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Nie Huaisang has been called many things. Lazy, good for nothing, headshaker, cripple—but it seems like a new label has been added to him, this new timeline…
" He's shameless!"
"I know, right? It's so improper!" The gossipers huff. "Showing up here, proclaiming he's Madam Jin's concubine! That's not even how this works! And yet everyone goes along with him, it seems, because he's a spoiled young master! I swear, I thought Sect Leader Nie would have more sense than to allow this to continue, same with Sect Leader Jin! I mean, it's his wife - how could he bare to share her with another man?"
"He is Jin Guangshan's son… isn't he? That's why I do not understand how he can stand for this! And such outrageous behavior from Madam Jin, as well! Marrying the Sect leader wasn't enough, she had to seduce Young Master Nie as well! Outrageous!"
"I really did not expect it from her… she seemed like such a wallflower, such a delicate rose… but I guess looks can be deceiving… How exactly did it come to this? That's something I would like to know…"
Yes, how exactly did it?
"Lady Jiang, Lady Jiang, I feel like despite how much I know about your brother's, we indeed have never talked before! I am here to rectify this, Lady Jiang."
Jiang Yanli blinked, looking down into the wide, innocent eyes of Nie Huaisang. It was true, she supposed, that her brothers had talked about him, and the two of them, indeed, did not have much contact. But that is as it should be - it is not proper for young ladies, especially those engaged, to meet in private with young men. Some people even thought her meeting with A-Xian was inappropriate, when he was her brother in all but blood. Nie Huaisang blinked at her, like he was truly unaware of such a fact, and smiled soft and sweet.
Jiang Yanli wavered. "Young Master Nie," she said, before she paused, at a loss on how to continue. If he really was unaware of the political implications of this, how could she explain? The plight of girls was hard for men to fathom - in the same way her betrothed did not fathom her lack of choice in their engagement, it seemed impossible to explain to Nie Huaisang the scandal this could cause. She stood there, speechless, hand on the door frame and indecisive on how to handle such things.
"Lady Jiang, let me innn!" Nie Huaisang whined. "It's freezing out here, and I think I see Nie disciples coming. All they're going to do is badger me into work, and I don't want that!" He looked horrified at the prospect, but Jiang Yanli was horrified at something else.
Disciples. Coming to see Nie Huaisang at her doorstep, as if she isn't an engaged woman. No matter her protests, such a thing would definitely cause a scandal! With panicked roughness, Jiang Yanli grabbed Nie Huaisang's wrists and pulled him inside, closing the door to hide them.
"Ow! No need to be so rough, Lady Jiang!" Nie Huaisang whined, rubbing his wrist where she grabbed. Jiang Yanli blushed, embarrassed at her panic.
"I apologize. But Young Master, it is not appropriate to be here. If they see you with me alone, they will get the wrong idea."
"The wrong idea?" Nie Huaisang cocked his head. "But Wei Wuxian visits you all the time!"
Jiang Yanli pursed her lips. "A-Xian is a special case, since he is a brother to me," she explained gently.
"He is?" Nie Huaisang blinked at her, like a little lost bunny. "But Sect Leader Jiang hasn't adopted him, right? So why is it more appropriate for him to visit? It's not like he's officially your brother, is he? So what's wrong with me visiting?"
"Young Master, that's not…"
Nie Huaisang's eyes watered. "C-Could it be-? You don't like me? Have you a grudge against my clan? Wh-Whatever it is you dislike about me, I can write to Da-ge to get him to clear it up! If the Nie Sect has wronged you in some way-"
" No!" Jiang Yanli burst in a panic, which earned her a wide eyed look. She took a breath to calm down. "I mean, no. You nor your clan did anything to offend me. You do not need to contact your brother. I'm sure he's very busy."
"S-So…" Nie Huaisang sniffed, looking to be on the verge of tears, though he tried valiantly to hold them back. "So you won't send me away? You do not hate me? We… we can talk?"
