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

Chapter 33 His Majesty asked me if I could still walk.

The imperial carriage entered the imperial city.

The sound of wheels subsided as soon as they entered the palace gates.

Even the stone slabs in the palace seemed to know the rules, making people afraid to breathe too loudly.

I sat in the car, my eyelids drooping with sleep, but I couldn't fall asleep.

Half of an imperial seal was hidden in his sleeve.

He had Qian Rong's name card tucked into his pocket.

His mind was filled with images of the Golden Crane, the Six Fingers on the Left Hand, Guangchumen, and Hewenzhai.

The worst part is that I still have to see the emperor.

I came to the capital on my father's orders, and my real purpose was to kill him.

Now, things are getting worse; the investigation is going deeper and deeper, and the emperor is seeing her more and more frequently.

If this continues, Xu Sandao might start to suspect that I'm not here to assassinate anyone, but to clock in at court.

When the imperial carriage stopped, Wei Zhi was already waiting outside.

The old eunuch smiled, as if he knew nothing.

But the scariest people in the palace are those who know nothing at all.

"Lord Shen, His Majesty is waiting for you in the side hall."

My legs went weak when I got off the bus.

It wasn't from being scared.

I'm sleepy.

Wei Zhi reached out a hand to help him up and said with a smile, "Lord Shen, you must be tired after traveling all night."

I cupped my hands in greeting.

"Serving His Majesty, I dare not complain of hardship."

Wei Zhi glanced at me.

"That's well said."

My heart skipped a beat.

If people in the palace praise you, it's usually not a good thing.

Gu Xingzhi was also present in front of the side hall.

He still had that deadpan expression, standing in the shadows like a sword yet to be drawn.

When he saw me, he only said one sentence:

"You're still alive."

I nodded.

"Thanks to Commander Gu."

"It's not my good fortune," he said. "It's just that you're lucky."

These words sound much more sincere than blessings.

Just as I was about to go in, Gu Xingzhi suddenly said, "Leave the dagger behind."

My heart skipped a beat.

"What did Commander Gu say?"

"A short blade in my sleeve, lime in my bosom, a scrap of paper from the sole of my shoe." Gu Xingzhi looked at me. "Leave them all."

I was silent.

Do this person's eyes grow inside my clothes?

Wei Zhi still had a smile on his face.

"Lord Shen, these are the rules of the palace."

I sighed.

When you're under someone's roof, you not only have to bow your head, but you also have to reach into your pocket.

I handed over the short blade and lime powder.

I also took out the half of the inner mold from the sole of the shoe.

Gu Xingzhi took it and glanced at it.

For the first time, his eyes changed.

It's very light.

"The inner warehouse/material storage room?"

I didn't say anything.

Gu Xingzhi handed the items to Wei Zhi without asking any further questions.

This only made me more uneasy.

I'm not afraid of him asking; I'm afraid he won't ask.

In the side hall, Emperor Xiao Jingheng sat behind his desk.

There were folding papers piled on the table.

The top book in the series still has a very new cover.

I spotted Qian Rong's name immediately.

They came so quickly.

I knelt down to pay my respects.

"Your subject Shen An pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Xiao Jingheng did not call him to get up immediately.

He looked down and flipped through the folded pages.

The hall was very quiet.

I knelt on the cold floor tiles, and the chill jolted me awake.

After turning a page, the emperor slowly said, "Shen An."

"Your subject is here."

You were very busy last night.

I've heard that several times today.

Qian Rong once said that.

Zhao Guanlan once said that.

Yan Xiaoyi had said something similar.

Now even the emperor says so.

I think I should charge a small fee for my hard work.

Of course, I only dared to keep it to myself.

"I have been ordered to investigate the Yongning River case and dare not slack off."

Xiao Jingheng looked up at me.

"I ordered you to investigate the waterways, and you've uncovered ironworks, old warehouses, carriage and horse shops, and the back alley of the Qian family's residence. Now you've dragged in the Imperial Treasury, the Ministry of Justice, and the Secretariat."

He closed the folding box.

"Should I praise your competence?"

I lowered my head.

