Jiang Yanli: Jiang Chengâs Bargaining Chip
I feel like I said this before in passing during my first read, so I wanted to go through it more in-depth this second time around. Note that this post will not be covering the validity of xuanliâs marriage or love for each other. I will only be addressing Jiang Chengâs change of heart surrounding his opinion of Jin Zixuan and why I think this has everything to do with Jiang Chengâs loss of established power after the fall of Lotus Pier. Bear with me, now, as a lot of these scenes are located all over the place in the book, but with the exception of a few scenes, everything that I will be using will come from exrâs chapt. 69.
The relationship between Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan before the Sunshot Campaign is not a good one on account of Jin Zixuanâs treatment of Jiang Yanli:
Neither Wei Wuxian nor Jiang Cheng liked to play with him; only Jiang Yanli wanted to feed him the food that she made. Jin Zixuan, however, didnât really like to pay her any attention. This made Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng yell with anger in a few instances.
This already-soured blood is what prompts the fight that ends xuanliâs engagement in chapt. 18, in which Jin Zixuan insults Jiang Yanli to Wei Wuxian and Jiang Chengâs faces in a crowd of their peers. In this event, both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng are moved to violence at Jin Zixuanâs words, though Wei Wuxian ensures that Jiang Cheng never throws a punch. And although Jiang Yanli doesnât make her feelings on the matter clear when Wei Wuxian goes to her to apologize, Wei Wuxian understands later that she âmustâve been feeling quite dejected on the insideâ for what transpired. This makes me feel that, even though Jiang Yanli was nice to Jin Zixuan where her brothers (and yes, I am counting wwx as such because Jiang Yanli counts wwx as such) arenât, neither understood the depth of her feelings until much later.
Up until this point, we have not seen xuanli actually interact with each other; that chance comes when the Sunshot Campaign happens. We can assume with the engagement broken off that Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli do not meet again until the soup incident, which is where Jin Zixuan falsely accuses Jiang Yanli of trying to steal credit from a servant, publicly chastising her after her entire clan has been slaughtered just months prior, causing her to burst into tears despite her âeasy temper.â Here, we get the damning critique that Jin Zixuan âhad never understood her, and hadnât ever wanted to understand her either.â We also get the first omission of Jiang Cheng from Jiang Yanliâs defense. Only Wei Wuxian is said to defend Jiang Yanli; Jiang Cheng only shows up in the retelling to pull Wei Wuxian off of Jin Zixuan.
Fast forward to the flower banquet directly after the war ends. Because of the soup incident, Jiang Yanli refused to even give Jin Zixuan âa proper lookâ before Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian take her back to Yunmeng. But Jin Zixuan, in turn, immediately begins to ask after Jiang Yanli, post-war. There is no mention of whether he ever directly attempts to appeal to Jiang Yanli, herself, but he approaches Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng at his clanâs flower banquet back in capt. 49 with the intention of once more asking after her. Wei Wuxian, understandably, reacts poorly to this:
Wei WuXian heard his own raging shout, âJin ZiXuan! Donât you forget about what things you said and what things you did? What do you mean by this, now?!â
To which Jin Zixuan responds:
âSect Leader Jiangâthis is our sectâs flower banquet, and this is your sectâs person! Are you going to look after him or not?!â
Wei Wuxian ends up storming off, but not before Jiang Cheng chastises him and apologizes to Jin Zixuan for his behavior. He even answers Jin Zixuanâs questions and starts a conversation!
âŠJiang Chengâs voice came, âWei WuXian, you can just shut your mouth. Young Master Jin, Iâm sorry. My sister is doing quite well. Thank you for your concern. We can talk about this next time.ââŠ
âŠHe then began to converse with Jin ZiXuan.
This is a startling departure from his attitude towards Jin Zixuanâs transgressions against his sister in the Cloud Recesses, and while Jin Zixuan is being cordial, the Langya debacle was much more serious than his words during the lessons. Yet Jin Zixuan is the one to demand and be given an apology for being reminded of his past abhorrent behavior, whereas none was demanded (by Jiang Cheng) or seems to have been offered on Jin Zixuanâs end to Jiang Yanli for that same behavior that victimized her, not even to her brothers on her behalf. Plus, Jiang Chengâs attitude cannot be said to be for Jiang Yanliâs benefit, as we know that she has completely removed herself from anything related to Jin Zixuan since the soup incident, and her feelings remain unchanged up to xuanliâs next in-person interaction at Phoenix Mountain, in which Jiang Yanli does not come of her own will:
Wei WuXian, âDonât worry. As long as he doesnât make shijie cry again, I donât even want to pay him any attention. You shouldnât have brought her in the first place.â
Jiang Cheng, âThe LanlingJin Sect insisted on it. I didnât have the face to refuse.â
Wei WuXian, âMore like Madam Jin insisted on it. After this, sheâd definitely find some way to urge shijie and that male princess to one place.â
She even seems uninterested in being there outside of seeing her brothers:
Jiang Yanli usually had an almost bland face, her features mild. However, as she saw her two younger brothers wave at her, her face immediately lit up. She lowered her fan. Shyly saying a few words to Madam Jin, she walked to the edge of the watching platform and tossed out two flowers at them.
vs.
