Thread by @luuuunadiane

[fire flower, inverted feelings]

[wen!jc]

To maintain peace between the Five Great Sects, the host of the annual Discussion Conference changes each year.

Qishan Wen currently has the honour, and their opening ceremony is as grand and impressive as the sprawling Nightless City.

Jin Guangshan would never grant his wife the seat next to him, as if they were equals. Qingheng-Jun remains in seclusion, and Lan Qiren is unmarried, as is the young Nie Mingjue and Jiang Fengmian.

The only woman present at the Discussion is Yu Ziyuan,

the proud Madam Wen in white and red and a golden crown matching her husband's diamond adornment, the phoenix to his dragon.

As the guests are welcomed into the main hall of the Nightless City, Jiang Fengmian smiles fondly at his almost-wife after his salute,

but her lips, as red as blood, remain in a straight line as she gives him a polite, perfunctory nod.

So many years, and she is as beautifully regal as ever.

Wen Ruohan narrows scarlet eyes at him.

The trade links between Wen and Jiang are re-negotiated during the conference,

the Sect Leader and Madam as harsh as ever, and although Jiang Fengmian understands the desire to increase one's profits, he does find it excessive. A pleading look to Yu Ziyuan during the cutthroat negotiations yields nothing, and Jiang Fengmian barely maintains the previously

agreed-upon terms of their trade deals with cautious, reasoned words - despite having to give in on several concessions.

He is exhausted during the recess. YunMeng Jiang's quality of produce had not deterioriated, why was Qishan Wen adamant on securing lower prices on imports?

Still, he carries on, full of hope as he approaches Madam Wen.

She glares at him, her gaze violet - a lovely colour which would be wonderfully complemented by Jiang purple, Fengmian has always felt.

"I have other matters to attend to." She declares, and sweeps out of the hall,

and Fengmian can only dip his head in polite helpless acknowledgement - until an idea occurs to him.

Rivers wear down rock over the slow erosion of years, but waters turn and twist in shape to fit through the smallest crevices.

He heads toward the West Wing, where he has heard-

is where the children live.

---

Having grown up the young master of Qishan Wen, Wanyin is very familiar with fire.

Torches line the walls and trenches of flames give his home - the Nightless City - its name, bathed in light even in the darkest of night.

Fire is one of his playthings, such as the fireworks he loves to see during festivals, A-Niang telling him to stop wasting paper by setting a corner aflame and watching it burn, even the plumes of steam created when Wanyin blanches at bitter tea served to him and empties the

contents of his cup into a nearby torch, then pretending like nothing happened as the fire regains strength after a brief weakening.

One of his favourite places is the Phoenix Pavilion, containing a pond with red and white koi within. He likes to sit at the edge of the Pavilion,

legs dangling over, and watch the fish swimming lazily as he rests his arms on the red fences.

When he was small, very small, he met a man in purple that he learned was Sect Leader Jiang. Unlike A-Die, the man smiled often and spoke softly to him, gently patting his head,

and told him stories of his own home in Lotus Pier, a massive wooden palace in the middle of a lake.

"It is like this Pavilion, the waters are everywhere."

"Everywhere?" Wanyin had asked, purple eyes lighting up in curiosity as he tried to imagine it.

"Yes, A-Cheng."

"I want to see it!"

"I would bring you, if your parents allowed it." Came the answer, as the man's eyes crinkled cheerfully. Sect Leader Jiang gave him a pretty purple lotus flower, and said that the lakes of YunMeng were full of such blooms.

The flower was not real, and so never died, always perfect and lovely, but Wanyin unfortunately lost it. He had many toys, and thankfully soon forgot about it.

(Wen Ruohan found the little trinket that purple coward gave to his Cheng-er, and incinerated it in his palm.)

It had been years since Wanyin had last met Sect Leader Jiang, but now that the Discussion Conference was being held at the Nightless City, he bumped into him again.

"A-Cheng," Jiang Fengmian smiled, "You've grown so tall!"

Wanyin preened, and showed off the sword at his hip,

scabbard red and decorated with writhing dragons. "Of course! I'm old enough to have a sword now!"

"A handsome sword for a handsome boy." Jiang Fengmian ruffled his hair, and Wanyin giggled.

"I've brought you some sweets from YunMeng." The Jiang Sect Leader said,

producing several fluffy white buns, and Wanyin took one and bit into the sweet paste. "Hmm...lotus paste buns? Thank you, Sect Leader Jiang." Wanyin said, cheeks puffed as he chewed.

Jiang Fengmian nodded, but deflated when the boy said "They're not as sweet as dragon's beard."

"Ah- but you liked it the last time I gave them to you." He said. "I think you'd really like our candied lotus root- next time I'll bring you other sweets."

Wanyin nodded, and shrugged. Sect Leader Jiang had indeed given him lotus seed paste buns when he was smaller, but he had

just been a little boy then, who didn't know better about the best sweets.

"What have you been up to, A-Cheng?"

Wanyin crossed his arms. "That's Young Master Wen to you." He corrected. Now that he had his courtesy name, he was old enough to not be treated like a baby,

and that meant letting go of childish endearments like that (unless from A-Jie or his parents, of course.) A-Die had told him that he was being condescended to if anyone outside of the main family called him by his birth name, and even A-Niang called him Wanyin, now.

Sect Leader Jiang looked surprised, before he smiled warmly again. "Yes, of course. Apologies for my mistake, Young Master Wen."

