PCA CHAPTER 165

Li Shi quickly helped the man up, “Lord Chen, there’s no need for such ceremony.”

 

The villagers who saw the old man seemed to find a backbone, gathering around and calling him “Lord” several times. Only Su Cen remained stunned, standing in place, staring at the person before him.

 

Everyone knew this was Lord Chen, but only Su Cen had been kept in the dark. He had previously shown off in front of this person without knowing better, and now felt like burying himself from embarrassment.

 

Su Cen asked in disbelief: “You really are… Lord Chen?”

 

The old man smiled: “What, are you disappointed?”

 

“How are you here? How could… how could it be like this? Lu Family Village, Lu Xiaoliu, ‘Chen’s Criminal Law’ was actually like this…” Su Cen spoke somewhat incoherently, asking questions while gradually understanding in his heart.

 

Of course he should be here, it should be this way. Lord Chen Guanglu had solved countless cases in his lifetime, was born in cases, grew up in cases, and in the end had merged himself into cases.

 

“Alright, whatever you want to say can wait,” Chen Guanglu patted Su Cen’s shoulder. “The urgent matter now is to get out of here quickly.”

 

If the village was a massive chess board, only Chen Guanglu could lead them out from under Lu Xun’s hand.

 

Chen Guanglu walked in front, holding his pipe, winding through the village several times. Notably, the coffins they passed remained quiet, with no one jumping out.

 

The villagers followed Chen Guanglu. Though he was just an old man with a somewhat hunched back, they felt more secure than when following the valiant Tuduo Three Guards.

 

When everyone emerged from the strange village, a narrow path connected to a thatched cottage not far away. Backed by Mount Meng, with chickens and ducks in front of the door, everyone felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

 

“I’ve already checked when I came – the way out of the village is blocked,” Chen Guanglu walked in front with Li Shi, hands behind his back as he talked. “It’s not realistic for us to force our way out; we’ll have to rely on the reinforcements brought by that young brother.”

 

Li Shi turned the thumb ring on his hand: “The imperial troops coming from Xuzhou will arrive tomorrow at the earliest. Tonight will be a hard battle; the other side will definitely use every method to keep us here.”

 

Chen Guanglu said: “My humble abode has no other advantages except that it’s built on bedrock, so there are definitely no secret passages underneath. If they want to approach, they can only come by this one path.”

 

Chen Guanglu’s house was located at the foot of the mountain, overlooking the entire village. The small path up the mountain was lined with rocks on both sides, making it impassable except for the path itself, forming a natural barrier. As long as the Tuduo Three Guards held this path, one man could hold off ten thousand, and the Secret Door people couldn’t get close.

 

The two men exchanged a glance, and Li Shi smiled meaningfully: “You’ve been preparing for this day for quite some time, haven’t you?”

 

Chen Guanglu gave a slight bow: “Now we rely on the Prince.”

 

By the time they reached the house and settled the villagers, it was already dark. Chen Guanglu cleaned out his main hall for Li Shi to use as a temporary military headquarters for deploying troops and strategizing. Li Shi made the most of every member of the Tuduo Three Guards; twenty-odd men were worth a hundred-man troop.

 

Originally they needed someone to relay battle reports back and forth, which would mean losing one more fighter. Unexpectedly, the villagers of Lu Family Village volunteered. They might not be able to fight on the front lines, but they could handle small tasks and miscellaneous duties without hesitation. They must have understood that if not for concern about them, these skilled warriors might have been able to fight their way out. Since these people, like Lord Chen, were protecting them, they naturally didn’t want to be a burden.

 

Moreover, they had been suppressed for too long, living in fear without seeing daylight, unable to establish a name in life or have a tombstone in death, carrying heavy shackles. Now that they finally had a chance to break these shackles, they naturally wanted to give their all.

 

As night fell, the first sharp clash of weapons erupted outside the house. It was like a stone thrown into the sea, instantly creating ripples. Battle cries rose, and swords fell like rain. Even those inside the room instantly smelled the strong scent of blood.

