The Children of Lotus Pier

Since reconciling with his brother, Wei Wuxian had made many trips to Lotus Pier. This time, however, Jiang Cheng has a bone to pick with him. He has a problem that is entirely Wei Wuxian's fault, but Wei Wuxian just thinks it's funny.

"This is all your fault!"

"You've never turned them away, if I remember correctly."

"I'm going to kill you. And this time, no one will bring you back."

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For the 2-15-20 weekly prompt "This is all your fault!" "I hope so!" from my Cheng Qing Ling and MDZS discord.

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Returning to Lotus Pier was always a complicated affair. Even years after his resurrection, and proving his innocence, and reconciling with Jiang Cheng, the idea of returning to Lotus Pier brought Wei Wuxian anxiety.

The sight of the lotus ponds, the lotus flowers and pods, the boats, the many docks – they made him nostalgic for easier times, back before the Wen clan decided to exert its power over everyone in the worst way, before Jin Guangyao began his plans against his father and cousins. The sounds of the many street vendors and tourists made him smile, an expression which became brighter and more genuine with every happy greeting he received from a stranger – or better, someone who remembered him from before. Even the smell of Lotus Pier made warm feelings grow in Wei Wuxian's chest, comforted him, brought him peace.

But though this was all true, he sometimes still struggled with thinking of Lotus Pier as home. It was not his home. It had not been his home for over twenty years. Though he and Jiang Cheng had reconciled, he had not been recognized as a member of the Jiang Clan again. In the eyes of the world, through marriage, Wei Wuxian was now of the Gusu Lan clan, and he was okay with that. It didn't mean he never dreamed of walking into Lotus Pier without an announcement, throwing open the doors to Jiang Cheng's bedroom to drag him out for some fun, or of turning a corner and finding Jiang Yanli sitting there with a bowl of pork and lotus root soup.

It was getting easier with time, though.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had paid visits to Lotus Pier many times over the years. When Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng had first reconciled, the visits had been frequent – a way of rebuilding the trust they had in each other. Now they returned whenever the need arose, or whenever Lan Wangji caught Wei Wuxian looking off toward Yunmeng one too many times during their travels.

This trip was one of the latter.

They exited the boat and made their way down the long dock, past vendors of all kinds. Wei Wuxian didn't hesitate to purchase a bag of nuts here, a jar of wine there, a child's toy over there. Or, well, Lan Wangji did not hesitate to hand over money whenever Wei Wuxian expressed an interest in something. Wei Wuxian wasn't exactly poor these days – not now that he was getting paid for his inventions – but Lan Wangji liked showing he could provide for him, so the old habit stuck.

By the time they reached the actual Jiang Clan estate, both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were loaded down with purchases. The disciples who first spotted them broke into beaming smiles and greeted them with loud cries of, "Master Wei! Master Lan!" and crowded around them for stories from the road. Their cries drew attention and several more disciples hurried over to say hello. Soon Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were surrounded by nine enthusiastic young cultivators all attempting to talk at once.

"Where have you traveled?"

"How many fierce corpses did you defeat?"

"Have you made any new inventions? Can we see them?"

Eventually one of them ran off to tell Clan Leader Jiang that they had arrived. The others continued to chat with Wei Wuxian as they led both Senior Cultivators to Sword Hall, where they would meet with Jiang Cheng.

While they waited, Wei Wuxian questioned them about their training.

"Clan Leader Jiang is very tough, just like you warned us, but we're so much stronger than before!" one boasted.

"Not as strong as Master Wei, of course," another cushioned – a new enough disciple to still be shy about offending senior cultivators.

Wei Wuxian laughed and handed the young disciple the bag of nuts, which she accepted with bemusement.

They told him about who could shoot down kites and who had never landed a hit. They told him about night hunts – what sorts of creatures they had fought, who had been injured, who dealt the finishing blow. They told him who had 'inherited' Wei Wuxian's terrible cooking skills, as if they were his biological children, and who was actually pretty good in the kitchen. With prompting, they even gossiped about which disciples were dating or thinking about marriage.

"Is this how you plan to become strong cultivators?" bellowed a voice just before Jiang Cheng burst into the room. "Stop wasting time and get back to your duties!"

The whole group jumped to bow as one. "Clan Leader Jiang!" they chorused.

When they didn't immediately run off, Jiang Cheng glared and said, "Well?"

Wei Wuxian reached out to grab a few of them by the arms before they could scurry off and passed all his and Lan Wangji's purchases onto them. "Make sure you share with everyone!" he called after them.

Jiang Cheng stared at the closed door long after the disciples had left. This happened sometimes – him reverting back to a time when he couldn't bring himself to look his brother in the eye. It was always a bit embarrassing for both of them, though.

Even though he wasn't facing them, Lan Wangji still bowed and gave a soft, "Clan Leader Jiang," in greeting.

Not bowing, Wei Wuxian put his hands on his hips and tsk'd. "You should be nicer to kids, Jiang Cheng. They're still innocent, you know."

"Innocent my foot," Jiang Cheng muttered, almost too quiet to hear. "This is all your fault."

"Hm? What's—,"

The door slid open again and more disciples entered the room. These were younger than the last batch, still carrying bamboo practice swords.

"Clan Leader Jiang," the oldest of the three said, and they all gave clumsy bows. "We need help with the kites."

