Backlash Part 1

Chapter 10: The Hanshi

Lan Xichen awoke earlier than usual. He had tried to go back to sleep several times, but ultimately found it to be a useless endeavour. There was a lot that could go wrong today. Lan Xichen wasn't too worried about Wei Wuxian's safety as long as Lan Wangji was with him. However, that didn't mean much in terms of his long term safety. Lan Xichen wasn't certain what they should do to help him. He actually wasn't sure if they should be doing anything other than taking care of his immediate safety. He had not heard back from Jiang Fengmian yet. Not that he expected to since he only just sent the letter to Lotus Pier yesterday. It was entirely possible they would want to take Wei Wuxian back to Lotus Pier immediately to take care of him themselves. Maybe that would even be a good thing. After all, it was here that Wei Wuxian had attempted suicide, not at Lotus Pier. Lan Xichen was also deeply concerned that his Uncle's behaviour may have contributed to this.

There would be plenty of time to consider the options later. For now there was one task he had to complete immediately. He had to talk to his uncle. At minimum he needed to inform his uncle that some of his students would be absent. He also needed to prevent any further mistreatment toward Wei Wuxian. Lan Xichen was dreading this conversation. His uncle had always been very rigid and strict. Lan Xichen wasn't certain if he had always been that way, or if it was because of what happened to his brother.

All Lan Xichen knew about the events was what his uncle had told him. He knew that his mother killed his father's teacher. Lan Xichen had no idea why she would do that. During the occasions he was able to see his mother she had never spoken of it. According to his uncle, his father had loved his mother for a long time. He was heartbroken that she killed his teacher, and of course the clan elders wished to punish her for the death. Despite the intense outrage his father still married his mother. He protected her from the elders. Then he put himself and his wife into seclusion as a kind of penance. Lan Xichen couldn't help but wish they had done something differently. Those decisions meant Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji were basically raised without parents. All they had was their uncle, and once a month visits with their mother. Visits that ended much too soon.

Lan Xichen had always believed his uncle was strict because he didn't want to see them suffer the way their father did. He didn't really feel like this was a good approach, but he understood it came from a place of concern. Lan Xichen had tremendous respect for his uncle. He raised Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji while also taking over the duties of sect leader. His uncle had fulfilled those duties until Lan Xichen was ready to take them over. Lan Xichen had assumed the responsibility only two years ago, when he was Lan Wangji's age. Since Lan Xichen had been preparing for this role his entire life the transition was pretty smooth. He had accompanied his uncle to discussion conferences and meetings for years. Now he usually just went by himself. Even though Lan Xichen had taken over the duties of sect leader, his uncle still frequently assisted him.

All this contributed to why Lan Xichen struggled to express disagreement with his uncle. His uncle raised him, taught him everything he knew, and guided him in fulfilling his duties. If his uncle didn't have a strong opinion it was easy to discuss and convince him to change his mind. The problem right now, was that for some reason his uncle had a very strong opinion about Wei Wuxian. Lan Xichen had tried inquiring about why his uncle felt so strongly about the YungmengJiang head disciple. The resulting diatribe had not really provided him with any answers. It was true that Wei Wuxian broke many rules, but they were usually minor offenses that could be attributed to the fact that he was young and playful. He had never done anything that was actively harmful to others. Further, the majority of these offenses occurred in class. It was very obvious from the beginning that Wei Wuxian was curious and energetic. With so much excess energy, Lan Xichen suspected that sitting properly and attentively in class was likely an almost impossible task for him. Since Lan Xichen usually only observed the lectures on the first day he couldn't say for certain that was the cause. However, given that his uncle considered good manners to be synonymous with respect, Lan Xichen suspected that the majority of Wei Wuxian's offenses could be attributed to this.