PC Chapter 48

The next morning, Su Cen was escorted all the way to the Dali Temple gate by Qu Ling’er. Despite Su Cen repeatedly insisting that it was broad daylight and no one in Chang’an City would dare to throw a sack over him and carry him away, Qu Ling’er was adamant about escorting him. Ah Fu also tagged along, saying he had been plagued by nightmares all night, dreaming that something terrible had happened to his Second Young Master, and that today was an ominous day, not fit for going out. Left with no choice but to appease their concerns, Su Cen agreed to let Qu Ling’er escort him.

Just as they arrived at the gate, they saw Xiao Sun rushing over. Su Cen frowned, and as expected, he heard the same old line: “Lord Su, something bad has happened!”

Su Cen asked, “Has the King of Northern Liang come again?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Su Cen let out a sigh of relief, but then Xiao Sun took a deep breath and said, “Xiao Yuancheng is dead.”

At the Dali Temple prison.

Su Cen stood inside the cell, staring at the scene in stunned silence. Xiao Yuancheng had been hanged from a beam with a ragged strip of cloth, likely torn and pieced together from his prison robes. His face was bruised and purple, his eyes bulging, glaring directly at the spot where Su Cen now stood.

Even more shocking were the four large characters written on the wall behind Xiao Yuancheng: “Su Cen wronged me!”

The words, written in blood, were terrifying!

Su Cen pinched himself hard, forcing his mind back from a state of shock.

He would rather believe that the mother and child had returned to seek vengeance than accept that someone like Xiao Yuancheng would commit suicide. In truth, verifying the cause of death would be simple. The marks from murder and hanging are distinctly different, and checking the body would quickly reveal the truth. But the urgent matter right now wasn’t proving whether Xiao Yuancheng had been murdered; it was dealing with the aftermath of his death.

The King of Northern Liang had just arrived in the capital yesterday. Xiao Yuancheng dying now was no coincidence.

Xiao Yuancheng was dead… What about the military power of the Northern Liang army?

Su Cen suddenly realized the gravity of the situation. Yesterday, when he discovered that the mother and child had been killed by someone else, his first thought was that someone was framing Xiao Yuancheng, leading to his imprisonment. But what if that person didn’t just want him imprisoned—what if they wanted him dead?

If Xiao Yuancheng died at such a critical moment in the handover of military power, the entire country would fall into chaos!

“Who else knows about this?” Su Cen asked.

Xiao Sun replied, “It was discovered this morning by two prison guards on their rounds. I arrived early, and they only informed me. Right after that, you showed up.”

“Seal off the prison. No one is allowed to enter or leave! Also, seal off the information. Under no circumstances can the news of Xiao Yuancheng’s death be allowed to spread!” After giving his instructions, Su Cen patted Xiao Sun on the shoulder and hurriedly strode out of the prison.

He realized his mistake—he should have informed Li Shi as soon as he discovered the unusual cause of the mother and child’s death. If Li Shi had known earlier, could he have made arrangements and prevented today’s outcome?

Why hadn’t he chosen to trust? Even Qu Ling’er could decisively declare that Qi Lin wouldn’t recklessly kill innocents. So why couldn’t Su Cen bring himself to trust that Li Shi was open and honest?

At the very least, he could have confronted him directly. Why had he been so consumed with suspicion, unable to move forward?

Su Cen seized a horse from the newly arrived assistant at the temple. Being from Jiangnan, his horsemanship was poor, but the distance from the Dali Temple to Xingqing Palace spanned nearly the entire city of Chang’an. If he were to rely solely on his two legs, he feared the situation would be long over by the time he arrived.

Struggling to mount the horse, Su Cen gritted his teeth and whipped the horse hard. The horse neighed loudly and shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

Just half a month ago, he had scolded Xiao Yuancheng for recklessly riding through the streets. Now, fate had turned, and it was his turn. Worse yet, his riding skills were far inferior to Xiao Yuancheng’s, who had grown up in the northern desert. All he could do on this wild ride was cling desperately to the horse’s neck, yelling for people to get out of the way, while leaving the rest to fate.

