Work Text:
Zhong Hanliang does not trust Cultivation Sects, as a rule. If there was anything that the Sunshot Campaign and its fallout had taught him, it's that most of the gentry Sects are out there for themselves and solely themselves - Any claims of cultivating for righteousness and justice be damned. Even as a youth, serving under his Lord Father that he eventually succeeded, Zhong Hanliang had seen the neglect and greed of the Sects as they cater only to those with gold and favors to spare, swanning around with lofty claims of enlightenment that sets them apart from the common man, even as they schemed and hoarded wealth and power just as eagerly as any common small town lord.
It does not mean that Zhong Hanliang is completely unaware of what goes on in the Cultivation world, despite having no Sects within his own borders and relying mostly on a well-tended network of rogue Cultivators to handle spiritual disturbances. From his network of eyes and ears, he hears enough to know the downfall of their latest Chief Cultivator, the unveiling of a web of lies spanning more than a decade and a feared cultivator somehow brought back to life. He hears enough not to be taken by surprise when two of the Sects he shares borders with - The Jiang and the Lan - reaches out for an audience, knowing it to be wrought by the recent shifting of powers.
Lan Wangji of the Lan Sect, or Hanguang-Jun as the common people know him, has always been an exception to his rule, and Zhong Hanliang had agreed to the audience by the promise of his presence alone. While he would not profess anything resembling friendship with the man, they have encountered each other often enough over the years as Lan Wangji quelled spiritual disturbances around lower Qishan. At first he was intrigued by a Clan Cultivator operating outside their territory, but soon it became clear that neither borders nor Clan politics matter much for Hanguang Jun - Never asking for payment nor glory, blazing a steady trail of protection and hope that befits his namesake.
The first time he saw Lan Wangji, Zhong Hanliang had looked at his desolate golden eyes and known. The war changed people in many ways, and he thought that whatever had happened to Lan Wangji, whatever he had lost had made him this way, made him dive headlong into the untended chaos of the land around him when no one else would. And Zhong Hanliang could respect that, understood it in a way kindred to how he himself changed with the war.
And so when the white-clad Cultivator arrives, a black-robed man in tow, Zhong Hanliang is taken aback by how light he looks. His posture straighter, as if he is no longer unburdened by the weight of the world and his own grief. The lines of his face softer, the gold of his eyes brighter. Were the other man naturally predisposed to smiling, Zhong Hanliang thinks that one would be gracing his lips.
"Duke Zhong," Lan Wangji bows gracefully in greeting, followed by the man beside him, and Zhong Hanliang couldn't help but study him - having never seen Hanguang-Jun with a companion of any sort before.
The man is young, slight and willowy, with an exceedingly pretty face - All of which would have painted him as a fragile, delicate thing. But the way he moves and holds himself speaks of power and easily-worn confidence, and the way he flits around Hanguang-Jun speaks of familiarity and harmony, as if he could, and would match Hanguang-Jun's blade blow by blow and complement the empty spaces its arc won't reach. Zhong Hanliang has to marvel a bit, has to wonder if this man was part of what Lan Wangji had lost in the war, part of what made him roam the world for unknown penance, somehow found anew.
"Duke Zhong! Hanguang-Jun told me so much about you! By much, I mean he actually told me like, three sentences about you, which is amazing! I convinced Lan Zhan to come a bit earlier, because I wanted to see for myself the granary system Lower Qishan has implemented-" Wei Wuxian, as he introduces himself, has a voice as bright as his countenance, words seemingly racing with each other from his lips, "Did you base the communal and charity granary placements based on your count of mouths and doors, or rather solely on tax payers? Do you have rotations or other measures in place to make sure of the condition of the grains? I was thinking the other day that a series of preservation talismans -"
Lan Wangji's hand alights gently on Wei Wuxian's fluttering one, and the younger man ducks his head almost sheepishly, a flush joining his grin as he bows "Aiya, forgive this one, Duke Zhong! I was just really excited to see such a neat system implemented so well!"
