PC Chapter 26

When Su Cen reluctantly returned to the room after circling around twice, he suddenly remembered that this was actually the room of Princess Ning Consort. Earlier, he had been entirely focused on maneuvering around the case and had completely forgotten about the matter of the room.

When he tried to leave again, Su Cen was surprised to discover that he had been confined.

As soon as he opened the door, two armed guards blocked his way, one on either side. “The Prince has ordered that Master Su should rest in the room,” they said.

Su Cen was incredulous. Was this the same person who had been chatting and laughing with him at the Lakeside Pavilion just a moment ago, and now had him imprisoned?

“I want to see the Prince,” Su Cen said, stepping forward to leave.

The blades of the two guards flashed. “We kindly ask Master Su not to make things difficult for us,” they replied.

Seeing the gleaming edges of the swords, Su Cen took two steps back, frustrated. “Then I want to see Qi Lin.”

“Lord Qi has gone out on official business and won’t be back for ten days or half a month,” one of the guards responded.

“Then what about Zheng Yang?” Su Cen asked. He had only been wary of Li Shi, the old fox, and had overlooked Zheng Yang, the little fox. If Zheng Yang hadn’t tipped Li Shi off that he was planning to leave, he wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.

The two guards clasped their swords. “The young heir has already left.”

Su Cen stomped his foot in frustration and finally slammed the door, having no choice but to return to the room.

At first, he thought Song Jiancheng’s methods were despicable, but compared to Li Shi, he felt he had wronged Song by thinking that. First, he burned tranquillising incense to make him sleep for three days. Now, he was confined within the estate. By the time he got out, never mind the case; the victims’ spirits would have probably already drunk Meng Po’s soup several times over.

Su Cen gritted his teeth in frustration. Staying like this wasn’t an option—he had to find a way out.

After a while, Su Cen opened the door again and said, “I’m hungry.”

The two guards exchanged glances. The Prince had only instructed them to keep an eye on him, but hadn’t mentioned anything about food or drink. Thinking there shouldn’t be any big problem, one of them asked, “What do you want to eat?”

Su Cen counted on his fingers and listed, “Danggui chicken soup, Tianma milk pigeon soup, Baizhi pig kidney soup, and another eight-treasure soup.”

All… soups?

The two guards exchanged another look. Su Cen quickly added, “I’ve been in a deep sleep for three days, and my body is very weak. I need nourishment.”

After much hesitation, the two guards finally nodded. One stayed to keep watch while the other went to the kitchen to get the food.

When the soups were brought up, Su Cen closed the door. Not long after, he opened it again, revealing that all the bowls and pots were empty—there wasn’t even a scrap left at the bottom.

For three consecutive days, Su Cen drank soup. During this time, he never once saw Li Shi but became quite familiar with the two guards. One afternoon, he even mentioned that the flowers by the Lakeside Pavilion were blooming beautifully and asked them to pick a few bouquets for him.

On the evening of the third day, Su Cen mentioned how hard the two guards worked at their posts and offered them each a cup of ginger tea to warm themselves.

Moments after drinking the tea, there were two dull thuds outside the door. When Su Cen opened it, he found the two guards sound asleep on the ground.

Su Cen smiled faintly and stepped boldly out the door.

To leave through the main gate of Xingqing Palace would probably be like walking into a trap. Fortunately, Su Cen remembered from a leisurely stroll that there was a rockery next to the Dragon Pond, which was connected to the wall of Xingqing Palace. Climbing over the wall from the rockery seemed like a more feasible option.

Following his memory, Su Cen searched for quite a while before finally spotting the rockery. After exerting a great deal of effort, he managed to climb up the palace wall. Looking down from the top, his legs went weak at the sight of the high wall. Gritting his teeth, he decided that, at worst, he’d break a leg from the fall. Just as he was about to jump, a cold voice spoke behind him, “Lord Su, you’re in high spirits at this midnight hour.”

Startled, Su Cen nearly toppled over. He turned back in disbelief, his expression more vivid than if he’d seen a ghost. Qi Lin stood below the rockery, holding his sword and staring intently at him.

“…If I say I’m here to enjoy the moon,” Su Cen glanced at the pitch-black night sky, “…would you believe me?”

Qi Lin didn’t waste any more words. He leapt up, grabbed Su Cen by the collar, and tossed him down. Despite the soft flowers and grass below, Su Cen still blacked out momentarily from the impact. Before he could get up, Qi Lin had already landed gracefully beside him. “The night is deep, and the wind is strong. Lord Su, you should go back and rest.”

Su Cen was dragged back to his residence by the collar, shouting curses the entire way until his voice became hoarse. Unfortunately, Qi Lin was like a deaf man, not responding at all.

