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

The city gates of the capital were harder to enter than when I left.

It's not because I became the son of a traitor.

The news had already spread throughout the capital. Although the guards looked at me with mixed feelings, they at least recognized the censor in his blue robe.

The real problem is that there are three barricades placed in front of the north gate.

The city walls were full of archers.

The city gate was only opened a crack, just wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways.

Ah Liu leaned out of the car window.

"Young master."

"Um."

"Are we heading back to the capital, or attacking the city?"

"Go back to Beijing."

"Then why are arrows pointed at you from the city walls?"

"The people of Beijing are very hospitable."

"This kind of enthusiasm can kill you."

He immediately pulled his head back.

I got off the bus.

The gatekeeper did not open the gate, but first shouted from the city tower:

"Halt!"

"Shen An".

"Is there a summons document?"

"have."

I took out a copy of the imperial edict I had left the capital.

The captain shouted again, "This order only permits investigations north of the Yangtze River; return to the capital is not permitted!"

"Two Wei Zhis have emerged from the capital."

I looked up and asked, "Do you think you should come back?"

The city gate tower fell silent for a moment.

This matter has clearly not yet reached outside the city.

After a moment, the captain said:

"A decree has been issued from the palace: from today onwards, no foreign officials are permitted to enter the city!"

"Whose order was this?"

"The imperial decree."

"Who sent it?"

"Eunuch Wei."

"Which Eunuch Wei?"

The captain remained silent.

I think this is a good question.

Now, everyone in the capital who carries out official business based on Wei Zhi's oral edict should answer once.

Soon, the sound of horses' hooves came from inside the city gate.

Qiu Tang emerged from the crack in the door.

She was followed by six guards from the princess's residence.

They all looked unwell.

"The Prince Consort"

"Where is His Highness?"

"Changning Palace".

"Are you out yet?"

"no."

Why?

"At midnight last night, Wei Zhi carried out His Majesty's oral decree to transfer the guards of Changning Palace."

"Your Highness, go there immediately after entering the city."

"Changning Palace was sealed off half an hour ago."

"Who sealed it?"

"It's still Wei Zhi."

"Which one?"

Qiu Tang said, "The one that can walk."

That sounds absurd.

But this is the only way to divide it for now.

Wei Zhi, who was found by the well in Xiyuan, was still unconscious.

Wei Zhi, upon entering Changning Palace, was lively and energetic.

Generally speaking, those that can walk are more lifelike.

But the best thing the accounting firm does is to make the real people lie down and have the fake people do their work.

I asked, "Where is His Majesty?"

"I have not attended court since last night."

"What did the Imperial Medical Academy say?"

"Old ailment."

"Has anyone seen His Majesty?"

"Wei Zhi".

It's Wei Zhi again.

As long as one person controls the emperor's edicts, the change of guards at the palace gates, and news of the emperor's illness, whether he is real or not is no longer the most important question.

Most importantly, we can no longer let him make all the decisions.

I looked up at the city gate tower.

"Open the door."

The captain said, "There is no palace decree—"

Qiu Tang took out Xiao Lingyi's princess seal.

"During my supervision of disaster relief, the Imperial Son-in-Law Shen An was ordered to go out and investigate a case."

"Now, someone has appeared in Beijing who is connected to the fake identity case in Jiangbei."

Princess Zhaoning ordered him to return to the capital immediately for verification.

The captain still hesitated.

"It can be done by imperial decree..."

I said, "Write down both orders."

"If you let me into the city, when I am questioned before the emperor in the future, remember that I forced the city to open up."

"If you don't release him, something will happen at Changning Palace. Remember Wei Zhi's role in the case."

"Don't choose for us."

"Just write down what you did today."

The captain stood there for a long time.

Finally, they asked someone to open the door.

He didn't listen to me completely.

They didn't listen to Wei Zhi completely either.

He ordered two military officers to record the time the gate was opened, the names of the people present, and the documents from both sides.

Well done.

What the capital city lacks most now is not loyal ministers.

He is someone who is willing to write down what he has done.

After the convoy entered the city, I did not go to the princess's residence first.

They did not storm the palace directly.

We went to Xiyuan first.

Wei Zhi, who was found by the well, was placed in the old guard post of the inner guard.

Since Gu Xingzhi was not in the capital, Han Feng, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, was temporarily in charge.

I've met this person twice.

He doesn't talk much.

His face is very long.

Every time they see me, it's like the imperial court has taken on an extra nuisance.

His face looks even longer today.

"Lord Shen."

"Is the person awake?"

"I woke up once."

"What did you say?"

"I wish to see His Majesty."

"He also said not to trust Wei Zhi."

I asked, "Who is he himself?"

"It is also said to be Wei Zhi."

This is troublesome.

The people inside were lying in bed.

His hair is gray.

There is a very faint old burn mark on my left cheek.

His physique, voice, and age all match the Wei Zhi I remember.

But all of these things can be done.

The blue-colored clothes room can change skin color.

It can cause injury.

Can teach accents.

As long as you measure your body beforehand, you can even learn to walk with your right shoulder slightly lower.

He had rope marks on his wrists.

There were still black medicine stains under the tongue.

Doctor Song is not here.

Two physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy arrived, but only dared to say that the voice-locking medicine and the tranquilizer were mixed together.

Not fatal.

Yet it can make someone speechless for three to five days.

When Wei Zhi on the bed saw me, his expression visibly relaxed a little.

"Shen..."

His voice was hoarse.

"Don't rush."

I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Let me ask a few questions first."

He nodded.

Where was the first time you saw me?

"Palace... Gate".

"What did you say?"

"I'll make you... wait."

"Who told us to wait?"

"His Majesty."

That's correct.

