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

The moment Pei Shen's name was uttered, the fire in the backyard seemed to quiet down for a moment.

This is not because fire is afraid of him.

It's because everyone present knew that those two words shouldn't have appeared there.

Vice Minister of the Secretariat.

Gentle, polite, always like a cup of tea that is neither too hot nor too cold.

But it is precisely this kind of person who should not be allowed to appear in the tent casually.

During Qian Rong's case, he stood by, looking like an outsider.

When the accounts were being settled, he didn't rush to leave the stage.

Now that the Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief funds have been seized at Ci'en Temple, a letter addressed to Zheng Huai'en has been unearthed from a hidden compartment in the Buddhist shrine of Mingjue Zen Room.

This is like a fish jumping out of an incense burner.

That doesn't make sense.

It also tastes very fishy.

Ah Liu came closer and saw the character "Pei" on the seal. He was so frightened that he lowered his voice.

"Young master, is it Lord Pei?"

I nodded.

"There aren't many people in the capital with the surname Pei who also like to pretend to be gentle."

Ah Liu swallowed hard.

"Can we still demolish it?"

I looked at the sealing clay.

The seal on the envelope was intact.

This suggests that Zheng Huaien may not have read the letter.

It's also possible that it was seen by someone and then resealed.

There are more people in the capital who know how to do this than those who know how to falsify accounts.

Xiao Lingyi looked at the letter and said coldly, "Open it."

Zheng Huaien suddenly spoke up: "Your Highness, the origin of this letter is unknown, or perhaps someone has framed the Secretariat. It would be unwise to open and read it rashly."

I looked at him.

"Minister Zheng, this letter is addressed to you personally."

"That is precisely why I must avoid any appearance of impropriety."

He's absolutely right.

That's perfect.

It's as if this sentence was prepared long ago.

I asked, "Has Vice Minister Zheng not seen this letter?"

"no."

"Didn't you correspond with Pei Shen?"

"There were official correspondence between my colleagues in the court, of course. But no private letters."

"Then this one isn't it?"

"I am unaware."

well.

"I don't know three sentences, but I seem to be from the same school as Mingjue."

I held the letter, but didn't open it right away.

Instead, he looked at Mingjue.

"Why is this letter in the hidden compartment of your meditation room?"

Mingjue knelt on the ground, his expression no longer showing the compassion he had just displayed.

He glanced at Zheng Huaien, then at the letter, and said in a low voice, "This humble monk does not know."

Ah Liu couldn't help but say, "Master, you all look so well-organized today."

Mingjue closed his eyes: "As a Buddhist, I do not lie."

I chuckled.

"That master has probably broken the precepts so much today that even Buddha is too lazy to keep track of it."

Xiao Lingyi looked at the Imperial Guards: "Continue the search."

The guard responded and returned to the meditation room.

Only then did I open the letter.

The sound of the sealant cracking was very faint.

It can land in the courtyard, like a blade being drawn from its sheath.

The letter is unfolded.

There aren't many words on it.

Only a few lines.

Brother Huai'en:

Disaster relief accounts should be collected, not cleared out.

A charitable granary may be abandoned, but meritorious deeds must not be disorderly.

If Shen An pursued him to Ci'en Temple, he would use his old clothes to lure him into the Zhongshu (Secretariat).

Do not leave old scores in the Ministry of Revenue.

Pei Shen.

After reading it, I still felt uneasy.

It's actually heavier.

This letter looks so real.

It looks too fake.

If Pei Shenruo really wanted to write this kind of letter, would he leave such clear words?

Old clothes.

Zhongshu (Secretariat).

Shen An.

Ministry of Revenue.

Every single word seemed designed so that I wouldn't be able to understand it.

Ah Liu's eyes widened when he finished reading it.

"Young master, isn't this exactly the case where Lord Pei instructed Vice Minister Zheng to shift the blame to the Secretariat?"

I looked at him and asked, "You understood everything?"

Ah Liu nodded.

I sighed.

"Then there's a problem with it."

Ah Liu was taken aback: "Is it wrong for a junior to understand?"

