Chapter Text
The corpse wore the dress of a lady. Other than that, the body was too bloated to determine an identity. There were, unfortunately, no ladies in the house who could assist in identifying the dress. In Wangji's experience, women were better at remembering who wore what to which and when. He barely remembered what he himself wore down to lunch.
Suspecting ill intent and keen to assuage blame, the decision was made that dress should be removed for further study and body should be taken to the Keswick morgue in the village. The servants were instructed to pass it on as someone found in a nearby lake. Wangji and Wei Ying were given the thankless task of undressing the body, which Wangji felt he should be more appalled by but was too wrapped up in the mystery to feel embarrassed.
He examined the dress for embroidery, sifting through the folds for a handkerchief or any other personal items that may carry a monogram. Wei Ying, in his usual curious way, lifted the limbs, turned the body this way and that, and palpated the belly. "Lan Zhan," he said lowly, "I think she was pregnant."
Before Wangji could look up and relay his consternation, he found pinned to the innermost part of the bodice, nearest to the heart, a pressed flower that might have been sweet and delicate once, but was currently rotting and and starting to melt away. It was a good thing that Wangji knew his flowers. Botany was an easy hobby to turn into an obsession. Plus, this particular flower was hard to mistake even in this state. It was a peony.
The dead woman must be Qin Su.
Her pregnancy was a shock and had her secret been betrayed in life it would've been quite a scandal, but it would have been nothing compared the disaster that would've ensused had she been discovered tomorrow as she was clearly meant to, during her own wedding, on the property of her betrothed. The Lan name would not have been unsullied by an accusation of murder. There was something sinister at work indeed.
Though, Lan Wangji surmised, this was more likely a personal matter, and of no great consequence to Lan Xichen's current investigation. The death of a minor lord's daughter was surely unlikely to affect national security.
"The murderer is likely the father of the child," Wei Ying ventured as they relayed their findings to Lan Xichen.
"Very likely," Lan Xichen agreed, wiping a hand across his pale face.
The three of them stood in the library. The air was heavy with ominous foreboding.
It was obvious to everyone in the room who the most likely perpetrator must be, but for Lan Xichen's sake, no one spoke his name.
Wangji knew that his brother may have had a hand in breaking up Qin Su's previous attachment. Lan Xichen had a kind of quiet friendship with the other party involved, a friendship which also ended with the engagement, dissolving into a coldness that Wangji didn't know his brother capable of. The end of that particular friendship tortured Lan Xichen for months. Wangji did not like to see his brother return to those dark days of closing himself off in his room, refusing food, tea, and even a turn in the garden that he so loved. Wangji and Wei Ying shared an understanding look. They had to weather this storm for Lan Xichen, for the sake of his sanity if not his still aching heart.
"But what is the purpose of putting her here of all places?" Lan Xichen asked. "What kind of conspiracy is this?"
"Perhaps it is not personal," Lan Wangji said quietly.
"Murder is always personal." Lan Xichen's face was clouded and shadowed with worry.
"Or the pond was just a convenient place to dispose of a body," Wangji said.
Wei Ying looked like he was about to disagree. Wangji wished they were having this conversation out of his brother's earshot. Lan Xichen's was visibly shaken. "The murder could have been an act of impulse," Wei Ying said carefully. "They were nearby."
Lan Xichen frowned. "Why would they be nearby-"
"They were invited to the wedding," Lan Wangji reminded him.
Wei Ying was positively giddy. "We have a murderer in our midst."
"If he was here with her, they would have arrived some days ago," Lan Xichen said.
"Not necessarily." Lan Wangji said. "The coroner said the body has been underwater for only a day or two."
"If they arranged to meet here preceding a social event, no one would question their overlapping itinerary," Wei Ying said.
"She would have met him alone," Wangji continued.
"She trusted him. Or she had no reason to suspect violence."
"Until she told him about the child."
"Conjecture," Wangji pointed out.
Wei Ying crossed his arms. "But a reasonable deduction." He paced the room in quick urgent steps. "Objectively, the pond is not a convenient place to dispose of a body. It's a conspicuous place. He means for this death to leave a black mark on the Lans." Wei Ying glanced at Wangji with a sombre look. He had to speak the truth. He was probably right. Still, Wangji wished he didn't say it. His brother looked almost green in the face.
