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

The side hall of Changning is colder during the day than at night.

Sunlight streamed into the courtyard, but seemed unable to reach inside the palace gates.

I stood outside the hall, looking at the half-worn palace gate, and a strange feeling arose in my heart.

I almost drank some calming tea right here yesterday.

Han Shangfu died in the back corridor.

Qin Shangyi fainted here.

Huang Yicheng is helping people create fake medical records here.

Aunt Sun said that Qin Shangyi didn't want to kill me, but rather that old garment.

Now we've come full circle and are back here.

Sometimes investigating a case is like navigating a maze.

You think you've gone far, but you end up finding yourself going around in circles drawn by others.

Inside the palace, Qin Shangyi sat in a side room.

Her face was still pale, but she had changed into a plain palace dress and her hair was neatly combed.

She didn't look like a prisoner; she looked more like a female official waiting to take the measurements for a nobleman.

Two bodyguards stood watch at the entrance.

Upon Gu Xingzhi's arrival, they immediately bowed in greeting.

When Qin Shangyi saw Xiao Lingyi, she stood up and bowed.

"Your Highness."

Her voice remained gentle.

It's so mild it's almost unbearable.

Xiao Lingyi looked at her.

"Qin Shangyi, Aunt Zhaoyue is dead."

Qin Shangyi's fingers visibly trembled.

She quickly lowered her head.

"This servant... understands."

I stared at her.

"Who told you that?"

She froze.

The side hall of Changning was sealed off; she shouldn't have known about the outside world.

Qin Shangyi remained silent.

Gu Xingzhi's voice was icy: "Speak."

Qin Shangyi closed her eyes.

"Someone delivered a message."

"Who?"

"A little palace maid."

"What's your name?"

"Suque."

Another name.

I looked at Gu Xingzhi.

The guards around Gu Xingzhi immediately went out to investigate.

I asked Qin Shangyi, "What message did Su Que convey?"

Qin Shangyi said in a low voice, "Zhaoyue has been cleaned, and the clothes and curtains have been put away in the storeroom."

The room fell silent.

The moon is already bright.

Clothing and tents were returned to the storeroom.

If it's clean.

So clean it was like a murderer had simply folded his clothes and put them back in the box.

Xiao Lingyi's eyes were frighteningly cold.

"Who told her to hand it over?"

Qin Shangyi shook her head.

"This servant does not know."

I walked up to her and placed the rouge powder I had taken from the back alley of the inner prison on the table.

Do you recognize it?

Qin Shangyi's expression changed after just one glance.

"The Imperial Dress Bureau applies embroidery powder."

"Found in the alley behind the inner prison."

She looked up at me.

I continued, "Before Zheng Huaien died, someone put poison in through the ventilation hole. Afterwards, this kind of embroidery powder was left in the alley."

Qin Shangyi's face turned even paler.

"Not everyone in the Imperial Wardrobe is a member of the Account Settlement Committee."

"I didn't say everyone."

"Lord Shen already has this in mind."

She spoke a little hastily.

Haste is a weakness.

I sat down opposite her.

"Qin Shangyi, you spoke very steadily yesterday. But now you're not so steady."

She shut up.

Xiao Lingyi said, "Because Zhaoyue is dead."

Qin Shangyi lowered her head, her fingertips slowly clenching.

"Aunt Zhaoyue shouldn't have died."

"Then who should die?" I asked.

She did not answer.

I placed the accounting sign on the table.

When Qin Shangyi saw it, her pupils suddenly contracted.

This reaction is very real.

She recognized the account book.

But she may not have seen this piece before.

I asked, "Does Qin Shangyi recognize her?"

"I don't recognize him."

"You were shaking just now."

"This servant is just afraid."

"Afraid of wooden signs?"

"I'm afraid of being implicated."

"What's involved?"

Qin Shangyi suddenly looked up.

"Lord Shen, after investigating for so long, don't you know yet? Sometimes, people in the palace don't want to do evil; they just have no other way out."

I looked at her.

"I've heard that many times."

"But it's true."

"Even a life cannot pay for it."

Qin Shangyi felt as if she had been stung by those words.

