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

When the constable uttered the words "Qian Mansion," everyone in the room fell silent for a moment.

The fat shopkeeper knelt on the ground, beads of sweat dripping down his face.

The two drivers huddled in a corner, as if they wished they could bury themselves in a pile of hay.

Ah Liu looked at me, opened his mouth, and after a long pause, whispered, "Young Master, have we... found out something big?"

I looked at the account books on the table, blown open by the night wind.

The words "戌时，送炭，东市" on the ledger were crooked and the ink was darker than the surrounding ink, like a newly patched-up fake face.

I didn't speak immediately.

The Qian family mansion.

The residence of Minister Qian.

Qian Rong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

These two words are too heavy, and too coincidental.

The body found in the fire was not Liu Laoqi; Liu Laoqi had disappeared. However, the words "Qian Mansion" were found in blood on the cart.

Like clues left by someone before they died.

It's like a hook that someone set up in advance.

Ah Liu couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, should we go to the Qian residence immediately?"

I glanced at him.

Ah Liu immediately shrank his neck.

"I was just asking."

Yan Xiaoyi leaned against the door and lazily replied, "Going to the Qian residence now would be perfect."

I asked, "Where is it good?"

"Die quickly."

Ah Liu nodded quickly: "That's still not good."

I picked up the silver ingot bearing the Ministry of Works' stamp and then looked at the carriage and horse shop's account book.

"The Qian family wants to investigate, but not now."

Ah Liu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Young master is wise."

I said, "Let's find Dingche first."

Ah Liu's breath caught in his throat again.

"Is the car dangerous too?"

"People can lie, but carts can't." I put the silver back into the bag. "Only by finding Ding Che will we know whether 'Qian Mansion' was left by Liu Laoqi or written for me by someone else."

Yan Xiaoyi glanced at me.

"You weren't blinded by those two words."

I smiled.

"My rank is low, my head is insignificant, I can't go far."

This wasn't self-deprecation.

That's the truth.

I am merely a seventh-rank censor.

The reason I could shout louder than anyone else in front of the old warehouse fire tonight was because there were civilians, Zhao Guanlan, and the Ministry of Works personnel who arrived too quickly.

But the Qian family is different.

Qian Rong was the Vice Minister of Works, a third-rank official.

If I were to break into the Qian residence at night with just a piece of paper bearing blood-stained characters, tomorrow in court, without Qian Rong even having to say a word, all the censors would impeach me and kill me.

The closer you get to the big fish, the less you should rush.

In a panic, the line snapped, someone died, and the blame fell on my head.

I had the Censorate's officers take away the carriage and horse registers, the Ministry of Works' treasury silver, and two coachmen, and I also had the fat shopkeeper draw up a design for a horse-drawn carriage.

The fat shopkeeper's hands were shaking so badly that the car he drew didn't look like a car at all, but more like a four-legged turtle.

Ah Liu looked at it for a long time and said seriously, "Manager, it's really not easy for your carriage company to identify carriages using this."

The fat shopkeeper was about to cry.

In the end, it was Sun the Cripple who clarified things.

"The left shaft of the cart was cracked and was reinforced with sheet metal. A corner of the rear panel was missing, but Lao Qi couldn't bear to replace it, so he patched it with an elm plank. The horse was a yellow-maned horse, and its right hind hoof was slightly turned outward, causing it to veer off course when walking."

I looked at him.

"You remember it so clearly?"

Sun the Cripple gave a wry smile.

"We all make a living in the same industry. Everyone knows whose cart is prone to breaking down, whose horse is prone to kicking up, and who tends to doze off while driving at night."

The accounts of ordinary people are not written on paper.

In the days.

I nodded.

"lead the way."

Sun the Cripple was stunned, and his face turned pale instantly.

"Sir, shall I lead the way?"

"You recognize the tracks of the cart."

His legs were even weaker.

"I'm scared."

"I'll have to go, even if I'm afraid."

He was almost in tears.

Ah Liu, standing nearby, comforted him with his experience: "Don't be afraid, you won't die if you work for my young master."

Just as Sun the Cripple breathed a sigh of relief, Ah Liu added, "But it's easy to get scared half to death."

I can't be bothered with him.

As we left the carriage station, the sky was already faintly turning blue.

I've been up all night, the chickens are almost awake, and I'm still not asleep.

Ah Liu yawned while holding the account book, his eyes full of tears.

Yan Xiaoyi was even more outrageous; he squinted as he walked, as if he could actually fall asleep on the road.

