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

When Qian Rong saw Ji Qing's confession, he looked ten years older.

It's not an exaggeration.

I'm really getting old.

He could have maintained that gentle and respectable facade.

But when the words "Destiny is Born of a King" were placed before him, that shell finally cracked.

What's showing through the cracks isn't anger.

It is fear.

Xiao Lingyi sat on the side of the hall.

She wasn't wearing a princess's formal attire, but only a dark cloak.

But sitting there, she exuded more oppressive aura than many adults in court attire.

Gu Xingzhi stood at the door.

Zhao Guanlan was the presiding judge.

Written by Lu Huaizhou.

Ah Liu hid outside the door, not even daring to eat a piece of bread.

I pushed Ji Qing's confession in front of Qian Rong.

"Minister Qian, Ji Qing has already recognized the place."

Qian Rong remained silent.

"The old laundry room at night gate, the old signboard with the character Wei, Aunt Lan's body clothes used as a substitute for death, fate brought forth by the king."

I tapped on the last three words.

"Who is this king?"

Qian Rong looked at those words, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

"Shen An".

"Um?"

"It's not too late for you to stop now."

I almost burst out laughing.

It's quite interesting to hear these words from Qian Rong.

From the very beginning, he told me to stop.

Stop when inspecting the Ministry of Works.

Stop when checking the records.

Stop when you find the missing pages in the southwest area.

Now that Ji Qing has already written the character "王" (Wang), he still tells me to stop.

I said, "Minister Qian, do you think I can still hold back now?"

"You can't stop it, but His Majesty can."

"So you're afraid to go to the palace."

Qian Rong remained silent.

I continued, "You're afraid that when the case is reviewed in the Golden Palace tomorrow, your crime of Qian Rong will no longer be just the Yongning case, but the old account bureau."

Qian Rong closed his eyes.

Xiao Lingyi suddenly spoke.

"What is the Old Accounting Firm?"

Qian Rong's fingers trembled slightly.

The princess's question is harder to avoid than mine.

He whispered, "Around the eleventh year of Chengxi's reign, there was a group of people in the court who were in charge of old accounts."

"Accounting?"

Xiao Lingyi's voice was cold.

"Or should we destroy the entire camp?"

Qian Rong did not answer.

Zhao Guanlan said, "Qian Rong, answer me."

Qian Rong slowly said, "At first, it was about managing."

I asked, "And then?"

"Later..." he paused, "later, some accounts couldn't be made public."

"For example, the military pay in the Southwest?"

"Yes."

"For example, temporarily suspending operations in the internal warehouse?"

"Yes."

"For example, when the late Empress inspected the accounts?"

Qian Rong's face paled even more.

"Yes."

Xiao Lingyi's fingers rested on the armrest of the chair.

Very stable.

It was so stable it sent chills down my spine.

She didn't cry, didn't slam her fist on the table, and didn't demand, "Who killed my mother?"

She just sat there, as if she wanted to carve every word into her bones.

I asked, "Who is the king?"

Qian Rong remained silent.

Gu Xingzhi suddenly said, "Grand Secretary Wang."

Qian Rong suddenly looked up.

Gu Xingzhi didn't look at him, but said calmly, "In the eleventh year of Chengxi, Wang Huai served as the Chancellor and was one of the old ministers appointed by the late emperor. Although he has now retired, he still manages the students and protégés of the old ministers."

Wang Huai.

Wang Ge Lao.

The name was finally spoken clearly.

The room was eerily quiet.

Qian Rong stared at Gu Xingzhi.

"Commander Gu knows quite a lot."

Gu Xingzhi said, "The Imperial Guards have investigated."

"Where did you find it?"

"We found out you wouldn't tell."

Qian Rong smiled.

His smile was bitter.

"That's why you don't dare touch him."

These words felt like a cold slap in the face.

Gu Xingzhi did not refute.

Xiao Lingyi looked at him.

"Does Father Emperor know about Grand Secretary Wang?"

Gu Xingzhi lowered his head.

"His Majesty knows that Grand Secretary Wang has been involved in past grievances."

"Has he been involved before?"

Xiao Lingyi sneered.

"Empress Dowager has been dead for eleven years, and Father Emperor only knows of Zeng She?"

Gu Xingzhi remained silent.

This is not an answer he can give.

It's not something I can interrupt.

