Jin Guangyao was not surprised when Lan Xichen shared the good news about Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's impending marriage. The two had been betrothed since before the war. Wei Wuxian had returned with Lan Wangji to the GusuLan sect rather than returning to his natal sect. That was disappointing. It would have been more convenient if Wei Wuxian had returned to Lotus Pier.

Jin Guangshan desperately wanted to lure Wei Wuxian into joining the LanlingJin sect. He had made an offer, supposedly, but Wei Wuxian had turned it down. Jin Guangyao suspected this took place before he had been recognized. Otherwise he felt Jin Guangshan would have asked him to make the offer. By the time Jin Guangshan was hosting the flower banquet he was already manoeuvring to try and get the Yin Hufu, rather than Wei Wuxian.

Jin Guangyao could have told Jin Guangshan that luring Wei Wuxian into the LanlingJin sect would not be a simple matter. To convince Wei Wuxian to change his loyalties, they would first need to divest Wei Wuxian of his allies. Separating him from Lan Wangji would be a difficult task. Lan Wangji had proven to be extremely protective of Wei Wuxian. Jin Guangyao thought it might be possible to turn Lan Wangji from Wei Wuxian's side if Wei Wuxian appeared villainous enough, but Jin Guangyao was not confident in the success of such a plan.

It was not hard to ramp up the rumours regarding Wei Wuxian and his cultivation. Most of the sects took to the rumours quite quickly. Wei Wuxian was incredibly powerful. With the war over, Wei Wuxian was no longer an ally of all the allied sects. He was now an ally of YunmengJiang sect, or GusuLan sect. For every other sect that meant Wei Wuxian was better off destroyed. Better that no one has that power, if they could not possess it themselves.

The impact on Wei Wuxian had been better than Jin Guangyao hoped. The more public sentiment soured towards Wei Wuxian, the more Wei Wuxian withdrew from his allies. The three months in Nightless City after the war had been very promising, despite the lukewarm acceptance Jin Guangyao had received from Lan Xichen.

Wen Qing was a problem. Jin Guangyao regretted not cleaning up the Flame Palace properly. He had given clear orders, but the servants who were available to fulfill them were not the Flame Palace cultivators who knew to follow his instructions exactly. While most of the residents had been dead by the time Wen Rouhan fell, Wen Qing had slipped through.

Jin Guangyao had hoped Wen Qing's identity would allow him to clean up the loose end while she was imprisoned. Except that she had managed to put Nie Mingjue in her debt. It had seemed like a reckless gamble when she freed Nie Mingjue, but it had certainly worked to her advantage now. It was a nuisance to have Nie Mingjue so firmly on her side, but Jin Guangyao had already known Nie Mingjue would be a problem he needed to deal with. The bigger issue was how Wen Qing had wormed her way into Lan Xichen's trust.

Lan Xichen had always been too trusting. He was trusting, naive, foolish, and uncommonly kind. Saving Lan Xichen's life had been an easy decision. Jin Guangyao enjoyed the time they shared together. When it was just the two of them, and Lan Xichen could not risk showing his face in public. Lan Xichen had been so hopeless at household tasks, like laundering clothes. Lan Xichen could make basic congee, but was completely lost when it came to the preparation of anything else.

Lan Xichen had initially been wounded and then ill when his golden core was too exhausted to prevent infection. He had needed Jin Guangyao to take care of him. Jin Guangyao had been more than happy to oblige. Jin Guangyao enjoyed his time taking care of Lan Xichen. Of course, he was not someone who would allow any opportunity to slip him by. Inspection of Lan XIchen's belongings contained some interesting materials. Jin Guangyao supposed that the GusuLan sect had wanted to prevent the QishanWen sect from obtaining any dangerous information within.

Lan Xichen had been so grateful for Jin Guangyao's help. Then he had been so concerned and grateful when Jin Guangyao became a spy and gave him information. Jin Guangyao had expected that to continue. Lan Xichen had seemed very concerned about Jin Guangyao once the war ended. He had defended him from Nie Mingjue's anger. Jin Guangyao had hoped Lan Xichen would continue to demonstrate his gratitude.

Unfortunately Jin Guangyao was repeatedly running into blocks where he expected Lan Xichen to give in. Jin Guangyao was almost positive it was Wen Qing's doing. He wasn't certain if she had told Lan Xichen details of what Jin Guangyao had done as Principle Torturer. If she had, then Lan Xichen had not mentioned it.

