55 Camellia: Yang Yong's POV

At the annual hunting festival when he was thirteen, Yang Yong, still Puliuru Yong at the time, immediately noticed Yuan Zhen from the crowd.

He doubted that she even remembered, but this was not the first time they had met. She had beat him at a riding contest a few years prior.

It had been his first time riding in front of the emperor, and to practice, he had memorized all of the routes and wrangled with the ropes until calluses formed on his hand. Yet, in the end, he could only watch as this young girl, barely at his shoulders even when on tip-toes, speed by him.

Yang Yong had spent the rest of the day sulking in a corner of the forest, worried that he had lost face for his family for losing so terribly to anyone, much less a girl. What would the emperor think of him now? He kicked a rock in frustration, letting his carefully crafted mask shatter.

He had thought that he was alone, but it soon became clear that he was not.

"How did you kick so far?" Her childish voice had been a ray of sunlight, piercing through the layers of fog. "Just use that sort of energy when you ride, and no one will be able to out-race you. Stop caring so much about how straight you look on the horse, and just ride."

"How can you not worry about your image? Aren't you scared that people will look down on you? All the officials will take note and not let their sons wed you in the future!" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

She only laughed, her giggle like a string of ringing bells.

"Why would the first female general of Zhou be worried about something like that?"

Somehow, when she said those words, Yang Yong believed her.

So now that he saw her, all of the memories came rushing back. She was older and taller now, but the baby fat on her cheeks had barely thinned. Even so, from the look at her lean body, her muscles were probably well concealed beneath her dress.

She stood out from the crowd of colorful dresses, a lone tree shading out a sea of weak blossoms.

He scoured her face for any signs of recognition, but there was none.

He vaguely remembered how he shot something after that, and he watched as her facial expressions slightly changed. He liked seeing her tightly knitted brows unfurrow for him.

She was not beautiful, her face rather plain compared to the countless glistening beauties at the capital. Yet, from the start, he knew that there was something different about her.

Perhaps it was the way her wide eyes sparkled with the most firm determination or the way she carried herself. There was always something so pure about her. No layers of makeup masked her true self, and her tanned skin spoke about her adventures at the border. She didn't walk with her neck high or pretend to be frail to fall into his arms.

Yuan Zhen was the freedom he had always wished for.

He wanted to ask her to go riding with him, but she was already gone by the time he had bid his well wishes to the emperor.

If only he had ran after her when he had the chance… If only he ignored the formalities for once more in his life…

——

When he heard of how she returned to the capital, he began to change his daily route, instead taking the long road home to pass by her familial manor. He knew that her eyes were never set on him, but on the off chance that she happened to glance out the windows, he wanted to be there.

He didn't know why she had returned from the borders, away from the life she had been seeking ever since her birth. The thought of sending out his secret messengers briefly crossed his mind, but he secretly hoped that he could ask her personally.

Maybe they could take a walk or ride together sometime.

Never before had he wanted to befriend someone so much.

"Elder brother, you look like a character from a poem." He remembered A'Mo's words as he flipped out a book of poetry he had been reading for the past few days. His younger brother's childish voice rang out, the innocence clashing with the poem's meaning. "Passing by her doors, I wait for a call. If she beckons, I will set down all."

Yang Yong had blushed. For the first time in his life, he felt his heart skip faster from something other than riding or sword fighting.

It was almost dizzying. What's more, it was intoxicating.

——

When he heard of the Yuchi family's intension to propose to Yuan Zhen, without much further thought, he blurted out. "Father, I wish to wed the daughter of the Yuan family."

A flicker of concern crossed his father's face. The Yuchi family had already made this desire publicly known, and to declare a competing interest would be a slap to their face.

Although the Yang family was established, and his powers were rising by the day, to make enemies at such a crucial point…

Yang Jian knew of his son's thoughts. His spies had reported of his son's sudden detours, and he was more than happy with the union. But now that the Yuchi family had already made themselves clear…

"How about the girl from the Zhu family?"

"I will wed no other than Yuan Zhen."

Yang Yong's young face was firm, his stubbornness shining through.

Pressing his lips together, Yang Jian tried to think of another excuse, but his son was already out the door.

When Yang Yong returned later that night, his hair was a mess, and mud caked his new robes.

"Father, Yuchi no longer wishes to wed Yuan Zhen."

No one knew where he had gone, but Yang Jian could guess at the trouble his son got into. Although the Yuchi family would not want to make this public, the damage between their families were as good as set in stone.

Yang Jian raised his hands towards his awaiting son, but his wife stopped him before his blow could strike.

"A'Jian, just let him be."

Those words were the best Yang Yong had ever heard in his life.

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I just wanted to share a bit of this short side story that I have written. Somehow, in the time I had taken off Crocodile Tears to work on other stories, I kept on writing excerpts for Crocodile Tears (short stories, scenes from later in the story).

Maybe I'll post some more of them here, but hopefully, someday, you guys can read the ending of Crocodile Tears.

If The Heartless King does well, I'll probably try to begin reposting for Crocodile Tears. But I'm honestly so discouraged from writing that I don't know when that will be ;-;