WAR PRISONER

War Prisoner Chapter 70

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

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War Prisoner Chapter 70

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, all the necessary goods that would be used in the celebration of the New Year in the palace were already in place. On the thirtieth day, snow had been falling since early morning. When Wanyan Xu visited the Empress Dowager to pay his respects, the two were both in high spirits. Wanyan Xu gave a sigh and said: "The previous monarch of Qi was dissolute and tyrannical, such a great country was afflicted with all ills under his rule. Although I [1] have reduced taxes and duties to ease the suffering of the people, they still need a period of time before they can recover the quality of life that they enjoyed under the reign of his predecessor. A timely snow [2] has fallen today, if the following year brings good weather and harvests, then the people will be able to make an almost complete recovery by this time next year."

The Empress Dowager nodded her head and said: "That's just what I was about to say." She then turned her head towards Concubine Yin and the rest and said: "Later today will be the night of New Year's Eve [3]; because this is the first New Year we would be spending in this new capital, we are afraid that people will especially miss the familiar lands of Jin Liao today. Therefore my Imperial Son and I [4] decided that we might as well invite all the high officials and their kin into the palace to spend the New Year. That way the monarch and courtiers can make merry together; not only will the atmosphere be more lively but the melancholy feelings of homesickness can be avoided. All of you concubines should also make ready, you can take the opportunity to enjoy yourselves tonight." Concubine Yin and her cohorts nodded and agreed, and showered the idea with much praise.

When the courtiers arrived in the palace, everywhere they turned, their eyes were met with beauty and splendour, not to mention, there was endless amusements and entertainment for their enjoyment. However, we shall not speak more on that. Instead, we shall go back to Su Yi. Because the laundry service had rushed to finish washing all the clothes before the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, there was nothing else to be done in the laundry room. Therefore, Su Yi had been dispatched to other places to assist in other tasks for two days. Although it could be said that there were numerous staff in the palace; regrettably, before the New Year, there were many things to be done and the organisation had become chaotic. Therefore, during these two days, Su Yi was considerably more fatigued by his work than he usually was. After he had finally gotten back to his room the previous night, he had started to feel deeply uncomfortable in his gut. He felt faintly nauseous, and had no desire to eat anything at all. When hit by hunger pangs, he merely broke off bits from the wotou and grazed lightly. The medicine that that strange Prince had given to him had run out long ago; sometimes when the pains flared up, he had no alternative but to grit his teeth and endure them, even when his forehead was covered with cold sweat.

Today, the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, Su Yi woke up early and saw that a heavy snow was descending from the heavens, and the palace grounds seemed to have been transformed into a world composed of silver ice and white snow. This was a good omen, and everybody in the palace was happy except for Su Yi. He did not understand why, but a trace of dismay was born in his heart. He silently stared out at the picturesque scene for a while, just when he was about to get dressed and get out of bed, his gut gave a sharp twist and he was overtaken by a wave of nausea. Before he knew what happened, he had spit a large mouthful of blood onto the floor! Only then did his body feel somewhat more comfortable.