PCA Chapter 174

After autumn arrived, the nights were cool as water. Su Cen woke up in the middle of the night and habitually reached out beside him, his heart suddenly dropping—the space next to him was empty, and the bedding had been cold for quite a while.

 

Su Cen sat up in alarm, looking around, until he saw the silhouette outlined by moonlight at the desk. Only then did his heart settle somewhat, as if dropping into warm water. In the darkness, he traced that figure with his eyes again and again, until it was etched in his heart, imprinted in his mind, clear as if he were seeing it even with his eyes closed.

 

All along, he had been like a devout follower, chasing after this person, watching him, until one day he suddenly realized that the distance between them was getting closer and closer. Only when he slowed his steps did he understand—it wasn’t that he had walked too quickly, but that this person had been waiting for him all along.

 

Su Cen put on his clothes and got out of bed. Now he no longer needed to merely look and gaze; he could take a few steps forward, stand shoulder to shoulder with Li Shi, and with just a slight turn of his head, he could see him.

 

Drawing closer, he found Li Shi leaning lightly against his rosewood chair, one hand resting on his forehead. Though his eyes were closed as if resting, his brows were furrowed.

 

Only when Su Cen placed his hand on Li Shi’s did he slightly come back to himself, slowly opening his eyes, which reflected the stars and bright moon—lonely yet profound.

 

Li Shi’s voice carried three parts depth and seven parts richness as he asked: “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

 

“Am I no longer effective?” Su Cen frowned slightly, staring into those eyes and asking: “Are you still unable to sleep?”

 

Li Shi took Su Cen’s hand in his own, patting the back of it gently, “Not at all.”

 

“Then why are you…” Su Cen halted mid-sentence as Li Shi’s brow, which had just relaxed, furrowed again, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter. Su Cen leaned down, resting his chin on Li Shi’s shoulder, and asked softly: “What can I do for you?”

 

Li Shi released Su Cen’s hand, leaned against the chair back, and gently closed his eyes, saying: “Help me massage my head.”

 

Su Cen placed both hands on either side of Li Shi’s temples, applying moderate pressure to the acupuncture points. His fingertips carried a slight coolness, seemingly truly easing the throbbing pain in the skull. Li Shi’s brow relaxed, his eyes gently closed, as if he had truly fallen asleep.

 

Su Cen let his gaze linger shamelessly on Li Shi’s face. The Prince of Ning was not yet forty, and while time had settled into his bones and demeanor, it had left no traces on his surface. His face held a subdued radiance, with sharp features and deep eyes, only at the brow were there several heavy vertical lines—the result of frequent frowning.

 

Where did all these worries come from? How could they leave such axe-carved, knife-cut marks?

 

As if possessed, Su Cen moved his hand up, using his fingertips to press, vainly attempting to smooth out those lines.

 

But these marks had formed over years and years. How could he easily change them?

 

After massaging for a while longer, Su Cen bent down and whispered in Li Shi’s ear: “Let me call Qi Lin in.”

 

He was not medicine, after all. At most, he could delay the pain, but not eliminate its root.

 

Unusually, Li Shi did not refuse, nodding almost imperceptibly. Su Cen withdrew his hands, closed the door, and quietly withdrew.

 

Shortly after, Qi Lin entered. With practiced ease, he drew all the window gauze and bed curtains, lit the strongest calming incense, and only after seeing Li Shi truly fall asleep did he quietly close the door and leave.

 

When Qi Lin came out of the sleeping chamber, he discovered that Su Cen still hadn’t left. He was sitting on the dew-dampened steps before the door, his eyes staring blankly at the heavy night sky. The light in those eyes was gone, the wisdom was gone, like a child’s—full of bewilderment.

 

And fear.

 

Qi Lin stood beside him for quite a while without seeing Su Cen make any move to get up, as if he intended to sit there forever, waiting, keeping watch, until Li Shi came out.

 

The night was cold and foggy. Qi Lin went back to get a blanket and placed it around Su Cen’s shoulders. Seeing him still unmoved, Qi Lin could only say: “You don’t need to worry. It’s an old problem. It will get better after a while.”

 

Su Cen looked up at Qi Lin, nodded, then lowered his head again, saying: “I’m not tired. Don’t mind me. Let me sit here for a while.”

 

Qi Lin stood for a moment longer, then simply sat down beside him. He understood this feeling of confusion. Back then, he had stood night after night outside Ling’er’s door, waiting for him to escape danger, waiting for him to wake up, standing for entire nights. Knowing he was powerless, yet unwilling to give up, wanting to stand at the closest place to him, as if this could somehow share his suffering—self-deception but stubborn persistence.

 

“I’ve always slept well, yet I never noticed that he couldn’t sleep. He doesn’t tell me anything, while I tell him everything, yet he still keeps things from me.” Su Cen lowered his head, murmuring, seemingly speaking to either Qi Lin or himself. His hands were crossed together, his knuckles showing an icy pallor.

 

Qi Lin thought for a moment, then comforted him: “My lord probably doesn’t want you to worry.”

 

“But the more he keeps from me, the more I worry.” Su Cen suddenly raised his head to look at Qi Lin, his eyes momentarily brightening, like a solitary star in the darkness. He hesitated, about to speak, but ultimately withdrew, the light in his eyes gradually fading.

