"This is exactly why I can never argue with Suyin," Su Jixin said, staring at the cup of tea as though waiting for it to transform into a serpent and strike at him. "Whenever I try to argue with her, she lays things out so calmly and clearly that I'm left with no room to object. I can forgive my wife and little sister for doing that to me, but it feels much worse seeing a junior not even twenty summers of age doing the same."
"If it helps, my mother does this to me too," Wu Ling offered candidly. "As Artists, we're deeply in tune with how people feel and it gives us an unfair advantage against people who aren't Artists. I have another advantage though, and it's far more impactful than my meager skill as an Artist."
"Oh, what's that?" Su Jixin said, reaching out to pick up the teacup. He didn't drink, but instead rolled the cup between his hands, feeling the warmth of the cup and allowing the warmth to flow into his body. Slowly, the warmth spread from his arms to his chest as he inhaled the sharp fragrance of the herb-infused tea.
The thought of acknowledging Wu Ling as his nephew still rankled but the tea, at least, had done nothing wrong to deserve his ire. The slight comfort offered by the warmth and fragrance of the tea helped to clear his mind and focus on the thoughts behind Wu Ling's words. At least, if nothing else, he could give the young man an honest ear.
"We're not as different as you think Uncle Su," Wu Ling said, pressing forward when he saw the subtle shift in the older man's posture. "I don't pretend to know what it's like to build a safe home for a wife and daughter, but for the past few years, I've done everything I can to provide a safe home for my crippled mother. I've performed in tea houses, painted for countless young ladies, argued with the landlord countless times," he said, pouring out the feelings that had built within his chest over the years of struggle.
"I've hired more than a dozen alchemists to find a way to ease her pain or restore her strength and it's never brought her more than a few moons of reprieve but I've never stopped," Wu Ling said, allowing his honest feelings to color his words like paint on canvas.
"You have ten times as many years caring for women you treasure and I don't pretend that my experience approaches yours, but I know enough to understand a bit of what you're feeling. My mother kept secrets from me too," he admitted.
"I didn't learn until recently who had crippled her or why, or that the people who crippled her had sworn to eradicate my father's bloodline if I managed to Awaken. I'm still not happy about being kept in the dark for so many years but I've tried hard to understand my mother's reasons," Wu Ling said earnestly.
At some point, it had stopped being about convincing the older man. Instead, Wu Ling felt like he'd met someone who could truly understand what his past several years had been like. More than just passing their current impass, he hoped that one day, he could turn to Su Jixin as a sympathetic ear when the burden felt to heavy. Just sharing what he had so far already made his own burden feel lighter.
"No matter what, I still love my mother," Wu Ling said softly. "She's still the family that raised and cared for me for so many years, even after my father died and she was on her own. There's hurt between us," he admitted. "But that hurt won't tear us apart. I think you and Aunt Zou will be the same."
"It's been rude of me to treat you like a lesser man," Su Jixin grudgingly admitted as he took in the younger man's story. "You've had your own struggles but you didn't abandon your mother when you could have run away."
"I don't like the way you deceived my family," Su Jixin reiterated. "But for this foundation of respect you speak of, I can acknowledge and respect that you've worked hard as a man to care for the most important woman in your life." Slowly, he raised the cup of steaming tea to his thin lips and took a delicate sip, enough to acknowledge his intentions while still holding him back from accepting everything.
"That's very bitter tea," he said with a scowl. "I thought that you cultivated the art of tea? How could you produce such a bitter cup?"
"The cup is an honest reflection of our relationship, Uncle Su," Wu Ling said with a slight smile. "Don't think that I'm not bitter about the hostility you've directed to me, just as you're bitter about the way I deceived your family and countless others when I dressed as a woman."
"Ultimately, however, the tea is good for you," Wu Ling insisted. "I've added herbs that are helpful to you and if you take another sip, you'll find that the bitterness fades. The cup represents my hope that we can benefit each other and move on from bitter beginnings," he explained.
He selected his words very carefully when he described the herbs he'd added as being 'good for' his newfound uncle. The herbs would manipulate his uncle's emotions but Wu Ling genuinely believed that the manipulation was in his uncle's best interests. As long as he felt sincerely that it would benefit the other man, he hoped that Su Jixin's talent for seeing through to the truth of things wouldn't find anything to be concerned about.
"You can do all that in a cup of tea?" Su Jixin said, a sharp brow raised in doubt. "I've had no shortage of experience with bitter medicinal teas brewed by alchemists but never once have I found one that grew less bitter the more I drank," he added, raising the cup to his lips again and taking a second sip. "I confess to being wrong about the tea," he said after carefully considering the flavor.
"And likely to be wrong about other things. I accept your cup, Nephew Wu," he said, drinking down the last of the warm liquid and allowing the warmth to flow through his body, melting his resistance and blunting the sharpness of many of the things that disturbed his heart.
"Thank you, Uncle Su," Wu Ling said, offering a slight bow with cupped hands. "Now, I promised to help you obtain what you want," he continued, bringing the conversation back to more pressing issues now that he'd successfully navigated the hostility that prevented anything substantial from being said. With practiced motions, Wu Ling packed away the tea set and brought out a roll of parchment, ink, and a fine brush.
"I said that I wanted our relationship to be one of mutual respect and mutual benefits," Wu Ling said as he began to write. "In exchange for what I'm offering, I want you to tell me everything you know about what the Shining Blade Hall has done to my sister, Xiang. If needed, I'd like your help in ensuring that she can go free. Are you willing to accept those terms, Uncle Su?"