Xue Yang sneaks into the banqueting hall where there's a clear divide between the children, all gathered together to one side, and the rest of the cultivators who are standing and watching Wen Ruohan with a team of healers. They have surrounded a person lying on the ground who is unmoving and quite still.
The area where the Jiang contingent would have sat is unobserved and since everyone is busy with whatever drama is going on at the front, Xue Yang has plenty of time to go and collect any remaining full jars of wine that he had spiked with yew berries earlier, effectively removing any evidence of his first plan. No one pays any attention to him, dressed as a servant like this, which greatly suits his purpose.
Then he catches Wen Qing's eyes and she slowly moves backwards until they're next to each other. Wei Ying sees them and shuffles closer, holding hands with Lan Zhan in an unnoticeable manner.
All the rest of the children are focused on the people right at the front of the hall anyway, so these four can huddle to talk properly.
"What's going on?" Xue Yang asks Wen Qing, as she is the oldest of them and would have a better grasp of the situation.
"Sect Leader Yao is dead," she mutters under her breath. "The healers think he was poisoned."
"Poisoned? Any more details?" Maybe he shouldn't have sounded so excited because she's narrowing her eyes at him, making Xue Yang squirm. "Okay, fine!" he says petulantly. "I put crushed yew berries in the wine for Wen Ruohan and the Jiangs. They never showed up, though."
"In the jars? For the Jiangs?" She sounds shocked.
"Yeah? They were planning on going home tomorrow so we would've totally missed our chance...." Xue Yang takes a moment to really look at her. "Oh, and guess what? That butt plug over there," he jerks his head towards Wen Ruohan, "is using his golden core to burn away the poisons that we're adding to his wine, so we have to come up with another way to kill him."
"Hold on, hold on, what do you mean, 'missed our chance'? The Jiangs weren't at the top of the list," she protests, and it comes out like a hiss.
"Listen, I heard them talking and they, well, the fiery one said, 'I'm not staying here, I'm gonna leave tomorrow, and if I see those kids again, they're gonna regret it.' So of course, I had to do something. Plus, she didn't seem like the sort to change. She never said sorry, right?"
Something like resignation forms on his mentor's face. "Yeah, you're right about that, but what did you do, exactly?"
"That's a surprise, but they won't be bothering anyone now." He grins, feeling quite happy all of a sudden. It's been a rather successful evening so far, and the only thing that might have made it better is Wen Ruohan keeling over and dying, but that's okay, a win is a win and he'll take it.
"Did you- oh, my God..." Wen Qing stares at him, pale with shock.
"Don't thank me all at once," Xue Yang replies, completely mistaking her anxiety for grateful awe.
"Thank you," Lan Zhan tells him with the most sincere bow, his earnest words making Xue Yang want to ruffle his hair, but then, he remembers how hard this kid can chomp, and refrains from touching him.
"What about you?" Xue Yang asks Wei Ying with a wink. "She can never hurt either of you again." He's surprised at himself because his voice comes out sounding kind. And he means it.
Wei Ying nods slowly, unsure of how he feels about the deaths of Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu. He's not as upset as he was in that last life, and that makes him feel better, but then he thinks about Jiang YanLi and Jiang Cheng, who will now have to grow up as orphans.
