"Deal!" Porta Daven agreed. "Now that that is out of the way, I appreciate your frankness, Lan Qiren. May I be equally frank?"

He nodded, pleased that he had vented a bit.

"You see, it's like this. I may despise you even more than you dislike me."

He looked at her in surprise.

"You see, I knew your nephew and Wei Ying during the search for their daughter's heritage. I liked them both immensely. Brave, loving, devoted. Their kindness, which gathered many diverse people around them, is extremely rare, at least in my experience. I tested their patience badly at the time; my sanity, due to the curse, had taken its toll and I was a bit harder to handle than I am today. (Surprising, I know!)

As it grew closer to parting, I began to pester them even more mercilessly, deliberately aggravating them to no end. You see, I had decided that I no longer liked where I was and I figured that, since I wanted a change, maybe they would send me somewhere where the pastures were greener. I was shocked when it happened and even more stunned when it turned out to be Cloud Recesses. They really must have been desperate to send me there."

She laughed at the memory. "Sweet young men, both of them. I did them some good turns and they rewarded me with a whole new world to figure out. I owe them a lot for that."

She suddenly turned hardened eyes on him. "Imagine my horror and disgust when I found out how abused they had been by you and your Sect, after all they had done to help save you. That beautiful Lan Zhan was beaten within an inch of his life. And sweet Wei Ying was treated like a pariah when he returned only to still be pursued and persecuted for things he never did. It was a miracle that you even conceded to their marriage. I imagine that the delectable Lan XiChen had to force your hand to gain that for them.

I am glad they have forgiven you. It is in their nature to be like that. However, I forgive very little. You will not be able to trade on my affection for them in any way. This is purely a business deal, old man. It would benefit you to remember that. Do you think Lady An Lan was a total bitch in dealing with you? Just try and cross me."

Lan Qiren found himself facing a very different Porta Daven at that moment. Her normally jocular personality had changed quickly. and he glimpsed a true, hard-ass warrior under the surface.

He turned on his Sect Master persona and answered. "Cloud Recesses and the Lan Sect has existed for millennia. Our rules are carefully thought out and strictly adhered to. Nobody is given a pass because of their relationships under our roof. Rules were flaunted and broken. Some were very crucial to our existence. An outsider is not qualified to judge our ways."

"But your Lady An Lan has appeared and found a way to do just that, and she founded the Sect with her husband. Even she is appalled at you. Just remember. I hold allegiance to those beautiful boys, not you. You are just a way to secure my future. If you ever try to hurt Lan Zhan, Wei Ying, and the ones closest to them, such as Lan Zhan's sisters and brother, you will pay."

She turned her sweetest smile on him. "The chicken has cooked enough. Follow me back in and I will show you how to add the vegetables. And we need to see if the rice is ready as well. The next meal is on you."

Back at the Jingshi...

"You did what, Lan Zhan??? Please repeat that because I believe my hearing is going. What did you DO??!!"

"Wei Ying must calm down and let me explain..."

"Calm down? You hit me with news like that and I...I...must calm down?"

Lan Zhan took his mate by the hands and walked him over to sit on the edge of their bed. He gazed lovingly into the silver eyes and smiled slightly.

"It is not as bad a plan as you think and...."

"No. Stop looking at me with those golden eyes and... Wait! This maneuver to the bed will not work either. You are trying to distract me and it's not working."

Lan Zhan poked his bottom lip out. "Wei Ying is being very stubborn."

"And Lan Zhan is trying to change the subject. That pout is not working today!"

Lan Zhan gave up. "I was saying, before you yelled at me, that I enlisted Porta Daven's expertise in helping Uncle."

"What??? Have you lost your mind???"

"And this is where this conversation first jumped its tracks."

"No. Your mind has jumped its tracks. In fact, its run right off the beaten path and over the cliff into the river below! That woman is crazy. I mean, yeah, when she wasn't trying to ravish you or me (and sometimes both together) she helped us out a lot. But she hates your uncle with a passion, and he loathes her."

"She also has a certain type of skill. Searching for ways to end bizarre curses. She also has a stronger will than Uncle. And she never bows to any man. She intends to find an answer to this problem. Something brother and the healers could not."

"This has got disaster written all over it. What happens when she finds this curse-breaker?"

Lan Zhan rose and walked to the window. His calm gaze was frozen to crystal as he looked over the vista of his home's mountains. He turned back around, and Wei Ying felt a dangerous, and somewhat tantalizing, chill as it shivered its way down his spine.

"She turns it over to me and I will handle Uncle."

"I thought you had forgiven him."

"Mn, but I have not forgotten. I will control him and gain our autonomy. Or he will remain my half-Auntie for the rest of his days

Wei Ying strode over to look up into his husband's face. "Lan Zhan, I have never seen you like this before. I think I like it!" His hands reached behind the long, smooth neck and pulled those succulent, full lips slowly towards him. "I think I want you, right here, right now." His tongue flickered out, tasting, seeking, plundering and they slid to the floor.