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

The old clothes basket was placed on the stone table in the princess's villa.

The basket was old.

The bamboo strips are yellowed, and the edges are worn shiny, as if they have been handled for many years.

It was covered with a gray cloth.

The gray cloth was excessively clean.

So clean it looked like it had just come out of the laundry.

Qiu Tang was about to step forward and lift it, but I stopped her.

"I'll do it."

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

"It might be poisonous."

"That's why I'm here."

"Are you very poisonous?"

"I've gained a bit more experience lately."

Yan Xiaoyi, standing nearby, said, "They might also have crossbows."

I stopped.

The people in the Princess's residence speak like knives, and Yan Xiaoyi speaks like rubbing salt on a knife.

I used a short blade to pry open the gray cloth.

There are no crossbows.

There was no toxic smoke.

There were three things in the basket.

A fragment of a baby's clothes.

a letter.

A single orchid leaf needle.

That little coat was very old.

The cloth had turned yellow, the edges were scorched by fire, and there were dark red bloodstains on the chest.

The bloodstains are many years old and have turned black.

But the moment I saw it, my heart felt like it had been hit hard by something.

I don't know why.

I just felt that the piece of cloth looked familiar.

It's so familiar it sends chills down my spine.

Xiao Lingyi saw it too.

She glanced at me.

"Do you know him?"

My throat feels a little tight.

"I don't know him."

That was said too quickly.

It was so fast that I couldn't believe it myself.

Yan Xiaoyi did not speak.

He looked at the small garment, his gaze becoming somewhat somber.

I composed myself and picked up the letter first.

The letter paper has three holes along its edge.

The handwriting was elegant, yet more steady than the tattered letter.

It's like the letter writer is finally no longer afraid of having their letter stolen.

I unfold.

Shen An.

If you take the orchid leaf, I will acknowledge you once.

But I don't believe the emperor, I don't believe Shen Lie, I don't believe Zhao Ning, and I don't believe you either.

The emperor knew about it but did not investigate it thoroughly.

Shen Lie was wronged, but he also shed blood.

Zhao Ning was the daughter of the Empress, but she was also a daughter of the Xiao family.

Your surname is Shen, yet you stand in the capital.

Therefore, I only trust the books.

When I saw the words "I only trust the account", my heart stirred slightly.

If she hadn't written these words, I would have thought I said them myself.

I continued reading.

The last page is in my hands.

That's not ordinary evidence; it's a list.

Once the list is released, former officials, the Imperial Treasury, the Secretariat, military pay, and even the cause of the Empress's death will all be dragged into the light.

However, the list cannot be given to any party.

If handed over to the emperor, the old debts will be sealed and stored in the palace.

If handed over to Shen Lie, the old accounts will be transformed into a military treatise.

If you hand it over to Zhao Ning, she will die.

Even if I hand it over to you, you might not live to see the emperor.

Xiao Lingyi, standing to the side, also saw this line.

Her expression remained unchanged.

His eyes were just colder.

There were a few more lines after the letter.

If you want the list, come to Ci'en Temple Bell Tower at midnight tonight.

You came alone.

No imperial guards, no princess's residence, no southwestern swordsmen.

I've come to see someone who deserves to die but hasn't.

If he acknowledges you, the list can be released.

If he doesn't acknowledge you, Shen Lie will enter the capital and set the city ablaze.

Also, this garment must not be given to Shen Lie.

The letter ends here.

The signature consisted of only three characters.

Lan will not return.

I stared at the letter, speechless for a long time.

It's not that we have nothing to say.

It's because I have too many words to say, and they're stuck in my throat.

Xiao Lingyi spoke first.

"She doesn't believe me."

The sound was very soft.

There was no anger in his voice.

But I know that this statement carries more weight than anger.

I said, "She doesn't trust the emperor, she doesn't trust Shen Lie, and she doesn't trust me."

"But she told you to go."

"Because I'm the weakest."

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

I said earnestly, "If the emperor moves, the world moves. If Shen Lie moves, the army moves. If the prince moves, the old guard in the palace moves. If only I move, at most I will die."

Yan Xiaoyi said, "That makes a lot of sense, but it's just unlucky."

I folded the letter neatly.

"I'll go at midnight tonight."

Xiao Lingyi said coldly, "No."

I looked up.

"Princess."

"She says she'll come alone, so you'll go alone? She doesn't trust me, so I'm expected to believe her?"

"This is currently the only chance to get the list."

"It could also be an opportunity to kill you."

"I have had many opportunities lately."

"Shen An".

She lowered her voice.

"Don't always talk about how lightly you live."

I was taken aback.

Xiao Lingyi seemed to realize that these words were not like her usual self.

She quickly cooled down again.

"If you die, the case will be closed."

I nodded.

"Your subject understands."

"You don't understand."

She looked at the baby clothes.

"What are these clothes?"

I remained silent.

I also want to know.

But I'm afraid to find out.

Lan Bugui said that he was not allowed to associate with Shen Lie.

This indicates that the garment is related to Shen Lie.

Perhaps it has something to do with my mother.

It's even related to me.

Yao Longzi said that Lan Bugui took three things with him back then.

A single page of the account.

An old card.

A child's outfit.

The children's clothes are now in my hands.

