The night rain had just stopped.
Yet the lights in the Food Office had burned all night.
Qing Tian stood before the table.
Three things lay spread out:
A brittle, yellowed map of palace routes.A night cart registry soaked and warped by water.A small pouch of rice.
She picked up a single grain.
"Rotten."
Not fresh spoilage.
But rice that had been moved again and again—
stored, dampened, overheated—
until it decayed.
"This isn't from the palace granary."
Her voice was soft.
Yet everyone in the room felt a chill run down their spine.
Outside the door—
people were quietly brought in, one after another.
Night soil workers.Corpse bearers.Temple sweepers.Drain cleaners.
They had one thing in common:
They walked the palace at night.
A young kitchen worker spoke in a low voice:
"Director… the night carts go through the western side passage."
"But the real unloading point… isn't in the granary."
He looked up.
Something fierce burned in his eyes.
"They go into an abandoned well."
An abandoned well.
One of the safest places in the palace.
Because no one would go near it.
Qing Tian's fingertip tapped lightly on the map.
"This well line…"
"…connects to three storage sites."
"Once a month, it runs empty."
She lifted her gaze.
"So who is drinking this blood?"
No one answered.
But everyone knew—
this was not the work of a single person.
At that moment—
Gao Dequan entered.
He wasn't here to deliver a decree.
He simply placed a token on the table.
Black iron.
Engraved with a dragon.
"His Majesty says—"
"Whatever you uncover tonight…"
"…he will take responsibility."
In that instant—
everyone in the room raised their heads.
Qing Tian did not immediately order arrests.
Instead, she said:
"Tonight, we release the grain as usual."
"Let them keep stealing."
Everyone froze.
But her expression was terrifyingly calm.
"You only see the path clearly…"
"…when they're walking it."
Midnight · Western Side Passage
The well cover was lifted.
Torches flared to life.
Sacks of grain were hoisted up one by one.
The third sack had just cleared the well—
when—
"Seal it!"
Shadows burst from the dark.
Flames lit the passage like daylight.
A blade flashed.
The next second—
a military sword was already pressed against the man's throat.
He looked up.
Internal Affairs Deputy Supervisor.
Not too high.
Not too low.
But exactly where it mattered.
Yangxin Hall
The ledger was delivered.
The Emperor flipped to the final page—
and stopped.
"Temple."
"Abandoned well."
"Deputy Supervisor."
And one more name.
Consort Shen · Private Seal Authorization
Not the mastermind.
But—
an accomplice.
Dawn
Outside the Food Office—
thirty-seven people were taken into custody.
The grain carts were returned to storage.
For the first time—
the lowest-ranking palace servants received their full rations.
An old servant held a bowl of hot soup.
His hands trembled.
He whispered:
"So… this is how much food we were meant to have…"
Qing Tian stood on the steps.
Watching everything.
For those at the bottom—
just a few measures of grain—
were enough to find warmth in this cold palace.
And yet—
those at the top, who already had more than enough—
still took from the mouths of the lowest.
To them, lives at the bottom didn't matter.
For their own gain—
there was nothing they wouldn't discard.
But Qing Tian wanted them to understand one thing:
Greed always devours itself.
Not everything would go the way they expected.
She had risen from the bottom.
She understood better than anyone—
that a life at the bottom was not worth less.
Every life—
deserved to be seen.
To be protected.
And she—
would be the one to protect them.
The one to speak for them.
She knew—
this was not the end.
This—
was the first step.
The moment she truly stepped into the core of power.