The Palace Lantern Shines Through the Long Night

On the seventh day of the twelfth month in the twenty-third year of the Jinghe reign, the palace lanterns in Hanzhang Hall went out.

That same year, three thousand dan of relief grain vanished while in transit, and Tang Yue, the official who handled it, died of illness in prison.

Twelve years later, Shen Lingyi, a female clerk in the Directorate of Revenue, entered the palace to investigate the old accounts.

All she wanted was to find out the truth about the half-page her mother had left behind. But in the old wardrobe room, she uncovered a red thread that should never have been there.

The thread led to Hanzhang Hall, to the Wardrobe Bureau sealed off by the Noble Consort, and to carriage number seven, whose name had been worn away.

The emperor said, "Stop investigating."

The Noble Consort said, "You arrived one step ahead of me."

Xie Heng said, "Keep digging, and you'll be the next Tang Yue."

She did not stop.

Because the accounts listed no dead, only the names of those who had handled the goods.

And her mother's name was still in the ledger.

Theme: Only by setting the accounts straight can you understand how to live.