Always by your side

Ch 12. So long peace

Past

Wei Ying POV

I never thought that the first thing our new instructor would correct would be our posture. When she tested our skills, she came to me and made me lower my shoulders a bit, saying that in the end, it would hurt how long I could stay in the same position. Next came stance, hip posture, etc. Afterwards, I glance at Lan Zhan's red ears while she does the same to him.

We never had instructors besides the ones we got at school, and the little stance show I gave before, was the way I recall I perform as the Yiling Patriarch. Well, I guess things will not play the same in this lifetime.

After the lesson ends, we book our next session for the coming week, and Xue Yang escorts us outside while we wait for uncle Qiren. We sit at the entrance and look at the street. Xue Yang grins and says -Madam told me you are like me, is that true?

"and what is that?" I ask, a little bit confused.

"An orphan," he says.

I nod. "Yes, we both lost our parents, though we have each other now".

"And uncle Qiren, auntie and my brother too," says Lan Zhan, and I smile.

He smiles and looks at the sky. "I also have someone. He says I found him. I say that it was the other way around. In the end, we found a house where we are appreciated, and he is in good care. It is all that matters to me. He is at peace, and I am happy with just that". He searches in his pockets and hands us some candies. "Here, take some candies that our master bought for us".

I took one, and Lan Zhan does the same. I look at the sky to hide my emotions. The sky is blue, but some clouds are present; the season is almost over.

We continue our routine as always. Uncle Qiren drives us each week. We learn how to hold our air better, use our lips, control vibrato, etc. We are improving, but I am convinced that my main goal is still far.

As summer is about to end, I convince our uncle that a small camping trip with being family and the family of Mrs Sanren to a lake nearby would be great. I reasoned that Lan Xichen was on holiday and he might like to do something different and that the kids of Sanren are good kids that deserve the better. In the end, I also want to get lotus pods with stems for Lan Zhan.

We arrive first, and we prepare the camp. Then, the others come, and the Jiang family is also there for some reason. When Madam Yu, Sanren, and Qiren greet each other, I see how happy they are together, and my heart runs wild due to fear. I feel a hand on my shoulder. Jiang Cheng says, "we can all agree that this meeting is scary and awesome at the same time". Xue Yang steps next to him and says, "I pity you both" Jiang Cheng and I exchanged looks, vowing to make him pay.

We divided tasks. The adults prepare the tents, and the young fish the food and collect the wood. As the afternoon progresses, Xue Yang catches two fish and hurts himself while taking the third one out of the rod. Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng have not spoken yet, so Lan Zhan and I decided to make the young Jiang spill the beans.

As I return from looking for lotus pods, I see Xiao Xingchen sleeping under the shadow of a tree and her sister playing making a crown of flowers for him. I approach them, hand them over a few pods and sit next. When I tell them what happened to Xue Yang, they laugh.

Xingchen says, "My brother has suffered a lot. Please be compassionate to him, he is a jerk sometimes, but it is a defence mechanism. My sister and I lost our house and parents due to a fire, and we were placed in the same foster home as Xue Yang was. They mistreated us, so we ran away. In the end, we end up in the care of Madam Sanren. She has been the only soul able to control his temper".

I look at him and nod. "Ok, I will behave" for you". He smiles and says "thank you". I position myself next to them and sleep.

As the world vanishes and the only thing left in my mind is my wonderful husband and his smile, I let all my worries go. But then, someone drags me out of there. I opened my eyes and saw Lan Rui, Lan Qiren's wife. She hands me a fish and says –are you ok?

I nod. She sat next to us, and we ate our respective meals while watching the sunset and reflecting in the water. Then, she speaks, "if you look at the west mountain forest, you can see a few lights. There is an inn on that mountain. I proposed Qiren there".

I blinked and left my fish in my mouth.

She laughs. "We met while young, and we bonded over a few years, but he never spoke about his feelings. I guess he was too timid, so I asked for advice from his most trusted teacher, and she devised a plan to make him declare what he felt". I look at the woman in the lake with the water until her knees.

"Madam Sanren?"

She nods and continues, "for our wedding, saying he looked more handsome and wishing him a good life. I am pretty sure that if she hadn't messed up with him, he would have been more stuck and difficult".

We continue our food. When the sun disappeared, we returned to the camp. I hand the rest of the lotus pods to Lan Zhan and the group. We eat, dance, and crack jokes. I do not know how we got the luck to be reborn in this peaceful life, but I swear to god to keep it that way for the sake of this family.

As the group goes to sleep, I see Jiang Cheng sneak out from the camp, and I follow. He sits at the shore of the lake, and I sit next to him, handing him a bottle of wine "what's the matter?"

He crouches on his knees. "I think I made the worst mistake of my life. I don't remember well, but I think that I slept with your brother".

I gasp. So long, peace, it is all that I can think about now.