"He will be expecting the body to be discovered during the wedding," Wei Ying said. "Or he will somehow create a situation where the discovery is inevitable."
His plan was wrecked by this unseasonable rain, Lan Wangji thought.
"His plan was wrecked by this unseasonable rain," Wei Ying said.
Lan Wangji glanced at Wei Ying with wonderment and affection. He did this often in their years together, speaking Lan Wangji's thoughts aloud. It used to give Wangji quite a fright, fearing he had some gift of clairvoyance and terrified that his more obscene thoughts might also be detected. Now, Wangji wished Wei Ying could see just what he wanted.
Wei Ying peered over at Lan Wangji. He reached up suddenly with both hands and grabbed one of Wangji's ears in each.
Lan Xichen gave a start.
Lan Wangji ogled him. "Wei Ying?"
"My fingers are cold," Wei Ying said simply. He glanced at Lan Xichen. "Lan Zhan's ears are hotter than coals."
Wangji could do nothing but stand there and allow his burning ears to be molested. Lan Xichen seemed to have been distracted from his shock, albeit briefly. The corners of his lips tugged slightly upwards as he watched Wei Ying. Lan Wangji was relieved.
It was past midnight now and the Qin party was still nowhere in sight. Wangji expected that they might never arrive. It was hard to imagine that they would turn up at the door for a wedding without the bride-to-be.
"We should could use the flood to our advantage," Wei Ying said. "Move the wedding, let it be known that the pond flooded and herd everyone onto the hill."
Lan Wangji knew where he was headed. "Take away the boats."
"And then we keep an eye on anyone with wet shoes." Wei Ying's dark eyes flashed. "That'd be our murderer."
Lan Xichen understood. "So the wedding goes ahead."
Lan Wangji would have nodded if his ears were free. Brilliant, he thought, looking at Wei Ying.
"Brilliant," Wei Ying said.
Back in his own room and stripped of his wet clothes, Lan Wangji closed his eyes and dropped his head back on the rim of the tub being filled with steaming water. So he will not marry. Did he imagine it, or did Wei Ying seem rather chipper at the prospect?
He shall still have to go to Wales. That was the direct order of the Prime Minister. The honeymoon had been a cover, and now he had to find another excuse. Wei Ying would accompany him either way. They'd have to travel as companions, as they did not look similar enough to pass as relatives, and stay in rented labourer's rooms. If the conditions were dire enough, they might even have to share a bed.
Lan Wangji couldn't wait.
"I can't wait."
Wangji's head snapped up.
Wei Ying stood at the door of his bathroom, undressing. Already stripped down to his shirt. "For tomorrow-" he finished.
"What-"
The shirt was the second last thing to go. The brand on Wei Ying's chest was pale and blurred with time and scars, but every time Wangji looked at it, he saw red and blood, smelled the burning flesh and heart Wei Ying's choked shout. It hurt his heart to see that brand, but it was a testament to Wei Ying's nature, to his courage and chivalry.
Then Wei Ying's trousers came flying off.
Lan Wangji swallowed hard and thought about closing his eyes. Thought about it. Couldn't manage to do it.
Lan Wangji swam naked with his brother as a child. He wasn't a prude. But he couldn't look at all that peachy skin rolling over those sinewy muscles without combusting. Wei Ying had stripped naked so many times in front of him that Lan Wangji knew the shape of his buttocks, shapely and high, and so perfectly taut that they made Wangji's teeth itch. He even knew the shape of Wei Ying's member, thick and jaunty, a perfect fit for Lan Wangji's hand. He'd like to see it grow thicker, heavy, and rise with beads of desire forming on its head. Not that Wangji ever imagined that. Alone at night in bed, sweating into his sheets. No, he would never have such indecent thoughts.
But, through the steam of the bath, did Wei Ying's member look thicker and jauntier than usual? What did that mean?
"Don't glower," Wei Ying said.
Wangji wasn't.
"It's a big tub," Wei Ying said. "Takes forever to drain and fill, and I'm freezing." He took Wangji's silence as censure, and huffed. "We used to share baths all the time."
Yes, in Istanbul, but that was a different time, a different place, a different culture. Public baths were commonplace. They had to share. Even if Lan Wangji had to cover his own rapidly thickening member under the world's smallest towel, he respected the culture and sat next to Wei Ying on the marbled stone benches, hoping the other man wouldn't look down any time soon.
