PCA Chapter 161

Su Cen’s body visibly stiffened for a moment. Without even looking back, he threw away the teapot in his hand and ran.

 

But how could he be a match for these Secret Door experts? Before he could run out of the door, he was subdued and pinned to the ground, face down, with a mouthful of dust.

 

Su Cen struggled desperately until a pair of gold-threaded embroidered brocade boots appeared before his eyes. Su Cen looked up to see a person in dark attire, narrow-sleeved long robe, and a cloud-patterned wide belt. When he saw those eyes, Su Cen was completely stunned.

 

At first glance… they were too similar.

 

These eyes, sharp and profound, soul-capturing, unfathomable, looked exactly like Li Shi’s eyes!

 

But at second glance, they seemed different. Li Shi’s eyes had a contained brilliance, while these eyes contained only isolation and ruthlessness.

 

Instinct told him that this person was very dangerous.

 

When he first saw Li Shi, he had also felt that Li Shi was dangerous, but Li Shi’s danger lay in constantly attracting him closer, making him unable to extricate himself. This person’s danger, however, was in his oppressiveness, making one wish to stay ten thousand miles away.

 

The person laughed lightly, “Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple, Lord Su Cen, truly an honored guest.”

 

Su Cen looked up at that face as memories came flooding back, “I’ve seen you before.”

 

“Oh?” The person raised an eyebrow, “Where have you seen me?”

 

“In Chang’an, at the examination hall…” Su Cen pressed his lips tightly, “The person who wanted to kill me at the entrance of the examination hall back then was you!”

 

Su Cen swallowed, as if reliving that night when his throat was constricted, unable to breathe, his life hanging by a thread. In the end, that person didn’t kill him, but when he met those eyes, the grief in his heart was more painful than being on the verge of death.

 

At that time, he wasn’t yet familiar with Li Shi, yet based on those eyes, he questioned Li Shi about why he didn’t understand the suffering of the people or the depth of father-son relationships. No wonder Li Shi was angry then; if he were in Li Shi’s position, having someone else’s crimes forced upon him, his reaction would probably have been even more intense.

 

“Not just at the examination hall,” the person squatted down, gripping Su Cen’s chin and lifting him up, “In Xiao Yan’s camp, on the flower boat in Yangzhou, among the ranks during the Heaven Sacrifice ceremony, I’ve witnessed Lord Su’s brilliance. I could say I’ve… admired you for a long time.”

 

Su Cen was alarmed, thinking that his every move had been observed by someone with ulterior motives, and he couldn’t help but feel a chill to his bones.

 

“Why didn’t you kill me?” He had disrupted so many of the Secret Door’s plans; for this Gate Master to spare him until now couldn’t be called magnanimity, but rather suggested ulterior motives.

 

“I don’t kill you because I know you are Li Shi’s man,” the person smiled slightly, “In fact, I want to take everything that belongs to Li Shi.”

 

Su Cen felt that this Secret Door Gate Master must have dreamed of being emperor for too long, repeatedly failing to attain it, and had developed hysteria.

 

Otherwise, who would capture a prisoner, neither killing nor beating them, but instead having them stand aside watching them eat?

 

A table full of delicacies, yet only one person was seated. As the servants were serving food, he asked Su Cen: “How do you usually serve him? Eating? Sleeping? Drinking tea? Playing chess?”

 

Su Cen wasn’t sure what this person wanted, so he remained silent.

 

The person suddenly waved his hand, instructing the serving maid: “You may go.”

 

He turned to look at Su Cen: “You come.”

 

Su Cen was startled and was immediately pushed forward by the person in black behind him. The chains on his hands and feet rattled as he collided with the table full of exquisite delicacies. Su Cen frowned slightly, thinking that a hero doesn’t take immediate losses, and took the jade plate with one hand and the jade chopsticks from the maid with the other.

