#i'm only getting into this much detail bc it's the wedding night i swear

[baoshan-sanren]

Part 6

to the fucking NieLan arranged marriage AU I can’t stop thinking about

pt.1 here | pt.2 here | pt.3 here | pt.4 here | pt.5 here

Nie MingJue has met Lan XiChen before, more than once, or so he keeps being told by people who remember it better than he does. 

He, in turn, vaguely remembers meeting him only once, at some Discussion Conference, when Lan XiChen could not have been older than ten or twelve. It is hard to imagine an adult from that fleeting recollection, and MingJue does not try. He has been told, many times, that Lan XiChen ranks first in beauty among all the Young Masters of the cultivation world. He is not exactly skeptical of this fact, but the little Jin brat apparently ranks third, so by all rights, MingJue should be suspicious of this ranking system as a whole.

It matters little, in terms of their marriage. MeiLing would point out that there is a certain type of prestige which automatically comes with marrying someone handsome in appearance, but had MingJue ever been allowed to compile a list of requirements for his ideal spouse, beauty would likely land pretty low. There are many things a spouse is required do well, and most are dependent on their disposition, intellect, and forbearance. Natural beauty does tend to inspire a more favorable first impression, which may supplant some other deficiencies. MingJue has been informed that Lan XiChen does not have any deficiencies, a fact that is highly improbable, but extremely alarming if true.

As he stands patiently in the courtyard of the estate, waiting for Lan XiChen to appear, he finds himself hoping very much that his new husband has some deficiencies, otherwise he will be marrying beneath his station in more than one area. MingJue is quite aware of his own imperfections, a benefit of being raised in a clan that favors blunt honesty over dissembling, and he would hate to disappoint Lan XiChen by being unequal to him in every possible way.

Lan XiChen finally step over the threshold, and MingJue has one, very clear, very bright thought.

Oh, no.

His future husband crosses the courtyard without looking up, eyes lowered, red silk fluttering in the breeze, and is hidden by the palanquin drapes long before Nie MingJue is capable of having any other thoughts. He does not notice that he is still standing in the same place, long moments after the palanquin is ready to move, after Lan QiRen has greeted him and not received a response, after more than one of his own men starts to glance at him in askance.

He is being rude and he does not care. A few moments are necessary to process what he had just seen, but he has still not done so by the time ZongHui decides to take the situation into his own hands by ordering everyone to mount up.

They are half-way to the Unclean Realm by the time he realizes that he is angry. All the arrogance and disdain coming so loud and clear from all of the Lan Sect Elders for the last few months now seems almost justified. Are they all so truly afraid of war, so anxious to connect themselves with someone more powerful, to marry someone like Lan XiChen to someone like MingJue?

MingJue does not hold a low opinion of himself, but he understands his own place in the world. The brutal honesty so ingrained in his day-to-day life has never allowed him any pretense of physical beauty or superiority. After all, he has seen his own reflection many times. Had his father not died so early, and had he, himself, been allowed to remain a Young Master longer, his name would have still never made the list of the most beautiful Young Masters of the cultivation world.

And Lan XiChen is flawless. Although physical perfection has never before awoken any feeling in him, other than fleeting admiration, MingJue now understands that he has never truly seen a beautiful human being before. In fact, “beautiful” seems such a poor, insufficient word to describe the man he had just seen, the man whose face would make gods weep in envy.

The man who is going to tie himself to Nie MingJue for the rest of his life.

He is very well aware that Lan QiRen’s brightest pupil did not receive his title by being the man’s favorite nephew. He is aware that the last two Discussion Conference night-hunts were won by Lan XiChen without contest, only his younger brother coming even close to him in rank. He is aware that Lan XiChen is known for his impeccable manners, his kind nature, his patience and forbearance. All of those combined with the face he just saw amount to a human being that could have had the Empire on its knees just for asking. And instead, he is marrying Nie MingJue of the QingHe Nie Sect.

He does not understand why Lan XiChen would ever agree to this arrangement, unless he was ordered, instead of being asked.

MingJue is not angry, he is furious on Lan XiChen’s behalf.

This fury does not quite abate by the time they reach the Unclean Realm, but it lowers down to a dangerous simmer. He watches Lan XiChen carefully, noticing his slight shiver when the wind picks up, the infinite care with which he takes the steps to the hall, so the lovely lines of his weeding robes never fall into an unflattering shape. Everything the young man does is exquisite, precise, and perfectly executed. They perform their bows, and composure never leaves his expression. Whatever emotion he may feel, none of it is evident on his face. The only time their eyes meet, Lan XiChen’s are dark and unreadable, and quickly lowered again.  

