#xie wei: you can't go back on your word

[zishuge]

I just can't play the qin for now... Besides, it was always just an obsession that I couldn't let go of. It's good to let it go. Story of Kunning Palace (2023) | Ep. 35

[theseasasleep]

Story of Kunning Palace E03 (semi-live reaction)

So, it's our heroine's fate to always be crushed on by the spoiled Princess? LOL

There's no way a young woman who climbed all the way to Empress can avoid most of the path to that fate. In most of the webnovels of this type I've read, reaching that type of pinnacle means you have a fate with it, regardless of the ultimate outcome. The best Xue Ning can do is flip the script on circumstances while doing her best to skirt around the thornier aspects of future events.

1st Life: the Princess thinks back to her first encounter with Xue Ning with humiliation, embarrassment and rage

2nd Life: the Princess will think back on their first encounter with pride, happiness and warmth

So far so good. Although I totally get why she'd want to avoid tangling with a temperamental royal who she had a terrible experience with.

...

I really like how this show is shot. Sometimes you never know with cdramas if you'll get a cheap or pedestrian directing style or a dramatic and/or compelling one.

...

The show is still building its foundations and I'm just so eager to jump into the action!

*fight sequence starts 1 minute later* AND HERE WE GO!

Dude is more pissed off by the damaged qin strings than the assassination attempt! HA!

Xue Ning, as hostage: *minimize connections to minimize involvement* Mr. Hostage-taker, sir, I know Xie Wei only through the grapevine...

Xie Wei: MISS XUE NING, PLEASE DON'T SELL OUR CONNECTION SO SHORT! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE GREAT FRIENDS! IN FACT, YOU ARE MY LIFE SAVIOR!

Xue Ning:

...

Take me instead.

Mmm. Something about the silky oomph with which he said that line combined with his expression... Okay, okay, Zhang Ling He. It took three episodes but you got me: the character of Xie Wei is now officially attractive to me. All he had to do was low key deliver a line that just vibrates with high key threat.

Man, what era are my hormones in? Between finding my mojo over one ML threatening to tear an offensive man's tongue out and fixing my posture when this one is nothing but velvet menace, I need a name for it. I need to know. Should I be worried? Scared? Aroused?

oh. oh. he's so sexy... okay, now you're just showing off; put the murderous sexiness away

Not this man calling her out, leaving her neither a fissure to hide in or a crumb for modesty!

I... I can't wait until he's incandescently in love with her because I just know, I just know it will be so magnificent I won't know what to do with myself.

Girl, while you are absolutely right to defend your current relationship with Yan Lin and right to say it is a flirtation that is undeserving of such rude scrutiny... you (and us) know that man speaks no lies. You are trifling with Yan Lin and you would have done him plenty of harm without the benefit of literal 20/20 hindsight.

That being said, I see @dangermousie point: kicking off a relationship trying to gin up, stoke and maintain fear in the other party is an excellent way to receive future comeuppance in the form of watching the woman you desperately love side-eye you as she lavishes protection and support on her other suitors.

...

I like Yan Lin. Not too sorry to say that. Hopefully Life No. 2 keeps him off the rapist track.

It's nice seeing Xue Ning enjoying festivities. The impression I have of her first life self is that while she reveled in being "wild", she likely didn't really allow herself to enjoy being young and with friends, too busy being hungry.

Dear. God. That seamless transition from earnest Yan Lin in Life No. 2 waxing poetic about his first impressions of Xue Ning to embittered Yan Lin in Life No. 1 waxing poetic about his first impressions of Xue Ning with the exact. same. words. Add to it the implied threat of sexual violence in LIfe No. 1!!!

Chills.

*gagging* Did I say I like Yan Lin? Show, it's going to be hard for me to keep that opinion if you keep flashing back to that.

Me during the Life No. 2 Ning x Yan kiss scene:

I want no part of it.

All right, dude, are you telling me you raped her because she plain text told you she planned to marry someone who could help her achieve her goals?! She didn't sell you out to the devil... Or refuse to shelter either you or wounded family members... but because when you were at your lowest, like the bitch she admittedly is... was..., she told you the truth and cut ties? I mean, that's reason enough not to warn her a coup is coming for her ass in Life No. 1. There's no reason for rape, ever; even if she lit your dog on fire, you can't rape her. Just WTF, guy?!