"If Your Majesty is willing to praise me, I dare not refuse."

Wei Zhi's eyelids seemed to twitch slightly.

Gu Xingzhi stood by the palace gate, as if he hadn't heard anything.

The emperor stared at me for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"You've got a thick skin."

"If I had been too thin-skinned last night, I would have died in the fire."

Xiao Jingheng threw Qian Rong's folded paper in front of me.

The folded paper slid down to my knees.

"have a look."

I picked it up.

The charges were listed in detail.

Unauthorized investigation.

Disrupting the southern city.

The fire destroyed evidence.

They forced a confession from the driver.

They trespassed into the back alley of the Qian family mansion.

Hiding items from the case.

Each one is familiar.

Qian Ronglian's handwriting is very neat.

It's obvious that it was prepared in advance.

After I finished reading it, I put the folding book back on the ground.

Xiao Jingheng asked, "Is it unjust?"

I thought about it.

"Not entirely innocent."

The emperor's eyes flickered slightly.

"Which one isn't wronged?"

"I did indeed conduct a night patrol of the southern city, I did indeed enter the carriage and horse shop, I did indeed go to the back alley of the Qian residence, and I did indeed secretly keep some of the case items."

"You'd better be honest."

"If I am dishonest, Commander Gu will be honest for me."

Gu Xingzhi glanced at me.

That look probably meant he wasn't keen on being honest for me.

The emperor leaned back in his chair.

"Since you are not innocent, how should I deal with you?"

I bowed my head and said, "According to the law, I have overstepped my authority in investigating the case and have privately concealed the case items. I should be suspended from my post and punished."

"You know?"

"Know."

"You knew it, yet you still did it?"

"Because if we don't do it, the witnesses will die, the evidence will be burned, and it will be easier for Minister Qian to write his memorial."

Xiao Jingheng remained silent.

I continued, "I am a lowly official, with no soldiers, no yamen runners, no treasury, and no ability to silence others. All I can do is run faster than the person trying to silence me and shout louder than the arsonist."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

That's not a polite way to say it.

But I'm telling the truth.

The investigation reached that point last night, and I relied not on my power, but on my utter disarray.

It all depended on Ah Liu running errands, Yan Xiaoyi beating people, Zhao Guanlan arriving in time, and a life-saving medicine from the Princess's residence.

And it's all thanks to my thick skin.

Xiao Jingheng looked at me.

"So what did you find out?"

I recounted the clues I had gathered from last night to this morning, one by one.

Tao Family Iron Workshop Copper Buckle Mold.

Ci'en Temple crossbow.

No. 37, Old Warehouse in the South of the City.

Three carriages traveled at night.

Ding Che passed through the back alley of Qianfu.

Liu Laoqi's confession.

Yongning stone materials, inner warehouse materials, and cash purchase.

Settle accounts.

Six fingers on the left hand.

Golden-lined crane.

When the emperor spoke of "Guangchu Gate", I noticed that he tapped his finger lightly on the imperial desk.

Only once.

But I saw it.

He cares about Guangchumen.

Not just because it's an inner city passage.

I stopped.

The emperor raised his eyes.

"continue."

I said, "Old Liu said that the six boxes of goods were transferred from the back alley of the Qian residence into a small carriage with blue curtains and headed towards Guangchu Gate."

Xiao Jingheng looked at Gu Xingzhi.

Gu Xingzhi said: "Last night, from the end of Xu to the beginning of Hai, two blue-curtained carts entered the inner warehouse of Guangchu Gate. The record says they were old items being transported back from the material room."

My heart sank.

The emperor had already investigated.

Or rather, he always knew there was a car at Guangchumen last night.

He summoned me not to hear me talk about the case.

It's about seeing if I can find out where he already knows.

The emperor then asked, "Where is Hewenzhai?"

Gu Xingzhi said, "It was sealed off by the Ministry of Justice this morning."

"reason?"

"The embroidery workshop is involved in an old case of embroidery theft."

I almost burst out laughing.

Embroidery theft case?

This excuse is even more flimsy than when I skipped school and said I had a stomachache.

Xiao Jingheng looked at me.