I asked him, "How can you fight when you're so sleepy?"

He didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Don't open your eyes too wide when you're fighting."

Why?

"Once you see things clearly, you might find them troublesome."

I suddenly really wanted to know where the emperor found this person.

There are two roads leading to the inner city from Shunfeng Caravan.

A main road, smooth and passable by night patrolmen.

A narrow path, winding around the old canal, the road is muddy, but it can avoid people's eyes.

Sun the Cripple led us along a side path.

"The cart will definitely take this route," he said. "The yellow-maned horse's right hind hoof is turned outwards, making it prone to slipping on hard stone roads. Old Seven usually doesn't take the main roads when driving heavy carts at night."

The road was covered in muddy tracks.

There were many ruts.

There are many carriages in the southern part of the city at night. Finding a cart among a pile of ruts is no easier than finding the truth in the Ministry of Works' accounts.

But Sun the Cripple was indeed capable.

He squatted on the ground and looked for a while, then pointed to a shallow, sloping rut.

"This is the Dingche."

Ah Liu peeked out.

How did you know?

"The left wheel is pressed down deeply, while the right wheel is dragged off to one side. The left shaft of the cart has been reinforced with iron, causing the center of gravity to be slightly off-center. And there are these hoof prints, with the right hind hoof pointing outwards."

I squatted down as well.

He wasn't lying.

There was indeed a rut in the mud, and the hoofprints next to it were also quite crooked.

Ah Liu looked on with admiration.

"I never knew there were so many tricks to catching a train."

Sun the Cripple gave a wry smile.

"Every profession has its methods and tricks."

I love hearing that.

The same applies to auditing accounts.

Outsiders only look at the numbers in the ledgers.

Those who know how to read the numbers look at who ate, who rushed to catch a bus, and who didn't go home in the middle of the night.

We followed the tire tracks northward.

Along the way, the tire tracks were intermittent, clearly indicating that someone had tried to sweep them away. But the nighttime cleanup was rushed, sweeping away the obvious ones and leaving the ones in the corners.

Under one of the bridge arches, the muddy ground was trampled into a mess.

Sun the Cripple stopped.

"The staff here has changed."

I asked, "How did you know?"

"Ding's cart stopped here; the hoofprints are messy, and the wheel tracks are slightly off to the side. Old Seven wouldn't drive like that; he takes good care of his cart and will park it straight."

Ah Liu whispered, "Old Liu is quite particular."

Sun the Cripple looked at the ground, his voice hoarse.

"He makes a living off this car."

I looked towards the edge of the bridge arch.

There was a little dried blood there.

Not much, half of it was covered by mud.

I used my short blade to pry open the mud, and inside was a small piece of gray cloth fiber.

A man in gray.

It's very likely that Liu Laoqi was subdued here and replaced by the man in gray to drive the carriage.

But the one who died in the fire at the old warehouse was the old warehouse guard.

Where did Liu Laoqi go?

He was killed?

Was it taken away because it was still useful?

We continued north.

As the sky grew brighter, vendors began setting up stalls to sell breakfast on the streets.

The closer you get to the inner city, the cleaner the roads become, and the harder it is to find tire tracks.

Sun the Cripple was sweating profusely with anxiety.

"Sir, it will be difficult to recognize the place if we go any further."

Yan Xiaoyi suddenly raised his hand and pointed.

"there."

I looked in the direction he pointed.

There was a pile of horse manure at the base of a wall.

Ah Liu's expression was strange.

"Brother Yan, you even look at this?"

Yan Xiaoyi said, "The yellow-maned horse ate inferior grass, and there are unchewed grass pieces in its dung. That's the one in the carriage shop."

Sun the Cripple immediately went over to take a look and nodded repeatedly.

Yes, that's it.

Ah Liu took half a step back.

"I really can't learn your skills."

I don't really want to learn it either.

But that's sometimes how investigations work.

Clues that can save a person's life are not necessarily respectable.

We followed the horse manure and the occasional ruts left by carts, finally stopping outside a back alley.

The alley was very narrow, with high walls on both sides.

Inside the wall was the inner residence of a wealthy family, while outside the wall was a narrow path used for delivering vegetables, charcoal, and emptying chamber pots.

Sun the Cripple's expression changed.

"This is it."

I looked at the alley entrance.

A discreet sign hangs in the distance.

The back alley of the Qian family mansion.

Ah Liu swallowed hard.

"Young master, we've really arrived at the Qian residence."

