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

I didn't go to the palace immediately after all.

It's not that I suddenly became bolder.

Gu Xingzhi stopped me halfway.

He stood at the alley entrance, like a cold wooden stake that had suddenly grown out.

The young eunuch beside Wei Zhi followed behind him, seeing me as if I were a lifeline.

"Lord Shen, His Majesty is still waiting."

Gu Xingzhi said, "Let's go to the back alley of the Ministry of Justice first."

I look at him.

"Your Majesty, please wait here. I'll go to the back alley of the Ministry of Justice."

"His Majesty requests your presence."

I was silent.

The emperor is truly an unfathomable person.

They just urged me to go to the palace.

Now they're sending me to the back alley of the Ministry of Justice.

I asked, "What for?"

"Examine the severed finger."

Ji Qing's severed finger.

I almost forgot.

It's not that we've forgotten its importance.

There have been too many life-threatening things these past two days, and my brain has started to prioritize them.

"Who will test it?"

Why not get medical treatment?

I've heard of that name before.

The Ministry of Justice hired external coroners.

He's said to be lazy, sharp-tongued, and loves to drink; he only cares about the dead and not the living.

The name is arrogant.

People are getting even more outrageous.

There is an old inspection room in the back alley of the Ministry of Justice.

When we arrived, the door was half open, and a smell of alcohol wafted out.

It's not just a faint taste of alcohol.

It's the kind of smell that makes you feel, even through the door, that the coroner might have examined you first.

Why not treat the doctor who is sleeping on the table?

His hair was disheveled, his clothes were loose, and there was a wine gourd beside him.

Gu Xingzhi tapped on the table.

Why not treat the untreated case?

Yan Xiaoyi walked over and picked up the wine gourd.

He Buyi immediately opened his eyes.

"lay down."

Yan Xiaoyi put it down.

He Buyi sat up and glanced at us.

"A living person?"

Gu Xingzhi said: "Sever a finger."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's alright. Living people are too much trouble."

This person's words are indeed very annoying.

I placed Ji Qing's severed finger and the fragment of the gold-threaded crane sleeve lining on the table.

He Buyi picked up the severed finger and glanced at it.

"Newly decided."

I said, "I can see that too."

He looked up at me.

"Then you test it?"

I immediately shut up.

He was very satisfied with the doctor's diagnosis and continued reading.

He first examined the broken edge, then the fingertip, and then used a fine needle to poke at the base of the finger.

"There's an old injury."

A thought struck me.

"What old injury?"

"Your finger joint was pinched before, and it was badly injured. It grew crooked afterward. Look here, the joint between the bones is cracked."

I leaned closer to take a look.

I didn't really understand it.

But that doesn't stop me from nodding.

"How long ago?"

Why not treat the illness as described: "More than ten years."

Eleven years ago.

Gu Xingzhi and I exchanged a glance.

He Buyi continued, "There are also needle marks."

"Needle wound?"

"There are tiny needle marks on the fingertips and sides, not from the last few days. They are the result of years of accumulated needlework. This person may have done fine needlework in their younger years, or they may have been tortured with needles."

My heart skipped a beat.

Ji Qing was a servant in the Pei household, serving as a clerk, accountant, and accountant.

Why did he have fine needlework injuries?

And why are there old pinch marks?

I remembered Grandma Han saying that Aunt Lan's hands on her body were not right.

I recall Qian Rong saying that eleven years ago, that hand also owed a finger.

I asked, "If it were needle torture in the palace, would it leave such a scar?"

He Buyi finally glanced at me again.

"You've found out about the palace?"

"Ask about the injury."

"Yes," He Buyi said. "Some punishments in the palace don't leave serious injuries, but they break hands, prick fingers, and injure tendons. Especially for female officials, embroiderers, and those who copy documents, if their hands are crippled, they are crippled as well."

My heart slowly grew cold.

Ji Qing's extra finger may not be just a congenital freak.

It bears the marks of torture inflicted eleven years ago.

He Buyi picked up the gold-threaded crane sleeve again.

"The sleeve lining smells of medicine."

"Bitter almonds?"

"Yes. There's also old ink, mugwort ash, and a small amount of palace-grade insect-repelling incense."

"Insect-repelling incense from the palace?"

"Old clothes chests in the inner court are commonly used." He Buyi said, "This kind of incense is not common among ordinary people, but it is occasionally found in the old prisons of the Ministry of Justice."

Gu Xingzhi asked, "Can we trace its origin?"

Why not take a look at him?

"I only deal with the dead, not incense shops."

Gu Xingzhi remained silent.

I asked, "Can this severed finger prove that it belongs to Ji Qing?"

He Buyi said, "If you have records of Ji Qing's old injuries, you can check them."

"no."

"That can only prove that this is a person with six fingers on his left hand, who used a gold-threaded crane sleeve lining, who suffered an old finger injury ten years ago, and who frequently came into contact with medicine and ink."

enough.

Ji Qing's distinctive features are becoming increasingly narrow.

He Buti suddenly said, "There's one more thing."

"What?"

"This means it wasn't cut off directly by a knife."

I frowned.

"no?"

"First, the blood vessels are constricted by a thin thread, then cut with a thin blade." He pointed to the cut, "This method of severing is slow and very painful."

