[And with that reassurance, Nie Huaisang finally softens. If his brother didn't know, then he didn't know. He isn't going to fault Nie Mingjue for Jin Guangyao keeping him in the dark.]
I've known about it for a long time, dage. Ten years. It wasn't long after you died that I figured it out. I could not let this matter stand. Not after what happened to Father.
[It's not Nie Huaisang's intention to ruin his brother's happiness if that's what he's found with someone unexpected. But if the three of them are to co-exist in this place without these pretty, golden halls winding up splattered with blood and innocents caught in the middle of it all, these talks need to happen. Regardless of the intense rages and volatility that Nie Huaisang's been experiencing of late, he prefers to settle matters through diplomacy rather than fighting.]
If you choose to continue your involvement with him, all I ask is that you keep it away from me. After what he did to your body after you were gone...
[Nie Huaisang still feels a chill just thinking about it but his brother needs to understand the gravity of what Jin Guangyao did and how deeply it impacted more than just himself.]
I've been searching for your remains for years, dage. On my own. It wasn't long after you passed that you went missing from your tomb. All I could find of you was your arm and it was so full of rage and resentment, I couldn't control you. I needed help but that's another topic for another time.
[His face is pale, lips trembling as he speaks, trying to push through traumatic memories that will probably haunt him for the rest of his days.]
Only recently have the rest of your remains been found. Most of you has been returned to me but I'm still missing your head. Before I was brought here, I was just about to retrieve you.
[He takes a deep breath before asking one more simple question because he's exhausted and has no idea what to do.]
If... If I wasn't talking about you or your body but Father's, what would you do in my stead?
cw: talk of dismemberment, corpse desecration
I've known about it for a long time, dage. Ten years. It wasn't long after you died that I figured it out. I could not let this matter stand. Not after what happened to Father.
[It's not Nie Huaisang's intention to ruin his brother's happiness if that's what he's found with someone unexpected. But if the three of them are to co-exist in this place without these pretty, golden halls winding up splattered with blood and innocents caught in the middle of it all, these talks need to happen. Regardless of the intense rages and volatility that Nie Huaisang's been experiencing of late, he prefers to settle matters through diplomacy rather than fighting.]
If you choose to continue your involvement with him, all I ask is that you keep it away from me. After what he did to your body after you were gone...
[Nie Huaisang still feels a chill just thinking about it but his brother needs to understand the gravity of what Jin Guangyao did and how deeply it impacted more than just himself.]
I've been searching for your remains for years, dage. On my own. It wasn't long after you passed that you went missing from your tomb. All I could find of you was your arm and it was so full of rage and resentment, I couldn't control you. I needed help but that's another topic for another time.
[His face is pale, lips trembling as he speaks, trying to push through traumatic memories that will probably haunt him for the rest of his days.]
Only recently have the rest of your remains been found. Most of you has been returned to me but I'm still missing your head. Before I was brought here, I was just about to retrieve you.
[He takes a deep breath before asking one more simple question because he's exhausted and has no idea what to do.]
If... If I wasn't talking about you or your body but Father's, what would you do in my stead?