Chapter 90

Chapter 90

[Li Erfeng Becomes Wanyan Gou – 10]

Qin Hui thought about which Jin men might currently be imprisoned. Then he recalled the tortures he had just suggested. His face turned white and cold sweat streamed down his back.

Without another word, he immediately stood and ordered the jailers to lead him to the men being tortured.

The jailers respectfully obeyed and took him to the torture chamber. Before he even entered, wild laughter rang from within, eerily shrill in the cold, dark prison.

“Will you confess? Will you confess?! Hm? Such tight lips!”

There came a sizzling sound. The smell of roasting flesh arrived together with a scream so piercing it seemed to bore into the bones.

Qin Hui listened in terror. A timely gust of wind swept over him, carrying the prison’s peculiar stench mixed with the reek of blood. His stomach churned.

He raised a hand but did not know what to say. His mouth moved with difficulty. “Wh-why do I not hear the prisoners speaking?”

The jailer also found it strange. He stepped forward and kicked open the cell door. Arrogantly, he ordered, “Stop for a moment! Stop! Lord Qin is here. Hurry and clean up. Do not offend his eyes with the filth!”

The jailers inside hurriedly answered, bowing and scraping with extreme respect.

One even asked, “This place is filthy. Why has Lord Qin come here? Please return to your wine. We humble men will handle everything properly!”

The jailer snorted and, borrowing another’s authority like a fox exploiting a tiger’s might, berated them for several sentences. He also took the opportunity to spit in the prisoners’ faces.

Listening outside, Qin Hui vaguely sensed something was wrong, but could not identify it. He did not dare approach the cell door. Instead, he crept a few steps closer and secretly peered through the window.

The cell was dim, and he could not see clearly through the window. He could only make out several disheveled men hanging inside like three slabs of pork riddled with holes. Looking at their faces…

The man in the middle looked somewhat like Zonghan.

Qin Hui: “…”

Qin Hui: “!!!!!”

Damn it. Could that be the captured Zongfu, Zonghan’s third cousin?!

Then the two mangled masses beside him must be Wanyan Xiyin and Wanyan Tuhesu?

Had they become like this thanks to him?

…If he could no longer get by in Great Song, could he still go freeload from the Jin?

…That did not seem very likely.

Qin Hui numbly clutched his hair and remained motionless against the window, like a gecko specimen hardened into its final shape after years of wind and sun.

At that moment, light suddenly flashed inside the dim cell.

The glare struck Qin Hui’s eyes. He squeezed them shut, then opened them again to find an arm-thick candle on either side of the cell window, illuminating his face with perfect clarity.

At the same time, the torturer holding the candles shouted, “Who is there?!”

Hearing the unusual sound, the three men hanging from the beam opened their swollen eyelids and stared darkly toward him.

Cold spread through Qin Hui’s heart. His first thought was to flee. He stepped backward and collided with the jailer who had led him there.

The man jumped in fright and hurriedly asked, “Oh! Is Lord Qin all right? Did that hurt? Should Lord Qin summon a physician to examine him?!”

Qin Hui: “…”

Thank you, but Lord Qin merely wished to be alone.

The jailer failed to understand the unspoken meaning in his eyes. He turned and launched into a torrent of abuse at the other jailers. “Are your dog eyes blind? You even dare offend Lord Qin! Do you want to die? Be careful, or Lord Qin will hang you up too and loosen your bones!”

Qin Hui: “…”

Qin Hui felt three gazes strike his face at the same time.

They contained extraordinarily intense emotion.

Some people appeared perfectly fine, yet as they walked along, they somehow walked away every path of retreat.

Qin Hui had entered the prison trembling with fear and left it with his heart reduced to ashes. When he returned to the table, Zhou Jun lay across it fast asleep, even snoring softly in contentment.

Eyes blank, Qin Hui shook his arm. “Brother Zhou.”

Zhou Jun: “Snore, snore, snore.”

Qin Hui took a deep breath and shook him again. “Brother Zhou? Wake up. Stop sleeping.”

Zhou Jun: “Snore, snore, snore.”

Qin Hui rubbed his forehead, forcibly suppressing the urge to kill. “Brother Zhou, surely you owe me some kind of explanation?”

Zhou Jun suddenly sprang upright, his expression dazed. Looking around, he asked, “Did those men confess? Or are they still spouting nonsense to fool us?!”

Qin Hui: “…”

Tears unknowingly began to flow.

