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

The death knell of the county government office still tolled.

First time.

Many people in the city stopped.

The second time.

Someone opened the door.

The third time.

People started running towards the county government office.

Before the fourth strike.

The bell suddenly stopped ringing.

It wasn't a person who was arrested.

The bell rope was cut.

Yan Xiaoyi stood on the crossbeam of the clock tower.

He was carrying half a rope in his hand.

The person ringing the bell below has already run away.

Leave only one mallet.

Gray cloth was wrapped around the handle of the mallet.

There was a piece of paper between the fingers of the cloth.

Write:

Four tones are sufficient.

Actually, it only made three sounds.

The paper already had four tones written on it in advance.

This shows that the person ringing the bell doesn't care how many times it actually rings.

As long as someone produces this piece of paper afterward.

Then one can say that the four tones have already been heard.

There are two footprints under the bell tower of the county government office.

One is normal.

A left-foot slipper.

They chased after them out the back door.

The drag marks disappeared.

The limp on the left is an act.

A wooden wedge was nailed to the left side of the sole.

When walking, one side of the body naturally moves higher than the other.

Run and remove the wooden wedges.

Then he wouldn't be lame.

Lin Huan sent people to search for wooden wedges along the way.

I found a piece in the ditch in the east alley.

The character "顾" is engraved on it in a very shallow way.

It seems like it was deliberately left for us.

It also reminds one of Gu Shisan.

Ke Gu Shisan has a limp in his right leg.

Those who have actually met him know.

Those who haven't seen him only remember him as lame.

We just returned to the old warehouse.

The people who were tracking them at the South Gate also returned.

The two "inner guards" who intercepted the empty box of the Censorate have been arrested.

One person has a limp in their left leg.

No one is lame.

The shoes were inspected and found to be defective.

The lame one is also a wooden wedge.

The messenger at the Ximen military post station ran away.

Only the horse was left.

The stirrup is two inches shorter on the left.

A person who dismounts from a horse will experience temporary numbness in their left leg.

He looks lame.

The messenger on the night boat from the East Gate never went ashore.

The boatman only saw the other person sitting in the cabin.

A white cloth was tied around the left foot.

Whether it's a real injury, I don't know.

At least four people developed left-sided limps overnight.

It's impossible that they're all Gu Shisan.

There isn't necessarily one who is truly lame.

The mother read through the records in all four places.

"Not identity."

"It's a pass sign."

"What do you mean?"

"As long as the left side is lame."

"The next person will recognize it."

Like Lan Gu, Chen Ping, and Lin Ping'an.

Left-handed lameness also became a card without a name.

Different people pretend to be lame in different places.

They didn't know each other.

The handover is based solely on distinctive features.

I asked the fake bodyguard who was arrested:

"Who told you to accept the box just because you see someone with a limp left leg?"

"Note".

"Who gave it to you?"

"Under the pillow in the inn."

"What's your name?"

"Li Gui".

"Real name?"

"It's Li Gui."

"Place of origin?"

"West of Yong'an City"

Lin Huan quickly verified the information.

Li Guizhen was from Yong'an.

He sold horses.

It wasn't written out of the story.

I've never been to the accounting committee.

Someone gave him ten taels of silver.

Make him wear an inner sweatshirt.

Wait outside the North Gate for the lame man on the left to hand over the box.

After receiving the box, it was sent to Ci'en Temple in the capital.

He only accepted one segment.

The other person was named Feng Da.

He's a local too.

The mission is to escort.

Neither of them knew what was inside the box.

Li Gui asked:

"Does this count as tyranny?"

"Did you know the box contained news of a death?"

"have no idea."

"Did you know it was a fake internal security order?"

"Know."

Why do it?

"Ten taels."

"Then let us first record those who impersonate imperial guards and use false orders to intercept post stations."

Whether the emperor was aware of the regicide remains to be investigated.

We can't just gather enough people to settle accounts overnight.

Write all those who received the box as accomplices and masterminds.

But even ten taels of silver is not without fault.

Gu Shisan returned to Yong'an the next morning.

He didn't go through the main entrance.

