War Prisoner Chapter 87

In the Imperial Study, Wanyan Xu was sitting rigidly upon the Dragon Throne and Zi Yan was stationed behind him, ready to attend to his needs. In contrast, the terrified He Jian was standing below with beads of cold sweat constantly forming and dripping from his head. Only after a long time did he finally hear Wanyan Xu say in a deep voice: “He... actually had the guts to be so bold?”

He Jian hurriedly knelt down and said: “Your loyal subject does not dare to deceive the Emperor. The scholars numbered well over a hundred and they had indeed been secretly arrested and imprisoned by the Honourable Minister Yu. With the a.s.sistance of Miss Zi Yan, your loyal subject has already taken those people into the custody of the Ministry of Justice and they have been transferred to our prison to await further instructions from Your Majesty. The people who were guarding these scholars attempted to commit suicide on the spot, fortunately they were unsuccessful. They are now undergoing interrogation in the Ministry of Justice, i believe that we will soon see some results. This old minister thinks that it is most likely that General Yu used these scholars as collateral. The Empress is of a kindly disposition and good-hearted, and he was likely blackmailed into falsely confessing to the crime of treason.”

Wanyan Xu gave a cold laugh and said: “Is that so? Honourable Minister He has managed to reach a verdict so soon? Can this matter really be so thoroughly investigated in such a short time? Who was it who previously said that the Empress was definitely guilty of treason and that he must be put to death?” Before the sound of his voice had even faded, He Jian had given a few kowtows before saying: “This old official was ignorant to be deceived by others; he is guilty of a crime for which one deserves to die a thousand times.”

Only then did Wanyan Xu relax his face and say in a warm voice: “Honourable Minister, please rise. As the saying goes, he who is in the dark is innocent of the crime. Tomorrow when court is in session, you shall give an in-depth explanation of all the causes and events of this matter to the a.s.sembly.” With that, he sank into deep thought and did not speak further. He Jian gave a glance to Zi Yan and only when he saw that she had given him a slight nod did he step forward and say: “Reporting to Your Majesty, your loyal subject requests that your Majesty give instructions as to how we should handle the rebellious scholars.”

At the moment, Wanyan Xu was in a quandary over this matter. Now, he finally understood why Su Yi had preferred death over admitting that he was actually innocent of all the charges against him. But these scholars were guilty of plotting a rebellion and that was a crime that should not be pardoned under any circ.u.mstances. Otherwise, if other people were to plot a rebellion in future, they could cite this case as a example and request to be pardoned. If that should happen, how could he then explain why the penalty in one case should be different from the other? But it was for the sake of these people that Su Yi had endured immeasurable suffering and humiliation; he had even almost given up his life for them. If this were to be the final outcome of the whole matter and all his efforts had been for naught, how could he possibly endure it? Therefore he hesitated for a long time and was unable to speak.

Suddenly, he heard He Jian submit another pet.i.tion: “Your Majesty, these scholars were guilty of treason, according to the laws of the land they should be beheaded. But it seems that they genuinely have the desire to repent, therefore this old minister finds the situation awkward and came to request that Your Majesty makes his will known.” 

He saw that Wanyan Xu's eyes had suddenly brightened at his words and could not help but to think in his heart: It would seem that Miss Zi Yan really does understand the Emperor very well. She knew that His Majesty would be inclined to pardon these people and with a thousand ways and a hundred plans she managed to find a way out of an embarra.s.sing situation for him. 

As he was ruminating, Zi Yan had already stepped out and kneeling, was presenting a memorial to the Emperor: “Reporting to Your Majesty, by right it is not your humble servant's place to speak too much with regards to important affairs of State, but these scholars are truly remorseful. Besides, our Jin Liao has only just set up her capital in Dou Yan, our foothold in this land is not yet firm and so it is a good time to earn the goodwill of the people. If these people are pardoned, they would surely feel grat.i.tude in their hearts and know that the Emperor is a benevolent and eminent monarch. When they are released in future, they could reasonably be expected to sing Your Majesty's praises to their fellows. As a result, our Jin Liao Empire can be secure forevermore.” 

This speech of hers could be said to gel perfectly with what Wanyan Xu wished to do, and in addition He Jian who was standing to the side, was also saying considerately: “Miss Zi Yan's words are very true, this old minister hopes that Your Majesty will give them consideration.” 

The Dragon's heart couldn't help but to be pleased, and he said readily: “If that is the case, and the scholars are truly repentant, then Honourable Minister He should just mete out some light punishment to them and warn them against committing such an act in future.” He Jian agreed and retired to carry out Wanyan Xu's instructions. 

