#qingyan

“Thank you for telling me,” she tells her shidi sweetly, giving him a smile. “I will greet them.”

He bounces lightly from foot to foot, anxious. “Should… should I escort you…?”

Yanli wishes that she knew him well enough to draw him into her arms – were he one of the shidis from before, one of the members of her sect from before all were slaughtered, she would have, but… it is best to not think of that. Instead, she shakes her head. “No, I will be fine,” she says, seeing him relax a little. “But…” Yanli taps her finger on her chin. “Aren’t you supposed to be practicing archery right now?”

He pales and then his face blotches red, clearly having not expected her to stay on top of the training schedules. “I- I- I’ll go do that right now!” He stammers, bowing and sprinting off as she does her best not to giggle.

She doesn’t quite succeed, but at least she manages to hold it in until he’s out of earshot.

Now, to see her visitor. Yanli ponders over it as she heads to the front, wondering who it could be. If it were someone from one of the larger sects, whom she had known at Gusu, perhaps, there is no reason they wouldn’t announce their name and be properly escorted in. But someone who did not declare herself as such, and was waiting for Yanli alone…?

Yanli is not unintelligent, and given those she would have counted among friends, and those who could have reason to keep quiet about and yet come seek her out regardless….

“Wen Qing,” Yanli greets her as she approaches, and the hooded woman looks up. She looks… absolutely awful. Her cheeks are hollow from hunger, her hair a mess from what Yanli can see, her robes and cloak dirty and torn in several places.

“Jiang Yanli,” she says, and then her eyes widen and she fumbles. “Or… forgive me, I-“ They are not equals anymore, Yanli realizes, but it matters little to her.

She steps forward quickly and takes the other woman’s hands in her own, giving them a gentle squeeze even as Wen Qing jerks and swallows, but lets them stay. “Jiang Yanli is fine,” she tells her gently. “I am glad to see you.”

And in fact, she is – she would say it is glad to see Wen Qing doing well, but she is clearly not, so Yanli will have to be content with the simple matter that she is glad the other woman is alive. There were so many deaths in the Sunshot Campaign, on both sides, and she is achingly glad that Wen Qing is not among the fallen.

Wen Qing swallows sharply again and then she is gripping Yanli’s hands right back, a fierce determination in her eyes. “I am here to beg for your help,” she says. “It is my family.”

Oh, no. Yanli can’t help the concern that swells up in her, even more than before. “What happened?” she asks, and she gently tugs on Wen Qing’s hands, taking a step back and intending to pull the woman with her – but she remains rooted to the spot, gaze steady.

“They’re disappearing,” she says, intent and unwavering. “Murdered or taken – I don’t know which. My cousin’s son and his caretaker, our grandmother, were the most recent.”

Yanli’s brow furrows very slightly. “But… Lanling Jin said they were just going to contain the cultivators,” she says. In hindsight, she realizes with a lurch of guilt, they were very, very vague and that would most certainly contain the woman before her. She should have spoken up, then – should have asked for Wen Qing and Wen Ning to be put underneath Jiang protection, as well as anyone they needed to bring with them.

Wen Qing pushes forward. “Lanling Jin lied,” she says. “It isn’t just cultivators – it’s every Wen, no matter how young and no matter how old.” Her lip curls slightly. “Nor do I think they are simply containing them.”

It is a blow – it is a terrifying blow, a terrifying thought. If Lanling Jin has lied about only cultivators… Between Jin Guangshan and Wen Qing, Yanli knows who she will trust more. It is not even slightly in question. She squeezes Wen Qing’s hands and nods fiercely. “Yes,” she says, even though Wen Qing had never actually asked a question. “Of course I will help.” Surely, even if Lanling Jin is lying, the other sects do not know…!

A horrifying thought strikes her, then. “Your brother?” Because they are a pair, and yet he is not here!

Fortunately, Wen Qing relaxes just a little bit at that and shakes her head. “Don’t worry,” she says. “He’s fine. We thought…” She grimaces a little. “If he approached with me, we would have been directed to your brother, instead.”

In truth, it makes sense – Yanli is unwed, and for a strange man to be requesting an audience with her, even if he is accompanied by a woman, when that woman will not in turn identify herself either… no, they likely would have been directed to Jiang Cheng.

Yanli wishes she could say that Jiang Cheng would have heard them out, would have listened to them, but she knows her stubborn little brother and he may not have.

He will listen, though, to her.

“Is he in town?” she asks. “Should we get him?” Yanli cannot imagine they are far apart – were this the situation, she doubts she could leave her brothers, even if it was what made sense.

“Actually…” Wen Qing glances down, and then she pushes forward, holding Yanli’s hands and being gentle as she does so, moving them a few steps. Yanli does as she is directed, taking a few steps back even as she is confused. “A-Ning, you can come out.”

