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Mo Nian is...fine. Mostly. A little brash, a little arrogant, but it's not as though the same couldn't be said for Xue Meng. If he seems to have rougher edges, to be less careful of the feelings and well-being of those around him, well--it's not as though there's been enough time to judge for certain.
He's currently bragging to some other boys his age in the front courtyard of his mother's establishment, which is...harmless enough. Probably.
Chu Wanning tries not to judge children on first sight, generally, but she's already unimpressed. She has never been a fan of bragging.
But this is the child she promised Xue Zhengyong she would fetch, and so she intends to fetch him.
Wanning clears her throat.
She does not.
"We will set out this evening. Your uncle is impatient to meet you."
He nods seriously. "I understand, xianjun."
There is some sort of commotion by the gates, behind Chu Wanning. Mo Nian cranes his neck to see, and his eyes go wide. He pales.
A teenage girl around Mo Nian's age is staggering through the doorway. She's covered in bruises and blood and her clothes are torn. One of her eyes is swollen shut.
"You..." she croaks when she sees Mo Nian. "You should have finished me off when you had the chance."
...
- First things first. Whoever this is obviously requires medical attention; Chu Wanning approaches her slowly. "You are hurt, please sit down. What happened to you?"
"He did," she says, pointing at Mo Nian. "Him and his--friends--" she coughs, and her arms come up around her ribs, wincing in pain.
"Who do you think you are?" one of the men who works for the house demands, starting forward as though to throw her out.
That man better not fucking try. Chu Wanning holds up her hand sharply. "Get her a doctor or get lost, do you have eyes?"
The man hesitates, then stops, glancing at Mo Nian.
Mo Nian says, "That's just Mo Ran. She's Duan Yihan's daughter, but she's not entirely right in the head."
"I'll right in your head!" she snarls, and stumbles slightly.
"--I'll find a doctor," Mo Nian adds, glancing at her nervously, then scurries off as Mo Ran lunges for him and trips.
Chu Wanning catches the girl with one arm; Tianwen lashes out with the other. The golden willow vine snags Mo Nian painfully around the shins and sends him tumbling.
"What did you do, Mo Nian."
Mo Nian, if given free choice of how to answer that question, would say something like "I didn't do anything."
Mo Nian, if given free choice of how to answer that question without lying, would attempt to say something technically true but minimally incriminating.
Mo Nian, if forced to tell the actual truth, would say what he did without any embellishments.
Mo Nian, trapped by Tianwen in the hands of an angry Beidou Xianjun, says, "Fuck off, it's not like she matters!"
The courtyard erupts into a higher level of chaos. Several servants run off to report to Madam Mo.
A woman runs into the courtyard, sees Mo Ran, and runs MUCH FASTER over to her and Chu Wanning.
"Ran'er! Ran'er, what--what happened--"
"Mo Nian--"
Her gaze lands on the boy lying within Tianwen's coils.
"Mo Nian," she hisses, her voice gone venomous. "What have you done."
Since it's her and not Chu Wanning asking the question, Mo Nian is physically capable of keeping his mouth shut.
Duan Yihan screams and kicks him somewhere soft. He doubles over, whimpering. She doesn't give him another look before falling to her knees at her daughter's side.
"Ran'er, Ran'er," she croons, and throws her arms around her daughter, cradling her close.
She leaves Mo Ran to her mother.
She walks over to Xue Zhengyong's nephew.
She recalls Tianwen, and uses the whip for a whip's intended purpose. Mo Nian's foul beastly friends can have some as well.
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