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

Before midnight, I went to Ci'en Temple.

According to Lan Bugui's letter, I should go alone.

In fact, I did enter the temple gate alone.

As for how many people are hiding in the three alleys outside the temple gate, that's beyond my control.

Yan Xiaoyi hid outside the west wall.

Gu Xingzhi's men were further away.

No one from the princess's residence showed up, but I knew Qiu Tang must be there.

Xiao Lingyi said she wouldn't really send me to my death alone.

Her words didn't sound like concern; they sounded more like she didn't want me to die too casually.

But I really enjoyed it.

Ci'en Temple at midnight is much colder than during the day.

The scent of incense was faint, and the night breeze swept through the corridor, causing the lanterns to sway gently.

The old monk Huiming stood under the bell tower, holding a small lamp in his hand.

When he saw me, he sighed first.

"Lord Shen, this bell tower has been busier than the Golden Hall lately."

I cupped my hands in greeting.

"Thank you for your hard work, Master."

"It's tough enough as it is," Huiming said, looking at me. "It's just that I'm unlucky."

"Rest assured, Master, we will try our best to prevent any deaths tonight."

Huiming clasped his hands together in prayer.

"Every time Lord Shen says he will try his best, I feel that even Buddha should worry about it."

I am speechless.

This old monk is looking more and more like Ah Liu.

Huiming handed me the lamp.

"Someone asked me to tell Lord Shen that he can only go upstairs alone."

"Who?"

"dead."

He spoke calmly.

I was very disturbed by what I heard.

I looked up at the clock tower.

In the dark shadows of the building, it seemed as if old accounts were hidden.

"Does someone have connections up there?"

Huiming shook his head.

"This humble monk does not know."

"Then how did you know to let me go up?"

"There are words on the clock."

I followed him to the foot of the clock tower.

The large clock hangs in the shadows, its surface mottled.

Below the rim of the bell, a few small characters were engraved with a fine needle.

When orchid leaves sprout, the dead return.

Shen An went up alone.

The characters are carved in extremely fine detail.

If Huiming hadn't been familiar with the clock tower, he wouldn't have been able to see it at all.

I touched the marks on the writing.

It's very new.

The man who never returned came here.

Or perhaps Lan Bugui came by herself.

Huiming looked at me.

"Lord Shen, if I may be so bold as to say something..."

"Please speak, Master."

"Some dead people are more troublesome than the living."

"I have recently come to understand this deeply."

He nodded and stepped back onto the veranda.

"Then this humble monk will not keep you company. Even Buddha needs to sleep."

I took the lantern and went upstairs.

The wooden ladder was old, and every step creaked.

The sound was especially clear at night, like someone counting my lives behind my back.

There was no one on the first floor.

There was no one on the second floor.

When we reached the third floor, the wind suddenly picked up.

There is a small window at the top of the bell tower, through which you can see several dark alleys outside the temple.

I did not see Yan Xiaoyi.

I didn't see any guards either.

This is good.

This shows that they hid themselves quite well, almost like humans.

There was an old clothes basket upstairs.

It looks very similar to the one that was delivered to the princess's residence during the day.

There were no blood-stained clothes in the basket.

There was only a single orchid needle, a piece of paper, and an unlit oil lamp.

It was written on the paper:

If you bring someone upstairs, the lights will go out.

If you bring a knife upstairs, the lights will go out.

If you lie, the dead will not wake up.

I looked down at the short blade hidden in my sleeve.

He brought a knife upstairs.

It was discovered.

I paused for a moment, then took out the short blade and placed it on the floor.

He then put down the lime powder from his sleeve.

After thinking for a moment, he also released a small hidden arrow.

A breeze blew in from the window, and the oil lamp, though unlit, flickered.

It sounds like someone is laughing.

I suddenly realized that if Lan Bugui were truly operating in the shadows, she would be incredibly difficult to deal with.

He's more difficult to deal with than Qian Rong.

At least Qian Rong was still sitting openly drinking tea.

She doesn't even show her shadow, yet she can get you to hand over your knife.

I said, "Put the knife down, but where is the person?"

No one answered.

After a while, a soft cough came from a hidden door on the other side of the clock tower.

Another cough.

These past few days, whenever I hear a cough, my heart sinks.

There was a cough in the fourteenth carriage of the Guang character.

Yao the Deaf coughs.

Feng Baoquan coughs.

Ji Qing also coughed.

These old cases in Daliang seem to have all been coughed up.

The hidden door slowly opened.

No one came out.

Only a wooden wheelchair was visible at first.