...

Not that it excuses any of her horrid behavior but I can see how lonely Xue Ning is in what should be her familial home. That cozy scene between her parents and half-sister where in her absence there is only affection and warmth and in her presence, only awkwardness and discomfort.

She lived a childhood in poverty and exile being spoken and looked down upon; returned to her parents' home to find herself being shunted as second-born (in an era where hierarchy matters) and defective instead of receiving proper homecoming. I can see why the attraction of her sole dream, her ultimate goal - becoming Empress - would become all-consuming, especially if such a dream sustained her in exile and fueled her defiance at home.

...

Oh, jesus christ, Yan Lin, don't be an idiot! Don't believe in an enemy soldier during wartime, like...?!

...

So Xue Ning might have accidentally sold Yan Lin out to the devil.

But in her defense, that wasn't her intention. Just to watch him. Like a politics-minded creeper.

Me to Ning as she reads her former coachman cum spy to filth: GET HIM.

[ultfreakme]

Do you agree if said that Megumi and Tsumiki are "toxic doom siblings" (like wei wuxian, jiang yanli and jiang cheng from MDZS)?

Also, I'm surprised your fav MXTX is SVSSS (I thought it will be MDZS). I always think that most people love to dismiss SVSSS and said that it's not as serious or deep as MDZS & TGCF (but I still love SVSSS the most). So happy when I find other people who also love SVSSS.....

For me

Best MXTX protagonist : Wei Wuxian

Best MXTX male lead : Luo Binghe

Best MXTX couple : Hua Cheng/ Xie Lian

Overall story and best comfort read : SVSSS

How about you, Riki? (Sorry if I'm wrong in calling you, I did not mean to be rude, it's just in the end if every 'ask' you wrote : Riki ask)

Also sorry for this long ask....

Hi Anon! I'm answering this in reverse order a bit hehe. I go by Riki it's not rude at all dw dw! No need to apologize for asks, long or short, I'm grateful someone wants to interact with me and talk about shared interests <3

Megumi and Tsumiki being toxic siblings...hmm....idk if toxic is the word I'd use to describe them but there definitely were a lot of issues. Primarily because I think their ideals on life clashed. Tsumiki is someone who wanted to be nice to everyone, but Megumi can't afford that, he's a lot more practical about what kindness and helping people means because of his reality as a sorcerer. Megumi's convinced that she's faking her kindness or is trying too hard.

I don't think Tsumiki is totally faking it, I think she is a genuinely nice person but like every teenager, likes messing around and isn't perfect. Potentially, she's trying to live up to what she preaches and is having a hard time.

I think a lot of the conflict is teenage angst and him being a little brother. She's the only constant in his life, he may have took that a little for granted and when she got cursed it brought into sharp relief the differences in their reality of being a sorcerer and non-sorcerer. No he's the one who has to protect her and he's been left alone. It's easier to probably harbor resentment for her doing something as 'stupid' as getting cursed than confront that their relationship wasn't on the best terms when she fell into a coma and there's no way for him to fix it anymore.

It had a lot of potential to have gotten better if Tsumiki remained, or if she came back any time that wasn't the Culling Games and they got to grow up together. But alas....It's less toxic and more "bad timing".

Also SVSSS fav???? They're so rare to find right? Omg yes!!!

I've only read SVSSS and MDZS, I haven't gotten around to TGCF but my irl friend and everyone online says it's the best one. I'm just intimidated by how long it is. I might get around to to it someday but who knows.

SVSSS is definitely less deeper than the other two but it's got its own charms. I know in terms of everything it's lesser but idk, the potential and the meta story is really intriguing. The extra chapters changed my entire perspective on so many characters (Shen Jiu my guy you had so much potential I am sorry).

Also hmmmm I haven't really thought about them in terms of like, best protagonist, best couple, best male lead.....If I really had to rank then:

Best Protagonist: Wei Wuxian, novel version especially. He's a lot more flawed and genuinely devious in a lot of place in there. I love his arrogance and his confidence.

