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“A-Xian?”

A light tapping on his door pulled his attention from the scroll he was reading.

“A-Xian?”

Wei Ying padded over to his door and quietly slid it open. “Shijie? What’s wrong?”

He glanced up and down the corridor and quickly pulled her inside before closing the door and activating the silencing talismans he always used.

Satisfied, he turned back to the girl who had all but raised him and started when he saw the tear tracks running down her face. 

“Shijie?!”

“A-Xian,” she fell into his arms with a sob. “I have to go for the selection at the palace.”

He held her gently, slightly thrown by the reversal of roles, and tried his best to reassure her. “It's okay, Shijie, you'll only be gone for a couple of months. You can get yourself rejected and then come back and marry the peacock. The wedding will only be delayed a little…”

This was apparently the wrong thing to say as she burst into tears, her usually so well controlled scent souring with distress. 

He groaned.

“Xianxian is sorry! Please don't cry, Shijie! How can this Xianxian help?”

She laughed quietly. It was a watery little sound but it was enough to give him hope. “I can't go, A-Xian. I can't afford a delay.”

Wei Ying frowned, confused at the tiny hint of joy threading through the distressed pheromones.

“I'm pregnant, A-Xian.” She blushed then gave him a stern glare. “And you absolutely cannot tell anyone . Promise me!”

He huffed and grumbled but did as she wanted. “I'm still going to punch the Peacock next time I see him.”

“No, you're not, A-Xian.”

“But Shijie! He took advantage of you! He stole your virtue!”

A wicked little giggle and a mischievous look, clear even through eyes made puffy and red by crying, told him more than he really wanted to know. 

“Actually, I seduced him…”

“Xianxian is only three!!”

This time her laugh was clear and genuine, just as it should be, “I'm very sorry, Xianxian is too young to hear these things.”

After their laughter died down, Wei Ying gave his Shijie a serious look. “I have an idea that should work if you're willing to try it.”

She nodded.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

“If you don’t hold still, Wei Wuxian, we will not be held responsible for the state of your face!” Minglian scolded as he once again flinched away from the cosmetics brush.

“But I'll have Shijie’s weimao! No one's going to see!” Wei Ying grumbled, thoroughly unimpressed at all the poking and prodding that his amazing shijie’s scary maids were putting him through. 

“If you don't feel the part, you won't look the part, and no one would believe for a second that you were our xiaojie.” Mingli was being particularly vicious as she bullied his hair into a suitably feminine style.

He would complain about that too, but Mingli had the hairpins, and he knew too well that she was quite expert at using them. 

“As it is, you're already too tall,” Minglian complained, glaring at him as she finished with his eyes. “You’re lucky we were able to arrange suitable robes for you.”

“Minglian, Mingli,” his angelic Shijie said lightly as she entered the room carrying a new cloak for him. “Don’t scold A-Xian too hard. He’s doing a great favour for us.”

The maids bowed to their mistress then stood back to assess their handiwork.

Wei Ying fought the urge to chew on his lip as the maids circled him like hungry tigers while Jiang Yanli looked on with a smile.

“You look perfect, A-Xian. Minglian, Mingli, you’ve both done a wonderful job! He looks so beautiful.”

“Shijie!” Wei Ying protested, blushing furiously as the three women giggled at his discomfort.

“Now he just needs to learn how to walk,” Mingli stated

“What? I know how to walk!” Wei Ying’s squawked surprise only made his Shijie giggle more.

“I’m afraid they’re right, A-Xian. You’re tall for an omega, but you’ll be able to get away with replacing me if you can walk properly.”

Jiang Yanli’s sweet smile was enough to persuade him to do anything and, before he knew it, he was walking back and forth across their rented room, doing his best to imitate his Shijie’s gait. He felt like he was doing reasonably well, but every time he thought he had it, Minglian or Mingli would whack him with bamboo switches they’d acquired from somewhere.

“Smaller steps.”

Whap.

“Don’t slouch!”

Whap.

“Don't swing your hips like that!”

Whap.

“Shijie! Make them stop!”

“Oh, A-Xian, you’re doing so well, but if you walk like that in the palace they'll think I'm a harlot!”

Wei Ying’s gasp of horror at that idea brought pleased little smiles to the maids’ faces, even as Mingli took entirely too much pleasure in administering a quick swipe at his butt. 

“At least you aren’t being taught this by Mother.” Her apologetic frown stopped his pouting. “You’ll only have to remember this for a little while. And being a cultivator gives more leeway for moving freely…”

He sighed gustily then nodded, “I can do this. I can do this.”

“I know you can, A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli smiled again. “One more ke, then we can pause for food. You and Mingli will need to set out early tomorrow to make up for lost time.”

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

By the following morning, Wei Ying had to admit that the efforts of his Shijie and her maids had worked wonders to create the illusion of a beautiful female omega cultivator.

He was happy to agree that his own good looks certainly helped, but with the feminine hair, makeup, and the lessons in how to move, he felt transformed: His tall (for an omega) figure, complemented by the carefully chosen colours and drape of the robes, seemed more willowy than lean, while the cosmetics added an alluring aspect to his naturally striking silver eyes.

The addition of his Shijie's weimao, while only useful on the road, all helped reinforce the idea of a young noble lady travelling with her maids.

They had just breakfasted and were preparing to leave when a message that the Young Master Jiang had arrived wanting to speak with Jiang Yanli.

It was only minutes later that, with Yanli’s permission, their brother appeared, face pulled into a scowl and a worried hint to his lotus and lightning scent.

“A-Jie, are you alright? Why were you delayed here?” He swept into the room, questions flying before he noticed his sister's companion. “Ah, forgive me, guniang, I didn't see you there. This one is Jiang Wanyin, heir to the Yunmeng Jiang.”

He bowed in greeting while Wei Ying worked hard to keep a straight face. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Jiang Wanyin. You may address this one as A-Ying,” he said, pitching his voice higher than normal as he'd practised.

“A-Ying, it is…” Jiang Cheng looked harder, then swore while the rest burst into laughter.

Once the threats of breaking legs ended and Jiang Cheng had calmed down enough to actually listen, he treated Wei Ying to an exasperated eye roll.

“Please tell me you weren’t going to stay here on your own, A-Jie?”

The looks traded between Wei Ying, Minglian, and Mingli were almost enough to set off another explosion were it not for Jiang Yanli’s timely intervention.

“Minglian is going to stay with me, while Mingli is going with A-Xian.”

“Because none of us would agree to leave Shijie alone. We’re not completely lost to common sense.” Wei Ying interjected, hoping for backup from Jiang Cheng.

“But now that you're here, A-Cheng, you can stay with me and both can go with A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli barreled on with the tiniest frown. “Someone of my standing really should have two maids with them. You're free for the next couple of weeks, right? You still have time on your night hunt circuit so Mother won't question your absence.”

Jiang Cheng sent a pained look at Wei Ying who eloquently communicated “ you try telling Shijie no” with nothing but a shrug, before he gave in with a sigh. 

“You're all crazy. If Wei Wuxian gets caught…”

“But he won't, A-Cheng! With so many to choose from, A-Xian will be able to get out of the selection easily!” Yanli smiled brightly as she set out their future plans. “We'll all be back together and heading home within the week.”

“And if it takes longer?” Jiang Cheng asked stubbornly. 

“Then Minglian and Mingli get summoned home to help their mother, and A-Xian will leave as soon as he can after. Once he's out of the palace he can dress normally and pretend to be a beta.”

“See, Jiang Cheng, we have planned for eventualities,” Wei Ying grinned confidently. “You turning up just made everything better!”

The Jiang sect heir grumbled but he rose to help Minglian pack her things in her qiankun pouch.

“You have sufficient funds?” he asked her, reaching for his own pouch. “You're not planning on flying your swords all the way to the palace, right? Wei Wuxian's core may be strong enough but A-Jie is known to have weaker than average cultivation.”

“Yes, Jiang-gongzi, we plan to fly to a town half a day's travel from the palace, where we will hire a carriage.”

Jiang Cheng nodded, “Don't let that idiot be in charge of the money.”

“Hey!”

The maid grinned, “We have already been given instructions to that effect, Jiang-gongzi.”

Wei Ying pouted, “I can be responsible with money!”

Mingli smirked at him, “Until you come across the first street urchin with sad eyes.”

Jiang Yanli smiled at him, easing the sting of the teasing. “You have such a big heart, A-Xian. You just sometimes forget to hold back enough for yourself.”

Jiang Cheng glanced around the room then grabbed Wei Ying's arm in a vice-like grip before all but dragging him out the door. 

“Meet us downstairs when you're ready. Wei Wuxian and I need to talk about some things.”

Wei Ying wisely kept quiet as he was marched down the back stairs, through the kitchens and into the alleyway that led to the main street where he was unceremoniously shoved into the wall. 

“What the hell were you thinking?” Jiang Cheng hissed, face going impressively purple. “If you get caught… Do you realise the position you're putting me in? Putting the whole sect in?! If you get caught we could all lose our heads!”

“I'm not going to get caught!”

“How can you know that? You are lying to the Emperor! Most people would call that treason!”

“It’s not really lying…”

“Are you a female omega?!”

“We’re only doing this because they didn’t make exceptions for people who’re engaged! It’s going to be fine, Jiang Cheng! You know how annoying I can be! I’ll be kicked out for something minor almost as soon as I step foot in the palace and no one will ever know any different!”

“Why are you really doing this?”

Wei Ying sighed and glanced over his brother’s shoulder towards the main street. “Because Shijie asked.”

Jiang Cheng opened his mouth to argue then closed it again and nodded. “Yeah, I would too.”

He grabbed Wei Ying’s arm again (more gently this time) and marched them both out of the alleyway, nodding to the women of their party as they met and started walking.

“Come on, you've got a full day's flight ahead of you. Stop messing around. The sooner you get kicked out of the palace the sooner we'll be back together.”

“Aww, ChengCheng, I didn't know you cared!”

“Who cares about you, idiot!”

Wei Ying couldn't resist flicking his brother's ear on the way out of town, even with the inevitable chase and laughing reprimand from Shijie.

He was going to miss this. Even if it was only for a week.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

By the evening of the following day, Wei Ying was alone in a small private room rather than in the dormitories with the others here for the selection. A small mercy, granted as a nod to Jiang Yanli’s rank as the daughter of the leaders of one of the great sects.

His handmaids had been swept away to the servant’s dormitories along with the other attendants who’d made the journey to the palace with their xiaojies, and he was left to stew in his own head until morning.

If it could be called that.

“Who gets up at mao shi if they don’t have to?!” Wei Ying questioned the darkness as he tried to sleep on the, admittedly rather comfortable guest bed.

But comfortable sleeping arrangements hardly made up for the sheer number of rules that the royals seemed to expect normal people to follow. They’d even carved them on the wall by the main gate of the Cloud Recesses Palace; thousands of rules that Wei Ying was sure were only designed to leech all the fun from life and crush the soul.

He’d even managed to fall foul of the rules by laughing “too loudly” at one of the other candidate’s jokes while they waited in the Receiving Hall!

On the plus side, it did indicate that it shouldn’t take him too long to annoy someone who could kick him out of the palace. If he put enough effort into it, he and Shijie’s handmaids may even be able to leave by the end of the following day!

Wei Ying lay in the darkness, tossing and turning as he tried to sleep with no success. The bell for the curfew at hai shi had tolled long ago with the majority of the lights in the palace doused at the same time to encourage obedience.

Finally giving up around a shichen after lights out, he stealthily crept out of his room and onto the roof.

If he couldn’t drink, at least he could enjoy the stars as they roamed across the sky overhead.

The next thing he knew, he was being roughly shaken awake by Minglian.

“What are you doing up here?” she hissed, casting worried glances around as she prodded him repeatedly.

“Wha…? I…?”

“Wake up, idiot! I don’t know how Xiaojie and Jaing-gongzi put up with you!”

He blinked and pushed his hair out of his face, sitting up to stretch the kinks out of his back. Minglian tugged his arm again.

“You have to come down now!”

Still not quite awake, Wei Ying allowed the handmaid to bundle him off the roof and back into his room, where Mingli was waiting anxiously by the door. Minglian pushed him over to the cushion in front of the mirror while her sister closed the door and rushed to bring the tray with his breakfast.

“Why did you go onto the roof? Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ll get us in? We couldn’t find you!” Mingli scolded as she shoved a bowl of congee into his hand.

It was cold.

He wrinkled his nose in distaste only to gasp in pain as Minglian started hurriedly combing his hair.

“It would still be warm if you’d been where you were supposed to be!”

“Just let me make a warming talisman…” Wei Ying said, reaching for the small stash he always kept in his sleeve as Mingli grumbled and grabbed another comb and began mercilessly taming the knots on her side of his head.

What followed was a painful but swift session of hairstyling, which lasted just long enough for him to eat the reheated congee and drink a little tea.

The rest of the tea was unceremoniously pulled out of reach and he was instructed to hold still while he was dressed and had cosmetics applied to his flinching face. 

“All candidates must present themselves in the courtyard outside the Ministry of Rites for the first selection test,” Minglian glared at him as she put the finishing touches to his makeup. “You might be trying to get kicked out as quickly as possible but you will not put our xiaojie to shame while you do.”

“I would never shame Shijie!”

“See that you don't!” Mingli hissed fiercely as she finished with the last tie. “Now hurry up or we'll be late and it won't be you that gets in trouble!”

They made it. 

Just. 

Wei Ying took his place near the end of the third line from the back, smiling warmly at the other omegas already waiting in the regimented formation. He glanced around curiously, seeing his maids hurrying off to wait with the other handmaids, absently noted the palace guards with their white ribbons stationed around the courtyard, and spotted the small collection of officials on the steps in front of the ministry building.

The rest of the hundreds of candidates murmured quietly to each other, speculating over what the palace officials were looking for, who was likely to go home first, who had a sweetheart at home. He smiled to himself. It seems that Shijie wasn’t the only one in that predicament. Though he’d guess she was the only one with a didi who came up with such a crazy plan…

The ripple of chatter came to an abrupt halt and he turned his attention back to the officials on the stairs.

“The emperor graciously extends his welcome to you, and thanks you for attending this selection ceremony,” the official’s voice carried clearly to every corner of the courtyard. He was probably using a talisman of some kind, Wei Ying thought idly, before returning his attention to what was being said.

“The first round of assessment will evaluate height, weight, scent, and beauty. You will wait here until you have been evaluated. Begin!”

And that was that.

Wei Ying craned his head around, his height giving him the advantage over most of the candidates waiting their turn in the courtyard. He could see a number of officials had started moving along the rows, starting at the end furthest from him, and pulled a face. He was going to have to wait for ages!

On the plus side, if he kept an eye on them, he may be able to guess what they were looking for?

He watched as discreetly as he could, aware that he wasn’t the only candidate doing so, but try as he might, he couldn’t detect a pattern. The candidates asked to leave and those ordered to stay seemed to be selected arbitrarily.

Initially, he'd been pleased to see that the tallest candidates seemed to be getting asked to leave, but then there were one or two who looked to be taller than him who did not leave the formation. Unsurprisingly, the prettiest generally stayed, but there were one or two beautiful women he could see that were dismissed, while another who could best be described as “interesting” looking remained in her place. 

Growing bored with the speculation, Wei Ying settled for trying to work out which talisman had been used earlier to amplify the official’s voice, absently fidgeting with the fabric of his long sleeves as he considered the best talisman designs for the desired effect.

So it came as a surprise when he suddenly realised that a pair of officials were scrutinising the omega next to him. 

She was waved away to join the many unsuccessful candidates and the pair turned to him. 

“Name?” Official Number One asked, sounding somewhat bored. 

“Jiang Yanli.” Wei Ying stated in the slightly higher “feminine” voice he’d taken pains to practice. 

There was a pause as Official Number Two searched for and found the name on his list.

“Origin and rank?”

“Eldest child of Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan, leaders of the Yunmeng Jiang cultivation sect.”

Another pause while this was noted down. 

“You are a cultivator?”

Wei Ying nodded, then remembered himself, “Yes.”

This was noted while Official Number One walked around him in a circle.

A handkerchief with a tag was passed to him. “Please scent-mark this.”

A little nonplussed, Wei Ying took the square of white cotton and pressed it to the scent gland at his wrist before handing it back to the official who took it with a pair of tongs, marked a number on the tag, then dropped it into a qiankun bag at his waist. 

“Lemon, ginger, and…mint. No sign of nerves or distress.” One stated and Two noted down. 

It was a little off-putting to have the elements of his personal scent and general level of emotional calm so clinically spoken of, but he supposed that this was all part of the assessment. 

Both officials observed him for a moment, murmured something that even his cultivation-enhanced hearing couldn't catch then nodded to each other. 

The serious scowl on Number One’s face gave Wei Ying hope that he was about to be dismissed. 

“You will stay.”

And…there it goes. 

He tried not to deflate too obviously as his hopes of being dismissed during the first round were dashed. 

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

“Xiongzhang, is this really necessary?” Lan Zhan said as he joined his brother at a window overlooking the massive courtyard that was currently filled to the brim with omega women.

“Wangji, you know I would end this for you in a moment, but the elders are insistent.”

“You were allowed to marry for love.” He was feeling petulant and petty. Furious that he was being forced into a situation that was practically anathema to the ideals of the Lan clan and their belief in love matches.

“And I thank the gods every day that I was lucky enough to meet A-Su, but…” his brother sighed sadly. “We need an heir.”

Lan Zhan closed his eyes for a moment, mentally berating himself for being so insensitive to the plight of his brother and sister-in-law. He had grieved along with them after every miscarriage, offering what little comfort he could as they lost another child before it could even be born. “I’m sorry, Xiongzhang. I was thoughtless.”

“You are forgiven, didi. I know you meant no harm. A-Su and I still hold out hope that one day…” Lan Xichen sighed again and then deliberately smiled. “I’m afraid the duty to provide an heir falls to you. And perhaps you will find someone that suits you among those here?”

“Ge, you know I have never been interested in women.”

“For me, didi? Please at least consider a match? Perhaps one will catch your interest. You're certainly more likely to meet a suitable mate here than while night hunting.”

Lan Zhan sighed and turned his attention back to the courtyard, watching as the officials either sent the candidate off to one side or left her standing and moved on to the next. “What are they even looking for?”

“The elders set out criteria based on what would be most suitable for both you, and the duties they would be required to carry out as your consort.”

He gave his brother an unimpressed look, “You don’t know.”

“They have your best interests in mind, Wangji.”

“Do they? I wasn’t even asked for an opinion.”

“You must trust them.”

Lan Zhan huffed, unconvinced. But…Xiongzhang was right; he was duty-bound to consider those who had arrived for the selection with an open mind. Even as he railed against the overbearing orders from their elders.

He turned back to the window and gazed out, trying to fathom the reasons for the omega’s pass or rejection. “How many presented themselves at the palace?” he asked, curiosity refusing to be ignored.

He could tell Xiongzhang was pleased that he wasn’t going to openly fight the inevitable, for now, at least. “Over one thousand. I would have to check with A-Yao for the exact number.”

Lan Zhan huffed again, darkly amused. “To think there are so many willing to tie themselves to a complete stranger for the sake of elevated rank.”

“Wangji, do not judge them so harshly!” Lan Xichen scolded lightly but still with an amused smile. “The wording of the invitations left little room to refuse. I heard that there were several marriages in the capital that were brought forward after the sudden discovery of a much more auspicious date than the one originally chosen. The fact that they just so happened to mean the woman no longer qualified for the summons was, of course, entirely coincidental.”

“You mean to say that some are here against their will?” Lan Zhan knew the scowl on his face would be missed by most, but his brother would be able to see it as the barely concealed fury that it was.

“Please be calm, Wangji. The wording was…strict, I’ll admit - Uncle insisted on it to provide the best possible pool of suitable candidates. But I would never allow a marriage to take place between you without at least a willingness to try and make things work! A candidate with a sweetheart back home would only cause strife and resentment if they were forced to tie themselves to us.”

“Then why, Xiongzhang, did you allow it? Especially when so many more preferable people have been excluded!”

Lan Xichen actually blushed at that, “I…I’m sorry, Wangji, I…”

“What did you do?”

“Forgive me, Wangji…the elders wanted to ensure a perfect balance between yin and yang, and A-Su said it would be nice to have more women in the palace to talk with, so I agreed that female omegas should be included in the summons, but I didn’t realise that the elders had actually intended to exclude males.”

Lan Zhan stared at his brother for a moment before he sighed and nodded. “I know you would not have done so intentionally. But Uncle should have known better.”

His brother nodded, looking a little upset. “I was surprised at him too.”

Deciding to save his ire for its proper targets, Lan Zhan once again turned back to the courtyard below. The majority were dressed in pale colours, diaphanous robes moving in the warm breeze as they stood waiting their turn to be assessed.

