Chapter Twenty-Five

After the incident with her Uncle Fengmian and Madam Yu, Wei Yue stayed in her room most of the time. Should would play her guqin or meditate until Wei Ying came to collect her from her room, though he usually sent Jiang Cheng to retrieve his sister if he was too lazy to walk to her room. A few days of medicine and warm baths had made the bruising on Wei Yue's arms, legs, and back fade slightly, which seemed to please Jiang Yanli very much. Somehow, however, Wei Wuxian had figured out about how his sister had come to gain such marks on her body. This led him to the idea that he would kill Wen Chao and his ugly mistress one day, declaring this as he stood in front of a shocked Jiang Yanli and Wei Ying as his sister was having her fingers examined. When the day passed that marked a month since her arrival back at Lotus Pier hit, Wei Yingyue had received a letter from Lan Wangji. It was a response to a few letters that she had sent him, one of which was sent the same night of the fight between the two leaders of the Lotus Pier. The second was an apology regarding the first, and it also held wishes for the rest of Lan Zhan's family, wishing them luck and good health as they mourned Qingheng-Jun.

Now, as she sat out with her brother and Jiang Cheng she read the letter, taking in the information Lan Wangji had given here about how things were in Gusu. He also wished her luck and expressed how he was sorry for any conflicts that his friend faced with those in her home Sect. As she read further, she was informed that he still had no word from Lan Huan, which caused her to worry as she folded the letter, looking up as Wei Ying suddenly tossed his bow to the side.

"Let's wrap things up and stop playing this. Food is waiting at home." He declared, moving to sit next to his sister. He leaned into her side lightly, smiling as she wrapped her good arm around him as Jiang Cheng looked at her twin in confusion.

"So early today?" He asked.

"It's boring. Let's stop. Which ones were last in the round we just did? Go get them with our sixth shidi." Wei Ying ordered as he curled into his sister, closing his eyes as one of the boys looked at him.

"Shixiong, you're so tricky. You make others get them everything. That's shameless." The boy muttered, making Wei Yue chuckle as she shook her head.

"There is nothing to be done about it. Madam Yu doesn't let us leave. She's at the house right now." Wei Yingyue said, causing Wei Ying to nod as he peaked at the boy.

"Maybe Jinzhu and Yinzhu are watching from some corner, ready to turn me whenever possible. If I went out to get them, Madam Yu would whip a whole layer of skin off me and your Shijie." Wei Wuxian said to the little boy, making him frown before turning away as Wei Yingyue looked to Jiang Cheng, who was standing beside her and Wei Ying now.

"Uncle Jiang went out so early in the morning, why hasn't he come back yet? Do you think he'll make it back in time for dinner?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"At the Wen Sect for our swords again, isn't he? Wherever I think that my Sandu might be in the hands of a Wen-dog-" Wei Yingyue nodded at her dede's words.

"I wish I had Yin and Yang." She whispered, her hand clenching slightly.

"What a shame that our swords don't have that much spiritual energy yet. If they could sheath themselves, then nobody would be able to use them." Wei Wuxian said as he looked at the sky.

"If you cultivate for another eighty years, maybe then it would be possible." Jiang Cheng murmured, making Wei Yue chuckle when her eyes landed on some boys rushing towards them, shouting out to their seniors.

"Something's happened! Shixiong, Shixiong! Shijie, something's happened!" Wei Yingyue stood with her brother, looking down at their shidi's.

"What is it?" She asked, kneeling next to them.

"Where's the youngest one? Why is there one missing?" Jiang Cheng asked, worried as he looked over the juniors.

"Our shidi was taken away!" Wei Wuxian seized up his bow, confused as he looked at the boys.

"Taken away?" Wei Yue asked in shock.

"Who took him? Why was he taken away?" Wei Ying exclaimed.

"We don't know! We don't know why they took him!" Wei Yue looked at the panicked boys, frowning as she placed a hand on one of the shoulders of the boys, seeing as he was close with the youngest shidi.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Jiang Cheng asked in an anxious tone, making Wei Yue look at him.

"Nobody worry." She whispered, trying to calm everyone down before Wei Ying nodded, standing beside his sister as he looked at the kids.

"Tell us clearly." He instructed.

"Wh-when we were getting the kites, the kite went over there, really far away. When we went over, we saw a few dozen people, all from the Wen Sect, wearing their uniforms. There were disciples and servants. The one leading them was a young woman. She was holding a kite in her hand and there was an arrow in the kite. She asked us whose kite it was when she saw us." Wei Yue looked up at Jiang Cheng, frowning as he returned her gaze.

"The kite was our youngest shidi's, so he said that it was his. Then the woman suddenly got angry and shouted 'how dare you", and then she ordered her people to take him away!" Another boy added, the others nodding.

"Just like that?" Wei Yue asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We asked her why they were taking him away, and the woman kept on saying that he committed treason and had hidden motives, and she ordered her people to detain him. We couldn't do anything about it so we ran back."

