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

For the first time, the gates of the princess's residence were surrounded by the imperial guards.

Fortunately, the people surrounding them were relatively polite.

No swords were drawn, and the neighbors were not alerted. Only a few black-clad guards stood by the door, looking like a few cold door studs.

But people in the capital have sharp eyes.

Even if you put a silent dog at the door, they can still guess seventeen different kinds of excitement.

Moreover, this is the inner guard.

As soon as we parked our car, people started peering out from the street corner.

Ah Liu lifted the carriage curtain and peeked out; his face immediately scrunched up.

"Young master, it's over. Tomorrow they'll definitely say that there are traitors hiding in His Highness's residence."

I look at him.

He immediately covered his mouth.

After a while, he added in a low voice, "I wasn't talking about you."

I sighed.

You might as well not get it done.

When Xiao Lingyi alighted from the carriage, the guards, female officials, and servants in front of the mansion gate all knelt down.

Qiu Tang hurried out to greet her, her face clearly pale.

"Your Highness, the storerooms have been sealed off as instructed. No one has entered or left."

Xiao Lingyi nodded.

Where is Meng Xiaoman?

"She guarded the wedding gift register in the inner courtyard."

As soon as the name Meng Xiaoman came out, A-Liu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miss Meng is quick-witted and has a fast memory; she's good at keeping records, so she shouldn't make a mistake."

I look at him.

"You seem to know her quite well?"

Ah Liu blushed.

"I just think she talks a lot and has good hearing."

Xiao Lingyi glanced at A-Liu.

Ah Liu immediately shut up, even his ears turned red.

I don't have time to deal with his petty thoughts right now.

The princess's storeroom was located in the eastern side courtyard.

It is divided into internal and external warehouses.

The inner treasury contains the original gold books, ceremonial objects, and palace gifts from the princess's residence.

The outer warehouse was used to store wedding gifts, boxes, silks, jade, and antiques sent from various households.

If you want to frame someone, the best place is in the outer warehouse.

There are many items, many people to handle, and a complicated gift list.

Even more problematic was that Wang Ge Lao sent a congratulatory gift with ambiguous meaning at the end of the first volume.

At the time, I just felt that the gift was unclean.

Looking back now, it probably wasn't because it wasn't clean.

I've been waiting to use it today.

Outside the warehouse, Meng Xiaoman held a booklet, her face deathly pale.

She's usually as gossipy as a sparrow that never stops.

I feel really down today.

When she saw us arrive, she knelt down with a thud.

"Your Highness, Lord Shen, I really didn't steal anything! I didn't even touch the box! I only counted the books! At most... at most I glanced at the gift list twice!"

Ah Liu whispered comfortingly, "Miss Meng, no one said you stole it."

Meng Xiaoman said with a mournful face, "Even the Imperial Guards are here, isn't this serious?"

Ah Liu thought for a moment: "It's serious too."

I look at him.

He immediately changed his tune: "But it's not that serious."

Meng Xiaoman felt like crying even more.

Xiao Lingyi said, "Get up, let's get down to business."

Meng Xiaoman immediately stood up and wiped away her tears.

"The outer treasury has been sealed twice since the wedding. The first time was yesterday after the Imperial Wardrobe sent the wedding attire to express gratitude, and Sister Qiutang had people compile the congratulatory gifts from various households into a register. The second time was this morning after His Highness entered the palace, when the Ministry of Rites sent a few more items, saying that they were forgotten to be recorded yesterday due to the rush."

My eyes flickered.

"A supplementary shipment from the Ministry of Rites?"

"Yes."

"Who delivered it?"

"The clerk of the Ministry of Rites' Sacrificial Rites Department is surnamed He. This servant has seen his name card."

Qiu Tang immediately brought out the name card.

He Rui, from the Ministry of Rites' Office of Sacrificial Rites.

I don't know him.

But the appearance of the Ministry of Rites reminded me of the character "礼" (rites/propriety) that Ji Qing wrote down when he heard about Qinghe Yicang.

Xiao Lingyi said coldly, "What is the Ministry of Rites sending as a supplement?"

Meng Xiaoman flipped through the booklet.

"A supplementary list of congratulatory gifts from Grand Secretary Wang's residence, and a jade ruyi scepter. A supplementary list from Lord Pei's residence, and four volumes of old books. A supplementary list from the Ministry of Rites on behalf of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and a gilded incense burner."

Wang Ge Lao.

Pei Shen.

Taichang Temple.

None of the three items look like good things.

Ah Liu whispered, "Young master, this isn't a congratulatory gift, it's a death trap."

I looked at the booklet and asked, "Where are these things now?"

Meng Xiaoman pointed to the outer warehouse.

"They're all in the third row."

Gu Xingzhi waved his hand, and the inner guards opened the storeroom.

