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

The account book that Du Chang brought out from the shop was not a grain account book.

It's an accident account.

The first account states that after the grain carts from Yong'an Granary left the city, they were looted by refugees from the southwest at Liugou Ferry.

Seven people died.

Twelve people were injured.

Four thousand bushels of grain were lost.

The second account describes how the Luo family grain merchant from Qingzhou was transporting grain westward when they were attacked by Shen Lie's men on the northern post road.

Nineteen soldiers and officers escorting the grain died.

Twenty-eight grain carts were burned.

Eight thousand bushels of grain were lost.

The third document states that the Qingxia transfer warehouse was intended to provide relief to the people in the southwest border region by the imperial court, but it was intercepted by rebel troops and taken into the mountains.

Twelve of the defending soldiers died.

Six business owners died.

The grain supply was lost by 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).

Three ways to die.

In total, it amounted to exactly 32,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).

The grain contract has not yet been redeemed.

Forty-four people have already died.

I looked at those names.

Some names include the place of origin.

Some only have military identification numbers.

There were also six people without names, only labeled "refugees".

The arrangements for the dead were very detailed.

It's much more detailed than the household registration system for living people.

Bai Zhi spread out the three forms.

"The paper is different."

"The first one was written on Yong'an County government paper."

"The second copy is made with Qingzhou military post station paper."

"The third one is the newspaper of the Qingxia Garrison."

Ah Liu was holding the tent he had just rescued; his face was still a little pale.

"Young master, they even managed to get the local documents in advance?"

"Paper is not difficult to make."

"The difficult part is printing."

All three forms have a stamping area at the end.

Two of them are still blank.

The one from Yong'an County, however, already bore the county seal.

Officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture picked it up and examined it.

"True Seal."

"Sure?"

There are too many true seals appearing today.

So many people were involved that every time the person responsible for verifying the seals told the truth, it felt like they were adding to their own sins.

He looked at it carefully twice.

"Same as the sample kept by the Ministry of Personnel."

"At least the mold is real."

Du Chang lay on a door panel that had been temporarily moved there.

The physician had just finished giving him the second bowl of medicine.

He can already move his fingers.

"Brought by the old woman."

She said Yong'an County would report it first.

"As soon as the capital receives the first report of grain looting, the Ministry of War will urge the other two routes to send grain."

Why?

"Because the imperial court had to replenish the grain after the first batch was looted."

Bai Zhi understood immediately.

"The three contracts are not redeemed simultaneously."

"Yong'an Granary, three days later."

"Five days later at the Qingzhou Grain Store."

"Let the first batch be robbed on the way."

"In order to fill the gap, the imperial court will order the second batch to be released from the warehouse ahead of schedule."

"If the second batch is looted, the Qingxia warehouse will become military rations."

"The old woman said one fake newspaper wasn't enough."

"We must force the imperial court to send troops, one by one."

This is even more ruthless than simply stealing food.

First, use 10,000 shi of grain to fabricate the Southwest Grain Robbery Case.

The Ministry of War urged the delivery of grain.

The second batch of grain wagons set off under the escort of officers and soldiers.

Then arrange a real attack.

More people will die.

When the third batch of Qingxia grain was released from the warehouse, it was no longer relief grain.

It was military rations.

The imperial court and the southwest are only one arrow away from being connected.

As long as the corpses are dressed in the correct clothes and the military reports bear the genuine seal, the capital will automatically complete the subsequent war effort.

I asked, "Who wrote the three reports?"

"It was already written when the old woman brought it."

"What are you responsible for?"

"Make a copy of the confession notice."

"Light incense after Lord Shen arrives."

"Put this ledger under the counter."

Why leave a record?

She said…

Du Chang glanced at me.

"If Lord Shen dies in the shop, this ledger will be the evidence of your agreement with Shen Lie to obtain grain through three routes."

"What if you hadn't died?"

"Then I'll let you see it."

Ah Liu couldn't help but ask, "How come she can use any result?"

Bai Zhi said, "Because what she did did not produce a result."

"There are two sets of accounts."

"Shen An is dead, and the account proves that he colluded with the enemy."

"Shen Anhuo, force him to leave the capital."

I looked at the three forms.

Mrs. Wang left me an invitation.

