"Yeah, what is counseling?" Jin Ling echoes. "What do you mean forced? If you're uncomfortable with whatever it is, then you don't have to do it. I won't let anyone force you to do anything." A guilty glance over at Zewu-Jun. "We won't."

The 'like a son' line stings him, too. He never really knew Rusong, being young enough at the time that he'd been disinterested in babies and jealous for how the new infant took attention away from himself, but the revelations about Rusong's death were extremely clear, and Jin Ling's already thrown that back at his uncle more than once. Being like a son to LianFeng-Zun is not a safe thing.

He finally picks up his cup of tea, long since turned cold, and drinks from it.