Jiang Yanli's heart melted. She was always weak to tears. "We can talk," she confirmed against her better sense. "However, it is imperative we are not seen when we talk. You cannot tell anyone about our meetings, okay? They will remain a secret between just the two of us."
Nie Huaisang perked up. "A secret?" He echoed. "I've never been entrusted with a secret before! Oh, how wonderful!" He seemed delighted, tears forgotten as he clapped his hands in joy. It faded, a moment later. "Oh, but… are you sure you want to trust me with anything? Everyone agrees how incompetent I am."
Once more, Jiang Yanli's lips pressed. "A-Xian seems to think you're brilliant," she reveals. "And worthy of trust. So, I will trust you, Young Master Nie."
Nie Huaisang's eyes widened. A blush spread upon his face. "I see," he mumbled, clearly embarrassed at the praise, and Jiang Yanli giggled.
It might be nice, she reassures herself. To have a friend in Cloud Recesses.
"Wei-xiong was right about your soup!" Nie Huaisang beams at her, bright and easy in the evening light. Jiang Yanli is not sure how he manages to get here unseen, but considering the lack of scandal their meetings have caused, he seems to be doing it quite well. "This really is amazing!"
Jiang Yanli blushed. "Oh. It's not that impressive…" she smiled softly at him. "Though I am glad you have enjoyed it."
Once more, a slight flush enters Nie Huaisang's face. He shook his head as if shaking it away. "You know, I do wonder why we haven't talked before now," he mused. "We are both rather similar. We started as sickly children, and are now both derided for our cultivation levels, called weak. But I don't think Lady Jiang is weak - there is strength in her love. I can taste it in this soup. You loved making it, and you loved sharing what you've made. In a way, it is not too dissimilar to my paintings."
"You think so?" She smiled uncertainly. "My mother says I am too soft."
"There can be strength in softness," Nie Huaisang says. "In both the illusion of it, and the reality of it. I think Lady Jiang is perfect the way she is."
Jiang Yanli smiled waveringly, staring down at her own bowl. A thought occurred to her, "If my strength is in my softness, what is your strength in?"
Nie Huaisang looked surprised. "What a clever question," he replies. He does not answer. Maybe he doesn't believe he has one.
"Sometimes I feel like my brother will never see me as worthwhile," Nie Huaisang sighs, head on his arms and finger rocking his tea. "I mean, I don't need him to. I know he loves me. He would do anything for my happiness - he just also thinks I'm useless."
Jiang Yanli feels cold. "I know," she says, thick in her throat, "I know the feeling."
Nie Huaisang straightened up, in alarm. "Who?" He asks, and she smiles in discomfort. "Not your brothers- they adore you."
"My mother," she reveals, shaking her head. "I think… she always wanted me to be more like A-Cheng. Someone fierce, who was a great cultivator, who - didn't do things like cook, or baby my brothers, but… I like who I am. I just… don't like how she makes me feel about being that person."
Nie Huaisang looked sad. "I'm sorry," he deflates. "That you feel like that."
"But you can relate too, right?" Jiang Yanli smiles. "We're the same, Huaisang. Aren't we?"
"I suppose we are," he murmured back.
"I heard you almost got hurt, Huaisang." Jiang Yanli frowns at him, concern clear in her eyes. "By the waterborne abyss. It even killed a disciple, didn't it? Are you sure you're okay?"
"Lady Jiang, it was horrible!" He cried. "Everyone is blaming me for She-xiong's death, they all think I'm beyond useless! Because of me, Wei-xiong almost- oh, but thank goodness he was okay! Lady Jiang, I do not know how I would face you if I got your beloved brothers killed. Oh, I'm horrible, aren't I? I felt relief when Jiang-xiong and Wei-xiong were not the ones dead when I heard. What an awful thing to feel!"
"No," Jiang Yanli shook her head. "Huaisang, you're not awful for being relieved that your friends were okay. And it's not your fault what happened, either. Who is saying such awful things to you?"
