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Chapter Text

As they pulled up to the docks under the cover of darkness, Jiang Cheng took one last look at his team and cursed himself for agreeing to his father’s plan. These kids were well-trained but were too unseasoned to be sneaking into a Wen warehouse.

“What if there’s resistance?” he’d asked in the meeting where his father had laid out the plans. He’d wanted to say the plan was crap, but that would have been counterproductive. “If these weapons are such game-changers, wouldn’t there be more guards?”

“Wen Ruohan’s counting on nobody knowing the location of the weapons. Too many guards would draw interest.” That had come from Wen Xiaogang who’d fled and brought his wife and child to the Jiang for protection. Jiang Cheng didn’t trust the man, but his father’d said they wouldn’t be betrayed while they held Wen Xiogang’s dependants.

As he stepped onto the docks, Jiang Cheng took a look around. The buildings, lit by only a few security lights, loomed against the night sky. Something felt off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. If they returned without a good reason, his father would gut him. “Alright, we’re going in.” Three of the kids followed him; the other four went around to the other side of the warehouse. Jiang Cheng could feel Wang Tianpu’s nervousness as Huang Minglon picked the lock. Fuck, these kids were so young. No, he shouldn’t think of them as kids. They weren’t that much younger than he was, but as heir to Lotus Industries, he’d been trained for this his whole life.

“We’re in,” Huang Minglon said unnecessarily as he pulled open the door. Jiang Cheng put his fingers to his lips. Don’t get cocky, he thought.

“Let me see that lock. How’d you get it open so fast?”

“Cakewalk,” Huang Minglon replied. “I can’t believe the Wen are protecting their property with this crap.”

Something was definitely off. “You all remain out here. I’m going in alone.”

“That’s not the plan.” His father’s voice crackled a bit over the earpiece.

“It’s my call,” Jiang Cheng replied.

Huang Minglon looked like he was about to object, but a glare silenced him. Jiang Cheng’s night vision goggles showed no heat signatures. The building was empty? That couldn’t be right. Wen Ruohan wouldn’t leave weapons completely unguarded. He stepped back wondering how he could justify pulling his team out. The first bullet zinged past him. Jiang Cheng turned and ran for the door. “Get out,” he shouted through his coms. “It’s a trap. Get out now.”

“But, sir, we can’t leave you,” Wang Tianpu replied.

“You heard him.” His father’s voice crackled over the coms. “We can’t afford to lose any more resources. Withdraw.”

Jiang Cheng fell forward as pain bloomed in his back. Shit, they must be using heavy artillery to get through Kevlar. “Get out,” he shouted again.

Jiang Cheng picked himself up and ran. The wounds wouldn’t kill him, not immediately, and he couldn’t let the Wen capture him alive. He didn’t even think of hiding. He made the more tempting target. If the Wen’s were focusing on taking him out, it might give the juniors a chance to escape.

But none of the bullets hit him. Shit, did the Wen want him alive? He heard noises from behind, coming from the warehouse: a grunt like someone had been hit and then a thump as if a body’d fallen from a great height. Jiang Cheng didn’t have time to think on it. He kept moving forward, stumbling as his feet hit the wood of the docks. He threw himself into the water. As he sank below the surface, the darkness took him.

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng hadn’t expected to wake. His mind might be moving slow, but he knew he should be dead. He felt an IV in his arm. Whoever had him, they wanted him alive. As he lay there, he took stock of his body. He didn’t hurt, or, no, he did hurt, not as much as he should, but he was exhausted. He didn’t think he could stand, much less escape. He hated this. He wanted to be on his guard, but he needed rest. He let himself drift back into sleep.

When he woke again he wasn’t nearly as exhausted, but he kept his eyes closed as he took in his environment. He was still hooked to an IV and the occasional beep suggested medical monitoring devices. A clicking noise, the sound of metal against metal, coming from his right, was just irregular enough that it had to come from a human rather than a machine. The sound unnerved him, mostly because he couldn’t identify it. He reminded himself that if they wanted him dead, he wouldn’t be around to hear that clicking noise. He opened his eyes. Only in movies did the hero learn something because the enemy thought he was asleep. In real life, professionals weren’t stupid.

The clicking came from a pair of knitting needles. Jiang Cheng thought of dozens of ways they could be used to torture or kill. The granny looked as if she knew dozens more. She was big for a woman and muscled in a way that said she’d move like a tiger. She hadn’t looked up from her knitting, but Jiang Cheng was certain she knew he’d woken.

He didn’t recognize her. She wasn’t Jiang. Shit. He must have been caught by the Wen, but why had they kept him alive? Did they think to hold him hostage? Good luck with that. Dad would risk dozens of field agents to rescue Wei Wuxian, but he’d already written Jiang Cheng off.

“Young master Jiang,” the woman said. “You may call me auntie Qingying.”

He nodded to acknowledge her words. There was no use denying he was Jiang Cheng so he didn’t bother to try. But auntie? Really? Were they going to pull good-cop-bad-cop on him next? He’d never live down the shame if he’d been caught by rank amateurs.

“Or auntie Nie, if you prefer.”

Nie? He stared openly at her. Even though the two Nie brothers didn’t look much alike, she resembled the both of them. What did the Nie want with him? How had they even been close enough to rescue him? Were they aligned with the Wen?

She sighed. It didn’t seem affected but something about it felt as if she’d done it to make herself seem nicer, as if it were part of this good-cop / auntie persona. “You have no idea why you’re here, do you?”

He thought it through. In this business, you didn’t hand over an advantage without recompense. They had to want something from his father. They wouldn’t get it, not unless his mother intervened, but he didn’t have to tell the Nie agents that. “You’re holding me hostage. I assume someone’s already contacted my father.”

Auntie – no, he wasn’t going to think of her as auntie – QingYing, the Nie agent, snorted. “What could that fool have that I might want? No, child. I want you.”

