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

After the woman was rescued, Physician Song first used silver needles to prick several acupoints, and then gave her half a cup of refreshing soup.

She woke up very slowly.

It felt like being forcibly dragged out of a very deep dream.

When she opened her eyes, she first saw the night sky above the well, and then she saw us.

Finally, she saw Zheng Huaien.

In that instant, she shrank back sharply.

Very small.

But that's enough.

You can't fake being afraid of someone.

Especially when they've just been pulled out of the well and the effects of the medicine haven't worn off yet.

She struggled to get up, but was held down by Physician Song.

"Don't move. If you move again, your blood and qi will rush to your head, and you'll really die."

Her voice was hoarse: "I...I'm not dead?"

Ah Liu couldn't help but say, "Almost."

The woman's eyes flickered.

I squatted down in front of her.

"What's your name?"

She shut up.

I glanced at the bluish birthmark on the back of her right hand.

"Qinghe?"

She remained silent.

Bai Zhi stood aside, clutching the medicine tent, and said coldly, "You don't have to tell me. Qing He from the Shangyi Bureau, the escort for the Qinghe Yicang warehouse, the escort for the Ci'en Temple's old curtain, the guide for the fake Aunt Sun at Xihua Gate, and the transporter for the thirteen disaster victims at the South Medicine Shed. Your name is busier tonight than the relief funds."

The woman's lips trembled slightly.

"I am not Qinghe."

Finally, he spoke.

I asked, "Then who is Qinghe?"

She glanced at Zheng Huaien, then immediately lowered her head.

Zheng Huaien said calmly, "Lord Shen, she has just woken up and is not yet fully conscious. It is not advisable to force a confession."

I laughed.

"Minister Zheng is so considerate."

"I am merely reminding you that a confession obtained under torture does not count as testimony."

I didn't hit him.

I looked at the woman on the ground.

"And she hasn't confessed yet."

Zheng Huaien fell silent.

I unfolded the wet paper.

At midnight, Zheng Fang prepared the medicine, and witnesses entered the well.

"Is this from your body?"

The woman's eyes trembled, but she shook her head: "No."

"Who put it there?"

"have no idea."

"Who threw you into the well?"

Her lips were pressed tightly together.

I sighed.

"Do you know? We saved a lot of people tonight. Aunt Sun was in the old clothes room, fourteen disaster victims were in the woodshed, thirteen unconscious people were in the medicine shed, and you were there too."

I pointed to the well.

"You came out of a well. Wells are unlucky places. Being able to come out even once is already considered very lucky."

Her fingers slowly clenched.

I continued, "If you don't speak, it will be written in the account tomorrow that Qinghe of the Imperial Wardrobe committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and the witness from the Southern Pharmacy is dead."

Her face turned pale.

"I am not Qinghe!"

"Then tell me, who are you?"

She remained silent for a long time before whispering, "My name is Qingxing."

Ah Liu's eyes widened: "Qing He and Qing Xing? Is naming things so easy for your Imperial Wardrobe?"

Bai Zhi glanced at him.

"Shut up."

Ah Liu, shut up obediently.

I asked, "Where is Qinghe?"

Qingxing's voice was extremely low: "Dead."

The people in the shed fell silent.

I stared at her.

"When?"

"Last night."

"How did he die?"

"They said he died of illness."

He died of illness again.

This disease in the capital should really warrant the establishment of a shrine.

Qingxing said in a trembling voice, "Qinghe was originally a maid in the Imperial Wardrobe. Last night, Consort Qin asked her to deliver old curtains out of the palace. When she returned, she said that Qinghe had contracted a sudden illness and was sent to a side room to rest. She died in the middle of the night."

Qin Shangyi.

The name is back.

I asked, "Who were the people who escorted the carriage, led the group, and carried out the assassination today?"

Qingxing shook her head.

"I don't know. They made me wear Qinghe's clothes and had me identify thirteen disaster victims in the medicine shed, saying that as long as I fed them medicine according to the list, they would let me leave the palace tomorrow."

"Are you from the Imperial Wardrobe?"

"no."

"Then how will you get into the palace?"

She bit her lip: "I'm a rice carrier at Qinghe Granary."

Ah Liu almost exclaimed, "The rice carriers are wearing palace maid clothes?"

Qingxing's tears fell.

"My brother is in their hands."

