WAR PRISONER

War Prisoner Chapter 60

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

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War Prisoner Chapter 60

Su Yi was startled by the look in his eyes and just as he was about to advise Wanyan Shuo to return to his father, he found that the boy was now staring at him obstinately. In a loud voice, Wanyan Shuo said: "Why? Why did you leave my Imperial Father and me? If you already intended to do so from the very beginning, then why were you so dedicated to teaching me right from wrong? Why are you now telling me to be mindful of my own status and that I should not let my tears fall so easily? I... that I have become like this today, does it have anything to do with you anymore? You... you stopped caring about me the day that you deserted us, isn't that right? Since you already knew that you would eventually abandon me, why did you ever bother to treat me well? The weaker I become, the more degenerate I am, the more convenient it will be for your hopes of restoring the Empire of the Great Qi, isn't it? You... you... I hate you." The little Crown Prince's words rushed out like a torrent, and by the time he finished his outburst, his little face was covered with tears. Suddenly, he brusquely turned his back to Su Yi and said in a loud voice: "I... I will never be put under your spell again and I will not listen to you anymore." As he said those words, he was already running up the path, away from Su Yi.

Su Yi's heart was wracked with agony. In the beginning, this Wanyan Shuo had aroused both anger and hatred in Su Yi but to his surprise, as he interacted more with him, he found had himself growing to love this child. His intelligence and sharp-wits, which had been so aggravating to Su Yi previously, had secretly become a source of delight and amusement instead. But he absolutely did not expect that this little Crown Prince, who had always been so idiosyncratic and arrogant, would also develop such a strong attachment to Su Yi in return. Su Yi had quite plainly forced him to apply himself to his lessons, keeping his nose to the grindstone firmly. While the average child may have even resented the painstaking efforts he took to educate them, it turns out that this imperious Crown Prince was the rare child who could appreciate his good intentions. For a time, he reminisced about the time they had spent together with longing. But when the question that Wanyan Shuo had asked "since you already knew that you would eventually abandon me, why did you ever bother to treat me well" began to ricochet in his mind, he felt his soul breaking and his spirit become dejected, the boundless pain was beyond description.

Gui Lin pulled at him again and just as he was about to drag Su Yi off, suddenly Wanyan Shuo's voice wafted over to them from afar, carried by the autumn wind: "Gui Lin, if you dare to ill-treat him, see how I shall deal with you." Gui Lin trembled uncontrollably at the threat, and muttered to himself: "This is really strange. He is obviously just a traitor, but somehow the Crown Prince deems him worthy of protection." Still uncomprehending, he was tugging Su Yi along the path as he was speaking.

A few days rushed by again. On this day, it was already dusk when Su Yi had finished washing the huge load of laundry he had been assigned. His waist felt like it was going to break, his back was aching and he was totally knackered. From childhood, he had grown up in the household of a minister [1], and as a young man in his early twenties, he had entered government service as an official himself. After that, he had been elevated to the rank of a general. Although he had endured hardship in his years at the border, they had been of a different variety, namely harsh weather --- wind as cutting as knives and frosts as sharp as swords --- and the horrors of bloody battles. He had never been made to do hard labour nor had he had to suffer such misery or humiliation. Besides, almost everybody in the palace including the servants, harboured deep hatred towards him for betraying their Emperor and took every opportunity to humiliate him as a form of vengeance. Fortunately, he had a magnanimous nature and could tolerate the rough treatment.