Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

Come Back To Gusu With Me Part 20

Jiang YanLi, unable to sleep because of the heaviness on her mind, rises earlier than she ever has. For once, she's grateful about the Lans and their early morning rules, though it is a little relaxed for visiting guests. She has a vague idea where the infirmary is, but she's happier when a disciple crosses her path and offers to take her there. It's a chilly morning, and she's glad of the extra robes some kind soul had put in her room. Still, she's shivering by the time they reach the medical facility.

Inside is much warmer because of the fully stocked brazier she notices, as she takes off her boots by the door.

Jiang YanLi is surprised to find Jiang Cheng isn't alone. While he's lying on a bed with his eyes still closed, Wen Qing and Wen Ning are bustling around him, with the former moving in a concise, expert way, knowing what she needs to do while Wen Ning follows her around like a baby chicken, watching what she's doing and asking relevant questions. It's kind of cute.

There's a pang in her heart because seeing how they are with each other, one patiently explaining step by step each procedure as she does it, and the other curiously memorising the information, she's reminded of a young and inquisitive Wei WuXian following her around in the kitchen and doing the same thing, while she cooked what later became his favourite dish: lotus root and pork rib soup.

Newly arrived in Lotus Pier, Wei WuXian was a breath of fresh air after he came out of his shell and realised that he had a home now and two siblings to be with. He was so open with his emotions, so effortlessly cute and affectionate, even if Jiang Cheng usually pushed him away. He understood afterwards that Jiang Cheng was just like that. But, she pauses her thoughts.

What if Jiang YanLi had intervened back then? What if she had told Jiang Cheng to say how he felt instead of using actions that led to initial misunderstandings? What if she had been more patient with both of them at that time, and told Wei WuXian that gestures of fondness like that made Jiang Cheng embarrassed but that didn't mean he disliked being hugged, and what if at the same time, she told Jiang Cheng not to be so rough? They were just getting to know one another after all.

When she realised how much this new boy listened to her, why did she use that unexpected power, that innocent trust he held towards her, and stifle his true feelings? Of course, it was wrong, how her own mother punished him all the time, and he was entitled to feel bad about it. Yes, she wanted to keep the peace between everyone, but surely she could have found another way. What was the driving force behind the cajoling silence she used like an armour?

“Jiang-Guniang. Greetings.”

Jiang YanLi is forced to suspend thinking about this, the interruption coming from an equally ranked Wen Qing and Wen Ning.

They bow to each other, and then Wen Qing gestures towards a chair close to Jiang Cheng but far enough so that she won't be in the way of their treatment. Jiang YanLi is aware of Wen Qing's expertise in the medical field since they met when she harboured the Jiang siblings after the massacre at Lotus Pier, and she had agreed to treat Jiang Cheng’s injuries. Back then, it was also Wen Qing, who had to disable Jiang Cheng because he was freaking out about everything. History likes repeating itself then.

Jiang YanLi sits, closing her eyes while she listens to every sound in the room. The crunching grind of hard, dry ingredients forced to be crushed between a mortar and pestle, the swoosh of small things being measured out, the hush of sheets being moved - all of it soothing her tension into something a little more manageable. Her heart begins to calm, the beats turning from rapid and erratic to a steadier thump.

“You look like you haven't slept,” Wen Qing says, after a while. She hands Jiang YanLi a green porcelain cup of jasmine tea.

Jiang YanLi nods, opening her eyes.