Xiao YuAn knelt in the snow for a long time. The falling snow soaked through his clothes and the wind froze his wet clothes, turning them cold and hard. Just when Xiao YuAn felt he could not hold on any longer, he heard the sound of hoofbeats coming from the front. He raised his head against the wind and snow, however, he couldn’t see that familiar silhouette.
Does Yan HeQing not want to see him?
Was it intolerable to see him?
No, definitely not. He wasn’t worth making Yan HeQing feel intolerance.
That’s right, Yan HeQing doesn’t even care about him at all. Even when Xiao YuAn was surrendering to him, Yan HeQing didn’t even bother to come see him.
The corner of Xiao YuAn’s mouth raised in a bitter smile.
What was he expecting? Was he expecting for Yan HeQing to be kind to him just because of their former interactions? Perhaps what he had done wasn’t worth mentioning for Yan HeQing at all. He also knew how much humiliation the Northern Kingdom put Yan HeQing through when he stayed there. Yan HeQing had hatred inside his heart, how could he put other things under his eyes.
Even though he told Yan HeQing about his previous life, maybe from beginning to end, in Yan HeQing’s heart, he was still the young Emperor of the Northern Kingdom; the Ruler of the Country that destroyed his, the Ruler of the Country that captured him and wanted to imprison him as a male concubine. According to Yan HeQing’s reclusive character, perhaps the intimacy he showed to him before was just a disguise to save his own life. Perhaps Yan HeQing had always hated him as much as the original.
Xiao YuAn’s thoughts were pulled back by the sound of the horse’s hooves stopping in front of him. After the deputy General whispered some words with Xue Yan, he rode forward and suddenly whipped Xiao YuAn’s frozen hands with a whip.
Instantly, the State Seal, the map, and some blood tumbled down on the snow. The blood mixed together with the snow, dying it bright red; as Xiao YuAn inhaled fiercely, trying to swallow the sobs inside his throat.
Seeing that Xiao YuAn didn’t lie, the deputy General dismounted, picked up the map and the State Seal, and then handed them over to Xue Yan: “General Xue, I’ve confirmed that there’s nothing wrong with these.”
Xue Yan looked with a cold stare at Xiao YuAn, nodded to the deputy General, and then led the army into the Imperial City.
Xiao YuAn followed behind the cavalry line of the Southern Yan Kingdom. His hands were tied to a horse by the reins, and he was being half dragged, half walking towards the Northern Kingdom’s Imperial City.
The cold invaded Xiao YuAn’s muscles and bones, and his eyes were blurred. He was too weak and too exhausted to keep up with the speed of the horse’s pace. He staggered as he was being dragged along, and his wrists were bleeding due to the friction from the reins.
The army of the Southern Yan Kingdom set foot on the land of the Imperial City of the Northern Kingdom in a mighty way, announcing the complete annihilation of this Country’s long history.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried horses’ hooves came from the rear of the army, and as Xiao YuAn raised his head, the familiar figure of a man was reflected in his eyes. His silver spear, red tassel, and a mighty sword were on his person. His appearance was dignified and his posture was straight, just as described in the original book.
Xiao YuAn’s mind suddenly went blank for a moment. There was no fear, no panic, and no resentment inside of him. When he looked at Yan HeQing without fear, it was like watching an unhappy, but shocking appearance.
Yan HeQing turned over and dismounted from his horse, then he quickly walked to Xiao YuAn. However, all of a sudden, someone riding a horse stopped right in front of him.
“HeQing.” Xue Yan’s face was filled with hidden anger: “What do you think you’re doing?”
Yan HeQing bowed respectfully to him, but he had no more words to say, as he bypassed the horse in front of him without looking back.
Xue Yan quickly dismounted his horse and blocked Yan HeQing’s path with his own body. His blue veins showed on his forehead as he gnashed his teeth in anger1: “HeQing, have you forgotten who the enemies of our Country are?”
“I haven’t forgotten.” Yan HeQing’s eyes were as cold as black jade: “I’ve led the army to break through the Northern Kingdom, and once the shame of the past is gone, the hatred between us will disappear.”
Xue Yan was startled for a moment, and his lips trembled slightly: “Fine. Even if that’s the case if you were to protect the former Emperor of the Northern Kingdom, what will the world say? They’ll say that you’re willing to become a male concubine slave for the rest of your life, they’ll say you’ve broken your spine! And what will our Officers and men think? They’ll think that you only care about love, that you’re not worthy of being the Emperor of the Southern Yan Kingdom!”
Yan HeQing’s eyes fell on Xiao YuAn without moving away at all. Then he replied with confidence: “It doesn’t matter.”
The fact that YHQ’s first intention was to run towards XYA makes me so soft (ෆˊ͈ ु꒳ ूˋ͈ෆ)… but then I remember that XYA believes that YHQ hates him now (or he thinks that everything that happened between them was a pretense and YHQ in reality never liked him and always regarded him as just the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom) (´；Д；｀)
Ahhhh these miscommunications are so painful!!!!
(Also, did y’all noticed that Xue Yan doesn’t have a problem with YHQ liking a man but the fact that he just had to be their enemy? Or it is just my mind playing tricks?) (ﾟﾛ､ﾟ;)
Footnotes
- 咬牙切齿 yǎo yá qiè chǐ; It’s a Chinese idiom, used to describe extreme hatred or resentment. Or to try to suppress an emotion or strong feeling. From《勘头巾》(kān tóu jīn), “Headscarf”, written by (孙仲章 sūn zhòng zhāng) Sun Zhongzhang [birth and death unknown], a poem written from the Yuan or Mongol Dynasty [1279-1368].
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