A-Cheng nodded approvingly then, lower lip jutting out ever so slightly in a pout despite his attempts to look dignified, and Jiang Fengmian had to

control his expression at the cute way the young boy's brows furrowed. He was so much like Ziyuan, and still with the adorableness of a child, the violet eyes he'd inherited from her large and almond-shaped.

If only if those were matched with purple Jiang robes.

Wen Wanyin was a fine boy, everyone said, dutiful and obedient and with the fire of a Wen, witty and sharp and skilled with his sword, his cultivation level already very promising for his age.

Third Young Master, like Yu Ziyuan had been the Third Maiden Yu, Jiang Fengmian

remembered, mother and son so alike to each other.

She had loved him once, insisted on marrying him as Meishan Yu had sent proposal after proposal to his father, and Jiang Fengmian had balked and made excuse after excuse, hoping they'd stop.

He got what he wanted, didn't he?

The proposals had abruptly stopped, and a month later, the latest gossip was that Maiden Yu was being courted by Wen Ruohan, culminating in their marriage nearly a year later.

Foolishly, Jiang Fengmian had been relieved, but then Changze decided to leave with Cangse,

and he was alone.

The next time he had seen Yu Ziyuan, two years later, she was round with child, pregnant with the heir of Qishan Wen, and radiant, a light flush on her cheeks matching her blood rouged lips. The Sect Leader Wen and his Madam conducted themselves with the utmost

dignity, both known for their pride and tempers that burned like an inferno, yet the knowing looks they exchanged with each other - as if able to read each other's minds - made the deep connection they shared undeniable.

At the first month celebration of the infant Wen Xu, heir to Qishan Wen, Jiang Fengmian was invited, as leader of a Great Sect, and got to witness Yu Ziyuan in voluminous red, smiling gently and rarely at her swaddled newborn.

Oh, he had realized, she was dazzling.

As sharp in a conference as the electrified whip she wielded, beauty and intelligence and skill contained within a single woman, yet with love and affection for her children. Wen Xu took after his father, aloof and sneering, Wen Yanli was a smiling enigma,

but the moment little A-Cheng was born, he opened eyes of violet identical to his mother's and stole Jiang Fengmian's heart.

What a pity he was a Young Master Wen, if he were YunMeng Jiang's heir, Jiang Fengmian would have adored him with his whole heart.

"I want to see A-Die." A-Cheng abruptly spoke, still nibbling on buns, his words breaking Jiang Fengmian out of his reverie and making him cringe slightly. "If you're here, that must mean the conference has stopped, hasn't it? So I can see my A-Die."

"Discussion Conferences have breaks, but Sect Leaders use this time to network with each other. Your father is probably busy as well." Jiang Fengmian said, trying to dissuade the boy.

The last time Wen Ruohan had seen him near his youngest son, the man had not-so-subtly

threatened him in return, and, ah, that had to be the reason behind this year's renegotiations, hadn't it.

"A-Die is never too busy for me." A-Cheng declared proudly, and kept on walking, heedless to whether Jiang Fengmian followed or not.

"It has been very nice - speaking to you, A-Ch - Young Master Wen," Jiang Fengmian said, trailing uneasily after the boy, "but I am afraid I must leave."

Wanyin nodded impatiently, carelessly mumbling a "yes, farewell Sect Leader Jiang," making his way toward the main hall.

When Wen Wanyin strode into the hall, Jiang Fengmian had quickly slipped back into his seat as head of YunMeng Jiang, and watched Yu Ziyuan's son run eagerly up to Wen Ruohan, standing expectantly beside him. The Wen Sect Leader's expression softened by a tiny fraction when he

turned his head to see his youngest child, hand landing in the boy's soft locks. "Cheng-er, what are you doing here?"

"Want to see you, A-Die."

The simple child's request had Jin Guangshan sycophantically exclaiming over what a good, sweet son Sect Leader Wen had, a fortune,

indeed, was a loving child who already understood the value of being filial to his parents. Jiang Fengmian watched the scene longingly as A-Cheng looked at his father in anticipation, before Wen Ruohan indicated his agreement, and the boy happily clambered into his lap.

"Cheng-er," Wen Ruohan's voice rumbled, "What are you eating?"

Wanyin showed him the half-eaten bun in his hand, thick brown paste peeking out from white bread. "A lotus paste bun! Sect Leader Jiang gave it to me." He said cheerfully.

Wen Ruohan narrowed his eyes.

"Well, if you are that hungry, you can have these snacks." He waved his hands before him imperiously, gesturing to the table before him with Qishan's most expensive, most luxurious pastries, worthy of only the Sect Leader. Wanyin gasped, glancing between the porcelain plates and

his father's face. He hardly got to eat such delicacies, even as the Sect Leader's son, Niang emphasized restraint and discipline, scolding him for eating too much sweets. "Can I really?!" He asked, eyes sparkling, grinning when his father nodded briskly.

"Thank you, A-Die!" He chirped, leaning forward to pick up one of the rich pastries and happily chewing on it, the half-eaten lotus paste bun already forgotten.

With his dearest youngest in his lap, Wen Ruohan's scarlet eyes flickered over to Jiang Fengmian,

who was lucky to escape his searing glare, preoccupied with speaking to a minor Sect Leader.

That spineless coward was skulking within the walls of the Nightless City again, talking to Cheng-er and trying to bribe him with inferior sweets.

He wanted so badly to bring Cheng-er to Lotus Pier, acting as if he would offer him the entire waterlogged place.

Then, Wen Ruohan supposed with a smirk, Jiang Fengmian would not mind if Qishan Wen claimed the Lotus Pier for the Third Young Master.

(end)