PC Chapter 57

After Prince Ning “recuperated” at home for two days, Su Cen naturally remained bedridden during that time. On the third day, after relentless complaints from the court officials with Su Cen leading the charge, Prince Ning reluctantly returned to his post, albeit with injuries. He declared that he hadn’t fully recovered and warned that any slight misstep could require another ten days to half a month of rest. As a result, everyone treated him like an ancestor. If Prince Ning wanted to head east, no one dared so much as hover in the west.

 

Taking advantage of the situation, Li Shi launched an aggressive overhaul at court, clearing out obstacles left and right with ruthless efficiency—hardly the demeanor of someone supposedly recovering from serious injuries.

 

Meanwhile, Su Cen was reinstated to his former position and given an additional title as a Xima in the Bureau of Classics and Records. Although the position was low-ranking, only fifth class, it gave him responsibility over the storage and editing of historical texts in the Eastern Palace. However, since the young emperor was still too young to rule, and the Eastern Palace remained unused, the post was more honorary than practical, mainly serving to grant Su Cen easier access to the palace.

 

As Li Shi put it, “It’s ridiculous that you need to submit a detailed family history just to enter the palace.”

 

Zheng Yang lamented, “Uncle, can you give me a position too? I’m tired of reciting my family tree every day!”

 

Li Shi replied coldly, “Keep reciting. Just don’t drag me into it—I don’t acknowledge you as my nephew.”

 

Zheng Yang looked devastated. “But it’s always your name that gets me in!”

 

Meanwhile, the newly retired Chief Judge of Dali Temple, Xiu Qizheng, who had just celebrated his sixtieth birthday, was persuaded—or rather, forced—by Li Shi to retire to his hometown. This finally allowed Zhang Jun to achieve his dream of being promoted to Chief Judge.

 

Joining Xiu Qizheng in retirement was the Deputy Censor-in-Chief, Wang Yan. However, unlike the aging Xiu Qizheng, Wang Yan was just past fifty and still at his prime in the political arena—if only he had chosen a better hobby.

 

Wang Yan’s favorite pastime was filing impeachment reports against Prince Ning. In his early years, he accused the prince of monopolizing Xingqing Palace, acting without regard for the emperor, and wielding unchecked power. More recently, finding those accusations stale, Wang Yan pursued creative new avenues. He began criticizing the prince’s improper attire, the extravagant arrangements of his carriage, and the non-compliant status of his personal guards.

 

Though Li Shi didn’t care about such things, the constant buzzing of this metaphorical fly wore on his patience. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he sent Wang Yan into early retirement, ensuring he could enjoy his twilight years in peace.

 

To everyone’s surprise, Wang Yan wasn’t even angry. Instead, he walked out of Hanyuan Hall with a self-satisfied look, sighing, “To remove corruption for the sake of the wise emperor, I must not begrudge these remaining years of my life.” He left triumphantly, convinced he had set an example for all civil officials by fearlessly impeaching Prince Ning, even at the cost of his career.

 

Li Shi, upon further reflection, decided that if Wang Yan was so eager to dedicate his remaining years to public service, there was no need for him to return to his home in Shaoxing. Instead, he would be reassigned to a small county in Guizhou, where he could continue his contributions by educating the local tribes.

 

However, the most innocent victim of all was perhaps the dog owned by Lord Zhang, one of the censors.

 

Lord Zhang couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out how Prince Ning knew his dog barked every night. With an entire neighborhood between his house and Xingqing Palace, how could it possibly disturb the prince?

 

Su Cen watched as a tearful Lord Zhang bid farewell to his ten-year-old dog, Da Huang, sending him back to his hometown. Feeling guilty, Su Cen ordered Ah Fu to buy several pork hocks for Da Huang to enjoy on the journey.

 

Zhang, eyes brimming with tears, gratefully accepted the hocks and said, “Thank you for your generosity, Lord Su.” Then, right in front of the dog, he began gnawing on the meat himself.

 

Su Cen: “…”

 

As Da Huang drooled helplessly and disappeared down the alley, Su Cen sighed and said to himself, “Brother Huang, I truly apologize. It was you who barked all night first, and I only casually mentioned it in passing. Even though you didn’t get to enjoy the pork hocks, my intentions were sincere. Let’s call it even. If fate allows, perhaps we’ll meet again someday on life’s winding paths.”

 

With chrysanthemums and osmanthus flowers in full bloom, and it was time to settle accounts after autumn.

 

Su Cen had been in Chang’an for half a year. Sitting by the window, he quietly tallied up his mental ledger. Li Shi had pretty much settled his scores at court; now it was time for Su Cen to consider who had been causing him trouble over the past months.

 

Just as he was deep in thought, he heard the front gate open. Qi Lin stepped in, and Su Cen’s eyes lit up slightly, narrowing with amusement.

 

I haven’t settled my score with him yet, he thought.

 

With a smile, Su Cen went out to greet him. “What brings Guard Qi here today?”

 

The answer was clear: “Master wants to see you.”

 

Su Cen replied, “Give me a moment to go and change.”

 

As he turned to leave, he glanced at the backyard and casually remarked, “Ling’er has been up to something in the backyard for days now.”

