MengShu

MengShu is the slash ship between Lin Shu and Meng Zhi from the Nirvana in Fire fandom.

Canon
Lin Shu and Meng Zhi were close friends before the Chiyan conspiracy, with Meng Zhi being two years older than Lin Shu. Lin Shu would play with his friend Xiao Jingyan and often run into trouble, and it was only when Meng Zhi, a guard in training, called for them to stop that they did. It is not known if they have any interactions other than this before the Chiyan conspiracy.

When Lin Shu first came to the Imperial City, Meng Zhi was the first one to recognize his real identity. They had been writing letters to each other for a while now. However, Meng Zhi did not expect that Lin Shu would be this ill, and promises to help him get to his goal of revealing the truth around the Chiyan Army. Whenever Lin Shu fell ill, it was Meng Zhi's responsibility to run errands for him. Meng Zhi often uses his power as a general to get Lin Shu around and to make sure he stays out of public view.

When the Empress Dowager (known to be close with Lin Shu) died, Meng Zhi visits Lin Shu's house to reminisce on the past, specifically their childhood.One time, Lin Shu and Xiao Jingyan were babysitting a bunch of kids. Lin Shu was fed up with them and decided to tie the most annoying on of them to a tree. The well-intentioned Xiao Jingyan took all the blame for himself. Despite this, Lin Shu's father still punished him and was about to whip him until the Empress Dowager stepped in and stopped it. Lin Shu laughs and says that although he still wishes that he was a child, those times have passed, and he is okay with who he is now. Meng Zhi tries to comfort him, but Lin Shu refuses to talk further.

When Lin Yan reveals that Lin Shu's illness is not one that can be easily cured, Meng Zhi is the first one shocked and the only one with such an intense reaction. Meng Zhi is angry for a while but then starts tearing up, expressing that even if Lin Shu did not care about his life, other certainly did. Lin Shu reminds him that what he is doing is for the best, but this time Meng Zhi does not listen.

Fanon
is one of the less popular ships within the Nirvana in Fire fandom. Fans usually ship them because they have a close relationship. In fact, Meng Zhi is often the only one who cares about Lin Shu that knows about his past, until Lin Shu revealed his identity to Xiao Jingyan. However, some fans may hesitate to ship them, as Meng Zhi has a canon wife. This ship is also rivaled by the more popular Jingsu and HuangSu. Fans often headcannon that it was Meng Zhi who took care of Fei Liu, Lin Shu's bodyguard and adopted child, after Lin Shu's death.

On A03, there are 26+ works for this pair.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Trivia

 * Meng Zhi often calls Lin Shu "Xiao Shu (小殊)"
 * It was Meng Zhi who proposed a new name of the military to Xiao Jingyan, named after Lin Shu.