Before Wangji could sort out his arguments, Wei Ying was already stepping into the tub. The water sloshed. Wangji finally managed to tear his eyes away from the beautiful man in front of him in his full naked glory, and trained them at the wall instead.
In the depth of the water under the foam of bubbles and sandalwood oils, toes brushed Wangji's hips. He jumped. His whole being was a grounding rod and Wei Ying was the lightning.
What blood hadn't went to boil his ears shot straight down and Lan Wangji knew he could never get out of the bath in sight of Wei Ying. If Wei Ying cracked a joke, Lan Wangji might just die from the humiliation.
Wei Ying sank into the water with a sigh. "You'll have to fend for yourself, I think. I'll dress like a groomsman and keep an eye out from the stables. There'll be sightlines enough and many places for me to hide and watch without anyone watching back."
Lan Wangji wasn't listening.
He was devouring the sight of Wei Ying with greedy eyes. He followed one glistening bead of water down the length of that smooth, swan neck. Wangji licked his lips, parched all of a sudden. He tucked his knees in, fought to dig his toes into the porcelain underneath. If he moved an inch, what would he touch? Two inches? What if he slid his hands down along the bottom of the tub, up the hill of Wei Ying's heel, past his bony ankles and up the back of his calf-
"Lan Zhan."
Lan Wangji jumped again.
"What are you thinking about?" Wei Ying was laughing at him. Chiding him with the upturned tug of those lips. Mocking him with each flutter of his dark lashes. He said it like he knew exactly what the answer to his question was.
Lan Wangji didn't have a doubt in his mind that in this moment, Wei Ying really was clairvoyant.
Lan Wangji was mortified. But the feeling was quickly chased away by an overwhelming sense of relief that came with it. Relief that his wedding was off. Relief that Wei Ying could read him like a book. Wei Ying seemed to know his feelings, yet he remained here, naked with him, in a tub. What could this possibly mean?
Wei Ying watched him back, leaning slowly steadily forward, bright eyes so clear and focused, while those full lips stretched into the softest smile. Wangji forgot how to breathe. Closer and closer Wei Ying came, raising a hand out of the suds towards him. The last strand of Lan Wangji's patience snapped and he surged forward to meet him.
Lan Wangji's hands fell neatly onto Wei Ying's folded knees and upwards they slid, driven by the rush of exhilaration and a decade of secret longing. His eyes fluttered close as he leaned in. This was what he needed, to taste those lips. He had never felt so hungry.
With a loud clap, Wangji's forehead hit a wall.
He opened his eyes, lips missing their mark. Wei Ying had slapped a hand right across Wangji's forehead. It wasn't a rebuke. It was the back of his hand, his knuckles knocked against Lan Wangji's skull lightly, returning a hollow sound.
Wei Ying stared at him, eyes wide, jaw dropping open slightly, clearly astonished.
He had reached forward to check Wangji's temperature. He was not trying to kiss him.
"I thought..." Wei Ying let out a small awkward laugh. "Did you drink some of that brandy in the library?"
Those dark eyes flickered down into the bathwater, still roiling from Lan Wangji's sudden lunge forward. Lan Wangji's hands were clutched at the his thighs, pushing them apart, thumbs digging into the soft innermost parts. One slip upward and they would be kneading somewhere unforgivable.
Lan Wangji backed away in a hurry, windmilling his arms to retrieve his hands before they did anything more to betray him. Suds and water went flying everywhere.
Wei Ying sputtered. "Lan Zhan!"
Lan Wangji knocked his elbow against the faucet and his whole left arm went numb. He climbed out of the tub, clutching his incapacitated arm to his chest. It wasn't until his feet touched the cold tile that he felt the weight of his erection swinging just half a beat slower than the rest of his body. He turned too slow to hide it, reaching for a towel and dashing for the bedroom, trailing water behind him in his hurry.
What explanation could he give for his madness? He slipped? Wei Ying would see right through that.
In a panic, he put on his discarded shirt, which still smelled of the rain and the morgue.
"Lan Zhan."
Lan Wangji stilled. He wouldn't turn around to face Wei Ying. He couldn't.
Wei Ying circled around to face him instead. He was wearing Wangji's bathrobe. The shadow of his chest, between his pectorals, defined and tantalizing disappearing down past the folded collar. How Wangji envied the bathrobe.
