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

The side gate of the princess's residence is much smaller than the main gate.

It's also much colder.

The main gate is decorated with stone lions, lanterns, and guards, exuding royal grandeur.

The side entrance consists of only a narrow alley, two lanterns, and a black lacquered door worn dark by the passage of time.

As I stood outside the door, I suddenly felt that this place was perfect for a private conversation.

It is also suitable for murder.

Ah Liu shrank behind me and whispered, "Young master, could I not go in?"

I glanced at him.

Why?

"This is the princess's residence."

"so?"

"It's full of His Highness's people."

"Are you afraid they'll eat you?"

Ah Liu thought about it seriously.

"I don't mind eating, but I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing and being remembered by Miss Qiutang. She's even more meticulous in judging people than the Ministry of Revenue is when they audit accounts."

I am very pleased.

Ah Liu finally developed some discernment in judging people.

Unfortunately, there aren't many.

I said, "You stay outside."

Ah Liu's eyes lit up.

"real?"

"If I don't come out within half an hour, you should go back to your residence."

He froze.

"Call for reinforcements?"

"no."

"That is?"

"Hide the account books."

Ah Liu's face fell immediately.

"Young master, could you perhaps value my life a little more than the account books sometimes?"

I thought about it.

"It's difficult."

Ah Liu almost burst into tears.

The side door opens from the inside.

Qiu Tang stood inside the door with a lantern, her expression calm.

She saw me and bowed first.

"Lord Shen, His Highness is waiting."

I nodded and followed her inside.

Ah Liu didn't follow.

He stood outside the door with his sleeves crossed, looking as if he were sending me to my execution.

The princess's residence was very quiet.

This tranquility is different from that of Ci'en Temple.

The tranquility of Ci'en Temple is created by the pressing of incense ash.

The tranquility of the princess's residence is a result of strict rules.

There was a lamp every few steps along the corridor, its light dim but enough to make it easy to see. The maids walked silently, and the guards stood far away in the shadows, their eyes not on me, but I knew they could be on me at any moment.

I carried a knife in my sleeve.

"Returning to the sheath" is attached to the wrist bone.

It's colder than usual.

Bringing a knife into the princess's residence is against the rules.

But now, if I don't carry a knife, I feel like I'm breaking the rules.

Qiu Tang walked ahead and suddenly said, "Lord Shen, there's no need to be nervous."

I smiled.

"Do I look nervous?"

Qiu Tang turned around and glanced at me.

"It doesn't look like it."

I was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.

She added, "That's why I'm nervous."

I fell silent.

Those around the princess are indeed not easy to fool.

The side hall is located on the east side of the princess's residence.

There was a pot of orchids under the window. The leaves were a cool green color. Unlike the few pots of orchids in the backyard of Ci'en Temple that were about to freeze and wither, this pot was well grown. The tips of the leaves had been trimmed.

Xiao Lingyi sat under the lamp.

She wore a plain white dress with a light blue cloak over it, and wore very little jewelry, only holding her hair up with a jade hairpin.

The light fell on her profile, making her eyes and brows appear even colder.

I entered and bowed.

"Your Highness, I have come to pay my respects."

She looked up.

"sit."

There was no small talk.

They didn't ask me why I was late.

There was no nonsense about the wedding being approaching.

I sat down.

Qiu Tang retreated to the door, and only the soft crackling of the lamp wick remained in the room.

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

What did Ci'en Temple obtain?

I took the living people's account book out of my arms and placed it on the table.

"Half a tent."

She reached out and took it, glancing at it quickly.

But she wasn't sweeping when she looked at the accounts.

It means to arrest.

They could spot a person's name at a glance, their place of origin at another, and the phrase "not included in the relief register" at yet another.

After reading it, she showed no surprise.

This means she had already guessed part of it.

"The Living Persons' Account"

I nodded.

"Fang Chenshi and Fang Xiaogen are still alive, but they are not included in the relief register. Fang Deshun and Fang Liushi are dead, but they have already received the relief."

Xiao Lingyi's fingertip stopped on "Not included in the relief register".

"The fact that the dead are receiving rations only proves that the Ministry of Revenue is corrupt. The fact that the living are anonymous means that someone is changing the identities of the people."

"Does Your Highness also think so?"

“That’s not how I see it.” She looked up. “It’s something they’ve always done.”

A slight thought crossed my mind.

"them?"

Xiao Lingyi did not answer immediately, but instead took out a thin book from the side and pushed it in front of me.

"Found at the Princess's residence."

I opened it.

The booklet was written very simply.

Three days ago, the Ministry of Rites’ Ceremonial Office retrieved three boxes of disaster relief clothing from the old warehouse.

Item: Reimbursement of old clothing for disaster victims in the three prefectures north of the Yangtze River.

Handled by: Zhou Xian, Minister of Rites.

Accompanying clerk: Du Heng.

