#at least i got story of hua zhi because its the only thing i look forward to all day lmao

[capriszn]

its just me and my daily episodes of blossoms in adversity against the world

[sheadre]

Aurora Borealis (Jiang Cheng x Reader) Part One

Summary: Zhu Ran'En (Reader) has always been forced to fight for her life through schemes and lies, betrayal and cruelty. However, Jiang Wanyin who grew up in Yunmeng and lived a complicated life full of obstacles, did not have to play these games. Therefore, when he has to face the cruelty of noblemen and the royal family, he has to ask the Imperial Princess for help. Will they manage to dodge all the life threatening dangers the snake Zhu HuaJin and the Second Prince is throwing at them?

Word count: 2720

Warnings: violence (later in the story), mature, fluff

A/N: Hello everyone! So, this story is in the MDZS fandom like a few of my previous works. I will usually post the chapters way later here than I post them on my quotev account or my ao3 account so please check them out here:

https://www.quotev.com/491346452

https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vaeri/works

Lotus Pier was quiet now that things settled after Jin Guangyao got out of the picture. Wei Wuxian visited Yunmeng a few times but left just as quickly on Hanguang-Jun’s arm. Jiang Cheng found it ridiculous how Wei Wuxian acted like a whining wife but that is Wei Wuxian. Yanli once said that there is a thing called Aurora Borealis. A natural electrical phenomenon caused by the interaction of charged particles from the sun with atoms in the upper atmosphere. He had no idea how his shijie got her hands on the book she learnt it from but she said that the same thing could happen between two people. He always thought that something of the sort was rare to be witnessed let alone find it for yourself.

However, seeing Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, he realized what his shijie was talking about. Witnessing it – his shijie said – was rare and special. Jiang Cheng only felt envy. The elders were pestering him to find a suitable wife and marry quickly to ensure the heirs of their sect. Honestly, he had no want in marrying someone he never even met before. No one could really match him and moreover, who would want to marry him knowing about his… not so kind and righteous past. Things changed ever since Wei Wuxian came back and now, he regretted some of the things he’s done out of anger and want for revenge.

He cursed his thoughts for wandering so far during a nighthunt. The woods around them cast them in their dark shadows and the leaves hid the starry night sky from their eyes. Their was a cold humidity in the air as they walked, crunching the fallen dried leaves under his boots as he walked. He needed to focus, Jin Ling was with him after all, who would show the kid how to do things right if he didn’t? Not that Jin Ling was not pleading with him to accompany him. Even if Jin Ling was a sect leader, he needed to learn a lot of things and who else would aid him if not his uncle. Jiang Cheng never told the kid that he was proud of him but he thought he didn’t need to. The kid was self-assured without him praising him.

There was a roar suddenly coming from ahead stopping him and Jin Ling in their tracks. His body froze in place and listened carefully for any other sound. He knew they in disadvantage in the darkness and lighting up fire would possibly endanger his nephew.

“Uncle, it’s ahead of us!” the kid said with a hushed tone, warning in his eyes and readied himself for attack. However, before they could move, the song of an erhu interrupted the quiet of the night. It seemed like the time has stopped around them. Even the wind seemed to stop. Everything fell into a dead silence. The sound was beautiful yet terrifying. It had an alluring tone meanwhile anyone would shudder by the notes. Jiang Wanyin carefully walked forward in search of the cultivator who played. The foliage was crunching under his feet as he walked carefully, one step after the other. His heart was beating loudly in his ears as he approached the opening in the line of trees ahead. The resentful energy was so thick he could cut it with his sword. As he led his nephew out of the forest onto a clearing, his eyes widened.

In the middle of the field a woman was playing the erhu, her long hair flowing in the wind, her robes indicating her connection to nobility. Jiang Wanyin never saw her before and by the patterns, she was a member of the royal family. The monster he was chasing with his nephew slowly fell apart by itself. It was a monster that fabricated itself from different corpses. He was on the road trying to catch it around the town where people reported seeing it. The commoners of course were frightened to death by only the sight of it even from a far. The woman stood up and with the motion of her hand the erhu flew back into its holder which she strapped onto herself. She stopped in her tracks and turned to them, her eyes flashing with crimson red before it returned to a natural (e/c) eye color. Her lips pulled into a smile one that people wouldn’t be able to tell if it was kind or sinister.

