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

"It is the Censor Shen An."

After Tian Cheng finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in front of the old warehouse.

The next moment, the crowd erupted in chaos.

Some people are calling them traitors.

Some people stepped back.

The soldiers guarding the granary all drew their swords.

The fake Shen An on the high platform did not smile.

Because Tian Cheng hadn't finished speaking.

He was covered in injuries and his voice was hoarse.

But he pronounced every word very clearly.

"It was the censor Shen An... who ordered me to live."

The knife pressed against Tian Cheng's waist was suddenly thrust forward.

Tian Chengxiang was prepared and threw himself to the ground.

The blade grazed his lower back, drawing blood.

At the same instant, Xiao Lingyi, standing in front of the city gate, had already raised the princess's golden seal.

"Princess Zhaoning has been ordered to oversee disaster relief efforts!"

"Yong'an garrison, heed my command!"

"Seal off the city gates!"

"Seize Sun Jing!"

The gatekeepers stood in the middle.

On the left is Princess Zhaoning, who lives in the city.

Two Shen Ans.

Two Zhaoning.

Any normal person in this situation would not react with loyalty to the emperor.

The gatekeeper gripped his sword, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Your Highness, how can this humble general... this humble general distinguish the real from the fake?"

I removed the imperial censor's seal from my waist.

"Imitation is possible."

Then he took out the imperial edict seal for opening the tent, which had been personally bestowed by the emperor.

"This can also be copied."

"What should we do then?"

"Check the accounts."

"The one inside, Shen An, said there were seventy-three rebels from the southwest in the warehouse."

"Make him produce the register of 73 rebels."

"Then make him produce the Zhengyangmen register from when I left the capital by imperial decree, the Tongzhou horse-changing register, and the original imperial edict."

If he has all of these, I'll turn around and leave.

On the high platform, the fake Shen An picked up the copper tube.

"The city gate guards!"

"Shen Lie's son is skilled at fabricating confessions!"

"Seize the rebels outside the city immediately!"

I also picked up the bugle handed to me by the gatekeeper.

"You can have it."

"Ask him a question first."

"Which corner is missing from the bottom of the seal knob on the imperial seal I handed over in the Golden Hall yesterday?"

I continued, "Which of the two characters engraved at the end of the scabbard has an old crack?"

What color was the lining of the right sleeve of Princess Zhaoning's wedding dress?

The fake princess inside the city shouted sternly, "Shen An, don't try to disrupt the morale of the army with your personal matters!"

"The sound is off."

The real Xiao Lingyi stood beside me.

"What's wrong?"

"Your Highness doesn't speak this long when you scold me."

She said coldly, "Shut up."

I looked at the goalkeeper.

"Did you hear that?"

"This is the real thing."

Someone near the city gate couldn't help but laugh.

Some things are genuine or fake, so there's no need to verify their authenticity with a seal.

Those who know you well can tell just by listening to a single sentence.

A dull thud suddenly came from the basement of the old warehouse.

The warehouse door has been raised halfway.

Hands reached out from the darkness.

The first few people had already put on Southwest Army uniforms.

The other end of the rope was attached to the back of the warehouse door.

Sun Jing did not want them to rush into the warehouse.

The garrison saw a group of people wearing their uniforms inside out suddenly appear.

Once the first arrow is shot, the rest will fall into disarray on their own.

The fake Shen An on the platform raised his hand.

"Southwest rebels storm the stronghold!"

"Release the arrows!"

The archers on the city wall and in front of the warehouse simultaneously drew their bows.

This order was not given to the gatekeeper.

The gatekeeper was still hesitating.

The archers in front of the canyon had already been replaced by Sun Jing's men.

They knew from the beginning who to shoot at.

Xiao Lingyi took the short bow from the side of the horse.

The lingering sound made everyone's ears go numb.

She shouted sternly, "I am here!"

"Who dares to fire an arrow!"

Chen Lu broke free from the guards' backs and rushed to the city gate.

"That's fake!"

He tore open the collar of his robe, which belonged to a county clerk.

"Everyone in the town knows me!"

"Sun Jing, having illegally possessed the county seal, poisoned Magistrate Lin!"

"Kurashita is not a rebel!"

"They were disaster victims who were written about to die last year!"

