WAR PRISONER

War Prisoner Chapter 87

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

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War Prisoner Chapter 87

In the Imperial Study, Wanyan Xu was sitting rigidly upon the Dragon Throne and Zi Yan was stationed behind him, ready to attend to his needs. In contrast, the terrified He Jian was standing below with beads of cold sweat constantly forming and dripping from his head. Only after a long time did he finally hear Wanyan Xu say in a deep voice: "He... actually had the guts to be so bold?"

He Jian hurriedly knelt down and said: "Your loyal subject does not dare to deceive the Emperor. The scholars numbered well over a hundred and they had indeed been secretly arrested and imprisoned by the Honourable Minister Yu. With the assistance of Miss Zi Yan, your loyal subject has already taken those people into the custody of the Ministry of Justice and they have been transferred to our prison to await further instructions from Your Majesty. The people who were guarding these scholars attempted to commit suicide on the spot, fortunately they were unsuccessful. They are now undergoing interrogation in the Ministry of Justice, i believe that we will soon see some results. This old minister thinks that it is most likely that General Yu used these scholars as collateral. The Empress is of a kindly disposition and good-hearted, and he was likely blackmailed into falsely confessing to the crime of treason."

Wanyan Xu gave a cold laugh and said: "Is that so? Honourable Minister He has managed to reach a verdict so soon? Can this matter really be so thoroughly investigated in such a short time? Who was it who previously said that the Empress was definitely guilty of treason and that he must be put to death?" Before the sound of his voice had even faded, He Jian had given a few kowtows before saying: "This old official was ignorant to be deceived by others; he is guilty of a crime for which one deserves to die a thousand times."

Only then did Wanyan Xu relax his face and say in a warm voice: "Honourable Minister, please rise. As the saying goes, he who is in the dark is innocent of the crime. Tomorrow when court is in session, you shall give an in-depth explanation of all the causes and events of this matter to the assembly." With that, he sank into deep thought and did not speak further. He Jian gave a glance to Zi Yan and only when he saw that she had given him a slight nod did he step forward and say: "Reporting to Your Majesty, your loyal subject requests that your Majesty give instructions as to how we should handle the rebellious scholars."

At the moment, Wanyan Xu was in a quandary over this matter. Now, he finally understood why Su Yi had preferred death over admitting that he was actually innocent of all the charges against him. But these scholars were guilty of plotting a rebellion and that was a crime that should not be pardoned under any circumstances. Otherwise, if other people were to plot a rebellion in future, they could cite this case as a example and request to be pardoned. If that should happen, how could he then explain why the penalty in one case should be different from the other? But it was for the sake of these people that Su Yi had endured immeasurable suffering and humiliation; he had even almost given up his life for them. If this were to be the final outcome of the whole matter and all his efforts had been for naught, how could he possibly endure it? Therefore he hesitated for a long time and was unable to speak.

Suddenly, he heard He Jian submit another petition: "Your Majesty, these scholars were guilty of treason, according to the laws of the land they should be beheaded. But it seems that they genuinely have the desire to repent, therefore this old minister finds the situation awkward and came to request that Your Majesty makes his will known."