Lan Gu, fearing I wouldn't go, paved the road right under my feet.

They may not be the same person.

But at least they're doing the same thing.

They forced me to head southwest along the grain route.

Gu Xingzhi's men found several more items in the grain shop.

A discarded seal of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Two sets of old Southwest Army uniforms.

A wooden mold engraved with cloud patterns from the Princess's residence.

When Qiu Tang saw the inkstone, her face turned cold.

"It is not the genuine seal of the Princess's residence."

"But it can only achieve a 70% resemblance."

Bai Zhi retrieved the third Qingxia report.

There is a column on the back of the form:

Grain relief supervisor.

The size of the mold is just right.

If the first report labels me as a traitor.

The second order will include Xiao Lingyi.

Princess Zhaoning oversaw the distribution of grain relief.

The grain was stolen by Shen Lie.

Whether we knew it or not, once the seal was stamped, it could be interpreted as the husband and wife working together to deliver grain.

The fake seal and test paper from the Princess's residence, which were found during a search of the Wang family's west courtyard, finally found a use.

It is not used to forge ordinary official documents.

It was used to cover the Southwest Military Bulletin.

I asked Qiutang, "When was the mold made?"

"You can't tell just by looking at the wood."

Bai Zhi took the mold and examined the groove.

"I've tried at least ten times."

"The wear and tear on the edges matches the test paper used in the Wang family's west courtyard."

"The mold came from the Prince's Palace."

Lady Wang did not take anything with her before leaving the capital.

She left behind enough evidence to accurately point to me and Xiao Lingyi.

She wanted us to find it.

I looked up at the crowd of onlookers.

The people who were shouting the loudest just now are gone.

"Seven people ran away."

"Where to?"

"A back alley of a money exchange in the east of the city."

"Have you got the person yet?"

"no."

"What about the money exchange?"

"Former shares of Yung Fung Group".

How many copper coins a shout of "Shen An is a traitor" is worth is not important.

The important thing is that Wang's water line is still alive.

Wang Song handed over the seal of office, causing the large ship on the water to sink.

The underground culvert is still running.

An official from the Jingzhao Prefecture asked, "Lord Shen, what should be done with this notice?"

The notice outside Luo's Grain Shop is still hanging there.

Shen An was ordered to provide relief to the southwest.

I said, "I won't tear it."

"Hang up another one."

"Write what?"

"Write about Du Chang recanting his confession in public."

"Copy out the three reports of grain robberies that did not occur."

"Is it inappropriate to publish military newspapers, which contain classified information?"

"The names of the dead are already written down in advance, what secrets could there be?"

"Let's open the account here."

"Let everyone see."

When will the grain be delivered?

When is the car leaving?

"Who wrote down the names of the deceased in advance?"

"Who will use the real seal to stamp a grain robbery that hasn't even happened yet?"

"Lord Shen, this matter should be reported to His Majesty in secret first."

"What happens after the secret report?"

"Block the news and find out the truth."

"When the investigation was completed, the city only remembered the first notice."

I pointed to the piece of cloth that said I had colluded with the enemy.

"Rumors are already hanging on the streets."

"The real accountant, however, will be locked up in the government office."

"Which one will the people ultimately believe?"

The Ministry of War officials did not respond.

Because the answer is hard to hear.

Bai Zhi had already had a wooden board erected.

Three grain deeds.

Grain redemption date.

Pre-writing the deceased.

Each item is listed clearly.

Yong'an grain will be redeemed in three days.

The alleged grain robbery occurred yesterday.

The grain from Qingzhou will be delivered in five days.

The report even included the amount of compensation for the deceased.

The grain shipment from Qingxia has not yet been contracted.

The list of the defending troops killed in action has been completed.

Someone shouted from the crowd:

"The grain wasn't taken, so how could it have been robbed?"

This time, it wasn't the person who took the money.

He is a grain merchant who truly understands the dates.

Another person said, "Even the dead are fake?"

I replied, "The name may not be false."

"They might actually be prepared to let these people die."

Writing about the dead in advance is more chilling than writing about them in fiction.

The dead in the account book can be brought back to life.

The person whose name was written into the battle report beforehand might be somewhere escorting grain, completely unaware that their death had already been decided.

I looked at the Ministry of War officials.

"Check the list."

Where are those forty-four people now?

