Chapter Text
”Oh.”
That’s all Zizhen is able to say when he sees the small party of three walk into the Koi Tower’s great hall. One man is in white and the other in black robes, both carrying a horsehair whisk and wearing an identical eyepatch over one eye. A young woman in purple-white robes walks a half-step behind them.
”What?” Jingyi asks, looking around. ”Who? Where? What’s going on?”
Zizhen ignores him and keeps staring at the young woman. She’s wearing a small smile and her head is tilted slightly to the side, making her look slightly cocky, and her eyes—
”Those are some weird fucking eyes,” Jingyi says at the exact moment when the group stops in front of Sect Leader Jin and Young Madam Jin, Jiang Yanli, and a hush falls over the crowd. They’re close enough that there’s no way the group didn’t hear him.
”Jingyi,” Sizhui sighs at the same time as Jin Ling elbows him to the side.
The young woman turns her head slowly to look at them with her pearl-white eyes. She raises a brow, making Jingyi let out a startled ”meep,” and then clearly dismisses them.
Zizhen sighs.
”Welcome to Lanling, Daozhangs Xiao Xinghchen and Song Zichen,” Jin Zixuan says. ”After everything Wei Wuxian has told me about you, it’s an honor to finally meet face to face.”
Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen bow, the woman following their example a short moment later.
”Thank you, Sect Leader Jin,” Xiao Xingchen says. ”I have to say, the honor is mutual; we’ve also heard a lot about you.”
”Don’t believe a word,” Jin Zixuan says dryly.
Xiao Xingchen laughs softly. ”Wei Wuxian has only told us good things about you, I promise,” he says with a smile. ”May I present our daughter, Xiao Qing.”
Xiao Qing, Zizhen mouths as the young woman bows and greets Sect Leader Jin and his wife.
”Wait, no,” Jin Ling says slowly, looking at Zizhen with narrowed eyes.
Despite his father’s complaints, Zizhen isn’t in any hurry to marry. Oh, he knows he’ll have to and that he might have little to say who his bride will be, but he’s decided not to worry about it. He’s still young and, as his father is in no hurry to step down from the sect leader’s seat, Zizhen has decided that he’d rather travel. Besides, his friendship with the top two young masters of the Lan Sect and young master Jin will help make him a more worthy candidate. Or that’s what he tells his parents—Zizhen himself doesn’t really care about the status of his future bride.
That said, he’s pretty sure his parents would eagerly accept Xiao Qing. Not every sect can brag about relations to an immortal, after all. No matter if it’s only by proxy.
”I’m going to marry her,” Zizhen says dreamily and lifts his cup to take a sip, not even noticing his cup is empty.
Jin Ling groans from his daybed. ”You haven’t even talked to her! How the hell are you going to marry her?”
”And her eyes are creepy,” Jingyi adds.
Sizhui has better manners than either of them, so he merely presses his lips together in a tight smile. ”She certainly has striking features,” he agrees. ”But hopefully her eyes aren’t the only reason you’re thinking about marrying her?”
”She might not want to marry,” Jin Ling points out.
”She might not even like men,” Jingyi adds.
”You might want to start by talking to her,” Sizhui says.
”Mn,” Zizhen says. He sets his cup on the table and stands up, smoothing his robes down, and says, ”I’ll do that now.”
”Wait—”
”Now?!”
”Good luck!” Sizhui says over the other two.
”Thank you!” Zizhen calls over his shoulder.
They’d been spending the evening in Jin Ling’s rooms, so the first thing he needs to do is to exit the family wing and head out to the guest wing. Once there, he stops a servant and asks where Daozhangs Xiao and Song’s quarters are.
He’s poised to knock on the door when a sharp voice behind him asks, ”What are you doing at our door?”
He turns and comes face-to-face with her.
”Ouyang Zizhen, at your service,” he says and bows. ”I was actually hoping to see you, Lady Xiao.”
She snorts. ”I’m not a lady,” she says. ”And I don’t need a servant.” She crosses her arms on her chest. ”Did you need something?”
The door behind Zizhen swings silently open.
”A-Qing,” Xiao Xinghchen says. ”That’s not polite.”
”Well, neither is calling my eyes fucking weird,” she snaps back, giving Zizhen an unimpressed look.
”Lan Jingyi has a bad habit of blurting out everything he thinks without actually thinking about what he says,” Zizhen says calmly. ”For my part, I like your eyes. They remind me of pearls.”
”Pearls,” Xiao Qing says flatly.
Zizhen smiles and nods eagerly. ”Three of my sisters have mother-of-pearl combs. They’re quite pale, so my sisters think they’re too plain, but I think they’re very beautiful.”
Behind him, Xiao Xingchen clears his throat. ”Would you like to come inside, Young Master Ouyang?”
