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

There are a total of seven drainage canals in Qingxia.

On the military map that Ge Tong gave me, there were only four lines drawn.

The remaining three were scrapped ten years ago.

The term "scrapped" usually doesn't mean the vehicle is no longer able to move.

The accountant doesn't want anyone to leave.

When Xue Jiu, a member of the old salt gang, was brought down from under the flagpole, his previous tough demeanor had vanished.

It's not because I've been tied up for too long.

He heard that he was going to use his private property to buy meat for 109 people.

People may not care much about their own lives.

They are usually very honest about their money.

"Diagram of brine drainage channel"

I said.

"no."

Meat once every two days.

"What?"

"One hundred and nine people returned to the name warehouse."

"Eat meat once every two days."

"Ge Tong said that the army's food supplies were tight."

"Bai Zhi said she would take it from your house."

Xue Jiu's face turned green instantly.

"On what grounds?"

"Because you held up a lucky charm and made people kneel to welcome the young master."

"That's what Aunt Lan told me to do!"

"Who?"

He glanced in the direction of the medicine room.

"The one with the missing finger."

"name."

"have no idea."

"Keep deducting."

"etc!"

Xue Jiu gritted his teeth.

"Her name is Luo Qingniang."

"Originally a branch of the Luo family."

"Seventeen years ago, I entered the Shangyifang in Qingxia."

"Later, he took over Lanling."

Luo Shi.

It's the Luo family again.

In Jiangbei, you'll always see this surname at the end of many roads.

"Diagram of brine drainage channel"

Xue Jiu lowered his head.

"In the well at Shen's residence."

The well at the Shen residence has no water.

There is a side opening at the bottom of the well wall.

Yan Xiaoyi went down the well.

They quickly took out a copper tube sealed with wax.

There are three pictures inside.

Qingxia old salt well.

Brine drainage channel.

Underground salt wells.

Of the seven canals, only the fifth canal connects directly to the lower reaches of the old salt river.

The map also marks two wells.

One is located in the south courtyard of Lanyifang.

Another location is below the abandoned post station in Qingxia.

This road connects Lanyifang, the old post station, and the waterway.

No wonder Madam Wang led me all the way to Qingxia.

This wasn't a place she temporarily fled to.

It was her prepared escape route.

Ge Tong transferred eighty garrison troops.

I didn't let them all go underground.

The brine drainage channel is narrow.

Having a large number of people is not an advantage.

Encountering toxic fumes only results in a few more deaths.

Yan Xiaoyi led six people forward.

After Gu Shisan left with four scouts from the southwest.

I, Bai Zhi, and A Liu were in the middle.

Ge Tong tried to stop me.

"Lord Shen, it's dangerous underground."

"I know."

"Knowing the danger, why go yourself?"

"What Madam Wang wants is me."

"If you go, she might not show up."

Ge Tongdao: "What if she wanted to kill you?"

"That means I guessed right."

"So, if you guess right, you're not afraid of death?"

"Afraid."

I said seriously, "So give me two more shields."

Ah Liu immediately replied, "Three sides."

The entrance to the fifth canal is below the medicine room of the Lan Yi Fang.

After the stone slab was lifted, a salty, fishy smell wafted out.

White frost had formed on the canal walls.

The water only reached my ankles.

But the further you go in, the deeper the water becomes.

There are drag marks on both sides.

fresh.

Bai Zhi squatted down and touched some of the black ash on the wall.

Tung oil.

"They transported boxes."

"How many?"

"At least three."

"How did you know?"

"Three-track wheelbase".

After walking about half a mile, a fork in the road appeared ahead.

The old post station is located on the left.

The right side leads to the river.

There was blood on the ground.

not much.

There was also a small piece of gray-blue cloth lying next to it.

Shangyi Bureau old Qingyi.

Yan Xiaoyi raised his hand.

Everyone stopped.

Very faint breathing came from ahead.

It wasn't just one person.

At least two.

He walked along the canal wall.

They called us a moment later.

An old woman was lying behind the stone trough.

There is a white film over the right eye.

His left shoulder was pierced by a short arrow.

She was clutching an oilcloth bag tightly in her arms.

There was also a girl who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old beside him.

The girl's hands were covered in blood.

They were pressing a cloth against the old woman's shoulder.

Upon seeing us, they first grabbed a stone.

"Don't come any closer!"

Gu Shisan's expression changed slightly when he saw the old woman.

"Lan Yue?"

The old woman opened her eyes.

The white film made her right eye look as if it were covered by a layer of moonlight.

She looked at Gu Shisan first.

Look at me again.

"You are like Qinghe."

His voice was hoarse.

I squatted down.

"How is it similar?"

"They all disobey."

This isn't a good review.

But it's a bit more believable than the small cake.

"Are you the first Lan Gu?"

"Lan Yue".

She said, "I called her Lan Gu later."

"The only character on the plaque the late Empress gave me was 'Lan'."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Send clothes."

"What clothes?"

"The clothes of the living."

She hugged the oilcloth bundle even tighter.

