War Prisoner

In the end, Yu Cang had the strength of numbers on his side, and in much less than an hour, all of the "rebels", with the exception of Su Yi, had all been "killed on the spot." Su Yi, on the other hand, had had his acupoint struck and had fallen into a slumber and was being carried back to the palace. In fact, all of this had been pre-arranged. The so-called "killings" had been faked by using concealed bladed weapons to slash open bags of pig blood that the people who were acting as rebels wore in front of their chests under their clothes. After that, they merely had to play dead. 

So, it has to be said that the person called Yu Cang was indeed very smart. He knew that the only tool he had that could be used to blackmail Su Yi were the lives of the few hundred scholars that he had captured, who were the actual rebels in this whole scenario. If he had used them in his play and Wanyan Xu had insisted on investigating the matter and decided to hold them accountable, Su Yi would surely feel that Yu Cang could not be trusted. If he then decided to go renege on their agreement, the consequences would be disastrous. But if he were to use his own subordinates as pawns and have them act out the part of the "rebels", if they lost their lives as a result, the rest of his subordinates would undoubtedly be disillusioned with his leadership. In future, not one of them would be willing to give himself wholeheartedly to Yu Cang's service. Therefore, he came up with the stratagem of “killed on the spot” to explain why there were no captives and resolve his dilemma. But he never thought that the little Crown Prince would make a sudden appearance when he was on his way to the mansion and in his heart, he was deeply worried that the little Crown Prince would be able to see through the faked deaths. However, Wanyan Shuo had become so shocked when confronted with the proof of Su Yi's treason that he was nothing but an empty shell of himself at the moment. There was no hint of the cleverness that was such an integral part of his personality normally, so there was no possibility that he could have seen through this staged play.
　
Yu Cang secretly rejoiced in his heart, thinking: Not only will this Crown Prince not present any obstacle to me, but he has instead become my best witness, it seems that even Heaven is helping me today. When his gaze drifted over the face of Su Yi, who was still knocked out cold, a vicious and smug expression flashed over his own mien. He thought: I’ll like to see how you can escape death this time! Humph humph, even if you don't die, you can't turn your fortunes around. You were asking for it. As a man, and a general at that, you shouldn't have a woman’s tender-heartedness but you chose to be as mawkish and tentative as a grandmother instead. In polite terms it could be called kindness, but to put it not-so-nicely, it is called having a death wish. Everything that happens today is of your own making; you have no room to blame others.　

Because Su Yi was now a fugitive with the dual identity of being the Empress as well, Yu Cang did not dare to cause any delay. Together with Wanyan Shuo, he proceeded to the palace at once to report on the completion of his mission.

Inside, Wanyan Xu and Zi Nong had been growing more anxious as they waited, as they noticed that the sky was beginning to grow brighter in the east, the inner court attendant announced in a loud singsong voice: “General Yu Cang begs an audience.” In surprise, he sprang from his chair and exchanged a glance with Zi Nong. Both of them were similarly apprehensive and wore their misgivings on their faces. After a moment, he slowly sat down again and said in a low voice: “Let him proceed in.” In his heart, the troubled feelings still circulated incessantly.

After a short while, Yu Cang and Wanyan Shuo were ushered into the room. When Zi Nong saw that the face of the little Crown Prince was ghastly pale and his face was listless, as if he had lost his soul and dropped his spirit, she felt a cold hand closing over her heart. Her body felt weak suddenly, and she staggered back a few steps to lean against a pillar. Then she heard Wanyan Shuo say mechanically, as if he was nothing more than a wooden puppet: “Imperial Father, your son and subject went with General Yu to capture the fugitive Su Yi on your Imperial orders. Fortune was on our side and we were able to fulfil our task [1]. The fugitive put up strong resistance to evade capture, and as for his crimes... crimes... he confessed to them without expressing remorse...” His voice had just faded when he could no longer suppress his feelings --- after all, he was still a little child --- and streams of tears fell from his eyes. He turned away and said: “I’m tired, I shall leave for my palace first. Imperial Father, you... slowly investigate... don't push yourself... bear in mind... it is important that you take care of your health.”