Wei Ying followed his eyes down.
Wangji was discovered, laid bare for anyone to see.
Wei Ying cocked an eyebrow. "Where're you going, my lord?"
Lan Wangji did not know how to answer.
"Always conveniently mute," Wei Ying said. Then he reached up cupped Wangji's face with one hand, drew him close by the waist with the other, and kissed him.
Lan Wangji could scarcely believe it. Those lotus bud lips were pressing against his.
Rough hands pushed his shirt up over his head and tossed them away, forgotten. He still couldn't believe this was happening. He reached around the narrow body in front of him, pulling Wei Ying in, enveloping him, trying his hardest to take up the same space. He couldn't get close enough. He massaged the flesh and bones under the terry robe. He was going to be pushed away any minute now, he thought.
His own lips gulped greedily at those lips, then at that long neck, his fingers that loosened the robe's belt, but the process of its removal was too slow, so he tore the thing apart from the neck, revealing the delicious body underneath.
Wei Ying breathed out loudly. Lan Wangji sucked that sweet sweet breath into his own lungs.
Still not enough, not nearly enough.
He pushed Wei Ying backwards until he fell onto the bed. Lan Wangji pinned him down, inserting his own body between Wei Ying's knees.
"Improprietus," Wei Ying said, between repeated pants of Wangji's name, as the robe fell lasciviously around his shoulders. His bare chest heaved as Wangji ran his fingers through Wei Ying's hair, wet at the ends and mussed. His tongue darted out to lick those full lips, relishing their familar taste, relishing at the fact that he could call their taste familiar. What a triumph.
Wei Ying's hands reached fluttering along Wangji hips until his fingertips brushed the length of Wangji's aching, leaking erection. Wangji thought he might go mad trying to make sense of what was happening. Wei Ying's fingers closed gingerly around the base of his shaft and began stroking. For his part, he was as gentle as can be, but in the same way that lightning transferred its energy, Lan Wangji was electrified and turned instantly delirious while a thousand sparks crackled all over his body. He might combust.
Wei Ying was working his hand up and down, varying in pressure and speed. Wangji had no control and it felt like heaven.
Wei Ying chewed his lower lip as he concentrated. Lan Wangji pressed close to every inch of that supple skin. His palms and every finger sinking into every touch, tracing Wei Ying's collar bone down to the hardened nubs of his nipples, and the rubbing the hard puckered skin there. Wei Ying let out a shuddering breath, "My lord." His hands squeezed by reflex, thumb skimming the head of Wangji's member, and Wangji really did combust.
His vision went all white. And his whole body was lifted from the bed, dipped in honeyed pleasure that soaked him through to his bones. In the halo of love that crowned him, the world felt entirely perfect, as if of nothing could possibly ever go wrong again, not if he could felt like this. God, it was paradise. In that moment, he had no doubt in his mind that Wei Ying loved him back.
Lan Wangji didn't quite collapse, but he found himself barely perched on shaking arms, with his seed sprayed across Wei Ying's chest. The sight of Wei Ying, hazy and glittering in the afterglow that lit Wangji's eyes from the inside out, was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Wei Ying glanced up through his lashes. "I was going to put you in my mouth."
Lan Wangji collapsed on him then, showering him with kisses. Nuzzling, pushing the bathrobe away now with even more urgency than before. Reaching down and finding Wei Ying hard, he took Wei Ying's advice, and slid down the bed to take him in his mouth.
Without finesse or skill, he licked and kissed and noted what made Wei Ying's breath hitch. He lifted Wei Ying's thighs over his shoulders. Wei Ying crossed his ankles across Lan Wangji's shoulder blades as Wangji made obscene sounds, slobbering, desperate to make Wei Ying feel as he felt. With a muffled groan, bucking hips, and a never-ending canon of teasing and chiding, Wei Ying came on Lan Wangji's tongue. Lan Wangji swallowed him, in love with the salty taste of him as his hands kneaded Wei Ying's thighs, cupping his balls, burying his nose in the dark pubic hair, breathing in. When Wei Ying finally stopped trembling, Lan Wangji kissed where his thighs met his buttocks, welcoming the weight of his legs on his shoulders, licking kissing his way to hidden places between Wei Ying's buttocks. Lan Wangji tongued Wei Ying's puckered place. He heard enough bawdy talks at the gentlemen's clubs and sniggering tales relayed in the dark back at Oxford, and even found illustrations in the volumes of erotic art from the colonies that his family collected to have a general idea of what it was he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it.