"It's of no matter," Zhong Hanliang chuckles, "It is also highly exciting for us to have Hanguang-Jun and Wei-gongzi here. And while we base the regular state granary from the numbers of taxpayers, the communal and charity ones are based on the number of actual people and households. Now, Wei-gongzi, you were saying something about a preservation talisman?"
The more they talk, cakes and tea being brought out as they wait for the Jiang Sect leader to come, the more Zhong Hanliang is sure that Lan Wangji's decade-long sojourn across the land has to do with the younger man. That rather than being happier, Hanguang-Jun as he is now seems more complete - As if Wei Wuxian had been another half of him that had been missing all these times.
There is the same kind of hard and unyielding steel beneath Wei Wuxian's bright smiles as there is beneath Hanguang-Jun's icy demeanor, the same kind of determination to do what they could, as Wei Wuxian engages with him regarding the shared land of their borders and also Yunmeng. Youthful as he looks, Wei Wuxian has a vast knowledge of the land, and strangely enough, what seemed to be a deep familiarity with the Yunmeng area. Lan Wangji looks on as Wei Wuxian talks, indulgent and oftentimes a touch proud, if pride is not something probably forbidden by the Lans. He pours Wei Wuxian's tea for him, and chooses the exact sweetmeat that makes the younger man's smile brighten, almost impossibly.
Zhong Hanliang wonders.
☰☲ ⑄ ⑄ ⑄ ⑄ ☲☰
If Hanguang-Jun had been a welcome neighbor during the years of his reign, then Jiang Wanyin, Sandu Sengshou of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, is another matter entirely.
As Leader to one of the Great Sects and someone whose domain spans almost the entire length South of Upper Qishan, Jiang Wanyin's and his Sect's presence has always been curiously absent across Yunmeng. That is, until rumors of demonic cultivation is heard anywhere within, or sometimes beyond his borders, or word of other Sects' Cultivators or any prolific Rogues operating within said borders reaches his ears. Never mind that the Cultivators were mostly there due to Yunmeng Jiang themselves refusing to heed requests for help until someone's life has fallen victim to whatever disturbance is happening - At which point many things would have been too late for the affected people.
Zhong Hanliang understands the difficulty of maintaining such a vast territory, but he couldn't abide with the utter callousness of how Jiang Wanyin uses his resources while neglecting a large swathe of the people supposedly under his protection, and yet at the same time refusing these selfsame people any help from outside in his bid to save face. For some time, he had hoped that the Watchtower system their Chief Cultivator implemented would help, but as maintenance of the Towers fall within the regional Sect's jurisdiction, they simply languished in place and never really got properly utilized.
And thus, over the years Zhong Hanliang has had to resolve many disputes between the Jiangs and the Rogue Cultivators under his protection who were caught operating in Yunmeng territory. Caught - As if they were doing harm to the people of Yunmeng instead of solving whatever problems the Jiang had deemed not important enough for their own attention.
Hanliang knew too, that some of those rogues never even made it to the border, dragged back into Lotus Pier to never resurface again, accused of one thing or another - talismans that are too close to the crafty tricks of demonic cultivators, unorthodox ways of culttivating, even simply having a dizi at one's disposal, or so he's heard. At some point, Hanguang-Jun had been the only one who dared breach Yunmeng Jiang's zealously-protected borders to answer the people's calls, who would not yield to Sandu Sengshou's temper and whatever grudge made him the way he was. It had been the very thing that built Zhong Hanliang's trust and respect towards the man, while deepening his misgivings to the other.
And now that the powers around them are shifting, now that the Watchtowers are surely to be dismantled to echo the downfall of their founder, Zhong Hanliang steels himself for whatever new headache he would have to deal with from their Western borders as his men announces the Jiang Sect Leader's arrival.
It's a small, fleeting thing, but the moment the doors to the receiving room opens, the ever-present smile on Wei Wuxian's face falters for the tiniest bit, the lines of his shoulders tightening for the briefest moment. That, in retrospect, had been Zhong Hanliang's first clue.
Jiang Wanyin strides in as he always does, his steps brisk and glare in place, as if there is constantly something in his periphery that warrants his rage somehow. Now, said glare sweeps over the room to catch on the two cultivators across him before settling squarely against Zhong Hanliang.