When I saw the name Du Heng, my eyes darkened.

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

"Du Heng was transferred to the Ceremonial Affairs Office three days ago. The transfer order stated that he was familiar with the old household registration system in Jiangbei."

I frowned.

"How could a mere clerk in the Ministry of Rites be so familiar with the old household registration system north of the Yangtze River?"

"So he's not an ordinary clerk."

"Has Your Highness discovered his background?"

"Halfway through the investigation."

Her tone was very flat.

But I could tell that this half was probably not simple.

"Du Heng was originally a minor official in the rites department of Yong'an County, Jiangbei. In the fourteenth year of Chengxi, the year Liugou Village was merged and relocated, he was in the county government office."

Liugou Village.

My fingers tightened slightly.

The line has finally been connected.

Liugou Village was relocated three years ago, and its old name was changed overnight by the Ministry of Revenue.

The wooden plaques of the deceased, Fang Deshun and Fang Liushi, were scraped and altered.

Du Heng once worked in the rites department of Yong'an County.

Now Du Heng has been transferred to the Ministry of Rites' Ceremonial Department, and he's here with Zhou Xian to measure my sleeves.

The man in blue cloth with a mole on his left eyebrow at the West Soup Vendor is very likely him.

I said, "So, he knows who died in Liugou Village, who moved away, and who is still alive."

Xiao Lingyi nodded.

"The Ministry of Rites was in charge of household registration, funeral and relief, and post-disaster registration. The department that truly knew the lives and deaths of people in the local area was not necessarily the Ministry of Revenue, but the Ministry of Rites."

The picture in my mind became a little clearer.

The Ministry of Revenue distributed silver and grain.

The local ceremonial office changed the name of the person.

Old rice was released from the granary.

The Ministry of Rites' Ceremonial Office received old clothes.

When the wooden plaque, disaster relief clothing, and roster are combined, the dead can receive food, and the living can disappear.

This is far more terrifying than simply being greedy for money.

Corruption means taking away grain.

These people took the person away first.

If people are gone, it's reasonable for the grain to go anywhere.

I turned to the next page.

There is one more item recorded above.

Three boxes of old disaster relief clothing were seized, one of which was not put into the Ministry of Rites' treasury.

I looked up.

"One box is missing?"

Xiao Lingyi said, "It's not that there's too little, it's that it hasn't entered the Ming Treasury."

"Where did you go?"

"The inner storeroom of the Ceremonial Office."

"In Zhou Xian's hands?"

"Or it's in the hands of the person behind him."

I looked at that line of text.

Old clothes worn during disasters.

Wedding attire.

cuff.

Hidden knife.

If that box of disaster relief clothing was only meant to cover up the Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief efforts, why was it placed in the Ministry of Rites' Ceremonial Office at this particular time?

Why did Zhou Xian have to try on my dress?

Why did Du Heng appear in both the West Soup Venue and Chengping Ward at the same time?

Xiao Lingyi seemed to read my mind.

"Someone wants to combine two things into one."

"The Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief case and my marriage?"

"And your knife."

Her voice was flat when she said that.

But the lights inside seemed to flicker slightly.

My heart sank.

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

"Shen An, you are currently investigating the Ministry of Revenue. If the Ministry of Revenue wants to accuse you, the best way is not to say that you have misjudged the accounts."

I'll continue.

"You mean I have ulterior motives?"

"right."

"If a knife is found hidden in my body during my wedding, it will prove that my claim of investigating a case on imperial orders was a lie, and that my true intention was to enter the palace through marriage."

"Go even further," Xiao Lingyi said. "They'll say that you investigated the Ministry of Revenue to scout out the palace routes for the rebels in the southwest, disrupt the court, and cover up the assassination attempt on the emperor."

I didn't speak.

Because she was so accurate.

It was so accurate it sent chills down my spine.

This is exactly the route Xu Sandao wanted.

That's also the crime the accounting committee most wanted to pin on me.

The son of a rebel, a prospective son-in-law, an imperial censor ordered to investigate a case, and a man with a knife hidden in his sleeve.

These identities, once strung together, form a rope strong enough to sever my entire family.

The problem is, I am indeed the son of a traitor.

He did indeed go to the capital to kill the emperor on his father's orders.

I just don't want to die like this now.

Xiao Lingyi put down the living people's tent.

"That's why I called you here tonight, not to ask if you have a knife."

I looked at her.

She said, "I know you have it."

I really want to say that I didn't.

But saying such things in front of Xiao Lingyi would be too insulting to her.

It also insulted me.

All I could say was, "Since Your Highness knew, why didn't you allow a search?"

Xiao Lingyi looked at me coldly.

"Because if you're found out, you'll die."

That's a very direct way of putting it.

It was so direct it didn't seem like saving someone.

Like a judgment.

She continued, "You can't die now. At least not until the Ministry of Revenue case and the old accounts of the former Laundry Bureau are cleared up."

