Chapter Text
It’s another pointless banquet hosted by Jins to show off how unaffected from the Sunshot campaign they have remained. The halls are covered in golden silk tapestries and the seat cushions are embroidered with images of cranes in flight and lush greenery. There were incense burning around all the seats with contrasting scents.
Probably to cause everyone a headache and make them more amenable to listening to Jin Guangshan.
Wei Ying, the newly proclaimed war-hero, remarked while observing his reflection in the gleaming golden cup of wine which tasted like potatoes. There was a faint smell of peonies coming from the potato wine that he was trying his best to ignore. In fact all the tables in the banquet hall were smelling nauseatingly of peonies and whatever incense that the Jins thought was indicative of the different sects.
Yunmeng Jiang, being considered one of the biggest contributors to the Sunshot campaign had the dubious honour of sitting smack dab in front of the hosts. Considering the slightly raised seats of the Jins and the almost subservient way the Jiangs were positioned, Jin Guangshan’s agenda was quite clear. He had this argument with Jiang Cheng before coming here but was told to keep his lips sealed and not cause any loss of face to Yunmeng Jiang. Any other day, he would have argued but the harsh winters always sapped him of his energy.
It was also during this time that I became truly alone for the first time.
His Shijie had opted not to visit and hold the fort while the main defenders of Yunmeng were visiting this peacock festival. He wanted to at least converse with Lan Zhan somewhat civilly but he had been intensely staring at him in disapproval for quite some time now and that was a fight he wasn’t prepared for today. He could see Zewu-jun and Chifeng-zun conversing somewhere away from the gaudy chaos and Lianfang-zun looking at them longingly from time to time between his host duties.
“Don’t you even know how to pour wine properly, you stupid woman” his observations were cut short as a potato wine lover in Jin robes harshly reprimanded a maid pouring them wine. The commotion was somehow happening right next to him despite the wide berth his aura of doom and demonic cultivation had afforded him from the others.
The young maid was trembling in her spot, being lightly supported by someone who must be her sister. They had their heads down and looked terrified out of their minds. Wei Ying frowned lightly at the commotion going on and decided to intervene and save the girls from some potato obsessed cultivator.
“Ah! If you lovely maidens could refill my cup, I would be most grateful” his voice cut through the whispers that had broken out and restarted again even more furiously. The potato cultivator was starting to turn purple when Wei Ying made direct eye contact with him.
“Is there a problem, gongzi?” He could see the potato cultivator’s face rapidly losing colour. Not to skip out on such a golden opportunity to save themselves, the girls hurried over to his side and started pouring wine into his cup. The only problem was that his cup was already full of the cold potato soup and as a result it dripped all over his sleeves.
What I wouldn’t give to have the Emperor's smile instead of this broth.
Seeing his sleeve soaking in wine, the girl became even more flustered while her sister dropped down to her knees to beg for forgiveness.
“Requesting gongzi to offer punishments to these lowly servants” the sister screamed in a trembling voice while on her knees. The entire situation had dropped a heavy stone in the bottom of his stomach. While the gentry didn’t see anything wrong with the young maidens' behaviour, he could sense the trouble and abuse going on in the household from a mile away.
No one displayed such fear unless they knew punishment would be skewed against them. When he had first been brought to Lotus Pier he had behaved the same way while getting punished by Madam Yu. He had hoped that it would soften the punishments but it had only made her angrier and the punishments harsher. He could feel the faint itch of the scars on his back.
Just what goes on in Koi Tower for them to react this way.
“Don’t mind my clothes guniang. And there is no need to bow as this one is also a son of a servant. It is my fault for asking for more of your delicious wine while my cup is already full. No harm done” he said waving his hand to dismiss the matter. At the term servant their eyes had become as round as full moons. He wanted to engage them in a conversation to put their minds at ease but in this situation with everyone’s eyes on them, the best action would be to change the subject. Lan Zhan’s frowning face gave him just the diversion he needed. “Ah guniangs be careful to not offer any to the esteemed Lan er-gongzi though no matter how austere and beautiful he looks. The Lans don’t drink after all.” He could see Lan Zhan’s ear turning red in frustration and saw him turn away from the scene with a heavy frown. It wasn’t the best diversion but it was the best he could do when he just wanted to disappear into the night today.
Already people were whispering about Lans and their rules. With everyone sufficiently distracted he signaled the girls to leave as he didn’t want to see what Jin Guangshan’s contemplative expression towards the younger girl could mean. He whispered to them to lay low and stay safe for the rest of the night before refocusing on his potato water again. Already, he could see Jiang Cheng glaring at him with no doubt an impressive speech prepared about not losing face and representing Yunmeng.
Before things could escalate further, the newly christened Jin Guangyao smoothened the ruffled feathers and the banquet moved on as usual. Not wishing to subject himself to more of this unique brand of torture, Burial Mounds should take notes, he retired early under the pretext of having drunk a lot when he hadn’t even taken more than a sip. No one questioned him as they were all probably too busy either gawking at his face or gossiping about his cultivation to notice what he had done.
Despite being a glaring safety hazard, he was quite thankful that Koi Tower was so easy to navigate. He quickly found his assigned room with a bathtub full of steaming hot water and change of clothes in his preferred colour laying down next to it. After soaking thoroughly in hot water, he put on the thin black under robe and laid down on the plush bed to sleep. He meditated to clear his mind of everything and did his best to chase sleep. It had already been four hours since he retired for the night that he could hear the sound of small stones on his window.
Someone desperately wants my attention, today.
With that thought in mind he got up and tightened his sleeping robes around himself and lit up a talisman to see better in the dead of the night. Glancing out of this window he could see it was one of the sisters who were getting harassed today. Her face was full of panic and fear while her jittery wringing of her hands betrayed her nerves.
“Gongzi, I know this is a big imposition but I really need your help”