Upon hearing this type of words from his son, how could Wanyan Xu not understand the facts of the situation? Zi Yan, Zi Nong and Yu Cang all sneaked inquisitive glances at Wanyan Xu, by the candlelight, they saw that his face was placid and free of the billows of any emotion, as if he really did not place importance on love and personal matters. What they did not know was that under the Dragon Table, his fists had been clenched so tightly that the knuckles had turned white and his nails, although they were kept short, had pierced the skin of his palms, drawing blood, enough to soak his entire hand.

A long time passed before Wanyan Xu recovered enough of his composure to speak. Forcing himself to speak calmly, he said: “It must have been difficult for General Yu. Where is the Empress now?”

Yu Cang said: “Your subject was afraid that the Empress would continue to struggle, it would not be good if he had harmed others or himself in the process. Therefore I struck his acupoint so that he would fall into a slumber. Does Your Majesty wish to bring him before the court for a trial now? Your subject will go and bring him here right away.” 　

Wanyan Xu made no reply, and soon, Su Yi was escorted by two Imperial bodyguards into the room. Illuminated by the flickering candlelight, that face, originally so delicate and pretty, took on a more haggard cast. He looked at Wanyan Xu in his Dragon Throne, his exalted status so different from his own, and saw that his eyes were glued to Su Yi. But when he saw that Wanyan Xu's gaze had become empty and hollow, his heart couldn't help but to contract in pain. Hanging his head, he said: “Wanyan Xu, You... You... just kill me.” Actually he need not have said those words, he knew that all he could hope for now was a speedy death. If he could use his own death to ease the pain that he had caused Wanyan Xu, he would be more than willing to make that exchange, even if he had to suffer “Death by a Thousand Cuts” [2]. After all... it now appears that through Su Yi’s actions, he had caused Wanyan Xu to be heartbroken and disappointed yet again.

Wanyan Xu kept on looking at Su Yi fixatedly, but when Su Yi had hung his head, his face had become been veiled by a layer of silky black hair, and thus Wanyan Xu could no longer make out any expression on Su Yi's face. He stared on at Su Yi, as though he failed to recognize him, or perhaps like he had never even known Su Yi. Zi Yan and Yu Cang watched all this play out with increasing trepidation, just when their hearts were thumping with anxiety, Wanyan Xu suddenly opened his mouth to speak: “Su Su, lift your head up, this... is not like you.”

Su Yi raised his head, and looked straight into Wanyan Xu's eyes. The emptiness he had originally seen was now gone, instead, his eyes were full of emotions as tender as flowing water as well as immeasurable helpless suffering. Su Yi felt his eyes grow hot, and he quickly let his head droop down again. His heart felt like it was being mercilessly pounded by a sledgehammer, again and again. In this moment, he would have given almost anything to be able to immediately tell Wanyan Xu that he had been forced, that in fact he... had stopped wanting to escape long ago.　

“To the victor goes the spoils; he who wins becomes king while he who loses becomes a bandit. Since my plans have failed, Su Yi can only ask for a quick death.” He was afraid that his sins were so atrocious that he could not be redeemed even through death, but besides giving Wanyan Xu his insignificant life, he really could not think of how he could begin to compensate this man, who had shown every form of tenderness to Su Yi to the fullest extent.

Wanyan Xu gave a bitter laugh and said: “Su Su, sure enough, you are still the same as before, still wishing whole-heartedly for death.” So saying, he took a look out the window and said: “It will soon be morning. I think you should be tired after the events of the previous day and this night, you should go and have a nice hot bath and rest for a while. General Yu, you can go and have a break too.”

Yu Cang and Zi Yan both looked up at him, stunned. Yu Cang looked at Wanyan Xu as if he did not dare to believe his ears, and opened his mouth to raise his objections, but in the end, he did not dare to do so and swallowed them down. Wanyan Xu looked at him, giving a mirthless laugh, he said: “Do not worry, although I admit that I am a man of passion, but I will certainly not flout the law because of my feelings. Tomorrow when court is in session, I will put Su Yi on trial, so as to... so as to give the court a proper account of this matter. For now, it is still not yet dawn, I just want to give to Su Su... a final moment of tenderness.” When he said these words, he felt like his heart was being sliced by knives. Standing to the side, tears were flowing like rain from Zi Nong's eyes and she could not keep herself from sobbing aloud.

