Song Jia stared at the copied key impression.
The number was small.
Nearly meaningless to anyone else.
But she remembered seeing the same numbering style in the old records Crystal had recovered.
Not the exact number.
The format.
Three characters indicating department.
Two identifying storage section.
A final number for access classification.
General Song Jia had dealt with enough Imperial military documents to recognize how old administrative offices labeled restricted materials.
Sun Xun noticed the change in her expression.
"You know it."
"I recognize the system."
Ding Shun frowned.
"From where?"
Song Jia looked toward him.
"Old Song Clan records."
Technically true.
She was not explaining General Jia's reincarnation here.
Certainly not now.
"The numbering predates the current Palace filing system."
The Chief Investigator looked at the impression.
"By how much?"
"More than a century."
Silence.
Ding Wu stared at the key.
