Lan Xichen wants to reassure his brother that he would support him, no matter what. Wants his brother to know that whatever else may happen, there will be no argument between them.

But he is shackled. He is responsible now for the lives of all the Gusu Lan, and he has already seen his clan decimated. He never wants to face a moment again where he is told to take the most precious books of the clan and run, to leave the rest behind so the clan could be renewed, perhaps, at a later time.

"Why must we be at odds?" He asks, and cannot help how plaintive he sounds. "Surely there is a path to bringing all to agreement."