My father ordered me to kill the emperor, but His Majesty bestowed a princess upon me instead.

When I returned to Chengpingfang covered in dust, Ah Liu looked even more like a wounded soldier than I did.

He supported me the whole way, his face deathly pale, constantly muttering, "Young Master, please hang in there, please hang in there."

I looked down at the wound on my right arm.

The skin was torn open, and although there wasn't much blood, it hurt.

I asked, "Do you think I look like I'm about to die?"

Ah Liu looked at it carefully: "It doesn't look like it."

"Then why are you crying?"

"I'm just scared now."

"Keep your voice down, or the doorman will hear you and think I'm going to die."

Two gatekeepers stood at the door, watching us.

One gaze was steady, the other even steadyer.

They saw the blood on my sleeve, but simply stepped forward to bow without asking any further questions.

These kinds of people are the most troublesome.

Even an ordinary doorman would be alarmed to see his master injured, and would at least put on a show of concern.

They don't ask.

This shows that they know what they should ask and what they shouldn't ask.

This also shows that they will definitely say what needs to be said to the right people.

I went into the front hall and sat down.

Ah Liu was busy looking for medicine, rummaging through drawers and cabinets, making such a racket that it looked like a house raid.

"Young master, where is the medicine?"

"The cabinet on the left."

"Which left?"

"Your own left."

"oh."

He finally found a bottle of medicinal wine, uncorked it, and took a sniff. His face scrunched up.

"Why does this smell like a stable?"

"As long as it can heal the wounds, that's fine."

Ah Liu dipped a cloth in the medicinal wine and pressed it onto my arm.

I almost kicked him out.

"Be gentle."

"Young master, the medicine will only be effective if it seeps into the skin."

"What you're calling soaking is pickling."

Ah Liu lightened his grip a little, but his mouth didn't stop: "If you ask me, we should bring more people with us when we go out in the future. Look how scary it was today. If that car had veered off course by even half a foot, we would have both been taken to the mortuary."

"Won't."

Why?

"Even a mortuary might not be able to accommodate two bodies this flat."

Ah Liu's hand trembled.

I gasped in pain.

He quickly lowered his head and said, "I was wrong, I've stopped shaking."

After the wound was treated, I asked him to close the door.

There are three things spread out on the table.

Ministry of Works account books.

The Annals of Yongning Prefecture.

There's also a small rough stone that I picked up from the alley.

The stone was grayish-white and rough, with sharp, recently broken edges. Placed on the table, it didn't look like evidence, but rather like a warning from someone else.

Ah Liu looked at it, his voice much lower: "Young Master, is this stone really coming for us?"

"Um."

"How did they know we were going out?"

This is a very important question.

I also want to know.

My plan to go to Anling was a last-minute change of heart. Not many people know about it.

I.

Ah Liu.

Manager Chen.

There might also be people watching me from nearby.

Of course, there was also Gu Xingzhi.

If Gu Xingzhi wanted to kill me, he wouldn't need to use a cart.

He doesn't even need to lift a finger; just having the palace guards ask me one more question is enough to give me a hard time.

"It's not Gu Xingzhi," I said.

Ah Liu was taken aback: "I didn't say it was him."

"It's written all over your face."

He immediately touched his face.

I ignored him and continued, "Gu Xingzhi is the emperor's man. The emperor doesn't want me to die right now."

"So it's the Ministry of Works that wants you dead?"

"It's not necessarily just the Ministry of Works."

Ah Liu stopped talking.

The case is now both very clear and very unclear.

It is clear that there are indeed problems with the Yongning River channel.

What's unclear is just how deep this issue goes.

The Ministry of Works exchanged accounts.

Fang Yuanshi fled for his life.

Repairing the dike with rubble.

Murder using a handcart.

These things can be explained individually, but they don't make sense when put together.

A mere river management official couldn't handle such a large undertaking.

Even a vice minister of the Ministry of Works might not dare to take such action in the capital.

Unless they have someone backing them.

Or rather, they knew that even if they took action, someone would cover for them.

Footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

Ah Liu immediately tensed up.

I raised my hand to signal him not to move.

