[ If he's honest, he still isn't quite certain this is real. He has seen Mingjue so often in his dreams, and he knows that the people who rule this place are quite capable of getting inside one's mind. It would not be a surprise if this was a trick, if he wakes tomorrow and finds that Mingjue is gone.

It is - reassuring, to feel him warm and solid beneath his hands, even though he can already feel the tips of his ears warming a little at needing this much to steady himself. ]

It is too soon for Meng Yao to be interested in making a deal with the Queen, I think. She has too much power, and he does not have enough information to plan for contingencies in the case that she did not keep her word. But he would, were that not the case, and he believed it necessary.

[ It would be naive to think otherwise, and while Lan Xichen still cares for Meng Yao, still thinks this version is not too far gone - he has few illusions about how his mind works, or what his priorities are. ]

Murder does not stick here. It seems they have perfected reanimation, even limb reattachment, in a way beyond anything I have seen before. [ His left hand clenches and opens slowly, as if he's testing its movement without even being conscious of it. ] My judgement is faulty. I - am aware that I cannot be trusted in this, but I don't know what else to do. Wangji has agreed to keep an eye on me.