Chapter 70 (1/1)
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar oods that would be used in the celebration of the New Year in the palace were already in place On the thirtieth day, snow had been falling since early er to pay his respects, the tere both in high spirits Wanyan Xu gave a sigh and said: “The previous reat country was afflicted with all ills under his rule Although I [1] have reduced taxes and duties to ease the suffering of the people, they still need a period of time before they can recover the quality of life that they enjoyed under the reign of his predecessor A tiood weather and harvests, then the people will be able to make an almost complete recovery by this time next year”
The Eer nodded her head and said: “That’s just what I was about to say” She then turned her head towards Concubine Yin and the rest and said: “Later today will be the night of New Year's Eve [3]; because this is the first New Year ould be spending in this new capital, we are afraid that people will especially miss the familiar lands of Jin Liao today Therefore ht as well invite all the high officials and their kin into the palace to spend the New Year That way the ether; not only will the ats of homesickness can be avoided All of you concubines should also make ready, you can take the opportunity to enjoy yourselves tonight” Concubine Yin and her cohorts nodded and agreed, and showered the idea with much praise
When the courtiers arrived in the palace, everywhere they turned, their eyes were met with beauty and splendour, not to mention, there was endless amusements and entertainment for their enjoyment However, we shall not speak o back to Su Yi Because the laundry service had rushed to finish washi+ng all the clothes before the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunarelse to be done in the laundry room Therefore, Su Yi had been dispatched to other places to assist in other tasks for two days Although it could be said that there were nurettably, before the New Year, there were anisation had beco these two days, Su Yi was considerably ued by his work than he usually was After he had finally gotten back to his rooht, he had started to feel deeply uncout He felt faintly nauseous, and had no desire to eat anything at all When hit by hunger pangs, he htly The iven to hio; sometirit his teeth and endure them, even when he his forehead was covered with cold sweat
Today, the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, Su Yi woke up early and saw that a heavy snoas descending frorounds seemed to have been transformed into a world coood omen, and everybody in the palace was happy except for Su Yi He did not understand why, but a trace of dismay was born in his heart He silently stared out at the picturesque scene for a while, just when he was about to get dressed and get out of bed, his gut gave a sharp twist and he was overtaken by a wave of nausea Before he knehat happened, he had spit a large mouthful of blood onto the floor! Only then did his body feel somewhat more comfortable
Su Yi wasn't bothered; he siot up and found sootten drenched during the rainstor blood a few days later and it had persisted till now Although the Prince had warned him to pay attention to his dietary habits, someone in Su Yi's situation had little say in the food that was allocated to him Therefore, he could only endure this hardshi+p silently; whenever he vomited blood, all he could do was to rest for a while on the bed, and it would go away after he skipped a fewout a few small mouthfuls of blood occasionally, there were no further sy
But today, he suddenly felt that it was no long such a si fell, his appetite had still not returned and his sto ever more unbearable, the nausea felt heavier and heavier, his head was spinning, his vision was getting cloudy and his body felt totally sapped of any strength Even his footsteps eak and laborious He was a practitioner of martial arts and as such, he had always paid particular attention to the firmness of his step but somehow, he simply was unable to achieve that today He looked at the blanket of ti as far as his eyes could see, the whiteness was piercing to his eyes and the foreboding feeling in his heart grew even stronger rapidly
As he was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly heard an acerbic voice near It said: “What? Don't tell me you also wish to celebrate the New Year today? The people in the front buildings are so busy that they are about to collapse and you are still standing here instead of going over to help?” He raised his head for a look, and found that it was the big girl from the laundry service, Ai Er Like Su Yi, she had also been transferred to help out at the front halls because there were noharried by the seely endless tasks when she suddenly passed this way and came upon Su Yi When she saw Su Yi, there was no way that she would not immediately enlist his service
Su Yi had no other choice but to endure the pain in his body and follow her to the palace halls and rooe --- it could comfortably accoround floor of the Garden of Merri about and he could hear continual sounds of laughter and happy voices Palaceback and forth fro up platters of exquisite hors d'oeuvres and tea At this point, Su Yi was in sooff hi he could do but force himself to endure it as he helped with the delivery of boxes and replenishi+ng oil in the lamps Because he deliberately performed his tasks in a dark corner, and because Wanyan Xu and the other people at the banquet had no expectations that he would be present, his presence remained unnoticed by the revellers
With htfall By then the weather had turned very warradually stopped falling At this ti served and courses of food and ere being carried into the big hall Su Yi saw that there was no place for hi hand, and searched out a quiet corner Looking around, he saw that there was nobody around in all four directions By then, his legs refused to support hiroan of ”aii”, he sank down into a squatting position He had been busy for the whole day, and had not even had the time to take a sip of tea At this er and his pain and nausea grew steadily worse In the end, he again spit out two large mouthfuls of blood but this time, he did not feel any relief nor was there any improvement in his condition This situation was really vastly different from what he had experienced in the past
Su Yi attentively gazed at the traces of blood in silence for a long while before suddenly giving a long exhale Speaking to hihed: “Could it be that this New Year's Eve night, just when it should be time to reunite with family, will be the time that I, Su Yi, will depart froain see that handso, hoould never again feel even the slightest bit of his tender love or hatred, Su Yi at once felt a pain in his heart that was akin to having it twisted around a blade He looked towards the lovely hall At the htly lit but no ure that he had dreaht
Hein his heart: if Heaven has pity on o Even if I can only take one look from afar, my reluctance to leave this ht of ould beco, his heart was filled to the brim orries that he could not set aside But there was also nothing he could do about it; he could only console hiht have, how can any e of years? Even if they experience heartache now, they would be fine after a year or so
He did his uture with his eyes but suddenly, he heard an anxious voice say: “Hey, the person over there, coive us a hand” He turned back, to beas a chariot wheel On the disk was a huge roasted sheep [6] and they were heading in the direction of the reception hall One of thean intense look of pain on his face, and rushed towards Su Yi, saying: “Quickly, coo and relieve myself at once” Su Yi hesitated for a moment, but in that short span of time, that e dish to the care of his three companions Without any further explanation, he ca hastily Su Yi had no alternative but to endure his pain and the four of them carried the sheep in the direction of the reception hall But he kept his head bowed, for fear of being recognised by the crowd Waves of nausea were rising in his larynx, which he forcefully suppressed with his chi after much difficulty