From what he could see, most seemed to be attractive but that was hardly surprising. The summons would have called for those from cultivation sects, noble, or merchant houses, meaning that they would have grown up with care and good nutrition. The likelihood of any of them having knowledge, let alone experience of the privations of poverty was infinitesimal. And while that could not be attributed as a fault to them, the last thing Lan Zhan wanted was to be tied to a pouty, prissy, spoiled omega who expected to be coddled at every moment.

Rather, what he wanted was someone who would allow him his peace, not someone who would constantly bother him with attention-seeking behaviours and needy demands. Someone who understood his dedication to cultivation, discipline, and self-improvement. Who recognised his belief in the importance of helping people regardless of their ability to pay for the services of cultivation clans or their “value” to the empire.

He honestly didn’t hold out much hope that he would find someone like that among the coddled females below, and honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that he was being forced into a corner, he would stubbornly hold out until the elders gave up against the immovable object he sometimes heard them compare him to. Even though gossiping was not allowed in the Cloud Recesses.

Lan Zhan sighed and mentally scolded himself for allowing his mind to wander. “They seem very pretty,” he murmured to Lan Xichen as a sort of peace offering. “I assume there will come a time when I will be required to interact with some of them?”

Lan Xichen smiled gently, “I believe that will be after the vast majority have been sent home. I know you are not overly fond of social situations.”

“Mn.”

“Perhaps you should consider your preferred meeting setting? A banquet, maybe?”

Lan Zhan’s eyes widened in ill-concealed horror at his brother’s suggestions, “I may be forced by duty to produce an heir for the imperial succession, but I draw the line at being paraded around like a prize stallion at auction!”

“Wangji!”

“If you need me, Xiongzhang, I will be attending to my duties.”

And, with a flawlessly exact bow, Lan Zhan walked away from the emperor. Feeling slightly smug that he’d managed to both make his feelings on the matter plain and find a perfectly acceptable excuse for leaving the immediate area.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Wei Ying was bored.

The first round of the selection process had been two days ago and the unsuccessful omega candidates were sent home yesterday with thanks and a small gift from the emperor on behalf of the crown prince. And now…he was at a loose end until the next round which was rumoured to be tomorrow.

He had started off with socialising with the other omegas until Minglian and Mingli had reminded him, in no uncertain terms, of the foolishness of getting close to other omegas who actually wanted a chance to marry the prince and would take any opportunity to get rid of someone they saw as competition.

Yes, the plan might be to get thrown out, but it couldn’t be because he was discovered to be male.

So, instead, Wei Ying had taken the opportunity to explore the palace.

The enormous complex of ministry buildings, workshops, kitchens, and dormitories, not to mention the more prestigious residences and gardens provided near endless opportunities to indulge his curiosity.

After finding, and being chased out of the library pavilion (rude!), Wei Ying had ducked around a corner and hopped over a wall to avoid any particularly dogged palace officials from escorting him back to the guest quarters and further enforced boredom, he found himself in a lovely little bamboo garden with a koi pond at its centre.

He sat on the edge of the pond, enjoying the late spring sun and trailing his fingers in the water, giggling quietly when the fish came to nibble at his fingers. The soothing feel of the garden calmed him, letting his normally frenetic mind quiet for a moment as he allowed the peace of this lovely place to fill him.

A quiet cough made him all but jump out of his skin and he spun, eyes falling on a smiling man with a white ribbon around his forehead who’d just entered through a moon gate.

“My apologies. I did not intend to startle you.”

Wei Ying laughed sheepishly, “No apologies are necessary, I should know better! What kind of cultivator does that make me if anyone can sneak up on me like that?”

The man smiled, seeming to share in the joke, as he walked forward sedately. “I often come here when I wish to take the time to think in peace. I find it to be very calming.”

Wei Ying nodded, “Yes! I can see that! I’m sorry, I should leave you to your peace!”

“No need, no need! In fact, would you care to join me for some tea? I feel that some pleasant company may be just what I need right now,” the man gestured to an elegant little pavilion off to one side of the stand of bamboo, furnished with comfortable seating and a little table where servants were already in the process of delivering tea.

“I…sure! That sounds nice!” Wei Ying hid his surprise at not being chased out and obediently followed this smiling stranger, taking a seat on one of the brightly coloured cushions. He took a surreptitious breath, trying to get a sense of the man. He was an alpha, for sure. And a powerful one, probably dominant. They may be rare, but if there was ever a place to find one the palace would be it. The vanilla, lychee, and woodsmoke scent was surprisingly pleasant though, setting him more at ease than he probably should be.

His companion set about serving the tea and offering Wei Ying a choice of the sweet snacks on the table. He picked a little cake at random and nibbled on it as he waited for the tea to cool enough to drink.

“So,” the alpha smiled gently at him, “What brings you to this garden?”

Wei Ying grinned, suddenly embarrassed, “I…kinda got chased out of the library pavilion and I was trying to avoid the officials so I jumped the wall.”

The spark of amusement was unmistakable. “I used to do that when I was younger. Jump over the wall, I mean. I have never been chased out of the library before. What did you do?”

“I was just reading some of the texts and taking a few notes and apparently I was being too loud!” Wei Ying grinned, acquiring another cake as he relaxed a little. “I wasn’t being that loud. I just had a song stuck in my head!”

The alpha chuckled, “Yes, I imagine the librarian wasn’t too pleased at that. They are very strict about keeping the library quiet.” He sipped his tea then smiled. “You’re here for the selection?”

Wei Ying nodded, “It seems a bit of a strange way to find a wife for the Crown Prince, but I guess he doesn’t get out much? Or does he? I have heard stories of Hanguang Jun appearing where the chaos is to help the common people.” He smiled to himself, “I’d like to do that one day; to help those in trouble and stand with righteousness like the prince does. But! That will have to wait!”

“Why?”

“Oh, well…I have to get kicked out of the selection first!” he deflected with a grin.

That startled a laugh out of the man, “You have no interest in getting the chance to marry the Crown Prince?”

Wei Ying snorted into his tea.

Beet red, he frantically started mopping at the spill with his long sleeve, stammering apologies as he tried to rectify his mistake. “I’m sure the Crown Prince is lovely, but I don’t think I’m his type. He’ll want someone who’s elegant and refined and respectable. Not that I’m not respectable! I just mean that I’m too free-willed and I tend to prefer doing my own thing, and I want to explore and help people and I couldn’t be tied down to the palace and…”

“Please, it’s okay. The servants will clean up!” The man was grace itself in front of his rambling, simply giving him a steady look rather than scolding him for his clumsy behaviour. “You have nothing to fear from me, Miss…I’m sorry, what is your name?”

“Oh! I’m W-Jiang Yanli! Of the Yunmeng Jiang sect.” Wei Ying stammered, mentally kicking himself for nearly giving his own name and ruining the whole plan.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jiang-guniang. You may call me Lan Huan,” the alpha continued to sip his own tea. “Tell me, what do you think of the palace?”

He blinked, shifting in his seat as he corralled his thoughts into something suitable for a palace denizen to hear. “It’s…very big. And elegant. Peaceful too.”

Lan Huan smirked at him, clearly catching the evasiveness of his answer. “But…? Don’t worry, I doubt there’s anything you can say that I haven’t heard before!”

With such an invitation to be honest, Wei Ying absently rubbed the side of his nose, then took a sip of his (very nice) tea, before resting one hand on his knee and his other elbow propped on the table. “I think you’re all absolutely mad to be waking up at mao shi!”

The chuckled response encouraged him to continue.

“And what’s with all the rules?! You can’t tell me there’s no overlap in there! And what’s wrong with laughing? How is it possible to consider the sound of happy people to be against the rules!”

Lan Huan smiled slightly, “I believe the intent is to encourage discipline and the ability to value tranquillity.”

Wei Ying snorted, “Yes, I do remember some of them. But surely happiness and creativity should be encouraged? How can that be done with such an early curfew?”

“Surely healthy sleeping habits are to be encouraged?”

“I mean, yes. But not everyone is well suited to them. I often find I do my best work at night!”

“Your work?”

He blushed. “Oh, yeah…I like to develop new talismans in my free time. Some of them are just for fun, but I’ve made others for use on night hunts. Like the binding talisman I developed after we had to deal with a bunch of rat yao that were plaguing a village.”

Lan Huan’s open curiosity drew a smile from Wei Ying, and he settled in to regale his audience with the story of how he and Jiang Cheng had been forced to get creative when their night hunt turned out to be not for a single yao, but a whole nest! Luckily that level of rat yao was more annoying than dangerous, but their sheer numbers had made for quite a challenge. And then there was the matter of dealing with the problems the yao had caused for the village; getting into the grain storage and spoiling enough of the crops that when they’d reached out to the Jiang for help, two of their best were sent to deal with the matter.

By the time the bells rang for the evening meal, Wei Ying had relaxed enough to happily chatter away with his new friend. They debated the rules of the palace, the necessity for innovation and experimentation in cultivation techniques, and the need for cultivation sects and imperial officials to be more willing to work closely together if there was to be any hope of truly helping the common people of the empire.

Any embarrassment Wei Ying had at monopolising Lan Huan’s time was graciously waved away with a promise to find time in the future for further discussion.

They bowed and went their separate ways, Wei Ying heading back the way he’d come, ignoring Lan Huan’s friendly “A-Yao, were you looking for me?” as he went.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Wei Ying pouted as he waited his turn to enter one of the side rooms that would administer the second round of selection assessments. This one, according to the announcement of the official on the steps, would look at the candidates' hands, feet, grace, and movement.

Minglian and Mingli had, as ever, made sure that he was suitably dressed and made up to pass for a female omega, even if he was taller than the majority, but there was nothing he could do about the size of his hands and feet! How was he supposed to get through to the next round if he…

He giggled to himself, ignoring the outraged looks from the more rigid candidates, as he realised that he’d got himself caught up in all the hopes and dreams of the other omegas. This was actually perfect!

If “Jiang Yanli” got rejected on the grounds of her hands and feet being too big and manly, that would be the best way of getting kicked out while still preserving his Shijie’s reputation. Even if the reasons got back to Yunmeng or Lanling (after her marriage to The Peacock), first, no one would be able to criticise her for that, and secondly, no one would care anyway once they’d been in her presence for more than a few seconds.

At least this time he was quite close to the front of his line so he wouldn’t have the same interminable wait as the last round.

When it was finally his turn, the doors shut behind him and he felt the subtle surge of power that indicated a silencing talisman had activated. Wei Ying smiled slightly, knowing that this was why the waiting candidates had no clue about what would happen on the other side. The room itself was elegantly decorated, all whites and blues with a high ceiling and a bright glowstone light hanging down. Several chairs were arranged around the edges, some of which were occupied, a small box platform, and a round floor mat, several bu across and flanked by wooden posts of different heights made up the space.

“Candidate’s name?” intoned a bored-looking official.

“Jiang Yanli.”

“Remove footwear and step up.”

Two palace maids stepped forward to help him take off his boots and then gave him unnecessary assistance to step up onto the box.

The record-keeping official stepped forward with the one who had given the instructions, along with an older beta woman with a stern face. She took hold of his hands in a gentle but firm grip and scrutinised them closely. Then, apparently done with them, moved on to his feet, tapping first one, then the other to have him lift them for proper inspection.

That done, she gestured to the maids to assist with his boots while she made quiet conversation with the officials.

“You are a cultivator of the Yunmeng Jiang, correct?”

Wei Ying blinked and nodded, “Um, yes. I am.”

“You have a choice of activities for the next test.” The official gestured to a small table behind him that Wei Ying had previously not noticed. “You are required to perform a dance to show your level of grace and abilities in movement. You may choose any of the objects on the table, or not, as you see fit. Suitable music will be provided.”

He approached the table and saw a selection of fans, scarves, and training weapons, and smiled. It had been a while since he’d done a sword dance.

He chose the training sword and took his place in the centre of the round mat.

“Do you have any preferences for the music?” asked the guqin player seated discreetly to the side.

He grinned, “Something fast and lively, please.”

The musician struck the opening chords and Wei Ying smiled as the music had exactly the feel he was looking for.

He began slowly, contrasting the swift rhythm with the almost languid stretches and extensions - moves that were comparatively difficult at such a pace, but swiftly sped up, losing himself in the music as he spun and leapt, twisting around the training sword as if it were a partner in his dance. Smiling happily, he used steps that he’d learned back home with Jiang Cheng and Shijie at his side, finding the familiar joy that the always competitive nature of their dancing took on as he and his shidi continually tried to best each other with more and more complex movements.

He leapt, flying up to land on the tallest post, his sword carving elegant arcs in the air as he spun and hopped from one post to another, revelling in the freedom of movement after days of being restrained in the strict environment of the palace compound. Feeling more than hearing the signal that the music was about to come to an end, he jumped, spinning, to land perfectly in the centre of the mat in a final pose that exactly coincided with the last chord.

Exhilarated rather than out of breath, Wei Ying waited for the verdict.

“A stimulating performance, Jiang-guniang. The next round will be in three days.”

Wei Ying blinked in shock as one maid came to retrieve the borrowed sword while the other escorted him to the exit of the testing room and informed him that his time was his own for the next few days.

“Wait, did I pass?”

The maid gave him the bland look that was the servants’ version of rolled eyes and bobbed a curtsey, “Yes, Guniang. You have been deemed qualified to move on to the next round.”

She left him there, staring stupidly at the now-closed door while he got over his shock. 

Well, shit.

He'd thought he'd be out for sure this time. Yes, he was an omega which meant that even as a male he was going to be built along more delicate lines than alphas like Jiang Cheng, but even then he was taller than most and practically towered over some of the female omegas here.

Some of them had been truly tiny ! Looking like they may snap like a twig if there was a stiff breeze…

Having sword callouses clearly wouldn't be a deal breaker. Not with some of the candidates being cultivators but he's been certain that he'd be too “manly” to pass. After all, obviously the prince wasn't interested in men because otherwise why would the summons specify female omegas only?

Something made him look up, pulling him out of his thoughts, and he realised that his feet had taken him to an entirely unfamiliar part of the palace.

He seemed to have managed to wander near the stables if he were to judge by the smells and bustle of the servants visible in the area.

He looked around, trying to get his bearings and figure out the quickest way back to where he was “supposed” to be when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.

Three dogs, the colour of sand and mud, were staring at him intently. 

He froze, a terrified scream stuck in his throat.

He couldn't tear his eyes away as the lead dog took a step forward and he stumbled back. 

It barked, making him jump in fear at the sight of the horrible maw that housed sharp teeth eager to sink into the flesh of the innocent. Uncaring of anything but the need to get as far away from the three monsters as he could, Wei Ying ran. 

He could hear the barks as the creatures took off after him.

He picked up the skirts of his robes and ran as fast as he could, the terror of being chased by dogs again, just as they had when he was little, drove any sense from him.

He careened around a corner, nearly falling as he turned, and sprinted down the corridor, squeaking in panic when a quick glance behind showed the beasts were hot on his heels. Wei Ying ran across a courtyard, hurdled the doorsill, and kept going, praying that the monsters would get bored or lose him or just anything that would stop them from hunting him down and biting and mauling him until they went away. He risked another glance behind as he heard their claws on the flagstones and the excited barks, and promptly bounced off a solid object.

He curled into a ball, hands over his head, and keened his terror. The triumphant calls of the monsters coming nearer as they saw that their prey had fallen.

He closed his eyes and waited for the burning pain of the first bite as their teeth sunk into his flesh.

And waited.

And waited.

A touch on his arm made him shriek in surprise and fear, the scent of sour lemons and rotting mint strong around him.

He felt something…someone…pick him up but he couldn’t bring himself to lift his head. Instead, he allowed the warmth and deep voice of whoever carried him to soothe his frazzled nerves and lull him into a dreamless sleep.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Lan Zhan was…unsettled.

As someone who took pride in his discipline and outward calm, this was a rather unusual feeling for him.

He realised that he was fidgeting with the sleeves of his robes as he waited to be admitted to his brother’s residence and took a deep calming breath.

It had been two days since the incident with the omega candidate and the dogs: the poor woman had crashed into him and ended up curled on the floor wailing her fear. Seconds later, the hunting animals had rounded the corner and skidded to a halt at the sight of him.

Fortunately for the servant in charge of the dogs, he had appeared mere moments later, chasing after his errant charges. A sharp reprimand was all that was needed to send the man scurrying off with apologetic bows, hauling the dogs with him as he went.

The stench of sour lemons, rotting mint, and ginger so pungent it nearly made his eyes water had surrounded the trembling omega, still curled into a tight ball, clearly expecting to be attacked at any moment. He had tried to soothe her with his own scent and words, but nothing had worked until he’d picked her up and started carrying her to the palace physicians.

Somewhere along the way, she’d fallen asleep in his arms, and when he’d looked down in surprise at the suddenly still form, he’d been struck by how delicate and innocent she looked.

He had left her in the care of the palace doctors and been assured that other than needing rest to recover from her scare, the woman would be perfectly fine.

He was startled out of his thoughts as a servant opened the door to the emperor’s residence and bowed deeply.

“The Emperor bids the Crown Prince to join him.”

Lan Zhan nodded his thanks and strode forward, heading to the sitting area his brother liked to use when entertaining guests.

“Wangji,” Lan Xichen greeted him with a smile. “To what do I owe this visit?”

“Xiongzhang.” He bowed, his agitation causing him to fall back on the courtesy that had been drilled into him since he was old enough to walk.

Lan Xichen raised an amused eyebrow and Lan Zhan was certain he saw a mischievous glint in his brother’s eye as he was waved to a cushion and, not standing upon ceremony, the emperor started pouring tea.

“Are you well, Wangji?”

“I…am uncertain.”

“Oh?”

“I have…a concern that I may have been cursed.”

That got a reaction.

Frowning, Lan Xichen gestured and Lan Zhan gratefully held out his wrist, glad that his brother had immediately understood his purpose in coming.

“What happened?”

Lan Zhan closed his eyes for a moment as he felt his brother’s warm vanilla-lychee-woodsmoke scent soothe him and his qi flow along his meridians.

“The woman being chased by the dogs…I fear that she may have put some kind of curse on me. Or a spell.” He spoke quietly, struggling to find words to express his concerns. “I have been…unable to put the incident behind me. I keep thinking I can smell her scent as I go about the palace.”

He opened his eyes as he felt his brother’s qi withdraw, frowning slightly as he caught the amusement on Lan Xichen’s face.

“You’ll be pleased to know that I could find no evidence of a curse or anything else that doesn’t belong.”

He nodded, unnecessary amusement at his expense aside, he was glad that his brother had taken him seriously.

“Have you considered that you may simply wish to know more about this person?” Lan Xichen’s tone was bland, the same as it always was when he felt that Wangji needed to push his line of thinking a little further.

“You think I am still concerned about this woman?”

His brother shrugged noncommittally and sipped his tea. “Considering your genuine wish to help people, is it that much of a stretch to think that?”

Lan Zhan huffed. “The physicians informed me that after some rest she would fully recover from her fright.”

“And yet, you still find yourself thinking of her.”

And…he couldn’t argue with that so innocent, so casual comment.

“Mn.”

“A-Yao informed me of the incident.” Lan Xichen continued, refilling their teacups and letting the moment stretch. “The maiden in question is Jiang Yanli of the Yunmeng Jiang. Apparently she had wandered near the stables after passing the second round of the selection. When she saw the dogs, she ran, which meant that they chased her. It is lucky that you were able to rescue her.”

“She ran into me.”

He could feel his ears grow hot as his brother laughed - a welcome sound of genuine amusement which had been all too rare of late. Lan Zhan was glad to hear it, even if it was at his expense.

“You mean, actually ran into you?”

“Mn.”

Lan Xichen continued to giggle, “It’s lucky she’s a cultivator then. Otherwise I would be concerned about additional injury after colliding with you!”

“Xiongzhang…”

His brother waved a hand apologetically, “I’m sorry, Wangji, but you must admit that it’s amusing,” Lan Xichen made an effort to calm down and continue seriously. “I actually had the pleasure of meeting Jiang-guniang a few days ago. I found her to be very interesting. Selection aside, I believe you would enjoy discussing cultivation concepts together.”

Lan Zhan blinked in surprise. When would his brother have had the chance to meet any of the omegas present for the selection?

“If you like, I could arrange to have the two of you meet? If nothing else I’m sure she would like the chance to thank you for your timely intervention with the dogs.”

“That will be unnecessary, Xiongzhang. I will be busy attending to my duties for the foreseeable future.”

“Mm.”

He glared. Even as the emperor, it was unfair of his brother to tease him like this.

“I’m sorry, Wangji.” He looked up, unsure if he was pleased or annoyed that Lan Xichen could read him so well. “I do not intend to make fun of you. I understand that this must feel…confusing, given that you have never experienced how it feels to have another person play on your mind so much. Is there any advice I can give?”

Lan Zhan hesitated. “I find it inconvenient to find myself looking for her scent. Even more so when I do so in places she could not have been.”

