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

At least three hundred people had gathered outside Luo's Grain Shop in the south of the city.

The servants of the Jingzhao Prefecture were on the outermost layer.

People from the Ministry of War stood in front of the door.

Further inside were seventeen officials who had jointly submitted a memorial during the morning court session but had not been imprisoned along with them.

He Wenzheng was imprisoned, but they did not disperse.

He's just moved to a different place, but continues to worry about the imperial court.

When I got off the bus, the crowd fell silent for a moment.

Then someone shouted:

"The traitors are here!"

"Shen'an Tong Southwest!"

"The grain was all given to Shen Lie!"

They were similar to the nineteen people who attended the morning court session.

This kind of neatness is usually not in line with public opinion.

Ah Liu jumped out of the car behind him, his face turning pale as he listened.

"Young master, they won't make a move, will they?"

"Won't."

Why?

"It will cost extra to do it."

The people at the front shouted the loudest, while those behind just followed suit and raised their hands.

Some people had wooden signs for dockworkers hanging from their waists.

Some people were wearing thick-soled shoes that were only worn by bricklayers in the north of the city.

Another person had smeared ash on his face, but a section of new silk was showing through his sleeve.

In the capital, people don't need to wear the same clothes to insult each other.

But those who take money to do things usually don't have time to change out of their newly received arm sleeves.

Bai Zhi also got off the car.

She didn't even look at the crowd; she looked at the door of Luo's Grain Shop first.

The door was blocked from the inside.

Behind the two thick door panels lay a horizontal wooden bar.

Only one small window on the second floor was opened by half a foot.

He was still holding the pen he used to write notices.

He saw me and immediately shouted:

"Lord Shen!"

"As you instructed, I have delivered 32,000 shi of grain to the Southwest!"

"Now that the truth has been revealed, you have no choice but to admit it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, someone outside shouted again.

"Shen An confesses!"

"Take down the traitors!"

The people from the Jingzhao Prefecture looked at me instinctively.

Two officials from the Ministry of War had already placed their hands on the hilts of their swords.

Ah Liu whispered, "Young master, this invitation is quite lively."

I didn't go inside.

He only looked up and asked Du Chang:

"You're saying the grain has already been exchanged?"

"yes!"

"when?"

"Yesterday."

Bai Zhi sneered from the side.

I continued, "Where did you redeem it?"

"Ten thousand shi of grain in Yong'an Granary."

"The Luo family's grain store in Qingzhou holds 12,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain."

"Ten thousand shi of grain in the Qingxia transshipment warehouse."

"Who took it?"

"People from the Southwest Army."

"name."

"This humble citizen does not know."

"What about the military orders?"

"Lord Shen's order is a military order!"

It's as if he's afraid that if he's even a little slow, someone will see through his words.

The guards that Gu Xingzhi brought did not move.

I said, "Open the door."

"No!"

Why?

"Lord Shen wants to kill me to silence me!"

That makes sense.

Ah Liu glanced at me.

They probably didn't expect me to admit it so quickly.

I continued, "If you're afraid I'll silence you, you should open the door."

"Three hundred people outside the gate."

"The Jingzhao Prefecture, the Ministry of War, the Censorate, and the Imperial Guard are all present."

"If I can silence these people in front of them, Your Majesty will not need to attend court today; you can simply abdicate the throne to me."

Gu Xingzhi glanced at me.

But there are too many people who want me to lose my head today, so saying one more word won't make a difference.

"This humble citizen doesn't believe it!"

Then don't believe it.

"You stand behind the window and say it."

"I stood on the street and asked."

"Let the people hear everything you say."

Someone in the crowd shouted:

"Ask away!"

"Let's see how he tries to argue!"

"it is good."

"Please stand closer."

Bai Zhi had someone bring over a table.

The table was placed in front of the grain shop.

She laid out the three Wang family warehouse deeds, the copy of the Luo family grain store account book, the date of grain redemption, and the grain cart deeds in order.

Anyone who wants to look can get closer and see.

Bai Zhi picked up the first warehouse deed.

"Yong'an Warehouse".

"The agreed-upon date for grain exchange is three days from now."

"Luo's Grain Store in Qingzhou".

"The agreed-upon date for grain exchange is five days from now."

