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

The old warehouse has two underground floors.

The first floor imprisoned seventy-two people.

The second layer is not depicted on Lin Huan's half-panel map.

Ah Liu was discovered while counting people.

All seventy-two disaster victims were released from the warehouse.

The list, however, contains seventy-three names.

Tian Cheng is on the high platform.

The number is just right.

Logically, there shouldn't be anyone else.

But there was a constant knocking sound coming from deep underground.

Three times.

Let's take a break.

Repeatedly.

Ah Liu initially thought it was a rat.

Then I heard someone shout:

"An'er".

He didn't dare to answer.

That's done very well.

More and more people in Beijing know my nickname these days.

They respond to anyone who calls them, making it easy to recognize many relatives.

He ordered the guards to watch the exit, and then followed the sound to the exit.

A stone door was found behind the grain wall at the deepest part.

The door was unlocked.

There are only six grooves.

Like a place where cards are played.

When Xiao Lingyi and I arrived at the underground, A-Liu was squatting in front of the door.

His face was covered in ash.

He held a list of seventy-three people in his hand.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw me.

"Young master."

Are you real?

I paused for a moment.

"How many months' rent do I owe you?"

"Three months and seven days."

"It's true."

Ah Liu was relieved.

Xiao Lingyi looked at him.

"Why don't you ask me?"

Ah Liu is very honest.

"Your Highness, no one dares to owe you money."

Bai Zhi came down from behind and happened to hear it.

"Someone dares."

She glanced at me.

I think we should leave this topic here.

The stone gate is not large.

There are six slots for the cards in the center.

Its shape is consistent with the first batch of Qingjiu Zhangzhen plaques.

Wang Song was not lying.

The six genuine amulets from Qingxia have not yet been found.

However, there is a door at the bottom of Yong'an Warehouse that requires six genuine cards to open.

I asked Ah Liu, "Who's shouting from inside?"

"woman."

How old are you?

"have no idea."

"The voice was very soft."

"What else is there to say?"

"I have told you the young master's name."

"Which name?"

"Shen An".

Ah Liu shook his head.

"It's not the young master."

"It's not Lord Shen either."

"Her name is An'er."

I placed my hand on the stone door.

It's cold.

There was no further shouting from behind the door.

Like that sound just now, it's like he's used up all his strength.

Xiao Lingyi said, "We cannot force it open."

I nodded.

The six card slots are not for decoration.

There are small holes at the top and bottom of the stone gate.

If the wrong sign is placed, or if the door is pried open, water, falling rocks, or a fire may occur inside.

The first batch of genuine cards designed by the late Empress were double-verified.

However, in Qingxia, all six license plates will be opened simultaneously.

This indicates that the items behind the door are heavier than the old ledgers in the inner treasury of Changning Palace.

Bai Zhi squatted down to examine the card slots.

"They weren't carved at the same time."

"What do you mean?"

"The first two slots are the oldest."

"The two in the middle are a little later."

"The last two were added later."

"How much of a difference?"

"At least one year."

I looked at the six grooves.

The first batch of genuine cards consists of twelve cards.

The late empress would not have originally made a six-plate gate specifically for Qingxia.

This door was modified little by little later.

Someone used two cards first.

I don't feel safe enough.

Two more were added.

In the end, there were six.

The people or tents behind the door have been protected for many years.

He was also imprisoned for many years.

Ah Liu listened through the crack in the door.

"It's silent."

The physician Song was still saving people up there.

I had someone call him down.

He frowned as soon as he saw the stone gate.

"I am a medical officer."

"Not a stonemason."

"There are people inside."

"Then open the door."

"It can't be opened."

"What's the point of calling me if I can't open it?"

"Listen to see if he's dead or not."

Physician Song cursed.

I still crouched down by the door.

He inserted a hollow copper tube through the air hole at the bottom of the door.

I listened for a while.

"There is breathing inside."

My heart skipped a beat.

"one person?"

"At least two."

"How long can it last?"

"I haven't even seen anyone."

"How did you know?"

"Then let's make a vent."

There are six small holes on the side of the stone gate.

Two of them were sealed with wax.

The Song Dynasty physician first tested the wax.

It is not poisonous.

Then have someone pierce it with a fine needle.

A cloud of murky air rose up.

It has a very faint medicinal smell.

"Dream-locking drug".

Physician Song's expression changed.

"Someone has been giving the people inside medication for a long time."

"Where to send it from?"

Bai Zhi followed the edge of the stone gate to search.

There is an extremely thin copper pipe at the base of the wall.

Buried in the upper granary.

The other end of the copper pipe is connected to the medicine cabinet in the back warehouse.

A dose of calming soup is drawn from the medicine cabinet every month.

Item to be written:

Drinking at night while guarding the granary.

Whether the person guarding the granary drank it or not is unknown.

The person behind the door must be drinking.

I asked, "What will happen if I stop taking the medication?"

"If you take dream-locking drugs for a long time and then suddenly stop, you may faint or become mentally confused."

"Can it be saved?"

"Open the door first."

We've come full circle again.

Six genuine cards.

We don't have a single one.

Wang Song said the cards were in Qingxia.

But Yong'an's door is clearly also related to the brand.

Unless the cards are never in Qingxia Warehouse.

Instead, they were kept separately by the people of Qingxia.

They only brought it when they opened the door.

I asked Chen Lu, "Who built the old Yong'an granary?"

"The Southwest Military Grain Transfer Warehouse during the reign of the late emperor."

"Later it was converted into a public granary."

Who was in charge of guarding the granary in the fourteenth year of the Chengxi reign?

"The old books... Sun Jing took the old books."

Bai Zhi brought out a stack of tents she had just snatched from the back storeroom.

"Here."

The fire didn't start.