A chill ran down my spine.

"Torture?"

"punish."

He Buyi said calmly, "Killing someone doesn't have to be this complicated. Leaving the severed finger is to make him remember."

Qian Rong once said that eleven years ago, that hand also owed a finger.

Someone has now cut off one of Ji Qing's fingers.

It wasn't to silence them.

It's about collecting debts.

I asked, "Who would use this method?"

Why not consult a doctor? "An old executioner in the palace, or a former nanny from the laundry department."

I was stunned.

"The laundry department?"

"The Laundry Bureau not only washes clothes, but also manages dead clothes, blood-stained clothes, and the clothing of imprisoned palace maids. Their methods for cleaning up dirty items are even more meticulous than those of the Ministry of Justice."

Granny Han was from the old laundry department.

Aunt Lan's clothes were also disposed of by the laundry department.

The line has finally come together.

I suddenly remembered the note from Jingyi Lane.

To find the orchid, ask the severed finger.

It turns out that severed fingers can talk.

It doesn't say where Ji Qing escaped to.

Instead, it's about who hurt Ji Qing eleven years ago.

Just as I was about to ask more questions, He Buyi suddenly yawned.

"Is there anything else?"

I looked at him.

"Grandma Han's body."

Why not cure the frown?

"Just died?"

"last night."

"Died of illness?"

"It will be written like this on the scroll."

Upon hearing this, he finally perked up a bit.

"Bring it here."

Granny Han's body remains in Jingyi Lane, guarded by officers from the Censorate.

Gu Xingzhi sent someone to carry it.

Less than half an hour later, the body was taken to the examination room.

Little Han also came along, her eyes red and swollen, but she didn't cry.

He Buyi lifted the white cloth and took a look.

"Old age, heart disease, fright."

Little Han asked anxiously, "Was my grandmother really scared to death?"

He didn't answer, but continued reading.

He flipped open Grandma Han's ears, then looked at her wrists, and then at the side of her neck.

Finally, I used a fine needle to pick at the hairline at the back of her neck.

Pick out a tiny, extremely fine bloodstain.

"It wasn't just from being scared to death."

I asked, "How did they die?"

"First, use words to startle the patient, triggering an old ailment, then administer a more effective treatment."

He Buyi said calmly, "The needle was inserted from the back of the neck, and the puncture was very accurate. The manner of death resembled sudden death from fright."

The young woman, Han, was deathly pale.

"Who...who knows how to use this kind of needle?"

He Buyi looked at me.

"Old laundry and needlework staff from the palace, or veterans who have served patients in the inner court."

It's the old laundry department again.

I closed my eyes.

Grandma Han did not die of illness.

She was so shocked by the words "Aunt Lan is still alive" that her old ailment was aroused, and then she was given another injection.

The killer knew she had a heart condition.

They also knew how to make her die as if her old illness had relapsed.

This is no ordinary debt collector.

These are former palace staff.

A person familiar with the needlework techniques of Aunt Lan, Granny Han, and the Laundry Bureau.

I asked He Buyi, "Could you write a medical report?"

"able."

"how long?"

"Half an hour."

"Too long."

He looked at me.

"Then you write it?"

I immediately replied, "Half an hour is perfect."

He snorted coldly and picked up his pen to write the medical report.

Gu Xingzhi, standing to the side, suddenly asked, "Shall we enter the palace now?"

I shook my head.

"Let's go to the princess's residence first."

Gu Xingzhi looked at me.

"His Majesty is waiting."

I looked at Granny Han's body.

"This connection is with the princess's mother's old associates."

Gu Xingzhi's voice turned cold.

"Shen An".

I looked up at him.

"Commander Gu, His Majesty asked me to check the accounts, not to submit every single word to the imperial desk first."

Are you sure?

"uncertain."

I gave a wry smile.

"But if I send everything to the palace now, Aunt Lan may never come out."

Gu Xingzhi looked at me for a long time.

In the end, he didn't stop them.

He only said one sentence:

"Don't keep His Majesty waiting too long."

This doesn't sound like a warning.

It's more like a reminder.

I picked up the examination record of the severed finger and the draft of Granny Han's examination report, then turned and went out.

Young Miss Han asked in a low voice at the door, "Lord Shen, can my grandmother give me an explanation?"

I stopped.

"Yes, there will be."

This time, I spoke more than usual.

I regretted it as soon as I said it.

But seeing her red and swollen eyes, I felt I had to say it.

As I walked out of the back alley of the Ministry of Justice, the sun was already setting.

I just realized that I haven't slept all day again.

Yan Xiaoyi followed beside him.

"You're about to collapse."

"Hold on tight."

He reached out to grab the back of my collar again.

I immediately said, "Hold my arm."

"trouble."

"I am now an imperial censor."

"The imperial censor who crawled through a dog hole."

I didn't have the energy to argue with him.

We headed to the princess's villa.

I carried two verification records, a severed finger, and half of Aunt Lan's old case in my arms.

The old laundry bureau.

Needle torture.

A severed finger.

Grandma Han received an extra injection.

These lines, when connected, finally point to a terrifying possibility.

If Aunt Lan were still alive, she might not just be hiding.

She may have been settling old scores all along.

The finger that Ji Qing broke off was the first bill she handed out.