Chapter Text
Enveloping a picturesque waterside pavilion, there were long stretches of white walls with black tiles, constantly shrouded in mist all year round. The place resembled what an Immortal land floating above the clouds would look like. It was no wonder that for hundreds of years, people recognized this site as a Paradise on Earth. In such a tranquil place, one's heart would indeed be as still as water, peaceful and content.
It was the Cloud Recesses. The home of the GusuLan Sect in their dukedom. The Duke House was located on the outskirts of Gusu, spanning the whole remote mountain as their dwelling.
Early in the morning, above the mountain, from the tall building, the echoes of bells could be heard vibrating in the air. The sound wasn't as majestic as it would be in a Holy Temple, yet the ringing bell throughout the cold mountain still sent a lonesome air of Zen.
This was the scene of Lan Xichen, Duke Lan's wedding day.
In the mountain stairs, winding up from the front gate to the central residence, two people wearing elaborate red wedding robes were seen walking side by side. The sound of their footsteps reverberated in a rhythmic cadence against the towering mountain walls, solemnly ornamented with the GusuLan Clan's 3,000 rules carved in seal script. Such a consequential moment was amplified as rays of sunlight shone through the hazy billows of mist, creating an even more breathtaking view.
The Guests, witnessing from above, held their breath in awe, deeply immersed in this regal and magnificent moment.
It was barely past dawn. Normally, people would start a wedding at Chenshi at the earliest, and the feast would last until midnight. Only GusuLan would be an early bird and an early sleeper. But the guests felt it was worth it. Such a display of majestic wedding ceremony could only be seen once in a century. Even the Royal Wedding, while grand and luxurious, wouldn't be as transcendent as Duke Lan's.
As they ascended the meandering mountain trails, Lan Xichen considerately offered his hand to be held by his soon-to-be spouse. Lan Xichen himself never counted how many stairs there were before they reached the main altar from the front gate. However, with each turn, the view expanded, revealing the grandeur of the Cloud Recesses.
The air had always been freezing in the Cloud Recesses. The cold morning breeze carried whispers from the guests' conversations in the distance. He heard the person beside him hitch his breath loudly, and his steps faltered for a moment during their hike through the winding mountain wall. Glancing to his side, Lan Xichen felt the grip on his arms tighten.
He thought, 'Ah, as expected, this adopted son of Marquis Jiang has indeed been in bad health.'
The person beside him had his face covered by the exquisitely embroidered red veil. Until now, Lan Xichen had never seen his face. Even right now, his figure was tightly enveloped by the heavy and resplendent wedding robes. The only feature he could capture was that the person was surprisingly tall, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
His soon-to-be spouse was a Male Omega. Lan Xichen himself was an outstanding Alpha. Even among the Alpha, he was considered to be tall and towering. Omega was supposed to be dainty and delicate. Even if it were a male Omega, they would at least be only a few more inches taller than average Beta women or female Omegas. So it was truly a surprise that this male Omega actually grew so imposing.
Wei Wuxian, was the Omega's name.
He was, apparently, adopted as the son of Marquis Jiang in Yunmeng. Lan Xichen had never heard of his name. Not only he, but almost everyone thought Marquis Jiang had only 2 children: the eldest, Lady Jiang Yanli, and her younger brother, who was also the young Marquis Jiang Wanyin. When settling the marriage arrangement, Marquis Jiang said the reason that no one had heard of his adopted son was that the Omega was in bad health. He had been lingering in bed and rarely came out.
In the first place, GusuLan didn't care much about it. So they accepted the marriage regardless.
'A male Omega, huh...' Lan Xichen sighed inwardly.
Such a person was a rarity. He tried to recall which case recorded a male Omega, and the closest would be several centuries ago.
While rare, however, they were just infrequent happenstance, that was it. Nothing extraordinary came from their rarity. It wasn't like they were more fertile or outstanding in cultivation or anything. Their existence just piqued the human's desire to collect "rare items". The only notable thing was probably because they were in the precious orientation, Omega.
However, some Alphas would be concerned by their male physiology despite being Omegas. That's why male Omega ended up just being a legend told to show off in conversation, but not exactly something to be desired for.
'...Especially if the Omega himself had no characteristic of what a desired Omega should be.' Lan Xichen thought as he glanced at the unusually tall person beside him.
Perhaps the reason this male Omega was concealed is that he had no significant value to display otherwise.