She remained silent for a long time before saying, "I entered the palace at the age of thirteen. I first worked in the laundry department and later in the Imperial Wardrobe. The late Empress was kind and saw that I was skillful, so she transferred me to work in the Changning Palace."

Xiao Lingyi remained silent.

Qin Shangyi continued, "Aunt Zhaoyue was a lady-in-waiting in Changning Palace at that time. Sun Ajin was in charge of sick clothes and sleeping clothes. Han Shangfu was just a junior embroiderer."

"In the winter of the fourteenth year of Chengxi's reign, the late Empress fell seriously ill. The Imperial Hospital advised her to avoid the wind, the Imperial Wardrobe advised her to change her clothes, and the inner court advised her to rest quietly. Everyone said it was for the Empress's own good."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"But later, the scent of medicine grew stronger and stronger. The lights in the side hall of Changning became dimmer and dimmer. The Empress said she was cold, but the windows were not allowed to be opened. Aunt Zhaoyue said something was wrong and that she should go find His Majesty."

Xiao Lingyi's face was very pale.

I didn't interrupt.

These words may be the first time they have been spoken by someone who experienced the Changning Side Hall incident firsthand.

Qin Shangyi said, "That night, Aunt Zhaoyue was stopped outside. Commander Gu was guarding the outer gate, and he let her go once. She went out carrying a clothes box, which contained the Empress's sick clothes."

Gu Xingzhi stood at the door, silent.

I glanced at him.

It turns out that Gu Xingzhi did more than just see back then.

He released Zhaoyue.

This explains why the late empress sent someone to find him.

Xiao Lingyi looked at Gu Xingzhi.

Gu Xingzhi lowered his head.

"I disobeyed orders back then and allowed Zhaoyue to leave the house."

Xiao Lingyi did not blame him.

She simply asked Qin Shangyi, "How was Mother's night?"

Qin Shangyi's eyes reddened.

"Your Majesty is very lucid."

These five words silenced everyone in the room.

The Empress is very clear-headed.

These five.

If the late empress was conscious, it would mean that the delirium, fear, and ramblings recorded in her medical records later were not necessarily true.

Qin Shangyi said in a hoarse voice, "Her Majesty asked Zhaoyue to take away her sick clothes. She said there was a curtain inside. She also said that if she doesn't wake up tomorrow, Zhaoyue should go find Commander Gu."

Xiao Lingyi's voice tightened: "And then?"

"Then……"

Qin Shangyi closed her eyes.

"The next day, the Empress passed away."

There was no crying or shouting.

There were no dramatic changes.

But the next day, the person was gone.

This is the coldest.

I asked, "Who drugged me?"

Qin Shangyi shook her head.

"This servant does not know. The Imperial Hospital delivers medicine, the Imperial Wardrobe changes clothes, the Inner Court lights incense, the Secretariat delivers documents, the Ministry of Revenue delivers accounts, and the Ministry of Rites determines the ceremonies. Each person only does their own small part."

She looked up at me.

"Lord Shen, this is the most terrifying place."

"No one looks like the murderer."

"But the Empress is dead."

My heart sank.

Each person only does a small section.

The person lighting incense said it was on the doctor's orders.

The person delivering the medicine said to follow the prescription.

The person changing clothes said they were following etiquette.

Those who sealed the palace said it was for quiet recuperation.

In the end, when the person died, no one was the murderer.

But everyone is.

This is the proper way to settle accounts.

It's more than just a meeting.

It is a method of breaking down human lives into accounts.

Xiao Lingyi asked, "Why didn't you say?"

Qin Shangyi's tears finally fell.

"This servant wouldn't dare."

She knelt down.

"Zhaoyue has fled. Sun Ajin has retired due to illness. Han Shangfu has been transferred. Commandant Gu has been sent to the northern camp. All the old servants of Changning Palace have scattered overnight. If I were to tell you, I would die of illness the next day."

"And then?"

"Later, someone came looking for the servant girl."

"Who?"

Qin Shangyi remained silent.

I pushed the accounting sign forward.

"A debt settlement meeting?"

She nodded.

"They said that the old accounts of the Changning side hall cannot be brought up. As long as this servant guards the Shangyi Bureau and the clothing stalls, I can live."