"In the fourteenth year of Chengxi, the imperial staff discovered that the list of deaths from the plague in Jiangbei was falsified."

"The Empress Dowager fears that the witnesses will be silenced."

"Have the Imperial Clothing Bureau change their old clothes, travel permits, and accommodations."

"Clothing is what keeps us alive."

"It's not about letting people die."

The girl cried, "Grandma, please stop talking."

"explain."

Lan Yue coughed.

There was blood at the corner of his mouth.

"If I don't speak up now, someone else will have to do it for me."

I let the doctor come forward.

"Madam Wang took half of the book."

Which half?

"Name of the clothes to be changed".

"What's that in your hand?"

"Original name".

The booklet is divided into left and right columns. The left column contains the original name, and the right column should correspond to the name of the changed clothes.

The two volumes are separate; one only tells us who disappeared, and the other only tells us who appeared. Only when they are put together can we prove that the clothes-changing incident was to save people, not to silence them.

The late empress's method of mutual verification was never a mysterious mechanism. It's just that no one can possess it all.

Why did Madam Wang pursue you?

I asked.

"She wants the complete set."

"What will we do after we combine them?"

"Write the man in blue today as the person you saved back then."

"As long as the name can be connected, the fake soldier will become a former witness of the late empress."

Lan Yue was breathing heavily.

"They don't just want Shen Lie's army."

"They want to settle old scores left behind by the Empress."

"Write all the falsehoods back into the original truth."

I understand.

What the Clearing House wanted most was not to destroy the late Empress.

It was to wear the clothes of the late empress.

If Madam Wang takes two books with her tonight, she can say:

The Blue Robe system was originally used to change one's identity.

Today, 109 people were converted to military status, also to save their lives.

All the fake soldiers, fake witnesses, and fake prince consorts that Shen An uncovered could be explained as part of the old system established by the late empress.

Genuine products will endorse falsehoods.

"Which way is Madam Wang going?"

Lan Yue looked towards the right canal.

"Bring two people."

"Three boxes."

"And Luo Qingniang's people."

"Luo Qingniang has been arrested."

Lan Yue was taken aback.

"She didn't leave?"

"We can't leave."

Lan Yue closed her eyes.

It felt like a sigh of relief.

Then he added, "Madam Wang knows how to open salt eyes."

"If you press her too hard, she'll make a broth."

We had the military doctor carry Lanyue and the girl back the way they came.

I handed the original roster to Bai Zhi.

She didn't answer.

"Take it."

Why?

"I need to watch where I'm going."

"Are you watching where you're going?"

"Look at the watermarks."

She pointed to the canal wall.

There are three obvious scratches on the right canal stone frost.

The van had just passed by.

The topmost one is two and a half feet off the ground.

This indicates that the water level was still very low half an hour ago.

The water is now up to my calves.

The gate is slowly opening.

Madam Wang didn't wait until we caught up with her before she let us go.

She made the brine rise early in the morning.

I only gave myself a short time to get out of the river.

We must be faster than water.

Two boxes were abandoned along the way; one contained military uniforms and wooden tags, and the other contained medicine stalls and blank road signs.

Only the main leaves of the angelica root were taken; the rest were tied to the canal wall and left to be retested after the water receded.

The third box is missing.

But then the sound of iron wheels came from ahead.

Someone is pushing the cart.

Yan Xiaoyi gave chase first.

Gu Shisan followed closely behind.

Ah Liu and I lagged behind.

He carried two shields on his back and ran like a breathing city gate.

Suddenly, the sound of a bowstring rang out from ahead.

The arrow flew past the canal wall.

Ah Liu immediately squatted down.

The shield blocked one.

I raised my shield.

Block the second one.

The third branch was cleaved in two by Yan Xiaoyi's sword.

At the end of the canal is a well.

The wooden wheel is connected to the winch above.

One of the vans has already been lifted halfway up.

Lady Wang stood on the well platform.

She had only two guards left.

One of them was stabbed in the chest.

It must have been Yan Xiaoyi who made the move.

Another person was holding a middle-aged man who was unconscious.

The man was wearing an old post station soldier's uniform.

A corner of his right ear is missing.

Jia Jiu.

The people were actually found by referring to the old military wound register of the Southwest.

At least one of them.

Lady Wang held a tinderbox in one hand.

He held onto the main switch rope with one hand.

"Lord Shen."

She smiled and said, "You've finally arrived."

"Every time the lady sees me, she runs a distance first."

"It seems like they don't have a good relationship."

"If you had listened to me earlier, I wouldn't have had to run away."

"Whose opinion should we listen to?"

"Your father."

"Still you?"

Is there a difference?

"have."

I said, "At least my father didn't steal my in-laws's supplementary certificate."

Her smile faded slightly.

"The Xiao family owes the Shen family a life."

"Yet you're auditing their accounts."

"You've already said that."

"The accounts have been traced up to this point."

I looked at the box in mid-air.

"Is the list of those who exchanged nuclear-coated clothing inside?"

"Yes."

"Where is Shen Liejun's order?"

"Also there."

"Left by Gu Qinghe?"

"The way out she left herself."

