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

After reading half of the living people's account book, Zhao Guanlan remained silent for a long time.

Inside the Censorate's office, the charcoal brazier was burning poorly.

The firelight reflected on his face, making his wrinkles appear even deeper.

On the table were items taken from the old clothes basket of Ci'en Temple.

Old children's clothes.

Corner of the wooden sign.

The living people's account.

Burn the red thread black.

There was also that paper package that read, "The Ministry of Rites has taken three boxes of old disaster relief clothing and placed them in the Ceremonial Office."

None of them are very big.

When put together, the aroma was so overwhelming that no one in the room wanted to drink tea.

Zhao Guanlan finally spoke.

"Are you sure this was delivered by Lan Bugui?"

I said, "The orchid needles are on the basket."

"Is the needle poisoned?"

"have."

Zhao Guanlan glanced at me.

She still doesn't believe you.

I nodded.

"That's good."

Zhao Guanlan frowned.

"good?"

"If she believes me, it might actually be a lie."

Zhao Guanlan did not refute.

He also knew that if someone like Lan Bugui suddenly became friendly, that would be something to be grateful for.

I pushed the living people's tent over there.

"My lord, the Ministry of Revenue case cannot be investigated by only focusing on money and grain."

Zhao Guanlan looked down at the accounts.

"Living people are being removed from the relief register, while dead people are still receiving rations. If this register is real, then the Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief register is two separate registers."

"Two books?"

"One copy is for the imperial court, so that both the dead and the living can be fed. The other copy is for the lower ranks, so that they know which living people are nameless and which dead people are eligible."

I nodded.

This is the most disgusting part.

False accounts cannot be fabricated casually.

It needs a real backing.

Which household has a dead body that can be used, which household has a living body that can be wiped out, which household has escaped and will not return, which household has children who are prone to causing trouble, and which household is sick and about to die and will not survive until the capital.

Someone needs to keep track of all of these.

Therefore, what Lan Bugui provided was not the Ministry of Revenue's official account.

It is a fragment of the "Living Person's Record".

If this half-page were expanded, it could probably reveal all the disaster victims in the three prefectures north of the Yangtze River who were erased from history.

Zhao Guanlan pointed to the words "Fang Chenshi, not included in the relief register".

"Has Fang Chenshi been settled?"

"Yes."

"Protect it well."

"I've already had Yan Xiaoyi arrange someone."

Zhao Guanlan looked up.

"You're getting better and better at ordering around the imperial guards."

I sighed.

"Sir, I don't want to either. But I have no one to help me."

"You can contact the Censorate."

"The Censorate's people are good at investigating officials, but they're not as good as Yan Xiaoyi at guarding against assassins."

Zhao Guanlan fell silent for a moment after I said that.

It might not be the most pleasant thing to say, but it's true.

The Censor of the Censorate may be stubborn, but his legs may not be.

When faced with impeachment in the imperial court, they dared to bang their heads against pillars.

When they encounter assassins from the Clearing House, they might not even see which wall the assassin climbed over from.

Zhao Guanlan picked up the old children's clothes and turned them over to the inside with the character "入" (ru).

"The former laundry bureau is now included in the register."

"That's what Master Huiming said too."

"In the eleventh year of Chengxi, the burial clothes of the former Laundry Bureau were registered, and the Ministry of Rites' Ceremonial Department did indeed handle them," Zhao Guanlan said in a low voice. "Back then, the Ministry of Rites kept records of funeral rites in the palace, the old clothes of empresses and concubines, and the burial clothes of criminal slaves."

I looked at him.

"My lord, have you checked before?"

Zhao Guanlan remained silent for a moment.

"I've checked a bit."

I didn't ask any further questions.

Every veteran censor has some old cases that haven't been investigated yet.

Some were lost because the evidence was no longer available.

Some are because people have died.

Some people thought that if the investigation continued, they would die.

Zhao Guanlan continued, "But the connection to the old laundry bureau was suppressed by the Secretariat. The reason given was that it was an old palace custom, and officials outside the court were not allowed to investigate it thoroughly."

Zhongshu (Secretariat).

Pei Shen.

Wang Ge Lao.

The Old Minister Group.

The net in my heart tightened a little more.

The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of silver and grain.

The Ministry of Rites was in charge of registering names and clothing.

The Secretariat suppressed old cases.

Old silver was hanging in the inner treasury.

The accounting committee was not hidden in any particular government office.

It resembled a layer of mold, growing in the cracks of the entire Liangguan-style wall.

You wipe one spot off, but the other spot is still turning black.

Zhao Guanlan said, "The Ministry of Rites took three boxes of old disaster relief clothing; this matter needs to be investigated."

"Me?"

No, you can't go.

I was taken aback.

Zhao Guanlan looked at me.

"You cannot touch the Ministry of Rites' storeroom right now. The Ministry of Rites is watching the cuffs of your wedding dress. If you check the old clothes in the Ministry of Rites now, they will immediately say that you are interfering with the national ceremony because of personal grudges."

I thought about it.

indeed.

Zhou Xiangang forced me to try on the clothes, and I immediately turned around and checked the old disaster relief clothes from the Ministry of Rites.

If I were to speak of it in court, it would be interpreted as me being guilty and turning the tables on others.

"Then who will go?"

Zhao Guanlan said, "I'll go and retrieve the records of old disaster clothing entering the Ministry of Rites' inventory. You continue checking the Ministry of Revenue's records."