"They don't have a reason for taking him away! Just what does the Wen Sect want to do?" Jiang Cheng cursed, causing the twins to look at him.

"Yeah! There's just no reason!" One of the boys called, but they stopped with Wei Yue motioned for them to be quiet, standing beside her brother.

"Nobody talk. The Wen Sect's people could be knocking at our doors every second from now on. Don't let them hear anything we day that could be used against us." Wei Wuxian muttered, his gaze in the direction of where the boys had come from. "Let me ask you, the woman, was she not wearing a sword?" He asked, catching onto what Wei Yue was thinking as well.

"Does she look kind of pretty, with a mole above her lip?" Wei Yue finished, an image of Wang Lingjiao popping into her head.

"Yes! That's her!" The shidi in front confirmed.

"Wang Lingjiao! That-"

"Why the noise?" The shrill, cold voice behind Wei Yue made her frown, moving so that her back wasn't turned to Madam Yu as the woman approached. "Can't I have just one day of peace and quiet?" She snapped, her maids standing behind her on either side.

"Mother, the Wen Sect's people are here. Our youngest shidi was taken by then!" Jiang Cheng informed his mother, his eyes locked on her as Wei Ying was blocking his sister from the view of Madam Yu, holding her wrist lightly.

"You all were shouting so loudly that I heard everything from inside. So what? He was taken away, not killed, and you're already so worked up. Are you still what a future sect leader should be? Calm down!" She ordered, her eyes turning to the gates near the training fields. Wei Yue straightened and stood in front of the other shidi's as about a dozen of the Wen Sect's cultivators walked in. Behind the cultivators was a woman, her face bringing a naste taste to Wei Yingyue's mouth as she was looking at Wang Lingjiao.

"Madam Yu, I'm here again." She stated, completely expressionless as she walked down the stairs.

"Why did you take a disciple of my YunmengJiang Sect?" Madam Yu demanded.

"Take? You mean the one I took outside? That'd be a long story. Why don't we take our time to talk about it after we sit down inside?" Wei Yue watched as Wang Lingjiao walked through the gates without permission, a servant showing disrespect to Madam Yu, who's face grew colder as her finger caressed Zidian.

"Talk about it after we sit down inside?"

"Of course. I didn't have the time to come have a seat inside the last time I came to give orders. Please." Hearing the word 'orders' come from her mouth made everyone stiffen. Jiang Cheng snorted coldly, the maids beside Madam Yu became angered, and Wei Yue found herself growing tired of the Wen servant.

"Sure then, why don't you go inside?" The sarcastic tone of Madam Yu's voice made Wei Yue shiver, her heart beating fast as she watched Wang Lingjiao walk inside.

"Lotus Pier is really quite nice. It's so big. It's just that all the houses are a bit old." Wang Lingjiao said, walking around in circles.

"All of the wood is black. The color is so ugly. It isn't bright enough."

"Madam Yu, you aren't a good mistress at all. Don't you know how to decorate the place a bit? Next time, hang up some more red curtains. It'd only be prettier that way." Wei Yue rolled her eyes, following Wei Ying as they followed Wang Lingjiao into the main hall. Wei Yingyue watched in disbelief as Wang Lingjiao walked to the head of the table, sitting down before slamming her hand on the table when no one served her. "Where's the tea?" She snapped.

"There is no tea. Get it yourself if you want any." Yinzhu replied, her and Jinzhu moving behind Madam Yu, who had sat down one seat lower than Wang Lingjiao.

"Don't the Jiang Sect's servants ever do anything?" Wang Lingjiao asked in a shocked tone, making Wei Yue smirk as she looked at her brother.

"The Jiang Sect's servants have more important things to do. Nobody ever needs others to do things like pouring tea. They're not crippled." Jinzhu retorted.

"Who are you?" The Wen servant asked, examining the two maids.

"My personal maids." Madam Yu answered curtly.

"Madam Yu, your Jiang Sect is really outrageous. This can't be the case. Even maids dare interrupt a conversation in the main hall. Servants like this have their faces slapped in the Wen Sect." The disdain in Wang Lingjiao's voice was prominent, as was the annoyance that rolled off the Wei twins.

"As I would love to do to you." Wei Yingyue thought, her eyes trained on Wang Lingjiao.

"Jinzhu and Yinzhu aren't the usual servants. They've been staying with me ever since I was young. They've never served for anyone aside from me, and there hasn't been anyone who can slap them. They can't, and they wouldn't dare to."

"Madam Yu, want are you talking about? In a prominent sect, there has to be a clear distinction between the superior and the inferior for it to not be in chaos. Servants should be what servants ought to be." A shiver ran through Wei Yingyue's spine as Madam Yu looked at her and Wei Ying, seeming to think of them as she listened to Wang Lingjiao.

