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

Thirty-six people.

A car.

We set off for Qingxia an hour earlier than planned.

That doesn't sound quite right.

If all thirty-six people were to ride in one carriage, the horses would rebel before the carriage even reached Qingxia.

Therefore, there must be more than one.

There is certainly more than one path.

I rolled up the master list of the live warehouse.

"Sun Jing said it was the hour of You (5-7 PM)."

Bai Zhi said, "Write the time of Hai (9-11 PM) on the bamboo slip."

"The general table describes Qingxia."

"But people may not actually go to Qingxia."

I looked at Yan Xiaoyi.

"Where can I change buses if I travel west from Yong'an?"

"Qingfeng North Exit."

"Baishui Ferry".

"Further ahead is the Broken Stone Bridge."

Which road is the shortest?

"Neither of them are close."

He was being very honest.

"But you can cross the riverbank at Baishuidu."

"Walk."

We did not go to the county post station again.

It remains unclear who took the blue token at the post station.

Horses were only changed at a temporary horse market outside the city.

The imperial dispatch token given by the emperor was very useful.

But lately, there have been too many cases of genuine people doing fake things. I'd rather spend more money than ride a horse whose death has already been predetermined.

When Bai Zhi paid the bill, her face looked even worse than if she were being chased.

"Six horses, one hundred and eighty taels."

"Public accounts."

I said.

"Whose public accounts?"

"The Censorate".

"Will the Censorate admit it?"

"If Your Majesty does not acknowledge it, I will offer Sun Jing's family property as collateral."

Bai Zhi reluctantly nodded.

Ah Liu watched the horse trader collect the money, feeling as if he were spending his own monthly salary.

"Young master, what if we fail to catch them?"

"Then go back and return the horse."

Ah Liu immediately stopped feeling sorry for him.

People will understand the benefits of spending money once they realize that they might be more tired than silver.

We walked west along the riverbank.

It was completely dark by then.

There is fog on the river.

The road is not hard to recognize.

The cargo hold car is very heavy.

The wheels pressed deeply into the wet soil.

There were six vehicles in total.

The first four vehicles were powered by two horses.

The last two were single-horsepower vehicles.

Bai Zhi dismounted and examined the cart tracks.

"The car in front is heavy."

"The car behind is light."

"People should be in the first four vehicles."

"What are the last two trucks carrying?"

"It could be clothes, food, or it could be a corpse."

Ah Liu shivered on horseback.

"Miss Bai, could you say something auspicious tonight?"

"Can."

Bai Zhi said, "It might also contain a coffin prepared for you."

Ah Liu stopped talking.

The ruts forked at a fork in the road and suddenly separated.

The four vehicles continued westward.

The two vehicles turned north.

Yan Xiaoyi squatted down and glanced at it.

"The trains heading west are empty."

"How did you know?"

"The wheel imprint is lighter."

"Did they move the people to the two cars on the north side?"

"Two vehicles can't hold thirty-six of them."

I looked towards the roadside.

A large patch of grass was flattened.

Someone got off the bus here.

Then we walked along the riverbank.

It was not voluntary.

There were drag marks on the ground.

There was also a small piece of broken hemp rope.

Bai Zhi picked up the end of the rope.

There was lime on the rope.

There is an abandoned ash kiln on the north side of the riverbank.

The accounting department really likes lime.

It can conceal blood.

It can mask odors.

It also makes people afraid to approach when they see the words "plague corpse".

We did not continue following the tracks.

They switched to using lime kilns.

Half a mile from the kiln, a strong smell of lime could be smelled.

There were six cars parked inside.

The car was covered with a white sheet.

Each piece of white cloth had four characters written on it.

Keep away from corpses infected with the plague.

Upon seeing the words, Ah Liu immediately took half a step back.

Then, remembering that the "plague corpses" had often been alive over the years, he walked back.

"Young master, now that I see the plague-stricken corpses, I think there are probably living people inside."

"You've made progress."

"He was scared out of his wits."

"It counts."

There were no guards outside the kiln.

Too quiet.

Yan Xiaoyi did not go in directly.

He went around to the back.

He returned a moment later.

"There is a horse behind the kiln."

"How many?"

"Eight horses."

Where are they?

"I can't see it."

"ambush?"

"picture."

Six morgue trucks carrying COVID-19 patients were parked in the center.

The surrounding area was full of limestone piles.

If you rush in through the front gate, any fire will cause lime powder to fly up.

It may not necessarily kill people.

It's at least enough to make people unable to open their eyes.

I had everyone cover their mouths and noses with wet cloths.

Angelica dahurica is used to check wind direction.

"North Wind".

"Open from the south side."

Yan Xiaoyi and the inner guard removed bricks from behind the kiln wall.

There was no loud banging on the door.

There was no ignition.

Only a low opening was made downwind.

After the first guard climbed in, he quickly knocked on the wall twice.

Safety.

We entered one by one.

The six cars were unlocked.

When the first white sheet was lifted, there was no corpse inside.

There were twelve living people.

Both men and women.

Hands and feet were bound.

His mouth was stuffed with cloth.

His body was covered in lime.

The second vehicle also carried twelve people.

The third vehicle still carried twelve people.

There are thirty-six in total.

Not one was missing.

The three vehicles behind carried Southwest Army uniforms, bamboo name tags, and thirty-six new death certificates.

The cause of death has been changed from dying from the epidemic to falling into the river.

Location: Baishuidu.

During a river transport operation in Qingfeng County, vehicles and horses fell into the water.

No remains were found.

I looked at the four words "no trace of the body".

