#Ye Zun has obviously never done anything wrong in his life and it's everyone else's fault that he is the way he is of course | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

djinmer4 · 4 years

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Matchmaking for the Greater Evil (2/4)

He’s always had a soft spot for Nie Huaisang.

Granted, it hasn’t always been a priority for him. Between trying to pass classes at Gusu, running after Wei Wuxian, that road trip trying to locate the Yin Iron, his crush on Wen Qing, the Sunshot Campaign, then finally rebuilding Lotus Pier and raising his nephew, there had been plenty of things to distract him. But it had always been there in the back of his mind, driving him to let the other copy answers off of his notes, watch him take hours to paint his fans, protect him against the various threats on the road trip, and preventing him from raising a fuss whenever the Second Young Master would come by with orders that he’d rather ignore than follow. Really, he’s just lucky Huaisang’s not the type to take advantage, otherwise, he’d be completely screwed.

As time goes on and their childhood companions fall away, Nie Huaisang becomes a larger and larger part of his life. By the time Chifeng-zun passes away, Jiang Cheng takes it upon himself to aid the new Sect Leader. Lianfeng-zun and Zewu-jun were there to help, of course, but neither of them had rebuilt their sects from the ground up the way he had. The Unclean Realm’s in much better shape than Lotus Pier was, but on the other hand, Nie Huaisang had never dedicated himself to learning how to run a sect the way Jiang Cheng had. The other is grateful for his advice, although perhaps a little embarrassed to be losing face by revealing how ill-prepared he was for the role. Huaisang is fine pushing off his diplomatic duties on his brother’s sworn brothers but hesitant to ask for help on internal matters. Fortunately, Jiang Cheng finds he enjoys helping the other out. He always felt like such a helpless mess compared to his older siblings; it’s nice to be the one someone else depended on.

And it gives him a chance to reminisce with someone who doesn’t need everything spelled out. Huaisang had been there for most of it after all. Even when nostalgia turns from bittersweet to just bitter and the words choke in his throat, the other man will take up the narrative, bleeding some of the pain off as he cites some unimportant detail or forgotten memory to distract him. Nights like that, Jiang Cheng finds he sleeps better, the nightmares not so dark.

~~~~~~~~

“Jin Ling! What the hell are you doing? I could do a better job with my eyes closed! You don’t have to get a bull’s-eye, but at least hit the damn target next time or I’ll break your arm!”

“Now, now, Sect Leader Jiang. Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?” He turned and saw Sect Leader Nie coming up to the Lotus Pier training grounds. The fan he waved in front of his face did little to hide the soft smile he directed at the trainees. “It’s a shichen past noon and the hottest part of the day. Surely you can let them take a break now?”

Jiang Cheng tried to ignore the pleading glances of his trainees but made the mistake of looking at Jin Ling. The boy had just reached his eighth year and had already mastered the art of using puppy eyes to get his way. “Fine, you’re all dismissed. Make sure you practice and do a better job tomorrow or I’ll have you all restring your bows with your own hair!” The disciples bowed in a hurried manner, thanking him for the training then headed towards the cafeteria. “Jin Ling!” A single yellow petal in a river of purple lotuses swam upstream against the current. “This time make sure to maintain your own bow and arrows and quiver. Your servants won’t be accompanying you on night-hunts and if you try to foist that task off on the quartermaster again, I’ll break both your legs!”

“Yes, Jiujiu!”

Satisfied he’d made his point, he turned to his other honored guest. He held out his arm for Huaisang to take and ignored the Zidian-like thrill that went through him as the other accepted. “You’ve completed your correspondence then?”

“Most of it anyway. There’s one issue, not urgent, that I’m going to need to deal with in person when I get back to Qinghe. And two border disputes with some minor sects, one about fishing rights to the East and one about a river that changed course in the West. I’ll forward both of those to Jin Guanyao.” The shorter man looked around and pouted. “This isn’t the way to the commissary.”

“It’s not. If you’re done with your correspondence, we might as well take the time to have a meal in private.” Jiang Cheng waves down a passing servant and orders a meal for two with tea (no alcohol this early in the day) to be served in his private study. He felt his face fall into a familiar frown. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Let Zewu-jun and Lianfeng-zun handle all your diplomatic relations. You’re smart enough to do all that yourself. I know you are. I’ve seen how you handle everything in the Unclean Realm and you’ve always been ten times better than I am at dealing with people. Why not prove all the fucking idiots who think you’re an idiot wrong?”

Huaisang looks up at him through his lashes, one corner of his smile curled up just a little higher than the other. He stretches up and Jiang Cheng can feel his breath on his cheek. He can also scent a recent change in the incense the other uses, from citrus to something that smelled of pine and apples. “Let me tell you a secret.” He feels his heart skip a beat at those words.

“You’re absolutely right. I could handle all those issues with other sects by myself. But do you know what the reward for doing a good job is?” Jiang Cheng shook his head. “The reward for doing a good job is more work.” Huaisang’s voice adopted a familiar, whiny tone. “Running a sect is so hard, Jiang-xiong! It takes so much effort, I barely have any time to paint anymore!” They continue to walk along the docks, the taller man deftly guiding the other along a more circuitous route that showed off Lotus Pier’s best features. “And San-ge always loves being needed. Really, if he didn’t want to help me with these things, all he would have to do is either push them off to Er-ge or leave them for me. Why should I bother when he’s so willing to do the boring stuff for me?”

Despite himself, Jiang Cheng feels his mouth twitching into a smile. Some things never changed, and he’s glad Huaisang’s still has the laziness from Gusu. “Besides, you know what the best part is? Since everyone’s expectations are so low, they never ask anything extra of me. Or if I need something from them, they’ll just say yes without arguing because obviously, I’m too incompetent to take care of things myself. I can foist all sorts of unpleasant duties on other Sect Leaders.”

He gives up and lets the grin spread across his face (two Jiang Sect cultivators stop dead in their tracks, quickly turn and all but run the other way). It’s ridiculous but he feels like bubbles are rising through his chest. This secret, this thing that no one outside of Qinghe Nie knows except him, makes him feel special. Like Huaisang is giving Jiang Cheng a little part of himself to keep. The thought of being allowed to know something so precious makes him giddy.

Then the last statement registers and the smile drops off his face as if it had never been. “Wait a moment. Have you been tricking me into accepting some of Qinghe’s night-hunts?”

Huaisang drops his arm, laughs, and sprints away from the enraged cultivator.

“I don’t know! I don’t know anything about that! I don’t know anything at all!”

#sangcheng #mdzs #tumblr's playing the tag game with me #so let's see if this actually shows up

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