Best Male Lead: Luo Binghe. Pathetic man, horribly evil. I love you king.

Best Couple: Mobei-jun/Shang Qinghua tied with Yue Qingyuan/Shen Jiu

I like side couples and rarepairs that have no content I hate my life why do I do this to myself? MoShang;s dynamic when it focuses on SQH being MBJ's creator and in many ways, equally powerful or more powerful than him is fun. YQY and SJ are so tragic like, love toxic doomed yaoi.

[dual-domination]

I posted 662 times in 2022

97 posts created (15%)

565 posts reblogged (85%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@the-marron

@huntress1013

@jaimebluesq

@zhu-yilong-laying-on-things

@pangzi

I tagged 591 of my posts in 2022

Only 11% of my posts had no tags

#guardian - 78 posts

#dmbj - 71 posts

#zhu yilong - 71 posts

#zhao yunlan - 65 posts

#mdzs - 61 posts

#wu xie - 50 posts

#bai yu - 42 posts

#shen wei - 42 posts

#nie mingjue - 42 posts

#the untamed - 37 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#i just wouldn't take xiexie to the desert island bc if he and zyl are there i'm going to stay alone.... if you know what i mean jksjkskjs

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I am so sorry, but you two made my day. Literally made me giggle like a teenager. Thank you so much. OK, new ask.

Pairing: Lan XiChen x Jiang Wanyin

AU : The frazzled babysitter

You're welcome! It's my pleasure to serve the humor and comedy 😆

So here we go again:

Little menaces

Xichen tried to not give up. Coffee and energetic drinks weren't working anymore. He wondered why his didi and his (twice?) brother-in-law got cute sweet children like a-Yuan and tiny romantic Zizhen, meanwhile he got Jingyi and a-Ling. Just one of them was enough to make him keep the two eyes very open, but the two, together… a true nightmare. A-Ling would fight over his jiujiu's attention - against Jingyi AND against Xichen. And Jingyi would fight back because… well, because he was who he was: the less Lan of all Lans. 

LXC: Sometimes I wonder if there's any chance of Jingyi being actually a Nie changed at birth…

JC: Sometimes I wonder HOW Wei Wuxian managed to raise such a calm son while a-jie's child is… this full-time upset baby Peacock…

JL: A-Ling is not a peacock! 

JC: Your dad is a Peacock, and so are you.

JL: Mean jiujiu!

LXC: Wanyin, making them cry won't help…

JC: Helps me to get my revenge for what they've done to us.

LXC: They're just small babies… we have to love them.

JC: I love my peacock nephew. 

JL: A-Ling is going to tell everything to xiaoshushu!

JC: Just like you, he's not a big thing. 

LJY: Jin Ling is a coward!

JL: And you are what??

LJY: I'm a fucking badass NIE!

Next time they'd have to babysit, Jingyi definitely would stay with Mingjue and a-Yao, even at risk of learning at least five more bad words and cursing to Lan Qiren's horror.

47 notes - Posted August 10, 2022

#4

Now that my husband loves Mo Dao Zu Shi, I can send him stuff I find on Tumblr. So I sent this one for him...

And he sent it back to me and told me he fixed it:

He doesn't want to be a Lan anymore. He wants to be a Nie, have a respectable mustache and qi-deviate like man.

He says: The Mustache is Canon.

93 notes - Posted July 8, 2022

#3

POV: Meng Yao never left Qinghe

Part 1:

* MY, immersed in business papers. *

NMJ: What are you doing?

MY: Long-term investments.

NMJ: For what?

MY: For good reasons.

NMJ: I was not consulted. 

MY: War is your business, investments are mine.

NMJ: Shall I remind you who Qinghe Nie Sect belongs to?

MY and NHS looking at each other from opposite sides of the room.

NHS: Da-ge, shall I remind you who you belong to?

NMJ: I sense a conspiracy here…

( @novas-grimoire I blame that tweet... and my obsession in Nieyao fix-it stuff)

97 notes - Posted July 2, 2022

#2

It's been a while since my hand tremors returned and it's been rare for me to feel like painting - especially since I've lost a lot of motivation since Traditional Art has become underrated in light of digital art.