Someone outside the city gate recognized him.

"Chen the clerk!"

"Didn't Clerk Chen run away?"

"I didn't run away!"

"Sun Jing wanted to kill me!"

"Magistrate Lin went to the capital two months ago to report on the granaries, but they portrayed him as a patient!"

"All seventy-two people in the warehouse are on the plague death list!"

The people of Yong'an County may not know the real Shen An.

I also know the neighbor who was reported to have died from the epidemic last year.

At the very front of the underground warehouse, an old woman was pushed under the light.

Suddenly someone in the crowd cried out:

"mother!"

The defending troops couldn't stop them.

He ran to the front of the warehouse and knelt on the ground.

"Mother! Aren't you dead?"

"They said you moved away..."

The mother and son looked at each other across the warehouse gate through the bow and arrows.

One was written to death.

The accounting committee even saved them the trouble of mourning.

The imposter Shen An on the platform shouted again: "The rebels are deliberately impersonating relatives!"

Because once the people are allowed to recognize people, the authenticity will no longer be determined by the official seal.

More people crowded towards the warehouse.

"That's Uncle Liu!"

"Aunt Zhang is still alive!"

"Old Feng!"

Among the seventy-two people, some were gradually recognized.

Some families have already built a grave for him.

The soldiers guarding the granary began to lower their bows.

Arrows can be used to shoot rebels.

However, it's difficult to shoot an elderly neighbor who has already died once.

Sun Jing finally appeared from behind the high platform.

He was dressed in the county magistrate's uniform and held the complete seal of Yong'an County in his hand.

"Yong'an garrison, heed my command!"

"This is a traitor's trick!"

"Magistrate Lin is seriously ill; the county seal will be temporarily held by me!"

"Anyone who dares to disobey orders will be considered a traitor!"

I looked at the city gate captain.

"What's your name?"

"Zheng Wei".

"Commander Zheng".

"What rank is Sun Jing?"

"A registrar of the eighth rank."

"And you?"

"From the eighth rank."

"He's half a grade higher than you."

"Yes."

"How much taller is Princess Zhaoning than him?"

Zheng Wei glanced at Xiao Lingyi.

"Much higher."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

He turned around and kicked over the barricade blocking his way.

"Open the city gates!"

The soldiers at the city gate finally moved.

The heavy bolt was lifted.

The city gate had barely opened a crack when Sun Jing, on the high platform, shouted:

"close the door!"

Official positions are quite useful in daily life.

When the real princess stood before him, the eighth-rank registrar was no longer enough.

The fake Shen An on the platform did not run away.

"Lord Shen."

"Chen Ping."

"Chen Ping is dead."

"The inspection instructions for the inner bathroom are very clear."

"Then who are you?"

"Shen An".

"This name is very valuable these days."

"Are you comfortable in your clothes?"

"Better than a minor official in the Ministry of Rites."

"Where are the cuffs?"

"Three inches on the right sleeve."

"Sheathing the sword."

"Lord Shen has a habit of pressing the scabbard before making a move."

On our wedding day, he reached out and tugged at my sleeve, not just to draw his knife.

It's also to confirm each of my habits.

"Who taught you to be like me?"

"You yourself."

Chen Ping said, "How many cases have you investigated in the capital? How many people have you met? How many words have you spoken?"

"Someone wrote them all down."

"Lord Shen thought he was auditing accounts."

"Actually, it's always been kept in the accounts."

I'm afraid of how I'll retreat when I die.

Even whether he would make sarcastic remarks when talking to Xiao Lingyi.

Some people pieced together these details to create another Shen An.

I'll let him arrive first as soon as I leave the capital.

Xiao Lingyi looked at the fake princess on the high platform.

"Who are you?"

His face was covered with an extremely thin human skin mask.

From a distance, she bears a striking resemblance to Xiao Lingyi.

Xiao Lingyi's gaze was cold, though it was cold.

At least it felt like seeing a living person.

The woman's eyes held only commands.

Everyone in front of her was already on the list.

Seeing that the game of truth and falsehood had been exposed, Sun Jing suddenly grabbed Tian Cheng.

"Stop!"

"Or I'll kill him!"

Tian Cheng lay on the edge of the platform, his lower back covered in blood.

