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

At the entrance of the household registration office, the wind suddenly stopped.

The child knelt in front of the car, holding up the wooden sign.

The wooden plaque was small, its edges worn black, and covered with a layer of old sweat and mud. The front was engraved with the three characters "Fang Deshun," and the back with "Yong An."

I looked at the sign but didn't answer immediately.

At times like these, whether you accept the call or not is a matter of attitude.

If I accept it, it would be tantamount to admitting to the Ministry of Revenue that there is a problem with this item.

If I don't take him, the child might be dragged away by the Ministry of Revenue's clerks the next moment and then emerge from some gutter in the capital.

The constables have already stepped forward.

"Where did this wild child come from, daring to bump into an official's sedan chair!"

The child's shoulders trembled with fright, but he held onto the wooden sign tightly.

Zheng Huaien stood on the steps, a smile on his face.

The smile was just a little weaker than before.

"Lord Shen, this child's origins are unknown; the Ministry of Revenue will investigate. You are here by imperial decree to audit the accounts; there is no need to delay things because of a vagrant on the street."

That sounds very considerate.

Turn it over and it means: hand the person over to the Ministry of Revenue, don't touch them.

I laughed too.

"Minister Zheng is right."

The child's eyes dimmed instantly.

Ah Liu was behind me, his eyes bulging with anxiety.

Yan Xiaoyi leaned against the carriage, his fingers lazily resting on the scabbard, looking like he hadn't woken up yet. But I knew that if that constable dared to reach out, his knife would be faster than a yawn.

I bent down and looked at the child.

"What's your name?"

The child was stunned.

They probably didn't expect me to ask that.

"Fang...Fang Xiaogen."

"Who is Fang Deshun to you?"

"My grandfather."

"Died last year?"

He nodded, his eyes instantly turning red.

He didn't make it through last winter. He was buried on the old cemetery slope in Liugou Village.

Liugou Village.

Upon hearing this name, Zheng Huaien's smile faded slightly.

According to the Ministry of Revenue's transcribed records, Liugou Village had been changed to Beidi New Household.

But the child still refers to Liugou Village.

The dead don't change their stories.

Live Accounting Association.

I reached out and took the wooden sign.

The wooden plaque is very light.

It was so light it felt like it weighed nothing.

But I know that once this thing is in the case file, it could crush more than just one or two people.

I examined the wooden plaque; the three characters "Fang Deshun" were deeply engraved on the front, the knife marks were old, and the edges were gray.

However, there is a faint scratch next to the characters "永安".

It looks like there were other characters originally, which were scraped off and then smoothed out.

I asked, "Where did this brand come from?"

Fang Xiaogen said, "My mother hid it."

Where is your mother?

The child's lips trembled.

"She's sick. She's outside the West Soup Dishes Stall. She said if she sees Lord Shen of the Censorate, she'll show him the sign. She said her grandfather died last year, but the official records say he received his grain rations this year. She said... she said even the dead are full, but the living have no porridge to drink."

After he finished speaking, several passersby stopped.

The Ministry of Revenue's clerk looked grim.

Zheng Huaien finally stepped down from the steps.

"Lord Shen, what this child says may not be credible. After the disaster, there are many displaced people, and many of them are fraudulently claiming government rations. The list of the dead and old household registers are easy for people to use to make a fuss."

He spoke very steadily.

They were as steady as if they had been waiting for this statement.

I nodded.

"Minister Zheng is right."

I handed the wooden sign to Ah Liu.

"Keep it safe."

Zheng Huaien looked at me.

"Lord Shen, what is this...?"

I laughed and said, "Since it's possible that someone might be using the list of the dead to fraudulently claim government rations, then we should investigate even more thoroughly. Otherwise, wouldn't the Ministry of Revenue's cleanup be ruined by unscrupulous individuals?"

Zheng Huaien looked at me for a moment, then smiled.

"Lord Shen is right."