But then this wonderful Guardian fic by @the-marron left me overly emotional and I can't get out of my head everything I felt while reading.

So, Marron, a quick painting of someone who wished he had the talent to convey your impeccable writing on a canvas, but really just has a lot of feelings.

Fun fact: it's the first time in over twenty years of being part of fandoms that I've tried to paint something for someone else's fic.

You can find this little literary treasure here:

When I walk past the mountain peak, it doesn't speak

(It took a lot of courage to post this 😅)

140 notes - Posted August 31, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

467 notes - Posted June 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[drwcn]

A Silly Thing

Xie Wei thinks his current biggest problem is terrorizing his daughter Xie Yun's beau. He's wrong. Or: Xie Tian wants to be Empress, if only Jiang Xuening knew.

"Can't you stay a little longer?" 

A sweet, lingering kiss pressed morosely against his bare shoulders, and the heavy arms that encircled him held on just a little tighter in stubborn defiance of the brightening day.

Xie Tian sighed. "Bixia."

Your Majesty.

His bedfellow grunted in displeasure, clearly protesting his returning to formalities.

Xie Tian tried to steel his resolve, but failed, which these days was a regular occurrence.  He gave the hand that spanned his waist a gentle squeeze. "If we don't get up now we'll both be late for court assembly."

The arms loosened, resigning. His lover sighed.

Xie Tian sat up, stretching his limbs and gathering his unbound hair to one side. Despite his words, he could not help the reluctance and longing that threatened to pull him back down, back to that familiar body and those possessive arms and the comfort of a well-slept in bed. Glancing behind, Xie Tian saw the young emperor - only a year and half his senior yet with the weight of the nation on his shoulders - gazing up at him, the affection in those dark eyes evident even in the haziness of the tulle canopy.

"I'll see you soon."

"It's not the same." A warm wide palm swept over his back, finger tips tracing the flow of his spine down to his sacrum. "Seeing you in court, speaking to you from up on that throne, having to feign indifference towards you -"

"-Is necessary. Shen Rui, you know - "

"I know," Shen Rui interrupted him irately, turning onto his back and looking away. "…But I still want you. Not just as my reading companion, or my best friend, or my lover. I want you -" Shen Rui picked up a strand of Xie Tian's hair and twirled it gently around his finger as he mumbled wistfully. "- as my empress."

Xie Tian could say nothing to that, except fight the tightness in his chest and the stinging sensation creeping up his nose.

Damn it, Shen Rui. They had such a perfect night, why did the idiot have to ruin it by saying shit like this in the morning.  Xie Tian emerged from canopy and padded his way to the brazier where a basin of warmed water, clean towels and the emperor's luxurious pine soap was waiting for him.

He picked up the soap, and went about giving himself a quick wash. As it was, he'd have to come up with some plausible explanation why he did not return home last night. He could always say he slept at the office of the Central Secretariat, which had always been his excuse before… but would his parents believe him…

Probably not.

He might has well say he spent the night philandering at a brothel -- that was probably more easily explainable than whatever the hell was going on between him and the emperor. He really didn't want to stir the pot any more at a junction like this, when the whole family was on a high alert and his Father was going off the rails with paternal protectiveness.

Mother was absolutely no help. Or…perhaps she would've been more inclined to help if his sister hadn't been straight up insane.

---

Three days ago, he had run into his sister on the street, speeding home on horse back. Apparently, her maids had sent her a messenger pigeon telling her Zhang Lei had suddenly been arrested on charges of incompetence and mishandling of a recent fraud case.

Yun'er had been on her way to confront their father, but Xie Tian knew they needed a voice of reason. With Mother out of town, the next best thing was their grandfather. By the time grandfather had sent them back to Xie Manor with the promise that all will be well, Mother had returned from the temple and was getting filled in on the drama that had occurred in her absence.

Xie Tian had denied to heaven and back, swore on his life that nothing remotely untoward was happening between himself and Minister Zhang's only daughter. Because that was the truth.