The storeroom door opened, and a mixture of wooden crates and incense wafted out.

The outer warehouse was filled with congratulatory gifts.

Red ribbons were used to attach labels, and name cards were hung along the edge of the box. Looking at them row by row, it really resembled the festive atmosphere of a newlywed couple.

But now I get a headache just looking at red silk.

The first volume in red is the wedding hall, and the second volume in red is the evidence.

I feel that if this continues, I'll eventually develop a phobia of the color red.

Let's first check the jade ruyi in Wang Gelao's mansion.

The box was opened.

The jade ruyi was intact, with a warm and lustrous color, and was placed on a brocade cloth.

I reached out and touched the brocade cloth.

thick.

Too thick.

Qiu Tang used silver scissors to pry open the interlayer.

There was no accounting sign inside.

There was only one piece of paper.

A sentence was written on the paper:

Congratulations on your marriage! May Your Highness and Lord Shen be of one heart and mind.

Signed Wang.

Ah Liu came over to take a look and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just a congratulatory message?"

I shook my head.

"no."

"What's wrong?"

Xiao Lingyi said, "The Wang family would not address me as Your Highness."

Ah Liu was taken aback.

Qiu Tang said in a low voice, "Madam Wang comes from a high-ranking family and often refers to herself as a relative of a former official of the late emperor. When she writes congratulatory letters, she usually addresses her as Princess Zhaoning and does not write Your Highness."

I looked at the phrase "of one heart and one mind".

concentric.

Tongde.

That sounds auspicious.

But putting it here is disgusting.

It means they want to tie me and Xiao Lingyi together.

If the account book is in the princess's residence, even I, the prince consort, cannot escape it.

well.

The Wang family really put a lot of thought into this gift.

The second box contained four volumes of old books that Pei Shen had sent as a replacement.

The book was old, but the cover was clean, as if it had really been taken out of a study.

I opened the first volume.

It is the "Old System of Water Balance".

Volume Two, "A Handbook of Warehouses".

Volume Three, "A Study of Household Registrations During Famine".

Volume Four, "Clothing and Etiquette".

Household registration, warehouse storage, famine, clothing and headwear.

These four volumes cover almost all the lines we've investigated so far.

Bai Song's old tents, Qinghe Yicang, Jiangbei disaster victims, and the late empress's old clothes.

Pei Shen's gift felt less like a blessing and more like a reminder.

Or provocation.

When I turned to the fourth volume, there was a bookmark tucked inside.

The bookmark reads:

Clothes can be used to hide tents, and books can be used to hide knives.

No signature.

Ah Liu felt a chill run down his spine.

"Is Lord Pei's gift of books always this intimidating?"

I closed the book.

"He's scarier when he's not scary."

There is no account book in the book.

At least not openly.

Gu Xingzhi instructed the guards to carefully seal it and take it back to examine the hidden compartments at a later time.

Finally, there was the gilded incense burner, a gift from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

The incense burner is small but exquisitely designed, with three legs, two handles, and lotus patterns carved on the lid.

As soon as I opened the box, a familiar fragrance wafted out.

Albizia julibrissin.

Ah Liu immediately took a step back.

"It's this again!"

I also want to back down.

But I held back.

There is ash inside the incense burner.

The gray is very new.

Qiu Tang used a silver needle to pry open the incense ash, but suddenly bumped into something hard.

Gu Xingzhi reached out and took it.

It was a black wooden plaque about half the size of a palm.

The wooden plaque has four characters engraved on its front:

Settle old accounts.

The back is engraved with:

An Chaogang.

Clear the account book.

Everyone in the room fell silent.

Meng Xiaoman's legs went weak, and she almost sat down on the ground.

Ah Liu quickly helped her up.

Gu Xingzhi stared at the plaque, his face as cold as stone.

Xiao Lingyi stood there without saying a word.

I looked at the incense burner, then at the accounting board, and the premonition in my heart finally came true.

They really did put the cards in the princess's residence.

And it's not just placed anywhere.

It was placed in the incense burner that was sent by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

The Ministry of Rites sent it in, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices signed it, and the Princess's residence kept it.

Once discovered by outsiders, it will be irrefutable evidence.

Princess Zhaoning's privately kept Qing Dynasty account book.

Prince Consort Shen An used the investigation as a pretext to eliminate his political opponents.

The princess's residence and the Qingzhang Society were secretly colluding.

This bucket of dirty water was poured accurately and forcefully.

Ah Liu's voice trembled: "Young master, what should we do now? The token is really in the manor."

I looked at the accounting board.

"yes."

"Isn't that the end of it?"

"It's not over yet."

I took the cards from Gu Xingzhi.

The brand is old, with its edges worn smooth and shiny, as if it has been used for many years.

But it has a problem.

Too clean.

No incense ash entered the pattern.

