It's been thirteen years since Lan Zhan was last in a room with Wei Wuxian, but its been five minutes since he saw Wei Ying teaching art online. Devising a complex plan to save Wei Ying from being framed from murder, Lan Zhan throws his life and he...
The festivities would certainly not be complete with a feast, so he excused himself, ignoring Jiang Cheng's amusement. But not before telling the disciples to watch their senior on that ladder. They nodded in immediate agreement, "Yes,Master Lan!", "We will!"
The kitchens of Lotus Pier were divided into communal sect kitchens and one small home kitchen that was an afterthought in the courtyard renovation some years back. Granny Jiang welcomed him with a smile that was surprised but warm, and he could see that she was having a difficult day. Despite all the activity, the kitchens were a little subdued.
Neither Jiang Fengmian nor Madam Yu had time or interest in cooking and before the massacre that ended his life, Lotus Pier had employed a chef for the communal kitchen, which fed over a hundred people each day. Jiang Yanli however, had spent all of her free time working on recipes for her one-day bakery. Wei Ying had let slip, that while he wasn't sure if their parents ever really worked it out, but all of their family meals were made by Jiang Yanli from the time she was twelve.
"Master Lan! What can I do for you? Surely you should be off that leg?" She said as he moved around the counter.
She had browbeat him into calling her Ayi and smiled at him, every single time he did, not helped by Wei Ying's exuberant glee, but was still calling him Master Lan. "The decorations are being dealt with and the table is set. I came to offer my assistance Ayi."
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She looked at him for a moment and then nodded, as if he had told her his secrets. "We would certainly welcome it Master Lan."
"My mother taught me all of her family recipes." He said softly, "She was not from Gusu. Mostly I can bake, but I can make some of her savory dishes. I hoped to offer a few as a gift."
"Ah! Well then, A-Li has told me of your baking. How you helped her get started." Granny Jiang said, the careworn lines of her face settling into easy cheer. She was close to Jiang Yanli, the pair of them often together, united over family, food and their hobby of wheat straw weaving. So close to the anniversary that dragged on the hearts of the three Yunmeng siblings, everyone who loved them, felt the echoes of that pain.
"Exaggerated." He said in reply.
Lan Zhan felt watching them together, that both of them finally had the support they needed. Preferring to take care of others, it was in the quiet moments of safety and easy conversation, that he saw the pair finally begin to heal. Granny Jiang had been tormented for years. Her son and his wife had been murdered before Sizhui had even turned one. She had lost her cousins and parents to Wen Ruohan. Grief and loss, compounded by financial difficulties had taken an immense toll on her.
Here at Lotus Pier, while it was not the land of her ancestors, she and the other Wen had settled neatly into daily life. What was more inspiring, was how the Jiang and Wen had become family, strong bonds slotting into place over months and now appeared to have been there, a steady permanent fixture.