His hands tremble while pouring the tea, and it is the first hint of the state of his nerves. MingJue thinks that if any of the Elders dare be anything but perfectly kind and gracious, he will leap over the tables, and cheerfully disembowel the entire lot of them. Thankfully, this is not necessary, but by the time the banquet starts, he is convinced that Lan XiChen’s tranquil demeanor is not likely to hold up for many more hours.

They do not speak to each other, as the custom demands they speak to a thousand other people, a task Lan XiChen seems to excel at, and one MingJue finds tiresome at best. As the hours pass, however, Lan XiChen’s face seems to grow more pale, his charming smiles for the well-wishers no longer coming as easily as they had in the beginning. Even as he rises from his seat, MingJue knows that they are leaving the banquet too early, and that many inappropriate jokes and whispers will spread in their wake. He does not care if the entire cultivation world thinks him too hasty to reach his own wedding bed. There is now a tiny, barely perceptible line in-between Lan XiChen’s eyebrows, and Nie MingJue cannot possibly guess what it means, but he thinks it is safe to assume that the banquet is no longer pleasing to his husband.

He motions to his disciples as he leads Lan XiChen out of the banquet hall, and hears them block the entrance in two rows, as if preparing for a battle. In the QingHe Nie, loyalty has always come before tradition. The guests are not aware of this yet, but any who think that the wedding chamber will be open to visitors, will find themselves with three chi of Nie steel permanently impaled through their abdomen.  

MingJue has no intention of following any of the other traditions either. The fact that Lan XiChen freezes at the sight of the marriage bed stokes MingJue’s fury all over again, but he gently steers the man to the privacy screen, hoping he can regain some composure in solitude.

His own wedding clothes have long passed the point of being cumbersome, and he is relieved to shed their weight. It is hard imagine how many more layers Lan XiChen had been forced into, and how exhausting it must have been, managing them all day long. He is struck all over again by the absurdity of wedding clothes, which neither of them are likely to ever look at again.

He waits patiently for Lan XiChen to emerge from behind the privacy screen, but finds himself utterly unprepared for the sight.

Lan XiChen is wrapped in a soft gray robe, his hair loose around his shoulders, his eyes downcast. Had MingJue really thought him beautiful before? He is devastating.

Just for a moment, an unwelcome, distasteful instant, he cannot help but imagine how it would feel, to have Lan XiChen’s hair sliding though his fingers. What it would be like, if their marriage was one of affection, if Lan XiChen was to welcome him with a smile. What would a flush of desire look like, spread across Lan XiChen’s flawless skin.

Lan XiChen shivers, his hands almost imperceptibly tightening in the folds of the robe, and MingJue suddenly feels ill at the images his mind had conjured.

“It has been a long day,” he says, “You should rest.”

For a few long breaths, Lan XiChen does not move, as if he had not quite understood MingJue’s words. Just as MingJue is about to repeat them, however, he moves towards the bed, crawling in slowly, and curling up at the far end, leaving a space large enough for four grown men. Once he is settled, the curtains fully hide him from MingJue’s sight. 

MingJue thinks that is probably for the best. It will be a long time before he is calm enough to sleep.

[rinstars]

Risa... you got me FUCKED. UP. BRUHHHHHHH😭😭😭

I SWEAR THIS BITCH RIN IS SO EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED SOMETIMES LIKE OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND SPEAK YOUR TRUTH MF 😩

Throughout the whole chapter I was chilling, no tears and dying bc the way you wrote their last night together >>>>. It was so intimate, like I felt like I was feeling everything they were feeling so I have to say well done for that, you write so beautifully <333

BUT THAT LAST LIIIIINE, IT FUCKED ME UP LIKE? YOU'RE REALLY ABOUT TO TELL HER YOU LOVE HER SO FUCKING MUCH AND INVITE HER TO YOUR WEDDING ONLY 2 YEARS LATER LIKE?? If this wedding isn't some type of practical joke or a way for her to go back to him, we're fucking osamu with no fucks given 🙄 (I'm acc joking, I just love 'samu sm 💀)

But seriously, tysm for putting in the effort for this act, it was written so well and getting to read this after you've been away was so worth it. I'm glad you're back risa 😩💘

-🐆 anon

AA THANK U i was gonna make the sex originally very explicit just bc i know people like real detailed smut but it just didn't fit with the emotions so i wanted it to just be kinda raw and emotional hehe. i love u thank u for waiting i was gone so long 😭