"Duke Zhong," he bows before taking his place in the empty chair provided for him, then glances to the side, something almost a sneer on his face, "Hanguang-Jun. Wei Wuxian."
"Here I thought you two would still be gallivanting across the countryside in your honeymoon," the last word were said as if it's something disgusting and abhorrent, and Zhong Hanliang feels his own brows knit minutely. It is well-known, even outside of the cultivation world, that Hanguang-Jun and Sandu Sengshou has never seen eye to eye - He himself had been privy to many altercations happening in his own borders, the utter venom in Jiang Wanyin's words and the cold, silent rage on Hanguang-Jun's eyes whenever they are within one li of one another. Zhong Hanliang is mildly surprised to know that the animosity extends towards Wei Wuxian, who by all accounts seems to be a new addition to the generally stagnant, almost incestuous game board of the Cultivation world.
But first - Hanguang-Jun had apparently married. Wei Wuxian is then, his Cultivation partner, his husband. He had never pegged Hanguang-Jun as a cut-sleeve, or truthfully as anyone who is at all interested in romance of any kind. But the information slots into place almost seamlessly with all the other pieces he's been building around the two ever since they arrived.
"Congratulations were in order, then? Forgive me for not knowing sooner, Hanguang-Jun. This is great news indeed! Our Court rejoices for your auspicious union," Zhong Hanliang bows to both men in his seat, noting the way Wei Wuxian's smile picks up on its former brightness as he bows back, almost shy, and how Lan Wangji's hand reaches, almost unconsciously, to place itself on the younger's.
"It's hardly any auspicious union at all when you basically eloped," Jiang Wanyin grouses, transfering his glower Wei Wuxian's way, "I'm surprised Gusu Lan allowed Hanguang-Jun to have you along to represent them officially. Or did they just want you away from the Cloud Recesses?"
"Ah, Lan Zhan and I have travelled along these parts a lot, so Gusu Lan thought it would be practical to have us handle this matter with Duke Zhong," Wei Wuxian replies readily, his smile firmly in place yet the edge he had seen upon Jiang Wanyin's entrance pushing closer to the surface.
Zhong Hanliang's own gaze flickers briefly to his right-hand woman, who is already looking at him from her place behind him. Many of the men and women under his command had taken refugee in his Court from other places where they had been unwanted or actively persecuted - Su Lianya, in particular, had escaped from an arranged marriage with a particularly harsh and cruel minor noble, and even now he could see the tightness on the edges of her eyes at the too-familiar tells she must have also picked up from the two.
They aren't, fortunately enough, the only one to notice. Lan Wangji's own eyes had taken a dangerous gleam, the implacable calm of his expression rippling as he shifts minutely closer to his husband, golden eyes boring into the Jiang Sect leader. Again, Wei Wuxian lets out a light, easy laugh, placing a hand over his husband's even as he nudges him to begin the talks that they had came here for, now that Jiang Zongzhu is here.
The talks itself are mostly in line with what he had expected. Now that the former Chief Cultivator has been vilified and the position itself is being dissolved into a more equitable council of Sect representatives, they are looking to dismantle the Watchtowers along their borders with Hanliang's agreement.
"Lan Zhan mentioned that you maintain a network of rogue cultivators inside your borders, right?" Wei Wuxian asks, seemingly fully himself again now that they're deep into the matter, "One of the things that the Council had agreed upon to fill the vacancy left by the Watchtowers was to foster more cooperation with such unaffiliated cultivators, especially in regions without a strong Sect presence or more remote or border areas. We were thinking that both Yunmeng and Gusu's borders with Lower Qishan might just be the perfect proving ground for this, as it would be easier to start where rogue cultivator activity is already up and running for some time."
That peaked Hanliang's interest, "That would be quite a worthy endeavor, I think, to have a concrete understanding with the Sects regarding this. We have had concerns before that many rogue cultivators operating outside our borders were not sufficiently protected nor welcomed despite the need for them."
At this, Zhong Hanliang moves his gaze to Jiang Wanyin, who is already glowering right back at him. He draws a deep breath.
