PC Chapter 46

A few days later, Xiao Yuancheng’s case was concluded. The public’s outrage had already been stirred during his trial for recklessly riding his horse through the city, and it only worsened after his deliberate act of revenge, where he killed a widow and her child. The severity of the situation reached the emperor, who ordered severe punishment to quell the public’s anger. It was decided that Xiao Yuancheng would be executed in the autumn.

At the same time, news came from the Longyou region that the King of Northern Liang had already set out for the capital. It was expected that he would soon hand over command of the Northern Liang army and then retire to some quiet southern town with Xiao Yuancheng, living out his days as a minor, idle prince.

As the weather grew colder, Su Cen leaned against the window, watching the clouds drift by, sighing. Xiao Yuancheng’s downfall was ultimately his own doing, but Su Cen couldn’t help but wonder how much of it was also due to Li Shi’s subtle machinations.

In Fengsu Tongyi, there is a saying: “When officials ride fat horses, the spectators rejoice, and the rider delights in their words, rushing on heedlessly until death.” It refers to the idea of being flattered into ruin. This was precisely Xiao Yuancheng’s fate. From the moment he entered the capital, Li Shi brought him into the Xingqing Palace, showing him superficial care but secretly feeding him a slow-acting poison. Li Shi allowed Xiao Yuancheng to indulge in his arrogance and recklessness, causing trouble across the city. Disaster was only a matter of time. Even the meeting at the lakeside pavilion must have been carefully planned, with everyone knowing what Xiao Yuancheng wanted, while Li Shi deliberately kept his distance. By sending Su Cen out at that moment, it only fueled his anger, which in turn became the perfect catalyst for more trouble.

Li Shi had calculated everything from the start. He manipulated events from afar, merely offering Xiao Yuancheng occasional and distant favors, and in return, Xiao delivered the command of the Northern Liang army right into his hands.

Su Cen gazed up at the sky, feeling neither sorrow nor joy. As the regent, Li Shi had the responsibility of balancing the affairs of the state, with no room for personal concerns. Romance, if it existed, was likely the least important matter in the grand scheme of things.

Su Cen wasn’t sure how to define their relationship or what Li Shi saw in him. He wasn’t naive enough to take their interactions in bed seriously. Moreover, Li Shi was a disciplined man who never made any promises. That one time he said, “You’re not Su Daji, you’re Su Qin,” he was referring to the formality of their roles as ruler and minister, not to any intimate feelings.

So, whenever Li Shi called for him, Su Cen would willingly go. And when it was time to leave, he had no unrealistic expectations. All he wanted was to follow his heart without regrets.

With Xiao Yuancheng’s case settled, the mother and son’s bodies could finally be returned to their hometown for burial.

The Dali Temple had an ice cellar specially designed to store bodies, located in the courtyard behind the court. This ensured that evidence on the corpses wouldn’t be lost, even during the summer heat.

After finishing work at the court, Su Cen carried a bucket of water to the courtyard and slowly descended the stone steps. The ice cellar was rarely visited, and his footsteps echoed off the cold stone walls. As the door creaked open, a gust of cold air hit him.

The bodies of the mother and child lay in the center of the ice cellar. Though many days had passed, Su Cen still felt a dull pain in his chest, like a heavy blow to his heart.

In this case, the only victims were the two most innocent people. Su Cen couldn’t bear to imagine their last moments, battered and wounded, staring at the deep trench that would swallow them. He couldn’t fathom what that child, clutching his two coins, must have been thinking. Nor could he bear to consider how disappointed they might be, knowing he hadn’t truly delivered them justice.

Taking a deep breath, Su Cen slowly stepped forward, knelt before their bodies, and solemnly knocktowed three times.

He owed them an explanation, and the Great Zhou owed the mother and son an explanation as well.

After bowing deeply, Su Cen finally stood up, carrying the bucket to clean the dirt off the two bodies. Having been stored in the ice cellar for several days, their skin had turned a cold, pale blue. Aside from the whip marks left by Xiao Yuancheng, both bodies bore numerous blunt force injuries, which became even more apparent after being preserved in the cold.

Su Cen didn’t feel it was appropriate to handle the woman’s clothing, so he only cleaned her face and then took out a wooden comb to tidy her disheveled hair.

Suddenly, Su Cen’s hand froze, and his brow furrowed slowly.

Gently parting her hair, he uncovered a clear indentation on her skull.

