text; un: li_min

[kiss_it_better]

I've found myself with more free time than I know what to do with in the evenings.

[Which is to say, he's sleeping as little as humanly possible for the foreseeable future.]

I may as well do something productive with that time, right?

So I was thinking that I would be interested in learning a new language. Or maybe two, though I feel as if learning one at a time may be better. If anyone would be willing to teach me theirs I would appreciate it.

I am also interested in taking up new hobbies if anyone has any suggestion. I have a special interest in engineering and medicine, but in truth my interests are fairly eclectic.

Oh, and I was considering building a new chicken coop for our two hens. I don't suppose anyone has any advice on that? Or on raising chickens in general. I've done a bit of reading but I would enjoy hearing from people who might have more practical experiences.

[He just wants things to do to pass the time since he doesn't have enough to do here compared to back home where he had so many schemes going...and he needed the distraction.

Also, despite his attempts at depriving himself entirely of sleep, he's posting this at a very reasonable hour in the morning...or rather, he's purposefully posting at a reasonable hour so hopefully no one will suspect anything was wrong.]

Comments

[huaisang]

You are asking for so much trust, A-Min! What am I going to do if you lead me astray? I don't know...

Fine, fine, I will do this and try out the sweets and see what would go well with the types of tea we'll have on offer. My cultivation is very poor but I am very strict about quality.

Only the best will do.

[kiss_it_better]

Didn't Huaisang-xiong just say I was too nice? Surely, if I did lead you astray it could only be by accident.

[Hahaha.]

I would expect nothing less.

I will wait for you with tea then.

[Because you mean you're coming right now, surely?]

[huaisang]

How curious you are, A-Min! Confessing to not being nice to me like this. That's so interesting, yes.

I won't be long, just need to find the perfect fan that goes with this outfit.

[kiss_it_better]

You wound me. Do I seem like such a person?

That gives me just enough time to prepare things properly then.

[He takes a moment to boil the water and set out the sweets--little cakes and pastries--on a platter. The work is mechanical, it doesn't require much thinking which is nice.

The apartment is more or less as it's always been, neat and orderly and well cared for. The only differences besides the chicken coup in the courtyard is the fact that there were only his shoes and no black armour to be seen anywhere where there'd at least be one hanging about (after all, Gu Yun could only wear one set of armour at a time and not all of them would be given over to his mechanic of choice in this place).

Either way, like Chang Geng himself there is nothing overtly giving away that something was off to the average person as he prepares.]

[huaisang]

[ nie huaisang has this bad habit of making himself at home in strange places. he uses it to hide in plain sight when he's back home, but here in this place he just looks like an idle young master who is pestering poor chang geng while the other is hard at work.

huaisang takes note of the small changes and shifts since his last visit but they are none of his business and so he just fans himself lazily while taking a seat at a low table. ]

You might have to come over more often to my place. One of the rooms is now converted entirely for the purpose of growing the leaves and picking them out but- ah, since it is just me now and all - the house gets messy.

[kiss_it_better]

Is Huaisang-xiong asking me to be his housekeeper?

[He sounds just a little bit amused. He brings the spread over. There's tea, of course, but also some desserts, as promised.

A few were shaped into delicate flowers, a traditional choice, but more of them were shaped like gears.]]

[huaisang]

A-Min could never keep up with the mess I make, besides there is an order to my madness in the house! [ he spreads his fan open to hide his laughter and smile.

then he turns his attention to the desserts, all so artfully arranged and delicate looking. ] But I do need help with the tea leaves, we do not want them to spoil or go wrong after we've come so far.

But, would you enjoy being a housekeeper?

[kiss_it_better]

If you say so.

[He says it so mildly there is no telling if it were sincere or not. Then he started pouring the tea, each movement elegant in a way that's completely at odds with the fact that just earlier he had been asking about raising chickens.]

It would be a pity to see all that work go to waste. [He places the teapot down.] I do clean, but I have never worked as a housekeeper. However, I like to think I am the sort of person who isn't afraid to try new things.

[Also, housekeeping would be something extra to take up more of his free time.]

[huaisang]

[ li min is such a curiosity for someone like huaisang, there are secrets here that much he can tell. but they are the type of secrets that do not affect him and have no bearing on his revenge schemes so he is happy to leave them be.

who is he to ask questions here and there about this man's past. but the incongruence is noted and filed away without judgement. ]

You are a very confident and brave individual then, [ he takes the tea and inhales. ] Ah, finally. Good tea.

I wonder how it is that this place has almost everything except for decent tea.

