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

Qingxia's urgent message didn't work. The father checked the time first, then the messenger, and finally asked, "Is the emperor dead yet?" The messenger couldn't answer, so Qingxia just hung the paper up without taking any action. Yong'an also received a copy. After reading it, the mother didn't tear it up, but added at the bottom: "The original account will not be moved. We await an explanation from the living why it must be moved."

These two reports improved the emperor's expression somewhat. But less than half an hour later, another layer of precedent from the old rules of the Secretariat resurfaced: the earliest version of the so-called "three days" might not have referred to three days. The first day, the gates were closed.

The room was sealed off the following day.

The sign at Xuanwu Gate, "No Approaching the Emperor," was removed, but the rumor of Emperor Zhaoning's regency remained: This was because it had indeed been written in the four official lists and the future obituary. One cannot simply erase the regency line created by others with the statement that the emperor himself was not in charge. Finally, there was the Meridian Gate, the main gate through which officials entered the court. The old list was displayed at the highest point, indicating the emperor was not attending to affairs. For three days, the Secretariat temporarily resumed its duties as usual. The Meridian Gate Commandant did not disown the emperor; he did. However, he said, "His Majesty is currently lucid." "This does not mean the emergency procedure has automatically terminated." The emperor's face darkened. "I myself said it was terminated." "It is written in the old regulations." "Recovery during illness requires re-examination by the original three parties." "Zhao Qi, Wei Zhi, and Feng happy?"

On the third day, the post station was quiet, and all three steps were completed, so one could record "three days have passed." According to this interpretation, as long as the four gates were sealed, the imperial study was sealed, and the outer post station was closed, "three days of illness" could be completed today. After listening for a long time, A-Liu asked, "Is this called a day?" Pei Shen said, "The earliest version was written as three sections."

"Yes." "Three dead men?" The Meridian Gate Captain bowed his head. "That's how it is in the old records." If the emperor wanted to prove his recovery, he would need three people who had made him sick. Then, to prove he wasn't sick, this procedure was never intended to allow any living people to withdraw. I asked, "What if the original three are dead?" "A substitute." "Who is the substitute?" "The original name will still be used." Here we go again, the old newspaper in the Meridian Gate's hand has one more page than the other three gates. The regulations for the passage of imperial edicts during illness, within three days. All urgent edicts sent from Jing'an will be verified by the Secretariat. The Court of Imperial Clan Affairs will verify the rites for illness, and the North Inner Gate will verify Feng Xilu's record. Once the three are present, the other four gates will be exempt from verifying the emperor himself.

Because the emperor was ill, he couldn't see everyone at every gate. This was the passage they truly needed. Sending the emperor to the Jing'an Palace meant no one outside could see him. But the documents from the Jing'an Palace didn't need to be seen by the emperor again. "Who checks the duties in the Secretariat?" I asked. The Meridian Gate Commandant took out the three-day duty roster. Du Cheng, from Shenshi (3-5 PM) today to Zishi (11 PM-1 AM) of the third day. He was on duty continuously, without rotation. The emperor said, "Is there no one else in the Secretariat?" "Two other attendants." "One was transferred to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs." "The other returned home for a funeral." "When was he transferred?" "Yesterday." "Who approved it?" "The old Secretariat duty seal." "For the funeral?"

"Who changed it to three days?"

"My mother died last night." "Was the autopsy performed?" "No." Another funeral notice was issued, and Du Cheng was made the only official in the Imperial Secretariat to verify the documents for the next three days. All urgent edicts issued during the emperor's illness, once they passed through his hands, could pass through all four gates, and the emperor would review them and arrange the order of documents. "Where is Du Cheng?" the Meridian Gate Commandant asked. "The Imperial Study." "Wasn't it sealed off?" "He sealed it off." "Has he come out?" "No." Everyone stopped. The register for sealing the Imperial Study only recorded: Du Cheng, Imperial Secretariat Secretary, sealed the Imperial Study as per custom during his illness. There was no record of when he left, so everyone assumed he left after sealing it off. In reality, no one saw him; he was probably still inside.

No one answered immediately, so we decided not to guess on paper. Du Cheng had a fake receipt sent out, saying that the three days were complete and we could come to collect the "fourth day's token." Less than an hour later, an old man selling lamp oil was instructed to deliver the wooden token. The front of the token was inscribed with: "Three days have passed," and the back only had a mnemonic: "On the first day, the door is closed; on the second day, the house is sealed; on the third day, the post station is quiet; when the three days are complete, the old custom is fulfilled."

The old man didn't know who had sent him to deliver it; he only knew the token was taken from the stone tortoise's mouth. The trail followed the stone tortoise all the way to the Imperial Seal Bureau. Meng Zhun, responsible for the final verification of the seals, was listed as "on sick leave" on the roster. The sick leave was issued by Zhao Qi's old doctor, who was also dead. People at the Imperial Seal Bureau said that Meng Zhun had gone home yesterday.

"It's me." Du Cheng was indeed inside. "Why didn't you answer?" "I was afraid the person outside wouldn't be me." This sounds absurd, but it makes sense now. "How can you prove you're Du Cheng?" I asked. The person inside said, "I have six toes on my left foot." The old clerk outside the door had a complicated expression. "Du Sheren is indeed you." "Anything else?" "I owe the cook in the duty room two hundred and forty coins." A-Liu said, "That can prove it?" Bai Zhi asked the old clerk, "Do you owe her?" "Yes." "Is the count correct?" "Yesterday it was two hundred and thirty." The person inside said, "Today another bowl of noodles was added." This was a new matter, at least it meant that the person inside knew about today's debt.