After my first assassination attempt failed and I was escorted out of the side hall, I did see Wei Zhi outside the palace gate.

He told me to wait.

Later, the emperor summoned me back.

But these things aren't exactly secrets.

At least the old people in the palace knew.

I changed the question.

"Where were you when His Majesty first said that all the officials only trusted him?"

Wei Zhi frowned.

"Left side".

"Wrong."

His expression changed.

I continued, "You stand on the right."

"On the left is Gu Xingzhi."

The person on the bed was breathing rapidly.

Han Feng immediately pressed down on the knife.

But I didn't move.

Because what I just said was false.

Gu Xingzhi was not in front of the emperor that day.

Wei Zhi did not stand on the right either.

He stood behind the emperor, unable to see to his left or right.

If the person in bed immediately changes their mind to match mine, it means they were just reciting the answer.

But he didn't.

He said in a hoarse voice, "Commander Gu... is not here."

I nodded.

"I remember correctly."

Han Feng glanced at me.

They clearly don't like this way of asking the question.

I asked again, "In the fourteenth year of Chengxi, on the night the late Empress fell seriously ill, you disappeared for two hours."

Wei Zhi's eyes narrowed suddenly.

"Where did you go?"

He did not answer.

Her fingers gripped the corner of the blanket tightly.

"Can't you say?"

"no."

He took a few breaths.

"Nobody...has asked."

"Ask now."

"Changning Palace... Western Medicine Pharmacy".

"What are you doing?"

"I'm locked up."

"Who locked it up?"

"Wei Zhi".

Everyone in the room fell silent.

Ah Liu stood by the door.

They instinctively moved behind me.

I asked, "Are you Wei Zhi?"

The person on the bed closed their eyes.

"That night... there were two."

Eleven years ago, there were also two Wei Zhis.

I suddenly realized that this method was outdated.

So old that the Wang family didn't even bother to replace it.

"Who is the other one?"

"Chen Ping."

"Do you know him?"

"The Imperial Wardrobe...formerly the eunuchs."

"Isn't he a minor official in the Ministry of Rites?"

"Later was the case."

Wei Zhi said that he would stop to catch his breath after a while.

The voice-locking drug damaged my throat.

But he had a clear mind.

"Was Chen Ping wearing your clothes and holding your cards that night?"

"Yes."

Why?

"Prepare the medicine."

"What medicine?"

"The late Empress...the last dose."

My heart sank.

Is there a problem with the medication?

Wei Zhi looked at me.

"The prescription is genuine."

"Fake medicinal ingredient".

"Who changed it?"

"I didn't see it."

How do you know?

"When Chen Ping returned... his sleeves smelled fragrant."

"What smells?"

"Acacia benzoin".

South Medicine Shed.

Death records.

Dream-locking drug.

We've seen that scent more than once.

"Did you tell the emperor?"

"I said so."

"What should Your Majesty do?"

Wei Zhi closed his eyes.

"Sealing off the pharmacy."

"Seal the Royal Tent."

"Who should investigate?"

Pei Shen.

"What did they find out?"

"No report."

Why not ask further?

He opened his eyes.

There was an unsightly weariness in his eyes.

"Lord Shen."

"I am merely a eunuch."

That's not entirely true.

Wei Zhi was the emperor's most trusted eunuch.

Even if you trust them, they are still just eunuchs.

If the emperor forbade him to ask, then he could not ask.

If he were to ask again, he might not even survive those two hours.

I asked, "Is Wei Zhi, who is currently in Changning Palace, the same person as Chen Ping?"

"The face... is similar."

"Just based on looks?"

"walk."

"How do I get there?"

"Place your right foot on the outside first."

"You walk like this too."

"He learned it."

"What can't be learned?"

Wei Zhi raised his right hand.

The little finger is slightly bent.

"I lost a finger when I was five years old."

"The bones are not straight."

"You can't tell from the back of the hand."

"When I hold the key... my teeth will be crooked."

Han Feng immediately had someone bring the objects found by the well.

clothes.

Eunuch plaque.

A bunch of keys.

One of them was a long brass key.

Uneven wear on the edges of the locking teeth.

The right side is heavier than the left side.

Like a long-term oblique insertion.

"The key to the medicine wall of Changning Palace?"

I asked.

Wei Zhi nodded.

But Wei Zhi, who entered Changning Palace last night, also took a key.

Two.

To determine who is genuine and who is fake, one cannot simply look at whether it can be opened.

A fake key can also open a real lock.

I got up.

"Take him with you."

Han Feng frowned.

"He can't move his body."

"lift."

"Enter the palace?"

"To the outside of Changning Palace."

"The two Wei Zhis can't keep claiming they're the real ones behind closed doors."

"What if the people inside Changning Palace refuse to open the gate?"

"Shout first."

"What if you can't get through?"

Yan Xiaoyi leaned against the window.

"Using a VPN."

Han Feng looked at him.

"Palace walls".

"It's also a wall."

He spoke calmly.

I think that makes sense.

But we can't let him rummage through the palace as soon as he enters the capital.

At least go through the door first.

Before leaving the duty room, I asked Han Feng to bring me two blank wooden plaques.

Write in one piece:

Wei Zhijia.

The other one says:

Wei Zhiyi.

Wei Zhi, lying on the bed, looked at the plaque with a grim expression.

"Lord Shen..."

"For temporary use."

"This servant...is true."

"Whether it's real or not, we'll check it before making any changes."

Ah Liu whispered, "Young master, which one in the palace writes 'Yi'?"

"right."

What if he refuses to wear it?

"Tie him up."

What if both are true?

I looked at him.

"Then His Majesty has been receiving an extra eunuch's salary all these years."

"Check the bank first."