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

Yongfeng Bank has three gates.

The main gate welcomes distinguished guests, the side gate leads to the accounting office, and the back gate delivers the silver cart.

Many people in Beijing know that Yongfeng Bank has powerful backers.

As for who's behind it all, no one has said for sure.

Because if we really said it, we might offend half of the imperial court.

Standing on the second floor of the teahouse opposite Yongfeng Bank, looking at those three doors, I suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia for Qinghe Granary.

At least Qinghe Yicang could kick the door open.

Yongfeng won't work.

If you kick it open, it might not contain silver; it could be banknotes from the Wang family, collateral from the Pei family, unredeemed official silver from the Ministry of Revenue, or private savings of some concubine in the palace.

That kick could kick out a whole room of people.

Ah Liu's hands were trembling as he held the tea.

He still followed.

According to him, the bills on Miss Bai's side were too frightening, and he felt it was safer to stay with the young master.

I couldn't bring myself to tell him that his judgment was very problematic.

"Young Master, is Commander Gu truly capable of bestowing the title of 'Yongfeng' upon him?"

"cannot."

Ah Liu almost spilled his tea.

"Then what are we looking at here?"

"Let's see who runs."

Places like Yongfeng Exchange House cannot be easily shut down.

But as soon as the imperial edict is sent to the Inner Guard, the news will definitely leak out.

Who was left out?

do not know.

So you should watch it.

See which door moves first, see who's in a hurry to destroy the ticket, see who's in a hurry to transfer the money, see who's in a hurry to deliver the money.

Yan Xiaoyi leaned against the window, her eyes half-closed.

"The main gate remained untouched, three accounting staff members left through the side gate, and two empty carriages exited through the back gate within fifteen minutes."

I looked at him and asked, "Is the car empty?"

"It looks empty."

"That is to say, it is not necessarily empty."

"Um."

Ah Liu, hearing this, became nervous: "How can an empty truck not be empty?"

Yan Xiaoyi said lazily, "You also seem quite bold."

Ah Liu choked.

Xiao Lingyi sat to one side, with the late Empress's letter and the Yongfeng cloth left by Aunt Zhaoyue in her hands.

She did not drink tea.

Their gaze remained fixed on the back door of Yongfeng Bank.

Gu Xingzhi went to the palace to request an imperial decree but has not yet returned.

Pei Shen was brought back to the palace for questioning.

Zheng Huaien is in the inner prison.

Qin Shangyi, Aunt Sun, Huang Yicheng, Liu Cheng, and others were all kept under surveillance.

Logically speaking, the situation has stabilized for the time being.

But I felt even more uneasy.

Because the person who actually took away Bai Song's old debts is still outside.

That person was able to kill Aunt Zhaoyue before we did, cut open her clothes to take away old debts, and still leave behind the Yongfeng connection.

He was no ordinary person who would silence witnesses.

He knew the value of old debts.

They knew we would definitely catch up.

It looks like a hook.

But the fish has already taken the bait, so there's no way to stop it.

Suddenly, a few more people appeared on the street downstairs.

He wore ordinary short trousers, carried a load of firewood, and looked like an ordinary person.

But Yan Xiaoyi raised his eyelids.

"The inner guards have arrived."

I can't tell.

But he could tell.

Gu Xingzhi was very efficient.

A moment later, an old man selling sugar figurines slowly walked into the teahouse.

When he came to our table, he put down a sugar figurine.

There was a piece of paper underneath the sugar figurine.

Ah Liu stared, his eyes wide.

"Can the interior defenders even make candy?"

Yan Xiaoyi said, "If you speak louder, Yongfeng will know."

Ah Liu immediately shut up.

I picked up the paper.

The above is Gu Xingzhi's calligraphy.

His Majesty's decree: Yongfeng is to be temporarily sealed off for half a day. Check the receipts for the disaster relief funds in Jiangbei. Do not disturb the people or leak the information.

The phrase "must not be leaked" is meaningless if it's written.

If you issue a warrant for this kind of place, half of the capital will know.

The key is not to prevent leakage.

It's about catching the fastest mouse before the news leaks out.

I said to Yan Xiaoyi, "The back door."

Yan Xiaoyi had already gotten up.

I looked at Xiao Lingyi: "Your Highness, are you staying here?"

She looked at me.

I shut up.

"What I mean is, if Your Highness is going along, please stand behind me."

She said calmly, "You can't stop it."

"I understand."

"Then say less."

