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

After Xu Sandao came, I didn't sleep well all night.

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

The main concern is that he might not be afraid.

The most troublesome people in this world are not those who are bold or skilled in martial arts, but those who know that there is a dead end ahead, yet still believe that they can carve out a way to survive.

Xu Sandao is that kind of person.

If he really tries to touch the palace, Gu Xingzhi will definitely notice.

Once Gu Xingzhi notices it, the emperor will also notice.

Once the emperor notices, I probably won't need to investigate the Yongning River anymore.

You can directly check where the feng shui is good for your burial site.

The next morning, I sat in the front hall drinking porridge, my face showing signs of not having slept well all night.

Ah Liu looked at me cautiously and asked, "Young Master, did you not sleep well last night?"

"Um."

"Are you worried about Third Master?"

"I'm worried about you too."

Ah Liu was taken aback, and somewhat touched: "What are you worried about me for?"

"I'm worried you'll talk in your sleep and tell everyone that Xu Sandao is here."

He immediately shut his mouth and drank the porridge.

I had just drunk half a bowl when the gatekeeper came to report that the princess's residence had sent an invitation.

I stopped holding the spoon.

Ah Liu looked shocked: "Young Master, Her Highness the Princess is here again?"

"No, you're asking me to come over."

His eyes lit up: "Isn't this a good thing?"

What do you think?

"Isn't it nice for engaged couples to chat over tea?"

I looked at him.

Ah Liu quickly realized, "Oh, you and the princess aren't just an ordinary engaged couple."

"What are we?"

"She investigates you, you guard against her, and the emperor is also acting as a go-between."

I nodded: "That's a good summary."

Ah Liu was a little smug.

Then he asked, "Are you still going?"

"go."

Why?

"The princess handed over the 'Yongning Prefecture Gazetteer.' She knew more than she said."

More importantly, she's definitely not inviting me over just for tea.

The princess's villa is not far from my house.

Three alleys.

Too close.

As I walked along the road, I suddenly understood another layer of meaning behind the emperor's bestowal of the residence.

He put me right under the princess's nose.

I also kept the princess under my very nose.

Two people are locked in one cage.

The more I think about it, the less I feel that Xiao Jingheng is like an emperor, and more like a very skilled locksmith.

When I arrived at the villa, Qiutang was already waiting at the door.

She bowed and said, "Lord Shen, His Highness is waiting for you in the tea room."

The tea room is in the backyard.

Several green bamboos are planted in the courtyard, their shadows falling on the white wall, looking very elegant.

I wasn't in the mood to appreciate it.

Because the more elegant the place, the more suitable it is for judging people.

Princess Zhaoning, Xiao Lingyi, sat by the window.

She wore a light blue dress today, and still only had a silver hairpin in her hair. There were two cups of tea on the table, one in front of her and one on my side.

I bowed and said, "Your Highness, I pay my respects."

She looked up and said, "Sit."

I sat down.

The tea aroma is very faint.

It was clearer than the tea from the Ministry of Works and cheaper than the box of tea that Qian Rong had sent.

But this tea is drinkable.

At least that's my gut feeling.

Xiao Lingyi got straight to the point: "Lord Shen submitted a memorial yesterday."

A thought struck me.

The news came quickly, as expected.

The memorial was only brought to the Office of Transmission yesterday evening, and the princess found out about it first thing this morning.

There are more people in the palace who can see folding paper than I imagined.

I said, "Your Highness is well-informed."

"Your folding paper is too short."

"I am a lowly official and dare not speak too much."

"It's not that I'm afraid to have more, it's that I'm unwilling to have more."

She was absolutely right.

I picked up the teacup, but didn't drink it; I just used the steam to shield my eyes.

"Why do you say that, Your Highness?"

"You went to Yongning River, saw the river embankment, and checked the route to Hengshan. You only wrote down the transportation cost and the stones, but not Fangyuan Stone, and not the cart that hit you last night."

My fingers tightened slightly.

She knew about handcarts.

I also know Fang Yuanshi.

This cannot be explained by the phrase "well-informed".

I put down my teacup: "Is Your Highness investigating me?"

"I told you, I don't believe you."

"So, what did Your Highness find out?"

"We've discovered that Lord Shen is very good at hiding things."

I smiled and said, "I am new to the capital and have nothing of value to hide."

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

That gaze was cold and still.

"A person who has nothing of value will not go to the riverbank to examine the stones the day after seeing the Yongning Prefecture Gazetteer."

I didn't reply.

She continued, "A naive new official wouldn't remain silent about being injured, not even reporting it to the authorities, and simply write a short memorial."

I sighed.

"Your Highness invited me here today to praise my prudence?"

"It's to remind you."

"What reminder?"

"Memorials are not safe."

I looked up.

Xiao Lingyi lightly touched the teacup with her fingertips, but the tea remained completely still.

"What you wrote in the memorials is not only visible to the Emperor. The Office of Transmission, the Grand Secretariat, the Directorate of Ceremonial, and even those in the Six Ministries who are interested can all know what you wrote."

This is almost exactly what I said to Ah Liu yesterday.

But when spoken by a princess, it carries a different weight.

I asked, "Why did Your Highness remind me?"

"Because if you die too quickly, I won't be able to find what I'm looking for."

well.

That's a very valid reason.

It felt so real that it put my mind at ease.

I'd rather she say she's using me than she say she's worried about me.

The former is at least credible.

I asked, "What does Your Highness wish to investigate?"

She did not answer.

The tea room fell silent for a moment.

