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

The emperor passed through four gates, each with a different reason for stopping him.

If Yan Tuo didn't act on the grounds of delaying the emperor's emergency treatment, he might be held responsible for killing the emperor, even though he clearly saw the emperor standing alive before him. Yet, the document would say he delayed the rescue. I asked, "Who rang the bell?" The report from Changning Palace hadn't arrived yet. The emperor said, "Go and see." "Your Majesty cannot go first." "Why?" "Someone is waiting for you to return to Changning." "I will not return." "Someone will say you disappeared while ill." The emperor's face was extremely cold. "Then you want me to stand at the door?" "Write down your name first." Sixty-two people from the North Inner Gate: Liu Shen, Pei Shen, Xiao Lingyi, and I witnessed it all. Time: 2:45 PM.

The report from Xihua Gate stated that Shen Lie was gathering troops and that if the emperor entered the palace, he might be forced to abdicate. The report from Qingxia's military headquarters confirmed that Shen Lie had indeed made mobilizations, but only withdrew two battalions for rotational defense; he had not advanced towards the capital. The report from Xuanwu Gate contained an urgent report about Zhao Ning and my "coup," but the time stated in the report coincided with our time at the North Inner Gate, with witnesses present from all sides.

The Meridian Gate was the most troublesome. According to old custom, if the emperor recovered from his illness, it had to be confirmed by three examiners from the original illness. After passing through the four gates, the emperor's temper worsened, making him seem more like himself than anyone described as "mentally sound." However, Xiao Lingyi did not allow anyone to write "will scold Shen An" as an official examination criterion.

"Just because Father is in a good mood on a particular day doesn't mean it's fake."

The emperor glanced at her.

"You've thought of everything for me." "Not for you, but because I'm afraid someone will force you to curse others in the future."

Princess Zhaoning was forbidden from entering, and Censor Shen An was forbidden from approaching the emperor. The last two rules, though lacking a reason, perfectly suited some people's wishes. Separating Xiao Lingyi, separating me. Leaving behind the official documents from the Secretariat and the dead, Pei Shen finished reading the copy of the urgent report. "Not for Jing'an." "Then what is it?" "First, let the world get used to three days without an emperor." Three days was enough time to do many things: change the palace gates. Change Wei Zhi, change the medical prescriptions. A few official seals were affixed, and then it was said that the emperor's illness had already been approved. The emperor asked, "Who received the report from the Secretariat?" "Du Cheng, the duty officer." "Where is he?" "He's been treated according to the old procedures for emergency illnesses." "Seal off the Imperial Study." "Why seal it off?"

Zhao Qi was dead, Wei Zhi was dead. Feng Xi was dead too; the dead locked the emperor outside his palace gates. After reviewing the precedent, the emperor, instead of cursing, asked, "Who is still alive?" The last person connected to the imperial registration during the emperor's illness was Du Cheng. He was a member of the Secretariat, but the Imperial Study had been sealed off since the emergency bell rang, and Du Cheng had not emerged.

"To prevent chaotic edicts during illness." The emperor was awake, but he was no longer allowed into the imperial study. The Court of Imperial Clan Affairs also issued a notice that he was temporarily not to attend court. There was no imperial edict, only three names on the list of those with urgent illnesses. Zhao Qi, Wei Zhi, and Feng Xi—three names of dead men. They were leaving even faster than the living emperor. I looked at the medical records on the gate of Changning Palace. This wasn't regicide, at least not now. They didn't even need the emperor to die; as long as all the government offices believed: he couldn't make the decision, the living would be written dead from the power itself. The emperor picked up a pen, intending to write "I am not delirious" on the list of those with urgent illnesses. Pei Shen said, "Your Majesty cannot write only this one." "Why?"

Instead of using a dead body to verify the emperor's identity at the Meridian Gate, they combined the verification of a living person, the time of day at each of the four gates, and Meng Zhun's private seal, and temporarily allowed passage. When we entered the Imperial Study, Du Cheng was sitting behind the door. He hadn't been tied up; he had barricaded the door from the inside. On the table were three draft edicts already written, awaiting the emperor's departure due to his illness.

“They’ll say I wrote this while I was ill,” the Emperor said, looking at me. “How?” “Don’t prove you’re always lucid,” I said. “Just prove every single hour.” “Let’s begin.” A living recorder was set up in Changning Palace, every half hour. The Emperor answered three random questions: today’s date, who he had just met, and what they were discussing. Two independent physicians checked his pulse, and a witness who knew nothing about medicine simply observed whether he could speak for himself. All records were sent to six different places, not because the Emperor would never fall ill, but because no old medical record could be used. He was made to fall into a coma three days in advance. The Emperor asked, “What if I really do fall into a coma?” “Write a fake coma.”

"What about the court?" "New emergency treatment procedures." "Real names of living people." "Facts attached." "Zhao Qi, Wei Zhi, and Feng Xi can no longer be used." The emperor looked at the three old plaques. "I grant permission." This time, it couldn't just be permission; the new emergency treatment decree was completed on the spot. Xiao Jingheng signed, Liu Shen signed as a witness who was currently conscious. The second physician signed, Xiao Lingyi signed. Pei Shen signed, and Yan Tuo from the North Inner Gate signed. The three plaques with the names of the dead were officially discontinued; the old practice of not burning them was discontinued. They were sealed, and every palace gate that received the new decree had to return the old plaques. If one plaque was missing, another had to be written. Before the first round of returns was even over, objections were sent from the Donghua Gate.

