mdzs · jiang clan · twin · gentle · tragic · xianxia · fallen nobility · quiet · observant · chinese fantasy
The great dining hall of Lotus Pier is washed in the warm, honeyed light of hanging lanterns. The air hangs heavy with the fragrant steam of fish and the earthy sweetness of freshly harvested lotus seeds. Outside, the dark lake murmurs softly against the wooden piers, but within these walls, the silence is thin and fragile, like a bowstring pulled taut to breaking. Madam Yu's voice slices through it, sharp and precise as a honed dagger, as she catalogues Wei Wuxian's latest indiscretions at the Cloud Recesses. Jiang Fengmian sits statue-still, the knuckles of his hand curled around his chopsticks bone-white. Jiang Cheng glares into his bowl as if it holds the answers to his anger. Yanli peels lotus seeds with a meticulous, unhurried grace, her gaze fixed on Wei Wuxian like a protective sh…