No Sight Better than their Smiles
âRecovered?â
âCould kill two tigers.â
âHow about you donât. Theyâll go extinct. You people have no love for animals.â Shen Yiren picked up a hairpin when they walked by a stall selling ornaments. âThis hairpin is pretty. Its quality is good, and the design is fresh. The flower pearls are nice, too.â
Shen Yiren casually slotted the hairpin into her hair. As men walked past, they couldnât stop themselves from staring.
âDrink?â Ming Feizhen passed over a cup of alcohol.
Shen Yiren accepted the drink, but she didnât drink.
âBoss is unhappy, huh.â
âWhat do you think?â
âWant to tell me about it?â
Though her pace was leisurely, Shen Yirenâs expression told a different story. âFeizhen, weâre going to war.â
There were people who were ecstatic over Emperor Yuanshengâs declaration of war, and there were some who were defeated. There were glory-seekers who were preparing to chase glory and people who were waiting to see how it played out. Only Shen Yiren mentioned war despite supporting Emperor Yuansheng from a business and personal perspective.
âI wonder how many casualties thereâll be this time.â
Ming Feizhen was aware that Shen Yiren was only focused on the casualties despite all the possible turmoil, battles of wits, and wars of morals would be waged. She was prepared to spill blood, but she couldnât stand watching the innocent bleed. That was why everyone knew that Liu Shan Men couldnât be taken over. Whether Liu Shan Men collected power and authority or dispersed it, they wouldnât disappear as long as someone with Shen Yirenâs mindset was in charge.
âFeizhen, there are many innocent people. Song Chi can be unscrupulous for his familyâs sake. He said it back home that all of his decisions and actions were for the sake of protecting Song Clan. From the perspective of the White Princes, he may be a traitor, but who has any right to say that his family deserves to die for someone elseâs ambitions? While thereâs no arguing plenty of members of the Seven Champion White Princes commit sins, not all of them do. Theyâve had a hold over Jiangnanâs martial arts community for too long. Many have lost their freedom to choose. We should give them what they deserve. Perhaps they shouldâve created the conditions for their demands long ago, but they were slow. As soon as the war commences, theyâll have to struggle for their lives. There will be a lot of unnecessary bloodshed.â
The civilians of Jiangnan were bound to be plunged into the flames of war once the imperial court and the Seven Champion White Princes started fighting. In order to take the seven down, the imperial court wouldâve had no choice but to attack akin to a hurricane moving with urgency. Otherwise, there wouldâve been a lot of variables thatâd be hard to account for. If the war moved west, if the White Princes expanded their territorial boundaries to resist, or if foreign opportunists joined the fray, then the war would become an even tougher one. The imperial court wouldâve consequently been forced to send out a force dozens of times larger, turning it into an even bigger war. No matter how swift the war went, lots of innocent lives would inevitably be lost, nevertheless.
The civilians who would become collateral damage were innocent; however, even some of the participants in the war didnât want to fight. The imperial courtâs warriors were citizens of the country, were they not? They would have to fight their fellow countrymen, would they not?
Shen Yiren continued, âNot everyone should be their pawns. They should have lives with more value. If fighting is inevitable, it should be honourable.â
Ming Feizhen set his empty wine jug down. âThatâs something my shifu vehemently disagrees on. He says that everyone is a pawn, many of whom have no say, and many of whom are granted an existence. They can be angry and hopeless, but it wonât change the fact. Trying to find a release is but comical and delusional. When has a forest burnt itself? When has a river dried itself up?â
âHow about you?â
âI argue people are people. Tragedies are inevitable. People want to eat people, donât they? Of course, there are people who donât, but there are people who do. Itâs not complicated; joy and sorrow are part of being alive in this world. There are forests, rivers, the sun, stars, grass, and the wind. Everyone has the power to become better than they are today. That power gives the world the potential to be better than it is today.â
A sense of tenderness came to Shen Yirenâs gaze. âDo you think we⊠can have that sort of power?â she asked, squeezing a hairpin in hair hand dangerously tight.
Ming Feizhen took the hairpin off Shen Yiren and straightened up her posture. âDonât move.â
Ming Feizhen pressed down on Shen Yirenâs shoulders to stop her from lifting her arms. Though she was shy, she relaxed her shoulders as the corners of her lips subtly raised without her awareness.
âI might hurt you if Iâm not careful. Boss, grab me a flower.â
It felt as though it had been ages since Shen Yiren had seen Ming Feizhenâs playful smile.
âA pomegranate flower thatâs like a cut-up piece of red silk. Donât let its struggle in summer go to waste.â Ming Feizhen slipped the black hairpin into Shen Yirenâs hair smoothly.
Shen Yiren titled her eyes with a smirk as if to ask, âDoes it look good on me,â but she asked, âAre you really illiterate?â
âOnly when itâs convenient.â Ming Feizhen looked into Shen Yirenâs eyes and smile, making her a rosy tinge come to her cheeks.
The sound of cicadas had never been so relaxing. The warm wind had never felt so smoothing. The ruthless sun had never felt so perfectly warm.
âFeeling better now?â
âWhat do you think?âđđđđŁđ€đ«đđĄïŒđđ€đą
They left the stall with a relaxed stroll and sweet smiles.
Glossary
Ming Feizhenâs literacy â Ming Feizhen made a reference to Bai Juyiâs line on how pomegranate flowers like cut up red silk. Itâs considered a clever line from someone highly literate since the comparison isnât something illiterate wouldâve thought of or had heard.