War Prisoner

Chapter 64 - 67

A long time passed as everybody stared at Su Yi, to the point where he was wondering if they were trying to devour him with their eyes. As he was getting increasingly uncomfortable, he was relieved when that elegant man finally said: "In that case, thank you for your trouble, please lead the way." He hurried inside the building, heading towards the room where all the laundry had been piled up, with the Prince following behind him silently.

After Su Yi had asked the Prince to describe the distinguishing features of the garment he was searching for, he immediately recalled that when he was sorting out the laundry that very morning, he had taken special note of a garment that matched his description. Although somewhat old-fashioned, it had been exquisitely detailed and meticulously constructed. At that time, Su Yi had thought that it was odd that eunuchs or palace attendants would own such a garment and as it turns out, its owner really wasn't an ordinary person. After searching his memory, Su Yi rummaged around a pile of clothes, and finally found what he was looking for. He handed it over to that man, and said: "Is it this one?"

That Prince received the item of clothing from Su Yi's hands, handling it reverentially. With that, the calm and detached expression he had been wearing on his face relaxed and he could not help but to reveal some happiness. He nodded and said: "That's right, this is the one." He raised his head and looked at Su Yi before continuing: "Thank you very much, this is the only thing left to me by my dear but sadly departed mother. It is important beyond compare to me, if it weren't for your assistance, I would have regret gnawing away at me for the rest of my lifetime."

Su Yi gave a faint smile and said: "Think nothing of it, it did not cost me much effort." With that said, he walked out of the room. The Prince did not say anything more either. With his garment in hand, he left for his own palace without further ado. Here, the gossipy matrons and old women of the laundry service finally recovered their senses, rushing forward towards Su Yi and assailing him from all sides with their chatter: "Humph! You fawned on him because you think that he's an important Prince? You think you can use him to rehabilitate yourself and regain His Majesty's favour? Cease your wishful thinking! To tell you the truth, we called him 'Your Highness' as a favour. The hatred our Emperor bears for him is not less than the hatred he bears for you. From the top to the bottom, everybody in the palace knows that he is a thorn in His Majesty's side and the bane of his existence. If you keep on trying to ingratiate yourself with him, mind that the Emperor does not break the one good leg you have left!"

In his heart, Su Yi thought: It would seem that the competition for the throne has caused yet another inevitable palace tragedy to play out. Only, Wanyan Xu does not seem like such a vicious person. But then again, although he had remained devoted and forgiving to Su Yi after his transgressions, it did not necessarily mean that he would show the same gentleness to a brother that coveted his throne. When he thought of this, he could not help but to feel that Wanyan Xu had been somewhat overly harsh. But he would not allow himself to take to heart the malicious and provocative sarcasm of these women, without making any reply, he simply began to attend to his chores, fetching water and washing clothes.

The days flew by, another month passed, and the weather got colder by the day. On this day, after Su Yi had completed washing the lot of laundry assigned to him, the old woman who was in charge of the palace laundry service ordered him to go to the shore of the North Lake and bring back two large flat stones. The sky was gradually becoming gloomy and overcast, by the looks of it, there would soon be rain. Since the North Lake was an extremely long way from the laundry room, Su Yi did not dare to tarry and immediately went to the shore of the North Lake. He chose two suitable rocks and just as he had them strapped to his back, he heard a clap of thunder overhead and then the clouds burst. Heavy drops of rain beat down upon him; they fell fast and numerous, like a bag of beans being poured out. The wind also picked up its pace. Within moments, the blue dome of heaven had been replaced with a scene of dark sky and black earth and the rain had become a veritable torrent. Su Yi could see nothing beyond ten paces.

Su Yi hurriedly tried to increase his pace but in the face of the fierce storm, his efforts were in vain. Compared to the halcyon days of the past, his body was much thinner and weaker and he had been worn out by a day of exhausting manual labour. The heavy rocks strapped to his back provided the icing on the cake, thus after he had forced himself to take a few dozen paces, he began to pant laboriously. Fortunately for him, as someone who was trained in martial arts, his eyesight was sharper than most and he could see that there was a lonely little house in the near distance. He got the idea in his mind to seek shelter from the rain in that little house. He forced himself to hold out until he was under the eaves of that little house and his body finally gave up the last of its strength. He collapsed into the rainwater sluicing over the walkways.