 

Once back in his room, Su Cen closed the door, leisurely brewed a pot of Longjing tea, and left a small crack open in the window. Sure enough, after waiting for a while, Qi Lin got up and headed to the backyard.

 

In the backyard, a hawthorn tree was in full bloom, its branches heavy with bright red berries, each one ripe and glossy, making the tree look like a cloud of vibrant red.

 

As soon as Qi Lin entered, he sensed something coming his way. Catching it, he looked down to find two red berries.

 

“Looking for Brother Su again?” a voice asked. He looked up to see Qu Ling’er perched sideways on a branch, his clothes filled with berries. The bright red of the tree’s fruits only made him look all the more lively.

 

Qi Lin nodded and asked, “What are you doing up there?”

 

Qu Ling’er replied, “Ah Fu wants to make candied berries, so he asked me to pick some,” and he nudged his chin toward Qi Lin. “Try one.”

 

Qi Lin examined the two berries in his hand, choosing the reddest one and popping it into his mouth.

 

Qu Ling’er watched as Qi Lin’s brow furrowed slightly, but he forced himself to swallow, and Qu Ling’er burst into laughter, swaying back and forth on the branch. “Delicious, right? The redder they are, the sourer. Otherwise, why do you think Ah Fu wants to candy them?”

 

Qu Ling’er’s laughter set the branches trembling, and a cascade of berries plopped to the ground, soon covering it completely.

 

Qi Lin’s brow relaxed, a rare softness appearing in his pale eyes as he called out, “Be careful not to fall.”

 

“Fall? Me? Not a chance!” Qu Ling’er leapt to a higher branch. Glancing over the wall, he chuckled, “There she is again.”

 

Qi Lin’s brows furrowed.

 

Caught up in the fun, Qu Ling’er tossed a berry over the wall, provoking an indignant shout from next door. “It’s Zhang’s daughter next door,” he said casually. “Every day around this time, she comes to the backyard. She’s especially cute.”

 

Qi Lin’s expression grew colder as he said, “Get down.”

 

Qu Ling’er noticed the displeasure in Qi Lin’s tone and turned to ask, “Why?”

 

“Get down,” Qi Lin repeated firmly.

 

Qu Ling’er was annoyed now. What’s with this bad temper? He snaps at him after only a few words. With a defiant tilt of his head, he ignored Qi Lin and continued his playful teasing over the wall.

 

Qi Lin took the last berry in his hand and tossed it at Qu Ling’er. Hearing the sound, Qu Ling’er hooked his leg around the tree trunk and leaned back, dodging the berry—yet the ones in his lap tumbled to the ground like scattered beans.

 

Qu Ling’er glared angrily. “What are you doing?!”

 

Qi Lin’s voice was steady as he repeated for the third time, “Get down.”

 

Qu Ling’er crossed his arms defiantly. “You eat all these berries off the ground, and I’ll come down.”

 

Qi Lin glanced at him, then bent down and began picking up berries to eat.

 

Watching him go through ten or so in a row, Qu Ling’er’s teeth ached just at the sight. Yet Qi Lin didn’t slow down, glaring at him as if he were biting into him instead of the berries.

 

“All right, stop eating,” Qu Ling’er finally relented, his conscience pricked. He leapt down gracefully to land in front of Qi Lin. “Honestly! I can’t believe you actually ate them. Aren’t they sour?”

 

Qi Lin, holding a half-eaten berry, took advantage of Qu Ling’er’s words to pop it into his mouth. “See for yourself.”

 

Qu Ling’er blinked in surprise. His tongue touched the spot Qi Lin had already bitten, and the sharp sourness jolted through him, making him squint as his peach blossom eyes curved with the intensity.

 

But as he tasted further, a subtle sweetness seemed to emerge from the sourness.

 

Looking back at Qi Lin’s cold, expressionless face, he found it wasn’t as unapproachable as it seemed.

 

Just then, there was a quiet cough from behind. Su Cen, now changed, looked at the two of them with a knowing gaze. “Guard Qi, shall we go?”

 

Qi Lin gave Qu Ling’er one last glance before turning back, offering a slight nod.

 

As they left Su’s residence, Su Cen casually pulled out two crisp pears and offered one to Qi Lin. “Want one?”

 

Seeing Qi Lin shake his head, Su Cen didn’t hold back, biting into one loudly, crunching it as noisily as possible.

 

He was certain that Qi Lin’s teeth would be sore after eating so many sour berries, and he was purposely rubbing it in.

 

Noticing a little girl, about seven or eight years old, sitting by the neighboring door, he called out, “Xiao Tao, here you go.”

 

He handed her the second pear, and she smiled sweetly, “Thank you, Brother Su.” Su Cen glanced back at Qi Lin with a smirk. “Lord Zhang’s daughter next door—she’s really quite cute.”

 

Seeing Qi Lin’s expression freeze, Su Cen finally climbed into the carriage with a satisfied grin.

 

Turning out of the alley, Qi Lin looked back at Su’s courtyard, where the hawthorn tree spread its cloud of red fruit. Slowly, he opened his palm, revealing two bright red berries nestled there.

 

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T/N: Scedule for Placid Chang’an – one chapter every Friday and Saturday

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