WAR PRISONER

War Prisoner Chapter 54

Author: 梨花烟雨(Li Hua Yan Yu) /Lê Hoa Yên Vũ

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War Prisoner Chapter 54

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."