silverneedles | eastbound inbox

wen qing
missives | encounters

[ A quiet laugh and then: ]

No more than your husband.

( First and foremost: ) We are not wed.

( And also: ) I beg you do not distract from question.

Not formally, you mean. [ She better be invited to the wedding. ]

You do not displease me.

( G o o d. )

If I have rewarded mistress Wen's guidance with recklessness, I beg pardon at her feet.

You are less reckless than most. [ It's about as complimentary as she's going to get. ] It remains a problem with the entire group.

You mother them.

Is that a problem?

Will each of their wounds ache you?

Not physically. [ Though that is easier to handle. ] It will be no worse than the wounds I witnessed in my family.

...Wen Qionglin. You know his fate.

That he lives? [ For a certain definition of "alive." ] Yes.

Freely. ( A pause, then the shadows of laughter: ) Wei Ying intends to barter him a bride.

Wei Wuxian, playing matchmaker? Has he improved any?

In complaints sooner than success.

He enjoys it though.

He enjoys domesticity. Kindness. As do you.

We were content in the Burial Mounds.

You were not.

[ okay so he's very correct; they really weren't. ]

We found some small happiness in those last days. The time with family made it tolerable.

Did you live in wait of death?

I could forget what waited for us at times. But even when I could not escape the press of death, how could I not enjoy the time with my family?

...you did not learn kindness in Wen Ruohan's court.

Do you think kindness was a possibility there? He was mad long before the war.

We did not know the man. Only his reputation.

Some men do not need to be known.

downswing - 2022-09-07 17:49 (UTC) - Expand