@cerbykerby: today's short dumb thought is ...

today's short dumb thought is prince lxc, who is getting Really tired of his little brother playing chicken with wwx and his feelings, publicly announcing his intention to take wwx as a concubine.

wwx is shocked. lwj is shocked. somewhere nearby, lqr drops into a dead faint.

wwx, who at this point has had Zero ideas of lwj's feelings for him, is so flustered that he can't even joke about it. he and lxc have interacted a maximum of maybe three meaningful times. he can't think of a single reason why lxc would want him as a concubine.

then there's lwj, ping-ponging violently between being extremely suspicious of his brother's intentions and pondering the consequences of fratricide.

a flurry of furtive gazes, longing looks, sneaky meetings, and lingering touches ensues. lxc enjoys every second of it. he has a supply of popcorn that he's consuming at an increasing rate.

do you know who isn't having fun? lwj and wwx. and also lqr, but that's not the point.

there is one thing lxc didn't account for, though: and that is nmj's growing desperation every time he tries to ask lxc about how his engagement is going and lxc responds (in an entirely platonic way) that wwx is a very entertaining to be around and that lxc enjoys his company.

nmj does Not take this platonically.

at last, finally, it all comes to a head one day, when lxc is about to announce the date that wwx will move into his palace.

as expected, lwj finally—FINALLY—steps forward when lxc asks if there are any objections to him taking a new concubine. lwj inhales, about to speak—

—only to be shoved aside by nmj, who announces that he has admired lxc deeply for years and would like an alliance by official marriage—with no concubines involved.

the entire court is scandalized. nmj has snubbed wwx—and robbed yunmeng jiang of imperial political standing.

meanwhile, lxc is the doing the princely equivalent of whipping out his reading glasses to squint and study his script, because this is Not how he'd envisioned this turning out at all.

nmj: your highness, i officially challenge yunmeng jiang's wei wuxian for your hand!

wwx, who does Not want to fight nmj: