Lan Qiren fashion, the man refuses to explain anything and expects the general to understand it from the get-go.
Choosing to focus on his own research, because time is of the essence, Wei Wuxian begins to select some text to read. Soon, his pile is as big as Lan Qiren’s and they sit at opposite ends of the room and read in silence. For the second time in his life, Wei Wuxian never foresaw that he would end up sleeping in the same room as Lan Qiren.
*
The night comes in a blink of an eye.
Literally, because the last thing Wei Wuxian remembers is the black ink swirling as his vision dims, and he wakes in a tub being bathed by servants.
“You don’t have to do it! What the fu – Eep!” He squawks as the cold water pours down his back. “Whoa – what are you doing?!” One of the servants unexpectedly made a move for his behind.
“Apologies, but we need to cleanse every part, especially there.” The servant bows but remains insistent.
“Wha – why would he even touch there? We’re not like that…” A strange feeling grows in his chest as Wei Wuxian imagines the alpha touching there. He’s never been one to think about sex often, but the thought of Lan Wangji’s fingers caressing between his mounds creates an unfamiliar heat in his stomach. Would he really touch that place? It’s so private…
“A rut can change a person.” The servant offers.
“I’d like to think that Lan Zhan is not the type of think with his penis…”
“It is tradition for the emperor to –” Waving a hand to stop the same speech that everyone has given him for the past few days, Wei Wuxian gritted his teeth and allowed them to do their work. Expensive oils are rubbed into his skin, making him feel like a glazed chicken as he is forced to sit and endure the strange treatment.
Soon, they move to dress him in fine silk robes, only two layers, as they coil his hair into a high bun.
Through it all, Wei Wuxian wonders if the uneasy feeling in his stomach will ever leave. It is not excitement, nor fear. It is something entirely different that he’s never felt before. Is this how the candidates felt when they were getting primped up for the emperor? If anything, Lan Wangji is not the type of person to pay attention to outer appearances; these servants are wasting their time!
Just when it seems like the surprises have stopped, the main servant presents an engraved wooden box before him. “The emperor has requested for you to wear this.” When she opens it, it is an azure ribbon with an engraved metal ornament in the middle in the shape of the Gusu Lan’s insignia. It almost looks like the forehead ribbon that the clan members wear.
“I have to wear this? Lan Zhan is not the type of person to do that…” As he trails off, the servant ties the ribbon into his hair as a bow. “Do I even know him anymore?” Ever since the Sunshot campaign three years ago, Wei Wuxian feels a strange shift in his childhood friend. Lan Wangji is hard to read anyways, but when it comes to Wei Wuxian, it feels like he’s closed a door on his emotions for him. “How can he care about such aesthetic things? It’s not like anything will happen…”
By ‘anything’, Wei Wuxian refers to the ‘helping the emperor with the rut in hope that he impregnates you’ part.
Despite this, a lot of things actually happened.
Just to show how well Lan Wangji knows him, there were jugs of Emperor’s Smile present at their feast despite the strict rules. “You seemed stressed.” Was the given reason by the alpha as he takes a bite of greens. To show his gratefulness, Wei Wuxian drank three jugs within an hour. On the plus side, the smoothness of the alcohol complimented the food well, but it all hit him at once.
That was how he ended up with his head on his friend’s lap as Lan Wangji sipped some post-dinner tea.
“This is – hic! – such a weird tradition, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian’s words slur as he looks up at the alpha. Even at his angle, he looks good! “Like, did you really have to fuck all of those people? You have a rut every month, and you did it since you were – hic! – 18, so that’s like... 100 people!”
If he was in his right mind, then Wei Wuxian would have caught the small smile on the alpha’s usually cold face. “I did not participate during the Sunshot campaign.”
“Alright!” Sitting up, Wei Wuxian nearly knocked the cup out of the other’s hand, but Lan Wangji could already foresee that happening and moved away just in time. “I don’t blame yooouuu – Wen Chao’s ugly troll face is enough to – put anyone off sex!” Laughing at his joke, Wei Wuxian flops back down next to the alpha. The uneasy feeling is still in his stomach, but the buzz from the alcohol means loose lips, and Wei Wuxian just said whatever was on his mind. “But really, Lan Zhan, you’re the last person I expect to be having sex on the regular.”
“Why does Wei Ying think that?” Lan Wangji sips his tea as if he wasn’t just insulted by a virgin.
“No offence, but you don’t seem like the type to know how it works.” Trying to laugh off the fact that he practically insulted the emperor and supreme alpha, Wei Wuxian tried to get up; but one strong hand keeps him down.
