Chapter Text
When Jiang Cheng introduced himself, many people would exclaim, ‘Hey, just like the character in that danmei novel! You must understand all the Chinese suffixes in it!’. Although his grandparents were Chinese immigrants, the only Chinese thing about Jiang Cheng himself was his Asian features and his name. He barely knew how to say ‘grandmother’ in Chinese!
But after several people told him this, Jiang Cheng curiously searched for the novel they were referring to. He didn't mind reading about gay couples, but he did mind that the series consisted of five books. He wasn't an avid reader, and he had heard different opinions about the series, so in the end, he didn't consume any official content.
What he did do was read every fanfic that included the character tag ‘Jiang Cheng’. He would admit that, of three brothers, he was the youngest, so he couldn't help but feel great empathy for the young man who shared his name. One of his older brothers was also a genius and favoured by their parents, somewhat similar to his situation with Wei Wuxian, so it hit a little close to home.
It took him a while to figure out the plot, but after reading many different fanfics, he managed to get the gist of it. He would admit that the character Lan Zhan got on his nerves at first, even hate him at first (after all, he was a Jiang Cheng stan and Lan Zhan was practically his hater), but after several fanfics that explained the situation from his point of view, Jiang Cheng admitted that he might have been a little unfair to him.
Except when they entered the Jiang Ancestral Hall. They didn't have permission, and it was very disrespectful, not to mention taking off Jiang Cheng's headdress, which stated that he was the leader of the sect (what was it called? Guan?). He didn’t hate him but didn’t like him either. He also needed Wei Wuxian to stop running away from the conversations with his brother. Can you yell at each other and work things out without anyone interfering? Please and thank you.
Of course, Jin Ling had to be protected at all costs, and he would defend him to the death. The only problem was that the poor guy had too many uncles with too many problems. And a few of them were lunatics.
Why was he saying all this? Well, it would be amazing to know about the official plot instead of the fanfic content when you woke up as THE FUCKING JIANG CHENG FROM THE NOVEL!
He was five years old when he suddenly realised that he had transmigrated into a fucking gay novel with major war conflicts as the character with the most Family Issues in history. What did he decide to do in that situation? Pass out and get sick, of course!
He was bedridden for a whole week, and the doctors feared he wouldn't make it. Oh, but Jiang Cheng hadn't come here to die immediately upon realising his situation, so he endured it out of pure spite. Under the brusque care of the original Jiang Cheng's mother and the occasional of the father, he had too much on his mind while he was recovering.
“They will die,” he always thought when he saw Madam Yu and sect leader Jiang talking quietly beside him. Even though he was the Jiang Cheng from the novel, they were not his parents. “They will die and leave only ashes to work with.”
He didn't know whether to feel relieved that there was no system (the author had another story with a bastard system, and Jiang Cheng preferred not to take any chances) or to cry because he was alone without any guidance in this situation.
Another thought caused him to have a major relapse that same week that seriously worried everyone. What if he was in an AU? What if it was a soulmate AU? Or Hanahaki? OR OMEGAVERSE?! Please, if there is a god up there, let it not be omegaverse! And if it is, let him be a beta!
But when he was well enough, he was glad that everything seemed normal, with no AU involved. Although he hoped it wasn't some kind of crossover, because then it would be best to throw himself out the window and end it all at once.
The leaders of the sect were warned that Jiang Cheng had to take things very easy that month, as he had been on the verge of death not once but twice in a very short time.
“You would be too if you knew that a horrible fate awaited you,” he thought as he curled up in Madam Yu's arms.
The fanfics had mixed opinions about the woman. The only thing everyone seemed to agree on was that she had been a bitch in the way she treated the protagonist. As for her biological children... Opinions differed, although it was clear that she had not been the best mother.
But sitting on her legs, her face contorted into an angry frown that did not hide her worried eyes... Well, it only confirmed the thought that she ended being just a character, but had become a real person with complex thoughts and emotions. Could you all be more one-dimensional, please? That would make life easier for him.
