Daming: Brother, there is no future for monks, let's rebel

Xiao Liedeng remained calm and put down his tea: "Tuofei Fan is also an old precedent."

“No one is allowed to be eliminated according to the old rules,” Yin Yan said.

"I took it back to the station."

"The bureau said it was lost."

A glimmer of light appeared in Little Crack Lamp's eyes: "Then we should take it back even more."

"By whose hand?"

"By my own hand."

"Your hands aren't clean," Gu Qingping said calmly. "A judge outside the office shouldn't touch 'Fan' (a term used to describe someone who is corrupt or untrustworthy).

Little Crack Lamp chuckled softly: "The Prince's Mansion said I shouldn't touch it?"

“The Crown Prince said,” Zhu Han approached, “If you insist on touching him, the Crown Prince will touch you first.”

Little Crack Lamp looked up and smiled, "Your Highness—"

Before the smile could fully form, footsteps stopped outside the window. A very soft voice said, "Here."

"Who?" Yin Yan raised his bamboo ruler by an inch.

"Hao Duiying." The man entered from outside, pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve, and placed it flat on the table. "Little Liedeng, the 'script' you asked for is here. Follow it one step, and if you take the wrong step, the lamp will go out and the knife will fall."

The little cracked lamp stared at the paper, a flicker of light in its eyes: "Write about me?"

“Write about ‘knife’,” Hao said with a smile to Ying. “Write about how to put your ‘document knife’.”

He pushed the paper in front of the small cracked lamp and gently tapped the corner of the paper. "If the knife is placed on the left side of the table, the lamp's base will not crack; if the knife is placed on the right side, the lamp's base will definitely crack. If you want the lamp to crack, then place it on the right."

Little Lie Deng froze, then suddenly chuckled with a "tsk": "Master Hao, you still haven't changed your comedic style."

As he spoke, he placed the knife on the right side of the table, and the lamp base cracked with a "click."

A draft seeps through the crack, the lamp flame flickers, and the shadows grow longer and shorter.

"You lost," Gu Qingping said.

“No, I won.” Little Lizard sheathed his knife back into his sleeve. “I know you’re following me. You want to see me take you to ‘Scrap Fan’. Then follow me.”

"Follow." Zhu Han uttered a single word.

At the end of Daofang Lane stands an old ancestral hall. The hall's doors are closed, and a thin layer of dust has settled on the door knockers.

The little cracked lamp reached out and wiped the dust off the door knocker, revealing a shallow, bright opening.

He didn't knock, but blew a breath through the crack in the door. With a "click," the door opened a crack.

Behind the offering table in the shrine is a hidden compartment. Inside, a black lacquered box lies horizontally. The box has three silver bars, each engraved with the word "Fifth Micro".

Xiao Liedeng didn't look at Zhu Han, but dragged the box out and put it on the ground.

“You can take it,” he said. “I’ll lead the way, and you can take it.”

"Who put it there?" Yin Yan asked.

“Your guests.”

"Guests?" Gu Qingping's expression changed.

“Yes,” Little Crack Lamp nodded, “He left the ‘waste mold’ here and told me to go to the silk shop to get the cloth, incense, and edging, and then give it to him. It’s just that you came quickly.”

"Where is he?" Zhu Han asked.

Little Liedeng pointed to the back of the shrine: "He went out through the 'Ghost Gate,' not the main gate. Now, he should light an incense stick by the small well behind the temple."

"The fragrance of Zhongshan Mountain." Zhu Han smiled. "Let's go."

The incense smoke near the small well behind the shrine was so faint it was almost imperceptible.

It wasn't sea raft, but sandalwood. A string of thin bells hung on the well's edge; the bells didn't ring, but the clappers trembled gently.

“Guest—” Zhu Han began.

A dark figure rose from the well: "Your Highness."

"Whom are you trying to provoke by putting 'the deposed Fan' in the ancestral hall?"

"I'll lead you in." The shadowy figure laughed. "If Your Highness wants to take back the Shadow, I must return it."

"The shadow has been returned. What do you want now?"

"lamp."

Which one?

"The cup in the Eastern Palace."

"for you."

Yin Yan was startled, but Gu Qingping was not. Hao Duiying remained silent, and Cheng Yuan remained calm.

The figure in the shadows seemed taken aback for a moment: "Your Highness, are you serious?"

"Your lamp doesn't illuminate people, it only illuminates words. The Crown Prince needs it."

