WAR PRISONER

War Prisoner Chapter 35

He originally had no intention of eating, but on this day the fire in his heart would not be extinguished, and he felt that his mouth was dry and his tongue had become hot. Unable to resist, he lifted up his teacup and took a long drink. Before he could set it down, he saw that a tall and physically imposing military commander with a formidable aura was approaching. His heart filled with apprehension because this man could not be mistaken for anybody else --- it was none other than Yu Cang.

Speaking of Yu Cang, Su Yi had long heard of his towering reputation as a capable military commander. Later on, Su Yi also heard that after his surrender to Jin Liao, he began to serve Wanyan Xu and had fought many successful military campaigns in his service. By the time of Su Yi's capture, Yu Cang had been dispatched to attack the Great Qi and even upon his return to court after his victory, the two had never had the occasion to meet as Su Yi had always been confined to the Inner Court. Only today, when all the civil and military court officials were gathered together to offer congratulations, did Su Yi finally have the chance to meet Yu Cang face-to-face.

Su Yi put down the teacup slowly; in his heart he understood that Yu Cang was definitely not coming simply to congratulate Su Yi. As he expected, under the gaiety projected by the smile he had forced onto his face, Su Yi could detect a faint hint of gloom. Carrying a cup in his hands, he came before Su Yi and making a toast, he said: "Your subject Yu Cang congratulates General Su. Previously I had thought that the General would not be able to adapt to the current circumstances and although I thought that it was not worth it to continue your resistance, I was full of admiration for you. Who would have thought that within a short time, General has understood that a good bird chooses the tree upon which to perch just as the talented subject chooses the lord that he shall serve. Exceeding all expectations, you have even flown to the top of the tree to become the Empress of Jin Liao; this is indeed worthy of celebration."

Su Yi's breath caught in his throat, he knew that although Yu Cang's words could be taken as praise, in reality, his words were loaded with sarcasm and were meant to provoke Su Yi. He had clenched his fists, only after a good long while was he able to relax them and he said in a low voice: "The General is too kind, as a prisoner of war Su Yi had no intention of surrendering. However, Wanyan Xu used various methods to force me, and even held General Yu up as an example for me to follow. Under his multi-pronged attacks, Su Yi had to betray his conscience and promise to be his Empress. The General must find Su Yi worthy of ridicule."

Yu Cang's expression changed and for a moment, it looked like he may choose to go on the offensive right then but with great effort he was able to contain himself. Forcing a laugh, he said: "It seems like your subject can only congratulate Empress Niang Niang [3], and pray that you would be able to stand on your high branch for a good long time, and perch there for your entire lifetime." So saying, he turned and stalked off without giving salutations to Su Yi.

Su Yi exhaled in relief, however the last sentence uttered by Yu Cang seem to carry a hidden meaning. Actually Su Yi also understood full well that Wanyan Xu had only become infatuated with Su Yi because he had found Su Yi difficult to conquer and in future when he had become tired of Su Yi, there is no way to predict how Su Yi's circumstances would change. However, he did not feel even a little sad when he thought of that prospect.

Suddenly he heard the little Crown Prince Wanyan Shuo's voice, between laughter, he stammered out: "So you are really not someone who will turn the other cheek when provoked. At first I thought that you would not be able to handle him, but in the end, you lived up to my expectations." So saying, he looked at Yu Cang's retreating back and said: "I don't know why, but I loathe this person very much. He's too proud and he doesn't allow people to criticize him even a little bit. The reason why he came to cause you trouble is because the only motive you had in agreeing to become the Empress of Jin Liao was to spare the common people of Great Qi any suffering whereas the reason he surrendered was because he was unable to withstand the torture and punishment inflicted upon him after his capture. Although he always claims that he switched sides only because he recognized that my Royal Father is an eminently wise ruler, but when the story got out his reputation was still damaged. When contrasted with your conduct, his reputation suffers even more for the comparison. For such an arrogant man, how could he not be furious and hold a grudge?"

End of Chapter 35

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

[2]: 面子 is the concept of "Face" in Chinese culture. This is a very important concept that governs all social interaction. One can lose face, gain face, and lose/gain face for others. Face can be roughly translated as "Dignity" or "Respect", but it is less about personal pride or ego, and more about how one is viewed by others. I think the closest Western concept would be social capital or stock. One is not only concerned with maintaining one's own face, he must also not cause others to lose face. You cannot gain face by causing others to lose face in Chinese culture, perhaps unlike in other cultures where you might be able to increase your personal prestige by proving a point at the expense of another person. In this case, because Su Yi is now Wanyan Xu's spouse, his behaviour reflects on Wanyan Xu and he can make Wanyan Xu lose face by behaving badly.

[3]: 娘娘 (niang niang): an archaic term term used when addressing an empress, a consort or a concubine. I don't think there is an exact equivalent in English, it's not exactly "Ladyship" since, at least within the customs of English society, that term is used by members of the aristocracy but you would not address Queen Consorts that way. And unlike "Your Highness", it was an exclusively feminine term (but this is a BL novel so some allowances must be made). Because the term is so effete especially in modern parlance (娘娘 has now come to mean sissy/sissified), I'm not using it again. In future when it comes to Su YI, I will just translate this as "consort" since it still retains a bit of the stigma. As a man, he should never have been referred to as someone's consort because in Chinese society, wives belong to their husbands and not the other way around. As for other women in the palace, I would probably translate it close to how members of the British royalty would be styled. Here, Yu Cang probably chooses to use this form of address at this specific time (he had been referring to Su Yi as General Su up to now) to embarrass him.

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