Yan HeQing’s reply made Xue Yan take a small step back.
He had seen Yan HeQing act like this before. It was when Yan HeQing was only fifteen years old.
That year, a small country in the Northern border, who was on good terms with the Southern Yan Kingdom, paid a tribute to them with a snow leopard cub. When the young Yan HeQing, along with the several other Princes of the Southern Yan Kingdom, saw such a beautiful and fierce animal, they imdiately fell in love with it and begged their father for it.
At that ti, the Emperor of the Southern Yan Kingdom didn’t want to give the snow leopard to anyone; but since he couldn’t say ‘no’ to the Princes, he made a promise: “Whoever can hunt a tiger first, I will give this snow leopard to them.”
At that ti, the oldest Prince was only 17 years old, so they were all still very young. Not to ntion a tiger, even a hungry wolf would be difficult for them to handle. Of course, the Emperor of the Southern Yan Kingdom said these words to let them forget the idea of getting the snow leopard.
Sure enough, the next day, none of the Princes asked his father about the snow leopard again. However, seven days later, Yan HeQing suddenly disappeared.
The Imperial Palace was in complete chaos, and soone found hunting books and hunting tools in Yan HeQing’s bedchamber. The Emperor of the Southern Yan Kingdom then sent so troops to search for him in the deep forest near the Imperial City.
Yan HeQing was later found in a mountain stream. He was bruised and almost out of breath, but beside him, laid the body of a young tiger.
Xue Yan still rembers that when he went to visit Yan HeQing, he was covered in gauze bandages and sared with dicine, and despite the servant’s advice, he insisted on standing in front of the snow leopard’s cage. He was staring at the graceful and beautiful animal, refusing to look away for even an instant.
When Yan HeQing heard the sound of Xue Yan’s footsteps, he turned back to stare at him. Xue Yan then was able to see that his eyes were filled with unconcealable joy, and his voice rose as if he wanted to announce it to the world: “Uncle, it’s mine.”
Yan HeQing was just 15 years old that year.
The fifteen-year-old Yan HeQing had already risked his life to fight for what he wanted, and no one was able to stop him then. And now that he had already grown up, how could Xue Yan even try to stop him?
Yan HeQing saluted Xue Yan one more ti, seemingly as a gesture of respect, but in reality, this was an ultimatum to Xue Yan.
Xue Yan watched as Yan HeQing walked towards Xiao YuAn. When suddenly, he rembered sothing and called out to him: “Wait.”
Xue Yan just rembered that sothing else happened after the snow leopard incident.
Three months after the snow leopard was paid as a tribute, sumr arrived at the Southern Yan Kingdom. Because the snow leopard couldn’t adapt to the warm climate of the South, it began to beco listless and even fell ill countless tis. Yan HeQing was so anxious that he stayed close to the cage every day. The Emperor of the Southern Yan Kingdom looked at his appearance and sent an envoy to inquire about how to treat the snow leopard.
The envoy said: “The only way to get the snow leopard to go back to a healthy state, is to send him back to the North. It’s not necessarily impossible for it to stay in the South, but it won’t be easy for it to grow up healthy.”
Yan HeQing was silent for a long ti until he finally asked: “Will it die if we don’t send it back to the Northern border?”
The envoy replied: “It’s possible that even if it doesn’t die, it won’t live long either.”
The Emperor of the Southern Yan Kingdom thought that because Yan HeQing loved the snow leopard so much, he wouldn’t be willing to let it be sent back to the North. So he hastily sent the envoy away without ntioning it again. However, three days later, Yan HeQing personally took care of everything and asked the envoy to leave the South with the snow leopard.
Although Yan HeQing never ntioned it again, the maidservant told Xue Yan that Yan HeQing often stared at the empty cage.
After recalling this, Xue Yan quickly reorganized his words to persuade him, and when he saw that Yan HeQing didn’t stop when he called him, he slightly raised his voice: “Even if you’re willing to protect him, you’ve already destroyed his Country. What will he think of you? And, will he even be willing to be protected by you?”
Yan HeQing’s body stiffened and his steps almost stopped. However, he wasn’t willing to stop at all in the end.
An extra chapter for the week thanks to ko-fi donations! ??????(??????????)??*??????
And we got to see such an adorable side of YHQ too ????(??ˊ????ˋ?? )
And now, next Monday, our dear couple will officially reunite after months (for them) and several chapters (for us) of separation!!!! ??.?? !!
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