I've noticed that the princess is getting increasingly adept at blocking me.

This is not a good sign.

When we went downstairs, the guards had already slowly surrounded the entrance of Yongfeng Bank.

They did not draw their swords, nor did they alert any pedestrians on the street.

Someone simply handed the sign to the main entrance.

The manager of Yongfeng Bank came out quickly.

He was in his fifties, with a round face, a long beard, and wore a dark blue silk robe. He looked more like an official than many officials in the Ministry of Revenue.

When he saw the guard badge, the smile on his face froze for a moment.

It recovered quickly.

"Gentlemen, what is the meaning of this?"

The guard said coldly, "We are ordered to check the tickets."

The shopkeeper hurriedly bowed and said, "Yongfeng has always abided by the law. If the government wants to investigate, we will cooperate. However, there are many transactions between our distinguished customers. If we were to shut down and investigate rashly, it might affect the exchange of silver in the capital."

"It won't affect us for even half a day."

"Half a day..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Xingzhi arrived.

The shopkeeper immediately shut up when he saw Gu Xingzhi.

Gu Xingzhi only said one sentence.

"Open the treasury."

The shopkeeper's face twitched.

"Commander Gu, the treasury needs the owner's key."

"Who's the boss?"

"Yongfeng Bank is a joint stock exchange, and it has more than one owner."

"Who's in charge of the main branch in Beijing?"

The shopkeeper remained silent.

Gu Xingzhi said, "Take it down."

Two bodyguards immediately stepped forward.

The shopkeeper's expression changed drastically.

"Commander Gu! I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"

I was very impressed.

Gu Xingzhi's investigations are so efficient, it saves him a lot of trouble.

"The main branch in the capital is managed by Master Cui."

"Who is Master Cui?"

The shopkeeper swallowed.

"Cui Jing."

I looked at Xiao Lingyi.

She frowned: "The nephew of Lady Wang's family."

Wang Ge Lao.

well.

Behind Yongfeng, a seasoned veteran has finally emerged.

Gu Xingzhi heard it too, but his expression didn't change at all.

Where is Cui Jing?

"backyard."

"lead the way."

The shopkeeper still wanted to delay.

But Gu Xingzhi had already walked inside.

We followed behind.

The front hall of Yongfeng Bank was very spacious, with a row of abacuses behind the counter. The accountants were all forced to sit down and were not allowed to move.

If Bai Zhiruo saw this, she would probably want to go up and touch the account books.

Unfortunately, she's not here.

The backyard is even deeper.

After passing through two moon gates, you arrive at the outside of the silver vault.

Four guards stood in front of the treasury, each holding a stick.

Gu Xingzhi glanced at it.

The four guards immediately put down their sticks.

Very pragmatic.

But just then, a horse neighed suddenly came from the direction of the back door.

Yan Xiaoyi moved faster than anyone else.

He climbed over the wall.

When Xiao Lingyi and I arrived at the backyard, we saw that the back gate was already open and a green-canopied carriage was rushing out of the alley.

Yan Xiaoyi leaped down from the wall and cut the cart's rope with a single stroke.

The horse was startled, and the carriage crashed heavily against the wall.

The driver jumped out of the carriage and ran away, but was kicked to the ground by a guard.

A person rolled out of the carriage.

A middle-aged man, dressed in brocade, with a deathly pale face.

The shopkeeper said in a trembling voice, "Second Master Cui..."

Cui Jing.

The nephew of Lady Wang's family.

He was holding a wooden box tightly in his arms.

Gu Xingzhi walked over.

"Open."

Cui Jing said, trembling, "These are private bank notes, not related to official accounts."

Gu Xingzhi reached out his hand.

"Open."

Cui Jing looked at the shopkeeper, then at us.

Finally, his gaze fell on Xiao Lingyi.

"Your Highness, Yongfeng Bank has silver exchange dealings with many institutions in the court. If we conduct a forced investigation today, it could implicate a wide range of people. Why should Your Highness escalate the situation beyond repair for the sake of Shen An alone?"

Xiao Lingyi said coldly, "When you ran away with the box, didn't you think about how to end things?"

Cui Jing's face turned pale.

I walked up to him.

"Second Master Cui, if the box only contained illicit funds, why are you running away?"

I'm afraid of being misunderstood.

"Now there's no more misunderstanding."

I looked at Gu Xingzhi.

Gu Xingzhi drew his sword directly, using the tip to pry open the copper clasp of the wooden box.