He had thought he could display his skills before his superior today.

Instead, he had exposed his own backside.

So he was the clown all along.

Waaaaah!

After returning home, Qin Hui saw Lady Wang sitting beside the window with worry on her face. When her husband entered, she forced a smile. “Why did you not spend more time with Lord Zhou? He is your superior and an old hand in the Ministry of Justice. More socializing could never hurt.”

Qin Hui nearly burst into tears. Shaking his head, he said, “Let us not speak of that.”

Then he asked his wife, “You look unwell. Has something happened?”

Lady Wang sighed, fear and worry filling her gaze. “Today I called in turn upon the capital’s great households, but almost no one would see me. I imagine the court still doubts the circumstances of our return south.”

Lady Wang came from an excellent family. Her grandfather Wang Gui had served as chancellor under Emperor Shenzong. Before the Jingkang Incident, everything had gone her way: her birth family was powerful, her husband’s prospects limitless, and she had always been an honored guest of the nobility. Being unexpectedly treated with cold indifference inevitably left a bitter taste.
When Qin Hui recalled everything Zhou Jun had done that day, how could he fail to understand?

The court suspected that he and his wife were Jin spies and had therefore deliberately acted to sever every possible avenue of retreat.

After today, he had thoroughly offended Wanyan Zongfu and the other two. Since he could no longer board the Jin ship, he could only stand with the Song and abandon any thought of changing sides again.

That was fine.

Qin Hui comforted himself with a bitter smile. Emperors Qinzong and Huizong were both in the north, while the Reigning Emperor appeared to possess considerable talent and vision. If Qin Hui could truly board his ship, he might still have a future.

Moreover, Wanyan Zongfu and the other two were major prisoners. Without His Majesty’s permission, Zhou Jun would never dare torture them on his own authority. Thus, Qin Hui could tell that his name must already be lodged in His Majesty’s mind. If he devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving the Song court from now on, he could still enjoy a flourishing career and limitless prospects.

As for whether His Majesty might throw him to the Jin and let them vent their fury upon him?

What a joke. Everyone knew the present Son of Heaven was unmatched in toughness, the fighter jet of the war faction. How could he possibly hand one of his own officials to the Jin?

Impossible!

Qin Hui glanced at the full moon beyond the window and once again strengthened his resolve to become a good minister of Great Song.

…

Negotiations over the exchange of captives did not proceed smoothly.

All the Jin figures held by the Song were indispensable and had to be retrieved. The Song captives were different. They included Emperors Qinzong and Huizong, palace residents, imperial relatives and officials, imperial clanswomen and titled ladies, as well as civilian women abducted during the war. Obviously, they could not all be exchanged back.

Representing the Great Song court in negotiations with the Jin, Li Gang had no choice but to place Emperors Qinzong and Huizong first, regardless of his private thoughts. He sternly demanded that Zongfu and the other two be exchanged for the Two Sovereigns’ return south.

The Jin remembered Emperor Taizong of Jin’s instructions before their departure and refused to agree. They proposed exchanging Zongfu and the other two for the titled ladies, court officials, and Dongjing civilians abducted north during the Jingkang Incident.

Li Gang likewise rejected this condition.

The two sides remained deadlocked for half a month. Eventually, even Li Shimin grew annoyed. He sent a message: “Perhaps we should cancel the exchange. You may collect the corpses of Zongfu and the other two!”

The Jin envoys: “…”

If they truly returned with those men’s corpses, would the men’s trusted followers and old associates inside the Jin state not tear them apart?

After repeated negotiations and verbal battles, the sides finally reached a preliminary agreement: Wanyan Zongfu, Wanyan Xiyin, and Wanyan Tuhesu would be exchanged for everyone except Emperors Qinzong and Huizong and the male descendants of the imperial clan.

That included harem consorts, princesses, imperial clanswomen, titled ladies, numerous court officials, and innocent civilian women abducted north during the war.

During the Jingkang Incident, the Jin had used registers to demand palace consorts, princesses, and titled ladies. Now the Song likewise used registers to demand them back. The living must naturally return, while the bodies of the dead must also be sent home so they could return to their roots. Not one person could be missing.

The Jin envoy reluctantly accepted these terms and soon departed Dongjing for the north. After briefly stopping with Zonghan’s forces in Hebei, he transmitted the conditions to the Supreme Capital.

