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

There are two layers of guards outside Changning Palace.

The first layer is the Imperial Guard.

The second level consisted of eunuchs.

The Imperial Guards wore armor.

The eunuch held a staff.

They all look real.

That's where the trouble lies.

The person guarding the gate for the fake Wei Zhi may not actually be fake.

They simply accepted an order that appeared legitimate enough.

Han Feng stepped forward.

"The Imperial Guard has been ordered to investigate the case of the change of guards at the palace gates."

The imperial guard captain said, "Changning Palace has been sealed off by imperial decree."

"Who will deliver the oral message?"

"Eunuch Wei."

"Let him out."

The captain did not move.

"Eunuch Wei is serving His Majesty in the inner palace."

"Is His Majesty inside too?"

"Yes."

"Who has seen it?"

"Eunuch Wei."

If the emperor and Wei Zhi are locked behind the same door, no one outside can verify a single word spoken inside.

I had someone bring the stretcher forward.

Wei Zhijia opened his eyes on the bed.

Two of the gatekeepers' expressions changed.

One of them shouted instinctively:

"Eunuch Wei?"

A sound immediately came from inside the door.

"What's going on outside?"

If I listened through the door, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhijia's body tensed up immediately.

"Chen Ping."

The person inside the door fell silent for a moment.

He then asked, "Whom did Lord Shen bring?"

"Wei Zhijia".

"You are Wei Zhiyi."

There was no response from inside the door for a long time.

Ah Liu stood next to me and whispered:

"Young master, does he think 'Yi' doesn't sound good?"

"It can be exchanged."

"Change to what?"

"The fake Wei Zhi."

Ah Liu thinks Yi is better.

Finally, someone inside the door said, "Lord Shen, His Majesty is unwell."

"What were your intentions in leading people to storm Changning Palace without authorization?"

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

"His Majesty does not receive foreign officials."

"Let me hear it."

"His Majesty has already gone to sleep."

"It is now Shen Shi (3-5 PM)."

"When did Your Majesty develop the habit of sleeping during the Shen time (3-5 PM)?"

The person inside said, "The Emperor is unwell; how can we judge him by ordinary standards?"

That makes a lot of sense.

It only makes sense when others want to hide the emperor.

I looked at the goalkeeper.

"You are acting on an imperial edict."

"We haven't even seen whether His Majesty was there in person."

"Should we continue guarding?"

"It's my duty."

"Can."

Write down your responsibilities.

I had Bai Zhi set up the table.

"Here?"

"Right here."

"Guardian of Changning Palace".

"Name, military number, time of receiving the order, messenger, and whether he/she has personally met His Majesty."

"Write it all."

"If you insist on sealing the door, we will not force our way in."

"But if something happens inside, send this piece of paper to the Xuanzheng Hall first."

The captain's forehead was beaded with sweat.

He can block me.

But he didn't expect to become the only one responsible for sealing the door.

Just as the stalemate was at hand, footsteps came from the side corridor of Changning Palace.

Pei Shen has arrived.

He was still wearing that old official robe.

Two bodyguards followed behind him.

It was said that he was temporarily confined to the palace.

He walked to the door and first looked at Wei Zhijia on the stretcher.

"Still alive?"

Wei Zhijia said in a hoarse voice, "Thanks to Lord Pei."

It didn't sound like gratitude.

Pei Shen nodded.

"Being able to swear isn't a big problem."

I asked, "What brings you here?"

"The gates of Changning Palace are sealed off."

"Therefore, I have two fewer guards."

"So I came out to take a look."

"Is this considered escaping confinement?"

"I did not leave the palace."

He spoke very frankly.

If you break down the rules in enough detail, you can always find one that hasn't been broken.

I handed him the blank card.

Which one should we recognize?

Pei Shen glanced at the armor.

Then he looked into the room.

"A is Wei Zhi."

The person inside immediately shouted, "Pei Shen!"

"B is similar."

Pei Shen added a sentence.

"What's the use of looking like that?"

"Many people in the palace only recognize faces when performing official duties."

He took a key from his sleeve.

It's a bit shorter than Wei Zhijia's weapon.

The key handle is engraved with the character "慎" (shèn, meaning "cautious").

"The medicine wall of Changning Palace has two locks."

"Wei Zhi, give it a shot."

"I'll take one."