 

He remembered the last time he had forced the truth from Qi Lin, causing him to be beaten. Moreover, he already felt immensely guilty for using Qu Ling’er as leverage last time. This time, he had no bargaining chips and didn’t know how to broach the subject.

 

Yet Qi Lin spoke of his own accord, “Have you heard of the Battle of Surrender City?”

 

After a momentary pause, Su Cen nodded. Surrender City was located on the northern grasslands beyond the Great Wall, originally a solitary fortress. Initially, the young general Huo Qubing repeatedly ventured deep into the desert, greatly diminishing the Xiongnu’s fighting spirit. Later, after years of natural disasters, the Xiongnu finally could not hold on and sought peace with the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of Han sent people to build Surrender City on the northern grasslands to accept the Xiongnu’s surrender. As times changed and grassland tribes rose and fell, Surrender City continued to be used until the present day, becoming an outer defense line against the Turks, used to control military forces in the northern frontier and weaken the various Turkic tribes.

 

The Battle of Surrender City that Qi Lin mentioned was indeed led by Li Shi, breaking the alliance between various Turkic tribes in one battle. After that, the Turks never posed a significant threat again.

 

Su Cen asked in confusion: “But didn’t we win that battle?”

 

“Yes, we won,” Qi Lin smiled self-mockingly, “We won, Great Zhou won, but my lord lost.”

 

Qi Lin continued: “At that time, Emperor Taizong was critically ill and urgently summoned my lord back to the capital, but the sixteen Turkic tribes suddenly formed an alliance and launched a massive attack on Great Zhou’s borders. It was just after the new year, and the northern desert was still frozen. We were besieged in Surrender City for a whole month, without cotton clothes or blankets to keep warm, using only the strongest desert alcohol for warmth. It was my lord who remained vigilant day and night, leading us in a desperate defense, who preserved that defense line, saving the people of Great Zhou from calamity. After a month, reinforcements finally arrived, but by then, it had already been announced throughout the empire that Li Sun had ascended the throne, while my lord was left with injuries and illness.”

 

Su Cen sat frozen in place, unable to come back to himself for a long time. He had never seen a battlefield, didn’t know how cold the nights or how fierce the winds in the northern desert were, couldn’t imagine what freshly spilled blood looked like when it instantly froze, had no idea what the scene of horns blowing through connected camps in the deep night was like. After a long while, he finally murmured: “How could this happen?”

 

“That’s when my lord developed his headache condition. When exposed to cold, the ailment flares up, and he needs calming incense to sleep. But such things only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. They’re highly addictive, the dosage gradually increases, and after using them for a long time, one can’t do without them even normally.”

 

Su Cen nodded. No wonder Li Shi had that sandalwood scent about him year-round. No wonder charcoal fires were lit early in Xingqing Palace as soon as winter arrived. No wonder Li Shi said not to light incense when he was there…

 

So many details were clear before his eyes, yet he who could solve the most difficult cases in the world couldn’t see through the most obvious signs.

 

Su Cen raised his head in a daze, “What should I do?”

 

“Just continue to accompany him, stay by his side,” Qi Lin slowly stood up, shaking off the dew from his body, and added: “And, don’t let him worry about you.”

 

After Qi Lin left, Su Cen sat for a while longer before getting up. He glanced toward the sleeping chamber, then felt his way in the dark to find a place for himself to rest.

 

For several consecutive days, Su Cen would rush over after finishing his official duties, personally attending to the medicine, accommodating Li Shi’s every request at night, but would withdraw when it was time to sleep, lighting sandalwood incense for Li Shi before finding his own place to sleep.

 

Li Shi couldn’t help but tease that Minister Su was putting on quite a show, treating Xingqing Palace like a brothel—visiting for pleasure and then leaving, without any sentiment.

 

Su Cen gave him a cold glare, thinking to himself: who’s really being used here? Even brothels don’t offer this treatment—coming voluntarily, then having to dress and leave with trembling legs afterward. If this were truly a mutual exchange of flesh for money, he wouldn’t be serving like this.

 

After several days, Li Shi’s complexion indeed improved, which relieved Su Cen greatly. He thought to himself that he would first help Li Shi get through this bout of headaches, then gradually help him recover and wean him off the increasingly potent calming incense.

 

With his mind at ease on this front, Su Cen also made new progress on Tian Pingzhi’s case. During these quiet days, Su Cen carefully reconsidered what had happened. On the surface, all clues had been cut off, but in the process of destroying evidence, the culprit had inevitably left behind indelible traces.

 

A few days later, the three men gathered again in a private room at Shunfu Tower in the East Market. Su Cen hosted, ordering a table full of dishes to treat the two.

 

Ning Santong, gnawing on Shunfu Tower’s signature pork knuckle, looked up and asked: “Didn’t you say you would treat us to a meal after solving the case? Has the case been solved now? I haven’t heard anything.”

 

“The case isn’t solved yet,” Su Cen said, “but it soon will be.”

 

Feng Yiming held a bowl of snow frog hashima, quietly looking toward Su Cen, who smiled confidently and said: “I know where Tian Pingzhi’s body is.”

 

Author’s Note:

 

Thanks to Shunfu Tower’s crystal pork knuckle for the friendly sponsorship, accompanying us through so many chapters (I’m really too lazy to think of something new).

 

 

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 (advanced chapters available on kofi)