The court ministers’ legs went weak, their vision darkened, and they nearly fainted. From Prime Minister Liu to the former emperor, then to the descendant of Crown Prince Chongde, and now implicating the all-powerful Prince Ning—did Su Cen truly think one life wasn’t enough to squander?!
Only Li Sheng wore a strange smile as he observed with interest the upright figure before him.
The young emperor’s face had also turned pale as he asked tremblingly: “Su, Su Cen, didn’t you say earlier that the Surrender City incident was manipulated by someone, making Uncle a victim? How has he now become a murderer?”
Su Cen quietly looked up at those unfathomably deep eyes, which remained calm and untroubled, as if he had long understood everything.
Su Cen spoke clearly in the court hall: “Your Highness was indeed unaware of Tian Pingzhi’s death, but one of his decisions ultimately led to this tragedy.”
“According to Prime Minister Liu’s testimony, Tian Pingzhi had a period when he ‘stopped studying’ before the examination, which coincided exactly with when the former emperor’s eunuch Little Six first approached Liu Cheng about killing Tian Pingzhi. So I deduce that Tian Pingzhi must have recognized the former emperor. Being so intelligent, he could infer the general situation from just a few words—that the throne was more important than the lives of border civilians, that succession struggles were more important than one’s own blood brothers. He lost faith in this court, which is why he decided to stop studying and not take the examination. He didn’t know this action actually saved his life. A person who had abandoned the examination and spent his days drinking heavily posed no threat to them. The former emperor was not bloodthirsty by nature, so he should have already wavered in his intention to kill Tian Pingzhi. That’s why Prime Minister Liu never saw that eunuch again afterward and didn’t take it seriously, treating it as a joke.”
Su Cen paused briefly, then continued: “If things had continued this way, Tian Pingzhi might not have died. But just then, news reached the capital—the Prince had resolutely disobeyed the imperial edict to remain at Surrender City, standing with the border people. To others, hearing this news might only inspire praise for the Prince’s love for his people like his own children, but Tian Pingzhi knew what the Prince had truly sacrificed by staying. He was overjoyed—happy that there were still clear-minded people in the court, happy that this trip hadn’t been in vain. He had finally found a worthy master to serve, which is why he resumed his studies and continued preparing for the examination.”
“I’ve seen Tian Pingzhi’s unfinished examination paper from that year, which was vastly different from his usual style. It discussed how to resolve the problems of regional military governors dividing territories and border generals amassing private armies—precisely the issues the Prince urgently needed to address after years of guarding the frontier. Among other essays discussing governance policies and praising administrative clarity, his essay’s intention to choose a master was obvious.”
“But he ultimately couldn’t wait for the Prince to return.”
Su Cen lowered his eyes gently: “So I say the Prince is the fifth murderer of Tian Pingzhi. It was precisely because the Prince’s noble character inspired his admiration that he chose righteousness over life, sacrificing himself for justice. I believe Tian Pingzhi had no regrets.”
Su Cen finally finished his lengthy speech and breathed a slight sigh of relief, quietly waiting for everyone to digest the information.
Li Shi gently rubbed his thumb ring with one hand. When he had resolutely retreated to defend Surrender City that year, he had protected the people behind him, but he hadn’t known that someone in distant Chang’an had died because of him. He deserved to be called this “murderer.” If Tian Pingzhi could have lived until now, he would surely have been a rare talent capable of stabilizing the nation.
With the important figures remaining silent, no one else dared speak. The court hall fell quiet for a moment, the atmosphere eerily frightening.
Suddenly, the great doors of the hall were pushed open from outside. Everyone turned to look and saw a person dressed in magnificent robes and phoenix crown, followed by a group of armed guards. After flooding in en masse, they tightly barred the hall doors, trapping this group of people inside the hall.
Li Shi frowned slightly as Empress Dowager Chu stepped forward to stand before the hall, sweeping her sleeves: “Audacious Su Cen, how dare you spread lies here to slander the former emperor, attempting to shake the foundation of the state! Your crime deserves death!”
The ministers in the court were all stunned. Looking at the surrounding situation, they suddenly understood.
No one who witnessed what happened in this hall today would leave alive.
First, one person knelt and said: “Su Cen has fabricated imperial family affairs in the court hall, fooling His Majesty with malicious intent. Such a villain should be beheaded as a public example. Please, Your Majesty, issue the decree to appease public anger!”
Seeing someone take the lead, the court officials knelt and kowtowed in unison: “Please, Your Majesty, behead Su Cen to appease public anger!”
Under pressure from the ministers, the young emperor looked at Li Shi with some difficulty, seeing his eyes narrowed slightly with a frighteningly cold gaze.
Empress Dowager Chu was fairly satisfied with this scene, but catching sight of Li Shi still made her grit her teeth in hatred. This person had used the marital bond between her and the former emperor to approach her, but only acted for his own convenience, never truly helping her consolidate imperial power. She mentally noted this account for later, then turned to look at Su Cen: “Su Cen, do you confess your guilt?”
Su Cen stood upright among the group of kneeling, bowing ministers, like a crane among chickens, frank and proud.
Looking around, in this hall, besides Empress Dowager Chu and Li Shi, only Zheng Yang and Zhang Jun were still standing. Cui Hao, after struggling, broke free from the guards and also stood up. Li Shi watched him quietly, the young emperor was torn with difficulty, somewhat hesitant to speak.
