Pitched Normal

43

Wei Ying nervously sipped his tea as he waited for someone to begin speaking so that he did not have to start the conversation. It would seem, however, that all three of the Lans were more than content to just sip their teas in silence. Wei Ying hunkered down, not wanting to say anything just in case there was a rule he had missed. He was dead sure he had memorized all of them, but with how many there was, it was possible he forgot one somewhere, or perhaps that one where it states to be silent during mealtimes perhaps included teas as well. He was not sure of all of these nuances, and he felt that it was always better for him to play it safe, particularly since he was about to be potentially married into the sect. He could not very well begin by obviously breaking rules that had been in place for ages.

So he kept silent, hand gripping Lan Wangji's tightly as he continued to drink his, somewhat surprisingly, delicious tea. He was sure it was some blend of Earl, but he was not quite able to place what sort, and it did not really matter, it was rather enjoyable to just drink the tea, particularly once he was fairly sure that they were not going to start eating in on him, which was something that he had to state he would not expect to be as bad as it was in the Jiang clan, but he had somewhat expected nonetheless. It was nice to see that this was not the case, however and that he was able to somewhat just relax upon knowing that. He knew that the Lans' were different from the Jiangs, and he also was aware that they likely were different from almost every other clan out there, but really all he was able to focus on was Lan Zhan's hand in his own, and the sent of tea swirling through the room, his mind not allowing these worries to continue further.

As more time of silence passed, Wei Ying could feel himself becoming more relaxed, despite his previously ingrained training screaming at him to stop such reckless foolishness. It was hard to listen to that voice, however, with Lan Zhan around. For whatever reason Lan Zhan seemed to silence a lot of the smaller voices that seemed to bounce around his head with no recourse other than make him question and doubt himself over and over again. Everytime, it would seem as though his mind was, for a bit at least, blissfully silenced with Lan Zhan around. He was not necessarily sure what it was about Lan Wangji that seemed to quiet even his most inner demons, but he was not about to start wondering such things and risk it not working anymore. After all, some things only worked when one did not know that they were being done in the first place or how they worked from the beginning.

Once their cups were drained, Lan Qiren placed his on the saucer, calmly, turning his eyes towards his nephews, and Wei Ying. He wished to inform Wei WuXian what had gone on during their negotiations, but it was not as though he could say the exact words, hence why he had not spoken during the tea ingestion. It was too complicated, and he had somewhat rushed in getting Wei Ying over to the tea house, so he had not quite had time to really prepare what he was going to relay and how he was going to speak it. There was some things that were nothing too complicated, and therefore mattered little as to whether he spoke on those, nor how they were delivered. However, there was some rather...complicated...matters in the negotiations that they were not quite desiring to be spoken to Wei Ying. Or rather, it would be preferred that he was not quite informed of the details.

Furthermore, there were certain things that even Lan Qiren could not question when it came to Lan XiChen. He was not quite able to refuse the other, as he was a Sect Leader, the most he could do is attempt to advise and hope that it was not led astray or taken the wrong way. Sadly, at times this seemed to happen more oft than not, and XiChen was not known for being the most merciful, though many would think that was him. Lan Qiren, waited a little longer, trying to sort his thoughts out a tad bit more before speaking on Xichen's behalf. He could not afford to say the wrong things, after all.

"I wished to inform you more on what happened during the negotiations that we had with the Jiang Clan this morning, Wei WuXian." Lan Qiren stated gently. Wei Ying stared at him, unable to really say much more on the subject. Really what was he supposed to respond with? There was not much that he could say, and it was confusing as things still went.

"I see, well, Master Lan, please, let me know, what you see fit." Wei Ying said, a slight bow being given to Lan Qiren, it was awkwards and somewhat...lackluster but there was not much room for bows either way. Lan Qiren smiled.

"Do not worry," He reassured. "It is not bad news. Your courting is approved, and you do not have to worry about leaving the Jiang sect." Wei Ying sighed softly at that, not sure if he felt relief, or upset at that fact. He was not particularly sure which he should feel, nor which he did feel. He could focus on such things later, at any rate.

"The courting will commence at the Cloud Recesses, and should you both decide to marry, you shall be living with us, in the Cloud Recesses. These things were settled quite easily and quickly." He stated simply.

"Wait, does that mean, that I would be considered the...wife?" Wei Ying hummed curiously. "That would mean that the Jiang had to agree to...pay a dowry for me." Wei Ying gave a small laugh at that. "Forgive me, Master Lan, but I do find it prudent to inform you, that whatever Dowry that they would give to me, likely will be far below your standards." He said gently.

"And?" XiChen interrupted, before his Uncle could even begin to state anything. "We are not doing this for the dowry, Wei WuXian, we are doing it for you and Lan Wangji, so that you are happy together. That is all that we want out of this, and that is all that we are expecting." Wei Ying gave a small smile, nervous, turning his eyes back down to where they had entwined hands.

"Thank you, Sect Leader," he said simply, his voice rather soft.