[ closed post: hold fast to the center ]

[lightbearinglord]

With Dark behind them, most of Lan Wangji's routine has managed to reassert itself. He awakens at mao hour and disentangles himself from his clinging cultivation partner, who tends to sprout several additional limbs in the night. He dresses and slips away for his morning meditation. He takes Bichen to the air, circles the grounds of the mansion and checks the woods for any changes beyond the known quantities of Ragnelle's nest and Magnus' camp, and runs through his sword forms. He stops in the kitchen and makes breakfast for his husband. By that point, his day can branch in several ways: he can, upon bringing the breakfast to Wei Ying, also opt to return to his bed, a perpetually tempting option. He can find Magnus and indulge in listening to him talking about whatever strikes his fancy. He can practice his qin, work on his calligraphy, retreat to the library for the endless project of educating himself, or embark on some more ambitious culinary endeavor.

Recently, however, Lan Wangji was reminded of a promise he made to someone important. Where possible, he prefers to keep his promises. So this morning, after he has sufficiently fed Wei Ying, made his apologies in the form of several lingering love-bites along his neck and shoulders, and changed his boots for house slippers, he approaches Claudius and Galahad's room. This route is one of the few persistently familiar paths that seem to exist in the ever-changing mansion.

It is early, but not so early. And Claudius did ask him for this, not once but twice. He lifts a hand and knocks crisply at the door.

Comments

[wickedwit]

Claudius clasps Lan Wangji's hands, with both of his own, giving as much as he's given. He runs his fingers, over the back of Lan Wangji's, steady and soothing. "What was it?" he asks.

[lightbearinglord]

"Below the Cloud Recesses library pavilion, the Room of Forbidden Books houses more dangerous texts. After the Cloud Recesses was burned during the war, Jin Guangyao helped fund the rebuilding effort." He looks fondly down at their joined hands for a moment, and then back to Claudius' face. "We discovered a page missing from the Collection of Spirit Turmoil, a book of songs from Dongying with the ability to stir up agitation and illness in the listener."

[wickedwit]

Claudius presses Lan Wangji's hands for his own comfort, here. Naturally he doesn't care for the idea of some song that could ruin his health, turning his own body against him like the blood parasites did. With all his anxious, constant medicating and brewing of medications, it may be one of his worst fears. "He would've been covering his tracks, then," Claudius pieces together. "So no one would be able to read it there, and identify the same notes in his song. And that's what would lead to a death that appears to be by qi deviation."

[lightbearinglord]

"Yes." Lan Wangji returns the firmness of Claudius' grip, matching it. That page should never have left the Room of Forbidden Books, which is locked and open to only a few. Its contents are there as much to protect the world from them as to protect them from the world. But, as he has already said, his brother trusted Jin Guangyao. "I don't know how Nie Huaisang discovered it, but he knew. Jin Guangyao had dismantled the body because Nie Mingjue's resentment was so powerful. Nie Huaisang was still a poor cultivator and could find only the arm. That is why he wanted Wei Ying alive again."

[wickedwit]

Claudius nods slowly. "So that old, forbidden ritual of Mo Xuanyu's ..."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji nods, too, more crisply. "Nie Huaisang convinced Mo Xuanyu to perform the sacrificing ritual, then planted the disembodied arm at Mo Village. He knew Wei Ying. We were all students together. He knew that Wei Ying would solve it."

[wickedwit]

"Wei Wuxian is the first one I would go to for such a puzzle, too." It's not a puzzle that comes up often in his own life, admittedly. Claudius feels a mixed yet strong respect for Nie Huaisang (like certain drinks). Certainly, he'd preyed upon Mo Xuanyu in a moment of weakness ... but also gave him the means to take revenge¹. While bringing back a lost friend and ally on which Nie Huaisang could rely, sharply aware of what was possible on his own, and what was beyond his abilities. A useful skill for for a head-shaker to have.

¹ It's just something Claudius might considering doing if he had a vengeful young man in front of him and a problem to solve, that's all. Perhaps not the whole self-sacrificial ritual. (It's incidental that the duel at the end of Hamlet turned into a sort of self-sacrificial ritual for revenge.)

