PCA Chapter 94

The hall fell silent. Those kneeling didn’t even dare to breathe. Even the young emperor stopped crying, looking at Prince Ning with disbelief.

 

What did he mean by “That might be for the best”? Did he mean it would be fine if the emperor abdicated, that anyone else could do the job just as well?

 

This was treason! This was usurpation!

 

Yet the man in question looked down at everyone with a calm expression. His eyes were as deep as the night sky, showing no emotion, as if he had just commented on some trivial matter.

 

Empress Dowager Chu was the first to break the deathly silence with a shrill cry: “Li Shi, stop bullying us, a widow and an orphan!”

 

Prince Ning ignored her. He stepped forward and grabbed the young emperor’s tender face, forcing those retreating eyes to look directly at him. His words were like thunder in spring rain, clear and resounding.

 

“You can’t handle just one death? You’ve never seen a battlefield. You don’t know what it means to see devastation everywhere, blood flowing like rivers. You’ve never seen bodies wrapped in horsehide or heads separated from bodies. So-called natural disasters, so-called man-made calamities – you don’t care about people starving to death all over the land, you don’t care about the suffering of your people. Yet here you are, making such a fuss over one violent death. This is what you’ve seen, but what about all that you haven’t seen? Your countless subjects are waiting for you to make decisions at the morning court, while you hide here, trembling in fear. If you can’t put the worries of the world before your own, then perhaps it’s better for someone else to sit on this throne. After all, all you want is to live in peace in your own little corner, clinging to life!”

 

Everyone was dumbfounded. Even Empress Dowager Chu stood frozen, not knowing what to say.

 

Theoretically, such words should be considered treasonous, punishable by the execution of nine generations of one’s family. Yet, Prince Ning’s words were reasonable. There was no hint of personal ambition in his speech; it could be said to be beyond reproach.

 

After a while, the young emperor wiped away his tears and mumbled, “I understand. I’ll go attend court now.”

 

“Let’s forget about it for today,” Prince Ning softened his stance after the harsh words. “I’ll tell you how to stop being afraid.”

 

Prince Ning ordered, “Summon Su Cen. Let him tell you whether this is a natural disaster or man-made calamity.”

 

Su Cen had originally thought that only the young emperor wanted to see him. He never expected to find so many people gathered in the Purple Pavilion. Su Cen stepped forward under everyone’s gaze, calmly performing the ceremonial greetings, bowing to the emperor and then to Prince Ning.

 

Upon learning the reason for his summons, Su Cen responded composedly, truthfully reporting what he had discovered so far. He added his own deductions, stating that although the first case occurred in front of the emperor, it wasn’t aimed at him. The second case had even less to do with the royal family; it was likely just a coincidence.

 

The young emperor, who had been frightening himself these past few days, finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Su Cen’s report. He gained a bit more courage and inquired, “What exactly is this ghost shadow you mentioned? If two people saw it, does that mean there really are ghosts?”

 

Su Cen replied, “We can’t rule out the possibility of deception or false reports. I kept watch in Xu Youhuai’s room last night and didn’t see any ghost shadows. The Xu family’s steward has been with Xu Youhuai since childhood and knows a lot. Interrogating him should clarify the case somewhat.”

 

When Su Cen mentioned staying in Xu Youhuai’s room overnight, Prince Ning frowned and chided, “Nonsense.”

 

Su Cen wasn’t sure if this was a rebuke for his ghost-hunting or concern for his safety. He raised his clear eyes to meet Prince Ning’s unfathomable gaze.

 

As their eyes met, Su Cen smiled imperceptibly, with a hint of smugness, as if they had secretly shared a moment in front of everyone, giving him a hidden thrill.

 

The young emperor asked again, “Will there be more deaths?”

 

Su Cen pondered for a moment before answering, “If I’m not mistaken, there should be one more.”

 

The young emperor exclaimed, “One more?”

 

Su Cen explained, “Both Xu Youhuai and Liu Kang, who died today, had a ‘Peach Blossom’ painting in their homes. The inscriptions were ‘The peach tree is young and tender, its blossoms glowing’ and ‘The peach tree is young and tender, its leaves lush and thick’ respectively. These lines are from the ‘Tao Yao’ section of the ‘Book of Songs’. There’s another line: ‘The peach tree is young and tender, laden with fruit.’ This ‘laden with fruit’ should be the killer’s next target.”

 

The young emperor asked anxiously, “Have you found this ‘laden with fruit’ person?”

 

“We’re looking,” Su Cen replied. “The sooner we find this ‘laden with fruit’, the sooner we can arrange protection and catch the killer.”

 

The implication was clear: if you don’t let me go back soon, it’ll be your fault if the killer escapes.

 

The young emperor, unable to read the atmosphere, was about to ask Su Cen more questions, but Prince Ning cut him off with a “Then go back and solve the case quickly.”

 

Su Cen bowed and took his leave. As he exited the Silver Terrace Gate and walked along the palace wall, a carriage caught up with him. Someone alighted and followed him at a leisurely pace. It was the time when court was dismissed, and their behavior was attracting attention.