“I don’t know anything useful. You have to know that our security codes change when we lose an agent in the field.”

“Tsk, security codes. As if the Jiang are a threat.”

Wait. What? The Jiang were one of the five great families. His mother was the Violet Spider, daughter of the feared Yu family. Of course the Jiang were a threat.

She sighed again. When she spoke, her voice had the tone a teacher explaining the basics to a recalcitrant student. “Your father ran that op, didn’t he? It was a shitshow.”

Jiang Cheng couldn’t disagree. He’d tried again, after the meeting, to make his father see sense. His father hadn’t taken it well. “Look, son, you’re not as good as Wei Wuxian. Don’t try to make yourself seem better by knocking my plan down. You’re just embarrassing yourself.”

It wasn’t that, was it? He’d thought there were serious faults in the plan, starting with trusting that Wen double agent. His father had disagreed, certain the Wen had come to their side. “Jiang Cheng, think it through. He’s not about to double cross us while we hold his wife and child.”

Jiang Cheng’d had trouble hiding his disgust. Holding civilians hostage, it left a bad taste in the mouth. Besides, the Wen were fanatically loyal. Everybody knew that. He stared at Qingying. How much did she know about Jiang operations? “What makes you say that?”

“As far as we can tell, he was running on outdated data, but, honestly, who’s stupid enough to trust a Wen? Yes, I understand that Wei Wuxian managed to convert Wen Qing and her brother, but they come from a different branch of the family, one more concerned with healing than spying. But his biggest mistake was putting you and your team at risk with such a reckless plan.”

“How do you know his plan was at fault? Perhaps I was …” He couldn’t bring himself to say incompetent.

“I know because I was there. My people have been watching those docks for weeks.”

Jiang Cheng tucked that information away. There’d been rumors for months that the Wen were making a move. Nobody knew what they were up to, but it seemed to be something big, something that could hurt more than one of the five families. Perhaps the Jiang could work the Nie to figure it out.

“Your team would be dead if you weren’t so skilled.”

Skilled? What? Jiang Cheng didn’t know what she was trying to do with such an outrageous lie. He deflected. “My team would be dead if the Nie hadn’t been there.”

Qingying continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “You knew something was off before you entered the building. You made your juniors wait outside. You saved their lives, but your father’s too big a fool to see it. He blames you, doesn’t he?” She waved his protest away. “We can’t monitor Jiang channels, but your father’s pattern is clear as day. On the rare occasions things go well, he credits his own planning and Wei Wuxian’s execution. If the littlest thing goes wrong, he blames you even if it wasn’t your operation.” Her glare seemed to say tell me I’m wrong.

She wasn’t wrong, but, well, his father was right. Wei Wuxian was a genius. Jiang Cheng would never compare.

“He has no idea what an incredible asset you are. You’re wasted working for him, which is why I want to hire you.”

“You want to … what?”

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng put off auntie’s ridiculous question by pretending to be tired. Wait, she might look like a granny, but she was obviously an agent. So, why was he thinking of her as auntie? Whatever. She just gave him a sweet granny smile and left him alone. But it turned out he hadn’t been lying. He fell asleep and didn’t wake until Nie Huaisang tore into the room like a miniature whirlwind.

“Jiang Cheng. You’re alive!” As Jiang Cheng blinked his eyes open, Nie Huaisang whirled his fan in front of his face. “Oops. I woke you. I’m sorry. Do you want me to leave you alone? Please don’t say you want me to leave.”

What the hell? He was being held by the Nies. He couldn’t control when they stayed or left. But Nie Huaisang kept giving him puppy eyes, so he said, “You can stay.”

“Yay!” Nie Huaisang closed his fan to drag a chair closer to the bed and plopped down. “Did you agree to work for auntie Qingying?”

“Not exactly.”

“Good, because I want you to work for me.”

What was it with these people? “You don’t work,” Jiang Cheng said to cover his confusion.

Nie Huaisang tapped Jiang Cheng’s arm with his fan. “So rude, and after I rescued you from the Wen.”

“I heard that was auntie Qingying’s people.”

“Well, yes, if you want to get technical about it.”

A voice rumbled from the doorway. “Don’t be pushy, didi.”

“But auntie grabs up all the best people,” Nie Huaisang whined as Jiang Cheng stared in shock. He should have expected Nie Mingjue. He’d been captured, or rescued, or whatever by the Nies. Obviously Nie Mingjue would be, well, around.

Oh, shit, he thought. I must look like crap. He tried to sit up but winced at the shock of pain and fell back to the bed.

Nie Mingjue was by his side in a flash. “Don’t hurt yourself. The doctors barely saved you the last time.” He sounded genuinely concerned. He turned to his brother. “We should give him some space.”

Nie Huaisang looked like he was about to roll his eyes but took one look at Jiang Cheng and nodded, unexpectedly serious. Jiang Cheng didn’t even know Nie Huaisang could do serious.

“Wait,” he said.

The two turned.

“What are your plans?” Jiang Cheng asked. “Please, just tell me where I stand.”

Nie Mingjue looked confused. “We’re offering you a job. If you want it. Obviously, if you don’t, you’re free to go once you’ve healed enough. How did you not know that? Are you having memory problems? I just heard Huaisang make his offer, and I know auntie Qingying wants you on her team.” He brushed a hand thorough his hair as if nervous. “You wouldn’t be working directly with me, but I …”

Nie Huaisang interrupted. “Brother, you’re babbling.”

“That was serious?” Jiang Cheng asked.

The two brothers glanced at each other. “Of course,” Nie Mingjue replied.

“But, why me? Wei Wuxian’s so much better.”