Jin Guangyao had attempted to put a wedge between Lan Xichen and Wen Qing. It should not have been difficult. Even if she had spied for Lan Xichen, Jin Guangyao knew she had passed on bad information. He should have been able to press on that, combined with the fact that she was a Wen. Lan Xichen was somewhat receptive to anxiety about Wei Wuxian, probably because of genuine concern for the impacts of resentful energy. Wen Qing proved to be a much more difficult problem.

In his frustration Jin Guangyao had pushed a little too hard. Lan Xichen had become defensive and unhappy. Jin Guangyao desperately wished he could end Wen Qing's life. Lan Xichen was not supposed to become defensive towards him. He was supposed to jump to Jin Guangyao's defense. He was supposed to be trusting, grateful, and eager to appease everyone. Instead he was becoming politely stubborn and Jin Guangyao was certain it was Wen Qing's fault.

If they had not been so careful about keeping her with powerful allies at all times, Jin Guangyao would have arranged her death before the GusuLan sect left Nightless City. It would have saved Jin Guangyao countless headaches. Jin Guangshan didn't see Wen Qing as a specific problem. He was only annoyed that his plans for the Wen survivors had been shut down. Jin Guangshan's demonic cultivators needed test subjects, and the Wen survivors would have been perfect for that. Gathering prostitutes and street children would be much more time consuming.

Jin Guangyao had been tentatively hopeful that they would have more time to wear down Wei Wuxian's reputation. Jin Guangyao had some hopes that the hunt on Mount Baifeng planned for the next Autumn would provide a good opportunity for severing Wei Wuxian from his allies. It would give Jin Guangyao time to sully Wei Wuxian's reputation and put things in place.

Except that Lan Xichen shared the good news about setting a wedding date for Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. A date that was a full two months before the autumn hunt. Invitations had been sent out a week later, and Jin Guangshan had a rare moment of intelligence when he informed Jin Guangyao that they needed to do something before the wedding.

It would not be possible to separate Wei Wuxian from all of his allies by then. The connection to Jiang Wanyin could probably be severed in that time frame. It had been fragile long before the war. Jiang Yanli was a different matter. Her support and affection for Wei Wuxian were well known. If Jiang Yanli were still as uninvolved politically as she was before the war, or if she was wedded into the Jin where her opinion could be silenced, it would be a non-issue.

Unfortunately, Jin Guangshan had foolishly agreed to break the engagement before the war. Jin Guangyao despaired at the idiocy of letting go of such a valuable alliance. A marriage alliance with another great sect was a rare and valuable opportunity. Even if Jiang Yanli had not been considered a particularly impressive cultivator before the war, only a fool would let go of such a priceless opportunity.

Jin Guangyao supposed the real problem was that Jin Guangshan did not understand taking advantage of an opportunity. Someone born to power that could bend the world to his whims with money and influence, had no need to take advantage of every passing opportunity. Jin Guangyao had not been afforded such privileges, even though they should have been his birthright.

He and Jin Zixuan were born on the same day, only hours apart. They were both the sons of sect leader Jin. Yet, Jin Zixuan had been given lavish birthday banquettes while Jin Guangyao had been kicked down the stairs for daring to enter the halls where he should have been treated with respect. Jin Zixuan had enjoyed the same privileged easy upbringing as their father. Which was why Jin Zixuan was foolish and arrogant enough to sabotage such a fortuitous marriage prospect.

Jin Guangyao was smarter than that. He had to be smarter than that. He needed to do more than take every opportunity available to him. He needed to create opportunities. Jin Guangyao had been kicked down the stairs of koi tower when he was fifteen. Now he walked the halls of Koi tower in the robes of a member of the main clan. It was not quite what he deserved yet. There were too many contemptuous sneers and derisive comments. That would change.

Jin Guangshan had at least taken Jin Guangyao's advice to heart. He was supporting his wife with her attempts to improve the relationship between Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan. The attempt to renew the betrothal at the flower banquet had fallen flat, but there may still be an opportunity to remedy the situation later.

The Jiang clan would need to be disconnected from Wei Wuxian or weakened so they could not afford to stand with him. They were not the main problem. The main problem was the GusuLan sect, chiefly Lan Wangji. Killing Lan Wangji, especially if Wei Wuxian could be framed for it, would get the job done. Unfortunately, it would hurt Lan Xichen to lose Lan Wangji. It would be a last resort.