Zizhen doesn’t really pay attention to the conference. It’s not the first gathering he’s participated and it’ll hardly be the last, and since it’s held in Lanling, there’s a lot of…well, empty space and redundant entertainment around the official meetings. Zizhen is very fond of his dear friend Jin Ling, but even he has admitted that his sect is ridiculous. Even after everything they did after Jin Ling’s grandfather died, the Koi Tower is still opulent and plated in gold.
But the lax schedule means there are plenty of opportunities for Zizhen to seek Lady Xiao out. So far, she hasn’t been too impressed by Zizhen (or his friends), and she’s gotten into a screaming match with Jingyi twice (Jingyi is still sulking after losing both). She’s whip-smart, she’s fast, and she’s excellent with a cane and very good with a sword, and her sense of humor could probably make even Sect Leader Nie’s brother blush bright red.
In short: she’s perfect.
It’s the last day of the conference when he sees the hairstick with an actual pearl at a stall in the market. He doesn’t even think twice about the price or how incredibly forward it would be to gift it to Lady Xiao—he merely admires the smooth, dark wood and the shimmering pearl in the curled end, and buys it without bothering to haggle.
”A very good purchase, young master,” the stall owner says, wrapping the hairstick in a slip of pearl-white silk. ”A perfect betrothal gift.”
”Mn,” Zizhen says. He certainly wishes so—but if nothing else, the other end of the hairstick is sharp enough to use as a weapon. Lady Xiao will (probably, hopefully) like the functionality.
Xiao Xinghchen opens the door after the knock. ”Ah, Zizhen!” he exclaims, then adds an apologetic, ”I’m afraid A-Qing isn’t here at the moment.”
”Do you know when she might be back?” Zizhen asks politely. ”I have…that is, I would like to give her something before you leave.”
Xiao Xingchen quirks a brow. ”Is that so?” he asks. There’s a faint smile playing on his lips but his eye is serious. ”And if she doesn’t want to receive it?”
Zizhen bows deeply. ”I wouldn’t dream of forcing a gift on her,” he says. ”If we are to walk different paths from here on, I will be forever grateful to make the acquaintance of such a formidable lady.”
”You do have way with words,” Xiao Xingchen murmurs, then shakes his head, and opens the door wider. ”Do come in. She shouldn’t be long.”
The room looks bare compared to the first (and only) time Zizhen visited them. A couple of spare purple robes and a haphazard pile of scrolls rest on a daybed, and Zizhen hastily averts his eyes, only to meet Xiao Xingchen’s amused look.
He ends up having tea and playing a game of weiqi with Xiao Xingchen, and is about to lose spectacularly when the door opens and Lady Xiao stomps in, Song Zichen following at a more sedate and calm pace.
”You!” Lady Xiao exclaims as Zizhen scrambles up to greet her. ”What are you doing here?”
He clears his throat and bows, holding out the wrapped hairstick. ”I saw this today while I was running errands and thought of you.” He swallows as Lady Xiao unwraps the hairstick and then just stares at it for a while.
”It’s very simple,” she says drolly.
”Things don’t need to be complicated or overly ornate to be beautiful,” Zizhen says. ”It might look humble but the pearl is of high quality and the other end is sharp enough to act as a weapon.”
”Hm,” Lady Xiao says, rolling the hairstick in her hand like a dagger. ”And what would you say if I told you I didn’t need a stupid hairstick?” she asks without looking at him.
”I’d say that it is a gift that carries no demands or expectations other than fond thoughts from someone who will forever cherish the short time we spent in each other’s company.”
She huffs and makes the hairstick dance across her knuckles before disappearing it into her sleeve. ”Well, I guess you can write,” she finally says.
Zizhen would very much like to grin like Senior Wei when he has an invention breakthrough but instead, he forces his face to stay normal. ”My sisters complain that my letters are always too long and I send them too often,” he says.
”I’ll believe it if it happens,” she says haughtily. ”Goodbye.” Behind her, Xiao Xingchen beams like the sun, and even Song Zichen’s usually stoic face looks mildly approving.
The sects depart after a late lunch but Jingyi, Sizhui, and Zizhen stay for another day to spend time with Jin Ling. They stand on the side balcony and watch the proceedings and listen to Jingyi’s running commentary.
”—and that’s why you shouldn’t drink, Sect Leader He,” he mutters when said sect leader almost face-plants on Jiang Yanli’s lap. ”Stupid to try to match Senior Wei and Sect Leader Jiang anyway, only an idiot would—”
The rest of Jingyi’s opinion is lost on Zizhen as Senior Wei and Hanguang-jun walk out with Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen, because Lady Xiao walks on the side facing Zizhen and she has a simple, dark hairstick with a perfectly round, white pearl adornment in her hair.
Lady Xiao is wearing the hairstick Zizhen gave her.
Zizhen might just combust.
”—you wouldn’t believe—wait,” Jingyi says. ”Zizhen? Why are you so red? And smiling? What is happening?”