Lan Xichen smiled, once again amused but clearly not at his expense. “The first time I met Jiang-guniang, she had jumped over the wall of the bamboo garden in an effort to escape the attention of the head librarian.”

He frowned, “Why was this not reported? The security breach alone…”

The emperor waved away his objections, “There was no risk. You can hardly think I’m in danger here. Besides, A-Yao found me soon enough.

“Why has she been allowed to continue in the selection? If she is able to cause such disruption within days of arrival she cannot be an acceptable candidate.”

His brother's smile had a hard edge to it that he usually saved for the few that managed to irritate him. Something that rarely boded well for the guilty parties. “I think, in this case, a little disruption is exactly what we need.”

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Wei Ying wanted to pace.

He wanted to run.

He wanted to jump on his sword and take off for the horizon and never look back.

About the only thing that had gone right in the last few days was sending Minglian and Mingli away so that they were back with Shijie where they were supposed to be.

Everything else had been an unmitigated disaster!

Even the gossip he’d overheard among the other candidates had been at a loss to explain why “Jiang Yanli” hadn’t been kicked out of the palace yet.

Initially, there had been praise for how the “Lady Jiang allowed her handmaids to fulfil their filial duties” by sending them away, along with some slightly unkind words about how things would be harder now there weren’t maids to help her get ready in the morning (which would be to their advantage).

Then he’d managed to start an argument about the most efficient way to increase the power of fire talismans with one of the scholars in the library, where he’d been counting on getting reprimanded for being too loud. Of course, he’d been right and the scholar was forced to apologise when he’d proved that he could double the strength of a standard fire talisman with three additional characters, not eight.

Then he’d taken to playing his dizi on the roof of his quarters, only to be praised for his skill.

Finally, last night, he’d broken out of the palace, gone to Caiyi, returned with jars of Emperor’s Smile, and proceeded to get thoroughly merry on the rooftops and just…not been noticed?

And now, he was waiting for his turn for the physician to check his…suitability to carry children…

He felt his cheeks begin to heat at even the thought of what might happen when he was summoned into the chamber for his turn. It didn’t help that the pungent scent permeating the courtyard indicated that the other waiting omegas were just as nervous as he was.

Considering that there were nearly three hundred candidates left after the first two rounds, the lines were moving reasonably quickly. Each of the ten separate queues feeding into a different door and, presumably, a different physician behind each one. 

What would happen when he was inevitably discovered?

Would there be shouts of treason as the guards were summoned, or would he be quietly whisked away to the dungeon to await interrogation and punishment? 

Would he be given the chance to plead his case? Would they even listen to his story of how he'd once seen the crown prince and had been so desperate to be part of the selection that he'd stolen his Shijie's identity and taken her place? That the two handmaids with him weren't accomplices but just a pair of poor sisters he'd hired to help him with his cover…

It was his turn. 

Wei Ying walked forward with legs that felt like lead. He could only imagine that this must be similar to what the condemned felt as they approached their executioner.

He did his best to control his breathing, trying to contain his burgeoning panic as he entered a relatively small room.

A padded table dominated the centre of the space, with a stool at one end, and a screen to the side. It was, as ever, decorated with the simple white and blue elegance of the rest of Cloud Recesses.

The clerk at a small table off to the side asked for his name, then proceeded to ignore Wei Ying, focusing instead on the accuracy of his record keeping.

The physician by the padded table bowed a greeting, while his assistant, who Wei Ying realised with a surprised jolt was another male omega, smiled gently. 

“Greetings. This one is Meng Yao, I am here to assist Zhou Daifu during the examination and to help you feel more comfortable.”

Wei Ying nodded stiffly and made a noise that could be taken as an acknowledgement. 

Zhou Daifu, an older alpha with long white hair and a grandfatherly air about him, put a small box with a decorative lattice-work lid on the padded table.

“Before we begin with the physical exam, please can you identify the scents you can pick out from the box.”

Wei Ying glanced around nervously then stepped forward, took a deep breath through his nose…

And sneezed three times in quick succession.

“Oh! I'm sorry!” He blushed furiously, even as his apology was waved away. “Umm, definitely chilli pepper!”

He took a more cautious sniff this time. “I smell lavender, sage, pine, ginger…” he took another breath. “Honey, and…orange?”

Zhao Daifu nodded and returned the box to its compartment. “Thank you. Now, if you will step behind the screen and strip from the waist down. When you're ready, we can begin the physical aspect of this examination.”

Wei Ying was certain that his face must be bright red as he did as he was told, removing his boots, trousers, and underthings, before stepping back out with only the skirts of his robes covering his dignity. 

Meng Yao smiled reassuringly and gestured to the padded table. “Please lie on your back with your feet by your rear and your knees splayed open. Would you like any assistance?”

This was it. This was when it all came crashing down around him. 

He lay as directed and stared at the ceiling.

Meng Yao was replaced at his side by Zhou Daifu, who carefully pressed around his stomach, asking if there was any pain caused by his actions. 

He shook his head. 

The physician nodded and took his place on the low stool at the end of the table.

A buzzing sound filled his ears as the physician said something and carefully lifted his robe out of the way, then moved his cock to one side and gently felt around his groin. Again, he was asked if there was any pain. 

Wei Ying managed a squeak and shook his head. 

He was vaguely aware that Meng Yao had reappeared by his side and was blanketing him with a reassuring jasmine scent while Zhou Daifu said something about internal examination. 

He whimpered quietly and frantically grabbed at Meng Yao’s hand as he felt the physician first spread his labia, then push in a finger…two fingers? and begin to methodically feel around.

This was the most mortifying thing that had ever happened to him and all he could do was endure while he held the other omega's hand in a death grip. Zhou Daifu was obviously being as gentle as possible, but Wei Ying still grimaced in discomfort as his stomach was once again pressed and the fingers inside him moved. 

The fingers were removed, his robes were pulled to cover him, and the elderly physician went to speak with the clerk, giving him some space as Meng Yao assisted him off the table. 

He was led behind the screen and, still somewhat shell-shocked, helped to redress and told to drink the cup of tea he'd just been handed. 

Whatever was in it quickly worked to ease his trembling (Huh, he'd been trembling…), and he was led out the exit door, then handed off to a palace maid who was instructed to take him to his quarters and ensure he rested until fully recovered.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

“A-Huan, you've been working too hard again.”

His wife's gentle voice drew him out of his thoughts as she gave his shoulders a soothing rub.

“You know how it is with the elders. They think they have all the answers because the Lan precepts are extensive enough to cover all eventualities.”

She made a rude noise at that. 

“A-Su…”

She kissed his cheek and settled into her place at the table with him, the half hearted reprimand entirely missing its mark as she smirked at him. “Yes, my dear husband. The elders are all knowing and all seeing and can't ever be wrong.”

Her wicked little smile made him chuckle. “They're not all that bad.”

“Only most of them. Really, A-Huan, when was the last time any of those pompous fools set foot outside the Cloud Recesses, let alone Gusu?”

They remained quiet as the servants came in with their food. While their personal attendants were above such things, neither would risk speaking freely in front of those they didn't know well. It made the beginning of their meal a rather silent affair, but it did mean that they could take the time to enjoy the dishes and simply be with each other.

“Your majesties,” Lan Xichen’s undersecretary bowed politely. “Meng Yao requests permission to make a report to you.”

Lan Xichen nodded his ascent and his personal aide appeared moments later, bowing deeply in a way that Xichen was yet to break him of.

“A-Yao, why don't you join us?”

“The Empress is most kind.”

“Nonsense.”

Lan Xichen smiled happily as his lovely A-Su waved to an attendant to set another place for his aide.

A-Su was clearly in a teasing mood this evening, as she made light conversation and deftly drew A-Yao into a lively debate about the plans for the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. 

He smiled as they playfully bickered until the dishes were removed and the servants withdrew leaving them some privacy. 

“So, how did today go?”

His companions both looked at him, A-Su’s eyes bright with curiosity. She knew he was up to something but not precisely what. 

Meng Yao cleared his throat. “You were absolutely right, your majesty. Jiang Yanli is indeed a male omega. Zhou Daifu was quite happy to go along with our scheme. He didn't say it out loud, of course, but I'm certain he disapproves of the elders' latest manoeuvring.”

“And the results of the exam?”

“Very promising. He was able to pick up the third tier scents,” the omega chuckled lightly. “The chilli pepper made him sneeze! And Zhou Daifu is entirely satisfied with his reproductive health. We are lucky that he chose to masquerade as Jiang Yanli and join the selection.”

“Anything on his actual identity?”

“Not yet. I'm still waiting for some of the informants to report back.”

Lan Xichen nodded. “See that you inform me as soon as possible. We will need to protect him from the more recalcitrant elders when his true identity is uncovered.”

“Do you have any particular elders you are concerned…”

Meng Yao was interrupted by the guard captain bursting into the emperor’s chambers. “Your Majesties, we have apprehended an omega who was intending to make an attempt on the Crown Prince’s life.”

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

A little earlier…

By the evening, Wei Ying had recovered his equilibrium enough to wonder what was going on.

The wording of the summons had been clear - female omegas were to present themselves at the palace for the selection of the Crown Prince’s bride. Which meant that either the orders received by the physicians were garbled, or someone was pulling strings behind the scenes. Unfortunately, Wei Ying couldn’t even begin to imagine who was responsible or why they were doing it.

With this in mind, he decided it was best to keep up his charade for as long as possible and hope he could find a way out. Clearly, his hope of getting out with dignity intact was long gone, but he’d happily settle for keeping his head firmly attached to the rest of his body.

The maid who had brought him back to his quarters had informed him that she was to take on the duties that Minglian and Mingli had been responsible for. Suyin seemed to be a capable sort of person. Kind and soft-spoken, much like Shijie, but for all he was inclined to like her, he couldn’t risk trusting anyone in the palace.

He sighed.

Maybe he needed to go for a walk? He’d been cooped up since getting back from the examination and had eaten in his room too. Some fresh air would be good.

When Suyin made to come with him, he waved her off, saying something about preferring his own company at the moment and that she must be busy.

Fortunately, she didn’t argue and he was free to slip out of the courtyard he was staying in and started wandering aimlessly.

It wasn’t long before he found himself in a nearby garden, silently meandering along the paths as the sun sank towards the horizon. His thoughts were interrupted as he detected the scent of a distressed omega.

He took a deep breath trying to pinpoint the direction he needed to go to find the source of the plum and cherry. There was something else mingled in with the scent…something that set his teeth on edge with a hint of alpha to it. 

Suddenly certain that things were about to go very wrong for the distressed omega, if they hadn't already, Wei Ying hastened his search.

His nose led him to an out-of-the-way corridor that led to one of the numerous gardens in the guest area, where he could see a tall man in palace official robes caging a delicate-looking woman against the wall. He didn't need further prompting to want to step in. 

Clasping his hands behind his back and sauntering forward with a cheerful tune on his lips, Wei Ying moved along the corridor swiftly, hoping that his presence would be enough to make the alpha aggressor back off. 

It wasn't. 

With a mental shrug, he switched to the next stage. 

“Meimei, you're wanted back in the main courtyard.”

He flashed a winning smile at the pair, receiving a startled but understanding nod from one and an annoyed glare from the other. 

Good. Looks like this girl is quick on the uptake. That's always helpful. 

He smoothly inserted himself between them, using an arm to essentially scoop her away from the looming alpha's caging arms and propel her along the corridor. 

“What do you think you're doing?” A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, the grip clearly aimed at inflicting pain. 

“Sir, I suggest you remove your hand. Now.” Wei Ying’s voice was still friendly but there was a definite edge of threat to it. 

“Oh? And what are you going to do about it, girl? You think you can make a trained cultivator do anything they don't want to?”

The sneering voice, clearly intended to intimidate, only made him grin. “Was that a threat? Did you just threaten me?”

This official was either of low intelligence or had a greatly inflated sense of his own competence. Or was simply lacking in self-preservation instincts Wei Ying mused as he decided that he should get to have some fun with this encounter: He hadn’t even been able to have a practice spar with anyone in two weeks!

“It’s good that the lady understands the situation.”

Wei Ying had to stifle a shiver as the official leaned close and purred in his ear. Just…eww! Was that supposed to be scary? It wasn’t scary! It was nothing but ick! Not helped by the burned leather and cloves scent which was just…no.

“I really do think you need to take your hand off me.” He was definitely starting to lose patience with this idiot.

The official spun him around and pushed Wei Ying into the wall, echoing the position he’d had the other omega in. “Or you’ll do what, girl? You think you can do what you want? You’re no one. I can have you arrested at a moment’s notice!”

The official leaned in and ran a finger slowly along his cheek before raising his sheathed sword and lazily pressing it to Wei Ying’s neck.

Wei Ying smirked. “Thank you for doing that.”

The official looked confused for a moment, then bright red and shocked as the knee to his side registered.

Using the man’s hesitation, Wei Ying pushed one end of the sheath away, using it as a lever to unbalance his opponent and he ducked away from the wall then, grinning wickedly. Wei Ying grabbed at the guy’s long sleeve and tucked it into his belt on the far side before skipping away.

A roar of rage echoed around the corridor as the official fought to free his sleeve from his belt then actually drew his sword and charged. The steel swiped through the air as Wei Ying ducked and dodged with little apparent effort.

“I feel that you could benefit from some additional time in the practice yards. Your form appears to be sorely lacking.” Wei Ying knew that he was acting like the Little Shit that Jiang Cheng often accused him of being but… this guy was nearly comical. 

Anyway, all he had to do was keep the idiot occupied until the guards arrived. 

Which would have been fine if the official hadn't shown a moment of competence and managed to land a kick to Wei Ying’s thigh.

He bit back a curse as the official, seeing his chance, swung his sword in what would have been a killing blow on most other unarmed opponents. 

Wei Ying stumbled back, hindered by his aching leg, and frantically called qi to his hands before blocking the blade. He had been practising the technique but was not yet satisfied with his proficiency. A dissatisfaction that was borne out by the blood rushing to his now wounded palms where the sword had bitten into flesh. 

On the plus side, he still had all his fingers so he'd take that as a win. 

As much as it was fun to toy with someone who thought far too well of themselves, at this point, it would be better to put the guy down before he could cause more problems. It was bad enough that he was going to have to get blood out of these fancy lady's robes, if they got sliced while that idiot was waving his sword around…

The official came in with another swing and Wei Ying ducked, spinning inside the man's reach to deliver two quick blows to the gut before dancing back out of range. 

Deciding that more space would be wise, he allowed the man to manoeuvre him back out to the garden he'd originally been wandering in. The open ground might mean that the idiot had more room to swing his sword, but it also meant that Wei Ying could move freely. 

He leapt up to the roof as soon as they'd cleared the corridor, forcing the official to choose between following or giving up the fight. 

He followed. 

Wei Ying flipped over his head, landed a kick on his back, then jumped down.

The roar of rage that echoed across the rooftops startled some poor unsuspecting birds from their nearby roosts.

“You're going to have to do better than that!” Wei Ying couldn't help it. Taunting him was just too easy!

The moment the official hit the ground, Wei Ying grabbed his sword arm, jabbed at a pressure point in the man's shoulder, and seized the blade from suddenly nerveless fingers.

He didn’t even have time to step back before a squad of palace guards swarmed into the garden, surrounding both him and the official with drawn weapons.

“She’s here to kill the Crown Prince!”

Wait, what?

Before he could even begin to protest, Wei Ying was roughly disarmed and forced to his knees, his core was locked and his mouth was sealed shut. He could only glare indignantly as a physician was called for Official Su - after all, with so much blood everywhere, he must be seriously hurt!

Wei Ying was bound and dragged to his feet. Two guards marched him away to…somewhere. Silent, hurt, and entirely confused at what just happened.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Wei Ying paced in his cell. Hands throbbing. Hot and aching where he'd stopped the blade from separating his head from his shoulders. The makeshift bandages, torn strips from his blood-covered lilac robes, doing little to ease the pain. 

Six paces from side to side. 

Five places from back to front. 

The rickety bench propped against the back wall, just wide enough to lie down on, and a bucket in the back corner for…yeah. He tried not to think about that.

The cold stone floor, feeling eternally damp, matched the chill in his body. His meridians bereft of the fire of his qi, still locked into his core. Inaccessible. 

He could feel the crawling under his skin at being unable to leave. At being forced to stay in this cramped, cold, damp room. 

Thick wooden bars giving no privacy, no moment for space in his own head. Leaving him open to observation by the unkind eyes of people who believed he wanted to kill the crown prince. 

His mouth kept sealed shut by those who didn't want to hear what he had to say either way. 

Six paces from side to side. 

Five places from back to front. 

No windows. No food. No water.

He had no real idea how long he'd been down here. It could have been hours, it could have been days. 

He didn't think it had been days. 

He hoped.

He'd tried meditating, but between his locked core and the shivering that the pathetically thin blanket could do nothing to abate, he couldn't concentrate on that for more than a ke at a time.

A noise at the other end of the dungeon caught his attention, freezing his spiralling thoughts as he paused, tense, waiting to see what was happening.

He couldn't help but be darkly amused that six beribboned palace guards had come to deal with him. 

He was ordered back from the bars while the cell door was opened and two of them stepped in.

“Present hands.”

Having no other choice, Wei Ying complied, unsurprised to find sturdy shackles clamped around his wrists, while the second guard knelt to secure a matching set around his ankles. As the last one clicked shut he could feel the tell-tale spark of magic lance across the chains and suddenly they felt so heavy he could barely stop himself from crumpling to the floor. 

The two guards in the cell with him clearly expected this and moved to grab him on either side before half supporting and half dragging him out. 

He tried to move his feet but each step felt like he was trying to haul a mountain with him. In the end, the guards simply dragged him along as they marched towards their destination.

The short journey ended with Wei Ying being roughly pushed to his knees in front of an official behind a desk, with several others seated on either side of the room.

He suppressed a grim little smile. He was to be judged.

Solely on the word of a liar. 

“Jiang Yanli. You have been charged with plotting to assassinate the Crown Prince, Hanguang Jun. Sign the confession.”

Wei Ying just stared at the official with wide eyes, utterly shocked at the so-called “justice” the Lan clan supposedly upheld.

He was handed a sheet of paper by one of the court attendants and he stared at it with uncomprehending eyes. The characters for “Jiang Yanli”, “intent to murder”, and “Crown Prince” eventually filtered past his shock and into his brain.

He glared at the official in charge of this nonsense, fury in his eyes. Apart from the fact that they still thought he was Shijie, he would never dream of killing someone in cold blood! The fact that they had taken the word of a corrupt palace official at face value and hadn't even bothered with a cursory investigation made him seethe with anger. 

“You refuse to sign?”

He wanted to roll his eyes at the display of stupidity; demanding answers of someone who still couldn’t open their mouth.

“Answer!”

Great. Now he was going to get in even more trouble because some idiot hadn’t told the official in charge that he had been kept silent. 

Unable to lift his hands because of the spelled shackles and having no other options, Wei Ying did his best to speak through clamped shut lips and jaw.

The official glared indiscriminately at those present. “Release the silencing spell!”

Even without turning his head, Wei Ying could sense the guilty glances being traded behind him.

Between one moment and the next, the spell was lifted and he exhaled a surprised note as he could suddenly open his mouth again.

Was now the time to tell them he’d been masquerading as Shijie since he'd arrived? Was that even relevant at the moment? Either way he was innocent of any murder attempt and the last thing he would do was sign a confession saying that!

The whole thing was dreamt up by that slimeball official who’d been trying to intimidate the other omega into whatever it was. Probably nothing good.

His jaw was painfully stiff but it was a blissful relief to have full use of his mouth again. 

“Sign the confession.”

The official dragged Wei Ying’s attention back to his current predicament.

“Never.”

“You refuse?” The surprised consternation on the judge's face was almost funny. 

“I refuse. I will not sign a confession that is nothing but lies. I am innocent.”

“You dare…”

Okay, this was clearly getting nowhere. It turned out to be a good thing that he'd read the rules of the Lan Clan. Even if it had been out of sheer boredom. 

“Uphold the value of justice. Seek truth. Do not lie. Do not slander. Do not make assumptions about others. Do not make accusations without evidence. Do not judge others quickly. Be fair.”

He took a breath, the silence deafening as all eyes were riveted on him.

“By the rules of the Lan clan, I have the right to face my accuser.”

The judging official gave him a long stare, clearly weighing his options. He banged the wooden block on his desk. “Summon Official Su Minshan.”

There was a buzz of conversation around the room as an attendant disappeared out of a side door.

The wooden block was banged several more times as they waited. Each time the buzz of excited speculation abated briefly before rising to its former level. 

Wei Ying did his best to hide his smirk. Clearly the Lan were not as good at following their own rules about gossip as they liked to pretend. 

The attendant returned with another ribbon-wearing official in tow, who bowed gracefully to the official in charge and those important enough to garner seating on the dais.

He completely ignored Wei Ying.

“Official Su Minshan, please tell us what happened when you apprehended this individual.”