Nie Huaisang's fan snapped open, before he fluttered it in his face. "Oh, I don't know, I don't know, I really don't know… I just heard whispers blaming me, here and there. And my Da-ge… he thinks I'm even more of a disgrace than normal. This is why I hate nighthunting! I don't understand how anyone can find such stressful things relaxing…"
"I don't know, either," Jiang Yanli admits. "If you're a disgrace for disliking such things, then I am just as much of a disappointment."
"Only a fool would call you that," Huaisang said softly, before he shook his head and smiled at her. "Let's be disappointments together, then."
Jiang Yanli smiled back.
"Why don't you tell me how I could be satisfied by her!?" Her betrothed's voice, so angry and resentful, breaks her heart, and she finds tears gathering at the corner of her vision.
"If you're not satisfied with her," Nie Huaisang's voice cuts through, "Does that mean I can marry her?"
Wei Wuxian sputters, looking at his friend as if he's never seen him before. " What!?"
"Well, everything Wei-xiong has said about her makes her seem lovely!" Nie Huaisang continues. "I was content to settle for concubine—"
"—That's not even how that works!?" Jin Zixuan sputtered—
"—But if I can be her husband, that would be even better!" With a bright smile, Nie Huaisang threw her a wink, a sparkle in his eyes that led her to reevaluate everything she knew about him.
Jiang Cheng looks smug. "If you do want to break the engagement," he says, "I will give my full support to Huaisang!"
"Wh-What!" Jin Zixuan was a spoiled young master; by positioning himself as wanting her, Nie Huaisang led her to seem more appealing—and no spoiled young master would ever want someone they saw as useless to steal something from them, even if they did not want that thing to begin with. "Th-That's—!"
"Unless, of course," Nie Huaisang smiles, a bearing of fangs, "You don't actually mean to break your engagement? Though, I'm not sure how you can be so politically unaware to not notice the effect your words would have on Lady Jiang… You rejecting her so publicly could cause issues for her, you realize? Oh, unless this was all just a misunderstanding! If it's not, I'll be happy to snap up Lady Jiang for the Nie Sect. Is it?"
"What?" Jin Zixuan looked bewildered.
"Is it a misunderstanding, Young Master Jin?"
"It… fine! Yes. It was a misunderstanding." He huffs.
"Good to know," Nie Huaisang beamed, snapping his fan closed brightly.
Jiang Yanli smiled politely, as Nie Huaisang sat down with her for tea once more. He smiled, looking at her with wide eyes.
"How much did you lie to me?" She asks softly.
"Not much," he answers. "And probably not for the reasons you think. Lady Jiang, I assure you I have no intentions in getting between you and your fiance. In fact, do my actions not prove that?"
"You manipulated him into staying engaged with me," Jiang Yanli frowns. "And you manipulated me into befriending you in the first place."
"Are you upset he did not break your engagement?" Nie Huaisang tilts his head.
She pursed her lips. "If he doesn't want to marry me, I do not want to force him."
Nie Huaisang's face softened. "Even knowing that if he breaks it, it will trouble you? Even—with your feelings for him?"
"Even then," Jiang Yanli confirmed.
"You are a much better person than me," he sighs. "I'll be honest, Lady Jiang - I have reason to believe that war is coming. The reason I approached you is to gain allies for that war - and it's aftermath. You are my 'in' with the Jin. But… as we hung out, I found I really appreciated your company. I meant it when I said I had no clue why we hadn't talked sooner - your brother's rave about you, worship the very ground you walk upon, and now, I can see why."
Despite herself, Jiang Yanli blushed. "You're making it hard to hold a grudge," she sighed. "You never answered me - if softness is my strength, what is yours?"
"Why do you believe I have any strengths at all?" Nie Huaisang's eyes lashes lowered.
"Because," Jiang Yanli says, "A-Sang has more to him than meets the eye."