There’s a splashing noise from under the dock, and then Yanli’s mouth drops open as Wen Qionglin steps out from underneath it, the water shallow enough that it comes up to his shoulders when he draws himself up fully. He reaches out, grabbing hold of the dock, and hauls himself up, arms trembling slightly but managing it. He’s completely soaked through, his robes and hair completely sodden as he drips all over the pier, but that doesn’t stop him from giving a bow. “Lady Jiang,” he greets, voice soft, and Yanli is completely flabbergasted.

“How- How long were you under there?” she asks. “Why?”

Wen Qing looks at her, relaxed enough to give her a slightly unimpressed look. “I wasn’t going to leave him behind, not when this is going on,” she says, which is exactly what Yanli had been thinking but moments earlier so she’s not going to argue with that. “But it’s not like there’s anywhere else to hide here.”

She is, again, not wrong, but Yanli is an older sister too and so she instinctively goes to fretting. “Oh, you must be so cold! I’m sure some of A-Xian’s robes will fit you – and some of mine will fit you as well, Wen Qing. Please, come with me.”

“Thank you,” says Wen Qionglin softly. Wen Qing lets go of one of Yanli’s hands to offer the other to her brother and he takes it.

They make an interesting trio, as they walk through Lotus Pier. Yanli, holding hands with the exhausted, hollow-cheeked and dirty Wen Qing, who holds hands with the dripping wet Wen Qionglin. It is both fortunate and unfortunate that not all of her shidis are at practice. Unfortunate, because it means they witness this event – it cannot stay quiet, and it will spread quickly.

Fortunate, though, because Yanli stops the first disciple she sees. “Gather up a few other disciples,” she tells him. “I need two baths drawn up in my room, and someone to fetch some of the pork buns from the kitchens, please.”

“Lady Jiang,” Wen Qionglin says, in a polite-but-protesting manner, and Yanli throws her best ‘I am your older sister and you WILL listen to me’ look his way, which she typically has very little need to practice. Fortunately, practiced or not, it is enough to make him stop, and Wen Qing snorts.

“Thank you,” she says instead, and Yanli turns a smile upon her, squeezing her hand.

“Of course,” she says, because there is no question about her doing such.

They stop by A-Xian’s room before they reach her own, and Yanli leaves the door open as she steps inside the messiness. It is a little worrisome, in that while A-Xian has always been messy he has never been… like this, and she worries greatly for both her brothers every day. Still, he has clean robes put away, and she plucks some out for Wen Qionglin to wear. Her brother is maybe just a little taller, so they should fit him well.

Without even thinking about it, she takes Wen Qing’s hand again when she shuts the door behind her, and leads on.

Her shidis are good – they work fast, probably scampering as fast as they can, and the three of them are slow. Yanli has never been a fast walker, and Wen Qing and Wen Qionglin do not seem to have the ability to move quickly. She wonders how long it has been since they properly ate or rested, and the thought sends a pang through her.

Either way, it means by the time she has led them to her rooms, her shidi are just finishing up. They bow quickly. “Is- Is there anything else you need, Lady Jiang?” the older one asks, eyes wide as he glances at her two companions.

“Could you tell Sect Leader Jiang to meet me here?” she requests, and he nods, both of the children off like two arrows, hurrying as fast as they can without running.

Yanli smiles at their backs, but Wen Qing is the one who speaks up. “You have rebuilt this place well,” she says, her voice soft.

Ah. Yes. “Thank you,” she says. She sets A-Xian’s clothes on her bed, going to her wardrobe to pull out some clothes for Wen Qing as well, and then ensures that both the towels and her privacy screen are at hand, should they need the latter. She moves quickly – the baths are steaming, and they should get in while they are warm.

“Is there anything else I can get for you?” she says, as she shows them where her shidi have set up tea and pork buns on the table.

Wen Qing shakes her head. “Thank you,” she says, and she seems to struggle with her words. “I… You’re doing a lot for us. Thank you.”

Yanli abandons decorum and draws her into a tight hug. Wen Qing is surprised, but then hugs her right back, just as fiercely. “You have done a lot for me as well,” she says simply, quietly, her mouth right by the other’s ear. “What are friends for?”

When Wen Qing pulls back, she is perhaps a little misty-eyed – Yanli allows her her pride and does not comment. “Friends,” Wen Qing agrees as well.

“Thank you, Lady Jiang,” says Wen Qionglin, watching the two with a smile on his face, and he bows again. Yanli would hug him, but he is very, very wet right now.

“Jiang Yanli is fine,” she tells him, and though he nods, she doubts he will call her such immediately. It will likely take more persuasion. “I will be right outside. Let me know when you are finished.”

And with that, she leaves them to it, shutting the door behind her and then leaning against the wall next to it with a slight sigh. This will be… difficult, she thinks. Quite hard, and yet… can she do anything else?

A-Cheng rounds the corner. “Jiejie,” he says, and his eyes are narrowed, angry with concern as he reaches out for her hands to hold them. “Are you alright? Who did you bring here, what’s going on?”

She loves her brother, in his angry care, his fierce comfort, and when she wraps her arms around him he doesn’t hesitate to hold her back. “It is Lanling Jin,” she says, because it is probably the best place to start. “They have lied to use, they…”