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 opened faster today than last time.

Qiu Tang came to pick her up in person.

When she saw the sealed bag in my hand, her first words weren't greetings, but rather:

"Is the account genuine?"

I said, "Half true."

She frowned.

"Half a true account?"

"Um."

Qiu Tang glanced at me.

"His Highness is waiting."

Ah Liu followed behind, carrying the tent bag, his steps very light.

The last time he came to the side gate, he was afraid that the people from the princess's residence would remember him for saying the wrong thing.

This time, he was afraid that the account book in his hand might suddenly catch fire.

In a side hall of the princess's residence, Xiao Lingyi was already sitting at the desk.

There are three things on the table.

A cup of cold tea.

A wooden plaque with an image.

An empty box.

I recognize the empty box.

Last night, when the princess's residence delivered the tents, half of the Qinghe Tenant Account was taken out of this box.

She looked up at me.

"sit."

It's still just this one word.

There was no small talk.

I sat down, and Ah Liu placed the sealed bag on the table, then consciously retreated to the corner.

Xiao Lingyi opened the tent and looked through it very quickly.

Her approach to reviewing accounts differed from Zhao Guanlan's.

Zhao Guanlan was looking at whether the lawsuit could be won.

She was looking at who would be killed in this case.

After reading a few pages, she looked up.

"Only pay the bill."

I nodded.

"The tent is not located here."

"Xu Sandao took half, but gave you the remaining amount."

"It's also possible that he himself had the money in his hands."

"It's also possible that he got the half that others wanted him to get."

That's exactly what I was thinking.

I looked at her.

"Your Highness, do you think this half-book is usable?"

"It can be used to pressure the Ministry of Revenue, but it cannot be used to control the Ministry of Revenue."

"That's what I was thinking."

Xiao Lingyi turned to "Li, Yi San, Gong".

"This can be used to check the Ministry of Rites."

"Zhou Xianke can testify."

"Zhou Xian is afraid of death. His testimony is usable, but we can't rely solely on him."

She then flipped to "Palace, Clothing, Seal".

"This point cannot be brought up now."

I was taken aback.

Why?

"If you take it out now, you'll be forcing Father to make a statement."

I fell silent.

She's right.

The phrase "宫，衣一，封" proves that Qinghe Lane is related to the Palace Clothing Box.

But once this is brought into the open, it becomes a question for the emperor:

Why did the palace wardrobe chest pass through Qinghe?

If the emperor claims ignorance, it means the palace is out of control.

It would be even more terrifying if the emperor knew.

Neither of them is necessarily good for me right now.

Xiao Lingyi said calmly, "Father Emperor ordered you to wear palace robes to enter the palace to see who would make a move. If you bring the palace robes to the court now, those who want to make a move will hide first."

I said, "Your Highness doesn't want me to examine your palace attire?"

"It's not that we won't investigate."

She looked at me.

"It is not investigated in front of the Ministry of Revenue."

That's very clear.

The Ministry of Revenue case is the immediate battleground.

The palace dress stitching is a concealed stitching.

Light and dark must not be disordered.

I suddenly realized that if Xiao Lingyi were to enter the Censorate, she would probably scare many censors to death.

Because it's not that she can't investigate cases.

She simply didn't have the official title of the Censorate.

Moreover, what she investigated was more dangerous than what I was investigating.

The old case of the late Empress.

Palace Fragrance.

Inner court robes.

The emperor remained silent.

Each one was closer to the dragon throne than the Ministry of Revenue's account book.

Xiao Lingyi continued flipping through the pages.

She stopped when she turned to "West, card seven, out".

"Does this 'west' refer to the West Soup Venue or the Southwest?"

I said, "It's too early to decide."

"Xu Sandao took the other half of the tent."

"right."

"He sent half of it to the princess's residence so that I would see the character 'west' (西)."

I didn't answer.

Xiao Lingyi closed the tent.

"He's testing me."

"They are also testing me."

"He wants to know whether I will protect you or hand you over after I see the southwest front."

She was too blunt.

Ah Liu shrank back in the corner.

I looked at her.

"What will Your Highness do?"

Xiao Lingyi did not answer immediately.

She picked up the cold tea, didn't drink it, and put it down again.

