War Prisoner Chapter 56

Courtesy of Yu Cang's loose and malicious tongue, news of the Empress's defection had spread like wildfire in the reception room where all the courtiers gathered before attending court in the morning. The crafty Yu Cang had his own plans for Su Yi; taking advantage of the fact that Wanyan Xu had neglected to explicitly order him to keep this matter a secret, he had made sure that every courtier gathered in that room now knew what Su Yi had done, stirring up animosity towards him and laying the groundwork for what Yu Cang wished to happen. That way, even if Wanyan Xu was still inclined to show favouritism towards Su Yi, all of the ministers would vehemently raise objections and prevent that from happening.

For the moment, the room was noisy with discourse, it would seem as though everybody had something to say. When the ministers remembered how the Emperor had shown this Empress so much favour and love, without exception, they could not help but to feel fury and loathing towards that ungrateful Empress. Curses and recriminations were flying, condemning Su Yi for being ungrateful and saying that he must not get off lightly. There were even some ministers who asked the High Official in charge of the Ministry of Justice to prepare all the implements necessary for carrying out "Death by a Thousand Cuts", so vehement was their antagonism towards Su Yi.

Suddenly a high voice was heard saying: “Court will commence.” Only then did the ministers quiet down and begin to proceed into the large hall in single file and in accordance to their rank with the highest ranking officials in front. When they saw that Wanyan Xu's eyes were swollen and bloodshot, they couldn't help but to feel sad on behalf of the Emperor, and their hatred for Su Yi grew more intense.

After the simple memorials pertaining to the daily business of running the empire had been presented and dealt with, he saw that none of the ministers had any more memorial scrolls in hand to submit to him. Instead they were looking at him expectantly. Without exception, their eyes were blazing with fury. He heaved a heavy sigh, knowing that these courtiers must have already discovered what Su Yi had done. Having no recourse, he had to ask: “The Empress Su Yi's heart is still loyal to his destroyed country. Yesterday, he defected and escaped from the palace. Credit must be given to the Honourable Minister Yu, due to his tireless efforts in searching everywhere for the Empress, he was captured by the light of the stars last night. As for how he should be punished, let's see what the High Official in charge of the Ministry of Justice has to say.” [1]　

He Jian stepped forward and in a grave voice he said: “The Empress is the Mother of the Nation; as such he should have a.s.sisted and supported the Emperor by taking the lead in the running of the Inner Court and also setting an example for everybody under Heaven. But not only did he spurn His Majesty's kindness, he secretly formed a coterie with treasonous villains. Taking advantage of the Emperor's favour and trust, he absconded. His actions show that his heart is even more ruthless than that of wild beasts. After committing such a heinous crime against Heaven's Son, he deserves the punishment of lingchi [2]; he should be sentenced to be executed through Death by a Thousand Cuts.　

Wanyan Xu could only laugh bitterly for a while, truth be told, he had already antic.i.p.ated what kind of answer He Jian would give him. Even worse, he knew that by the laws of the land, he could not refuse to mete out such a punishment to Su Yi. His heart was heavy as he thought: Wanyan Xu, oh Wanyan Xu, even at this stage you cannot bear to part with him. Whenever you think of his death, all you wish to do is to follow him into the Yellow Springs of Hades so that he will not have to make the journey alone, you... you are in no way the same Great King of Jin Liao that you used to be.He was still determined to save Su Yi's life, but he had always ruled the country with impartiality and in accordance with the established laws. If he, as the monarch, were to take the lead in flouting the law today, in future how could he maintain the moral high ground when leading his officials or commanding the common people?

Several important officials immediately saw that the Emperor still could not contemplate executing the Empress, and quickly stepped out from the lines to fall upon their knees. One after another, they implored Wanyan Xu to sentence Su Yi to death. When Wanyan Xu saw that the outrage of his court was of such violent intensity, he instinctively knew that this time, he really could not preserve Su Yi's life. However, although he opened his mouth a few times, he was still unable to say the two words "bestow death" [3]. Before he could speak those words, tears were welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill over. He lowered his head and hurriedly pretended to cough behind his sleeves, but in actual fact, he was wiping his eyes dry.

Divided over what to do with Su Yi, the Emperor and his ministers were deadlocked. At this juncture, they saw that the little Crown Prince Wanyan Shuo had entered into the palace hall. Without preamble, he knelt stiffly on the floor and said: “Imperial Father, your Son and Subject knows that Mother Empress has committed a heinous act, the crime he is guilty of is so serious that it really cannot be pardoned. But on account of the effective guidance he has given to me, I hope that Imperial Father will spare his life and sentence him to live out the rest of his life in hardship instead. Your Son and Subject begs Imperial Father for this favour.” So saying, he knocked his forehead on the ground three times. 

