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

After Bai Zhi finished speaking, the Xuanzheng Hall became as quiet as if it were buried in snow.

The End of the Bai Family Story.

I don't understand.

But I know that what could make Zheng Huaien's face turn like that was definitely not some ordinary accounting trick.

Zheng Huaien knelt in the hall, looking up at Bai Zhi.

In that instant, a crack appeared in the gentleness, composure, and experience in his eyes.

Very small.

Even the smallest crack in the Golden Palace can let in a draft.

Bai Zhi stood very straight.

She loves money, hates trouble, and speaks with a sharp, veiled tone.

But at this moment, she showed no sign of frivolity.

She held the thin book in her hands as if it were a book carved out of the bones of a dead man.

"His Majesty."

Bai Zhi knelt down to pay her respects.

"I am Bai Zhi, daughter of Bai Song, a former accountant in the Ministry of Revenue. My father died in the fourteenth year of the Chengxi reign in the case of 'suicide due to accounting errors.' Today, I am willing to testify based on the Bai family's accounting methods."

The emperor looked at her.

"explain."

Bai Zhi opened the thin book.

Instead of spouting grand principles, she simply held up the booklet.

"Ordinary accountants record the number of people by writing 'ten,' 'hundred,' or 'thousand,' and then put the first number in the total. The Bai family's system of recording the last number is different."

Ah Liu whispered behind me, "What's a 'reverse tail' story?"

I whispered, "Listen."

He immediately shut up.

Bai Zhi continued, "The 'reversal of the last digit' record was originally used to investigate fraudulent accounts. If a sum of money was split into several parts that were not obviously related, a checkmark would be left on the last digit of each part. For example, this page."

She pointed to a line in the booklet.

"Two hundred and thirty-seven disaster victims from Guangping County, Jiangbei, received rice vouchers with a last digit of seven."

She turned another page.

"The same batch of medicine for pacifying the people, including seven catties and three taels of acacia benzoin, also ends in seven."

Turn it over again.

"The merit donation for the Water and Land Ritual at Ci'en Temple is 370 taels of silver, with the last digit being 7."

She looked up.

"Seven is not a coincidence; it is the last number of the same group of heads."

Zhao Guanlan's expression changed.

He clearly understood.

I understood.

The same disaster victim was divided into three accounts: rice donations, medicine supplies, and donations.

On the surface, the three accounts are unrelated.

The fact that they have the same last digit indicates that they are actually connected.

This is the line the accountant left for himself.

It could also be a mark secretly left by someone who falsifies accounts, fearing that the accounts won't match up later.

Bai Zhi turned a few more pages.

"The second batch, ending in three."

"The third batch, ending in nine."

"The fourth batch, ending in 1."

Her voice grew colder and colder.

"Each batch of receivables corresponds to rice coupons from the granary, medicine supplies from the pharmacy, and donations to Ci'en Temple. Only someone who personally keeps the accounts would record them this way."

Zheng Huaien finally spoke.

"This only shows that the person who keeps the accounts understands your Bai family's accounting methods."

Bai Zhi looked at him.

"Minister Zheng is right."

Her answer was so straightforward that it made Zheng Huaien pause.

Bai Zhi continued, "So I have a second thing to say."

She took out a yellowed old piece of paper from her bosom.

The paper edges are frayed and have many creases, indicating that it has been hidden for a long time.

"This is an old account left by my father."

Zheng Huaien's expression changed instantly, reflecting the change in his father's expression.

I saw his fingers twitch almost imperceptibly.

Bai Zhi didn't look at him, but presented the old account page to Wei Zhi.

Wei passed it directly to the emperor.

After reading it, the emperor's gaze darkened.

"The old accounts of grain restitution from the fourteenth year of the Chengxi reign?"

Angelica dahurica lies prostrate on the ground.

"Exactly."

Zheng Huaien said in a deep voice, "Bai Zhi, your father, Bai Song, committed suicide out of fear of punishment for an accounting error. The old accounts have long been filed. The origin of the old papers you are hiding is unknown."

Bai Zhi looked up and smiled.

"Minister Zheng, I was twelve years old when my father died."

Her voice wasn't loud.

"You say his accounts are wrong, that he embezzled money, that he committed suicide out of fear of punishment. But the night before my father died, he stuffed this account book into the sole of my cotton shoe and said that if anyone asked, just say he burned it."

She looked at Zheng Huaien.

"I didn't understand it then. Later, when I studied accounting, I realized that this page was not an ordinary old account."

She pointed to the booklet.

"The last page of this disaster victim accounting book is exactly the same as the old account page my father had back then."

Zheng Huaien coldly replied, "The accounting methods are the same, which cannot prove that it was written by this official."

Bai Zhi nodded.

"No, not yet."

She then took out another piece of paper from her sleeve.

This time, it's a copy of an old file from the Ministry of Revenue.

"In the fourteenth year of Chengxi, when Zheng Shilang was serving as the Director of the Ministry of Revenue, he invited Bai Song to his office to audit accounts for three months due to an old case involving the reduction of grain taxes. This is recorded in the old archives of the Ministry of Revenue."