The two of us stood at the entrance of the household registration office, both smiling politely.

Those who didn't know the situation might have thought that the officials of the Liang Dynasty were harmonious and that the Ministry of Revenue and the Censorate were all one family.

Only the child kneeling on the ground knew that at least half of those two smiles were not good.

I asked Ah Liu to help Fang Xiaogen up.

The Ministry of Revenue officers tried to stop him, but Yan Xiaoyi took half a step forward.

Just half a step.

The constable immediately remembered that the soles of his shoes were not very stable today, so he stepped back.

Zheng Huaien did not stop him.

Smart people never snatch people up at the door.

There are too many people at the entrance; even if you win, it won't look good.

He simply said gently, "If Lord Shen finds out that this child is involved in the fraudulent claim, please inform the Ministry of Revenue as well."

I said, "Of course."

Fang Xiaogen was still trembling when he was taken to the car.

Ah Liu stuffed half a hot pancake into his mouth.

The child held the pancake, first looking at me, then at Ah Liu, as if he dared not eat it.

Ah Liu, unusually quiet, simply whispered, "Eat up, it's free."

The child then lowered his head and took a bite.

With one bite, tears streamed down his face and fell onto the pancake.

Ah Liu turned his head, pretending to look at the carriage curtain.

I didn't say anything.

Often, what's truly daunting in a case isn't the amount of money in the ledgers.

It's a hot pancake.

The account book says he has eaten his fill.

But even a single bite of the pancake felt like a second chance at life for him.

Back in Chengpingfang, I did not immediately interrogate Fang Xiaogen.

First, he asked Ah Liu to take him to the backyard to eat, and then he asked an old doctor to treat his frostbite on his hands and feet.

Yan Xiaoyi sat on the veranda, basking in the sun.

This person is strange.

The December sun in Beijing was so pale it looked like it had been diluted with water, yet he could still look like he was about to fall asleep under its rays.

I asked, "What do you think?"

Yan Xiaoyi didn't even lift his eyelids.

"The child is real."

"So fast?"

"When he knelt down, he first protected the wooden plaque, then his stomach. If someone else had taught him, he should have cried first."

I glanced at him.

Yan Xiaoyi said lazily, "A person who has been hungry for a long time can't pretend to be afraid to eat a pancake."

I didn't ask any more questions.

Although Yan Xiaoyi has a sharp tongue, he is very good at judging people.

This is probably one of the reasons why the emperor threw him to me.

I went into the study and placed the wooden plaque on the desk.

Sunlight streamed through the window paper, falling on the wooden sign and making the scratches even clearer.

There are indeed signs of wear next to "Yong'an".

I took some thin paper, pressed it onto the wooden plaque, and gently made a rubbing with charcoal.

Ah Liu brought in a bowl of hot porridge. He was about to speak when he saw me making wooden plaques, so he immediately shut up.

That's good.

He finally learned when he should be afraid of death.

The shadow gradually appeared.

The characters "永安" (Yong'an) are partially visible next to an old inscription.

It resembles the lower half of the Chinese character "柳" (willow).

Liugou Village.

The wooden plaque was probably not originally engraved with "Yong'an".

It is Yong'an Liugou.

Later, someone scraped off "Liugou" and left only "Yong'an" to make it easier to erase the old village name from the records.

However, wooden signs are not as easy to alter as ledgers.

Paper can be rewritten.

Wood will leave scars.

Ah Liu swallowed hard.

"Young master, is this evidence?"

"It's a breach."

"Not evidence?"

"That's not enough." I put the rubbing away. "A wooden plaque and a child—the Ministry of Revenue can claim it's forged, fraudulent, or that the disaster victims are talking nonsense. To get evidence, we need to find the distribution record corresponding to this wooden plaque."

"Is the register in the Ministry of Revenue?"

I looked at the wooden sign.

"They may already be gone."

Ah Liu suddenly became nervous.

