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

When I arrived at Yongfeng Bank, Lu Huaizhou was standing in front of the counter, his face even more hard than the bank's iron lock.

Two constables from the Censorate were holding down a young man behind him.

The young man was in his early twenties, dressed in fine clothes, with a jade pendant at his waist, and his hair was tied up neatly.

If his hands hadn't been held down, he probably would have wanted to fan himself with the fan.

He was taken aback when he saw me enter, then sneered.

"You're Shen An?"

I nodded.

"You're Qian Cheng?"

He slightly raised his chin.

"Knowing I'm from the Qian family, you still dare to have me detained?"

I glanced at Lu Huaizhou.

Lu Huaizhou said with a stern face, "He came to redeem the case-related banknote No. 372, refused to explain its source, and even insulted the Censorate."

Qian Cheng sneered: "Did I insult someone wrong? A poor, penniless censor with two bailiffs dares to detain me. Do you even know who my uncle is?"

Lu Huaizhou replied earnestly, "I know."

Qian Cheng was taken aback.

Lu Huaizhou continued, "Qian Rong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works."

Qian Cheng was about to show a smug expression on his face.

Lu Huaizhou added, "That's why it should be deducted even more."

Qian Cheng's face froze instantly.

I've suddenly developed a bit of a liking for Lu Huaizhou.

They may be poor, but they're really stubborn.

I walked up to the counter.

He Younian was wiping his sweat on the side, his handkerchief almost soaked through.

I asked, "Where are the tickets?"

Lu Huaizhou handed me the silver note.

I glanced at the ticket number.

It is one of the remaining unredeemed tickets in Yongfeng's three counters.

Fifty taels.

The amount of money wasn't large.

But when it appears at this time, it's not money.

It's a rope.

I asked Qian Cheng, "Where did the banknotes come from?"

Qian Cheng scoffed, "Why should I tell you?"

"Because this banknote is related to the Old Warehouse Murder Case, Liu Laoqi's Poisoning Case, and the Tao Family Iron Workshop Murder Case."

"Nonsense!" Qian Cheng's expression changed. "I'm just here to redeem a ticket."

"Who sent you?"

"Nobody's here."

"So you came by yourself?"

"nature."

"You're short fifty taels?"

Qian Chengyi choked.

A young master like him from the Qian family would have jade pendants worth more than fifty taels.

For a fifty-tael bearer note, he personally went to Yongfeng Bank, even after Yongfeng announced a double buyback offer.

Even Ah Liu couldn't be fooled by that.

But Qian Cheng clearly still wanted to hold on.

"This was won at the casino."

I asked, "Which gambling den?"

"Xiliu Lane".

Which game?

"..."

"Who are you betting with?"

"..."

"Young Master Qian, you've become a bit forgetful after winning this bet."

Lu Huaizhou coldly added, "Maybe he won in a dream."

Qian Cheng, enraged, retorted, "Your Censorate is trying to extract a confession through torture?"

I laughed.

"We haven't fought yet."

Qian Cheng shut up.

I ordered the officers to search me.

Qian Cheng immediately struggled.

"You dare!"

I looked at him.

"I've crawled through dog holes at night, stolen booklets from fires, and even broken into the old prison of the Ministry of Justice. Do you think I dare to search you?"

Qian Cheng was momentarily speechless.

The constables quickly found several items in his sleeves.

A token for the back gate of the Qian family mansion.

A small packet of loose silver.

A very finely folded strip of paper.

I opened the note.

There are only three lines of text above.

Back to 372.

Take the bottom of the incense burner.

Do not keep ticket stubs.

The bottom of the incense burner.

I looked up at Qian Cheng.

His face had turned pale.

Qian Fu didn't lie to me.

The key to the secret compartment in the Qian family's accounting office was indeed at the bottom of the incense burner.

Qian Cheng wasn't simply there to redeem the tickets.

He came to retrieve the banknotes involved in the case number 372, and then to go back to the Qian family's accounting office to retrieve the items from the bottom of the incense burner.

In other words, Qian Rong has already begun to settle accounts within the Qian family.

I asked, "Who gave you the note?"

Qian Cheng remained silent.

I placed Manager Lu's confession in front of him.