"So you guarded it."

"Yes."

Why did Han Shangfu die?

Qin Shangyi's voice trembled: "She saw Qinghe's face."

"Didn't Qinghe die?"

"The real Qinghe is dead. Later, more than one person wore Qinghe's clothes."

I asked, "Then who killed Han Shangfu yesterday?"

Qin Shangyi looked up.

"Suque."

It was a white sparrow again.

Gu Xingzhi's men returned quickly, their faces grim.

"The white sparrow has disappeared."

I'm not surprised at all.

"Who is Su Que?"

Qin Shangyi said, "She is a maid in charge of embroidery in the Imperial Wardrobe, and has been in the palace for two years. She is usually inconspicuous and is responsible for delivering embroidery powder, needles and thread, and old materials. She can enter and leave the Imperial Wardrobe, the Changning Side Hall, and the Taichang Wasteware Storehouse. She can also use the pretext of delivering clothing materials to enter the inner prison through the side passage."

now it's right.

The powdered embroidery in the alley behind the inner prison.

Zheng Huaien died.

The moonlight has been cleared, and the clothes and curtains have been returned to the storeroom.

It was all white sparrows running around.

But who is behind Ke Suque?

Qin Shangyi suddenly said, "She is not someone raised in the palace."

I looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"She walks like a palace maid, but her hands don't."

Again, the hands don't look right.

Liu Cheng said this.

Qingxing also mentioned it.

"A scar on the back of your hand, and a thick web between your thumb and forefinger?"

Qin Shangyi nodded.

"Su Que has no scars on her hands, but the area between her thumb and forefinger is thick. They are a group of people."

A group of women or men who can impersonate palace maids, use needles, silence witnesses, escape from the palace gates, and enter the inner prison.

The person in charge of clearing accounts at the clearing committee.

I asked, "Who will they be assigned to?"

Qin Shangyi's face turned ashen.

"This servant has only ever heard of one title."

"What?"

"Aunt Lan".

Xiao Lingyi suddenly looked up.

orchid.

The orchid pattern on the late empress's robe.

Lan Gu.

I had a bad feeling about this.

Qin Shangyi said in a low voice, "The old servants in the palace say that Lan Gu is not on the list. She only cares about old clothes, old accounts, and old people. She relays the message about who should be kept and who should be disposed of."

I asked, "Where is Aunt Lan?"

Qin Shangyi shook her head.

"have no idea."

Have you seen it before?

"No. She always used blue-textured paper to deliver messages."

She took out a small, finely folded piece of paper from her sleeve.

"This is what Su Que left behind when she delivered the message."

The paper is unfolded.

It says:

The moonlight has been cleared, and the clothes and curtains have been returned to the storeroom.

There was a very faint blue pattern on the corner of the paper.

It looks very similar to the late empress's private seal.

But they are not exactly the same.

Xiao Lingyi glanced at it, her voice turning cold.

"This is a fake."

I asked, "Can you see the difference?"

She nodded.

"The Empress Dowager's orchid pattern is missing a stroke in the center."

This one has an extra stroke.

Imitation printing.

Someone used a seal with an orchid pattern, imitating the late empress, to issue an order to clear the accounts.

This level of disgust goes beyond simply splashing dirty water.

It's using the names of the dead to kill the living.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside.

An inner guard entered.

"Commander Gu, Lord Shen, a fire has broken out in the old materials storage room of the Imperial Wardrobe!"

Qin Shangyi's expression changed drastically.

"There's a clothing section in the scrap metal storage room!"

I got up immediately.

"Walk!"

Xiao Lingyi also walked out.

Qin Shangyi suddenly grabbed the hem of her clothes.

"Your Highness!"

Xiao Lingyi stopped.

Qin Shangyi knelt on the ground, her voice trembling.

"If possible, save a blue lacquered box. There are three horizontal lines on the bottom of the box, like those of an old palace needle."

"What's inside?"

Qin Shangyi looked up.

Her eyes were full of tears.

"The changing room for the late Empress's sick clothes."

"It contains the names of everyone who entered the Changning Side Hall back then."