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

When I entered the hall carrying the certificate box, it was just dawn.

The light in the golden palace was cold.

It was as cold as if it had just been pulled out of a well.

I didn't sleep all night.

No, it wasn't just one night.

I've lost count of how long I haven't slept; all I know is that every step I take feels like walking on clouds.

Ah Liu handed me a hot pancake outside the hall.

I didn't eat.

It's not that I don't want to eat.

It's because I'm afraid of hiccuping in the Golden Hall.

That would be too unlike a loyal subject.

Of course, I wasn't originally either.

Qian Rong has arrived.

He stood in the hall, his official robes neat and his expression calm.

Judging from his appearance alone, no one would guess that he had just sent people to wash the offerings, clear the accounts, and seize the receipts last night.

The most terrifying thing about an old fox is that even if he falls into a mud pit, he can still straighten his beard.

Emperor Xiao Jingheng sat on the throne.

He glanced at me.

"Shen An".

I knelt down.

"Your subject is here."

"The 24-hour period has arrived."

"I understand."

"Where's the evidence?"

I lifted the certificate box.

"Here."

Wei Zhi personally descended the steps to receive the certificate box.

In that instant, Qian Rong glanced at the certificate box.

It's very light.

But I saw it.

That's not fear.

It is a measure.

He was weighing how much was inside, and how much of it could bind him.

Qian Rong spoke first.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

The emperor said calmly, "Speak."

Qian Rong took out a confession from his sleeve.

"I only learned last night that my nephew Qian Cheng had been forcibly detained by the Censorate. This morning, Qian Cheng escaped back to his residence and wrote a confession in his own hand, stating that Shen An used the banknotes involved in the case to coerce him into admitting his crimes and forged notes in an attempt to implicate Qian's relatives in the case."

Quiet discussions immediately broke out in the hall.

Qian Cheng recanted his testimony.

They arrived at the perfect time.

Qian Rong continued, "Lord Shen travels around the clock, and most of the so-called evidence is obtained from surprise interrogations at night. Qian Fu, Manager Lu, Feng Baoquan, and others are either involved in the case and trying to protect themselves, or they are afraid of the power of the Censorate, so it is difficult to distinguish the truth from the falsehood of their confessions."

He looked up at me.

"I dare not say that Lord Shen intended to frame me, but at this point in the investigation, we must be extremely cautious."

That's a very harsh statement.

He didn't say that I would definitely frame him.

He said, "We must be careful."

The imperial court favors Shen the most.

Be careful, or the witness will be dead.

If you're not careful, the account books will be burned.

If you're careful, the truth will become "still pending investigation".

I did not argue.

Qian Cheng's recantation was entirely expected.

I simply said, "Your Majesty, I request that the physical evidence be presented first, and then we can discuss the confessions."

The emperor looked at me.

"allow."

Wei Zhi opened the certificate box.

The first item is an old page from the Ministry of Works Treasury's supplementary register.

Zhao Guanlan stepped forward and reported, "This page was found by me, Shen An, Lu Huaizhou, and the Ministry of Works' warehouse. It was hidden in a discarded box. The seal across the seam matches the original copy, and the paper age and ink color are consistent with the previous page."

Lu Huaizhou also stepped forward.

"I can testify that there are signs of page replacement in the current supplementary register, and Wu Zheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, has been brought back to the Censorate for questioning."

Qian Rong's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.

I said, "Your Majesty, please look at the red slip."

Wei Zhi presented the old pages to the emperor.

The hall was very quiet.

Xiao Jingheng looked at it for a moment, then slowly said, "Qian Rong."

Qian Rong stepped forward.

"Your subject is here."

"Is this your handwriting?"

Qian Rong did not answer immediately.

This pause was more fatal than the answer.

All the officials in the court were looking at him.

He finally said, "It's similar."

I laughed.

"Minister Qian, you can even imitate his handwriting, his official seal, and his seal across the seam?"

Qian Rong looked at me, his voice steady.

"Lord Shen, I am merely being cautious."

"Then I will read it for you."

I picked up the notebook and copied it down.

"Supply materials for the Yongning River channel, 800 taels of silver from the treasury. Approved by Zhu Ting. Authorized by Qian Rong. Note: Transferred to Yongfeng Third Treasurer, temporarily stored in the Inner Warehouse Materials Room."

I looked up.

"Minister Qian, if this is a forgery, the forger would not only have to imitate your handwriting, but also be able to slip the fake page into the Ministry of Works' deputy clerk's register, and then have Wu Zheng switch the page late at night. Could Qian Fu, an accountant, have done that?"

Qian Rong said, "Qian Fu may not be without backers."

"Who's behind that?"

Qian Rong did not answer.

I continued, "The second item is Yongfeng Third Draft Bank."

Wei Zhi took out the copy.

I said, "Eight hundred taels of silver from the Ministry of Works' treasury were exchanged for sixteen bearer notes. The exchanged notes have flowed to Tao's blacksmith shop, Shunfeng Carriage and Horse Shop, Lu's Pharmacy on the back street of the Ministry of Justice, and the gambling den in Xiliu Lane. If you gentlemen think it's a coincidence, you may call it a coincidence. I, your subject, do not believe in coincidences in my investigation."

An official from the Ministry of Works couldn't help but say, "The flow of the banknotes only proves that Qian Fu laundered the money."

