War Prisoner Chapter 35

Su Yi would never be able to forget this day, nor will he ever be able to forget the exact moment when he was forced into becoming the Empress of Jin Liao.

Walking slowly along the path that had been covered with a layer of newly-woven red carpet, his heart gave a quiver in time with each step that he took. Perhaps in everyone's eyes, the road he was walking on was the despicable path towards surrender and repudiating his own roots; or perhaps they saw the road he was taking as the glorious path towards having to bow to only one but having supremacy over all others. But however others may view it, Su Yi knew that he could no longer turn back from the path he was set on.

After completing the long and tedious rituals, Wanyan Xu and he adjourned to a grand banquet hall, where a sumptuous feast had been laid out, to receive congratulations and well-wishes from the a.s.sembled crowd. From the dais, he looked with disinterest at the Jin Liao courtiers gathered below and felt contemptuous of them for duplicitously concealing their true feelings with smiling faces. He knew that he hated them; hated them because although they clearly disapproved of Su Yi becoming Empress, no one dared to stand up to Wanyan Xu, no one dared to voice their opposition. Maybe if they had, Wanyan Xu would have had to exercise more discretion and as for himself, he might have had at least a chance of escaping this fate.

Once the formal congratulations were completed and the courtiers had been seated, instead of an awkward silence descending upon the a.s.sembly as Su Yi had expected, there was a buzz of unprecedented excitement and liveliness in the air. Su Yi thought that these people from Jin Liao must really be good at acting because they obviously should want to leave as soon as possible and be done with this fiasco. Once again, Su Yi internally mocked them for their cowardice, no matter what, he could not believe that they could really accept that their new Empress was none other than an enemy from a country they had defeated and that person would henceforth also be the closest person to their Emperor.

“Su Su, I [1] know that you are not used to making small talk with courtiers, you can stay here and enjoy some snacks while I go down to mingle with them. Ordinarily, I have to be aloof and remote with them; perhaps only at a moment like this, I can interact with them casually for a while.” So saying, Wanyan Xu dragged Su Yi over to a corner and had him sit down on a large seat. At the moment, Zi Nong and the other personal attendants were busy with helping out in the hall, so after Wanyan Xu gave Su Yi a few more words of instruction, Wanyan Xu called over a palace maid and bade her to attend to Su Yi carefully. Again addressing Su Yi, he said: “If there are any well-wishers who approach to toast the happy occasion, please give me some face [2], and cope with them as best you can.” After saying that, he left, wearing a smile that brightened his whole face. 

Su Yi watched as Wanyan Xu's figure weaved among the various courtiers, and when he thought of Wanyan Xu's parting remarks, he couldn't help but to heave a sigh. If he were to be honest with himself, he had to admit that Wanyan Xu's behaviour towards Su Yi could be considered thoughtful and gentle. Besides the matter of crowning Su Yi as Empress, he had deferred to Su Yi's preferences on every other matter and instead of making demands, he had always used polite language and soft words. But whenever Su Yi recalled how he had viciously threatened Su Yi's loved ones, his heart would invariably feel a tremble of fear. From that moment on, he had felt that this person was capable of being fathomlessly vindictive and although he treated Su Yi well at the moment, in future he could turn around and employ even more merciless methods if Su Yi displeased him or to force Su Yi to cooperate on another matter. Every time he thought of this, the little good opinion that he had developed of Wanyan Xu in his heart would vanish like smoke in thin air and furthermore, his heart would feel as if it had become coated with a layer of solid ice.

He originally had no intention of eating, but on this day the fire in his heart would not be extinguished, and he felt that his mouth was dry and his tongue had become hot. Unable to resist, he lifted up his teacup and took a long drink. Before he could set it down, he saw that a tall and physically imposing military commander with a formidable aura was approaching. His heart filled with apprehension because this man could not be mistaken for anybody else --- it was none other than Yu Cang.

Speaking of Yu Cang, Su Yi had long heard of his towering reputation as a capable military commander. Later on, Su Yi also heard that after his surrender to Jin Liao, he began to serve Wanyan Xu and had fought many successful military campaigns in his service. By the time of Su Yi's capture, Yu Cang had been dispatched to attack the Great Qi and even upon his return to court after his victory, the two had never had the occasion to meet as Su Yi had always been confined to the Inner Court. Only today, when all the civil and military court officials were gathered together to offer congratulations, did Su Yi finally have the chance to meet Yu Cang face-to-face.

Su Yi put down the teacup slowly; in his heart he understood that Yu Cang was definitely not coming simply to congratulate Su Yi. As he expected, under the gaiety projected by the smile he had forced onto his face, Su Yi could detect a faint hint of gloom. Carrying a cup in his hands, he came before Su Yi and making a toast, he said: “Your subject Yu Cang congratulates General Su. Previously I had thought that the General would not be able to adapt to the current circ.u.mstances and although I thought that it was not worth it to continue your resistance, I was full of admiration for you. Who would have thought that within a short time, General has understood that a good bird chooses the tree upon which to perch just as the talented subject chooses the lord that he shall serve. Exceeding all expectations, you have even flown to the top of the tree to become the Empress of Jin Liao; this is indeed worthy of celebration."

Su Yi's breath caught in his throat, he knew that although Yu Cang's words could be taken as praise, in reality, his words were loaded with sarcasm and were meant to provoke Su Yi. He had clenched his fists, only after a good long while was he able to relax them and he said in a low voice: “The General is too kind, as a prisoner of war Su Yi had no intention of surrendering. However, Wanyan Xu used various methods to force me, and even held General Yu up as an example for me to follow. Under his multi-p.r.o.nged attacks, Su Yi had to betray his conscience and promise to be his Empress. The General must find Su Yi worthy of ridicule.”

Yu Cang's expression changed and for a moment, it looked like he may choose to go on the offensive right then but with great effort he was able to contain himself. Forcing a laugh, he said: “It seems like your subject can only congratulate Empress Niang Niang [3], and pray that you would be able to stand on your high branch for a good long time, and perch there for your entire lifetime." So saying, he turned and stalked off without giving salutations to Su Yi. 

Su Yi exhaled in relief, however the last sentence uttered by Yu Cang seem to carry a hidden meaning. Actually Su Yi also understood full well that Wanyan Xu had only become infatuated with Su Yi because he had found Su Yi difficult to conquer and in future when he had become tired of Su Yi, there is no way to predict how Su Yi's circ.u.mstances would change. However, he did not feel even a little sad when he thought of that prospect. 

Suddenly he heard the little Crown Prince Wanyan Shuo's voice, between laughter, he stammered out: “So you are really not someone who will turn the other cheek when provoked. At first I thought that you would not be able to handle him, but in the end, you lived up to my expectations.” So saying, he looked at Yu Cang’s retreating back and said: “I don't know why, but I loathe this person very much. He's too proud and he doesn't allow people to criticize him even a little bit. The reason why he came to cause you trouble is because the only motive you had in agreeing to become the Empress of Jin Liao was to spare the common people of Great Qi any suffering whereas the reason he surrendered was because he was unable to withstand the torture and punishment inflicted upon him after his capture. Although he always claims that he switched sides only because he recognized that my Royal Father is an eminently wise ruler, but when the story got out his reputation was still damaged. When contrasted with your conduct, his reputation suffers even more for the comparison. For such an arrogant man, how could he not be furious and hold a grudge?”