PCA Chapter 89

“My Lord, you’re truly brilliant. We found the deceased’s identity based on the jade pendant you provided and the range you specified. Otherwise, we might have wasted a lot of time. You found the source of the corpse in less than a day. No wonder they say you’re the most capable person in the Dali Temple after Lord Chen. If it weren’t for you, our Great Zhou would have several more unsolved major cases…”

 

The speaker was a scribe from the Dali Temple, who had been praising Su Cen profusely along the way, offering various flattering remarks. Su Cen, with a headache from all this early morning noise, frowned and interrupted, “Get to the point.”

 

The scribe, realizing his flattery had backfired, twitched his mouth and spoke plainly: “The deceased is named Xu Youhuai, aged 33, living in Shunyi Alley, Yankang Ward. He has one principal wife, two concubines, and two sons. Xu Youhuai was an antique dealer, traveling north and south to collect calligraphy, paintings, and antiques. He had a shop in the West Market called Cuiji Pavilion. However, I heard his reputation wasn’t good. He often passed off inferior goods as genuine, deceiving people. Those familiar with his nature in the capital were fine, but foreign and overseas merchants who didn’t know the situation were often tricked by him. My Lord, do you think someone might have bought a fake from him, and in anger and shame, killed him?”

 

Clearly, after a night, some had realized that the deceased was not an assassin but a victim. Moreover, Xu Youhuai’s relatives and property were all in the capital, with no signs of relocation, which confirmed this point. Su Cen asked, “If you were cheated by him, would you kill him in front of everyone on the day of the heaven worship ceremony?”

 

The scribe, having some sense, shook his head after thinking. Causing such a commotion over killing someone – wouldn’t that make it easier to get caught?

 

The scribe thought again and said, “Could it have been an accident? No one wanted to kill him, and Xu Youhuai just accidentally set himself on fire?”

 

Su Cen replied coolly, “Why don’t you try setting yourself on fire and see?”

 

The scribe felt discouraged. This Lord Su was now in Prince Ning’s favor. During the Yangzhou case, he had helped Prince Ning abolish the salt monopoly decree. Now even Zhang Jun in the Dali Temple had to show him respect. The scribe had hoped to impress Lord Su, thinking he might be promoted to become an attendant or something in the future. Now it seemed Lord Su had no good impression of him, and even showed some disdain.

 

Perhaps it was because he was too stupid.

 

Yankang Ward was located west of Vermilion Bird Street, close to the Western Market, and was mostly inhabited by merchants. As soon as Su Cen entered Yankang Ward, he heard wailing and mourning coming from a house nearby. Because the suspicion of assassination hadn’t been ruled out, there were guards posted outside the house, making it easy to identify.

 

Su Cen asked the guard outside, “Is this the right house?”

 

The guard nodded, “You’re not mistaken, My Lord. The master of this house didn’t return last night. This morning, their servant saw the notice on the street and reported it. We’ve shown them the jade pendant, and it’s indeed the one their master always wore.”

 

Su Cen nodded and entered the house, facing the wailing inside. In the main hall, he saw a woman kneeling, wearing mourning clothes, leading the family in loud lamentations.

 

Seeing Su Cen enter, the woman immediately came forward. After considering Su Cen and the scribe beside him for a moment, she fell to her knees in front of the scribe, clutching his legs, “My Lord, you must seek justice for my husband! He was certainly not an assassin. His death was unjust! We have elders and children in this family. How can we manage with him gone?”

 

The scribe: “…”

 

Lord Su, let me explain…

 

It was understandable that the woman had mistaken them. Su Cen had come from Xingqing Palace in the morning, wearing a long, moon-white robe, looking rather handsome, more like an inexperienced young master than an official. In contrast, the scribe, nearing forty, with a dark face and broad cheeks, dressed in official robes, indeed looked more like a high-ranking official.

 

The scribe coughed lightly in embarrassment and pointed at Su Cen, “This is Lord Su from our Dali Temple. He’s in charge of investigating your husband’s case.”

 

The woman was stunned for a moment, a flash of disbelief crossing her eyes. The next instant, she turned to clutch Su Cen’s legs: “My Lord, you must seek justice for my husband…”

 

Su Cen: “…”

 

The scribe explained that this was Xu Youhuai’s principal wife, Madam Xu Lin, the matriarch of the family. She had borne Xu Youhuai one son, aged eight. The two concubines were also kneeling in the hall. The household, including servants, totaled seventeen people. Now that Xu Youhuai was dead, Madam Xu Lin was in charge of the family.

 

Su Cen instructed the scribe to stay and question everyone about their activities on the day of the incident, Xu Youhuai’s usual associates, any potential enemies, and any recent unusual occurrences. He himself expressed a desire to look around the courtyard.

 

Madam Xu Lin assigned the household steward to guide Su Cen. Although the location in Yankang Ward wasn’t prestigious enough for high officials and nobles, it wasn’t a place ordinary people could afford to live. The Xu residence was neither large nor small, with three courtyards. The first and second courtyards were arranged around a central courtyard, with additional gardens on both sides. The third courtyard was the rear sleeping quarters, connected by corridors in the middle. There was a water feature in the center of the courtyard, symbolizing the gathering of four waters and the accumulation of feng shui.[mfn]It represents the convergence of positive energy from all directions, attracting prosperity and promoting harmony. This design element balances feng shui, provides cooling and tranquility, and serves as a status symbol. It aims to create an auspicious environment fostering well-being and success for the household.[/mfn]

 

As Su Cen was led by the steward through the central courtyard towards the rear quarters, he looked around and asked, “Was your master from Shu?”

 

The steward turned back with a surprised look: “How did you know, My Lord?”