A person covered with a gray cloth sat in a wheelchair.

The person pushing the wheelchair did not enter the light.

Only one hand is extended.

That hand was very thin, with distinct knuckles and old needle marks on the fingertips.

I stared at that hand.

"Three holes forming an orchid?"

The hand paused for a moment.

Then, he gently tapped the armrest of the wheelchair three times.

Knock, knock, knock.

This is not an answer.

Like confirmation.

I asked, "Is Lan not returning?"

A very low female voice came from the darkness.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

The voice is ageless.

But he's not young either.

It was pressed very low, as if separated by many years.

I didn't ask any more questions.

My gaze fell on the person in the wheelchair.

"Is this the person who should have died but didn't?"

The woman's voice said, "He should have died in the eleventh year of Chengxi."

"But he's still alive."

"Someone died in his place."

This sentence is very heavy.

It's sunk as deep as a well.

I took a step closer.

The person in the wheelchair slowly raised their head.

A corner of the gray cloth slid down, revealing an old and gaunt face.

the man.

He had high brow bones, deep-set eyes, and a gray beard.

The most obvious feature is his throat.

There is an old wound that extends from the left side down to the neck.

It's as if it had been cut open and then barely sewn back together.

He opened his mouth, but only made a sound like the wind breaking through it.

Unable to speak in complete sentences.

The woman pushing the wheelchair placed a wooden board on his lap and handed him a charcoal pencil.

The man's hands were shaking violently.

He wrote three words on the wooden board.

Wei Qingping.

I frowned.

His surname is Wei.

"The 'Wei' in the old brand name?"

The man looked at me and slowly nodded.

The woman pushing the wheelchair said, "He was a former official in the Imperial Treasury, and also in charge of sealing up old documents from the Secretariat. He died of illness in the Imperial Treasury in the eleventh year of the Chengxi reign."

"Died of illness?"

I couldn't help but laugh.

The number of people dying from illness lately is really increasing.

Wei Qingping picked up a pen and wrote:

Remember. Not dead.

He was registered as a dead man, but he was not actually dead.

Another dead person's name.

I asked, "What is your relationship with Lan Bugui?"

Wei Qingping did not answer.

The woman pushing the wheelchair said, "He owes her a life."

"Was it Lan Bugui who saved her?"

The woman said, "No, Lan Bugui didn't save him."

I was taken aback.

"Who is that?"

The woman did not answer.

Wei Qingping lowered his head and wrote:

Empress.

My heart skipped a beat.

Did the late Empress save Wei Qingping?

This is even more important than Aunt Lan saving people.

I asked, "Why did the late Empress save you?"

Wei Qingping wrote very slowly.

I have an account.

Looking at those three words, I suddenly understood.

He was a former official in the Imperial Treasury, and he knew the old accounts of the military pay in the Southwest, the old Wei-branded plaques, and who had been responsible for holding accounts, transferring silver, and clearing out people back then.

The late empress did not save just one person.

It's a flexible account.

The woman pushing the wheelchair said, "Wei Qingping cannot enter the palace, cannot see the emperor, cannot see Shen Lie, and cannot see Zhao Ning."

"But you can see me?"

"Because you're not qualified to kill him."

I:"……"

This reason is really simple.

That's really hurtful.

I asked, "Do you have the last page of the list?"

The woman said, "It's in Lan Bugui's hands."

"I want to see her."

"You're not qualified."

I felt a twitch in my forehead.

Tonight, I've already been told twice that I'm not qualified.

One instance is not enough to kill, one instance is not enough to even see anyone.

As a dignified seventh-rank censor, I found it difficult to refute.

I looked at Wei Qingping.

"Then what can you give me?"

Wei Qingping slowly took out a roll of thin paper from his pocket.

The woman pushing the wheelchair took it and placed it in front of me.

"Incomplete copy of the list."

I reached out to take it.

But she held it down.

"Let me answer one question first."

"ask."

"Whose side are you on?"

Again.

This is the second time tonight.

Xu Sandao asked.

Now even those who don't return to Lan are asking.

Looking at her hands hidden in the shadows, I suddenly felt very tired.

It's not that I'm sleepy.

It's the kind of exhaustion that comes from being held back by everyone.

I said, "He is not one of the emperor's men."

She did not speak.

"He's not one of Shen Lie's men either."

Her fingers paused slightly.

"He's not one of the princess's people either."

"Then who are you on my side?"

I thought about it.

"I'm the one who audits the accounts."

The clock tower was quiet for a moment.

Wei Qingping, who was in a wheelchair, suddenly looked up at me.