 

At this time, inside the room, apart from Li Shi who was constantly monitoring the situation outside and occasionally giving instructions to villagers who came to report, the remaining two people sat facing each other in silence by a dim lamp for half an hour.

 

Finally, Chen Guanglu was the first to yield, looking at Su Cen with a smile: “Alright, my young friend Su, ask whatever you want to ask.”

 

Su Cen’s eyes brightened, and he rubbed his hands somewhat excitedly: “I’ve reviewed all the cases you’ve handled over the years and have also studied ‘Chen’s Criminal Law,’ which was compiled based on cases you solved. I greatly admire and respect you. I once tried to inquire about your whereabouts, but Lord Zhang didn’t tell me. I never expected to meet you here. I’m really excited and can’t contain myself. Please don’t take offense.”

 

Li Shi, sitting to the side, frowned slightly. This little rascal had never been so excited to see him, so it seemed that in the end, he couldn’t compare to an old man?

 

Chen Guanglu smiled and nodded: “There’s no offense to take. You’re quite an interesting young man. I haven’t seen someone like you in many years.”

 

Su Cen remembered his previous suspicions and probing, and smiled sheepishly: “I must seem amusing to Lord Chen.”

 

After that, he became serious and asked: “Do you remember Tian Pingzhi from back then?”

 

Chen Guanglu narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking to himself: “This young man is truly formidable, instantly pointing out the key issue. The origin of this series of cases was indeed that scholar named Tian Pingzhi.”

 

“In the spring of the 22nd year of Yonglong, coinciding with the triennial imperial examinations, a large number of scholars flooded into the capital. Before the metropolitan examination even began, they had already competed with each other privately,” Chen Guanglu recalled the grand spectacle of the capital back then, where scholars from various schools gathered. White-robed scholars could be seen everywhere in teahouses and taverns, competing in poetry. After listening for a while, even street children could recite a verse or two.

 

“At that time, two people were particularly prominent. One was a realist, whose words always concerned the hardships of the common people and the welfare of the state—truly potential pillar material. This person later lived up to expectations, eventually becoming the Prime Minister, today’s Prime Minister Liu Cheng.” Chen Guanglu paused, then continued: “The other person was romantic by nature, somewhat unrestrained, and his works were all beautiful pieces celebrating mountains and rivers—open, grand, and elegant. This person was Tian Pingzhi. Among the scholars at that time, it was widely believed that of the top three positions, the first two would definitely be taken by these two, with the rest competing for the third position.”

 

Su Cen: “Did these two people resent each other’s talents, not getting along?”

 

Chen Guanglu shook his head, “On the contrary, Liu Cheng and Tian Pingzhi had a rare friendship of mutual appreciation. They often ate and slept together, discussing literature through the night. At that time, people jokingly referred to them as ‘phoenix pair singing in harmony.'”

 

“‘All sounds harmonize to startle the phoenix pendant, the thoroughfare of nine provinces descends from heaven,'” Su Cen couldn’t help thinking of the two lines he heard during a poetry contest in a small thatched hut when passing through Bianzhou on his way to Yangzhou. Liu Cheng’s courtesy name was Zhongpei, and ‘heaven’ (tian) shared a character with ‘Tian’ in Tian Pingzhi’s name. This verse, while ostensibly describing the magnificent Yellow River entering Bianzhou, actually alluded to the two men. The word ‘phoenix’ seemed to confirm that nickname. If the poem was truly by Tian Pingzhi, the two men’s relationship might have been more than just mutual appreciation.

 

Yet Liu Cheng claimed he didn’t know Tian Pingzhi…

 

“No one expected that the brilliant top candidate would die in the examination hall,” Chen Guanglu sighed deeply. “Later, Tian Pingzhi’s father approached me, wanting me to investigate the true cause of his son’s death. I took over the case in March, more than a month after the incident, but fortunately, the climate was still cold, and the body, buried in frozen soil, was relatively intact when exhumed. The coroner for this case was requisitioned from Wannian County, surnamed Wu, who had genuine expertise. Through extensive investigation and verification, it was discovered that Tian Pingzhi had suffered from asthma in life, and hazelnut powder was found in his stomach residue.”

