The Innocent Heart - Chapter 66

When Guan Yueyao saw Cao Song again, the two of them were in very different positions: one was standing on the Emperor’s viewing platform, while the other was mounted on the borrowed horse, Chizhou, waiting at the starting line.

Guan Yueyao accompanied Huo Qubing, standing slightly behind Liu Che, watching the field with intense focus. Her heart held both a hope for Cao Song and her friend Li Gan to achieve great results in the trials, and a lingering sense of loss that she couldn’t continue the competition due to her injury.

As for Huo Qubing, with Guan Yueyao by his side, although he remained attentive to the arena, he was no longer as agitated as he had been in the morning.

The moods of the two teenagers clearly influenced the Emperor watching beside them. Liu Che sat regally upon his imperial throne, enjoying the tea and snacks served by his attendants while leisurely observing the competition.

In reality, the afternoon’s races were far more intense than the morning’s. The best riders, selected as the “elite of the elite” from hundreds of cavalrymen, competed on the same stage, keeping the entire audience in suspense until the very end.

“Is that Cao Song?” Liu Che pointed to the youth currently leading the pack with a slight advantage and turned to ask the teenagers beside him.

“To answer Your Majesty, that person is indeed Cao Song,” Huo Qubing bowed and replied respectfully.

Liu Che narrowed his eyes to gaze into the distance. Although this was Cao Song’s first time riding Chizhou, it was clear his horsemanship was superb; his coordination with Chizhou was almost seamless.

Huo Qubing followed the Emperor’s gaze and couldn’t help but marvel at the man’s riding skills. As Chizhou’s former master, he was perhaps the one among the three who understood the horse’s temperament best. While Chizhou had a physique comparable to Benxiao, and perhaps even superior endurance, Chizhou was gentle by nature—lacking Benxiao’s wildness and explosive power.

For long-distance raids, Chizhou was a magnificent horse, but to win a race like this, one usually needed a fiery steed like Benxiao. Yet under Cao Song’s guidance, Huo Qubing hadn’t expected Chizhou to burst forth with such startling explosive power.

It turns out Chizhou was a thousand-li steed all along, and I just wasn’t his Bo Le (a legendary judge of horses), Huo Qubing thought to himself. His respect for Cao Song, who was so skilled at training horses, deepened significantly.

He was a talent; it would be a waste to let someone like him be buried among the masses. Clearly, the Emperor watching beside them shared the same thought. Liu Che raised his hand to summon Wang He and whispered a few instructions. Huo Qubing saw Wang He receive the order and leave the platform.

In this race, Cao Song rode Chizhou to a narrow but safe victory, taking the championship. However, what everyone envied most was that he was granted an audience with the Emperor because of it. This was a matter far more enviable to others than receiving gold or silver treasures.

On the viewing platform, Guan Yueyao and Huo Qubing stood on either side behind the Emperor, while Cao Song prostrated himself on the ground, his entire body trembling with excitement.

“This commoner, Cao Song, pays… pays respects to Your Majesty!”

“Cao Song, tell me, from whom did you learn this art of horsemanship?” Liu Che sat high above, looking down at Cao Song. An indescribable sense of pressure made the youth lack even the courage to lift his head to steal a glance at the Emperor.

“To answer Your Majesty, some of it I realized myself while herding livestock back home, and some I heard while dealing with the Xiongnu at the border markets,” Cao Song replied truthfully and clearly, despite his nervousness.

“Oh? You’ve dealt with the Xiongnu?” Liu Che’s interest was piqued. It was a long-standing tradition for the northern commanderies to open markets and trade with the Xiongnu when relations weren’t too tense. “Tell me, what are the Xiongnu you saw in the border markets like?”

Liu Che didn’t want the descriptions he heard every year from officials or in written reports. He wanted to know what kind of existence the Xiongnu were in the words of the people living in the border commanderies.

“Ah?” Cao Song hadn’t expected the Emperor to ask this. He was dazed for a moment, but because he didn’t understand the Emperor’s intent, he thought for a moment and decided to answer honestly.

“This commoner believes those Xiongnu are just foreigners with different habits than ours. Some Xiongnu merchants are overbearing, while others are hearty and straightforward. Every year when winter comes and the grasslands run out of feed, they enter the pass to plunder. If the commandery is prepared and the defenses are tight, our losses are small. If the officials are negligent, our losses are great. But this commoner believes the Xiongnu are by no means invincible. They are just ordinary people; they die if they are wounded, and they beg for mercy if they are captured…” Cao Song paused here, his tone suddenly growing somber. “But this commoner still cannot forgive them. If not for their cruelty, my little sister would not have died…”

His words were sorrowful, moving those who heard them. Liu Che looked deeply at the youth kneeling before him and took a deep breath. “Good. I will give you a chance to avenge your kin. After the trials, you shall stay in the Northern Army.”

