War Prisoner - Chapter 42

At first, Su Yi refused to turn over and his back passage really began to hurt as if it had been set aflame. But when he considered that Wanyan Xu had already done plenty of even more shameful things to him in the bathroom, and his state of extreme discomfort, he decided not to resist when Wanyan Xu made a move to flip him onto his stomach. His behaviour was so unexpected to Wanyan Xu that he was momentarily stunned; it was a long while before a big smile began to blossom on his face and he carefully parted Su Yi’s butt cheeks. With his finger, he carefully applied and worked the ointment onto that red and swollen chrysanthemum.

A while later, he could hear Su Yi mumbling, as if to himself: “Is this medicine really worth anything? To think that it was said to be extremely precious... Bah!” Unable to resist, he gave an audible laugh, he found his Su Su extremely adorable when he was being disagreeable and peevish. Of course, from Su Yi's point of view, he did not think he was being disagreeable or peevish at all. He believed that what he was doing was expressing rejection; that he was unequivocally rejecting Wanyan Xu, and the medicine he was holding in his hand.

But soon, he had to admit, grudgingly, that when Wanyan Xu had said that this medicine was extremely precious, there must have been some truth to his words. His backside, which had been burning up as if it had been splattered with chilli sauce, felt cool and refreshed upon the application of the ointment; the sensation was indeed extremely comfortable. He watched as Wanyan Xu put the box away and then came to lie down on the bed. Snuggled against Su Yi, he said with a contented smile: “All set, go to sleep, you must be tired.”

Su Yi struggled for a bit, then after a while, with his face flushed red, he angrily said: “Aren’t you going to let me put on my clothes?”

At the moment, Wanyan Xu was relishing being pressed close to Su Yi, bare skin against bare skin; at the same time he was entertaining himself by replaying in his mind all the intimate scenes had happened just now, the vivid imagery was enough to cause his face to grow hot and his heart to pound. When Su Yi's sudden question interrupted his happy daydreams, without thinking twice, he let slip what was on his mind: “Su Su, there's no need for that. If we go to sleep now, maybe when we wake up at the third or fourth watch, we can do it again.” Only after the words left his mouth did he realise what he had actually said. Horrified and alarmed, he rolled off the bed and on to the ground. It was just as well that he had done so while he he the chance, because Su Yi had rapidly aimed a violent kick at his family jewels that would have likely ruined them for good had the blow connected.

Su Yi look enraged enough that he might take leave of all other considerations and give full vent to his anger. Wanyan Xu looked at him contritely from the floor but said cheekily: “Su Su, how could you harbour intentions of murdering your very own dear husband on the very night of our wedding?” He hauled himself back to his feet and retrieved Su Yi's underclothes, only to discover that they had been reduced to strips of fabric. "Heh heh" he gave a couple of hollow laughs and looked at Su Yi, only to discover that his beloved's face had become the colour of ash. Wanyan Xu hurried to console him, saying: “Don't worry, don't worry, I'll go fetch a fresh set of clothes for Su Su now.” So saying, he skipped outside the room, raising his voice, he called out: “Fetch me another set of underclothes.” The curtains over the door promptly parted, and Zi Nong emerged into the room bearing undershirt and underpants made of snowy white satin.

When Wanyan Xu saw that it was her, he was deeply astonished and said: “Why have you come here? You should be in the banquet hall attending to the honoured guests. The dinner banquet shouldn’t have ended so early.”

Zi Nong covered her mouth with her sleeve to hide her smile and said: “It was Her Majesty the Empress Dowager who ordered your humble servant to come over here to attend to Your Majesty's needs. But your humble servant was thinking that I should come over anyway, Master has been practicing restraint for so long, trying to keep your heart free of lust. Since you would be able to finally unleash your desires tonight, you would inevitably be impatient. Your humble servant has come prepared.” So saying, she handed a fresh change of clothes to Wanyan Xu.

Wanyan Xu rewarded her with a baleful glare, knowing full well that her words would have been clearly heard by Su Yi. With a “humph”, he said: “Don't just stand there and boast, if I [1] find out that you've made any mistakes, see how I shall punish you.” So saying, he quickly re-entered the bedroom. Trying to mollify Su Yi, he gave a fawning smile and said: “Su Su, that... I’ve brought the clothes... do you want me, as your husband, to help you dress... Aiyo!.”

The cause of his yelp was that Su Yi, in a state of great agitation and acting almost unconsciously, had flung a pillow [2] at him as a weapon. Su Yi was a practitioner of martial arts, and had infused the pillow with his inner force [3], thus the pillow had the weight and velocity of a stone hammer as it travelled through the air. Wanyan Xu was so scared that he was reduced to covering his head and cowering ignominiously. Just that, although this was the move of an enraged man, the object that had been thrown was still ultimately nothing more than a pillow. Wanyan Xu's extreme but genuine reaction actually served as an ice-breaker and the atmosphere between the two relaxed and became more congenial as Su Yi's pervasive sadness and awkwardness was diluted.

Su Yi still glared threateningly at Wanyan Xu, however, and did not allow him to get close to his body again. Poor Wanyan Xu might have been the master of an entire country and he might have projected awe-inspiring dignity and power when holding court, but at this moment in the bedroom, he had become a hen-pecked husband, all because of his emotional attachment to Su Yi. Since his lust had been sated enough for the night, he grudgingly took a blanket from the bed and feeling very sorry for himself, he proceeded to settle onto a couch in the bedroom and had a very unrestful night of sleep. Considering that it had been dusk when they had finished consummating their marriage, their wedding night, which should have lasted all through the night under the illumination of ornamented candles, could be counted as having been wasted.

As the saying goes, “the spring night is bitterly short and they rose only when the sun was high in the sky” [4]. Su Yi tossed and turned the whole night, unable to find rest. Finally, just as the sky was beginning to brighten with the approach of dawn, he finally managed to fall into a deep sleep through sheer fatigue. Only when Wanyan Xu heard him breathing evenly did he dare to sneak onto the bed and enfold his beloved into his arms, thus satisfying his craving to be near to Su Yi for a while. By that time, song of roosters had long since signalled the end of the fifth watch. Outside, the attending eunuch, whose duty was to wake the emperor, gave a soft cough and said in a low voice: “Your Majesty, it is time to attend court.”

Wanyan Xu really did not wish to stray even half a step from Su Yi's side, but as the master of the country, he couldn't be irresponsible and act rashly. He had always practiced strict self-discipline, furthermore, the lesson he had learned from the example of the last disastrous monarch of the previous dynasty had made a deep impression on him. Therefore, he forced himself to get up from the bed, saying morosely: “I know. All of you, go to the outer room and wait on me there. Let Zi Nong come in, she can attend to the Empress when he wakes up.”

When the word “Empress” left his lips, a feeling of utter felicity and contentment suffused his heart, brain, and all three-thousand six-hundred and fifty pores [5], he even walked with a lighter step. As he floated in a cloud of happiness to the adjoining room, Zi Liu rushed up and joined the rest of the servants. After they finished grooming and dressing him, he proceeded to the Outer Court. At the same time, Zi Nong had rushed to the Garden of Merriment, ready to attend to Su Yi when he awoke.