 

“Poisoned?!” Su Cen was shocked but thought carefully with furrowed brows. “During the three-day metropolitan examination, candidates brought their own food. This means Tian Pingzhi was targeted before entering the examination hall. Whoever tampered with his food must have been close to him. Old Master Tian had accompanied his son to the capital for the examination, and the food Tian Pingzhi brought was likely prepared by him. But he couldn’t have been unaware that his son had suffered from asthma since childhood, and he wouldn’t harm his own son. Apart from Old Master Tian, the person close to Tian Pingzhi… was only Liu Cheng.”

 

Chen Guanglu nodded appreciatively, “That’s what we thought at the time too. But just as we were investigating Liu Cheng, he was appointed as the top scholar. Later, Emperor Taizong passed away, and the former emperor ascended the throne. Liu Cheng, as a scholar of the emperor, gained the former emperor’s high regard, serving in the Secretariat as a Drafter, and became quite prominent, making the investigation much more difficult.”

 

Su Cen frowned in thought for a while, then said: “But I still don’t understand. If it was just a competition for the top position, Liu Cheng and Tian Pingzhi were equally talented. One being first and the other second was practically assured. And they were friends. Why would Liu Cheng kill for this reason?”

 

“The young are teachable,” Chen Guanglu smiled. “We were also puzzled by this point at the time. When something is abnormal, there must be something behind it. After meticulous investigation, we discovered that there was someone behind Liu Cheng.”

 

Su Cen: “The Secret Door?”

 

Chen Guanglu nodded, “With the former emperor backing Liu Cheng, we couldn’t touch him for the time being, so we had to shift our focus to the Secret Door. Later finding Lu Family Village, supposedly pursuing Lu Xiaoliu, was more like following the Secret Door.”

 

“My student Zhang Jun and I entered Lu Family Village under the pretext of investigating Lu Xiaoliu’s death. The day after we arrived, a hunter surrendered himself to me, claiming he had killed Lu Xiaoliu because Lu had harassed his daughter while drunk. But the hunter’s demeanor was constrained, clearly under coercion. When we went to look for Lu Xiaoliu’s body, it had disappeared.”

 

Chen Guanglu’s brows gradually furrowed, “After that, the village became terrifying. Groups of people continued to enter, but villagers couldn’t leave. People in the village kept dying, often an entire family would disappear overnight, yet no bodies could be found. By the time I discovered the village was controlled by the Secret Door and wanted to leave to seek help, I too couldn’t get out anymore.”

 

“At that time, the village head of Lu Family Village was named Lu Xun, who was highly respected in the village. It was he who rallied a group of villagers to send me out at the cost of their lives.”

 

“Lu Xun?” Su Cen frowned. “But that Secret Door Gate Master said he was Lu Xun?”

 

“What kind of Lu Xun is he? Is he worthy? He merely sullies the name!” Chen Guanglu, rarely angered, smoothed his chest in indignation. “I promised Lu Xun at that time that I would definitely return. After returning to the capital, I immediately reported to the court, asking the former emperor to dispatch troops to suppress these rebels. However, alas…” The old man’s knuckles suddenly trembled slightly, his eyes showing a mix of helplessness and anger. “Alas, the former emperor said he had received a report from Chuanling County just the day before, stating that everything there was peaceful and in order, suggesting that I was old and my eyesight was failing!”

 

Su Cen looked at the now white-haired, weathered old man, feeling a pang of pain in his heart. He too had gone to great lengths for a single life; they were both people who regarded human life as paramount, so he understood that sense of helplessness, fear, and despair when powerless.

 

“Later, I was promoted to Minister of the Dali Temple. The former emperor asked me to revise the legal codes since the Wude era, determined to keep me in the capital. I spent two years revising the ‘Great Zhou Law,’ working day and night without rest. On the day I presented the ‘Great Zhou Law,’ I also resigned from office and came here.”

 

After that, Su Cen understood what happened. Over the past two years, the Secret Door had completely taken control of Lu Family Village, slaughtering more than half of the villagers. Lord Chen had single-handedly protected the remaining people, fulfilling his promise from that day.

 

He had come back.

 

 

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