"I will care for him, while you recover." Lan Xichen refuses to think about his brother dying under the lash, refuses to accept that can be an option. He also refuses to place the child under the care of Lan Qiren - he will always love his uncle, and revere him as the closest thing he has to a true father figure, but he knows Lan Wangji would never accept it. Not now. Probably never again.

Lan Xichen's small family is fractured in so many ways, and even with all of his effort, he is only barely holding it together. He stays at his brother's side, not wanting to hurry this moment on.