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

Before midnight, the lights at the entrance of the old warehouse were not removed.

The grain debt plaque was not removed.

Xiao Jingheng received 500 shi (a unit of grain).

Shen Lie received 100 shi (a unit of grain).

Gu Qinghe's status is still pending verification.

The three cards tapped gently in the night breeze.

I sent the emperor back to the county government office.

He refused.

The father told the mother to return to the inner courtyard.

She refused.

The two of them are very similar in this matter today.

They all felt that if they left, it would be as if they were afraid.

I said:

"You may stay."

"We can't stand together."

The emperor asked, "Why?"

"They only have seven sets of clothes."

"If you stand too close."

"One crossbow is enough."

The father said, "I'll stand in front."

The emperor said, "You want to take it for me?"

"I'm afraid the arrow will hit the green shoots."

The mother said, "I'll sit in the middle."

"Don't substitute for anyone."

Finally, the emperor was under the eaves of the granary on the east side.

The father is on the west side.

After Mother sat down at the grain debt board.

I stand beside three signs.

Xiao Lingyi led the guards of the Princess's residence to seal off the northern route.

Xu Sandao blocked the southern road.

Yan Xiaoyi is nowhere to be found.

Ah Liu asked me where he went.

I said I didn't know.

Usually, not knowing is correct.

It is not yet midnight.

People arrived first outside the old granary.

It wasn't us who called it that.

Some people were chatting in the city beforehand.

It is said that Shen An's personal guards will kill the emperor tonight in front of the grain debt plaque, in place of the dead from Jiangbei.

Someone wants to see it.

Someone tried to stop them.

Some people brought wooden plaques of the dead, thinking that killing the emperor might actually settle their score.

The more people there are.

The scene resembled Zhou Dingyao's.

Han Feng wanted to clear the area.

Mother forbids it.

"After driving them away."

"Tomorrow someone will tell you how many we killed."

"Keeping it is dangerous."

"Register."

Everyone who enters Old Cangqian Street.

State your name.

address.

Why did you come?

Dispersal is not mandatory.

But you are not allowed to cover your face.

Long weapons are not allowed.

The public complains about the complicated procedures.

Still in line.

One of the elderly women selling soup dumplings, after registering, asked:

"Does watching the emperor being killed require registration?"

The officer said, "We may not kill them today."

The old woman felt she hadn't lost out by queuing.

Ah Liu went over and bought a bowl of soup.

I deducted his money.

"Young master."

"It's cold at night."

"Can you still eat?"

"Only those who are afraid of dying will eat it."

That's a phrase I taught them to say.

One quarter past midnight.

The person didn't come.

The second quarter of the hour of Zi (11:45).

A whistle came from the river behind the old warehouse.

It's not a military sentry post.

It was a short whistle used by workers at the Qingzhou Saltworks to go to and from work.

Seven men wearing military uniforms with the character "Shen" appeared on the riverbank.

I did not ride a horse.

Everyone was holding a knife.

Yue Da was walking at the very front.

I recognize him.

The left shoulder is higher.

When walking, the right foot should be turned slightly outward.

That was left behind by the long-term salt-carrying work at the Qingzhou Saltworks.

He did not cover his face.

The armor of the 81st Army fit him perfectly.

It was originally made to the dimensions of another dead army.

The shoulder area has now been removed again.

Change it to the width of Yue Da.

Someone altered his clothes.

The seven people walked under the lamp.

The surrounding people stepped back.

They didn't run away.

Because the Emperor, Shen Lie, and Gu Qinghe were all there.

It looks safe.

This is an illusion.

Yue Da looked at me first.

"Young Master."

I said, "Give me your name first."

He froze for a moment.

"Yue Da".

"Where are you from?"

"Qingzhou Saltworks".

"What about the old records?"

"Yuejia Village, Nanxian County".

"How long have you been dead in the tent?"

Eight years.

"Six people behind him."

The six people reported in turn.

They were all people from the Qingxia Recruitment Camp.

Seven out of the thirteen people left.

There are no nameless people.

They are all people who have already been reinstated.

This is more troublesome.

They weren't just randomly grabbed as stand-ins.

At least not yet.

I asked, "Who sent you?"

Yue Da said, "Nobody's here."

Who wrote the note?

"I."

"Can you write the character '奉'?"

His expression changed slightly.

"Write it down exactly as it is."

"Who gave you the words?"

"have no idea."

Where can I get it?

"bedside."

"Who told you I was being controlled?"

"Flying whistle".

"The whistle only said that I disobeyed my father's orders."

"What happens next?"

"There is no after."

I took out a copy of the official rejection page.

Read it to him.

Read the name of Angelica dahurica from the beginning.

Read:

Anyone carrying a decree to kill the monarch must also attach a letter of refusal.

Missing a page is considered concealment.

Yue Da slowly tightened his grip on the knife.

He was clearly hearing this for the first time.

The six people behind them also looked at each other.

One of them said:

"Mr. Zhou said."

"This was added later."