"It was decided eleven years ago when His Majesty sealed the wall."

"If the one inside the door is real, why didn't they contact you?"

"I've looked for it."

"when?"

"last night."

"What did you say?"

"Let me hand over the keys."

Did you give it to me?

"Given it."

Pei Shen took out another one from his other sleeve.

"The key given is a secondary key."

"You even have a duplicate of this key?"

"Wang Song was able to obtain a blank genuine signature."

Why can't I keep a duplicate key?

These two people were able to sit together in the Secretariat back then.

There's a reason for that.

Someone who dares to leave anything behind.

Someone who dares to hide anything.

Wei Zhiyi, inside the gate, said, "Pei Shen's act of keeping the keys to the Forbidden City is tantamount to treason!"

Pei Shen said, "You've learned the voice quite well."

"Something's not right."

"What's wrong?"

"When Wei Zhi scolds me, he usually pauses for a moment first."

Wei Zhijia on the stretcher indeed paused for a moment.

Pei Shen.

"Shut up."

Pei Shen looked at me.

"You saw it?"

This method of verification is not considered evidence.

At most, it's just that we've known each other for a long time.

I told the goalkeeper to step back half a step.

"Only the key will be checked."

"Not to enter the hall."

The captain still refused.

Pei Shen said, "If the medicine wall is breached, His Majesty will kill you."

The captain's face turned even paler.

"What does Lord Pei mean?"

"You are guarding the palace gate."

"It's not a wall of medicine."

"Now someone has used Wei Zhi's identity to get inside."

"If he opens the wall."

Did you stop them?

The captain remained silent.

The worst thing for a goalkeeper isn't letting the wrong person go first.

They discovered the wrong person was already inside.

Finally, a crack was opened in Changning Palace.

Only I, Pei Shen, Han Feng, and two eunuchs were allowed to enter.

Yan Xiaoyi is not allowed to carry a knife.

He handed the knife to Ah Liu.

Ah Liu, clutching the knife, froze completely.

"Master Yan."

"Um."

"If this knife is lost, I can't afford to pay for it."

"Don't lose your life."

"Who?"

"Shen An".

I walked through the door and looked back at him.

"Could you please keep your voices down?"

It was very dark inside Changning Palace.

There was a faint medicinal scent in the air.

It is not the type of agarwood commonly used by the Imperial Medical Academy.

It's so sweet it makes you sleepy.

Pei Shen covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve as soon as he entered the room.

"Acacia benzoin".

Han Feng immediately ordered someone to open the window.

Footsteps came from the inner palace.

Wei Zhiyi came out.

They all resembled Wei Zhijia on the stretcher.

However, there are still differences upon closer inspection.

The burn mark on his left cheek was darker.

The earlobes are also slightly thicker.

These differences prove nothing.

People change when they take medicine, experience edema, or grow old.

He was holding a long key in his hand.

"Lord Shen."

"His Majesty is ill."

"You actually led Pei Shenqiang into Changning Palace."

I asked, "Where is His Majesty?"

"The bedroom."

"Let me see you."

"no."

Why?

"His Majesty's oral decree."

"Send it again."

Wei Zhiyi turned and went inside.

I said, "There's no need to go in."

"Ask here."

"If His Majesty is awake, let him cough."

Han Feng glanced at me.

This method is not very respectable.

But the emperor was ill and weak; it shouldn't have been difficult for him to cough once.

There was no sound from the inner chamber.

Wei Zhiyi said, "His Majesty just fell asleep after taking his medicine."

"Who prescribed the medicine?"

"The Imperial Medical Academy".

"Which physician?"

"Judge Zhao."

"Judge Zhao was still inspecting Wei Zhijia at the West Garden at noon today."

His expression finally changed slightly.

"It opens before noon."

"Where's the prescription?"

"Imperial prescriptions are not for the inspection of officials outside the court."

"I'm not checking medication now."

I pointed to the key in his hand.

"Break down the wall first."

Why?

"Because you asked Pei Shen for the key last night."

"His Majesty has already gone to sleep."

"What are you doing guarding the medicine wall?"

Wei Zhiyi gripped the key tightly.

"I was ordered to retrieve the late Empress's old prescription."

"What about the other key?"

Pei Shen refused to hand it over.

Pei Shen said, "I've already given it."