“Wei Wuxian’s reckless,” Nie Mingjue said. “You went into an op that was not only poorly planned but an obvious trap and got your people out alive. I’m don’t like that you sacrificed yourself to do so, but you made it work against all odds. Sure, when Wei Wuxian pulls it off, he succeeds big, but he also fails big. We know of at least two times where dozens of lives were spent pulling him out after he’d failed.”

That had happened three times. It was a relief to know the Nies didn’t know everything about Jiang operations. “But Wei Wuxian’s a genius,” he said quietly.

Nie Huaisang snorted. “Gods save me from such a genius.”

“He’s the worst kind of hero,” Nie Mingjue said as if being a hero was a bad thing. “Any op he’s even remotely connected with has to be all about him. Our operations emphasize teamwork. When you work for us, you won’t be thrown into a deathtrap with only a green team behind you.”

“Dage!” Nie Huaisang hit his brother with his fan before turning to Jiang Cheng. “We won’t throw you into any death traps.”

“But I can’t work for you. I’m the heir.”

Nie Huaisang laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “They think you’re dead.”

“It’s been two weeks,” Nie Mingjue added. “There’ve been changes.”

“Your sister’s been declared heir. She’s engaged.” Nie Huaisang winced before adding, “to Jin Zixuan.”

Jiang Cheng would have leaped off the hospital bed at that, but Nie Mingjue held him down. His hands felt hot against Jiang Cheng’s chest. He glared at the two men for a moment before sinking back into the bed. “There won’t be anything left of Lotus Pier once the Jin are through.”

“Your father believes the engagement puts him on an equal footing with Jin Guangshan. He thinks that’ll be enough to protect your family’s interests. At least, that’s what our best analysts believe.”

She’ll be at their mercy, Jiang Cheng thought. He didn’t say it but was certain the brothers knew what he was thinking. “Why would he do this?”

“I’ll bring you a copy of Jiang financials.” Jiang Cheng wanted to glare at Nie Mingjue, but all the companies kept tabs on each other. Of course, they’d know the state of Jiang financials, but how did they know more than he did?

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng felt weary but couldn’t sleep. How much did the Nie know about Jiang financials? Was the company actually failing, or were the Nie weaving a web of misinformation to trap him? They kept saying they wanted to hire him, but why? Only his position as the heir to Lotus Industries made him special. What did they want?

He didn’t realize he was hungry until a man came in carrying a bowl of something that smelled wonderful. The guy looked enough like Nie Mingjue that he had to be a close relative, not a brother, obviously, or Jiang Cheng would recognize him, but he could be a cousin. The bowl was huge and filled with beef, noodles, vegetables, and broth. Jiang Cheng wondered if he could eat it all, but he was hungry enough to try. He didn’t allow himself to worry about poison. If they wanted him dead, he’d already be dead.

He stopped after eating about two-thirds of the soup. The cousin looked worried. “Are you sure you don’t want more?” When Jiang Cheng said he was full, the cousin added, “You can ask for more at any time.”

Nie Huaisang flitted into the room before Jiang Cheng could answer. “No,” the cousin said. “You’re giving him space.”

“But Zonghui,” Nie Huaisang said, “He’s had a chance to rest, and he’s eaten. Surely that’s enough. Besides, you know auntie Qingying will snag him for her team if I don’t get to him now.”

“He’s too high profile to work as one of your spies. And you shouldn’t wear him out. Mingjue won’t let you anywhere near him if you exhaust him. Besides, maybe I want a shot at him myself.”

“What? Traitor. He’s working for me, or I’ll tell him about that time you messed up his date with Xichen.”

Xichen? They couldn’t be talking about Lan Xichen, could they? And then Jiang Cheng realized what that meant. Nie Mingjue was into guys?

“You were the one who planned that caper. You’re not going to squeal. It’d get you in as much trouble as it would me.” Nie Zonghui glanced over at Jiang Cheng. “Now look. His face is red. You’re exhausting him. Out you go.”

Nie Zonghui grabbed Nie Huaisang by the cuff and dragged across the room. As he was shoved out the door, Nie Huaisang must have gotten in a good kick. Nie Zonghui jumped and shouted, “Huaisang!”

“Shhh,” Nie Huaisang replied putting finger to mouth. “He needs his rest.”

After he shut the door, Nie Zonghui turned to Jiang Cheng. “Are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, sure.” Shit, had he started blushing when he’d realized Nie Mingjue might be into guys?

“I can give you the laptop later if you want to rest.”

The laptop? “You mean the financials? No, I want to see them now.”

“The Jiang financials, yes, and I also pulled up some articles on your sister’s engagement. I thought you’d want to see them.” He set Jiang Cheng up with the laptop. “I’ll leave you alone. There’s a call button if you need anything. I’ll make sure Huaisang doesn’t bother you, for a little while at least.” And with that, Nie Zhonghui was gone.

Jiang Cheng decided the financials could wait. He needed to see what was up with jiejie. The tabs Nie Zonghui had left open all discussed his sister’s engagement. To Jin Zixuan. That was bad. Companies taken over by the Jin were destroyed. Their assets were sold, and their people abandoned. Without thinking, Jiang Cheng clicked on a link. He was surprised when it took him to another page. He hadn’t expected the Nie would give him an open connection to the web. He could contact … No, he couldn’t. He wasn’t enough of a techie that he could get past whatever employees they had monitoring his Internet traffic.

Instead, he looked up the break-in at the Wen warehouse. That there were no articles didn’t surprise him. The five companies were careful with their public images. However, the Wen hadn’t been able to suppress stories about the three heads that had been left – on spikes of all things – outside of the Wen headquarters. The article named the victims as Wen Xiaogang, his wife Yan Ziyun, and their four-year-old daughter. Jiang Cheng felt unexpectedly hollow when the article didn’t give the girl’s name.

“What the fuck, Dad?” Killing Wen Xiaogang, that made sense. The man had been sent to mislead them. His information had directly led them into a trap. Even killing the wife, much as Jiang Cheng didn’t like it, made sense as collateral damage. She may have been in on it. But his father had ordered the execution of their little girl. Why the fuck kill her?

