Come Back to Gusu

43. Lan QiRen Interrupts: Just like your mother.

The Weifengshi felt like home. The cool refreshing air, the babbling brook, the way the stones in the yard crunched under his boots. It was a home he was itching to leave; Lan Wangji was supposedly meditating in his own home not too far away. Wei WuXian gently patted the white messenger bunny as it delivered a message: 'I will see you at dinner. I miss you.' "I miss you, too, Lan Zhan," he sighed and looked towards his little house. The back doors were wide open; Lan QiRen was inside, calmly sitting at the dining table drinking tea. Taking a deep breath to center himself, Wei WuXian walked into his house. "Lan Xiansheng," he bowed at exactly the appropriate depth for a suitor meeting his beloved's parent.

"Wei WuXian."

I would offer you tea, but I see you've already made yourself at home. He wanted to say it. Insulting the man who needed to bless his marriage was probably not the correct approach. So instead he placed Suibian in the sword stand and went to sit on the opposite side of the table. "Is the tea acceptable? I'm afraid I haven't been here long enough to check to see if it is stale."

"I brought fresh tea for you," Lan QiRen regally nodded at a box. "I understand you find our normal teas unpleasant, so I had this one specially ordered."

Wei WuXian bowed again as best he could. "This one appreciates Lan Xiansheng's efforts."

"Does this one?" Lan QiRen poured them both a cup, but didn't take a sip. "Are you determined to marry my nephew?"

"Yes."

"Even if I decline to give my blessing?"

"Lan Xiansheng... a marriage is simply a vow between two people. We dress it up with ceremonies and games, but at its heart? Lan Zhan and I have made our vows to each other already. We hope for harmony in our marriage. If you say you forbid us from having the handfasting ceremony, we can't stop you. If you say you forbid us from making our bows next spring, we can't stop you.

"However." He firmed his voice. "We are already married. With or without your blessing, we will remain married. Also, we have Jiang ZongZhu and Lan ZongZhu's blessings and signed betrothal agreements; the ceremonies will proceed as arranged."

Lan QiRen's eyes narrowed. "Even though being a cut sleeve must be an embarrassment to your parents?"

Wei WuXian gripped his tea cup so hard it cracked in his hand. "There is nothing I have ever done in my entire life that would have embarrassed or shamed my parents. My parents would have wanted me to be as happy in my marriage as they were in theirs."

"Being a cut sleeve makes you happy?"

"Lan Zhan makes me happy." Wei WuXian carefully placed the destroyed cup on his table. "I make him happy. He is my zhiji." He looked into the grandmaster's eyes. "We will handfast tomorrow morning with or without your blessing. We will make our bows next year with or without your blessing."

Lan QiRen poured himself another cup of tea and blew across the hot beverage. "So fierce in your disrespect for your elders. Just like your mother."

Wei WuXian glared at the grandmaster. "I could have shown you nothing but respect since the day we met and I think you would still have treated me as a troublemaker because you hated my mother. I hope whatever she did to you was worth your continued ire almost twenty years after her death!"

"She shaved off my beard!" Lan QiRen roared.

Wei WuXian stared in shock, then struggled to not burst out laughing. Looking at his shaking body, the elder frowned, "It's not funny."

"Of course not," Wei WuXian snorted, holding his convulsing stomach. "Not funny at all. This small one is sure Lan Xiansheng's beard was something to be proud of before..." He couldn't contain his giggles anymore; he nearly fell over laughing. "Before my mother shaved it off," he wheezed. "I agree, Lan Xiansheng... you absolutely cannot give your blessing for your nephew to marry the son of the woman who shaved your beard off."