His eyes were cloudy, but for a moment, there was a glimmer of light in them.

The woman pushing the wheelchair finally let go.

"Lan Bugui said, 'If you answer like this, I'll give you the remaining copy.'"

A thought struck me.

Did Lan Bugui guess that I would answer like that?

Or is this the answer she wants me to give?

I picked up the tissue paper.

The paper was old, and it didn't contain the complete list, just a few lines copied down.

In the eleventh year of Chengxi, the old accounts of the military pay in the southwest were incomplete.

The old official seal of the Secretariat is sealed: Wei Qingping.

Temporarily suspended in the internal treasury: Liu Bing.

Ministry of Works account transfer: Qian Rong.

Guangchu Gate Night Turn: Season Six.

The old case was brought to a halt: ...

It was torn off at the back.

I frowned.

"Why is it a fragmentary copy?"

The woman said, "The original page cannot be touched."

"Then how do I get Shen Lie to stop?"

"Let him see these lines."

He won't believe it.

Wei Qingping wrote a few more words.

Show him the blood-stained clothes.

I lowered my head.

Bloodstained baby clothes.

The undergarment that Lan Bugui sent was indeed meant for Shen Lie.

But Lan Bugui's letter also said that he was not allowed to associate with Shen Lie.

I looked up.

"What exactly does she mean?"

The woman said, "Not being allowed to hand over doesn't mean you can't look at it."

I understand.

We can't let Shen Lie take it.

But it's okay for him to see it.

The blood-stained clothes would make Shen Lie pause.

At least stop at the last page where reality truly unfolds.

Just as I was about to ask again, a muffled thud came from downstairs.

Someone entered the temple.

The woman pushing the wheelchair immediately looked up.

"You brought people with you."

"I didn't bring it upstairs."

"But you brought it."

Her voice suddenly turned cold.

I said, "Just because you asked me to come alone doesn't mean others will believe you."

Wei Qingping suddenly coughed violently.

The woman pushing the wheelchair gripped the armrest.

That's all for tonight.

I asked urgently, "Where is Lan Bugui?"

The woman looked at me.

"She won't see anyone until the list is made public."

"So what's the next step?"

"Make Qian Rong confess to his crimes."

"Then?"

"Let Ji Liu recognize the palace gate."

"And then?"

She covered Wei Qingping's face with the gray cloth again.

"Make the emperor acknowledge what he knows."

These words fell into my ears like ice.

I wanted to ask more questions, but the hidden door had already closed.

I rushed over, and behind the hidden door was only a narrow staircase.

When they went down, there was no one left.

The bell tower of Ci'en Temple was indeed full of secret passages.

I stood there, clutching the tattered copy of the list in my hand, my heart pounding.

Gu Xingzhi's voice came from downstairs.

"Shen An".

I closed my eyes.

it is good.

It's him again.

I bent down and picked up the short blade, lime powder, and sleeve dart, then stuffed them back into my sleeve.

Then he went downstairs.

Gu Xingzhi stood downstairs.

Xiao Lingyi was also there.

She wore a dark cloak, and her face was colder than the night.

Clearly, none of them were truly comfortable letting me come alone.

I handed the tattered copy to Gu Xingzhi and Xiao Lingyi to look at.

After reading it, both of them fell silent.

Xiao Lingyi, in particular, felt a slight tightening in her fingertips when she saw the phrase "make the emperor acknowledge what he knows."

Gu Xingzhi asked in a low voice, "Where is he?"

"I'm gone."

"Lan won't return?"

"uncertain."

"Who did you see?"

I said, "Wei Qingping."

Gu Xingzhi's expression finally changed.

It's very light.

But things have changed.

He knew the name.

I asked, "Commander Gu, did Wei Qingping die of illness in the Imperial Treasury in the eleventh year of the Chengxi era?"

Gu Xingzhi did not answer.

His silence was the answer.

Xiao Lingyi looked at me.

"Is he still alive?"

"To live."

"Where?"

"I'm gone."

Disappointment flashed in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.

I whispered, "Princess, Wei Qingping said that the late Empress saved him."

Xiao Lingyi closed her eyes.

That night, something finally came to fruition.

This is not the complete list.

This is not Lan Bugui himself.

But then Wei Qingping came along.

The list was copied.

The blood-stained clothes were the direction Shen Lie should be shown.

Most importantly, I finally know what Lan Bugui is going to do next.

Qian Rong pleaded guilty.

Ji Qing recognized the place.

The Emperor's Perception.

These three things are all more dangerous than the last.