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

The North Inner Gate was not far from Changning Palace, but the emperor did not rush back immediately. He first had Meng Zhun, Liu Shen, and two gatekeepers who were not related to him ask each of them about a current matter, and then had a clerk record the time. Xiao Jingheng was good at recognizing people and could explain that Feng Xichou, whom he had just found out, knew that he was standing at the North Inner Gate but did not know why the bells were ringing at Changning Palace.

Write "I don't know" as well.

"Did you sign Zhao Qi's name?" I asked. Liu Shen replied, "No." "What did you sign?" "The acting physician." "The old prescription was signed by Zhao Qi." "Did you write 'acting physician' below?" "Yes." "If His Majesty faints today," "Who can decide to move the palace?" Liu Shen said, "The physician on duty will determine that it is not appropriate to remain in the original palace." "The imperial examiner will confirm." "The road will be prepared at the North Inner Gate." "All three are in place." "There is no need to wait for the imperial decree." "Why?" "He cannot wait while ill." "What if the emperor disagrees?" "If he is lucid, he will not be moved." "Who determines he is lucid?" "The physician." "The emperor says he is lucid." "If he is incoherent while ill..."

"We can't just listen." That's the problem. If someone is written as ill, their objections can also become evidence of illness, and the emperor's word is final. It can be interpreted as a conscious refusal, or as restlessness during illness. In the end, it still depends on the physician, and if the physician only writes "on standby," the responsibility continues to fall on the dead Zhao Qi. "Who signed for Feng Xi?" Liu Shen pointed to the duty room at the North Inner Gate. "The deputy captain on duty." "Who today?" "Yan Tuo." Yan Tuo was on the roster, and he was there too. Thirty-eight years old, with an old knife scar on his right eyebrow. He admitted to signing for Feng happy. "Why didn't you use your own name?" "According to old custom, only Feng happy's wooden mark is recognized."

This time, no one filled in the missing document for him. By the time we arrived in Changning, the urgent medical report had already been sent out. The report stated that the emperor had suddenly fainted half an hour earlier, and anyone who refused to move would be considered to be defying imperial orders while ill; it also requested that Princess Zhaoning be suspended from entering the palace, that my censorate be suspended, and that I not attend to official duties for three days. But for those half an hour, the emperor had been at the North Inner Gate.

"No record of the woodwork." "No passage at any of the palace gates." "You think that's reasonable?" Yan Tuo said, "I'm only in charge of the roads." "The physicians and the emperor's attendants all sign off on it." "It's not my place to judge whether the emperor's illness is real or not." Again, he's only in charge of a section. I asked, "When was the last time you signed off on it?" "Last night." "Did the emperor have a sudden illness?" "No." "Then why did you sign off on it?" "To prepare for transport." "Who gave the order?" "Two bushels of emergency provisions were delivered from the granary." "According to custom, the provisions arrive first." "So the roads were prepared first." "Then the provisions arrived." "You then signed off on the possibility that the emperor might need to move the palace?" "Not move the palace." "Just prepare the roads." "Where are the roads prepared?"

The sudden illness left Changning before the "illness" itself. The one who rang the bell was a young eunuch, also known as Xiao He in the palace. He said that someone had brought him Wei Zhi's judgment tablet and told him that His Majesty had collapsed in the inner palace, and to quickly ring the bell.

"The Western Inner Garden." "Not Changning Palace?" Yan Tuo's expression changed. He took out an old route map. The original route ran from the main palace to Changning, where the emperor now resided. Logically, the old route was useless, but someone had altered it three months ago. The starting point was Changning Palace, and the ending point was the Jing'an Residence in the Western Inner Garden. The alteration document bore the signatures of both the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs and the Imperial Medical Academy. Signatures: Lin Ping'an, Zhao Qi. Lin Ping'an was in charge of the etiquette for the sick wards of the imperial clan. Zhao Qi was in charge of medicine; neither of them should be alive to perform their duties. Yet, the document genuinely used old paper from the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. Zhao Qi's medical seal was also genuine. "Who did Yan Tuo see deliver the document?" "A eunuch." "Name?" "Feng happy."

"Have you seen His Majesty?" Xiao Lingyi asked.

A-Liu, standing behind, said, "Feng happy is taking his own way." Yan Tuo's face darkened further. "That man reported Feng Xi." "How old?" "A little over twenty." "Hands?" "Left hand holding the document." "Walking?" "Normal." "Voice?" "Slightly high-pitched." It could be a eunuch, or it could be a fake voice. He delivered the document to the North Inner Gate, where Yan Tuo saw the seals of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs and the Imperial Medical Academy. With Feng Xi's wooden stamp also present, he changed the route. He didn't ask if the emperor knew, because it was just a backup plan. Backup plans are the easiest to keep, not to kill immediately. Nor to use immediately, but only when truly needed. Everyone would say it was already done this way.

"No." "Did you see the physician?" "No." "Why are you having diarrhea?"

Xiao He lowered her head: "The cards are real." Wei Zhi was already dead, so the cards were definitely real. The emperor ordered someone to release Xiao He.

"A copy?" "One from Changning Palace." "Is there one from the North Inner Gate?" "There shouldn't be." Yan Tuo took a folded sheet from the spare car. The physician's section read: "Xiao Jingheng returned to the capital feeling fatigued, experiencing palpitations and restless sleep. He should rest quietly. Signed by Liu Shen." Every word was genuine, but a new line followed: "If dizziness recurs, move to Jing'an Palace." This line wasn't Liu Shen's signature. There was no separate signature, yet the folded sheet placed both sections on the same page. Unfolded, it resembled a complete medical order. Liu Shen finished reading. "The latter part wasn't written by me." "The former?" "Yes." "When did the paper leave your hands?" "Copied from Changning Palace." "Who copied it?"