“Of course, Minister Lan Qiang.”

The guy bowed again, an obsequious smile on his face, and Wei Ying had to fight not to wrinkle his nose at the unpleasantly pungent scent of cloves that leaked from the man standing a few feet from him. 

“I was walking in the garden near the guest quarters when I noticed this person behaving suspiciously. I called out and she came over. When I asked what she was doing, she first attempted to seduce me, then when that didn't work, I'm ashamed to say that she succeeded in relieving me of my sword and attacked me.”

Wei Ying's mouth fell open, utterly shocked by the brazen lies coming out of the official's mouth. 

“I was able to contain her long enough for a squad of palace guards to come and apprehend her.”

“And how do you know this person intended to assassinate the Crown Prince?”

The lying bastard actually paused to look at him for a moment before turning back to the judge and stating, with an absolutely straight face, “She told me during her attempt to seduce me.”

“Who'd want to seduce you? You reek!”

The bang of the wooden block on the table reminded Wei Ying that he needed to keep his temper in check.

He took a calming breath and held his hand as high as he could with the spelled shackles still restraining him. “If I stole the official’s sword, why did I have to use nothing but my hands and my qi to stop you from killing me? And how did the guards know to come? Why do you refuse to talk about the omega you were busy intimidating when I got there? If I was going to try and kill the Crown Prince, why would I tell some random palace official my plan?”

“How should I know what a filthy omega assassin like you thinks?” the official snapped back. “Why would I know anything about your plan?”

“Do not lie. Do not look down on others. Do not slander. Do not bear false witness. Do you even know the Lan clan rules, Official Whatever-Your-Name-Is?”

“You…!”

“Yes! Me! Your knowledge of the rules is as bad as your swordsmanship!” 

The banging made by the minister in charge of this farce had become nothing but a background noise for Wei Ying’s fury.

“You think you can beat me in a fair fight?”

“I can beat you with my core still locked!”

“Prove it!”

“I accept!”

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Lan Xichen sighed as he left the hall where the mornings’ audiences were held and returned to his private office. He had just settled and poured himself a cup of his preferred calming tea when Meng Yao was announced.

His smile died on his lips as he took in his personal aide’s demeanour.

Rising and swiftly pulling Meng Yao out of his bow, he frowned. “Meng Yao, what’s wrong? You’re practically vibrating!”

“Your Imperial Majesty! The omega who was arrested last night…There was a hearing this morning before breakfast…”

Lan Xichen frowned at A-Yao’s uncharacteristic fluster. “So early?”

“The omega is Jiang Yanli…he, she… there is to be trial by combat with Official Su Minshan.”

“What? When? Why have I not been informed of this!”

“I believe there are more problems within the Ministry of Justice than we had anticipated, your Imperial Majesty. I came to you as soon as I found out what happened.”

“How much time do we have?”

“A ke or two? Half a sichen at most.”

“Not much time then…” He directed his omega aide to take a seat while he called for his attendant who was hovering by the door. “A-Song, summon my brother, the Crown Prince, immediately. Tell him the matter is urgent and cannot be delayed.”

The man bowed and ran off, allowing Lan Xichen to return his attention to Meng Yao.

He poured A-Yao a cup of the same calming tea and waited for him to drink it. “Tell me.”

The omega took a breath and related the events of the hearing. When he got to the part where Jiang Yanli had agreed to fight Su Minshan with “her” core still locked, Lan Xichen found himself needing a cup of the calming tea too.

“Well, I suppose that confirms our omega friend’s confidence in their abilities, if nothing else.”

The two men gave each other concerned looks before Lan Xichen continued. “Regardless of the outcome of this combat, the Ministry of Justice will need to be restructured and closely supervised. The idea that they would go ahead with a hearing and a trial without conducting the most basic of investigations first… What have your enquiries found, A-Yao?”

The omega sighed. “My investigation into Jiang Yanli’s true identity is hampered by the distance involved, but it is believed that he is from a sect in the Yunmeng region. Probably the Jiang, but I have not yet been able to confirm that. As for the incident yesterday…”

Lan Xichen raised an eyebrow at his aide’s flash of genuine anger.

“Our omega friend rescued another candidate from being intimidated by Official Su.” A-Yao took another sip of his tea. “Luo An has been spending as much time as she can with the physicians. Particularly young Lan Xiaobo Daifu. Her mother is ill so, given that she has a slim chance of winning the selection, she has taken the opportunity to learn as much as she can from the best healers in China.”

“Very resourceful of her,” Lan Xichen said approvingly. “Make sure she gets the chance to spend as much time there as she wants.”

Meng Yao nodded before continuing. “She told me that Official Su was using her association with Lan Xiaobo Daifu to try and blackmail her. After our friend rescued her, she thought she heard Official Su make more threats so she ran back to the main guest area and called the guards to help.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, it seems that our friend had Official Su’s sword and was immediately arrested.”

“And none of them thought to question the witnesses?”

A-Yao shook his head, “I had to swear on the heavens that she would suffer no retribution before Luo An felt safe enough to share her information with me. As if blackmail wasn't enough, the fact that this official's word is taken as enough cause to try an individual without looking further into the matter… Forgive me, your Imperial Majesty. I have overstepped.”

“None of that, A-Yao,” Lan Xichen grimaced. “I share your sentiments. None of this should have happened. As the leaders and protectors of the country it is our duty to hold ourselves to a higher standard. Is there a way we can stop this combat?”

Meng Yao shook his head, “Your Imperial Majesty, if we stop it, it will seem that we have interfered with the Ministry of Justice over a favoured candidate. Even with the problems that need to be rectified, we need to abide by the rulings of the Ministry.”

“Your Imperial Majesty, the Crown Prince has…” A-Song had returned, out of breath and barely ahead of his brother.

“Wangji…” Lan Xichen nodded in thanks to his attendant, urgently gesturing for his brother to join them. “We have a problem.”

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

His hands hurt. Hot pulses throbbing in time with his heart. The sun was too bright in the practice yard that was being used for his fight with that stinking alpha and it was making his head hurt.

Well, hurt more.

If he was sick now because his core was locked and his wounds hadn’t been treated properly, he was going to rip some heads off once this was done.

Wei Ying blinked, surprised at the aggressiveness of his thoughts.

Sure, he was angry at how all this had turned out, but it’s not like he ever expected fair treatment. He always took the blame for things back home so why should it be different now?

He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. All he had to do was beat this arrogant asshole, then he’d be able to see the physicians and he could put the whole thing behind him and concentrate on getting kicked out of the palace in one piece.

Which meant that he had to fight a trained (allegedly) cultivator while his own core was cut off.

Guards escorted him out into the too-bright sun and left him in the middle of the combat ring. Official Whatever-His-Name-Is joined him moments later and Wei Ying ignored him as they listened to the official on the steps call out the rules.

There was to be no killing. The fight was to first blood. Neither could leave the ring without forfeiting the fight. Did he really have to let his stench out so much? Wei Ying wrinkled his nose as he was assaulted by more of that burned leather and too many cloves scent again.

The sun really was too bright right now. And surprisingly warm. He could feel sweat trickling down his spine and he was getting more and more uncomfortable in the filthy robes he’d been wearing for over a day.

He mentally chastised himself for losing concentration. All he had to do was focus and he would win and this would all be over. He knew he was a better swordsman than his opponent, but being without access to his core did give the man a significant advantage over him. Something that Wei Ying couldn’t afford to be complacent about.

He realised that he’d not been listening to the official on the steps just as the man finished speaking. He shook himself and took his position in the ring opposite the asshole alpha.

At the signal to begin, Wei Ying let the official come to him first, easily parrying the strikes aimed at him, taking the time to analyse his opponent's style. He’d already seen some of it, but that was while he was unarmed and the alpha thought himself untouchable. He expected Official…Whatever, S-something? to be more cautious considering that they’d already had a brief bout, but it seemed that the man was even more foolishly confident than he’d been the first time.

Wei Ying tried a few test strikes of his own, just to see how quickly his opponent could react…

Reasonable…but his footwork was off. Something Wei Ying would be able to take advantage of.

The official attacked trying to force him out of the ring, but Wei Ying dodged and spun behind the man, delivering an elbow to the kidneys as they swapped positions. Unfortunately, he recovered too quickly for him to press the attack so he kept to a more defensive style while he looked for the next opening.

There was a brief murmur from the watching crowd but he kept his focus. Knowing that to lose concentration now was likely to end with him losing his head.

His opponent moved in close, trying to use his heavier build to overpower Wei Ying and Ugh! Why was he flooding the ring with his scent? He danced away, grimacing as he tried to take a breath without being metaphorically punched in the face by the smell of cloves.

It was honestly getting hard to breathe when he needed to be able to fight without relying on the strength of his golden core, and this asshole just kept inundating the arena with his stink.

His left leg, the one that had been hurt the day before in their earlier fight, buckled under him as he blocked and held a particularly vicious swing from his opponent.

“What’s the matter, girl? Getting all hot and bothered?” Official Xu? Zhu? hissed as he tried to force Wei Ying to the ground.

He broke and rolled away before springing to his feet, letting the alpha stumble at the sudden shift in balance. What the hell was he talking about? How did he know anything about how Wei Ying was feeling?

He took another involuntary breath steeped in the acrid burnt leather and cloves stench and growled in anger.

This asshole was trying to use the fact that he was an alpha against him. Expecting an omega like Wei Ying to just submit to his pheromones. To collapse helplessly at his feet and bare his neck.

The problem was, Wei Ying did feel too warm. He did feel weak. Not just from the lack of access to his core but from something else too.

If that alpha asshole was going to play dirty, Wei Ying would just have to meet him where he was at.

Wei Ying lashed out with sword and scent, using his own lemon-mint-ginger to overpower the official’s pheromones and delivering a kick to his gut while he was still recovering from the surprise.

He had a moment of grim satisfaction at the idiot’s reaction, but he could feel himself tiring quickly. So much faster than he’d anticipated. Both of his legs felt weak now, and there was a painful tightness in his stomach - probably from an overdose of cloves - that made him want to finish this fight fast.

He nearly stumbled as the alpha retaliated and forced him back towards the edge of the ring, but he rallied, swinging his sword viciously and…vanilla?

Something about that smell made him feel better, stronger…

And a white-hot rage at that…that…disgusting slimeball.

Wei Ying snarled his defiance and beat his enemy back, constantly moving, his sword searching for an opening, any failure to defend, any flicker of hesitation.

He pushed the alpha back, a red haze of fury clouding his vision, accompanied by a prickling, skin-crawling heat.

This alpha had dared to try and assert his will on Wei Ying! Had tried to force him to submit! Wei Ying would never submit to an alpha like him. Never allow this substandard filth to claim him!

Wei Ying would never accept him as his alpha!

Hands grabbed him, held him back, stopped him from reaching his enemy.

He snarled his defiance even as his sword was ripped from his hand, resorting to teeth when he couldn’t break free to punch and kick.

There was shouting.

It was so loud.

Too hot.

Too many people around him.

Vanilla…the vanilla was back.

He turned towards the scent.

Sandalwood, a little lemon too.

It smelled so good.

Like calm and safety and need.

He whined as he burrowed his face into that scent, letting it surround him with its warmth.

Someone tried to pull him away from the source and he growled his displeasure until he was allowed to return to where he wanted.

Nothing else mattered now.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Lan Zhan had not expected this when his brother had urgently summoned him to his office, then swept him, Meng Yao, every guard, servant, minister, and unfortunate straggler along towards where the Ministry of Justice was allowing a bout of trial by combat.

An anachronistic and frankly stupid perversion of justice and waste of talent, in Lan Zhan’s opinion.

They’d arrived once the fight had already started.

Xiongzhang had already warned him that she was fighting with her golden core sealed but his sense of fairness was further offended when he saw that the woman’s robes were covered in dried blood and dirt.

She was holding her own though.

Even though her opponent was larger, she was using her greater agility to her advantage with impeccable footwork giving her an almost ethereal grace.

He caught his breath, concerned as Su Minshan used his weight and strength to bear down on her blade, forcing her to strain to hold him away, and grimaced as he registered the strength of the alpha’s scent flooding the practice yard.

Judging by the grimaces on the faces of others he wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Her leg buckled, and she held for a moment or two more before suddenly dropping and rolling away, allowing Official Su to overbalance and stumble towards the edge of the ring.

Clever.

Su Minshan recovered quickly and returned to the fight, a malevolent smile on his face as the woman growled at him.

Something in her demeanour shifted, an element of fury that hadn’t been there before. She lunged forward, blade flashing, planting a solid kick to the surprised alpha’s gut.

Then Lan Zhan caught her pheromones in the air, the most delicious lemon-ginger-mint scent. He rocked forward on his toes and nearly stepped toward the ring before Xiongzhang caught his arm and brought him to a halt.

He could feel his ears heat in embarrassment at his lapse as he nodded his thanks to his brother for the intervention.

He turned his attention back to the fight.

The girl…woman…was doing well, but…something was definitely wrong.

She was flushed red, her breath coming in heaving gasps, and apparently beginning to have difficulty staying steady on her feet.

Minshan pushed forward, forcing her toward the edge of the ring.

“Wangji…”

His brother’s hissed reprimand made him realise that he had allowed his own vanilla, sandalwood, and lemon scent to leak out. He nodded and did his best to rein himself back in, even though his heart was in his throat as he watched the woman…snarl and turn the tables on her opponent.

She was a marvel of flashing steel and sinuous movement, all evidence of her earlier weakness gone as she swept Su Minshan’s defence aside like it was nothing but mist.

She flowed like water dancing over rocks. All agility and dreadful, murderous inevitability.

Lan Zhan realised too late, as she sliced her sword up her opponent’s arm and kept going after him, what was wrong: her sudden weakness and flushed countenance, Su Minshan’s twisted smile…she was going into heat.

And something…the appealing smell of another alpha? had given her the strength to push back and take the man apart.

Literally, if she wasn’t stopped in time!

He viciously buried the little voice in the back of his mind that whined at the idea of it not being his scent that had appealed to her, and belatedly leapt forward along with other guards who had realised what was happening.

He trusted his brother to control the uproar in the crowd as he ran towards her, hating to see her being manhandled as members of the palace guard tried to restrain her. He could almost smile with pride when she nearly stabbed one of them before another managed to relieve her of her sword, only for the man to be bitten for his efforts.

Lan Zhan let his scent flow out, hoping against hope that it was he who had given her this fire.

She turned towards him, eyes bright but unseeing as she tried to launch herself at him.

He wrapped his arms around her and tried not to feel too smug as she growled at a guard who tried to haul her off him.

Heedless of the filthy state of her robes, he scooped her up into a bridal carry, privately amused that this was the second time in as many meetings that he’d done so, and turned to his brother.

“Xiongzhang, I will take her to the physicians. I believe she has been given heat inducers.”

He barely waited for the emperor’s nod of acknowledgement before he was hurrying along to the Healing Pavilion.

She didn’t fall asleep this time, but he could feel warmth rolling off her and see the hazy look in her eyes. He longed to comfort her but ruthlessly stamped on that urge.

He had seen, first hand, the strife caused by an alpha taking an omega against their will. Caused by forcing a bond when the other couldn’t fully consent to the match.

No matter how appealing his instincts found her, he would never make the same mistake as his father.

It was with a certain amount of relief that he arrived at the Healing Pavilion and was quickly directed to lay his burden down on a cot to be examined.

She whined pitifully as he pulled away, making grabbing motions until he rubbed her jaw with the scent gland on his wrist.

Zhou Daifu, one of the senior palace physicians, bustled over and immediately shooed him away before calling for his assistants.

Having no other option, Lan Zhan reluctantly left and sat on a bench outside, taking the time to wrestle with the attraction he felt towards this woman and his confusion over how his feelings went against everything he’d ever known about himself.

He had no particular problem with women. He'd just never found them to be more than aesthetically appealing, never sparking more than the platonic affections one would feel towards a parent, sibling, or acquaintance.

Until this Jiang Yanli had crossed his path. 

And as far as he could tell, there was nothing particularly physically different about her from any other woman of his acquaintance. She was pretty, well-dressed, and graceful… Her tendency to be somewhat of a damsel in distress when he came into contact with her was purely coincidental. 

He hoped. 

“Wangji?”

He was startled out of his thoughts to find that Lan Xichen had joined him on the bench and was giving him a measuring look.

“Xiongzhang? How is she?”

“The physicians are doing their best to help.”

Lan Zhan moved to rise and go back in but his brother put a restraining hand on his arm.

“Wangji, I’m sorry, but I have to ask: Did you…force…your interest on him when you discovered he’s male?”

He blinked uncomprehendingly. “Force my…? Male?” It took an embarrassingly long time for his brain to catch you with what his brother had said. “Wait, Jiang Yanli is a male omega?”

Lan Xichen nodded.

It was then that the meaning of the question dawned on Lan Zhan and he glared balefully at the emperor. “I would never force my attentions on anyone. You know that Xiongzhang.”

The sigh of relief from Lan Xichen was almost insulting. “I’m sorry, Wangji. I had to ask. The physicians are…having difficulties.”

Lan Zhan felt his soaring hopes suddenly come crashing back to the earth. “Difficulties? What’s wrong with her…him?”

“It seems that a partial bond has been formed between the two of you. The usual antidote for the inducers is not working as well as it should.”

This time, Lan Zhan didn’t even notice shrugging off his brother’s hand as he raced back into the Healing Pavilion and back to Jiang…Him.

“Your Imperial Highness,” Zhou Daifu bowed at his abrupt appearance by the omega’s side. “I gather that his Imperial Majesty has appraised you of the problem?”

“The partial bond…” he croaked, uncharacteristically unsure of himself.

“Indeed,” the Physician gestured for him to go to the unconscious omega’s side. “I will need to know the nature of your contact with each other. His maid has informed me that he has a habit of sleeping on the roof…”

Lan Zhan looked down at the omega again, feeling an odd combination of amusement and exasperation settle into his chest. “Zhou Daifu, the first time I met him, was when I carried him here after his encounter with the hunting dogs. The second was today.”

“Are you certain you have not come into contact with each other apart from those two instances?”

He nodded. “I…keep feeling like I recognise his scent as I go around the palace, but Xiongzhang said he has a tendency to go where he pleases regardless of if he’s supposed to be there…” His hand twitched forward, wanting to reach out but not sure if he should. “He was awake when I brought him here. What…?”

“Ah, your concern does you credit, Crown Prince,” the old man smiled paternally, “We have sedated him for now. Until we can find a way to purge the inducer. If you are willing, scenting and being in close proximity could help ease any discomfort for him.”

“That will begin to increase the bond though?”

“That’s right, your Imperial Highness,” Zhou Daifu paused while monitoring the omega’s pulse. “Is that not what you want?”

“I…” Lan Zhan pulled his eyes away from the man on the bed. “I am uncertain. I do not wish to…”

The doctor nodded, “I understand. You wish to avoid a situation similar to that of your parents. Your Imperial Highness,” Zhou Daifu put a reassuring hand on Lan Zhan’s shoulder. “I have known you since before you were born. You have your mother’s sense of justice as well as her stubborn streak. You would never force your mate to choose in the way that she had to.”

He nodded, still trying to sort through his feelings on the matter.

“First, we will ensure he is well. Then the two of you may talk. Then decisions can be made about the partial bond. Please sit, and I will have tea sent to you.”

Following the doctor’s command, Lan Zhan settled by the bed and watched as the omega’s chest rose and fell in time with his breathing.

What was his name?

All Lan Zhan knew to call him was Jiang Yanli and that was clearly a borrowed name. Did he know the real Jiang Yanli? Was he from Yunmeng? He was clearly an accomplished swordsman - able to not only compete with but soundly beat cultivators with full access to their cores while his was locked. And from what Xiongzhang had said, he was very intelligent.

He sighed to himself, finding that he was staring at the beautiful man.

If he didn’t want the bond, Lan Zhan wasn’t sure what he would do.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Wei Ying blinked awake, frowning as he took in his unfamiliar surroundings. The smells told him that he was probably in the Healing Pavilion and Shit! What if they knew?!

He sat bolt upright, collided with a solid object, and fell back onto his pillow.

“Ow…”

Now his forehead hurt.

He rubbed at what he was sure would be a bruise, even with his core, and looked around. Finally registering that he had company.

Company that was also holding their head.

Ah.

Right.

“Um…sorry?”

There was a huff, then a deep, velvety voice responded with, “No need. I should not have startled you.”

“It wasn’t you! It was…”

Wei Ying blinked, his thoughts suddenly scattered like startled fish in a lake.

The man sitting next to him had to be the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. Pale, smooth skin, ink-black hair that shone like silk, and eyes like molten gold.

He must have died.

Or ascended?

Because that was the only way he could think of that would explain the god sitting at his bedside.

“Are you okay?”

It took an embarrassingly long time for that question to filter through his stunned mind, but when it did he smiled, a little laugh escaping him.

