Detective Di Renjie: The Mysterious Dynasty

Chapter 335 Conversation

Fortunately, this shocking scene came and went quickly.

Although the people present were not directly threatened, they all felt as if they had survived a disaster, and many even hugged each other and cried bitterly.

The solar eclipse ended, the sky gradually regained its color, and even the clouds on the horizon became less numerous.

The golden wheel emerged, the sunlight broke through the clouds and mist, and shone on the earth again, it was truly the sun coming out after the clouds had cleared.

Wu Zetian was still staring at everything in front of her, her face was shocked, as if she was deeply touched by some power, and she murmured to herself: "Is this... a sign from heaven to me?"

Shangguan Wan'er keenly caught the subtle sound: "Your Majesty, what did you just say?"

Zhao Ji, who was standing aside, heard the Queen's words clearly. He raised his eyebrows, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

Wu Zetian took a deep breath, her lips trembling slightly, and once again turned her gaze to the outline of the sun that was shining again.

She herself was a devout believer in gods and Buddhas, so when she encountered such strange phenomena, she naturally thought much more than an atheist like Di Renjie.

After a long time, she slowly turned her head, her eyes fell on Di Renjie, and she sighed softly: "Huaiying, will you accompany me for a walk again?"

When Di Renjie heard this, his expression changed slightly, then he lowered his head respectfully and responded.

Zhao Ji's heart moved, and he looked up, and saw Shangguan Wan'er was about to lead the palace maids and Qianniu Guards to accompany him.

But Wu Zetian turned around and warned: "Don't follow me, I'm just walking on this city wall!"

Then the two figures of Di Renjie and Wu Zetian, one fat and one thin, gradually walked away.

Upon seeing this, Shangguan Wan'er waved her hand gently, signaling the Qianniu Guards and palace maids to retreat.

Zhao Ji took a few steps forward calmly, as if he wanted to get closer to the two figures that were moving away.

Shangguan Wan'er noticed Zhao Ji's actions and immediately came over, her eyes full of inquiry and curiosity.

She slowly approached Zhao Ji, deliberately stopped at a distance that was neither too far nor too close, and asked in a low voice: "General Zhao, what are you doing..."

Zhao Ji looked back at Shangguan Wan'er and said with a smile, "The case of the snake spirit has been solved, and the mystery of Luohe has also been solved. Seeing this magnificent scenery, I feel relaxed and happy for a moment, so I want to walk around casually like your majesty."

Shangguan Wan'er couldn't help but chuckle and looked back at the palace maids and Qianniu Guards, who were far enough away.

"Your words don't reflect your heart." Shangguan Wan'er scolded.

Zhao seemed to be hesitant to speak, with a slightly strange look on his face.

Shangguan Wan'er frowned slightly when she saw this, and said with a guilty conscience, "Aren't those two girls still fine? It was... you who took the initiative to bring one of them to the Di Mansion?"

Zhao Ji was stunned at first, then his eyes widened and he shook his head repeatedly: "How could they do this? They actually planted spies in the house of the prime minister!"

Although there was no subject, Shangguan Wan'er knew who Zhao Ji was talking about. She replied in a low voice: "Isn't this what the inner guards should do? And it is also for Di Gong's safety..."

Zhao Ji kept shaking his head and didn't say anything else.

Shangguan Wan'er lowered her head, her toes unconsciously drawing circles on the ground: "Are they so important to you?"

Zhao Ji caught a subtle hint of jealousy in the air, turned around abruptly, and stared at Shangguan Wan'er with deep eyes.

"They have all paid a lot for me. I must at least not let anyone hurt them!" Zhao Ji said sincerely, "It's the same for you."

Shangguan Wan'er heard this, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, but with a bit of noncommittal: "To this day, we have already shared honor and disgrace. If one of us gets into trouble, I'm afraid we will drag the other down with us, right?"

Zhao Ji heard this and said with a slight smile: "I won't."

Shangguan Wan'er smiled slyly: "Yes, according to your personality, you will definitely walk away. But I tell you, I will!"

Zhao Ji still had a somewhat unruly smile: "That doesn't matter, it's not difficult to take you with me."

Shangguan Wan'er couldn't help but roll her eyes at Zhao Ji: "You wish!"