The alpha turns his golden eyes to him and asks, “Who says that I do not know?” For some strange reason, having his full attention makes Wei Wuxian’s legs feel weak. He gulps without meaning to.
“I – um…” Looking anywhere but the other male, which was hard since Lan Wangji was practically invading his space as if he was a new region to conquer, Wei Wuxian tried to diffuse the tense situation. In his eyes, there is the same look from the battlefield – the one where Lan Wangji knows they will win with ease because both of their minds together mean victory for the Lans every time. The look is usually slightly arrogant with a hint of something that Wei Wuxian could never place. But here, under the burning grip with the alpha staring down at him, Wei Wuxian now realises that it was sadism under those golden hues. The satisfying humiliation and dominance over a lesser clan was something that one could get addicted to – plus the rut with multiple omegas in a year, it was surely going to do something to an alpha’s ego. It is against the rules to boast and be arrogant, so Lan Wangji hid it well. “I didn’t mean it like that!”
A spike of heat runs through his spine when Lan Wangji rearranges their position so that the alpha was now between his legs, with both hands on either side of his head.
“Since Wei Ying thinks that I do not know anything about sex, I shall tell him.” The alpha lets out a small chuckle as he shakes his head. It is a subtle motion, but it makes his hair sway and Wei Wuxian catches a sweet scent coming from them. Strange – he rarely takes notice of someone’s scent, and how he could smell it now? How do people not get overwhelmed by this? Soon, he notices that the scent begins to fill the room. It smells like sandalwood and jasmine – just like Lan Wangji.
Did he always smell like this?
“That’s too personal, Lan Zhan – let’s talk about other things! Like the new –” One hand moves to cup at his right breast, and it makes his breath hitch. Lan Wangji’s palm is so warm, maybe this is what happens in a rut. His nipple hardens under the touch and Wei Wuxian prays that the alpha doesn’t notice.
“Last month, I made an omega girl cum just from playing with her breasts.” As if to demonstrate his actions, Lan Wangji palms the flesh, rolling it in his hands and catching the nipple between his fingers. “She screamed when I plucked her nipple and came just from that.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes double in shock; both from the fact that his usually reserved friend is being so obscene, and the fact that he can’t stop the moans slipping from his lips – just like the girl in the story.
He feels sober but drunk at the same time.
“I also made her squirt until her pussy was quivering. She begged me to knot her.” How can he talk about something so intimate while being so casual about it? Just who is this? The alpha is completely different from the one Wei Wuxian knew. Maybe the servant was right, a rut can really change a person. Hearing such lewd words from that face already makes Wei Wuxian flustered, imagine if Lan Qiren heard his goody-two-shoes nephew talk like this! Wei Wuxian will Qi deviate with the old man!
“S-stop – Lan Zh-AH!” His efforts to brush the hand away resulted in his hands getting tied by the very same ribbon that was gifted to him earlier. It meant that his hair sprawled out on the floor like ink as Lan Wangji leans down to nip at his nipple through the thin fabric.
“I also made an omega boy dry orgasm through the night just from my fingers.” Wei Wuxian takes a shaking breath as the hand moves down to cup between his legs – which to his horror, was at full mast!
“Listen, Lan Zhan, you know that I’m not an omega, so we can’t even have sex! You understand, don’t you?” The emperor listens to reason; he is a logical man.
At that comment, Lan Wangji stops his ministrations at Wei Wuxian’s poor nipples to look into his eyes. “Wei Ying, do you still not know how?”
“How what?” The change from embarrassment to confusion is swift.
“Your secondary rank.” With one hand caressing his friend’s face, and the other diving under the trousers, Lan Wangji offers, “I have a way to find out.”
Ignoring the slender fingers trailing down from stroking this hard length to settling in between his ass, Wei Wuxian forces out, “You do? H-how?” Something deep inside tells him that it has something to do with the fingers at his most sacred place, and an even deeper part of him is looking forward to what will happen.
“Wei Ying never spent a rut or a heat with anyone, so how could you know?”
“What do you mean, Lan Zhan? I’m lost.”
“If Wei Ying gets wet, then he is an omega, but if he refuses me, then you are not.”
“Oh…”
In hindsight, anything that Lan Wangji says sounds reasonable with lots of sense behind it – which is what makes him such a reassuring figure to the people. But it also means that he can be very convincing despite being someone of few words.
That was how Wei Wuxian found himself naked and under Lan Wangji.