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

When I entered the Golden Hall, all the civil and military officials looked over.

The way they looked at me was complicated.

There was disdain, surprise, schadenfreude, and a few older men watching intently, as if trying to figure out which dog hole I had gotten all mud on.

To be honest, they were half right.

I did crawl through the dog hole.

But I can't say.

For a high-ranking censor to crawl out of the dog hole of Vice Minister Qian's villa while carrying the Ministry of Works' review documents, if word got out, the Censorate would laugh for three years.

Ah Liu originally wanted me to change my clothes.

I didn't change it.

This muddy body is more useful than a clean official robe.

He stood in the hall in his clean official robes, as if he had come to argue a point.

Covered in mud, he stood on the platform, looking as if he had been dug out of a fire.

Qian Rong was already in the hall.

He was dressed in a neat official robe, his face was calm, and even his beard was combed perfectly.

Compared to him, I feel like I've just been dug out of a pit.

Emperor Xiao Jingheng sat on his throne, his expression unreadable.

Wei Zhi stood to the side, still smiling.

Gu Xingzhi was not in the hall.

This is normal.

The Imperial Guards were not allowed to stand among the court officials at will.

But I know he's watching from somewhere.

Qian Rong spoke first.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty."

He knelt very steadily.

"Your Majesty, I have failed in my duties. Qian Fu, the accountant in my household, has embezzled old records from the Ministry of Works and colluded with carriage and horse dealerships and banks to embezzle treasury funds under the pretext of the Yongning River case. I failed to investigate this matter and I humbly request leniency."

What a blatant oversight!

In short, he transformed himself from the principal offender into an unfortunate superior who was deceived by his subordinates.

Immediately, people in the court began to whisper among themselves.

An official from the Ministry of Works stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Vice Minister Qian has been diligent and conscientious for many years. The Yongning River case happened suddenly, and it is possible that his subordinates used the government's name to engage in corruption. It is not necessarily at Vice Minister Qian's behest."

Another person chimed in: "On the contrary, Shen An broke into Vice Minister Qian's villa last night, colluded with the Imperial Guards, and forcibly seized the records. Whether this action was in accordance with the laws of the court should also be investigated."

coming.

Hit me first, before you hit Qian Rong.

This is an old rule in the imperial court.

No matter how much evidence you have, I'll first smear you as a person.

The person is dirty, and so is the evidence.

Qian Rong looked up and glanced at me.

His eyes were very gentle.

"Lord Shen is young and eager to make a name for himself, which I can understand. However, the court cannot rely solely on information obtained at night when investigating cases. In particular, the origin of this so-called review record is questionable."

I stood in the hall, holding the bottom volume.

He didn't rush to speak.

The emperor looked at me.

"Shen An".

"Your subject is here."

"Qian Rong said the origin of the 'databook' is questionable. What do you say?"

I looked up and said, "I also find it suspicious."

The hall fell silent.

Qian Rong narrowed his eyes slightly.

The emperor was also looking at me.

I continued, "A review record that could substantiate the Yongning River case is not in the Ministry of Works' treasury, nor in the Censorate's files, but is hidden under an old locust tree in Vice Minister Qian's villa outside the city. I would also like to ask, why is it there?"

These words sparked even more discussion in the hall.

Qian Rong's expression remained unchanged.

"Lord Shen, you are mistaken. I have already stated in my memorial that Qian Fu stole the book and hid it in a separate courtyard, and I only learned of this today."

"Is it only today that you, Minister Qian?"

"nature."

"Then may I ask, whose residence is the Locust Blossom Villa?"

Qian Rong said, "It's a separate courtyard in my residence."

"Whose men are the guards protecting the courtyard?"

"A servant in the mansion."

"Who prepared the 'fake documents' for the study in the villa?"

Qian Rong frowned: "A fake certificate?"