"Lan Zhan." Wei Ying pulled him up for a kiss then wrinkled his nose at the taste of his own seed on Lan Wangji's lips.
"That's you," Wangji told him.
"My lord!" The scandalized look on Wei Ying's face was not entirely feigned. Was he actually a bit of a prude?
Interestingly, Lan Wangji was discovering that he, himself, was in fact not at all.
Wei Ying was realizing this too, and watching Wangji with new eyes. Lan Wangji held his gaze, ignored the burning of his ears and dipped to flick at one of Wei Ying's nipples with the tip of his tongue. Wei Ying threaded his fingers through Wangji's hair as he pulled him back up. The sting of his scalp made Lan Wangji suck in breath through his teeth. He was surprised to find he liked the feeling.
Wangji thought to ask, "How long have you known?"
Wei Ying raised an eyebrow and tilted his head like he didn't understand the question.
Wangji felt his stomach drop a little. "You did know?"
"Know what?" Wei Ying was teasing.
Lan Wangji couldn't take it anymore. "Me. My affection. For you."
Wei Ying seemed to be fighting a grin. "I knew."
Lan Wangji dropped his head into the crook of Wei Ying's neck, cheek pressed against cheek, thoroughly embarrassed.
"Your brother told me."
Lan Wangji stilled and raised his head.
"Very early on, he told me. But I didn't believe him."
"My brother-"
"He reads you much better than I do. He said that you were keen on me and I should not encourage it if I did not feel the same. You were so rigid and prone to lectures, but the smallest touch on your arm would stop you mid sentence, turn and flee. It was hard not to take advantage."
Lan Wangji was glad he hid his face. "So you did not- you have not-"
"When what your brother said really sank in, there had been a few years where we argued for months on end and I wasn't sure if you still felt the same. I was afraid, I think."
Lan Wangji understood the feeling.
"But then the War Office called and the damned wedding- Hit me like a ton of bricks. That's when I really truly knew."
"That's only a month ago." Lan Wangji was aghast. "I thought you were a quick study."
"I was busy, Lan Zhan. While you had your mind down my trousers, I was up to my neck in international intrigue."
"International intrigue," Wangji repeated dryly.
"The Scotland thing."
"Scotland is not international."
"The Prussian thing."
"Hm." Wangji was asked to decode a series of missives in German. Wei Ying had been very helpful, of course, but by his definition, they were both up to their necks in international intrigue.
"The French debacle was mainly me," Wei Ying said.
"The source of the debacle? Yes."
"No, well, yes, but also the resolution. That was my quick thinking."
"Mn." That much was true.
"And definitely the Istanbul thing."
"Istanbul was not-"
"It was! The çay plan was mine."
Wangji frowned. "It was Nie Huaisang-"
"He stole my idea!"
"Mn," Wangji hummed against Wei Ying shoulder, kissing it. He was getting hard again, pressed against this warm beautiful body. Drenched in Wei Ying's scent, watching his skin shimmer with sweat. He could taste through his kisses that Wei Ying's body was cooling. Wangji could make him sweat again, make him turn his head, as he did earlier, and bite the pillow to keep from shouting out.
"Did you bring your walking stick to bed?" Wei Ying teased.
Wangji rolled against his thigh, making Wei Ying's breath hitch. "We should have done this a long time ago."
"You should have said something."
"I-" Lan Wangji paused. "I thought I did."
Wei Ying was silent and serious when he considered that. "Did you?"
Lan Wangji wasn't sure anymore. "I'm sorry."
"There's no need for that between us. Remember when you said that?"
"Mn." Wangji's heart was warmed by the thought that Wei Ying remembered all these years later.
"Christ," Wei Ying mused. "Maybe you really did tell me."
It didn't matter anymore, Lan Wangji thought. Now, Wei Ying knew. There on his lips, on his chest, was indisputable truth. Wangji would like to cover him in the truth. He captured Wei Ying's lips with his own and draped a thigh over Wei Ying's hip to proceed with his plan.
A knock sounded. "Wangji?"
Wei Ying sprang up. They both stared at the door in horror.
Regardless of whether his brother knew of his proclivities, Lan Wangji absolutely could not let him see them like this. For propriety's sake.
