War Prisoner - Chapter 50

The expression on Su Yi's face remained stoic, and he said with a bland smile: “What joy is there in life, what horror is there in death. There is no harm in Miss saying what she thinks, Su Yi will just listen with respectful attention.”

When Zi Yan heard his words, she gave a chilly smile and said: “Good, General Su has the qualities of a real man indeed.” So saying, she approached Su Yi and whispered quietly in his ear: “General, actually, I don't have much to say but I wanted to tell you a piece of news. Some time ago, General Yu Cang received a secret report about a plot and arrested a few hundred scholars on the charges of attempted treason and conspiracy against the state. These people had wished to overthrow our regime and restore the Great Qi. At the moment, besides General Yu Cang and I, nobody else knows about this matter. I was just thinking that among the arrested people there might be some of General's old acquaintances, so I thought that I would tell you about this. Although it is true that General enjoys great favour, His Majesty is still not someone who does not know how to judge the severity of a situation and act accordingly. These treasonous rebels will undoubtedly be made to pay for their guilt, but if the investigation should be expanded, more people will be implicated. In that event, who knows how many more people we can apprehend who harbour the wish to defy the law in their hearts.”

Before Zi Yan had finished with her speech, Su Yi's face had already assumed a different expression and he glared at her fiercely. However, Zi Yan did not flinch, rather, with a flat look at him, she gave a cold smile and said: “Naturally, General understands full well that with every change of dynasty, what the new Emperor treats as most taboo is rebellion. With regards to these people who wish to restore the previous dynasty, this incident would surely cause His Majesty disillusionment. He has always treated the people of Qi with leniency and kindness, to think that there are still Qi people who wish to restore that morally decayed regime.”

Of course, Su Yi fully understood that these words were Zi Yan's way of threatening him, and he said emphatically: “Wanyan Xu is not that type of person. Even more importantly, you are only telling one side of the story, I cannot fully trust everything you say. Miss Zi Yan, you only wish for my death; that is easily achieved. Why do you need to use threats on me, just like your master?”

Zi Yan gave a smile and then retreated, saying: “That was all that Zi Yan wished to say. If General does not believe Zi Yan's words, he can summon Young Master Xu and make inquiries of him. I hope that General will remember that the lives of all those people now lie in your hands. As for His Majesty's threats, Young Master should clearly understand by now that His Majesty would never have been able to harden his heart enough to actually harm those people but that is not the case for General Yu and me. Young Master should consider your decision carefully.”

Su Yi was just about to question Zi Yan further, but he saw that Zi Nong was rushing back towards them. Because of Zi Yan's words, his heart was in a state of chaos, and his feelings were as tangled as a pile of hemp fibre. Mindlessly, he picked out snacks from the boxes Zi Nong had brought, but he could only eat a few pieces before he gave up.

The next day, at the first opportunity, Su Yi sent people to invite Xu Jinhua to the palace. They had just barely greeted each other, but Su Yi's heart had already begun to sink. This old friend had always been possessed of a distinguished and elegant appearance and manner in all the time Su Yi had known him, but at this moment his face was wan and the vessels in his eyes showed up like many red threads. When he saw Su Yi, with tears in his eyes, he said: “Ruo Zhi, I was just about to look for you too...” Before he could continue, tears began falling from his eyes like raindrops.

Su Yi half-collapsed onto the chair, and without needing any further confirmation, he knew that Zi Yan's words had been true. At his ear was his good friend, who was pleading with him, asking him to beg mercy from Wanyan Xu and have him spare the lives of those scholars and literary folk. But in Su Yi’s heart, he clearly knew that Wanyan Xu would be indignant that even though he had conferred benefits to the common people of Qi again and again, there were still people who wished to overthrow his rule. With a rage born of humiliation, there was no way that he would be willing to just drop the matter. Even if he wanted to ask Wanyan Xu to spare them as a favour to Su Yi, he had no idea how he could put that idea into words. He could only make promises to his friend, so that he could leave reassured.