The coroner had said that she died from severe head trauma, so finding a head wound wasn’t surprising. However, the location of the wound was unusual — it was right at the top of her head, at the Baihui acupoint.

If someone falls from a height, it’s common for the forehead or the back of the head to strike the ground. But how could someone fall in such a way that the exact top of the head hits the ground?

Su Cen put down the comb and rushed over to the child’s body. After examining the scalp, his heart chilled.

One person might be a coincidence, but both bodies had the same injury. How could that be explained?

Was it Xiao Yuancheng?

It was believable that Xiao Yuancheng had whipped them and forced them into the ditch, but to pursue them and deliver such a deadly blow didn’t seem like something the pampered young heir was capable of. Moreover, while the Baihui point is critical, it’s still protected by the skull, making it difficult to injure. The fact that both wounds were clean, with no signs of repeated trauma, and that there was no dirt or debris around the scalp, suggested that a single strike had killed them both. And it wasn’t done with a stone — it appeared the killer had shattered their skulls with just two fingers.

Su Cen couldn’t believe Xiao Yuancheng possessed such skill.

So… the mother and child weren’t killed by Xiao Yuancheng. Instead, someone arrived afterward and framed him. But why? If someone had a grudge against Xiao Yuancheng, they could have directly punished or even killed him. Why resort to this method? What was the motive behind this?

Who stood to gain from Xiao Yuancheng’s imprisonment? And who had the skill to do such a thing?

Su Cen’s fingers trembled, his knuckles turning pale as his body weakened, causing him to sit down heavily. The cold slowly crept up, and despite the clear daylight, he began to shiver.

If it really was him… what should he do?

The ice cellar door was suddenly slammed open. Startled, Su Cen looked back, momentarily blinded by the sunlight streaming in from outside. It took a while before he could see who had entered.

“Xiao Sun?”

“Lord Su, finally, I found you,” Xiao Sun sighed in relief but hesitated at the doorway, scratching his head nervously. “Lord Su, you need to leave quickly.”

“What happened?” Su Cen frowned.

“Lord Zhang sent me to find you, told me to get you to hide somewhere quickly,” Xiao Sun said, pacing anxiously at the boundary between light and darkness. The ice cellar was filled with corpses, and it was clear that Xiao Sun was scared to come inside, his nerves fraying like an ant on a hot pan. He wanted to rush in but couldn’t muster the courage, so he could only stand there helplessly.

Su Cen pushed himself up from the icy ground. His legs, numb from the cold and sitting too long, stung sharply as soon as he stood. He stumbled and nearly fell back down.

Seeing this, Xiao Sun clenched his teeth, finally deciding to brave it. He charged into the darkness and grabbed Su Cen to help him up.

What followed was a blood-curdling scream echoing through the ice cellar. Xiao Sun, as if stung by a bee, leaped back three paces, inadvertently pushing Su Cen to the ground once more.

“Su, Su, Lord Su… are you a person or a ghost?!”

Su Cen’s hands were icy cold, too cold to be those of a living person.

“…” Su Cen gritted his teeth through the dull pain and stood up again. Frowning, he asked, “Forget whether I’m a ghost or not. What happened?”

Xiao Sun, still trembling, pointed outside. “If… if you’re a ghost, then no problem. But if you’re still alive… the… the Northern Liang King has arrived.”

“The Northern Liang King?” Su Cen froze. “Xiao Yan?!”

In the end, it took all of Su Cen’s strength to drag Xiao Sun out of the ice cellar.

Once Xiao Sun saw Su Cen standing in the sunlight, he finally believed that Su Cen was indeed alive. He grabbed Su Cen, pulling him toward the back gate. “Lord Zhang said you should leave quickly through the back door. He’ll stall them at the front.”

Su Cen frowned, hesitant. “What about you all if I leave?”

Xiao Sun struggled to push him toward the door. “Xiao Yuancheng’s case was handled by you. Xiao Yan is clearly here for you. Besides, who is Lord Zhang? You think he’d let anyone take advantage of him?”

Indeed, the case had been handled solely by Su Cen, and if anyone would bear the brunt of Xiao Yan’s anger, it would be him. Gritting his teeth, Su Cen made a quick decision. It was better to live to fight another day; whatever needed to be said could wait.

Just as he opened the courtyard gate, a sharp crack sounded. Su Cen clutched his arm and stumbled back a few steps. A man entered slowly, holding a horsewhip, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the area. “Which one of you is Su Cen?”

 

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