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

The Xuanzheng Hall was not filled with kneeling court officials.

They only summoned those directly related to the old accounts.

Emperor.

Xiao Lingyi.

Pei Shen.

Wei Zhijia.

Judge Zhao.

Two former officials of the Central Secretariat.

Han Feng, the inner guard.

Angelica dahurica.

Gu Xingzhi.

mother.

Shining on the moon.

I.

Wang Heng did not enter the palace.

She was first detained outside the palace.

It's not that I don't want her to listen.

Her testimony must be separated from the statements of the people inside the palace.

Wait until they finish speaking.

Let her test it again.

In this way, no one can change someone else's words first.

The mother was carried to the foot of the imperial steps.

No grand ceremony was performed.

She is not an official.

He was not a criminal.

The emperor made no demands.

The two met again after eleven years.

The first thing I said wasn't a greeting.

The emperor said, "Gu Qinghe."

The mother said, "Xiao Jingheng."

Everyone in the hall lowered their heads.

I didn't lower it.

Because I want to see their faces.

The emperor was older than his mother remembered.

Her mother was also older than when the emperor last saw her.

Eleven years have passed without a written record.

It's all on their faces.

The emperor spoke first.

"You're still alive."

"Thanks to His Majesty's sealing of the tent."

That's a difficult question to answer.

The emperor did not accept it.

The black wooden box that Zhaoyue was carrying was placed on three tables in the hall.

First, verify the seal.

The wooden box was damp from the stone door.

There are no new pry marks on the lock.

The box lid has three seals.

The first queen's half-moon seal.

Fingerprint reflecting the moon.

Bai Song's inverted tail point.

Gu Qinghe was not there.

The mother said, "This is not my box."

"All I know is to keep watch over Zhaoyue."

Zhaoyue took out a very small silver key.

The key had been hidden in her hair for eleven years.

I've had my hair cut several times.

The key, however, was always woven into the innermost strand.

After the lock is opened.

There are three things inside.

The first book.

A record of the hours during the last three days at Changning Palace.

The second book.

The late Empress's Imperial Medicine Records.

The third piece.

A thin letter.

The letter read:

This document is to be opened personally by the author.

The emperor was not mentioned.

Xiao Lingyi reached out her hand.

It stopped again.

"First, read the time record."

Zhaoyue said, "That's what Her Majesty instructed as well."

The emperor looked at the letter.

There was no instruction to look at it first.

Not at least not today.

Zhaoyue turned the pages of the time record.

The words belong to her.

Each page contains different testimonies at the bottom.

Sometimes they were palace maids.

Sometimes they are physicians.

Sometimes it's Wei Zhi.

There are also two pages that only feature her.

July 27th, the fourteenth year of Chengxi.

Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

The late Empress took the second dose of Changning Decoction.

The medicine was proposed by Zhao Qi.

Lu Qiuzhang.

Wei Zhiyan.

1:15 AM.

Gu Qinghe sent an urgent letter from Qingxia.

Of the 6,000 shi of grain reported from Jiangbei, at least 4,000 shi have already been taken away from the southwest.

It was also discovered that the identities of 41 of the deceased soldiers had been replaced.

The third quarter of the hour of Si (9:45 AM).

The late empress ordered the imperial tent to be opened.

He summoned Bai Song, Pei Shen, and Wang Song.

Noon.

Bai Song arrived.

Pei Shen arrived.

Wang Song was half an hour late.

The hour of Wei (1-3 PM).

The emperor arrived at Changning Palace.

The late Empress requested that the tents be opened that day.

The emperor requested a three-day delay.

Upon hearing this, the mother asked:

"Why three days?"

The emperor said, "I want to change the guards at the palace gates first."

"Knocking on the old seal of the Imperial Secretariat."

"Lock down the Wang family's grain supply route."

"Did you do it?"

"Half of them were replaced."

"A portion was deducted."

"The grain has already left."

"So what about in three days?"

The emperor did not answer.

Zhaoyue continued reading.

Shen Shi (3-5 PM).

Wang Song said that if the famine relief grain from Jiangbei were immediately transferred to the southwest, the border troops would surely rebel.

Pei Shenyan, you can first take control of the forty-one people changing clothes.

Bai Songyan said that the old name has been used many times, and the accuser only changes his name. The list of dead soldiers and the list of survivors should be made public.