"Just friends, Father, I swear! I have no inkling of any kind of sentiment towards her other than friendship!  We were there at the market as meimei's chaperone -- not that she needed it. Zhang-xiong is a junzi, he would never compromise -"

"And so what if he has?!" Xie Yun interrupted him, livid.

When asked, Xie Yun's family would tell you that she took after her mother Jiang Xuening -  beautiful, clever, with a hard exterior that was most ironically pervious to a pair of earnest, honest eyes.

This was true.

But unfortunately, she also took after her father Xie Wei and his caprice that had the dangerous potential of becoming devastating if left unchecked. When it came to matters of sentiment, this made sure that like her father, Xie Yun was totally and utterly unhinged. 

"So what if he has compromised me?! I am his and he is mine. Father, you compromised Mother before you were married. I fail to see the reason behind your persecution of this matter now."

Xue Ju'An had the decency to appear somewhat awkward while Jiang Xuening sprayed the sip of tea she just took right across the room. Catching her breath, she shot her husband a sharp, scathing glare. I am his and he is mine. Why, those words sounded awfully familiar. Wonder where their little girl learned it from.  

Xie Tian winced. Mother couldn't exactly expect them to not know, right? Sure, as babies they came out small - Uncle Yan Lin used to say they were the size of large turnips - but that was because they were twins and not because they were "premature" as their parents liked to claim they were. Besides, if even after twenty years, he still had to endure catching his folks being gross with each other on a semi-regularly basis -- really Father, kissing Mother? In broad day light? At breakfast? What is wrong with you? -- he highly doubted they were able to keep their hands off each other back in the days.

"It's good that you know about Zhang Lei and I. I wasn't planning on keeping it a secret anyway. I am his, and he is mine. No matter imprisonment or death, I will not part from him." 

With that, his sister left in a huff. Ever since, Father has kept her under house arrest, and wrote to her supervising officers at the regimen camp that she shall be excused from duty for the foreseeable future.

No one dared to ask why the Prime Minister, who had always been guilty of being an overly indulgent and doting father, would do such a thing. Though about a dozen of Xie Yun's regimen sisters probably could hazard a guess.

---

"I'm sorry -" The gentle apology came abruptly, jolting Xie Tian from his thoughts.

Shen Rui draped his inner robe over his lover's shoulders. "It's autumn now. Careful or you'll catch a chill. The Central Secretariat would be bereft without its Xie-sheren." Taking the towel from Xie Tian's hand, he turned the man around and wiped the small bit of soap still clinging to his chin.

The act was so gentle, so tender. Xie Tian blushed, which…what the hell, he was hardly a green maiden.

Shen Rui cleared his throat sheepishly. "I'm sorry. Earlier, I shouldn't have mentioned… that."

Xie Tian knew what he should say. He was taught well after all. By his father. By his myriad of tutors and mentors. He was the only son of the Xie family. The youngest zhuangyuan of the last century. The Secretariat's sheren. His Majesty's loyal subject. His faithful servant.

He should…

"Bixia, I - should - I should -" Leave. Go.

But he doesn't want to.

He thought of his sister - his fierce, clever sister who like their father was a purist when it came to love. She will love unapologetically and she will marry unapologetically - there's not much to overthink. And Zhang Lei - gods, his parents really must be senile if they thought Minister Zhang's one true protégé could be corrupted to act against decorum, that he would lay a finger on Yun'er without the whole eighteen yards of protocol and etiquettes. As it was, Zhang Lei and Xie Yun had never done more than hold hands and blush at each other, dreaming of a rose-gold future that they were sure to have.

Mother and Father had always fussed over Yun'er more than him. Mother especially had worried incessantly over the last couple of years that Yun'er would be ensnarled by the same illustrious titles and hollow prestige that seduced all the other ladies of the capital.

Promise me, Yun'er, promise A-Niang you would never step foot into Kunning Palace. Never seek the phoenix crown.

Yun'er had laughed at the seriousness in Jiang Xuening's eyes, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder whilst strapping her wrist guards in place. Aiya A-Niaannnng, what are you talking about? Of course I'm not interested in being empress. Why would you think I'd be interested in a silly thing like that?  Alright, I'm off. Don't wait up for me for dinner!

