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

Gu Xingzhi stood above the old clothes well.

The light fell from behind him, illuminating the well opening like a cold eye.

I stand at the bottom of the well.

Beside him was Yan Xiaoyi, in front of him was Xu Sandao, under his feet was a stinking ditch, and in his hands he held the broken corner of the old Wei character plaque and the Lan Bugui death registration plaque.

No matter how you explain it, this scene doesn't seem like someone who is innocent.

Especially since Xu Sandao was still holding a knife.

Upon seeing Gu Xing, his first reaction was not to dodge or retreat, but to raise his knife an inch.

I immediately grabbed his wrist.

"Don't move."

Xu Sandao said coldly, "Inner Guard."

"I know."

"Fight your way out."

"Try killing one."

Xu Sandao looked at me.

I lowered my voice: "If you dare to make a move, I'll call the assassins right now."

His eyes darkened.

I looked at him too.

This isn't meant to scare him.

This is a fact.

Gu Xingzhi had already seen it.

He also had bodyguards behind him.

If Xu Sandao were to draw his sword at this moment, the matter would no longer be Shen An investigating an old case, but rather a swordsman from the southwest infiltrating the palace at night.

Even if I had ten mouths, I would still be stuffed into jail along with them.

Gu Xingzhi's voice came from above.

"Come up."

Two words.

It's very flat.

But there is no room for negotiation.

Yan Xiaoyi glanced at me.

"superior?"

"It wouldn't be very respectable to not go."

The main problem is that even if we don't go up, we can't win.

Xu Sandao sneered, "Young Master is quite pragmatic."

I whispered, "What I want most right now is to find a way to survive."

We climbed up from the foothold next to the old well.

I climbed with great difficulty.

Because I'm really running out of energy.

When I reached the wellhead, Yan Xiaoyi reached out and pulled me up.

Gu Xingzhi looked at me covered in mud and water, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

He's probably used to me showing up at crime scenes in all sorts of strange ways.

This time, however, the location was too thrilling.

The old water ditch of the palace.

He was accompanied by a swordsman from the southwest.

Gu Xingzhi looked at Xu Sandao first.

"Name."

Xu Sandao did not answer.

I said, "I'm a江湖人 (jianghu person), surnamed Xu."

Gu Xingzhi looked at me.

"I asked him."

Xu Sandao coldly replied, "Xu Sandao."

Gu Xingzhi nodded.

"From the Southwest?"

Xu Sandao tightened his grip on the knife.

I quickly said, "I'm the one who brought them here."

Gu Xingzhi's gaze fell on me.

"You lured the swordsmen from the southwest to the old ditch in the palace?"

Even I find it absurd to say that to myself.

I took a deep breath.

"Yes."

Yan Xiaoyi glanced at me.

Xu Sandao also glanced at me.

I continued, "Someone passed on information about the old laundry bureau's night gates to our agents in the southwest, hoping they would mistakenly believe that an assassination attempt could be carried out there. I received the information and rushed here to stop them."

Gu Xingzhi remained silent.

He neither immediately said he believed nor he immediately said he didn't believe.

This hurts more than being scolded.

I handed him the broken corner of the old Wei-character plaque in my hand.

"If I had arrived a moment later, they would have used gunpowder to break the lock, and the Imperial Guards would have come to patrol. This place would have become the scene of the Southwest Assassins' raid on the palace. At that time, the remains of the corpse under the well, the old plaque with the character 'Wei' on it, and the death register of Lan Bugui would all have been covered up by the assassination case."

Gu Xingzhi took the broken corner piece.

Under the lamplight, the half of the character "魏" was clearly visible.

His eyes finally moved.

"Taken from the well?"

"Yes."

Who was there?

"Me, Yan Xiaoyi, Xu Sandao, and the old man down in the well."

Gu Xingzhi looked at the old man being supported by Yan Xiaoyi.

The old man was half-conscious, with blood still at the corner of his mouth, but his hand was tightly clenching the old scar with three holes.

Gu Xingzhi approached, squatted down, and took a look.

"People from the old laundry department."

I asked, "Do you know him?"

"I don't know him."

"How do you know?"

"hand."

He only said one word.

I understand.

Three holes form an orchid.

Old Laundry Bureau, Aunt Lan, Corpse Clothes, Needle Hole.

These things might not be the first time they've appeared in Gu Xingzhi's eyes.

I whispered, "He's still alive."

Gu Xingzhi said, "Take him away."

Xu Sandao sneered: "Where to? The Imperial Guard Prison?"

Gu Xingzhi looked at him.

"You can go too."

Xu Sandao flicked his wrist.

My scalp tightened, and I immediately stepped between the two of them.

"Commander Gu, this man cannot be arrested."

Gu Xingzhi's eyes turned cold.

"reason."

"If we capture him, Shen Lie will move."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment after those words were spoken.

Xu Sandao suddenly looked at me.

I didn't look at him.

I only care about Gu Xingzhi.

"The purpose of the 'Clearing Accounts Meeting' is to expose the secret network in the southwest and allow Shen Lie to enter the capital ahead of schedule. Once Xu Sandao falls into the hands of the Inner Guard, the news will spread, and the southwest will be thrown into chaos. The Yongning case, the old accounts in the southwest, and the old case of the late Empress will all be suppressed by military affairs."