"Would it be safe to assume then, that Yunmeng Jiang would also be honoring this accord regarding rogue cultivators within their borders?"
"Are you trying to say that rogue cultivators working in Yunmeng are not welcomed and protected? That Yunmeng Jiang needs the presence of unaffiliated cultivators outside our Sect and Subsidiaries to begin with?"
He feels Lianya shift on her seat behind him, and once again Wei Wuxian waves a hand with a disarming smile, "What Jiang Zongzhu probably means is that there is no need for worry, Yunmeng Jiang would comply with the accords as well, as agreed in the-"
"Don't presume to speak for me, Wei Wuxian," Jiang Wanyin cuts the younger man off, "I have done fine speaking for myself in all those years when you ran away from all your responsibilities, all the years you were gone."
Zhong Hanliang chances another glance at his deputy, and could almost hear Su Lianya raise her eyebrows, clearly of the mind that whatever they were before, Jiang Wanyin had definitely not been fine in whatever intervening year Wei Wuxian was probably gone from both his and Hanguang-Jun's lives.
"Jiang Che - Jiang Zongzhu, I won't, I didn't mean anything like that. I just think it would be good for Duke Zhong to have our assurance that-"
"You just thought it would be good? That's rich coming from you, Wei Wuxian. As if you've ever thought of any good for others outside the good you could do to show the world how great you are!"
At that point, it's clear that whatever is happening in the table is beyond the matter of their borders and any protection towards his rogue cultivators. That there is history between the three, intertwining like tangled strings, even if Jiang Wanyin seems to think the threads around Wei Wuxian are still his to pull. Silence rings, hollow and loud throughout the room as Wei Wuxian opens his mouth, then closes it again.
"Wei-gongzi's assessment of the surrounding areas had been accurate and informative so far," Zhong Hanliang says, drawing three sets of eyes his way as he schools his own gaze into something even, "We value good counsel wherever we get it - And we appreciate what he, as a representative of Gusu Lan, is bringing to our discussion."
Jiang Wanyin snorts, "Unbelievable," he growls, "So even the formidable Duke of Qishan would fall to your wiles? Is he aware that you're just going to run off the moment there's a chance for you to be a hero somewhere else?"
Wei Wuxian's smile has taken a strained edge, and one of his hand is firmly on Lan Wangji's arm, as if quelling the ever-composed man from doing something terribly drastic. Unwittingly, something indignant and hot flares within Hanliang himself. He knows that he should probably stay away from the whole thing, his own relationship with Jiang Wanyin fraught enough after years of constant border conflict without getting himself into whatever this is. But there is something in the weary, almost resigned tilt of Wei Wuxian's shoulders, the way Jiang Wanyin leans into the younger man's space so callously, almost proprietary - As if he has all the rights to fling his anger towards Wei Wuxian in particular without ever being questioned nor rebuked himself.
As the mere son of a concubine, Zhong Hanliang had lived under a constant reminder of where he belongs, of all the liberties those of higher stature could take from and towards him. Upon his unexpected inheritance of his father's title, he had fought for his court to be a refuge for ones who has been trodden down as he had been, ones who were told that one's place is such and should stay such. He had fought so no one would be forced to bow down and endure being trodded and kicked upon. And here is this man, who had neglected the people who depended on his protection to feed an ever-burning anger no one really understands, having the gall to slander and belittle someone else into their supposed place beneath him, right in Zhong Hanliang's own home.
"What I find unbelievable," Zhong Hanliang says, and the tone of his voice must register something heavy, "Is that Jiang Zongzhu is bringing his personal feelings towards Hanguang-Jun's cultivation partner into a discussion between Sects and our Court. Whatever Wei-gongzi was to you, he is that no more, and I reckon for a good reason as well - and thus you have no right to rebuke him, as a representative of another Sect, in this discussion within my Court."
"You don't know anything," Jiang Wanyin grits out, the ring on his finger sparking dangerously, even as Wei Wuxian's eyes widen, "I have every right -"
Disgust wells up in Zhong Hanliang's chest. He's had minor lords and angry husbands bay at his gates, demanding the return of their wives or concubines, their servants and bastards, he's heard it all. But it angers him every time, this entitlement, this feeling of ownership that cares for nothing for the other, that looks upon another as if they were mere property. He rises from his seat, and Su Lianya rises with him, her cadre of armed women silently stepping out of the shadows of the large room. He stares down at Jiang Wanyin.