They're family again.

Aunt Sun's grandson.

The child of a disaster victim woman.

Qingxing's younger brother.

The accounting committee seems to understand perfectly well that if a person has no weakness, they should be forced to submit.

If a person has a weakness, there's no need to even use a knife.

I asked, "Who's in your brother's hands?"

She shook her head: "I've only ever seen one person wearing a blue cloth mask. He had scars on the back of his hands and a thick web between his thumb and forefinger."

That person died in the dark compartment of the incense ash cart at the South Soup Dishes Shelter.

I said, "He is already dead."

Qingxing suddenly looked up.

"Dead?"

"A needle in the throat."

Her eyes were completely confused.

"And my younger brother..."

I looked at her.

"If you want to save him, then explain it clearly."

Her tears flowed even faster.

"I really don't know who they are. All I know is that there's an underground warehouse in the backyard of Qinghe Yicang, where many people have been imprisoned. Every few days, someone would take people away. Some were sent to Ci'en Temple, and some were sent to the medicine shed. The leader doesn't show his face often, but they all listen to the people from the Ministry of Revenue."

Zheng Huaien asked coldly, "Which Ministry of Revenue?"

The green apricot shook.

I asked on her behalf, "Ma Cheng?"

She shook her head.

Zheng Huaien's eyes flickered slightly.

Qingxing whispered, "It wasn't Manager Ma. Manager Ma only came to collect debts. The one who actually came to call people was a man surnamed Deng."

Bai Zhi immediately flipped through the medicine book.

"Deng?"

She turned to a page and pointed to the scribal.

"Deng Huai, clerk of the Disaster Relief Office of the Ministry of Revenue."

Deng Huai.

A new name.

well.

The little devil has finally shown his face again.

Zheng Huaien said, "There are hundreds of clerks in the Ministry of Revenue. If Deng Huai is involved in the case, he should be arrested and questioned."

He spoke very quickly.

It's happening so fast, like they were just waiting for the name to come out.

A thought struck me.

Zheng Huaien wanted Deng Huai to step in?

Or was Deng Huai just another pawn he was preparing to throw out?

I asked Qingxing, "Where is Deng Huai now?"

Qingxing shook her head: "I don't know. He came to the medicine shed tonight and said that all the Jingyi clothes had to be cleared away before midnight."

What does "clear out" mean?

She was shaking violently.

"Burn the dead, take medicine the living."

Ah Liu's face turned green.

"Is this even human language?"

Bai Zhi said coldly, "That's a matter of accounts."

I looked at the thirteen disaster victims in the medicine shed.

Live disease file.

If these people die tonight, there will be thirteen more "dead from illness" entries in the account tomorrow.

If he were alive, he would be described as "resting in peace".

They are not human.

It is an account whose status can be changed at any time.

I suddenly understood the true purpose of medical records.

The purpose of creating a medical record is not to make people sick.

It is so that people, whether alive or dead, have a reasonable place to go.

I instructed Physician Song to seal and store the wooden plaques, medical records, and leftover medicine packets of the thirteen disaster victims.

Bai Zhi then began checking the medicine records.

The more she looked, the gloomier her expression became.

"The pharmacy has made three sets of patient records in total."

I asked, "Which three sets?"

"One set is for the dead, written as 'died of illness.' One set is for the unconscious, written as 'rest and recuperation.' One set is for those who have been transferred, written as 'recovered.'"

Ah Liu was stunned.

"You recovered without even seeing the person?"

Bai Zhi looked at him.

"A cure in the account is also a cure."

I took the patient file.

really.

Thirteen unconscious disaster victims, with annotations already written after their names.

If he does not wake up tomorrow, change it to "died of illness".

If anyone comes to check, change it to "rest and recuperation".

If you wish to transfer, please change the name to "Recover and Leave the Studio".

Three endings, written in advance.

Before the people even died, the tent had already chosen their manner of death.

I looked at Zheng Huaien.

"Minister Zheng, the Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief efforts are truly thorough."

Zheng Huaien's face was gloomy.

Where are the traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and doctors in the southern medicinal herb sheds?

Bai Zhi said, "They ran away."

I said, "They didn't go far."

Zheng Huaien looked at me.

I picked up the wet tissue.