Zhu Han said calmly, "However, the lamp's base is cultivated by me. The lamp's body belongs to you, and the lamp's base belongs to me."

The shadowy figure chuckled: "The lamp base is cracked, I'll fix it."

“You can’t fix it.” Zhu Han raised his hand. “The crack in the lamp base needs to be inlaid with the ‘sixth micro’. You don’t know how.”

The shadowy figure remained silent for a moment, then suddenly stopped laughing and said calmly, "Then let someone who knows how do it come."

"The person who knows is here." Yu Zhong stepped out from behind, took out a small silver nail from his sleeve, and nailed it with a micro-print up to the sixth mark.

He gently pressed the silver nail into the crack in the lamp base, and the crack disappeared, and the flame became steady again.

"Alright." Yu Zhong wiped his hands clean. "Here's the lamp."

The shadowy figure looked down at the lamp, twirling his finger around the lamp holder.

The circle was very light, leaving no trace. He looked up and said, "Your Highness, I'll take the lamp, you can take the 'Fallen Fan,' and I'll stop the wind on the river. For the next five years, there will be no chaos at the river mouth, no chaos on the salt route, and no chaos in the silver seals."

"Five years is enough," Zhu Han said.

"Then I'll go."

"Let's go."

The dark figure took two steps back, turned to leave, but paused at the wellhead.

He didn't turn around, but said, "Master Hao—in the third act of the 'Nameless Script,' when you write 'The Boat Order Changes,' remember to change the word '齐' after 'The Horns Are Aligned' to 'Aligned but Not Aligned.'"

Hao Duiying responded from the shadows, "Understood."

The shadowy figure fell silent, its form blurred, and it disappeared into the path behind the well.

The wind peeked out from the well opening and then retreated, as if it were gathering its last breath and hiding it inside the well.

The "abandoned model" in the ancestral hall was sealed in an official box, and the Shuntian government and the Ministry of Revenue each received a copy.

Hao Duiying finished writing the "Unnamed Script, Act Three," affixed Gu Qingping's seal, and sent it to the "Shadow Case" in the East Palace.

Chengyuan returned to Zhongshan and exchanged two new strings of bells, and the old bells fell silent.

After Yu Zhong finished teaching the "Sixth Subtle" technique, he accepted two ingots of silver and quietly withdrew.

It appears that all the loose threads have been tied up.

But Zhu Han did not put down his brush. He laid the "Boat Sequence Map on the River" on the table, his fingertip resting on the small dot "East of the River Mouth Pavilion," and tapped it lightly.

—"Check-in: Inner Palace Small Well. Received: One volume of 'Ink Traces Under the Lamp'. Attached: 'The difference between genuine and fake lies beyond the finishing stroke.'"

He heard a faint sound in his heart, but without making a sound, he turned over an old inkstone on the table.

There are two dull spots on the back of the inkstone, which are small cuts left from years of grinding the brush.

He reached out and rubbed his fingers together, leaving a trace of black on his hand, with a subtle glint in the black.

"Your Highness?" Yin Yan didn't understand.

When examining characters under a lamp, don't look at the beginning of the stroke, look at the end.

Zhu Han said, "Everyone can learn to start writing, but the finishing stroke is beyond the paper."

How to identify it from the outside?

“Use the ‘Ink Traces Under the Lamp’.” Zhu Han closed the scroll. “Copying plays in the shadows, recording the wind in the clear distance, supplementing the subtle with Yu Zhong, bearing witness with Yu Cao, and leading the way with the small cracked lamp… these are all just ‘on paper.’ Outside the paper, I will do it.”

"How do we do it?" Gu Qingping asked.

"Send Hao Duiying into the 'Nameless Script,' send the 'Guest' into the lamp, send the 'Sixth Subtle' into the seal, and send the 'River Boat Sequence Map' into the hands of the bugler."

Zhu Han raised his eyes, “—Send the people who are ‘facing the shadow’ to watch ‘the lamps of the court’ again.”

"The imperial court?" Yin Yan tensed up.

"At the morning court tomorrow, the Ministry of Revenue will mention the 'abolished Fan' that has been recovered, the Shuntian Council will mention the 'external judges in the case office,' and the Ministry of Rites will mention the 'historical figureheads.'"

Zhu Han said, "I want to see it. Whether you're worried or not, I want to see a lamp hanging on the desk in the East Palace." "Is the lamp leg cracked?" Gu Qingping asked softly.

