PCA Chapter 141

Uncle Cao’s brow furrowed: “What do you mean?”

 

Song Fan only smiled coldly with a sinister expression, showing no awareness of his subjugation. His demeanor was like someone waiting to watch a good show.

 

Uncle Cao looked toward Su Cen.

 

Su Cen was also frowning at this moment. “The two children are in my room, with people guarding them. Nothing should happen to them.”

 

He turned to instruct the guards behind him: “Go bring the two children here.”

 

Uncle Cao’s heart was somewhat reassured. Having shared hardships, he had taken an interest in this young man who remained calm in crisis and methodical. He had been amazed that someone so young could possess such insight. Later, upon learning Su Cen’s identity, he found a rational explanation for that exceptional courage and intelligence that transcended ordinary people.

 

So he trusted Su Cen’s actions.

 

But looking at Song Fan’s face made him uneasy again. He wouldn’t be at ease without seeing the children with his own eyes.

 

While the guards went to find the children, Su Cen walked to Li Shi’s side, frowned and looked him up and down, “You’re not hurt, are you?”

 

Li Shi smiled gently: “What do you think?”

 

“I was worried about you…” Su Cen lowered his head and silently let out a breath. He was still wet, his hair soaked by the rain earlier was hanging down damply. Unlike his confident assertions earlier, Lord Su now appeared somewhat vulnerable after the dangerous situation, making one want to hold him in their arms and comfort him.

 

That earlier concern was genuine, and the fear of losing Li Shi was also real. Li Shi saw this, and raised his hand to rub the person’s wet hair, “I’m fine. Zhong’an had already warned me to be careful of the people from Cao Village, so I was prepared. Besides, Uncle Cao came to confess his crimes, not to attack.”

 

Liang Fang had dealt with Song Fan and Uncle Cao before, so he naturally knew that Song Fan and Uncle Cao were working together. Instead, it was he who, in his desperation, lost his composure.

 

Su Cen lowered his head to compose his emotions, and when he raised it again, he smiled at Liang Fang: “I was quite offensive that day. I hope Lord Liang can forgive me.”

 

Liang Fang had always seen Su Cen as a bewitching enchanter who had captivated his master, but he hadn’t expected this enchanter to be so capable. They had actually arrived early, when Su Cen first began his reasoning, but when they reached the door, Li Shi had raised his hand to stop them from entering. They stood outside the door and heard the complete process of the case. Despite so many complex twists and turns, this person was able to connect them together clearly and logically, even while being under someone else’s control.

 

Lord Liang wasn’t a vindictive person, and he particularly appreciated those of similar temperament. He smiled back at Su Cen: “It’s all trivial matters, don’t worry about it.”

 

After settling the grievances here, Su Cen began to settle accounts with Li Shi: “But Prince, you knew that Lord Liang was initially suspected, yet you hid him behind my back, and you already knew about the connection between Song Fan and Uncle Cao, but you didn’t tell me!”

 

Li Shi laughed, originally thinking that the matter would just be glossed over. Unexpectedly, now that the suspect had been caught and the truth revealed, the little fox had savored the taste again, and like a fox with its fur standing on end, was ready to bite him once more.

 

Fortunately, one sentence from Li Shi smoothed the fox’s fur again: “I didn’t trust him, I only trusted you.”

 

Indeed, he had sheltered Liang Fang but hadn’t fully trusted him. Although he said he was sheltering him, it was also a form of disguised imprisonment. If Liang Fang were truly guilty, it would save the trouble of having to arrest him again.

 

Liang Fang stood nearby with his hair standing on end, thinking to himself: “Indeed still a little enchanter.”

 

Just as they were speaking, the guards who had gone out to search returned, bringing with them the person who had been guarding the door. That person was pale, his throat somewhat tight, and trembling he said: “M-master, both of them are gone.”

 

Su Cen’s heart sank: “Weren’t you watching outside the door? How could they disappear?!”

 

The person replied: “The two children jumped out of the window themselves. Children are playful, and they often jumped out to play in the courtyard. We didn’t pay attention for a moment, and by the time the rain started, we discovered they were already gone. We’ve searched the entire temporary palace and couldn’t find them.”

