cont. from here with @2heir
Lan Qiren doesn't know what to do about his nephew. He has always been the epitome of Lan. Always obedient and rule abiding. Until recently. He's tried to steer him right, tried to guide him away from a fate similar to that of Qingheng-jun, but nothing seems to work. Not even stricter punishments. Qiren isn't blind, his nephew might not yet fully understand what his heart does, but this is not the first time the older Lan sees this. If Wangji had only fallen for someone else. Someone not walking the Ghostly Path and hiding war criminals.
Glancing towards the door, he tells the disciple currently aiding him to tell his nephew that he can leave. The punishment is done. Qiren himself walks off to meet with Xichen before it is time for bed. There's not a thought in his mind to check on his youngest nephew, certain that he will leave once told he can do so.
Which is why Lan Qiren is startled to find his youngest nephew still kneeling by the door in the early hours of the morning. For a moment, he is frozen to the spot before he quickly steps forward to catch him as he falls. No! No, he can't be... For a heartbeat, he fears Wangji is dead, but he is breathing and speaks to him. "Wangji..." is all he replies as he swiftly lifts him up and hurries back inside just as a disciple comes by with his morning tea. "Get a healer!" he barks, scaring the poor disciple and he mentally notes to make himself copy rules later.
Gently, he places Wangji on his bed, pulling up the blanket over his cold body before taking his slender wrist in his hand to check his meridians. "I told you to go home," he mutters under his breath.