Suddenly, a row of cultivators wearing white, gold-lined robes rushed out, dressed in light armor and riding on broad stallionsâŠ
..Madam Jin immediately patted on Jiang Yanliâs shoulder. Holding her hand, she dragged her to the edge of the watching tower again, pointing to her the riding formation of the Lanling Jin Sect.
Clearly, even if Jiang Yanli is still harboring (seemingly) unrequited feelings for Jin Zixuan, she is unwilling to entertain the thought of a relationship anymore. So why, then, would Jiang Cheng suddenly change his opinion of Jin Zixuan from a âpeacockâ who treats his sister poorly to âmy sister loves him, so what can I do but reinstate the engagement?â
I posit that Jiang Chengâs change is directly tied to the fall of Lotus Pier. With the Jiang massacre, Jiang Cheng is without any real power or allies of his own. The post-war Jin are very obviously amassing power, and the other three great clans are allied via 3zunâs sworn brotherhood. Jiang Cheng has no friends so cannot enter the sworn brotherhood, and his power is held in the hands of Wei Wuxian, who he can neither claim via blood relation nor use as a bartering chip since he isnât a Jiang. So his only other option to gain an alliance to the other great clans is through Jiang Yanliâs marriage. And whatâs an easier route than reinstating the engagement that was already previously an option now that the other party seems willing (and desperate) to forget the past and start anew?
Part of this is also tied up in Jiang Chengâs own insecurities about his authority as a clan leader, which is provoked from the gossip at the Phoenix Mountain hunt. But when he begins to admonish Wei Wuxian on the behaviors brought up in gossip, he is easily diverted from it by Wei Wuxianâs nonchalance. He then turns the conversation to Jin Zixuan:
Jiang Cheng smirked, âDonât carry your sword, then. It doesnât matter. But donât provoke Jin ZiXuan from now on. Heâs Jin GuangShanâs only son, after all. The future leader of the LanlingJin Sect will be him. If you beat him up, what should I, the sect leader, do? Beat him up with you? Or punish you?â
Jiang Cheng is actively trying to court favor with the Jin but cannot do that if Wei Wuxian refuses to show grace to his social âbettersâ. And Wei Wuxian calls him out on this, particularly as his altercations with Jin Zixuan have all been in defense of Jiang Yanli:
Wei WuXian, âItâs not impossible? Have you forgotten what he did in Langya? Youâre telling me that itâs not impossible?â
Jiang Cheng, âHeâs probably regretting it.â
Wei WuXian, âWho cares if he regrets it. Do we have to forgive him just because he apologized? Look at what his dadâs like. Maybe heâll be the goddamn same in the future, killing time searching everywhere for women. Have shijie be with him? You could take it?â
Jiang Chengâs voice was frozen, âSee if he dares!â After a pause, Jiang Cheng glanced at him before he continued, âBut, itâs not like you have a say in whether heâs forgiven or not. Sister likes him, so what can we do?â
Jiang Cheng starts by defending Jin Zixuan by assuming that Jin Zixuan feels bad, making no mention whatsoever of any changed behavior of the other manâs that would justify such an assumption. It is only after Wei Wuxian brings up Jin Guangshanâs reputation that he even begins to defend his sister, but, once again, he pauses and pivots in defense of Jin Zixuan, this time by placing the blame on Jiang Yanliâs âfeelingsâ for why they âmustâ make nice, because he knows that Wei Wuxian isnât moved by appeals to power or reputation. Nevermind that two months prior, Jiang Yanli had chosen to leave the Phoenix Mountain hunt with Wei Wuxian, and in the scene immediately after the above conversation, Jiang Yanli is reluctant to talk about âwhy would someone like another personâ and deflects to asking Wei Wuxian if he likes someone, instead. Reinstating the engagement is not Jiang Yanliâs present will, which only leaves Jiang Chengâs will to consider.
Jiang Chengâs priority when it comes to Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuanâs relationship is not his sisterâs feelings or well-being but ensuring that he can ally his recently demolished clan to the new leaders of the cultivation world where he has been locked out by every other avenue. And he is willing to overlook every red flag Jin Zixuan displays towards Jiang Yanli in order for this engagement to go through.
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