His eyes widened at the nickname, and he flushed - still not used to sincere compliments. "Well… I suppose it could be cunning," he allowed reluctantly, "Or perhaps, ruthlessness. I have weaponized the illusion of softness, Lady Jiang - that's why I find your softness all the more endearing. I… doubt I will ever be brave enough to ever be as kind as you." He paused, as if realizing he got off track. "My greatest strength, if you can call it that, is that I, Lady Jiang, am a liar. Will you trust in me anyways?" He smiles, ruefully, sad, like he expects her to say no.
Jiang Yanli is quiet. She reaches out to pinch his cheeks.
"Ow!"
"Of course I trust you," she says, "How couldn't I?"
His eyes go wide and owlish. He blinks up at her as she pulls on his cheek. "But," he protests, and she pulls harder.
"No buts," she says softly. "A-Sang is as he's always been."
His face softened. "You really are too kind," he murmured. His cheeks were pleasantly warm.
Time at Cloud Recesses, as all things, ends. Nie Huaisang sees her off under the guise of saying goodbye to her brothers, leaving her with a wink and sticking his tongue out to her scandalized fiance. Jiang Yanli endures this with grace and a giggle, while Wei Wuxian looks between them calculatingly.
He sends her letters - through birds, charmingly enough, with him seeming to have trained them to give them to her when she's alone, clever boy. She gives the birds the letters back and watches as they grab them in their beaks and take off. Sometimes, she sees the same birds watching them, listening to them, and despite how most people would scoff at the thought - she feels safe.
A-Sang is a clever boy. He will do his best to keep her safe, even if that effort is not what people typically imagine protection to be.
Soon, though, the Wen sect demands them to sent their heirs to indoctrination. It is not a surprise, from A-Sang's letters. Jiang Yanli presses extra food into her brothers hands and asks them to protect each other - and Nie Huaisang. Their eyebrows go up at his inclusion, but they agree regardless.
Something, of course, goes wrong. Jiang Cheng comes back without Wei Wuxian, and Lan Wangji is also lost - stuck in a cave with the tortoise of slaughter. Jin Zixuan and Nie Huaisang both offer search parties, but Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangshan seem to think it's a lost cause. The only brightside is that somehow, Wen Chao, his mistress, and Wen Zhuliu had perished in the caves struggle.
"Don't worry," A-Sang tells her in his letters, "Wei-xiong has a knack for attempting the impossible."
It is the only thing that makes her smile before the whole ordeal is over.
And it does end - it ends with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, back safe in their homes. It is a relief, more than anything.
The Sunshot Campaign happens, after the Wens attack both Lotus Pier and Qinghe. Unsuccessful, both of them, thankfully. Her brothers and parents fight, while Jiang Yanli herself is relegated to cooking and healing. She does not mind it—Nie Huaisang keeps her company, as he has also been relegated to the healing tent. In fact, it is even a boon. They can speak publicly, now, without it being inappropriate, as long as it is about healing or the war.
Still, Jiang Yanli can't help but pine for Jin Zixuan. They are betrothed, but distant. She knows he does not want to be tied to her, but breaking a betrothal in the middle of war is simply unwise, so she allows the match despite her heart aching at the thought of a loveless marriage - of a marriage like their parents. She watches from afar, worries, and secretly, with the help of a servant, leaves him her special soup. She feels a bit ashamed - that she would have A-Sang, who unabashedly enjoys her company, but would still pine for an uninterested party. She thinks she is selfish enough to want them both—she knows she will be punished with having neither.
Jin Zixuan misunderstands, however, when he sees her - assumes the worst. There is no Nie Huaisang to stop her A-Xian from punching, this time.
She doesn't deliver anymore soup to him - it all goes to Nie Huaisang instead.
"Stop seducing my fiance!" Jin Zixuan shouts at Nie Huaisang.
"If you want, I can start seducing you as well," he returns easily. "But - I wouldn't be so successful at seducing her if you actually took care of her, you know. She made you soup, every day, didn't even claim credit for it - and you made her cry. What makes you think you even deserve her?"
"What makes you think you do?"