The emperor ordered each of the three parties to write a proposal.

The hour of You (5-7 PM).

The late Empress refused to take the third dose of Huiming Decoction.

Zhao Qi said that if he did not accept this, he would have difficulty waking up at night.

The late Queen said:

"Go to sleep then."

"It's better than being awake and stamping someone's seal incorrectly."

Judge Zhao stood in the hall.

His face was pale.

He is not Zhao Qi.

However, he adhered to Zhao Qi's old prescription for many years.

Zhaoyue read this far and looked at the emperor.

"The Empress did not take the third dose that night."

The emperor said, "I know."

"His Majesty does not know."

Zhaoyue's voice was very soft.

"After Wei Zhi took away the old medicine..."

"Another Wei brought over a fresh bowl."

Wei Zhijia knelt down.

"The servant was locked up in the Western medicine pharmacy that night."

"When we returned, Her Majesty had already taken her medicine."

The emperor's fingers slowly tightened.

The time record continues.

1:15 PM.

The late empress was delirious.

His speech was halting and disjointed.

The moon shines on the dregs of the medicine.

The third quarter of the hour of Xu (7:45 PM).

The late empress's edict was relayed through the palace gates.

The Secretariat has temporarily sealed off the grain case in Jiangbei.

The Moonlit Chronicle:

The Empress did not speak.

No witnesses.

The fifth quarter of the hour of Xu (7-9 PM).

Wang Song brought the sealed document and drafted the imperial edict into the palace.

It was said that His Majesty had given his permission.

The emperor said, "I have not given my permission."

Pei Shen suddenly spoke.

"You have granted permission to postpone the use of the imperial seal."

"There is no case that has been formally closed."

Is there a difference?

I asked.

Pei Shendao said, "Yes, it was there at the time."

"No, not later."

Another short segment.

The emperor has approved that the matter not be made public for the time being.

Wang Song wrote it as a temporary seal.

The temporary closure was later changed to "no further investigation is permitted without imperial permission."

Each step is just a little more.

The last eleven years.

July 28th.

5:00 AM (卯时).

The late empress awoke.

I can't recall drafting the edict last night.

Discovering that one's private seal is passive.

He ordered an investigation into Wei Zhi.

It was not found within two hours.

Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

Bai Song was included in the supplementary register of military casualties.

It has been confirmed that at least 23 of the 41 Southwest Death Squad members have entered the capital.

9:00 AM (巳时).

Gu Qinghe's second urgent letter from Qingxia arrived.

Attached is Shen Lie's handwritten order for the transfer of military rations.

Shen Lie has already signed the order.

Gu Qinghe's signature is blank.

The mother asked, "Is the order in the box?"

Zhaoyue shook her head.

"The other box."

"where?"

"Wang Song took it."

Wang Heng, who was outside the hall, suddenly coughed.

She heard it.

But no one let her in yet.

Zhaoyue continued reading.

Noon.

The late empress demanded that the emperor remove Wang Song from office.

The emperor did not approve.

The emperor looked at the timekeeping record.

"What I meant was to first seize Wang Song's seal."

"He was not imprisoned."

Zhaoyue said, "Your Majesty asked why."

"His Majesty said that Wang Song's students are spread throughout the Six Ministries."

"If someone is arrested suddenly, the political situation will be disrupted."

The emperor did not deny it.

The hour of Wei (1-3 PM).

Pei Shen suggested changing the book first.

The twenty-three known individuals were placed under separate surveillance.

Bai Song objected again.

称：

"The names of the dead will not be made public until the day they are discovered."

"By replacing one person, another can be brought in."

Pei Shen lowered his head.

I asked, "Who do you think is right now?"

"Bai Song".

"And eleven years ago?"

I think I'm right.

Why?

"I thought I could control it."

"And the result?"

"Couldn't control it."

Pei Shen recognized it very well.

It doesn't look like an apology.

It's more like checking out a bill.

Shen Shi (3-5 PM).

The late empress's condition worsened.

Zhao Qi said his old illness had flared up.

Zhaoyue discovered that the dregs of the medicine contained acacia benzoin.

He ordered someone to escort Wei Zhi.

Wei Zhi has not yet arrived.

The hour of You (5-7 PM).

Changning Palace is now closed.

