Wen Qing was in the middle of a medical text discussing precision transference of spiritual energy. The text was discussing not only the technique but the theoretical and practical applications of said technique. Wen Qing had been drawn to it during her studies of the interactions between spiritual energy and resentful energy. Since she had to do something with her time between looking for useful information to pass on to Lan Xichen, especially now before the war actually started, she decided studying medical texts was a lovely choice. Especially if those medical texts could help inform her of methods for treating Wei Wuxian should his use of resentful energy pose any problems.

The current book presented an interesting idea for how to administer transfusions of spiritual energy while circumventing the resentment in Wei Wuxian's body. In theory if the energy became chaotic it could create interference in the normally straightforward process. This book wasn't talking about using this method to circumvent resentful energy, but Wen Qing felt the technique looked promising for such an application.

Wen Qing wondered if there might be a means to increase the spiritual conductivity of acupuncture needles to increase the efficacy of this treatment method. That or at least a means of making the needles more resilient to the demands of spiritual energy. The goal was to transfer the energy, not heat the needles or shatter them. In small quantities that of course would never be an issue, but she was researching this with Wei Wuxian in mind. In her head it was not a matter of if he would receive a life threatening injury but more of a when. When and how often, because she did not trust that moron to keep himself out of danger.

A sudden crashing sound pulled Wen Qing from her thoughts. She was worried for about half a second until she started to hear loud moaning sounds. Wen Qing grimaced as she closed her book and collected her study materials. As Wen Rouhan's 'treasured niece' (actually distant cousin) she was of course given quarters in the same area as the main family. It sounded like a wonderful honour, if you didn't know anything about said main family.

For example if you didn't know Wen Chao was a pig who kept a regular supply of aphrodisiacs on hand, presumably for the amusement of himself and whichever mistress or wife might be joining him. Wen Qing had the misfortune of having her quarters very close to his. Wen Chao either didn't know what silence and privacy talismans were, or he actively chose not to use them. Neither option would surprise Wen Qing. She had no objections to what consenting individuals did in their own private spaces. She just wished Wen Chao would be a bit more considerate regarding what he was making other people listen to.

Materials gathered Wen Qing left her quarters and walked with purpose to what was practically her office. Wen Qing wasn't certain who's office it was supposed to be. For all she knew it could have originally been intended to be Wen Rouhan's, or maybe one of his sons'. Since she had never seen any of the three sit behind a desk she supposed any offices intended for them were never used. If he absolutely had to engage in administrative decisions, Wen Rouhan did it from his throne. Wen Xu preferred to spend his time with Wen Rouhan's generals. Wen Chao preferred to spend his time with one or more of his harem.

His current favourite, Wang Lingjiao, was prone to jealous rages. Since Wen Qing had the misfortune of being able to name two wives and twelve other mistresses of Wen Chao's that were all here before Wang Lingjiao, Wen Qing really wondered what exactly that woman thought she was getting into. Wang Lingjiao also seemed to mistakenly believe that Wen Chao had stopped sleeping with anyone else while with her. While Wang Lingjiao certainly tried to plaster herself to Wen Chao's side, Wen Qing could definitively say that Wang Lingjiao was wasting her efforts.

Wen Chao was disgustingly vocal and Wen Qing found her quarters less and less usable. Wen Qing liked her privacy, especially in Qishan. In this sense she would prefer to use her quarters. This meant she knew entirely too much about Wen Chao's activities. Wen Chao might prefer Wang Lingjiao for now, but he had not stopped engaging with his other partners. Wen Qing didn't especially understand why those women put up with Wen Chao, or how none of the other mistresses or wives had not lost it and stabbed Wang Lingjiao to death.

Wen Qing attempted to resume her studying and found it had become useless. She was too annoyed now and she wasn't focusing properly on the information in front of her. Wen Qing sighed and stepped back into the hallway. It took a few minutes to find someone who could help her, but once she did it didn't take long to receive a pile of paperwork. She started busying her hands with the task of sorting what she had been given and let the mindless hum of paperwork work out her frustration.

Wen Chao was enjoying his days almost as much as his nights. The disciples had arrived for indoctrination four days ago. Immediately Wen Chao had demanded they turn over their swords. The outrage was palpable. Asking a cultivator to hand over their sword was like asking them to chop off an intimate body part and hand it to you. Even touching another cultivator's sword without permission would be incredibly disrespectful. Furthermore, cultivators did not go around unarmed.

There were exceptions... Nie Huaisang came to mind, but it was no secret that he had no interest in cultivating with the sabre like his Clan always had. Wei Wuxian had not gone around with his sword following the core transfer, which really should have been a huge signal that something was wrong. Wei Wuxian vanished for three months, and suddenly never carried his sword anywhere. His excuses were pathetic. The equivalent of saying 'I don't wanna... It's too heavy...' Why anyone accepted these answers was beyond Wen Qing's ability to understand.