He waited until he felt reasonably calm before opening the financial documents. The Nie spy, whoever he was, knew what he was doing. Had what Nie Zonghui said earlier been true? Did Nie Huaisang run their spy network? It hardly seemed possible unless Nie Huaisang was a lot more competent than he appeared.

Well, whoever was in charge, the Nie had more information on Jiang financials that Jiang Cheng had been given access to. However, what he knew did corroborate with what they were showing him, validating its accuracy. His father had run Lotus Industries into the ground. Their foray into the Wen warehouse had been, what? An attempt to get their hands on advanced weapons? Espionage was meant to support and protect corporate interests, not to become the business. What had his father been thinking?

Returning to the browser, he ran a general search on the Jiang and found announcements of his own death. The summation of his public persona – business school, company projects, charities – left him feeling odd. It left so much of his life out.

He couldn’t find any articles touching on the failure of Lotus Industries, but he couldn’t deny the documentation provided by the Nie. So many lives were about to be ruined. How could his father have been so irresponsible? As heir, he should be protecting their interests, but he was in no position to do so. He’d have his hands full breaking his sister out of that joke of an engagement.

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng’s body had never let him down before. He’d been awake for only a few hours but felt as if he could sleep for a week. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time. His jiejie had gotten engaged to Jin Zixuan. He needed intel.

When he pushed the buzzer by his bed, a guard came immediately. “Sir?”

Jiang Cheng felt slightly disappointed. The Nie had said they wanted to hire him, which suggested a level of trust, and yet they’d assigned a guard outside his door. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t staying. “I’d like to talk to …” Wait, he didn’t know who to ask for. Auntie Qingying? Nie Zonghui? Nie Mingjue himself? He’d ask for Nie Mingjue. If the man didn’t want to talk to Jiang Cheng, he could decide whom to send. “Could you tell Nie Mingjue I’m ready to talk?”

Nie Mingjue arrived faster than Jiang Cheng had expected, like he’d been just around the corner fast, and he brought his didi with him. Nie Mingjue looked stern, but his didi was giving him a fond smile. “You asked to see me?”

Nie Huaisang sat on the room’s only chair and fussed with his fan. Jiang Cheng ignored him to stare directly at Nie Mingjue. Time to find out if he was a prisoner here or not. “I’m afraid I can’t accept your offer.”

Nie Mingjue’s face went blank, but Nie Huaisang jumped out of his chair, stalked to Jiang Cheng, and whapped him with the fan. “I won’t accept no for an answer. You’re working for me, and that’s final.”

“Didi, if he wants to leave, we can’t force him to stay.”

Nie Huaisang started pacing the room and snapping his fan against his palm. “But he can’t want to leave. Where would he go? It doesn’t make sense … Wait a minute.” He turned to Jiang Cheng. “This isn’t about not working for the Nies. This is about rescuing your jiejie. Who doesn’t need rescuing, or, okay, she probably doesn't. I’m pretty sure she knows what she’s doing.”

“What the fuck? She’s engaged to a Jin.”

“Okay, okay, calm down. I could open a channel, pass some messages for the two of you.”

Did he really think messages would be enough? Jiang Cheng needed to see his jiejie. “No.”

“No?”

“I need to see her.”

“Well, you certainly won’t be able to arrange that on your own.”

“Didi,” Nie Mingjue said, “If you were in danger, I wouldn’t accept anything less than a face-to-face.”

“He’s supposed to be dead,” Nie Huaisang hissed. “How am I supposed to …. Fine. It’s fine. One meeting.”

“And if she needs a rescue,” Nie Mingjue added, “we get her out.”

“What? No,” Jiang Cheng said. “I’ll get her out on my own.”

“Are you crazy?” Nie Huaisang half-shouted. “We’re not sending you to rescue your jiejie alone. What, are we barbarians?”

If the Nie rescued her, then they’d have both Jiang heirs. Jiang Cheng didn’t know what their game was, but he was sure he couldn’t afford to play it, not with Jiang Yanli’s freedom on the line.

“I’ll get you in to talk to her. Decide what to do after that. You need information, right? I’ll take you to the source.”

“How would you even arrange it?”

“That’s easy. The Sea of Nectar.”

“What?” Both he and Nie Mingjue asked as one.

Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes. “Heathens. The Sea of Nectar is the premier fashion shop in the city. I know for a fact that Jiang Yanli’s getting her dress done there. And I just happen to be a regular.”

Jiang Cheng noticed that Nie Mingjue wasn’t objecting. Did he really think his did could do this or were they planning to lie and tell him that Nie Huaisang had talked to his jiejie?

“You think you can pull this off?”

“Of course.”

“How?”

What the fuck was Nie Mingjue looking amused about? Nie Huaisang fluttered his fan and suddenly looked completely harmless.

“That’s not encouraging.”

“It should be. Nobody will suspect me.”

That was true. Nie Huaisang was know to be incompetent. Nobody would think his dage had trusted him with any kind of an assignment. “I suppose.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. And, hey, was that an insult?”

Chapter Text

Jiang Yanli had long been drilled in the appearance of calm. Even though she wanted to scream, she sat in the back of the limo, smiling. Her mother, sitting across from her, wore the exact same smile. Jinzhu and Yinzhu, being attendants and guards, were at least allowed to look serious without raising suspicions.

When they pulled up to what looked like an old boardinghouse that had been divided into shops, Jiang Yanli thought they’d been betrayed. It was impossible. The driver’s family had been retainers to the Jiangs for generations. But that the most sought after seamstress in the city worked out of this whole in the wall? Also impossible.

Her mother misinterpreted her panicked look. “We have people in every other shop in that building as well as a sniper across the way. If this is a trap, it’s one we won’t be caught in. Now smile. You’re here, purportedly, for your bridal fitting.”