What do you think?

I said, "Some people are afraid of your humble servant Cha Hewenzhai."

"Who?"

"Ministry of Justice"

Why is the Ministry of Justice afraid?

"Perhaps it's not that the Ministry of Justice is afraid, but that someone is using the Ministry of Justice to close the door first."

The emperor's gaze deepened slightly.

Whom do you suspect?

I lowered my head.

"Your subject dares not speak recklessly."

"You wouldn't dare?" Xiao Jingheng said calmly, "I see you have quite the nerve."

I really want to say that I'm not very brave; I was just forced into this situation.

But I held back.

The name Pei Shen cannot come out of my mouth first.

At the very least, they shouldn't come out without evidence.

I said, "I only know that the golden crane pattern is not an official robe design, but a privately made hidden pattern. The Crane Pattern Studio made hidden patterns for some officials in the Secretariat and the Ministry of Rites, and also had connections with former palace officials. But based on this alone, we cannot implicate anyone."

Xiao Jingheng stared at me for a long time.

"You're still quite lucid."

I felt a little relieved.

The emperor then said, "Then I have another question for you."

My anger rose again.

"Did you search the inner treasury, the Guangchu Gate, and the palace supply room last night because of the Yongning case, or to investigate palace intrigues?"

coming.

This is what the emperor really wanted to ask.

The air inside the hall seemed a bit colder.

Wei Zhi's hands hung limply, his smile fading.

Gu Xingzhi stood by the door, his gaze fixed on me.

I knelt on the ground, and suddenly a thin layer of sweat appeared on my back.

This is a difficult question to answer.

The emperor might not believe it was because of the Yongning case.

To find out the palace's secrets was to offer one's neck to the blade.

I thought about it for a moment, and finally said, "I have both."

The hall became even quieter.

Xiao Jingheng looked at me.

"You have them all?"

"I investigated the Yongning case because Your Majesty ordered me to. I investigated the palace routes because I want to know why the accounts related to the Yongning case ended up in the palace."

I paused for a moment.

"Also because I want to live."

"What does wanting to live have to do with figuring out the palace's routes?"

"Some people want me dead. Among them are people from the Ministry of Works, people from the Ministry of Finance, gray-clad assassins, crossbowmen, people who can influence the Ministry of Justice, and people who can make the Guangchu Gate open. If I don't know their ways, I can only wait to die."

That's still only half the story.

The other half is:

My father ordered me to kill you, so of course I need to know the palace intrigues.

But this half-sentence cannot be said.

The emperor didn't seem to expect me to tell everything.

He said slowly, "Shen An, you're very good at turning danger into a grievance."

"I have indeed been wronged."

"What are you complaining about?"

"I was ordered to investigate the case. I found the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Works impeached me. I found the Qian family, and the Qian family invited me for tea. I found the Imperial Treasury, and the palace asked me if I had ulterior motives."

I looked up at the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I am not quite sure whether you ordered me to investigate or they ordered me not to investigate."

That statement is offensive.

The moment I said it, I regretted it.

But it's too late to regret it.

The emperor looked at me.

long time.

It went on for so long that I felt Gu Xingzhi was starting to consider which angle would be most convenient for covering my mouth.

Finally, Xiao Jingheng suddenly smiled.

He didn't laugh much.

"You're quite the tattletale."

I immediately lowered my head.

"Your subject dares not."

"You're incredibly daring."

The emperor picked up the half of the imperial seal.

Why did you keep this hidden away?

"I'm afraid it will be useless if I submit it too early."

"Is handing it over to the Censorate useless?"

"The Censorate may not be clean."

"Should we hand it over to the inner guards?"

I glanced at Gu Xingzhi.

Gu Xingzhi's expression remained unchanged.

I said, "Even the Imperial Guards might not be completely clean."

Wei Zhi's eyelids twitched again.

The emperor's fingers caressed the half of the seal.

"Then leave it to me?"

I remained silent for a moment.

"Even the people around His Majesty are not necessarily clean."

This time, even Gu Xingzhi glanced at me.

The hall was eerily quiet.

