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Lan Qiren sat at his desk and stared at the kitchens' expenses report without taking it in. He had sent Wei Wuxian home due to disruptive behavior some months ago, and now all the other young masters of the cultivational world had returned home as well. The lessons were over and the Cloud Recesses had returned to normal. By all accounts, Lan Qiren should be resting and recuperating.
Instead, he was completely preoccupied by thoughts of Wei Wuxian. He had to admit, the boy was smart. It incensed Lan Qiren how much he was wasting his talents through sloth.
And that attitude! So irreverent, yet potentially so corrigible! Just a bit of direction and discipline, and he could improve immensely! Even the fight that had gotten him thrown out, well, it was perfectly reasonable for a disciple to be incensed at an insult to his shijie, even if his choice of response to that insult was inappropriate.
Calling the Sect Leaders had been illuminating. Jin Guangshan, of course, did not actually care about his son's actions, and Madam Jin had no political choice but to spoil the boy, given Jin Guangshan's infinite bastards, so Lan Qiren was not terribly hopeful about Jin Zixuan's prospects. For Wei Wuxian, however... Jiang Fengmian was spoiling him. The boy was being treated with all the indulgence of a previously mistreated child of five. But he was no longer five, but fifteen, and Sect Leader Jiang was doing Wei Wuxian a disservice of colossal proportions, akin to preventing a child from learning to walk by always picking it up. How did he not realize that?
With a sigh, Lan Qiren set the paper down. If he was so bothered by this situation months later, he ought to do something about it.
A few days later, with Lan Xichen in charge of Lan sect affairs – he had the elders with him, and nothing major was happening, so Lan Qiren refused to feel too guilty – Lan Qiren stepped off his sword in Yunmeng. A Jiang sect servant rushed to welcome him inside, and he was soon brought to an appealingly decorated small receiving room. It was done in dark wood with carved detailing, tastefully ornate and not ostentatious. He wondered how her parents expected Maiden Jiang to survive at the Jin sect, supportive mother in law or not.
"It is good to see you in Yunmeng," Jiang Fengmian said once a servant had brought them all tea. "What brings you here?"
"I must admit some concern over Wei Wuxian's education," he began, and then went on what should probably be called a tirade on how both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng would do better if they were allowed to grow separately a bit.
"...thus I would like to take Wei Wuxian with me night hunting," he finally concluded.
Jiang Fengmian opened his mouth to object, but Yu Ziyuan was faster. "That sounds like an excellent idea. The Jiang Sect is honored that you would take time out of your no doubt busy schedule to help educate a disciple of ours." She paused, thoughtful. "There are reports of a haunting to the West. Perhaps you could start there."
"Of course. Thank you for your cooperation."
And thus Lan Qiren grabbed a shocked and spluttering Wei Wuxian and swept him off with sect permission. They went to a small village in Xihuang, chasing the report of the haunting. He let Wei Wuxian take the lead, resolving only to intervene if necessary.
He was richly rewarded: Wei Wuxian solved the puzzle sooner than he did, and informed the master of the house that he was not being haunted – he should simply fix some holes in the walls and also the floorboards. The lady of the house immediately began on a litany of "I told you so." Wei Wuxian and Lan Qiren made their exits.
Lan Qiren wondered what to make of this as he led them to an inn to have dinner. They ordered a few dishes Lan Qiren knew from previous experience would not be excessively spicy.
The night hunt, if it could be called that, had brought Wei Wuxian focus and if not gravitas, then a sense of responsibility. Alas, he returned to needling Lan Qiren as they waited for their dishes. "Why do you insist on bringing the Jiang sect to disrepute?" Lan Qiren chided him.
Wei Wuxian clacked his jaw shut and blanched. "I- No, I- Teacher Lan! I was just kidding! Haven't you ever heard of jokes in the Cloud Recesses?"
Lan Qiren gave him a withering gaze. "That is not the issue and you know it. Your actions in public are the actions of your sect. I have seen you act with the sense of responsibility your position requires, and I know you know all the classic texts and have an intuitive grasp of the foundational principles of cultivation. What is it, then? Are you bored?"
Wei Wuxian's mouth worked open and shut, like a fish on dry land. "No! I, just, a servant shouldn't outshine the master, so-"
He babbled some more, but Lan Qiren wasn't really paying attention. The problem! Finally! He had found it!
And it was such a banal and common problem, too! Why, Lan Qiren had dealt with it repeatedly in the Cloud Recesses. Every year, there was at least one outside disciple who felt insecure about bearing a different surname and self-sabotaged consciously or unconsciously.
"Perhaps you could simply think of yourself as a different kind of servant," he interrupted Wei Wuxian's tirade. "Instead of being there to make Young Master Jiang look bright, you could be there to illuminate what he wants to see."
This made Wei Wuxian grow thoughtful. "Do you think so? Is that even possible?"
"For a currently relevant example, think of Wen Ruohan and Wen Zhuliu. Wen Zhuliu can do what Wen Ruohan cannot, but no-one thinks less of Wen Ruohan for it." It was perhaps not the most relevant example, but it was the one Wei Wuxian would know, and not argue about history books misrepresenting the relationship.
Wei Wuxian sat back. "Do you think Jiang Cheng would be mad?"
"I think Jiang Wanyin would also benefit from having a study companion who takes the matter seriously." Lan Qiren decided to go for the jugular. "And while the Young Masters of the cultivational world have been ranked, such rankings are prone to change."
"Wha- Oh." The thought of knocking Jin Zixuan to fifth or even fourth place was perhaps not wholly realistic, given Jin Guangshan's influence, but it seemed to be incredibly motivating. "Thank you for your advice, Teacher Lan."
Such manners! Such immediate improvement! Lan Qiren permitted himself a smile.
Yes, this was much better. They even had a civilized conversation over food when their dishes arrived.
Lan Qiren would have to check in every now and then, of course, to make sure that whatever had given Wei Wuxian his initial attitude would not undo all his improvement, but he was confident the thought of overtaking Jin Zixuan in the ranking would carry Wei Wuxian through at least a year. By then, he'd hopefully have realized that being a proper gentleman was its own reward.
He hadn't committed to any precise schedule on returning Wei Wuxian, so he could keep him for a few days longer, at the very least. He looked forward to seeing just what this more responsible, less self-sabotaging Wei Wuxian would be like.