PCA Chapter 145

Su Cen slowly regained his senses, haphazardly wiping away what was on his face. He knew he had cried but couldn’t understand why. Perhaps it was due to the intensity of emotions making his body react involuntarily, or perhaps it was Li Shi’s final words. He felt as if something had struck his heart, making it difficult to breathe, so tears had come instead.

 

“Why are you crying?” Li Shi pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice hoarse.

 

“Maybe because…” Su Cen frowned and thought for a moment, “surviving a close call?”

 

He had stood at the edge of a cliff several times today, so this excuse was reasonable.

 

But Li Shi frowned, “Don’t be so reckless in the future.”

 

What recklessness? Su Cen frowned. He had done many impulsive things today and really needed to think about it. Pausing between the entrapment of Song Fan and going down the cliff to rescue people, he tentatively said: “Song Fan…”

 

Seeing Prince Ning’s frown deepen, he quickly changed his words: “But I didn’t go down, did I?”

 

“Even thinking about it is not allowed.”

 

So that was it. Su Cen laughed inwardly. This old fox wanted to control heaven and earth—could he even control others’ thoughts? He raised his hand to hook around Li Shi’s neck, smiling ingratiatingly: “It’s because I knew I had you. Prince has heaven’s blessing, and naturally, I can benefit from that too.”

 

Li Shi was somewhat appeased but still flicked Su Cen’s nose as a warning: “In the future, let others handle such matters.”

 

“Alright.” Su Cen knew when to stop and hurriedly agreed.

 

“Qu Ling’er deserves a reward,” Li Shi added. “Think of something for him.”

 

“Giving him Qi Lin would be better than anything else.”

 

Li Shi smiled, “That’s quite presumptuous.”

 

Su Cen pouted but didn’t take it to heart. Asking for Prince Ning’s personal guard of over a decade was indeed an extravagant request. He changed the subject: “Then could you spare him from death?”

 

Li Shi gave him a look, indicating he should continue.

 

“Ling’er knows the Secret Door’s secret, one significant enough for them to hunt him down relentlessly. Though I don’t know what this secret is, according to Song Fan, it must be something crucial.” Su Cen paused briefly, glancing at Li Shi before continuing: “I hope that whatever this secret is, it won’t implicate Qu Ling’er. He has never told anyone, and in the future, he’ll keep it to himself. Could you just pretend he knows nothing?”

 

Li Shi slightly narrowed his eyes, looking at Su Cen. This person was too clever—sometimes he didn’t know if such cleverness was an advantage or a flaw.

 

Song Fan’s identity was mysterious, and he knew the confidential information about opening the door, which likely related to his identity. If it truly involved the royal family or the stability of the court, when necessary, he wouldn’t hesitate to silence people.

 

But now, before there was even a clue about the matter, this little fox was already seeking a way out for Qu Ling’er.

 

Prince Ning neither approved nor denied, leaving Su Cen holding his breath, fearing that any wrong breath might displease His Highness and get his request rejected.

 

After waiting for a long time with Li Shi refusing to give a conclusion, Su Cen’s face was almost flushed red when he finally heard a neutral: “Alright.”

 

Lord Su felt immensely relieved, sighing deeply. The release was so sudden that he choked himself and lowered his head, coughing non-stop.

 

Li Shi held him, patting his back to help him breathe, teasing: “If I hadn’t spoken up, were you planning to suffocate yourself?”

 

Su Cen, with reddened eyes from coughing, looked up and glared at Li Shi. His proud and dignified demeanor mixed with embarrassed anger amused Li Shi, making him laugh heartily.

 

Su Cen’s coughing fit wasn’t for nothing. Taking advantage of having amused Li Shi, he continued to press his luck: “Qu Ling’er has been rewarded, shouldn’t Lord Liang be rewarded as well? We misunderstood him first, and later he protected you. Surely Prince wouldn’t treat him unfairly, right?”

 

“Taking advantage of favor to be arrogant,” Li Shi defined his behavior in one sentence.

 

“People truly can’t be judged by appearances,” Su Cen leaned gently against Li Shi, seemingly boneless, his every movement carrying a trace of lingering desire. “I genuinely didn’t realize Lord Liang had such good martial arts skills. It was fortunate that I wasn’t sent away by one of his palm strikes at the foot of the mountain back then.”

 

“Zhong’an was previously a Shaolin warrior monk.”

 

Su Cen straightened slightly, interested: “Can monks become officials?”

 

“Monks can even become emperors, why couldn’t they become officials?” Li Shi said. “The reason I helped him wasn’t because I trusted him over you, but because I knew something of his life story. Zhong’an came from Shaolin. In his youth, he had a heart to save the world. Later, he realized that Buddhist teachings couldn’t save all beings, so he left the Shaolin Temple, took the imperial exams, and passed as a jinshi. However, because he didn’t offer gifts to those in power, he was assigned to a remote place as a county assistant magistrate. For more than a decade, no one paid attention to him. Even then, he didn’t harbor crooked thoughts, so I felt he couldn’t have done those things.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” Su Cen raised his eyes to glare at him. “I almost arrested the wrong person.”