The first document: Zhao Ning is temporarily separated from the inner palace. The second document: Shen An is suspended from his position as censor. The third document: Yong'an, Qingzhou, and Jiangbei publicly disclose their old accounts and relocate them to the capital. The paper is genuine, the format is genuine, and some of the marginal notes are even rites previously approved by the emperor. The fake document is dictated.

"Why don't you come out?" I asked.

Having served as a city gate captain for seven years, he had never been a dead man. Han Feng asked, "On what crime were you arrested?" The emperor looked at him. "Disobeying an imperial edict." I said, "Which edict did he disobey?" The emperor looked at me again. "The new edict." "He believes the new edict was signed hastily while ill." "That's why we're asking him first." "What else do we need to ask?" "We need to ask him what evidence he needs." The emperor said coldly, "Isn't it enough for me to stand before him?" "Not necessarily." "Why?" "If Your Majesty were ill," "You could still stand." "If you were a fake emperor," "You might still stand." These words were unpleasant, especially spoken in front of the emperor. But Donghua Gate was facing a complex problem.

Du Cheng pushed an empty box on the west side to me: "This has already been sent away." According to old regulations, if the emperor was unable to govern for three consecutive days, the Secretariat, the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, and the Imperial Seal Office could activate the "Preparatory Order" within a certain scope. The original intention was to prevent the border from facing certain emergencies and waiting to die. Wang Song participated in its formulation.

Pei Shen later revised it, and the emperor approved it. Now someone has prepared three draft edicts in advance, just waiting for them to be issued "during the three days of illness," but the emperor was clearly only delirious from writing for half a day.

This happened after the urgent report of an illness. The people of Changning Palace shouldn't know, and of course, the Emperor didn't know either. So the question wasn't about getting a correct answer, but about whether he would pretend to know. After reading it, the Emperor said, "I don't know." The second question: If the fire in the north city is discovered at Donghua Gate at this moment, which gate should be opened first? This isn't the only answer; it depends on the wind direction, the flow of people, and the intensity of the fire. The Emperor asked the deputy captain, "Wind direction?" "Southeast." "Location of the fire?" "The grain shops in the north city." "Where are the people running?" "Undecided." The Emperor said, "Open the small north gate first to separate people." "Leave the main gate for the water carts." "If the crowd has already crowded the main gate..."

"Why are they in such a hurry?" Xiao Lingyi asked.

Du Cheng said, "Because what we need is not these three days." He pointed to the third edict for transferring the tent.

"Three days from now, anyone who opposes this will be considered to be obstructing the restoration of government amidst the chaos of illness."

I understand now. Everything that had happened before was merely preparing for the fourth day, establishing a pre-existing fact. The tents were moved first, the people stopped. The doors were sealed first. Once the emperor had risen again, the deed was done, and then he could choose whether to retroactively acknowledge or formally recognize the stability of the realm. The emperor understood too. He asked, "Where should the west box be sent?"

The problem wasn't that he arrived first, but that the old order had been issued before the actual time was recorded. After receiving the complete time for verification at Donghua Gate, Qiao Wen finally entered the palace personally, first announcing his name. He then checked the emperor's records, without kneeling and begging for mercy. He simply said, "Your Majesty, I reported to the gatekeeper first." "If I am guilty?" "Please record it." The emperor asked, "Which report do you accept now?" "I accept that Your Majesty is currently conscious." "What about the old report?" "The report stating that he fell ill at 2:45 PM is false." "Are the rest all false?" "We cannot determine them all at once." Qiao Wen didn't burn the entire report just because he discovered one falsehood; this was already better than many others. The emperor said, "Why didn't you check the time first?"

"Qingxia." "What's inside?" "An urgent page with a military takeover order."

The source is false; execution must cease. A-Liu asked, "Why not just burn it?" Qiao Wen replied, "After burning it." "Some will say Donghua Gate never received it." "That's true." Donghua Gate reopened the outer gate of the Imperial Study. The new decree was no longer refused on the grounds of the emperor's illness. However, the other three gates still hadn't responded. Bai Zhi arranged the arrival times of the urgent reports from the four gates side-by-side. Donghua Gate was first, Xihua Gate second, Xuanwu Gate third, and Wu Gate last. The four old reports differed in content, yet all had been dispatched before the emergency bell rang. It wasn't that someone had hastily prepared the reports after hearing the bell. They knew in advance that today at 3:45 PM, the emperor would be described as having fainted.

The Emperor looked at the four time records. "They even determined when I would fall ill." I said, "Your Majesty hasn't fallen ill yet." "So they can only let the paper report show signs of illness first." The East Gate had already acknowledged the Emperor's presence, but the remaining three gates each had their own reasons. The West Gate said: Shen Lie might be approaching the capital. The Emperor is ill and will not accept any order to withdraw defenses. The Black Tortoise Gate said: Princess Zhaoning and Shen An are suspected of using the clearing of accounts to force the Emperor to abdicate. The new order witnessed by the two is invalid, and the Meridian Gate is the most direct. The Secretariat has already taken over the administration of the court during the Emperor's illness, except for those on duty in the Secretariat. No one is allowed to change the notice of three days of inactivity. The same urgent illness report reached the four gates. Four different illnesses emerged.