[kiss_it_better]

I'm just used to doing odd jobs.

[Which only adds more questions to the mystery that he presents.

He picks up his own tea.]

Every place has things they are famous for. Besides, [He smiles, amused.] it presents a wonderful opportunity for us, does it not?

[huaisang]

Any reason why? [ huaisang opens his fan - force of habit - and fans himself slowly, casually. ] Did you travel a lot? Or - oh, were you just curious about different things?


And, I suppose it does. [ he takes a sweet with his free hand, admiring it for a moment before popping it into his mouth and tasting. ] Oh! That is rather delicious, the taste is very fine, A-Min.

1/2

[kiss_it_better]

I wandered the pugilist world for four years. As for why... [He was still smiling and the expression seemed open and gentle. But as he poured some more tea, his eyes focused downwards, beneath the shadow of his lashes the look in his eyes were unfathomable.] I simply wanted to learn as much as I could so that I could be of use to one person.

[That one person who left.]

2/2

[kiss_it_better]

[When he's done he looks back up and it's as if the previous moment was nothing more than an illusion.] Ah, I'm glad Huaisang-xiong approves.

[huaisang]

[ ah.

there is something he can understand in the sudden melancholy that seems to follow those words. huaisang can... relate to missing someone, deeply and desperately. that is enough for now, isn't it? to have this much in common is sufficient. huaisang finds that trust is a commodity he cannot afford but — ]

Were you able to be of use to that one person? They better have appreciated your efforts, A-Min, if they don't then I will be sure to do so.

[kiss_it_better]

Someone who doesn't know better might mistake Huaisang-xiong's words as a marriage proposal.

[He is teasing...but he does appreciate the sentiment.]

As for whether I succeeded in my goals...not at first, but I did eventually. [It had only taken Gu Yun getting locked up for him to figure out what it was they needed.

[...until they ended up here anyway. He thought he had it at first but now he's not so sure.]

[huaisang]

[ nie huaisang lifts his fan and then laughs. ] Ah, if A-Min knew me from home he would not make such a mistake. I am the worst marriage prospect in cultivator society. [ ... well, at least he was not blacklisted as jiang cheng but... ]

Then all your hard work paid off. My brother used to be very emphatic about hard work. He would like you, and you him. [ he beams, then takes another bite of the sweets, yes. they could certainly use these in the tea shop. ]

[kiss_it_better]

[On the other hand, Chang Geng's situation had been the opposite. The Yan Wang who had revitalized Great Liang's army, who had fought on the walls during the siege of the capital...young, educated and well-known for a mild temper and elegant bearings...even though he had presented his childhood abuse as an excuse, he's certain his brother would have married him off already.

Still, he smiles warmly.] The worst? Either Huaisang-xiong is exaggerating or the metric by which such things are measured is beyond my ability to understand it.

[Though he feels like, a lot of reasons people decide whether or someone is a good marriage prospect were rather arbitrary.]

I did not realize you had a brother.

[He sounds curious. Even though he doesn't outright ask, his gaze is inquisitive and a little expectant.]

[huaisang]

It is not an exaggeration, I promise. [ he laughs, self-deprecating and then decides that that is enough self-pity. it was not like his reputation bothered him nor that he regretted it. he had to stay safe.]

I did, [ huaisang confirms, fan coming up to shield half his face. ] What about, A-Min?

[kiss_it_better]

[He hears that self-deprecation and it makes him frown briefly.] Well, then Huaisang-xiong can be sure that whoever chooses to marry him probably did it out of genuine affection then.

[Because goodness knows the people who wanted to marry him or marry their daughters to him had their eyes on something else.

As for his brothers...hm.]

I am the fourth son of the family. Though currently, I only have one brother.

[His tone is as it ever was: mild, calm and gentle. But he couldn't muster the same sort of affection he did for Gu Yun. Unlike, Nie Huaisang who seemed to like his brother...though. That 'I did', that past tense...] I imagine you were closer to your brother than I am to mine.

[huaisang]

Ah, would that even be possible? I am not very eligible but I am still a sect leader and that has some benefits, especially for smaller clans but ach - [ he flaps his free hand about as if to dismiss the entire topic.

its not like he can marry the person he really wants to back home or here. ]

Ah, [ he lowers his fan slightly, sympathy visible in his expression. ] Family is complicated, is it not? But yes, I was close to my brother.

We were very different people but we had different strengths to cover the other's weaknesses. I have nothing but the highest praise for my brother, and if you ask others from my world you'll most likely hear good things.