"Registrar Sun".

"Didn't you say I was going to die today?"

"Why are you still using me as a prisoner?"

Hostages are most afraid of not being afraid to die.

He's just died in the tent too many times already.

I'm getting tired of dying.

Release them.

Sun Jingdao said, "Have the princess and the imperial guards leave the old warehouse!"

"Can."

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

If you look at her at a time like this, you're likely to get scolded by her first.

I simply asked Sun Jing, "What do you want?"

"Leave the city document!"

"horse!"

"And have Imperial Censor Shen personally escort me out of the North Gate!"

"Can."

I said, "But first, open the warehouse door completely."

"On what grounds?"

"If anyone inside is missing, I will not see them off."

"You have no right to negotiate!"

"Then kill Tian Cheng."

"kill."

"If you kill him, you'll have one less hostage."

"There are seventy-two more underground!"

"They are now recognized throughout the city."

"If you touch the warehouse door again, the guards will arrest you first."

The soldiers guarding the warehouse, who had originally obeyed his orders, had slowly turned their blades away.

One of them recognized his elder brother who was underground.

The county seal is still in Sun Jing's hands.

But the magistrate's power was gone.

I said, "Open the warehouse."

"I'll give you a horse."

The warehouse door continued to rise.

Seventy-two people were pushed outside one by one.

Bai Zhi has already led the people to take stock.

"one."

"two."

"Seven."

"Twenty-three."

"Sixty-one."

"Seventy-two."

The Song Dynasty physician and his accompanying doctors laid out their medicine chests directly in front of the warehouse.

"They were locked up for a year and only given thin porridge."

"They even dared to use datura powder on them."

"Who prescribed the medicine?"

The physician Song looked up.

"Have they all become mute?"

"Where's the medicine account book!"

One of the guards in the underground warehouse immediately pointed to the back warehouse.

I've already sent someone to get the angelica root.

I think Physician Song and Bai Zhi would be a good match to investigate cases together.

One was looking for medicine.

One person is looking for an account.

It would be difficult for someone in the middle to die without knowing why.

After all seventy-two people had left the warehouse, Sun Jing dragged Tian Cheng back towards the high platform.

"horse!"

"Documents!"

Stamp the warehouse seal.

Sun Jing angrily retorted, "This isn't a leave order!"

"Of course not."

"This is the sealing certificate for your unauthorized possession of the county seal and the kidnapping of witnesses."

"You're kidding me!"

"Yes."

"Shen An!"

"exist."

He slashed the knife in his hand at Tian Cheng.

Xiao Lingyi stood below the stage and put down her short bow.

"I have been waiting for a long time."

I think what she said sounds a bit like bookkeeping.

Suddenly, the fake princess on the high platform ripped off her golden crown and leaped backward.

It's time to burn the warehouse.

They had already buried oil ropes behind them.

These people in the capital have turned burning evidence into a family tradition.

But this time, Bai Zhi was already standing in front of the back warehouse door.

There were more than a dozen buckets of water at her feet.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

The seventy-two people in the warehouse need to drink water every day.

When she checked the accounts, she didn't ask about the silver or the grain first.

As soon as the battle began, the people guarding the granary poured buckets of water down the slope.

Instead, it followed the oil stains and burned towards the other side of the platform.

The fake princess has already jumped down into the secret passage.

He looked at me, then suddenly held the fake scabbard across his neck.

"Lord Shen."

Only one can live today.

I said, "Of course it's me."

Are you sure?

He raised his hand and tore off his own face.

Beneath the mask, it was still not Chen Ping's face.

It was a face I had never seen before.

Only the scar behind the right ear is real.

"Chen Ping is just a name."

"This face is just clothing."

"You've caught me."

"I don't even know who I am."

Yan Xiaoyi, however, climbed up from below the platform.

"Just say what you want to say."

"Why cut someone's neck?"

When I saw Yan Xiaoyi, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Then I remembered something else.

"Where's Ah Liu?"

Yan Xiaoyi gestured with his chin toward the underground warehouse.

"It depends on the person."

"All seventy-two have come out."

He didn't come out.

The laziness on Yan Xiaoyi's face faded.

"There's another door inside."

"Ah Liu went inside."

He said someone inside was calling your name.