Thinking about this, Lan Xichen also wondered, why did Wei Wuxian still retain his surname Wei instead of Jiang? If he was adopted to the Marquis House and included in the genealogy, shouldn't his name be changed to Jiang Wuxian? Or was it because he was an Omega, so his surname didn't matter? In the end, no one would remember their name and would only remember whose family's Madam they were.
Shaking his head slightly to disperse his distracting thought, Lan Xichen continued to proceed onward. The uphill climb from the front gate must have been very strenuous for the fragile Omega, who was in poor health. Lan Xichen intentionally slowed down his pace so that the Omega beside him wouldn't struggle as much.
In his heart, he sighed regrettably as he lamented that the precious Omega had to fall into this sort of unfortunate fate.
Even though the Omega had bad health and was not as desirable as Omega should be, this Wei Wuxian could still have married another. There should be a good Alpha out there who would be willing to marry him for what he was. The pair of Alpha and Omega would mate as they should and be granted lovely cubs after.
'...Instead of marrying someone like me who won't be able to be his Mate.'
The marriage of Duke Lan was held in the Cloud Recesses in Gusu, their Dukedom, rather than at their residence in the Royal Capital in the North.
Emperor Wen, who had granted him this Marriage Decree, even sent his Crown Prince, Wen Xu, to attend their marriage in his place.
The guests invited had mixed feelings. As they saw Lan Xichen and his Omega complete their marriage ritual one by one, they couldn't stop themselves from lamenting in their hearts. A distinguished and excellent Alpha ended up being awfully unlucky.
How extraordinarily good-looking was Lan Xichen? How exceptionally talented was he in the Six Arts? How especially high was his Cultivation? And how great the achievements he had in his career at such a young age.
Such a remarkable man actually had to marry an Omega whose name no one had ever even heard of. Whose face people had never even seen of. Not to mention what kind of aptitude or attainments he even had either in cultivation or career.
It was truly bad luck.
But people also understood, why GusuLan was in such an unfortunate state.
They said, when serving the Emperor, don't be too stupid, but don't be too smart. Don't be too meek, but don't be too eye-catching either. Otherwise, the speed at which the Emperor changed their favor was as quick as when a Scumbag pulled up their pants and walked away after doing the deeds.
GusuLan was an example of when the ministers were too outstanding.
To warn the minister, this kind of Decreed Marriage, which was more like a joke or a humiliation to the entire Duke House, thus occurred.
It was almost Haishi.
The wedding banquet had finished not long ago.
As the groom, Lan Xichen had also been liberated from receiving the Guests.
His steps brought him back to the Hanshi, where festive red was decorated all over the residence. He walked steadily, there was no hesitation at all. His face was also extremely calm, without any touch of nervousness of a man who had just married on their wedding night.
It was to be expected, because Lan Xichen never even regarded tonight as his wedding night. There wasn't even a speck of sensual delusion about this whole circumstance in his heart. This wasn't a marriage that he yearned for, so there wouldn't be any special feelings.
As he reached the front entrance of the Hanshi, his steps finally faltered and stopped completely just right before the closed door.
The non-existent hesitation finally crept up to his expression.
After all, when he came inside, what would happen was not a passionate affair, but an action that definitely would shatter a young Omega's heart...
Lan Xichen tried to rehearse one more time what he ought to say to the person inside:
"I will assume that Marquis Jiang has told you this. Our marriage is something unavoidable and decreed by the Emperor. We have no power to refuse. So today we have to bow to Heaven and Earth and complete our marriage."
"Wei-Gongzi, marriage for me is destined. I have to apologize to you, I can give you the utmost right as my spouse legally, but privately, I will only be a husband to someone whom my heart truly delights."
"In the future, you will have the privilege of what a Madam Lan should have. I will respect you and treat you well. I will try to fulfill the role of a husband to you. The only thing I am unable to give is intimacy. I can not be your mate."
"If someday you find someone your heart delights, I give you my guarantee as the Duke of Lan, that I will do my best to help you live a good life with that person. Likewise, if someday I finally find someone whom my heart delights, I beg your understanding to bless me with that person. I will never treat you badly. You can live however life you want, and I will continue to provide for you."
"Therefore, Wei-Gongzi, even if we can not be mates or lovers, but I hope we can live and support each other as partners from here on."
Lan Xichen rehearsed his words for the next important moment he had to face. He carefully examined each word once again, trying to see if there was any part he should revise. After checking back and forth, he was eventually convinced.
Taking a deep breath, his arms reached out, finally opening the door of the Hanshi.
The inside of the Hanshi was warmly lit with red candles.