Madam Wang said, "It's a pity she didn't leave in the end."

Why?

"Because Shen Lie won't allow it."

The water level rose another inch.

The main switch rope was in her hand.

Once the valve is loosened, the entire gate will close.

Ge Tong's troops in the rear couldn't move it that quickly.

Lan Yue might not even have time to get out of the canal.

I can't let her release it.

We cannot approach rashly.

I asked, "Why is my mother in Shimen, Yong'an?"

"You really want to know?"

"think."

"Then let me go."

"You've already used that same phrase to trick me into coming here once."

"But you've come."

"Because there's someone inside the door."

I said, "It's not because I believe you."

Madam Wang's eyes turned cold.

"Shen An".

"You are just like Shen Lie."

"I always thought I had a choice."

"In the fourteenth year of Chengxi, the southwestern army ran out of food for three days."

"Six thousand shi of grain were sent from the Jiangbei disaster granary to Qingxia."

"Gu Qinghe wants to withdraw."

"Shen Lie must stay."

"They argued all night."

"The next day, Shen Lie took away four thousand shi (a unit of grain).

"On the third day, the people in Jiangbei began to die from the epidemic."

"Your mother said it was her fault."

"She wants to open the account."

Shen Lie then locked her up in the old Qingxia post station.

Gu Shisan tightened his grip on the knife.

I didn't turn around.

"Who gave her the dream-locking drug?"

"It's not Shen Lie."

Madam Wang smiled and said, "He just wanted her to calm down."

"The medicine was a gift from the Wang family."

"It was Wang who took care of him."

"Later, when the war broke out in the southwest, he couldn't spare the time."

"Before I knew it, eleven years had passed."

I asked, "Why were you moved to Yong'an again?"

"Qingxia is not safe."

"It's also because I'm waiting for you."

"Whose idea was this?"

"Many people."

"The late Empress wanted to use her to check the accounts."

"Wang Song wanted to use her to cover up his debts."

Shen Lie wanted her to live.

I want you to come.

Madam Wang looked at me.

"Everyone thinks they're doing it for her own good."

"So she lay inside the door for eleven years."

The water was already up to my knees.

Ah Liu whispered, "Young master, if we keep talking, we'll have to learn how to fish."

When Madam Wang heard this, she laughed instead.

"You're still so funny."

Ah Liu shrank back behind the shield.

"Madam, I am not familiar with you."

We weren't familiar with each other before.

"We can get to know each other better later."

"No."

Ah Liu said seriously, "People who know you are prone to problems with their household registration."

The smile on Madam Wang's face finally disappeared.

She suddenly pulled the main switch rope.

At the same instant, Yan Xiaoyi drew his sword.

The knife didn't cut her.

They cut an old hemp rope above the derrick.

The van, suspended in mid-air, suddenly tilted.

The third box crashed onto the well platform.

Madam Wang could only hide to the side.

The brake rope in my hand loosened for a moment.

Gu Shisan lunged forward and grabbed the rope.

The remaining guard slashed at him with his sword.

Ah Liu suddenly raised his shield and charged forward.

Not very heroic.

Because he kept his eyes closed the whole time.

The shield's corner struck the guard's knee.

The person knelt down.

I grabbed the gate rope.

The rope was so strong it almost pulled me completely into the water.

Gu Shisan caught it in time.

The two of them together wound the rope around the stone pillar.

The wooden gate remained half-open.

The brine is still flowing in.

But it was too slow.

Madam Wang has already climbed onto the well frame.

Yan Xiaoyi blocked her way.

She now had a short crossbow in her hand.

The arrow was aimed at me.

"Get out of the way."

She said to Yan Xiaoyi.

Yan Xiaoyi did not move.

"Aren't you afraid he'll die?"

"Afraid."

Yan Xiaoyi said, "That's why I'll kill you first."

Suddenly, Madam Wang plucked the string.

The arrow missed its target, heading straight for the supporting beams of the well frame. As the winch collapsed, she used the momentum to lunge towards the stone steps.

But she hadn't considered that box.

The third box had just had its rope cut by Yan Xiaoyi, and half of it was stuck on the well platform.

When the winch collapsed, the box lid cracked completely.

Dozens of iron plates rolled out of it.

There was also a heavy bronze box.

The bronze box struck her right leg.

The sound of bones breaking was very clear.

Madam Wang fell into the water.

She didn't call out.

He continued climbing the stone steps, supporting himself on the ground.

Yan Xiaoyi stepped over the broken log.

The knife was pressed against the back of her neck.

"Don't move."

She still wanted to move.

The blade then slashed downwards.

Blood seeped from the side of the neck.

This time, she was unable to enter the salt cellar.

There was no second car to replace her.

Madam Wang lay face down in the brine.

His right leg was pinned down by the copper box.

My clothes are finally dirty.

She turned to look at me.

"What can you do even if you grab me?"

"Turn off the gate first."

I said.

"I'll ask you for your account again."

"You think Shen Lie will let you interrogate me?"

If he doesn't give in.

Gu Shisan and I tightened the main switch rope again.

"Then interrogate him as well."