PCA Chapter 169

The news came from Zheng Yang, who was known as “the one who knows all trivial matters in the capital.”

 

Zheng Yang worked at the Hanlin Academy, and the person who was beaten happened to be his direct superior—a proper old Hanlin scholar who had been at the academy since the Yonglong era.

 

The Hanlin scholars, while technically without an official rank, controlled important powers such as drafting imperial edicts and participating in confidential matters. Later, they also coordinated examination affairs with the Ministry of Rites. In the eyes of scholars throughout the empire, this was a most prestigious and honorable position.

 

The reason successful examination candidates fought desperately to enter the Hanlin Academy was that it served as a stepping stone.

 

Taking the civil service examination, entering the Hanlin Academy, becoming an official and then a minister—this traditional career path was the most orthodox way of promotion. Any family with means and background prided themselves on getting their children into the Hanlin Academy. Most of the current Ministers, Vice Ministers, and even Left Prime Minister Wen Xiu were Hanlin graduates, while scholars from humble backgrounds like Liu Cheng and Cui Hao had to find alternative paths. Liu Cheng happened to rise during turbulent times and achieved his current success with the support of Empress Dowager Chu. Others without such opportunities faced extreme difficulty in becoming ministers. So it made sense that the Duke of Ying spared no effort to get Zheng Yang into the Hanlin Academy. After all, who wouldn’t want their son to advance smoothly without encountering the bumps and detours that could be avoided?

 

As for our beaten Scholar Sun, he had been at the Hanlin Academy since being awarded the jinshi degree in the 12th year of Yonglong. In terms of seniority, no one in the academy could compare with him. But all these years had passed, and he remained just a Hanlin scholar.

 

Over the years, he had watched his colleagues leave the academy one by one, becoming marquises and ministers, gaining prominence, while showing no signs of promotion himself. It was like occupying a toilet without using it, or a chicken coop without laying eggs—occupying such a good resource for decades without advancing even slightly. The root cause was simple: this man had a foul mouth.

 

According to Zheng Yang, from imperial relatives at the top to servants sweeping the academy at the bottom, there was no one he hadn’t cursed. As soon as there was any sign of promotion, he would ruin it with his own words. Such a person not being at the Censorate but at the Hanlin Academy was truly a waste of talent.

 

Moreover, possibly because his name never appeared on promotion lists and he had no outlet for his ambitions, he developed a drinking problem. While others might create timeless literary works after drinking, he could curse for three days and nights after a few drinks.

 

This beating was not unrelated to this bad habit.

 

He actually cursed Liu Cheng during the Moon Worship Ceremony.

 

The sun is worshipped on mountains, the moon in pits. Every year during the Moon Worship Ceremony, drums must be beaten and music played to worship the moon and welcome the cold. A special poetic prayer called qingci must be written, read aloud, and then burned as an offering to heaven, so that human requests may reach the ears of heaven. The best writer of qingci in the current court was none other than Right Prime Minister Liu Cheng.

 

Scholar Sun cursed under his breath just as Liu Cheng was reciting the qingci, and unfortunately, Liu Cheng’s staunch follower Cui Hao heard it. Without saying a word, Cui Hao threw a punch, immediately loosening Scholar Sun’s teeth.

 

Su Cen asked: “What exactly did he say?”

 

“Who knows?” Zheng Yang pursed his lips. “He couldn’t openly curse loudly during the Moon Worship Ceremony, just muttered a few words to himself. As bad luck would have it, Cui Hao was beside him. Even if it had been Liu Cheng himself, he probably wouldn’t have reacted so strongly.”

 

Su Cen frowned in thought for a moment, then asked: “And then? How was the matter handled?”

 

“How else could it be handled?” Zheng Yang spread his hands. “My little uncle waved his hand and sent both of them to jail. A perfectly good Moon Worship Ceremony was ruined. Unlike the year-end ceremonies, if it doesn’t work out today, you can’t just choose another day. After all, the moon is in the sky, and it’s only full once a month. After struggling half the night to no avail, how could my little uncle not be angry?”