The gathered ministers all looked at Wanyan Shuo in amazement. Their previous experience with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had all pointed to him being eccentric and antisocial, so they could not understand how he had developed such a deep attachment to Su Yi. A gleam of gratification and pride shone in Wanyan Xu's eyes and he could take some comfort; Shuo Er was growing up, gradually becoming more sensible. The clever child had come to the aid of his besieged father, giving him a way out. 

Wanyan Xu surveyed the congregation of courtiers with a glance before slowly opening his mouth to say: “Shuo Er is still a young child, and his mother had died early. Also, he has not received even the slightest bit of warmth and affection from any of the other concubines, only the Empress has taken upon himself the task of overseeing his education in addition to showing him care and concern. It would be pointless for me [4] to execute the Empress today, he welcomes death anyway. Instead it will inevitably cast a shadow over the rest of the Crown Prince's life. Besides, my hatred in my heart can hardly be a.s.suaged by simply executing him. Instead, I shall sentence him to sixty stokes of flogging with a rod and after that, he will be demoted to become a slave in the palace, so that he will have to endure the pain of humiliation every day and every night for the rest of his life. This way, the law pertaining to the punishment of traitors is not circ.u.mvented, and my hatred can also be vented through his continual suffering but at the same time, the rest of the Crown Prince's life will not be marred. This course of action has threefold benefits, what do all the honoured officials here think of it?”

All the officials looked at each other doubtfully. They were all equally aware that even at this stage, Wanyan Xu was still biased towards Su Yi but even if they were to protest, the Emperor's mind was clearly made up. Before they could do anything, they saw that Wanyan Shuo had quickly knelt down again, and then he said in a loud voice: “Imperial Father is enlightened.” With that, the gathered officials were obliged to give the Crown Prince some face, and following his lead, they reiterated: “The Emperor is enlightened, this course of action is extremely good.” 　

Yu Cang could only grind his teeth in frustration, although he had no recourse but to accept Wanyan Xu's decision. With a roll of his eyes, a new idea suddenly came to his mind. Taking advantage of the fact that everybody was occupied with discussing the new developments and was paying him no mind, he slipped towards the palace guard who had come into the hall to receive instructions on how to mete out Su Yi's punishment. Quietly, Yu Cang said to him: “Later, hit him with all your strength, and hit only his legs.” How would the common palace guard ever dare to offend Yu Cang, an important general? Moreover, Wanyan Xu had not stipulated where or how Su Yi was to be hit, therefore the guard cheerfully accepted Yu Cang's order and left.

Wanyan Xu and his son watched as Su Yi, attired in a white prison uniform, was brought into the large hall. After that, two people went up to remove his shackles, fixing a rope around him, they pulled him out. As all of this transpired, the hearts of both father and son felt like they were being sliced with sharp knives but they could do nothing more for Su Yi now. Saving him from death’s maw had already been no easy task. Wanyan Xu had already been presumptive when he had acted on his own initiative and decreed that Su Yi would have to suffer sixty strokes of the rod but if he had not done so, if the sentence had been set by the Minister of Justice, he was afraid that even one hundred strokes would have been deemed too little. Even if Su Yi's body was strong and healthy, he would still have suffered permanent disability at that point. For the lack of better options, Wanyan Xu's decree was the best Su Yi could hope for under the circ.u.mstances.

Leave aside how, at this moment, the two hearts of the father and son were feeling terribly upset and confused. Going back to the gathered officials, they were still buzzing with conversation and discussion. Suddenly, the distinctive "pa pa" sound of wood striking against flesh was heard from the courtyard. Wanyan Xu's chest constricted and he folded his hands together, tightly, as if his life depended on it. On the corners of Yu Cang's mouth floated the hint of a sinister smile, but it was too subtle to be easily detected. As for the little Crown Prince Wanyan Shuo, he had come to the end of his endurance, bowing his head, he could no longer contain his tears and they streamed down his face freely.　

Beyond the palace doors, "pa pa" sounds were still coming from the courtyard, causing Wanyan Xu to feel excruciating pain, as if someone was trying to dig out his soul from his body. Over and over again, he thought: Su Su, why don’t you cry out? Maybe if you let yourself cry out, the pain might be more bearable, Su Su, why don’t you scream in pain? You... you should shout out!

Each blow of the rod descended on Su Yi's body, but each and every one of them also delivered a hard knock at Wanyan Xu's heart. His expression remained stoic. Only the paleness of his complexion, and the minute trembling of his lips, which he couldn't control, try as he might, gave any clue to his state of mind. As his heart was being tormented, he suddenly saw Wanyan Shuo stand up so abruptly that his chair made a harsh noise as it sc.r.a.ped the floor. In a loud voice, he said: “Something’s not right...” Before his sentence was complete, his person had already dashed through the door.