“I’m okay. Just…I didn’t expect to see someone so beautiful…I’m sorry! Please ignore me!”

Wei Ying wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow him whole. He’d just blurted out the first thing that came into his head and it had to be about this god among men’s looks! Why wasn’t his brain-to-mouth filter working??

“How are you feeling?”

“Umm…” he frowned. “Okay, I think? Better than before.”

The walking, well…sitting…definition of perfection nodded. “Good. Zhou Daifu will want to speak to you soon about…um…”

The beautiful man trailed off, not meeting his eyes. Was he embarrassed about something? Wei Ying noticed that his ears had turned a rosy pink. It was kind of adorable. But a doctor really needed to be able to speak about medical things without getting embarrassed!

“It’s okay. I’m feeling much better now that my core’s unlocked! See! My hands are all better!”

He sent a quick prayer up to the heavens that this Zhou Daifu was actually the one from the…physical examination… That guy already knew his secret and hadn’t called the guards or anything so he was probably safe to speak with. So long as he was thinking of the same person. He’d been so deep in abject mortification that he couldn’t be entirely certain of the physician’s name…

Maybe if he was lucky…very, very lucky, he might have the chance to see this beautiful doctor again before he got kicked out of the palace and had to go home.

“That’s not…Zhou Daifu said…”

“Ah, I see you’re awake. I’m Zhou Daifu. I don’t know if you remember me?” The white-haired old alpha bustled in, ending the awkward conversation the pretty young doctor was trying to have with him.

“I remember,” he squeaked, blushing furiously.

“Now first, let me see your hands…good, good. Yes, unsealing your core has allowed these to heal wonderfully well. Excellent.” Wei Ying was gently manhandled as the doctor examined the state of his wounds and took his pulse. “Yes, I think I can safely say that you’ve recovered from the induced heat.”

“The what??” Wei Ying all but screeched.

“Oh dear,” Zhou Daifu shot a look at the pretty doctor. “Did you not have the chance to explain the situation?”

The beautiful man shook his head. “No, Zhou Daifu. I was not able to.”

“Very well.”

The older alpha took a seat on the edge of Wei Ying’s cot, his smokey almond scent soothing.

Wei Ying belatedly realised that the pretty doctor’s scent had been surrounding him too. All warm sandalwood, vanilla, and lemon…seriously, could the man be more perfect?

“How much of the fight with Official Su Minshan do you remember?”

“Umm…” Wei Ying frowned uncertainly. “I remember it, mostly. But not details…what…?”

“You had been given a heat inducer. We believe it was to make it even more difficult for you to fight. My assumption was that it was hidden in a meal you had this morning.”

He nodded, irritation warring with disgust that a so-called “righteous” cultivator of the Lan clan had behaved in such a way. Something about the subtle change to the pretty doctor’s scent told Wei Ying that he felt much the same way.

“Fortunately for you,” Zhou Daifu went on, reclaiming his attention. “Rather than being weakened by the heat symptoms as he had planned, you seem to have formed a partial bond which meant that you fought harder to reject him as a potential mate.”

“Partial bond? But I’ve…!” Wei Ying felt like his face had caught fire. “I’ve not…I’ve never…” oh gods this was so embarrassing! “I’m a virgin!”

The white-haired doctor chuckled gently, “It is unusual, but there are rare cases when particularly compatible mates have begun forming a bond without intercourse. It has already been confirmed that the two of you have only met twice.”

“We have?”

The pretty doctor nodded. “After your encounter with the hunting dogs, and again today.”

Wei Ying pulled a face at the mention of those monsters then froze. “Wait…I’m bonded with you?!”

Zhou Daifu snorted in amusement. “I will leave you both to discuss the situation.”

He was barely aware of the older alpha leaving the room, unable to tear his eyes away from the heavenly being next to him.

“You’re…we’re…”

The godly man dropped his gaze, focussing on the floor. “If you are not interested in continuing our bond I am willing to distance myself so that you are not tied to…”

“Wait! No! I mean… Look, we just met. Properly, I mean. And I just woke up…” He took a deep breath and smiled shyly. “I would like to get to know you. If that’s okay? We don’t have to make any decisions immediately, right?”

“Mn.”

“So…” Wei Ying groped around for a topic and settled for the first thing that crossed his mind. “How long have you been here in the palace?”

Which…was…apparently an unexpected question judging by the odd look the man gave him.

“I was born here.”

“Oh, wow, I didn’t…” he blinked. “Oh, I meant to say; thank you for helping me. When I was being chased. And today too. It was very kind of you…”

“There is no need for thanks. I am glad I had the opportunity to help you.”

Something about the way he said that made Wei Ying blush. “I just…I wanted you to know that I appreciate what you did. So um…what do you think about this…bond…between us?”

Watching the man as closely as he was, Wei Ying noticed his ears taking on the same pink tinge as earlier. “I would be amenable to continuing our bond. My family has been…eager for me to find a mate.”

Wei Ying smiled sheepishly, “I honestly never thought a mate would be in my future. I’ve always liked the idea though… The chance to have what Mama and Baba had…”

“I heard you were awake again. How are you feeling?”

He jumped in surprise at the sudden entrance of the official he’d met a week ago. “Lan Huan! What are you doing here?”

“Xiongzhang.”

“Wait, you’re brothers?” Wei Ying looked between the two men and though one was smiling broadly and the other was staring, they looked so similar there could be no question of them being related.

“Yes. Wangji is my younger brother.” There was a recognisable spark of mischief dancing in the older brother’s eyes which had Wei Ying grinning in response.

“Lan Huan, you didn’t tell me your didi was a doctor! Your parents must be so proud to have such accomplished sons!” He couldn’t resist a little teasing.

“Not a doctor.”

“Hmm?” Wei Ying blinked in confusion. “You’re not? But I thought…”

“Indeed, Wangji is not a doctor. He’s the Crown Prince.”

Wei Ying giggled at the foolishness of the whole thing. “Lan Huan! You can’t say that! If Wangji is the Crown Prince, that would make you the Emperor! You can’t pretend to be the emperor! Even if you’re related you’ll get in so much trouble!”

His laughter died as he saw that Lan Huan’s expression remained the same. He looked at the man he’d accidentally bonded with who nodded.

“Lying is forbidden.”

“But…you can’t be because the emperor’s name is Lan Xichen and you’re Lan Huan and…” He trailed off.

“I think it’s time you told us your real name.”

Wei Ying froze, the last of his smile slipping off his face as the bottom dropped out of his stomach.

They knew.

They knew .

He had to protect Shijie! He had to…

Half tripping as he climbed off his healing pavilion bed, Wei Ying awkwardly threw himself to the floor and kowtowed to the man he’d thought was just a friendly palace official.

“Please forgive this unworthy one! This one did not intend to deceive your Imperial Majesty! It was an accident! I know I’m not supposed to be here! Please! This one deserves whatever punishment is deemed suitable! This one…”

A touch on his head guided him to rise to his knees.

“Look at me.”

He obeyed. Tears threatening to overflow as he looked up at the Emperor Lan Xichen, Zewu Jun.

How could he have been so stupid??

“What is your name? Your real name.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, accepting his inevitable fate. “My name is Wei Ying, courtesy name Wuxian.”

“Why are you here, Wei Wuxian?” Lan Xichen was staring at him with a look that promised no mercy if he did not tell the absolute truth. 

“I…I took my Shijie's place, your Imperial Majesty. It was only supposed to be for a little bit! I was supposed to get kicked out! She's engaged but the summons said that she had to go anyway except she told me she's already pregnant and she couldn't afford the delay and if the wedding with the Peacock didn't go ahead on the right date it might never happen because of it and she loves that idiot and I couldn't let her be sad and…” Wei Ying clamped his hands over his mouth to stop the verbal torrent that was escaping his lips.

“You took her place to protect her from disgrace when her pregnancy was discovered?”

Wei Ying nodded miserably. “Please don’t punish her, your Imperial Majesty. I know I’m not wanted here but there was no one else who could go instead.”

“Who said you were unwanted?” the pretty doc…the Crown Prince asked, a tiny furrow forming between his eyebrows.

“Well…the announcement said female omegas so…I mean, it wouldn’t have specified if I was actually welcome to join the selection…” he looked from the emperor to the prince and back, aware of an undercurrent of silent communication between the two.

Whatever passed between them, apparently they agreed as the Emperor smiled and the Crown Prince’s face took on a decidedly smug look.

“Wei Wuxian, I assure you that your shijie and anyone else who was involved will suffer no retribution for their part in the events that led to you coming to the palace.” There was an amused twinkle in his eyes as he glanced at his brother. “After all, what Lan could stand in the way of a love match?”

Wei Ying kowtowed again, this time with a grateful smile. “Thank you, your Imperial Majesty.”

Once again, the emperor raised him to his knees. “Wangji, perhaps you and Wuxian would care to join us for dinner?”

He looked at the Crown Prince and smiled when the man glanced at him then nodded. “Mn. We will join you.”

“Excellent. I will leave you for now.”

Once the emperor had swept out, Wei Ying almost felt like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The terror and elation of the conversation was almost as exhausting as a full morning’s training back at Lotus Pier.

“Here…”

Wei Ying looked up to see the crown prince offering him his hand. He smiled as he took it and was gently helped back to bed.

“Xiongzhang can be…a lot when he decides to wear his full authority.”

The man huffed in what Wei Ying thought might be amusement.

“So…I guess you weren’t joking when you said you were born in the palace.”

“Lying is forbidden.”

Wei Ying gasped and stared at the man. “Did you…was that a joke?”

There was the tiniest curve to the man’s lip and he couldn’t help but grin back before his eyes widened.

“Wei Ying? What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to have dinner with the Emperor.”

“Mn.”

“What am I going to wear?”

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Lan Zhan finished braiding his hair and climbed into bed.

The day had been…unexpected.

Completely different from everything he had expected or planned.

It had all started off as normal. Or at least as close to normal as things had been for the last few weeks.

He attended to his duties with his usual diligence.

He was definitely not avoiding everything to do with the selection and the omegas currently housed in the guest areas.

Then the urgent summons from his brother and his race through the palace. Only to see the omega who had been haunting his dreams for the second time as he absolutely destroyed the man who had tried to frame him for an attempted assassination plot in the most glorious display of swordsmanship Lan Zhan had seen in a long while.

And then the omega had turned to him .

He felt a smile form on his lips at the thought of him.

Wei Wuxian. Wei Ying .

The most beautiful, most intelligent, most frustrating person he had ever met and he couldn’t wait for the chance to see him again.

The spark of brilliance that danced in his eyes as he had argued over the Lan Precepts with Xiongzhang at dinner.

The way he had brought a smile to Qin Su’s face and had her laughing in a way he hadn’t seen for months.

The way he had completely ignored Lan Zhan’s stoic facade and teased him until he’d responded in kind, only to have Wei Ying cackling like it was the best joke he’d ever heard in his life.

To think that the elders had nearly deprived him of meeting this omega… his omega.

The thought of that beautiful man had set things stirring within him that he’d never paid attention to before.

He shifted on his bed. Feeling his cock fill out as his thoughts returned to Wei Ying’s smile. To the way his hastily procured clothing had hugged his form, showing off his small waist and strong shoulders.

Banishing any passing guilt, Lan Zhan pulled the square of cloth that Wei Ying had used to wipe his mouth at dinner, inhaling the lemon-ginger-mint scent that lightly clung to the fabric.

That smell…he had been practically basking in it for most of the evening and yet it was intoxicating…almost addictive. He brushed his hand over the silk of his trousers, feeling how hard he had become simply at the scent of his omega.

With an almost irritated growl, he yanked the ribbon from his head and threw it at his bedside table.

Finally allowing himself to be driven by his need, Lan Zhan fumbled at the drawstring of his trousers, fighting with the restrictive fabric, urgently pulling himself free and gripping his erection, squeezing, stroking…

He thought of that smile, the fiery spirit of his Wei Ying and longed to hold him close, to tease and make him blush.

Would Wei Ying submit to his alpha or would he make Lan Zhan work for it? Make him earn the right to dominate him in bed? He hoped his Wei Ying would challenge him, make him prove himself worthy…

He thumbed the head of his cock, using the precum to ease the slide of his hand on his shaft.

He would win Wei Ying’s affection. Hold him down and take in that delicious scent as he slowly pushed into his omega’s tight, wet heat. Watch as he came apart beneath him, overwhelmed by the pleasure he would give.

He could feel his knot expanding, leaving him almost whimpering with the need to drive into the man that was only there in his mind.

He wanted so badly to have Wei Ying there, to silence his never-ending chatter with a ravaging kiss. Driving him to the heights of pleasure and sending him toppling over the edge, make his soul soar in bliss…

He came, a choked-off grunt leaving his lips as he spurted his seed over his hand and stomach.

Even as his muscles relaxed from the tension and he came down from the high of his orgasm, Lan Zhan couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

If he was honest, he didn’t stand a chance.

Wei Ying had had his heart from the moment he had crashed into him.

As much as he had said that if Wei Ying wanted, he would stay away and let the partial bond fade, it would kill him to do so.

He wanted that bond with a need that was almost frightening, even as he couldn’t understand why he yearned for a man that was loud and playful and blisteringly intelligent.

He decided that there was really only one thing that he could do: make it so that Wei Ying wanted him with the same urgency. Show him that he could fulfil Wei Ying’s every need and make him happy.

Satisfied with his plan, Lan Zhan cleaned himself up and fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

“Wangji! I didn’t expect you to join us!” Lan Qiren’s voice held that edge that his nephews had long ago learned meant that he was relieved at an interruption.

Lan Zhan nodded, easily hiding his amusement as he entered his uncle's office. “Shufu, I have decided to become more involved in the selection process.”

Lan Qiren blinked in surprise then nodded approvingly. “I’m glad to hear it. This is all in an effort to choose your future mate, after all.”

“Mn.”

He gave his uncle and the other three elders an assessing look as he approached the table where they had gathered.

Lan Haoran, the oldest, and therefore most senior, of the elders present, passed him a sheet of paper to look at. 

“This is a list of the qualities that we, as elders of the Lan clan, consider to be most crucial for your future wife to possess.”

The old blow-hard smiled smugly, clearly expecting Lan Zhan to bow to their whims without comment as he had so often been forced to do before.

The list was…extensive. Though something he could work with.

“Most of these are acceptable, though I do have a few requirements of my own.” Taking a leaf out of Lan Xichen’s book, Lan Zhan smoothly reached for a brush, dipped it in ink, and began editing the list before adding his own criteria.

When he was finished, he returned the list, leaned back, and waited for the inevitable splutter of outrage.

Unsurprisingly, the first came from Lan Xueyan. An elder who had been a perennial thorn in Xiongzhang’s side since before he’d ascended the throne. The man had an unfortunate habit of ignoring the rules that got in his way and, lamentably, had the seniority that he was generally allowed to get away with such behaviour.

“Skilled cultivator? Why would you require that? Night hunting is dangerous! Your wife’s duty is to remain in safety and produce heirs.” Elder Xueyan’s whining objection came as no surprise.

“My future spouse is to be my partner and should therefore understand cultivation. As such, it makes sense that they would also be a cultivator.”

His calm rebuttal made the elder pause in their rant, though Lan Zhan couldn’t tell if it was because they had heeded his argument or if they were simply taken aback by the idea that he had an opinion.

Lan Haoran took the list from Elder Xueyan’s slack grip, “Musically gifted? My dear Wangji, this is hardly a requirement. If she does not already play an instrument she can learn. Perhaps you could even teach her as you get to know each other.”

The elder’s smile was clearly aiming for benevolent but landed closer to condescending.

Lan Zhan nodded. “While it is possible to teach them a new instrument, a common interest would greatly facilitate the forming of a mutually affectionate relationship.”

“Mutual affection is not…” Haoran started to bluster, glanced at Lan Zhihao, then continued in a more subdued tone, “is not to be overlooked.”

Lan Zhan suspected that Haoran’s shin had received a forceful reminder of the clan history from one of the other elders. Probably Lan Zhihao as she was known to be one of the more “reasonable” elders of that generation.

The list, having finally made its way to his uncle, was placed on the table before, judging by the vein pulsing on Lan Qiren’s forehead, it could be torn to shreds. “Spirited? Intuitive?”

“They must be able to challenge me to be my best.”

“Your equal? Wangji, you can hardly expect them to be at your level.”

“Shufu, I will not coddle them or lessen myself.”

“Wangji, just because they cannot keep up with you does not make them lesser creatures.”

“Of course not. They are people, not animals.”

Lan Qiren’s relieved little smile amused Lan Zhan. Though he was careful to keep his feelings to himself.

“However,” Lan Zhan continued implacably, “if children are the goal, my personal tastes must be considered relevant.”

Elder Haoran drew himself up, apparently offended at the idea. “What do you mean?”

Lan Zhan bowed respectfully. “Elder Haoran, I cannot touch someone I am not attracted to.”

The elder opened his mouth but Lan Zhan didn’t give him the chance to interrupt. “They must be athletic, with a subtle grace in their movements. Intelligent, curious, animated…”

“Animated?!” Elder Xueyan exclaimed, shocked.

“Mn. I have found that I am fond of gentle humour under the right circumstances. My future mate should be able to make me smile.”

“But…but… You don’t smile!”

“Elder Xueyan, I can assure you that I do.”

“You mean to say that you will choose the candidate who is beautiful, elegant, musical, intelligent, a cultivator, and can make you smile?” Lan Qiren, ever the diplomat of the elders, summarised neatly.

“Yes, Shufu. And I would prefer that they are tall. With an appealing scent. I believe an omega with dominant tendencies would be best. Especially when considering the need for them to successfully bear heirs.”

His uncle gave him a suspicious look which he returned blandly.

“Do you have any other requirements?”

Lan Zhan bowed respectfully. “This will do for now. I will let you know of any new conditions as I have the opportunity to meet the most suitable candidates.”

He bowed again, privately delighting in the various pained expressions of the four elders and turned to leave his uncle’s office.

If nothing else, this would give him a little more time to woo Wei Ying and win his affections.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Wei Ying was in such a good mood there was no way he'd have been able to keep the stupid grin off his face. Fortunately, he wasn't the only omega selection candidate who was looking rather pleased. 

It was only that morning when the candidates who had made it this far were gathered together and informed that, after careful deliberation, all the non-cultivators would be dismissed and given their rewards from a grateful emperor.

Meanwhile, the remaining candidates were asked to come to collect their swords and prepare for a group night hunt.

The pleasure of holding Suibian in his hand again more than made up for the fact that he was still having to masquerade as a woman!

At this point, there were only thirty-four candidates left and it certainly made for a bit of a crowd by the time the Crown Prince and the cultivators from the palace were taken into account. Not to mention the servants, physicians, other officials, and various hangers-on who had come to set up the campsite that would act as home base for the duration. Even the Emperor and Empress had come along to act as observers.

“The Crown Prince and the palace cultivators are here to evaluate your performance and will only step in if you are unable to cope,” Meng Yao, the only other male omega Wei Ying had seen in the palace, announced as they prepared to enter the forest where the hunt was taking place. “Please ensure you all have emergency flares and sufficient supplies to last the day. Good luck to you all.”

Wei Ying flashed a grin at the imperial family and sauntered after the rest of the candidates who’d rushed into the trees. He knew it would probably appear as arrogance to the watching officials but he was simply aware of his skills and knew his limits.

He strolled a short way into the forest before he decided to mount his sword and fly up to the treetops. Once there, he fished around in his sleeves until he found what he was looking for; a talisman he was working on to help locate sources of resentments. This would be the perfect opportunity to test it out.

A moment of concentration, a spark of qi, and the talisman burned up, becoming a little fireball that hovered briefly before tearing off over the trees, leading deep into the forest.

Wei Ying took off after it, but even with cultivator-enhanced senses, it wasn’t long before he lost the little flame. He was definitely going to have to make improvements, but at least it seemed to work enough to be worth refining.

He continued on in the same direction even after losing the flame before pulling another out, glad that he’d thought to make a few copies for testing. He bit his finger to draw blood, then marked a couple of alterations before activating it.

This time, the fireball was a little bigger, and a glowing red that was a little easier to track. It once again shot off, altering its trajectory slightly but still heading in the same general direction as the previous one.

Perhaps he could slow it down, he mused as he raced after it. After all, he was one of the fastest flyers in Lotus Pier and if even he had trouble keeping up, others would have no hope. It would also be good if it could give an indication of how strong the source of resentment was; the last thing he’d want was one of his shidis or shimeis to try using it only to fly straight into a problem they couldn’t handle.

He caught up to the spot where the second talisman had burned out and paused, opening his senses up to his environment. He was quite far into the forest. Well into the valley that it nestled in, and almost certainly far ahead of any of the other candidates. Which was probably just as well.

There was an…ominous feel to the air here.

Quiet.

Nothing that would be noticed unless it was being searched for.

But it had a definite flavour of strength. And hunger.

