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remma3760 · 3 months ago

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Consequences

Chapter 32: Epilogue

Summary:

Wen Ruohan is dead. The sects adjust to the new normal

The Dafan Wen were the first to declare independence. They stated their intention of forming a Healer Clan and claimed Dafan Mountain as their own. With the full backing of both the Lan and the Nie, who could argue?

The Lan Sect gave them full access to their library even allowing them to take copies of rare medical texts and in return the Dafan Wen donated much of their own work. They built a school to pass on their knowledge that soon became a famed centre for medical excellence. If people thought that the Lan or Nie funded the school, let them believe what they would. Let them forget that two members of the Dafan Wen had been in Nightless City with full access to the treasury when Wen Ruohan launched his disastrous attack on Cloud Recesses.

While the Dafan Wen were the first, they were far from the last. Gradually, all the branch families took over their own territories and before long the mighty Wen Sect was instead a collection of small, loosely allied clans, most with close ties to the Lan, the Nie or both. None achieved the renown of the Dafan branch, but they took care of their people and were considerably better off than they had been under Wen Ruohan, so all was well.

***

Jin Guangshan tried to take advantage of a perceived power vacuum following Wen Ruohan's death. He attempted to claim lands to which he had no right. He failed. Disgruntled, he called a discussion conference in Lanling. Both the Lan and Nie sent their regrets but they would be unable to attend as they had more pressing concerns at home.

Most smaller sects followed suit and in the end the only attendees were Sect Leaders Yao and Ouyang. Even Jin Guangshan's good friend Sect Leader Qin didn't show as he was too busy organising his daughter's wedding to Lan Xichen.

Jin Guangshan sat on his raised throne, oozing discontent at the rows of empty tables. He wanted to be Chief Cultivator. He even tried declaring himself as such but no-one acknowledged him or gave him the respect he craved. He sulked in his room, alone.

It was left to Madam Jin to organise her son's wedding to Jiang Yanli. The Jiang's did not contribute, although Jiang Fengmian and Jiang Cheng did at least attend. Yu Ziyuan did not.

Madam Jin made sure it was an event to remember. She was the one to send out the invitations and it was to her the sects sent their acceptance. Everyone came. After all, Jin Zixuan was good friends with both Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue. Madam Jin, too, had become close to Madam Nie. Sad at the need to cut contact with Yu Ziyuan, her only friend, Jin Lihua had turned to Nie Min for comfort. The two found they shared a sly sense of humour and soon became confidants.

Jin Guangshan who had no involvement with wedding arrangement naturally tried to take all the credit for the event. Clan leaders would nod politely to him then give their congratulations to Madam Jin and the happy couple.

Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli gave Jin Guangshan the filial respect he was due but no more. He was never included in their lives. His wife, on the other hand, was loved by both Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan. When their son Jin Ling was born it was Madam Jin who got to hold him first. While Jin Guangshan was never deliberately kept from the child there always seemed to somewhere else Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli needed to be when he called for them. On the rare occasions he did get to hold the baby, Jin Ling screamed and kicked until he was given back. Jin Guangshan felt himself ignored.

He chose to bring his bastard son, Meng Yao to Koi Tower. He conveniently forgot that he had thrown the boy down the stairs when he had come to him before. Since then, Meng Yao had made a name for himself with the Nie, so Jin Guangshan decided he might be worth something after all. He even gave him a better name - Jin Guangyao.

As Jin Guangyao settled into his new home he soon came to realise that this was not the dream his mother had hoped for him. Jin Guangshan kept him close but never really accepted him. Jin Guangshan would complain to Jin Guangyao constantly of his woes. It was Jin Guangyao who was blamed for every rebuff, every discourtesy. It was Jin Guangyao who bore the brunt of Jin Guangshan's dissatisfaction. He would look at his father and wonder what his mother had been thinking.