The whole residence was particularly quiet. When Lan Xichen came inside, his every movement thereafter became the only noise in the room. Lan Xichen swept his gaze to every corner. Although this marriage was not something he wished for, the wedding customs still had to be carried out, including those regarding the wedding chamber.
On top of a small table in the room was an open tray that should have been filled with half-boiled dumplings, the fillings still raw inside. This custom was so that when the bride, who had been hungry after being readied for the ceremony early in the morning, finally found the dumplings and ate them, they would shout to complain "Raw! (生)". The word had a homophone with "Childbirth".
That should be the case. That "should be", because Lan Xichen couldn't find a trace of the raw dumplings and only saw a few crumbs left.
Looking at the embroidered red sheet and the brocade blanket on the bed, there should also be red dates, longan, lotus seeds, and peanuts sprinkled. It was also another custom to pray for rich descendants.
It was also again "should be there", because Lan Xichen couldn't spot even a piece of nut left. There was, however, a pile of peanut skin, longan peeling, and date seeds on the corner of the bed legs below.
Lan Xichen, "..."
This Omega wouldn't be so starved that he devoured everything in sight, right??
Finally, Lan Xichen diverted his gaze to the Omega in question. The Omega, Wei Wuxian, was sitting motionlessly, looking extremely obedient on the bed. As if he were patiently waiting for Lan Xichen to come and lift his veil as per the custom.
All of a sudden, guilt filled Lan Xichen's heart once again.
This Wei-Gongzi, how much had he been expecting for this day? As an Omega, they must have wistful thinking about their marriage to an Alpha who would be their mate for the rest of their life. Wei Wuxian should experience this important moment in his life with the right person, rather than later experiencing heartbreak at his cruel words...
Lan Xichen clenched his fist and closed his eyes.
'The person who is responsible for ruining this Omega's life is Wen Ruohan, who made such a decree. I am also a victim here. I don't have to feel like I am completely in the wrong in intercepting an Omega's happiness."
When those dark brown eyes opened again, his gaze had been hardened, and so had his conviction.
No longer hesitating, he came closer to lift the young man's veil. If they wanted to talk properly, they would have to see each other face-to-face.
It was then...
The veil was finally lifted,
Finally revealing the person beneath, to the world.
And with a flutter of red,
A pair of sharp peach blossom eyes also fluttered open.
Following the eye movement, an exceptionally charming smile was unfurled on a bright red lip, complementing the person's vivacious look.
"Hey there...Husband." The person greeted lightly in a lazy tone.
A slender arm previously hidden by the wide wedding robes stretched out, reaching Lan Xichen's face. Deft fingers traced playfully on his side profile, until they finally hooked his chin and pulled him downward.
It was unknown if Lan Xichen was too unguarded or if the Omega himself was surprisingly strong, but Lan Xichen was pulled closer to that smiling face.
The corner of Wei Wuxian's lips curled up. Those strangely clear and bright eyes narrowed slightly in a similar teasing smile. "Why...It turns out I have married such a beautiful husband. Duke Lan, Lan Xichen, Lan Huan, what a stunning Beauty you have made in these gorgeous red robes."
He came even closer, Lan Xichen almost felt his moist lip touching the tip of his ears, and whispered, "...Such a lovely young Beau, what do you think I should do to him on a wedding night, hmmm~?"
Following such a flirtatious greeting, the scent of the intoxicating and sweet aroma of rice wine spread brazenly.
The scent of an Omega!
Lan Xichen was thoroughly frozen.
After lifting the veil, his hand was left hanging in the air.
His lips were half-parted, ready to speak, but the speech he had rehearsed earlier was jumbled in his mind, unable to catch the head or the tail.
His gaze was glued to the person in front of him, without blinking.
He was completely caught off guard.
Before he knew it, however, a scent of fresh bamboo with a hint of Agarwood burst out from his own scent gland.
His Alpha actually responded to the brazen teasing from the Omega in front of him!
"Yo-you! I, I, you....I, you...I..."
Suddenly, the exalted Minister of Rites Lan Xichen, who should be the most respected Scholar in the entire Dynasty, had forgotten even his linguistic ability.
The only vocabulary left had become "You and I".
Looking at Wei Wuxian's amused look, Lan Xichen obviously realized he might have looked extremely foolish here.
With a stuttering voice, repeating You and I back and forth.
His entire face heated up, almost turning as red as his wedding robes.
There was nothing he could do.
With a flurry of red, Lan Xichen leaped away and ran out from the Hanshi.
Faintly, behind him, an unbridled laughter was heard, reverberating through the quiet night.
The groom actually escaped from the wedding chamber!