"It's not your fault."

I handed the letter to Xiao Lingyi.

"The letter writer was too afraid that we wouldn't understand it."

After reading it, Xiao Lingyi's eyes turned slightly cold.

"They deliberately led us to investigate the Secretariat."

Zheng Huaien said calmly, "Lord Shen just said he wanted evidence, and now that the evidence has arrived, you say there are problems. Do you only accept evidence that is favorable to you?"

"Of course not."

I laughed and said, "I just don't believe that the foxes in the capital would cut off their tails and hand them to me."

Zheng Huaien looked at me.

"So, Lord Shen means this letter is fake?"

"I didn't say that."

"Is that true?"

"I didn't say that either."

Ah Liu whispered, "Young master, what you're saying sounds like Lord Pei."

I glanced at him.

He immediately lowered his head.

But he's right.

That does sound a bit like Pei Shen.

No wonder I felt uncomfortable myself.

Just then, the guard returned for the second time.

This time, what they brought out was a thick general ledger.

The cover is blackened and there are burn marks on the edges.

The Complete Register of Merits for Water and Land Offerings at Ci'en Temple.

When Mingjue saw that book, he felt as if his soul had been ripped out.

Zheng Huaien's eyes also changed.

This is the real deal.

I turned to the first page.

There is no Buddhist compassion.

The first page is the account book.

The relief silver from the three prefectures north of the Yangtze River was converted into grain and deposited into the Qinghe Charity Granary.

Rice donated from the granary will be used to fund the donations to Ci'en Temple.

The number of disaster victims was determined, and they were resettled by water and land.

The sick, weak, and disaster victims are included in the list of those who have been placed in a state of quiet recuperation.

Rest and recuperate.

That word again.

I flipped to the back and sure enough, I saw many names.

Some of the names include "porridge shed".

Some are marked "charitable granary".

Some are labeled "land and water".

There was another batch with two words written on it:

Jing Yi.

I asked Mingjue, "What does 'Jingyi' mean?"

Mingjue remained silent and did not answer.

Ma Cheng suddenly said, "They are...the disaster victims who were singled out and couldn't be seen by others."

I looked at him.

"Why can't you see people?"

"Some people have witnessed the transfer of real grain, some know that the charitable granaries are fake, and some have received wooden plaques in Jiangbei. If they were to arrive in the capital, they would expose the Ministry of Revenue's records."

"So you're locking him up?"

Ma Cheng lowered his head: "At first, they were locked up. Later... later some people got sick and died, so they were written into the Water and Land Merit Ceremony. Those who didn't die were transferred elsewhere."

I asked, "Where else is it?"

Ma Cheng shuddered.

"Some were sent to the mortuary, some to the woodshed behind the temple, and some... were sent to the medicine shed in the city."

Medicine shed.

Southern porridge stall.

Free clinic tent.

Medical records.

The line is finally complete.

If the disaster victims could be used as a show, rice coupons would be issued to make them line up and plead their grievances.

If you know too much, lock yourself in a temple.

If someone is sick or weak, they are sent to a pharmacy to try medication or to be classified as a sick person.

When one dies, one enters into merit.

To live is to be included in the register.

In short, whether alive or dead, they can be included in the account.

I flipped through the master ledger, my finger pausing on a page.

This page is for today.

The old curtains of Qinghe Yicang were placed on three carts.

Burning on both land and water.

Twenty-seven people dressed quietly moved to the south shed.

There is another line of smaller print:

The old blue robes are temporarily kept in the granary and will not be burned.

I looked at Xiao Lingyi.

She saw it too.

Old blue robe.

It was the late empress's sick clothes.

It wasn't burned.

That old garment in the black wooden box at Qinghe Yicang is the true proof.

The fire at Ci'en Temple is an illusion.

But the problem came again.

Since the genuine old clothes are in the charity warehouse, why does Ci'en Temple keep them?

Was it because we didn't have time to clean it?

Or was it left behind intentionally?

