Lan Qiren had never planned to be a father. He had never been interested in the sort of relationship that would lead someone to becoming a parent. In his youth, probably his greatest concern had been that he would one day be asked to take a spouse and produce heirs. It was technically his filial duty. Whether just to ensure the continuation of the family, or to secure a political alliance.

Lan Qiren could not imagine himself enjoying such an intimate and emotional relationship. Lan Qiren's friendships had mostly formed with whomever his Xiongzhang was spending time with. He and his brother were even closer in age than Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji. Added to the fact that Lan Qiren had been particularly well suited to academic pursuits, it meant that the two of them attended the same classes in everything short of those lessons from their father that were for future sect leadership.

Lan Qiren had never been a particularly welcoming person. His brother was the person people flocked to. He was flexible with the rules and easy to smile. His Xiongzhang had always been Lan Qiren's closest friend. No other friendship ever came close to the bond Lan Qiren shared with his brother.

Lan Qiren had always felt it was a blessing that his brother was the oldest. His brother who could smooth tempers so easily. Who managed to maintain the refined dignity of their sect while still inviting others into his space. His brother who would smile and lightly tease Lan Qiren for being too rigid.

Lan Qiren had wanted nothing more than to devote himself wholly to his studies. He wished to pursue knowledge. To excel and one day teach future generations. He was notoriously inflexible. His brother was the one who argued for interpretations of the rules. But, to Lan Qiren, the rules were as solid as the stone they were carved on.

Lan Qiren attempted, badly, to indulge his brother's insistence on flexibility. Something that became increasingly difficult as his brother gathered more friends from outside of their sect. Cangse Sanren had been a particularly frustrating example. Mostly because she was simultaneously the most academically gifted of their friends, and therefore the most engaging person to debate with, while also being the complete antithesis of a rule-abiding cultivator.

The fact that more than one of their friends were enamoured with her was a comparatively mild annoyance. Lan Qiren cared very little about the childish crushes and romantic inclinations of his peers. Maybe if he had paid attention to such things, Lan Qiren would have been able to intervene in the relationship of his nephews' parents.

Lan Qiren would never know. He had long been in the habit of ignoring his peers, and even his brother, when the topic of romance or beauty came up. Other than his brother assuring him that Lan Qiren wouldn't need to worry about having heirs. Promising that marriage and children would be no hardship. So, Lan Qiren could continue to focus on his duties as the future Sect Leader's brother.

His brother served as Sect Leader for two years. All of a sudden their teacher was dead. His murderer was now married to Xiongzhang, and Xiongzhang was in indefinite seclusion. Lan Qiren was never taught to lead the sect. He was taught what was needed to assist his brother. Leading a sect was much more than that, and it was never supposed to fall to Lan Qiren.

Less than a year later Lan Qiren was holding his baby nephew. Lan Qiren, who had never wanted to have children, was given the responsibility of raising his nephew. His brother refused to leave seclusion even for his son's birth. Lan Qiren was never meant for this role of sect leader and father. Lan Qiren had never wanted this role, but he did his best.

Lan Qiren didn't understand his brother's actions, but Xiongzhang was serving punishment. There wasn't a standard for what the punishment for this would be. What was the punishment for marrying your teacher's murderer in order to shield her from punishment? Lan Qiren was the acting sect leader. He didn't have the authority to dictate or alter the orders of the sect leader.

When his youngest nephew was born, Lan Qiren expected his brother to be there. He had clearly left his seclusion to at least visit his wife. Instead Lan Qiren now found himself a father of two children with all the responsibilities of leading a sect. All the responsibilities and none of the control to change the situation for the better.

Lan Qiren raised his nephews the only way he knew how, fully aware that he was inadequate for such a role. At first Lan Qiren was only trying to fill in the role until his brother could step up. It became clear after Madam Lan's death that Qingheng-jun was never going to leave seclusion. Lan Qiren stopped trying to understand what his brother and best friend was thinking. He stopped trying to reason with his sect leader.

Lan Qiren had relied on the rules to guide his actions through the things Lan Qiren didn't know how to navigate. He strove to raise his nephews with the same steady dedication. Lan Qiren had always believed his brother would be a better leader and a better father than Lan Qiren could ever hope to be. Perhaps Qingheng-jun would have been, had he not abandoned both responsibilities.

Lan Qiren put everything he had into raising his nephews to be righteous young men who would not repeat the mistakes of their father. Lan Qiren had had little patience for loud vivacious rule breakers that reminded him too much of the sort of friends and lovers his Xiongzhang had gravitated towards. Especially if those rule breakers were too close to his nephews.

Lan Qiren let out a long sigh. He had never been good at being flexible, and Wei Wuxian was frustratingly similar to his mother. Everything about him seemed to be in opposition to the disciplines that were the foundation of Lan Qiren's world.

That Wei Wuxian had found a way to use resentful energy was... Well, if anyone was going to do it of course it would be the son of Cangse Sanren. The woman had never met a rule that she didn't insist on finding an exception to. She was also brilliant enough to back up such ridiculous ambitions.

Lan Qiren was not pleased that his nephew's betrothed was using resentful energy. However, Lan Qiren was rather at a loss in terms of what to do about it. Lan Qiren had never seen the practice himself. His injury at the start of the war had been debilitating. Lan Qiren had been lucky to survive it, and was even luckier to regain the use of his sword arm.

However, by the time he had healed enough to be capable of battle they were already a year into the war. Lan Qiren was coordinating supply lines and managing refugees displaced from their sects. By the time he could have joined the fighting, it was decided it was more important for him to remain in his role. The potential consequences if their supply lines collapsed was not worth one additional cultivator, even if that cultivator was Lan Qiren.