First, give your name at the post station outside the city.

Gu Shisan.

Old injury to right leg.

Southwest scouts.

The old name is pending verification.

This time we returned from Qingxia Military Cemetery.

The gatekeeper breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his right leg.

At least he's not left-handed.

After Gu Shisan entered the old warehouse, he placed a bone box on the table.

"Du Heng's tomb has been opened."

The father asked, "Who's inside?"

"have no idea."

"Is it Du Heng?"

"no."

There was only a male skeleton in the coffin at the military cemetery.

Approximately 25 years old.

The right arm is intact.

There are no old injuries to the leg bones.

Two teeth are missing.

According to the old medical records in the army, Du Heng died at the age of forty-one.

He was shot in the left leg by an arrow.

The right index finger is missing a section.

None of them fit.

The person buried in the military cemetery is not Du Heng.

The relocation record, however, has signatures from three parties.

Xu Sandao.

Zhou Ding.

Gu Shisan.

Xu Sandao looked at Gu Shisan.

"You signed it?"

"Signed."

"when?"

Nine years ago.

"Did you see the body?"

Gu Shisan remained silent.

"no."

Why sign it?

"Du Heng led me into the camp."

"Master Xu said that the relocation of the military cemetery should be witnessed by former subordinates."

"The coffin hasn't been opened."

"Only old license plates will be checked."

Xu Sandao also said:

"The coffin was moved from an old grave in Qingxia."

"Seal completely."

"I didn't open it."

Zhou Ding was the scribe at the time.

He wrote the list of those to be relocated.

He verified Du Heng's identity card.

Xu Sandao and Gu Shisan were only seen sealed.

I didn't see anyone.

Witnessed by all three parties.

It looks stable.

In reality, all three of them were looking at the same coffin seal.

No one underwent a bone examination.

This is not a three-party issue.

It's an eye divided into three signatures.

Bai Zhi's relocation and burial copy.

Why did Zhou Ding relocate Du Heng back then?

"Supplementary Record of Military Merits"

Xu Sandao said.

Who proposed it?

"Central Army Tent".

"Which accountant?"

"Chen Ping."

We circled back to the identity portal.

Gu Shisan then took out another piece of old iron.

It was found below the waist of the pseudo-Du transverse skeleton.

It's not a military license plate.

It is a plaque for the renovation of the Qingxia Old Warehouse.

Engraved on the front:

Beizhong.

Engraved on the back:

Zhou Qiyan.

Upon hearing the name Zhou Qi, Wang Heng requested to be brought in.

She had seen the iron sheet.

"It was her who verified the license."

Who is Zhou Qi?

"Wang's Yitang Guan Seal"

"You said before that she died in her account."

"Yes."

"How did you die?"

"The fifteenth year of Chengxi."

"The car crashed."

"The left leg broke first."

"The person who came after went missing."

"Where's the body?"

"A female corpse has been found."

"Have you had your face checked?"

"It's burnt out."

Another unrecognizable corpse.

"An old injury?"

"Left leg fracture."

"That's why I wrote about Zhou Qi."

Wang Heng said, "Wang herself verified it."

"Who will test it?"

"I."

Everyone looked at her.

Wang Heng did not dodge.

"The body was wearing her clothes at the time."

"Take her seal."

"His left leg is also broken."

"I signed it."

"Have you seen how she broke her left leg before?"

"no."

So you don't know if it's the same injury.

"have no idea."

Zhou Qi may not be dead.

It's also possible that he really is dead.

However, her identity, identification card, and left leg features were preserved.

Later, "left lameness" became a handover symbol.

It wasn't for the sake of the fake Gu Shisan.

It's more likely that she started by imitating Zhou Qi.

A deceased seal-holder of Yitang.

There's no need for him to show his face.

As long as everyone can see that Zuo Lie is lame.

Then I knew it was her thread.

I asked Wang Heng:

"What does Zhou Qi care about?"

"Check for falsified accounts."

This answer is strange.

Why did the Wang family still appoint people to verify the false accounts?

"Even fake accounts must be usable."

Wang Heng said, "She's in charge of finding loopholes."