 

Su Cen nodded, understanding why Li Shi hadn’t returned all night. He had waited in vain until dawn, then returned home, even telling the servants at Xingqing Palace to say he had never been there. Li Shi, after staying up all night, would surely be exhausted in body and mind. Su Cen didn’t want to distract him with such minor matters. But without understanding the situation, he felt uneasy, which is why he had come early in the morning to intercept Zheng Yang, hoping to get a general understanding.

 

Now, hearing that the incident wasn’t a major issue, he felt somewhat relieved. After some idle chat, realizing neither had eaten breakfast, he took out the rice cakes he had prepared for Li Shi and shared them.

 

“With Liu Cheng backing him, Cui Hao should be fine, but I pity our Scholar Sun. I’m afraid he won’t be able to stay in the capital much longer.” Zheng Yang chatted idly with Su Cen while eating the rice cakes, soon changing the subject: “Oh, these rice cakes from your house are really good. I should have my cook learn from your household someday.”

 

After parting from Zheng Yang, Su Cen went to register at the Dali Temple. When Zhang Jun learned that Su Cen had met his teacher in Lu Family Village thousands of miles away, but that he would remain there forever and never return, he was filled with sorrow and emotion, pulling Su Cen aside to talk for the entire morning.

 

“I should have known that my teacher would definitely go back,” Zhang Jun rubbed his round belly with a sad face. “I remember when we first entered the village, it was just my teacher and me. Our original intention was to investigate the Secret Door under the pretext of looking into Lu Xiaoliu’s death. We never expected they would be so brazen as to kill people right in front of us. One life after another, just gone before our very eyes. I was terrified at the time, and my teacher probably had no solutions either. His greatest skill was using the law as a sword to punish evil, but in a place completely beyond the control of the law, his lifetime of learning and pursuit seemed so futile.”

 

“Later, the village head at that time, named Lu Xun, found several strong young men from the village who took advantage of the darkness to send us out. They practically became our shields, pushing us out with their blood-stained hands.”

 

Zhang Jun let out a heavy sigh, “That’s a place I never want to return to in this lifetime. But for my teacher, it was a shadow. As the embodiment of Great Zhou’s law, he couldn’t allow a place where sunlight couldn’t reach to exist within Great Zhou’s territory, so he had to erase that darkness.”

 

Su Cen was deeply saddened. There are always people in this world who go against the flow, establishing principles for the world and securing livelihoods for the people, breaking through shackles and chains with their flesh and blood to make the path smoother for those who come after.

 

“You’re very much like him,” Zhang Jun suddenly raised his head and stared at Su Cen. “Have I ever told you that you’re very much like him? Especially when you’re focused on a case, as if you were carved from the same mold.”

 

Just as Su Cen was about to modestly decline, he saw Zhang Jun looking at him with bright eyes, tears welling up: “May I call you teacher?”

 

Su Cen: “…”

 

By the time Su Cen left work in the evening, the matter of Cui Hao and Scholar Sun had become known throughout the city. The verdict for both had also been announced.

 

Scholar Sun finally didn’t have to stay at the Hanlin Academy anymore, as he was demoted and sent away from the capital to serve as a county magistrate.

 

Cui Hao was merely fined two months’ salary with no other consequences.

 

Just as Zheng Yang had predicted, when serving as an official in the tiger’s den and dragon’s pool of the capital, the difference between having backing or not was immediately apparent.

 

On the day Scholar Sun left, only two people came to see him off at the city gate. One was Zheng Yang, perhaps out of consideration for their brief working relationship, or perhaps because their time together was short and he hadn’t been cursed severely enough to avoid coming.

 

As for the other person, Scholar Sun squinted and observed him for a while. Tall and elegant, with a clear and handsome face, this fairy-like figure… he didn’t seem to know him at all.

 

Moreover, this person didn’t seem to be here to see him off. He just stood behind Zheng Yang without saying a word. If not for his extraordinarily refined appearance and bearing, Sun would have thought he was Zheng Yang’s attendant.

 

Seeing that he was about to leave, Scholar Sun couldn’t hold back and stared at the young man with a frown: “And who might this be?”

 

Just as Zheng Yang was about to answer, Su Cen cupped his hands in greeting: “I am Su Cen.”

 

Scholar Sun was slightly surprised: “You’re that new top scholar who solved several major cases?”

