Second Time Around

30. Nie HuaiSang Returns

Nie HuaiSang flew in a few days later. "DaGe!" he yelled happily. "I was so worried about you. ErGe! I'm glad to see you're doing well. And WeiXiong!" The young man sighed and languidly waved his fan. "Lanling was such a horrid place to be. So unsightly." He shuddered lightly. "Koi Tower is a hotbed for disgusting rumors and innuendos. The biggest rumor is about you, WeiXiong." He giggled a bit and hid his mouth behind his fan. "First, you really are Jiang FengMian's bastard child. Second. Did you know that you escaped Koi Tower with your half sister and brother-in-law and are now in a committed relationship with them? No one is sure who is poor Jin Ling's father!"

Jin ZiXuan hmphed. "Ridiculous."

Nie HuaiSang giggled. "You sound just like Lan Er'Gongzi.

"There's also a rumor that you have a Wen here. Wen RuoHan's niece. More than half of those who remain alive in Koi Tower are urging Jin GuangShan to march on Lotus Pier and bring her to justice."

"What justice? QingJie was never a part of her uncle's schemes," Wei WuXian scoffed.

"She's a Wen," Nie HuaiSang snapped his fan closed. "She's Wen RuoHan's direct blood, and Koi Tower desperately needs a new scandal. There's an envoy maybe an hour behind me who is going to demand Jiang WanYin give her up for questioning and execution. If she isn't released into Jin custody, they are going to assume YunmengJiang is offering support to our mortal enemies and perhaps the YunmengJiang need to be wiped out of existence. After all, not only are they giving succor to a Wen dog, they also allowed the creation of the master of demonic cultivation."

"In short, unless we give Wen Qing up, those in Lanling are going to war with Lotus Pier?" Lan XiChen suggested.

Nie HuaiSang nodded. "I highly recommend that Wen Guniang leave Yunmeng immediately. Jiang WanYin cannot be expected to hand over the enemy if she isn't here."

"And where will we send her? Back to Qinghe?" Wei WuXian was furious.

"No... Not to Wen Ning and your son. I'll have someone I trust send her somewhere. If you don't know where she is, you can't tell anyone even under a truth spell."

"But you can."

"Me? Who would ask me where Wen Guniang is? Everyone knows I know nothing. I'm an elegant looking idiot who cries at the drop of a sword. I've spent the last week practically hanging onto Jin GuangYao's arm quivering and crying at how disturbing this all is. And how scared I am to come here to see how DaGe's doing because I know I'm going to faint dead away upon seeing his bandages." He snapped his fan open and waved it a few times. "I should be an actor. Except I don't like their face paint."

"Even if I don't know where she is, won't they ask me other questions about the Wen? Like where Wen Ning is? Or if there are any other Wen out there?" Jiang WanYin was angry. "Why do they care about who is working for me in Lotus Pier! It's my home! I can do as I please here!"

"JiangXiong," Nie HuaiSang sighed. "It's not about you. None of this is about anything other than turning the sects attention away from the dishonor in Koi Tower. One of the Jin family tried to murder a guest. Others tried to murder the heir and several sect leaders. Jin GuangShan should have committed suicide that this all happened under his watch and he knew nothing about it. Or so he says. I suspect he was well aware of the ambush at Qiongqi Path even if he didn't know that it was Su MinShan who cast the curse on Jin ZiXun."

Nie HuaiSang was ruthlessly efficient. Wen Qing was well on her way away from Lotus Pier when the Jin envoy arrived. He was effortlessly rude, interrupting the envoy multiple times to demand wine or snacks or a new seat cushion. And once with a large yawn that echoed throughout Sword Hall. "Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt?" He'd ask in a childish voice.