"The identity and age do not match."

"The gap was printed earlier than the gap."

"The old injury is in an unsuitable location."

"There's not enough time."

"She gets to choose all of these."

Bai Zhi raised her head.

"So she knows how to make a lie look real."

"They also know how to use our auditing methods."

Wang Heng nodded.

"She is a descendant of Bai Song."

"The Wang family is the best at checking accounts."

The mother asked, "Did you teach them?"

"Bai Song taught her a passage."

"I taught it later."

Why did she oppose the Wang family?

"No rebellion."

Wang Heng said, "She felt that Wang Shi hadn't done a clean enough job."

The old warehouse fell silent.

Zhou Dingjian refused to accept the offer.

Four obituaries for the future were sent to four different locations.

The three tolls of the old bell kill.

The four tolls of the funeral bell signify death.

The left lameness became a handover symbol.

Every step was based on evidence.

It's not blatant forgery.

It means that each executor only needs to do one part.

Each of the four locations received its own version of the letter.

This certainly sounds like someone who specializes in finding loopholes in false accounts.

Gu Shisan asked:

What does Zhou Qi look like?

Wang Heng thought for a moment.

"In her forties."

"Old injury to my left leg."

"Your right hand is very steady."

There is a black mole behind my ear.

"Speaks slowly."

"I never hand things to you personally."

When was the last time you saw her?

"Before I left Beijing."

"Is she still alive?"

"To live."

Why didn't you say so sooner?

Wang Heng looked at me.

"You didn't ask Zhou Qi."

This sentence sounds a lot like Pei Shen's.

It makes you want to flip the table.

I held back.

Where is she now?

"have no idea."

"She wanted to kill the emperor?"

"She doesn't care about the emperor."

"Then why settle the accounts overnight?"

Wang Heng looked at the three grain debt tokens.

"Because you've made the bill into a person."

"She doesn't like it."

"What do you mean?"

"Zhou Qi thinks."

"There can only be one outcome for an account."

"If it's all in one stroke."

"The emperor was guilty, yet he lived."

"Shen Lie took the grain to save the army."

"Gu Qinghe had a criminal record and was imprisoned again."

"Shen An defied his father's orders and protected the emperor."

"This kind of account cannot be used."

I suddenly understood why Zhou Ding was in such a hurry.

They want it clean.

A murderer.

A victim.

One conclusion.

It would be best to have another corpse.

We break each person down into many pens.

It makes it impossible for people to hate freely.

There's no way to easily clear one's name.

For Angelica dahurica, this is the truth.

For Zhou Qi, it was a bad debt.

Because it cannot be used immediately to convey orders.

Gu Shisan looked at the bone box.

"The fake Du Heng in the coffin."

"Is it related to Zhou Qi?"

Wang Heng said, "Perhaps."

"She prefers to use an identity she's already experienced once."

Why?

"Everyone would think so."

"Since it has been tested before."

"There's no need for further testing today."

I looked at the medical record book in the old warehouse.

The emperor inspected it outside the capital.

The father went into the warehouse to inspect it.

The mother opened the door and checked.

Gu Shisan had also been examined when he first entered the city.

But each test can only prove what happened at that time.

We cannot allow a single medical examination to become a lifelong commitment.

Bai Zhi picked out a small piece of cloth from the bottom of the fake Du Heng Gu box.

Grayish blue.

It's not a hospital gown.

This is the cloth commonly used on the cuffs of the accountants of Wang's Yitang.

A very thin white thread is embroidered on the cloth.

The end of the thread was tied with four knots.

Wang Heng said:

"Zhou Qi's mark".

What does "four knots" mean?

"The four tents clash with each other."

"All void."

Four obituaries.

Four people.

Different versions in four different locations.

She didn't just want to kill us.

The intention was to create conflict between the emperor's tent, the military tent, the Jiangbei tent, and the old Qing tent.

In the end, no one can say for sure.

All accounts that have already been opened can be cancelled.

I ask:

"What if the four tents are not flushed?"

Wang Heng looked at the boulder that hadn't fallen from the north beam.

"Then she will come to check it herself."