She turned to the emperor.

"This humble woman requests Your Majesty to request the Ministry of Revenue to review the account roster from the 14th year of the Chengxi reign."

The emperor looked at Wei Zhi.

Wei Zhi whispered, "Your Majesty, Commander Gu has already sent someone to retrieve it."

A thought struck me.

The emperor was indeed not just watching a show on a whim.

From the moment Bai Zhi left the palace, he had already sent Gu Xingzhi to retrieve the old files.

Or even earlier.

Despite his illness, this emperor still had a long reach.

A look of dejection finally appeared on Zheng Huaien's face.

But he hasn't fallen yet.

"It is true that Bai Song once came to my residence to check the accounts," Zheng Huaien said. "But it is common for accountants to check accounts for officials. Bai Zhi, if you insist on claiming that I personally made the disaster relief accounts based on your father's old accounts, it is simply absurd."

Bai Zhi looked at him.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Minister Zheng? I haven't finished speaking yet."

Ah Liu took a quiet breath behind me.

"Miss Bai is so scary today."

I wholeheartedly agree.

Bai Zhi isn't scary when she's cursing.

She's most like someone who's about to kill when she's not cursing.

Bai Zhi turned to the last few pages of the booklet.

"The 'reverse tail' method is only half of the Bai family's accounting method. The other half is called the 'reverse hook' method."

She handed the booklet to Zhao Guanlan.

After reading it, Zhao Guanlan's expression darkened further.

"The so-called 'reverse hook' is a hidden number left between three adjacent pages by the accountant to prevent people from altering the accounts. If someone adds it later, the hidden number will be broken."

Bai Zhi nodded.

"This booklet has not been broken."

She looked at Zheng Huaien.

"This shows that it was not a hastily forged document, nor was it something Deng Huai rushed out in just a few days. It was recorded continuously using the same method from the moment the first batch of disaster victims entered the tent."

Zheng Huaien said, "It could still be Deng Huai."

"Deng Huai won't."

Bai Zhi said directly.

Deng Huai, kneeling beside him, was deathly pale. Upon hearing this, he actually nodded.

"I...I can't."

Everyone looked at him.

Deng Huai seemed to finally deflate his ego.

"I just processed the tickets according to the register. I didn't write the conversion book. I can't understand the end-of-line record; I only know that the last digit of each batch must match, and if it doesn't, Zheng Fang will return it."

Zheng Huaien shouted sternly, "Deng Huai!"

Gu Xingzhi took a cold step forward.

Zheng Huaien shut up again.

This time, Deng Huai was no longer afraid of him.

"I'm just a clerk. I can handle rice coupons, run errands, and deliver tickets, but I don't know this accounting method. Ma Cheng doesn't know it either, and Lu Wenjing certainly doesn't. Mingjue only recognizes merit money."

He looked at the emperor and kowtowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, Zheng Huai'en personally produced the accounting book. He said it's to save trouble. One person's account is entered into three separate accounts, and the final amount is not mixed up, so no one can find out the truth."

Bai Zhi closed her eyes.

I know she was thinking of her father.

The accounting methods that Bai Song taught back then were probably originally intended to investigate false accounts.

In the end, however, it was used to falsify accounts.

The most painful thing for an accountant is not making a mistake in calculation.

He taught himself the iron abacus, but it was later used by someone to kill people.

Just then, Gu Xingzhi returned.

Two bodyguards followed behind him, each carrying an old file box.

Wei went straight through and opened it.

Inside are old files from the Ministry of Revenue from the fourteenth year of the Chengxi reign.

The emperor flipped through a few pages and handed them to Wei Zhi.

Wei Zhi read: "In the third month of the fourteenth year of Chengxi, Zheng Huai'en, the secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, invited Bai Song, the accountant, to his office to verify the old accounts in order to reconcile the grain exchange. After three months of verification, Bai Song taught him the method of cross-checking the last digits and verifying the accounts by cross-checking the last digits."

Many people in the hall lowered their heads.

Zheng Huaien remained silent.

Wei Zhi continued reading: "In June of the same year, Bai Song was dismissed from the Ministry of Revenue due to a shortfall of three thousand taels in accounts. In July, Bai Song hanged himself."

Bai Zhi knelt there, her shoulders tense.

She didn't cry.

She just looked at Zheng Huaien.

I suddenly realized that she had been waiting for this moment for many years.

Unfortunately, what awaited them was not a pleasant experience.

It's an even deeper mess.

Zheng Huaien suddenly smiled.

"Bai Zhi, your father has been dead for more than ten years. I can understand why you would implicate me in an attempt to overturn his case."

Bai Zhi's face turned pale.

Zheng Huaien looked up at the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I admit that I did learn the bookkeeping techniques from Bai Song back then. But just because I learned them does not mean that I wrote this book. Since Deng Huai could steal my private notes, he could naturally also learn my accounting methods."

I couldn't help but sigh.

This guy is really tough.

It's so hard it's almost hateful.

Bai Zhi's fingertips trembled with anger, but I stopped her with my hand.