"Wangji?" Lan Xichen said again, muffled.
Lan Wangji pulled on his bathrobe hastily, not bothering to fix the collar, which, still damp, caught his skin and sat misshapen. Wei Ying darted naked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Lan Wangji cleared his throat and stood at the end of his bed with his hands folded across the front of his body in what he hoped was an inconspicuous manner. "Yes?"
The doorknob turned. Lan Xichen took half a step inside before stopping, casting an eye around. "Ah," he said awkwardly.
Lan Wangji glanced at the room behind him and had to take a double take. His shirt was on the ground, Wei Ying's clothes were in a heap by the bathroom door, the belt of his robe was all the way across the room and the bedsheets were messed the point of inexplicable.
Lan Xichen turned. "We will speak tomorrow."
Lan Wangji collapsed back onto the bed and buried his head in his hands with a groan while Wei Ying's snorting laughter sounded from behind the bathroom door.
Dressing the next morning took disproportionately long. Twice Wei Ying tried to help tuck Lan Wangji's shirttails in but was thwarted by the impulse to pull Lan Wangji's straining member from his breeches and put it on his tongue. He did so clumsily but still a much better effort than Lan Wangji had done on him the night before. He succeeded in turning Lan Wangji's legs into the wobbliest of puddings.
For the sake of their mission to capture Qin Su's murderer, Wei Ying would need to be able to move about as able-bodied as he could manage, so Wangji only threatened to fuck him into the mattress, and then relieved himself in the crease of Wei Ying's greased buttocks, driven off the edge of orgasm by Wei Ying's mewling. Wei Ying came in Lan Wangji's hand, dripping onto his formal handkerchief, right onto the blue silk monogram of his name. The sight of it was another thrill.
They shared many kisses, some lingering and sweet, and some with sharp nipping teeth. Even after he had dressed and stumbled down the stairs to be berated by his uncle for arriving late to breakfast, Lan Wangji pulled Wei Ying into the empty library and pushed him against the books, fondling him through his trousers and bruising his lips.
"What happened to you?" Lan Wangji heard a young maid ask Wei Ying.
"Allergies," Wei Ying said.
Lan Xichen took one look at Wei Ying and pulled Lan Wangji aside. "It's your wedding day." It was an admonishment.
Yes, Wangji thought giddily. It sure felt like it.
His brother straightened his collar. "Take up my post by the door and greet the guests. I'll see Wei Ying to the stables."
Good idea, Lan Wangji thought. If he went instead, he'd have Wei Ying bent over a bale of hay in no time.
The ceremony was scheduled to be held in the afternoon, in the parish church. Lan Wangji stood contemplating how he might act as a jilted bridegroom when the Qin party didn't show. Unexpectedly, a pair of carriages arrived just before lunch.
Lord and Lady Qin were invited into the Keswick manor posthaste in the usual efficient Lan manner. Lan Wangji did not have an opportunity to dwell in his surprise.
"Where is my daughter?" Lady Qin asked anxiously. "I do not see her here."
Neither Lan Xichen or Lan Wangji needed to put their acting chops to the test because Lan Qiren stepped in front of them. "Is she not with you?"
"She- no."
Lan Qiren's face was a picture of indignation and bewilderment. "What do you mean?"
"What do you mean?" Lord Qin shot back.
"But- She told us-" Lady Qin stammered. "She left us for Keswick three days ago!"
Lan Qiren's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. "What do you mean?!"
Lady Qin looked terrified. "My girl, my dear girl- and fainted."
Lan Qiren sent men out all over the country side to look for, what he assumed, a lame carriage.
The wedding was indefinitely postponed. Almost immediately the rumours were flying, most were of the flavour that Lan Wangji had been left at the altar by a woman beneath his station. These were mean spirited and reeked of schadenfreude. Another was that Qin Su's carriage driver had fallen asleep and drove them into a lake, which was too close to the truth to be ignored.
But the source of it turned out to be Nie Huaisang, whose reputation for spinning tall tales preceded his reputation as the rake brother of the Earl of Cheshire.
"Why don't we search the property," Jin Guangyao said.
Lan Wangji stilled, regarding him warily, yet being mindful not to stare.
"What are you implying?" Nie Mingjue asked shrewdly.
Jin Guangyao was one of few men who was not cowed by the Earl. He cleared his throat and continued smoothly. "The estate is grand, perhaps she took a wrong turn."
