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

Chapter 170, Card 1

The fire at the old material storage room of the Imperial Clothing Bureau has been extinguished.

But the smoke was still swirling inside the palace walls.

Piles of burnt old cloth lay on the ground, like a rotten cloud turned upside down.

The palace servants knelt outside, not daring to raise their heads.

Qin Shangyi also knelt down.

She looked at Su Que's corpse, her eyes filled not with pleasure, but with an indescribable sorrow.

I asked her, "Have you heard of the first 'clearing the account' token that Su Que mentioned?"

Qin Shangyi's lips moved slightly.

"I've heard the rumors."

"What rumor?"

"When the late Empress Dowager was clearing out old accounts in the Imperial Treasury at Changning Palace, she discovered that many former officials of the late Emperor had embezzled funds through purchases made in the palace. She ordered a batch of wooden plaques to be made for trusted individuals to use when entering and leaving the treasury."

What does it say on the sign?

Qin Shangyi said in a low voice, "Clear old scores and stabilize the court."

Ah Liu took a quiet breath beside him.

Bai Zhi frowned.

Gu Xingzhi remained silent.

Xiao Lingyi's expression remained calm.

The calmer she is, the more it means she has listened.

I asked, "And then?"

"The account clearing token was later taken back."

"Who collected it?"

Qin Shangyi shook her head.

"This servant does not know. I only know that before the late Empress fell seriously ill, she had a dispute with several former ministers who had served as regents over old grievances. After that, the Qing Dynasty's 'account list' became something that could not be mentioned in the palace."

I asked, "Who are the former regents?"

Qin Shangyi lowered her head and remained silent.

I said it for her: "Grand Secretary Wang?"

She remained silent.

This is the default.

The late empress wanted to clear the names of the former officials.

Grand Secretary Wang was the head of the old officials.

If this is true, then the fact that the "Clearing Accounts Society" is now using the guise of "clearing old accounts and stabilizing the court" to kill people and destroy evidence is even more disgusting.

They took the knife that was originally meant for checking themselves and turned it into a knife for killing others.

Bai Zhi suddenly said, "If the first token was made by the late Empress, there should be a record of its making."

I looked at her.

Bai Zhi continued, "For items made in the palace, whether wooden plaques or waist plaques, as long as they are not privately made, there must be material records, work records, and receipt records. If the late Empress made plaques in the name of Changning Palace, the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau might not have them, but the Imperial Treasury might have them."

Xiao Lingyi immediately said, "Check the records of the Imperial Treasury and the Imperial Workshops from the fourteenth year of the Chengxi reign."

Gu Xingzhi said, "I'll go and arrange it."

He was about to leave when I called him back.

"Commander Gu."

He turned around.

I asked, "When you were guarding the outer gate of the Changning Palace, did you ever see this kind of plaque?"

Gu Xingzhi remained silent for a moment.

"I've met him once."

Everyone was looking at him.

"In Zhaoyue's hands."

Xiao Lingyi asked, "What kind?"

"Black wood, edges not worn. The back does not have 'An Chaogang' inscription, only 'Qing Jiuzhang'."

A thought struck me.

This "Clearing Accounts" plaque has "Clearing Old Accounts" on the front and "Settling the Imperial Order" on the back.

The back of the first card does not contain An Chaogang.

In other words, someone added four words later.

Or a new batch could be made.

Clearing up old accounts means checking the accounts.

An Chaogang's actions were a power grab.

Just four words difference, and the whole flavor is gone.

After I said that, Bai Zhi's eyes lit up.

"That's right. When setting up an account book, it's crucial to avoid adding anything later. If the inscription 'An Chaogang' on the back was added later, then you can distinguish between the original and counterfeit cards."

Ah Liu asked, "How do we divide it?"

Bai Zhi said, "The old badges are worn, with marks from the knife edge, wood grain, ink, and badge-making records. As long as there are records of the first batch of badges made, we can compare them."

Ah Liu nodded seriously, although it seemed he only understood half of it.

Xiao Lingyi looked at Gu Xingzhi.

Gu Xingzhi said, "I'll go."

This time, he left very quickly.

The body of Suque was sealed away.

Qin Shangyi was temporarily detained.

The blue lacquer box and the changing table were sealed inside the certificate box.

Even the ashes from the old building materials room were kept under guard by the inner guard.

The palace was turned upside down that day.

But I know it's not enough.

If the matter of clearing the accounts is not resolved quickly, Grand Secretary Wang will soon turn around and bite back.

He would say: The Qing Dynasty's system of keeping the Qing Dynasty's Qing Dynasty ...

