WangXian Forever Book 8

Chapter 121 Ceremony

The big day had come at last.

It was JingYi's naming ceremony, and that was a little misleading because JingYi was already a part of the Lan Sect and named accordingly, but it was a formal occasion anyway because his name was going to be added into the family history books.

The Book of Lineages.

It was a huge tome, with the family trees of the main families of Cloud Recesses, all of their ancestors right the way from Lan An, the founder of their Sect.

Lan Zhan had special robes commissioned for all of them, and he had asked Wei Ying which colours he would prefer. It was his choice to wear white like the rest of them.

But they were no ordinary robes either. The silkmasters had outdone themselves, the design of clouds traditionally embroidered onto the white robes were done with gold and silver threads, the stitches so small, they looked like part of the fabric already.

That morning, being such an important day, Lan Zhan woke at five in the morning as usual, to find Wei Ying sitting up already but trying not to fall asleep. He looked so adorable, trying his hardest not to be late today of all days, that Lan Zhan just had to kiss him awake.

It took a few moments before Wei Ying was kissing him back with the same hungry  enthusiasm, eyes still closed in happy delight.

"Good morning, my love." He whispered, still bleary-eyed but smiling.

"Good morning, my Wei Ying." Lan Zhan kissed his forehead too, and rose, effortlessly carrying the clinging barnacle that was his husband.

The water had already been filled in the copper bathtub and this one had lasted, much to the relief of the craftsmen of Cloud Recesses, though Lan Zhan liked to think of it as helping them to earn a living. He watched as Wei Ying slapped a heating talisman on the tub and he reached for the fragrant oils which they would use together.

Lan Zhan held his hand out for Wei Ying who dropped his robes immediately and climbed into the bath. Lan Zhan followed, grabbing a wet cloth. He loved the way Wei Ying’s skin shone when sluiced with water, how it was slightly darker than his pale fingers as he wiped the cloth back and forth over his shoulders.

There was no time for anything other than bathing today, because they had to get ready and make sure all the children were ready too.

Lan Zhan was very thorough though. They took turns to wash each other's hair and then it was time to get dressed.

These moments of domestic bliss were treasured by both of them, knowing that they could have remained elusive to both. So Wei Ying sat patiently while Lan Zhan plaited his hair, adding white flowers that the moon tree had gifted them the day before. They had enough flowers for everyone and Wei Ying kept his fingers busy by making a little circlet for Rumi and Li XiWang, little Li Li and QuQu, SiZhui and Jin Ling's daughter.

Lan Zhan made him wear robe after robe: there was the underwear robe, white, and then the inner white robes. These were piped with red and black edges which stood out stark against the white cloth. Inner robes were made out of silk too, and Wei Ying shivered as the cool fabric floated over his body.

Then came the lining robe and then finally, the white embroidered silk robes, which Lan Zhan fastened himself, making sure that today, Wei Ying wasn't going to get in trouble for dressing inappropriately.

To his credit, he did not complain once.

Lan Zhan felt something swell inside his heart as he looked at Wei Ying dressed in his colours. He would never ever make Wei Ying do anything he wasn't comfortable with, so when Wei Ying had agreed to the white robes, chosen them himself, Lan Zhan had felt it stutter then...but now?

He wanted to rip them off just as quickly, undoing his hard work. His fists clenched, nostrils flaring as he fought for control.

Wei Ying’s eager silver eyes watched Lan Zhan carefully, right up until Lan Zhan claimed he was ready to be unleashed onto the unsuspecting innocent residents of Cloud Recesses....okay, he might not have said those exact words, but Wei Ying was a hundred percent sure that's what he meant.

So he threw his arms around the first unsuspecting resident, his husband, who hugged him back.

"It's going to be alright, my love." Wei Ying told him, right next to his ear.

He felt Lan Zhan release the tension he had been holding onto and hold him more firmly, a testament to whatever nerves he was carrying.

"Mn."

All they really needed was each other, and they knew the day would pass well.

Next they went to wake the children. They tackled one each, and Wei Ying helped Li XiWang to get ready, while Lan Zhan was the best to help Rumi. They had discovered that if he did not see the bowl of water and kept his eyes closed, they could wipe him down and refresh his body too, without bathing him since he had a severe aversion to water.

There was no breakfast this morning, instead there would be a banquet after the ceremony.

When the four of them left the Jingshi, they met Lan XiChen in traditional white and Jiang Cheng, who was wearing the vivid purples of his Sect. Their lovely little baby made grabby hands at her Uncle Lan Zhan who hid a shy smile and took her into his arms as Wei Ying giggled happily. They made their way to the Great Hall, where Uncle Qiren was waiting with JingYi and Zhitiao, all of whom were wearing white.

In the end, the ceremony did not take long at all, just as long as it took for JingYi and Zhitiao to bow to their elders and ask for blessings on his auspicious path, one that he remarked, he'd been walking on for some time now, and then the calligraphy masters had added his name to the Lineage Book.

This was followed by lots of hugs and kisses and a warm celebration to welcome JingYi into the family. If there were wet eyes, they all had them so no one stood out.

Wei Ying handed the couple presents, a flute for Zhitiao made from the finest white jade, and a special bow and quiver full of arrows for JingYi. Wei Ying had made those himself and JingYi dropped them on the floor just so he could hug him again.

When they came out of the Great Hall, laughing and talking among themselves, who should they see but JingYi's babies?

All three red Dragon Babies hooted and squealed when they saw him, covering him and then Zhitiao with licks and kisses. Their bodies all three of them folded over their nanny, until only his hair could be seen, and he was laughing so much, he couldn’t catch his breath.

Wei Ying smiled up at Lan Zhan, feeling the most content since he had come to live in Cloud Recesses.

And tomorrow, they were going to have a wedding.