Gu Xingzhi said, "So you're releasing a swordsman from the southwest who's been groping the palace?"

"He didn't go to the palace."

"He pried open the old moat of the palace."

"I stopped them."

"What guarantees you won't come back?"

I looked at Xu Sandao.

Xu Sandao said coldly, "No one can guarantee me anything."

This person is really making things worse.

I turned to look at him.

"Say one more word and I'll have Commander Gu hang you on the palace wall right now."

Xu Sandao's eyes turned cold.

I suppressed my anger and said, "If you still want Shen Lie's old grievances to be exposed, then shut up."

He finally stopped talking.

Gu Xingzhi looked at us.

His gaze was like that of someone looking at two snakes biting each other's tails.

After a moment, he said, "Xu Sandao, leave a token."

Xu Sandao sneered: "On what grounds?"

Gu Xingzhi said, "As long as you haven't been captured by the Imperial Guards yet."

Xu Sandao looked at me.

I nodded.

"Give."

"Young Master."

"Give it to him."

Xu Sandao gritted his teeth and took a sword pendant from his waist.

The sword hilt was made of old iron, with a small character "烈" (lie, meaning fierce/fierce) engraved on it.

Gu Xingzhi took it and glanced at it.

"If this happens again tonight, I will take this pendant to the palace."

This statement is even more ruthless than arresting someone.

He wasn't threatening Xu Sandao.

It's a threat to me and Shen Lie.

Xu Sandao's face was frighteningly grim.

I cupped my hands and said, "Your subject will remember."

Gu Xingzhi turned to me.

"The evidence has been sealed."

I took out the tattered corner of the corpse's clothes, the broken corner of the old plaque with the character "Wei," and the plaque with the name of Lan Bugui.

The guards brought the sealed bag.

I insist on adding the private seal of the Censorate.

Gu Xingzhi glanced at me.

"You don't trust the internal guards?"

"Your subject's letter."

He didn't refute it.

After sealing the evidence, Gu Xingzhi had two bodyguards carry Yao the deaf away.

I immediately said, "Send it to the Censorate."

Gu Xingzhi looked at me.

"Why not an inside guard?"

"Because he's a living witness from the old laundry bureau, and he just said not to let Shen Lie enter the capital. If he enters the Inner Guard, everyone will know tomorrow that the Inner Guard has taken the old witness from the Southwest. If he enters the Censorate, he's just a dying witness I just rescued."

Yan Xiaoyi whispered from the side, "The Censorate Inn is adding another person."

I ignored him.

Gu Xingzhi remained silent for a moment.

"Send him to the Censorate, and have him remain in the Inner Guard."

"Can."

Xu Sandao said coldly, "Young Master, I'm leaving."

Gu Xingzhi glanced at him but did not stop him.

Before leaving, Xu Sandao whispered to me, "The master won't like what you did tonight."

I said, "There are many things my dad doesn't like."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid."

"Then why are you still stopping me?"

I looked at him.

"I'm afraid he'll die without knowing why."

Xu Sandao didn't say anything more.

He led two undercover agents into the night.

I know that starting tonight, Xu Sandao will no longer listen to me completely.

He will tell Shen Lie what happened here.

He would say that the young master blocked the palace gates, protected the emperor, and released the imperial guards.

This sounds too much like betrayal.

But I had no better choice.

Gu Xingzhi walked to my side.

"Shen An".

"Your subject is here."

"His Majesty knows your identity."

My heart skipped a beat.

His voice was as calm as if he were talking about the weather.

I looked up at him.

He was looking at me too.

"I know at least part of it."

I remained silent.

Gu Xingzhi continued, "So you don't need to make yourself sound perfectly innocent every time."

I opened my mouth.

For a moment, I didn't know what to say.

Gu Xingzhi said, "But knowing is not the same as condoning."

He looked in the direction Xu Sandao had left.

"If you allow the Southwestern swordsmen to approach the palace walls again, I will execute them first and report later."

I whispered, "Understood."

"besides."

"Commander Gu, please speak."

"You saved more than just Xu Sandao tonight."

I was taken aback.

Gu Xingzhi looked at the old clothes well.

"You saved yourself."

After saying that, he turned around and ordered the guards to withdraw.

I stood in the night wind, my back growing colder and colder.

The emperor knew part of it.

Gu Xingzhi also knew part of it.

The princess began to have doubts.

Xu Sandao didn't believe it at first.

I feel like a piece of paper that has been pulled open by four people at the same time.

The paper was also filled with accounts.

It will crack if you apply just a little more force.

Yan Xiaoyi walked over.

"Still standing?"

"My legs are weak."

"Do you need help?"

"Hold my arm."

He reached out and helped me up.

This time, I didn't pull on the back of my collar.

He at least has a conscience.

As I watched the old well being resealed by the Imperial Guards, I suddenly realized that the assassination attempt tonight had not occurred.

But a larger interrogation has already begun.

Interrogate me.

The emperor's trial.

The trial of Shen Lie.

Also, examine the old laundry room's night gate from eleven years ago.