Zheng Huaien suddenly said, "Lord Shen, now that the accounts have been investigated, Mingjue, Ma Cheng, and Lu Wenjing are all implicated. The Ministry of Revenue failed in its oversight, and I cannot shirk my responsibility. However, this private letter from Pei Shen involves old accounts in the Secretariat, and I believe it should be immediately reported to His Majesty."

I looked at him.

He finally started moving.

He abandoned Ma Cheng, Ming Jue, and Yi Cang, and even admitted that the Ministry of Revenue had failed in its oversight.

Then they directed the fire towards Pei Shen.

Whether the letter is true or false, it will be useful to him.

If it's true, Pei Shen will go into the water.

If it's fake, the Secretariat can also be implicated.

As long as the case changes from the Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief funds to the infighting among former officials of the Secretariat, Zheng Huai'en can go from being the main culprit to being used.

Good tactic.

I asked, "Has Vice Minister Zheng now admitted to the Ministry of Revenue's oversight?"

He said in a deep voice, "The Qinghe Granary's accounts are in such disarray that the Ministry of Revenue's supervision is naturally inadequate."

"Just a loss?"

"What else does Lord Shen wish to do?"

I picked up the master ledger.

"This document contains the Ministry of Revenue's approval for disaster relief, Ma Cheng's official seal, Qinghe Granary rice vouchers, and Ci'en Temple donation records. Minister Zheng was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief funds, yet he only complains about negligence in supervision?"

Zheng Huaien looked at me.

"If Lord Shen has any evidence that I personally embezzled relief funds, he may present it."

I paused for a moment.

He was right.

We now have a lot of evidence.

However, most of them point to the Ministry of Revenue system, Qinghe Granary, Ci'en Temple, Ma Cheng, and Mingjue.

What is truly enough to directly condemn Zheng Huaien himself is not enough.

That book of merits, whose first page reads "Records of Zheng Huaien," is too much like bait.

This letter from Pei Shen is too much like bait.

A true old fox wouldn't write himself out so clearly.

Ah Liu's face turned red with anxiety.

"Young master, are we just going to let him pick it like that?"

I didn't answer.

I looked at the master ledger and suddenly turned back to the page I had just been looking at.

Twenty-seven people dressed quietly moved to the south shed.

What was taken from Ci'en Temple today was not the old three-cart carriage.

There are twenty-seven "quiet clothes".

That is, twenty-seven disaster victims.

But we only rescued fourteen from the woodshed.

What about the other thirteen?

I looked up abruptly.

"Nanteng."

Xiao Lingyi also realized what was happening.

"Southern soup kitchen?"

"No."

I looked at Zheng Huaien.

"Medicine shed".

Zheng Huaien's eyes finally changed.

Very subtle.

But I saw it.

The thirteen disaster victims were transferred to the free clinic and medicine shed.

There is acacia and benzoin there.

Medical record template.

Some were written as survivors of the patients.

Perhaps the real evidence that could definitively convict Zheng Huaien does not lie in Ci'en Temple.

In those who are not yet dead.

I immediately said, "Yan Xiaoyi, take some men to the South Medicine Shop."

Yan Xiaoyi turned and left.

Zheng Huaien said in a deep voice, "Lord Shen, it's late and chaotic, are you still going to torment the disaster victims?"

I looked at him.

"Is Minister Zheng afraid I'll cause trouble for the disaster victims?"

"I fear that in your pursuit of the case, you will disregard the lives of the common people."

"What a coincidence."

I closed the master book.

"I live and die for them."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a series of rapid hoofbeats came from outside the temple.

A constable from the Censorate rushed into the backyard, covered in sweat.

"Sir! Something's happened at the South Pharmacy!"

My heart sank.

"explain."

"Suddenly, an outbreak occurred at the pharmacy; more than a dozen disaster victims fell into a deep sleep. Physician Song said... that their pulses resembled those in Lord Shen's fake medical records!"

All around was quiet.

I looked at Zheng Huaien.

He was looking at me too.

At this moment, the gentleness on his face finally vanished.

I gripped the general ledger tightly in my hand.

"Walk."

"Go to the South Pharmacy."

"Tonight, Minister Zheng should see this illness for himself."