A silly thing -- his sister had called it a silly thing, oblivious of the fact that what she had dismissed with a flick of her ponytail was everything he could just about burn the world for…

Xie Tian supposed it was the natural order of things; daughters were to be guided, protected, and armed against the onslaught of the unequitable world. And sons….well sons were supposed to figure it out and do the right thing.

Whatever the "right" thing was supposed to be.

Xie Tian gazed at the man , the monarch, the Son of Heaven, before him, and not for the first time, lamented at the irony of it all. Father and Mother never had anything to worry about when it came to his sister. Rather, it was him, the supposed "golden child" of the two, who they ought to have kept a closer eye on.

Shen Rui frowned at the increasingly mournful look in his lover's eyes. "What's wrong, Xie Tian? Did I scare you? With the empress talk - you know I - "

Xie Tian surged forward, burying his face into the crook of Shen Rui's neck. He could not bear to hear any more of the other man's professing. It was all follies anyway. How could he be the empress? Shen Rui already had an empress - even if it was all a farce, a pre-meditated arrangement, even if Empress Gu and her lady-in-waiting Zhang Ruoyao had a secret of their own. Xie Tian was man. What he could do for Shen Rui was limited to the political arena of the imperial government and the dim sanctuary ensconced by the canopy.

When he imagined the worst, it was never the damnation of his family's reputation, the subversion of his father's authority in court, the besmirching of his mother's honour in society, or the utter annihilation of his own political career that scared him. It was the idea that he would ruin now and forever the legacy of Shen Rui's rule.

A year ago, when he was set to write the imperial exam, he had registered under a pseudonym and went in under disguise that he'd paid a jianghu swindler a handsome amount to help him create. Even Father had no idea, thinking he was still young and not ready. When the grades were posted, it took a day and a half for the registrar's office to sort out the identity debacle. Still, Xie Tian had achieved the result he wanted. He had lived his whole life as the Prime Minister's son and the Emperor's best mate. When he rode through the capital in ribbons and splendor, ahead of the second and third-ranked scholar, with maidens' flowers raining down on him and admiration in the eyes of all, he knew this time no one could dispute the validity of his accomplishment nor attribute it to his father's influence or the emperor's favour.

Too many sons of the gentry and nobility thrived based on nothing but their privilege. Xie Tian didn't want to be like them. He wanted to be someone worthy of standing beside Shen Rui. 

Shen Rui was a good man, a kind man. As a ruler, he was diligent and decisive; one would be so lucky to have a emperor like him in every dynasty. As for cleverness… Xie Tian was confident that he was clever enough for the both of them. He would never let anything happen to Shen Rui, not as long as he lived.

"You are my emperor. My liege. My master. I am your subject, at your command, to live and die by your will in the service of your realm, now and always."

"Xie Tian," Shen Rui pulls back, to cradle his face in his hands, pressing their foreheads together. "You don't have to do this. I love you. I love you.

"And I could ruin you."

A cut-sleeve monarch. A deviant who loved a beauty more than his nation.

"No, no. You are my joy. And you should be my empress."

To hear those words out loud, something inside Xie Tian quaked.

In that moment, Xie Tian hated himself, hated that despite knowing full well that he should, he still couldn't let go. Not of the man, nor of the liege, nor of the idea of that he was the one who deserved to sit beside Shen Rui on the throne, whose name should appear next to his in the history books, and whose tomb he would share 'till kingdom come.

He deserved to be anointed for the phoenix crown.

He deserved to assume command of Kunning Palace and be master of the harem.

He let himself be held, submitting to this desperate and ardent embrace as if it was the only entity capable of restraining his anxieties and delusions.

"I am your empress." Xie Tian whispered against Shen Rui's skin, held so tight he could barely breathe. "I know I am your empress."

---

The sun was peaking over the palace walls by the time court assembly gathered.

Zhang Zhe walked by himself, back straight and alone. Most people knew his son was arrested not three days ago. Most people have been too afraid to approach him.

"Zhang-daren."