"Where is it?"

Just as I was about to speak, I heard the doorman's voice from outside.

"Young master, Miss Qiutang from the Princess's residence has arrived."

I looked up.

It's so lively today.

The princess's residence also came to investigate the distribution of grain to the dead.

When Qiu Tang came in, the first thing she saw was the wooden plaque on the table.

Her gaze lingered for a moment, but she didn't ask any further questions. She simply placed a new volume on the table.

"Lord Shen, His Highness has sent me with a revised version of the wedding ceremony."

I looked at the booklet and suddenly felt a headache coming on.

"Didn't you deliver it yesterday?"

"Your Highness deleted it again last night."

Xiao Lingyi is a very meticulous person.

They are so meticulous that even getting married feels like a criminal trial.

I opened the booklet, and it was even simpler than yesterday's.

The ceremony of expressing gratitude in the palace still continues.

The nuptial ceremony still exists.

The bridal chamber is still there.

The narrowed cuffs remain.

And there was an extra line of small text next to it.

Zhou Xian, the Minister of Rites, has recently been asking Lord Shen about the size of his sleeves.

My fingers paused.

Qiu Tang said, "His Highness said that if Lord Shen has something to hide, he should not only guard against the Princess's residence, but also against the Ministry of Rites."

I looked up at her.

Who is Zhou Xian?

"The Minister of Rites is in charge of the details of the imperial son-in-law's wedding ceremony."

"Why does Your Highness suspect him?"

Qiu Tang said calmly, "He asked too many detailed questions."

I paused for a moment.

The Ministry of Rites asking about the sleeves of clothing sounds perfectly reasonable.

But things that are too reasonable are often deadly.

The princess wants to check my knife.

The Ministry of Rites will also check my sleeves.

These two search methods are different.

The princess investigated because she suspected me.

The Ministry of Rites investigated and found that someone might want me to be exposed on my wedding day.

Once the dagger is discovered by the entire court, I will no longer be the groom.

I am an assassin.

Or perhaps it was an assassin about to enter the palace to express gratitude.

When the time comes, there will be no need to settle accounts before taking action; even the emperor will have to give the world an explanation first.

I asked, "Did Your Highness say anything else?"

Qiu Tang glanced at the wooden plaque on the table.

"His Highness said that if the Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief case involves dead people receiving food, then the Ministry of Revenue should not be the only one investigated."

A slight stirring in my heart.

"Where should I look?"

"Yicang, Piaohao, Ministry of Rites."

Ministry of Rites?

I looked at her.

Qiu Tang said, "His Highness said that if the list of disaster victims is to be changed, the household registration is to be changed, or the relocation is to be changed, the local household registration is one thing, the Ministry of Revenue's account book is another thing, and the Ministry of Rites' post-disaster relief document is yet another thing. Especially around the time of the wedding, the Ministry of Rites has a lot of people coming and going, making it the perfect place to hide things that shouldn't be seen among things that should be seen."

Xiao Lingyi was indeed not the kind of person who would just sit in the princess's residence waiting for news.

She has been investigating the Empress Dowager's old cases for many years and knows the rules of the Ministry of Rites and the palace better than I do.

What she saw was not a wooden sign.

This wooden sign may be related to a change of household registration.

The Ministry of Revenue was responsible for money and grain.

However, for a person to go from being dead to being alive, or from being alive to being dead, they must go through procedures such as household registration, relocation, and pensions.

Even the Ministry of Rites could get involved.

Ji Qing hadn't written the character "礼" (li, meaning ritual or propriety) yet after hearing "Qinghe Yicang," but the shadow of the Ministry of Rites would arrive sooner or later.

I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

I closed the wedding booklet.

"Please thank Your Highness for me."

Qiu Tang said, "His Highness also said that there was no need for thanks. Lord Shen's clear accounting is more useful than any thanks."

I was speechless for a moment.

Qiu Tang added, "There's one more thing I want to say privately."