Qian Rong suddenly said, "Your Highness, Grand Secretary Wang is not as simple as you think."

Xiao Lingyi looked at him.

Qian Rong said in a low voice, "He is not Qian Rong. He is not a vice minister of the Ministry of Works. He is a former minister appointed by the late emperor, the one who helped Your Majesty secure the throne. Wang's protégés are all over the Secretariat, the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Treasury, and local governments. If he falls, it will not be just one person who falls."

"What are you going to do then?"

Qian Rong looked at her.

"Toppling half of the old dynasty."

After those words were spoken, the room became even quieter.

Half of the old dynasty.

I suddenly understood why the emperor had remained silent and why he had used me, this seemingly hopeless pawn.

He wasn't unaware that there were insects inside the wall.

He knew that the insects had already gnawed into the beams and pillars.

If you remove even one of them, the house might collapse.

But if the house isn't demolished, the people inside will continue to die.

Qian Rong continued, "Back then, the Old Accounts Bureau was not the Accounts Clearing Committee. It was originally ordered to clear up the messy accounts from the late emperor's last years, the bad accounts of military pay, and the empty accounts of the imperial treasury. Later, the more accounts were cleared up, the more people were implicated. Some people said that since the Old Accounts Committee was causing trouble for the court, it would be better to close the accounts."

I said coldly, "Sealing off the tents to the point of murder?"

Qian Rong closed his eyes.

"Once you have your first life, there's no going back."

"Whose first life was it?"

He did not answer.

Xiao Lingyi asked softly, "Is it Aunt Lan, or my mother?"

Qian Rong's expression changed drastically.

At this point, half the answer has been revealed.

My heart sank.

The old accounting bureau may have started as a place to hold accounts.

But after the late empress investigated the accounts, it turned into a trap for murder.

Qian Rong said, "Shen An, Grand Secretary Wang is not the final answer."

I asked, "Then what is he?"

"Door."

"What door?"

"The door to the old guard group."

He looked at the words "destined to be born of the king" on Ji Qing's confession.

"Back then, Ji Liu opened the night gate of the laundry department, and the orders could be issued from the hands of Wang's old officials. Grand Secretary Wang may not have written the orders himself, but without Wang's approval, the old Wei-branded tokens could not leave the old treasury of the Secretariat."

Gu Xingzhi finally spoke.

"evidence."

Qian Rong looked at him.

"If you want evidence, go find the old seals and registers of the Central Secretariat."

Where is the archive register?

Qian Rong smiled.

"At the residence of Grand Secretary Wang."

I frowned.

"Is the sealed register of the Secretariat located in Grand Secretary Wang's residence?"

"The supplementary register," Qian Rong said. "The main register was destroyed in the third year of the Chengxi reign. The supplementary register was taken back to the mansion by Grand Secretary Wang under the pretext that 'the old archives of the late emperor should not be destroyed.'"

If this is true, it would be extremely dangerous.

The origin of the old Wei-character plaque may lie in the supplementary register of the old archives of the Secretariat of the Wang Grand Secretary's Mansion.

I asked, "Is Grand Secretary Wang on the last page of the list in Lan Bugui?"

Qian Rong said, "There definitely is."

"What's your ranking?"

"Didn't you already know?"

Qian Rong didn't see the complete list on the tattered copy, but Wei Qingping's hints to me were enough.

I whispered, "The first one."

Qian Rong closed his eyes.

It's considered an implicit agreement.

Xiao Lingyi stood up.

"Qian Rong, are you willing to say these things in the Golden Hall?"

Qian Rong's expression changed.

"Your Highness."

"To be willing, or not to be unwilling?"

Qian Rong remained silent for a long time.

"If you speak, I will surely die."

I said, "If you don't tell, you won't survive either."

"I told you, the entire Qian family will be dragged into this."

Xiao Lingyi said coldly, "When you hid the evidence in Madam's dowry chest, did you not think about the entire Qian family?"

Qian Rong froze.

That's a very accurate statement.

Mrs. Qian has already come forward to testify.

Qian Rong had long ago torn away the most respectable veil of shame that he himself had concealed.

Zhao Guanlan said, "Qian Rong, your confession today will be recorded in the case file. It will be reviewed in the Imperial Court tomorrow. If you recant your confession, what you said today will still be presented to the Emperor."