The bamboo leaves rustled softly outside the window.

After a while, Xiao Lingyi said, "The Yongning River case appears to be about the Ministry of Works embezzling funds, but in reality, it may not be limited to the Ministry of Works."

"What does Your Highness know?"

"I know Fang Yuanshi isn't the first person to die."

I looked at her.

She was looking at me too.

There's something hidden in that sentence.

He was not the first victim in the Yongning River case.

Who is that?

She didn't continue, but changed the subject: "My mother once investigated an account before she passed away."

First Queen.

This was the first time she had brought up the late empress on her own initiative.

I became alert.

"What bill?"

"Military pay".

She only said two words.

But these two words are like a small pebble falling into the water; the surface may be small, but the depths below could be quite deep.

Military pay and river maintenance funds seem to be two different things.

But it's all money.

They all left the imperial court's tents and then disappeared somewhere else.

I asked, "Is this related to the Yongning River?"

"I don't know," she said. "That's why I'm going to look it up."

"Why doesn't Your Highness investigate this yourself?"

Xiao Lingyi glanced at me.

"I am a princess."

I understand.

The princess has a high status, but precisely because of this high status, there are many places she cannot go and many people she cannot directly ask.

The more she moved, the more people stared at her.

But I am different.

I am now an imperial censor.

He was the censor whom the emperor himself said he "only believed".

I stand out.

But I can also check.

It's just that you might die while investigating.

This is probably why the emperor put me and her together.

I suddenly realized that Xiao Jingheng's words, "Of all the officials in the court, I only trust you," might not just be meant for me.

I was telling her that too.

I said, "Your Highness wishes to have me investigate the late Empress's old case for you?"

"I want to know if the Yongning River case is related to that military pay account from back then."

"What if not?"

"Then we'll find out if it's not there."

That's a very princess-like answer.

It's also very troublesome.

I took a sip of tea.

The tea was no longer hot; it tasted slightly bitter at first, but had a refreshing aftertaste.

I asked, "Since Your Highness knows about Fang Yuanshi, why not investigate his family directly?"

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

"You're already investigating."

My heart skipped a beat.

She knows too much.

There are so many that I have to reassess the Princess's Residence line.

Xiao Lingyi said, "If Fang Yuanshi's wife and children are still alive, they must be hiding very well. If your men go to look for them, it will alert them. If my men go, it will be the same."

"What does Your Highness mean?"

"The day after tomorrow is the anniversary of the late Empress's death. I will go out of the city to Ci'en Temple to offer incense."

I didn't speak.

Ci'en Temple is located in the south of the capital.

Zhao Family Village in Pei County is also in the south.

She continued, "When the princess goes out of the city to offer incense, there will be many carriages, guards, worshippers, and female relatives along the way. It will be easier for someone to secretly meet a mother and child at this time than usual."

I looked at her.

She finally made her point clear.

She was willing to lend me her car to provide cover.

This is a great help.

The risks are not insignificant.

Because if discovered, it would be seen as the princess's residence interfering in court affairs, or even as the princess's residence harboring witnesses.

I asked, "Why has Your Highness gone to such lengths to help me?"

Xiao Lingyi picked up the teacup, her expression unchanged.

"Lord Shen is overthinking it."

"Yeah?"

"I'm not helping you."

She looked at me, her tone calm.

"I'm using you to investigate my affairs."

I believe that.

I put down my teacup, stood up, and bowed.

"Your subject understands."

She didn't ask me to stay any longer.

As I reached the door, she suddenly spoke: "Shen An."

This was the first time she didn't call me Lord Shen.

I stopped.

"Don't write every clue in the folded book," she said. "My mother's troubles started with a folded book."

I turned to look at her.

But she had already lowered her head to drink her tea and was no longer looking at me.

When we left the princess's residence, the sun was already setting.

Qiutang saw me to the door.

She said in a low voice, "What Your Highness said today is enough for Lord Shen to hear; there's no need to spread it around."

I smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss Qiutang. I may not have many other virtues, but I do value my life."

Qiu Tang glanced at me, seemingly wanting to laugh, but didn't.

Upon returning to Chengpingfang, Ah Liu immediately came to greet him.

"Young master, what does the princess want with you?"

"Have some tea."

"Really drinking tea?"

"We also chatted about how to live longer."

Ah Liu immediately tensed up upon hearing this: "Has something happened again?"

"We will leave the city the day after tomorrow."

"Where to?"

Ci'en Temple.

"To offer incense?"

"On the surface, yes."

"What's the reality?"

I looked at him.

Ah Liu's face slowly fell.

"Looking for Fang Yuanshi's wife?"

"Um."

He looked up at the sky, as if asking God why He always treated him this way.

I returned to my study and reviewed what the princess had said earlier that day.

Memorials are unsafe.

The late empress had checked the military pay accounts.

Her troubles started with a folded paper.

These three sentences carry more weight than the "Yongning Prefecture Gazetteer".

I originally thought the Yongning River channel case was just a messy affair of the Ministry of Works.

It now seems that something even older might be lying beneath this tattered debt.

It's so old that even the death of the late empress can be brought up.

I suddenly understood why Xiao Lingyi didn't believe me, yet still provided clues.

She doesn't believe me.

She was just like me, pushed into the same cage by Xiao Jingheng.

And now, someone outside the cage wants to kill me.

The princess inside the cage wants to use my knife to settle an old score.

The problem is, this knife of mine was originally meant to kill her father, the emperor.

If she finds out about this, I wonder if she'll still be willing to invite me for tea like this.