And so it might have continued had not Jin Guangyao come accross a crying Jiang Yanli walking the halls with a wailing Jin Ling. Concerned, he rushed to her to see if either was injured. They were not. Jin Ling was teething and would not calm. Jiang Yanli did not want to give over the care of her son to a servant but she was so tired. Jin Guangyao offered to take the baby so she could rest for a moment and she agreed. He looked down at the little red face and Jin Ling looked back. Probably exhausted from crying, Jin Ling quieted, then blew a spit bubble at Jin Guangyao. Jin Guangyao fell in love.

Jiang Yanli looked on in wonder, then smiled beautifically and declared that Jin Ling must really love his uncle and begged Jin Guangyao to visit with them more often. Jin Guangyao found that he wanted that very much. He was easily welcomed by his brother and his brother's wife. Madam Jin was less happy at his inclusion, but soon decided that he was an asset, his organisational skills much superior to her current assistant. There was also the not inconsiderable pleasure of stealing Jin Guangyao from her husband. Jin Guangshan, naturally, sulked. Alone.

One day, Jin Guangyao found himself called to Madam Jin's rooms. Nervous, he went. It turned out, Madam Jin wanted to set up Jin orphanages as she had seen the Lan do. It was something she had thought of for a while but Jin Guangshan had been against the idea. Now she intended to go ahead regardless of her husband's wishes. She asked for Jin Guangyao's assistance. He was more than willing to help and threw himelf into the endeavour happily.

A whole network of homes were set up accross Lanling. When it was time for the first to open, Madam Jin again called Jin Guangyao to her. She suggested to him a suitable name for the orphanages - The Meng Shi Childrens' Shelters. Jin Guangyao cried. Madam Jin patted his hand and continued detailing her plans until he was once again in control of himself.

Jin Guangyao took a deep breath as he looked at Madam Jin. His mother had been both right and wrong. So so wrong about his father, but right that he should come to Koi Tower. This was his home now. By coming here had had found something he had craved for a long time. He had found a family.

***

Madam Yu was insane. Everyone knew it though no-one talked about it. Not in front of Jiang Cheng, anyway. She had never recovered from the disastrous trip to Cloud Recesses. The loss of her arm followed by a public punishment had changed her.

She never left her room. The windows had been shuttered to keep out the light. She rarely bathed or changed her clothes. Often she would call for Jinzhu and Yinzhu, getting angry when they did not come. Often, it seemed like she forgot what had happened, then she would see the empty sleeve where her arm once was and scream with fury.

She would refuse food, throwing it at whichever poor servant had brought it to her. Then later, she would get hungry and scrape it from the floor and walls to eat it.

She raged at the world. Her walls were covered in papers. Yu Ziyuan kept records of every imagined slight, charted every sign of disrespect ever shown her and pasted them all up. In the centre, written on the walls was Wei Wuxian's name. She found a way to link every disappointment of her life back to him.

The Meishan Yu came to visit. The Yu Sect Leader, his grandmother, spent a long moment watching her then shook her head and left. After that, money started arriving from Meishan, but no-one ever came again. Jiang Cheng would force himself to go into her room but often she didn't even know him.

So Yu Ziuan was insane and everyone knew it. What they didn't know was that Jiang Fengmian was also insane. A more gentle madness than his wife, but mad nonetheless. He spent all his days sitting at his desk and staring into space. Jiang Cheng had no idea what he was looking at, what he was seeing. A happier time, perhaps? Who knew? Certainly not Jiang Cheng.

No-one but Jiang Cheng was allowed to enter. As far as the rest of Lotus Pier knew, Jiang Fengmian still ran the sect. They didn't know that Jiang Cheng managed everything, only putting documents in front of Jiang Fengmian and directing him to sign. Which Jiang Fengmian would do without looking or with any sign of awareness. Jiang Cheng had no idea how long this pretence could continue or what would happen when people realised the truth.

Jiang Cheng hated his disciples. They were loud, crude, unruly and all older than him. No parent sent their child for training to Lotus Pier anymore. Had not since the incident with Wei Wuxian all those years ago. They had to take what they could get, which usually meant the men no-one else wanted. Jiang Cheng strongly suspected that many of the newer disciples were former Wen who had nowhere else to go after their humiliation at the hands of the Lan and so had ended up here.

