PC Chapter 29

Su Cen didn’t have many belongings. By the end of the morning, he had completed the handover of his duties as the clerk. The historical criminal cases he had been organizing were nearing completion. After much thought, he decided not to leave the task to others and ordered all the moldy case files to be moved to his new office. It seemed Zhang Jun had no intention of assigning him new cases, so during his free time, he continued sorting through the old cases.

Although Song Jiancheng had his flaws, his study was well organized, with several pots of rare orchids on the windowsill. Their fragrance lingered faintly in the air.

As Su Cen inhaled the orchid’s scent while copying cases, he lost focus briefly and accidentally wrote “Yonglong” instead of “Tianshou.” It suddenly occurred to him that he had already finished organizing the cases from the Yonglong era. Just as he was about to tear off the incorrectly copied page, he froze.

In reviewing all the cases handled by the Dali Court during the Yonglong era, there wasn’t a single mention of Tian Pingzhi.

Old Man Tian had said that Chen Guanglu, then the Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple, had taken over the case. However, in the archives from the 22nd year of Yonglong, there was no record at all.

Su Cen retrieved all the original case files and read through them again, even going so far as to review the files from the first year of Tianshou.

Nothing. Not only was there no mention of Tian Pingzhi, but terms like “Imperial Exam,” “scholar candidates,” or even “scholar” were completely absent.

What had Chen Guanglu discovered after investigating for more than a month that led to the erasure of all records?

The 22nd year of Yonglong… The imperial exam, the death of Emperor Taizong, the ascension of the previous emperor, the Turks invasion—indeed, many significant events occurred that year.

Suddenly recalling something, Su Cen hastily flipped through the cases he had just sorted. At the bottom, he found two sheets of paper.

They were the list of scholar candidates submitted by the Ministry of Rites. Su Cen went through the names one by one, and by the time he reached the last name, he felt a chill.

One name was missing.

Su Cen reappeared at the Ministry of Rites, where everyone stared at him as if he were a plague god.

The last time he came, he had thrown the Ministry of Rites into disarray. They had spent an entire day in the musty storage room, only to be criticized the next day by the Censorate for their disorganized records and inability to efficiently manage their affairs. After that, they had been forced to reorganize the archives for half a month. And now, this troublesome young master was back again.

Amidst all the attention, Su Cen calmly drank a pot of tea. When the Vice Minister of Rites, He Zhongqing, arrived, Su Cen cupped his hands and asked, “How was the list of scholar candidates for that year compiled?”

“It was based on the exam papers from that year’s imperial examination. Why? Is there another issue?” He Zhongqing was on high alert.

Su Cen smiled, “Thank you.”

Under the bewildered gazes of the Ministry of Rites staff, he strode out the door, leaving them all at a loss.

The list was based on the exam papers. If a name was missing, it meant that the person didn’t submit an exam paper.

But where had the exam paper of that year’s top scholar, Liu Cheng, gone?

After the office closed for the day, Su Cen waited until everyone had left before he stood up. He quietly peeked out the door to make sure Qi Lin wasn’t standing outside, then finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed that Li Shi had indeed followed through on his words, or perhaps he hadn’t even given it a second thought. Maybe, with someone more charming by his side, Li Shi had already forgotten who Su Cen was.

When Su Cen returned home, he noticed that the hibiscus at the front gate had grown significantly taller, and he could already see the flower buds forming.

Pushing open the door, he found Ah Fu sweeping the courtyard, occasionally bickering with Qu Ling’er. Hearing the sound of the gate, Ah Fu turned around and froze in place.

“Second Young Master…”

Su Cen smiled and said, “What? Don’t recognize me anymore?”

Ah Fu dropped the broom and rushed over, wanting to grab Su Cen’s sleeve but hesitated because his hands were dirty. After a long moment of awkwardness, he nervously wrung his hands and said, “Second Young Master… you’ve finally returned. If you hadn’t come back soon, I was about to report you missing to the authorities… Oh, but you’re an official… But Ling’er said reporting wouldn’t help. Did you offend some important person? Do I need to pack our things? If worse comes to worst, we could flee back to our old home in Suzhou…”

Su Cen chuckled and patted his shoulder.