I didn't rush in.

Especially in situations like these, you must not let your feet outpace your brain.

The ground at the alley entrance had been swept.

It was swept very clean.

It was so clean it was illogical.

It's impossible for an ordinary back alley to be this clean, especially in the early morning when the people delivering vegetables and emptying ash have just left, and there will always be vegetable leaves, footprints, and ash residue on the ground.

It looked like it had just been swept with a new broom.

I crouched down to look at the base of the wall.

A broom can sweep the middle of the road, but it can't clean the mud crevices at the base of the wall.

There was indeed some black mud at the base of the wall.

There was also a small piece of elm wood shavings.

I showed it to Sun the Cripple.

His eyes welled up with tears at first glance.

"This is the patch on the back panel of the cart. Old Seven nailed it himself; I recognize it."

Ding Che came by.

And we stopped here.

Yan Xiaoyi walked into the alley and suddenly looked up.

"Someone above has seen it."

I followed his gaze.

In one corner of the high wall, there is a small vent.

A patch of dust was rubbed off the window.

It looked like someone was looking out from inside.

Ah Liu whispered, "Young master, should we knock?"

I looked at the back wall of the Qian residence.

Knock on the door?

Knock on the back door of Qian Rong’s residence and say, “Minister Qian, did you receive a cartload of old warehouse ledgers in your back alley last night?”

If Qian Rong were to open the door and invite me in for tea, I'd suspect he'd lost his mind.

"I won't knock."

Ah Liu breathed a sigh of relief.

I said, "Find a car."

He caught his breath again.

Since Ding Che has been here, if he did not enter the Qian residence, he must be dealt with.

This type of vehicle cannot be left near the Qian residence.

It can be transported in the middle of the night, but time is tight, so it's impossible to transport it too far.

The easiest way is to dismantle the car.

The cart's planks burned, the wheels were thrown into a ditch, and the horse led it away.

I walked north along the back alley.

Before long, a faint smell of burning could be detected.

It doesn't smell like the strong fire of an old warehouse; it smells like wood slowly burning over a low flame.

There is an abandoned well at the end of the alley.

Several bundles of rotten firewood and miscellaneous items were piled up beside the well.

I pushed aside the clutter and saw half of a charred cart shaft.

A ring of sheet metal was wrapped around the shaft of the cart.

Sun the Cripple lunged forward, his hands trembling.

"Dingche!"

Ah Liu muttered under his breath, "It's really ruined."

I crouched down to take a look.

The shaft was not completely burned; the sheet metal was still intact.

There were several other car panels nearby, one of which had a missing corner on the back panel and was patched with elm wood.

The patch had been pried open.

I suddenly frowned.

"They pried it open too hastily."

Yan Xiaoyi, look over here.

"What do you mean?"

"They burned the car to cover their tracks. But this patch of wood was pried open from the inside, which doesn't seem like the work of the people who burned the car."

I gently pried open the elm patch with my short blade.

A small clump of dry grass was stuffed into the crack in the board.

A strip of cloth was wrapped in the hay.

There was blood on the cloth strip.

The blood-written characters were crooked and distorted, as if the writer's hand was trembling violently.

Only four words:

I'm alive.

Ah Liu almost cried out.

"Liu Laoqi?"

I looked at Sun the Cripple.

Sun the Cripple stared at the strip of cloth, his eyes suddenly reddening.

"It's Lao Qi's handwriting! He can write a few characters, but he always misses a stroke when writing the character '活' (huó, meaning 'live' or 'life')."

I looked at those four words and slowly let out a breath.

Liu Laoqi is still alive.

At least he was alive when he wrote this note.

This is good news.

That's bad news too.

If he's alive, it means he was taken away.

The fact that he was taken away means he saw more than the old warehouse guards.

He could die at any moment.

I continued to rummage through the clump of hay.

There's something else inside.

A small pinch of fine white powder.

Stone powder.

And a very thin piece of paper.

There was only half a red mark on the scrap of paper.

It's not the inner warehouse/material storage room.

This time it looks like the radical for "money".

Ah Liu saw it too, and his voice tightened.

"Young master, is this the seal of the Qian family?"

"uncertain."

The Qian family is not limited to the Qian Rong family; there are many shops with the character "Qian" in their names.

But the fact that this thing appeared in the destroyed cart in the back alley of the Qian family mansion cannot be considered a mere coincidence.

Yan Xiaoyi suddenly whispered, "Someone's coming."