"Qingxia Transfer Warehouse"

"Without a date, the mother contract and the inspection certificate must be presented together for redemption."

"Manager Du."

"You just said that all the grain from the three quarries was redeemed yesterday?"

"Temporary, temporarily brought forward."

"Who approved it?"

"Lord Shen."

Bai Zhi looked at me.

"Did you approve it?"

"no."

Du Chang immediately shouted, "Of course you won't admit it!"

Bai Zhi did not argue with him.

She turned the first grain deed over.

"For grain to be redeemed in advance, an 'urgent redemption' stamp must be affixed to the back of the grain depot."

"no."

"For Luo's Grain Store to redeem grain in advance, the owner, the manager, and the escort must sign a document."

"Only the shopkeeper's seal."

Finally, let's look at Qingxia Warehouse.

"Since the mother's contract is no longer in effect, the inspection certificate is still in Lord Shen's possession."

She pointed to the wooden sign I picked up at Tongzhou Wharf this morning.

"What are you going to use to exchange?"

The shouts from the crowd subsided considerably.

People started pushing forward, trying to get a better look at the three pieces of paper.

The people who were shouting the loudest at the beginning were now backing away.

Once it was taken, the people behind it dared not run away.

Let them run first, then we can see where the money comes from.

"Du Chang".

"When you wrote the notice, you said '32,000 shi of grain have been exchanged'."

"But the contracts for all three warehouses are not yet due for redemption."

"There is no record of the grain carts leaving the city."

"You redeemed your grain ahead of schedule yesterday."

"Or was it pre-arranged that the grain would be sent to the Southwest?"

A soft sound came from behind the second-floor window.

Yan Xiaoyi was originally leaning against a pillar opposite the grain shop.

The next instant, a dark shadow swept past the back wall of the grain shop.

Yan Xiaoyi did not speak.

"Are there still people inside?"

"no."

Who was that just now?

"It's a cat."

"Can your cat move chairs?"

"It's fat."

Ah Liu whispered, "Young master, this cat is quite strong."

Gu Xingzhi immediately ordered the inner guards to seal off the back alley.

"Lord Shen, since Du Chang won't open the door, we should break it down and arrest him."

"It cannot be broken."

Why?

"He's waiting for us to break through."

I looked through the crack in the door.

There was a little light yellow powder below the threshold.

The wind blowing through the crack in the door carried a slightly sweet scent.

"Has Physician Song arrived yet?"

"They're here."

Physician Song squeezed through the crowd.

I called her out of the Imperial Hospital early this morning, and she was in a bad mood.

"Shen An".

"Your humble servant is here."

"You'd better actually have someone who's about to die."

"One on the second floor."

"He's not dead yet."

"Then don't let him die."

The physician squatted down by the threshold and took a small amount of powder with a silver spoon.

After smelling it, he immediately covered his mouth and nose.

"Breath-holding powder".

"What's it for?"

"After taking too much, one's limbs become weak, but one remains mentally alert."

"Will you die or not?"

"The weight will kill you."

How many are inside the door?

"have no idea."

When did you start feeling weak in the hands and feet?

The physician Song said, "Someone has already applied medicine inside the room."

"If the doors and windows are closed, the medicinal smell won't dissipate."

"In another quarter of an hour, he would not be able to stand."

It seems that only now have I realized that I am not hiding in a safe shop.

Instead, he was locked in a medicine box.

I asked, "Who told you to close the door?"

Du Chang's face completely lost its color.

"An old woman."

"Is there a white film over your right eye?"

I continued, "Did she meet you with Du Cheng in the fourteenth year of Chengxi?"

"How...how did you know?"

"Your brother didn't die from the plague."

"What did you say?"

No one has examined Du Cheng's body.

"The report of the epidemic came from Qingxia Post Station."

"The body was also cremated at Qingxia Station."

"The military ration transport seal that was sent to Wang Song ended up in your brother's hands."

"Du Chang".

"That old woman used your brother's situation to force you to write the notice, didn't she?"

Du Chang gripped the window frame, his lips trembling.

"She said...she said my brother is still alive."

"If I do as you say, then let me see him."

"Where is your niece?"

A woman's bundle was placed by the second-floor window.

Du Chang brought his niece and the old woman to the capital.