The Ministry of War immediately retrieved the register.

In less than half an hour, the first batch of results arrived.

Of the seven deceased listed on the Yong'an County report, five were employees at the Yong'an warehouse.

The two men were ferrymen at Liugou Ferry.

They are all alive.

Of the nineteen soldiers escorting grain listed on the Qingzhou report, sixteen belonged to the Qingzhou Post Station Army.

The three men were guards for the Luo family's grain store.

They are all still alive.

Of the eighteen people listed on the Qingxia report, only twelve were found.

Six of them were unregistered refugees.

Bai Zhi said, "They didn't just write about death in advance."

"They even chose the person most likely to actually die."

Cang Ding.

Postal troops.

If something happens, there might not be anyone in the family who can help pursue the matter.

The compensation can also be accounted for again.

Ah Liu muttered a curse under his breath.

Some of these things do deserve criticism.

The physician Song finally helped Du Chang up from the door panel.

"The poison has mostly dissipated."

"You can take the person with you."

I asked Du Chang, "Where did the old woman take your niece?"

"I have no idea."

What did she leave behind?

Du Chang thought for a while.

"Ah Rong's shoes."

"Where?"

He pointed to the second floor of the grain shop.

The guard quickly removed one of the embroidered shoes.

A piece of cardboard was sewn onto the sole of the shoe.

After being opened, it was half a post station ticket.

Lan Gu took Du Rong away not just to force Du Chang to comply.

She was telling us that the next step was in Yong'an.

Bai Zhi asked, "Could it be a fake road?"

"meeting."

I put the post ticket away.

"But the Yong'an granary needs to exchange grain three days later."

"She at least needs to convince us that something is wrong there."

"Are you going or not?"

A-Liu asked.

"go."

"Going even knowing it's a trap?"

"The grain is in other people's hands."

"A living person is on the report."

"The invitations have gone this far; it would be impolite of us not to go."

Xiao Lingyi remained silent.

She picked up the fake seal of the princess's residence.

"It's not us going."

"What do you mean?"

"Leaving the capital now is exactly what they want."

"Then you won't go?"

"go."

"But first we need to let everyone in the capital know why we're going."

She turned to the officials of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

"Today, all the accounts on the street shall be copied and sent to the Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Imperial Guard, and the three city gates."

"The three grain contracts issued by the Wang family are to be immediately suspended."

"Anyone carrying the seal of the Princess's Palace Supervisor who demands grain along the way shall be arrested."

An official from the Ministry of War said, "Your Highness, the local granaries may not accept the princess's urgent order."

Xiao Lingyi looked at him.

"Then please issue a decree, Father Emperor."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a rider came galloping from the end of the long street.

The messenger was covered in dust.

Before even dismounting, he held aloft a red-sealed urgent box.

"Urgent report from 800 li north of the Yangtze River!"

The crowd automatically parted.

The bailiff knelt before the Ministry of War official.

"In Liugoudu, Yong'an County, government-supplied grain was looted by rebel forces in the southwest!"

"Seven people, including barn workers and boatmen, are dead!"

"A loss of four thousand bushels of grain!"

"The magistrate of Yong'an County requests the imperial court to send troops to pursue and annihilate them!"

No one on the street spoke.

Bai Zhi looked down at the wooden board.

The first pre-written order.

deceased.

Number of food lost.

The Ministry of War official opened the red envelope, his hands trembling.

"The seal is real."

I asked, "When will the order be sent out?"

"The day before yesterday."

When will the grain be released from the warehouse?

He flipped to the accompanying vehicle registration document.

His expression changed instantly.

"Today is Chenshi (7-9 AM)."

It is not yet noon.

Yong'an is two days away from the capital, even by fast horse.

The urgent report sent out the day before yesterday stated that the grain that was only released from the warehouse today had already been robbed yesterday.

They didn't write the battle report in advance.

They had already sent an impossible battle report through the post stations, stamped with the official seal, and delivered it to the capital.

I looked at the red-sealed urgent box.

Suddenly I understood what Aunt Lan really wanted to prove.

She wasn't telling us that something bad was about to happen to Yong'an.

She is telling us—

In the post stations, county offices, and granaries of the three prefectures north of the Yangtze River, someone has already written the fabricated story into a true one for her.