In the end, Yu Cang had the strength of numbers on his side, and in much less than an hour, all of the "rebels", with the exception of Su Yi, had all been "killed on the spot." Su Yi, on the other hand, had had his acupoint struck and had fallen into a slumber and was being carried back to the palace. In fact, all of this had been pre-arranged. The so-called "killings" had been faked by using concealed bladed weapons to slash open bags of pig blood that the people who were acting as rebels wore in front of their chests under their clothes. After that, they merely had to play dead. 

So, it has to be said that the person called Yu Cang was indeed very smart. He knew that the only tool he had that could be used to blackmail Su Yi were the lives of the few hundred scholars that he had captured, who were the actual rebels in this whole scenario. If he had used them in his play and Wanyan Xu had insisted on investigating the matter and decided to hold them accountable, Su Yi would surely feel that Yu Cang could not be trusted. If he then decided to go renege on their agreement, the consequences would be disastrous. But if he were to use his own subordinates as pawns and have them act out the part of the "rebels", if they lost their lives as a result, the rest of his subordinates would undoubtedly be disillusioned with his leadership. In future, not one of them would be willing to give himself wholeheartedly to Yu Cang's service. Therefore, he came up with the stratagem of “killed on the spot” to explain why there were no captives and resolve his dilemma. But he never thought that the little Crown Prince would make a sudden appearance when he was on his way to the mansion and in his heart, he was deeply worried that the little Crown Prince would be able to see through the faked deaths. However, Wanyan Shuo had become so shocked when confronted with the proof of Su Yi's treason that he was nothing but an empty shell of himself at the moment. There was no hint of the cleverness that was such an integral part of his personality normally, so there was no possibility that he could have seen through this staged play.

Yu Cang secretly rejoiced in his heart, thinking: Not only will this Crown Prince not present any obstacle to me, but he has instead become my best witness, it seems that even Heaven is helping me today. When his gaze drifted over the face of Su Yi, who was still knocked out cold, a vicious and smug expression flashed over his own mien. He thought: I’ll like to see how you can escape death this time! Humph humph, even if you don't die, you can't turn your fortunes around. You were asking for it. As a man, and a general at that, you shouldn't have a woman’s tender-heartedness but you chose to be as mawkish and tentative as a grandmother instead. In polite terms it could be called kindness, but to put it not-so-nicely, it is called having a death wish. Everything that happens today is of your own making; you have no room to blame others.　

Because Su Yi was now a fugitive with the dual identity of being the Empress as well, Yu Cang did not dare to cause any delay. Together with Wanyan Shuo, he proceeded to the palace at once to report on the completion of his mission.

Inside, Wanyan Xu and Zi Nong had been growing more anxious as they waited, as they noticed that the sky was beginning to grow brighter in the east, the inner court attendant announced in a loud singsong voice: “General Yu Cang begs an audience.” In surprise, he sprang from his chair and exchanged a glance with Zi Nong. Both of them were similarly apprehensive and wore their misgivings on their faces. After a moment, he slowly sat down again and said in a low voice: “Let him proceed in.” In his heart, the troubled feelings still circulated incessantly.

After a short while, Yu Cang and Wanyan Shuo were ushered into the room. When Zi Nong saw that the face of the little Crown Prince was ghastly pale and his face was listless, as if he had lost his soul and dropped his spirit, she felt a cold hand closing over her heart. Her body felt weak suddenly, and she staggered back a few steps to lean against a pillar. Then she heard Wanyan Shuo say mechanically, as if he was nothing more than a wooden puppet: “Imperial Father, your son and subject went with General Yu to capture the fugitive Su Yi on your Imperial orders. Fortune was on our side and we were able to fulfil our task [1]. The fugitive put up strong resistance to evade capture, and as for his crimes... crimes... he confessed to them without expressing remorse...” His voice had just faded when he could no longer suppress his feelings --- after all, he was still a little child --- and streams of tears fell from his eyes. He turned away and said: “I’m tired, I shall leave for my palace first. Imperial Father, you... slowly investigate... don't push yourself... bear in mind... it is important that you take care of your health.”