"The manor is the only light for miles at night," Nie Mingle boomed. "She could hardly arrive on the property yet fail to find the house."
"We have men searching everywhere else," Jin Guangyao said, turning to Lan Xichen.
Lan Xichen finished his thought for him. "Might as well."
"Maybe she was delayed," Nie Huaisang said mildly from the side, "and just arrived recently."
"That doesn't explain the irregularity of her travelling apart from her family," Lan Qiren grumbled. He was very much offended by her absence, and was sure it was a trick rather than a tragedy. "This is highly unusual."
Lan Wangji called Lan Jingyi over in earshot of Jin Guangyao. "Have the grooms search the estate, but mind the pond, the ground is still soft."
"Do you have a pond?" Jin Guangyao asked.
"Why build a pond with all these lakes around?" Nie Mingjue laughed.
"It was a misguided attempt at landscaping," Lan Xichen said rather sharply and uncharacteristically. "Just this morning we found that it has flooded from the recent rains. It is more of a bog than anything now. We should fill it in when the water recedes."
"We could raise its edges," Lan Wangji said softly. This was an old argument.
"We can discuss the pond another time," Lan Qiren snapped.
Jin Guangyao stepped toward Lan Wangji. "I should like to see it, if you don't mind."
Lan Wangji inclined his head. "No, not at all."
Jin Guangyao called his half-brother, Jin Zixun, the Duke of Leicester's only son and heir, to join them. Lan Wangji imagined he was to serve as an unwitting witness. Wangji had a good impression of Jin Zixun from their previous meetings - he was a serious young man with a seminary education. If he found a body in the pond, there would be no convincing him out of a thorough investigation.
Little did Jin Guangyao know, there was no body to be found today.
Lan Wangji showed them to the edge of the wet grasses and excused himself. On one last look over his shoulder he saw Jin Guangyao wading into the flooded lowland with his signature smile and Jin Zixun staring after him in confusion, wavering on his toes, undecided as to follow or not.
Lan Wangji circled around to the stables.
Wei Ying met him in a back stall that had been emptied. From there, he could peer through a crack of the stable walls at the post with an excellent vantage point.
"It is him," Wei Ying said through gritted teeth.
Wangji was wary of absolutes. "It could be."
"Trust me."
Lan Wangji did.
Wei Ying spared him a glance. "You look dashing as always, my lord."
"Thank you, Wei Ying," Wangji said stiffly, self-consciously.
"Your necktie looks a bit tight."
"Does it?"
"Let me loosen it for you."
"Wei Ying."
"My lord."
It was only two words, but they went straight to his cock. Lan Wangji closed his eyes for a moment. He really was in thrall.
"The other grooms were all send out to the edge of the estate." Wei Ying was playing with Wangji's necktie. "I wonder who did that."
"It wasn't me."
Wei Ying smirked. "And I was just thinking what elaborate ploy is this to get me alone and undefended."
"Defend? Against what?"
"Blackguards, my lord. Here to rob me of my virtue."
"Your v-" Lan Wangji couldn't even finish the sentence.
"Would you help me, my lord?"
"Mhm. I'll relieve you of your virtue."
Wei Ying's eyes went big and round. "My lord!"
Jin Guangyao's soggy shoes and trousers proved suspicions correct. The evidence was only circumstantial but it was enough for merit Lan Xichen to make a report to the War Office. No personal secrets of any aristocracy could be overlooked during times of turmoil and wars where spies and enemy agents lurked on both sides of every border. It was for the benefit of the empire to know everyone's dirty laundry. It was for the benefit of the empire that Jin Guangyao was not to be exposed. Wei Ying was furious.
Qin Su was to be quietly buried. Lan Xichen promised to do so with honour. Jin Guangyao may not have gotten his due this time, but with this secret, he was now indentured to the greater good. The War Office was convinced he could be of use. Lan Wangji was not. He was determined to bring justice for Qin Su. If not today, then tomorrow, or the day after. Lan Wangji made this promise to Wei Ying. They promised each other.
In the meantime, Lan Wangji was to leave for Wales under the pretence of a bout of depression or injured pride, depending on who you asked, after being left at the altar by his runaway bride. Wei Ying would accompany him. The Qin house suffered the brunt of the scandal, as they were unlucky enough to be related to the female half of the equation.