 

Come to think of it, he had once cursed this person for seeking fame and considering himself above others. He never expected the actual person to look like this.

 

Su Cen smiled modestly, “That’s me, unworthy as I am.”

 

Scholar Sun was even more puzzled. Su Cen was currently in favor with both His Majesty and Prince Ning, with no connection to him whatsoever. Even if he knew that Sun had cursed him before, he wouldn’t condescend to come and kick him while he was down, would he?

 

Su Cen seemed to know what Scholar Sun was wondering and smiled: “I heard that at the Moon Worship Ceremony, Scholar Sun fearlessly denounced Prime Minister Liu, unafraid of the powerful. I greatly admire Scholar Sun and came specifically to see your demeanor.”

 

Scholar Sun understood in his heart. Prince Ning and Liu Cheng were sworn enemies. By cursing Liu Cheng, he had indirectly helped Prince Ning, which is why the Prince had sent someone to comfort him a bit. His current demotion was just for show, and perhaps he could even return to the capital in the future. He might have actually benefited from this misfortune.

 

Just as Scholar Sun was about to respond humbly, he heard Su Cen continue: “Scholar Sun cursed Prime Minister Liu for having no real talent and for producing fake writing. You must know some inside information, right?”

 

Scholar Sun’s face turned pale: “How… how do you know that?”

 

After all, his cursing of Liu Cheng had just been some muttering under his breath, unfortunately overheard by Cui Hao who was standing nearby. Given how protective Cui Hao was of Liu Cheng, he certainly wouldn’t spread what Sun had said about Liu. So how did this person know?

 

Su Cen’s eyes suddenly sharpened as he continued to ask: “In the metropolitan examination of the 22nd year of Yonglong, what exactly did Prime Minister Liu write in his policy essay?”

 

Scholar Sun staggered backward a couple of steps. After regaining his composure, he immediately cupped his hands in farewell: “It’s getting late, I should be on my way. Until we meet again… no, no, perhaps never. Don’t see me off, don’t see me off. Farewell, farewell…”

 

Watching Scholar Sun flee in what was almost a panic, Zheng Yang turned to Su Cen in confusion: “How did you know what he cursed about?”

 

Su Cen shook his head gently. He had captured Scholar Sun’s panicked expression, and certain things were surfacing, about to be revealed.

 

When investigating the murder case at the examination hall, he had gone to the Ministry of Rites to check the records from that year. But after going through all the candidates’ examination papers, he couldn’t find the one belonging to that year’s top scholar—Liu Cheng. Coincidentally, this Scholar Sun had been the copying official for that examination, responsible for recopying all the scholars’ papers with their names removed before sending them to the Ministry of Rites for review. This meant that as long as Liu Cheng had entered the examination hall, his paper would have definitely passed through Sun’s hands.

 

Su Cen frowned in thought. What exactly had Liu Cheng done to make Scholar Sun conclude he had “no real talent and his writing was fake”?

 

And how had Liu Cheng obtained his top scholar title?

 

Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Justice prison.

 

A man emerged from the cold, damp cell, shivered as he stood in the bright sunlight, and then brightened at the sight of someone standing at the bottom of the steps. He walked forward a few steps and smiled: “Why have you come?”

 

Liu Cheng gave a cold snort, “If I didn’t come to bail you out, would you rot in prison?”

 

Liu Cheng walked ahead, with Cui Hao following closely behind. Liu Cheng could be heard berating him as they walked: “How old are you? Can’t you stop being so impulsive? This is Chang’an, not your little village. Control that rustic temper of yours.”

 

Cui Hao complained indignantly: “How could I tolerate him talking about you like that?!”

 

Liu Cheng smiled helplessly, “How do you know what he said wasn’t true?”

 

“You were appointed top scholar by the former emperor himself. Who would dare question the former emperor?” Cui Hao was filled with righteous indignation. Noticing that Liu Cheng had walked far ahead, he hurried to catch up, “Don’t walk so fast, wait for me.”

 

Liu Cheng distastefully flicked his sleeve, “Stay away from me. You smell sour.”

 

Cui Hao lifted his sleeve and sniffed, frowning: “Do I?”

 

Then he smiled, “Will you wash it for me?”

 

Liu Cheng: “Get lost.”

 

 

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