With a couple of bitter laughs at himself, he could only think to himself that Heaven was really too cruel to him. Why were people always using the innocent lives of others to threaten him? Wanyan Xu had already gotten all that he desired using this method, and now, what did Zi Yan and Yu Cang hope to achieve by emulating him? If all they wanted from him was his life, he would gladly have given it to them, as long as they would guarantee the safety of the captured literati in exchange. He was just a prisoner of war who was dragging out his ignoble existence; there was really not much he had left to live for, nothing that he was reluctant to leave behind. The only question left was how Zi Yan intended to set about disposing of him.

Hence, Su Yi passed the next several days in a blur. Every day, he had to force himself to smile and be happy in front of Wanyan Xu, and through occasional surreptitious enquiries, he learned that Yu Cang had not reported the attempted rebellion of the literary folks. This knowledge offered him a little comfort. He thought, as he often did, of how in their lives together, Wanyan Xu had always been supremely considerate and tender to Su Yi, and of how touched he would feel when he leaned against the body of this man, who had, somewhere along the line, became a bulwark for Su Yi. And yet, Su Yi was going to leave him again, hurt him yet another time. Whenever he thought of this, the bitter pain he felt was beyond words and it would seem that sorrow and grief were drilling a hole right through his heart.

By this time, the little Crown Prince Wanyan Shuo had been utterly tamed by Su Yi and now diligently came over every day to give an honest report of his progress in his lessons. Whenever Zi Nong and the others saw that, they would all incessantly click their tongues in wonder at this development, thinking to themselves that Young Master didn't really do very much, so why did this clever and crafty Wanyan Shuo admit defeat so easily?

On this day, Wanyan Shuo had just departed after his daily visit to Su Yi, and Zi Nong was sitting in the side room with a few palace maids, chatting while they were doing embroidery. A late summer breeze was blowing in from the windows, bringing with it a thread of comfortable coolness.

Zi Nong raised her head suddenly and said with surprise: “Any of you notice that there is a hint of a strange sweet scent in the wind...” Before she could finish, her head grew heavy and her legs felt wobbly. She could not help but be extremely alarmed, immediately understanding that there was something not quite right about the situation. Just as she was going to stand up and call loudly for aid, a sheet of blackness descended before her eyes and she was unable to prevent herself from collapsing to the floor. Unlike Zi Nong, the palace maids were all unlearned in martial arts and had even less ability to resist the powerful effects of this bewitching scent. In an instant, all the people in the house had all collapsed without making a sound. Even Su Yi, who was in the inner chamber, was no exception.

Zi Yan cast a glance at the guards, who had all fainted, before entering the residence and giving another cursory look around the room at all the palace maids who were lying unconscious on the floor. Proceeding to the bedroom, she came to the bed where Su Yi was lying insensible and said in a low voice: “General Su, although you were captured, you managed to retain your integrity; Zi Yan deeply admires you for that. But I certainly cannot allow a person like you to remain the Empress of my country, Jin Liao. Although my actions today will harm you, they will also let you preserve your reputation as a man who was constant in his loyalty until death and you will be a martyr for your country. I think even after you have reached the underworld, you will not resent or hate me.” So saying, she picked Su Yi up, and quietly left through the back entry. Using an out-of-the-way alley that was deserted, she came to the palace wall where a man was already waiting for them.

“The General has already completed all the necessary arrangements, and instructed this humble servant to relay this message to Miss as that you can be at ease.” After that man finished speaking, he saw Zi Yan nod and he took Su Yi from her hands; bending down, he disappeared with Su Yi through a hole in the wall that had been obscured by shrubbery. Zi Yan stood unmoving at the spot for a while before rousing herself and made her way back to the Garden of Merriment in a headlong rush. She left a plain letter on the table that Su Yi usually used as his writing desk, after looking around again to check that there was nobody around, only then did she leave with hasty steps.