 

Su Cen was deep in thought about the case and didn’t notice at first. But when not just one or two, but eight or ten people started staring at him, he couldn’t help but feel something was amiss. He looked at his white cloth garments; the eunuch had rushed him, so he hadn’t had time to change into proper clothes at home. They were a bit dirty and wrinkled, but surely not enough to attract such attention. He sniffed himself, wondering if he had picked up some strange odor from being around corpses. But that seemed unlikely; he hadn’t even touched the body, and it had been airing out in the courtyard all night. Any smell should have dissipated by now.

 

Prince Ning watched with amusement as the person in front of him looked around, oblivious to what was behind him. He didn’t point it out, waiting to see how long it would take for Su Cen to notice.

 

Finally, after repeated hints from Zhang Jun, Su Cen noticed something amiss. He turned around in confusion and would have fallen straight into the man’s arms if not for a supporting hand.

 

Li Shi tapped Su Cen’s head with his knuckles, “What are you thinking about, so lost in thought?”

 

Su Cen cried out in pain and glared at him, “I’ve forgotten what I was thinking about earlier, but now I’m wondering how precious your embrace must be, since you keep preventing me from falling into it.”

 

Li Shi narrowed his eyes, “Keep preventing?”

 

Su Cen looked aggrieved, “There was another time at the Xingqing Palace gate when you blocked me with your xiang bamboo umbrella handle.”

 

Li Shi couldn’t help but laugh, “You hold such grudges.”

 

As he spoke, he pulled Su Cen a step closer. Su Cen’s vision darkened as he was enveloped by the scent of sandalwood. Li Shi patted his shoulder lightly twice and asked, “Is it precious?”

 

Solid, warm, with a strong heartbeat echoing in his ears, Su Cen was momentarily dazed. When they separated, even the tips of his ears were red. Fortunately, the officials were all walking ahead, but he wasn’t sure if anyone had turned back to steal a glance.

 

Li Shi raised his hand to summon a carriage, “Get in, I’ll give you a ride.”

 

Su Cen originally intended to return directly to the Dali Temple to continue interrogating the Xu family’s steward. However, Li Shi stared at his clothes with disgust, “How many days have you been wearing these clothes?”

 

Su Cen couldn’t help but raise his sleeve to sniff it again, confirming multiple times that there was indeed no strange smell before lowering his arm. They were dirty, mostly from the people who had clung to his legs yesterday, wiping their tears and snot on him, but surely it wasn’t bad enough to offend both gods and men.

 

Li Shi said, “Go back and change your clothes first.”

 

Su Cen was displeased, “Changle Ward is on the east side of the city, and the Dali Temple is on the west. It’s too time-consuming.”

 

“Then return to Xingqing Palace and take a bath while you’re at it.”

 

If he went to Xingqing Palace for a bath, would he be able to leave? Choosing the lesser of two evils, Su Cen immediately changed his tune: “I’ll change my clothes,” then added persuasively, trying to bargain, “We have spare clothes at the temple, can I change there?”

 

Li Shi stopped insisting on this point, seemingly agreeing. He beckoned to Su Cen, “Come here.”

 

Fearing that Li Shi might change his mind again, Su Cen immediately stepped forward with a ingratiating smile, “What does Your Highness command?”

 

Li Shi gently pulled Su Cen onto his lap. The next moment, there was a tearing sound as Li Shi’s large hand ripped Su Cen’s snow-white trousers from the knee to the upper thigh.

 

Su Cen: “…”

 

Li Shi raised an eyebrow, “Still want to change at the Dali Temple?”

 

Su Cen gritted his teeth, “You’re a prince, how can you be so…”

 

Before he could finish, there was another rip. Su Cen bit back the word “unreasonable” as his white robe, which had weathered many storms, lost a sleeve.

 

Li Shi wasn’t done. He pushed Su Cen onto the seat, grabbed his collar and started tearing downwards, asking as he did so, “Where did you say you slept last night?”

 

Su Cen’s temper flared as well. He struggled with all his might, arguing, “I was investigating the case all night and didn’t even go home. I kept watch in Xu Youhuai’s room!”

 

They wrestled from the seat to the floor, teacups and teapots scattered everywhere. Thankfully, Li Shi’s carriage was large enough to accommodate their struggle without any movement visible from the outside. Su Cen eventually lost the upper hand, with Li Shi pinning him to the ground, sneering, “How was sleeping in someone else’s bed?”

 

Su Cen was taken aback, “You’ve been insisting I go change clothes… could it be that you’re jealous?”

 

“So what if I am?” Li Shi admitted frankly.

 

Su Cen laughed in exasperation, “The great Prince Ning, getting so worked up with jealousy over a dead man whose face you don’t even know. I’ve truly learned something new today.”

 

Li Shi swept his hand, tearing off the rest of Su Cen’s clothes. He smirked, “Then let me teach you something more.”

 

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