"I am not interested in hearing more of your problems, Jiang Zongzhu. It seems that all I need to know is that you are bound by an accord from your council to honor the safety of people inside your borders and I expect you to follow it in the coming days. This meeting is adjourned."
☰☲ ⑄ ⑄ ⑄ ⑄ ☲☰
"Well," Wei Wuxian breathes out, after Jiang Wanyin had stormed out of the room and out of the compound entirely, his disciples scrambling to get unto their swords to catch up, "That went well!"
"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji intones, halfway between a reprimand and a fond sigh. His hands are cradling Wei Wuxian's - the slight tremble on the younger man's hand unnoticeable unless one knows to look for it. He remembers Lianya in her early days in his court, how the other women held her when her eyes take on that distant, almost lost look. Something settles inside Zhong Hanliang as he sees that Wei Wuxian has someone to soothe him in kind, even as he signals for a fresh pot of tea to be brought.
The picture doesn't actually become better when Wei Wuxian finally recounts the whole story - down to the fact that he is apparently the resurrected cultivator his spies had been in such a frenzy about. He knows how even ones who claim themselves as family could smother and wring you dry, and it had seemed that Jiang Wanyin had not even considered Wei Wuxian as such - Attached as he was to notions of Wei Wuxian's supposed debt towards him and his family. To the idea that Wei Wuxian was only ever supposed to dedicate his life to him and only him.
"Aiya, Lan Zhan, it's really fine -" Wei Wuxian chides quietly across him, a smile back on his lips even now, as if nothing at all had happened, "There's no need for everyone to make such a fuss over this, really!"
"It is not fine," Zhong Hanliang says, drawing both men's attention towards him, "I am familiar with people who think they are owed another's life and devotion, and it is something we do not abide with in this Court."
For a fleeting moment, Zhong Hanliang wonders if Jiang Wanyin would have been someone fairer, someone less resentful, had things gone differently and Wei Wuxian had managed to stay. But then again, such a thing would have been deeply unfair for Wei Wuxian, and after years of knowing the Jiang Sect Leader, he truly doubts it would have made a difference.
"I am glad that Wei-gongzi has found a place with Hanguang-Jun where he could help people and move more freely, without any obligation to any perceived debt or forced responsibilities. It would be my pleasure to work with both of you as you continue to do so."
"Duke Zhong honors this one," Wei Wuxian's smile widens, bright as the sun and twice as warm, "I can see why Lan Zhan likes you so much! You practically said almost the exact same thing as he did about the matter!"
"Sorry about the whole thing, though - I really didn't think me being here would affect him that much," Wei Wuxian grimaces, even as Lan Wangji huffs quietly, "Ah, Duke Zhong, Jiang Cheng would totally remember you saying that to him like, forever."
"Don't worry," Su Lianya grins, "As much as Yunmeng Jiang holds dominion over the South, Duke Wang of Xiangyang handles most of the non-cultivation matters, and he's great. Wei-gongzi doesn't have to worry about our relationship with Yunmeng Jiang - There wasn't much of it to begin with anyway!"
They quickly fall into another discussion of possibly sending envoys to Xiangyang, making it so their accord with Yunmeng is processed through its secular ruler instead. And then, because Wei Wuxian is apparently a fount of stray, brilliant ideas, of course Lianya is all too glad to engage him in the possibility of a long-range warning talisman in lieu of the watchtowers they'd be dismantling.
Zhong Hanliang sits back with his tea, content in letting the stream of words and rapid exchange of ideas wash over him, as Hanguang-Jun seems to do across him, one hand gentle and secure on the small of his husband's back, something almost like a smile on the corners of his lips. And in the face of such warmth, of such proof that one does get second chances in an otherwise unrelenting world, it's hard for Zhong Hanliang not to smile along.
☰☲ ⑄ ⑄ ⑄ ⑄ ☲☰