"He has a responsibility to ring the bell, remember that. Don't mistake the dead man's cards for his brain."

Bai Zhi glanced at him, seemingly a little surprised. Since the urgent report had already been sent, simply sending a new sheet of paper saying "I am not ill" wasn't enough; the old report would arrive first, and the four gates and various government offices would act according to what arrived first. So the emperor did something he hated most: every half hour, he reaffirmed that he was still awake.

The first round of identity verification only asked about her identity, and Bai Zhi quickly rejected it.

"Names, reign titles, and the Empress Dowager's death anniversary can all be memorized in advance."

So the questions shifted to what had just happened: Which token was removed from the North Inner Gate today? Which seal did Meng Zhun just say was lighter? Where did A Liu spill his tea? The emperor answered one question incorrectly, remembering it as the left, when it was actually the right. No one wrote that he was foolish because of this; Bai Zhi only noted: remember one mistake at the moment, and the rest of the judgments are consecutive.

The emperor looked at the words, and although he was very unhappy, he still signed it. It wasn't a fixed set of answers; instead, different people would ask questions based on the current situation. Asking the wrong question was acceptable, not knowing the answer was acceptable, as long as one could explain who they were, where they were, and what they were facing at that moment. When the first living witness was delivered to Donghua Gate, the gate still didn't open.

The garrison commander, Qiao Wen, held an earlier urgent report from the emperor's illness: "The old report arrived first, so the later, living document might have been signed haphazardly during his illness." The emperor asked through the door, "When did the old report arrive?" Qiao Wen reported the time, and Bai Zhi immediately placed the two sheets of paper side by side. The old report stated that the emperor fell ill at the end of Chen (7-9 AM), but this report had already been delivered to Donghua Gate a moment before that time.

Qiao Wen's face changed; the paper arrived faster than the illness. This wasn't a matter of loyalty to the emperor. It was a matter of timing; the Donghua Gate was finally only half-open. Qiao Wen didn't kneel; he simply wrote on his error page: "Upon receiving the urgent report, I sealed the gate before verifying the delivery time, delaying the entry of the witness." After reading it, the emperor asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll punish you for disobeying an imperial decree?"

Qiao Wen said, "I'm afraid."

"Still writing?" "The door's already closed."

"Why?" "The late Empress was ill." "Seven batches of physicians were changed." "Each batch was unfamiliar with the old prescriptions, methods, and medicine testing." "Some were delayed because they were waiting for imperial orders." "I left the names of experienced physicians." "What happens after they die?" "The positions still need to be filled." "Why not replace them with living people?" "Changing people would expose old cases." "So you continued to use dead people?" "At the time, it was only intended as a temporary measure." "It was a temporary measure for eleven years." Pei Shen looked at the Emperor. "Your Majesty knows." The Emperor also came to the North Inner Gate, without his imperial carriage. He only brought two imperial guards. He said, "I know the old practice has not been abolished." "You know three have died?"

"You know Zhao Qi is dead?" "You know Feng happy?" "No." "What about Wei Zhi being replaced?" "I found out later." "Still not deposed?" The emperor remained silent; the answer was already clear. He feared that abolishing the old precedent would reveal what had truly happened when the late empress fell ill. Therefore, he allowed a set of procedures, originally intended to prevent delays, to continue operating under the name of the deceased. Now, these procedures were reversed. He was preparing to send himself to the Jing'an Prison. His mother was right; the debt of choice wouldn't disappear on its own. It would only be collected by another person. The emperor looked at the three name tokens. "Abolish them all," Pei Shen said. "We can't just abolish them." "Why?" "If Your Majesty truly falls seriously ill tonight..."

The emperor neither granted a pardon nor imposed a punishment; he simply walked through the half-open door.

"The new procedure hasn't been established yet." "Everyone will have to wait." The Emperor said, "You still want to keep them?" "I want to change the person." Pei Shen said, "The physician should write Liu Shen." "The one on duty before the Emperor should write the real person." "The person with connections should write Yan Tuo." "Change every shift." "Also, keep an emergency substitute signature." "The substitute signature should also be the real name." This time he didn't insist on controlling the old accounts. He knew that the old names were no longer controllable, and the new emergency procedure was drafted on the spot. There was no Zhao Qichou, no Wei Zhichou. There was no Feng Xichou, and every shift, three parties registered the person in advance. After an emergency occurs, the physician first writes down the symptoms and whether the person can be moved. A second independent physician reviews it.

"Next door."

When the emperor is able to speak, his opinion must be recorded. If he is deemed delirious, his specific behavior must be written down. Merely recording agitation is insufficient; the gatekeeper is only responsible for route security. He has no authority to judge the illness; those present at the emperor's presence are not authorized to diagnose medical conditions. Any of the three parties involved can be replaced. The emperor must re-state his name, and the original three name tags will not be destroyed. The tags will be sealed in a document box, and the new regulations will be implemented on a trial basis. Just as the emperor was about to sign, the emergency bell rang from the direction of Changning Palace. Three rings—not a death knell, but the old emergency bell from the imperial court. Liu Shen's expression changed drastically. "His Majesty is here." The emperor was standing at the North Inner Gate when the bell from Changning Palace rang, announcing: the emperor is seriously ill and needs to be moved.