[lightbearinglord]

For that, Lan Wangji's steady gaze goes a little warmer, just briefly. It still strikes him with quiet gladness when people here seem to pick up his admiration for Wei Ying's good qualities. He always imagined his feelings for Wei Ying as too big to contain, too bright to dim, emanating from him and turning him into a beacon. Here, for the first time, it feels as if others can see that, and they let that light reflect onto them. "Mn," he says, and then he sobers again. "Nie Huaisang was determined to see Jin Guangyao's downfall. Wei Ying's resurrection was only one piece of his plan."

[wickedwit]

"Of course." What's a scheme without many moving pieces? "What we were the others?"

[lightbearinglord]

Where to begin? Lan Wangji doesn't let go of Claudius' hands, but he does relax his grip again. "Without revealing his identity, he sent Jin Guangyao a letter, threatening him with the public reveal of his crimes within seven days. A second siege of the Burial Mounds commenced, as Jin Guangyao panicked and tried to identify his accuser." He realizes, as he says it, that he has never explained precisely the circumstances of Wei Ying's death to Claudius. He hesitates, then says, "I will tell you of the first another day." It has been too peaceful and companionable a morning for that now.

[wickedwit]

"I know thou wilt," Claudius says, and the words come so easily it surprises him. Usually he's too prying and curious to let something like that go -- but he felt no doubt at all that Lan Wangji would tell him later. Lan Wangji remembers the promises he makes.

[lightbearinglord]

It's a slight surprise for Lan Wangji, too, his own easiness in the smile that touches his features in answer to Claudius' faith in him. As with most of his smiles, it lasts for very little time, but it is distinct. "Despite Jin Guangyao's efforts, we escaped the Burial Mounds with very little loss of life," he continues after a moment. "We retreated to Lotus Pier to recover. Nie Huaisang persisted. Two women came forward to reveal Jin Guangyao's secrets. Firstly, that he was behind the death of Jin Guangshan. Secondly, that his wife, Qin Su, was another illegitimate child of Jin Guangshan. Jin Guangyao married her knowing that, and then killed their son, fearing he would display some defect that revealed the nature of their relationship."

[wickedwit]

Claudius raises an eyebrow. "Never has a man so swiftly gained my sympathies and lost them in the same story. Jin Guangshan ..." He shakes his head. "So much of the fault for this lies at that man's feet. And whatever my former God may've said ... I don't believe the children should suffer for the sins of the fathers. I cannot fault Jin Guangyao for who he fell in love with. But in killing his son, he simply made one more child suffer for his father's indiscretions. In covering those sins, he only passed them onward."

With a final scoff, he says, "And to think this man slandered Mo Xuanyu for being a cut-sleeve."

[lightbearinglord]

There is a reason Jin Guangyao and Jin Guangshan both earned entries in Lan Wangji's burn book. In fact, there are several reasons for both; he has elided some only because this is not a story about Wei Ying, saving one digression thus far. "Both father and son were monstrous and inflicted monstrosity upon each other," he agrees. "The land deed for Yunping led us to a temple Jin Guangyao was constructing. With his crimes exposed, he planned to flee to Dongying with his mother's coffin. He took my brother hostage, then Wei Ying and his nephew, then me."

[wickedwit]

"Quite a desperate series of moves," Claudius observes. “I’ve tried that in weiqi — making multiple captures in enemy territory to control the flow of the game. You always corner me regardless.” Thanks to content of his burn book entry, Claudius can guess it didn’t turn out well for Jin Guangyao, either.

[lightbearinglord]

Rather than saying yes, I do aloud, Lan Wangji contents himself with a single fondly smug glance before he resumes the story. "Nie Huaisang arrived, too. As another hostage, but I am certain he intended for Su Minshan¹ to capture him." Even then, it was so easy not to suspect him of anything as he was bundled into Guanyin Temple, complaining and disheveled.

¹Another burn book guest star.

[wickedwit]

"Clever Nie Huaisang," Claudius says with amusement. "Using his reputation for uselessness to his own benefit once more."

[lightbearinglord]

Nie Huaisang could not have let the final pieces of his revenge fall into place without his watchful eye, after all. "More truths came out. I told you of the curse whose blame was falsely assigned to Wei Ying. Su Minshan had cast that curse, and Jin Guangyao had used it to arrange the ambush that led to Wei Ying's death." Briskly, he continues rather than pausing there: "Nie Huaisang had placed a poison trap within the coffin of Meng Shi, Jin Guangyao's mother, and already removed her body. He had also unleashed Nie Mingjue's corpse to hunt Jin Guangyao. When the corpse arrived, Jin Guangyao had Wei Ying's nephew held with a qin string around his neck. His fear of Nie Mingjue was so strong that he could not hold it steady. That is why I removed his hand."