"Minister Zheng's words make sense."

Ah Liu got anxious again from behind.

"Young master, how can you be right again?"

I said, "Because relying solely on accounting methods is still not enough."

Zheng Huaien looked at me.

"Lord Shen is exceptionally fair."

"I have always been fair."

I walked into the hall and picked up the accounting book.

"But Minister Zheng forgot that I am not an accountant."

"When I investigate a case, I don't just look at the accounts."

I turned to one of the pages.

"On this page, it says, Tian Xiaoya, a disaster victim from Guangping County, Jiangbei, quietly goes to the medicine shed."

I looked up.

"Tian Xiaoya, the child who woke up at the South Medicine Pawnshop. She said someone told her that if she wrote her name, she would get porridge; if she wrote her name, she could sleep; and when she woke up, she wouldn't be hungry anymore."

Zheng Huaien said calmly, "Children's words are not sufficient evidence."

"right."

I nodded.

"Therefore, I will not use her testimony to convict you."

I turned another page.

"This page says that Zhao Gui, a famine victim from Jiangbei, died of illness and was taken to the river or land. But Zhao Gui is still alive and was rescued tonight from the woodshed of Ci'en Temple."

"This page says, Ding Mancang, his name was removed from the list due to damage. But Ding Mancang's corpse contained a hidden secret."

"This page says that Sun Ajin, an old courtesan, entered the palace and quietly mended clothes. But Sun Ajin was still alive, and was in the side hall of Changning."

Zheng Huaien's expression changed slightly.

I closed the booklet.

"Minister Zheng, the most dangerous part of this booklet is not the ending."

"It killed off people who weren't even dead yet."

I looked at him.

"If Deng Huai only forged the document tonight, how could he have known in advance that Sun Ajin would be found alive in the secondhand clothing store, and how could he have written 'mending the needle' for her beforehand?"

"How could he know in advance that Ding Mancang would die, yet still swallow the coffin?"

"How could it be that the thirteen disaster victims from the South Pharmacy were supposed to 'rest quietly' beforehand, when in fact these thirteen people were indeed drugged and passed out tonight?"

As I continued speaking, the hall grew quieter and quieter.

"This was not fabricated after the fact."

"This was arranged in advance."

"This booklet is not evidence intended for us to see."

"It's the general ledger of your internal transfers of personnel, food, medicine, and methods of execution."

Zheng Huaien finally fell silent.

His face gradually darkened.

I continued, "You can say that the private records were stolen, that the accounting methods were learned, or that Deng Huai made false accusations."

"But you can't explain why this so-called forged booklet could predict all the things that haven't happened yet tonight."

I looked at the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I request that Tian Xiaoya from the Southern Medicine Shed, Zhao Gui from Ci'en Temple, and Sun Ajin from the Changning Side Hall be brought before me to verify the names recorded in the ledger. If all the events recorded in the ledger occurred before tonight, then this ledger must be a genuine account circulated by the Ministry of Revenue beforehand, and could not have been forged by Deng Huai before the drumbeat."

The emperor said in a deep voice, "Granted."

Zheng Huaien knelt on the ground.

He finally lowered his head.

This time, he wasn't being respectful.

It was suppressed.

Deng Huai suddenly laughed.

I was laughing, but then I started crying.

"Zheng Huaien, you're finished... You've finally met your match..."

Zheng Huaien slowly raised his head and glanced at Deng Huai.

His eyes were cold.

It was so cold it didn't feel like looking at a person.

It's like looking at a piece of waste paper that's already half burned.

He suddenly said, "Your Majesty."

The emperor looked at him.

Zheng Huaien kowtowed deeply.

"I made an oversight and I am guilty."

That same phrase again.

But this time, his voice finally lacked a bit of steadiness.

"Regarding the Qinghe Granary, Ci'en Temple, and the Southern Medicine Shop, I am indeed guilty of negligence in my supervision. I am willing to hand over the seal of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and await Your Majesty's judgment."

He still does not confess his sin.

But he handed over the seal.

This step is not admitting defeat.

It's a broken tail.

Surrender the official seal, save your life, and be dragged into a later trial.

As long as he isn't immediately put to death, he still has a chance.

I looked at him and suddenly realized something.

Zheng Huaien was not the mastermind.

He has someone behind him.

That person probably wanted him to cut his tail here even more than he did.

Sure enough, Zheng Huaien continued, "But there is something I must report to Your Majesty."

Emperor: "Speak."

Zheng Huaien looked up, his gaze sweeping over me and then over Pei Shen.

"The Jiangbei disaster relief accounting book was not originally produced by the Ministry of Revenue."

The hall fell silent.

Pei Shen finally looked up.

Zheng Huaien slowly said, "This old method of conversion was transferred from the old treasury of the Central Secretariat."

He lay prone on the ground.

"Your Majesty is willing to hand over the seal, but please thoroughly investigate the old treasury of the Secretariat."

Pei Shen sighed softly.

"Minister Zheng."

His voice was still so gentle.

"Your tail looks rather ugly after it was cut off."