 

Su Cen raised his chin, pointing at the buildings in front of them: “The upturned roof corners, the relatively shallow depth of the central courtyard, the interlocking outer corridors – these all resemble Shu-style architecture. I suppose your master couldn’t get used to the houses in the capital and had this specially built?”

 

“My Lord, you’re truly perceptive,” the steward nodded. “Our master was indeed from Shu, but he moved the entire family to the capital years ago and has long since lost contact with that area. I’ve been with the Xu family since childhood, with a lifelong contract. I came along when we moved, so I know about these things. Those new servants probably don’t even know our family originally came from Shu.”

 

Su Cen asked, “When did you move here? And why did you move?”

 

The steward thought for a moment and said, “The family moved here about eleven or twelve years ago. As for why, it was probably because the master’s business was growing. We servants don’t know much about such matters; we simply followed when the family decided to move.”

 

Su Cen nodded and didn’t press further. It was clear that this steward was well-trained and tight-lipped, revealing nothing beyond what Su Cen could easily verify himself.

 

They walked all the way to the rear courtyard, where a north-facing main room served as Xu Youhuai’s bedroom. After a brief request for permission, Su Cen entered. The bedroom was neat and orderly, clearly having been cleaned that morning. After a quick look around, Su Cen found nothing of value.

 

As he stepped out and walked seven or eight steps away, Su Cen turned back to glance at the room again, feeling inexplicably that something was off.

 

He hadn’t noticed it while inside, but the further he walked away, the stronger the feeling grew. Just as he was about to leave the courtyard, Su Cen stopped and pointed to the side rooms flanking the main bedroom. “Can I take a look in there?”

 

Though phrased as a question, it left no room for negotiation.

 

The steward was visibly startled but quickly recovered and said, “Please go ahead, my lord.”

 

He explained that these side rooms were originally meant for servants to use during night watches, but since the master didn’t require attendants at night, they had been left unused and repurposed as storage.

 

Su Cen entered the eastern side room first. As the steward had said, it was filled with objects covered in thick layers of dust, indicating it hadn’t been entered in a long time.

 

The western side room was similar but felt inexplicably more cramped to Su Cen.

 

“Are these two side rooms built to different sizes?” Su Cen asked.

 

The steward smiled nervously. “Perhaps it’s just because of the different items stored inside. Maybe you’re mistaken, my lord?”

 

“No,” Su Cen said firmly, measuring with his eyes as he examined the beams of the room. Afterward, he left the side room and re-entered Xu Youhuai’s bedroom. Standing in the center of the room, Su Cen finally realized what was wrong—the room wasn’t symmetrical.

 

From where he stood facing eastward, there were twelve floor tiles’ worth of space. Facing westward, however, there were only nine tiles.

 

Adding in the missing space from the western side room, there was a discrepancy of seven or eight feet in length.

 

Facing the steward’s hesitant expression, Su Cen stepped forward and knocked on the western wall. As expected, it sounded hollow—there was only a thin wooden partition behind it.

 

Su Cen turned to look at the steward. “Will you open it yourself, or should I call someone to break it down?”

 

Under Su Cen’s sharp gaze, which felt like knives piercing him, the steward shuddered and reluctantly stepped forward. He grabbed a vase from a nearby display shelf and twisted it. With a soft click, a hidden door swung open.

 

Sure enough, there was another space behind it.

 

Su Cen stepped into the hidden room without hesitation and was momentarily stunned by what he saw.

 

True to his reputation as an antique dealer, Xu Youhuai had filled this secret room with ceramics, jade artifacts, calligraphy scrolls, and paintings. Even on one table alone sat three or four brush washers. However, instead of appearing elegant or refined, the sheer volume of items made the space feel cramped and chaotic.

 

The steward scratched his head awkwardly from outside the door. “It’s just a storage room for antiques my master collected. He built this hidden space because he worried some items might attract thieves if left in his shop.”

 

Su Cen ignored him and continued examining the ceramics and jade artifacts before moving to a pile of scrolls stacked in one corner. Several paintings were also hung on the walls. Among them was one particularly striking piece depicting a blooming peach blossom branch with gnarled twists extending just slightly into view. Though only partially visible, it evoked an atmosphere of springtime vibrancy reminiscent of poetic imagery like *‘a few peach blossoms beyond bamboo groves; ducks sense spring warmth in river waters.’*

 

What made this painting stand out wasn’t its subject but its technique. Unlike traditional flower-and-bird paintings that used light ink outlines and layered washes for shading, this piece seemed boldly expressive with free strokes and wild splashes of ink. The peach blossoms appeared vivid and varied in form—fiery yet natural. The brushwork seemed casual yet masterful; its interplay of ink techniques created an emotional resonance that felt both exuberant and restrained at different moments.

 

In bold cursive script on the upper left corner were inscribed:

‘The peach blossoms are radiant in their beauty.’

It was signed: ‘Fifth day of late spring in Wuwu year – Shen Cun.’

 

Despite being surrounded by other famous works of art in this hidden gallery-like space, this painting stood out prominently—its impression lingered long after one looked away.

 

Su Cen stared at it for a long time before inexplicably feeling that those blooming peach blossoms resembled fire.

 

“You have good taste,” said the steward as he approached. “This is one of my master’s most recent acquisitions—and also his favorite. He often spent hours staring at it.”

 

Su Cen asked, “How did your master usually acquire these items?”

 

“Oh… he traveled far and wide through villages collecting them from small places before bringing them back here to sell.”

 

“Lies,” Su Cen exposed him without hesitation.

 

“These items,” Su Cen gestured at the dazzling array around them in the secret room, “were all taken from tombs.”

 

 

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