Prime Minister Xie, the issuer of the arrest warrant, had no such qualms. His ambivalent professional relationship with Zhang Zhe has never been overtly friendly or outwardly adversarial. Zhang Zhe has been known to openly dine with the Xie family one night before, only to ruthlessly rebut the Prime Minister's proposals at assembly the next morning. Needless to say, it's been a very confusing twenty years for officials at court, but somehow the country is better for it. 

"Prime Minister."

In a quiet tone so no others may hear, Xie Ju'An said, "The bait is set. The fish will bite. Your boy will not suffer the discomfort of imprisonment for too much longer. I surmise by the end of the week the true culprits will reveal themselves and the fraud case will be wrapped."

"So you have not explained to Yun'er that A-Lei is not truly in prison for daring to seek her affection."

"No of course not. The girl ought to experience some hardships in love before she is truly settled. It'll be good for her." At Zhang Zhe's skepticism, Xie Wei grew defensive. "Don’t look at me like that. It was Ning'er's idea."

"Ah yes, I clearly remember you had to fake dying in her arms for her to agree to marry you. Not sure that's a necessary experience for everyone."

"Perhaps you'll remember I was extensively injured. I don't think it's fair to call that 'faking'. But back to the topic at hand, I am impressed by how effectively Yun'er is planning a prison break from her room. Makes her old man proud. She's always been a robust student, not as quick as Tian'er perhaps, but definitely more versatile. Her mother and I are very pleased indeed."

Zhang Zhe slanted him a look of judgement that clearly spelled out how he felt about the Xie family's definition of a "robust" education.

Ignoring him, Xie Wei continued as though what he said was perfectly normal. "Make no mistake, I am entirely crossed that your boy did not approach me about his intentions, and I am fully expecting him to make up for it."

"Is that so? Were you not the one who openly censured the teaching of female etiquettes, calling them antiquated and moronic?"

"I am. You misunderstand me, Zhang-daren. My Yun'er may be free to love whoever she chooses but the same leniency does not extend to your son. I only have one daughter. If it is her design to marry, then she must marry well and she must marry properly. No ceremony will be spared."

"That is ridiculously contradictory."

"No, not at all."

The two arrived at the grand hall, making way through parted crowd to the front of the formation. The soft collegial chatter of those that arrived before them fell silent. The extensive fraud investigation had been the largest one since His Majesty's succession, and for months it's been the knife handing over everyone's head.

Zhang Zhe settled in his usual spot in the second row, center left of the room, directly behind Xie Ju'An.

A row ahead of him but two persons to the left was Xie Tian. As a sheren of the Central Secretariat, he fell under his own father's jurisdiction and hence was front row, but due to him being only fourth-ranked, he was more peripherally stationed than Xie Wei and Zhang Zhe. 

Zhang Zhe pitied the poor official standing between father and son pretending not to exist while the father questioned the son's whereabouts last night.

"Your muqin missed you at dinner yesterday."

"I'm sorry, Father. I was delayed in my tasks, so I stayed in office. I will apologize to Mother this evening."

Zhang Zhe observed the boy. He appeared relatively well rested, if somewhat sheepish. His court robes were pressed and cleaned, not at all rumpled as one would expect if he'd stayed overnight at the office. In fact, he was over all put together, clearly having groomed and washed before assembly, even smelling faintly of pine and jasmine.

"Bixia is of age. The harem is sparce now but it will not always remain so. You're no longer a child. Your guan ceremony is next year. There will be many ladyships within the Palace, and thus will no longer be appropriate for you to stay in office overnight as before. Take care to complete your duties on time."

"Yes, Father."

Zhang Zhe watched his colleagues around him silently lament what a severe father their Prime Minister was. Most of them could only dream their sons were as excellent as Xie Tian.

Just then, the eunuch announced their young emperor's arrival, and on cue, his subjects dropped to their knees in greeting.

The weather had turned for the worse since they drew closer to October. As the emperor walked him by, he footsteps carried a waft of chilly autumn wind. Zhang Zhe frowned, his suspicion jolted by the light scent in the air.