The surprise came so suddenly it felt like it had dropped onto his head in an instant. In disbelief, he jerked his head up, then suddenly remembered the taboo and hurriedly lowered it again.

“Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty! This commoner will surely serve the Emperor and the Great Han until death!”

As dusk fell, the first day of the trials came to a close. Liu Che hadn’t quite had his fill of the excitement, but he had to return to the palace.

“Congratulations, Cao Song! We’ll be comrades-in-arms from now on!” After seeing off the Emperor, Guan Yueyao let out a long breath and patted Cao Song on the shoulder to congratulate him.

Unexpectedly, the youth who had been standing honestly behind them suddenly knelt again and gave three heavy kowtows to Guan Yueyao and Huo Qubing.

“You… what are you doing? Get up quickly!” Guan Yueyao was startled. She couldn’t handle such a display of reverence; she panicked, stepped aside, and leaned down to pull Cao Song up.

“Attendant Guan, you and Master Huo are good people. If not for you two, I would likely have been punished by military law by now.” Cao Song’s voice choked up. Thinking of his innocent horse that had died, his eyes grew red again.

“Your current fortune has nothing to do with A-Yao or me; it is what you earned yourself,” Huo Qubing said calmly, looking at Cao Song.

“You were right. The Xiongnu are but flesh and blood; it hurts when they bleed, and they die when they are wounded. They are not invincible. In the future, if others in the camp ask, you should tell them exactly that.”

Cao Song didn’t understand why this noble young master was telling him this and looked at him in confusion. But Huo Qubing seemed to have no intention of speaking further; he took Guan Yueyao and left the platform.

The two found Li Gan, who was surrounded by a crowd. Although he had narrowly lost to Cao Song, Li Gan had achieved an excellent third-place result. At this moment, Li Gan was also full of excitement, waving at the two with a laugh, though he didn’t notice Guan Yueyao’s arm hanging somewhat unnaturally at her side.

Huo Qubing’s mind was occupied with the wound on his friend’s arm. He thought of the imperial ointments at home, which would be much more effective than the common salves used by the military doctors for ordinary soldiers. After a few brief pleasantries with Li Gan, they took their leave and left the camp together.

None of them noticed Chen Zhi standing to the side. He had originally been quite proud of his fourth-place finish, but as everyone ignored him, his expression gradually turned dark.

“Qubing, what did you mean by what you said to Cao Song just now? I think I understand the first part, but I can’t figure out the second,” Guan Yueyao asked, tilting her head toward her friend as they rode side-by-side out of the camp.

“Why don’t you tell me what you understood from the first half first?” Huo Qubing didn’t rush to answer, but asked instead.

“Isn’t it just that Cao Song’s horsemanship is exquisite, and he caught the attention of Lord Wei, Commandant Han, and even the Emperor during the first match? Otherwise, for an ordinary soldier, if his horse dies, they’d look for the killer, but since he accidentally injured a superior, the punishment of expulsion from the camp would have been inevitable.”

Guan Yueyao spoke somewhat dismissively, adding, “He wouldn’t be worth these great figures making an exception for him—even the Emperor speaking up to keep him in the Northern Army.”

Huo Qubing saw that she understood the underlying logic and didn’t bother to argue with the mocking tone in her voice. Their upbringing was different, and their perspectives on matters would always vary. But Huo Qubing didn’t care; that was simply the way of the world. Gentlemen seek harmony but not uniformity. Everyone having their own view was perfectly normal.

“But what did your second sentence mean?” Guan Yueyao didn’t understand. Huo Qubing was not one to parrot others; he wouldn’t repeat someone’s words without a reason. What did Cao Song’s words have to do with Liu Che deciding to keep him in the Northern Army?

“Dummy,” Huo Qubing teased with a laugh. “Think about it. The Northern Army is full of ‘good sons’ from the capital region; almost none of them have experience facing the Xiongnu directly. With news of defeats repeatedly coming back from the border, when they finally have to face the Xiongnu, they will inevitably feel anxious. This is very damaging to morale. But if there is someone from the border commanderies telling them the Xiongnu aren’t that scary—if it’s said often enough, the soldiers will naturally stop fearing them as much.”

In Huo Qubing’s eyes, this was the real reason the Emperor decided to keep Cao Song. Otherwise, based on his knowledge of the Emperor, he had once thought His Majesty might just send Cao Song to the Imperial Stables to train horses for him.

Guan Yueyao finally understood. In her time here, she had realized how limited information was in this era.

“I see. So it’s called… making the soldiers ‘desensitized’ to the Xiongnu.” She slapped her forehead and used a term she thought was funny to tease him, but after she said it, she saw Huo Qubing looking at her blankly from his horse.

Right, Qubing doesn’t know what ‘desensitized’ means. She rubbed her nose and awkwardly stopped her laughter.