Unruly (Between a rock and a hard place 4)

Chapter 2

Lan Qiren was standing in front of the door to his quarters and wondering who was in such a hurry to see him this early in the morning. Any sensible student or Gusu Lan sect disciple would have come after breakfast or talked to him in the dining hall. So it must have either been an emergency or the one on the other side of the door was not being polite at all. He frowned when the knocking became almost barging, gaining in both urgency and strength.

Lan Qiren quickly opened the door to save it from being possibly broken down. He blinked in surprise at a distressed looking Lan Xichen. What was his nephew doing here? And why was he looking as if a catastrophe had happened? It must have had something to do with Wei Wuxian, Lan Qiren was not susceptible to believe anything else.

What had that unruly menace done this time? Was he finally caught causing trouble while pretending to be ill? It would serve him right, Lan Qiren would make sure that his punishment would be severe enough for him to remember it for a long time. Or perhaps he had finally done a too great offence for which he would be able to expel him form the Cloud Recesses altogether?

Just as he was almost celebrating his triumph, he had told everyone just how bad the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple was but no one would listen, especially not his two nephews, he scowled at Lan Xichen. Even if it was an emergency and his nephew was distressed, he should not have banged on his door like that. This morning could apparently not get much worse.

Or so he had thought until Lan Xichen opened his mouth and explained in a hurry and out of breath: "Uncle, Young Master Jiang just came to talk to me. He said that Young Master Wei had not been truly sick these past two days but had been taken into the Jingshi by Wangji. He even said that Wangji threatened to punish him if he had said anything. That was why he came to me only today, he was fearing for his and his brother's safety."

Lan Qiren's scowl became even more pronounced. The confirmation of his worries finally came and he was not happy about the development in the slightest.

Wei Wuxian had finally done it. He did not believe for a second that Lan Wangji's behaviour came from his own mind, the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple was a clear master mind in his eyes. He must have convinced his perfect nephew to help him skip classes and even pretend he was sick so he would be able to laze around while other guest disciples would be hard at work. But going as far as sending Lan Wangji to threaten his own brother? That was going way over the line. Not even talking about how manipulative he must have been for Lan Wangji to fall for his ruses.

Lan Qiren should have been triumphant, now he could say that he had been right all along and the boy was truly a menace. He would be able to send him right back to Lotus Pier as soon as his punishment would be served. Lan Qiren would make sure that he would remember it. And perhaps he should also write a letter to the Yunmeng Jiang sect leader and ask him to be stricter with the troublemaker.

He would also send some advice about how they dealt with unruly and undisciplined disciples in the Cloud Recesses for him to choose from. Jiang Fengmian was his friend and it would reflect badly on his and his sect's reputation if Wei Wuxian did not learn how to behave when in public. He would make sure that the boy would be reformed.

Yes, Lan Qiren should have been triumphant that he would finally not have to deal with Wei Wuxian. But he was angry and sad instead. Angry because all of this could have been avoided if his nephews just listened to him and did not get close to the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple, they would not have been influenced and manipulated like this. And he was also sad because the boys he had brought up by himself had chosen a stranger, a wild boy from another sect, over him.

What pained him the most at the moment was that Lan Wangji had apparently stopped caring about his duties and discipline and just went with everything Wei Wuxian had said. Where was his filial piety when he would even lie to his uncle and brother? Lan Qiren would have to punish him as well so he would understand what respect meant and how he had erred? Yes, he would have to separate him from any bad influences and carefully groom him back into the exemplar Gusu Lan sect disciple he had been until he had been bewitched by Wei Wuxian.

"Let us go," he nodded to Lan Xichen and stepped out of his room. Perhaps it was good that it was so early in the morning. Not so many disciples would see them dealing with this disgraceful family matter.

On their way to the Jingshi, Lan Qiren made sure that he would not rush or act suspiciously. This was a family matter indeed, no one else should have any say in it. He needed to treat it sensibly or Lan Wangji's until now pristine reputation could suffer. Even though Wei Wuxian was fully to be blamed, rumours could always spread and it would not be good for Lan Wangji's future to have been involved with such a menace.

Lan Xichen did not seem to have the same restrains and he was hurrying up ahead all the time. Lan Qiren was considering scolding him but there were too many people around so he decided to remain low for now. They would be in the Jingshi soon enough. Then, they would be able to deal with this behind closed door.

Lan Qiren stopped his thoughts and considered all the facts again. If it would be only him and Lan Xichen witnessing Wei Wuxian's depravity, that would not be enough. He did not count on Lan Wangji to provide any truthful testimony; the boy was apparently far too gone to be able to think clearly. If it came to it, he would probably deny everything and would stand on Wei Wuxian's side. Lan Xichen's point of view was also uncertain to say at the least.

This being the case, Lan Qiren would need more witnesses so his report to Sect Leader Jiang could be supported by them. He knew his old friend could sometimes be quite soft when it came to those he loved and Lan Qiren could not let it slide just like that. Wei Wuxian needed a strong hand to teach him discipline and if Jiang Fengmian could not do so on his own, it was Lan Qiren's duty to intervene. With more witnesses, his old friend would not be able to just brush everything off and believe his ward. He would have to face the reality.

On their way to the Jingshi, Lan Qiren waived over several disciples and also a group of healers who were headed toward the infirmary. The more the better he thought. Now, Wei Wuxian would not be able to pretend that nothing happened. Yes, Lan Qiren would reveal his whole scheme and finally expel him from the Cloud Recesses.