5. The Spider

It was a full day later before Wei Ying jumped down from the rafters and caused Meng Shi to shriek.

Meng Yao was a blur of motion, moving in front of both his mother and Yanli with a short dagger in his hands. Before anyone could say anything, Wei Ying fell flat to the floor and rolled under the bed, just as Sisi slammed the door open.

“What’s going on?” She took in their expressions and Meng Yao’s dagger and marched into the room. “Who is it? Where is he? I’ll cut your balls off, villain!”

Meng Shi looked at Yanli, up at the ceiling, and then at Sisi.

“I saw a spider.”

“Bullshit.” Sisi jerked a thumb at Meng Yao. “That one is not prone to over-reacting.”

Yanli got up and closed the door, speaking loudly. “The spider fell from the ceiling. We were all surprised by it. Ugly little thing,” she added, just to hear Wei Ying huff in indignation. After the door was closed, she willed up a little qi and put a low-level silencing ward on the door, just enough to muffle noise, and it would not last long unless Wei Ying or Meng Yao powered it up. “You can come out now, Ying’er.”

He rolled back out and stood up, glaring at Meng Yao, probably because he was the only man in the room. Yanli walked over and held out her arms, and he turned to fall into them with a cut off sob.

“ShiJie! We were so worried!”

“That’s your little brother? Tiny thing,” Sisi said, eyeing him like a fishmonger.

Meng Yao had already put his knife away and was sat down next to his mother, holding her hand and rubbing it softly.

Sisi then looked at Yanli. “So you’re a cultivator, huh? Smart to keep it a secret.”

Yanli nodded and pushed Wei Ying away a little. “This is my didi, Wei Ying.” She turned to him. “These are my friends. They have helped keep me safe, so be nice to them.” She poked him the way she did when the boys were supposed to be behaving like gentlemen. He instinctively dipped into a proper bow.

“This Wei Ying is pleased to meet my shijie’s protectors and thanks them for their help!” He stood up. “But we will be leaving now.” He grabbed her wrist and marched toward the window.

“Ying’er!” She pulled back from him.

“What? This is a bad place. You don’t belong here!”

“And we do?” Meng Yao asked sharply, standing up.

Wei Ying, flummoxed for a once, just stared at him. Yanli felt bad for him, because there was no answer to that question that wasn’t insulting to at least one person in the room.

“A’Yao.” Meng Shi spoke softly to her son, but the stern, motherly tone hit both boys like a battle ax. Wei Ying and Meng Yao slumped down, looking at the floor. She stood up and walked over to Yanli, but it did not feel kind. It felt like Meng Shi was preparing for battle. Wei Ying eyed her warily while Yanli pulled her shoulders back.

“We had a deal, Jiang Yanli of Yunmeng Jiang.”

“Oh.” Yanli stopped and thought about it for a moment. “Yes, we did.”

“Do you plan to honor it?”

Wei Ying glanced at Yanli in confusion.

“Mama,” Meng Yao hissed at her. “What are you doing?”

Meng Shi turned to him. “This is the world you will be entering, my son. The gentry are ruthless and selfish, and will tear you down every chance they get. You have to trap them by using their greed against them.”

“What?” Wei Ying almost yelled in affront, but Yanli put a quelling hand on his shoulder. Meng Shi was not entirely wrong, after all.

“She wants her freedom, A’Yao. I have the power to grant it, or revoke it. We made a deal that I would help her if she helped me.”

Meng Yao nodded, probably putting together the many times he had seen such “agreements” take place around the brothel. Yanli doubted this was the first time Meng Shi had taught this lesson.

“I mean to force her to keep it, one way or another.” She turned back to Yanli.

“You are a terrible person,” Wei Ying said, speaking as if observing a dangerous storm: objectively interesting, and a little bit awe-inspiring.

Meng Yao stepped forward. “You dare speak that way to my mother?”

Yanli squeezed Wei Ying’s shoulder until he cringed. “This Wei Ying apologizes!” He bowed quickly.

Meng Shi laughed. “He’s a good boy,” she said, waving a hand in Wei Ying’s direction.

“He is. As is your son.”

She looked over at Meng Yao, who was fighting back a blush. “He is. But he could be a great man.” Her eyes found Yanli again, and her expression went cold.

There was no question in Yanli’s mind that if she broke the bargain, Meng Shi, as kind as she had been to Yanli so far, would immediately go tell the madam not only that Yanli was on the run but who, exactly, Yanli was. She stepped away from Wei Ying and bowed deeply.

“This Jiang Yanli thanks Meng Shi for her kindness and protection. I ask that you allow your son to travel with us, so that he may learn more of cultivation and the world of the gentry.” She stood up. “I will care for him as my own brother, and help him achieve his goals as best I can. But you must understand that he will not reach those goals here.”

“Mama—”

Meng Shi raised a hand and Meng Yao’s mouth clacked shut. She stared at Yanli for a long time, until Sisi reached out and put a gentle hand on her forearm.

“She’s right, and you know it.”

Meng Yao paled, but kept his mouth closed. Meng Shi shut her eyes for a long moment, then nodded.

“Mama, no!” Meng Yao whispered.

Instead of answering, Meng Shi went over to her makeup chest and fiddled with one of the drawers. A secret chamber popped out.

“Ha! I knew it was all in the make-up cabinet!” Sisi announced in triumph.

Meng Shi pulled out a pouch that jangled, and brought it over to Yanli, who held out her hands.

“This is all I have.”

“Mama! Your debt!”

“No, A’Yao. This was never meant to pay off my debt to the house. I always planned to give you every last coin.”

Meng Yao looked like he had been hit with a shovel.

“I knew you would never take it, or would take the money and try to buy my freedom.” She focused on Yanli again. “This one is smart. She’s clearly the daughter of the Violet Spider, and will do what it takes to protect her family.”

The words shook Yanli to her core, but she took the pouch and bowed over it, her hands trembling. She held the bow for a long time, thinking of what Meng Shi was waiting for, before it all slotted into place.

“This Meng Jaiyi thanks her mother.”

Meng Yao gasped and Wei Ying made a confused noise.

“I will protect my brothers and raise them to be gentlemen, as mother has commanded of me. We will bring honor to our family name. We will remember our ancestors and burn incense every day for our mother’s well being.” By the end of her speech she was crying, but she held her bow and the pouch in her hands.

Meng Shi lifted her from her bow and smoothed back her hair. “This Meng Shi is honored to have such filial children.” She smiled, and it was the first genuine smile Yanli had ever seen from her. She instinctively reached out, and Meng Shi pulled her into a fierce hug. “Let my boys protect you too, Jiang Yanli,” she whispered.

Meng Yao had covered his face, but was obviously crying. Meng Shi let go of Yanli and turned to murmur at him.

“That’s one hell of a spider, Jaiyi.” Sisi smiled at her as she went to leave the room, but stopped for a moment in passing to pat Yanli on the shoulder. “I’ll take care of A’Shi, don’t you worry!” She left, slamming the door behind her.

Yanli felt a tug at her sleeve. “What’s happening?”

“We’re taking Meng Yao with us.”

“Why?” He scrunched up his face unhappily.

“He is the son of a great cultivator, and has already developed a golden core, but he needs further training. Because of who his mother is, most sects would not take him in.”

Wei Ying frowned, then turned to squint at Meng Yao, staring at him for a ridiculously rude amount of time.

“Oh! He’s a peacock!”