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

The next day when I went to the Ministry of Revenue, Ah Liu was very reluctant.

He stood at the door, holding my official hat, his face saying, "Young master, why don't we plead illness?"

I looked at him.

"What kind of expression is that?"

Ah Liu said, "I think the gate of the Ministry of Revenue looks like the gate of the Ministry of Justice."

"How is it similar?"

"Once you go in, you might not be able to get out."

I put on my official hat.

"Don't worry, the Ministry of Revenue won't kill me inside the door."

Ah Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I added, "They usually have people stationed outside the door."

Ah Liu almost turned around to pack up the coffin.

Yan Xiaoyi appeared at the alley entrance as usual.

He had half a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, leaning against the wall, as if he hadn't moved an inch since last night.

I glanced at him.

"Were you here last night?"

Yan Xiaoyi yawned.

"Can't sleep? Let's bask in the moonlight."

"What did you see?"

"I saw medicine delivered to your back gate twice, I saw people from the princess's residence come once, and I saw a wonton vendor put in two spoonfuls less salt."

I paused for a moment.

Where are they?

"Which person?"

"Wearing a straw hat, broad shoulders, right hand on his waist."

Yan Xiaoyi spat out the grass roots.

"They haven't appeared since."

This is not good news.

If Xu Sandao really doesn't show up, there are only two possibilities.

First, he left.

Secondly, he saw what he wanted to see and changed locations.

The second one is worse.

When we arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, Zheng Huaien had already prepared tea.

It was the same inner room as yesterday.

It was still those same few volumes of transcribed accounts.

The tea is still fragrant, and the snacks are plentiful.

The only difference is that there is now a bronze incense burner on the table.

The fragrance is very faint, like a calming incense.

I could smell it as soon as I walked in.

On the list of medicinal materials for epidemic diseases in Shimen Prefecture, sedative incense was listed in large quantities.

Today, Zheng Huaien also lit calming incense in his inner chamber.

That's quite fitting for the occasion.

Zheng Huaien stood up to greet him.

"Lord Shen has arrived early."

"We dare not slack off in the investigation."

"Lord Shen is diligent; no wonder His Majesty values ​​him highly."

I don't like hearing that.

The emperor values ​​me much like a butcher values ​​a pig—both think I'll be useful when the time is right.

After I sat down, Zheng Huaien personally poured me tea.

"I have already ordered an investigation into yesterday's events. The wooden plaque the child was carrying may not be genuine. In the chaos following the disaster in Jiangbei, it's not uncommon for people to falsely claim benefits under the names of the dead."

I did not touch the tea.

"Minister Zheng investigated very quickly."

Zheng Huaien smiled and said, "Disaster relief is a matter of people's livelihood, so the Ministry of Revenue naturally dares not be slow."

I took out the Fang Deshun wooden plaque from my sleeve, made a rubbing of it, and placed it on the table.

"In that case, I would like to see the original card dealing record for Fang Deshun's household."

Zheng Huaien glanced at Tuoying.

His gaze was very steady.

I'm pretty sure he knew last night that I would ask this.

"Lord Shen, the original record of the card issuance is in the local government office of Yong'an County, not in the Ministry of Revenue."

I asked, "How did the Ministry of Revenue approve the distribution of relief grain?"

"The local authorities report to the Ministry of Revenue for review."

"What does the review look for?"

"Check the local rosters, disaster reports, grain distribution from public granaries, and relief fund expenditures."

"No deal book?"

"The records are too detailed; the Ministry of Revenue cannot possibly verify them household by household."

What he said makes perfect sense.

It's so reasonable that you want to applaud him.

Local governments report disasters, the Ministry of Revenue allocates funds, and how to distribute them at the local level is not something that can be done by going to the capital every time.

But that's where the problem lies.

All major cases ultimately tend to be hidden in the impossibility of conducting door-to-door investigations.

I smiled.

"Then please have Vice Minister Zheng transfer the original register from Yong'an County."

Zheng Huaien said, "The original book was already sent to the storeroom yesterday."

"Did you find it?"

"The warehouse is filled with numerous documents accumulated over the years, and it will take some time."

"how long?"

"It will take one or two days at the fastest, and three to five days at the slowest."

Another three to five days passed.

This word is really useful.

The dead can wait three to five days.

The disaster victims could go hungry for three to five days.

Even a tent can be reincarnated within three to five days.

I looked up at him.

"Minister Zheng, you said yesterday that the original records would take three to five days, and today it still says three to five days. Is the Ministry of Revenue's treasury larger than the three prefectures north of the Yangtze River?"