"Ah Rong was taken away by her."

"She said that if Lord Shen came, I should acknowledge him in public."

"If you go into the shop, she will bring Ah Rong back."

"If you don't come..."

"how?"

"Then let me light incense."

I looked at the yellow powder under the threshold.

"Where is the fragrance?"

There was a bronze incense burner at his feet.

A thin incense stick, half-burnt, was stuck in the burner.

Physician Song cursed.

"It's not fragrant."

"It's a guiding agent."

"When the powder is heated, its medicinal properties will be accelerated."

I asked, "How much longer can it last?"

"Half a quarter of an hour."

Breaking down the door will cause the threshold dust to fly up.

If the door isn't broken, Du Chang will fall.

There was already a medicinal smell behind the second-floor window.

He might not have the strength to jump down directly.

Those who were just shouting to take me away were the ones who retreated the fastest.

Poison is something that makes people more reasonable than being a rebel.

Gu Xingzhi asked, "Enter from the roof?"

Physician Song shook his head.

"The medicinal fumes accumulated in the upper part of the room."

"Those who go in collapse first."

I looked at the structure of the grain store.

There is a granary in the backyard.

Grain shops are most vulnerable to dampness, so the floor is usually not completely covered.

The door cannot be opened.

I asked Bai Zhi, "Does Luo's Grain Shop have a cellar?"

"have."

"The entrance is in the granary in the backyard."

"There is a moisture-proof ditch between the granary and the front shop."

Gu Xingzhi immediately understood.

"Dig it open from the back compartment."

"Don't dig too big."

The physician Song said, "Just make a low incision."

"The medicinal vapor rises, while the person is dragged down from below."

Ah Liu wants to go too.

"What are you going to do?"

"Save people."

"You can dig through walls?"

"Won't."

"Then why are you going to cause trouble?"

Ah Liu said earnestly, "The little one can be scared from the sidelines."

Bai Zhi handed him a damp cloth.

"Take it."

"Cover your mouth and nose when you see someone."

Ah Liu immediately followed.

Even if you're timid and keep moving forward, you're still moving forward.

The inner guard pried open three blue bricks along the moisture barrier.

A hole, just big enough for a person to crawl through, was revealed.

The medicinal vapors are above.

Yan Xiaoyi chased after the person but did not return.

Gu Xingzhi was to guard the outside.

Ah Liu was the first to crawl in.

"When did he get so fast?"

Bai Zhi said, "He was squatting by the hole when he was knocking the bricks just now."

"Your legs are weak?"

"Um."

A moment later, Ah Liu's tearful voice came from inside the cave.

"Found it!"

"The person has collapsed!"

"There's another account!"

"Drag people away first!"

"We can't lose track of the accounts!"

Having spent a long time with Bai Zhi, A Liu had learned that neither the survivors nor the accounts could be lost.

Soon, Du Chang was pulled out of the hole.

However, he could no longer lift his hands and feet.

The Song physician immediately administered medicine and performed acupuncture.

When Du Chang was carried out into the street, three hundred people saw him.

Instead, I dragged him out of his locked shop.

Those in the crowd who had collected money in advance didn't look too happy.

I placed the notice written by Du Chang in front of him.

"Now, let's say it again."

"Who told you to write it?"

"Old woman."

"What's her name?"

"Aunt Lan".

"She took your niece away, forcing you to admit that the 32,000 shi of grain had already been paid out?"

"Yes."

"Was the grain actually delivered?"

"no."

A real uproar finally broke out outside.

I had the clerk of the Jingzhao Prefecture record the confession in public.

He read each sentence aloud to everyone.

Du Chang added, "She also told me to tell Lord Shen..."

"explain."

"Thirty-two thousand shi (a unit of dry measure) is not for the southwest."

I frowned.

"Then who should it be given to?"

She said the grain didn't actually need to be delivered to Shen Lie.

"As long as the court believes that it was Shen Lie who abducted him."

After those words were spoken, the street fell completely silent.

With the help of Physician Song, Du Chang struggled to raise his hand.

He pointed to the ledger that Ah Liu had taken out of the shop.

"There are three reports in the account book after the incident."

"The grain hasn't left yet."

"The report on the kidnapping has been written."