The accounts were all left behind.

This makes me happier than catching Chen Ping.

Bai Zhi turned to the granary register of the fourteenth year of Chengxi.

The official in charge of guarding the granary was named Du Cheng.

Du Cheng, whom Luo Chenghai mentioned had already died from the epidemic.

The deputy granary keeper had only one surname.

The Shen family.

It has no name.

My finger hovered over those two words.

mother.

Wang Song said that she was in charge of the Qingxia Granary back then.

Yong'an Old Warehouse was also the front warehouse of the Qingxia Grain Transport Route.

It's not surprising that she's here.

Strangely, the record does not include her departure.

There was no record of her death.

Only one line was written on the first page of the fifteenth year of Chengxi:

The Shen family sealed the warehouse and divided the shares among the six parties.

Continue scrolling down to find Bai Zhi.

The six cards were taken away by six people.

The first one is Du Cheng.

The second one is from the Shen family.

The third one is Bai Song.

The fourth one, the man in blue.

The fifth one, Qingxia Post Station.

The sixth one is from Changning.

Six identities.

It has no name.

Bai Song is already dead.

Du Cheng's fate is unknown.

The woman in blue was probably the first Lan Gu.

The envoy from Changning may be Aunt Zhaoyue, or someone else sent by the late Empress.

Zhengze of Qingxia Post Station may still be in the local area.

The mother's one, however, is nowhere to be found.

The woman behind the door called me An'er.

I don't want to believe it right away.

People are most easily deceived when they most want to believe something.

Madam Wang knew about my mother's past.

Lan Gu also knew.

They could easily put a woman behind the door.

I taught her to call me by my name.

Then, in order to open the door, I walked along the path of the six genuine cards into the Green Gorge.

This is also an invitation.

It was more like a family letter than any invitation before.

Xiao Lingyi squatted down beside me.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm afraid the people inside might be fake."

"I'm afraid it might be true."

I looked at her.

She was right.

It's fake, it's a setup.

It's true, my father lied to me for many years.

The mother may also be locked behind a stone door, surviving to this day thanks to a dream-locking drug.

Neither is good.

The physician listened to the brass pipes again.

"Someone has woken up."

A very faint rubbing sound came from behind the door.

Then, a woman's voice rang out.

"The card... cannot be given to Aunt Lan."

The voice sounded much older.

Also weak.

The voice I remember wasn't this hoarse.

But after eleven years, a person's voice will change.

She added:

"An'er".

"Don't open the door."

I stood still.

It hasn't moved in a long time.

She knows the six cards.

I know Aunt Lan.

They also know my name.

If this was a scheme arranged by Madam Wang, none of this would be difficult.

But then she said something else.

"You were afraid of thunder when you were little."

"Every time there was thunder, I would hide the cake under my pillow."

It felt like I'd been hit hard in the head.

The father was unaware of this.

Xu Sandao didn't know either.

I was indeed afraid of thunder before I was five years old.

Whenever there was a thunderstorm, my mother would give me a wheat cake.

I dare not eat it.

Feeling that he might be even hungrier after the thunder stopped, he secretly put it under his pillow.

The bread will be flattened on the second day.

The mother always pretended not to know.

Until one day, she sewed a small cloth bag next to my pillow.

It's not shameful to say you're afraid of death.

It's not shameful to be afraid of going hungry.

Leave yourself a little room before you think about the next step.

I later changed this sentence to:

Being afraid of death is not shameful; what's shameful is being afraid of death and not using your brain.

I always thought that was my own idea.

It turned out not to be.

I pressed my forehead against the stone gate.

The cold stone surface helps one stay alert.

"mother?"

There was no immediate response from behind the door.

Only very low sobs could be heard.

very short.

Like someone who dares not cry for too long.

After a moment, she said:

"Don't shout."

"They are listening."

I looked up.

"Who?"

"There's a pipe on the door."

Bai Zhi and Physician Song both looked at the copper tube used for administering medicine.

The medicine can be delivered from outside.

Sound can also be heard coming from inside.

Sun Jing or Madam Wang have been feeding her more than just medicine over the years.

They were still listening to what the people behind the door were saying.

I immediately had the medicine cabinet dismantled.

Sure enough, a copper listening cover was attached to the back of the copper pipe.

A record was placed on the table next to the copper cover.

Record the words spoken inside the gate every seven days.

Most of it was sleep talking.

Qingxia.

Open a position.

Bai Song.

Orders and ceremonies.

And my name.

The most recent page reads:

Inside the door, Shen was about to regain consciousness.

The young master has already left the capital.

Available.

I tightened my grip little by little.

They knew the person behind the door was awake.

They knew I would come.

Madam Wang held us back at the dry riverbank.

Chen Ping impersonated me and entered the city.

Sun Jing opened his position ahead of schedule.

These events were not just about the rebel army's looting of grain.

They even tried to force me to stand in front of this door.

They wanted me to know that my mother was still alive.

Then let everyone see that I went to find six real cards for my mother.

Find the sixth card to open the door.

It can also open the old account of Qingxia in the fourteenth year of Chengxi.

That debt would harm both the emperor and Shen Lie.

Did Madam Wang want the debt, or did she want to completely antagonize the father and son?

Before I could figure it out, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps on the ground.

Gu Xingzhi is back.

He failed to win over Madam Wang.

However, they intercepted one of the drivers she had left behind.

The coachman carried a letter.

The letter was still written by Madam Wang.

Gu Xingzhi handed it to me.

I unfold.

Imperial Censor Shen, the person inside the gate is real.

The six cards are real.

Wanting to save his mother, he came to Qingxia.

This time, she didn't call me Young Master.

Because she knew that there was a title that would make me leave even more easily than the title of "Young Master".