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

The warehouse in Qinghe Lane was completely empty.

The food is gone.

The medicine is gone.

The old trunk is gone.

The accounting office was burned.

The horse also left.

Judging by appearances alone, tonight we seem to be here to raid an empty house that has just been moved into.

But what you fear most when investigating a case isn't being overly critical.

It is empty.

If it's too full, things can easily get hidden inside.

Space often indicates that something has just been taken away by someone.

I placed the wooden piece with the hidden mark on the back of the old Qinghe Yicang sign on the table, and then pressed the note left by Xu Sandao next to it.

One is Qinghe's account.

One of them is a hand from the southwest.

The two things were placed together, like two knives crossed in front of me.

Zhou Xian looked at the wooden tablet with the hidden mark and said in a low voice, "Lord Shen, if the 'rites, clothing three, palace' mentioned here refers to the three boxes of old disaster relief clothing transferred to the palace by the Ministry of Rites, then the Ministry of Rites is not just being used."

I glanced at him.

"What does Lord Zhou want to say?"

"There must be someone in the Ministry of Rites who knows about this."

"Feng Ke?"

He was silent.

I said for him, "Or even higher."

Zhou Xian fell silent.

The word "higher" is hard to say in the capital.

Above the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites are the Vice Minister and the Minister.

Besides the Ministry of Rites, there was also the Secretariat.

The hand of the Central Secretariat has been there since the very first volume.

Pei Shen stood gently at a distance, like a man who never revealed his true intentions.

However, the secretary reminded him that the line on the sleeve had already been exposed once.

I cannot say it is Pei Shen right now.

The evidence is insufficient.

But I knew that if I traced my tracks to this point, I would run into him sooner or later.

Ah Liu copied down the Qinghe secret marks line by line, frowning as he did so.

"Young master, these characters are far too concise. Twenty xi per household, who can understand that?"

"Written for my own people."

"Will we be able to understand it?"

"I can guess."

"What if I guess wrong?"

"So we need to find a matching physical object."

I pointed to several lines of secret markings.

"Household, twenty rice, west. The rice bags from the west porridge stall come from Qinghe, which matches."

"South, medicine four, Qing. South porridge shed medicine package Qinghe transfer supply, matches up."

"The Ministry of Rites had three boxes of old disaster relief clothing. One box was not put into the Ming Treasury. The bottom of the palace clothing box contained a booklet of clothing, which matched."

"Palace, clothing, one, sealed. Palace clothing chest, matches."

Ah Liu's eyes lit up a little when he heard this.

"Isn't that irrefutable evidence?"

"no."

He was stunned.

"Not yet?"

"It's just wire."

"Iron wire?"

"It can be used to gather evidence, but it can't kill someone."

Ah Liu sighed.

"Investigating cases is such a hassle. I thought we could just raid their house once we got the accounts."

"If you become an official, your house will be raided on your very first day."

He thought it made a lot of sense and didn't argue.

Yan Xiaoyi returned from outside.

"I checked the back alley. Those two horses from the southwest went east."

"East?"

"Um."

The east is not the direction to leave the city.

It is deep inside the city.

I frowned.

"They didn't leave?"

"They haven't gone far."

Xu Sandao did not leave the capital.

This is not good news.

He took half of Qinghe's account, but did not immediately leave the city to deliver it to Shen Lie.

This means that either he hasn't taken enough yet, or he's preparing to make a move in the capital.

Ah Liu whispered, "Young Master, will Master San Dao come looking for you?"

"meeting."

"Shall we wait for him?"

"No, we won't wait."

Why?

"If he wanted me to wait, he wouldn't have left a note."

Xu Sandao left a note to tell me that he had taken the bill.

They didn't consult with me.

He's pressuring me.

They forced me to continue investigating, forced me to produce the other half, and forced me to prove that I had not sided with the emperor.

It also forced me to admit that he was now qualified to act on his own.

This is troublesome.

The rope on the father's side was getting tighter and tighter.

Qin Er rummaged through the accounting room and found a few more pieces of burnt paper.

One of the pieces still bears the character "郑" (Zheng).

I took it and looked at it.

The character “郑” has half of “怀” below it.

Zheng Huaien.

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue finally left his mark in Qinghe Lane.

This is not complete evidence.

However, this is sufficient to explain the connection between Qinghe Lane and the main line of the Ministry of Revenue.

On another piece of burnt paper is the name "Feng".

Feng Ke.

The Ministry of Rites was also present.

The last piece was even more damaged, leaving only the character "Qin".

Qin Shangyi?

Or another Qin?

I sealed the three pieces of burnt paper separately.

"The three points—the Household Department, the Ceremonial Department, and the Inner Court—are all there."

Zhou Xian's face looked very unpleasant.

"Lord Shen, shall we offer a higher reward?"

"want."

"Now?"

"Write it when you get back to the Censorate."

Ah Liu immediately looked distressed.

"Young master, aren't you asleep yet?"

"You can sleep now."

"If the younger one falls asleep, who will grind the ink?"

"You finally realize you're useful."

Ah Liu wasn't happy at all.

We continued our investigation.

There were no survivors in Qinghe Lane.

The old doorman only knew how to guard the door.

Several servants were released before midnight.

The accountant, Hu, is nowhere to be found.

The driver is not here.

The horse is not here.