If it had truly been hidden in the ash of the incense burner, there should be ash in the engravings.

The cards were so clean they looked like they'd just been wiped.

This talisman wasn't always hidden in the incense burner.

It was temporarily placed there by someone.

I looked at Meng Xiaoman.

Who touched the incense burner when the Ministry of Rites sent it as a replacement?

Meng Xiaoman stammered, "He Rui, a minor official in the Ministry of Rites; Old Jiang, a warehouse worker in the mansion; and... and my servants."

Where did you touch?

"This servant only looked at the gift list and did not touch the incense burner."

"Where is Chiang Kai-shek?"

"Move the boxes."

"Where is He Rui?"

"He said the incense burner was a ritual object from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and he was afraid of it getting damaged, so he personally inspected it."

well.

He Rui.

The Ministry of Rites' secret network finally has a name.

I looked at Gu Xingzhi.

Where is He Rui now?

Gu Xingzhi said to the inner guards, "Investigate."

The guards immediately went out.

Xiao Lingyi suddenly said, "There's no need to investigate the Ministry of Rites."

We looked at her.

She stared at the incense burner, her voice cold.

"Check the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

I asked, "What did Your Highness discern?"

She pointed to the bottom of the incense burner.

I looked down.

A line of small characters is engraved on the bottom of the incense burner:

In the winter of the fourteenth year of Chengxi, offerings were made in the side hall of Changning.

Changning Side Hall.

It's the Changning Side Hall again.

The night the late Empress fell seriously ill.

I understood instantly.

This incense burner wasn't chosen randomly.

It may have been located in the side hall of Changning back then.

The same acacia benzoin incense was burned inside.

They hid the accounting plaque inside this incense burner, not just to frame the princess's residence.

Just a reminder.

Or rather, intimidation.

They were telling Xiao Lingyi that they could send the same things to her residence at the place where her mother died.

Xiao Lingyi's face was so cold it was devoid of any color.

I looked at the incense burner, then at the accounting sign, and suddenly smiled.

Ah Liu asked anxiously, "Young master, why are you still laughing?"

"Because they were in too much of a hurry."

"urgent?"

"If they just wanted to frame the princess's residence, they could have just put up any old incense burner. But they deliberately used the old incense burner from the side hall of Changning Palace."

I looked at Gu Xingzhi.

"This shows that this incense burner is very important."

Gu Xingzhi said, "Seal it."

I nodded.

"Seal the incense ash, seal the incense burner, seal the account book, and seal the name card in the Ministry of Rites' supplementary register."

Xiao Lingyi said coldly, "Investigate the records of offerings and items issued by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in the fourteenth year of the Chengxi reign."

Gu Xingzhi agreed.

Just then, the guards hurriedly returned.

"Commander Gu, Lord Shen, we've found He Rui, the minor official from the Ministry of Rites."

I asked, "Where are they?"

The guard said in a deep voice, "He's dead."

Ah Liu covered his face.

I'm not surprised anymore.

"How did he die?"

"At a foot inn in the south of the city, he took poison."

"Was anything left behind?"

The guard handed over a crumpled piece of paper.

There was only one line of text on the paper:

The list of names has been sent to the princess's residence; Shen An will surely rebel.

As I looked at those words, my smile slowly faded.

Shen An will definitely rebel.

This is what they really want.

It's not just Xiao Lingyi who was framed.

It wasn't just the princess's residence that was framed.

They want to tie me, the son of a traitor, to the Qing Dynasty's official records, the Princess's residence, and the old case of the late Empress.

The day my identity is exposed, all of this will become old evidence.

They're writing a scathing report against me in advance.

I handed the paper to Xiao Lingyi.

After she finished reading, her eyes were as deep as a well.

"Shen An".

"Your subject is here."

"This plaque cannot remain in the princess's residence."

"certainly."

"We can't just hand over the position to the inner guards."

I looked at her.

She said, "To the Golden Palace."

I understand.

Before the other party could use it to launch an attack, they first presented the Qing account book, the old incense burner of Changning, the supplementary register of the Ministry of Rites, and the news of He Rui's death to the emperor and his court officials.

Once the dirty water has been splashed, there's no going back.

We need to snatch the basin back and smash it back.

I nodded.

"it is good."

Ah Liu asked in a low voice, "Young master, are you going to the palace again?"

I look at him.

He had a bitter look on his face.

"I'll ask you, sir."

I put the accounting card back into the box.

"Ah Liu."

"exist."

"Go and call Bai Zhi, and bring her the ticket stubs from Yongfeng Three Stores, the medical records from the Southern Medicine Shed, and the rice coupons from Qinghe Charity Granary."

"You're bringing a tent?"

"certainly."

I looked at the old incense burner in the side hall of Changning.

"They wrote a scathing report against me."

"I'll settle the score with them."