No one was home at Meng Zhun's house, but the inventory ledger showed that he had checked the weight of the imperial seal this morning.

"How can someone be at home, in the Imperial Household Department, and too sick to come at the same time?" Bai Zhi asked.

No one answered, so we searched the Imperial Seal Bureau again, not by name, but by the number of meals, water, and lamp oil collected that day. We finally found Meng Zhun in a narrow alleyway in the storeroom. He was alive, his hands were tied behind his back, and his mouth was gagged. His first words weren't a cry of injustice.

"I heard them saying outside." "His Majesty has fainted." "Who approached the Imperial Study?" "Arrest them according to the imperial edict." "Are you afraid of death?" "Yes." Du Cheng answered quickly, and I thought he was very honest. Being afraid of death isn't shameful; being afraid of death without using your brain is. He had at least locked up three draft edicts, and there was water in the Imperial Study. There was no food, not even a day's worth. No one would starve, just an extra bowl of noodles for the cook. His identity was initially verified, but opening the door required three parties. The Emperor, the Secretariat, and the Censorate. The Emperor personally used the imperial key to open the first lock. The Secretariat used its spare key to open the second lock, and Du Cheng inside opened the inner bolt. All three simultaneously.

"Imperial Seal Cabinet".

After Meng Zhun was rescued, an even more dangerous regulation was discovered in the old records of the Imperial Seal Bureau.

Qi Shouli's face turned ashen. He only checked the form, not the facts. A genuine form could cover up the later false content. The first draft of the edict had a date written on the margin before the main text. The second was the same, and the third too. Someone had collected all the necessary parts to legitimize the future edict. Then, after the emperor was rendered speechless, Du Cheng said, "There's one more thing." He pointed to the imperial seal cabinet, the door closed. Both keys were there, one carried by the emperor, the other sealed by the Secretariat, the key to which was kept in a transparent box. The wax was intact. "They don't have the seal." "So it will take three days," Pei Shen said, the emperor looking at him. "What do you mean?"

After the three major health checks during her illness, a "fourth test" was needed to confirm the use of the imperial seal. The current register listed Meng Zhun, but an earlier draft stated that the emperor would temporarily appoint a close relative of the imperial family; if the appointee was unavailable, the nearest adult female member of the imperial clan would act in her place. Someone had already prepared the old seal of the deceased Princess Ancheng. If Zhao Ning was confined outside the palace, this seal of the deceased could complete the "fourth imperial test" for her.

On the fourth day, the three secretariats opened the seal. The official seal could be affixed without the emperor waking up. It didn't even require the Jing'an Bureau to issue a false oral edict. All that was needed was for the people to believe he couldn't decide in three days. I asked, "Who established this precedent?" Pei Shen replied, "Wang Song proposed it." "I revised it." "His Majesty approves." The emperor did not deny it. "When?" "The year after the late empress's illness." "Why?" "His Majesty was unconscious for two days." Pei Shen said, "There was an urgent edict from the border pressing down." "We cannot have no one to use the seal." "Therefore, it can be opened in three days." "How can it be proven that it was formed before the illness?" "Half of the seal of the Secretariat, the border record of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, and the imperial register."

After Xiao Lingyi finished reading, she simply said, "Another dead man on duty." The emperor turned and left. The outer seal of the imperial seal cabinet remained intact, and the weight register matched daily. However, upon opening the cabinet, the imperial seal inside immediately seemed off. Meng Zhun weighed it in his hand; it was light. A little over three ounces—a fake. The real imperial seal was no longer in the palace.

All three draft edicts contained the first two items, and the imperial registration should have been completed by Wei Zhi. The imposter Wei Zhi had already entered the Imperial Study, and if Du Cheng hadn't locked the door, the third item would also appear three days later. With the official seal affixed, everyone could say the procedures were complete. The Emperor looked at Du Cheng. "When you locked the door..." "Did you know the rule of opening the cabinet every three days?" "Yes." "So you stayed?" "Yes." "Why didn't you take the draft edict out?" "It would be taken if I took it out." "I kept it in my hands." "At least for three days, no one could complete the imperial registration." Du Cheng neither caught anyone nor exposed the entire plan. He simply locked himself in the Imperial Study.

The Emperor said, "Record this merit, as there's one less signature on the three documents." Du Cheng immediately replied, "First, record my signature for sealing the gate." "What responsibility?" "After receiving the report of an urgent illness, I didn't first verify whether Your Majesty was truly ill." "Seale the Imperial Study according to old custom." "If it weren't for discovering the three draft edicts..." "I would have done the same." The Emperor glanced at him. "Record that too." Merit and responsibility didn't balance out; this had become a bad habit they'd learned from their mother. The seal on the Imperial Study was lifted, and the three draft edicts were placed in the document box. The Imperial Seal cabinet remained closed; the two keys were checked first. Both were genuine, at least for now. But Du Cheng said there was originally a west-facing post box under the Emperor's desk.

Before its theft, at least three imperial edicts had been forged. One of them was the original copy of the Yong'an public account book that had been removed. At this moment, all the debates about whether His Majesty was awake or not were no longer just empty words. Someone was carrying the real imperial seal and heading towards Yong'an.