Jiang Fengmian also looked concerned, but compared to the woman’s, it seemed... superficial. Like when you find out that one of your neighbours is ill. You want them to get better, but that's all.
He remembered the theories that the man had not only been in love with Wei Wuxian's mother, but also with his father. Could they be true? Or had he never been in love with either of them? Maybe he just didn't like Jiang Cheng because of who his mother was. Poor kid.
Well, poor kid my ass. Poor him! He'd have to prepare for war, for being psychologically abused by his parents and for not being able to do anything better than the protagonist! His best bet right now was to win as much affection as possible from the sect members so he wouldn't be left alone in such a toxic environment.
He would also have to gain as much political and weapons knowledge as he could. He wasn't going to let this stupid danmei destroy him! He would be THE leader of the sect and give all these people the biggest middle finger in history! The first thing was to be more compassionate towards people. Another trait he shared with the character was his short temper, but he had grown up in a different era! An era where bloodshed wasn't the norm, and he was going to take advantage of having grown up with that different point of view.
If he remembered correctly, one of the fanfics mentioned that Wei Wuxian appeared when both children were nine years old, so he had four years to prepare as much as he could. Okay world, here he comes!
...This wasn't going to be an AU where Wei Wuxian is taken in by the Nie or Wen families, right? Fuck.
Jiang Fengmian seemed more concerned about him after the third relapse.
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Eleven-year-old Chí Shuǐwén, like all the other disciples, had heard how the young heir had suddenly fallen seriously ill. There were whispers that, after three relapses, it was unlikely he would survive.
But the boy had lived up to his sect's motto and managed to pull through. He was not the only one who breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that the young master had overcome his illness. His mother, a maid who worked as a doctor in the main house, had told him that the poor kid would not be able to do much for at least a month after such a serious illness.
If he were in that situation, he would not have hesitated to stay in bed as long as he could, so he was surprised that the young master looked at them with curiosity as they trained. The bun he usually wore had been replaced by a braid that fell over his shoulder.
Several disciples glanced at him sideways, but his presence only served to make everyone work harder. He was sure he wasn't the only one who felt his chest swell with pride as he watched the young heir look at them in amazement. Once the training was over and their Shifun dismissed them, Chí Shuǐwén couldn't help but startle when he saw the boy beside him.
“Jiang-gongzi!” he said as he quickly bowed.
“That was incredible,” the young heir smiled at him as he did little jumps on the spot. “What's your name?”
Chí Shuǐwén looked at the boy in disbelief. Everyone around him seemed equally astonished by the situation.
“Ah... This one is Chí Shuǐwén, Jiang-gongzi,” he said as he bowed again.
“Are you Doctor Chí's son?” he said, tilting his head before smiling broadly at him. “She gave me really good soup while she was looking after me! Although she told me I couldn't play outside for a whole yue...” The boy kicked the ground lightly, frowning.
Chí Shuǐwén couldn't help but smile amusedly. After all, the young heir was only five years old. At that age, staying still was practically torture.
“May I watch you train?” he asked with bright eyes.
“You don't need to ask our permission, Jiang-gongzi,” Chí Shuǐwén was horrified at the mere thought of having the right to prevent the child in front of him from doing something.
“You have to ask, it's good manners,” Jiang-gongzi crossed his arms. “I'm not rude!”
“Of course, Jiang-gongzi, I didn't mean to imply that,” Chí Shuǐwén bowed, uneasy.
“Good,” the boy put his hands on his hips with a satisfied smile. “Then may I?”
Chí Shuǐwén looked at his companions, who seemed as uncertain as he was.
“...Of course, Jiang-gongzi.”
The bright smile was worth the discomfort. When he returned home and told his mother, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in surprise. ‘
“I had never interacted with Jiang-gongzi before this,” she admitted over dinner. “He has always been a healthy child and has never been in trouble, so he hasn't been to the infirmary since he was a baby. I'm surprised that he’s so... polite, being so young.”
