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

The plaque is in the Princess's residence.

These five characters were written on the table of the third counter of Yongfeng Bank, the tea still wet, and the handwriting crooked.

But it's straighter than a knife.

After reading it, Ah Liu froze.

"Young master, this character... it doesn't actually refer to our manor, does it?"

I looked at the desktop.

"Our residence?"

Ah Liu paused for a moment, then immediately corrected himself: "Your Highness's residence."

Xiao Lingyi stood beside me, her face icy cold.

She didn't look at Ah Liu, but stared at those five words.

Yongfeng's three-tiered accountant died.

Bai Song's old account has been taken away.

The line on the account book was written by the dead man before his death, leading to Princess Zhaoning's residence.

This is no coincidence.

This is like picking up a basin of dirty water and splashing it directly onto Xiao Lingyi.

What's even more ruthless is that it knows exactly when to splash the water.

The Qinghe Granary had just opened, Zheng Huaien had just been detained, and evidence from Ci'en Temple and the Southern Medicine Shop was pointing directly at the Ministry of Revenue. With Xiao Lingyi personally distributing grain and the Princess's residence involved in guarding the granary, it was precisely at this time that the court officials were watching them most closely.

Someone from Yongfeng Bank has died, leaving behind a plaque that reads "At the Princess's Mansion."

Tomorrow in court, Grand Secretary Wang only needs to stand up and ask one question:

How was Princess Zhaoning able to know the location of the tent pawn in advance?

Why are the old plaques of the Clearing House hidden in the Princess's Mansion?

Is the Princess's residence investigating a case, or is it to silence witnesses?

These three questions will drag Xiao Lingyi down even if she is innocent.

Looking at those five words, I suddenly felt like laughing.

Those old foxes in Beijing really have no sense of propriety.

It's one thing if it hurts me.

They didn't even spare the princess's residence on the second day of her marriage.

Ah Liu asked cautiously, "Young master, what should we do now?"

"Check the dead first."

"what?"

His face turned pale again.

I walked up to the three-counter accountant.

The accountant was very old, with gray hair, wearing a gray long gown from the Yongfeng Bank. He was slumped over the table, his right hand hanging over the edge and his left hand pressed against his chest.

His lips were black, and his eyes were half-open.

It must have been very painful before they died.

Gu Xingzhi had already ordered the inner guards to seal off the side room, and the people from Yongfeng Bank were kept outside and not allowed to approach.

Cui Jing knelt in the courtyard, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face, repeatedly saying that he knew nothing about it.

I don't have time for him right now.

The dead are more honest than the living.

Although the level of honesty is limited.

I asked Gu Xingzhi, "Poison?"

Gu Xingzhi said, "At first glance, it looks like poisoning."

"Suicide?"

"Undecided."

I looked at the teacup on the table.

The teacup lay overturned to the side, with only a few drops of tea remaining. Some tea spilled onto the table, and someone used it to write words.

The words were written with fingers.

"The card is in the Princess's residence."

I stared at the words for a while.

Xiao Lingyi asked, "What did you see?"

"The characters are written too completely."

Ah Liu was stunned: "Even if it's complete, there's a problem?"

"A person who has taken poison and is dying, in excruciating pain, can still write five words. If he really wanted to send a message, why didn't he write something even more fatal?"

"for example?"

"Whoever takes away Bai Song's old accounts, whoever clears the account books, will be the one to die."

I pointed to the desktop.

"He deliberately wrote 'The sign is at the Princess's residence.' This doesn't sound like he's giving a message on his deathbed; it sounds like he's reciting a poem on his deathbed."

Ah Liu's eyes lit up.

"So, someone forced him to write it?"

"possible."

I looked at the deceased's right hand.

The fingertips of the right hand are clean.

There are no tea stains.

Now look at the left hand.

There are faint tea stains on the tips of the index and middle fingers of my left hand.

"Does he write with his left hand?"

The manager of Yongfeng said in a trembling voice, "Your Excellency, Old Cao usually uses his right hand to operate the abacus and write accounts."

The person who wrote with his right hand used his left hand to write when he was dying.

That would be interesting.

I asked, "Does Old Cao have a disability in his left hand?"

"no."

I reached out and gently lifted Lao Cao's right hand.

He had calluses on the web of his right hand, and the joints of his index and middle fingers were stiff, indicating that he was someone who spent years using an abacus to write accounts.

But there was a fresh indentation on the inside of his right wrist.

It felt like someone had pressed down on it forcefully.

I looked at his left hand again.

There are also pressure marks on my left wrist.

But the tip of his left finger was dipped in tea.

In other words, it is very likely that both of his hands were held down before he died.

When he was writing, someone was holding his left hand.

Ah Liu was so angry that his face turned red after hearing this.

"This is utterly shameless! They don't even spare the dead, grabbing their hands to write profanities!"

I glanced at him.

"It's not swearing."

"Even dirtier than swearing!"

That's true.

Gu Xingzhi walked over and glanced at the indentation.

"Force to write."

"Um."

I looked down at the teacup again.

Who sent the tea?

The shopkeeper hurriedly replied, "It was delivered by the tea server at the bank."

Where is the waiter?

The bodyguards around Gu Xingzhi immediately went to investigate.

He returned a moment later.