By the time they returned, the two guards had already been carried away, and two new faces stood at the door, both with deep-set eyes and high noses. Qi Lin gave them some instructions in Turkic, which Su Cen couldn’t understand. All the herbs Su Cen had gathered over the past few days were laid out on the table, including a thriving bunch of datura flowers.

Qi Lin picked up a cup and sniffed it. “Anesthetic powder.”

Su Cen scratched his head sheepishly. “I planned everything by myself. It has nothing to do with the two guards, so I hope Guard Qi won’t make things difficult for them.”

“They neglected their duties and accepted food and drink from others; they should be punished.”

“I forced them to do it!” Su Cen jumped in frustration. “Be reasonable!”

“Do you know what would happen to them if you left tonight?”

Qi Lin didn’t finish his sentence, but Su Cen already felt a chill down his spine. Helplessly, he lowered his head. “I understand. I won’t run again.”

“From now on, all your meals will be provided by the imperial kitchen,” Qi Lin said, nodding toward the door. “They will watch you eat. A word of advice: they are all Turks. They don’t know who you are and don’t understand what you say. My order is to kill if there’s any unusual movement. I hope you’ll conduct yourself wisely, Lord Su.”

Su Cen gave him a resentful glare, but Qi Lin completely ignored it. Just as he stepped out of the room, Su Cen called out urgently, “Guard Qi, do me one more favor. I need to see Qu Ling’er.”

Qi Lin turned back to look at him. Su Cen quickly added, “Just to sort out some family matters and some official business at the yamen. With these two here, Linger won’t be able to play any tricks.”

Qi Lin stared at him indifferently for a moment, causing cold sweat to break out on Su Cen’s back. Finally, Qi Lin said, “I’ll ask the prince.”

When Qu Ling’er arrived, Su Cen was playing Go by himself, holding white stones in his left hand and black stones in his right. Qu Ling’er couldn’t understand such a refined pastime; if he did, he would have noticed that the white stones were winning decisively, forcing the black stones into a continuous retreat. Naturally, the white stones represented Su Cen himself, while the black stones represented Prince Ning, who had utterly defeated him in reality. Since he couldn’t gain the upper hand in real life, Su Cen could only enjoy the fantasy of seeing the prince on his knees begging for mercy on the game board.

Qu Ling’er casually picked up two pieces of lotus pastries. After taking a bite, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Things inside the palace are indeed more delicious than those outside. This residence is so grand—I’ve never seen such a large mansion before.”

Su Cen tossed his chess pieces aside. “How about we switch? You come live in this big house, and I’ll go out instead, okay?”

Qu Ling’er smiled wryly as he sat on the table. “Better not.”

Perhaps from being confined in the house for so long, Su Cen found Qu Ling’er’s features becoming more refined. He pinched Qu Ling’er’s pale face and said, “You’ve got decent looks. Why don’t you give it a try? Maybe that old fox will fancy you, and you’ll never have to worry about being hunted down again.”

“Brother Su…” Qu Ling’er jumped a good distance away from the table. “Did you call me all the way here just to tease me?”

Su Cen dropped his smile. “Let’s get serious. What happened to that man in black you caught that day?”

“Qi Lin took him away.”

“Where did he take him?”

Qu Ling’er frowned. “How would I know?”

“Okay,” Su Cen beckoned him closer and handed him a cup of tea. “Tell me in detail, what exactly happened that day?”

“I still haven’t figured it out myself.” Qu Ling’er took the cup and hesitated slightly. “That day, Qi Lin and I were attacking that man in black. After we caught him and came back, you were already unconscious on the ground, and the old man was dead. Then, Qi Lin took both of you away. I wanted to ask you—who was it that attacked you that day? It was so brazen, right under so many people’s noses.”

It was indeed brazen. Su Cen recalled the somewhat familiar back figure he saw just before he passed out. The person left unhurriedly, as if strolling in a courtyard. If it wasn’t for a strong sense of confidence, no one would be so calm after killing someone.

Was his survival mere luck, or did that person never intend to kill him?

“Ling’er, do me a favor.” Even though he knew the two people outside didn’t understand Han Chinese, Su Cen still brought Qu Ling’er closer and whispered something only the two of them could hear.

Qu Ling’er’s face changed instantly. He shook his head and stepped back several paces. “I’m not going! Brother Su, did I owe you something in my past life?”

Su Cen chuckled. “You owe me in this life.”

Qu Ling’er frowned. “I can’t beat him…”

“Qi Lin is just a knife. The one wielding the knife is Li Shi. If the master doesn’t give the order, he won’t do anything to you.”

Qu Ling’er still frowned. “How do you know Li Shi doesn’t intend to kill me?”

“You’ve got me.” Su Cen smiled slightly and patted him gently on the shoulder.

 

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