[ after all, aside from his temper, nie mingjue had been a powerful cultivator, war hero, sect leader since his early teens... made qinghe nie into a formidable foe. spearheaded the sunshot campaign... yes.

chifeng-zun was remarkable. ]

Is that so? What is your brother like?

[kiss_it_better]

I think it is.

[Chang Geng thinks, if someone like him can find someone who loves him then surely others could too. He knows it's rare, but it definitely does happen. But then, it's his turn to smile self-deprecatingly.]

My family situation may be more complicated than most, I think.

[For someone whose family history and family experiences were drenched in blood, absent parent figures and also out right abusive ones (and one Gu Yun who cared about him), to hear someone speak of his family so fondly brings up some soft feelings.

He isn't resentful. No one should have the childhood he did. Nor was he wistful. His life as it is now is something he wouldn't trade anything for.

But he listens attentively, in only the way someone who is truly curious about such relationships can be.]

I will take your word on it.

[As for his own brother. His expression gives away none of his own thoughts on the matter. After all, in his own opinion, Li Feng is a small-minded and petty man who measures other using himself, throwing Great Liang's most loyal subject into prison, distrusting him despite all that he'd done. Taking powers for himself despite not having the talent nor the strength for warfare, preferring to cripple the country's armies than let power slip from his fingers.]

He is a man who works very hard under stressful situations [Of his own creation] and who loves his son. [He pours himself more tea.] To be honest, this brother of mine, I do not know him very well. I grew up in the countryside until I was thirteen, and even after I arrived in the capital, I didn't spend much time with this brother who was already an adult during the time I lived there...and then I went to wander the pugilist world for four years.

[huaisang]

[ huaisang is not thinking much of marriage, not after jiang cheng's departure. it is quite alright though, he is nothing if not adaptable and no stranger to loss.

instead he listens to a-min, curious but does not press more. ] I see, I see, family can often bring as much complications as it can joy. [ maybe he will ask one day exactly what it is, but...

well, chang geng's expression says everything without needing words. huaisang marvels at how open some people can be with their faces, their eyes. ah, is that honesty a luxury too? ]

Was your travelling the best part of your growing up? Or was it your childhood in the countryside?

[kiss_it_better]

[He paused, seeming to think about it. What he has found over time is being open about select things helps prevent people from asking about the things he is hiding.

His past is no great secret. Who doesn't know that the Fourth Prince, Yan Wang had been lost in the countryside until he was brought back by the Marquis of Order? And everyone knew, up until recently, apart from going to the palace to collect his New Years money, he and his brother barely interacted. If his expression lacked any obvious warmth, as long as it didn't deviate from his usual mild manner who would question it or even suspect what his true feelings were?

He huffs, a sound that could almost be called a laugh, dry if a little humourless.]

Neither. Travelling had been interesting, but I had been away from home and it was undoubtedly a little lonely. And I have many treasured memories from my childhood but the best part of growing up was undoubtedly those first few months I spent when I first arrived at the capital.

[Those mornings where he'd go to Gu Yun's courtyard with the iron puppet, with a sword and breakfast...to spend time with that person.

Those memories evoke in him warm affections though only a fraction of it is reflected in his eyes...but the memories sour quickly. Because hadn't that period of his life ended like recent events?

Gu Yun had left, saying he'd be back shortly only to disappear for an undetermined amount of time.

His gaze naturally drifts to the space Gu Yun's armours are normally kept, that flicker of warmth dying like the last embers of a hearth.

But he doesn't frown.]

What about Huaisang-xiong? What would you say was the best part of growing up?

[huaisang]

[ he notices the way a-min's gaze drifts briefly and while he notes it, huaisang does not intend to pursue it. prying too hard into anyone's past here is not a wise use of his time, and he has other things to deal with when he goes home.

in truth, huaisang's main pastime right now is thinking of increasingly colourful ways to put an end to jin guangyao. ]

Hm, well, when I was a child of course! My brother used to spoil me - ah, back then I wanted to be like him. Strong and skilled with the sabre, to cultivate my golden core but my talents lie elsewhere.

Still, childhood and good memories tend to be brief, right? So my only complaint is that it did not last longer.

[kiss_it_better]

How nice. [And he sounds like he means it at least.]

I wonder if I could have had a relationship like that with my brothers if we had grown up together?

[He says that but he knows the answer is 'probably not'. As far as he could observe, being of royal blood seemed to ruin any prospective brotherhood.

But he does wonder...if he had grown up in the capital, then he could have met Gu Yun earlier.]

Mm. I think that's normal to want more of those good times. No matter how much time we do get, it never feels like enough. People are greedy like that.