I immediately collected the strips of cloth, scraps of paper, and stone powder.

Footsteps could be heard coming from the alley entrance.

It's not just one or two people.

Soon, several guards appeared at the alley entrance. The leader was a steward in blue robes, about forty years old, with a white face, no beard, and cold eyes.

When he saw us, he was startled at first, then frowned.

"What are you doing in the back alley of the Qian residence?"

I stood up and dusted off the hem of my clothes.

"Just passing by."

Ah Liu glanced at the charred cart shaft beside the abandoned well, then at me, his expression one of earnest cooperation.

The steward in blue said coldly, "Passing by and digging up an abandoned well in my back alley?"

I smiled.

"Your back alley?"

He slightly raised his chin.

"This is the outer wall of the Qian residence; unauthorized personnel are not allowed to linger here."

I nodded.

"So they're from the Qian family."

The steward in blue then realized that he had said half a sentence too much.

I took out the Censorate badge from my sleeve.

"Shen An of the Censorate is hereby ordered to investigate the murder case at the old granary south of the city."

The steward in green changed his expression.

It was very light, but it couldn't escape my eyes.

He quickly regained his composure.

"How did Lord Shen's investigation into a murder case lead him to the back alley of my Qian residence?"

"That's a question for you."

"Lord Shen, please be careful with your words."

"I'm being very careful." I pointed to the burnt cart shaft beside the abandoned well. "If I weren't careful, it wouldn't be me questioning you now, it would be Lord Zhao and the Prefect of the Capital."

The steward in blue said coldly, "It's just a few pieces of scrap wood; it doesn't prove anything."

I nodded.

"That's right."

He was taken aback for a moment.

I continued, "Therefore, I will not enter the Qian residence today, nor will I arrest anyone. I only ask the steward to go back and ask Minister Qian."

The steward in blue asked warily, "What are you asking?"

I looked at him and slowly said, "Ask Minister Qian if he slept well last night."

The manager in blue robes turned completely pale.

"Lord Shen, is this a provocation?"

"no."

I put away my waist tag.

"It's a greeting."

After saying that, I turned and left.

Ah Liu paused for a moment, then quickly followed.

Sun the Cripple held the half of the cart shaft, unsure whether he should take it or not.

I whispered, "Take it."

Sun the Cripple quickly picked him up.

The steward in blue robes called out from behind, "Lord Shen."

I stopped, but didn't turn around.

He said coldly, "The roads in the capital are slippery. Be careful when you walk at night, sir."

I smiled.

"Thank you. Please be careful, everyone in the Qian family."

"What?"

I turned around and looked at him.

"The back alley is hot; be careful not to let it spread to your own home."

The steward in blue stared at me, his eyes as dark as the water at the bottom of a well.

We left the back alley of the Qian family mansion.

After walking a long way, Ah Liu finally dared to breathe heavily.

"Young master, weren't you afraid they would attack just now?"

"Afraid."

"Then why are you still saying it?"

"Even if you don't tell them, they still want to take action."

Ah Liu thought about it seriously.

"That makes sense, but it's not very reassuring."

Yan Xiaoyi suddenly said, "There were crossbowmen on the wall just now."

Ah Liu's legs went weak.

Why didn't you say so sooner?

Yan Xiaoyi said, "I'm afraid you'll shout."

Ah Liu was about to cry.

I glanced back at the back wall of the Qian residence.

crossbowman.

It seems the back alley of the Qian family mansion is cleaner than I expected.

It was so clean that someone had laid out crossbowmen beforehand.

What does this tell us?

This means the Qian family knew I might have tracked them here.

Or at least know that someone might have tracked you here.

I looked down at the strip of cloth in my sleeve.

I'm alive.

Liu Laoqi is still alive.

Was he taken into the Qian residence?

Or did they turn into another place from the back alley of the Qian family mansion?

Just then, a tofu pudding vendor suddenly appeared at the street corner.

As he passed by us carrying his load, he muttered something under his breath:

"Liu Laoqi lives in Xiliu Lane."

I paused in my steps.

The vendor didn't stop; he kept walking forward, calling out "Hot tofu pudding."

Ah Liu's eyes widened.

"Young master, shall we buy some tofu pudding?"

I watched the vendor's departing figure.

"I won't buy it."

"Shall we go to Xiliu Lane?"

I gripped the strip of cloth in my sleeve tightly.

"go."

Yan Xiaoyi sighed.

"I knew it."

The sky finally brightened.

But I feel that this night is not over yet.