Wangji closes his eyes as Sizhui plays his Qin. When he finishes the song, Wangji murmurs, "Good. You have improved."
"Thank you, Your Excellency," Sizhui says, dipping his head. Seeing a dumb, tiny smile on Wangji's face he adds gingerly. "Forgive me if I'm intruding, but I've noticed you seem much happier than the moons before."
"Yes, well. I'm glad to have retained full health."
"Yes! I'm glad for that as well," beams Sizhui. "Your health has really improved remarkably since Brother Wei's return. It's strange, though. Nothing was curing you before, but as soon as Brother Wei came to Cloud Recesses, all of your symptoms went away. I wonder why..."
"Perhaps it's the will of the gods," Wangji says promptly, without meeting Sizhui's eyes. "Again. Slower."
"As you wish." Sizhui places his hands across the instrument once more. But instead of playing, he holds them there for a moment longer. His mind whirs with thought. A beat of silence passes. "Your Excellency, may I ask you one more thing before I do so?"
Wangji bows his head in approval. He is soft for Sizhui. "Go on."
"Is it possible for one person to love another so much that that person can't live without them?"
"...Yes. It is."
"Then what if that person is marrying someone else—someone who isn't his beloved? Why would he marry someone he doesn't love?"
"Perhaps his situation was complicated," Wangji says bluntly.
"But his beloved would be heartbroken. And what about who he's marrying—"
"Enough," Wangji barks, starting to feel like he's being attacked. "I've permitted you to ask one question, and you've already asked. Let us speak no more of this."
At first Sizhui looks taken aback by his sudden defensiveness. But then he lowers his eyes ashamedly and murmurs, "Forgive me, Your Excellency. I overstepped my boundaries. Let me play the Song of Clarity once more."
•••
About an hour passes. The Lan Clan junior has begun a third song, when a Gu Clan maid bursts into the room, panting.
"Your Excellency!"
Wangji's head snaps up. He signals to Sizhui, who mutes the strings on his Qin.
"What is it?" Wangji asks.
"I-it's Lady Gu! She's in trouble!"
Wangji turns to Sizhui. The junior gazes back at him with startled, anticipative eyes.
"Stay here," reassures Wangji. "I'll be back." He stands up.
He hurries out the door, following the maid as she rushes through the courtyard, past the wooden gazebos and trimmed lawns. Almost immediately, his ears perk to the sounds of screams—Meiyou. Wangji overtakes the maid and resumes a quicker pace across the courtyard, drawing closer and closer to her frightened wails. He wonders what on earth it could be.
He bursts into Gu Meiyou's bedchambers in time to see a struggling Meiyou pinned to her bed by an unmistakable man in all-black robes, a scarlet ribbon in his hair, a wooden flute hanging from his belt.
Wei Ying.
"Oh... thank the heavens, Wangji!" shrieks Meiyou. At this, the one with the scarlet ribbon snaps around, eyes searching the doorway until they land on Wangji. Their eyes lock.
Wangji has grown impeccably still.
"Meiyou!" Gu Liban and Xichen, who had also heard her screams, rush into the room and pry the Yiling Patriarch away from her. The man stumbles and falls backward.
Meiyou rises to her feet and staggers towards the doorway, immediately flinging herself into Wangji's arms. She is sobbing uncontrollably.
"Lady, what happened? What is going on?" asks Wangji in a calm voice. But he is looking at Wei Ying, who gazes back at him with wide, wide eyes.
"Oh, Wangji! I-I was just returning t-to my b-bedchambers... and then—and then Master Wei—he a-attacked me... a-and t-t-tried to—" Meiyou bursts into butterfly sobs. Her nails dig into the white silk on Wangji's back.
"What the Lady says is true!" shouts the maid from the corner of the room. Wangji's head snaps to look at her. A young woman with a face like a white peach. Her eyes flood with fear when Wangji meets them. She shifts her gaze, and cries. "M-Master Wei really did attack her... I saw the whole thing!"
In a flash, Liban spins around to face Wei Ying. Eyes blazing daggers from the pits of the Demon Realm. "You despicable, conniving—you dare touch my daughter?"
"No." The word tears from Wangji's mouth, sprawling raw into the air in front of him. Everyone in the room swerves to look at him. Wangji grits his teeth. "Wei Ying would never do that."
