I will take care of you, I promise (Between a rock and a hard place 3)

Chapter 10

Lan Xichen hurried to the Jingshi. He barely noticed his uncle and several disciples walking briskly behind him. Now that all his worries had been confirmed, and even overshadowed by what he had heard from Jiang Wanyin this morning, he was beyond himself and need to see the truth with his own eyes. He still hoped that he had been mistaken in all his assumptions but he also knew that it was foolish to believe that. He would be lucky if Lan Wangji had not yet done something which would ruin their sect's reputation for good.

He knocked on the door of his brother's quarters, his heart beating fast and his eyebrow knitted together in an expression of utter distress and worry. Lan Wangji would surely know that it was him anyway so there was no way he could restrain himself right now. He knocked again, at a faster pace, more and more impatient with every breath he took.

When nothing happened even after his third try, he announced: "Wangji, Young Master Wei, please pardon the intrusion, we are coming in."

He did not wait for an invitation and he opened the door, quickly stepping inside. He froze in the middle of the room, completely shocked at the picture in front of him. It was bad, terrible even. It was way worse than all his fears. His shoulders sagged; Lan Wangji had really done it, there was no way back for him anymore. The Gusu Lan sect's reputation would be completely ruined now and no one and nothing would be able to salvage it.

Lan Wangji was sitting on the edge of his bed, holding a bowl of congee in one hand and a spoon in the other. He looked as tidied up as normally aside for a shocked expression on his face. That was not what had shaken Lan Xichen so badly. No, it was the other occupant of the room.

Just as he had been told by Jiang Wanyin, Wei Wuxian was in the Jingshi. He was laying on his stomach on the bed and looking directly at him. From this far away, Lan Xichen could not really tell what expression he was harbouring in his eyes but one thing was clear from how flushed his cheeks were, he was beyond embarrassed.

And he had reasons to be. He was completely naked, just laying on the bed helplessly. His arms and legs were tied to the bed frame with what looked like torn up pieces of Lan Wangji's pristine white robes, exposed to the world and unable to cover himself or to hide his nudity in front of the newcomers.

Lan Xichen could feel his own cheeks heating up because of the revealing position the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple was tied in. Not only was Wei Wuxian laying on his stomach and having his nude behind facing directly the door, but there was also something stuck between his butt cheeks as his lower body was being lifted high by a pillow stuffed under his hips. And the worst of all, there was a Gusu Lan sect forehead ribbon fastened around his member which was visible, as if put purposefully on display. Lan Xichen was worried that his uncle would suffer a heart attack seeing this.

He however did not have much time to worry about Lan Qiren's health. The next second, Wei Wuxian apparently finally could not bear his embarrassment any longer and he buried his face in a pillow with a little – and truth to be told adorable – grunt. It did not help to ease the tension of the situation in the slightest but at least Lan Xichen knew that Wei Wuxian was more or less alright; well, given the circumstances he was in right now.

The next second, Lan Wangji stood up and swiftly moved so that Lan Xichen could no longer see the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple. Although this act should have perhaps worried the First Jade even more as it clearly showed just how low Lan Wangji had fallen, in fact, it did the opposite. Now that everything was out in the open, Lan Xichen was actually disappointed in his brother more than anything else. He supposed that other emotions would come flooding in later, but right now, he was just sad that Lan Wangji had not listened to his multiple warnings.

"Wangji... I thought I have judged you better... I have warned you to not become like our father... And now I find you here, not only kidnapping Young Master Wei but also keeping him a prisoner in the Jingshi. You should have really known better. What should I tell the Yunmeng Jiang clan now? A simple apology would not be enough I am afraid. We would surely have to make amends... Wangji, I am disappointed in you."

Lan Wangji's shoulders sagged a little after this, it was clear that his conscience was not clear. But it was too late now, for him anyway.

"Wangji, how could you... I thought I have brought you up better than this..." Lan Qiren apparently shared the same disappointment and it could only mean one thing, Lan Wangji was lost to both the Gusu Lan clan and sect, he would be punished severely for this and nothing he would say or do would change it.

"Seize him and examine Wei Wuxian. Until his fate will be decided, Wangji is to be confided to seclusion in a separate building." Lan Qiren ordered in a calm voice that Lan Xichen knew was just him trying to cope with the situation and not his real feelings on it. He suspected that his uncle was in a great inner turmoil, just like him, and had decided to do what he could right now and deal with his emotions later, in private.

Everything happened quickly after that. Five disciples with their swords drawn came into the room and encircled Lan Wangji, their weapons pointed right towards his chest. It was a clear sign that they too were shocked and had only decided to follow Lan Qiren's instructions. Otherwise, there would have been at least a little bit of hesitation to be threatening the Second Jade of the Gusu Lan sect like this. They have all respected Lan Wangji very much and would have been saddened by having to seize him.

His brother glared at the disciples, to his honour – if there was any left after what he had done – he did not try to resist. Then, his gaze shifted towards Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren and there was something akin to pleading mixed with urgency and anger in his eyes. He tried to explain himself: "Brother, Uncle, please. It was not me; I have not attacked Wei Ying."

Those words only sounded like an excuse of a guilty man to Lan Xichen's ears. The proof was right in front of their eyes and Lan Wangji still dared to claim being innocent? Apparently, Lan Xichen had been mistaken in his brother this whole time, what audacity did he had to stand up not only to him but to their uncle?

Lan Xichen took a deep breath to calm himself down. He should not let his emotions get the better of him. There was still hope – and he wanted dearly to believe it – that there was a reasonable explanation to all of this even if he could not see it right now. He should not judge until knowing the full truth. The truth that only the victim itself could provide. He would have to first interrogate Wei Wuxian to know his side of the story as well. And Jiang Wanyin's too.

"We need more time to consider everything, we should think things through before doing anything." He mumbled more to himself than to anyone else.

His head was hurting now and he knew that he needed to have a nice hot cup of tea before he would be once again able to think with clear head. He shook his head, he was living nothing short of a nightmare and he just wanted to wake up. But of course that was just his wishful thinking, this was the reality he had to deal with.