War Prisoner

Chapter 80 - 82

And so, by the time that Wanyan Xu had seated himself on the Dragon Throne, the courtiers below the dais had already arrayed themselves in neat rows according to their rank. Kneeling down, they shouted their customary greeting of wishing him long life. If this had been a usual day, Wanyan Xu would have allowed the assembled courtiers to rise to their feet after that, but fury was boiling in his heart today. With a grim look on his face, he said coldly: "Is this considered to be you paying respect to me [1]? What loyal ministers all of you are. I was still thinking that for you to come here so early on the second day of the New Year for court, your intentions must have been to continue trying to coerce me from where you left off on New Year's Eve."

He said these lines in a voice that was both hard and cold, when the assemblage heard them, a layer of cold sweat appeared on their foreheads. In unison, they said: "Your subjects will never dare. We are here because although it is still the New Year [2], we did not receive Your Majesty's decree that we shall be exempted from court during the holidays, therefore your subjects did not dare to neglect our duties."

Pretending that he had suddenly came to realise that he had made a mistake, Wanyan Xu nodded and said: "Oh, I see, so the various ministers have not come to compel me to have the former Empress Su Yi put to death. That's good, that's good. Also, on the previous night, my state of mind was thrown into chaos because of the extreme gravity of the Empress's illness, therefore I omitted to mention that the ministers need not attend court for the duration of the New Year. Doesn't matter, I'll say it now. Court will resume on the sixth day of the New Year, if there are any pressing matters that require immediate attention, then go straight to the Inner Court and request an audience with me to make your report. That's all, court is dismissed." With these few lines, he sealed the lips of all the ministers. After that, he stood up with a serene smile and prepared to leave with a flick of his sleeves.

Never in ten-thousand years would the ministers have expected the Emperor to be so straightforward. From the looks of the matter, it was evidently just as Yu Cang had said. That is, the Emperor was set on protecting Su Yi, if Su Yi managed to survive this great calamity, the Emperor would even set him up as the Empress again. How could the cadre of important ministers allow such a preposterous thing to happen under their watch? They looked at each other questioningly, finally, the high official He Jian stepped up. As the Minister in charge of the Ministry of Justice, he held the portfolio for the proper dispensation of justice throughout the whole realm. In a high-pitch, he said: "Reporting to your Majesty, your subject has a petition."

Wanyan Xu gave a cold "humph", thinking to himself: the biggest flaw in loyal ministers is that they do not know how to read the atmosphere. He turned around slowly, wearing an extremely genial smile, he said: "Oh? If the honourable minister has a petition, then pray submit it to me quickly. I still want to go and accompany the Empress, I wonder if he has vomited blood again in the long time that I have been away from his side."

He Jian understood clearly that the Emperor had deliberately said these words for his benefit, so that He Jian will get the hint and be able to back off with good grace. But how could he retreat from his position just like that. His expression changed and with a solemn voice, he said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, Su Yi intended to incite a rebellion, his crime is great, his evil is extreme. By right, his fate should have been sealed, but he was spared because Your Majesty took into account his meritorious deed of educating the Crown Prince and exempted him from the death penalty. Although the Emperor's actions had been in violation of the prescribed laws but they could be excused under the circumstances. But now, the Emperor is actively giving medical treatment to him and furthermore, His Majesty is set on ensuring his safety, with nary a care for the laws of this Celestial Empire [3]. Everything that has happened has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that this Su Yi is really good at confounding and charming people. For the sake of our Jin Liao state and lands, I hope that Your Majesty would be impartial enforce the law strictly. Sentence him to death, as set out in the laws of our land." With that said, he knelt and did not get up. Kowtowing, he said: "This old minister hopes that the Emperor will be mindful of the good of our land and people, and reject being confused by that sorcerer again." At this, all the ministers of the court also knelt down.

Wanyan Xu gave a cold smile and said: "I have guessed that you courtiers would surely have this matter in mind when you came here today. All that you said about not having received the edict about being exempted from attending court, or not daring to neglect your posts was merely a front. In fact, you came here to try to force my hand on this issue. Fine, since we have reached the point of no return in our conversation today, I shall also tell you plainly that I have decided that Su Yi will be pardoned for his crimes and he will also be restored to his former status as the Empress. Since I have said this, be assured that I will never change my mind."

Slowly, he swept his eyes over each and every courtier in the hall, all of whom had turned pale with fright and were staring at him. His eyes were flashing with a cold gleam and he said in a stern voice: "If you agree, then everybody can be happy and the ruler and his ministers will continue to get along in harmony. If anyone wants to depose me because of this, do not hesitate to step up. If anybody thinks to use the threat of their death as a means of getting me to relent, humph humph, well then everyone of you should already know that my heart is as hard as iron. Since I could stand by and watch as the Empress suffered through bitter hardship for half a year, similarly without blinking an eye, I can watch you die in the time it takes to walk five steps. Now, you can discuss among yourselves what course you shall follow."

The ministers looked at each other incredulously, none of them daring to believe that this was none other than their eminently wise Son of Heaven. For a time, they found it difficult to contain their surging emotions; all of them were beset by abnormally intense grief. Suddenly, they saw that Wanyan Xu had turned back. Looking at He Jian, he said: "Honoured Minister He, if you do not intend to resign from your post, there is something that I wish for you to investigate." Without waiting for He Jian's reply, he forged ahead and said: "With regards to Empress Su Yi's rebellion, it now seems that the whole episode is riddled with many loopholes. If he really wished to restore the Great Qi Empire, and uphold his reputation as being unyielding unto death, then he should not have confessed his affection for me as he was approaching his end. By doing so, would he not besmirch his reputation? He really should not have done that if he had intended to die as a patriot of the Great Qi. And if we take it to mean that he has had deep feelings for me all this time, then why would he plot a rebellion so readily? Not to mention, at that time, everything happened so suddenly. The first impression is the strongest, and without examining the facts clearly, I jumped to conclusions. Now, I want you to examine the evidence in this case meticulously, see if there is anything strange about it."

After Wanyan Xu finished his speech, the pack of ministers was in an uproar. Among them, Yu Cang had broken out in cold sweat and the droplets were sliding down steadily. When he noticed that nobody was paying him much mind, he stealthily wiped them away. At the moment the ministers were engaged in heated discussion. Passionately, they had divided into two camps. One of them maintained that this was a way for the Emperor to engineer an acquittal for Su Yi while the other faction felt that the investigation was justified because there was merit to the Emperor's doubts about the veracity of the evidence.

With a cold smile on his face, Wanyan Xu looked on as they continued to debate, making no move to stop them. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard Wanyan Shuo's voice ring out from beyond the door. He said: "Imperial Father, your son and subject wishes to redress the grievances of Mother Empress. Your son and subject has found evidence that proves that Mother Empress had been framed, I beseech Imperial Father to right this wrong for Mother Empress." The effect of his remarks on the convocation was akin to tossing an artillery shell into a body of water that was already roiling. After a burst of startled cries, everyone's eyes were locked onto the person of the Crown Prince Wanyan Shuo as he slowly made his way into the hall.

End of Chapter 80

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[1]: Wanyan Xu uses the royal "I/Me/my" throughout this chapter when he is speaking.

[2]: Chinese New Year festivities usually run for 15 days, although in modern times, it has been reduced to two or three days in some Chinese communities, especially those outside of China proper.

[3]: 天朝 (tiān cháo): Celestial Empire, tributary title conferred on Imperial China.

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