"The waiter has disappeared."

Ah Liu clutched his head: "It's gone again!"

I looked at him.

He immediately put his hand down.

"Young master, I've truly had enough of what I've heard today, and I'm done."

I've heard enough.

But the bad guys in the capital won't be so considerate as to stand up and confess just because Ah Liu has heard enough.

Gu Xingzhi said, "The back door was just sealed off, so the waiter in the teahouse can't have gone far."

"Let someone chase after you."

He nodded.

I then asked the shopkeeper, "How long will Old Cao be in charge of the three counters?"

More than thirty years.

"Has he seen the accounting plaque?"

The shopkeeper's expression changed: "This...this humble one doesn't know."

Gu Xingzhi glanced at him.

The shopkeeper immediately changed his tune: "I should have seen them. Of the three old accounts, only Old Cao can recognize them."

I asked, "Why is he still alive?"

The shopkeeper didn't understand.

"What?"

"Qian Rong is dead, Zheng Huai'en is in custody, Aunt Zhaoyue is dead, Han Shangfu is dead, and Mingjue of Ci'en Temple almost burned down the fire victims. Why is the accountant San Gui, who is so crucial to our safety, still alive?"

The shopkeeper turned pale and couldn't speak.

Xiao Lingyi suddenly said, "Because he's not the kind of person who wants to silence people."

I nodded.

"right."

The fact that Lao Cao wasn't immediately silenced suggests that he wasn't originally intended to be the target of the purge.

At least in the eyes of the Clearing House, he was not yet at the point where he had to die.

He is now dead because we found out about Yongfeng's three cabinets.

He did not die because of old grievances.

They died because of us.

I feel uneasy.

But this discomfort shouldn't be shown on your face.

If you write it down, people will use it as a weapon.

I asked Gu Xingzhi, "Besides the ticket stubs, what else was in the wooden box that Cui Jing took away?"

Gu Xingzhi said, "An empty card slot."

"Empty card slot?"

He ordered his bodyguards to fetch it.

Sure enough, there was a small groove at the bottom of the wooden box, shaped like a wooden plaque about half the size of a palm.

It's empty inside.

The account sign is not present.

Cui Jing said that someone took away Bai Song's old account book last night with a Qing account book tag.

Before his death, Cao Cao was forced to write "The plaque is in the Princess's Mansion".

In other words, they want us to believe that the account book has been sent to Princess Zhaoning's residence.

Why?

I looked at Xiao Lingyi.

She remained calm.

"Return to the residence."

Gu Xingzhi said, "Your Highness, the Princess's residence needs to be sealed off and investigated."

Ah Liu almost panicked when he heard this.

"Seal off the princess's residence? Commander Gu, that's His Highness's residence!"

Gu Xingzhi said expressionlessly, "Precisely because it is His Highness's residence, we must investigate it thoroughly."

Xiao Lingyi looked at him.

"Who's investigating?"

"Inner Guard".

"Who else?"

"Lord Shen."

Xiao Lingyi glanced at me.

"Can."

Ah Liu breathed a sigh of relief.

But I wasn't completely relaxed.

The best outcome would be for the guards and me to investigate.

But this news will definitely get out.

At that time, all the outside world will know is: the Qing Dynasty's tent was suspected to be hidden in the princess's residence, and the imperial guards entered the residence to search it.

It sounds so good.

Even without confirmation, it's disgusting enough.

I asked Gu Xingzhi, "Can we suppress the news for now?"

Gu Xingzhi said, "It can't be suppressed."

I sighed.

"Too."

The commotion at the entrance of Yongfeng Bank just now was so loud that countless eyes on the street were watching.

Gu Xingzhi could seal the treasury, but he couldn't silence the mouths of the entire capital.

Xiao Lingyi turned and walked out.

I followed.

Before leaving, I looked back at Old Cao's body one last time.

The tea stains on the tips of his left fingers were not yet completely dry.

I suddenly stopped.

"Wait a moment."

Gu Xingzhi looked at me.

I walked back to the table and looked down at those five words.

The plaque is in the Princess's residence.

The three characters for "Princess's Residence" were written the crookedest.

Especially the "府" (fu).

The last point is very long; drag it down to the edge of your desktop.

It felt like someone was forcibly pulling my hand to finish writing.

But as I stared at the character "府" (fu), something just didn't feel right.

I held up my hand and gestured to indicate the strokes.

"This is not the mansion."

Ah Liu was taken aback: "Not the prefecture? Then what is it?"

I dipped my hand in tea and copied it down next to me.

When writing the last stroke, I deliberately lengthened the dot.

That character looks like "府".

However, if you connect the elongated dot with the tea stains below, it resembles the incomplete shape of another character.

"Ku".

The card is in the princess's vault.

Ah Liu's eyes widened.

"The princess's storeroom?"

Xiao Lingyi's eyes turned cold.

The princess's storeroom.

It contained not only silver and ceremonial objects, but also wedding gifts from various families.

The congratulatory gift from Grand Secretary Wang was also among them.

finally, I understand.

The sign is not in the Princess's Mansion.

The card is in the princess's treasury.

Someone wants us to go back and search the database.

Because something must have already been placed inside.

I looked at Gu Xingzhi.

"Walk."

"Go to the princess's storeroom."