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

On the way to Ci'en Temple, I kept thinking about one thing.

Why Ci'en Temple?

Fang Zhoushi Line is located at the back gate of Ci'en Temple.

The person who entrusted me with the money invited me to the bell tower of Ci'en Temple.

Now, Feng Baoquan, a minor official in the Imperial Treasury, has been sent to Ci'en Temple to recuperate.

This temple appears peaceful and quiet, but in reality, it's like an inn for all sorts of secretive people to stay temporarily.

Yan Xiaoyi sat on the carriage shaft, yawning.

I lifted the carriage curtain and asked him, "Is Ci'en Temple a place frequently used by the Imperial Guard?"

He glanced at me.

"no."

"Is this commonly used in the Princess's residence?"

"have no idea."

"Is settling accounts a common practice?"

"Maybe."

I frowned: "So who uses it most often?"

Yan Xiaoyi said lazily, "Dead people and people who are about to die."

That's a very unlucky thing to say.

But upon closer reflection, it actually makes sense.

Everyone who appears at Ci'en Temple is not far from death.

Fang Zhou and her son were hunted down.

The man in the gray robe holding the tent was shot by an arrow.

Now it's Feng Baoquan's turn.

I have a bit of a headache.

"Can't you say something nicer?"

Yan Xiaoyi thought for a moment.

"The vegetarian food at Ci'en Temple is quite good."

"Have you eaten it?"

"Brushed against it."

well.

This person at least proves that not everyone at Ci'en Temple is dead.

We didn't go through the main entrance.

There are many worshippers at the main entrance, and many eyes on them.

The carriage stopped in a side alley outside the temple, and Yan Xiaoyi and I went in through the side gate.

Qiu Tang was there to meet us.

She stood in the shadows of the corridor, wearing a gray cloak, as if she had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing me approach, she whispered, "Lord Shen, His Highness asked me to tell you that Feng Baoquan refuses to see the officials."

I asked, "Why?"

"fear death."

"Is he about to die?"

"A persistent cough indicates a serious illness, but it's not a terminal one."

"Were you poisoned?"

"Not yet apparent."

I felt a little relieved.

Just live.

It's better to be afraid of death.

People who are afraid of death usually still have something to say.

Qiutang led us through the backyard and into a monk's cell.

The room smelled strongly of medicine.

A middle-aged man lay on the couch, so thin that his cheekbones protruded, and his face was yellow from coughing.

When he saw the official robe I was wearing, he immediately shrank into the blanket.

"I won't see you! I won't see any officials!"

I stood at the doorway, not going in immediately.

"Feng Baoquan?"

He coughed twice.

"I am not."

"Then I'm leaving."

He froze.

I really turned around.

"etc!"

I stopped.

He glared at me, as if he had never seen such an impolite official before.

I said, "If you weren't Feng Baoquan, I wouldn't have delayed your recovery. If you are, I only have a few questions."

Feng Baoquan's face turned bitter.

"Asking me will kill you."

"You'll know even if you don't say it."

His lips trembled.

"Who said that?"

"The person who took you to Ci'en Temple."

His expression changed.

Yan Xiaoyi closed the door.

Qiu Tang stood guard outside.

There were only the three of us left in the house.

I sat down at the table, not too close.

Patients are afraid of officials and knives.

The bodyguard next to me looks like he knows how to use a knife.

Although he only had a short stick in his hand.

I said, "In the carriage with the blue curtain, number fourteen, was that you coughing?"

Feng Baoquan closed his eyes.

No answer.

I continued, "You said that night that you couldn't give me a receipt."

He suddenly opened his eyes.

"Who told you that?"

"Liu Laoqi".

"Is he still alive?"

"temporary."

Feng Baoquan was taken aback.

My eyes suddenly felt a little wet.

"Did he hear that?"

"I heard you."

He clutched his chest and coughed for a long time.

After coughing, she looked even smaller.

"It's not that I don't want to give it," he said softly, "it's that I'm afraid to give it."

Why?

"Once that receipt is issued, the inner warehouse material storage room is finished."

"Was it the inner warehouse storage room that was finished, or you?"

He looked at me and gave a wry smile.

"Lord Shen, the Imperial Treasury is finished, this humble clerk will die first."

That's very true.

I asked, "Where is the receipt?"

He shook his head.

"It's not on me."

"Who did you give it to?"

"I dare not say."

Yan Xiaoyi took a step forward.

Feng Baoquan shrank back in fright.

I waved my hand, signaling Yan Xiaoyi to stop.

"Feng Baoquan, I'm not trying to scare you. You're a minor clerk in the Imperial Treasury. Three days ago, you were taken into the Guangchu Gate by the Guangzi Fourteenth Cart. Ji Qing later changed the record to 'remaining in the warehouse and not yet released.' This shows that they don't want anyone to know that you went out, and even more so, they don't want anyone to know that you have the receipt."

His face grew paler and paler.

"Since you've been sent to Ci'en Temple, it means someone has temporarily protected you. But the person protecting you may not be able to protect you until tomorrow."

I looked at him.

"If Qian Rong doesn't fall within twenty-four hours, the receipt will never see the light of day. At that time, the person who deserves to die the most is not Qian Rong, nor Ji Qing, but you."