The box lid is opened.

There were no banknotes inside.

It was a stack of ticket stubs.

The top one reads:

The disaster relief funds from Jiangbei were converted into silver and deposited into three vaults at Yongfeng.

My heart sank.

Yongfeng Three Containers.

The three cabinets in the Qian Rong case.

The second one below:

The merit rice from Qinghe Yicang was converted into silver, and then transferred to Yongfeng's three vaults.

Third one:

The incense and silver offerings for Ci'en Temple were collected by Yongfeng's three cabinets.

Fourth picture:

Anmin Pharmaceutical Materials Silver, Yongfeng Three Counters Exchange.

All of them are three cabinets.

Qian Rong and Zheng Huaien both went to Yongfeng Third Counter.

I looked up at Cui Jing.

"Second Master Cui, who's in charge of the three counters at Yongfeng?"

Cui Jing's lips trembled, and he remained silent.

Gu Xingzhi raised his hand.

The guards held his shoulder down.

Cui Jing immediately screamed, "I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"Who?"

"It's not my responsibility! The three counters are old counters; they don't keep open accounts normally, they only recognize the old brands!"

I asked, "What old brand?"

Cui Jing trembled even more violently.

"Clear the account book."

Clear the account book.

As soon as those three words were spoken, even Gu Xingzhi's eyes turned cold.

The accounting meeting was finally more than just eight characters on the wall, more than Qian Rong's last words, and more than just a slogan on the first page of the merit book.

It has a license.

There is a cabinet.

There is a silver road.

I asked, "Who has the cards?"

Cui Jing shook his head: "I don't know! I'm only responsible for watching the counter; I don't recognize people, I only recognize the cards!"

"Who has visited the third counter recently?"

Cui Jing's face turned deathly pale.

There was one person last night.

"Who?"

"Wearing a veil, her face cannot be seen."

"Male or female?"

"Like a woman."

Xiao Lingyi's eyes flickered.

I thought of that too.

Qinghe.

Green apricot.

Shining on the moon.

Qin Shangyi.

The shadow of the Imperial Clothing Bureau has returned.

Cui Jing continued, "She cleared out the account cards and took away an old account box."

My heart sank.

"Bai Song's old grievances?"

"I don't know what's inside. I only know that there's white writing on the box."

White characters.

Bai Song.

The white in Angelica dahurica.

We were still a step too late.

Xiao Lingyi's voice was cold: "Where did she go?"

Cui Jing said with a mournful face, "I really don't know. The three clerks only handle comings and goings, and don't ask where they go."

Gu Xingzhi said, "I've crippled one of his hands."

Cui Jing was so frightened that his soul almost left his body.

"Wait! I remember now! She left an old receipt when she went to collect her money!"

He pulled a yellowed old ticket from the bottom of the wooden box.

Gu Xingzhi took it and handed it to me.

The ticket reads:

In the fourteenth year of Chengxi, Lan Yi was appointed to hold the account book, which was stored in three cabinets.

Ticket holder:

Shining on the moon.

There was also an old seal next to it.

It's not the Ministry of Revenue.

It's not the Central Secretariat.

It's not an internal database.

It is the Wang family's private seal.

Xiao Lingyi's eyes suddenly turned cold.

Wang Shi.

Wang Ge Lao.

I finally understand what Zheng Huaien meant by that sentence.

You've checked your account.

But the moment you opened the book, it no longer belonged to you alone.

This account involves more than just Zheng Huaien.

It involves more than just Pei Shen.

It also involves Grand Secretary Wang.

The hand of the former regent finally reached out from the silver vault.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out in the front hall of Yongfeng Bank.

The guards rushed in.

"Commander Gu, Lord Shen, the third accountant is dead!"

I looked up.

Gu Xingzhi's expression turned cold.

I gripped the old ticket tightly.

"How did he die?"

The guard said, "Take poison."

I immediately went to the front hall.

In the side room of the main hall, an old accountant was slumped over a table, his lips blackened.

An open tent box sat on the table.

The box was empty.

But there was a line of words written in tea on the table.

The tea leaves were not yet dry.

The handwriting is crooked.

Just five words.

The plaque is in the Princess's residence.

Ah Liu followed behind, and when he saw those five words, his voice changed.

"Young master, which princess's residence?"

As I looked at those words, my heart grew colder and colder.

Which other one could it be?

Princess Zhaoning's Residence.

Someone pointed the accounting board at Xiao Lingyi.