 

“People’s hearts can change. I believe in concrete evidence,” Li Shi patted Su Cen’s shoulder lightly. “And as I said, if I had to make a choice, I would trust you.”

 

Su Cen felt a warmth in his heart. He leaned forward to place a conciliatory kiss on the corner of Li Shi’s mouth. After the kiss, he was reluctant to move away, his hands resting on Li Shi’s shoulders, his head lowered, their breaths mingling at close proximity, his eyes bright like stars in the night.

 

“I have one more question,” he said.

 

Li Shi gave a soft “hmm” in acknowledgment.

 

“How did Miss Wen die?”

 

“…”

 

The sudden silence made Su Cen feel as if a piece of his previously full heart had been hollowed out. He had been somewhat elated all evening from Li Shi’s attention, but now felt as if he had been dropped and shattered.

 

Li Shi extracted himself from between Su Cen’s arms, creating a space that clearly spelled detachment.

 

Though it was still summer, Su Cen suddenly felt cold.

 

This was the perfect illustration of pushing one’s luck and failing to recognize boundaries. He had demonstrated it flawlessly.

 

“Sleep,” Li Shi tucked in the quilt corners for him, but got up himself and walked to the desk, leaning against the chair back and pressing his brow, looking weary.

 

Song Fan’s words couldn’t be fully trusted, but they weren’t entirely false either. Since he could speak of the Princess of Ning’s death, there must indeed be some issue there.

 

Su Cen knew that the grand wedding had been more of a political alliance than a love match. He also knew that after marriage, Li Shi had spent most of his time at the border, with the two maintaining a respectful but distant relationship. Their nominal marriage, which had no substance during Wen Shu’s lifetime, gained significance after her death—Wen Tingyan’s support, Wen Xiu’s assistance, and even the late Emperor’s appointment of Li Shi as regent prince despite years of antagonism when he summoned him back from the border. None of this would have been possible without stable foundations at court. Su Cen couldn’t understand the connections, but Li Shi certainly knew.

 

Qi Lin had once hinted that Miss Wen died in a power struggle, becoming a sacrifice to imperial power, but he never said how she died—the entire Xingqing Palace avoided the topic.

 

Su Cen, throwing caution to the wind, asked again: “How did Miss Wen die?” He persisted in referring to the former Princess of Ning as “Miss Wen,” though he wasn’t sure what denying the title accomplished.

 

He had decided to believe whatever Li Shi told him unconditionally, even if it meant hearing that the late Emperor had killed her out of fear of an alliance with the Wen family—he would dare to criticize the late Emperor for it.

 

But Li Shi gave him nothing, simply putting on a robe and leaving him in the room.

 

In early August, as the floodwaters receded, relief funds from the court arrived, and Prince Ning Li Shi returned to the capital.

 

Su Cen, as the imperial inspector of the Henan Circuit, needed to inspect all flood-affected areas before returning to the capital to report, so they had to go separate ways—a brief reunion before each continued their separate journeys.

 

Uncle Cao couldn’t escape punishment and voluntarily accompanied Prince Ning’s entourage back to the capital to face his crimes.

 

Huzi and Er Ya cried but couldn’t dissuade Uncle Cao, who had made up his mind, and could only bid a tearful farewell. After this experience, Huzi wanted to learn martial arts to protect Er Ya. Coincidentally, Lord Liang, the former monk, had no son and adopted Huzi, though the boy kept his surname Cao and chose the name Cao Wangxing, meaning “Xuzhou will rise early and overcome difficulties.”

 

The meaning was good but too vulgar for Su Cen’s taste, so he changed it to Cao You’an.

 

Er Ya took Su Cen’s surname and became Su Qingqing. The two children had been fond of each other since childhood, and under Liang Fang’s arrangement, they exchanged horoscopes and were betrothed, forming an alliance between the Liang and Su families.

 

Uncle Cao drank a cup of wedding wine before leaving. The tilting evening sun filled the furrows on his face as he drained his cup, sighed deeply, and left without regrets.

 

Su Cen left the next day.

 

Hearing that Chuanling County, a hundred miles away, had also been hit by disaster, he preferred undercover inspections to open ones. He rose early, without alerting anyone, and quietly departed with Qu Ling’er.

 

After traveling all day, they finally reached the border of Chuanling County. Su Cen and Qu Ling’er found lodging with a farming family. Just as they settled in, they discovered villagers carrying hoes and shovels heading up to the mountains in groups.

 

Su Cen stopped someone to inquire about the situation.

 

The man, with triangular fox-like eyes, looked at Su Cen suspiciously. Seeing he was an outsider, the man hesitated to speak.

 

“Liu Mazi, don’t be so standoffish,” said their host, spitting melon seed shells at Liu Mazi. “These two are traveling doctors. What’s there to hide? Quick, tell us what happened?”

 

Liu Mazi, with his triangular eyes, examined Su Cen for a while longer before leaning in: “A flash flood destroyed the mountain road. My goodness, several corpses were washed out by the roadside!”

 

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