The gatekeeper announced from outside, "Lord Shen, medicine has arrived from the palace."

Ah Liu and I exchanged a glance.

In the palace?

A moment later, a young eunuch came in carrying a medicine box.

He smiled politely: "Lord Shen, Commander Gu heard that you were frightened today, so he ordered me to bring you some medicine for bruises and sprains."

Gu Xingzhi.

I heard.

These two words are used very well.

He stood at the alley entrance and watched the whole thing, and now he says he's heard about it.

I took the medicine box and said, "Please thank Lord Gu for me."

After the young eunuch left, Ah Liu came closer and looked at the medicine box as if it were a poisonous snake.

"Young master, is this medicine safe to use?"

"able."

"Aren't you afraid it's poisonous?"

"If he wanted to poison me, he wouldn't have needed to remind me to watch my step."

I opened the medicine box.

Inside were two bottles of medicine, one for stopping bleeding and the other for reducing blood stasis. The bottles lacked any palace markings, suggesting they were standard items kept by the imperial guards.

Gu Xingzhi's delivery of medicine was not out of concern.

It tells me three things.

First, he knew I was injured.

Secondly, he knew that I knew he was watching.

Third, he still won't openly help me.

This person is annoying.

What's annoying is that he knows everything, yet he never reveals anything.

I was putting the medicine bottle away when Manager Chen arrived.

This time he entered through the main entrance.

Because this house is no longer the backyard of the pharmacy, the more furtive the underhanded dealings are, the easier it is for people to keep an eye on them.

When Manager Chen entered, he saw that my arm was wrapped in cloth and frowned slightly.

"Is Young Master Shen injured?"

"Minor injury."

"Who did it?"

"I don't know for now."

Manager Chen glanced at the rough stone on the table, and his expression changed.

He's been buried in the capital for many years, so there's no need to explain things in too much detail.

I asked, "Any news from Anling?"

Manager Chen nodded: "Yes."

I sat up a little straighter.

"Fang Yuanshi's body is still in the mortuary. Someone did go to inquire about it, but for some reason, it wasn't dealt with immediately."

"Who asked that?"

"Someone who claims to be from the Ministry of Justice."

Ministry of Justice.

It's the Ministry of Justice again.

I wrote down those two words.

"What about your family?"

Shopkeeper Chen said, "We have some leads. Fang Yuanshi has a wife and a son. His wife's surname is Zhou, and his son is five years old. After the eve of the Lunar New Year, the Fang family suddenly went empty. But our people found out that Fang Zhoushi has a distant cousin who is married in Zhao Family Village, Pei County."

"Where did they go?"

"It's not certain yet."

Why?

"A mother and son did come to Zhao Family Village a while ago and stayed at a widow's house. The widow claimed to be a distant relative, but everyone in the village said they had never heard of her having such a relative."

I tapped my fingers lightly on the table.

A mother and child.

The timing is right.

The age matches up.

Fang Yuanshi died, but his wife and children went into hiding.

now it's right.

If Fang Yuanshi had only intended to silence him, the other party would not have spared his family.

Unless they haven't found it.

Or perhaps Fang Zhoushi was holding something that forced her to hide, and also forced the other party to search for her.

Ah Liu asked in a low voice, "Young Master, could Fang Yuanshi have hidden the account book with his wife?"

I glanced at him.

Ah Liu immediately straightened up: "Did I hit the nail on the head this time?"

"Yes."

He was actually quite happy.

I told Manager Chen, "Don't touch her."

Shopkeeper Chen was taken aback: "No contact?"

"Keep an eye on it."

"Is Young Master Shen afraid of alerting the enemy?"

"It's not fear, it's certain."

I pointed to the rough stones on the table.

"I was just about to go to Anling today when someone hit me with this thing. It means that if I move, the other person will move too. If Fang Zhou is really in Zhao Family Village, rashly contacting her will only lead the person who killed her there as well."

Manager Chen nodded: "I understand."

"Furthermore, find out whether Fang Yuanshi sent anything home before his death. Account books, bundles, letters, even a single piece of paper—check them all."

"it is good."

Manager Chen answered quickly.

But he didn't leave right away.