Xie Ju'An did not seem to notice, but Zhang Zhe dared to lift his eyes from the ground to cast them upon the back of the young monarch ascending the steps to his throne and then to Xie Tian, inconspicuously hidden amongst the court.

Though he now filled the role of a bureaucrat, Zhang Zhe was an investigator at heart, and as such he relied on all five of his senses more than the common man, more than most of his colleagues.

There could be no mistake, he concluded to himself, the emperor's body carried the same faint scent as Xie Ju'An son - pine and jasmine.

For legal reasons, Zhang Zhe was not a man to use profanity, but in the privacy of his own mind, he let out a single exclamation:

Shit.

TBC?

Fin?

SERIES 《龙凤呈祥》

Premise: Xie Wei's children come of age, which is only the beginning of everyone's problem...

1. The Fantastic Mr. Zhang （Tumblr | AO3)

2. A Silly Thing (Tumblr | AO3)

Note: to be updated, pls check notes for reblogs.

[icancdramahanfu]

Hello! I am looking to cosplay wei wuxian and/or xie lian(from the donghua) can you please describe the layers of their clothes, I have zero experience in sewing clothes or pattern making and I have no idea where to even begin. Thank you very much!

Hello there, Sorry for the slow reply, I've been distracted by real life and my continued PT for my wrist. But I can type much more normally at least now. As far as Wei Wuxian, I haven't really looked at his outfits seeing that he's got so many different versions in the live action CQL/The Untamed and in the MDZS donghua and manhua as well. I'm not a huge fan of MDZS, so, I can admit I haven't paid much attention to it. I think like most MXTX characters, he relies on a heavy black/red color palette and is pretty open to interpretation. I think focusing on the donghua would be your best bet since when you have to animate someone you would simplify their outfit, but the drama might have more realistic clothing to draw from since and actor wore it. Xie Lian is considerably easier since he wears many layers of white. I think the main thing to realize with all these outfits is that you have a foundation layer and then multiple layers over top with great variations.

The foundation layer (zhong yi) is usually the skin layer in white (cotton/linen) that it is breathable and washable. It seems for a more dramatic effect a character like WWX will have this as black. This is a top and pants combo, but I was lazy and skipped out on pants for my Wen Kexing b/c it was very warm already. I don't use Taobao sites (no Chinese skillz here) but it might be worth your while to look at some of the hanfu retailers to see how they construct their tidy little package outfits.

Like Hanfu Story which has a very good website and plenty of english language descriptions. Even though the colors aren't plain white, this one has a very close match to what XL wears. It has the skirt with the slight pleating like XL and simple sleeves and cut.

It is interesting to note that many of these outfits only sell the top layers, not that base layer.

When it comes to determining the exact layers just look at the neckline, that pretty much lets you know what else is on top of that base layer.

If this is your first time sewing and drafting a pattern, I would enlist the help of a friend who may have more sewing experience. Also, since many of these outfits don't reveal the full aspect of all of their layers, you have to guess what you think is underneath - that is what I did after lots of screen shots from as many angles as possible - or hoping for a zhong yi late night confession scene (as in Word of Honor) which allowed me to nail the sleeve shape for all the layers. I'll do and example with XL since his outfit is much easier.

As we can see here, he's only got two layers.

The inner layer is more form fitting in the torso, with wide-ish sleeves. The skirt portion appears to be pleated, which is why we get a ripple effect in the front. It appears the outer layer is a simple straight hem robe with wider sleeves that he wears very loosely since it flares back. You can't tell from this picture but the left side should also have a slit that runs along the left side of his body to allow for easy movement - it isn't a full rap around robe structure. He has a narrow belt that is tied off with the cyan colored cord and his bandages and basic hat. I haven't watched the donghua for awhile so I can't remember if he also has pants on underneath the pleated skirt. I'd go back and refer to the scene where San Lang notices the shackle on his ankle to see what he's wearing then.

When it comes to picking a layer to draft first for the pattern, it really doesn't matter. You will need to make a mock up and adjust. If you want it to be the inner layer it will need to be the same length but less wide than the outer layer. I just made a pattern and tested it out - it was terrible but hey, I knew where to go from after that. Good luck and hope this helps!