Qian Rong looked at him, then at me.

"Shen An, do you want me to bite Grand Secretary Wang right here in the Golden Hall?"

"It wasn't a bite."

I said, "We should set up the tents."

Qian Rong smiled.

"If the tents are set up, they will crush many people to death."

"Then let's see who stands under the tent."

Qian Rong sighed softly.

"Young people are really ruthless."

I didn't speak.

It's not that I'm ruthless.

This debt was inherently harsh.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Wei Zhi has arrived.

The old eunuch still smiled.

But as soon as he entered the room, I knew that the palace had already received the news.

He first bowed to Xiao Lingyi, then looked at Gu Xingzhi, and finally fixed his gaze on me.

"Lord Shen, this is His Majesty's oral decree."

I got up immediately.

Everyone stood up as well.

Wei Zhidao said, "Tomorrow morning at the court session, the case of the Yongning River will be reviewed in the Golden Hall."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room changed their expressions.

finally come.

Wei Zhi continued, "Qian Rong has arrived at the palace. Zhao Guanlan has arrived at the palace. Shen An has arrived at the palace. Ji Qing's confession, Qian Rong's confession, the Yongning register, the missing page rubbings, and the incomplete list are all presented before the Emperor."

I lowered my head.

"Your subject obeys the decree."

Wei Zhi added, "His Majesty also said that Grand Secretary Wang has not attended court for a long time, and he will be invited to the court tomorrow to hear the case."

This time, even Gu Xingzhi's eyes flickered.

Grand Secretary Wang entered the palace.

Tomorrow's review will not be a simple re-examination of the Yongning case.

It was the emperor who used the Yongning case to bring the old officials' group to the imperial palace.

I suddenly felt a chill down my back.

Qian Rong also raised his head.

His face was pale.

Wei Zhi smiled and said, "Minister Qian, His Majesty said that if you have anything to say, you should say it in front of Grand Secretary Wang tomorrow."

Qian Rong's Adam's apple bobbed.

They didn't say anything.

Wei Zhi turned to leave, but suddenly looked back at me.

"Lord Shen."

"Please speak, sir."

"His Majesty said you should sleep for two hours."

I froze for a moment.

"what?"

Wei Zhi laughed and said, "His Majesty said that if you fall in the Golden Hall tomorrow, it will be considered a breach of etiquette before the Emperor."

I:"……"

His Majesty's concern is always sheathed.

Xiao Lingyi glanced at me.

"Did you hear that?"

Gu Xingzhi also said, "Sleep."

Zhao Guanlan said, "I will send someone to guard the document."

Lu Huaizhou said, "I will keep my word."

Ah Liu peeked out from outside the door.

"Young master, the bed is still available."

Looking at all the people in the room, I suddenly felt a little dazed.

These past few days I've felt like I'm being dragged along by everyone.

But now, it seems he's not entirely alone.

I handed over the confession and the remaining copy to Zhao Guanlan for safekeeping.

It was confirmed that Qian Rong was taken back to the interrogation room, and the relevant confessions of Yao Longzi and Wei Qingping were sealed in separate files, and Ji Qing's three confessions were complete.

Finally, he sat down on the bed in the side room.

The bed is very narrow.

The blanket wasn't thick either.

But as soon as I sat down, I felt myself sinking.

Ah Liu asked in a low voice, "Young master, would you like to eat something before you sleep?"

I closed my eyes.

"I won't eat it."

"Shall we eat when we wake up?"

"Um."

"Young master."

"explain."

Will we win tomorrow?

I thought about it.

"have no idea."

Ah Liu paused for a moment.

"Then let's go to sleep first."

I actually found his words to make a lot of sense.

Tomorrow in the Golden Hall, there will be the Emperor, Grand Secretary Wang, Qian Rong, the Princess, Pei Shen, and all the civil and military officials.

And there's that old account that gets deeper and deeper the more you look at it.

I don't know if I'll win.

But at least, I have to be awake and stand up there.

Otherwise, all the hard work of crawling through dog holes, climbing through windows, drinking bitter medicine, and eating hot pancakes these past few days would have been for nothing.

I lay down.

Before I closed my eyes, the last thing that flashed through my mind was the three words from Ji Qing's confession.

The king is destined.

Tomorrow, the Golden Palace.

These three words are about to be revealed.