Who is Mr. Zhou?

"The people in the recruitment camp who taught us to recognize military orders."

"Zhou Ding?"

He only said his surname was Zhou.

The father asked, "Where is he?"

Yue Da did not look at his father.

"He's dead."

"How to die?"

"After taking us to Yong'an..."

"He jumped into the river himself."

"Where's the body?"

It sank.

Yan Xiaoyi's voice came from behind the riverbank.

"He's not dead."

He dragged someone up.

The man was soaked to the bone.

Right hand tied behind the back.

There was blood at the corner of his mouth.

It was Zhou Ding.

At least Zhou Ding's military registration.

Yue Da's expression changed drastically.

"You didn't jump into the river..."

Zhou Ding looked at him.

"He's been arrested."

Yan Xiaoyi said, "I can't swim."

I really want to ask someone who can't swim why they would choose to jump into the river and pretend to be dead.

It was probably because everyone thought the pursuers wouldn't dare to follow.

Yan Xiaoyi dared.

He probably didn't even think about whether he would succeed before he went into the water.

I asked, "Who altered the military uniform?"

Zhou Ding did not answer.

Yue Da replied:

"A woman in the old warehouse."

"What is it like?"

"Wear a gray towel."

"One finger is missing from the left hand."

Luo Qingniang remains in custody.

It's impossible for them to come and alter the clothes.

However, "Missing Finger Lan Gu" is an identity.

It wasn't just one person.

All we need is to find another woman with a missing finger.

Wearing gray clothes.

This would make Yue Da believe that Lan Gu was still relaying orders.

"What did she say?"

"It is said that the young master has been detained by the princess and the emperor in the capital."

"Madam Gu was also used to pressure you."

Yue Da looked at me.

She said you dared not obey your father's orders.

"The only word that can be written is 'refusal to offer tribute'."

"Let us save you."

"How can we save them?"

He finally looked at the emperor.

"Kill him."

A murmur rippled through the surrounding crowd.

The emperor stood under the eaves.

There was no retreat.

The father is on the other side.

His face was frighteningly cold.

I asked Yue Da:

"You want to kill me?"

He was silent for a long time.

"I have no idea."

"Before you came?"

"think."

"And now?"

"Young Master, please stand here."

"I wasn't tied up either."

"so?"

He looked at Zhou Ding.

He said you can't tell the truth to my face.

"If I see you."

"I'll only look at your left hand."

I lowered my head.

"What happened to your left hand?"

"If the left hand is clenched into a fist."

"That is, being controlled."

Everyone looked at my left hand.

I was holding the page refusing the offer the whole time.

The paper was blown by the wind.

The hand naturally tightens.

Zhou Ding prepared every action as a signal.

I don't clench my fist.

You could say I don't dare.

I shook hands.

It was a cry for help.

This is not verification.

It ensures that the outcome can only lead in one direction.

I let go.

"I haven't held on to it yet."

Yue Da said, "It's also possible that someone reminded me."

"Then what will it take for you to believe me?"

He did not answer.

I see.

There is no action to prove it.

Because Zhou Ding has already provided explanations for all possibilities.

I can only ask about one other thing.

"Yue Da".

"Um."

Why do you want to join the army?

"There's food."

"besides?"

"Get the knife."

"For whom?"

He repeated what he had said that day.

"Who will pay the soldiers' salaries?"

"For whom are you guarding the city?"

"Have I ever paid you military pay?"

"no."

"Did I ever recruit you into my personal guard?"

"no."

"Who gave you the clothes you're wearing now?"

"Mr. Zhou."

"Where's the knife?"

"Too."

"Then who will you hold the knife for?"

Yue Da's face gradually turned pale.

It wasn't me.

He is not the father.

It wasn't him either.

Clothes, knife, paper, and reasons were all provided by Zhou.

He just walked this far.

"I……"

He looked at the knife in his hand.

"I want to save the young master."

"I didn't ask you to save me."

"But you might not dare to say it."

"So you're not going to listen to what I have to say?"

Yue Da's lips moved slightly.

"Then who did you save?"

He couldn't answer.

Someone behind me suddenly shouted:

"Young Master has been bewitched!"

"The Shen family army only obeys their father's orders!"

The man brandished his sword and charged toward the emperor.

It's not Yue Da.

He was the last recruit waiting to be enlisted.

His name is Zhao Shi.

Qingxia resumed his household registration.

He claims to be from Qingfeng.

I only had time to back away.

The father has already moved.

He didn't have a knife.

Grab the wooden pole under the grain debt sign.

The stick struck Zhao Shi's wrist.

The knife fell to the ground.

Xu Sandao pounced on him.

Han Feng's men surrounded them at the same time.

Zhao Shi is still struggling.

"General Shen!"

"My father's orders remain unchanged!"

His father stepped on his shoulder.

"My life."

"When did I give it to you?"

Zhao Shi shouted:

"Young master refuses!"

"We'll do it on your behalf!"

The father applied force with his hand.

Zhao Shi's face was pressed against the ground.