Jiang Yanli’s smile felt brittle. Hope and fear had been warring in her breast ever since she’d been handed a note while trying on bridal dresses in the Sea of Nectar. The lone phrase, “until they think warm days will never cease”, would have been meaningless to almost any other reader, but to Jiang Yanli, it said her brother lived. That prearranged signal was meant to tell her they were safe or that someone could be trusted. The attendant wouldn’t speak of it, and so Jiang Yanli knew she wasn’t the contact. Standing still while being zipped into the dress had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done. She’d stepped out of the dressing room to find Nie Huaisang, of all people, going on, quite loudly, about the most amazing seamstress. She’d been surprised to realize her didi had trusted the younger Nie brother with this drop, but that hadn’t compared to the shock that her A-Cheng might be alive.

She’d endured hours of trying on gowns before returning home. Her mother had known something had disturbed her immediately, but Jiang Yanli, in response to her mother’s single raised eyebrow, had told the attendant that she might consider the current dress and that it should be put aside for later. They were undoubtedly being watched. Anything out of the ordinary would raise a flag. If the message did come from A-Cheng, she wouldn’t put him at risk by drawing attention.

Once home, where they were certain they couldn’t be overheard, Jiang Yanli and her mother had discussed the situation for hours, working every angle. All signs pointed to it being a trap, but what could the Nie want? They had no history of hostile takeovers, but Nie Mingjue was new in his role as head of the company. Perhaps he was taking it in a different direction? He could be trying to beat the Jin to the punch by kidnapping Jiang Yanli and using her to legitimize taking over the company, but they had to know the Jin would come down hard on them. Besides, the company wasn’t worth much. The reward was definitely not work the risk. She and her mother couldn’t see a reason for the Nie to lay a trap, but even if Jiang Cheng had survived, how had he ended up with the Nie?

The hours of discussion hadn’t brought them any closer to understanding what the Nie interests might be, but ultimately it didn’t matter. If A-Cheng could be alive, then Jiang Yanli was going in. Her mother, unexpectedly agreeing, had tears in her eyes when she said Yanli was a true daughter of the Yu.

Yinzhu entered the shop alone to check for traps. Jiang Yanli found herself grateful, for the first time, that Wei Wuxian had disappeared on the night they’d lost A-Cheng. He’d have barged in, either setting off the trap or ruining any chance they had to get in contact with A-Cheng. Yinzhu motioned that it was safe. Yu Ziyuan followed, scanning the room herself, before letting Jiang Yanli enter. Jinzhu took up the rear, her weapon hidden by the garment bag holding the wedding gown.

The front room, small but comfortable, held a few sets of small couches with magazines set out on the tables. A woman, presumably the seamstress, stepped forward. She was younger that Jiang Yanli had expected. Her long hair, pulled into a tight bun, was just starting to gray. “This way, young mistress.” They followed to a back room, her work room by the bolts of cloth, to find Jiang Cheng pacing the floor.

“A-Cheng,” Jiang Yanli ran into his arms and hugged him tight.

“We thought you were dead,” her mother said. She hugged him as well, but her words held a reprimand.

“I damn nearly was,” he replied. Jiang Yanli could tell he instantly regretted his words and had to admit they were difficult to hear.

“How did you survive? And how did Nie Huaisang know before we did?” Oh, yes, mother was definitely annoyed.

“They rescued me,” he said. “I don’t remember a lot of it. No, that’s not true. I don’t remember any of it, but I woke up under their care. How did jiejie end up engaged to the peacock?” He was upset too. A-Cheng never referred to Zixuan as the peacock in their mother’s presence.

“How much do you know about Jiang finances?” Jiang Yanli asked.

“More than I did before the mission, assuming the Nie weren’t feeding me misinformation. Is it true? Is the company going under?”

“Yes, there’s no saving it.”

“Then what’s the point? Why marry? Just let the company die and get out.”

“Jiang Cheng.” Their mother’s voice swept through the room like a whip. “We have a responsibility to our employees.”

“Yes, I know, but not at Yanli’s expense. She shouldn’t have to sacrifice herself.”

Jiang Yanli stepped in before they could start shouting. “It’s a delaying tactic. The Jin takeover can’t occur until we’re married. Once it became clear the company was failing, one of the accountants funneled funds for pensions and retirements to his own account. My team has tracked down the funds, but we’re still working to get them back.”

“Fanyi and I,” Yu Ziyuan said, “are calling in favors right and left to take care of employees being left in the lurch. Even her son, Zixuan has offered funds from his own accounts although, of course, we’d prefer to retrieve the stolen money.”

“That’s why you’re marrying him?” A-Cheng looked disgusted.

“Well, that and he’s very pretty.”

“Ugh, please, never say that where I can hear it.”

“We shouldn’t stay much longer,” Yu Ziyuan said. “Anyone watching will know the dress doesn’t need a lot of work. We can’t account for much more time than this.”

“If we need to contact you, I’ll post something on my blog. I’ve called it Going to the Chapel of Love.”

Jiang Cheng hid his face in his hands. “Please tell me you’re not blogging about the wedding.”

“Of course I am,” Jiang Yanli replied. “It’s very popular. I’ve got over 250,000 followers.”

“Can we trust Nie Huaisang to get in touch with us again if you need anything?” their mother asked.

“I guess?” A-Cheng shrugged. “I don’t know what game they’re playing.”

“Don’t underestimate him. Nie Huaisang can be quite subtle.”

“Nie Huaisang?” both children exclaimed.

“Mm,” their mother confirmed. “The Nie have one of the best spy networks in the business, and it’s mainly due to his work.”

As they made their goodbyes, Jiang Yanli hugged her didi tightly and wished she didn’t have to let him go.

“Are you sure you’ll be safe?” he asked.

