Come Back to Gusu

46. Talk to me.

Life together in Lotus Pier was infinitely preferable to life apart. Wei WuXian became Wei Laoshi for several classes: teaching swordsmanship and archery as well as talisman courses. Lan WangJi was not permitted to teach or audit any Jiang proprietary classes; he was assigned to teach horsemanship, basic meditation, calligraphy classes, as well as the guqin for interested students. They both led night hunts for varying levels of juniors. When they wanted harder night hunts, they went off on their own.

Nights were spent in Wei WuXian's childhood room while a manor appropriate for a married heir was built. When they weren't teaching or out on a hunt, they could be found swimming in one of the lakes or rivers or sweating in the hot pool.

After the mid-Autumn Festival came Jiang WanYin's wedding to Wen Qing. Wei WuXian nearly teared up watching his shidi take his bows with a look of absolute adoration and disbelief on his face. She looked shocked and awed, like she wasn't really sure what was happening, but was happy about it. It was the first time he'd seen Wen Daifu not completely in control of what was happening in a long time. "They're a good match," Wei WuXian whispered to his love.

"Mmm."

"I hope our wedding isn't as gaudy as this. I like the color red; this is bordering on the absurd." It seemed like every building in Lotus Pier was decorated in red. Even the dirt walking paths had been coated with some sort of red soil or dust.

~*~

They traveled to Cloud Recesses after the wedding. Both men were immediately reinstalled in their previous roles with the addition that Wei WuXian was invited on night hunts now.

Wen Ning's wedding was a smaller, though hardly less elaborate, version of his older sister's. Wei WuXian was rather happy to see how blissful his friend looked, how pretty his new bride was. They were a good match.

The only thing that marred the festivities was seeing Wen Yuan pouting. "What's wrong," Wei WuXian sidled up to his young friend when the guests had moved to the newly erected banquet hall.

"Nothing."

Wei WuXian was truly in awe at the spectacular pout. "There's some reason you have that look on your face...."

The pout intensified. "Gufu says I have to live here now with Popo 'cause Gugu is pregnant and sick and can't take care of me properly. But Popo is sick, too, so she can't take care of me. Shenshen says I can't stay with them because she expects to get pregnant soon, too. Why does Gugu and Shenshen have to get pregnant? Why can't Shushu and Gufu do it instead? I bet they wouldn't get sick."

Wei WuXian tried very hard to not react. He'd known Wen Qing was having a horrible pregnancy; lately, she spent most of her days in bed, only getting up to wash and vomit. She had sent her blessings for her brother's marriage with Jiang Cheng rather than give them in person. Hopefully, her condition would ease shortly; he'd learned that many women became ill at the beginning of the pregnancy, but after a few months, the symptoms eased. He decided to ignore the part about men getting pregnant. "Your Shushu agrees?"

Wen Yuan's relaxed, settled into a quivering bottom lip. "He says it's complicated. He loves me, but he also loves Shenshen."

Complicated? How is it complicated? A'Yuan is... seven? Eight? Old enough to need nominal supervision. He'll be in classes all day. He just needs someone to make sure he eats his vegetables and washes before going to sleep. Someone to wipe his tears when he gets hurt and... make him feel like he's wanted.

Lan XiChen hmmed when asked about the problem. "It is complicated. The issue of succession always is. That's probably one of the main reasons why Jiang FengMian didn't adopt you. It's why your current adoption agreement shows you inherit only if Jiang WanYin has no other male heirs. With Wen QiongLin... there are probably more than a few who would prefer to have Wen Yuan as their next sect leader rather than the child of a Lan woman. By keeping Wen Yuan away from the order of succession, he eliminates that problem. Not that Wen Yuan is a problem; he is a delightful child."