Upon hearing this type of words from his son, how could Wanyan Xu not understand the facts of the situation? Zi Yan, Zi Nong and Yu Cang all sneaked inquisitive glances at Wanyan Xu, by the candlelight, they saw that his face was placid and free of the billows of any emotion, as if he really did not place importance on love and personal matters. What they did not know was that under the Dragon Table, his fists had been clenched so tightly that the knuckles had turned white and his nails, although they were kept short, had pierced the skin of his palms, drawing blood, enough to soak his entire hand.

A long time passed before Wanyan Xu recovered enough of his composure to speak. Forcing himself to speak calmly, he said: “It must have been difficult for General Yu. Where is the Empress now?”

Yu Cang said: “Your subject was afraid that the Empress would continue to struggle, it would not be good if he had harmed others or himself in the process. Therefore I struck his acupoint so that he would fall into a slumber. Does Your Majesty wish to bring him before the court for a trial now? Your subject will go and bring him here right away.” 　

Wanyan Xu made no reply, and soon, Su Yi was escorted by two Imperial bodyguards into the room. Illuminated by the flickering candlelight, that face, originally so delicate and pretty, took on a more haggard cast. He looked at Wanyan Xu in his Dragon Throne, his exalted status so different from his own, and saw that his eyes were glued to Su Yi. But when he saw that Wanyan Xu's gaze had become empty and hollow, his heart couldn't help but to contract in pain. Hanging his head, he said: “Wanyan Xu, You... You... just kill me.” Actually he need not have said those words, he knew that all he could hope for now was a speedy death. If he could use his own death to ease the pain that he had caused Wanyan Xu, he would be more than willing to make that exchange, even if he had to suffer “Death by a Thousand Cuts” [2]. After all... it now appears that through Su Yi’s actions, he had caused Wanyan Xu to be heartbroken and disappointed yet again.

Wanyan Xu kept on looking at Su Yi fixatedly, but when Su Yi had hung his head, his face had become been veiled by a layer of silky black hair, and thus Wanyan Xu could no longer make out any expression on Su Yi's face. He stared on at Su Yi, as though he failed to recognize him, or perhaps like he had never even known Su Yi. Zi Yan and Yu Cang watched all this play out with increasing trepidation, just when their hearts were thumping with anxiety, Wanyan Xu suddenly opened his mouth to speak: “Su Su, lift your head up, this... is not like you.”

Su Yi raised his head, and looked straight into Wanyan Xu's eyes. The emptiness he had originally seen was now gone, instead, his eyes were full of emotions as tender as flowing water as well as immeasurable helpless suffering. Su Yi felt his eyes grow hot, and he quickly let his head droop down again. His heart felt like it was being mercilessly pounded by a sledgehammer, again and again. In this moment, he would have given almost anything to be able to immediately tell Wanyan Xu that he had been forced, that in fact he... had stopped wanting to escape long ago.　

“To the victor goes the spoils; he who wins becomes king while he who loses becomes a bandit. Since my plans have failed, Su Yi can only ask for a quick death.” He was afraid that his sins were so atrocious that he could not be redeemed even through death, but besides giving Wanyan Xu his insignificant life, he really could not think of how he could begin to compensate this man, who had shown every form of tenderness to Su Yi to the fullest extent.

Wanyan Xu gave a bitter laugh and said: “Su Su, sure enough, you are still the same as before, still wishing whole-heartedly for death.” So saying, he took a look out the window and said: “It will soon be morning. I think you should be tired after the events of the previous day and this night, you should go and have a nice hot bath and rest for a while. General Yu, you can go and have a break too.”

Yu Cang and Zi Yan both looked up at him, stunned. Yu Cang looked at Wanyan Xu as if he did not dare to believe his ears, and opened his mouth to raise his objections, but in the end, he did not dare to do so and swallowed them down. Wanyan Xu looked at him, giving a mirthless laugh, he said: “Do not worry, although I admit that I am a man of passion, but I will certainly not flout the law because of my feelings. Tomorrow when court is in session, I will put Su Yi on trial, so as to... so as to give the court a proper account of this matter. For now, it is still not yet dawn, I just want to give to Su Su... a final moment of tenderness.” When he said these words, he felt like his heart was being sliced by knives. Standing to the side, tears were flowing like rain from Zi Nong's eyes and she could not keep herself from sobbing aloud.