Tired (Between a rock and a hard place 6)

Chapter 9

Jiang Yanli woke up to an uproar. Or not truly, just a lot of noise coming from outside of her quarters, lot of shouting and running around. When she opened her eyes after a long moment, still not fully willing to abandon the comfort of sleep, she realized how late it was. If was definitely way after her usual waking hours. She must have been tired from yesterday and needed the rest.

Be it as well, there was no longer anything that she would have to do today aside for informing Wei Wuxian about the good news of his impending marriage. She was sure he would be over the moon with happiness as it would solve both his lovesickness and the blame that her family wanted to put on Lan Wangji for who knew what.

Right now though, she wondered if she would really be the first one to break the news to her brother. With so much noise outside, preparations must have already started, she had no other explanation for the hectic movement she heard.

She quickly put on her robes and combed her hair into a very simply updo. She did not have any patience to do more at the moment, she wanted to go see how happy Wei Wuxian would be.

When she left her room however, she stopped dead on the spot. Just as she had assumed, everyone was running around in a hurry. But they were not looking as if they were preparing for a joyous event. On the contrary, their expressions were very stiff and there was tension floating in the air. Jiang Yanli's stomach immediately churned with a bad premonition.

She stopped one of the disciples who was running around and asked him: "What is happening?"

Luckily, the disciple was too preoccupied with continuing to run to wherever he was supposed to be and he did not comment on her slightly horrified and definitely worried tone. He only replied half-heartedly while already turning his back to her: "It is the Gusu Lan sect, they have come and took Senior Martial Brother Wei Wuxian away in the middle of the night. Sect Leader Jiang is calling everyone to assemble and go look for him."

Then, without as much as saying another word, the disciple was gone and Jiang Yanli was left on the doorsill of her room in utter bewilderment. She did not believe for a second that the Gusu Lan sect would actually come and kidnap her brother. Even if they had a reason, which she was not sure about in the first place, they would not do such a thing, it was simply not in their nature. And with how excited her family had been at the prospects of marrying Wei Wuxian off, they would have not sent him away themselves.

The only other explanation would however be that her brother had actually left of his own free will.

That was something which absurdly hurt her. She had arranged a marriage for him, one that she was sure he would love, and he was thanking her by disappearing and causing an uproar? Was this what she had been fighting for?

Jiang Yanli had to actually take a deep breath and consciously stop this particular train of thoughts. It was not fair to Wei Wuxian to accuse him like this. She knew the best how much suffering he had gone through in the Yunmeng Jiang sect. And had she not told him only yesterday that it would be better for him to leave? Granted that it had been before the whole wedding idea, but she suspected her brother had actually taken her words to heart and that had been why he was nowhere to be found today.

When she realized that it could have been her breakdown and crying yesterday which pushed him to leave the only family he had ever known – even if the said family had only made his life hard and painful – she felt strangely ashamed. She had never intended to complain that much. She had not wanted Wei Wuxian to feel unwelcomed and run away because he possibly believed that the only person who had ever been on his side had turned her back to him in the time of need.

Could it have truly been her harsh words which made him feel unwelcomed in his own home? Had she been the one to hurt him the most?

No, Jiang Yanli did not have it in her to take responsibility for this. She refused to believe that it had been just her emotional comment which had chased her brother away. It was way more likely that everything had simply become too much for him to bear. Perhaps she had added to the mix but she was definitely not the main cause; she was over blaming herself for everything that had happened inside her family. She had learned her lesson yesterday, if she wanted to protect her sanity and mental health, this was the only way possible.

Just as she started thinking where Wei Wuxian could have gone, injured and feverish, in the middle of the night, her parents appeared from behind a corner. They looked enraged, both of them, which was hardly a good sign. It never was but it was even more concerning right now when her brother needed time to escape as far as possible. If she could help him one last time, she would do her best to mislead her parents off his trails. She refused to think of this act as atonement for her previous carelessness but deep down, she could not deny it in fact was her way to apologise for her ignorance of Wei Wuxian's pain and inaction all these years.

Before she could open her mouth to speak, her mother was already angrily inquiring: "A-Li, do you know where Wei Wuxian is?" Her eyes squinted into small slits and her voice became more dangerous, Jiang Yanli shivered unconsciously. "Was it you who helped him escape?"

"No, Mother, of course not!" Jiang Yanli hated how defensive and small she sounded but she could not help herself. Not when her mother's rage was so clearly directed at her. She could now understand just how difficult it must have been for a child Wei Wuxian to face her and not break down in tears. "I have only just learned from one of the disciples that he is missing."

She could tell that her mother did not believe her so she tried a little harder, feigning innocence and naivety as best as she could: "Perhaps he had just gone to get something to eat? Or to the infirmary to have the doctors look at his wounds?"

Yu Ziyuan's eyes sparkled at her words and Jiang Yanli realized, way too late, that she had let herself slip. She was not supposed to know that her brother had been injured. How careless of her. She could only hope now that her mistake would not be the end for her.

"A-Li, I see you went to see him despite my warning yesterday." This time, it was her father speaking. At least his tone filled with disappointment was not making her feel scared. "Tell us, do you really not know where he could have gone? We only want the best for him, this marriage will be good. I am sure he will come to like it. We just need to bring him back before he will hurt himself more due to his injuries."

Jiang Yanli's mind was going at lightning speed. There was no doubt that her parents had seen right through her and suspected she knew more than she I reality did. However, knowledge was a double-edged sword. She could use it to her advantage as well.

She made sure to act as if she had only now realized that Wei Wuxian could hurt himself more if he does not come back. She played her role of a concerned and horrified older sister perfectly, her parents had to believe her.

"Oh, poor A-Xian. Were his wounds this bad? He never told me! If he did, I would have of course stopped him from leaving. And Qinghe is so far as well! Will he be fine?"

Her parents looked at each other and turned their backs to her, apparently satisfied with having a destination to search. Jiang Yanli had chosen half haphazardly and half hoping that they would believe Wei Wuxian went to ask for help the Qinghe Nie sect. She had in fact no idea where his steps would lead him, but Qinghe would be too conspicuous for comfort, he would certainly not go there.

When her parents disappeared around the corner again, shouting at the nearest disciples to prepare for a trip to Qinghe, Jiang Yanli discreetly slipped back to her room. This was all she could do for her brother; she could not help any more. However, she knew one person who definitely would be able to protect Wei Wuxian better.

If Lan Wangji was half as righteous as his reputation, he would not leave her brother to fend for himself. Jiang Yanli picked up a brush and started writing a long letter for the Second Jade. 

Here we go, that was a very short Jiang Yanli POV. Thank you so much for reading until here on this bumpy ride. Your continuous support inspires me to continue writing.

Although is not outright awful or cruel in this story, I believe everyone is aware that ignorance can hurt just as much as the worst cruelty. But do not worry, the last part of the series will be Wei Wuxian's POV which would hopefully put everything together. So, if you are not yet bored or too traumatised by reading, feel free to check it out once published.

If you feel like it, I would be happy if you let me know what your thought about the story :)