The scene was chaotic along the way, and to make matters worse, he had to pass through the Eastern Market to reach Xingqing Palace. The market gates had just opened, and the throng of merchants and traders clogged the entrance. Just as someone stepped in front of his horse, Su Cen yanked hard on the reins. The horse reared up, throwing him off.

Su Cen hit the ground, his vision going black. Before he could even get up, a ragged sack came down from the sky, covering his head.

In the next moment, he was lifted off the ground. Before he could scream, something hit him hard on the back of the head, and he instantly lost consciousness.

His last thought before passing out: Today was indeed a bad omen, as he had really been thrown into a sack and carried off in broad daylight.

Su Cen awoke from the pain. The sharp throbbing at the back of his head suggested he was bleeding, and he could feel the sticky wetness at the back of his neck. When he tried to touch it, he realized his hands were bound behind him, leaving him unable to move.

He had been tied up.

Once he understood his situation, Su Cen calmed down. Who would kidnap him at this time? The answer was almost obvious. But why would Xiao Yan tie him up now? It made sense that Xiao Yan, furious from his arrival in the capital yesterday, might have rushed to the Dali Temple to teach him a lesson. But was it possible that Xiao Yan’s anger had not subsided after a day and had instead escalated, prompting him to kidnap Su Cen for another round of punishment?

An ominous thought slowly surfaced in Su Cen’s mind: Xiao Yan knew. He knew Xiao Yuancheng was dead.

But how did he find out? Su Cen had sealed the news as soon as he heard it, so where had Xiao Yan gotten his information?

The only people who knew about Xiao Yuancheng’s death were Su Cen, a few people from the Dali Temple, and… the murderer!

Su Cen listened carefully to his surroundings, confirming there was no one nearby before cautiously opening his eyes. He was in a tent. There were voices outside, but it wasn’t too noisy, suggesting he was already out of Chang’an, likely in the suburbs.

He assessed his injuries. His head throbbed, his hands were tied, and while he could see, he was surprised to find his mouth gagged.

It was clear someone didn’t want him to speak.

The interior of the tent was well-furnished, with a gold-inlaid scimitar on the weapon rack and a fur carpet laid on the main seat.

Of course, he wasn’t fortunate enough to be lying on the carpet, but rather on the cold, hard ground.

This must be Xiao Yan’s main tent. But why wasn’t Xiao Yan staying at the courier station prepared for envoys in the city after entering the capital, instead choosing to set up camp in the wilderness?

Su Cen pressed his ear to the ground and listened quietly for a moment, then suddenly felt a jolt of alarm.

Outside, the sound of synchronized, orderly footsteps echoed—clearly the march of soldiers. Further away, the clashing of blades and loud commands rang out unmistakably. They were conducting military drills!

Xiao Yan hadn’t come alone; he had brought an entire army and was camped just outside Chang’an’s city gates. What was his intention?!

Su Cen had to escape. He needed to warn Li Shi that Xiao Yan, the King of Northern Liang, had secretly brought a heavily armed force into the capital with the intent of rebellion!

But before he could devise a plan to escape, footsteps sounded outside, heading directly toward him.

In a panic, Su Cen quickly shut his eyes and pretended to be unconscious again.

The person outside lifted the flap of the tent and came straight over to him, apparently unconcerned whether Su Cen was awake or not, delivering a sharp kick directly to his stomach.

The kick, executed with about seventy to eighty percent of the attacker’s strength, struck Su Cen’s soft abdomen, sending him flying backward. He crashed into the table behind him, causing the cups and utensils on it to clatter to the ground.

The impact darkened his vision, and it felt as though his internal organs had shifted out of place. A metallic taste rose in his throat, but it was stuck there, and all he could manage were a few barely audible whimpers of pain.

Xiao Yan gave him no time to recover. He strode forward and kicked Su Cen hard in the chest again.