Although Wen Chao was his usual self; an arrogant bully with the competency of a broken wash bin. Wen Qing had been pleased to see some changes. Lan Wangji was not limping when he arrived, which means his leg was not broken. Wen Qing did not get a chance to speak with Wei Wuxian or her future brother-in-law, but Wen Qionglin had a much easier timing being ignored than she did. He was able to talk with them briefly and receive some news about how they'd been faring.

The first morning Wen Chao demanded people step forward to recite The Quintessence of the Wens. Which was an inane book of quotes that had been assembled hastily for just this occasion. Wen Qing flipped through it once. The experience was painful. About half of the quotes were from respectable texts, but they had been taken out of their original context and thrown together in no apparent order. Some of the quotes were self-contained enough to still make sense, but many of them completely lost their original meaning once removed from their surrounding text. The other half of the contents was just random excerpts of garbage that was clearly only present because the person who once said it had the surname Wen.

The first morning Wen Chao was looking for someone to punish. No one was going to be able to memorize that idiocy in a single night. Still Wen Chao demanded it. So, just like last time, Wei Wuxian stepped forward. He leisurely stepped forward and began stretching, blatantly wasting Wen Chao's time. Then he began reciting. With a leisurely smile Wei Wuxian recited the rules of Cloud Recesses. Wen Chao was enraged and ultimately Wei Wuxian was thrown into the dungeons. This time Wen Qing was expecting it. She was able to get there much faster to render that monstrous dire wolf unconscious.

Honestly she wasn't happy about Wei Wuxian going through that experience again. As much as she understood that it was hardly the worst thing he had endured, it was still a nightmare for him. Not to mention that even your most ordinary dog could fill Wei Wuxian with paralyzing fear, let alone something like that thing. He'd been injured as well. From Wen Qionglin's description the bite wasn't as severe as it was last time, but it was still a painful bloody injury that she would have liked to treat herself rather than handing him supplies.

Wen Qing took out the book Wei Wuxian had made for her once more. She had already checked it for messages that morning. There hadn't been any. There hadn't been any since the day after Cloud Recesses was attacked. Wen Qing had a tiny note from Lan Xichen saying that he was safe. That was all. Wen Qing hadn't been worried at first. It wasn't like there was much for either of them to say to each other.

Except indoctrination had started and she had written Lan Xichen a lengthy message regarding the state of his home and the safety of his family. Wen Qionglin had gotten an extensive update from Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. Wen Qing understood what it was to feel responsible not just for your didi, but for an entire family. She understood what it was like to be separated from them, and not know if they were okay. She dutifully conveyed everything Wen Qionglin had learned about how Cloud Recesses had fared. Lan Wangji had even given Wen Qionglin a list of the dead. Wen Qing had rewritten every name into her message and burned the original paper.

That was days ago and Lan Xichen hadn't responded. She was probably being more anxious than the situation called for. It wasn't as though Lan Xichen needed to confirm that he received the message. Still, the lack of response was making Wen Qing nervous. Was it weird to expect him to respond? Wen Qing didn't think it was an unreasonable expectation. Wei Wuxian could not have made it any easier to send a message than this. A few words to express how he was doing. At least enough to reassure Lan Wangji that Lan Xichen was alright.

Wen Qing gazed at the message she gazed at the message she had last sent. It was detailed and lengthy. Confirming Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's well being. Reporting on Lan Qiren's condition. He was badly wounded, but conscious and slowly recovering. Qingheng-Jun had still not regained consciousness and his situation had been worsening. Lan Wangji stated the healers didn't think he would last much longer.

Wen Qing turned to the next blank page. It was no longer blank. Wen Qing released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Maybe she had been more worried about Lan Xichen than she wanted to admit. Wen Qing focused her attention on the writing. The penmanship seemed a bit hasty. She had done enough paperwork with Lan Xichen to have a good sense of what his handwriting looked like. The message she was reading seemed to be written in a rush, or perhaps Zewu-Jun was particularly distracted. It was his writing, just not as neat as she expected it to be.

I'm thankful for the news about Wangji and Wuxian. Please let Wangji know I am safe and that I am proud of him for everything he has done in my absence. I might not have much chance to write, but please tell Wangji not to worry. I have been ill, but a friend has been looking after me. I'm hopeful that I will recover soon and can begin putting together support for a united resistance.

Wen Qing reread the message twice. She supposed she had been anxiously waiting for a message. There was no point complaining to herself that it was too short, or too vague on certain details she would have liked. Wen Qing was a doctor after all. It was perfectly natural that she would want details about Zewu-Jun's symptoms if he was saying he was sick. Even if she couldn't treat him in person she might be able to recommend medicines.

Wen Qing frowned and closed the book before putting it away. She grabbed a stack of letters that needed responses and began methodically working through the pile she had assigned for herself. Maybe by the time she was done she would be too exhausted to keep worrying about everyone else.