The assault was launched 1 hour after nightfall. The fortress of Qingdao overlooked the sea. The cultivators had gathered to free those of their own who had been taken prisoner in the past 6 months.
Taking advantage of a moonless night, Lan Xichen...
"SHUT UP I'M NOT FINISHED..." I yelled at the one who dared to interrupt me. He cowered as if I had just hit him with a discipline whip!
"I said, before I was so rudely interrupted, that this wound on an old scar was not healing... and we found out why!
I stared at the three people I knew were responsible. Two of them had a shifty look in their eyes and didn't dare to look me in the face, and the third one, Han Ran, didn't want to look down, but I didn't know him very well! I was angry and I just wanted to reduce them to ashes! He must have sensed this because, like the other two, he finally looked away.
One of the elders, Chen Feng, addressed me.
"Wei Wuxian, what do you mean by that?"
"It's simple, the wounds that were inflicted on Lan Zhan 20 years ago were not supposed to close! The discipline whips were smeared with an ointment that delayed healing!"
There were many protests and murmurs of disapproval.
"Wei Wuxian, this barbaric practice was abolished at least 150 years ago, you must be mistaken!
"Master Chen Feng, when it comes to the life of my soul mate, I can assure you that I am never wrong! His life is far too precious to me!" I paused for my words and the threat it contained to make its way into their minds.
"One or more of you have used this archaic practice to try to hurt Lan Zhan and maybe even kill him. So don't think I'm going to let this go!!! You don't know me very well!"
"How can you believe it's one of us!"
Many cries of protest came from all sides.
"What surprises me is that you are all protesting, but there are three that I don't hear... Is it because protesting to plead your innocence would be lying? If you are as virtuous as you seem to believe, dare to confess your crime! And assume your actions and your punishment!"
My words made their way into their guilty minds and I saw Wan Jian and Xiao Long throw themselves to the ground in front of me begging for forgiveness! They spoke so fast while crying and pleading at the same time that I could not understand anything they were saying!
"It's not me you have to ask forgiveness from, but Lan Zhan whom you made suffer for the wrong reasons, Lan QiRen whose trust you betrayed and Lan Xichen whose authority you flouted!"
I turned to Han Ran.
"As for you, I see you have no remorse, will you at least have the courage to tell us why?"
"Why?" he shouted.
In that single word, I saw all the rage, anger and jealousy that Han Ran had been holding back for so many years.
"Why? That ... nobody ... who never had to make the slightest effort because he was the favorite son of our leader ... he stole the authority that should have been my son's!!! Bichen was meant for him! Everything was always presented to him on a platter! So yes, when he fought against us and fell off that pedestal that everyone had placed him on ... I took advantage of it ... and those two idiots helped me do it and I have no regrets except that I didn't increase the concentration of the ointment even more to make sure he didn't heal and die from it!!!".
"That's enough!" Lan QiRen shouted in turn.
"I was even harder on Wangji than I had been on Xichen! Everything he got, he owes to his work, his studies and his natural gifts! Han Ran, you are sick. You must be treated.
We were all stunned by Lan QiRen's intervention, I never thought he would get so angry at one of his own! It was not the same for me! Xichen finally stood up.
He clapped his hands and guards appeared on either side of the platform. They grabbed the three elders.
"Lan Wan Jian, Lan Xiao Long, you are confined to your quarters until the Council has decided on your punishment, but you are already relieved of your duties as a member of the Council of Elders of the Lan clan. As for you, Lan Han Ran, let them lock you up in the solitary confinement ward until you are sentenced.
Xichen waved his hand and the guards took them away. Silence returned to the orchid room.
"Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian, I will ask you to leave the room while the Council deliberates, and I will call you to inform you of our decision on this matter.
I looked at Lan Zhan and after a bow, we left the big room. I needed to breathe and be alone with my soul mate. I could see in his eyes that he too wanted to be alone with me. I took his hand and led him to the rabbit glade. There was nothing like petting soft little fur balls to cheer you up! Well, I knew something else that was even nicer, but since we were likely to be picked up at any time, we didn't want to risk being caught napping, even though I didn't miss the urge !!!!!
We didn't have to wait long for a disciple to come and get us. Less than the duration of two incense sticks!
We returned to the orchid room. The Council was back together. Lan Zhan had explained to me that there were "substitutes" because decisions still had to be made by 12 people. We waited for Xichen to speak.
"Lan Zhan, the charges are quite serious, for even if they were led astray, Lan Wan Jian and Lan Xiao Long nevertheless made an attempt on your life. We have decided that they will be imprisoned in meditation for three years. They will be deprived of their right to belong to the Lan clan. They will have to return their headbands and will have to show self-sacrifice in order to be forgiven. You will be the sole judge of the end of their punishment. Do you accept our decision?
"I accept," Lan Zhan replied. Of course his brother's question was a matter of protocol. Lan Zhan could only answer that.
"Lan Han Ran's case is more complicated. He has allowed himself to be blinded and consumed by jealousy and hatred. We don't know if he will ever recover. Therefore we decided to lock him up for the rest of his life. He is deprived of his birthright and will have to return his blindfold. As for his heirs, their line of descent will be erased from the records of our clan. In the future, they will not be able to claim any link of descent with Lan An and thus enter the line of succession to lead the Lan clan.
I couldn't believe it, Han Ran's punishment was terrible because it also affected his family members. By acting as he did, he had brought dishonor to his family.
The meeting ended and Lan Zhan and I returned to the Jingshi. The afternoon was coming to an end. We sat on the gallery. Lan Zhan was sitting there, leaning against one of the posts of the overhang. I had slipped between his legs with my back against his chest. The sun was setting. We heard Ni Bi's laughter. She had spent the whole afternoon with her brother SiZhui. She ran towards us. When she saw Lan Zhan, she hesitated, but climbed into my arms, snuggled up to me and put her hand on my heart and her head on my shoulder. Lan Zhan looked at us and then put his arms around us. He put his hand on our child's hand. She looked at him, but did not withdraw her hand. Lan Zhan had won the first battle for our daughter's heart.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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