34 The Different Paths They Took (part 2)
Xuanye hurriedly kneeled in front of Fuchai and said, "My king, please forgive Minister Wu. He is worried about you. He's an old loyal minister and doesn't have any bad intention! Please, cease to be angry!"
"Xuanye, this is not your business," Wu Zixu said. "You just have to help me to fulfill my legacy!" He helped Xuanye to rise and said, "My book is my legacy. I have to depend on you for this!"
"My lord," Xuanye said in a low voice. "Please ask forgiveness to the king. He will spare you!"
"I'm not going to ask for forgiveness. I'm innocent!"
With his word, Wu Zixu took the sword on the floor. With a loud voice, he said, "After the clever hares have been caught, the hound is thrown into the kettle to boil! I was a useful, clever hare for the late king. Now I'm just a useless old dog for you! I'm telling you, you are not a worthy king! Wu will fall in your hand! And although I die….I will see it!" Wu Zixu said in a loud voice.
He sighed, then shouted out loud, "As a minister of the State of Wu, I cannot be loyal to the country in life. After my death, you have to hang my head at the gate of the city. I want to see how the army of the Yue King Goujian passes under my nose when they enter and conquer this country! Otherwise, I will die uncontended!"
Fuchai's face turned to pale, "How dare you cursing your king and your country!"
"I'm not cursing you. I'm just telling you what will happen to you and this state because you don't listen to good advice!"
Wu Zixu looked at Xuanye and said, "Brother, it's been an honour for me to work with you! Thank you!"
Xuanye looked at Wu Zixu and said, "Brother, rest in peace. I will take care of your family!"
Wu Zixu nodded his head. Baring his feet and lifting his robes, he walked down with the sword in his hand to the centre of the courtyard. Looking up in an outcry and said, "I was wronged! I'm innocent, and Heaven knows it!" Wu Zixu then bent over the sword and died.
Xuanye could only close his eyes. He had seen many loyal ministers died in injustice way. After a while, he said, "My king, let me bring Minister Wu's remain and bury it properly!"
"He is my loyal dog! I will determine what I want to do to his body! You can leave now, General Yan!" Fuchai said.
Yan Xuanye pondered for a while, and said, "Yes, my king!" He hurriedly left the palace with a heavy heart. But he knew that he had better leave and went to Wu Zixu's house to save his wife and children.
"Guard! Cut off Wu Zixu's head and hang his head on the eastern tower gate as he wished!" Fuchai ordered his guard.
The guard then cut off Wu Zixu's head.
Xi Shi saw Wu Zixu's head, and she felt sorry for the old loyal minister. Her face turned pale. And she unconsciously clutched Fuchai's hand out of fear.
Fuchai thought that Xi Shi was still angry at Wu Zixu. Therefore he said, "Boil that blasphemer body on a cauldron!"
Wu Zixu's body was then put inside a giant cauldron and boiled.
A few hours later, a guard reported to Fuchai, said: "My king, Wu Zixu's body is well cooked. Should we bury it now?"
Fuchai, who was still angry, ordered the guard to put his body sewed into a leather pouch and thrown into the river.
Xi Shi, who was with him, was terrified and said, "My king, pity him! Just let them bury his remain. He's just a pity soul who was jealous and eager for power. Now that he's dead. You have nothing to worry about!"
"I could tolerate if he insulted me. I could not tolerate that he cursed you and cursed my country! It's decided, his remain should be sewed into a leather pouch and thrown into the river!" Fuchai said.
As instructed by Fuchai, Wu Zixu's remain was thrown into the gorge of the great river.
The day when Wu Zixu's remain was thrown into the river was the fifth of the fifth month. At that particular time, and that specific part of the gorge of the river, the river's current turned very swift, mostly if there was rain the day before.
When the guards threw the leather pouch, and it touched the river water, the time was exactly when the river's current turned very swift. It was the first time for the soldiers to experience the current swift. When they heard such reverberations, wrathful gallopings noise from the river, they thought it was Wu Zixu's spirit who was growling like a racing horse. ***
*** This is might be a natural phenomenon called Tidal Bore - it is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current. The tide could be very high and the current could be very swift. The noise of the water is very loud.
"He's truly innocent! He was wronged!" said the guards who were in charge of throwing Wu Zixu's body.
"He's a deity!" some other guards said. They were terrified and left the place immediately.
The sack with Wu Zixu's dead body then floated in the Taihu Lake.
From that day onward, many of the soldiers believed that Wu Zixu's spirit turned to be a deity. They retold what they saw, how the calm river suddenly turned wild after Wu Zixu's body touched the river. An innocent loyal minister who was wrongly accused turned into a deity!
The local people heard about Wu Zixu and how Fuchai treated his remain. They pitied Wu Zixu and salvaged his body, which was floating in Taihu Lake for burial. Later generations called the gate where Wu Zixu hung his head "Xumen" to commemorate Wu Zixu. The river where his body was cast as "Xujiang," and the lake mouth as "Xukou." A mountain near Xukou is also named "Xushan." There is a Xuwang Temple on the edge of Taihu Lake in Xukou. There is a tomb of Wu Zixu in the temple. The tombstone reads: "Tomb of Wu's Prime Minister Lord Wu (Wu-gong), "and he was also named the lake god of Zhenhu.
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Xi Shi woke up with a nightmare. She decided to visit Zheng Dan in her palace.
"Shi Yiguang," Zheng Dan happily greeted her. "I haven't seen you for a while. You're too busy with the king!"
Zheng Dan let Xi Shi entered her room and let her maids leave them two alone.
After they were alone, Zheng Dan said, "I have heard that Wu Zixu committed suicide! That's such good news for us!"
"Zheng Dan," Xi Shi said in a low voice. "That man is innocent!"
"Aye, we all know that he's just loyal to Wu State!"
"I sowed discord between him and the king. At first, the king didn't bother it. But after my birthday banquet and Wu Zixu didn't come, the king started to buy my words."
"If Wu Zixu is still alive, then there's no way for our Yue to attack Wu. Wu is too strong, especially if they still have Wu Zixu and Yan Xuanye. Now that Wu Zixu is gone, I'm sure General Yan will also leave Wu. That will ease our king, Minister Fan, and Minister Wen to make a strategy to attack Wu!" Zheng Dan said.
"But…I'm the one who caused his death," Xi Shi said.
Zheng Dan shook her head and said, "We are the daughters of Yue. We have to do it to the utmost to pave the way for our nation to conquer Wu. If it weren't you, someone from Yue would also have to do it. Either it's you, other girls, or me. You have accomplished your mission, and our country owes you!"
Xi Shi shed her tears, "I saw Wu Zixu's face before he committed suicide. So scary!"
Zheng Dan laughed, clutched Xi Shi's hand, and in a low voice, said, "I know your inner conflict. But that's what we have to do, and we have no choice. I am sure deep inside his heart, a hero like Wu Zixu also knows that you're only doing your task. It's all Fuchai's stupidity and not your fault!"
Xi Shi nodded, "Hopefully, they would do it soon! It is excruciating for me to live a double life like this."
Zheng Dan lowered her head. She always showed a happy, optimistic personality, although deep inside her heart, she's also in a dilemma. She caressed her pregnant tummy said, "Tell me Xi Shi, is my child's father is Fuchai or the Yue State? And what should I do later, and how's my child's fate will be if someday Yue manages to conquer Wu?"
The two beauties of Yue looked at each other. Although they lived in riches and lack of nothing, they didn't own their lives. They were merely pawns in other people's chessboard.