 

Who knew what this person wanted to eat? Su Cen picked a few dishes that were nearby, both out of laziness to reach and because he couldn’t reach further. The heavy iron chains on his hands made his wrists ache. If he accidentally broke something, who knew how this person would find new ways to torment him.

 

As Su Cen was serving the food, the person asked again: “How does the food here compare to that at his Xingqing Palace?”

 

Steamed bear paw, jade-colored shark fin, amber pigeon eggs, phoenix nest – naturally all first-class dishes. But Su Cen said: “The Prince eats vegetarian food for dinner.”

 

The person frowned, and the next moment, there was a loud crash as the table along with all the food on it was overturned.

 

Su Cen stood frozen, chopsticks still in hand, as a table of untouched delicacies was now overturned on the floor, dishes and cups in disarray, juices flowing everywhere.

 

Still hungry, Su Cen was incredulous at such waste. He turned his head in disbelief: “What are you trying to do?!”

 

The person calmly wiped his hands, “Send for a table of vegetarian dishes.”

 

The servants around dared not make a sound, silently cleaning up and withdrawing.

 

Su Cen wanted to shout “Are you sick?” but being under someone else’s roof, he could only grit his teeth and complain: “Why must you compare yourself to him?”

 

“Do you also address him as ‘you’ to his face?”

 

“…” Su Cen suppressed his anger. “Then what do you want to hear? Gate Master? Master Lu? Or… Your Majesty?”

 

“Heh,” the person chuckled softly, “Truly interesting. No wonder he likes you so much. Listen carefully, my surname is Lu, with a single character Xun. Since you call him ‘Prince,’ you can also call me ‘Prince’.”

 

“In your dreams!” Su Cen said to himself. Since saying more would only lead to more mistakes, he decided to stay silent.

 

When a table of vegetarian dishes was brought up, Su Cen picked up the bowls and plates without a word, served the dishes, then stepped back, turning himself into a wooden post, no longer engaging in conversation.

 

Eating and sleeping meant exactly that – eating and sleeping. After the meal, Lu Xun directly took Su Cen back to the sleeping palace.

 

Su Cen thought to himself that if this person dared to make any advances, he would bash his head against the bedpost and die. Fortunately, Lu Xun didn’t seem to have such inclinations. After having Su Cen help him change clothes, he got onto the bed himself, showing no further interest in interaction.

 

Su Cen had been to this sleeping palace before and knew there wasn’t a second bed for him to sleep on, so he asked: “What about me?”

 

“You?” Lu Xun finally realized there was still someone else here. “Keep watch tonight.”

 

Su Cen frowned: “Without eating or sleeping, I’ll die.”

 

“How could I bear to let you die?” Lu Xun smiled lightly. “Even if I could bear it, someone else couldn’t.”

 

Before Su Cen could figure out what this meant, Lu Xun flicked his fingers, extinguishing the candle, and the room instantly darkened.

 

There was no point in talking more with such a person. Su Cen felt his way to a corner in the dark and barely settled himself. The blue stone bricks on the floor were cold and hard; after lying down for just a short while, his whole body ached.

 

Su Cen couldn’t sleep for a while, so he opened his eyes to survey the room’s furnishings, looking for a suitable weapon so he could assassinate the person while they were in deep sleep.

 

Just as his gaze shifted, he heard an icy voice: “Don’t bother looking. Even if I gave you a long sword, you couldn’t get close to me.”

 

What dog ears, able to hear even his thoughts. Su Cen reluctantly closed his eyes, then unwillingly cursed in his mind.

 

Sure enough, he didn’t sleep well the next day, with two obvious dark circles under his eyes, a dull headache, aches all over his body, and he nearly caught a cold.

 

Due to his lack of proper sleep, Su Cen was so dazed while serving breakfast to Lu Xun that he accidentally added an extra spoonful of sauce, nearly getting his wrist dislocated as a result.