These people were his close friends, the superior who always covered for him, the sovereign he swore to serve loyally, and the person to whom he had given his heart.
Having these people stand with him left him without regrets.
He had actually guessed today’s outcome long ago. This speech might not spread very far—it was too bloody, too alarmist, concerning court stability and the Great Zhou’s national fortune. Whether to make all this public or give him the charge of deceiving the world with false words, anyone could weigh which was more important.
Kill one person to stabilize the realm—from the big picture, Empress Dowager Chu wasn’t wrong, and these ministers weren’t wrong either. He just wanted to fight a little more, not for himself but to give Liu Cheng and Tian Pingzhi an explanation.
A clear voice rang out in the great hall: “This subject knows not what crime I have committed?”
Empress Dowager Chu snorted coldly: “With so many people kneeling here requesting a decree, could they be wronging you?”
Su Cen replied with clear articulation: “As an official of the Dali Temple, investigating the truth is my duty. To exhaust oneself is called loyalty, to extend oneself is called forgiveness. I don’t see where I went wrong. But speaking of confessing guilt, I’d like to ask—what crime did Tian Pingzhi commit? What crime did Liu Cheng commit? Why should they become sacrificial victims of imperial power? Is the imperial family’s face important while commoners’ lives are not?”
“Audacious Su Cen, you still dare to speak wildly in the hall!” A gray-haired old minister straightened up and shouted angrily, then bowed down again: “If Your Majesty does not punish this person, this subject is willing to kneel here without rising!”
The ministers bowed again and repeated: “We subjects are willing to kneel without rising!”
Empress Dowager Chu turned back to look at the young emperor in the hall: “What is Your Majesty still waiting for? Why haven’t you issued the decree?”
The young emperor’s small face was tightly furrowed as he said quietly: “But I also think Su Cen did nothing wrong.”
Empress Dowager Chu gritted her teeth in frustration—indeed, sons shouldn’t be raised by others. In a moment of inattention, he had already become disobedient.
Looking at the young emperor’s troubled expression, Empress Dowager Chu’s gaze softened somewhat, and she continued persuasively: “This isn’t a matter of who’s right or wrong, but rather that if Su Cen doesn’t die, it will be difficult to appease public anger and calm the hearts of the people. Do you want the empire or Su Cen? Can’t you weigh this clearly?”
“Since when has our Great Zhou empire needed to rely on silencing people through murder to maintain stability?” A voice came from beside the imperial desk, rich and resonant, like lingering music that echoed long after.
Prince Ning, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke. The great hall fell quiet for a moment, and the ministers exchanged glances before crying out in unison: “We beseech Your Highness to consider the greater good—kill Su Cen to pacify the people’s hearts!”
Li Shi walked down from the great hall with his hands behind his back, swept his gaze over the ministers kneeling all over the floor, and laughed coldly: “Strength in numbers? You needn’t threaten me with death here. Your few lives aren’t worth much anyway.”
The autumn chill had deepened, and the bluestone slabs in the great hall were bone-chillingly cold, emanating an eerie coldness from below. Several elderly and frail figures were already swaying unsteadily. Yet Li Shi seemed to deliberately leave them there, calmly looking down at them without saying a word, making them feel as if thorns were on their backs, breaking out in cold sweat from fear.
Empress Dowager Chu could bear it no longer and sternly demanded: “Are you truly willing to destroy the Great Zhou empire for such a little plaything?!”
Li Shi gently shook his head: “The fault doesn’t lie with him. The Great Zhou is at fault. The mistakes of a dynasty shouldn’t be borne by him.”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone stood frozen in place. Since ancient times, which ruler hadn’t pursued great achievements and eternal fame? Who would dare to publicly say “we were wrong”? After all, no one wanted to be recorded in history books and despised by posterity. Even the brilliant Emperor Taizong had used iron-fisted methods to slaughter half the court to silence whispers. The imperial path was originally strewn with bones and rivers of blood, yet Li Shi openly declared “the Great Zhou was wrong”?
Even Su Cen was stunned in place. He had maintained his composure all day, but in this instant, his eyes suddenly stung.
Li Shi had once said these words to him, but he never expected Li Shi would say the same thing in front of the young emperor, Empress Dowager Chu, and his entire court of ministers.
He had thought Li Shi was merely comforting and appeasing him, forgetting that Li Shi had never broken a promise he made to him.
Su Cen suddenly felt at peace. He had done his utmost, exhausted his strength here, and owed no one anything. He could die without regrets.
But in the end, he wanted to do one more thing for Li Shi.
Those knees that would rather break than bend finally knelt down: “I confess my guilt.”
“Because I abandoned my post without permission and failed in my duties and oversight, allowing villains to break into the prison and causing Prime Minister Liu to die with grievances unredressed—this is my first crime. Prying into palace secrets and making imperial family matters public without authorization, showing clear disrespect—this is my second crime. As a subject, showing no gratitude for imperial grace and causing discord between ruler and minister through my revelations, destabilizing the state—this is my third crime. I acknowledge all three of these grave offenses, but I’m not fabricating stories. Tian Pingzhi didn’t die suddenly, and Prime Minister Liu wasn’t a treacherous minister. I only ask that these two men’s names be cleared. Su Cen is willing to die in atonement.”
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