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jwqs au in which sukhbaru agrees to erihe& #39;s offer of a marriage between their children, reasoning that there& #39;s still plenty of time before the kids grow up, and surely he can figure something out before then. thus qiyan agula and guqi bayin now have a new playmate: nagsi jiya + https://twitter.com/nangongsunu/status/1324849596925923329">https://twitter.com/nangongsu...
peace settles over the grass plains, with the two most powerful tribes now united in alliance. several times, the wei kingdom tries to attack, but each attempt is pushed back by the might of the two tribes& #39; combined strength. after suffering numerous unsuccessful invasions, +
nangong rang finally admits defeat, and peace returns once again. so agula and jiya grow up together, soon becoming close friends. but agula is struck with the crippling guilt of hiding a huge secret from her closest friends. one day, unable to take it anymore, she reveals +
the truth about her identity. jiya, ever perceptive, has long since had her suspicions, and so she takes everything in stride. bayin, noticeably less perceptive, is shocked but still insists, "you are my anda, and i am yours. this doesnt change anything."
agula stares at her +
agula stares at her +
friends, at bayin standing there with his earnest eyes, at jiya making pretend retching motions to the side, and then agula laughs and laughs and laughs, the burden on her chest finally lifted.
"of course you& #39;re still my anda," agula replies, amber eyes shining. +
"of course you& #39;re still my anda," agula replies, amber eyes shining. +
later, in a show of goodwill, the imperial palace sends an envoy and invites the grass plains royalty to come join the shangyuan celebrations at the capital to the south. agula and jiya, naturally, come with the envoy, excited and curious for the new sights. +
but when they arrive at the palace, agula realized the greatest, most beautiful sight is not the vibrant life of city, not the grandiose palace, but instead the girl with sparkling, mischievous eyes and a kind smile. there, in the wei imperial capital, agula comes across the +
most beautiful person she has ever seen—and this is saying something. her best friend is /literally/ nagsi jiya the pearl of the grass plains, whose beauty has been described akin to that of gods. (agula knows she should be delighted to be engaged to such a coveted beauty, but +
she can& #39;t bring herself to feel anything more than friendship for her childhood friend, whereas the moment her eyes fell on nangong jingnu, daughter of the emperor, the beloved little princess, agula could already feel her heart stirring up a storm.) +
jiya, sitting across from agula, has full view of the moment when her dumb best friend falls, inconceivably, inexplicably, unconditionally in love. the moment when agula& #39;s jaw goes slack, when her eyes bulge imperceptibly, and rose dusts over tanned skin—oh this is the best day +
of jiya& #39;s life, she has enough material to tease agula for a /lifetime/.
but no matter what others may say, jiya /is/ a good friend, and maybe she is as reluctant about the wedding looming over the horizon as agula is, but if she works her magic....perhaps a different wedding +
but no matter what others may say, jiya /is/ a good friend, and maybe she is as reluctant about the wedding looming over the horizon as agula is, but if she works her magic....perhaps a different wedding +
is in store.
then, there is jingnu, downing yet another cup of wine, wondering why she feels so listless as the festivities surround her. there are strangers here she does not recognize, come from across the frozen river, jingnu remembers. such a cold place, but the people seem+
then, there is jingnu, downing yet another cup of wine, wondering why she feels so listless as the festivities surround her. there are strangers here she does not recognize, come from across the frozen river, jingnu remembers. such a cold place, but the people seem+
so warm...jingnu watches as three people—her own age, maybe a little older—whisper together, exchanging jokes known only to each other. they fall back into fits of laughter. they seem to be having fun, jingnu thinks, and she is perhaps more than a little envious of their +
happiness and friendship and camaraderie. how she wishes she could experience that feeling for herself, instead of watching from a distance. how could these be the same people who her dad and the other court officials look down their noses at? as if they are beneath them? +
jingnu thinks she would rather be down there, laughing free and happy, than stuck in the stuffiness of court, tripping over webs of lies and backstabbing generosity. and then, and then one of them, the prince of the grass plains, she thinks, turns their head and catches +
jingnu& #39;s gaze. before jingnu can look away, a blush furiously crawling up her cheeks, the prince smiles, gentle and real, and jingnu finds herself lost in the warmth of those amber eyed, and maybe she needs to see the imperial doctors about this sudden thumping in her ears.... +
in short, jiya plays matchmaker and somehow manages to get the idiotic agula together with the princess, and maybe she finds some love of her own on the way too.
a continuation: https://twitter.com/nangongsunu/status/1325191368612835330?s=19">https://twitter.com/nangongsu...