"Nothing," Nie Huaisang answers. "I started getting to know her with the intention to use her - but then I got to know how sweet, how kind, how good she is. I may not be worthy of her, but at least I've always seen her worth—which is more than I can say for you . When will you shape up, Jin Zixuan? When will you be worth the love she grants you?"
Jin Zixuan storms out. That's how Nie Huaisang knows he's won.
Jin Zixuan apologizes to her. It is stiff, and awkward, but it is real - Jiang Yanli smiles at him, and wonders why he changed his mind. He invites her for walks, and whenever the war allows her, she agrees.
Perhaps she can at least have this.
"I want to be your concubine!" Nie Huaisang interrupts their walk, one cloudy day as they both blush at their hand holding.
"What?" Jiang Yanli says.
"You were serious about that!?" Jin Zixuan sputters.
"Of course I was!" Nie Huaisang puffs. "I want it an official position as soon as you can—I know you probably can't convince your father, but when you become Sect leader, make it official, Jin Zixuan! Make me Lady Jiang's concubine!"
"I don't think that's how this works," Jin Zixuan says faintly.
"But it's what Lady Jiang wants, isn't it?" Jiang Yanli blushed at being so easily seen through, and Jin Zixuan studied her.
"Yanli," he said, a constipated look on his face. "If you want Young Master Nie, I won't… I won't begrudge you breaking our engagement—"
"No!" Jiang Yanli cries. "I mean, yes. No. I don't want to break the engagement, but—I do want A-Sang," she trembles as she says this, "I… I'm sorry. I'm so selfish. I loved you for so long, Zixuan. But… I grew to love Huaisang as well. I want—I want both of you."
"And we both want you," Nie Huaisang says confidently, "So why can't we all just get what we want? I'm fine with the two of you getting married—like I said, I can be a concubine!"
"Would that… really work?" Jin Zixuan looked dubious.
"It would be unconventional," Jiang Yanli breathed.
"Why would that stop us?" Nie Huaisang grinned.
And so they decided Nie Huaisang would be a concubine.
The war ended when Lan Xichen's spy killed Wen Ruohan. His spy, who apparently was Meng Yao, now Jin Guangyao. Jin Zixuan confides in them that he feels awkward around him, especially since in the past the boy was kicked off the steps of Koi Tower on their shared birthday.
"That sounds messy," Nie Huaisang empathized with a grimace, looking nearly as awkward as Jin Zixuan himself. "Do you think he holds a grudge? Perhaps it would be better to stay distant from him."
"No!" Jiang Yanli disagreed. "It's not his fault for the circumstances of his birth. A-Xuan, I think you should make peace with him. Treat him like family. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."
Nie Huaisang covered his face with his fan. "Perhaps Lady Jiang is right," he says, "I'm just worried that perhaps she is not."
"You worry too much, A-Sang," Yanli pressed a kiss to his temple, and her silly concubine went red.
"Why do you call A-Li 'Lady Jiang'?" Jin Zixuan asks.
Nie Huaisang hums. "It's not yet appropriate to call her A-Li for me," he says. "I do not wish to invite scandal upon her. At least, not so soon. I suppose it is enviable that I do so…"
"Your love isn't dirty," Jin Zixuan says. "We will never be accepted. All you're doing is making A-Li sad."
Nie Huaisang's eyes widened. "I see," he murmured to himself. "Well, at least in private…"
"Thank you," Jin Zixuan says.
"You never have to thank me for loving her," Nie Huaisang replies.
All too soon, though, their peaceful life is upended - Jin Zixuan's father dies, and the poison is found on Jin Guangyao's person. It is quickly decided that he shall be executed for such a severe crime.
Lan Xichen is devastated. Nie Mingjue is grimly proven right. Nie Huaisang looks genuinely sad - perhaps because he's, as well, been proven right. When it all comes out, he pats Zixuan on the shoulder with pity in his gaze.
"For what it's worth," he says, "I'm sorry things turned out like so."