Jiang Cheng let out a quiet sigh that still noticeably made his shoulders heave. "That's a request for your archery master, is it not?"

They each gave him the biggest, most adorable pleading eyes. Wei Wuxian covered his mouth with his hands to keep quiet. "But you're nicer than Archery Master Chan."

His hands couldn't fully contain the snort that escaped Wei Wuxian then. Jiang Cheng? Nice?

After shooting a scathing look over his shoulder, Jiang Cheng nodded. "Be that as it may, you must listen to her. She is the best archer we have." All three of the disciples glanced over at Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng continued, through clenched teeth, "She is the best archer still officially recognized by the Jiang Clan. Now go ask her for help. I will come by later if I get a chance."

"Okay," they each muttered. Then they all stepped forward to give Jiang Cheng hugs. Though he stiffened under their touch, he didn't push them away or shout at them, so it must have been a regular occurrence.

Hugs done, the small disciples left, shutting the door behind them once more.

"That was absolutely adorable."

Jiang Cheng flipped around to glare at him. "Your fault!" he shouted so heatedly that Wei Wuxian actually stumbled backward into his husband, who wrapped steadying hands around him. "This is all your fault!"

Frowning, Wei Wuxian demanded, just as hotly, "What's my fault?"

The clan leader flung his hand out toward the door. "I am drowning in new disciples because you keep insisting on bringing every orphan and abandoned child here to drop on my doorstep!"

"Would you rather I just left them on the streets to die?!" Wei Wuxian shouted back, moving out of Lan Wangji's embrace. "You've never turned them away, if I remember correctly."

The expression on Jiang Cheng's face could not have been more disgusted if Wei Wuxian had suggested he eat dog feces. "How could I? They all remind me of how pathetic you looked when father first brought you home. Which is why it is entirely your fault that I now have almost two dozen officially recognized children running about Lotus Pier!"

"Gosh, I hope so," Wei Wuxian snorted. He crossed his arms over his chest, all his ire vanishing in an instant. "Otherwise I'd wonder exactly how many secret wives you've been hiding from me. I would be so hurt, Shidi."

"Don't call me that," Jiang Cheng snapped, but it held no heat. He too crossed his arms, mirroring Wei Wuxian. "And stop bringing me children."

It was true that Wei Wuxian had made a habit of, sort of, collecting orphans. But what else was he meant to do? Whenever he and Lan Wangji defeated an evil spirit and they came across a child whose family had been killed by it, or when they wandered through a city and found some poor, hungry, lost child struggling to find enough scraps to survive…He couldn't just leave them. But it wasn't like he and Lan Wangji could bring them along as they worked as wandering cultivators. Bringing them to Lotus Pier, where they could help bolster the dwindling disciple numbers while learning a valuable trade and helping the world? That seemed like the perfect solution.

But hm, two dozen? Maybe they should take a few of them to Cloud Recesses after this.

Wei Wuxian stepped closer and threw an arm around Jiang Cheng's shoulders. "Look at it this way – now you have over twenty options for heirs without even needing to marry."

For a moment, Jiang Cheng actually considered this. His anger disappeared within the realization that Wei Wuxian was right.

Then Wei Wuxian rubbed his nose and grinned. "Which is good, because I'm honestly not sure there's a woman alive who would want to spend her whole life with your awful personality, and your face doesn't even make up for it."

He scampered and danced away from Jiang Cheng with a laugh, even as his brother activated Zidian and snapped it after him.

"Jiang Cheng!" Wei Wuxian scolded, but he was grinning.

Jiang Cheng was decidedly not grinning. "I'm going to kill you," he promised. "And this time no one will bring you back."

Slipping behind his husband, Wei Wuxian held him by the shoulders and dramatically begged, "Lan Zhan, did you hear what he said? Save me from this brute!"

Lan Wangji's hand actually fell to Bichen, though he didn't draw it. Eye twitching in irritation, Jiang Cheng visibly debated if he was willing to fight Hanguang-Jun in order to beat up his own brother.

"Clan Leader Jiang!"

Zidian deactivated in a flash just before a fourteen-year-old boy stumbled into the hall. He gave a quick bow.

"Jiang Jianmin!" Wei Wuxian greeted brightly. "You're getting so big!"

The young boy flushed at the praise and gave a greeting bow to both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji before turning his attention back to Jiang Cheng.

"The tests are about to begin. You said you wanted to be present?"

"Right," Jiang Cheng agreed, sounding wrong-footed. "Yes. I'm coming." He turned to frown at his guests. Pointing at Wei Wuxian, he said, "You'd best not run off again before dinner or I'll break your legs."

Wei Wuxian gave a three-fingered salute. Though it didn't look like Jiang Cheng believed him, he followed Jiang Jianmin from the room.

They really should visit Lotus Pier more often. Getting to see Jiang Cheng fumble through interacting with children was well worth all the yelling.

"This is going to be a fun visit," Wei Wuxian predicted, clasping his hands behind his back.

Lan Wangji nodded. There was a glint in his eyes that told Wei Wuxian that he was also amused.

Speaking of things that were amusing— "Hey, Lan Zhan. How do you think Zewu-Jun would react if we started bringing kids to him instead?"

Face completely placid, Lan Wangji said, "Please do not kill my uncle through qi deviation."

Wei Wuxian burst out laughing so hard he began to cry. Lan Wangji watched him fondly and smiled.

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fin