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

When I rushed out of the palace gate with the emperor's gold token, I only had two things on my mind: the south of the city must not be in chaos, and my identity had to be revealed at the worst possible time.

Of course, this identity wasn't exactly a good thing either.

I can't possibly choose a fine, sunny day, bathe and burn incense before standing in the golden palace: "Gentlemen, let me introduce myself again. I am Shen Lie's son, and I came to the capital to kill the emperor."

That would only make them die more neatly.

Horses were already prepared outside the palace gates.

Wei Zhi personally escorted me to the door, but there was no smile on his face.

This old eunuch always had a smile on his face, as if he didn't care about anything.

But when he looked at me today, his eyes were very deep.

"Lord Shen."

I took the reins.

"Does your father-in-law have something to say?"

Wei Zhi said in a low voice, "His Majesty trusts you, not because you are clean."

"I dare not say that I am clean now."

"It's because you still have debts to pay."

I looked at him.

Wei Zhi said, "Go and return it."

These words sound less like instructions and more like a judgment.

I mounted my horse.

Bai Zhi chased after me from behind and threw me a small cloth bag.

I caught it.

Inside were several account papers, a rice coupon, a ticket stub from Yongfeng Third Pharmacy, and a medical record from the Southern Medicine Shed.

"It will come in handy," she said.

I asked, "Is there anything else?"

Bai Zhi coldly replied, "There's still a bunch more. Can you carry them all?"

"I can't carry it."

"Then take these few for now."

She looked at me, then suddenly added, "Shen An."

"Um?"

"Your father is Shen Lie, this is a huge debt."

"I know."

"But if you die today, I will have no choice but to record your debt as a dead debt as well."

I sighed.

"Miss Bai, could you say something auspicious before you leave?"

She said, "If you come back alive, I'll charge you 10% less."

I spurred the horse's belly.

"drive!"

Ah Liu shouted at the top of his lungs from behind, "Young master! Please don't die!"

I almost fell off my horse.

Throughout the entire household, the ways of offering blessings were all incredibly unique.

From the palace to the south of the city, the streets were already in chaos.

It's not a major upheaval.

It's the kind of chaos that comes before a storm.

The shops were half-open and half-closed, and pedestrians stood in twos and threes by the roadside, whispering among themselves. There were several times more patrol officers than usual, but none of them dared to actually go south of the city.

The closer you get to the South Soup Dishes, the louder the sound becomes.

Crying, shouting, the sound of sticks banging on bowls, and people yelling in the crowd.

"The food is gone!"

"The Qinghe Granary is empty!"

"Princess Zhaoning deceived the disaster victims!"

"Shen An is the son of a rebel in the Southwest!"

"The princess's residence is hiding Qing dynasty insignia; she intends to use the disaster victims to start an army!"

I reined in my horse and saw from afar that over a thousand people had already gathered outside the South Soup Dishes Shelter.

The disaster victims crowded the streets, holding up broken bowls, sticks, and stones in a chaotic mess.

The princess's guards and inner guards lined up in front of the soup kitchen.

Xiao Lingyi stood in front of the line.

She was dressed in court attire, but had no knife in her hand.

But she stood there, more steadfast than any knife.

Some people in the crowd kept pushing forward.

"Open the position!"

"Hand over the grain!"

"Hand over Shen An!"

"Traitors, come out here!"

When I heard the last sentence, I thought to myself, "What a coincidence, here I am."

Yan Xiaoyi wasn't with her; he was probably sent to keep watch in the back alley.

Qiu Tang stood protectively beside Xiao Lingyi, her face pale, but she did not retreat.

Xiao Lingyi was speaking.

But the noise was too loud, and her voice was drowned out.

That's what makes Grand Secretary Wang so ruthless.

He did not allow the disaster victims to immediately rush in.

He made them shout.

Shouting until reason turns to fire.

He shouted until everyone felt that he wasn't causing trouble, but rather asking for their lives.

At this point, if just one person dies, it will explode.

I spurred my horse and charged out of the crowd.

Upon seeing the horse, the disaster victims immediately swarmed to both sides.

Someone shouted, "The soldiers are here!"

"They're going to kill people!"

"Don't be afraid! They won't kill us all!"

I dismounted, tossed the reins to one of the guards, and raised the emperor's gold plaque.