What went unsaid was that, given his mother's temperament, it was surprising that the boy wasn't more arrogant with commanding others.
At first, everyone was unsure what to do when the young heir appeared every day to watch them train. They were nervous, afraid of making mistakes and disappointing the kid, but...
“Your feet should be further apart,” Jiang-gongzi said suddenly, appearing at his side and startling him.
“...What?” was all he said.
“Your feet are like this,” the boy copied his posture. It was... quite impressive that he could do it just by looking at him. “But the others are like this,” he moved his left foot outwards a little. “That's why you lose your balance.”
Chí Shuǐwén stared at Jiang-gongzi before slightly copying his posture. Once the young heir was far enough away, he tried again the exercise that had been giving him trouble these past few days. His eyes widened in disbelief when he saw that the movement was much smoother than before.
“I... Thank you very much, Jiang-gongzi!” He bowed quickly while doing the baoquan.
The boy simply smiled. From then on, everyone felt more relaxed in the presence of the young heir. His observant eyes noticed when one of the disciples did something different from the rest and helped him improve.
Perhaps others would have their pride hurt after being corrected by a five-year-old, but the disciples' pride only increased when they saw that Jiang-gongzi cared about them, especially considering that they had come close to losing him to illness.
Word soon spread about what was happening. People began to smile warmly at the child, captivated by the concern that the future heir showed for his people despite being so young.
(Chí Shuǐwén will never admit that his chest filled with great pride and warmth when he realised that the first person the future Jiang-zongzhu approached was him).
*^*^*^*
Yu Ziyuan was no fool. She knew about the whispers of people about her temperament, she knew about the whispers that she was the one who was actually in charge of the sect, and she knew about the whispers that her marriage had not been formed out of love, but had been her husband's second choice after his mistress ran away.
It was no surprise then that she knew her son had changed since the serious illness that had recently struck him. He had stopped clinging to his sister's skirt and had started spending more time with the young disciples who were training.
At first, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow sceptically, wondering why the boy had decided to take an interest in their training overnight. She had even considered telling her son that it was not appropriate for the heir to be so involved with the disciples, but...
There was no denying that a change had taken place, an important change. The servants in the main house had never been anything but cordial (they had better be if they did not want to suffer under her loyal whip, Zidian), but there had never been such a good atmosphere in the house since her A-Cheng started spending more time with the common people.
In the end, Yu Ziyuan had done nothing to stop him. After all, it was important for a sect leader to have the respect of his people, and if A-Cheng achieved that at such a young age, who was she to complain or try to stop him?
“A-Cheng,” she called him as she watched him chatting animatedly with the cooks, who quickly bowed when they saw her. Her son turned around with surprised eyes.
“A-A-Niang,” he said with some difficulty. The doctors had warned her that her son might have some difficulty speaking or moving for a while after his illness. That was the only reason Yu Ziyuan did not scold him immediately after that pathetic stammer.
“Come,” she ordered.
Her son bowed slightly to the cooks before walking quickly towards her. She assumed he had learned his lesson after she yelled at him for running; he was still recovering and yet he decided to act so recklessly!
She gave them a simple nod before leaving the kitchen with her son following behind her, his braid bouncing on his back. The doctors had recommended that her A-Cheng should not wear his usual bun for a while in order to avoid putting pressure on his head after his illness, so he had started wearing a simple, loosely tied braid that still looked elegant.
“I'm going to teach you the theory behind disciple training,” her son looked at her with surprise and bright eyes.
A-Cheng might not be able to do much physical exercise for a while, but his brain was still working. Jiang Fengmian hadn't even noticed his son's interest in the art of swordplay, so it was up to her to educate her son to be a good leader of the sect.
At least he was already earning people's respect. That was already a great start.