He pulled another copy of the talisman out of his sleeve, considering it for a long moment before making the same alterations as the second one and setting it off.

The red flame sped off, but this time its path angled downward, disappearing into the forest less than a li away. There were a few moments of silence, followed by a quiet explosion and an inhuman roar of rage from something that had apparently been struck by the little fireball.

Wei Ying swore.

Then circled closer, flying at the level of the topmost leaves, ready to pull up the moment something came for him. The fireball had flown in a straight line each time so it was easy to work out roughly where it had hit whatever had roared its displeasure.

Birds burst free of the canopy as branches started waving wildly.

A hole appeared as a tree fell to the forest floor.

He could smell a faint hint of burning.

This talisman was definitely going to have to have a major redesign!

Approaching at a different angle from the talisman’s flame, Wei Ying risked sinking below the canopy, searching for whatever had been roused by his experimentation.

A newly formed clearing, littered with torn branches and downed trees opened up ahead. He could feel the swirling resentment centred on the middle of the cleared space around a…tree?

Wei Ying watched in horrified fascination as the tree…the creature…in the middle of the clearing struck its branches viciously against the normal vegetation near it. He could see a fresh scorch mark - probably where his fireball had impacted - on the main trunk.

How was he going to take down a tree?? Swords were not well known for their use in tree felling!

Still, there was a reason why he was the head disciple of the Yunmeng Jiang, much to the annoyance of the sect leader’s wife!

Staying back and (hopefully) out of its notice, Wei Ying flew higher, trying to get an overview of the area.

He was well into the valley that contained this part of the forest. Far enough from the base camp that he couldn’t even see it on the horizon which…huh, he hadn’t realised that he’d gone that far.

Okay…so. Step one, containment; the yao might be far from anywhere inhabited, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t move if it wasn’t stopped. Step two, subdue; if he could get it to become dormant again, there was a good chance that the Lan musical cultivation would be able to cleanse it of the accumulated resentment. If only he’d had the chance to study some of their music…

Step three, elimination; but only if there was no other choice. Wei Ying was loath to kill a creature unless he absolutely had to.

It was a pity Jiang Cheng wasn’t with him. If he had been then empathy could have been an option, but even Wei Ying wasn’t stupid enough to try that without having someone to act as his anchor.

Having analysed his options, Wei Ying dropped to ground level. He was going to have to make a large containment array which meant that he was going to need anchor points. Fortunately, a forest had plenty of options!

Crouching down, he sliced his right hand open on Suibian and swiftly flew in a wide circle around the new clearing, marking sigils on tree trunks at the cardinal directions with his blood.

The circuit complete, he flew high over the centre of the destruction and activated the array, imbuing it with as much qi as he reasonably could to ensure that it would hold until this mess was cleaned up.

It worked.

In that the array flared to life and created a strong barrier around the clearing and the tree yao inside. 

Unfortunately, it also drew the creature’s attention.

Silently thanking the number of times he and his shidis and shimeis had practised dodging things while flying, he swerved out of the way of rocks that the yao had launched at him with alarming speed and accuracy.

Thinking fast, Wei Ying pulled out his binding and freeze talismans. Individually they wouldn’t do much against a tree , but if he strengthened them and used as many as he could, hopefully the yao would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Muttering a prayer to his ancestors, he sent the first batch of binding talismans at the tree yao.

It swung a massive branch at them to swat them out of the air, only to find itself bound with numerous thin blue cords of energy.

And Wei Ying was immediately nearly pulled off his sword.

He released the bindings.

Idiot!!!

Jiang Cheng would have laughed at him.

After making sure he was okay and threatening to break his legs.

Okay…He didn’t have time to alter each talisman individually so he was going to have to do without the paper and create the spells on the fly with nothing but qi.

No problem. He could do this.

Wei Ying dove towards one edge of the clearing, hands moving swiftly as he pulled up at the last second and slapped the trunk of one of the trees still standing at the edge.

He executed a hairpin turn and shot off to the other side, crouching over his sword to get as much speed as he could while preparing the next talisman.

Palm against the trunk, spin to the next, duck a swipe of the yao trying to take his head off and secure the next talisman to another still-standing tree.

Aim for the big ones.

Watch for attacks.

Get enough down to activate them at once…

He had to leap over a rock thrown by the yao that would have hit him straight in the gut, spending an uncomfortable few moments not touching his sword before landing again.

It meant he was slow to place the last talisman.

Narrowly missing crashing into his target tree trunk, Wei Ying slapped the last talisman down and fed it a surge of qi to activate them all at once.

Please work, please work, please work…

The yao knew where he was and was moving closer, alarmingly fast for something that was supposed to be rooted to the ground.

It drew back one of its branches…

Come on! Come on!

If it hit him he’d be smashed into a pulp!

The branch shot forward…and was caught by a thick blue rope, as thick as his wrist!

He laughed as more and more blue ropes shot from the talismans he’d anchored to the trees around the clearing.

Each one binding a branch or wrapping around the yao’s trunk!

It roared its fury as it tried unsuccessfully to pull free.

Not wanting to risk the yao freeing itself, Wei Ying swiftly sketched another talisman into the air. This one a freeze talisman, with alterations to give it more power, to be able to hold harder for longer.

He threw it at the tree yao, watching as the creature froze mid-roar.

With a weak giggle, he and Suibian sagged to the floor.

Jiang Cheng would definitely threaten to break his legs when he heard about this stunt.

Not entirely trusting the yao not to break free and smash him into a thin paste, Wei Ying groped in his sleeves until he found the emergency flare that they’d all been issued with. He raised the slim tube and fired it into the clear afternoon air, impressed at the clarity of the signal as it formed the Lan emblem in the sky over his position.

Now all he had to do was wait until a Lan who could play Cleansing turned up.

And maybe refresh the talismans a few times…

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Lan Zhan very carefully did not roll his eyes.

This was the third candidate who he had come to assist after they set off their flare and…

It was for four low-level fierce corpses.

The obviousness of their ploy did nothing to make it less irritating.

What, in the name of all the ancestors, had given them the idea that acting like a damsel in distress would make them appeal to him?

He stiffly endured their fawning and suggested that perhaps they should return to camp if they felt unable to continue.

So far, that had achieved stammered thanks for his assistance and allowed him to escape as they wrestled with their embarrassment.

He had just returned to the group of Lan cultivators who were helping supervise the hunt when another flare appeared in the sky.

His head whipped around, eyes widening as he saw how far outside of the training grounds it was. “Who is hunting in the deep forest?”

The others looked at him in blank confusion.

There was a sinking feeling in his gut. “Are all the candidates accounted for?”

A few looks were exchanged, then Lan Yuze stepped forward looking a little sheepish. “All except Jiang…”

He didn’t even wait for the rest of the name before he leapt onto Bichen and sped towards the beacon as fast as he could.

Wei Ying was in trouble!

Why was he so far away from the training grounds? Why had the supervisors not stopped him? Or at least followed him? They may be cultivators, but no one was supposed to get hurt in what was nothing more than a very easy training exercise!

He crouched low, making himself as small as possible while pouring as much power as he could into his speed.

He'd already managed to cross half the distance but it was still so far…

He'd seen for himself how skilled Wei Ying was with a sword - even half delirious from the heat inducers he'd inflicted enough damage on Su Minshan that the man would be lucky to keep his arm.

He'd heard Wei Ying's theories on talismans and seen how playfully intelligent he was…

The deep forest was dangerous . Only senior disciples were permitted to hunt there and only in groups large enough to ensure mutual support. Wei Ying had gone there alone with nothing but his sword, his emergency flare and his wits. If he had been overwhelmed…

The endless sea of leaves opened up into a debris-strewn clearing, glowing blue lines running between the outer ring of vegetation and a lone tree that seemed to be frozen in the middle of being blasted by gale-force winds. 

This was the place where the flare had been set off. 

He searched frantically, dreading what he might find. 

“Lan Zhan!”

The owner of the voice delightedly calling his name jumped on top of a fallen trunk and waved merrily.

“Wei Ying!”

Heart in his throat, Lan Zhan all but crashed into the ground in his haste to get to the omega. He landed hard, staggered two steps, then ran to gather his Wei Ying into his arms. 

“Wei Ying? Are you hurt? Are you okay? What happened?”

He held the omega, now giggling fondly, at arm's length, desperately looking for any sign of injury.

“Lan Zhan, were you worried about me?”

A wounded sound escaped his lips and he pulled the love of his life back in close. “I feared you were hurt. Or worse. This area is too dangerous to hunt in alone.”

The omega, his omega snuggled close and surrounded them with his soothing scent. “I'm okay. I just need a little Lan musical cultivation to help finish the job.”

Wei Ying looked up at him, his silver eyes showing nothing but complete faith in him. 

Lan Zhan closed his own eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then released Wei Ying from his hold to take his hand instead, not yet willing to forgo all contact.

“You did all this with talismans?”

His future mate nodded, grimacing a little. “I had to make the changes on the fly and do without talisman paper but I made it work.” He grinned sheepishly, “I'm not entirely sure how long the freeze talisman will hold though so would you mind playing Cleansing before it breaks?”

Lan Zhan had to suppress the slightly hysterical urge to sweep Wei Ying off his feet, jump onto Bichen, and take him away from any danger. Instead he responded with a single “Mn,” and folded himself onto the floor while summoning his guqin into his lap. 

With the ease and skill of endless practice, he struck the opening chords of Cleansing, letting the music and his qi flow into the clearing and gently wash away the miasma of resentful energy. 

With the part of his mind that wasn't focused on his task, Lan Zhan marvelled at the man who was leaning on a fallen trunk next to him. 

Wei Ying had come to one of the most dangerous parts of the forest, completely alone, and had single handedly subdued a huge tree yao. Not only that, but he had done so without weapons and had conjured original talismans out of thin air! Only using his emergency flare when it was safe to bring in others to perform tasks he could not. 

If Lan Zhan hadn't had to at least half concentrate on playing Cleansing he would have wanted nothing more or less than to pin Wei Ying to the floor and kiss him stupid. The omega did nothing to help that urge when, at the beginning of the third cycle of Cleansing, Wei Ying joined in on his dizi, playing the perfect descant.

Lan Zhan promised himself that he would beg Wei Ying to accept his suit at the first opportunity. Selection process be damned! The elders wanted him to choose an omega and he had!

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for Lan Zhan's fraying self-control, they were finally joined by ten more Lan cultivators less than half a ke later.

Led by Lan Yuze, they quickly summoned their instruments and joined in playing, not needing actual commands to immediately understand what had to be done and getting on with it without fuss.

The elders could do with following that example more often, Lan Zhan mused with a petty little smirk.

By the time the last cycle of Cleansing came to an end, the sun was well past its zenith and those in the clearing quietly pulled out their rations and ate silently as was the Lan way.

Lan Zhan couldn’t help but watch Wei Ying, mildly surprised that he wasn’t chattering away as he ate. Instead, he had a serious look on his face and was staring at the tree yao intently.

Finishing his own meal, Lan Zhan reached over and gently touched Wei Ying’s shoulder to get his attention.

“Wei Ying?” He pitched his voice low enough that only the omega would hear him. “Are you okay? What are you thinking?”

Wei Ying blinked and shook himself, grinning his sunshine smile at Lan Zhan. “I was just wondering where all the resentful energy here originated from. The feng shui of this place isn’t so far off that it would collect, and yet there was so much here it took over a sichen to be cleared.”

Lan Zhan looked around thoughtfully then haistily climbed to his feet to follow Wei Ying towards the still-restrained tree yao.

He frowned slightly as the omega approached without any apparent caution and looked at it thoughtfully.

“Lan Zhan…” Wei Ying called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes from the tree. “Could you hold this?”

Reaching out automatically, he realised the object in his hand was a Jiang clarity bell. Delicately wrought in silver with a lotus flower pattern etched into the metal with a pale lavender-white tassel and silver beads.

“If I’m not back in a sichen ring it for me?”

Before he could even take in Wei Ying’s words, the man had already knelt, put both hands on the trunk and closed his eyes, falling into a deep trance.

“Wei Ying!” Lan Zhan’s cry of alarm brought the others over to him with demands to know what was wrong.

“Empathy.” Lan Yuze stated, eyes meeting Lan Zhan’s in sympathy. “All we can do is wait and hope nothing goes wrong.”

He nodded, not liking it one bit and settled to wait in tense anticipation, having to exert iron self-control at every shiver of leaves as the afternoon breeze blew through to clearing.

The other Lan disciples from the palace grouped themselves around the edges of the clearing, taking positions on fallen trees to act as lookouts in this dangerous part of the forest. Lan Yuze chose to keep him company while he waited and, while he didn’t acknowledge his cousin’s presence, Lan Zhan did appreciate the older man’s silent support.

He checked the sun’s position again, only to find that it had been barely over half a sichen when Wei Ying gasped and sagged away from the tree trunk.

Lan Zhan lept forward to catch him, glaring at the man in his arms as he reorientated himself.

“I’m back?” Wei Ying smiled sheepishly as he looked up into Lan Zhan’s eyes.

“Please don’t do that again, Wei Ying.”

“Aww, gege, were you worried about me?”

The playful smile faded into concern as Lan Zhan nodded. “Very worried.”

“I’m sorry, gege. I guess I’m just used to doing what I think needs to be done.”

“I do not object to your methods. Only that you didn’t give me warning.”

Wei Ying nodded, then glanced around, becoming aware that they were not alone. Lan Zhan helped him stand but stayed close as he turned to Lan Yuze and the others who’d come over at the commotion.

“I believe I’ve found the source of the resentful energy that’s been seeping into the area. If we clear it, not only should this tree be able to continue cultivating peacefully, but the whole area would become less dangerous.” He glanced at Lan Zhan and smiled shyly. “There’s a cave somewhere around here that used to be used by a demonic cultivator. Something happened and the resentment from there has been seeping out and affecting the whole area.”

“How will we find it? The deep forest is large and dangerous.”

Wei Ying grinned at him like he’d just asked exactly the right question. “The same way I found the tree yao!”

The omega pulled out a talisman, first showing Lan Zhan before allowing the others to pass it around.

“This is…a tracking talisman? I’ve never seen it before.” Lan Yuze said, frowning thoughtfully.

“Oh, it’s something I’ve been working on for a little bit. I have so many things I need to change about it, but it should do for now to help us find the strongest source of resentment in the area.”

Wei Ying smiled broadly, the spark of excited anticipation making him glow with a beauty that stole Lan Zhan’s breath.

“So…anyone want to join me?”

Lan Zhan didn’t even need to consider the question before nodding his agreement. He was relieved to see that the others only hesitated for a moment before agreeing, though he couldn’t be sure if it was because they felt a duty to protect the Crown Prince or if they believed that their duty as cultivators called on them to eliminate resentment wherever possible.

He was relieved to see that the whole group was ready in short order and took off on their swords, taking a loose formation with him and Wei Ying at the front. 

“When I set this off it's going to be fast to be ready to move. Got it?” Wei Ying called, amplifying his voice a little so those at the edges of the formation could still hear clearly.

After all had acknowledged him, Wei Ying turned his attention back to the talisman in his hand and set it off. 

A little red ball of flame shot off and he and Wei Ying hared after it. The rest of the group were a little slower to follow, even with the warning, but all made a somewhat reasonable start.

Lan Zhan felt…elated!

The wind made his hair stream behind him as he worked to keep up with the man he loved, who challenged him to be faster, to work harder, to be the best version of himself. Flying with Wei Ying was everything he had wanted and more as they sped after the little red orb that raced along the valley. 

When it finally disappeared, they waited for the rest to catch up with them before the next talisman was readied and set off. 

Once again he and Wei Ying led the flight relying on the others to join them in due course. In the meantime, it meant that Lan Zhan was free to admire the form of his chosen mate as they flew. 

Wei Ying's hair snaked out behind him along with the woman's cultivation robes he was still forced to wear. More practical than the filmy garb from the palace, but still feminine and fussy. 

Lan Zhan would be lying to himself if he claimed he didn't like it though; he kept catching himself staring at the way the robes clung to his waist and hips, while the feminine hairstyles just seemed to emphasise his big silver eyes and high cheekbones while still bringing attention to those soft lips that he longed to kiss…

“Lan Zhan?”

He cursed himself for letting his thoughts distract him as he circled back around to Wei Ying's position, having failed to stop alongside the Jiang cultivator.

He had to ruthlessly suppress his desire as Wei Ying smiled warmly at him.

The trailing cultivators caught up with them, and the next talisman was activated. 

This time the red fireball altered its course slightly, heading straight for what seemed to be a sheer rock face before slipping into an all but invisible fissure just above a small waterfall.

They glanced at each other, mutually deciding to hover close to the entrance and allow the others to catch up before proceeding into the dark.

He smiled to himself as he watched Wei Ying effortlessly take charge of the group, giving instructions about what positions to take, who would act as support, and who would be on standby as rescuers should anything go wrong. He and Wei Ying would, obviously, go in first.

Pulling a light talisman from his sleeve, Wei Ying activated it and a little ball of white light hovered above and slightly ahead of him, casting a gentle glow around the narrow opening that they had to clamber into.

“Lan Zhan, do you feel that?” Wei Ying’s voice was low, but it carried clearly to his ears. “The resentment here is…intense.”

“Mn. We must be cautious.”

Lan Zhan worked to ignore the slimy, slithering feeling of the ambient energy as they made their slow way inside, trusting the other cultivators to follow according to the instructions they had been given.

“If this seeped into the valley proper there’d be a lot more trouble than just an angry tree yao!”

The smile Wei Ying gave him was filled with the joy of curiosity, igniting a similar feeling within the Crown Prince himself.

“How far in do you think the source is?”

Wei Ying shrugged and continued looking around, trying to find whatever he’d seen while performing empathy, following the twists and turns of the cave.

Minutes later they rounded a corner where the narrow tunnel opened out into a surprisingly large cavern.

The whole place was filthy. Ancient cobwebs strung across the walls and surfaces thick with dust, but it had clearly been lived in at some point. Pieces of crumbling, time-worn furniture were still in place, candle holders with the remnants of wax dripping down, and well-filled shelves of books and scrolls.

They looked at each other, clearly sharing the thought that this was going to need to be recovered, catalogued, and (depending on the contents) kept under lock and key, if not destroyed outright. Either way, the heavy feeling of resentment permeated everything in the cavern.

He was drawn to a stand holding an ancient pipa, strings snapped but still waiting for its owner to come and play another melody.

“Lan Zhan, I think I’ve found it!”

He had a moment of alarm as he realised that Wei Ying was no longer in the large chamber, but quickly spotted an archway that led to another room.

Nodding to the Lan cultivators who had just arrived, he hurried into the new chamber, absently noting that it had been used as a bedroom, when he saw Wei Ying kneeling by pile of stone.

“Wei Ying?”

The other man grinned over at him, beckoning him closer. “This has got to be it, Lan Zhan!”

Now closer, he could see that a pool of water had formed, fed from a source near the top of the rock slide, creating a small pond, before it disappeared into a crack on the other side of the cave. Even in the light provided by Wei Ying’s talisman, the water looked black and heavy, with a sluggish movement to it which suggested an unnatural viscosity to it.

“There’s the remains of a box of some kind under the rocks,” Wei Ying said, pointing to what now clearly looked like the edge of a lid. “I think it must have something in it which has contaminated the water here. And there’s a good chance that feeds into the waterfall just below the cave. With the levels of resentment in here we’re probably lucky there haven’t been more problems coming out of the deep forest.”

He nodded his agreement, “We will need to dig it out before cleansing this cave properly.”

Wei Ying nodded and stood, focusing his attention on the pile. “I think if we begin up here, we should be able to…” he reached for a stone and, after a little tugging, managed to roll it free and down to the floor of the cave without setting off the entire pile.

“Wei Ying, please. Allow me to do this for you.”

The omega pouted, “I’m not afraid of getting dirty, Lan Zhan!”

He smiled slightly, “I am well aware, but you have been working hard. Please allow me to do this while you rest.” The irritated huff he got in response made him want to chuckle. “I will call for others to come and help.”

When Wei Ying sat down further away from the rock slide and sighed a grumpy “Fine.” Lan Zhan summoned help from the squad who had come with them.

With enthusiastic assistance from several of the others, the rock pile was quickly, carefully, and methodically dismantled, soon revealing the crushed remains of a storage box underneath.

The last stone had barely been settled on the ground when Wei Ying was back, curiously investigating the debris with a stick he had acquired from somewhere.

“Yes! Got it! Does anyone have an empty qiankun pouch?”

Lan Zhan had to suppress another chuckle at the hand that was imperiously thrust out, expecting to be filled with the required item in short order. He filled it with his own spare pouch and watched in fascinated admiration as Wei Ying sliced his finger open and swiftly sketched warding runes on the little bag, then, with a little luck and a lot of poking with the stick, he managed to get a lump of misshapen metal into the bag and sealed it with a grin.