"Military orders are carried out by messengers."

"The person who accepted the offer refused."

"Whom are you representing?"

"For the Southwest!"

"The Southwest Army didn't send you."

"People are dying for Jiangbei!"

The mother asked from behind the mahjong table:

"How many dead people's names do you remember?"

Zhao Shi did not answer.

You said it was Jiangbei.

"What were the names of the twenty-three men from Qingfeng?"

"have no idea."

"Where is the Yong'an epidemic prevention vehicle?"

"have no idea."

"Where is He Xiuniang?"

Still don't know.

He killed for a total number of people.

I didn't even remember a single name.

Yue Da suddenly put down the knife.

It's not about throwing it away.

It was slowly placed on the ground.

"I won't kill."

Zhou Ding said coldly:

"Since you're already here..."

"Now release the knife."

Even the emperor will consider you a traitor.

Yue Da looked at the emperor.

The emperor did not immediately make a promise.

this is correct.

He did indeed bring a knife to kill the ruler.

Don't dismiss everything just because you were scammed.

I said:

"Laying down a knife does not absolve one of guilt."

"But having a knife doesn't mean you have to kill them all."

"You choose."

Yue Da knelt down halfway.

It stopped again.

"I will not kneel."

Han Feng's men gripped their weapons tightly.

Yue Dadao:

"Mr. Zhou said."

"Kill him while kneeling before the emperor."

"This looks like an apology."

"I will not kill now."

"I won't kneel either."

I nodded.

"Can."

He stood back three steps.

Remove both hands from the knife.

Among the five people behind him.

The three of them followed suit.

The two remained hesitant.

Zhao Shi was held down.

The last person suddenly cut open his collar.

Inside was a packet of kerosene paper sewn on.

It's not explosives.

It is flammable paper.

He wanted to set the military uniform on fire.

Leave the body at the scene.

Yan Xiaoyi kicked the man into the mud.

Ah Liu rushed over with a bowl of soup dumplings in his hand.

The whole bowl of soup was poured onto the tinderbox.

The fire didn't get started.

Ah Liu looked at the empty bowl.

I feel so sorry for her.

"Young master."

"Report to the public accounts."

Bai Zhi said, "I will not report it."

Why?

"You bought it yourself."

"Why didn't you report the rescue?"

"A bowl can be used as a reward."

"We've already drunk half of the soup."

Ah Liu felt even more sorry for him.

All seven people were apprehended.

The four men voluntarily released their knives.

The two were robbed.

Zhao Shi charged in.

Not guilty of the same crime.

Zhou Ding was escorted to the grain debt board.

I ask:

"Why did you only convey the message of disobeying your father's orders?"

He said, "It's the truth."

Why wasn't the second half broadcast?

"Not yet officially closed."

How do you know I'll refuse?

"I can tell."

"Who told you to prepare to offer this in lieu of payment?"

"No one is needed."

Zhou Ding looked at his father.

"General Shen has issued an order to kill the emperor."

"Young master, I dare not accept this."

"Someone has to do it."

The father said, "I did not give you the order."

"The general still wants to kill."

"Yes."

The father admitted it.

"But I want to kill."

"That doesn't mean you can give me the orders."

Zhou Ding smiled.

"General Shen."

"You've been raising an army for twenty-seven years."

"Tell them now."

"Only dictated to paper?"

His father looked at him.

"right."

"What about those that weren't written before?"

The father did not answer.

There are many things that happen in the military that cannot be written down.

A single glance.

A hint.

A simple "You know."

The subordinate finished the task for his master.

The commander could say he never gave the order.

Zhou Dingzheng grew up in such a place.

He may not need his father's personal command.

As long as he knew his father wanted to kill the emperor.

He then wrote down his actions as loyalty.

The mother looked at the father.

"This stroke of the pen."

"Also."

The father did not object.

There has long been a problem in the military of unwritten, implicit orders.

Subordinates may act on their own initiative based on the commander's intentions.

The responsibility is borne by the commander and the person acting on it respectively.

The father signed this entry.

Shen Lie.

The smile on Zhou Ding's face finally faded.

He had originally intended to use his father's silence as a testament to his own actions.

The father, however, also wrote his silence as a form of responsibility.

Yue Da stood under the lamp.

Looking at that newly added page.

After a long time, he asked:

"Can I still join the army?"

Ge Tong is not here.

The father did not answer on behalf of the recruitment team.

I said:

"Today's trial first."

"We'll talk about it after the trial is over."

"What if we can't?"

"Then do something else."

"The name has been returned."

"You don't have to be armed with a knife to be alive."

Yue Da lowered his head.

"But I don't know anything else."

Bai Zhi said:

"Can carry salt."

"Can draw a bow."

"You can still get scammed."

Yue Da's face turned even paler.

Bai Zhi continued:

"The last item can be changed."

Some people around couldn't help but laugh.

It's not mockery.

Yue Da himself twitched the corner of his mouth.

His smile was ugly.

At least the knife is no longer in his hand.