“Yes, the wedding’s a couple of months away, and mother will stay with me at Koi Tower for a month or two after. And, of course, Jin furen will watch over me as well.”

“What about Wei Wuxian? Where’s he?”

As Jiang Yanli shared a glance with her mother, she knew it was the wrong move. It made A-Cheng suspicious. “What is it?” he asked.

“He’s gone. The night the attack failed, when father went on a headhunt for Wen, Wei Wuxian took Wen Qing and Wen Ning and vanished.”

“What the fuck? He’s not protecting you?”

“I don’t need protecting.”

A-Cheng scowled but didn’t reply.

“What is it?”

“I don’t like this. It’s dangerous. But it’s the only way to do right by our people.”

Jiang Yanli’s heart warmed. Look at her didi, being all grown up and thinking of what’s best for everyone.

“Damn straight,” mother said. The two of them stared at her. She only ever swore to make a point. “If you came out of the woodwork now, the Jin would see it as a grab for the company. They’d have no reason to keep any of us alive.”

“I know, mother,” A-Cheng replied. “But if you need an escape, get word to me.”

“How would you get us out?” mother asked.

“Part of my agreement with the Nie. I work for them, and if I need to help jiejie, they’ll back me up.”

“Why?” Their mother looked intensely curious. “What do they get out of it?”

“Let’s hope we never have to find out.”

Chapter Text

Wei Wuxian had lived on the streets as a child. Wen Qing knew this but hadn’t considered what seeing such poverty again might mean to him. When Wei Wuxian had helped her and her didi flee Jiang Fengmian’s wrath, she’d been the one to decide where they would go although it hadn’t been a decision as much as desperation. None of them had much money. Her uncle held her bank accounts, and Wei Wuxian, apparently, hadn’t prepared for the future. They had no choice but to flee to the relatives she’d hidden from her uncle.

Neither of the boys had objected, but, even so, she’d felt the need to defend her decision. “Uncle hasn’t found them. If he had, he’d have used them in a public display to get me back. If the Wen can’t find them, it’s unlikely the Jiang will.”

She’d thought the lateness of the hour would hide their arrival from prying eyes, but the streets had been more alive than she’d expected, more alive and more dangerous. Gangs of youths ran wild, and older man glared at them from behind trashcan fires.

Wen Qing did her best to get them to uncle Yanbo’s apartment as quickly as possible. By the dust at the base of the shaft, the elevator had been broken a long time. As they climbed the eleven flights of stairs, she spotted mold on the walls. She scowled to hide her dismay. What kind of place had she sent her people to?

Uncle looked shocked to see them at the door, glanced down either side of the hallway, and brought them in quickly. She felt even more disturbed to find over a half-dozen people crowded into an apartment meant for one. Her family tried to insist she take one of the bedrooms for herself, but she refused. They had little enough space as it was. “She’ll sleep in the second room with me and A-Yuan,” Granny said, ending the conflict. Neither A-Ning or Wei Wuxian would take the couch for himself, so they both ended up sleeping their, sprawled out each on their own end. Wen Qing joined uncle Yanbo and Granny in the kitchen. “You shouldn’t blame yourself,” he told her. “We’re alive. We’re not lab experiments. You’ve done more than enough.”

“It’s not just that,” Wen Qing replied although she knew she’d regret not finding them something better for the rest of her life. “I fear we’ve put you at risk by coming here. We stand out in this neighborhood, and so many people saw us. Uncle Ruohan won’t have given up looking for me.”

“Drink you tea, child,” Granny told her. “What’s done is done. What we need now is a plan on how to move forward.”

“Contingencies,” Wen Qing said.

“Exactly. If we are discovered, how do we escape, and where do we go?”

“I’m afraid the question isn’t if but when,” she replied. “And how do we pay for it?”

“It might not be as bad as you think,” uncle reassured her. “I’ll take you around tomorrow and introduce you as distant cousins who’ve fallen on hard times.”

He was true to his word. Wei Wuxian charmed everyone, as usual, but the old aunties really took to Wen Ning. A shy, quiet boy who didn’t speak back? They kept him busy with their errands all hours of the day and night, and so, Wen Qing wasn’t surprised when he was the one who came running in with the news.

“Jiejie.” He looked pale as if from shock. Had the Wen found them already? “Master Wei, he’s … he’s …”

“He’s what?”

“He’s handing out money!”

Wait. What? “To whom?”

“To everybody!”

They found Wei Wuxian on the ninth floor handing a large was of cash to a young mother whose child, peering out from behind her leg, vanished as they came running up. “Do you need more?” Wei Wuxian was asking.

Wen Qing grabbed his arm. He grinned at her as if he wasn’t acting the complete idiot. “What do you think you’re doing? Come on.”

Once they were behind closed doors, she laid into him. “What did you think you were doing? You can’t just hand out money!”

“But her child’s shoe had split open, and she couldn’t afford new ones. How could I let that little boy walk around in a shoe with a big hole? And auntie Cao’s been living on dog food. Dog food, Wen Qing!”

“And now we have to run. If Wen Ruohan doesn’t already know we’re here, he will soon.”

“But we have money,” he said as he opened his bag. It was full of cash.

“Where did you even? No, I don’t want to know.”

“Your uncle blocked your bank account. I just liberated some funds. I’ve got a dozen cars planted around the neighborhood. We can leave in small groups. No one will notice.”

No one will notice? She was sure they’d already been noticed. “Where would we even go?”

“I’ve had some thoughts on that as well.”

Chapter Text

After the dressing down, Zonghui, not wanting to run into anyone, took the stairs to the top floor, went past Mingjue’s rooms and past Huaisang’s room to his own suite. It should have gone well. When Huaisang had come to him, asking him to reunite Jiang Cheng with his sister, Zonghui had jumped at the chance to impress.