Emperor Taizong of Jin raised no objection after reading them.

To the Jin, the most valuable captives were undoubtedly Emperors Qinzong and Huizong, followed by the other male imperial clan members. Keeping them while exchanging everyone else for Zongfu and the other two was still worthwhile.

The court had approved the exchange long before, so the imperial clan and officials had no objection. But the Song women were beautiful and graceful, and had been in their possession only a few months. Their novelty had not yet faded. Now that they had to send them back to Dongjing, some imperial relatives were inevitably reluctant and hesitated, hoping to keep a few favorites.

The envoy could only tell the truth. “The Song are extremely strict on this point. They say an exchange cannot be short even one person. Even those who died must have their bodies returned. Specialists will verify there are no errors before the exchange proceeds. If anyone substitutes another person, falsely claims a woman died, or replaces her with another corpse and is discovered, the exchange will be canceled. They also say the Jin cannot seal every Song person’s mouth. If word spreads that anyone murdered a Song woman during this period, or if a returned corpse has a destroyed face and cannot be identified, the Third Prince and the others may also return missing certain parts. They told us to weigh the consequences carefully.”

The imperial relatives listened resentfully and were deeply displeased. Their wives and female family members, however, gladly followed the current and hurried to send those bewitching Song women away, lest their men lose their heads and forget their own surnames.

Three women put on mourning clothes and knocked upon the doors of the most stubborn imperial relatives one by one.

After the Jingkang Incident, the Song princesses had entered the rear courtyards of the Jin imperial clan as spoils of war.

Huizong’s eldest daughter became the concubine of Wanyan Zongpan, the eldest legitimate son of Emperor Taizong of Jin. His second daughter became Wanyan Chang’s concubine, his third Wanyan Shemo’s concubine, and his fourth Wanyan Xiyin’s concubine…

Of more than thirty princesses, none except the very young had been spared.

Lady Tangkuo and Lady Heshilie first visited Wanyan Zongpan. The instant they entered, they began weeping over their pitiful husbands. Then they pulled forward the tearful Lady Wanyan and asked whether her cousin Wanyan Zongpan truly had a heart of iron and stone, intent on killing his uncle and making his young cousin a widow.

Lady Heshilie wept that Wanyan Xiyin had once been his teacher, and wondered whether His Highness still remembered the affection between teacher and student!

Wanyan Zongpan’s head swelled at the sight. Before he could speak, his principal wife emerged from the side with a worried face. Taking the three women’s hands, she began shedding tears in deep sympathy. “We understand, we truly understand. After such a thing happened to our uncles, my husband and I have worried day and night and cannot sleep peacefully.”

Then she said that the Song princess and several other Song women had all been brought over. The aunts should remember to take them away when they left.

Wanyan Zongpan: “…”

Once the emperor’s eldest legitimate son surrendered his women, the other imperial relatives could no longer make excuses. The instant they nodded, their principal wives eagerly counted every Song woman in their households and sent them together to Zongfu’s residence.
The princesses, imperial clanswomen, and other women had suffered a terrible disaster. Already as skittish as startled birds, they were frightened and uneasy. After being escorted to the Supreme Capital, the sisters had been scattered in every direction. Now they gathered again and learned they might return south. They immediately embraced and wept without end.

Lady Tangkuo specially found a residence in which to settle them. Within days, Huizong’s Empress Zheng and several older Noble Consorts and palace consorts were also brought there.

Meeting again after a national calamity brought truly heartbreaking sorrow.

Empress Zheng and several Noble Consorts were older and had not been violated, but many of the princesses were their own flesh and blood. How could their reunion bring anything but a mixture of shock and agony?

Empress Zheng had one son and five daughters. Two daughters had died young, while her remaining three daughters and one son were all captured and taken north, where they suffered endless torment. Now that mother and daughters reunited, how could they restrain their anguish?

Princess Ande in particular would have been tortured to death the following month in the original timeline. Now she could return south and reunite with her birth mother and sisters. It was truly a blessing.

Noble Consort Cui also saw her daughters. But the pitiful child tortured to death at Liu Family Temple could now be reunited with her only in dreams!

“Where is Fobao? Why do I not see Fobao?”

She clutched her youngest daughter’s hand and looked around in panic. “Chuanzhu, have you seen your Elder Sister Fobao?!”

