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

I have seen my father's tiger seal three times.

The first time was when I was eight years old.

He pressed me down beside the military desk and made me grind cinnabar for him.

That year, the southwest was short of iron, and even the copper clasps on the seal box were removed to cast arrowheads, but the tiger seal was still kept in a black wooden box.

I asked why a seal was more valuable than an arrow.

Father said:

"An arrow can only kill one person."

"India can send a thousand people to their deaths."

At the time, I thought those words were very impressive.

Looking back now, I realize that I wasn't very smart at eight years old.

The second time I saw the tiger seal was before I went to Beijing.

My father gave me a secret order to kill the king, which kept the entire seal in check.

The seal is genuine.

The third one is this thin piece of iron right in front of me.

This is not a normal seal.

Instead, the complete tiger print was imprinted on wax, then shaped with a thin iron rod and cut in half along the center line of the tiger's mouth.

In the Southwest Army, it was called "He Ling".

Half of the message was relayed.

When the two pieces are joined together, the tiger stripes, crack lines, and edge file marks must be perfectly aligned.

The order can prove that the message came from the Southwest Army.

It cannot be proven that the sentence must have come from the father.

The personal guards could steal the seal.

The old generals can follow the orders.

Even the dead can take out their original eleven-year-old signatures and write today's order to quell the rebellion.

Along the way, I learned one thing.

The more authentic something is, the more times you should verify it.

Gu Shisan stood in the courtyard.

"How do you want to test it?"

"Find someone who has seen the tiger seal."

"I've seen it."

"You're also someone who sends out prints."

"You don't believe me?"

"letter."

I said, "But if the evidence could only be proven by the person who delivered it, the government office would have been shut down long ago."

Ge Tong had someone fetch the documents seized in the southwest that had been sealed up in Qingxia Village.

Qingxia has bordered the southwest for many years, and there have been constant conflicts of all sizes. More than thirty old orders from Shen Lie are kept in the military camp.

Most of them only had the seal of a deputy general.

There are four that truly surpass the tiger seal.

The earliest one was nine years ago.

The most recent one was three years ago.

I placed the four rubbings and half a piece of thin iron under the lamp.

The third stripe on the tiger's tail.

A very shallow wear mark on the lower part of the right claw.

Bai Zhi then pressed the back of the thin iron with paper.

The four characters “明日酉时” were carved with a knife.

"Qingxia Old Post Station, Alone" is another one.

The three words "Father is waiting for you" are the most profound.

The first horizontal stroke of the character "父" (fù) is pressed down.

That was my father's habit.

He had an old injury on the web of his right hand when he wrote.

When a horizontal stroke ends, the wrist will sink down.

"The last three characters should have been carved by Shen Lie himself."

Bai Zhi said, "That's not necessarily true."

Gu Shisan said, "Xu Sandao filled in the location and time."

"General Shen only engraved 'Father is waiting for you'."

Why not just write it all down?

"The military fears that orders will be intercepted."

"Leave only the last sentence, so that if the previous order is changed, it can still be asked when the seal is closed."

Where is my other half?

"Old Post."

"Who's holding it?"

"have no idea."

"Whose orders are you relaying? Even the person receiving the orders doesn't know?"

"Xu Sandao asked me to give you the iron sheet."

Gu Shisan remained expressionless.

He said if the person who receives the order is willing to let you see your partner, then it's true.

"What if they refuse?"

"kill."

Yan Xiaoyi raised her eyes slightly.

Xu Sandao's rules are very simple.

It's simple and perfect for Yan Xiaoyi.

"Has Miss Lan Gu woken up?"

Yan Xiaoyi said, "I've been awake the whole time."

"Will you talk about it?"

"No."

"Then let her look at the accounts first."

The missing finger indicates that the woman was locked in the medicine room of the Lan Yi Fang.

His hands were tied separately to two wooden posts.

It's not for torture.

She had a bone needle hidden in the leather sheath on her left hand and a thin blade hidden in the seam of her right sleeve.

There was still medicine on the soles of my feet.

The fact that someone can carry so many things on her body suggests that she doesn't really trust others.

That's something I'm very similar to.

But she's in more danger than I am.

When I went in, she was looking at the medicine shelf.

