Xichen was writing on scrolls in elegant calligraphy that night, only a lone candle lighting her room. She paused the moment she heard the thud, getting up quickly as she hurried out of her room and slid open the door. What could be causing such noise? "Lan Yichen?"

warmth #mdzs #xicheng #noodleAU

Seeing her mother's gentleness with the rabbits made her expression soften. After all, they had to get their affection for the animals from somewhere. "A mother bunny, while you were pregnant with me? Mm... It must've been lovely... Two mothers, two different species but linked by nature..."

*Her eyebrow rose slightly, her eyes meeting his as her expression shifted to gentle concern.* A-Yao, did something happen? Is everything okay?

*She was used to the micro expressions of her brother that catching the slight hitch in his was as easy for her as breathing. She didn't overtly say that she noticed, but she did raise her eyebrow slightly with a knowing smile.* This one understands, though A-Yao mustn't forget that he has support.

*Her expression is gentle. Passive, even, as she laughed off his words.* Sect Leader Nie means well. *She wouldn't continue her sentence, even though it felt like it ended rather abruptly.* And you, A-Yao. Are you alright? How are you holding up?

A-Yao, you're here ☺️

She had felt a faint hint of nervousness upon the sight of the rabbit, knowing it was breaking sect rules to host the little creatures, but how could she refuse? Not only were they helplessly adorable, they were Wangji's favorite. "I agree, Mother... They're quite docile, too."

"I did." Lan Xichen knew of her mother's reputation, perhaps a bit better than Wangji did considering she was a bit older than he was at the time. That didn't stop her from treating her mother as respectfully as possible. "I found these plants grow best in the cold climate-" She stopped upon -

If anyone questioned her mother's presence, then they would have to answer to the Sect Leader herself. Lan Xichen was eager to show the renovated Cloud Recesses, which had been reconstructed and updated since the Wen attack. "And this is the gardens, my personal achievement." She proudly stated.

It's pleasantly quiet in the cloud recesses, and the sky is clear...

Delicately rests a blanket over her shoulders.

Did I just see- No... No... That was just my imagination...

I hope Wangji has been holding up well. I haven't heard from him in a while.

Her expression shifted to one of gratitude, and she squeezed her mother's hand in reciprocity. "I've missed you terribly, mother. Let's not dwell on the troubles of the past and enjoy the moment, shall we? Cloud recesses has changed so much, I can't wait to show you."

"That's..." Xichen couldn't argue with her. After all, she understood where her mother came from so she instead fell quiet. It was with a contemplative sigh that Xichen met her mother's eyes. "I know, but I'm a grown woman. I have you back, and it's my turn to make sure you're alright now."

Hesitance was clear in her expression, before she smiled weakly. "It seems... True happiness continues to evade... But I will be fine, Muqin. I promise you, there is no need to worry yourself for my sake."

She bit her lip, her eyebrows furrowing briefly before she looked at her mother. "I know. That... is the life that Wangji can live now. He's... He's happy. He's found a partner, and he lives as he chooses." Her smile became a touch more genuine for a moment. "... It was worth it for that reason."

Xichen composed herself carefully, making sure her mother did not witness her tear streaked face as she carefully cleaned her skin. "Mn... It is unseemly to appear before you in such a way. This is... This is a happy occasion, you're here a-and alive, and that is worth celebrating."

Xichen never would let anyone witness her in such a state. Always an unshakable monolith of perfection, she served the Lan clan with immovable grace. Yet now, before her own mother, she was weak. She cried helplessly, clinging to her robes without a word spoken or a noise uttered.

Xichen didn't know how to respond, other than to silently break down into her mother's robes. She carried so much weight of expectation and grief with her all because she had nowhere to put it down. So now... Now that she had her Mom... Xichen broke.

Xichen was an expert on hiding her true feelings, but only her mother could ever see through her. It was something she deeply missed, being so understood by anyone. A sigh passed her lips as she closed her eyes. No use in lying now. "... It's just a bit tiring." She muttered. "That's all."

She nodded slowly, her eyebrows furrowing as her lips even pursed. In truth, Xichen was lying, even if that was against the rules. She didn't know if she was happy or if she ever truly would be. But at least... At least Wangji could live the life he desired. That would be enough. "Mm..."

Xichen knew only the rules, for keeping appearances was her duty to ensure respect for both herself and her brother. Yet, before her mother, she felt her resolve breaking the second her arms surrounded her. "I... I'm Sect Leader now... I did everything I could to be someone you could be proud of."

Would it be disobeying the rules to embrace her mother? Would she be able unfilial daughter if she didn't? Caught between two ideals, Xichen's soft heart won out, and she slowly stretched out her arms to embrace her mother. "Mother... Mother, I... I can't believe it's you..."

"A-Ah..." Xichen was always a pillar of strength. Being the Sect Leader, she was responsible for upholding every rule with grace. Especially being from such a disgraced generation, her fears of grandeur was the only thing that kept her and her twin brother afloat in the tumultuous social -

Xichen's eyes widened as her mother took her hands, shock enveloping her expression as she swallowed down the intense bubbling of emotion she felt. "... It's... Really..." She couldn't even speak, believing if she even said a word she would burst into tears. "... You were- I must be dreaming..."

𝐌𝐝𝐳𝐬 𝐎𝐜 𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚋𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚆𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝙸 𝚖𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ ｂｅｌｏｗ⇩ ♡ & ⇩

*Her lip trembled, but she quickly took a deep breath to calm herself before she looked at the woman before her. Overt displays of emotions were against the rules, so she dug her nails into her palm instead as she smiled.* I apologize, I must be mistaken. May I ask your name, Guniang?

... Mother?

... Ah? 💧

❝ 𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒, 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒾𝓏𝒶𝓇𝓇𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝒾𝓊𝓈, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒾𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓊𝓁𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑜, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝒸𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒷𝑒𝓁𝓁𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝓁𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓂𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑒. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓋𝑜𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝒻𝒻𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇𝓈, 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓋𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹, 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓋𝑒 𝒾𝑔𝓃𝑜𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎, 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓋𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝓅𝒶𝓉𝒽.❞ #mdzsrp

𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘨-𝘑𝘶𝘯 ✧ ⁠෴ ⁠✧ 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝑱𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑳𝒂𝒏

I wonder if Sect Leader Jiang has gotten my invitations to visit...

《聂耶香》 「Little Miss Nie Of Qinghe」 #mdzsrp #mdzsoc

Curling up in bed. She hasn't been feeling well, it's hard to get up.

Quietly enjoys a cup of tea out in the garden.

𝐖𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧, 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 ༺═────────═༻ 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘢𝘯 𝘟𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 #MDZSRP ༺═────────═༻ 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 ┊ ┊ ┊ ༄ (ɴ)sғᴡ ༄ ᴅᴇᴛ / ʟɪᴛ