"Thank God I wasn't born a woman," Wei Ying said. "And I mean that with empathy."
"If you were, I'd find you and marry you to save your reputation," Wangji said.
Wei Ying bristled. "You assume I'd be disreputable?"
Lying together on sweat dampened sheets with Wei Ying between his legs working his hands and lips over Lan Wangji's soft member to tease him up into another round, Lan Wangji had no doubt he'd be very disreputable. "If you were a woman, I assume I'd either have to break you out of a covent or purchase you from a brothel."
"A brothel?" Wei Ying snorted. "You assume the worst of me."
Lan Wangji needed a minute to collect himself as Wei Ying did something incredible with the tip of his tongue. Lan Wangji's whole body trembled. He was seeing starts. "Where else would you have learned to do that if not a brothel?"
Wei Ying laughed. "You'd be surprised at the things you can learn in convents these days."
Lan Wangji coaxed his weakened arms into lifting Wei Ying up into a kiss. "Which things?"
Wei Ying slid over his body, skin sticking to skin, warm, slick, and perfect, sighing onto his chest, over his heart. The softness of that breath and the flutter of those lashes did more to roil Wangji's blood than any carnal things learned from anywhere. It was all of him, mind, body and soul that made him the person that he was, that aroused Lan Wangji.
Wangji propped himself up on pillows and cradled Wei Ying in his arms. Wei Ying's head dropped onto Wangji's shoulder and his arms looped around Wangji's neck. His thighs parted all too easily these days for Lan Wangji. Wangji took full advantage.
"Again?" Wei Ying protested as if he wasn't just keening for another round.
"Again." Lan Wangji folded Wei Ying's knees over his own thighs, tucked Wei Ying's still soft member between their stomachs, and pressed the head of his stiffening length up against Wei Ying's entrance. Every inch of the valley between his cheeks was still slippery with grease and Lan Wangji's seed. He was more malleable this time, Lan Wangji's arousal hardened, pressed inside a place that Wei Ying saved for him, only for him. "Move," Wangji commanded.
"Yes, my lord." Wei Ying's feigned obedience was always so convincingly done.
Lan Wangji almost believed he was in control until Wei Ying rolled him over onto his back and rode him, gyrating his hips in that mesmerizing fashion. Lan Wangji angled himself up in short hard thrusts, aiming to pull that sharp inhale that he so loved from Wei Ying's throat. Wei Ying's own member was tapping heavily against Lan Wangji's stomach with every thrust. Lan Wangji held Wei Ying's wrists so he wouldn't touch it. The sight of it bouncing, dark and swollen made Wangji dizzy.
Wei Ying twisted one hand free of Lan Wangji's grasp, braced himself on the headboard as he slid his wet thighs up the length of Lan Wangji's body until Wangji's cock slid out with a loud pop. He slid up and up until the tip of his own cock brushed Lan Wangji's bottom lip. Wei Ying put his weight into his knees and loomed over Wangji's head. His eyes were dark as night. Lan Wangji opened his mouth on reflex.
"Swallow," came the command, from deep in that swan throat.
Lan Wangji did, hands gripping taunt, smooth thighs as the love of his life slid over his tongue and fucked him deep in the throat. Wangji settled into the music of Wei Ying's hitching gasps, the smell of him, the twitch of his cock pulling back to press against the inside of Lan Wangji's cheek, the sound of his own slurping. He could feel Wy's orgasm, building, tender blinding warmth spreading, pulsing in time with his heartbeat from the shaft, down, down. Lan Wangji felt as if he lifted bodily off the bed as he came. They breathed together, in, out, again. Wei Ying's seed tasted like his own.
Once in Wales, they would have to abandon their carriage and horses for a change of fashion then continue on foot as labourers.
"We'd get to join the riots?" Wei Ying was ecstatic.
Lan Wangji was upset at the prospect of not being able to make love to him in the labourer's close shared quarters. The proximity he had so recently wished for was the prayer of a man dying of thirst in the middle of a desert. Now, afloat on pure sweet water in the middle of an oasis, Lan Wangji had to restrain himself, pretend the water didn't exist, and it wasn't there for him to dive into. It was going to be torture. And he was going to endure it because when Wei Ying glanced at him with those dark eyes, giddy with the excitement of setting off on another adventure, nothing else mattered.
FIN