Which one would you like to eat?

"I can get it for you."

"Lord Shen is willing to let me die?"

"I can't bear to part with it."

Why?

"If you die, the accounts will take several more days to settle."

"You really only care about what you say."

"They also recognize people."

People lie.

That's why you should look at it together with the accounts.

Bai Zhi placed the complete book of 109 people's walnut clothing in front of her.

I just wanted her to see the cover.

The woman's eyes darkened slightly.

"This booklet is incomplete."

"What's missing?"

"Only Qingxia."

"Anywhere else?"

Then he laid out the grain coupons for the Anjia family, the silver exchange records for military pay, and the supplementary ledger for the release of military uniforms from Qingzhou, one by one.

"The clothes came from Qingzhou."

"People were transferred from the granaries of the three prefectures."

"The grain will be exchanged using the contract from Wang's mother."

"Silver, deposit into Yongfeng Counter B."

"The military badge number shall be the same as that of the deceased soldier."

I asked, "Which section are you in charge of?"

"Lan Yi".

"Lan Yi is just a title."

"I'm asking you."

"Tailoring."

"Just tailoring clothes?"

"Only tailor clothes."

"Why is that military pay record in your register?"

"The cost of wearing a nuclear-coated garment depends on the salary."

Why are you carrying the key to the post station?

Someone asked me to keep it safe.

"Who?"

"Aunt Lan".

"Aren't you Aunt Lan?"

"Lan Gu is not alone."

Pei Shen used to talk like that too.

The difference is that after Pei Shen finishes his explanation, he will occasionally give you something useful.

After she finished her walk around, all you wanted to do was turn the table upside down.

"it is good."

"You only tailor clothes."

"We will only examine the clothes."

Her eyes flickered.

She probably didn't expect me to actually go along with her.

Bai Zhi opened the general book.

Page 1, volumes A1 to A8.

"Eight sets of clothes."

"His shoulder width, leg length, and the location of his old injury all do not match those of the eight men from Qingfeng."

"This means there were originally eight other people."

"Where are the original people?"

Turn to the next page for Angelica dahurica.

The right ear of Jia Jiu is missing a corner.

Jia Shi is missing two toes on his left foot.

Jia Shiyi had a knife scar on his chest.

I asked Ge Tong to bring over the military uniforms that had just been confiscated.

The lining of the clothes has corresponding padding.

Of the 109 people who reported their names in the hospital, none of them matched these three injuries perfectly.

"You have two sets of people."

"A person with a nuclear coat."

"A set of clothes is truly made to reflect one's status."

"The first group of people didn't arrive in time."

"So we temporarily transferred 109 units from the live warehouse to fill the gap."

Am I right?

The woman finally looked at me.

You guessed right.

"It's not a guess."

Bai Zhi pulled out the military uniform distribution order list.

"From A1 to A109, the size of the clothing remained relatively stable."

"Ten people per group."

"Shoulder width, arm length, and shoe size were all determined according to the old military system."

"The Kelan Ward currently houses 109 people, whose sizes are all mixed up."

"There are elderly people, teenagers, and people with disabilities."

"This batch of clothes was completed at least six months ago."

"The person was only transferred here nearly two months ago."

The smile on the woman's face faded.

I asked, "Who were those original 109 people?"

"dead."

"From the account book?"

"Really dead."

"What army?"

I placed the thin iron tiger seal on the table.

This time, her expression really changed.

"know?"

"I don't know him."

"You're looking at the gap in the tiger's tail."

I said, "People who don't know the words usually look at them first."

"Take a look at the seal first."

"The original 109 sets of clothing were made according to the old wound register of the Southwest Army."

I continued, "Do they belong to Shen Lie?"

Do you know how many people your father killed?

"a lot of."

"Does each one have a wound record?"

"There is a pension register in the military."

"Remember all the wounds, family members, and places of origin."

"The identity of the deceased is the most certain."

"I won't come back to expose them."

My finger stopped next to the tiger print.

"One hundred and nine sets of clothes, made according to the style of the Southwest Death Army."

"Find another 109 dead people from the accounts to wear."

"This way, when the imperial court investigates, the wounds on the clothes can match those of the old army in the southwest."