"It was torn before," Zhu Han smiled. "But it's been stitched up now."

The following morning at court, a brief discussion took place in the hall.

The Ministry of Revenue reported that "Fan should be deposed and reinstated," the Shuntian reported that "the external officials should be detained," and the Ministry of Rites, without being asked, said: "The Crown Prince's Palace will add a 'shadow historian,' who will not be listed in the ranks or have a name, and will be located at the back of the room, and will be responsible for copying 'nameless scripts'."

There was a brief murmur in the hall. Zhu Yuanzhang didn't ask who made the decision, but only asked, "Who signed the document?"

"The Crown Prince's concubine is hereby summoned," Zhang Delin replied.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "The concubine is in the Eastern Palace, so it's convenient for you to escort her."

Once the words were spoken, the matter was settled.

After the court session ended, Zhu Biao bowed to Zhu Han from a distance on the Dan Emperor's throne, saying, "Uncle Prince."

"Is the rudder stable?" Zhu Han asked.

"Steady." Zhu Biao smiled, a hint of youthful spirit in his smile. "When the wind comes, the water follows."

"Alright. I'll travel a little further and head to Fengyang."

"What is Uncle Wang going to Fengyang for?" Zhu Biao asked.

"Take a look at 'Cangbian' for me." Zhu Han paused. "There are two places on the embankment over there where old mud has been turned up. We need to press it down."

"How long will it take, Uncle King?"

"The wind will return when it turns back." Zhu Han looked up, the sunlight was gradually falling from the edge of the palace eaves, as if quietly illuminating a certain section of the road, and then withdrawing. "You are in the capital, you don't need to look for me."

"Yes," Zhu Biao replied, taking two steps back before calling out to him again, "Uncle."

"Ok?"

"The 'Untitled Script'...May I take a look at it occasionally?"

Zhu Han laughed: "If you keep looking at it, then you're 'famous'. If you glance at it occasionally, then you're 'well-informed'. That's enough."

Zhu Biao bowed his head: "I will remember."

On Fengyang Road, the autumn grass is just beginning to turn yellow.

As the horse's hooves crossed the stone bridge, a thin ray of light shone on the water beneath. Yin Yan turned around: "Your Highness, the river appears calm now."

"The peace won't last three days; three days is enough." Zhu
Han rolled up the "Map of Boats on the River," saying, "Within three days, the people in the capital will be busy with 'lamps' and 'panels,' and won't touch the 'warehouse.'"

"This time in Fengyang, will they be inspecting the granaries?"

"Don't investigate." Zhu Han looked into the distance. "Watch the dike."

"embankment?"

"If the dike is unstable, the granary will surely collapse."

"Who else should we invite?" Yin Yan asked.

"Please ask for the wind." Zhu Han tightened his grip on the reins, lowered the horse's head, and the sound of its hooves became even. "I've asked for too many people, but in the end, I still have to ask for the wind."

He said no more.

That night, outside Fengyang City, at a corner of the old embankment.

The reeds on the embankment lay flat, and a long box wrapped in burlap lay quietly between the rocks.

Zhu Han bent down and lifted the burlap cloth, revealing two old warehouse keys.

The key teeth are worn; one key is missing a tooth, while the other is intact. The intact key has a sixth micro-tooth.

He put away the intact one, put the one with the missing tooth back in its place, and re-tied the burlap, but changed the knot—from a dead knot to a slipknot.

After doing all this, he stood up and glanced at the night water.

—"Check-in: Fengyang Old Embankment. Received: One sheet of 'Embankment Binding Method'. Attached: 'Dead knots are easy to break, slipknots are easy to untie; what is easy to untie is easy to remember.'"

He chuckled lightly, turned, and mounted his horse. Yin Yan asked, puzzled, "Your Highness, what's the meaning of this—"

"It's for show." Zhu Han reined in the reins. "If someone wants to get the key, we need to be able to pick it up and leave, so we can follow the clues to find him."

"Who's coming?"

"Whoever has the 'Half-Flower Shadow' must come."

"Shall we defend?" Yin Yan's eyes lit up.

“Don’t guard it.” Zhu Han shook his head. “If we guard it, it will alert him. Let’s go to the ‘downhill’ of the dike.”

"Below the embankment?"

"There are paths even in the water."

He patted the horse's neck, and the horse sank into the mud, slowly walking downstream along the hidden ditch at the foot of the embankment.