The gold medal was so bright in the sunlight it hurt your eyes.

"His Majesty's golden token is here!"

I used all my strength to shout that.

My throat is about to burst from shouting.

The front row of the crowd finally fell silent for a moment.

They were still shouting from behind.

I jumped onto a rice bucket next to the soup kitchen.

This rice bucket was filled with fake rice yesterday, but today it's become my platform.

Fate really knows how to use old things.

"I am Shen An!"

The moment those three words were uttered, the crowd erupted again.

"Son of a traitor!"

"Shen Lie's son from the Southwest!"

"Kill him!"

A stone flew over and hit me on the shoulder.

It hurts.

But I didn't dodge.

If I hide, they'll think I'm scared.

Of course I'm scared.

But we can't let them see it now.

Holding up my gold medal, I continued shouting, "That's right!"

The crowd fell silent.

Xiao Lingyi also looked at me.

I saw a change in her eyes.

Not surprised.

She already knows.

She just didn't expect me to admit it in public.

I continued shouting, "I am indeed the son of Shen Lie from the Southwest!"

This time, even the back row was quiet.

Everyone is looking at me.

They probably never expected that the person they called a traitor would actually admit it himself.

Those who incited the crowd didn't expect this either.

I heard several voices in the crowd suddenly stop.

That was the knife hidden among the crowd.

I pointed to myself.

"When I first arrived in the capital, I did indeed kill the emperor on my father's orders."

The crowd became quieter.

It was so quiet you could hear people gasping for breath.

Qiu Tang's face turned pale.

Xiao Lingyi stood there, her fingers slightly clenched.

But I continued, "But I'm standing here now with the Emperor's golden token, investigating disaster relief funds, and saving your lives."

Someone immediately shouted, "Can you really believe what a traitor says?"

"Don't believe it."

I nodded.

The man was stunned.

I said, "So don't believe me, look at the accounts."

I pulled out the rice coupons and ticket stubs that Bai Zhi had given me from my pocket and held them high.

"Why is there no grain in Qinghe Granary? Because your grain was converted into rice coupons and sent to Yongfeng Exchange House!"

I pulled out the medical record again.

"Why are your children still asleep after drinking the porridge? Because they've labeled the disaster victims as patients, and each of them is receiving a sum of money for medical treatment!"

Then I took out the donation page from Ci'en Temple.

"Why do you dead people have no food? Because they wrote the names of the dead into the merits of water and land rituals, receiving incense money for each life!"

I showed them the three sheets of paper one by one.

"They said I was a traitor."

"Okay, I admit it."

"And what about them?"

I pointed towards Qinghe Granary behind the soup kitchen.

"Are those who exchanged your grain for sandbags traitors?"

"Are those who force-feed children medication and record it in their medical records traitors?"

"Were those who locked living people in the woodshed of Ci'en Temple and burned them traitors?"

"Are those who split a disaster victim's money into three separate sums of money traitors?"

A commotion began to rise in the crowd.

This time, we're not rushing forward.

They look at each other.

Some people are still shouting, "Don't listen to him! He's a traitor!"

I looked over immediately.

The man was hidden in the crowd, dressed in tattered clothes, his face smeared with ash, but his voice was much stronger than that of someone who had actually been starving for three days.

I pointed at him.

"Arrest him!"

The guards were already waiting.

Several people rushed in.

The man turned and ran, but was blocked by the disaster victims. He was tackled to the ground after only a few steps.

A short knife and several Qinghe Yicang rice coupons were found in his sleeve.

I raised the dagger.

"Why are disaster victims carrying knives when they're begging for food?"

The crowd became chaotic again.

I continued, "Today, whoever wants grain, I will give you an account. Whoever wants an explanation, I will show you the real account. Anyone who wants to use you to kill the princess, kill me, or burn down the soup kitchens is not a disaster victim."

I pointed at the knife.

"He's the kind of person who's willing to risk your lives."

Xiao Lingyi finally came to my side.

She looked up at me, her eyes cold and steady.

"Get down."

I whispered, "Your Highness, doesn't it seem a bit unimpressive to come down like this?"

Your shoulder is bleeding.

I glanced down at it.

The clothes were torn where the stone hit me, and there was definitely blood.

Fortunately, it wasn't deep.