"Lu Pharmacy has already confessed, and Ji Qing used the golden crane token to extract the poison. Qian Fu has also confessed, and the Yongfeng Three-Fold Bank issued the ticket through the Qian family's accounting office. Now you have one of the tickets in your hand, and the slip of paper says 'Do not keep the ticket stub.'"

I'll move a little closer.

"Qian Cheng, you're not an accountant like Qian Fu. You're Qian Rong's nephew. If you take the blame, Qian Rong will accuse you of privately redeeming tickets and colluding with Qian Fu. If you don't take the blame, at least you can say you were following orders."

Qian Cheng's forehead was covered in sweat.

"I...I don't know what kind of poison it is."

"I didn't ask about the poison."

"I don't know about the old warehouse either."

"I didn't ask about the old warehouse either."

He then realized that he had let something slip.

Young people are not as stable as Qian Rong.

I continued, "Who told you to come and redeem the ticket?"

Qian Cheng gritted his teeth.

"The steward of the manor."

"The steward in blue?"

He doesn't speak.

"Does Qian Rong know?"

"I have no idea."

"Who wrote the note?"

He still wouldn't say.

I looked at Lu Huaizhou.

"Lord Lu, can you write impeachment memorials?"

Lu Huaizhou was taken aback.

"meeting."

"Now write a document: Qian Rong's nephew, Qian Cheng, is involved in the murder case at the old warehouse. He refuses to explain the source of the banknotes. Please detain him at the Censorate for trial."

Lu Huaizhou's eyes lit up.

"Write now?"

"Now."

He laid out paper on the spot.

Qian Cheng panicked.

"etc!"

Lu Huaizhou stopped writing.

Qian Cheng's Adam's apple bobbed.

"The note... was given to me by the second steward of the Qian family's accounting office."

I asked, "What's the second steward's name?"

"Money is expensive."

"Does Qian Rong know?"

"I really don't know," Qian Cheng said anxiously. "My uncle only told me to follow the steward's instructions and to collect the old notes to prevent anyone outside from using the Qian family as a pretext."

Old ticket.

That sounds nice.

The silver of the dead, in a different way, is like moldy old paper.

I asked, "What's at the bottom of the incense burner?"

Qian Cheng shook his head.

"I don't know. He only said that after redeeming the tickets, he would go back to the mansion to retrieve the key from under the incense burner in the accounting office."

"What do you open with the key?"

"Hidden compartment".

"What's in the hidden compartment?"

"I really don't know!"

This time it doesn't seem like a lie.

Qian Cheng was merely someone pushed out to run errands by the Qian family's relatives.

He knew it was troublesome, but he might not have known just how troublesome it was.

If things go well, he'll get some benefits.

If things go wrong, he will be considered "young and foolish, and misled by the accountant."

This aligns perfectly with Qian Rong's style.

Even a nephew can be treated as half a discarded pawn.

I put away the note and the back door token.

"Qian Cheng was temporarily detained in the back hall of Yongfeng and was guarded by the Censorate."

Qian Cheng was anxious.

"You dare to take me hostage?"

"dare."

"My uncle won't let you get away with this!"

I looked at him and sighed.

"Young Master Qian, you still don't understand."

"What?"

"Right now, the person your uncle most wants to let go of is probably not me."

Qian Cheng's face turned pale.

He finally started to understand.

I turned to He Younian and said, "Continue to double the buyback of the remaining tickets for No. 372. Keep sending messages."

He Younian had a bitter face.

"Lord Shen, if we continue to take back the money, Yongfeng will lose money."

I said, "Losing money is better than losing your life."

He immediately fell silent.

Lu Huaizhou handed me the notes he had just written.

The characters are very stiff.

He's tougher than others.

I glanced at it.

"Well written."

Lu Huaizhou said calmly, "You've written too many impeachment memorials."

"I'll hand over the money to you."

"Where are you going?"

I looked towards the Qian residence.

"Take the incense burner bottom."

Lu Huaizhou frowned.

"The Qian family is definitely waiting for you now."

"I know."

"Then why are you still going?"

I tucked the note into my sleeve.

"Twenty-four hours is too short."

"It's too short for me to take a detour."