 

Su Cen pressed his lips together, and before he could act, he heard a sudden sound behind him—the sound of metal striking bone, accompanied by a muffled groan as Song Fan fell to the ground.

 

“Where have you hidden them?!” Uncle Cao’s eyes were red as he exerted all his strength to swing his brass pipe, sparing no effort as he struck Song Fan’s injured arm.

 

“Guess,” Song Fan was still smiling, his smile mixed with pain, making it particularly ferocious. “Guess… guess what they’re doing now? Are they crying? Are they calling for you or for their big brother?”

 

After a momentary shock, Uncle Cao became furious and kicked the person sideways, sending him crashing into an antique shelf, scattering various books and ornaments all over the floor.

 

Uncle Cao was not yet satisfied and went up to add a few more kicks, each aimed at the person’s chest, before lifting him up by the collar. “Where are they? Speak!”

 

“Cough… cough cough…” Song Fan coughed violently a few times, the smile on his face undiminished. He tilted his head to look at the heavy rain outside and with raised lips said: “By now… they’re probably dead, right?”

 

A punch came straight down, and Song Fan tilted his head and coughed up blood.

 

Seeing that another blow might kill him, Li Shi furrowed his brow and said, “Enough.”

 

Uncle Cao was in a rage and couldn’t hear anything. It took both Qi Lin and Qu Ling’er to restrain him.

 

“I’ll talk to him,” Su Cen looked up at Li Shi.

 

Li Shi was looking at the now barely surviving Song Fan, and only after confirming that this person posed no threat did he nod.

 

Su Cen slowly walked to Song Fan’s side and crouched down. “Tell me where the two children are, and I’ll let you go.”

 

Song Fan’s blood-stained throat mumbled something indistinctly, and Su Cen could tell it was a scoff. A few months ago, it was also this person standing in the dungeon of Xingqing Palace, saying to him, “Tell me where Huang Wan’er is, and I’ll let you go.” Now the scene had changed, the observers had changed, only the words spoken remained unchanged.

 

Song Fan tried to tug at the corner of his lips but had to give up due to the severe pain. He asked Su Cen: “Do your words… count?”

 

“If I can let you go this time, I’ll certainly be able to catch you again in the future,” Su Cen looked down at him, his face still wearing a cold expression—he had always been this way toward him, in Chang’an city and now in Xuzhou as well.

 

“Does Li Shi agree?”

 

Su Cen looked back at Li Shi. “I’ll make him agree.”

 

Song Fan laughed lightly. With several murder cases on his shoulders and having embezzled six hundred thousand taels of Xuzhou’s official silver, he couldn’t believe that Li Shi would let him go just because of a few words from Su Cen.

 

But Su Cen was looking at him assertively, leaving no room for doubt.

 

“Interesting, truly interesting…” Song Fan seemed to have discovered something amusing and lowered his head to laugh. But due to the sharp pain in his chest, he could only laugh with a “keke” sound, which, against the backdrop of lightning and thunder outside, seemed particularly eerie and terrifying. “He’s actually managed to keep you until now…”

 

“Back then, the Prince of Ning’s consort was killed by his own hands, yet he keeps you, his weakness, until now…”

 

Su Cen’s body visibly stiffened, as if frozen, and every word he spoke came with the sound of bones creaking: “What did you say?”

 

Song Fan straightened his body and leaned forward, whispering in Su Cen’s ear, but what he said was unrelated to before: “They’re at Tiger’s Gaze Cliff. Go find them.”

 

Su Cen was stunned for a few moments before slowly standing up and turning back to say: “They’re at Tiger’s Gaze Cliff.”

 

“Tiger’s Gaze Cliff is on the back mountain,” Liang Fang, as the governor of Xuzhou, was quite familiar with the local topography. Looking at the heavy rain outside with concern, he frowned and said: “But I’m afraid…”

 

Uncle Cao tilted his head to look at him: “What’s wrong?”

 

“Ah,” Liang Fang flicked his sleeve, “You’ll understand when you go and see.”

 

Everyone followed Liang Fang toward the back mountain, with Su Cen walking at the back. He said something to Li Shi, who waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to withdraw.

