Wanyan Xu deliberated for a long time but finally, he nodded and said ruefully: “The honoured minister He is right, I [1] will issue a decree to announce this matter today. Court is dismissed.” So saying, he lugubriously rose up from the Dragon Throne and without further ado, went back to his own palace.
Zi Yan followed behind him, looking at his dejected figure, she could hardly recognize him as the Great King of Jin Liao who had always been so high-spirited and full of mettle. From her memory, her master had not been this miserable even when the late Great King had died. The fact of the matter was, she was still unflinchingly loyal to Wanyan Xu. She couldn't even describe what emotions it produced in her heart to see him reduced to this state.
Silently, in her heart, she thought:Â Oh Your Majesty, Zi Yan is not a totally heartless person. Hidden in that doc.u.ment left on the table, there is actually an important piece of evidence that would exonerate General Su of all the charges laid against him. If your love for him had been just a bit shallower, your judgement would not have been thrown into chaos because of your concern. With your towering intellect, you would undoubtedly have found the incontrovertible evidence of his innocence by now. But now that your infatuation with him has progressed to this extent, once you heard that he had committed treason, you immediately seem to have lost your soul. That left Zi Yan with no choice but to go along with General Yu's plot to get rid of him. Your humble servant has wronged General Su, but I have not wronged Your Majesty nor have I wronged the state of Jin Liao and its lands.
The master and his servant made the journey back to his residence in silence, when they arrived, they saw that Wanyan Shuo was inside, and he was still grieving terribly. Zi Nong and the Empress Dowager were also present, and were trying to console him with gentle words. When Wanyan Xu saw the Empress Dowager, he hurriedly forced a smile onto his face and said: “On this day of Great Heat [2], why has my Mother Empress come here? If you have something to say to me, you should have summoned me to your residence to save yourself the discomfort of travelling in this heat.”
The Empress Dowager sighed and said: “I [3] heard that there was some trouble concerning the Empress. Alas, he is a General of the Great Qi after all, how could he be willing to throw in his lot with us? If he has been deposed, then so be it. But I heard that Shuo Er is still distressed, so I came to take a look. This is also very surprising, this child has always been eccentric and arrogant, does that Su Yi have demonic powers? How has he managed to bewitch the two of you to this extent?”
Wanyan Xu did not say a word, instead it was Wanyan Shuo who replied, between sobs, he bawled out: “Imperial Grandma, you don’t understand. Shuo Er has been without his own mother since he was little and Imperial Father then entrusted Shuo Er to the care and guidance of his Imperial Concubines. But all they wanted was to either use your grandson to solicit more attention and favour from Imperial Father or they wanted your grandson to help them become the Empress. Because they are seeking my favour, they invariably let me run amok and do as I please, even when I tease or play pranks on them. They were either too afraid of Imperial Father's displeasure or they feared that your grandson would avenge himself upon them after he ascends to the throne in future. Therefore none of them were willing to tell your grandson off when he did something wrong, or to tell him what he should do. But the more they acted like this, not daring to defy your grandson in the slightest, the more I knew that they were not treating me with sincerity and that they only wished to make use of me. But Mother Empress was different, he genuinely wanted the best for your grandson. He never hesitated to reprimand your grandson when he did something wrong nor did he refrain from telling me what I should do and taught me the principle of conducting oneself with integrity like a proper gentleman. If my birth mother were still alive, she would surely guide your grandson in the same fashion. But... but now he has... actually defected and committed treason... Imperial Grandma, why did he do all those things? If he already knew that this day would come, he should not have treated your grandson so well. Imperial Grandma...”
Intermittently crying while speaking, Wanyan Shuo's emotional outburst moved everyone who heard it to tears themselves. Even Zi Yan’s heart was feeling sorrowful. Wanyan Xu tilted his head back, trying with all his might to keep his tears from falling, and repeated: “That’s right, if Su Su had long been prepared for such a day to come, why did he still share so many warm moments with this pair of father and son? Su Su, you... you have really hurt my heart too badly.”
Against expectations, the Empress Dowager gave a heartfelt “humph” before saying: “My Imperial Son, how is your behaviour befitting someone who is the Emperor of Jin Liao? I did not see you being this heartbroken even when your Royal Father died. Today, all that you've lost is merely a treasonous Empress, what is so regrettable about that? Why are you drowning in self-pity? Shuo Er is still a child, it is inevitable that he would be unable to control his feelings. You on the other hand... Not only do you not try to teach him not to be troubled over such a person and such a matter, you are even standing there languishing over it yourself. Are you still your Royal Father’s son? So sensitive and maudlin, just like a woman. And what of the country and our Empire, where have you placed them in your heart? Have you buried them at the very back of your mind?”
Her stern admonishment caused Wanyan Xu to break out in a thick layer of cold sweat, hurriedly he held his hands in a gesture of respect [4], saying sincerely: “Mother Empress is right to lecture me. It has come as a wake-up call, your son will remember with reverence Mother Empress's teachings. I will make the country and our Empire my highest priority, and I won't wallow in my feelings for the traitorous general to the point where I lose control and be unable to extricate myself.” So saying, he looked at Wanyan Shuo and said: “You must have heard your Imperial Grandma’s words, so why are you still here? You should be attending to your lessons now.”
Feeling very aggrieved, Wanyan Shuo reluctantly left the Emperor Dowager's comforting arms and promised that he would go to his lessons now. But when he reached the door, suddenly he again heard the Empress Dowager's voice, saying in all earnestness: “From now on, both of you must exercise even more wisdom in your governance, if this setback leads to a total collapse of our Empire, then wouldn’t that Su Yi have succeeded in obtaining his heart's desire? The people of Great Qi would have even more cause to scorn us.” With that, she turned to address Wanyan Xu specifically: “It is also a good thing for you to let him keep his life. Let him see that even though the Emperor is from Jin Liao, he is still able to govern the lands of Great Qi well. My son, you must not give this rebellious villain the opportunity to look down upon you.” Wanyan Xu held his hands in a gesture of respect and said: “Your son will take to heart the Mother Empress’s teachings.” Only then did the Empress Dowager rise from her seat and say: “All right, with the unexpected trouble keeping you up all night, you must be tired. I shall return to my palace, you should take a rest.” So saying, she left and her retinue of palace maids and eunuchs followed in her wake.
But with all that had happened, how could Wanyan Xu hope to fall asleep? With Su Yi's face was floating in his mind's eye while the memory of the Empress Dowager's words was ringing in his ears; they battled each other for supremacy, causing him to feel both pain and guilt. He spent the whole day and night thus conflicted.
Numerous days flew by in a blur again, and Su Yi's injuries had almost totally healed. Only his broken leg had failed to recover and in the end, he had become permanently lame. On this day, Gui Lin, the official in charge of the administration of the Inner Court, on hearing that Su Yi had more or less recovered, had arrived to bring him to the laundry room to begin his servitude. But unfortunately, a situation of enemies meeting on a narrow road occurred, just as they reached the lotus islet on the way to the laundry room, Wanyan Xu and his son were approaching from the opposite direction. They were accompanying the Empress Dowager on a walk around the Imperial Gardens to admire the autumn scenery and a crowd of attendants were surrounding them. Gui Lin hurriedly tugged at Su Yi, they retreated to the side, and they bowed to show their respect.