I began to seriously consider whether I could still crawl out of the side hall alive if the emperor turned against me now.

The answer is probably not.

Xiao Jingheng, however, was not angry.

He simply looked at the half-printed image, his voice lowered.

"you're right."

I was taken aback.

The emperor said:

"Even those around me may not be clean."

This sentence was spoken very softly.

But it chills you to the bone more than any angry rebuke.

An emperor himself admitted that his inner circle was not clean.

Just how badly rotten was the main beam?

Xiao Jingheng put the seal back on the table.

"I will temporarily suppress Qian Rong's memorial."

Just as I was about to express my gratitude, he added, "It will only be suppressed for three days."

My scalp tingled.

"Three days?"

"Within three days, you must produce irrefutable evidence sufficient to be brought to the imperial court. If you can, I will appoint you as the Minister of Works for the Palace Trial. If you cannot, I will suspend you from your post and hand you over to the Censorate for self-investigation."

I looked up.

Xiao Jingheng said calmly, "Didn't you say that the Censorate might not be clean? You can check yourself then."

The emperor was a man who held grudges.

I bowed my head and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

"besides."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Liu Laoqi cannot die."

Upon hearing those words, I suddenly felt a strange sense of relief.

The emperor finally spoke a sensible sentence.

Xiao Jingheng looked at Wei Zhi.

"It is said that Xu Shen of the Imperial Medical Academy has been transferred to the Censorate."

Wei Zhi bowed.

"This servant obeys the decree."

I felt a sense of relief.

With the Imperial Medical Academy intervening, Liu Laoqi will at least have a better chance of survival.

But Xiao Jingheng's next words brought my relief back down to earth.

"If Liu Laoqi dies, I will hold you responsible."

I:"……"

The emperor protects people in such an unreasonable way.

I kowtowed.

"I have done my best."

"It's not about trying your best."

Xiao Jingheng looked at me.

"It's necessary."

I can only kowtow again.

"I obey your decree."

When I left the side hall, I felt a little lightheaded.

It's not because it's easy.

I'm so sleepy I want to collapse.

Wei Zhi returned the short blade and lime powder to me, but he didn't return the half of the imperial seal.

I looked at him.

Wei Zhi smiled and said, "His Majesty has stayed."

I laughed too.

"Your Majesty is truly adept at safeguarding my belongings."

Wei Zhi's smile deepened.

"Lord Shen, some things are a curse to you; but in His Majesty's hands, they are proof."

That makes sense.

But I still feel heartbroken.

The thing I painstakingly discovered overnight was taken away by the emperor as soon as I entered the palace.

Promotion is a cage.

The same applies to investigating cases.

The evidence is also there.

As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, Yan Xiaoyi was already waiting there.

He leaned against the palace wall, his clothes stained with a little dust.

not much.

But I noticed a tear in his right sleeve.

My heart sank.

"Hewenzhai?"

Yan Xiaoyi nodded.

"It's off."

"Someone from the Ministry of Justice?"

"have."

"You went in?"

"Didn't get in."

I looked at his cuffs.

"So what's going on?"

He glanced down and said lazily, "There were people at the door who wouldn't let me look, so I just took a couple more glances."

"Then?"

They tripped and fell.

I'm too lazy to even ask who fell.

Yan Xiaoyi took a small piece of charred cloth from his pocket and handed it to me.

"Found it through the back door."

There is gold thread on the corner of the cloth.

Embroidered with half a crane.

Beside the crane's body, there was a very faint blackish-gray.

I twirled it.

It's not ordinary gray.

It's medicine ash.

Yan Xiaoyi said, "Something is being burned at Hewenzhai. Before the Ministry of Justice sealed off the place, someone had already burned a batch of embroidery patterns."

I frowned.

"Did you see the person with six fingers?"

"no."

He paused.

"But I saw someone come out of the back door."

"Who?"

Yan Xiaoyi looked at me.

"Pei Shen's personal attendant."

My heart sank.

Pei Shen did not appear.

But his shadow finally landed at the back door of Hewenzhai.

Just then, a young eunuch sent by Wei Zhi caught up and handed me a palace token.