Being able to magically calm the children is really useful actually when they threaten to break out into the kind of loud sobbing that would attract Wen attention. Lan Zhan can sit there playing at a reasonable volume and Wei Ying will deposit children in her vicinity when they need it. Some of the children end up clinging to Lan Zhan just out of need for someone to cling to. It's cute. 

She's very glad that she has a useful reason for her hands to be occupied, because she has no idea how to go about physically comforting children. Probably you pat them? She could probably figure it out, but this is much nicer. She's glad that the children find her helpful to cling to.

Eventually Wei Ying comes over empty-handed and says, "We've got a campsite set up with all my new wards for the kids, but it's a little ways over, can you help carry them by sword?"

"Mn."

She looks at the children. "Come."

Lan Zhan can carry three children on her sword at once, two in her arms and one in front holding on to her legs.

The children are very enthusiastic about getting to ride on a sword with Shijie's friend. Wei Ying announces that because Shijie's friend is a Lan only the quietest politest kids get to ride with her. 

It turns out Wei Ying is a lot better at getting small children to behave than getting herself to. She grabs three kids herself and they can start making trips. 

She is surprised that the children like her so much, but glad. It's good that they have adults they want to be around and be held by right now.

Multiple trips can be made, until all the children are safely gathered in the new campsite.

Now that they have everyone they're going to be able to find on short notice and a semi-stable base to work from they're going to be doing scouting runs; Lan-guniang should probably not actually go on those because going unnoticed relies a lot on the same familiarity with the territory that let so many children survive, but if she would help him interpret the data what with the experience dealing with Wen soldiers militarily that would be awesome. 

She is happy to do that.

Is Wei Ying going out on the scouting runs?

She is sometimes going on the scouting runs and sometimes helping interpret data! She can pick and choose which scouting runs she goes on if Lan Zhan wants her for something in particular. She's already doing her best to stay safe, promise.

Good, she had better. Getting hurt is not allowed.

Lan Zhan misses her second period. 

"Lan Zhan, are you okay? You've been acting sort of weird lately. Is it because this reminds you of what happened to Cloud Recesses?" Wei Ying asks quietly a couple of evenings later. 

"Mn." It's not untrue that the reminders of her own clan's massacre have weighed on her. Seeing all these children and thinking about how many she had been too late to save - that is its own burden, of course.

"In part."

She sits down next to her and snuggles her. 

"What else?"

"Lan Zhan?" 

"I have missed my cycle twice."

"I am going to slit Wen Chao's scrotum open and shove his testicles up his nostrils and then break his nose. ...Do you want to keep it. There are healers who can put a stop to it." 

"I'm just saying! I'm not--I didn't want to assume you would--Lan Zhan, I'm not asking you to. I wouldn't. If you want to get married right now and tell everyone we both got drunk and I invented a talisman to get another girl pregnant while we were on the Yin Iron trip I would be happy to do that. But only if you want it--I don't want to pressure you into anything--"

"I do not want to stop it. But this will bring my sect and family shame. Even if we marry."

"Why? There are babies born seven months after the wedding all the time." 

"Not in the Gusu Lan Sect."

"Well...your brother is the Sect Leader, and he knows the real reason." 

Soft sigh. "This war is poor time for a wedding."

"Yeah. I'm sorry. If I had actually done something dumb and knocked you up I'd be feeling really guilty right now."