Ah Liu lowered his head behind him, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Zheng Huaien's smile remained unchanged.

"Lord Shen is joking. The Ministry of Revenue has a large volume of documents and strict regulations. Retrieving the original records requires verification by the treasury seal, the clerk, and the chief clerk. If we break the rules due to haste, it will only leave flaws in the case files later."

rule.

It's the rules again.

The rules in the capital city are sometimes like bridges.

Sometimes it's like a wall.

More often than not, it's like a tightly sealed coffin.

I said, "May I personally go into the warehouse?"

Zheng Huaien paused for a moment as he held the teacup.

very short.

It's so short that Ah Liu can't tell.

But I saw it.

"Lord Shen is an Inspector of the Censorate. According to the law, he can access case files, but the Ministry of Revenue's warehouse is a restricted area, and only officials of the Ministry of Revenue are allowed to enter without permission."

"Even with His Majesty's decree, it's not allowed?"

Zheng Huaien smiled and said, "If His Majesty issues a decree, then that's a different story."

it is good.

He deflected the question back to the emperor.

If I were to request permission again to put the item into storage, it would delay things by at least one day.

Whether the original book was burned, got wet, was eaten by insects, or was dragged away by rats to get married on that day is hard to say.

I looked down at the teacup.

The tea was slightly yellow.

The aroma is very consistent.

The calming aroma mixed with the tea fragrance made the room seem excessively quiet.

I suddenly asked, "Did Vice Minister Zheng sleep well last night?"

Zheng Huaien was taken aback.

"Why does Lord Shen ask this?"

"I didn't sleep well last night. I was looking at the disaster relief accounts until the wee hours, and the more I looked, the cleaner they seemed. They were so clean that they didn't look like they were written by the Ministry of Revenue."

That's very offensive.

But I spoke very sincerely.

Zheng Huaien's smile faded slightly.

"What does Lord Shen mean by this?"

"What I mean is that the Ministry of Revenue is truly remarkable for being able to accurately account for the grain, silver, medicine, and shelters for 29,628 disaster victims."

I picked up a copybook and turned to the soup kitchen to make use of it.

"For example, firewood."

Then I turned to the medicinal herbs.

"For example, calming incense."

Then turn to the relocation list.

"For example, yesterday it was called Liugou Village, but today it has become Beidi Xinhu."

The inner hall finally quieted down.

Manager Ma stood to the side, his face turning pale instantly.

Zheng Huaien glanced at him.

Manager Ma kept his head down.

This glance was very light.

But this is enough to show that Zheng Huaien knew that Liugou Village had been changed.

I combined the two ledger pages together.

One copy is a transcribed version of a palace document given to me by the emperor.

One of them is a copybook that the Ministry of Revenue gave me yesterday.

The same household.

Same item.

The village names are different.

I laughed and said, "Minister Zheng, the clerks in the Ministry of Revenue are indeed meticulous. Last night, they even managed to move the body of a dead person."

Manager Ma was sweating profusely.

Zheng Huaien slowly put down his teacup.

The porcelain cup touched the table with a very soft sound.

"Lord Shen, errors in copying are inevitable. The merger of the old village of Liugou into the new households on the north bank has already been reported by the local authorities. It is not surprising that the clerk wrote one place according to the old name and another place according to the new name."

"That's not surprising at all."

I nodded.

"Then please have Vice Minister Zheng submit the local report to me."

Zheng Huaien looked at me.

I looked at him too.

A moment later, he smiled.

"Lord Shen truly deserves to be the one who brought Qian Rong to justice."

This finally doesn't sound like a compliment.

It was as if it were reminding me that Qian Rong was dead.

I laughed too.

"Rest assured, Minister Zheng, when I investigate a case, I don't discriminate between the dead and the living."

Zheng Huaien said, "The local authorities have submitted a report, and I will send someone to retrieve it."

I asked, "Will it also take three to five days?"

This time, he did not answer immediately.

The calming incense was still burning in the inner room.

A small piece of incense ash fell and collapsed at the mouth of the stove, like a broken finger bone.

After a long silence, Zheng Huaien said, "Afternoon."

A slight thought crossed my mind.

He took a step back.

This means I hit a spot where he couldn't completely drag it.

"Thank you, Vice Minister Zheng."

"You're too kind, Lord Shen."

I got up to say goodbye.

As they reached the door, Zheng Huaien suddenly said, "Lord Shen."

I turned around.

He remained seated behind his desk, his expression gentle.

"The disaster relief case is different from the Yongning River case. If the river case was investigated incorrectly, only a section of the river embankment was damaged. If the disaster relief case is investigated incorrectly, it will unsettle the public."