He’d gotten Jiang Cheng in and out of the bridal shop under the guise of different deliveries to other shops in the building. It’d been Huaisang’s plan, but Zonghui and his team had been the ones to pull ot off. The drive back to the Nie enclave had been uneventful right up to the very end. Dr. Li had been waiting in the parking garage.

“Where the hell did you take my patient?” he’d shouted. “Who has, and I want to be very clear about this, not been cleared to leave his hospital bed.”

“I’m fine,” Jiang Cheng had said.

“You’re fine when I say your fine.”

As the doctor described Zonghui’s own stupidity in great detail and ranted on about the inadvisability of removing patients from under his care, Zonghui knew he was out of the running to get Jiang Cheng on his team. And he knew who to blame. Huaisang had set him up. “We won’t get Jiang Cheng’s cooperation until he’s seen his sister,” Huaisang had said. Zonghui had thought only of the chance to work with Jiang Cheng, thinking it might give him an edge when the man selected a team. He hadn’t even considered that Jiang Cheng had been unconscious less than a week ago.

He pulled out a bottle of baijiu and shot two glasses down before dropping into a chair. He knew he shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach, but he’d been damned if he was going out to be gloated over by the little brat who’d set him up. He’d downed over half the bottle and was regretting his life choices when he heard a knock at his door.

“Go away.”

The door opened. Zonghui didn’t bother to say he’d left it locked. He knew a locked door wasn’t enough to stop Qingying. “Brought you dinner.”

He didn’t want her here, but he wasn’t suicidal. “Thank you, auntie.”

She started opening plastic containers, and he sat up as the scent hit him. “Four Happy Meatballs and dumplings? It’s not New Years.” He regretted the snark almost as soon as he said it, but to have these ready, she had to have started them before he’d left with Jiang Cheng.

“Does this mean you turned Huaisang down when he asked?”

She snorted. “He knew better than to ask me. Honestly, I’m not sure how you fell for that trap.”

“Too greedy, I guess.” He’d really wanted Jiang Cheng on his team. The guy was a treasure, and he didn’t even know it.

“Don’t take it so hard.”

Easy for her to say. She hadn’t just blown it.

“I’m serious. A-Jue isn’t about to let Jiang Cheng out in the field. He’s supposed to be dead. He can’t be seen. It’s obvious he’ll be working for Huaisang. By the time he can work in the field, this will have all blown over.”

That didn’t sound right. If Huiasang was confident he’d get Jiang Cheng, then this whole business had been nothing more than a prank. Zonghui stopped and stared into his empty glass. He knew his cousin’s mind. Sometimes he just had to pause to get a glimpse of the bigger picture. Huaisang needed Jiang Cheng to trust him. That wasn’t about to happen until Jiang Cheng had met with his sister. Huaisang, in his arrogance, had decided Jiang Cheng was well enough, and he knew Zonghui would be keen enough to not stop and think about doctor’s orders. It wasn’t Zonghui’s best day, but it wasn’t Huaisang’s either. He could live with that. And maybe he’d fucked up a little bit, but he’d still gotten dumpling out of it.

Chapter Text

On the way back from the bridal shop, not even five minutes out, Jiang Cheng had to stop himself from begging Nie Zonghui to turn around. “Take me back,” was on the tip of his tongue, but he knew he could only be a danger to his jiejie. No, best he let the world think him dead.

As he stared out from behind the tinted glass that wouldn’t let anyone see his face, his eyes scanned for possible attacks, for gunmen on roofs, for people approaching as they paused at traffic lights. He didn’t expect an attack. Part of it was second nature but also, facing the other direction allowed him to more easily hide his exhaustion Jiang Cheng had been concerned this trip might wear him out but hadn’t said anything. He couldn’t afford to wait to see Yanli. He could rest once they were back in the Nie enclave.

Except he couldn’t rest or at least not right away. They pulled into the parking garage to find his doctor waiting. The man tore into Nie Zonghui, disparaging both his ancestors and intelligence. When Jiang Cheng had stepped out of the car, a few minutes into the rant, the doctor had taken one look at him and had immediately dragged him back to his hospital bed. He’d then proceeded to yell at Jiang Cheng who tried to hang on as long as he could but didn’t make it past “What the hell did I expect from a soldier? Why none of you can be bothered to take the time to heal …”

When he woke, Jiang Cheng found himself alone in the room. He had no visitors outside of medical personnel for the next two days. He was a bit surprised. Didn’t the Nie want to know what he’d learned? Well, no, they’d probably had the bridal shop bugged. Did the lack of visitors mean the deal was off? If so, why were they keeping him here?

When Nie Huaisang did finally show up, he brought a laptop with him. “Ready to get to work?” he asked as he set the laptop on the bed’s food tray. “I’ve got a couple of sets of intel for you to look at.”

Jiang Cheng, frustrated that he’d been left alone for days, asked, “How did I end up working on analysis?”

“Oh,” Nie Huaisang replied absently. “I really couldn’t say.”

“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng muttered to himself. “Because you lost.”

Nie Huaisang hit Jiang Cheng with his fan. “Do you think so little of yourself? If you must know, you’re working with me because the world thinks you’re dead. You can’t be out in the field where you might be seen. But neither Zonghui nor Qingying are happy. They each want you for their teams.”

“Oh, uh, OK.” Jiang Cheng could feel himself blushing, but he wasn’t really sure he bought Nie Huaisang’s story. Why would anyone consider working with him winning? “So, what are we looking at?”

“We’re trying to figure out what Wen Ruohan’s up to.”

“Up to? The same as pretty much everyone else.”

Jiang Cheng thought he saw a flash of disappointment before Nie Huaisang spoke. “The lure of weapons in the warehouse wasn’t just empty smoke. I mean, right, there weren’t weapons there, but the Wen have been putting quite a bit of R&D into something. We just don’t know what.”