I smiled.

"Your Highness, I thank you for sparing my life."

"Don't rush to thank me," Xiao Lingyi said. "Just because I didn't search doesn't mean I didn't ask questions."

finally come.

My fingers, which were resting on my knees, curled slightly.

Xiao Lingyi looked at me and said, word by word, "Where did you originally intend to take this knife when you brought it to the capital?"

This question is slightly less serious than "who to kill".

But only slightly.

She did not ask the emperor directly.

But she was already standing in front of that door.

It was just a matter of pushing it away.

I lowered my eyes.

"The capital city."

Xiao Lingyi sneered.

"Are you taking this as me asking for directions?"

I sighed.

"Your Highness, when I entered the capital, I had no guards or powerful backers. The capital is a place where knives are everywhere, so it's not excessive for me to carry a knife to save my life."

"A life-saving knife wouldn't be hidden this deep."

I didn't answer.

"Those who want to save their lives won't immediately change their hiding methods just because they hear that the cuffs have been narrowed."

I still didn't answer.

Xiao Lingyi leaned forward slightly.

"Shen An, you don't have to say it. But you'd better not treat me like a fool."

I looked up at her.

Her eyes were cold.

There was no anger in the coldness.

This is even more terrifying.

Anger can be avoided.

It was determined that there was no way to avoid it.

I said, "If Your Highness insists on asking, I can only say that this knife was not originally intended for Your Highness."

"Isn't it for yourself too?"

"no."

"That's for someone else."

"There are many people in the capital who want to kill me."

You're going in circles.

I gave a wry smile.

"Because it's a dead end."

Xiao Lingyi looked at me for a long time.

The room was very quiet.

It was so quiet that I could hear the sound of the short blade in my sleeve gently pressing against my clothes.

Of course, the knife won't make a sound.

It's in my heart.

After a long while, she sat back down.

"it is good."

I was taken aback.

"Your Highness is not going to ask anymore?"

I won't ask tonight.

tonight.

These two words are quite particular.

It's not that I don't ask.

I'll leave that for later.

Perhaps it was on their wedding night.

Perhaps it was in front of the Golden Palace.

Perhaps it was when I was least able to lie.

Xiao Lingyi said, "But there's one thing I want you to remember."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"On your wedding day, no matter who you originally intended to kill with your sword, you must not let anyone else pull it out for you."

This sentence is very similar to what Qiutang told me before.

But it is heavier.

I nodded.

"I have remembered."

Xiao Lingyi pushed the living people's tent back to me.

"Regarding the Ministry of Revenue case, I will investigate the old disaster relief clothing from the Ministry of Rites. You investigate the Southern Soup Dishes."

"Your Highness is also aware of the South Soup Dishes?"

"Zhao Guanlan sent someone over in the evening."

That makes perfect sense.

That old fox Zhao Guanlan told me not to touch the Ministry of Rites, but then he dragged the Princess's residence into it.

Yeah.

Xiao Lingyi is more suitable than I to investigate the Ministry of Rites.

She is a princess.

The Ministry of Rites dared not treat her with the same perfunctory attitude they had towards me.

Of course, they would try to brush it off in another way.

But at least it takes a little longer to apply.

I put away the living people's account book.

"Your subject takes his leave."

As she reached the door, Xiao Lingyi suddenly said, "Shen An."

I turned around.

She looked at me, her voice very soft.

"If you really want to live, don't just learn how to hide your knife."

I asked, "What else do we need to learn?"

"Learn to hand the knife to the person who is meant to see it."

I didn't understand at first.

She had already looked away.

"Qiutang, see the guest out."

Qiu Tang came in from outside the door.

I bowed and left the side hall.

It wasn't until I had walked quite a distance that I realized what had happened.

Hand the knife to the person who is meant to see it.

She was reminding me that hiding a knife wasn't the only solution.

Sometimes, letting someone know where the knife is can actually make it harder for others to find it.

Who could this "someone" be?

emperor?

Gu Xingzhi?

Zhao Guanlan?

Or was it herself?

When I reached the side door, Ah Liu was still waiting outside.

His nose was red from the cold, but his eyes lit up when he saw me come out.

"Young master! You're not dead!"

I glanced at him.

"Did I disappoint you?"

Ah Liu quickly shook his head.

"Not disappointed, not disappointed. I just find the side gate of the princess's residence too frightening. Just now, a guard glanced at me, and I've already decided where I'll be buried."

I got into the carriage.

Before the carriage curtain fell, I glanced back at the side gate of the princess's residence.

The door slowly closed.

Like a book page closing.

But I know that after tonight, something has changed between Xiao Lingyi and me.

She still doesn't believe me.

But she had already decided that she wouldn't let me die until the truth was out.

This is very dangerous.

Because if someone in the capital doesn't let you die, it means that many more people will want to try.