Unable to retreat any further, Su Cen’s chest was compressed painfully by the force. He curled up and began to cough violently, sharp pain radiating from his chest to his head. Cold sweat quickly soaked his brow.

All of Su Cen’s suspicions were confirmed. Xiao Yan had indeed learned of Xiao Yuancheng’s death and was taking his anger out on him, intending for Su Cen to pay for Xiao Yuancheng’s life.

He had to speak. He couldn’t just be beaten to death without saying a word. Supporting himself with one arm, Su Cen struggled to sit up and let out two muffled sounds through his gag.

In response, Xiao Yan, filled with rage, slapped him to the ground.

A sharp ringing filled Su Cen’s ears. He shook his head, hesitating between playing dead and trying again. Gritting his teeth, he twisted his body and sat up once more, his eyes sharp as he stared directly at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan didn’t hesitate, raising his arm to strike Su Cen again.

As the blow neared his face, Su Cen didn’t dodge or move, instead making two garbled sounds.

Xiao Yan’s rough hand stopped just inches from Su Cen’s face. His vision blurred as heat surged through him. He had heard it—the name Su Cen had muttered was “Yuancheng.”

In Chang’an, inside Xingqing Palace.

Dressed in silver armor, Qi Lin stepped into the Hall of Changqing and saluted the man seated above him. “Master, everything is ready.”

Li Shi set down his vermillion brush and responded, “I knew that old fox wouldn’t give up his ambitions. There’s no way he’d willingly surrender the military authority.”

“The spies outside the city report that Xiao Yan brought around two thousand men this time. With that many, it’s impossible for him to attempt a coup. It’s more likely that his target is you, master.”

Li Shi smiled nonchalantly, “I want to use Xiao Yuancheng to exchange for the Northern Liang military power, while he wants to gamble the fate of the entire Great Zhou.” His fingers tapped lightly on the table. “Investigate how he managed to bring those two thousand men into the capital. Anyone who knew about it but failed to report, or allowed the Northern Liang army to pass the borders, will be charged with treason.”

Qi Lin accepted the order, bowing before he retreated. Just as he exited the hall, a guard hurried over, stopping in front of him to report that someone outside was requesting to see him.

Qi Lin frowned and gave the guard a questioning look. “Who is it?”

The guard looked extremely troubled, stammering for a long while before finally saying, “He… he said he’s your lover… and if you don’t come out, he’s going to shout about… your, uh… impotence in the streets.”

At that moment, Qu Ling’er was pacing anxiously outside Xingqing Palace, looking as restless as an ant on a hot pan.

Earlier that morning, after escorting Su Cen, Qu Ling’er had planned to visit the Eastern Market to buy some pig ears to enjoy with wine. But as soon as he arrived at the market entrance, he saw his usually fearless Brother Su lying sprawled on the ground after falling off a horse. Before he had a chance to laugh at the sight, Su Cen was, just as Qu Ling’er had predicted, shoved into a sack and carried off. Qu Ling’er chased after them for a couple of steps but quickly realized the kidnappers were no ordinary people. Not only did they know martial arts, but there were also many of them. If he had rashly rushed in, he might have gotten himself killed, and worse, implicated Su Cen.

In his panic, he turned around and spotted the towering eaves of the Flower Tower inside Xingqing Palace.

Two thousand men had trekked thousands of miles, and it wasn’t clear if they had fully established their position yet. For Prince Ning, who had survived countless battles, this wasn’t a big deal. He hadn’t even planned on getting involved personally, intending to let Qi Lin lead the troops to encircle and suppress them.

Seeing Qi Lin return so soon, Li Shi raised an eyebrow.

Qi Lin pressed his lips together and said in a low voice, “They’ve captured Lord Su.”

Li Shi’s brush halted in mid-air, and the vermilion ink slowly spread, covering the black characters on the white paper.

After a long pause, Li Shi tossed the brush onto the table, stood up, and said, “Order them to hold their positions for now. You and I will go for a visit.”

 

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