I said, "This humble official understands."

"With Lord Shen's wedding imminent, if the disaster victims outside the city are instigated to storm the capital, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, the Censorate, and even the Princess's residence will be dragged into it."

Finally, we've come to the Princess's residence.

I looked at him.

Zheng Huaien continued, "His Highness Zhaoning is of noble status and should not get involved in the troubles of the refugees."

That's a very polite statement.

It's also very heavy.

He was telling me that if I continued to investigate, the Ministry of Revenue could direct the anger of the disaster victims towards the Princess's residence.

I smiled.

"Minister Zheng, rest assured, His Highness is only interested in the truth, not in right and wrong."

Zheng Huaien's eyes finally turned cold for a moment.

Only for a moment.

But that's enough.

After leaving the Ministry of Revenue, Ah Liu let out a long sigh of relief.

"Young master, I almost thought Minister Zheng was going to smash the teacup and call for the executioners."

Yan Xiaoyi said lazily, "The Ministry of Revenue does not employ executioners."

Ah Liu was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.

Yan Xiaoyi added, "They employ people who can flatten even knives, axes, and handcuffs."

Ah Liu stopped talking.

But I didn't laugh.

My attention was still on that bronze incense burner.

Calming incense.

There was an unusually large amount of calming incense in the medicine inventory of Shimen Prefecture.

The Ministry of Revenue's inner hall lit calming incense today.

I suddenly asked, "Yan Xiaoyi, can you find out where the Ministry of Revenue got its spices today?"

Yan Xiaoyi glanced at me.

"You're investigating disaster relief funds, and you've stumbled upon incense burners?"

"There's little medicine for the epidemic in the tent, but plenty of calming incense. Today, Zheng Huai'en also had some calming incense burning in his room."

Ah Liu asked blankly, "What's wrong with the calming incense?"

"no problem."

I looked at the gate of the Ministry of Revenue.

"But when disaster victims are hungry, they don't need comforting words. They need rice."

Yan Xiaoyi straightened up a bit.

"I'll go ask."

He turned and left, like a silent shadow.

In the afternoon, the Ministry of Revenue sent someone to deliver a report from the local authorities.

Not the original copy.

It is a duplicate.

The person who delivered it was still Manager Ma.

He forced a smile and placed the copy on my desk.

"Lord Shen, Vice Minister Zheng said that the original local report was old and somewhat damaged. This is the copy that was transcribed into the Ministry of Revenue at that time."

I opened it.

The records of Liugou Village being merged into the new households in Beidi are clearly written.

It has everything: date, seal, village head's name, county seal.

At first glance, there seems to be no problem.

But as I was looking at it, I suddenly stopped.

This supplementary document is too new.

The paper was aged and the edges were sanded, but the ink on the paper didn't really settle in.

More importantly, the edge of the county seal is slightly blurred.

It's like the ink pad is too new; it wasn't completely dry when you pressed it in.

I asked Steward Ma, "Has this memorial been kept in the Ministry of Revenue all along?"

Manager Ma replied, "That's right."

"How long have you kept it?"

"From the fourteenth year of Chengxi to the present."

I nodded.

The fourteenth year of Chengxi.

three years ago.

The document is from three years ago, and the inkpad looks as fresh as if it was just stamped last month.

I closed the copy and smiled.

"Thank you for your hard work, Manager Ma."

Manager Ma wiped his sweat, took his leave, and left.

Ah Liu came over.

"Young master, is there something wrong with this thing too?"

"have."

"where?"

"Too new."

Ah Liu looked at the paper that had been artificially aged.

"This is new?"

"Paper can be aged by crumpling, its edges can be worn old, and ink can be aged by mixing. But inkpad is different."

I pointed to the edge of the county seal.

"This supplementary document doesn't look like it was made three years ago."

Ah Liu's eyes widened in surprise.

"They made it on the spot?"

"At least it was rebuilt."

"What about the original portion?"

I didn't answer.

Because suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

The gatekeeper rushed in, his face ashen.

"Young master, something has happened at the west soup kitchen outside the city!"

My heart sank.

"explain."

"Fang Xiaogen's mother... just woke up and said that Fang Deshun isn't the only dead man receiving food."

The doorman swallowed hard.

She said that all the people who died in Liugou Village last winter have been living off the money in the Ministry of Revenue's accounts this year.

The room was deathly silent.

I looked down at the excessively new supplementary report and suddenly understood.

The Ministry of Revenue did not use a dead person to receive rations.

It was through the deaths of a village that a clean account was created.