With the note saying "Shen An will definitely rebel," I, the son of a traitor, will be dragged out sooner or later.

Time is not on our side.

Time is on the side of the old fox.

Because they live long enough to endure the long wait.

I can't afford to delay.

Xiao Lingyi couldn't afford to delay any longer.

When we returned to the side hall to rest, Bai Zhi sat to the side holding the account book, her eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, yet she was still flipping through it.

Ah Liu brought over some hot tea, placed it in front of me, and then carefully put another cup next to Bai Zhi.

Bai Zhi didn't look up.

"There's no medicine in the tea, is there?"

Ah Liu immediately replied, "No! I personally watched it being brewed and smelled it three times!"

I look at him.

"You can smell it?"

Ah Liu thought about it.

"I can't smell it, but it makes me feel at ease."

Bai Zhi finally looked up at him.

"You're still somewhat useful."

Ah Liu's face immediately lit up.

"You flatter me, Miss Bai."

I wasn't praising you.

"almost."

This child can even find candy to eat when he gets scolded.

I took a sip of tea.

It's very hot.

It was also very tough.

But there was no calming incense.

This is already good tea.

Xiao Lingyi sat by the window, watching the lingering smoke outside.

I walked over and handed her the changing table from the lacquer box.

"Would Your Highness like to look at it again?"

She took it.

I stared at it for a long time, my gaze lingering on the line, "If Zhao Ning sees this, do not believe in the mercy of the entire palace."

She said in a low voice, "The Empress Dowager knows they will feign compassion."

I didn't respond.

That's a very strong statement.

The entire hall was filled with compassion.

Last night in the Xuanzheng Hall, how many people were feigning compassion?

Zheng Huaien pretended not to notice.

Wang Ge Lao feigned loyalty.

Pei Shen feigned gentleness.

The Ministry of Rites was negligent.

Too often, one pretends not to know.

Everyone seemed to be acting for the sake of the court, for the disaster victims, for His Majesty, and for His Highness.

But the disaster victims were locked in the woodshed.

The child was lying in the medicine shed.

The late empress's sick clothes were hidden in the granary.

Bai Song hid his old accounts in Yongfeng's three cabinets.

The word "compassion" can sometimes be dirtier than a knife.

Xiao Lingyi suddenly asked, "Shen An, why do you think my father didn't investigate back then?"

I paused for a moment.

"Maybe they checked."

She looked at me.

"The investigation isn't finished yet."

Why?

"Because halfway through the investigation, we discovered there were too many people who needed to be dealt with."

Xiao Lingyi smiled.

"So you're not going to investigate?"

I looked at her.

"Your Highness, I cannot say such a thing."

"Then let's put it bluntly."

I sighed.

"His Majesty probably thought back then that it was best to stabilize the court first before investigating old cases."

"Has it remained stable until now?"

"Um."

She closed her eyes.

"Then the Empress Dowager died a very peaceful death."

Those words stung me.

Ah Liu didn't dare to make a sound from a distance.

Bai Zhi also stopped turning over the curtains.

Xiao Lingyi put away the changing room.

"So I won't wait."

I nodded.

"I don't want to wait either."

Because I know what the price of waiting is.

In the end, the living become the dead, the dead become tents, the tents turn to ashes, the ashes enter the incense burner, and then someone stands on the golden hall and says:

Oversight.

Just then, Gu Xingzhi returned.

He was holding an old file in his hand.

"The catalogue for the production supervision of the fourteenth year of Chengxi has been found."

Bai Zhi immediately stood up.

"Give me."

Gu Xingzhi glanced at her and put the old file on the table.

Unfold the angelica root and quickly flip through it.

She was like a completely different person when she looked at the accounts.

The fatigue was gone, the anger was gone, and all that remained in his eyes was calculation.

"In the spring of the fourteenth year of Chengxi, a batch of ebony wood was taken from Changning Palace to make twelve access tokens for the storeroom."

She looked up.

The inscription reads: "Clear old debts."

I asked, "Is An Chaogang there?"

"no."

Ah Liu breathed a sigh of relief.

Continue turning over the Angelica dahurica.

"In the autumn of the fourteenth year of Chengxi, the Directorate of Works made another batch of nameplates, twenty-four of which were made of ebony."

My heart sank.

"Who took it?"

Bai Zhi's expression also changed.

"It's not Changning Palace."

"Who is it?"

She looked at Xiao Lingyi.

"The old treasury of the Imperial Secretariat".

Pei Shen?

I frowned.

Bai Zhi continued, "The document for receiving the token reads: Clear up old debts and stabilize the court."

The room fell silent.

The first batch of clearing account plaques was made by the late Empress in Changning Palace, and only included "clearing old accounts".