There were other options that could be explored. With the resources at the LanlingJin sect's disposal it was not unreasonable to orchestrate an appropriate curse or devastating injury. It was not Jin Guangyao's first choice. Lan Wangji was a powerful enough cultivator that it would be difficult to successfully curse him, but with enough resources solutions could be found.

Ensuring Lan Wangji had exhausted his spiritual energy would be enough to make most curses cast successfully. If the curse itself did not suppress the cultivator's spiritual energy, there was a high risk of them removing it from themselves after some rest. However, not all curses could be removed with such brute force methods. To curse Hanguang-Jun, one with a very set and very difficult breaking mechanism would be required.

It would make Lan Xichen sad if Lan Wangji were seriously harmed. So crippling injuries and incurable illnesses were out. If Jin Guangyao had to resort to hurting Lan Xichen through Lan Wangji, then it would be better to arrange Lan Wangji's death. Lan Xichen would spend the rest of his life hovering over and tending to a sick or debilitated Lan Wangji. Everyday grieving the harm done to his didi.

If Lan Wangji died, Lan Xichen could grieve and move on from losing his didi. He could seek comfort in his dear friend, and Jin Guangyao would be there for him. It had its appeal. Lan Xichen may have been the rescuer when they first met, but Jin Guangyao had had a taste of what the opposite could be. He had saved Lan Xichen's life and there was a satisfaction in being the one Lan Xichen clung to. Wen Qing would need to be taken care of at the same time. THe very last thing Jin Guangyao wanted was to drive Lan Xichen into that woman's arms.

A more intricate curse would be better. Jin Guangyao would always avoid hurting Lan Xichen if he could. With the right curse, Jin Guangyao believed he could eventually persuade Lan Xichen that the curse had been a positive in the long run.

Something that affected Lan Wangji mentally was the cleanest. Although they were notoriously difficult. The mind was a complex place and curses that altered the mind were similarly intricate. As a result most could only create very simple effects. A single easily defined urge to flood the mind, an immediate alteration of mood, or amnesia.

Curses with more delicate effects were possible in theory, but untested. The alteration of memories. Altering of specific and targeted emotional responses. It would be convenient if he could alter Lan Wangji's thoughts and feelings about Wei Wuxian. That would be the most ideal and least upsetting for Lan Xichen. If it was proven safe Jin Guangyao might consider employing it with Lan Xichen. Jin Guangyao preferred to let their relationship proceed more organically. Lan Xichen had always been so kind.

Jin Guangyao was fortunate that the QishanWen sect had hoarded such a collection of cursed artifacts. He was doubly fortunate that Jin Guangshan had agreed to his proposal to volunteer to take responsibility for categorizing and removing those curses. It was a lot to go through, but it was also an abundance of resources. Jin Guangyao only needed to find the ones that would be useful.

The Light-Transmitting mirror was one that Jin Guangyao had found early and held onto. It was not a complete solution on its own, but it was a useful piece. It could by time. With a little over a month before Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji would be married, buying time became very important. Wei Wuxian was still working on cursed objects.

Jin Guangyao made sure the mirror was prepared properly. It was part of a set. He sent one mirror to the GusuLan sect for Wei Wuxian to examine, and kept the second one. Xue Yang was not fond of waiting, but was receptive to the right kinds of bribery. It took two weeks for Wei Wuxian to activate the mirror. Jin Guangyao was ready when it activated. The mirror lit up, casting the image of an array over Xue Yang. The second it stopped glowing Jin Gunagyao rendered Xue Yang's body unconscious.

It did not go quite to plan. Xue Yang was not able to find the Yin Hufu or any notes about it. He did recover the rest of Wei Wuxian's notes. He also brought the Wen girl that Wei Wuxian had claimed. Lan Xichen had mentioned that the girl turned five recently, and had been doing well in her classes.

Jin Guangyao would have preferred for Xue Yang to take A-Yuan. A two year old would be easier to contain than a five year old, but apparently she had been alone with Wei Wuxian when the mirror was activated. All things considered, Xue Yang had been remarkably well behaved for an assignment that did not involve slaughter.

Jin Guangyao suspected Xue Yang was looking forward to experimenting with controlling resentful energy while in Wei Wuxian's body. He would certainly have the time to test it out. They would need to be very confident in their containment methods before they allowed Wei Wuxian to be conscious, let alone in his own body.