A pair of wild geese, a pair of knee pads, worth only a few taels of silver, with the rest of the two large boxes serving as accompaniments to these two gifts.
Fu Shen didn’t know whether to sigh at his thoughtfulness or curse him for being wasteful. Yan Xiaohan had always been like this, lavishing generosity like spending money, giving sweets without restraint, but his true heart was tiny, not very sweet, hidden in a deep and dark corner.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Yan Xiaohan received a return gift from Yanzhou, with the real gift also mixed among a pile of northern specialties: two deerskins and a… Linghao flower jade pendant.
Fu Shen’s ingenious gift nearly scared Yan Daren sleepless, nervously examining the jade pendant. Sometimes suspecting he knew something, sometimes thinking Fu Shen might be expressing a desire to “restore old friendship.” Then he would recall Fu Shen’s resolute expression when he broke the jade years ago – was he planning to sever ties again?
Yan Xiaohan reached back to the bedside cabinet, finding a small sandalwood box. Opening it, a deep red satin wrapped an old jade pendant. The original pendant had shattered completely; even the best craftsman couldn’t repair it with gold.
The pendant looked pitted and chipped, far inferior to the new one Fu Shen sent, yet Yan Xiaohan had treasured it like a precious item.
He could still remember crouching on the ground, picking up the shards, the despair of realizing the pieces could never be reassembled. If not for the repairer’s exceptional memory, Yan Xiaohan might have regretted it for life.
Seven years ago, shortly after joining the Flying Dragon Guard, he wanted to kill all the corrupt scholars. The Flying Dragon Guard always acted ruthlessly, and Yan Xiaohan followed suit. Whether fortunate or not, his first case was the Jin Yunfeng case.
His first “unscrupulous” act had him running into Fu Shen, an immovable obstacle.
For seven years, the past was like a shackle on his foot, or a lifeline, drawing a clear, deep line that prevented Yan Xiaohan from completely sinking into the mire.
This nearly shattered and barely reassembled jade pendant seemed to carry his deeply buried, unspeakable humble wish. It was his apology to Fu Shen.
I’m sorry. I don’t want… to be completely severed.