He looked down at the blank sheet of paper in front of him. It didn't have to be like this. He didn't have to be so alone. His sister loved him. He knew she did. He need only write and she would invite him to visit. He could spend time with her. Could meet his baby nephew. But what would he say?

He knew what she wanted to hear. That he was sorry. That he was wrong. Deep deep down, he knew that was true. Knew that it was absurd to still be blaming Wei Wuxian for anything that happened in Lotus Pier. But if he stopped, if Wei Wuxian was innocent, what did that mean for him? If Wei Wuxian was not to blame then he would have to take responsibility. He would have to accept that had he not punched Jin Zixuan then none of this would have happened. His mother would not have been in Cloud Recesses. She would not have attacked Wei Wuxian. She would not have lost her arm or Zidian or her precious maids. And he couldn't. He couldn't admit that, not even to himself.

So what was there left to say to his sister? I miss you? I need you? I hate my life and I have nothing? Please come home? No, he couldn't say any of that. He still had his pride, even if he had nothing else.

He screwed up the paper and threw it away. He couldn't write. Not today. But maybe, just maybe, he would be ready tomorrow.

***

Six months after Wen Ruohan died Wen Qing married Nie Mingjue. Nie Huaisang was ecstatic, bringing out a staggeringly big book of fabric swatches, wedding designs,menu cards and a list of the best birds to release at the ceromony. Nie Mingjue and Wen Qing looked at it in horror, then at each other and promptly eloped.

Nie Huaisang was by turns inconsolable and foot stampingly angry. Nie Mingjue gave him a colourful parrot to appease him. Nie Huaisang taught his parrot to insult Nie Mingjue every time it saw him. That helped his mood enormously.

Things were starting to settle nicely when Wen Qing found out about the Nie Saber Curse. She raged at Nie Jiahao and Nie Mingjue, refusing to let such a thing stand; not on her watch. Nie Min and Nie Huaisang fumed by her side, equally angry since neither of them had been in on the secret.

Once Wen Qing felt that both men were sufficiently cowed she sent for Wei Wuxian and Baoshen Sanren and they got to work on a cure.

Nie Huaisang was again inconsolable, this time joined by Nie Min. It was only when Nie Jiahao promised them that they could completely redecorate the Unclean Realm were they mollified.

As for the unbreakable saber curse, well, it stood little chance against the concerted efforts of the greatest doctor of her generation, the best inventor ever known and an immortal. Within a month it was eradicated. Nie Jiahao, Nie Mingjue and all future Nie Sect Leaders were forever safe from qi deviation and would live long and contented lives. Nie Jiahao cried, blessing the day his son had brought home such a bride.

The following year when Wen Qing gave birth to twins - a fierce little girl and happy little boy, there was great rejoicing across Qinge. No parents could have been prouder or happier.

Nie Huaisang vied with Wen Ning for the position of favourite uncle. Wen Ning complained that Nie Huaisang had the advantage since he lived permanently in the Unclean Realm. While Wen Ning visited often, he was frequently away. He had completed his medical training and was an accomplished healer, travelling around the villages helping wherever he was needed. His arrival was always eagerly anticipated, a small room being set aside for him to see patients.

One day Wen Ning found himself in a sticky situation involving an angry goose. He was saved by a travelling rogue cultivator. He thanked her then left to go on his way. He was surprised when she introduced herself as Chen Xiu and started walking with him. Nothing was said but they soon spent all their time together. After a few months and one or two more close calls, Chen Xiu turned to Wen Ning exasperated and informed him that he really wasn't safe to be allowed out alone and she had no idea how he had managed without her for so long. She said that they had better get married before he fell into a ditch and broke his neck. Wen Ning happily agreed.

Nie Huasiang had no interest in marriage. He had his fans, his birds, his books and his art. He loved spending time with his niece and nephew but had no desire for children of his own. He was content to laze around doing nothing at all. When rumours started to circulate about Jin Guangshan (That he was impotent. That he was plagued with bloating gas that constantly escaped at both ends of his body and that was the reason he never entertained anymore. That he had developed a glandular problem that meant he always stank of rotting fish) Nie Huaisang's family looked at him in suspicion. He looked innocently back.