I said, "Last night, when I and the Imperial Guards arrived at the Huaihua Villa, the study caught fire first. Among the fire was a counterfeit copy of the Yongning River channel verification book. The paper was new, the ink was light, and the outside was old while the inside was new. It was clearly a fake book that had been used to lure people to rescue it."

I paused for a moment.

"If I hadn't taken a closer look, the real original records would have already been taken away or burned by the people under the old locust tree."

Qian Rong sighed.

"Lord Shen, everything is based on your own account. You took Qian Fu away, you took the records, and you searched the villa. You claim the records in the study are fake; who can prove that?"

I laughed.

That's what makes Qian Rong so formidable.

He wasn't in a hurry to explain the fake book.

He first established the chain of evidence.

He can accuse me of forgery if he can prove that everything passed through my hands.

I bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I request that the statements of Zhao Guanlan, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Qian Fu, the accountant of the Qian family, and Liu Laoqi of Shunfeng Carriage and Horse Service be presented, along with copies from the three counters of Yongfeng Bank."

Someone in the court immediately said, "Your Majesty, is Shen An going to drag half the capital's worthless people to the Golden Hall? Is the Golden Hall a place to judge commoners?"

I glanced at that person.

"Your Excellency is right. If you gentlemen were willing to investigate the case thoroughly in the yamen, I wouldn't have to bring the lives of ordinary people to the imperial palace."

The man's face stiffened.

I continued, "But Fang Yuanshi is dead, the old warehouse guard is dead, Liu Laoqi almost died, and Bai Laoxiu was almost beaten to death in the old prison of the Ministry of Justice. Commoners cannot enter the Golden Hall, let alone the dead. I had no choice but to bring the accounts they left behind."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Jingheng finally spoke.

"The story is about Zhao Guanlan."

Zhao Guanlan quickly entered the hall.

His official robes were neat and tidy, making him look much more presentable than I did.

He presented the sealed records of the Censorate.

"Your Majesty, I was ordered to work with the Ministry of Justice to inspect the old clothing warehouse. We retrieved fragment number 372 of the crane-patterned curtain from the Geng-character old clothing rack. It was inscribed with the words 'Taken by: Pei Fu Ji Qing, Silver: Yongfeng Third Container.' Subsequently, Shen An checked the Yongfeng Third Container and found records of the Ministry of Works' treasury exchanging silver for bearer notes."

Qian Rong said calmly, "What Lord Zhao said can only prove that Qian Fu and Ji Qing had a private affair, but it cannot prove that I am involved in the case."

His words were very measured.

To absolve oneself completely.

I said, "Therefore, I am not asking Your Majesty to immediately sentence Minister Qian to death."

Qian Rong looked at me.

The entire court looked at me.

I continued, "Your Majesty, I only request permission to examine the register in the palace."

The emperor said, "Verify."

I placed the bottom volume on the long table in the hall.

The paper is laid out.

A musty smell of old paper and ink wafted out.

I said, "First, the paper in the original book is old, and the ink has seeped into the paper grain, so it was definitely not a forgery made last night."

Qian Rongdao said, "Old paper and old ink can also be forged."

"Okay," I nodded. "So let's look at the second place."

I turned to the approval page.

"Here are 'Qian Pi Yi' to 'Qian Pi Si', each with a private seal bearing the character 'Qian' next to it. This seal is not an official seal, but rather the private seal of the Qian family's accounting office."

Qian Rong calmly replied, "What does Qian Fu's misuse of his personal seal have to do with me?"

I smiled.

"Then please have Vice Minister Qian identify it."

I took a piece of white paper from my sleeve.

The image above shows the small wooden stamp imprint inside the money bag.

Then I turned to the same page in the bottom book.

Two "money" characters are placed together.

The strokes are the same, the gaps at the edges are the same, and most importantly, there is a tiny crack in the lower right corner of each one.

I looked at Qian Rong.

"Minister Qian, this is the same seal."

Qian Rong finally fell silent for a moment.

very short.

But the entire court saw it.

I whispered, "The final record doesn't lie."