Large tears rolled down Zhao Chuanzhu’s face, but joy also filled her expression. “Mother, Elder Sister has already returned to Dongjing. Ninth Brother crushed Wanyan Zongfu and took Elder Sister home!”

Noble Consort Cui breathed a great sigh of relief, and tears fell from her eyes. “Good. How wonderful!”

There could be no better news than escaping this den of demons and seeing the sunlight outside again!

But her third daughter, Xiangyun, would never see the sun again!

Great joy and great sorrow mingled in Noble Consort Cui’s heart, cutting it like knives. Unable to say a word, she merely held the daughters beside her tightly and refused to release them even for a moment.

For nearly as long as the women remained reunited, their weeping continued. One princess consort cried softly for their husbands. “We can return south, but what will become of those left behind…”

Someone else sobbed, “The Two Sovereigns cannot return south either. How they suffer!”

Amid the weeping came a sudden sneer. “If not for those two emperors, how would we have fallen into such a state? Suffer? How have they suffered? Were they forced to serve the Jin in bed? Or were they sent to army camps as prostitutes?!”

Everyone froze at these disrespectful words. When they looked at the speaker’s face, they fell silent.

It was Beauty Han, the birth mother of Princess Baofu, who had died horribly at Liu Family Temple.

The moment Beauty Han spoke those words, she had already cast aside all concern for life or death.

Clutching the peace talisman her beloved daughter had given her before their separation, she choked out, “My daughter was only fourteen! What sin did she commit to deserve such suffering?!”

Tears slid from her eyes and soaked her robes.

Her voice sharpened, hatred piercing to the bone. “Were they not the ones who blindly sought peace? Were they not the ones who groveled to preserve themselves?! They sold the palace consorts. They sold the princesses and imperial clanswomen. Women were treated like goods and sold wholesale to the Jin. They sold everyone they could, so why did they still fail to preserve the state? Why did they become prisoners too?! Heaven has no eyes! Why did it not kill those two men sooner?!!!”

In the past, Beauty Han would likely have been seized before finishing such words of Crime of Great Disrespect. Yet now not one person spoke to refute her.

The emperor ruled the realm. The emperor received the worship of ten thousand people. Why, then, were women the ones who suffered after disaster struck? Why were women the ones abused like livestock?

How unjust was Heaven!

Empress Zheng and several daughters wept together. Noble Consort Qiao held her youngest daughter and silently shed tears. When no one watched, the two women secretly exchanged a glance. Neither spoke, but identical hatred filled their eyes.

They were the emperor’s palace consorts, but they were also mothers.

What mother beneath Heaven could watch her daughter be abused like this and remain unmoved?

It was impossible.

Lady Tangkuo and the others hurried from place to place, and the procedure moved swiftly. Once everyone had been counted, the group departed south that very month.

Leaving their homeland for the Jin state had carried one flavor. Leaving the Jin state to return home carried another entirely.

Everyone overflowed with excitement and could not conceal their joy. Though days of travel exhausted them, they firmly refused to halt midway. Holding one breath in their hearts, they rushed straight toward Dongjing. The outbound journey had taken nearly a month; the return took only half.

The Jin had suffered a crushing defeat at Dongjing, and Zongfu and the other two had been captured. With morale low, Zonghan’s Hebei forces made several probing advances south to stabilize the army, but Song troops repelled each one. Zonghan grew even more wary of the Song and its newly enthroned emperor and no longer sent troops recklessly.

While reforming the military system, Li Shimin also carefully controlled the situation. Before the Jin delegation reached Dongjing, no further major confrontation occurred.

The two sides maintained a brief peace.

In the tenth month of that year, the exchange ceremony took place beside the Yellow River.

Li Gang personally went forward with a register in hand. After confirming the numbers were correct, he first received the coffins of the dead across the river. Then he ordered Zongfu and the other two escorted forward for the exchange with the Jin.

The Jin envoy’s eyes bulged when he saw the Third Prince Zongfu being pushed out in a two-wheeled cart. Then he looked at Wanyan Xiyin and Wanyan Tuhesu, who scarcely resembled human beings, and drew his saber on the spot.

Li Gang roared, “What are you doing? Do you want a battle? I am not afraid of you!”

The Jin envoy bristled with rage. Pointing at the three men, he shouted, “They have been beaten to pulp! What do you think I am doing?!!!”

Li Gang answered with perfect confidence, “So they were beaten to pulp! Patch them up, and they will recover. They are not dead. What are you acting so fierce for?!!!”