The last page was still in her hands.

The old cards and their fragments are now in my hands.

Three things are gradually returning to their proper places.

Xiao Lingyi whispered, "Is this undergarment yours?"

I looked up at her.

She didn't dodge.

I did not answer.

Because I don't know.

Also because I cannot answer.

After a moment, I said, "Perhaps it's evidence from an old case."

"You're avoiding the important issues again."

"This is all I know right now."

She stared at me for a long time.

They didn't press them any further.

He simply said, "You can't really go alone tonight."

"Lan Bugui requires one person."

"Then let her think you're alone."

A thought struck me.

"Does the princess have a solution?"

Xiao Lingyi looked at Qiu Tang.

Qiu Tang immediately understood.

"There is an old incense corridor under the bell tower of Ci'en Temple, which is familiar to people from the Princess's residence."

Yan Xiaoyi also said, "I can go a little further away."

I looked at them.

"What if she finds out?"

Xiao Lingyi said, "That means she wants to kill you."

The logic is very straightforward.

I was speechless.

Just then, Gu Xingzhi arrived.

Uninvited.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, his eyes fell on the old clothes basket.

I sighed inwardly.

He always arrives at the perfect time.

It was so accurate that I wondered if he was also listening to it from the wall.

Gu Xingzhi's expression remained unchanged after reading the letter.

But I know he remembered every single word.

You can't go alone.

I said, "Commander Gu and the princess happen to be of the same mind."

Xiao Lingyi said calmly, "This is not common."

Gu Xingzhi ignored him.

"His Majesty wishes to see this letter."

"The original letter may be sealed away; I will keep a copy."

"And clothes."

I subconsciously pulled the little garment back a bit.

Gu Xingzhi looked at me.

"Shen An".

I said in a deep voice, "This undergarment cannot be brought into the palace for the time being."

The courtyard quieted down.

Gu Xingzhi's gaze gradually turned cold.

"reason."

I looked at him.

"Lan Bugui's letter said that Xiaoyi must not be handed over to Shen Lie. She didn't say she couldn't be handed over to the Emperor, but since she specifically wrote this sentence, it means that if Xiaoyi falls into Shen Lie's hands, something terrible will happen. If she enters the palace, the news will definitely spread."

Gu Xingzhi said, "Are you saying that news might leak out of the palace?"

"Yes."

This time, I didn't hide.

"Leaks can occur in the palace, in the Censorate, and even in the Princess's residence. The less we know, the better."

Xiao Lingyi stood aside without refuting.

Gu Xingzhi looked at me for a long time.

"You want to hide it?"

"I want to have prior knowledge."

"Who will test it?"

Why not get medical treatment?

Gu Xingzhi frowned.

"A coroner examining baby clothes?"

"His examination of corpses is more reliable than that of the Imperial Hospital."

Yan Xiaoyi nodded: "That's true."

Gu Xingzhi finally said, "The letter enters the palace. Xiao Yi will be temporarily appointed to the Censorate, and the Inner Guard will be given an additional title."

This is a concession.

It's also surveillance.

I nodded.

"Can."

Xiao Lingyi said, "Leave the copy with me."

Gu Xingzhi looked at her.

"Your Highness."

Xiao Lingyi said coldly, "I have the right to look at the Empress Dowager's old cases."

Gu Xingzhi remained silent for a moment.

"Can."

I suddenly realized that Lan Bugui's letter had tied all three of us together.

The emperor wants a letter.

The princess wanted a copy.

I want to have my diaper checked.

Gu Xingzhi wanted to be granted an additional title.

Everyone says it's because of an old case.

But no one completely trusts others.

This is the true imperial court of the Great Liang Dynasty.

Even a baby's blood-stained clothes had to be sealed, printed, and copied.

I covered the baby up again.

When my fingers touched the corner of the cloth, my heart tightened again.

Like a long time ago, someone carried me across a very cold road.

This feeling came on out of nowhere.

I quickly withdrew my hand.

Xiao Lingyi saw it, but didn't ask.

Gu Xingzhi saw it too.

He wouldn't ask.

Only Yan Xiaoyi whispered, "You look even worse."

I look at him.

"Thanks for reminding me."

"You're welcome."

I turned and looked in the direction of Ci'en Temple.

It's past midnight tonight.

Beneath the clock tower.

One person went.

I met someone who deserved to die but hadn't.

I don't know who that person is.

But I have a feeling.

The first thing that person said to me after seeing me might be even more deadly than Ji Qing's "Don't let Shen Lie go to the capital."

Ah Liu rushed over from the back alley, carrying a bag of hot pancakes.

"Young Master! Everything has been arranged at the Censorate. Lord Zhao sent me to deliver it..."

He saw the old clothes basket and stopped talking.

"What is this now?"

I said, "Evidence."

Ah Liu looked at the baby's clothes, then at my face.

He was unusually quiet.

They just handed me the hot pancake.

"Then young master, you should eat first."

I took the hot pancake.

The pancake is still warm.

I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.

It wasn't because I was moved.

It must be because I'm too tired.

I took a bite and slowly swallowed it.

I'm going to Ci'en Temple at midnight tonight.

Go see a dead man.

Or a dead person who has lived for eleven years.