[wickedwit]

"Well-done," Claudius says, rather mild, but sincere. Plain congratulations can't capture how much he admires Lan Wangji, and not simply for the skill it takes to remove a man's hand without harming the hostage in his grasp. (Though of course Claudius has no doubt it was impressive. He's seen how graceful Lan Wangji is with Bischen.)

[lightbearinglord]

"Wei Ying and I were able to seal Nie Mingjue's corpse in Meng Shi's coffin. My brother had no choice but to believe the truth of Jin Guangyao's crimes, but he still loved him. He silenced him and treated his wounds." Having come finally to, arguably, the culmination of this story, Lan Wangji returns his gaze to Claudius' hands in his own. "Nie Huaisang could accept nothing less than Jin Guangyao's death. When xiongzhang turned to Nie Huaisang to request the pain medication he had lent him for a previous wound, Nie Huaisang screamed for him to look out behind him. He turned back and ran Jin Guangyao through with his sword, Shuoyue."

[wickedwit]

Claudius presses Lan Wangji's hands in his. Both the Lan brothers, it seems, love deeply and (some would say) unwisely. With all his imaginative empathy, Claudius can only begin to envision what Lan Xichen must have felt, running through the sworn brother he'd hoped to heal and reform. Lan Wangji would've seen it, seen the hope draining from him. Even if it was a fool's hope, it should've been Lan Xichen's to keep. "Let me guess," Claudus says dryly. "Nie Huaisang's screams were less than sincere?"

[lightbearinglord]

"Jin Guangyao had not moved," Lan Wangji confirms. He watches, and feels, Claudius' grip on his hands tighten, and he lets himself take a little comfort in it, even if it is not comfort to which he feels wholly entitled. Jin Guangyao's death was not painful for him, but Lan Xichen's anguish still stings to have witnessed, and it is an anguish that has only barely begun to abate. "The blood from his wound broke the seal on the coffin that contained Nie Mingjue. Nie Mingjue rose and attacked them both, but Jin Guangyao pushed my brother to safety before Nie Mingjue broke his neck. Both are still in that coffin."

[wickedwit]

It would to be an extraordinary ending for a tragedy, two men who'd been allies and enemies both locked in the same coffin, continuing the same struggle. It is a tragedy, that Lan Xichen is still living through -- only the story of it has a conclusion, because stories always do. Lives keep going.

But (Claudius thinks) a mystery always ends with some sort of parlor scene, where the detective explains everything that's happened. That's why Claudius asks, "So how did Wei Wuxian discover Nie Huaisang was behind it?" He has a fair guess it was Wei Wuxian.

[lightbearinglord]

"We both knew something was amiss when my brother attacked Jin Guangyao. Jin Guangyao was the first to accuse Nie Huaisang directly." The fury on Jin Guangyao's face is etched into Lan Wangji's memory, along with the sound of his laugh. Good one, Huaisang. Excellent work, concealing yourself for so many years. "After we sealed the coffin again, Wei Ying questioned Nie Huaisang. There were several small inconsistencies in his actions at the temple. Wei Ying pointed out that the person who sent the letter threatening to expose Jin Guangyao had done so unnecessarily, because Jin Guangyao would never confess, and that person would have known that. The goal was not a confession, it was to make Jin Guangyao as hated as possible in the eyes of the public."

Sounds like they've been plotting for a long time, Nie Huaisang had said, casually. "Wei Ying also pointed out that Nie Mingjue's body had last been left with him in Qinghe," Lan Wangji continues, "and that when we met Nie Huaisang in Qinghe, he behaved as if he had never seen Mo Xuanyu, whom he would certainly have met at Carp Tower. He was probing to ascertain whether it was truly Mo Xuanyu or if Wei Ying had returned." He lapses into silence, just a moment of it. "There was not enough proof to corner him."

[wickedwit]

“Of course,” Claudius says with a sigh. “The least likely suspect has the most time to cover his tracks. The cleverest ones leave no tracks to begin with.” Claudius can respect that; it certainly gives him a newfound respect for the Osrics of the world, who cultivate and trade upon their perceived uselessness. “What did he say when confronted? Did Nie Huaisang shake his head and say I don’t know?”