Ah Fu’s eyes filled with tears. “Second Young Master, have you suffered outside? Look at you, you’ve lost weight.”

Su Cen replied, “…Are you blind?”

Whether or not he had suffered was debatable. He had been feasting every day at Xingqing Palace; losing weight was out of the question.

Ah Fu didn’t seem to care. “What would you like to eat, Second Young Master? I’ll cook for you.”

“…Just some plain porridge and simple dishes.”

Ah Fu cheerfully agreed and went off to prepare, dragging Qu Ling’er up from the lounge chair. “The Second Young Master is back. Go pour him some tea.”

Qu Ling’er, looking annoyed, muttered, “What does his return have to do with me?”

But under Ah Fu’s murderous gaze, Qu Ling’er reluctantly complied, “Fine, fine! Brother Su, you’ve worked hard! Please sit, I’ll go brew some tea for you.”

Su Cen smiled and sat down on the lounge chair that Qu Ling’er had just vacated. The courtyard was neatly arranged, clearly the result of Ah Fu’s meticulous care. Even the flowers and plants he had planted by the windowsill had sprouted, showing that Ah Fu had tended to them carefully.

No matter how luxurious a golden or silver nest may be, nothing compares to the comfort of one’s own home.

Qu Ling’er soon returned with two cups of tea, handing one to Su Cen. He took a sip and instantly froze. A mouthful of tea sprayed out, traveling a good distance.

“Qu Ling’er! Where did you get this tea?!” Su Cen barked.

Qu Ling’er quickly jumped back, startled. “Wh-what’s wrong? What’s wrong with the tea? I thought it tasted good, so I brewed it for you.”

“Do you have any idea how much this tea costs per ounce?” Su Cen looked at the tiny white hairs on the tea leaves, heartbroken. “You couldn’t afford it even if you sold yourself!”

Qu Ling’er glanced at the cup, sheepishly scratching his head. “Tea is just meant to be drunk, right…?”

“How much is left?”

Qu Ling’er quietly took a few steps back, “… just the bottom of the jar…”

“Qu Ling’er!” Su Cen kicked toward him, but Qu Ling’er was prepared. He flipped up onto the roof, grinning shamelessly, “Brother Su, calm down! I’ve already drunk it, hitting me won’t help. At worst, I’ll repay you by working like an ox or a horse in the future.”

Su Cen shot him a glare and stormed off. “Let’s see if you have the guts to come down tonight!”

Even through dinner, Su Cen still gave Qu Ling’er the cold shoulder. Qu Ling’er knew he had really messed up this time. For Su Cen, who normally cared little about money, to get this angry showed just how valuable the tea was. Guessing that Su Cen was about to go to bed, Qu Ling’er knocked softly on his door.

It took a while before Su Cen reluctantly opened the door.

“Brother Su, I really didn’t mean it,” Qu Ling’er said as he followed Su Cen into the room. “You had so much tea stored together, I couldn’t tell which was the good one…”

Su Cen shot him a sharp look. “If you couldn’t tell, how did you manage to pick the most expensive one?!”

“I just grabbed a jar at random…” Qu Ling’er pouted, looking pitiful. “I’ve already drunk it. What do you want me to do now?”

Su Cen sat down with a pained expression. He knew he shouldn’t be this upset, but seeing the tea reminded him of someone. He thought back to the tea discussion by the Lakeside Pavilion, and had planned to give this tea as a gift someday. Little did he know, Qu Ling’er had enjoyed it first.

Knowing that staying mad was pointless, Su Cen changed the subject. “How did that matter I asked you to investigate turn out?”

“Yes,” Qu Ling’er nodded seriously, showing he understood.

“Who was it?” Su Cen asked.

After a brief pause, Qu Ling’er answered, “Liu Cheng.”

 

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