Intent: Xiao-Jian

He never intended to fall in love. Actually, he didn't intend for a lot of things to happen. He had no idea when he left Da-Li to find his sister and finish his revenge that his life would become so complicated. Not that it was simple to start with; killing an Emperor, especially one who was, for better or worse, loved by the Chinese people, was never going to be easy. His mentor, the old monk, had stressed forgiveness, to rise above earthly needs for vengeance. He tried, he really did. He was going to find his sister, bring her home to Da Li, and carry on with his life. But when he discovered that his little sister had been abandoned, all his anger and desperation returned. In his mind, she was but a small baby, helpless in this big, bad world. She was his responsibility to care for, and he had failed her. Never mind that it really wasn't his fault, he still blamed himself. If only he had thought to ask about her earlier, to search for her sooner, perhaps then she would have grown up in a loving home. So, it was with guilt, anger, regret, as well as urgency to reclaim the last remaining member of his family that drove him to BeiJing.

When he found her, or suspected that the girl was her, he was confused. Not just because somehow his baby sister had become a princess and the beloved daughter of their family's enemy, but also because she seemed so full of life and had such independence. Observing the group around her, he could tell that they all revolved around her. She was the center-point who tied them all together, the commonality where all their lives overlapped. For all her kindness, ZW lacked a certain spirit without XYZ's influence. For all his intelligence and morality, EK would lack the impetuous to challenge the system without having ZW at stake. As for YQ, he was the one whom Xiao-Jian observed most of all, especially when the friends were fleeing for their lives. He couldn't deny that YQ truly cared for XYZ. No other prince would willingly give up all the luxury of Palace life to sleep on the cold, hard floor of a rural farmer's house for a girl with an unknown past. Sometimes, he wondered if YQ cared more for XYZ than she did for him. As much as he loved his sister, even he couldn't deny that she could be very immature. When the thought occurred to him, he tried hard to stamp it down; she was his sister, after all, and he was the son of his enemy, the destroyer of his family. So he was conflicted. When he decided to return to BeiJing with them all, he thought it would just be to see his sister married. Then, once she was settled, he would return to Da Li, to work on his mentor's advice of forgiveness. He rather thought that forgiveness would be easier the further he was from the capital and from the Emperor. That was his intention. But, as everything is around XYZ, things didn't go as planned.

He met her instead. Qing-er. He had heard stories, certainly, from both XYZ and ZW. The two girls couldn't say enough kind things about the princess in the palace who was their staunch supporter and who, with her intelligence, had saved them more than once. Perhaps it was ZW's description that first raised his curiosity. She had said that Qing-er appeared a serene lake when you first met her, but underneath, she was full of turbulent eddies and hidden depths. He had met many curious people in his travels and didn't think he could be fascinated by mere stories of a person's deeds anymore. How wrong he was. Perhaps that should have been the first sign that this girl was different.

When he finally met her, or rather, when he literally bumped into her, he found himself mesmerized by her smile. ZW had said that Qing-er's smile hid a fierce intelligence, like velvet wrapped around steel. And he, who prided himself on discerning a person's character from only one look, found that every word ZW said was right. What the girls didn't mention was Qing-er's beauty. He really should have expected it; she was after all related to the Royal Family. But somehow, he didn't expect the sweetness in her demeanor. When she turned back to look at him, her eyes filled with curiosity and that mysterious smile dancing at her lips, he understood finally what EK meant when he said that he felt he had fallen off a cliff when ZW first tugged on his robes and begged for him to listen to her as she crawled forward in the dirt. He found that he wanted to get to know this girl, to find out about her deepest thoughts and ideas. When she disappeared from view, he could only look at the spot where she had stood and wonder if he hadn't been wrong all his life, that perhaps love at first sight was possible after all.

For all the emotions he was experiencing, however, he didn't intend to pursue the matter. He had witnessed how difficult the road had been for ZW, EK, XYZ, and YQ. He wanted to preserve Qing-er's innocence. He, who had seen so much, done so much, and experienced so much, wanted to spare her. But the more he interacted with her, the more they discussed history and philosophy, the more he realized that she wasn't the innocent he believed her to be. Qing-er was well aware of the backstabbing politics of the Royal Court and was smart enough to avoid being entangled into various plots. When she shared her own tragic history and the story of her parents' deaths, he felt a kinship to her he had never felt with anyone else. It was odd really, he had met orphans in his travels, but none spoke to his heart and his mind the way she did. She was like an oasis; he felt his restlessness calm and his need to revenge cool. In her company, he felt that forgiveness was really possible and that he was capable of forgetting a life of anger. So, despite all his best intentions, he couldn't help but fall for her.

He really shouldn't have been surprised when EK pulled him aside one day to ask him about his intentions. EK, who paid such close attention to detail, certainly noticed that XiaoJian had not brought up the topic of returning to DaLi in quite a while. Besides, ZW had always been sensitive to others' feelings. He knew that though the couple lived in a happy haze of being newly-wed, they felt that they owed Qing-er enough to keep an eye out for her. XiaoJian had intended to hide his feelings from everyone, because letting Qing-er know would complicate things again, but he couldn't lie to EK. To his credit, EK did not seem surprised but merely nodded and said that he trusted XiaoJian not to hurt Qing-er. He also said that he of all people knew what it was like to fall in love without actually intending to do so. EK encouraged XiaoJian to speak with Qing-er since, according to ZW, Qing-er probably wouldn't be adverse to the idea. But after a lifetime living in the Palace with all the rules, Qing-er was a bit old fashioned and would never give him any indications of her feelings. XiaoJian just shook his head and said he'd think about it. Too much was still at stake and he did not want to cast any shadows on his sister's nuptial bliss. Of course, he didn't intend on actually thinking about it. He had made the decision in his mind that it was time to leave. If he wasn't in BeiJing, then he would not be tempted to make his feelings known.

He again underestimated his sister's ability to turn everyone's lives upside down. Somehow, XYZ got word of a possible romance between Qing-er and XiaoJian and had confronted Qing-er in private regarding the matter. Qing-er, who was too well-bred to say anything outright, nonetheless blushed and stammered enough that even XYZ, who was never one to pick up subtle cues, had no doubts. So, the next time XYZ could leave the Palace, she begged LFY to let Qing-er accompany her. As a special treat, Er Kang decided to take the group to visit Yo Yo Gu. Hitherto the visit, XJ had only seen Qing-er in the Palace; being HZGG's brother apparently did have some privileges and the Emperor loved XYZ enough to allow an outsider entry into the Forbidden City. When he saw Qing-er alight from the carriage in the commoners' clothing, her eyes bright with excitement and curiosity, he felt the full force of his feelings. He, who had always been so calm and had held his emotions at bay, felt all of a sudden flooded by a need to tell her everything, from his family secret to his desire to be worthy of her. In his struggle to behave normally, he missed the knowing look that passed between ZW and EK. Even XYZ and YQ shared a smile. Surrounded by the beauty of EK and ZW's secret place, XJ decided that that no matter his intent, he couldn't leave anymore. For once, he threw all plans to the wind and decided to follow his heart. Perhaps, he thought, it was heaven's intent to resolve the anguish in his heart. Perhaps he should allow heaven's intent to override his own.