"Zheng Huai'en won't sit idly by and take a beating from the Ministry of Revenue."

"So you need to be even faster."

Zhao Guanlan placed the living people's account book on the table.

"The West Soup Bowl is just one outlet. If you want to find another soup bowl, it's best to find one that's not under the Ministry of Revenue's nose."

I understand what he meant.

A soup kitchen could be considered a coincidence.

Two places, three places, and it becomes a system.

Even if the Ministry of Revenue holds another debate, it cannot be said that all the ashes from the stoves in the outskirts of Beijing are falsely accusing Zheng Huaien.

I asked, "Which area should we check?"

Zhao Guanlan took out a map showing the locations of soup kitchens in the capital region.

"Southern soup kitchen".

I glanced at it.

Why?

"The western soup kitchen is located near the north bank of the river, where many refugees live. It's easy to be accused of deliberately leading you there. The southern soup kitchen is for disaster victims from Shimen Prefecture. The Ministry of Revenue's records state that the epidemic has been controlled and the medicine has been distributed correctly."

Shimen Prefecture.

Epidemic.

Calming incense.

I am reminded of the bronze incense burner in Zheng Huaien's inner hall.

Then I remembered that in the medicine treasury of Shimen Prefecture, there were few medicines to treat the epidemic, but many calming incense.

"Checking for medicine at the South Soup Dishes?"

"Investigate the medicine, and also the people," Zhao Guanlan said. "If there are also living people without names or dead people receiving medicine in Shimen Prefecture, then the Ministry of Revenue's case will be half-confirmed."

I nodded.

"Go tomorrow."

Zhao Guanlan looked at me.

"You're going home tonight."

"Does the master think I should rest?"

"no."

Zhao Guanlan pushed a scroll of documents toward me.

"The Ministry of Rites sent the wedding ceremony review letter this evening. Tomorrow at Shenshi (3-5 PM), the Ministry of Rites and the Princess's residence will jointly review the cuffs of the wedding dress at your residence. You can't avoid it."

I looked at the scroll of documents.

My head is starting to hurt again.

Inquire with the Ministry of Revenue, then go to the South Soup Dishes Shed.

Investigate the Ministry of Rites to guard against Zhou Xian.

Investigating old cases, waiting for Lan to return.

They also need to get married.

My recent days have been like a piece of paper covered in writing, with no blank corners left.

I said, "My lord, if I die before my wedding, please send a memorial to His Majesty on my behalf."

Zhao Guanlan remained expressionless.

"Write what?"

"It is suggested that Shen An be given a larger pension for his hard work for the country."

Zhao Guanlan said coldly, "Don't worry, if you die, the Ministry of Revenue will deduct 30% of your pension, the Ministry of Rites will use it to cover the shortfall in your wedding expenses, and finally, when it reaches your residence, A-Liu will receive at most two strings of cash."

I remained silent for a moment.

"Your Excellency is speaking more and more like a subordinate."

Zhao Guanlan snorted coldly.

"It's you who corrupted the Censorate."

It was already dark when I left the Censorate.

Ah Liu followed behind me, carrying an old clothes basket and looking miserable.

"Young master, should we take this basket back with us too?"

"bring."

"Could it be poisonous?"

"The needles are poisoned, and we don't have a basket right now."

"temporary?"

"You can move away from here."

Ah Liu immediately stretched the basket further away from himself, but almost bumped into the candied hawthorn vendor on the roadside.

The vendor glared at him.

Ah Liu quickly apologized.

I bought two strings of candied hawthorns.

One string for Ah Liu.

He took one string of them himself.

Ah Liu looked at the candied hawthorn in his hand with a complicated expression.

"Young master, why did you suddenly buy this?"

"Because you look pitiful."

"Then why are you eating it yourself?"

"I'm pitiful too."

Ah Liu thought about it and agreed.

The candied hawthorn berries were very sour.

It was so sour it made my teeth clench.

But the outer layer of sugar is sweet.

That's just how people are sometimes; even knowing it's bittersweet, they'll still be fooled by the sweetness first.

When they returned to Chengpingfang, Qiutang was already waiting outside the door.

She had no one else with her, only a small lamp.

The light shone on her face, making her appear even colder than usual.

I handed the candied hawthorn to Ah Liu and told him to go in first.

Ah Liu was very sensible; he ran very fast while carrying the basket and candied hawthorns.

I looked at Qiutang.

"Does His Highness have something else to say?"

Qiu Tang nodded.

"His Highness requests that Lord Shen meet at the side gate of the Princess's residence tonight."

My brow twitched.

"tonight?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

Qiu Tang looked at me.

"His Highness said that with the wedding date approaching, there are some things that cannot be asked on the wedding night."

I suddenly felt the short blade in my sleeve grow cold again.

"What does Your Highness wish to ask?"

Qiu Tang said, "Two things."

Which two items?

"account."

She paused for a moment.

"And a knife."

A gust of wind blew in from the alley entrance, stirring up some fallen leaves on the ground.

I looked at the lamp in Qiu Tang's hand.

The light flickered, as if it had been lowered by something unseen.

The wedding is in seven days.

I originally thought that the moment the knife would be revealed would be on the wedding night.

It seems that Xiao Lingyi is no longer willing to wait.

She wants to find out the details before getting married.

Whom was I originally intended to kill with this knife hidden in my sleeve?