Wei Ying got back to his feet with a happy sunshine smile, turning its full effect on Lan Zhan. “All done! And do you feel that? The levels of resentment in here are already dropping!”

“Mn. Wei Ying has done an excellent job.”

Oh, the way his praise made the man all but glow… It was only with some effort that Lan Zhan maintained his self-control.

“We should return to camp. Xiongzhang will be concerned about us if we delay much longer.”

“Okay.”

That smile…

Silently reciting the Lan precepts to himself, he turned to his cousin. “Lan Yuze, would you please supervise the clean up here? We will return to camp to report and have additional support sent out to you.”

“Of course, Hanguang-jun.” The older man bowed politely. “Forgive me but, ‘Wei Ying’? Not Jiang Yanli?”

Quiet though the question was, Lan Zhan felt his ears heat as his slip was brought to his attention, regardless of how discreet Lan Yuze had been.

“Mn. Wei Wuxian will be my future spouse if he chooses to accept my suit.”

His cousin smiled broadly and bowed again, “I believe you need have no fear in that regard, Hanguang-jun. I hope to be able to congratulate you soon.”

And then he turned away, giving Lan Zhan the chance to regain his composure as he marshalled the rest of the Lan cultivators and gave instructions on the best way to gather the artefacts strewn around the cave dwelling.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Wei Ying couldn’t help but smile as Lan Zhan guided him out of the cave and they flew back to camp. Managing to subdue the tree yao and then finding a way to help it cultivate peacefully again felt like such an achievement! And the cave! Who had lived there? Were they a demonic cultivator? Or were they just a hermit-scholar with some dangerous artefacts? He’d spotted some protective runes on the remains of the box that had contained the amulet. Had they been put there to keep the resentment from the amulet in, or to keep others out?

So many questions!

And he’d been able to field test the resentment-finding talisman he’d been playing with and had so many ideas for improvements!

He caught Lan Zhan’s eye as they flew side by side and laughed happily, pleased to see the little smile on his face.

He was getting better and better at reading the Crown Prince’s micro-expressions after getting to spend so much time with him over the last couple of days.

And he was funny !

Not in an obvious way. Lan Zhan’s humour was dry. Subtle. Quietly mocking.

Yes, he was a bit of a stickler for the rules, but he was good in a way that made Wei Ying want to be with him and work by his side.

Their half-formed bond just made him even more eager to spend time with the man and he desperately hoped that Lan Zhan felt the same about him.

He snuck another glance and the crown prince only to be caught in his gaze which made him blush and giggle like a love-struck maiden.

Those eyes!

They looked like pools of liquid gold, so deep Wei Ying could drown in them.

And the way Lan Zhan stared at him sometimes…it was definitely making things stir in him. A knot of excitement in his belly that only made him want to tease the man more just to see what would happen.

“Wei Ying…”

He grinned at the prince and flew closer, their shoulders nearly touching. “Yes, Lan Zhan?”

“I…Would…” The prince closed his eyes for a moment, clearly gathering his thoughts. “Wei Ying, would you be willing to accept my suit for your hand? I would like your permission to claim you as my mate.”

Wei Ying was so shocked he nearly fell off his sword.

A surprised squeak left him as an arm shot out to steady him. He regained control and glared at the man responsible.

“You can’t just say things like that! You have to warn me first!”

Lan Zhan only looked amused at his flustered outrage.

“Are you sure? I’m annoying. Like, really annoying!”

“No to me.”

“I get distracted really easily! I forget things all the time!”

“Wei Ying has a quick and active mind that requires stimulation.”

“...”

He glanced around as if begging the fluffy late-spring clouds above them for inspiration.

“I’ll cause problems with the Lan elders. They won’t like me!”

“The elders need to learn that they cannot prevent me from finding my own path.” Lan Zhan reached out a hand and gently caressed Wei Ying’s cheek. His breath caught and he belatedly realised that they were just hovering in the late afternoon air. “My path to you.”

He felt so exposed, pinned under those beautiful eyes, but at the same time so carefully held. Safe and protected and wanted.

“Wei Ying,” that soft voice…it wrapped around him like the finest silk. “Be my mate?”

He nodded and smiled, even as tears sprang to his eyes. “Yes, Lan Zhan. I want to be yours.”

There was a low growl and then his lips were captured in a hungry and all too brief kiss. “We must get back to camp.”

He giggled and nodded, taking a deep breath to steady himself before he grinned wickedly. “Race you?”

He heard a growled “Wei Ying!” as he sped off laughing, then yelped in surprise as Lan Zhan tugged on a lock of hair.

No one had ever managed to catch him so easily before!

They traded the lead back and forth as they sped towards the camp only to arrive together, breathless and happy, strolling hand in hand to the Emperor’s tent.

“Xiongzhang? Wei Ying found a tree yao and the source of the resentment that was poisoning that part of the deep forest.” Lan Zhan glanced at him, eyes so full of admiration that it made Wei Ying blush.

At Lan Zhan’s silent encouragement, Wei Ying pulled the warded qiankun pouch out of his sleeve and placed it on the low table in front of them. “I’ve put protective sigils on this to keep it contained, but it would be wise to put it in something actually designed to contain resentful energy. I am unsure how long this will remain effective.”

“Impressive work A-Xian!

He smiled sheepishly and was glad when Lan Zhan continued with his report.

“Lan Yuze is supervising the recovery of the rest of the items in the cave, but he will require support.” Lan Zhan shot a proud glance at him which Wei Ying did his best to ignore. “None of us anticipated something so impressive being found when the night hunt began this morning.”

“Lan Zhan…!” He couldn’t help but whine in embarrassment at his mate (His actual mate! What the hell?!” continued to sing his praises.

Lan Xichen did nothing to help, looking thoroughly pleased with the situation.

“Wei Wuxian, you have my heartfelt thanks for your efforts to cleanse the resentment from an area known for its dangerous nature.” The Emperor smiled, then pointedly looked at their still-joined hands and back to Lan Zhan. “Is there anything else you need to tell me, didi?”

“Mn.”

Wei Ying watched, wide-eyed and a little confused, as Lan Zhan pulled the ribbon from his forehead and gently but firmly wrapped it around their joined hands, effectively tying them together. He tugged them both into a brief bow and looked decidedly smug as he spoke.

“Xiongzhang, I am honoured to inform you that Wei Ying has agreed to be my mate and spouse. I ask that you bless our union.”

Lan Xichen smiled broadly and all but bounced to his feet, embracing the pair of them, much to Wei Ying’s surprise.

Honestly, Lan royals did not behave in the way he’d been taught to expect. Yes, there was dignity and authority, but they all seemed so much more human than he’d ever have expected.

“I will have A-Yao begin to make arrangements. He will be pleased.”

Lan Zhan smiled slightly at the emperor’s cryptic comment and Wei Ying decided he’d just have to be confused until he could get an explanation later.

“Wangji, will you and the Crown Consort remain at the camp tonight, or will you return to the palace?”

Wei Ying felt his legs turn to jelly as Lan Zhan raised his hand to his lips and kissed it softly, “I believe we will remain here and return with everyone in the morning. Would you arrange for food and Wei Ying’s belongings to be delivered to my tent, Xiongzhang?”

Lan Zhan led him from the tent to the sound of the emperor’s laughter and gently pulled him along on a stroll through the tents and towards the trees.

When they hit the edge of the forest Lan Zhan paused, carefully unwinding the ribbon that bound them before carefully retying it around Wei Ying's wrist.

“Lan Zhan…what just happened?” Wei Ying was still feeling decidedly flustered, with the distinct impression that he’d missed something important. “Why did the Emperor call me Crown Consort? Don’t we need to…I don’t know…have a ceremony or something first?”

“We just did. By Lan standards, that is,” the crown prince smirked smugly. “According to my sect’s traditions, having bound our hands with my ribbon, and bowed to the leader of my sect, we are now officially handfasted.”

“We just got married?”

“Mn.”

Wei Ying gaped like a fish. “Like actually married?”

Lan Zhan had that amused twinkle in his eyes again. “Mn.”

“As in husband and…well…husband?”

“That is what marriage generally means, yes.”

“And…it's official? No one can claim it's fake.”

“They would not dare.” There was a growled tone in Lan Zhan's voice at the idea that anyone would suggest such a thing. “Wei Ying is mine. I am Wei Ying's.”

And oh, that did something to him alright. That possessive note. The way Lan Zhan looked ready to fight the very suggestion that they didn't belong together. 

His husband…

His husband ! 

It sounded so good in his head! 

“Husband…”

It sounded so good coming from his mouth too.

And judging by the way Lan Zhan looked at him he agreed! 

“My husband…”

He couldn't help but grin at Lan Zhan. The man looked like he wanted to eat him!

He couldn't help himself. Wei Ying absolutely had to see what would happen if he kept teasing his husband .

“What would my husband like to do now?”

Lan Zhan stepped forward, crowding into Wei Ying’s space, backing up until he bumped into a tree. He caught his breath as Lan Zhan very deliberately put a hand on either side of him and leaned in close, breath ghosting over Wei Ying’s skin.

“What would I like to do?”

Wei Ying gasped and closed his eyes as Lan Zhan’s lips brushed along his jaw, lightly nipping the skin with his teeth.

“I want to kiss you until you forget your name…”

Lan Zhan bit lightly at his neck.

“I want to make you mine in every way…”

He moaned quietly as Lan Zhan’s fingers wound through the hair at the back of his head and pulled.

“But first…”

Wei Ying felt a surge of need rush through him as his husband gently nibbled at his exposed scent gland.

“We should bathe and eat.”

Lan Zhan suddenly released him and stepped back, smirking wickedly as Wei Ying came slamming back to earth.

“You!” 

The horrible man chuckled and gathered Wei Ying back into his arms, holding him close and kissing the top of his head.

“I thought you’d want to clean up and eat before we do anything more…involved. It’s been a long day.”

Laughter and annoyance warred within Wei Ying, with a steady undercurrent of arousal. He would allow this for now, but he was definitely going to get his revenge!

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

Lan Xichen was in the middle of composing the announcement of Wangji’s selection of Wei Wuxian and their handfasting when his beautiful A-Su fluttered in with a pair of maids carrying their dinner. He paused in his writing to admire her as she organised the table to her satisfaction and dismissed her assistants with thanks for a job well done. 

He smiled happily at her, already anticipating her pleasure at the announcement he must give.

“Come and have dinner, A-Huan. You must be famished!”

He cleaned his brush and joined her at the table, grinning cheekily, “As my wife commands.”

Qin Su gave him a suspicious look as she placed a portion of steamed vegetables in his bowl. “What do you want, husband?”

“Can’t I simply appreciate you, my dear A-Su?”

She smirked, “Of course you can, A-Huan, my love. But you only use that tone when you want something.”

Lan Xichen chuckled, “I can never get anything past you, can I?”

“No.”

He couldn’t resist. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“So…what do you want, dear husband of mine?”

“I was hoping you would be willing to assist Wangji’s mate in settling in. Especially with handling the elders.”

She raised an eyebrow, “And is it who we hoped?”

He grinned, “Wangji asked A-Xian this afternoon. He accepted.”

“That’s wonderful!”

“Even better, they have already handfasted and bowed to me as their sect leader.”

He sipped his tea while he calmly waited for A-Su to finish her triumphant crowing.

“Good thing I renewed the silencing talismans after the tents were set up,” he teased after she’d settled down.

“Very funny.” She took a breath, all seriousness. “Do you expect much push-back from them?”

Lan Xichen grimaced, picking at his food more before he looked into her eyes, “From some of them. A-Yao mentioned that he thinks Shufu has been backed into a corner. And Elders Haoran and Xueyan have been less subtle about things than usual.” He sighed, “Elder Zhihao may side with us. You know she’s a firm believer that love matches are far superior to any other kind of marriage.”

A-Su smiled, “Sometimes it's good to have old romantics in senior positions.”

He nodded, smiling gently at his wife. “And she’s always doted on Wangji and me. I think…I hope…she’ll be as pleased as I am to see him happy.”

“He’s really happy? They did seem like such a good match when they joined us for dinner…”

Lan Xichen couldn’t help but chuckle, “A-Su, I wish you’d been here! He was practically bouncing.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, for Lan Wangji, he was practically bouncing.” A-Su huffed her amusement and he continued with a suddenly serious air. “Of course, I’m sure that will change when he finds out that they’re still going to have to have an official ceremony. They may be handfasted by Lan standards, but we’ll still have to give the rest of the empire a Royal Wedding.”

“Poor Wangji…” she chuckled. “I hope A-Xian will be able to make the socialising part easier for him.”

“I'm sure he will. A-Xian seems social enough for the both of them.” He looked thoughtfully at his nearly empty bowl. “I'm going to ask A-Yao to make arrangements for the actual wedding - I can think of no one better to organise such an event, but have you any thoughts on who I should send to Lotus Pier to negotiate the wedding contract? It's going to be a little awkward given that the bridal couple are already handfasted…”

The wicked little smirk warned him that his wonderful A-Su knew exactly who to torture with such an assignment, but she made them both finish their meal and carefully put everything back onto the tray to be left outside the tent for later collection before she would answer. 

“Well? My Empress has clearly had an excellent idea…” Lan Xichen practically purred as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Lan Qiren and Elder Xueyan.”

“What?!”

“Your uncle because he should not have allowed Wangji's needs to be ignored so thoroughly, and Elder Xueyan because he's one of the worst troublemakers but his pride won't allow us to be put at a disadvantage in the marriage negotiations.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Not Elder Haoran? He is the leader of the more difficult elders…”

“Elder Haoran has forgotten that his role is advisor, not Emperor. He is a schemer and bully and should be allowed to orchestrate his own downfall. Preferably in a way that he will never recover from.”

Lan Xichen couldn't help but laugh at her brilliance, “You, my love, are amazingly wonderful at coming up with the perfect non-punishments. Remind me never to upset you!”

She smiled sweetly up at him, returning his admiring gaze, “Well then, husband, you had better take me to bed now. Before I can become displeased with you “

He swept her off her feet and carried her to their bedroll, his desire stoked by her demand. “As my lady commands…”

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

He was going to go insane. He was sure of it.

He knew about sex. Mostly… He'd read spring books anyway…just like the rest of the disciples around his age. He'd dealt with his heats. All alone and aching and needy.

Obviously he had no practical experience, but he had a general idea of the theory at least. 

And then Lan Zhan, his husband ( husband !), the Crown Prince, Hanguang-jun, had pushed him against a tree, kissed him breathless and…taken him back to the tent for a basin of warm water and food!

To be fair, it had been good to feel cleaner (he wasn't going to count himself as actually clean until he'd had a bath), and he had been hungry enough that even the bland food he'd been subjected to over the last few weeks had been…well. He'd never go so far as to call it good . But it was at least acceptable. 

And now…Lan Zhan was meditating.

Because, apparently, it was time to meditate. 

Which meant that Wei Ying was bored. 

Which, according to Jiang Cheng, meant he got annoying.

He had already thoroughly investigated Lan Zhan’s tent, though given that this was only a short trip, it wasn’t exactly filled with interesting things he could prod. After that stimulating half a ke, he’d moved on to seeing how close he could get to his husband before he reacted. 

By this point, Wei Ying was crouched in front of Lan Zhan, his face less than a hand span away from the prince’s nose.

He was conflicted. 

On one hand, he wanted to study the beauty of the Second Jade. On the other hand, he desperately wanted to provoke a reaction. Maybe if he licked Lan Zhan's nose…

“I can hear you thinking.”

Wei Ying yelped and fell on his ass. “Lan Zhan!”

“Mn?”

“You surprised me, Gege! No fair!”

Lan Zhan's hand twitched at that. Interesting…

“Do you like me calling you Gege? You are older than me…”

His husband said nothing but Wei Ying spotted that little flex of his elegant fingers. 

“Though I suppose your brother is really Dage. Maybe… er-gege? Lan-er-gege?”

Twitch. 

“Ah, Lan-er-gege, then.” He smirked, pleased that his teasing was having an effect. “Lan-er-gege, may this husband have the honour of removing your guan?”

Lan Zhan's hand actually clenched into a fist before relaxing again! 

“Mn.”

Biting his lip so he didn't laugh out loud at his success, Wei Ying knelt properly and reached up to carefully remove the silver guan from his husband's hair, then he started to undo the hairstyle beneath, gently taking out the pins that held Lan Zhan's hair in place and putting them on the low table next to the guan.

Such beautiful hair... Well taken care of and as fine as the best silk in his hands.

He finger-combed the long tresses, revelling in the feel of it in his hands and gently massaging Lan Zhan's head to ease the tension built up over the day. 

A quietly happy huff from his husband made Wei Ying smile. This close, he could see all of Lan Zhan's tiny expressions and pick up his well-controlled scent. The warm sandalwood-vanilla-lemon accented by top notes of contentment and…arousal?

He grinned, wondering how far he could push until Lan Zhan broke and pounced on him. 

His fingers took a more caressing tone, sometimes tugging gently, sometimes combing his nails along his scalp just to feel the little shivers that elicited. 

“Will we have our wedding night here, or do you want to wait until we're back at the palace?” He mused quietly, “Although…we do still have two more bows to complete…perhaps we should hold off?”

He had to bite his tongue to control his laughter when he spotted the tiniest little pout of Lan Zhan's lip.

He pulled his hands from Lan Zhan's hair and knelt back. Putting his most innocent expression on, he went for the kill. 

“What do you think, husband?”

Lan Zhan opened his eyes, looked at him for a moment, and then in one smooth movement, had taken Wei Ying's hand and was urgently dragging him out of their tent towards the edge of camp.

When they stopped just beyond the light from the fires, they both paused to admire the view of the stars blazing across the clear night sky.

“Mn.”

Lan Zhan's satisfied hum drew Wei Ying's eyes to him, and he couldn't help but giggle at his mate's smug expression. 

“Does Wei Ying approve?”

With great effort, he controlled his laughter, though he couldn't control his smile. “Wei Ying approves.”

In perfect synchronisation, as if the movements had been practised a thousand times before, they bowed to the heavens, then each other. 

“Now no one can disagree.”

Lan Zhan's voice was low, little above a growl, and it sent a shiver of anticipation running down his spine. He lifted his hand to cup Wei Ying’s cheek, bringing their faces close to lightly brush their lips together.

“Now you are mine.”

“Yes,” he bit his lip, suddenly nervous.

Why was he nervous? He wanted this. Right?

Lan Zhan was everything he’d ever hoped for and more! Kind, funny, righteous…and he wasn’t going to complain about him being the most beautiful person he’d ever met. And his scent! Fresh and warm and safe in a way he hadn’t known since his parents had last tucked him in for the night.

But it wasn’t just him, was it. He wasn’t just Lan Zhan. He was the Crown Prince. The heir to the imperial throne. Which meant he had now married into the imperial family and all that meant.

He was in so much trouble!

“Wei Ying?”

His husband’s voice broke through his spiralling thoughts. He blinked up at him, smiling timidly.

“What’s wrong?”

“I am in so much trouble, Lan Zhan.”

His husband drew him into his arms and surrounded them with his reassuring scent, “I will protect you, Wei Ying. We can face anything together.”

He couldn’t help but smile; Lan Zhan was just as much of a romantic as he was deep down. Seriously, how had he got so lucky? 

He tilted his chin up just enough that he could reach his husband’s lips, kissing him tentatively at first, then with growing confidence as Lan Zhan responded.

He revelled in how those large hands held him tight, how the man growled low and needy as he started kissing along his jaw and down his neck.

“Yes, mine…”

He made Lan Zhan moan hungrily as he grazed his scent gland with his teeth and smirked to himself.

“Yours?”

“Mn. Mine.”

“You think I’m so easy to claim?”

Wei Ying couldn’t resist. He nipped Lan Zhan’s neck with his teeth and broke free when his husband gasped in surprise.

“Wei Ying?”

With a wicked grin, he let his scent wrap around them, the lemon-ginger-mint enticing, daring Lan Zhan to come after him as he dropped into a half-crouch, ready to dart away at any moment.

A heartbeat later he could tell that Lan Zhan knew his game. His husband dropped into an answering crouch, a predatory look in his eyes.

They circled, like hunter and prey, Lan Zhan's complete focus sending thrills throughout his body. He knew the smile on his face was wide and wolfish.

Reckless.

Taunting.

He let Lan Zhan get a little closer to him, then feinted left before sprinting right, away from the camp and into the darkness of the rolling plains they'd flown over just that morning. 

He sensed his husband behind him, using his strength to close the distance. But where Lan Zhan had strength, Wei Ying had agility.

He turned sharply, forcing Lan Zhan to arc around to match him, then raced up one of the short hills and, using his brief moment out of sight, changed direction again.

Wei Ying almost felt like he was flying on Suibian. The speed of their game was exhilarating as he ducked and wove, using his cunning to avoid getting caught, his mischievous nature on full display as he suddenly doubled back, dodged, and tugged on his husband’s long hair before disappearing off into the dark again.