"That's right." She replied, only to turn the conversation back to the captured disciple. "Why did you take the disciple from my YunmengJiang Sect?" Madam Yu asked.

"It's best if you draw a clear line between yourself and that brat. He has hidden intentions, but he has already been caught red-handed by me and transferred to wherever he'll be taken care of." Wei Yue's fist clenched, her jaw tightening as she thought about her shidi.

"Hidden intentions?" Madam Yu raised an eyebrow, waiting for Wang Lingjiao to continue.

"What diffen intentions could our youngest shidi have?" Jiang Cheng demanded.

"I have proof. Bring it to me!" She ordered one of the Wen disciples to bring over the youngest shidi's kite. "That's the proof." She stated.

"That kite is just the everyday one-eyed monster. What proof could this be?" Wei Wuxian laughed.

"Do you think I'm blind? Look carefully." Wei Yue narrowed her eyes at the sneer directed at her brother, watching as Wang Lingjiao pointed at the golden eye. "What color is the kite? Golden. What shape is the one-eyed monster? Round." She tried to build a case but Wei Yingyue's patience was wearing thin.

"And so?"

"So? Madam Yu, haven't realized yet? Golden and round; what does it look like? A sun! Out of so many designs, why did he make it a one-eyed monster? Why did he paint it golden? Couldn't he have made it any other shape? Why isn't it any other color? Are you going to say that this is a coincidence? Of course it isn't. He must've done it on purpose. Shooting down such a kite is actually implying "shooting down the sun"! He wants to shoot down the sun! That is great disrespect to the Wen Sect. Isn't this a hidden intent?" Wei Yue felt as though her head was going to explode do to the stupid conspiracy flowing out of the woman's mouth, making her snap.

"Even though the kite is golden and round, it's as different from a sun as it can be!" She snapped, Jiang Cheng nodding as he crossed his arms.

"Just how are they similar? They aren't similar at all!" He added.

"Then, according to you, you can't eat tangerines either. Aren't tangerines also golden and round? But I've seen you eat them many times before, haven't I?" Wei Wuxian asked, remembering how she shoved her face full of them when they were traveling.

"So, such a kite is what you came here for today?" Madam Yu asked, making Wang Lingjiao tear her glaring eyes from Wei Wuxian.

"Of course not. Today, I'm representing the Wen Sect and Young Master Wen, here to punish someone. Two people, actually." She said, a small smirk on her face as Wei Ying grabbed his sister's elbow when the finger on Wang Lingjiao pointed at the twins. "On Dusk-Creek Mountain, these brats made rude remarks when Young Master Wen was fighting the Tortoise of Slaughter, causing many disturbances. They made Young Master Wen tired, almost losing to the beast. He even lost his sword!" Wei Yingyue shook her head, rubbing her temple as she tried to soothe the headache caused by the woman. "How lucky! The heavens blessed Young Master Wen. Even though he lost his sword, he was able to safely take down the beast. But this brat and his sister, we can't tolerate them any longer! Today, I'm here under the orders of Young Master Wen. Madam Yu, please punish him harshly and make him an example to the rest of the YunmengJiang Sect." Wei Yue was clutching Wei Ying's hand, watching Madam Yu closely.

"Mother-"

"Shut your mouth!" Madam Yu cut Jiang Cheng off, making Wei Yingyue shutter.

"Wei Ying and Wei Yue, if I remember correctly, are servants of the YunmengJiang Sect, aren't they? At the moment, without the presence of Sect Leader Jiang, I am sure that, Madam Yu, you know what'd be the best thing to do. Or else, if the YunmengJiang Sect insists on defending either of them, it'd really make people suspect...if certain rumors are really true." Wei Yue closed her eyes as Wang Lingjiao brought up something that would strike a nerve in Madam Yu, something that would make her lash out at the twins in some way, shape, or form.

"What rumors?" Jiang Cheng snapped, looking at the giggling invader.

"You ask, what rumors? It has to be those old romantic tires of Sect Leader Jiang-"

"You-" As Wei Wuxian went to speak Zidian whipped him, making Wei Yue yelp as she went to jump away. She was whipped as well, groaning as she felt the pain radiate through her.

"Mother!" Jiang Cheng exclaimed, watching as his mother stood up.

"Jiang Cheng, move out of the way, or you'll be kneeling too."

"Jiang Cheng, move over! Don't worry about me!" Wei Ying called, trying to get up. Madam Yu lashed out again, knocking him down before pulling her arm back. A cry left Wei Yingyue's lips as Zidian slapped against the tender skin of her back, making her fall down onto her bad arm. "I have said long ago, that you, you unruly things, would bring trouble to the Jiang Sect. Sooner or later!" She growled, her arm moving rapidly as she whipped the twins. Wei Yue didn't move as she knelt on the floor, unnoticed tears leaving her eyes as she clenched her fist.