Zi Yan suddenly walked to the back of the screen and the sound of her speaking was audible to Wanyan Xu. Only then did Wanyan Xu discover that Su Yi was actually at the back of the screen. Just as he was about to speak, he heard his beloved say to Zi Yan happily: “Miss Zi Yan is indeed as good as her word, Su Yi must give much thanks to you.” Zi Yan answered in a bland tone of voice: “The Empress's mind can rest easy now. There are still a few high officials who are waiting outside to see the Emperor about some important matters, could the Consort please return to her palace.” 

Su Yi knew that she adhered to a strict set of rules about hierarchy, therefore he did not see much reason to think further about her request and prepared to leave while being attended to by Zi Nong. At this, Wanyan Xu went up to him and they exchanged a few words before he left, with Wanyan Xu looking after his retreating figure until it disappeared. Then he went back into the study, and sent all the attending eunuchs and palace maids away. After that, Zi Yan and he were the only people who were left in the room. Only then did he turn his attentions to this trusted aide and cherished servant. In a pained voice, he said: “Give me [1] a reason, tell me, why did you do that?

Zi Yan made no reply, only after a long time pa.s.sed did she say: “Your humble servant was stupid. With regards to the Empress, I could not stop gauging the heart of a gentleman by the standards of my own petty heart and thus, I could not be at ease knowing that the person who would share a bed and pillows with the Emperor is a Qi national. Your humble servant deserves death.”

Wanyan Xu gave a loud roar: “You didn’t trust Su Su, but did you not trust me as well? Let's not mention that Su Su is nothing like Daji [2] or Xi Shi [3], but how could you think that I would be like the King of Zhou or Fu Chai. You actually dare to be so bold, you have truly disappointed me.”

Zi Yan also did not attempt to justify herself, only caring to kneel and say: “Zi Yan is only waiting for the Emperor and Empress to bestow punishment on her, Zi Yan will bear any punishment with no complaints.” 

But, in response to her words, she only heard Wanyan Xu give a long sigh before saying: “Why then, did you change your mind? When Yu Cang realised that the truth behind the alleged rebellion of the Empress had been brought to light by the poem which proved that he had been framed, why did he still keep the scholars in the same place thus facilitating my investigation? If it weren't for your a.s.sistance, He Jian could never have managed to rescue those scholars so easily. Also, don't think that I do not realise that ever since antiquity, the quality that the intelligentsia prized the most is unflinching righteousness. Since they dared to plot a rebellion in the first place, how is it possible that they will then have a change of heart and repent? Exactly what methods did you employ on them to make them comply?”

Zi Yan said: “Your humble servant does not dare to claim any credit. Your humble servant took advantage of an opportunity which arose to have Young Master Xu smuggled in to join the prisoners. As to how he managed to persuade these people to repent, your humble servant does not know how he managed to accomplish this. As for your question about Honourable Minister Yu, he did indeed have those people transferred to another place, but your humble servant had already antic.i.p.ated that he would make this move and had ordered people to place the building under heavy surveillance day and night. Thus we could obtain accurate information as to where he moved the captives. He thought that as long as he did not kill those people, the Empress would not dare to tell on him. That was the reason he did not kill them in order to prevent them from divulging his secret but in the end, that gave Honourable Minister He his chance. Your humble servant... did this because Your Majesty's heart has become inextricably tried to him, there is no other reason.” 　

Wanyan Xu glared at her with eyes that were filled with both fury and heartache. After a long time, he suddenly waved his hand and said: “You deceived your monarch, offended your superiors and framed the Empress. Your crime is great, the evil you committed is extreme. Taking into account your long service to me and also that you have now repented, I will bestow upon you the privilege of dying with a whole corpse, you... you shall go now... and put an end to yourself.” With that, he turned his back to her and made to leave, his tiger eyes [4] were shimmering with tears and he could not bear to look at his beloved servant any longer.

As for Zi Yan, she remained eerily calm. She stood up but then again knelt down to do homage, after knocking her head a few times she said quietly: “Your humble servant shall take her leave now, during the time of wind and frosts in the coming years, I hope that Your Majesty will take care of his Dragon Body.” With that, she stood up but just as she had turned to go, suddenly a clear and bright-toned voice was heard. It said: “Wait a moment, don't tell me that Miss Zi Yan has forgotten? You once said that if I should have the fortune to occupy the position of Empress again, your end would be decided by me.”