Jiang Yanli felt her face burn in embarrassment as she thought about everything she had said to Luo Qingyang. In retrospect Luo Qingyang's belief that Jiang Yanli had not accepted her courtship wasn't unreasonable. In Jiang Yanli's mind, their courtship had begun when Luo Qingyang brought her first gift. It was a silver lotus flower hair pin, delicately engraved, inlaid with pearl and accentuated by dangling beads of jade. When Luo Qingyang had presented it to her, Jiang Yanli had taken it as a proposal of courtship.

It was certainly the type of gift that would be given as courtship, and it wasn't unusual for courtship to be proposed in such a way. Jiang Yanli had been betrothed for years without a single courtship gift or even a smile from her betrothed. Receiving the hairpin had been such a dramatic declaration. Although perhaps Luo Qingyang did not consider it so.

When she received the hairpin it had already been a long while since Luo Qingyang had confessed her feelings. It no longer felt like a foreign concept brought out from nowhere when Luo Qingyang presented the hair pin. Jiang Yanli had had the chance to think about the idea of being in a relationship with Luo Qingyang. Jiang Yanli had never considered it an option before and it took her time to sort out how she felt about the situation.

By the time Luo Qingyang offered the hair pin Jiang Yanli felt better equipped to answer Luo Qingyang's request. When Jiang Yanli accepted the hair pin it was an answer to a declaration of intent. Jiang Yanli took the hair pin and accepted Luo Qingyang's request to court her. Jiang Yanli had not believed any more words needed to be said about it. Accepting the hair pin and wearing it were the answer. Accepting the gifts that followed was an answer.

They had never spoken out loud about courtship in the time since. Jiang Yanli had thought Luo Qingyang was honouring Jiang Yanli's request for discretion. Even though Jiang Yanli accepted the courtship, they were still in the middle of a war. She still didn't feel it was the right time to be announcing a betrothal, and she was still in mourning for her parents. Granted she could not observe most of the mourning customs properly. But that did not mean Jiang Yanli could comfortably announce an engagement so soon after her parents' death.

Jiang Yanli assumed they would announce the betrothal after the war. Once the aftermath was sorted and efforts could turn towards rebuilding. Jiang Yanli was rather annoyed by the insistence of Sect Leader Jin about celebrating. He was planning to host a week-long celebration while they still had wounded in the infirmary.

QishanWen sect property would need to be sorted and divided. That which had been taken from the other sects would need to be identified and returned. Jiang Yanli was already dreading the headache it would be to try and determine what had an owner and what did not. The QishanWen sect had confiscated spiritual tools and heirlooms from so many sects. What couldn't be sorted would need to be divided. It could take weeks to sort out, maybe months. Not to mention the political battle Jiang Yanli expected was coming regarding the surviving Wens.

Apparently Luo Qingyang had been honoring her request regarding not pursuing a formal relationship during the war. Except Luo Qingyang had taken that request to mean that there would be no acceptance or commitment to a relationship until after the war. Jiang Yanli might have even meant that at first, but when she accepted the hairpin she was committing to the relationship. She had believed that was clear. Instead it turned out Luo Qingyang had been showering her with affection and gifts purely to demonstrate her regard for Jiang Yanli. Luo Qingyang had been stunned when Jiang Yanli said they were already courting.

Jiang Yanli gave in to the childish urge to bury her face in her hands. She felt so embarrassed. This entire time Jiang Yanli thought she had been clear. When she accepted the hair pin. When she wore it each day. When she accepted each gift that came after. If this was what Luo Qingyang was like when she thought they were not courting, Jiang Yanli was not certain what more to expect in the future.

'The kissing was nice. We could do more of that.' Jiang Yanli thought, unable to repress a smile.

Jiang Yanli allowed her eyes to drift down to the sleeping figure. Luo Qingyang had fallen asleep in Jiang Yanli's bed. The pink fabric of her dress poked out from beneath the blanket Jiang Yanli had pulled over her. Luo Qingyang was curled on her side with her head pillowed in Jiang Yanli's lap. Jiang Yanli had been steadily removing pins as she carefully took Luo Qingyang's hair down.