 

Lu Xun, however, was in good spirits. After the meal, he invited Su Cen to play chess. Just as they were setting up the board, someone reported that the old man from the village entrance was requesting an audience.

 

“Refuse him,” Lu Xun said with a slight smile, glancing at Su Cen. “Since he’s already delivered this person to me, how could I have any reason to return him? Tell him his gift is appreciated, and I’ve accepted it.”

 

“It’s not his fault,” Su Cen said quickly, fearing Lu Xun might take out his anger on the old man. “I forced him to help me.”

 

“You’d better worry about yourself,” Lu Xun took out six liubo rods from a box. “I heard you defeated White Stake single-handedly?”

 

Su Cen looked at the white-clothed man standing behind Lu Xun and didn’t bother being modest, “You’re too kind.”

 

White Stake was humiliated and angry, “Gate Master, let me play another round with him!”

 

Lu Xun raised his hand slightly, and White Stake immediately fell silent, reluctantly retreating.

 

Lu Xun said: “Let’s add a stake to our game. If you win, you can make any request within this mansion. If you lose, you’ll curse ‘Li Shi is a bastard’.”

 

Su Cen’s eyes brightened. This deal seemed advantageous—if he lost, he had nothing to lose; if he won, he could make a request. After all, Prince Ning was thousands of miles away and wouldn’t lose any flesh over a few rude words. Su Cen’s most urgent needs were to have a good meal and to have his shackles removed. With strength and no restraints, escape would be more feasible.

 

Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Su Cen was utterly defeated.

 

The second game took only half that time.

 

After several rounds, Su Cen faced reality. This person’s skill level was comparable to the old man at the village entrance, perhaps even better. Playing against Lu Xun, Su Cen was as clumsy as a child learning to walk, immediately collapsing like a mountain of troops in disarray.

 

Trying to defeat Lu Xun in liubo chess seemed less likely than scaling the ten-foot-high wall surrounding the mansion.

 

After several games and countless utterances of “Li Shi is a bastard,” Su Cen was feeling increasingly uncomfortable. He threw down the chess pieces and said, “I’m done playing.”

 

Unusually, Lu Xun wasn’t angry. He set up the pieces in Su Cen’s position and began playing against himself, casting the rods for both sides.

 

With nothing else to do, Su Cen watched for a while and was astonished. The situation between the two sides was intense, with troops advancing in formation, deploying with incredible strategy. Watching this chess match was like witnessing a battle, with banners unfurled and war drums beating as if right before his eyes.

 

So this person had been holding back all along.

 

“Do you know why you can’t win?” Lu Xun asked while playing. “You rely too much on your mastery of the ‘five whites’ and ‘one white.’ But how can there be fixed patterns in the world’s chess games? In ‘boyi,’ ‘bo’ and ‘yi’ are completely different things. ‘Yi’ still depends on skill, but ‘bo’ emphasizes adaptability. Leaving things to fate, defying destiny, following the timing of heaven, seeking advantage while avoiding harm—as they say, ‘The law has fixed theories, but troops have no permanent form.’ Only by finding a way to survive in any situation can one achieve victory. White Stake didn’t know which combination you would choose, allowing you to trick him. But even if he were playing now, he could defeat you.”

 

Su Cen couldn’t refute this. Previously, he had relied on the opponent not knowing his true ability and had played a small trick. His chess skills were merely theoretical and couldn’t withstand scrutiny.

 

Su Cen looked at the person enthusiastically playing against himself and said softly: “You remind me of someone I know.”

 

Lu Xun raised an eyebrow to indicate he was listening.

 

“Song Fan, or perhaps Lu Fan? Or something else. He also likes games with a gambling element.” Su Cen frowned, remembering his drinking bet with Song Fan. “Though his stakes were much higher.”

 

As the chess game approached its conclusion, with the white piece returning with a fish in its mouth, Lu Xun smiled lightly, “My unworthy son, please bear with him.”

 

 

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