Wei Zhiyi's expression changed slightly.

He had obviously tried it after handing over the fake key.

The medicine wall has a true double lock; one key opens the outer layer.

The other one opens the inner layer.

Fake secondary keys can only be inserted.

It cannot be turned to the end.

I said, "The real key is here now."

"open."

Wei Zhiyi did not move.

Han Feng took half a step forward.

"Eunuch Wei."

"please."

He finally turned around.

There is a row of medicine cabinets on the west side of Changning Palace.

The brick wall behind the third row is no different in appearance from the rest of the wall.

Only the middle brick is slightly lighter in color.

This indicates that someone has recently wiped it.

After the medicine cabinet was moved aside, two keyholes were revealed.

Wei Zhiyi first inserted the long key.

It makes a faint scraping sound when it rotates.

I kept looking at his hands.

The little finger of my right hand is very straight.

When holding the key, the key handle is not tilted.

He tried twice.

Wei Zhijia, who was on the stretcher, said this.

Zhen Wei's little finger was broken.

The key has been worn at an angle for a long time.

The lock has been worn down for many years.

Even a person with a straight grip can open it if they put in the effort.

A fake key can open a real door.

A dummy can also use the wear and tear left by a real identity.

Wei Zhiyi looked at Pei Shen.

Pei Shen inserted the second key.

"You step back first."

Why?

There are hidden mechanisms inside.

Wei Zhiyi said, "I have already obeyed His Majesty's orders, there is no need for Lord Pei to trouble himself—"

Pei Shen suddenly pulled out the key.

Wei Zhiyi became anxious.

"stop!"

He took two steps after him.

His hand had already reached into his sleeve.

Han Feng drew his sword.

A thin needle flew out from Wei Zhiyi's sleeve.

It wasn't Pei Shen who was shot.

As soon as the needle tip entered the keyhole, a wisp of white smoke immediately emerged.

Yan Xiaoyi is not allowed to carry a knife.

But people came in.

I only realized he hadn't stayed outside the door at all when he fell from the beam.

Wei Zhiyi bumped into the medicine cabinet.

The second kick didn't go through.

Han Feng had already placed a knife against his neck.

"How did you get in?" I asked Yan Xiaoyi.

"window."

"The window was just opened."

"Um."

"Have you been waiting outside?"

"Um."

Wei Zhiyi fell to the ground.

However, a very thin layer of skin was rolled up at the edge of the wound.

It is not a complete human skin mask.

It's a medicated gel.

Used to deepen wrinkles and burn marks.

Han Feng tore off the layer of adhesive.

Below is still an old face.

He was only about ten years younger than Wei Zhi.

There is a long cut behind the left ear.

These were left over from when Lan Yifang changed the shape of the ears.

Although Bai Zhi is not here, the copy of the book on walnuts is in my sleeve.

Among the forty-one people using false identities from the former Southwest Army, one had a knife wound behind his left ear.

Shen Shiqi.

Clothing name:

Odd-job workers in the capital's inner treasury.

Later, he passed through Chenping.

Now I wear Wei straight clothes.

One person used at least four names.

Which one do you want to use now?

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Wei Zhi".

"Wei Zhi is outside the door."

"Chen Ping?"

"Lin Ping'an?"

His eyes flickered.

"Still Shen Shiqi?"

This time, he smiled.

"Your father's soldiers."

"My father doesn't acknowledge it."

"Dead men will not admit it."

"You're not dead."

"The book is dead."

That same phrase again.

I looked at him.

"Let's write it alive first."

"Name pending verification."

"The identities used are Shen Shiqi, Lin Pingan, Chen Ping, and Wei Zhi."

"I won't save you a single penny."

His smile finally disappeared.

Pei Shen reinserted the key into the inner lock.

Both keys turn at the same time.

The sound of a machine came from inside the wall.

The medicine brick was pushed aside to both sides.

There was no gold or silver inside.

There was only one narrow wooden cabinet.

There are three items in the cabinet.

A supplementary record of military casualties.

A small vial containing medicine.

A draft edict of self-reproach personally written by the emperor.

Upon seeing the third item, Han Feng immediately knelt down.

Pei Shen did not kneel.

I don't have any either.

Because at the very top of the draft edict it reads:

The fourteenth year of Chengxi.

It has been eleven years.