The Innocent Heart - Chapter 82

On the night before leaving Juyong Pass, after the banquet had ended and the guests had retired, Wei Qing lay in bed early.

The climate in the North was far drier and colder than in Chang’an. Wei Qing closed the door and latched the windows, making the distant sound of military bugles and the night watchman’s clapper seem ethereal and far away.

In the darkness, Wei Qing stared at the ceiling with his eyes wide open; he was suffering from insomnia.

No matter how calm and composed he appeared during the day, he could no longer deceive himself in the dead of night. Unstoppable waves of trepidation and nervousness surged in his heart.

Can I truly do this? In the past, so many battle-hardened veterans suffered crushing defeats at the hands of the Xiongnu. I am merely a relative of the imperial consort, a newcomer leading an army for the first time. Can I truly defeat them?

The more he brooded, the more he tossed and turned, unable to find sleep.

Wei Qing took a deep breath. Since sleep eluded him anyway, he sat up, threw on his robes, pushed open the door, and walked out into the courtyard. This was the residence within the Juyong Pass fortress reserved for high-ranking officers. Though it was far less refined or comfortable than his own estate in the capital, it was the best accommodation the outpost could offer. Li Ting had temporarily vacated this small courtyard to serve as Wei Qing’s quarters for the night.

Tonight, dark clouds pressed low, obscuring the stars and the moon, turning the earth into a realm of deep gloom. Scattered here and there were the flickers of burning torches, swaying precariously in the howling northern wind.

Wei Qing felt the chill. He pulled his mink-fur cloak tighter around him but still chose not to return to the room. This biting cold helped keep his mind sharp; he wanted to review once more the strategy he and the Emperor had devised before the campaign.

Although the Han and Xiongnu had been on bad terms since the Siege of Mayi, and the Xiongnu frequently sent small raiding parties to harass the borders and plunder the people, they still coveted the Han’s gold, jade, and silks. Consequently, both sides maintained border markets to trade goods.

This time, the Emperor was determined to launch a massive strike against the Xiongnu who came to these markets—a retaliation for the raids of the previous year.

Wei Qing knew perfectly well that this expedition was, in truth, a test. The Emperor wanted to see exactly how many capable commanders were currently within the Han military. Thus, he had not set a concrete strategic goal, instead leaving ample room for Wei Qing and the other generals to exercise their own discretion.

Wei Qing thought of the charge maneuvers he had drilled into his soldiers back at the Northern Army camp for so long—tactics centered around the use of the Miaodao (sprout saber). Now, the moment to validate his theories had finally arrived.

May everything go smoothly… Wei Qing prayed silently.

He was unwilling to leave the hopes of his clan and himself solely in the hands of his third sister, Wei Zifu, deep within the palace. Imperial favor was fickle; even someone as high-born and beautiful as Empress Chen had been cast aside like a worn-out shoe. What hope then for the currently obscure Wei family or himself?

At this thought, Wei Qing’s resolve hardened. He was not a man of great ambition or a thirst for power. He had simply been pushed by fate, step by step, to his current position. For the sake of the family he loved, he had to rise up and fight.

“Master Wei, why are you sitting here? Can’t you sleep?” While Wei Qing was staring into the dark night, lost in thought, a curious inquiry came unexpectedly from behind him.

The tone was lively and slightly irreverent; Wei Qing didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

“Yueyao, why are you still awake so late?” Wei Qing asked with a smile, his manner as kind and gentle as ever.

“I ate too much at dinner and can’t sleep,” Guan Yueyao scratched her head and sat down beside Wei Qing without being asked.

The youth’s answer was unexpected, yet coming from Guan Yueyao, it seemed perfectly in character. Wei Qing couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh? Then I order you to go run two laps right now to help your digestion.” He teased her, momentarily pushing his anxieties to the back of his mind.

“Huh? Don’t do that, Master Wei! Doing strenuous exercise before food is digested causes indigestion or even stomach cramps! I’ll walk! Walking helps digestion!” Guan Yueyao, not suspecting a joke and unwilling to go running on orders in the middle of the night, hurriedly tried to talk her way out of it.

Wei Qing hadn’t expected her to believe his teasing so readily, only to start acting like a stubborn junior. He found it increasingly amusing. He coughed twice to hide his smile and adopted a serious expression. “Are you intending to defy military orders?”

In the night, the youth’s eyes were bright, but now she was blinking piteously at him, muttering reluctantly, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come out for a walk…”

Seeing that he remained “unmoved,” Guan Yueyao turned around with a sigh, lifting her leg as if preparing to start a jog.