He only had the time to take two deep breaths before he vaguely registered that a voice was drifting past his ears from the direction above his head. It said: "Come into the house to get out of this inclement weather." He lifted his head for a look, and saw an elegant and placid face; it was none other than the out-of-favour Prince that he had met in the laundry room that day. Su Yi watched as that man extended a spotless white hand, with long and slender fingers, towards him. Looking back at himself, he saw that he was covered all over with mud. In his heart, Su Yi thought that as this Young Master had such an air of refinement about him, he must dislike getting dirty. Therefore Su Yi did not take his hand, endeavouring to stand up under his own powers. But how could he do that in his debilitated state? As he was struggling, that Young Master had taken hold of his hand, and held on steadily as he supported Su Yi by his arm. Su Yi looked at him with utter astonishment; he had not expected to find that this man would be a master in martial arts. In terms of martial arts, if he were to compare this Young Master's mastery with Wanyan Xu's, this Young Master's proficiency might actually be a close match.

By the time Su Yi finally made it into the house, he was in a totally battered and exhausted state. That Prince took a look and him and said with a smile: "Honourable sir cuts a sorry figure indeed, but he is still able to maintain such a serene attitude and wear a calm expression. Ordinary people will not be able to maintain such dignity. Such a distinguished person, how did he become a slave in the palace? Oh yes, you must have been an aristocrat when the former dynasty was in power, and was captured to serve as a slave when it was overthrown?"

When Su Yi realised that this Prince did not know who he was and considering that he resided in an isolated building erected by the side of the secluded North Lake, Su Yi concluded that he probably did not leave his house often nor did he have much interaction with the other denizens of the palace and was not au courant with palace affairs. Su Yi gave a sigh in his heart --- if only it were that simple. Without bothering to explain further, he simply nodded his head, feeling that he might as well agree tacitly to this uncomplicated explanation. Seeing that the rain showed no sign of stopping anytime soon, Su Yi decided to relieve himself of load he was carrying. As he placed the rocks down on the floor, suddenly a burst of gripping pain ripped through his abdomen. He unconsciously cried out "aiyo", and had to sink down into a squat.

The prince looked over and saw that his face had turned as white as a sheet and beads of moisture were rolling down his face, whether it was rain water or Su Yi had broken into cold sweat, the Prince could not say. He hurriedly asked Su Yi to tell him what was wrong, but Su Yi was so wracked with pain that he was unable to speak. A long time later, when the pain had somewhat lessened, Su Yi finally managed to stand up. That Prince scrutinised Su Yi with rapt attention, before he suddenly said evenly: "Does your pain come after you have had your meal? Or does it happen when your stomach is empty?"

Su Yi had never given any thought to this matter before, and had to search his memory carefully for an answer when he heard the question. From what he could recall, these incidents mostly occurred when his stomach was empty. He quickly answered the question truthfully and that Prince asked again: "Then does the pain lighten up once you eat something?" When he saw Su Yi nod in reply, he carefully looked at Su Yi's complexion again and said solemnly: "You have to pay more attention to your diet in future and you have to try to eat things that are soft in texture and mild to the taste. You must not eat things that are coarse, sticky, hard or spicy, or else your condition will be exacerbated and could cause a serious illness."

So saying, he went over to a bookshelf and opening a drawer, he took out a small vial. He said mildly: "I have always had very little interaction with other people, and I do not wish to be in anybody's debt. Last time, you had done me a good turn, now let me repay my debt. This bottle of medicine was carefully fabricated by me, it will help to ease your pain. The number of doses is limited, so you should use it prudently. From now on, we are even." He turned his head to look outside the window. After checking on the weather, he said: "Right now, the rain has become much lighter. You should leave after you have finished this cup of hot tea. Don't mention to anyone else that you have been here, it will not benefit you in the slightest. I shall not see you off."

Su Yi thanked him and then turned to leave. In his heart, he felt that this person was really very strange and his character was also extremely cold. With the aid of the cup of hot tea, he managed to make his way back to the laundry room, albeit with much difficulty. As he put down the slabs of rock, those ladies and old women of the laundry service, seeing that he was almost overcome by fatigue, did not try to make things more difficult for him. He was finally allowed to return back to his own room, where he was met with his standard meal of a wotou and the remnants of soup, which had been left on the table.

He unconsciously gave a dry laugh as he recalled the words of that strange Prince. He heaved a sigh and mused aloud to himself: "Heaven, and not I, is in control of my life." Without further preamble, he had his meal. After that, he changed into a set of dry clothes and was suddenly overcome by a spell of dizziness. Unable to control his body, he collapsed onto the bed with his heartbeat racing in irregular patterns. He gave a few harsh coughs and felt that his nose had become congested. He lay there and wondered; when did he become so delicate, that just being drenched for a while was enough to cause him to fall ill. Suddenly he heard a cough from beyond the door, and then the door promptly opened. Along with the wind and rain, a tall and imposing figure quickly stepped into the room.

End of Chapter 64

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