Itâs important to note that while the Lotus Pier Massacre is often depicted as the pier being set ablaze, thatâs not actually the case
Unlike the Cloud Recesses, the only damage explicitly mentioned as having been inflicted on the Pier is when Wen Chao demanded that the lotus symbols be removed
In fact, the fact that the Pier seems superficially identical is even used as an added gut-punch. When Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng sneak back into the Pier, we get this scene :
â The gates of Lotus Pier were tightly shut. Outside, lights glowed brightly. Fragments of moonlight flowed along the crystalline water. Dozens of large lanterns in the shape of nine-petaled lotuses floated by the dock in silence. Everything was the same as before. Yet, it was because of how everything was the same as before that it tormented the heart.â
So why is it rebuilt by the time Wei Wuxian is reborn ? Itâs probably meant to be yet another sign of Jiang Chengâs insecurity. After all, remember what Wang Lingjiao said when she stormed into Lotus Pier ?
âLotus Pier really is quite nice. Itâs so big. Itâs just that all of the houses are a bit old.â
And again, when Wei Wuxian revisits the Pier after the Second Siege, we get this scene, that - on top of telling us of Lotus Pierâs new state, is meant to be yet another depiction, I feel, of how the Pier is no longer Wei Wuxianâs home
âThe training field was two times larger. Each new building seemed to be taller than the previous, adorned with curving roof decor. It seemed grander than before and had more splendor. But, compared to the Lotus Pier of his memories, it had changed too much.
Wei WuXian felt a sense of loss from deep within. He didnât know whether the old buildings from the past were blocked behind these impressive new buildings or if they were torn down already.
After all, they were indeed too oldâ
Now thatâs a deliberate echo if Iâve ever seen one. Wang Lingjiaoâs catty little jab - especially paired with her subsequent role in the massacre - stung Jiang Cheng so much that he ultimately rebuilt Lotus Pier over it
It also stands as a nice little contrast with the Lan Sect. Because - again, contrary to popular belief, the Lan Sect was not massacred in Wen Xuâs attack. In fact, it kind of seems like it wasnât an attack at all
âOne of the disciples beside them whispered, âOf course his face isnât so great. Last month, the Cloud Recesses was burnt down. You didnât know yet, did you?â
Hearing this, Wei Wuxian jolted, âBurnt down?!â
In the past few days, Jiang Cheng had heard too many of these stories, so he wasnât as surprised as Wei Wuxian was, âBy the Wen Sectâs people?â
The disciple, âYou can say that. You can also say⌠that the Lan Sect itself burnt everything down. The eldest son of the Wen Sect, Wen Xu, went to Gusu. He accused the Lan Sectâs leader of something and forced the Lan Sectâs people to burn down their own residence! It was given pretty names like cleaning up the place so that itâs reborn from the firelight. Most of the Cloud Recesses and its surrounding forest has been burnt down. Just like that, the hundreds of years old paradise had been destroyed. The leader of the Lan Sect was heavily injured. We donât even know if heâs still alive. Well, wellâŚâ
Wei Wuxian, âIs Lan Zhanâs leg related to this?â
The disciple, âOf course. The first place that Wen Xu ordered them to burn down was the Library Pavilion. He declared that heâll teach anyone who wasnât willing to do it a lesson. Lan Wangji refused. He was attacked by Wen Xuâs people and they broke one of his legs. It hadnât even been healed yet, and he was dragged out here again. Who knows what theyâre trying to do?!â
It kinds of sounds like Wen Xu pulled something similar to what Wang Lingjiao attempted in Yunmeng - only, you know, successfully. Wen Xu simply walked in the front doors, accused the Lan of wronging them, and demanded that the Lan burn Cloud Recesses themselves⌠and unlike the Jiang, the Lan did so.
It seems only Lan Wangji spoke out against the burning - getting his leg broken as consequence. As for Qingheng-Jun⌠weâre never TOLD he fought the Wen or the Wen attacked him. Itâs entirely possible the building he was in was just set on fire and he couldnât escape in time.
Thatâs probably why the Sects were able to continue to delude themselves regarding the true state of affairs, and are still able to pretend that war wasnât on the horizon - the Cloud Recesses wasnât massacred, it was âdisciplinedâ, and by itâs own people, no less
I wonder if that was the plan at Lotus Pier, too - if, like the Recesses, the Pier was simply supposed to be burned - before Wang Lingjiao overstepped by demanding personal, petty, revenge against Wei Wuxian, and then misspoke again, prompting an attack from Madame Yu that blew the entire operationâs cover.
Maybe Wen Zhuliu was lying in wait just below the Cloud Recesses with an army of his own, like the one that took the Pier, waiting for the Lan to make any attempt at resistance.
I wonder if that was the plan for all the Sects, with the Nie being saved for last, because Wen Ruohan knew that the Wen-hating Nie Mingjue would refuse any attempts at âdisciplineâ out of hand, prompting an attack that would set off a war against a much, much, weaker foe, with three of the four sects weakened by âWen disciplineâ, and the fourth hopefully massacred
Now that I think about it, that was probably the case for the Wen Indoctrination, too. Before, you know, Wen Chao blew it