The person is not here.

All that remained was an empty warehouse, a few pieces of burnt paper, a piece of wood with a hidden mark, and a note from Xu Sandao.

That's what makes the Account Clearance Committee so powerful.

It rarely puts complete people and accounts together.

People are a line.

The tent is a line.

The object is a line.

Every line can break.

After it's broken, it can be passed on to someone else.

I stood in the middle of the warehouse, looking up at the empty hooks hanging from the beams.

There are many hooks.

It probably used to hold grain sacks, medicine packets, old clothes trunks, and maybe even strings of wooden signs.

It's empty now.

Ah Liu stood behind me and whispered, "Young master, what are you looking at?"

"See what's missing."

"We are short of food, medicine, clothing, tents, and people."

"besides."

"What else?"

I pointed to the hook.

"Card."

"A wooden sign?"

"Um."

The wooden signs for disaster victims can make the dead appear alive, and can also keep the living out of the soup kitchens.

Since Qinghe Lane was used for transferring grain, medicine, and clothing, it would naturally also be used for transferring nameplates.

There is a line in the secret mark:

West, card number seven, play.

West.

Seven of a kind.

Out.

If this "West" refers to the West Soup Vendor, then it means that seven strings of wooden plaques were issued to the West Soup Vendor.

If it's in the southwest, then it's even more troublesome.

I don't like this line of work.

dislike it very much.

I asked Ah Liu to circle this line separately.

Ah Liu asked, "Young master, what exactly is this 'west'?"

I didn't answer.

I cannot answer that now.

If you answer incorrectly, someone will die.

Just as we were about to leave Qinghe Lane, Yan Xiaoyi suddenly stopped.

"etc."

He walked to the back wall of the warehouse and knocked on it.

thump.

The sound is empty.

There is a mezzanine behind the wall.

Upon hearing the voice, Ah Liu immediately perked up.

"Is there something?"

Yan Xiaoyi used the handle of his knife to smash a pine brick in the corner of the wall.

A narrow hole was visible inside.

There were no ledgers in the cave.

There were no banknotes either.

There was only one wooden plaque.

The wooden sign was old, with blackened edges, and two characters were engraved on it.

Shen An.

Ah Liu gasped.

"Young master, it's your name again!"

I reached out and picked up the wooden sign.

This is not a wooden sign for disaster victims.

The wood is harder, and the shape is also different.

Like an ID card.

There are also small print on the back.

southwest.

I tightened my grip little by little.

It's the southwest again.

They provided me with a fake knife.

Shredded paper for the southwest road was prepared.

There is still a nameplate engraved with my name and Southwest identity in Qinghe Lane.

This is not a case of framing someone randomly.

This is a complete set.

If I'm investigated on my wedding day, it might be more than just a knife.

There will also be a complete set of physical evidence proving that "Shen An comes from the Southwest".

I looked at that partition wall.

Is this the only wooden plaque left inside?

Yan Xiaoyi continued knocking.

nothing else.

This card seems to have been left behind on purpose.

To whom should it be left?

Leave it to me?

Should we leave it to Xu Sandao?

Ah Liu's voice trembled.

"Young master, is this the account-clearing group plotting to harm you?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you take it?"

I looked at the two characters "Southwest" on the back of the wooden sign.

"Because it's not for their own use."

"Then who should it be given to?"

I did not answer.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside.

Not just one horse.

There are several.

Qin Er immediately rushed to the door to look.

He returned pale-faced.

"Lord Shen, the military police have arrived."

I frowned.

"The Military Command?"

"And people from the Ministry of Revenue."

Zhou Xian's expression changed.

"So fast?"

soon.

It happened so fast, as if someone had been waiting for us to find this place.

Torches were lit outside the courtyard gate.

Someone shouted: "By order of the Prefect of the Capital and the Ministry of Revenue, the disaster-affected grain from the private granary in Qinghe Lane is being transferred. No one present is allowed to leave!"

Ah Liu looked at me, and his voice changed.

"Young master, who are they here to arrest?"

I looked at the wooden plaque that read "Shen An Southwest" in my hand and suddenly smiled.

Arrest me.

That was a brilliant move.

We had just entered Qinghe Lane.

The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue arrived shortly after.

There happened to be a Southwest identity tag with my name engraved on it in the warehouse.

In addition, there was the false confession at the South Gate, the fake knife at the Water Gate, the old clothes from the Ministry of Rites, and the cover of the palace robe.

If they can corner me in Qinghe Lane, then they can say:

Shen An secretly investigated Qinghe Lane, intending to destroy evidence of his collusion with the Southwest and incitement of disaster victims.

I looked at Zhou Xian.

"Lord Zhou, are you afraid?"

Zhou Xian's face turned deathly pale, but he gritted his teeth and said, "I'm scared."

"It's good that you're afraid."

Why?

"Those who are afraid are the most serious about giving testimony."

I handed the wooden sign to Ah Liu.

"seal up."

Ah Liu took it with trembling hands.

Footsteps approached from outside the courtyard.

The firelight shone through the warehouse door.

I straightened my sleeves to make sure the short blade was still properly concealed.

Then he walked towards the courtyard gate.

The Ministry of Revenue's arrival is just in time.

I was just worried that I only had iron wire and no one to smash it for me.

Now, they've stuck their heads in themselves.