Backlash Part 2

Chapter 216: Secluded Garden

Lan Xichen didn't know how long he stood in front of the door to the Jingshi. There was nothing to stop him from knocking on the door and entering. Lan Wangji was inside. He would not stop Lan Xichen from entering. He might ignore Lan Xichen's presence, but he wouldn't stop him.

Lan Xichen startled when someone flicked his shoulder. Lan Xichen hadn't realized anyone had approached him. He turned, and found Wei Qing looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Lan Xichen felt caught. How long had she been watching him stand here? Lan Xichen turned back to look at the closed door in front of him before he lowered his eyes to the ground. It felt like an opportunity had slipped through his fingers. Lan Xichen turned back to Wei Qing.

"Are you here to see Wangji? I apologize for not noticing your arrival." Lan Xichen, hoped he didn't sound as lost and dejected as he felt. Wei Qing looked at him silent for a long second, then sighed.

"Come with me." Her voice sounded tired. Lan Xichen's face twisted in confusion.

"Do you require something from me?" Lan Xichen asked.

Wei Qing levelled a look at him that usually meant Lan Xichen was missing something that she thought was obvious. Sometimes Lan Xichen wondered if Wei Qing realized that, somewhere between being the most brilliant doctor in the cultivation world and having memories of the future, what was obvious to Wei Qing was not necessarily obvious to everyone else.

"Yes," she said as she grabbed Lan Xichen by the wrist and began walking.

It was an unusual breach in etiquette for Wei Qing. While she had some tendencies to speak in a very direct manner, almost crossing over into informal, Wei Qing was generally very cautious of that line. When she was with her family she could be as casual as Wei Wuxian. Her dignity and confidence blending into a sarcastic biting humor.

However, Wei Qing was much more aware of the boundaries of decorum and the nuances of politics. She might cut close to those boundaries, but she rarely outright crossed them. Her impatience would manifest in a pointed look or a sharpening of her tone. On some occasions she might resort to a gesture that was shocking. A sharp sound of a teacup being set down too forcefully. An impatient snap of her fingers much closer to someone than would necessarily be polite.

Initiating casual physical contact with someone of the opposite gender that was not her family was a line that Wei Qing generally avoided. Especially if that person was of higher political standing than herself, like a sect leader. It was not as though Wei Qing had never behaved casually with Lan Xichen. However, dragging Lan Xichen by the wrist across Cloud Recesses in the same manner Wei Wuxian might drag Lan Wangji through a market, was decidedly more casual than Lan Xichen had expected.

Wei Qing pulled him down several winding paths. By now she knew her way around quite well. Lan Xichen was only mildly surprised when she led him down several rarely used pathways, avoiding running into other people. After a few turns she brought him to an isolated garden. The Cloud Recesses had many such spaces. Gardens were a feature you could find in any sect, but every sect had their own particular habits.

The LanlingJin sect was prone to large statement gardens. Courtyards filled with swaths of dramatic flowers, lavish pavilions, and sweeping walkways. Lotus Pier was, in many ways, one large garden. The water surrounding Lotus Pier was carefully cultivated with lotus blooms. The sect was also dotted with small water gardens to the point that you could at least glimpse three such gardens from any point you might stand.

The QingheNie sect kept their gardens in walled-off private spaces. Every sect certainly had their private courtyards and walled gardens. Even LotusPier, despite their propensity for open garden spaces. Only the QingheNie sect took that to the point that a guest might go an entire visit in the unclean realm without seeing a single garden.