These words have been used very frequently today.

If no remains are found, there is no need for an autopsy.

No need to find anyone.

There's no need to explain why the thirty-six dead men later reappeared on the Qingxia grain route.

Ah Liu untied one of the ropes.

The person did not wake up immediately.

Bai Zhi sniffed his collar.

"Drugs."

"The white rope medicine given by Physician Song."

Ah Liu subconsciously touched his chest.

Then he remembered that the medicine wasn't on him.

The antidote for Bai Zhi has been extracted.

"Luckily I didn't give it to you."

"Miss Bai, I'm just occasionally unreliable."

"When will it be reliable?"

"I just realized that the plague-infected corpse might be alive."

Bai Zhi was too lazy to argue with him.

She gave the antidote to the people at the front.

I then went to check on the three empty cars.

There is a problem with the axle.

Each pivot pin was filed in half.

If you go another twenty li, the road will surely end.

There is a rapid downstream section of Baishuidu.

If the axle breaks there, all three vehicles carrying people will overturn into the river.

Death certificates will not need to be forged at that time.

Thirty-six people will really die.

The river would also destroy the ropes, medicine stains, and the Southwest Army uniforms on the vehicle.

The live warehouse summary table is directly transferred to Qingxia.

The bamboo slips bear the inscription "Qingfeng".

The real road, however, is Baishuidu.

Three sheets of paper.

three directions.

None of them were shown to the driver.

They were left to different investigators.

Whoever chases a particular picture will be led down that fake path.

I asked the first person to wake up, "Who brought you here?"

His eyes were unfocused.

After a long time, he managed to squeeze out two words.

"Du Cheng."

"Have you met him in person?"

He nodded.

"Where?"

"In the car."

Which one?

He raised his trembling hand and pointed to the third hearse.

There were originally twelve people in the third car.

They were all carried out by the guards.

There was another layer of plywood underneath the car.

Yan Xiaoyi pried it open with a knife.

An old man was lying below.

Their hands and feet were not bound.

A bag of lime was pressed against his chest.

It's like it's already dead.

Ah Liu squatted down to check his breathing.

"It's still breathing."

The old man suddenly opened his eyes.

He grabbed Ah Liu's wrist.

Ah Liu was so frightened that he almost sat down on the pile of lime.

The old man's voice was very hoarse.

Where is Shen An?

I walked over.

"exist."

He stared at me for a long time.

Their gaze fell on my face first.

Then it falls back to the position where the right arm is sheathed.

"Like General Shen."

I said, "These are things we can't say casually these days."

"It would easily prove that I am a traitor."

The old man coughed for a while.

There was blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Your mother doesn't like you looking like him."

I squatted down.

"Who are you?"

The old man loosened his grip on Ah Liu.

Raise your left hand.

Only three fingers remain on my left hand.

It started raining during the car chase.

When the dirt road softens, the tire tracks become even clearer.

Yan Xiaoyi bent down and touched the mud.

"The car in front is very heavy."

How many people?

"People move, so it's impossible to calculate accurately."

He then looked at the broken reeds by the roadside.

"But the car stopped twice. The first time, someone got out of the car, and the second time, someone was towed back in."

Ah Liu's face turned pale.

"Can they still catch up?"

"If Ma doesn't die," Yan Xiaoyi said.

My horse snorted beside me.

It sounds like they're unwilling to take on this responsibility.

We found half a rope next to the second rut.

The knot is a common slipknot used in Qingfeng River Engineering.

It wasn't the escorts who tied him up.

The people in the car untied it themselves.

The thirty-six people who were written to die did not wait for others to save them along the way.

They were also climbing out.

After Du Cheng gave his name, the first question he asked was not whether he could survive.

Which road did those thirty-six people take?

"Qingxia is fake," he said.

"The first car goes north, the second car goes along the Salt River, and the third car goes on the official road empty."

"What are you doing with an empty car?"

"Let the pursuers see it."

Yan Xiaoyi had already climbed onto the roof.

There are wheel tracks on the north side.

Gu Xingzhi looked at Du Cheng.

How do you know?

"That method of dividing vehicles was taught by Bai Song."

White pine was used to save grain.

Later people used it to transport the living dead.

The same method will not remain clean forever just because it was used to save someone in the first place.

We did not immediately set off with Du Cheng as our hostage.

First, examine his old injuries, severed fingers, and secret marks in the accounting room, then have two elderly men from Jiangbei identify his voice.

The three points match.

It still only states that the height is consistent.

Du Cheng wasn't angry after reading it.

"They've all died in the last eleven years, so one more line of pending verification won't make a difference."

He provided the location of the old ferry crossing on the Yanhe River.

I ordered Gu Xingzhi to chase the northern carriage, Yan Xiaoyi to lead men to block the salt river, and the princess's mansion to follow the empty carriage along the official road.

We'll take all three routes.

Because we don't know yet which route is fake.

As he was leaving, Du Cheng added, "Don't just save the people in the car."

"Even those rushing to catch the train are written down to their fate."

This statement increased the list from thirty-six to forty-two.

When chasing a car that has been used to kill people, you can't just count the people inside the car.

The hand holding the reins may have long been erased from the tent by someone else.

My index finger and little finger are gone.

There is an old burn scar on the inside of my wrist.

"The fourteenth year of Chengxi."

"Deputy Commissioner for the Transfer of Military Grain in Southwest China"

"The bookkeeper under Bai Song's tutelage."

He looked at me.

"Du Cheng."

The man who had been dead for eleven years finally revealed his name.