The frustrated growl from Lan Zhan only made him laugh in triumph as he successfully teased his mate.

He glanced back over his shoulder and stopped in confusion as he realised that Lan Zhan wasn’t behind him anymore.

Before he had time to wonder, he was suddenly knocked off his feet, protectively enveloped in Lan Zhan’s arms as they fell and rolled to a stop.

He grinned, breathless, as he realised he’d been caged by Lan Zhan’s arms, the weight of his husband pinning him down into the grassy hillside they’d landed on. He gazed up at his husband’s beautiful face, partially hidden by the shadows cast by his loose hair.

“You caught me.”

“Mn.”

Lan Zhan leaned closer, capturing Wei Ying’s lips in a searing kiss, leaving him gasping for breath, before he moved on to mouthing along the line of his jaw and down his neck, dangerously close to his scent gland.

He moaned, revelling in the fact that he couldn’t escape, couldn’t buck his husband’s weight off his body…

Without even thinking, Wei Ying wound his hands around his husband’s shoulders, desperately tugging at the layers of clothing keeping them apart.

“Off!” He groaned his demand as Lan Zhan worried at his neck, sending jolts of desire straight to his groin. He could feel himself getting hard and desperately wanted to get his hands on naked skin.

Lan Zhan clearly agreed with his demand, breaking away from his neck and sitting up, trapping Wei Ying between his muscular thighs. The man tugged his belt off and all but tore his robes open, exposing his chest.

He cried out as his husband once again descended upon him, lips travelling down his neck, nipping at his collarbone before going further to lick and suck at his nipples, pulling broken moans as teeth dug into his skin.

He tried to tug at his husband’s belt, hands demanding and desperate.

“No. Wei Ying will take what I give.”

“What? Is this revenge for earlier?” He whined, pouting, as his hands were captured and forced up by his head.

“Stay.”

“But I want…”

“Stay.” Lan Zhan’s growled command sent a shiver from head to toe, and Wei Ying keened as he tried to buck his hips.

His husband’s weight left him, and he gasped at the sudden cold as his trousers were yanked down to his knees.

He was about to protest when his cock was engulfed in warm and wet.

A ragged moan was dragged from him as Lan Zhan’s tongue teased his shaft, his head bobbing deliciously and driving Wei Ying mad with sensation.

Before he knew what he was doing, his hands were winding into his husband's hair, unsure if he was trying to push the man’s mouth off him or hold it on.

Lan Zhan pulled off his cock with a pop, his eyes practically glowing in the reflected moonlight, “If Wei Ying cannot behave, he will have to be disciplined.”

Given that Wei Ying was bare from neck to knees, there was nothing he could do to hide how that statement made his cock kick in interest.

The purr from his husband would have been comforting if the look in his eyes didn’t tell him that he was about to be devoured whole.

Lan Zhan grabbed his hands, easily holding them both in one hand while he unwound the ribbon that was still around Wei Ying’s wrist. Without breaking eye contact, his husband re-wrapped the ribbon, securely binding his hands together and pushing them up over his head.

“Stay.”

Wei Ying closed his eyes, biting his lip with the effort of obeying as that sinful mouth returned to his cock. He whimpered, eyes closing as he tried so hard to be good. To stay still. 

One hand held his hips firmly in place, while the other dipped lower, fingers tracing between his folds spreading around the slick that Wei Ying was now mortified to realise was all but oozing out of his pussy.

His moans climbed in pitch as a single finger pushed in, the mouth still working his cock making the sensation almost overwhelming.

Sure, he was a nineteen-year-old virgin who'd been saving himself for his future mate (though he'd never ever admit such out loud among his peers), but he'd experienced heats, he'd explored his own body. Out of curiosity, out of boredom, out of some vague idea that he was supposed to know what to do, but this? This was…

Fuck! 

Lan Zhan had just added a second finger!

He had no idea it could feel this good! 

His wicked husband was holding his hip still with one hand while the other’s fingers were slowly pumping in and out of his slick-soaked pussy, the mouth around his cock deliberately matching the tempo of the finger thrusts and…

Fuck…

“I'm gonna…”

He tried to warn him, tried to do something, but he was suddenly gasping and shuddering through the most intense orgasm of his life, vaguely aware that Lan Zhan was greedily gulping down his spend with no hesitation at all.

He came down feeling giggly and loose, with Lan Zhan carefully kissing his way back up his stomach, licking up his spend as he came closer.

They kissed, filthy and messy, and he could taste himself on Lan Zhan’s tongue as the man ran teasing fingers over his body.

“Good?”

Lan Zhan’s voice was husky with want and Wei Ying nodded frantically.

He couldn’t help but gasp as he felt the hard length his husband was slowly grinding into his hip.

Was that…?

He had to be wrong.

Humans didn’t get that big.

Right?

He was going to find out though!

Nervous excitement knotted in his belly, and he looped his still-bound hands around his husband’s neck to demand more kisses.

“Wei Ying wants more?”

He nodded, nipping at Lan Zhan’s lip. “Lan-er-gege is still hard. Let me help.”

His husband froze, pulling away to stare into his eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Your Wei Ying can take it, Gege,” he tried to buck his hips again, pulling a grunt from the alpha. “I want it, Lan Zhan. Make me take it. Take what’s yours…”

“Mark your words, Wei Ying.”

The deep growl was all the warning he got before his husband used one hand to push his arms back over his head, while the other disappeared to fumble between them.

He gasped as he felt wet warmth smear across his stomach, and Lan Zhan forced his legs further apart, kneeling to get a clear view of all of him spread out like a feast.

He looked down, mouth falling open in awe as he saw the monster dick in Lan Zhan’s hand, and whimpering in excited anticipation as the blunt head teased between his slick-soaked folds.

“Look at me.”

The barked order dragged Wei Ying’s gaze back up to his husband’s molten gold eyes and he moaned, a little frown creasing his brows as Lan Zhan slowly, so slowly , pressed that cock into his body.

It felt incredible. 

Like Lan Zhan was carving a place for himself inside his body. 

Like he was made just to take his husband's cock.

He closed his eyes and arched his back, whining at the overwhelming sensations that made him feel so close to coming again. So close, so…

“No! Don't stop!”

He came crashing back to earth as his husband froze, ceasing his tortuously slow entry into Wei Ying's willing person. 

“Wei Ying stopped looking.”

“You!” He tried to wriggle further down onto the monster impaling him, whining in frustration at Lan Zhan's refusal to give him what he wanted. “Lan Zhan is so cruel!”

“It is Wei Ying's first time. We must be slow or it will be too much.”

“It won't be, Gege! I can take it! I told you I can take it!”

His babbling cut off with a cry as Lan Zhan's hips suddenly snapped forward, leaving him gasping at how full he felt. 

Before he could even begin to get used to the feeling, his legs were hauled up to the alpha’s shoulders and Fuck!

He'd thought he'd taken all of his husband's cock before but somehow there was more! 

He keened in pleasure, feeling almost mindless as all he could focus on was the way Lan Zhan filled him to the brim then would pull almost all the way out before returning to his depths. The delicious drag of his husband's shaft as it moved inside him and carried him up to the heavens and back on a relentless tide of ecstasy.

He babbled and whined, begged for more in his sweetest tones and swore like a dock worker when he got what he asked for. Occasionally he became aware of the mess of precome over his belly from his own leaking cock bouncing helplessly under his husband's assault. 

He came close so many times he lost count but each time his Lan Zhan would freeze; stopping the climb to his climax like he'd run straight into a wall.

Each time he was left near tears, as he was left wound as tight as a pipa string waiting to snap.

His legs were released from their position over his husband's shoulders and he was hauled into Lan Zhan's lap, instinctively wrapping his legs around the man's waist as he was bounced on that enormous shaft. 

He looped his bound hands over Lan Zhan's head, needing something to help keep his balance against the punishing pace. 

They kissed, sloppy and breathless, and unbelievably, Wei Ying felt something stretching him further. 

“Your knot! Fuck!”

“Wei Ying, let me…?”

“Yes! Fuck! Breed me! Claim me! Fuck!”

Lan Zhan held his hips in a bruising grip as he pumped deep inside, two, three times before his expanding knot caught and held against Wei Ying's tight entrance. He felt the first rush of his husband's seed flood him and the pleasure-pain-wonder as Lan Zhan's teeth found the scent gland on his neck and bit down hard. 

Wei Ying came so hard his mind whited out, leaving him floating on a cloud of bliss, dimly aware of Lan Zhan's warm strength surrounding him as he cried his triumph to the stars. 

It was…a while later…when Wei Ying came back to himself. Feeling deeply satisfied and deliciously warm wrapped in his husband's arms and snuggled into the man's chest. 

“Wei Ying?”

“Mmm?”

He lifted his head, smiling shyly at the Second Jade.

“How do you feel?”

The concern in his voice was sweet enough to make him want to purr.

“I feel good .”

He wiggled a little and they both groaned as he realised they were still tied together. 

“Your bite…does it hurt?”

Wei Ying paused for a moment, testing the feel of his body as he lay comfortably on Lan Zhan's chest. 

“No. Doesn't hurt. Feels…not quite there?”

Lan Zhan smiled at his confused tone. “Bite me? Then it will complete properly.”

“You're sure?”

His husband's eager nod made him smile softly as he levered himself back up to a sitting position across Lan Zhan's hips, only then realising that his wrists were no longer bound together and the ribbon was once again wrapped around his wrist.

“Come here.” He made little grabby hand motions at Lan Zhan and smiled happily when he obeyed. “I want to make it good for you too.”

“What do you…”

Lan Zhan groaned, low and breathy, as Wei Ying carefully circled his hips, grinding down on the still-hard cock and knot locked inside him.

He leaned forward, briefly capturing his alpha's lips before nipping at his jaw and licking a stripe up his neck. 

He could feel that neither of them were going to last long like this, the pleasure building rapidly.

He groaned.

“I'm close, Husband. You?”

Lan Zhan nodded, his hands finding their way back to Wei Ying's hips.

Wei Ying smiled, leaning forward for a kiss, sweet and gentle, while he slowly ground his hips against his husband. So different from their earlier, frantic, hungry coupling.

They held each other close, Lan Zhan encouraging his movements. One of his hands shifted from Wei Ying’s hip, winding into the hair at the back of his head, gently guiding him to Lan Zhan’s scent gland.

He went with it, happy to be held and so tenderly directed. He gently sucked on the gland, lightly grazing it with his teeth just to hear his husband’s breath catch. Just to hear him moan quietly and murmur his name…

“Wei Ying…close…”

“Mmm.”

He hummed, the circling of his hips getting more urgent as he felt the shaft inside him get impossibly harder.

“Wei Ying…Now!”

He bit down, his Lan Zhan’s moans harsh and hungry as he came, all but crushing them together. His own climax hit barely a moment later as the full bond suddenly snapped into place and he experienced the echo of his mate’s orgasm at the same time as his own.

He gasped, giggling helplessly as he came back to himself. 

“Wow! That was…wow!”

“Mn.”

He grinned, feeling the echo of his husband's happiness through their new bond. He snuggled close, content to bask in Lan Zhan's warmth and smug satisfaction until they could separate. 

Lan Zhan resettled his robes on his shoulders to ward off any chill in the nighttime air and ensured that his legs and bare feet were covered (Huh, when had that happened?), then he lay back, pulling Wei Ying down to sprawl across him. 

“Wei Ying, thank you. For choosing me.”

Wei Ying blushed and ducked his head. “You chose me first.”

He refused to look up, even though he could feel his husband’s amusement. “Wei Ying made the choice easy.”

“Nm.”

“Wei Ying is beautiful. Wei Ying is good. Wei Ying is strong. Wei Ying is righteous.”

He couldn’t take it any more and glared up at his alpha, certain his face was bright red. “Lan Zhan! You can't say things like that! My heart can't take it!”

His evil, wicked mate just laughed at his discomfort, “Wei Ying must learn to accept my adoration.”

“Lan Zhan!”

The sandalwood scent that blossomed around them only echoed the amusement and smug happiness of his husband as he was held close and had the top of his head kissed.

He fell asleep in the loving warmth and safety of his Lan Zhan’s arms.

·········⋆༺𓆩❀𓆪༻⋆·········

“It’s okay, Wei Ying. You look perfect.”

Lan Zhan’s whisper pulled him out of his fidgeting as they waited in the little ante-room just outside the audience chamber.

He huffed and shook himself. He could do this!

He sneaked one last look in the large bronze mirror on one wall, clearly placed there to allow people to check their appearances before entering the presence of the Emperor of China. His new robes were beautifully tailored, cut in a similar style to his husband’s but accented with Jiang purple. His hair was perfectly done in an intricate but masculine style by Suyin (who was now permanently assigned to him), and his jewellery, a gift from his mate, was elegant and understated.

The herald’s voice announced them, and the doors were opened.

It was now or never!

In perfect sync, he and Lan Zhan walked forward between the two blocks of elders and officials towards the dais and Emperor and Empress. They bowed to Xichen and Qin Su, then turned to face the gathered throng.

He drew comfort from the utter confidence Lan Zhan felt, grateful that their bond was so strong after only a few days.

“It is with great pleasure we announce that in his twenty-fourth year, the Crown Prince, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-jun, has chosen his mate, spouse, and consort.”

There was a quiet ripple of fussing among the assembled at Lan Xichen’s statement. Wei Ying had to bite his cheek to resist giggling as the bond told him that Lan Zhan was all but daring someone to object. 

“We present to you, Wei Wuxian of the Yunmeng Jiang, Crown Consort. Husband to Lan Wangji.”

An older man, white-haired but still strong, stepped forward and bowed to Lan Xichen. “Your Imperial Majesty, I feel I must object to the Crown Prince’s choice of consort.”

In spite of the warning that this would probably happen, Wei Ying still felt a flash of fear. 

What if this elder managed to gather enough supporters to force the emperor's hand? What if he was sent away from Lan Zhan? He'd heard stories of mated omegas wasting away after being forcefully separated from their alpha…

His internal panic was halted by a wave of love and affection directed at him. 

He took a breath and glanced at Lan Zhan, whose glare promised death for the elder unless he stopped what he was saying. 

“And what is your objection, Elder Haoran?” Lan Xichen's voice was deceptively calm as he invited the man to keep digging his own grave. 

“I have several objections, your Imperial Majesty.”

Wei Ying clenched his fists behind his back. Doing everything he could to stay calm while his husband continued to simmer in his utter loathing of the man. 

“Firstly, Wei Wuxian is male and therefore his inclusion in the selection was not authorised by the elder council. Secondly, as a male omega, his fertility and suitability for carrying any Imperial heirs must be called into question.” He looked around as if demanding people be outraged at these faults. “Thirdly, his presence at the palace is entirely due to subterfuge and conspiracy against the Empire. Lastly, and perhaps most alarmingly, Wei Wuxian was arrested for plotting to assassinate the Crown Prince!”

Cries of anger filled the audience chamber as the elder bowed to Lan Xichen.

He tried to relax. Lan Xichen had this under control. This was all part of the plan…

“These are serious accusations, Elder Haoran. Do you have evidence to support them?”

There was a triumphant little gleam in the horrible man's eyes as he bowed again. The very picture of an apologetic and honest council member. 

“Your Imperial Majesty. The evidence supporting my objections are a matter of public record. Only female omegas were invited to the palace due to the superior yin balance they would provide as a mate for the Crown Prince. Also, Wei Wuxian's original handmaids, and his usage of the name Jiang Yanli indicate a premeditated and deliberate attempt to mislead the Emperor. Finally, that man's arrest is an undeniable fact.”

“Lan Wangji,” the Emperor's carefully neutral tone would have scared him if he hadn't known it was all part of the plan. “Would you like to defend your choice of mate?”

“Mn.”

His husband bowed to his elder brother and then turned back to the assembled officials. 

“To answer Elder Haoran’s accusations: The wording of the ‘invitation’ did not explicitly exclude male omegas, though that may have been the intent of those responsible for drafting it. Furthermore, while the honourable Zhou Daifu would be more than willing to explain in detail, the basic fact remains that the reproductive abilities of omegas do not vary depending on the presentation of their primary gender. The stated desire to balance yin and yang between me and my mate fails to take into account individual tendencies.”

Lan Zhan carefully looked over those present, apparently gauging the reception of his initial statement which, Wei Ying thought, seemed to be reasonably open at least. He let his belief in his husband flow through their bond as clearly as he could (mostly because he was pretty sure that openly cheering for the man would only get him thrown out!)

“Wei Wuxian’s use of a disguise and false name was to protect his beloved shijie from losing her chance at marriage to her betrothed. A love match which was jeopardised by the same ‘invitation’ that did not exclude omegas who were already betrothed but not yet married.”

Wei Ying was pleased to hear a ripple of upset at that statement. He knew neither Lan Zhan nor his brother would lie, but it was still good to see that the Lan were romantics at heart.

“As for Wei Wuxian’s arrest, yes, this is true,” Lan Zhan paused, allowing another wave of outrage to travel through the ranks. “However, after even the most cursory investigation, it became clear that the accusation was fabricated by a corrupt official and that the Ministry of Justice had also become lazy and corrupted. For those who were surprised at the recent reassignment of Lord Nie Mingjue to head the Ministry of Justice, it was for this reason.”

Wei Ying wished he could see Lan Zhan’s face from his position, but it was still satisfying to see the way the colour drained from the horrible Elder Haoran’s face.

“I must ask why the Elder has worked so hard to manipulate current events? I have never hidden my preference for male companionship. Once it was decided that the selection must take place, it seems strange that there was an attempt to deliberately exclude men from participating. I also find it concerning that a highly ranked member of the elder council would abandon the ideals of Lan An and our clan, and risk causing so many couples difficulties by requiring that they abandon betrothal and marriage plans to come to the palace.”

“Come now, Wangji, there was no manipulation! Simply an attempt to provide the best candidates for you to choose from! Any difficulties suffered by the omegas in question was simply an oversight!” The elder bowed to the rest of the elders and officials. “I apologise for any confusion that has been caused. There was never any wish to mislead.”

“Then why would you cite Wei Wuxian’s arrest as a reason to object to my choice? As the honoured elder said, the facts of the incident are a ‘matter of public record’.”

As the elder spluttered his indignation Lan Zhan turned and bowed to his brother again.

“Your Imperial Majesty, my mate, husband, and consort has been horribly slandered by Elder Haoran’s deliberate attempts to mislead and manipulate the court. I beg for justice on his behalf.”

Wei Ying cursed at the protocols that prevented him from looking around to see Lan Xichen’s reaction but he was privately pleased to hear that the Emperor’s tone was frosty with displeasure.

“Nie Mingjue, as our Minister of Justice, we require that you place Elder Haoran under arrest and conduct a full investigation into his activities. Once this has been completed, we will pass judgment according to the law of the Empire and the Lan Clan.”

The ashen elder was swiftly bracketed by guards who had been discreetly placed around the room and ushered out.

As soon as the doors shut behind the man, the Emperor’s tone reverted back to his usual friendly affability.

“Are there any genuine objections to my brother’s choice of mate?”

Silence rang throughout the audience chamber as those present looked around for any other dissenters.

“Then it is with great pleasure that we welcome Prince Consort Wuxian to our court and family.”

Wei Ying had to stifle his squeak of surprise as the great and powerful of the empire knelt and kowtowed to him.

Him!

The son of a servant and a rogue cultivator!

He blinked, trying to contain his confused feelings when he felt his Lan Zhan’s arms wrap around him in a comforting embrace.

“No one can question our marriage.”

And that was the last straw.

Laughing, Wei Ying turned in his husband’s arms and kissed him happily.

They pulled apart with sheepish grins when the emperor cleared his throat.

“If we may interrupt, brother. Your state wedding ceremony will be held at the most auspicious date. Wuxian, with your permission, we would like to request that Jiang Yanli join us to assist with the wedding preparations. After her own wedding, of course.”

He could only nod nervously in the face of Lan Xichen in his full Emperor regalia.

At least, until he spotted the Empress Qin Su over Xichen’s shoulder grinning happily at them all.

“I know she would be thrilled to come. Shijie, Jiang Ch…Wanyin, and I have been planning weddings for each other since we were children.”

Xichen laughed. “Then Jiang Wanyin must come too. Now, you are both dismissed.” And then, in a quiet voice for just the three of them, “Join us for dinner?”

They nodded and bowed, leaving the audience chamber as swiftly as possible until the doors closed behind them and they were finally alone.

“My Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan immediately crowded him against the wall and kissed him thoroughly.

“Mn. Yours.” He playfully nipped at his husband’s bottom lip. “I think we should discuss our future, don’t you, husband?”

“Mn.”

“Maybe in your bedroom, Lan-er-gege?” Wei Ying grinned wickedly and swiftly stole Lan Zhan’s ribbon right off his forehead before he bolted off down the hallway.

The growled “Wei Ying!” only made him laugh in anticipation as he heard his husband give chase.

Being Prince Consort was going to be fun.