Jiang Yanli was sitting by her brother's side and Jin Zixuan was standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders, providing comfort and reassurance. She reached out and put one of her own hands on his in a silent thank you. For the past two days, she had worried about Wei Wuxian to the point that she could hardly sleep or eat. She knew that Lan Wangji would take good care of him, it was now clearer than ever that the Second Jade saw Wei Wuxian as something way more than a simple friend.
Still, her mind was preoccupied with thoughts about how she could help her brother. There was after all only so much that transferring spiritual energy to someone who did not have a golden core could do. Moreover, no one knew exactly what impacts had demonic cultivation and the battle for the control of the Yin iron on Wei Wuxian. She really could not help but worry.
All that time, Jin Zixuan never left her side. He was taking care of her as she was of her brother. He would make her eat meals regularly, if only a few mouthfuls each time and he would tell her to go to bed and try to sleep. Since they were not yet married, he did not lay beside her but only sat close and held her hand. Jiang Yanli once wanted all of this very much but now her own needs paled in comparison with how precarious Wei Wuxian's situation was. Nevertheless, she still appreciated the gestures and she was sure that Jin Zixuan knew that.
Today however, she was not sitting here tense with worries and helplessness, today, her shoulders were stiff because of relief.
When she had come inside the room this morning to keep vigil by her brother's side instead of Lan Wangji, she had found things very different than in the evening. The Second Jade had been sitting by his guqin and playing. That in itself was a great change because he had not said even a single word ever since coming to Lotus Pier nor tried to do anything besides watching Wei Wuxian and doing his best to help the other recover.
Jiang Yanli had been even more surprised and had almost burst out in tears when she checked her brother's condition and had immediately felt that it was way better. His hands had not been ice cold anymore and despite her inability to fully assess the damage done by the resentful energy nor the amount of it in Wei Wuxian's body, she could tell that his condition had improved significantly. Wen Qing had only confirmed this when she had come back with her needles and started treating Wei Wuxian. She also explained that Lan Wangji had found a way to finally help her brother with his recovery.
Once the Second Jade and Wen Qing had left – the former only because of the Dafan Wen clan doctor's threats that he would be put into sleep if he did not go to bed on his own – she sat down by the side of her brother's bed and let the relief fully wash over her. She could tell that Jin Zixuan understood the state of her mind and was thankful that he was not trying to be too pushy. He only silently provided support and was now waiting for her to gather herself and start her routine of taking care of her brother.
Even though Wei Wuxian was still unconscious, Jiang Yanli wanted him to not feel bad once he would wake up and was combing his hair and washing his face every single day. He also looked less fragile that way and she liked it better than to see him as broken as he had been when Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji had brought him back from the Nightless City palace. She would also move his limbs and body around a bit on Wen Qing's advice, it would be easier on him after waking up that way and he would not get sores.
After her routine was finished, she picked up a bowl of broth she had brought and which had by now went cool enough for her to try and feed her brother. The task was always a hard one, not because she did not want to do it, on the contrary, but because Wei Wuxian was still unconscious and it was hard to get him to eat anything. Nevertheless, she would never abandon it in a million years.
She picked up a spoon and took a very small amount, delivering it into Wei Wuxian's mouth. She was ecstatic when nearly none if it spilled out and with a little effort, the soup went down her brother's throat. She took a towel and dabbed away the spilled drops gently. She continued this process until there was no broth left in the bowl and she was sure that Wei Wuxian had had at least some of it.
Once again, she felt tears gather in her eyes. She wanted to cook all the Lotus root port rib soup that Wei Wuxian could eat until he would get tired of it for him, but he was just laying there motionless and even if she personally prepared his favourite dish, he could not be in any condition to enjoy it.
She hoped that he would wake up soon. He was so pale and thin when he was only sleeping like that; she wanted him to be running around again and joking with everyone with his usual energy and smiling face. And more importantly, she wanted him to eat his fill for every meal and recover as much as possible.
She did not know if he would be able to ever recover fully, and neither Wen Qing wanted to give any hopes in that field. She knew she could not even start to imagine how hard it must be for her brother who had always been powerful and talented, doing everything effortlessly and having a strong golden core to balance his recklessness, to now live without his cultivation. Her own golden core was just barely there, helping her with healing more than with anything else, but she could still feel it and it always gave her comfort. Now, Wei Wuxian would not have this anymore. She wondered how he would cope with this fact.
She was worried that he would try to hide everything. He had always done that, he never showed them his pain, not his real one in any case. He would often pout and whine at her about small cuts or strained muscles but he would never tell her if he was seriously injured. She had come to accept this part of his personality and knew by now how to read him, but she wondered whether she would be able to do that anymore. Somehow, she had a feeling that Wei Wuxian would close off even more.
That was however not something she would be able to confirm until her brother would wake up. All she could do at this point was to take care of him to the best of her abilities and wait. Just as always.
At least now, she knew that she was not alone in this. Her whole family would help. And so would Wen Qing, Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji. With their help, hopefully, Wei Wuxian would be able to recover in the end. Since they have found a way to make a difference and undeniable progress with the Second Jade's musical cultivation.
Especially because of Lan Wangji, she was convinced of that. It was not only that the two of them seemed to have something going on between them, something that Jiang Yanli suspected was way deeper and sweeter than normal friendship. She wondered whether the two of them knew or have perhaps even already made their feelings known to the other. It would surely help, she knew that having Jin Zixuan by her side and returning her feeling was the best thing which had ever happened to her.