The order sealing the gates bore the emperor's own handwriting with the character "准" (approved).

The emperor said, "It was written by me."

Zhaoyue looked up.

"Your Majesty asked."

"Who should be sealed off?"

The emperor remained silent.

The order to seal the gates stated that it was to protect the late empress and allow her to recuperate.

She was effectively sealed off.

Foreign officials are not allowed to enter.

No dregs are allowed to be removed.

Gu Qinghe's third urgent letter was not to be sent to the palace.

True order.

It's a genuine seal.

That night, the late empress instructed Zhaoyue to hide a copy of the military death register inside the wall.

Wei Zhi was instructed to hide the dregs of the medicine elsewhere.

Have Bai Song bring out part of the timekeeping record.

However, after Bai Song left the palace that night, he was written to have died of the plague the next day.

There is a long ink mark on the time record.

Zhaoyue said:

"This was originally supposed to be where Lord Bai reports back."

"I didn't get to see it."

July 29th.

The late empress's last day.

There is no medicine available at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM).

I woke up briefly at Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

First sentence:

"Has the grain been recovered?"

No one dared to answer.

The second sentence:

"Has Gu Qinghe's letter arrived?"

Not there yet.

The third sentence:

"Where is Lingyi?"

Xiao Lingyi's eyes reddened.

She didn't cry.

Focus only on that one line.

Zhaoyue said, "Your Highness was in the Empress Dowager's palace at the time."

Why?

Xiao Lingyi asked.

"His Majesty has sent someone to take him away."

The emperor said, "I am afraid that Changning Palace is not safe."

"Is the Empress Dowager's palace safe?"

"It was safer back then than here."

"To whom?"

The emperor did not answer.

9:00 AM (巳时).

The late Empress ordered Zhaoyue to write it on her behalf.

Written for Princess Zhaoning.

Noon.

The emperor arrived at Changning Palace.

The two talked in the inner hall for half an hour.

Zhaoyue is not here.

The time record only writes:

His Majesty was envious when he left.

The Empress did not speak again.

I looked at the emperor.

"What did you say?"

The emperor did not answer immediately.

The mother said, "If he wants to say it himself..."

"Wait until you finish reading the letter."

This statement was not intended to extricate the emperor from a predicament.

It is to allow the deceased to leave their final words first.

The hour of Wei (1-3 PM).

The late empress was unable to hold a pen with her right hand.

Press your fingerprint with your left hand.

Shen Shi (3-5 PM).

Zhao Qi sent Ming Tang back.

Zhaoyue refused to accept it.

The hour of You (5-7 PM).

The late empress regained consciousness for a moment.

Say the last sentence.

The hour of Xu (7-9 PM).

He died.

The time is recorded here.

It did not mention "died of illness".

It also did not mention "poisoning".

Only write "breathed out".

The cause of death has not yet been fully determined.

It cannot be decided by Zhaoyue alone.

After reviewing the medication register, Judge Zhao finished reading it.

"The Empress did not take her medicine on her last day."

"Yet he still died."

I asked, "Can you prove it wasn't pesticide damage?"

"cannot."

"Can you prove it was definitely pesticide damage?"

"No, not either."

"Then let's continue the test."

We cannot skip all illnesses just because we hate that medicine.

The late empress already had a pre-existing condition.

The medication may worsen the condition.

Sealing off the palace might cause delays.

Emotional state, medication withdrawal, or forced awakening are all possible causes.

Write it all out.

It's not about picking the most deadly part.

The moon shines brightly, and the time is recorded.

No one spoke first in the hall.

Finish reading in the last three days.

Not a single identifiable killer has come forward.

The emperor sealed the gate.

Wang Song changed the order.

Pei Shen was in charge.

The white pine trees are about to bloom.

Zhao Qi delivered the medicine.

Wei Zhi was replaced.

Lu Qiu adheres to the old methods.

Gu Qinghe's letter was intercepted.

Shen Lie took away four thousand shi of grain.

Each person only does one segment.

The late empress died amidst all the "postponement," "according to precedent," "stabilizing the situation," and "investigation later" responses.

The mother looked at the emperor.

"Xiao Jingheng".

"Um."

"Should we postpone it for another three days?"

The emperor did not answer.

Zhaoyue pushed the letter addressed to Lingyi onto the table.

"Your Majesty's last words."

"Here."