“Jiang sect leader, Jin sect leader” she bowed to them in respect with a small smile playing on her lips. Her voice was melodic and Jiang Cheng couldn’t compare another woman to her beauty. He had no idea how she knew their names and if she was a member of the royal family, she was definitely not acting according to it. If she was a princess, she should’ve not addressed them first but wait for them to pay their respect. He narrowed his eyes as he raised a hand in front of Jin Ling to push him back behind himself. Jiang Wanyin couldn’t let his guard down now, this woman could be dangerous.

“Who are you?!” Jin Ling spoke up with his eyebrows furrowed yet his cheeks blushed. The woman chuckled and walked up to them. Her movements were graceful like a goddess’. Her (e/c) eyes never left the two of them and her smile held something strange. It was not threatening nor was it scary but it was definitely off-putting. Jiang Cheng felt her eyes roaming his form and he felt a blush forming on his cheeks. He couldn’t decide if it was from how inappropriately this woman was checking him out or from the notion of being checked out.

“I am Zhu Ran’En” she replied with a melodic voice. It was like a dangerously alluring spell drawing men so they would run into their demise. “Nice to meet you.”

“Zhu Ran’En?” Jin Ling gaped in surprise making her chuckle again.

“You might’ve heard about me” Ran’En shook her head a little like she was disappointed. Of course they knew the name especially after the official announcement of the Imperial Princess’ execution for her crimes. But if she was executed, how could she be standing in front of them? Jiang Wanyin narrowed his eyes at her while waited for her to continue. “Made up, evil-minded, biased rumors I bet…” A small pause as she sighed sadly before she bowed again and continued: “If you excuse me, I have to get to Xutong. It was nice meeting you, please excuse me.”

Ran’En straightened up and smiled at Jiang Wanyin gently before turning around and leaving them in the middle of the clearing. Jiang Cheng felt like he met her somewhere before. It didn’t make sense as he never stepped foot anywhere near the capital let alone the Imperial Palace. However, the feeling was strong even while he was making his way out of the forest with his nephew.

Later ~

The weather was nice but in the early hours of the day, fog fell down on the town. It was not too cold outside but people could barely see to walk around for long. That is why the inn she was sitting in was packed completely. Men were talking with boisterous laughter, others were telling each other stories, drinking to their hearts’ contents. Witnessing such simple life made her feel curious. She always wished she could live somewhere peaceful instead of being a princess and now she was here, sitting in an inn, drinking tea in the sea of commoners. It was truly fascinating.

She was aware that her existence was no longer a secret now that Jiang Wanyin found her. Zhu Ran’En tried to keep her existence and whereabouts a secret. Her ways of cultivation were frowned upon after all, yet she had no other choice but to use resentful energy. She never had a golden core no matter how hard she tried. Trying to learn cultivation from just books was difficult especially with the eunuchs and maids scolding her younger self how she was not acting like a proper lady of court. She had no need for it because as an imperial princess, she never had to defend herself. A few months ago, the lowest ranked imperial princess, Zhu Hua Jin and the second prince, Zhu Li Qin worked hard to make the emperor believe them. That is why Zhu Ran’En, the elder daughter of Zhu Zhi Qi – who was the third prince – lost the favor of the emperor and was sent into exile.

She sat in the inn sipping on her tea when two known faces walked in. She felt the shift of the resentful energy no matter how low it was in the room. Her eyes snapped to the new comers just to see the Yiling Patriarch staring back at her. Her lips pulled into a smirk as an invitation for the pair. Hanguang-Jun and Wei Wuxian – known as Mo Xuanyu in his current life – looked around in search for a seat but most tables were full. She had to admit that both of them were good looking. Zhu Ran’En smiled at the black clothed young man and stretched out her arm motioning towards the untaken seats by her table.

“Ah, come and sit, gentlemen” she smiled gently. She quickly waved a waiter over to clean the table for the two cultivators. “I was about to finish here. Feel free to sit.”

Zhu Ran’En stood up and bowed to them while she heard Hanguang-Jun murmur a quiet ‘thank you’ before she straightened up and left them alone. It was better to not linger around for too long. She had no idea if Wei Wuxian could tell that she was a fellow demonic cultivator but she didn’t need him to notice. At least for now. Leaving the inn was easy even though she felt the lingering feeling of someone watching her. A smirk was playing on her lips as she turned down an alley and disappeared from sight.

She spent many days and nights roaming the cities in her exile, collecting information and plotting in the dark. She needed to get back to the imperial palace to protect her younger sister, Zhu WuXi. Ran’En wondered how she was doing these days. WuXi was always bouncing around the palace halls, admiring the beauty of nature and perfected her dance moves. Ran’En was always envious of her younger sister’s delicateness, how lady-like her sister was compared to her. Many people said her younger sister took after their mother and it was true in every possible way. She was just as naïve and good hearted, assuming the best in everyone without a doubt. This made her an easy target for Ran’En’s opponents.