"When the investigation was conducted in the Southwest, the person did indeed come from Huocang in Jiangbei."

"It looks real from any angle."

The woman did not deny it.

I asked, "Where is that army, the one actually made according to the wound register, going?"

She said, "I've already gone."

"where?"

"you guess."

"I don't like guessing."

"Isn't Lord Shen quite adept at guessing?"

Ah Liu brought in a wooden box.

The box contained the post key she had taken from her key pouch.

There is also the feed account for the post horses at the old Qingxia post station for nearly three months.

The old post station in Qingxia has long been abandoned.

According to the regulations, only two patrol horses are provided per month.

However, in the past three months, the amount of horse feed has increased from four shi to twenty-three shi.

The fodder was also mixed with bitter bean powder, which is commonly used in Southwest China.

The imperial army's horses did not eat.

Bai Zhi said, "At least thirty horses were exchanged for feed at the old post station."

"Not at the same time."

"Five to eight horses each time."

"A total of four groups went."

"The first batch was two months ago."

"That's exactly when the Lan Yi Fang started transferring people."

The woman with the missing finger stared at the ledger.

"This is not the Lan Yi tent."

"But the key is with you."

I said, "You might not be in charge of the horses."

"But you need to go to the old post station to exchange your clothing token."

"That real fake army left in four groups."

"They were carrying the identities of the dead from the Southwest."

"The destination will not be Qingxia."

The woman's lips twitched slightly.

"The capital city."

"Not going to the southwest."

I said, "We're going to the capital."

"An old Southwest Army member, a living face from Jiangbei."

"Once we get to the capital, we can impersonate either Shen Lie's assassin or a witness in the live warehouse."

"Whoever needs to die, that's who."

Ah Liu's face turned pale upon hearing this.

"Young master, they have been gone for two months."

"Have you arrived in the capital?"

"not necessarily."

Angelica dahurica turns over the horse feed tent.

"Each batch departs at a different time."

"The last batch was seven days ago."

"If they had traveled by land, the first batch would have arrived long ago."

"If we follow the waterway, we might still be in the old Yongfeng River."

I looked at the woman with the missing finger.

"route."

"If you won't tell me, then I'll write it down."

"The first group to enter Beijing committed murder."

"The second group of soldiers impersonating Shen Liejun caused chaos at the palace gates."

"The third batch of witnesses who were exposed in the prison recanted their testimonies."

"The fourth batch—"

She asked instinctively, "The fourth batch what?"

As soon as she asked the question, she realized she had made a mistake.

"So there really was a fourth batch."

You're bluffing me.

"What's this?"

Pei Shen is more annoying than me.

I circled the departure dates for the fourth batch separately.

Lady Wang's documents for returning home from her escape from the capital were also completed seven days ago.

The last batch did not go to Beijing.

They've come to fetch Madam Wang.

Or rather, take what's in her hands.

"Where is Madam Wang?"

"She's gone."

Which way to go?

"have no idea."

"You have the key to the post station."

"She doesn't use post stations."

"The fire is burning."

Sometimes, not saying it is the answer.

There is only one waterway on the surface of the old salt river in Qingxia.

There are also salt wells and brine drainage channels underground.

Lady Wang escaped from the salt cellar at Kuhepo once.

If there is a road in Qingxia that can bypass the military camp and the dock, it will only be at Yanjing.

"Sealing off the old post station."

"Investigate and drain the brine channels."

The woman with the missing finger suddenly laughed.

"It's too late."

She'll leave tonight.

"What should I bring?"

"The things your mother left behind."

She finally agreed to continue.

"Gu Qinghe left more than one page of accounts."

"She left behind Shen Lie's handwritten military order."

"The walnut shell booklet that the late Empress sent to Qingxia was also kept."

"That booklet can prove that the earliest blue garment was not a forgery."

"He is the guarantor."

I turned to look at her.

"Did Madam Wang get it?"

"Got half."

"What about your other half?"

"At the bottom of the old salt river."

Only Lan Yue knows the location.

"The first Lan Gu?"

"right."

"Is she still alive?"

The woman with the missing finger looked at me.

"Madam Wang searched for her for nine years."

"We finally found it tonight."