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

The capital city has four lists of diligent individuals, and on the first day, a total of 371 names were recorded.

One hundred and nine people recognized Xiao Jingheng.

Those who only recognize Shen Lie are eighty-three.

Ninety-six people only recognize Gu Qinghe.

Those who only recognize Shen An number eighty-three.

The numbers are neatly arranged.

It wasn't like the people themselves who lined up.

It's more like someone had calculated in advance how many people would be needed in each of the four locations.

The senior officials of the Censorate who remained in the capital sent copies of the roster in four separate routes.

The original list will not be revealed.

Those who leave behind names are not arrested.

An empty table was placed opposite each list.

Ask three questions.

What is your real name?

Why only recognize this one person?

If the facts differ from what we now believe, should we change them or not?

The first question stumped many people.

Among those who only recognized the emperor, seventeen refused to reveal their real names.

The reason given was fear of retaliation from the Shen faction.

Of those who only recognized their father, twenty-three only called out military bugles.

The reason given was an old military regulation.

Among those who only recognized their mothers, eleven people left their names on the list.

He said he was just making the identification on behalf of the dead.

The people who only recognize me are the easiest to deal with.

All thirty-seven were called nameless nobodys.

Ah Liu finished reading the urgent report.

"Young master."

"Um."

"Your people know the rules best."

"What are the rules?"

"No name left."

"I don't have that rule."

"That's why they only recognize you."

That makes some sense.

And they're all crooked.

The second question is more interesting.

Why only recognize Hsiao Ching-heng?

Because the emperor cannot be a fake.

Why only recognize Shen Lie?

Military merits cannot be faked.

Why only recognize Gu Qinghe?

Because those who have suffered will not lie.

Why only recognize Shen An?

Because the people who audit the accounts won't lie.

None of the four sentences are correct.

The emperor could leave behind blank imperial edicts.

My father was able to take advantage of me while my mother was still alive.

My mother also wrote a forwarding order.

I need not say more.

He was an assassin.

He lied.

They also used deception.

Anyone who thinks I'm not lying just because of an audit.

Sooner or later, I'll trick them out of a bowl of rice.

The third question is, if the facts are different, should we change it or not?

Out of 371 people.

Two hundred and forty-eight people said they would not change it.

It's not that I didn't understand.

They felt that if they changed, all the suffering they had endured before would be meaningless.

An old official from the imperial clan who only recognized the emperor said:

"If Your Majesty is wrong, only Your Majesty can correct it."

A veteran who only acknowledges his father said:

"Even if General Shen took the wrong grain, it was for the sake of the army."

A woman from Jiangbei who only recognizes her mother said:

"Gu Zhangzhang was imprisoned for eleven years, so nothing she wrote can be considered wrong."

A young scholar who only recognized me said:

"Since Lord Shen dares to investigate the Emperor, he will certainly not show favoritism."

I finished reading the last sentence.

I just felt that this person didn't understand me at all.

My greatest selfish desire right now is to let my mother sleep a little longer.

Let Xiao Lingyi be killed off less often.

Also, I asked Ah Liu not to remind me to report the company expenses every time it's mealtime.

This is all considered private.

In addition to leaving their names on the list, cards are also dealt to those who sign it.

Not four types.

There is only one.

Thin wood chips.

Two fingers wide.

The front is blank.

An eye is carved on the back.

There is a vertical line in the eyeball.

It has no name.

Xiao, Shen, and Gu are not included.

There was no clearing of old accounts.

Everyone who answers "no change" will receive one yuan.

Those who are willing to change cannot receive it.

You cannot accept someone who refuses to acknowledge only one person.

An old official from the Censorate secretly sent someone to buy three pieces.

They come from the Emperor's List, the Mother's List, and my list, respectively.

The wood is the same.

The blades are the same.

The eye patterns on the back are exactly the same.

The father finished looking at the rubbing.

"Military scout sign".

The emperor asked, "Does the Southwest Army have such a thing?"

"no."

"Then what makes you say that?"

"The eye wrinkles were created using the Southwest-style 'watching and sculpting' technique."

The father pointed to the vertical line inside the eyeball.

"Indicates that you are only looking at what is directly in front of you."

"Scouts wouldn't carve like that."

"A true sentry must watch all four sides."

"People who only look directly in front of them are prone to death."

Mother said:

"So it's not for them to see."

"It's about making them recognize only what they believe."

The wooden plaque is not an identity document.

It is a permission.

Tell the licensee.

In the future, when you encounter conflicting facts, there's no need to ask anymore.

Look only at what's directly in front of you.