"Shen An, I have a question for you."

"Your Highness, please ask."

"If this half-ledger proves that the old case in the Southwest is also in the Qinghe Society's ledger, but Father forbids you from continuing the investigation, will you still investigate?"

I remained silent.

This problem is more serious than a knife.

I can say I'll check.

It feels good to say it out loud.

Like an honest official.

Investigating cases is not just about empty slogans.

If the emperor forbids investigation, then it's not as simple as the Ministry of Revenue refusing to provide the accounts.

That would mean I would offend the emperor, the Ministry of Revenue, the Accounting Committee, and Shen Lie all at the same time.

I want to live.

I have never denied this.

But I also know that stopping halfway through an investigation is no different from not investigating at all.

Even worse.

Because the people you alerted will burn the remaining evidence even more thoroughly.

I said, "I will investigate."

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

"How do I check?"

"Investigate secretly."

Ah Liu almost couldn't hold it in while hiding in the corner.

Xiao Lingyi also glanced at me.

I said, "Your Highness, I am not a loyal subject, and I will not kneel before the palace and beg Your Majesty for mercy. If Your Majesty does not allow the investigation, I will investigate under a different pretext. I will investigate the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, Qinghe (a type of ancient Chinese medicine), incense, clothing, and even the distribution of grain to the dead. In the end, if all the clues point to the palace, then it is not that I want to investigate the palace, but that the palace itself has taken the lead."

Xiao Lingyi remained silent for a moment.

"Your words are not those of a loyal minister."

"I was never that way."

"He doesn't seem like a traitor either."

"The rebels should be more direct."

"Then what do you resemble?"

I thought about it.

"Like a cowardly accountant."

Xiao Lingyi finally smiled softly.

It's very light.

It was as faint as a flickering lamplight.

But she did smile.

Ah Liu stared wide-eyed in the corner, as if he had seen the Ministry of Revenue voluntarily distributing grain.

Xiao Lingyi quickly stopped laughing.

"Xu Sandao is asking you about your knife."

My heart skipped a beat.

coming.

She pushed Xu Sandao's note in front of me.

Young master, I'll give you the account.

Knife, give me the answer.

Those words were hard and cold.

Like Xu Sandao standing in front of the desk looking at me.

Xiao Lingyi asked, "What answer are you going to give?"

I said, "I haven't decided yet."

"You've thought it through."

She looked at me.

"You just don't want to say it in front of me."

This woman is really hard to fool.

I sighed.

"What would Your Highness like to hear?"

"The truth."

"The truth is usually hard to hear."

"I've heard a lot of unpleasant things."

Her voice was very soft.

"The Empress Dowager died of illness, Aunt Lan died of illness, the old case has no evidence, and there is no mistake in the palace. None of these words are pleasant to hear."

The room fell silent.

This time, I didn't interrupt immediately.

Because I know that Xiao Lingyi wasn't talking about me.

She was talking about herself.

She grew up listening to those "correct" things.

Every sentence bears the imperial seal.

Every word sounded like the truth.

But after investigating for so many years, she realized more and more that those words were simply written very neatly.

It was as clean as the Ministry of Revenue's accounts.

I looked at the note from Xu Sandao.

"Your Highness, I cannot draw my sword now."

"Now?"

She caught the word.

"And then?"

I said, "If anyone tries to destroy the truth with a knife, I will stop them."

"Is he one of Shen Lie's men?"

I remained silent.

Her questions were even more ruthless than Xu Sandao's.

Xu Sandao asked me if I would stop and kill the emperor's men.

Xiao Lingyi pointed directly at Shen Lie.

I said, "Yes."

The moment that word was uttered, the room seemed to chill.

Ah Liu lowered his head in the corner, even his breathing became lighter.

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

"Do you know what this means?"

"Know."

"You will stand opposite your father."

"If he is to become a weapon in someone else's hands, I must stop him."

"What if Father is truly guilty?"

I looked up at her.

"Then let him live and confess his crimes."

Xiao Lingyi's fingers paused slightly.

I have never said that to her.

But this is something I've always known best in my heart.

I saved the emperor not because he was innocent.

It's because he has to live until the truth comes out.

A dead emperor is the most useful.