Feng Baoquan's lips trembled.

"I'm just a minor official."

Fang Yuanshi was also a clerk.

He froze.

"He's dead."

I continued, "Liu Laoqi was just a coachman who almost died. Bai Laoxiu was just an embroiderer who almost died. The old warehouse guard was just a gatekeeper who is already dead."

I lowered my voice.

"They all think they're just nobody. But when it comes time to settle accounts, nobody's the first to fall."

Feng Baoquan finally showed a look of collapse on his face.

He covered his face with his hands.

"That night, they asked me to reprint the receipt."

"What kind of seal need to be repaired?"

"Inner warehouse material room received stamp."

"Did you actually receive it?"

"no."

"Has the raw materials corresponding to the 800 taels of silver from the Ministry of Works' treasury been deposited into the inner treasury?"

"No stone was found."

The room fell silent for a moment.

There are no stones.

In other words, the "temporary listing of the internal material storage room" is just a name without substance.

Qian Rong approved 800 taels of silver from the Ministry of Works treasury, which was transferred to the Yongfeng Third treasury and recorded in the inner warehouse.

If the internal warehouse receipt is stamped, it means that the internal warehouse acknowledges receiving the materials or payment.

But in reality, it doesn't.

This is how the Ministry of Works' dirty silver was transferred to the Imperial Treasury to be laundered.

I asked, "Who told you to reprint it?"

"Ji Qing".

"What gave him the right to enter the inner warehouse?"

"He has old cards."

"What old brand?"

Feng Baoquan shook his head.

"I don't know. It looks like an old document token from the Imperial Secretariat, which can be used to access old archives in the Imperial Treasury."

The old document plaque of the Central Secretariat.

Pei Shen's shadow has returned.

"Ji Qing will take you to the Guangzi No. 14?"

"Yes. They said it was just to issue a receipt, and they would let me go after they stamped it. But I noticed that the amount written on the receipt was incorrect."

"How many?"

"Eight hundred taels."

"What's wrong?"

Feng Baoquan took a breath.

"If the Imperial Treasury receives 800 taels of silver, there should be at least three documents: a document from the Ministry of Works, a receipt from the Imperial Treasury, and a document confirming the goods entered through the Guangchu Gate. But they only have a blank receipt; there is no document from the Ministry of Works, nor are there any actual goods brought in."

"So you didn't cover it?"

"I covered half of it."

I was taken aback.

"Half-Indian?"

Feng Baoquan gave a wry smile.

"When I pressed the stamp down, my hand trembled and it was stamped crookedly. Later, I deliberately tore off a corner of the receipt and said that the stamp was broken and that I needed to go back to the material room to stamp it again. They were in a hurry to settle accounts at the time and didn't dare to kill me on the truck."

"What about the other half of the receipt?"

He closed his eyes.

"I hid it."

"Where is it hidden?"

Feng Baoquan looked towards the door.

Ci'en Temple.

A thought struck me.

"The clock tower?"

He looked at me in shock.

I knew it.

The bell tower of Ci'en Temple has indeed been used to hide things more than once.

Feng Baoquan whispered, "Under the base of the clock tower's large bell, there's a pine brick. Half a receipt is there."

I stood up.

"lead the way."

His face was deathly pale.

"I can't go."

"If you don't go, we won't be able to find it."

"I'm going to die!"

I looked at him.

"If you don't go, and someone else takes the receipt first, you'll die too."

Feng Baoquan trembled.

After a long while, he finally nodded.

"I'll go."

When Qiu Tang entered, her expression was grave.

"Lord Shen, there are strangers outside the temple."

Yan Xiaoyi asked, "How many people?"

"At least four."

I glanced at Feng Baoquan.

He was so scared he almost fainted.

I suddenly remembered Yan Xiaoyi's words.

Ci'en Temple is a place where the dead and those about to die often come.

Tonight, it seems half of what was predicted will come true.

We helped Feng Baoquan walk towards the clock tower.

Ci'en Temple is very quiet at night.

The clock tower stood there, dark and somber.

Last time, I saw the gray-robed tent carrier here and received the key to the old warehouse in the south of the city.

This time, I'm looking for half a receipt from the internal treasury.

The same clock tower, like an old tent box.

Just as Yan Xiaoyi reached the bottom of the stairs, she suddenly stopped.

"There are people in higher positions."

My heart sank.

"several?"

"one."

"Ji Qing?"

Yan Xiaoyi shook his head.

"It doesn't look like it."

A soft cough came from upstairs.

Then, an aged voice rang out:

"Lord Shen, you're too late."

Feng Baoquan's face turned deathly pale instantly.

I looked up.

An old monk stood in the shadow of the clock tower.

He was holding half a sheet of paper in his hand.

On the corner of the paper, there was a half-slanted stamp indicating that the inner warehouse had received the goods.

receipt.

The old monk looked at me and slowly said:

"Someone offered three hundred taels of silver for this half-sheet of paper."

I asked, "Did the master sell it?"

The old monk shook his head.

"This humble monk finds it insufficient."

Yan Xiaoyi was taken aback.

I was also taken aback for a moment.

This Ci'en Temple is indeed not a peaceful place.