Jiang Yanli enjoyed the warmth. There was something soothing about having Luo Qingyang beside her. Even when the other girl was asleep. Jiang Yanli continued to comb her fingers through Luo Qingyang's hair repetitively as she allowed her mind to begin running through plans.

She'd need to find some time to speak with Wen Qing. They needed to make a plan for the DafanWens now that the war was over. Returning to their ancestral home was an option, but it was an option Jiang Yanli had concerns about. It had already taken some effort to protect them in camp. There had been more than one incident in camp that had to be broken up.

Jiang Yanli was not certain she trusted that the DafanWens would remain safe. They did not have the means to protect themselves. If a group of cultivators decided they wanted to vent their grievances there would not be much of an obstacle to stop them.

The safest option would be to place them within the territory of a major sect. That was not going to be the easiest sell. Jiang Yanli was willing to bring them to Yunmeng, but Jiang Wanyin had never really warmed up to the DafanWens. His niece and nephew being the exception. Lotus Pier had also sustained more damage than any other major sect.

All things considered Jiang Yanli was grateful for how many of their disciples were able to evacuate. She had been able to bring many of their most precious spiritual tools away as well. However their home itself had been badly damaged and it would be a stretch to try to accommodate the DafanWens there.

Nie Mingjue owed a life debt to Wen Qing. There was a lot of bad blood between the Nie and Wen. Jiang Yanli was not certain if it would be a good idea to relocate the Dafan Wen to Qinghe. Still, Nie Mingjue should be supportive of a safe and peaceful placement for the Dafan Wen. Jiang Yanli made a note to herself to find some time to speak with Nie Mingjue once a plan was decided on.

Lan Xichen had taken an active role in defending the DafanWens, and he had named Wen Qing as one of the spies who provided information for them during the war. The GusuLan sect had suffered some heavy losses, but the Cloud Recesses had remained mostly intact through the attack from the Wens.

If what the GusuLan sect was mostly lacking was a loss of people then it could even be considered a boon for the DafanWens to relocate there. Many of the DafanWens were skilled healers, which was always something that was needed. The GusuLan sect did suffer the drain on their resources from the war like the other sects had. However, they also suffered significant losses while providing strong contributions to the war effort.

The fight for distributing funds and territory had not begun yet, but Jiang Yanli felt it would be fair for the GusuLan sect to receive a large percentage. Jiang Yanli didn't expect the other sects to pay much attention to fairness. Not as much as they might say they would in any case.

Luo Qingyang shifted in her sleep making a small sound of discomfort. Jiang Yanli could feel the smile bloom on her own face as her attention was drawn to the woman resting against her. Luo Qingyang shifted around, trying to find a comfortable spot. Luo Qingyang's face had scrunched up in a displeased pout in her sleep.

Jiang Yanli's entire body felt warm. Her anxieties easing as she looked at Luo Qingyang. The warmth and peace that filled Jiang Yanli was something new. It felt a little bit like a warm spring afternoon. Sitting on the sun warmed docks with her feet in the cool water.

Jiang Yanli wondered if this was how it was supposed to feel when you looked at your fiance. They were not formally betrothed yet, but they were courting. They both now knew they were courting. Jiang Yanli had never felt this way when looking at Jin Zixuan. She had found him attractive, and had hoped they might have a loving relationship. It hadn't come to pass, but Jiang Yanli was not certain she was sad about that anymore.

After all, Luo Qingyang had given Jiang Yanli the warmth of a spring afternoon, and the peace of a quiet morning on the lake. Jiang Yanli carefully lifted Luo Qingyang off of her lap. There were many small offended noises from Luo Qingyang that brought Jiang Yanli quiet laughter. It was not appropriate to share a bed with her future wife before marriage. Jiang Yanli settled beneath the blanket a second before Luo Qingyang flung an arm and a leg over Jiang Yanli. Jiang Yanli smiled as Luo Qingyang settled more or less in her arms. Jiang Yanli found she didn't care so much about what was appropriate when it could make her feel this happy.