All sins can be blamed on the dead.

All the former officials wept bitterly.

All the tents can be burned.

If Shen Lieruo kills the emperor, the Clearing Accounts Committee can turn everything from eleven years ago into "traitorous regicide, old case cannot be investigated again."

That's the most disgusting part.

Xiao Lingyi looked at me for a long time.

"You'd better say those words to Shen Lie yourself someday."

I gave a wry smile.

"I fear that once I finish speaking, there will be no future."

"So you need to investigate even faster."

She pushed half of the Qinghe account book back in front of me.

"The Princess's residence will keep a copy of this account. You can take the original back to the Censorate."

I nodded.

"Your Highness doesn't keep the original?"

"Xu Sandao sent me to the princess's residence in an attempt to drag me into the southwest and into your camp," Xiao Lingyi said coldly. "I can be a witness and will not keep the knife for him."

She knew it very well.

The accounts are evidence.

It's also a knife.

Originally kept in the princess's residence, if something happened, it would be because Princess Zhaoning had secretly kept the southwest account books.

Xu Sandao's move was not only to force me, but also to test Xiao Lingyi.

She refused to take the knife.

But we accept witnesses.

This is a good measure.

I put away the account book.

Just as I was about to say goodbye, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside.

Qiu Tang entered the room.

"Your Highness, an urgent report from the Censorate."

My heart sank.

Xiao Lingyi said, "Speak."

Qiu Tang glanced at me.

"Zheng Huai'en, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, submitted his memorial to the palace half an hour ago."

I asked, "Impeach me?"

Qiu Tang nodded.

"To put it mildly, Lord Shen broke into Qinghe Lane at night, illegally seized disaster relief grain and other evidence, and secretly kept evidence against him from the southwest. He is suspected of colluding with secret agents in the southwest, intending to frame the Ministry of Revenue and disrupt the wedding."

Ah Liu's face turned pale instantly.

"How did he get here so fast?"

I'm not surprised.

If Zheng Huaien is not happy, he is not Zheng Huaien.

I asked, "Is there anything else?"

Qiu Tang's voice grew even deeper.

"There's one more."

"explain."

"He requested His Majesty to issue an edict to suspend Lord Shen's investigation into the Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief case before the wedding, and to transfer all evidence from Qinghe Lane to the three judicial departments for joint trial."

I laughed.

This is Zheng Huaien's true purpose.

Impeaching me is like a knife.

The transfer of evidence is done by hand.

He wants to take the evidence from Qinghe Lane from my hands.

Once the three judicial departments jointly conduct a trial, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, and the Secretariat will all intervene.

Once the evidence is caught in that net, it may not be able to emerge intact.

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

"You guessed right."

I got up.

"So it's our turn to submit the report."

"How are you going to respond?"

I picked up half of the Qinghe account book.

He said I was hiding evidence against the Southwest.

I smiled.

"Then I will present His Majesty with the account he fears most."

Ah Liu whispered, "Young master, are you only delivering the tent?"

"No."

"What else should I give?"

"A seal sent to Master Ma."

I looked out the door.

"Didn't the Ministry of Revenue say that I was secretly keeping evidence against the Southwest? Then I'll ask Zheng Huai'en, why did the Ministry of Revenue write down the words 'evidence against the Southwest' before they even entered Qinghe Lane?"

Xiao Lingyi stood up.

"The Princess's residence will send an accompanying document."

I looked at her.

She remained calm.

"This proves that half of the Qinghe Account Book was delivered to the side gate of the Princess's residence. The Princess's residence did not keep it for herself and handed it over to the Censorate. It also proves that the three threads of the Ministry of Rites' inner robe, the palace robe cover, and the Qinghe Account Book are related."

My heart stirred slightly.

"Is Your Highness not afraid of being dragged into this?"

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

"I'm already at the station."

She paused.

"Furthermore, I want to see how Zheng Huaien explains how a dead person can be dressed in my wedding gown."

At that moment, I suddenly realized that Zheng Huaien probably hadn't expected this either.

He handed me a folded paper, intending to stop my work.

But he forgot that he offended more than just me.

He even offended the bride who was about to get married.

And this bride happens to be the princess of Daliang who is the most difficult to fool.