Then the plays began appearing, becoming wildly popular. Riotous tales of Wen Ruohan's downfall. Heroic tales featuring the beautiful Wen doctor who defied her despotic uncle; of her handsome Nie love who flew to her side as soon as he was free to do so. Again his family looked to him, but he shrugged and said he knew nothing, nothing at all. Nobody believed him.

***

Lan Xichen's marriage to Qin Su was even more lavish than that of his brother and cousin. Baoshen Sanren had again inserted herself into proceedings. This time, she was aided and abetted by Nie Huaisang. Having been thwarted in his plans for his own brother's wedding he begged to be allowed to assist with that of his brother's best friend. Baoshen Sanren took one look at his wedding book and gleefully accepted.

The two conspired together over every aspect of the celebrations. Lan Qiren tried to object that it was becoming ridiculous, but was overruled on every point. Eventually, he gave up and carried his grandson off to play with the bunnies.

The hard work paid off. Both bride and goom were beautiful, smiling radiantly at everyone and everything. Lan Yuan was brought in to jump on the marriage bed to bring fertility to the happy couple. Qin Su covered her face and giggled at the custom while Lan Xichen cleared his throat and blushed.

When, only nine months later little Lan Song entered the world, Lan Yuan took full credit. When Lan Xichen reached his twenty-first year Lan Qiren handed over leadership to him with relief. As expected Lan Xichen was an exemplary sect leader, showing wisdom and compassion to all those who came to the Lan for help. He had his uncle by his side and Lan Yi just a letter away should he need advice. He rarely did, soon finding his feet. Lan Xichen was the first of his contemporaries to take this position, leading the way into a new era.

Lan Qiren had never wanted to raise children or be sect leader. Both situations had been thrust upon him. He found himself infinitely glad for the first, and happy to be rid of the second. He now had time. Time to read. Time to write. Time to play with his growing number of great nephews and nieces. Still, his favourite was and would always remain his grandson, A-Yuan.

He resumed teaching. He genuinely enjoyed imparting knowledge and seeing the eagerness to learn in the little faces turned up to him was a delight.

Baoshen Sanren and Lan Yi had begun spending many months each year at Cloud Recesses. Lan Qiren enjoyed their visits immensely, arguing semantics with Baoshen Sanren and playing music with Lan Yi. That was a special pleasure for him, to rediscover his joy in music.

Every morning Lan Qiren would wake up happy for the day ahead. His life more full than he could ever have hoped for when he was a young man. He was content every day of his life.

As for Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, they continued to do what they loved most. They became known for always going where the chaos was. If called to they would go, no matter who called or what problem needed solving.

They bought a donkey - a particular wish of Wei Wuxian. She was a cantankerous beast named Little Apple since she had a particular love of apples. A-Yuan would perch on her back as they went on their travels. Wei Wuxian had been nervous of taking A-Yuan with them, scared that if something should happen to them he would be left alone. Lan Wangji reassured him that that would not happen to their son. They made sure that each time they took on a night hunt clear and precise instructions were left that the Lan Sect was to be instantly contacted in the even of a calamity.

They took A-Yuan often to meet his family in Dafan Mountain.The Wens had been informed as soon as possible that he had survived and were overjoyed to get to know him. Lan Yuan, in turn loved the time he spent with them and would leave Dafan Mountain laden down with gifts.

Wei Wuxian continued to create astonishing advancements in cultivation. The Spirit Lure Flag, Numbing Talisman and Compass of Evil were hugely popular and brought in a great deal of revenue for the Lan Sect. Then there was Binding. A talisman that would attach two people to each other while still allowing them to move freely. Wei Wuxian had developed that one after a terrifying incident in a market when A-Yuan had wandered away and been lost for almost ten minutes. With Binding, Lan Yuan was free to explore safely. This particular talisman soon became the favourite of parents everywhere.

As much as Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji enjoyed travelling, they never stayed away from Cloud Recesses for too long. It was their home; the place their family lived. No, they could never stray too far or too long from the people they loved the most.