I looked at him.

"What about the red slip?"

The man shut up.

I added, "The third thing is Lu's confession and the poison."

Manager Lu was escorted outside the hall to wait, but I didn't rush to summon him.

I presented the medicine bottle first.

"This medicine is a mixture of Wu Fu San (乌附散), Xing Ren Shuang (杏霜), and Zhen Sha (鸮砂). Xu Shen of the Imperial Hospital has already examined it and found that the slow-acting poison Liu Laoqi suffered from matches this medicine. Lu Pharmacy received silver notes from Yongfeng Three Counties to supply the medicine, and the person who took the medicine was a man with six fingers on his left hand and a golden crane in his sleeve."

Qian Rong said calmly, "That's Ji Qing."

He finally took the initiative to mention Ji Qing.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

I looked at him.

"Does Vice Minister Qian know Ji Qing?"

Qian Rong remained expressionless.

"Everyone in the court knows that Ji Qing is a servant of the Pei family."

These words, though seemingly frank, were actually a way of shifting the blame onto Pei Shen.

Pei Shen stood among the court officials, his expression gentle, as if none of this concerned him.

I did not bite Pei Shen.

Not now.

I said, "I will speak of Ji Qing later. But for now, let's talk about Minister Qian."

Qian Rong's eyes turned slightly cold.

I continued, "The fourth item is half of an internal warehouse receipt."

Wei Zhi took out the tattered pages sealed with oil paper.

Many people in the hall craned their necks.

The term "internal treasury" is more sensitive than "Ministry of Works."

I said, "Feng Baoquan, a minor official in the Imperial Treasury, confessed that Ji Qing, holding an old document from the Secretariat, forced him to stamp the document with the Imperial Treasury's receipt for the supplementary materials for Yongning. But in fact, the Imperial Treasury did not receive the materials, the silver, or the document from the Ministry of Works. This receipt was only stamped with half a seal, and Feng Baoquan tore off a corner and hid it in the bell tower of Ci'en Temple."

Qian Rong suddenly said, "Lord Shen, after all you've said, the most crucial person is still Ji Qing."

I nodded.

"Yes."

Qian Rong said, "The seal is suspicious, the receipt was forced to be stamped by Ji Qing, the pharmacy recognizes the gold thread crane, and the silver note can be transferred by Qian Fu. What Lord Shen really found out is that Ji Qing used the old Zhongshu token to collude with Qian Fu to embezzle the Ministry of Works' treasury silver."

He finally changed his tactics.

The narrative shifted from "Qian Fu committed theft" to "Ji Qing was the mastermind, and Qian Fu was his accomplice."

In this way, Qian Rong still failed to notice.

At most, they'll be taken advantage of.

I looked at him.

"Minister Qian's words are much more pleasing than the previous version."

Qian Rong's face darkened.

I said, "It's a pity there's a fifth one."

Wei Zhi took out the tattered page of the money approval document.

When that small piece of paper appeared, Qian Rong's expression finally changed slightly.

I read aloud:

"Qian Pi Fu Ji. Huai Lü Yi, do not destroy for now, keep it for self-protection. Guang Chu Men, withdraw quarterly. Three cabinets of silver, Qian Fu transfer. Lu Yao, for clearing the mouth. If things are urgent, push Fu, abandon Cheng."

The hall fell completely silent.

Promote blessings, abandon acceptance.

These four words are more ruthless than a hundred confessions.

Qian Fu was the accountant.

Qian Cheng is his nephew.

Who would write "extend blessing, reject inheritance" in the supplementary notes?

Qian Fu wouldn't.

Qian Cheng would not.

I looked at Qian Rong.

"Minister Qian, is this something Qian Fu wrote himself to harm himself?"

Qian Rong finally stopped laughing.

He looked at me with a cold gaze.

"Shen An, where did this torn page come from?"

"The secret compartment in the Qian family's accounting office."

Who was there?

"Qian Mansion's Blue-Clad Steward, Censorate's Constable, Yan Xiaoyi."

Qian Rong said coldly, "Since you forcibly searched the Qian family's accounts, you can naturally stuff the torn pages in as well."

I nodded.

"You could say that."

Many people in the hall were taken aback.

I continued, "Therefore, I will not convict based on this one page. I only ask that you, my lords, consider this: if Qian Rong is innocent, why would Qian Cheng use the Qian family's token to recall the involved banknotes? Why would the secret compartment of the Qian family's accounting office be cleared within half an hour after Qian Cheng was detained? And why was this page deliberately omitted from the secret compartment?"

I looked at the emperor.

"Your Majesty, based on my investigation so far, I dare not say that Qian Rong is beyond redemption."

"But I dare say that Qian Rong's oversight was not the only problem."

The hall was eerily quiet.

Twenty-four hours ago, Qian Rong was still the Vice Minister of Works, gentle and composed.

Twenty-four hours later, he stood in the hall, surrounded by five lines: red tokens, silver notes, poison, receipts, and a deputy clerk.

Not dead yet.

But blood had already been drawn.

The emperor slowly spoke:

"Qian Rong".

Qian Rong knelt down.

"Your subject is here."

"Was the signature written by you?"

Qian Rong lowered his head.

After a long pause, he finally said:

"Yes."

A low murmur rippled through the hall.

I closed my eyes.

The first nail was driven in.