"It's midnight, time to clean the medicine. It's not midnight yet. The pharmacist, Deng Huai, and others are probably still waiting to see if there's a dead person in the well."

Ah Liu whispered, "Young master, should we set up an ambush?"

I nodded.

"right."

"In the medicine shed?"

"No."

I looked at Qingxing.

"You just said that there is an underground warehouse in the backyard of Qinghe Yicang."

Qingxing nodded.

"Where is the entrance?"

"Grind the old grain into flour."

I looked at Xiao Lingyi.

She understood what I meant.

The South Medicine Shed is simply a place for cleaning and processing medicinal herbs.

The underground warehouse in the backyard of Qinghe Yicang was the real place where people were imprisoned, transferred, and their accounts altered.

Zheng Huaien suddenly said, "Lord Shen, the Qinghe Granary has already been sealed. If we were to return with a large force, it would likely disturb the disaster victims."

I laughed.

"Minister Zheng has reminded me of this many times along the way."

"I'm worried that you're investigating too hastily and might ruin the case."

"I'm worried too."

I took a step closer to him.

"Therefore, this time, please invite Vice Minister Zheng to go along."

Zheng Huaien stared at me.

I looked at him too.

"The patient records at the Southern Medicine Shop, the rice coupons at the Qinghe Granary, the donation books at Ci'en Temple, and the old clothes at the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau are all related to the Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief efforts. Since Vice Minister Zheng is in charge of disaster relief funds, it wouldn't make sense for him not to check on the underground granaries."

He was silent.

Xiao Lingyi said coldly, "Minister Zheng, please."

These two words are not an invitation.

It's an escort.

Zheng Huaien finally smiled.

It was very bland and very cold.

"Since Your Highness and Lord Shen insist on this, I will naturally accompany you."

He said he would play along.

But I knew he was already thinking about how to get away.

This kind of person won't just sit and wait to die.

I instructed Yan Xiaoyi to lead the Imperial Guards to seal off the backyard of Qinghe Granary, while A-Liu stayed behind to help Physician Song care for the disaster victims. Bai Zhi took the medical records and medicine books and came with me.

Ah Liu originally wanted to come along, but when he heard that he could stay at the medicine shed, he became anxious instead.

"Young master, shall I not go to the underground storage?"

"You stay."

"But even the little one can help now."

"I stayed because I could help."

I looked at the disaster victims who were still unconscious.

"When they wake up, someone needs to remember their names, check their names against the wooden plaques, and feed them water. You used to be afraid of death, but you've never harmed anyone. It's better for them to see you the first thing they see when they wake up than to see your official robes."

Ah Liu was stunned.

His eyes were a little red again.

"I understand."

I patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't cry, act like a normal person."

He immediately raised his sleeve to wipe his face.

"The baby didn't cry; it was the smell of medicine that made him cry."

well.

I like this excuse.

By the time we rushed back to Qinghe Yicang, it was already very late at night.

There was no moon in the sky, only the torches at the entrance of the granary illuminating the high walls.

Yan Xiaoyi stood next to the old grain mill in the backyard, with two corpses at her feet.

They were all cannon fodder.

A fine needle in the throat.

The same way of dying.

Bai Zhi whispered, "They've come to clear people out."

I looked at that old grain mill.

The millstone was large and covered in dust.

The edge of the grinding disc has fresh scratches.

Yan Xiaoyi inserted the knife into the gap under the millstone and pried it open with force.

The heavy millstone was slowly moved away.

A dark entrance was visible below.

A damp, musty, and bloody smell wafted up.

Qingxing's face turned deathly pale.

"This is it."

Zheng Huaien stood to the side, saying nothing.

The firelight fell on his face, illuminating his deep gaze.

I suddenly had a feeling.

What awaits us in the underground warehouse may not just be witnesses.

This could also be Zheng Huaien's next comeback.

I gripped the short blade, about to strike.

Suddenly, a very light tapping sound came from underground.

One at a time.

It sounds like someone is tapping a wooden board with their knuckles.

Bai Zhi's expression changed.

"This is the secret signal the accountant uses when knocking on the counter."

I looked at her.

She whispered, "There are accountants alive inside."

The knocking stopped for a moment.

Then it rang three more times.

Bai Zhi's expression changed completely.

He said…

I asked, "What did you say?"

She stared at the black hole, her voice strained.

"The tent is inside the belly of a dead man."