In fact, one might even say:

THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

#the untamed #untamed fic #untamed fanfiction #wangxian

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jelenedra · 4 years ago

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Additional notes and ephemera for Restoration. Read with caution! There are spoilers at the end of this post.

Fun fact: the fic as posted to AO3 is 84,709. The amount of fic I actually wrote is 122,284. That means there’s 37,575 words of material on the cutting room floor. Oof.

Pinyin place names:

Fumodong : Demon Slaughtering Cave

Luanzang Gang : the Burial Mounds

Bujing Shi : the Unclean Realm

Yunshen Buzhichu : Cloud Recesses

Lianhua Wu : Lotus Pier/Lotus Cove

Buyetian Cheng : Nightless City/Nevernight

Jinlin Tai : Carp Tower/Koi Tower

Pinyin titles:

Huadan Shou : Core-Melting Hand/Core Crusher

Zi Zhizhu : Violet Spider

I believe all the other pinyin terms used are commonly used in fandom or are sufficiently contextualised to be understood, but let me know if there are any that need clarification!

Spoilers ahead! Gonna list the minor/background pairings.

Some of these are fairly textual, but with the exception of occasional flirtation/references in characters’ inner monologues, almost all actual romance occurs completely off-screen.

Meng Yao/Nie Mingjue (nieyao)

Jiang Yanli/Nie Huaisang (sangli)

(implied) Lan Xichen/Xue Yang (xiyang)

(implied) Jin Zixuan/Wen Ning (ningxuan)

Wang Lingjiao/Wen Qing (lingqing)

I did not intend for there to be Song Lan/Su She/Xiao Xingchen (songsuxiao), but I’m told some people saw it in there, so. Have at.

Here are some notes about names of people, for those who don’t get names in canon. I was ably assisted by merakily and invitan in choosing these and am told they’re not wildly inappropriate! There are some spoilers in the details given.

Starting off with the nicknames for the babies, so if you’re not sure if you want to spoil yourself further you have two paragraphs to back out or continue.

Xiaodou (小豆, Adzuki) or Xiaodou Yeye (小豆爷爷, Grandpa Adzuki) is a nickname given to baby Mo Xuanyu. Adzuki are a type of bean, also called red mung beans, and they’re commonly boiled with sugar to make an extremely delicious paste called anko. In Chinese cuisine it’s commonly used as filling for pastry dishes like mooncakes and tangyuan. The story of how he got that nickname is in chapter 12; in short, he was red and wrinkly, as many babies are, and the nickname stuck. The more common term for adzuki seems to be hongdou (红豆) but xiaodou, chidou (赤豆), chixiaodou, hongxiaodou, etc. are used fairly interchangably as far as I can tell, and I think the version that approximates to “little bean” is the cutest version to refer to a baby with.

Luobo Zhongzi is a nickname given to baby Wen Yuan. I used the characters for the words translated as “radish seeds” in chapter 74. In that chapter, Wen Qing scolds Wei Wuxian because she told him to go buy radish seeds and instead he fought Jiang Cheng. In my head, this is how that nickname came to be:

“Wei Ying,” Meng Yao says, with the fragile calm of someone an inch away from completely losing his shit, “I thought I told you to buy radish seeds.”

“Are you blind, Meng-shidi? Look at this handsome radish seed I have right here!” Wei Ying bounces the baby on his hip. “We’ll plant him and he’ll sprout right up, you’ll see.”

Meanwhile, Xue Yang sidles up to Wen Zhuliu and gives him his biggest, toothiest smile. “Gege, teach me how to punch someone in the soul?”

Some birth and courtesy names:

Fu Xiang (富祥); the fu here is still a relatively common character used as a Chinese surname today, and can also mean “wealthy” or “abundant” - a good name for a mercantile sect, especially one that wants to curry favour with Lanling Jin. The xiang means “auspicious” - also a fairly common name, in this case given by parents who hoped their daughter would tie them to one of the larger sects one day.