"Speaking."

"His Highness said that if a knife cannot be hidden, it need not be hidden."

My eyelids twitched.

Qiu Tang calmly finished the second half of the sentence.

"But don't let someone else pull it out for you."

After saying this, she bowed and took her leave.

I sat at the table, looking at the rolled-up wedding book and the wooden plaque of the dead.

Ah Liu asked cautiously, "Young master, is Her Highness the princess trying to help you, or just trying to scare you?"

I sighed.

"Yes, we have them all."

Xiao Lingyi doesn't believe me now.

But she also didn't want me to be dissected and examined by others.

the reason is simple.

If I die before my wedding, there will be one less knife in the old case of the late Empress.

If I were to die on my wedding day, Princess Zhaoning would become a laughingstock to the world.

We are not married yet.

But they were already like prisoners tied together in the same prison van.

When a car overturns, nobody can expect to look dignified.

In the evening, Fang Xiaogen finally ate two bowls of porridge and took a nap.

After he woke up, his mother was also taken by the old doctor and settled in a small courtyard near Chengpingfang.

The woman was very ill; her face was ashen, and her breath was so thin it was like a thread.

I only asked her three questions.

When will Fang Deshun die?

When will the wooden sign arrive?

Who allowed them to enter the capital?

She answered the first two questions very clearly.

Fang Deshun died last December, and he never received this year's relief grain before his death.

The wooden plaques were distributed by villagers after the disaster this year, saying that only those with the plaques could receive grain.

On the day they were to receive their grain, they lined up until dark, but still didn't see any grain.

She remained silent for a long time when asked the third question.

Finally, she looked at me, her voice trembling.

"We didn't come here on our own."

I asked, "Who sent you?"

She said, "A gentleman in a blue cloth coat."

"What's your name?"

"have no idea."

"What does it look like?"

"Thin, tall, with a mole on his left eyebrow. He said there's a Lord Shen in the capital who can read the register of the dead. He also said..."

The woman coughed a few times.

Fang Xiaogen quickly patted her back.

I'll wait for her to calm down.

She looked at me with fear in her eyes.

"He said that if we wanted to live, we had to deliver the wooden sign to the entrance of the Ministry of Revenue. If we couldn't deliver it, we would still be the people who had already eaten our fill in the tent."

I fell silent.

Someone pushed Fang Xiaogen and his mother in front of me.

This is no coincidence.

Someone handed me the knife.

Who could have handed him the knife?

Lan Bugui?

A debt settlement meeting?

A former member of the Princess's residence?

Or do you want to use me to attack the other faction in the Ministry of Revenue?

I looked at the wooden plaque on the table.

The wooden sign remained silent.

Even the dead are silent.

Only the account book can speak.

The problem now is that someone is teaching the dead to speak for me.

At night, I sat in my study and placed the three things together.

Wedding book.

Fang Deshun wooden plaque.

The Ministry of Revenue transcribed the accounts.

On one hand, it's a joyous occasion.

On one side are dead people.

I'm in the middle.

Ah Liu was dozing off nearby, his head nodding off.

I tapped the table lightly with my pen.

"Go to the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow."

Ah Liu suddenly woke up with a start.

"Huh? Going again?"

"Go and get the original copy."

Will Minister Zheng give it to me?

I smiled.

"Won't."

Ah Liu was even more confused.

"Then should we still go?"

I looked at the Liugou Village that had been changed on the Ministry of Revenue's copybook.

"The fact that he won't give it to me proves that the original book is useful."

A gust of wind blew through the window, causing the lamplight to flicker.

The shadow of the wooden plaque on the table fell on the wedding register, covering the four characters "Entering the Palace to Express Gratitude".

I suddenly had a premonition.

This marriage may not just be about the princess discovering that I was hiding a knife.

It's quite possible that someone wants the whole world to see that knife on the day I enter the palace to express my gratitude.