I whispered, "I can still stand."

Xiao Lingyi did not try to persuade her further.

She turned to look at the disaster victims.

"I now know that Shen An is Shen Lie's son."

The crowd fell silent instantly.

Her voice carried clearly.

"If he escapes today, I will capture him myself."

"If he rebels today, I will kill him with my own hands."

"But today, the grain he has found is your grain."

"The people he rescued are your people."

"The account he has opened is the account of your lives."

She raised her hand and pointed at the agitator who was being held down.

"Now, I ask you. Will you believe someone who dares to stand up and identify themselves, or someone who hides in the crowd with a knife and tells you to go and die?"

No one answered.

Sometimes, not answering is the answer.

The fire in the crowd began to burn in another direction.

Someone shouted, "Open the tents!"

Someone else shouted, "Open the tent!"

"Open the position!"

"Let us check the grain!"

I breathed a sigh of relief.

But before the tension could be completely released, a scream suddenly came from afar.

A plume of black smoke rose from the alley behind the porridge stall.

Yan Xiaoyi rushed out of the alley, carrying a knocked-out man on his shoulder, and shouted to me, "Lord Shen, we've caught Wang Fu!"

Wang Fu.

Chief Steward of Wang Gelao's Mansion.

He was thrown to the ground by Yan Xiaoyi, and a black wooden plaque rolled out of his arms.

I jumped down from the rice bucket and picked up the wooden sign.

There are only three characters on the front.

Settle old accounts.

The back is blank.

The first batch of genuine products.

Someone in the crowd saw it and immediately gasped.

"That's impressive!"

I held up the real cards and the fake cards in my arms side by side.

"Look carefully!"

"It's just an old plaque used by the late Empress to investigate corruption cases, used to clear up old accounts."

"The extra one belonged to An Chaogang; it was a forged account-clearing token!"

"They are using the late empress's real tablet to start a rebellion in front of you."

"Take another fake document and stuff it into the princess's residence, claiming that His Highness is plotting a rebellion."

I looked at Wang Fu on the ground.

"Manager Wang, your Grand Secretary's accounts are quite detailed."

Wang Fu's face turned pale, but he still gritted his teeth and remained silent.

I said directly to the guards, "Search."

Soon, a small box was found on Wang Fu.

There were no banknotes in the box.

It was a notice that had already been written.

The notice read:

Princess Zhaoning, following the late Empress's dying wish to clear up past grievances, joined forces with Shen An, the son of Shen Lie, to open granaries, gather the people, and purge the court of corrupt officials.

The signature even imitated the seal of the princess's residence.

As Xiao Lingyi looked at the notice, her expression gradually turned cold.

I showed the notice to the disaster victims.

"What is this?"

Someone whispered, "They already wrote it..."

"right."

I said, "You haven't even started a rebellion yet, but they've already written the proclamation of rebellion for you."

"Before you even started looting the grain, they had already written a plan to purge the court of corrupt officials."

"If you had stormed the soup kitchens, it wouldn't be corrupt officials who would have died today."

I pointed at them.

"It's you guys."

"When you die, it will be written in the records that the disaster victims were incited by the rebels Shen An and Princess Zhaoning to rebel, and the court had no choice but to quell the rebellion."

"By then, the grain will be gone, the accounts will be gone, and the people will be gone too."

The crowd fell completely silent.

An old woman suddenly knelt down.

She held the broken bowl in her hands, her voice trembling.

"Your Highness, Lord Shen, we don't rebel, we just want to eat."

After he knelt down, many people in the front row followed suit.

The people behind them slowly knelt down as well.

You're not kneeling before me.

It wasn't about kneeling before Xiao Lingyi.

They were kneeling before that life that was ultimately not ignited.

Xiao Lingyi walked down the steps and personally helped the old woman up.

"Rice rations will be distributed today."

She turned to look at me.

"Shen An, open the tent."

I nodded.

"open."

This time, it wasn't in the Golden Palace.

It was in front of the soup kitchen.

In front of the disaster victims, the princess, Wang Fu, and the clear account plaque, the rebellious petition written by Grand Secretary Wang was torn up on the spot.

I want everyone to know.

The one who truly wants to rebel is not me, the son of a traitor.

They are those who write down everyone in the world in their accounts.