Mo Xing (莫惺). The character 惺 is commonly understood as “tranquil”, although it has an older literary meaning of “wise” or “intelligent”, as Mo Lang tells Mo Yu. However, Mo Yu is not particularly literate at the time she chooses it, and doesn’t realise that Mo Lang is rather unkindly choosing a name that’s homophonous with 猩, which means “ape”, and 腥, which means “fishy smell”.

Mo Lang (莫角); in modern usage, lang means “jade-like stone”, “clean and white”, or “the tinkling of pendants” but it also has an archaic meaning as “white jade” i.e. the most valuable jade.

Mo Yu (莫玉); yu also means “jade”, but in this case, just regular jade, not fancy white jade.

Mo Lihua (莫莉花). Li, “jasmine”, and hua, “flower”. The character used for her surname is the same as all other members of the Mo family, meaning “no one” or “do not”, but sometimes Mo Lihua likes to troll people by writing her name as 茉莉花, which is the full name for a jasmine flower (the literal translation would be “jasmine jasmine flower”.) Mo Lihua is a reference to the popular folk song Mo Li Hua, which definitely post-dates the CQL timeframe, but I already disclaimed my ahistoricity so we are all just going to deal with that. It’s very popular - Celine Dion and Song Zuying performed it at the Beijing Olympics - and I thought it was particularly appropriate because of a translation singeli showed me:

Oh beautiful jasmine flower / Oh beautiful jasmine flower / Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds / Fragrant and white, everyone praises / Let me pluck you down to give to someone else / Jasmine flower, jasmine flower

LET ME PLUCK YOU DOWN TO GIVE TO SOMEONE ELSE

ahem

Meng Jingqiu (孟经秋); the jing comes from the Shijing, the Book of Songs, which really does use the same character as Meng Shi’s birth name (诗). The qiu comes from the Chunqiu, the Spring and Autumn Annals. These are two of the Five Classics of Confucianism.

Meng Fuqiu (孟府秋); the fu comes from yuefu (乐府), which is a genre of classical poetry intended to mimic folk songs (class issues, anyone...?), and also means governance - something Meng Yao excels at. The qiu, again, comes from Chunqiu and links his courtesy name with Meng Jingqiu. I thought it was nicer than linking him to Jin Guangshitbag.

Wen Guijiao (温圭角); this is a little complex. A gui was a long jade tablet or scepter, often shaped like a sword (here’s a plain one) (here’s one with poetry on it) (and one with animal masks) (and a very fancy one with dragons) held by imperial rulers for certain ceremonies. The pointed tip is called the guijiao (literally “corner of the jade tablet” but more usefully “tip of the scepter”, I believe). So literally the guijiao is the most delicate piece of an incredibly delicate and ornate piece of jade, but figuratively it means “talents displayed”, as in the chengyu bulu-guijiao (不露圭角) which is literally “do not reveal the tip of the scepter” and means to remain inconspicuous by hiding your talents. And I thought that was nice, for Our Lady of Hidden Badassery.

(here are some more examples of cool gui)

Update: can’t believe I forgot the comically long list of Wen sect heirs in chapter 11!

Wen Qing = as per canon, “tenderness”

Wen Xu = as per canon, my best guess is approximately “warmth of the rising sun”

Wen Chao = as per canon, approximately “warmth of the dawn”

Wen Liang (温良) = “warm and kind”

Wen Budun (温布顿) = Wimbledon, as in the tennis event

Wen Rou (温柔) = “gentle and soft”

Wen Nuan (温暖) = “warm” (as in, temperature)

Wen Hepai (温和派) = unusual variant of the word for “dove” but more commonly “moderate faction”

Wen Shu (温淑) = “a gentle and kind woman”

Wen Gehua (温哥华) = Vancouver, as in the Canadian city

Wen Cun (温存) = “tender affection” or “to be attentive” in the romantic sense

Wen Huo (温和) = “lukewarm”

Wen Chadian (温差电) = “thermoelectricity”

Wen Hexing (温和性) = “tenderness”/“gentle character”

#restoration #my fic #mdzs fic #cql fic

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