Suddenly, a dog came running towards her while barking loudly, making Ran’En’s smirk pull wider on her beautiful face. Her eyes darkened as she looked at the dog which stopped a few feet away from her in fear. It whined in fear at the sight of her expression she was wearing. Soon, the young Jin sect leader came after the dog with eyebrows drawn together.

“You!” he cried out angrily. The youngster didn’t recognize her right away because she was wearing a simple attire from cheap material. It was easy to hide yourself if you just changed clothes and make-up – she thought. “You scared Fairy!”

Ran’En laughed out loud and lifted her sheathed sword to stop Zidian wrapping around her body, so instead it curled around her sheathed sword. She could hear Jiang Wanyin coming from behind since she rounded the corner.

“Sect leaders” she chuckled. “Pleasure to meet you again in such a short time.”

“Who are you?” Jiang Wanyin yelled angrily. She lifted an eyebrow curiously turning to the man. “Zhu Ran’En, the imperial princess died two months ago.”

“Died?!” she cackled as she was now facing Jiang Wanyin. Her lips pulled into a sneer. “They still lie even when they beat me… I am still here…”

“You’re using resentful energy for cultivation” Jiang Cheng replied but now he took a step back from the woman.

Zhu Ran’En pulled out a seal and showed it to him. The small stone badge was carefully carved, the characters ‘princess’ emerged from the flat surface of the stone. She watched his eyes widen before she hid her last reminder of her title back into her sleeve. To her surprise Zidian loosened and let go of her sword.

“Sect leader Jiang, I advise you to stay out of my business… these are royal matters” she said coldly before she jumped up onto the roof of the building and disappeared from their sight.

She was supposed to be locked up in Qi mansion waiting for the emperor to call her back one day. However, she had no time to wait for so long if she wanted to save her little sister from the evil clutches of her uncle and her cousin.

Jiang Cheng’s PoV.

A few months back, Jiang Wanyin noticed Imperial guards appearing in the town and other towns nearby. They were asking people about a woman, the drawing they were showing to the citizens was drawn with attention. The sect leader now knew who the woman was. The imperial princess was a traitor after she got caught in the crime of money laundering. Everyone was informed that she was executed publicly in the capital, however, if she was executed, why were imperial guards asking around about her?

People were spreading rumors about her but if someone would really think over everything, with the princess’ righteous past, it would be easy to smell something was fishy about this whole thing. And Jiang Wanyin’s nose was similar to a hound. After meeting the imperial princess in real life, he could tell that there was more than what meets the eye and he was keen on finding out the truth. That is how he found himself in front of Qi mansion in Yangsu.

The building was looking like a prison or a robust castle with the dark brown and black colors and stone walls. Thick stone pillars held the roof while there were no windows visible from the front entrance. The wall stretching around the mansion could be around six cun* wide and thirty chi* high.

*[1 cun (寸)= 5 cm; 1 chi 尺 = 0,5 meters]

The doors were closed but there were no guards in front of the mansion and when Jiang Cheng pushed on the wings of the door they easily opened up giving him a view of the insides of the mansion. He could hear some folks talk about how no one entered the mansion since the princess’ arrival to spend her exile in there. He walked inside but when he was far enough inside, the doors closed behind him and as much as he tried, he couldn’t open them again.

“Jiang sect leader… It is a pleasure to meet you in my humble abode” came the familiar melodic voice of the princess. Jiang Wanyin turned around in a blur, his eyes spitting lightning as Zedian unfurled from his hand ready to strike. The princess stood nonchalantly in front of him, in the usual embroidered rich hanfu all the royal family members wore, her figure petite yet something dark was encircling her form as the smile stretched on her beautiful face. Jiang Cheng had to admit that the woman was beautiful, very intimidating yet beautiful. She tilted her head to the side and turned sideways, lifting her arm inviting him further inside. “Would you like to have tea? Lili just arrived back from the market with a new batch of herbs and teas.”

“What are you doing?” Jiang Cheng hissed angrily at the woman who’s features looked like they were frozen into stone. She turned back to him fully, her lips ever so slowly returned into a neutral line before she spoke up.

“If you’re here, you already know exactly what awaits you once you dig yourself into my case” Zhu Ran’En said coldly. “Imperial guards already noticed you entering my mansion, you got involved in imperial affairs. Now come, let’s have some tea.”

The sect leader narrowed his eyes at her but followed her inside silently.

To be continued…