"Yes! I don't know how... I would never—" Wei Ying stutters, struggling to get his thoughts out.
"Silence!" There's a flash—and then Liban backhands the cultivator square across the face. Wei Ying falls to his hands and knees, startled by the blow.
Wangji recoils; Meiyou gasps; even Xichen looks shocked at the sudden act of violence.
"Wei Ying!" Wangji shouts. He rushes forward and helps him to his feet. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yes. I'm fine," Wei Ying manages to croak out.
"Wei Wuxian, you shameless miscreant!" Liban thunders.
"Gu Clan Leader, calm yourself," Xichen says composedly.
"Calm myself? How can you expect me to remain calm in a situation like this? My daughter has just been assaulted and frightened by this ruffian, this sinful devil!" Liban snarls, pointing a finger at Wei Ying. "I demand punishment!"
Wangji's eyes widen, as does Wei Ying's.
"Clan Leader Gu, I urge you to reconsider—"
"Are you defending Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch?! My daughter's assaulter?!"
"Your distress is not invalid, but we can't sentence one without evidence—"
"Look around, Zewu Jun! This is enough evidence! See my Meiyou's ripped gown, and Master Wei's robes, and the handmaid who witnessed this!"
Wangji holds Meiyou at arm's length. The fine stitching of her silk robes has been torn from the collar down to her chest, exposing the bruises peppering her neck. Wei Ying's hanfu is partially unbuttoned. The Gu Clan maid who alerted him stands in the corner of the room, twiddling her thumbs anxiously. All of the signs do point to Wei Ying attacking Meiyou.
No. No.
It can't be.
He would never...
There must be some mistake.
"Well?" Liban stares expectantly at Xichen.
Xichen turns and meets Wangji's eyes. Wangji stares at his brother, wilfully, hopefully. His onyx eyes shimmer with fear. Xichen averts his gaze then, to consider Gu Liban and his frazzled daughter... and then Wei Ying, who is leaning against Wangji's shoulder for support, staring down at the floor, hair in his face.
He sighs.
"Due to all the evidence we have and the witness, Wei Wuxian shall be punished..."
Wangji sucks in a breath.
"...by imprisonment until further notice."
Hearing those words feels as if a heavy boulder that was crushing Wangji's back is being lifted from his shoulders. He slowly exhales, not realising how shaky he has become. He shoots a look at Wei Ying. The Yiling Patriarch's legs are trembling, but his face remains ever unchanging. An impenetrable mask.
"What?!" Liban thunders, shaking his fists. "But Wei Wuxian—"
"Until further notice," Xichen repeats himself.
Two Lan Clan seniors enter the bedchambers, each with an iron shackle in hand. They frisk him, emptying his pockets and inspecting his clothes. They remove Chenqing from his belt and take his money pouch, lastly cuffing his hands behind his back. All the while Wei Ying stays silent, his eyes expressionless.
The seniors start to drag Wei Ying out of the room, despite Liban's protests.
"Wei Ying, I'll get you out... just wait for me."
Wangji grasps his hand. It's cold and stiff, lacking its usual warmth and tenderness. For a second, Wangji wonders if a part of Wei Ying has shut down during the accusation. But then Wei Ying's fingers close around Wangji's... before their hands are ripped away from each other.
•••
After Wei Wuxian has been detained and Gu Liban returned to his dorm (with coaxing from Gu Meiyou), Xichen returns to his study room, shuts the door, and locks all the windows. Gu Meiyou is already inside.
"I must say, I'm impressed," Xichen admits. "Your acting is much better than I anticipated; I almost believed you myself. Well done."
"It's nothing new; I've had to act my whole life," Meiyou says straightforwardly, wiping away her crocodile tears. "Framing Master Wei for committing such a crime will surely get him killed. What if he dies—"
"He won't," interrupts Xichen. "Or Wangji will... ahem. As I was saying, we now move onto Phase 2."
"Wangji will never believe it was Master Wei."
"We don't need him to. This next step requires more... manipulative means." Xichen turns to another doorway connecting his study to his bedchambers and calls out. "Come in."
A hooded figure emerges from the doorway, its face obscured in a sheen of darkness. Meiyou watches as the figure reaches up and removes its hood. Her eyes widen in recognition.
"You know what to do," Xichen tells the third party.
Wen Qing bends down and bows, her eyes full of guilt.
"Yes, Zewu Jun."