 

The so-called Tiger’s Gaze Cliff was actually a stone platform jutting out from a cliff, only large enough for a few people to stand side by side, facing the Yellow River that wound its way past the back mountain. Originally, there was a vine ladder to go down, used for distant viewing by the river. But clearly, after Song Fan and his people sent the two children down, they destroyed the vine ladder, creating a desperate situation where they were stranded on the cliff with no way up or down.

 

Seeing the situation clearly, Su Cen finally understood Song Fan’s purpose in repeatedly looking at the rain. With the heavy rainfall, the river water had risen dramatically, creating surging waves that crashed against the shore, with wave crests now just barely reaching the stone platform. Two small figures were curled up on the platform, sitting side by side, pressed tightly against the rock wall.

 

“Huzi! Er Ya!” Su Cen shouted down the cliff.

 

“Big brother!” After a good while, Huzi’s response came, his voice trembling with fear but also obvious joy.

 

Hearing the response, Su Cen felt slightly relieved—at least they were still alive.

 

“How is Er Ya?” Su Cen continued.

 

“Er Ya is crying,” Huzi’s tone also carried a hint of tears. “Big brother, what should we do?”

 

“Don’t be afraid. Take care of Er Ya. We’ll find a way to rescue you!” Su Cen turned back, “We need to find a way to save them.”

 

Liang Fang’s brows were tightly knit, “The question is, how do we rescue them?”

 

If the cliff had been straight up and down, it would have been manageable. But the section with the stone platform was concave, meaning that even if they lowered a rope, they couldn’t deliver it directly to the platform—there was a large gap in between.

 

Seeing the situation clearly, Su Cen couldn’t help but frown. Qu Ling’er, puzzled, asked, “Can’t someone just go down and bring the two children up?”

 

“The distance is too far, and the rope isn’t long enough—we’d have to tie multiple ropes together, and they can only support one person at a time,” Su Cen pressed his lips together. “One person can go down and exchange places with one child, but how does that person come back up?”

 

“The two children are light; one person could exchange for both children,” Qi Lin said.

 

Su Cen nodded, then continued, “Still the same question: how does the exchanged person come back up?”

 

Qu Ling’er asked, “What if one person goes down, brings one child up, then goes down again to bring the other child up?”

 

Su Cen pondered for a brief moment, his eyes focused. “I’m not sure if knotted ropes can support the weight of an adult and a child,” he paused and added, “But it seems like our only option right now.”

 

Time was of the essence. The rain continued to fall, and with each wave that struck, everyone’s hearts pounded with fear. Once the river water exceeded the height of the stone platform, with nothing to hold onto above, the two children could be washed away at any moment.

 

“I’ll go,” Uncle Cao tucked his pipe back at his waist. “I’ll bring the two children up.”

 

“You can’t,” Su Cen reached out to block Uncle Cao’s hand reaching for the rope. “I know what you’re thinking—one person exchanged for two children. That’s not how it works.”

 

“I’m an old man, near the end of my life,” Uncle Cao sighed. “Consider it my atonement.”

 

“Your crimes will be judged by the Great Zhou Law. No one has the right to interfere, not even you,” Su Cen grabbed the rope from the ground. “I’ll go.”

 

This caused an immediate stir among the crowd, with everyone almost in unison saying: “No way!”

 

“Let me go,” Liang Fang said. “I am the parent-official of Xuzhou and have a responsibility. If something happens to you, the Prince cannot hold me accountable.”

 

Su Cen shook his head: “This rope probably can’t support your weight plus a child’s.”

 

Lord Liang was strong and robust, being the largest in build among them, which indeed made him unsuitable.

 

“The two children saved my life, and I promised to look after them. Besides, I am the Imperial Envoy appointed by the Emperor. If anything goes wrong, I should be the first to take responsibility,” Su Cen tied the rope around his waist, thinking to himself that it was fortunate Li Shi hadn’t come—he held the highest official rank here, and sometimes having one person in charge had immediate effect.

 

His moment of self-satisfaction didn’t last long. He felt someone tap him from behind, and his body suddenly stiffened, unable to move.

 

Qu Ling’er emerged from behind him, calmly untied the rope and secured it around himself. Looking up with a smile, he said: “Brother Su, when I come back, could you please ask the Prince to stop making me eat cicadas?”

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