"It's not your fault," Jin Zixuan says numbly. "I just can't believe…"
"A-Xuan, I'm so sorry," Jiang Yanli touched his hand, interlacing it with her own. "I had no idea he would do this… why would he?"
"Revenge, likely," Huaisang murmurs. "Jin Guangshan threw him down the stairs, humiliated him - he likely thought he wouldn't get caught, and would live a cushy life in this Sect. The poison replicated natural symptoms, after all… It was only luck that it was discovered on him by Da-ge."
Jin Zixuan looks sick. "He was just going to live with me," he says faintly, "After murdering my father? As if he didn't do so?"
Nie Huaisang grimaced. "Perhaps worse than that," he murmured regretfully, "It could always be possible that he was planning on killing you, too. Leaving him to inherit the Jin Sect."
Jin Zixuan sits down, clinging to her hand tightly.
"This isn't how I wanted to inherit this sect," he says.
"Don't worry," Nie Huaisang gives a grimace of a smile. "You have us to help you."
Nie Huaisang doesn't watch the execution. He closes his eyes when it happens, as if he is physically pained. He leaves before he can see the aftermath.
The Wen labor camps are discovered by them shortly after. They are, of course, horrified. Under Nie Huaisang's guidance, however, they handle it quietly. Integrating the civilians and healers into the common folk and their clan; no one recognizes the Wens when they're dressed in Jin gold. To the people who supported the camps, they lie and say the prisoners have been executed. Without anyone the wiser, the remaining Wens disappeared back into polite society - with of course a change in their name. Wei Wuxian helps them greatly when asked, quickly getting attached to Wen Yuan and Wen Ning, and after she is reunited with them, Wen Qing as well—to which Nie Huaisang hides a smile.
Soon, Wen Yuan - who was orphaned during the war - becomes Wei Yuan.
Jiang Yanli is delighted to have a nephew.
Her parents… not so much.
Wen Qing takes them in when Madam Yu goes too far. Jiang Yanli mourns what he mother could have been, if she wasn't consumed by her own bitterness and jealousy.
The marriage, of course, is beautiful.
Her A-Xian and A-Cheng are there, fusing over her, crying tears at how beautiful she looks in red, and A-Sang is the best man. There are no words to describe the bliss it is, and so Jiang Yanli will not waste words on it.
The cultivation world takes the news of A-Sang's concubine status to… mixed results. For one thing, a woman with a concubine? But after A-Sang has a long talk with his Da-ge, Sect Leader Nie lends them their full support, and Jin Zixuan confirms the status as officially as he can, and, well, there's not much the world can do, which A-Xian thinks is hilarious.
"I saw this coming from a mile away," he sings. "Why do you think I gave Huaisang a shovel talk?"
"A-Xian," Jiang Yanli scolds, and Huaisang laughs nervously.
"Y-Yeah, that sure was scary…" he mutters.
"That threat still holds, by the way!" A-Xian said cheerily. "If you make her cry, they'll never find your body!"
Nie Huaisang quite obviously believes him. Jiang Yanli swatted at him gently.
"Would I be like a father to Jin Ling?" Nie Huaisang wonders as she tells her the babies name - and the fact that one is growing in her to begin with. "That would be weird. I think I'd rather be, like, a cool uncle. Or something."
Jiang Yanli giggles. Jin Zixuan makes a face.
"Whatever you'll be," she soothed, "You'll be great at it, A-Sang."
"How do you know, A-Li?" He says. "Perhaps I'll be just as bad at it as the saber!"
"I don't think you could be that bad at anything else," Jin Zixuan says dryly.
"You wound me!" He gasped dramatically, flopping to the floor without any shame. "A-Li, I don't think I can go on!"
"Oh no," Yanli giggles. "My poor concubine, how could you, husband? You've gone mad with jealousy! Don't worry, A-Sang, I shall avenge you against our tyrant husband!"
Zixuan sighed. "You're both idiots."
"But," Nie Huaisang smiles, from his place on the floor, "We're your idiots."
And they lived happily ever after.