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

The clothing store is located in the west of the city.

The name of this place is unlucky, and its location is also unlucky.

At the end of the alley, there is a coffin shop on the left, a paper-making shop on the right, and a clothing shop in the middle.

Anyone walking here will instinctively slow their pace.

As if afraid of waking someone.

Looking at the black sign with white lettering, I suddenly realized that Beijing really knows how to arrange places.

The investigation of living people will eventually lead you into a pile of dead people.

Yan Xiaoyi stood beside me and glanced at the shop door.

"There are people inside."

"several?"

"Two. One is old, and the other is afraid."

I was taken aback.

"You can tell even if you're afraid?"

"Unsteady steps, rapid breathing."

I nodded.

well.

I've gotten used to having a bodyguard by my side who can tell if someone is scared or not.

The door to the clothing shop was half-closed.

Several white funeral shrouds hung by the door; when the wind blew, the sleeves swayed gently, like a few boneless hands.

I knocked on the door.

"Buy clothes."

A hoarse voice came from inside.

"The living person's clothes go out and turn left, the dead person's clothes come in."

I pushed the door open and went in.

The shop was dark.

Various funeral garments were hung on the wall, for men, women, the elderly, and children.

The paper lanterns shone with a pale, unnatural light.

Behind the counter sat a thin old man with deep wrinkles on his face, a cloudy left eye, and a frighteningly bright right eye.

When he saw the official robe I was wearing, his face immediately darkened.

"Sir, you've come to the wrong place. This clothing shop only serves the dead."

I took out the orchid leaf that Aunt Meng had given me and placed it on the counter.

The old man's previously cold face instantly changed.

He reached out to take it, then stopped.

"Who gave it to you?"

"Meng Gu".

"Is she still alive?"

"To live."

"Then she shouldn't have let you come."

"She thinks so too."

The old man stared at the orchid leaf for a long time.

"Aunt Chalan?"

I said, "Cha Jiqing."

He looked up at me.

"Ji Qing is dead."

That came too quickly.

It was as fast as if it had been planned for a long time.

I looked at him.

"When did you die?"

"Today is the hour of Wei (1-3 PM)."

"Where's the body?"

"Not there yet."

"You dare to say you're going to die before you've even arrived?"

The old man said coldly, "The clothes shop makes clothes for the dead, but sometimes they die before the people do."

I actually understood what he said.

Someone had prepared burial clothes, a death register, and a coffin for Ji Qing in advance.

Once Ji Qing "dies," Guiyi Shop only needs to make a note in the account to make him disappear from the list of living people in the capital.

I said, "I want to see the register of the dead."

The old man smiled.

"Sir, the register of the dead is not under the jurisdiction of the Censorate."

"A living person can feign death and return."

His smile disappeared.

I pushed the orchid leaf forward a little.

"Shopkeeper, does Aunt Lan owe you, or do you owe Aunt Lan?"

The old man's face darkened.

A slight noise came from behind the house.

The person who was afraid moved.

Yan Xiaoyi looked up at the back hall.

The old man immediately said, "Don't touch her!"

I looked at him.

"Who's behind us?"

"My granddaughter."

"What is she afraid of?"

"Afraid of officials."

"Are you also afraid of the man in gray?"

The old man didn't say anything.

The answer is already there.

I lowered my voice: "Has Ji Qing been here?"

"no."

Has anyone donated a severed finger?

His fingers trembled slightly.

"no."

Has anyone prepared funeral clothes for him?

The old man closed his eyes.

After a long time, he took out a black leather ledger from under the counter.

The ledger was old, with its edges worn smooth and shiny.

He turned to the last page.

It says:

Ji Qing. Male. Thirty-six years old. Left hand disabled. No relatives to care for him.

A set of funeral clothes and a thin coffin.

Cause of death: sudden death due to a pre-existing illness.

The person who collected the laundry: Anonymous.

The date is today.

The time was written as "Wei Shi" (未时).

It's not yet the hour of Wei (1-3 PM).

As I looked at those words, I felt a chill run down my spine.

Ji Qing is not dead yet, but the list of the dead has already been written.

This isn't something Guiyipu could accurately predict.

Someone wanted him to die before 1-3 PM.

I asked, "Who wrote it?"

The old man said, "Someone brought it."

"Who is it?"

"Wearing a straw hat, dressed in gray, and speaking in a low voice."

It's that same description again.

The man in the gray robe?

Or will the clearing of accounts be done by borrowing the shadow of the gray-robed man?

I continued looking at the accounts.

The words "left hand disabled" are jarring.

Ji Qing had just lost a finger, and the list of the dead already noted that his left hand was crippled.

This indicates that the person delivering the money had seen the severed finger.

Or it could be the person who cut off his finger.

I asked, "Where are the funeral clothes?"

The old man didn't want to move.

Yan Xiaoyi walked to the door of the back hall.

A young woman's startled cry came from inside.

The old man's expression changed, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "I'll take it."

He took a set of funeral clothes from the back shelf.

It was a grayish-blue color, not the usual white shroud.

The fabric was old, but the cuffs had been newly altered.

The left sleeve is slightly wider than the right sleeve.

It looks like something for someone who has lost their left hand.

I rolled up my left sleeve.

There was a tiny orchid leaf embroidered inside.

It is not a three-hole structure.

It is a broken leaf.

Aunt Meng once said that the owner of Guiyi Shop owed Aunt Lan a life.

These needle marks seem to be a mark left by the shopkeeper for himself.

I asked, "Why did you embroider orchid leaves on Ji Qing's funeral clothes?"

The old man's face was grim.

"I don't."

"The stitches are still fresh."

"..."

"Shopkeeper, you want to save him?"

He suddenly looked up.

I continued, "You followed their instructions to write up the list of the dead and prepare funeral clothes, but you left orchid leaves on the funeral clothes. You were telling the people who came looking for Aunt Lan that there was something wrong with Ji Qing's list of the dead."

The old man remained silent.

In the back room, the young woman cried softly.

The old man finally sighed.

"What I owe Aunt Lan isn't my life."

"What is that?"

"My daughter's life."

He looked toward the back room, his voice hoarse.

"Back then, my daughter was doing needlework in the palace. She got involved in old matters and should have died. Aunt Lan switched her out of the palace, allowing her to live for seven years and give birth to a daughter."

"The one in the back room?"

"Um."

It turned out to be the case.

The clothing shop dared not openly help.

They only dared to hide a needle in the clothes of the dead.

People who are so humble that they have to secretly repay kindness.

I asked, "Where is Ji Qing?"

The old man shook his head.

"have no idea."

Yan Xiaoyi suddenly said, "A coffin."

The old man's expression changed drastically.

I turned my head to look at the back of the shop.

There were three thin coffins there.

Two of the coffins were covered with white cloth, but the innermost one had its lid tightly closed.

I walked over.

There was a faint medicinal smell coming from outside the coffin.

Bitter almonds.

There was blood.

The old man cried out urgently, "Don't open it!"

I looked at him.

"Is there a dead person inside?"

He doesn't speak.

I reached out and pressed down on the coffin lid.

Yan Xiaoyi walked to the side, already holding the short stick in his hand.

I pushed the coffin lid open with all my might.

A man in blue robes was lying inside.

His face was ashen, his left hand was wrapped in cloth, and blood was still seeping from the severed finger.

His eyes were closed, and his breathing was so shallow it was almost inaudible.

Ji Qing.

found it.

But I wasn't relieved at all.

Because he looked like he was just one breath away from the death list.