"What can a wooden plaque do?" Xiao Lingyi asked.

There is nothing in the urgent report at the moment.

After the person who received the plaque left the post, they did not immediately accept the task.

Someone went home.

Someone entered the restaurant.

Someone went to the temple.

Some people sold the cards.

The price of a piece of paper rose from five coins to thirty coins.

Ah Liu saw the price.

"Young master."

"Um."

"More expensive than your personal guard amulet."

"This means that only one person is recognized as more valuable than the personal guards."

"Should we do it too?"

I look at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Two eyes are engraved on the back."

"Selling for sixty coins."

Bai Zhi said, "Okay."

Ah Liu's eyes lit up.

"real?"

"First pay for the wood, the carving, the stall, and the tax."

"Make it clear again that it does not guarantee survival."

"If we can't sell them, we'll eat them ourselves."

Ah Liu doesn't want to do it anymore.

The second copy of the Beijing Daily arrived in the afternoon.

A person carrying a wooden plaque entered the Imperial Clan Court.

There are no documents.

But the gatekeeper let him in.

The reason given was that he had the eye patterns on the wooden plaque facing outwards.

When someone on duty at the Imperial Clan Court saw this, they only asked:

"Whom do you recognize?"

"Xiao Jingheng".

"Should we change it or not?"

"No changes."

He was then given a copy of an old case.

The content is from the late empress's diary of the last three days, specifically the page where the emperor arrives at Changning Palace and leaves with envy.

There is no preceding text.

There was no follow-up.

Based on this single page, it can be said that the emperor personally saw the late empress for the last time.

You could also say the emperor was heartbroken.

It could even be said that the two have reconciled.

At the same time.

Cut out a section.

This could then become evidence of the emperor's innocence.

Another person, who only recognized his father, went to the old post station of the Ministry of War with his license.

We obtained a copy of the Southwest Army's grain receipts.

It only states that the vanguard battalion of 23,000 men was out of food.

The Jiangbei epidemic warehouse was not mentioned.

It also doesn't mention that the father already knew about the grain supply.

Those who only recognize their mother obtained a message she left behind the wall of the Shen residence:

There are dead people in Jiangbei, and I have a part in that.

There was no mention of the previous incident involving borrowing grain, imprisonment, or the forty-one people.

Those who only recognize me, upon receiving the first sentence of the rejection notice:

Shen An refused to carry out Shen Lie's order to kill the emperor.

The phrase "cannot be served in lieu of payment" is missing.

Zhou Ding had previously conveyed the same message.

Now it's happening again.

The purpose of the wooden sign is finally clear.

It's not a common route.

It's to get a real certificate that's been cut up.

Real paper.

The character "真" (zhēn).

This is a true story.

Each document is only enough to prove one person's innocence.

Or at least enough to make license holders even less willing to make changes.

I asked Zhou Ding if he recognized the eye card.

After reading it, he said:

"I've seen it."

"where?"

"Chen Ping Silver Road".

"What are you doing?"

"Receive the copy."

"Who can claim it?"

"A person who only accepts one conclusion."

"What if I change it after receiving it?"

"cannot."

"What will happen?"

Zhou Ding looked at me.

"Next time, no one will recognize him."

"That's all?"

"Sometimes you die."

The room was quiet.

"Who killed him?"

"have no idea."

Why kill?

"Because he has seen the original."

The holder of the eye card sees more than just a cut-out copy.

To ensure the authenticity of that page, the distributor must have access to the original ledger.

Once the person receiving the license changes their mind.

This would prove that the original account contained other information.

The cleanest way is to make him only ever recognize the first time.

Mother asked:

"Are there any people in Beijing who changed their tune after receiving their license plates?"

The urgent report ended with a name.

Deng San Niang.

Jiangbei Guild Hall handyman.

She was initially listed on Gu Qinghe's list.

He said he only recognized Gu Qinghe.

After receiving the plaque, I got the copy that my mother believed I had.

After reading it, she asked:

"Since Manager Gu himself has admitted to it."

"Why does her inclusion on the list lead people to believe she is innocent?"

The person in charge of sending the package told her.

Gu Qinghe suffered for eleven years.

Even if you've had one, it doesn't count.

Deng Sanniang said:

"Suffering cannot replace signing the wrong document."

She returned the wooden sign.

He then disappeared.

The last time someone saw him.

It's in the back alley of the Jiangbei Guild Hall.

Follow a water deliveryman who wasn't lame.

I looked at the three words "not lame".

Zhou Qi already knows that we are no longer looking for Zuo Que.

So this time, I'm not even pretending to be lame.