“But those were just rumors,” Jiang Cheng said.

“No, there’s something behind them.”

Jiang Cheng had never heard Nie Huaisang sound so certain. He thought back to what Mother had said, that Nie Huaisang was more intelligent than he let on. “What do you know?”

“Frustratingly little,” Nie Huaisang admitted. “We suspect there’s a biological aspect, but it’s difficult to get even the smallest idea of what that might be. The Wen got heavily into pharmaceuticals about ten years back, possibly to cover up what they’re doing.”

“You must have some idea.”

“No, not really. It could even be something as blasé as gas attacks if they’re looking to take out a large group. I mean, it’s dramatic as hell, not subtle at all, but that does seem to be a Wen trademark. Or maybe it’s like all those movies, some sort of zombie plague that only they have the antidote for, or maybe there’s no antidote yet which is why they haven’t used it. A mind control drug, that’s another possibility or just a very addictive pill.”

Jiang Cheng snorted.

“It’s not that farfetched. Imagine, you have the only substance that will feed the addiction. It’d be forced loyalty or more like forced slavery if the substance is addictive enough. Gross but effective.” Nie Huaisang paused before adding, “If you look at those documents, you’ll see we’re focused on herbal or chemical mixtures, acupuncture, and surgical mods.”

“Those are all Wen Qing’s specialties.”

Nie Huaisang stared at him but didn’t speak.

“That’s why you saved me. You want to know what she told me.”

“We always had more than one reason for rescuing you. I honestly don’t expect she shared the details with any of you, but anything you do know, even if it seems insignificant, would be helpful.”

Jiang Cheng knew his father wouldn’t have taken in the Wen siblings unless Wen Qing had shared something big, but he didn’t know what Wen Qing had or hadn’t shared with his father. He hadn’t been in that loop. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, hadn’t been able to keep completely quiet. “They’re experimenting on people, A-Cheng. Real Frankenstein stuff.”

“No, I wasn’t told anything.”

Nie Huaisang shrugged. “Too much to hope for, I guess. Anyway, I’ve given you access to what we know. Study the files and let me know what you thing, but, before you do, I believe I’ve found Wei Wuxian.”

Why the fuck hadn’t he led with that? Jiang Cheng knew why. Nie Huaisang wouldn't have had a chance to probe if Jiang Cheng had been distracted by intel on his brother. “What do you mean found?”

“Didn’t your jiejie tell you? Wei Wuxian went missing the night you were almost killed.”

Jiang Cheng just glared. He’d hoped the Nie hadn’t realized Wei Wuxian had vanished.

“Ah, she did tell you. I honestly thought your family would keep you in the dark. They can’t completely trust you now that you’re working with us.”

Jiang Cheng his a wince. “You said you found him?”

“Well, I say found, but it’s more like I know where he was a few days ago. He and the Wen have moved on. They’ve vanished quite effectively. That intel’s the other set of data I’m sharing with you.”

After Nie Huaisang left, Jiang Cheng opened the laptop and went through the data on Wei Wuxian first. He and the Wen siblings had ended up living with a larger group of Wen, none of them Wen Ruohan’s people, mostly aunties and uncles from Dafan. Hell, there’d even been a kid in the mix. When he read that Wei Wuxian had started handing out money, Jiang Cheng knew that Wen Qing must have regretted bringing his brother into the mix. The whole group had vanished before Wen Ruohan’s men had arrived and all indicators suggested they’d escaped. Jiang Cheng didn’t for a moment think it was misinformation. It was just the kind of idiot move Wei Wuxian would make.

After about half an hour, he gave up trying to get anything out of the files on Wei Wuxian. Nothing in there could tell him why his brother had abandoned the Jiang. He turned his attention to the intel on Wen Ruohan. Nie Huaisang’s analysis that the Wen were creating some sort of new weapon was brilliant. The Jiang’d had the same basic information, but, as far as Jiang Cheng knew, no one had put it together the same way. Still, the Nie couldn’t get a handle on what the weapon might be. Jiang Cheng could see why. They had an understanding of the legit chemicals Wen Pharma bought and the drugs they sold, but determining what chemicals were used for weapons R&D rather than sales was proving difficult. Even if they did know the Wen’s proprietary drug recipes, which they didn’t, the Wen were buying and selling on the black market. After reading the reports, Jiang Cheng could understand why the Nie would rescue him on the off-chance that he knew something.

Jiang Cheng closed his eyes against a wave of guilt. He hadn’t shared the little he knew, but Wei Wuxian’s one comment wouldn’t be much help anyway, right? Besides, it wasn’t Jiang Cheng’s to share. Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have told him in the first place. Even if it was his to share, Jiang Cheng wasn’t sure he would. He hated that he didn’t trust the people he was working with, but if it was some sort of super-weapon, who knew what the Nie would do with it. He knew the Nie brothers from school, a bit, but the big families tended to keep to themselves. Nie Huaisang had hidden his serious side, and Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but wonder what else he might be hiding.

Nie Huaisang returned every morning to review what they’d come up with the day before. They went through at least a pot of coffee in the two hours they spent brainstorming and by they, Jiang Cheng mostly meant Nie Huaisang. He didn’t understand how the man didn’t fly up to the ceiling with all the coffee he drank. Nie Huaisang waved him off when he brought it up. “Caffeine gets the synapses moving faster.” At Jiang Cheng’s disbelieving snicker, he added, wide-eyed, “It’s true. I can show uou studies. Besides, we can’t have our coffee brain crunch without coffee.”

“Our what?”

“Toffee grain brunch?” Nie Huaisang offered.

“More like brain drain. We aren’t getting anywhere.” He suddenly felt guilty. They weren’t getting anywhere, but he was withholding information. On the other hand, it wasn’t like Wei Wuxian’s comment about Frankenstein’s monster was going to be a big lead. It probably didn’t mean anything anyway.