I can see it.

"Is there anything else?"

Manager Chen took out a very thin letter from his sleeve.

"For the master."

As I looked at the letter, I suddenly felt the pain in my arm intensify.

My father's letters are more accurate than the Ministry of Works' rubble.

I took it apart.

The letter contained few words.

It's still that same penmanship that suppresses its fiery temper.

Are you going to the capital to investigate corrupt officials or to assassinate the emperor?

Ah Liu stood far away, too afraid to look.

Manager Chen also lowered his head.

The study fell silent.

I stared at that sentence for a long time.

My father knew that I was working in the Ministry of Works.

Of course he knew.

He has eyes and ears in the capital; sooner or later, news of what happens in the court will reach him.

He just felt that I was biased.

My purpose in coming to the capital is to get close to Xiao Jingheng and find an opportunity to make a move within three months.

But now?

I became a censor.

They moved into the house bestowed by the emperor.

The princess was betrothed to him.

He was tasked with investigating old accounts of the Ministry of Works for the emperor.

He was even nearly killed in a car accident because of this case.

From my dad's perspective, I do seem to have forgotten about the important things.

The problem is, I haven't forgotten.

I just feel more and more that this so-called important matter is not so simple.

The emperor may have placed me in the spotlight not necessarily because he trusts me.

My father sent me to the capital, not necessarily because he trusted me.

They're all using me.

The only difference is that one gave me an official uniform, and the other gave me a short blade.

Ah Liu couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Young Master, what did the Master say?"

I placed the letter on the candlelight.

The flames licked the corner of the paper.

That sentence quickly turned black, curled up, and turned to ash.

He said I wasn't doing my job properly.

Ah Liu thought for a moment: "Then how will you reply?"

I watched as the ashes fell beside the inkstone.

"Tell him that investigating corrupt officials is a way to get closer to the emperor."

Manager Chen looked up at me.

I continued, "Also, tell him that the emperor hasn't given me a second chance."

Manager Chen said in a low voice, "The master may not be satisfied."

"I know."

"That……"

"Then let him be dissatisfied for now."

After he said that, the study fell silent again.

Manager Chen's gaze towards me changed.

I know what he's thinking.

The old Shen An might not have dared to respond to Shen Lie like this.

But when you stay in the capital for a long time, sometimes your courage doesn't grow, but you're forced to have nowhere to hide.

I've seen emperors so many times, and occasionally I can stand up to my father, and it seems like I can survive.

At least for now, they can still live.

Manager Chen put away the reply and turned to leave.

Ah Liu closed the door and looked back at me.

"Young Master."

"Um?"

"Do you think the master will send someone to urge you?"

I looked down at the Ministry of Works' account books on the table.

"meeting."

"Who?"

A face popped into my head.

Xu Sandao.

He was the one who taught me when I was a child and I practiced the wrong steps incorrectly.

He was the one who kicked me into the ditch, making me understand the principle that "if you can't dodge the first blow, you won't get a second one."

If my father thinks I'm dragging this out too long, he'll definitely send Xu Sandao.

That's what truly brings death.

I closed the ledger.

"Never mind my father for now. We'll figure out a way to get to Anling tomorrow."

Ah Liu's face paled again: "Going again?"

"go."

"I was hit by a car today."

"So we definitely need to go tomorrow."

Why?

"They don't want me to see Fang Yuanshi."

I picked up the rough stone and put it in the drawer.

"Then I'll watch it anyway."

Night was falling.

The shadow of the gatehouse outside the courtyard fell on the window paper again.

The alley to the north was unusually quiet, and there was no movement from the direction of the Princess's Mansion.

But I know that many people will not be able to sleep well tonight.

Ministry of Works.

Ministry of Justice.

Manager Chen.

Perhaps there's also a princess.

As for me...

I can't sleep well either.

It's not that I'm afraid of dying.

My main problem is my arm.

And then, something suddenly came to mind.

If Fang Yuanshi's wife is really alive, what she holds in her hand may not be evidence.

Instead, it's the next death knell.

Whoever finds her first will decide where the case goes.

If I find her first, she is a witness.

If someone else finds her first, she'll be dead.