The Innocent Heart - Chapter 61

“Ah! Qubing, we forgot something very important!” In the carriage on the way home, Guan Yueyao suddenly cried out, giving Huo Qubing, who was sitting beside her in deep thought, quite a start.

“What are you doing!” Huo Qubing glared at his friend, unable to fathom what could make her so jumpy. Did she also notice the unusual signs in today’s incident?

“Qubing, how did we forget those two sisters who were selling themselves to bury their father!” Guan Yueyao’s tone grew anxious. She didn’t know if the brawl this afternoon had caught them in the crossfire.

“Is that all you thought of?” Huo Qubing asked irritably. He blamed himself inwardly—how could he have thought A-Yao might see through things that even he wasn’t sure of?

“Well, what else! When immortals fight, the commoners suffer. I’ve experienced far more of that than you have,” Guan Yueyao replied quite righteously. By the end, her tone even carried the air of someone who had seen it all.

“Nothing will happen to them. In a few days, news will spread that the legitimate grandson of Grand Princess Guantao, the nephew of Consort Wei, an imperial attendant personally appointed by the Emperor, and the young son of General Li Guang actually fought in the streets of Chang’an over the two of them. I’m afraid even if they ask for twenty gold pieces, there will be plenty of people willing to buy them.”

Huo Qubing laughed with a hint of mockery. Even in the early years of the Western Han, such hype and opportunistic price-hiking were not uncommon.

“Is that so…” Guan Yueyao felt a bit awkward hearing this. She knew that in this era, becoming a dependent of a powerful clan wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in the eyes of ordinary people.

But she still couldn’t bring herself to calmly accept it or feel joy for them; her mood slumped once again.

“A-Yao, what’s wrong?” Huo Qubing noticed his friend’s mood, paused his own thoughts, and looked at her.

“It’s nothing. I just feel… is a world where commoners must sell themselves into slavery and rely on the powerful and noble just to have a decent life really a good world? Why…” Her words were cut short as Huo Qubing nervously covered her mouth.

“You must never say such nonsense again! If it reaches the Emperor’s ears, you might lose your head!” Huo Qubing looked at his friend and warned her with a rare, serious tone.

“A-Yao, I know, and I believe you really come from an era of abundant resources. Perhaps the people there… how did you put it… perhaps people there are more equal in status. The commoners have more rights and enjoy a more prosperous life. But that was the era you once lived in, not the Han Dynasty. Do you understand? This is how it is in the Han. The monarch enjoys supreme power, deciding the life, death, honor, and disgrace of everyone living within these borders.

To master martial arts and civil skills, and then sell them to the imperial house—that is what we must do. We use our abilities to gain the Emperor’s favor, thereby realizing our ambitions and allowing our families to live better lives. This is our mission, nothing more.”

Inside the carriage, due to Huo Qubing’s movement, the two were squeezed tightly together. Guan Yueyao looked deep into Huo Qubing’s eyes, but she only saw intense worry for her.

She knew what he was worried about. She also knew that despite her current status, she could actually do nothing about the predicament of those two sisters.

What she could do now was guard her heart, not let it be swept away by the trends of the times, and not forget the original intention she should possess as someone who had received a modern education.

“But isn’t that too selfish? I remember in elementary school, my grandfather told me: When poor, attend to your own virtue; when successful, benefit the whole world. If we only seek to realize our own ambitions and only wish to bless our own families, then even after learning all these martial arts, I still feel like a useless person.”

This time, Guan Yueyao was not convinced by her friend’s words. She did not back down and stared back at him.

“I can understand you too. Since childhood, everyone you’ve seen and interacted with has been imperial royalty; even the Emperor treats you like a protégé. You are a favored son of heaven, standing so high that your eyes can only see that grander and broader world.

But I can’t do that, Qubing. I was once a commoner, and in the future, I will still be one. It won’t change just because I was given an official rank, or even if one day we are both enfeoffed as marquises for military merit as you imagine. Even if that day comes, I won’t suddenly consider myself superior. I have seen a world where everyone is equal, so I can no longer view the common people as ‘straw dogs’ (worthless).”

Guan Yueyao poured out all the feelings she had accumulated from what she had seen and heard lately. It felt great to say it out loud. At this moment, she wasn’t anxious at all; she only felt an unprecedented sense of lightness and peace.

Huo Qubing did not immediately continue the conversation. He seemed to be trying hard to digest his friend’s words. He couldn’t help but imagine: What kind of world would a world where everyone is equal actually be?

“A-Yao, during this time, you must have been very tired, right?” Huo Qubing suddenly sighed.

Guan Yueyao froze. Had he noticed after all? In this era, in order not to be treated as an outlier, she had tried her best to blend in. Even for many things she couldn’t stand, she forced herself not to show it.

This included the prostrating and worshipping of superiors; Guan Yueyao was still not used to bowing and kneeling to the Emperor. Every time Liu Che summoned her, she appeared very indifferent and not particularly joyful. Others thought the young Attendant Guan was remarkably indifferent to fame and fortune and admired her greatly.