Lan Qiren had not seen his nephews in almost three years. It had been a very real fear that he might lose one or both of them. The letters he received from Lan Xichen all indicated that Wei Wuxian's use of resentful energy had become vital to the war. Lan Xichen had become almost certain that without it, the war would have been lost. The letters were filled with Lan Xichen struggling with the reality that they needed Wei Wuxian to use resentful energy, but Lan Xichen had no idea what it might be doing to Wei Wuxian.

Lan Qiren had no more information than Lan Xichen did. All Lan Qiren could do was to continue to play his part to the best of his ability. If this was hurting Wei Wuxian, or changing him, it was doubtful that it would change Lan Wangji's feelings at all. So Lan Qiren made sure the elders were aware of Wei Wuxian's contributions to the war.

The elders had mixed reactions. The use of resentful energy was in direct conflict with the rules and values of their sect. However, all reports indicated that Wei Wuxian had only harmed enemy soldiers with his cultivation. Wei Wuxian's health was not entirely known, but no one else had been negatively affected by his practice. Including Lan Wangji who had never left Wei Wuxian's side through the entire war.

Several of the elders noted that Wei Wuxian's contributions to the Sunshot Campaign were heroic. Only a handful of cultivators could claim to have contributed even close to what Wei Wuxian had brought to the Sunshot campaign, and most of those were sect leaders. The fact that Wei Wuxian was already betrothed to Lan Wangji, and set to join the GusuLan sect was certainly a boon to the sect.

Lan Qiren understood the politics of such arguments. No matter if Lan Qiren found it distasteful. Lan Qiren was not someone who believed that the ends justified the means, but... well, Lan Qiren had never been good at being flexible. So he held his tongue, and tried not to look disapproving as more elders were swayed by the benefits of being able to call three of the heroes of the Sunshot campaign part of their sect.

Lan Qiren was mostly concerned about Lan Wangji. Should anything happen to Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji would suffer. Whether Wei Wuxian was injured, or his mind corrupted, the consequences for Lan Wangji would be devastating. Lan Qiren was therefore relieved when Lan Xichen informed him that he would be accepting the DafanWens, now DafanWei's, into the GusuLan sect. Most notably, Wei Qing.

Lan Qiren needed little convincing in this. Wei Qing had been a bright and respectful student. Her brother had been quiet and polite. More importantly, Wei Qing had treated Wei Wuxian in Cloud Recesses following his suicide attempt. She was one of the most skilled doctors in the cultivation world. If anyone could determine what Wei Wuxian might have done to himself and treat it, it would be her.

The fact that her extended family were trained healers who would be bringing their cumulative knowledge into the GusuLan sect was secondary, but welcomed. Lan Qiren was the one who informed the elders and made the arrangements for their integration into the sect. The adoption of a new surname went a long way in soothing those who were initially resistant to the idea.

Lan Qiren was curious regarding their new surname. When he inquired, Lan Xichen reported that Wei Wuxian had saved their lives. Lan Qiren recalled that Wei Wuxian and Wei Qing had become very close during the studies in Cloud Recesses. Wei Qing had stepped up immediately to aid in Wei Wuxian's treatment, and had quickly become protective of him. Lan Qiren recalled the verbal dressing-down Wei Qing had given the Jiangs, all the fierceness of a mother tiger protecting her young. Perhaps the new surname was a rather predictable choice.

Lan Qiren had spoken with the healers, who seemed ecstatic at the news. Wei Qing's reputation alone was impressive, but apparently among medical cultivators the DafanWen, now DafanWei, had a reputation that stretched back many generations. Their knowledge and work related to golden cores was particularly desirable. It seemed the GusuLan sect was getting a far better deal than the elders had realized.

Lan Qiren used the input from the healers to select the area to construct their settlement. They would be given their own space, like a proper branch family. Lan Xichen had noted that they would need space suitable for the cultivation of medicinal plants. So Lan Qiren felt it was best to ask the GusuLan sect healers for their input regarding what might be required of the location.

Lan Qiren was aware that most of the medicinal plants used in the GusuLan sect were purchased from elsewhere, so he was not certain if the information would be readily available. After being redirected to one individual or another, Lan Qiren was eventually accompanied to inspect the locations he was considering by none other than one of the elders.

Lan Zhi kept a small medical garden around her residence, which Lan Qiren was not aware of. She apparently had a great many opinions about the cultivation of medicinal plants and was somewhat disappointed that Lan Qiren could not tell her what plants the DafanWei may be looking to raise specifically. Eventually she approved his second choice for location.

His first choice had been closer to the infirmary. Which Lan Qiren felt was practical, but did somewhat limit the available space. His second choice was technically in the back hills, but it was close to the Jingshi. It also had a great deal of open space around it. Lan Qiren learned that Lan Zhi had apparently tried to have the GusuLan sect cultivate their own medicinal plants, but there had been insufficient interest for the project to take off. It had been limited to Lan Zhi's personal garden ever since. Lan Qiren was almost certain that Lan Zhi had selected this location because of the ample space to expand any farming endeavours.

All things considered, Lan Qiren felt more than ready for his nephews and their new sect members. He wasn't entirely confident about interacting with Wei Wuxian again, but Lan Qiren recognized that as mostly nerves. His history with Wei Wuxian was rocky. Lan Qiren's early behaviour had been... inappropriately aggressive. He felt he had improved while Wei Wuxian was at Cloud Recesses, but years had passed since then. A war had been fought and won. The children Lan Qiren had known had come of age in battle. They had watched people die, and needed to kill people in turn. Add in a variable like resentful energy and... Lan Qiren really didn't know what to expect.