The night water overflowed the horses' hooves, and a chill crept up their bodies. Gu Qingping, draped in a cloak, followed behind, the lamplight dancing in the wind, her shadow following her.

A figure did indeed stop on the embankment in the distance and reach out to pull at the burlap.

The man touched the slipknot, and with a slight shift of force, the clasp loosened, and the key fell into his palm.

He glanced back at the darkness, as if afraid someone was watching him, then tucked the key into his pocket, crouched down, and disappeared into the grassy embankment on the other side.

Ripples spread out across the water below the embankment. Zhu Han's gaze was calm: "Let's go."

"Where to?" Yin Yan asked.

"Go to the place where the key is."

"where?"

"In his heart."

The sound of water below the embankment was faint, as if stitching the night shut little by little. The shadow of a withered tree emerged from the distance, and the stone niche beside its roots was as dark as a sleepy eye.

"The person is up there." Zhu Han lowered his voice and pointed his finger forward slightly.

The three moved along the hidden ditch at the foot of the embankment—the mud was above their boots, the water level reached their calves, and the chill crept up their bones.

Gu Qingping followed at the back, her small lamp covered with a paper shade, the flame illuminating only a warm patch in her palm.

The stone niche was getting closer. The grass on top had been parted, revealing the stone edge.

Someone was squatting down, feeling for a loop to untie the hemp cloth.

The man moved with extreme care, his fingertips calloused and hard, his thumb and forefinger naturally pinching things together, like someone who had been carrying books for a long time.

The slipknot loosened, the linen slipped open half an inch, and a sliver of cold light gleamed from the key's teeth. The man tucked the key into his robes and made a move to get up.

"Don't move." Yin Yan got up from the other side of the stone niche and placed the bamboo ruler across the back of the man's knees.

The man was startled, his knees buckled, and he almost knelt in the mud, but he managed to hold on.

Then another hand gripped his wrist from the side, the force not strong, but so steady that he couldn't move—Gu Qingping.

"Who are you?" she asked softly.

The man looked up; in the moonlight, his features were so faint as to be indistinct, except for his exceptionally clear eyes, which carried the air of a clerk. He swallowed hard and said stubbornly, "Just passing by."

"You were just passing by the foot of the embankment?" Yin Yan sneered. "And you happened to pull out the key as you passed by?"

The man remained silent. Zhu Han emerged from the shadows, not looking at his face, but first at his shoes—the uppers were old, the soles new, and a brown thread was sewn around the waist of the shoe.

This stitching method is commonly seen in the lower-ranking assistant clerks of Shuntian Granary, because the frequent handling of books easily wears down the shoe uppers, so the stitching method was modified to reinforce them.

"Deputy Registrar of Shuntian Granary," Zhu Han began.

The man's shoulder blades visibly tensed, but he still didn't answer.

"Is your surname Fan or Leng?"

Zhu Han asked again, “The character ‘Fan’ is associated with the model, and the character ‘Leng’ is associated with the cold shop. According to old customs in the granary, there are rules for the words used in translations—the person holding the key has powder on their fingers and ink on the back of their fingers. Your ink is dry ink from last year, and the powder is silver powder from this year. When the ink and powder are mixed together, it is either the office or the granary.”

He paused, looked up, and said, "The shallow mark on the back of your hand is from a book, not a knife cut."

The man finally lowered his head, his voice barely audible: "Fan Su."

"Fan Su," Zhu Han nodded, "What are you doing with the key?"

"Repair the locks," Fan Su replied quickly. "The old locks under the dike have been there for years, and we need to open the stone niches to check the waterline during night patrols."

"If you're on night patrol, you're supposed to be at the main gate. What are you doing here at the shrine?" Yin Yan said coldly. "Where's your patrol badge?"

Fan Su remained silent. Zhu Han looked at him for a moment, then suddenly said, "You are not for the waterline, you are for the Old Testament. The key is to the lock, and the lock is not the storehouse door, but the small hole behind the stone niche. You know better than us what's in that hole."

Fan Su gritted his teeth and finally uttered three words: "The old precedent."

Yin Yan was taken aback: "What?"

“Old records.” Fan Su raised his wrist, his posture extremely stiff. “These records were left when I was in charge of the granary back then. They recorded the water level each year, the first and last boats crossing the dike each year, and… they also recorded the names of those who could cross at night.” (End of Chapter)