The second batch of cleared account plaques were from the former Zhongshu Treasury, and only then was "An Chaogang" added.

This is the key reason why settling accounts can become distorted.

It was not the late Empress who founded the Qing Dynasty.

Someone used the late Empress's account-clearing plaque to create an account-clearing committee.

I asked, "The person who issued the license?"

Bai Zhi looked down.

Her fingers stopped.

"Pei Shen, former clerk of the Imperial Library."

really.

Ah Liu gasped.

"Lord Pei?"

Xiao Lingyi's face turned cold.

Gu Xingzhi said: "In the fourteenth year of Chengxi, Pei Shen was serving as a secretary in the Secretariat, but had not yet been appointed as a vice minister."

I looked at the old files.

Pei Shen was not a high-ranking official back then.

However, they were able to obtain the second batch of accounting certificates under the name of the former Zhongshu Treasury.

This means he has powerful connections.

Grand Secretary Wang?

Or was it the group of former officials who had been entrusted with important responsibilities?

Bai Zhi turned another page.

"After the second batch of clearing tokens were issued, the destination registration was blank."

"null?"

"Yes, there are no records of receiving goods or issuing them."

Ah Liu asked, "Was it forgotten?"

Bai Zhi sneered: "The production label was supposed to be made of ebony, and the material accounts, labor accounts, and requisition accounts were all kept meticulously recorded, yet the distribution was missed? Do you believe that?"

Ah Liu immediately shook his head.

"I don't believe it."

I looked at Gu Xingzhi.

Where is Pei Shen now?

"A side hall within the palace, not outside the palace grounds."

"Go see him."

Xiao Lingyi stood up.

"I'll go too."

Gu Xingzhi did not stop him.

This time, no one can stop them.

Pei Shen was temporarily kept in the Wenhua side hall.

When we arrived, he was reading a book.

A cup of tea, a book—his demeanor was so composed that he seemed not to be under guard, but rather to be staying at the palace.

I suddenly have a bit of admiration for this kind of person.

If I were kept under guard by the Imperial Guards and could still read, I'd probably only be able to read "How to Survive".

Pei Shen looked up, saw us, and closed his book.

"Your Highness, Lord Shen."

I placed the production schedule in front of him.

"Lord Pei, in the autumn of the fourteenth year of Chengxi, the Zhongshu Old Treasury received twenty-four ebony account books, with the inscription 'Clean up old accounts, stabilize the court.'"

Pei Shen glanced at it.

"Old stories."

"You are the one who receives the card."

"Yes."

He recognized it too quickly.

It was so fast I almost couldn't keep up.

Xiao Lingyi said coldly, "You admit it?"

Pei Shen calmly replied, "These are old files; it's pointless for me to deny them."

I asked, "Why are you getting a license plate?"

"As ordered."

"On whose orders?"

Pei Shen remained silent for a moment.

"Prime Minister Wang".

Wang Ge Lao.

He finally said it.

But he spoke so calmly.

It's like they knew we'd find out sooner or later.

I asked, "Where did the other twenty-four cards go?"

Pei Shen looked at me.

"It was sent to those who participated in settling old scores back then."

"Who are they?"

"Zheng Huai'en of the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Bingli of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Cao Heng of Yongfeng, Mingjue of Ci'en Temple..."

He named several people.

They were all people who were either dead or had already been captured.

I stared at him.

"Anything else?"

Pei Shen remained silent.

Xiao Lingyi took a step forward.

"Who else?"

Pei Shen looked up at her.

"Your Highness, the second batch of account books was made by Prime Minister Wang in the name of the late Empress. At that time, I was just a clerk and was only responsible for receiving the books."

I laughed.

"Lord Pei, your position as a clerk seems to wield considerable power."

He looked at me.

"What does Lord Shen want to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is that you always just happen to be in charge of a small part."

Pei Shen's eyes flickered slightly.

I continued, "On the night the late Empress passed away, you were merely a secretary delivering a document. With the second batch of inventory tokens, you were simply a custodian of the old treasury. With the private letter from Ci'en Temple, you were merely someone forging your handwriting. At Zhaoyue Nunnery, you were simply a step too late."

I looked at him.

"Lord Pei, you've had all sorts of lucky breaks in your life."

Pei Shen remained silent for a moment.

Suddenly he laughed.

"Lord Shen, you look very much like the late Empress."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lingyi's eyes turned cold.

I was a little surprised too.

"Your subject dares not."

"Not identity."

Pei Shen said, "It's because you always try to piece together the whole thing from the small parts that everyone did."

I looked at him.

"Shouldn't we give it our all?"