But Guan Yueyao knew herself; she simply disliked the red tape she had to face every time she met the Emperor. In this era, people always knelt to those of higher status to express respect and esteem. But what if the person kneeling didn’t truly feel respect?

If so, did these so-called rituals of respect actually become tools for superiors to flaunt class differences and to bully and dominate the thoughts of others?

Every time she faced Liu Che, Guan Yueyao couldn’t help but think about this. Her small brain, which still hadn’t managed to hold much information, finally began to learn how to think about things closely related to herself and this era. Without realizing it, she had begun her own growth, no longer just a reckless, problem teenager who gave parents and teachers headaches.

“Actually, it’s alright. At least I met you here. Really, being able to be friends with you makes me very happy!” Guan Yueyao was not as pessimistic as Huo Qubing imagined. She suddenly flashed that hearty smile he was familiar with.

Huo Qubing froze. Soon he felt his hand gripped by her; his originally cool hand felt a warmth that wasn’t his own, causing his heart to burn and, for some reason, his face to flush red. A nameless joy surged in his heart, making him feel elated.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? What, you’re not happy to be friends with me?!” Dissatisfied with Huo Qubing’s silence, Guan Yueyao glared at him with a bit of embarrassment. This childish look made it seem as if she wasn’t the same person who had just spoken those profound words.

“How could I not be!” Huo Qubing snapped out of it and denied it immediately. “You are my first friend, and my most important friend. We might meet many people in the future and call many people ‘friends.’ But I believe that in each other’s hearts, we are the most important and irreplaceable presence.” Huo Qubing looked at her and spoke with utmost solemnity.

“In this era, it’s truly wonderful to have someone who can listen to my troubles that don’t belong to this time,” Guan Yueyao leaned against Huo Qubing. Shoulder to shoulder, head to head, both looked incredibly content.

That tranquil atmosphere did not last long. When they stepped off the carriage, they were invited to Wei Qing’s study by a terrified servant.

Inside, a stone-faced Wei Qing stood waiting. When he saw them arrive, he simply commanded coldly: “Everyone except Qubing and Yueyao, withdraw.”

The servants standing nearby looked as if they had been granted a general amnesty. They scurried away, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

“Fine! You two brats, you think your wings are strong enough now, don’t you?! I asked you to take Li Gan to get familiar with the capital, and you actually encouraged him to join you in a street fight?!”

If any servant had been walking a bit slower, they probably would have heard the master’s roar. In the study, Wei Qing snatched a scabbard-encased huan-shou-dao (ring-pommel sword) from the weapon rack and prepared to whack Huo Qubing’s rear.

“Uncle! Uncle! I’m already this old! Don’t hit me! It’s too embarrassing!” Huo Qubing wailed for mercy, but his movements were incredibly agile. He didn’t stop for a second, performing a “King of Qin circling the pillar” chase with Wei Qing around the room.

“You still dare to run?! Do you two have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused? Huh!” Wei Qing gritted his teeth. He had always been careful and cautious, and his elder sister wasn’t one to look for trouble either. How did it come to the younger generation that not a single one was easy to manage!

Hearing Wei Qing’s words, Huo Qubing suddenly stopped running and looked at his uncle curiously: “What happened? …Ouch!”

His rear finally took a heavy hit.

Having vented his anger, Wei Qing finally had the mood to explain today’s matter to the two children.

“Princess Pingyang just sent a message. The youth you fought with on the street is likely Liu Jian, the heir of Liu Fei, the Prince of Jiangdu. Setting aside the punishment he will face for entering the capital without a decree, you boys injured a Peer Prince’s heir—I want to see how you’re going to settle this!”

To his surprise, Guan Yueyao said with a bit of a grievance: “But he started it! We were just hitting back.”

“If you had beaten him into a bad state and the Prince of Jiangdu insisted on pursuing it, I want to see what you’d do! The metropolitan military trials are about to begin, and you pull a stunt like this—do you not want to participate anymore?!” At this, Wei Qing’s anger flared again. Looking at the innocent Guan Yueyao, who clearly still didn’t know what she had done wrong, he moved to strike her too.

“Uncle, Uncle, don’t worry. The Prince of Jiangdu has a noble status, but don’t we have the legitimate grandson of the Tangyi Marquis household on our side? Grand Princess Guantao is an elder; if the Prince of Jiangdu wants to pursue this, he has to get past the Grand Princess first. Besides, to put it bluntly, if the Emperor doesn’t pursue the Heir of Jiangdu for entering the capital illegally, that’s already an act of extra-legal mercy. How would the Prince of Jiangdu dare be so ungrateful as to make a scene? Between illegal entry and a street brawl with other dandies, the Prince of Jiangdu surely knows which crime is lighter and which is heavier.”

Huo Qubing spoke easily, not taking his uncle’s worries to heart. This attitude truly left Wei Qing staggered with anger. He glared at his nephew: “You’ve really grown capable now, haven’t you? Even making plans for the Prince of Jiangdu!”

He raised the sword to strike him again.

“Eh! Lord Wei, calm down! Calm down!” Seeing things going south, Guan Yueyao hurriedly moved to stop him. This farce in Wei Qing’s study finally came to a halt when Wei Shao’er heard the news and rushed over.