“Pfft—” Wei Qing finally couldn’t hold it back and burst into laughter. “Why do you believe everything I say?”

“You were tricking me!” Hearing this, Guan Yueyao turned back and complained indignantly, though she didn’t seem truly angry.

It was no wonder Qubing enjoyed playing with this youth so much. Such a simple and direct heart made it impossible not to tease her. Thinking this, Wei Qing reached out and patted her head, saying warmly, “Alright, the wind is picking up and it’s getting colder. You’re dressed too thinly; get back inside quickly, lest you catch a chill.”

His voice was full of concern, like an elder doting on a favorite junior.

“Oh…” Guan Yueyao lowered her head obediently, treasuring the rare warmth and tenderness Wei Qing offered her.

The two bid farewell in the desolate courtyard. The night wind was sharp, cutting into Guan Yueyao’s cheeks like a blade, but she didn’t feel the cold. In the dim darkness, no one could see that her face was flushed bright red, as if it were on fire.

Because she was active, boisterous, and had practiced martial arts for years without caring for her appearance, Guan Yueyao had—consciously or unconsciously—allowed her gender to become blurred. However, with the onset of puberty, a longing for the opposite sex had begun to sprout in her heart.

A girl of this age is easily attracted to older, capable, and gentle men. Especially for someone like Guan Yueyao; the lack of a father figure in her childhood made her instinctively seek out an older male to fill the void of an “ideal father” in her heart.

And Wei Qing had appeared in her life at exactly that time.

Wei Qing was gentle, he excelled in both archery and swordsmanship, and he was so kind to her and Qubing. Guan Yueyao was inevitably drawn to this man ten years her senior, wishing to be closer to him. At this stage, she didn’t yet know what these feelings meant; she only knew that wherever Wei Qing was, her eyes couldn’t help but follow.

“A-Yao, where did you go?” Suddenly, a worried question pierced the night sky, startling Guan Yueyao out of her thoughts.

“I was so full it hurt, so I went for a walk. I ran into your uncle, and he sent me back,” Guan Yueyao stuck out her tongue and hurried toward her friend.

“Hmph. It’s lucky you ran into my uncle. If you wander around a military camp in the middle of the night, you’re liable to be tied up as a Xiongnu spy,” Huo Qubing threatened, looking at his dejected friend.

“No way, that’s terrifying!” Hearing this, Guan Yueyao looked genuinely spooked and quickened her pace toward the rooms.

Huo Qubing hadn’t expected this “dummy” to believe his casual remark without question, but it was just as well; it would keep her from wandering off and getting into trouble. He followed her back to their adjacent bedrooms.

He wasn’t like the carefree Guan Yueyao, nor was he like Chen Zhi, who looked down on the northern soldiers. Since entering Juyong Pass, Huo Qubing had keenly sensed the strange attitude the soldiers held toward his uncle and their group.

He understood the root of it. The Wei family were relatives of the consort; to outsiders, they were just a rabble who had risen by clinging to a woman’s skirts. In the frontier, no matter how noble their birth, their prestige was far below that of General Li Guang, who had stood guard for years and performed miraculous deeds, yet never received a marquisate.

Huo Qubing was indignant, but he knew now was not the time for resentment. He was still too young to go to the front lines and kill the enemy; his era had not yet arrived. He only hoped that this time, his uncle could prove himself on the battlefield. Not all illegitimate sons, and not all imperial relatives, were useless.

Thinking of his and his uncle’s less-than-honorable origins, Huo Qubing’s expression darkened. In this era where lineage was everything, the label of “illegitimate son” was like a brand on a criminal’s face, constantly reminding him and others of a past people looked down upon.

Especially after his third aunt entered the palace, the Wei family had risen like a rocket. To counter the Chen clan, the Emperor had elevated them to a position that drew everyone’s scrutiny. People only saw the flowers and the fire of the Wei family’s prosperity, but no one cared about the precarious, “thin-ice” situation he and his uncle faced within the aristocratic circles.

Perhaps that was why they studied military strategy and archery so diligently; they simply wanted to prove that one’s birth does not define their entire person. Over time, fighting the Xiongnu and making a name on the battlefield became the only way Huo Qubing saw to truly justify his existence.

His peers were all high-born and looked down on others. Huo Qubing used to think he was used to being alone, but since Guan Yueyao appeared, he realized how good it felt to have a friend.

Thinking of this, his gaze softened as he looked toward the wall, in the direction of Guan Yueyao.

It’s good to know you, Huo Qubing thought silently.

On this night of impending separation, all three of them fell into dreams, each harboring their own secret thoughts.