Zhao Ji shrugged indifferently and took a deep breath. In fact, his heart was far from as calm as he appeared.

Shangguan Wan'er seemed to sense Zhao Ji's mood and fell silent as well.

After a long while, she finally couldn't hold back her curiosity and whispered, "I never thought you would be from the Li Tang royal family! I never thought you would come right under His Majesty's nose!"

Zhao Ji heard this and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "This is not my original intention, everything is just a mistake..."

Shangguan Wan'er nodded. Of course she understood that there must be many twists and turns.

"In any case, after this incident, you will restore your surname Li, at least be granted the title of a county prince, or even directly inherit the title of Prince Yong."

Zhao Ji looked at Shangguan Wan'er in surprise when he heard this: "How did you know?"

Shangguan Wan'er smiled proudly: "Of course I guessed it!" Zhao Ji lost interest immediately after hearing that.

However, Shangguan Wan'er didn't seem to care about Zhao Ji's reaction. She shook her head gently, her eyes gleaming with longing, a sweet smile hanging on the corners of her mouth, as if she was immersed in her own fantasy.

Seeing this, Zhao Ji's expression became strange, and he couldn't help but interrupt her: "What kind of beautiful dream are you having?"

Shangguan Wan'er rolled her eyes at Zhao Ji again, and then asked expectantly, "It seems that the Crown Prince, Prince Xiang, and Prince Yong are all involved in this incident. Can you tell me the details?"

Zhao Ji blinked his eyes, did not hide anything, and told Shangguan Wan'er the general outline of the matter.

Unexpectedly, after listening to this, Shangguan Wan'er's eyes suddenly flashed with excitement.

She stared at Zhao Ji meaningfully: "What you have done these days will make His Majesty completely disgusted with Prince Xiang. Your brother is dead! The Crown Prince is a recognized incompetent person, but you..."

Zhao Ji heard something else in Shangguan Wan'er's words, and he looked aggrieved: "Wan'er, you really wronged me! I swear to God, everything I did was for the public good! I am loyal to the country! I am selfless! How can you judge a gentleman by your own standards?"

Shangguan Wan'er saw that Zhao was so aggrieved and didn't seem to be faking it, so she smiled half-believingly and half-doubtingly and said, "I am a woman after all. Haven't you heard that only women and villains are difficult to raise?"

Zhao Ji shook his head and said innocently, "I didn't force them to do these things. Can you blame me? After all, once Huan Bin and his cronies died, many positions in the Qianniu Guards would be vacant..."

Shangguan Wan'er couldn't help but chuckle when she heard this: "Your Majesty is not a fool. After this incident, he will definitely purge the Qianniu Guards. It is impossible for him to use all your old subordinates."

Zhao Ji also laughed and said, "Of course, but if you can't eat meat, you can always have soup. Huan Bin's men are all dead, and Your Majesty can't replace all the Qianniu Guards..."

"It's just that after working in the Qianniu Guard for so many years, the thought of becoming an idle prince is really uncomfortable."

Shangguan Wan'er smiled when she heard this: "No, the four directions are in turmoil, and you are considered a half-famous general. Are you still afraid that you won't be able to use your skills?"
-
As for Wu Zetian and Di Renjie, they spoke freely.

Di Renjie recounted the whole story of the Snake Spirit case to Wu Zetian: "…At this point, the prince was rescued, Yuan Tiangang and Xiao Qingfang surrendered, and the thousands of rebels under the Snake Spirit's twenty-two halls were captured in one fell swoop."

"Now I can say that the evil Snake Spirit Organization has collapsed. I have fulfilled my mission and will report to Your Majesty."

Wu Zetian's focus at this time was no longer on Yuan Tiangang and She Ling. She said perfunctorily: "Yes, Huaiying, you saved my life again. If it weren't for you, the consequences would be unpredictable!"

Di Renjie did not take credit for it: "This is just my duty as an official. Besides, most of the credit goes to Cheng Yuan. It should be said that he saved Your Majesty..."

Wu Zetian suddenly turned around and looked at Di Renjie: "You still call him that?"

Di Renjie smiled and said, "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, he asked for this himself."

"Oh?" Wu Zetian suddenly smiled, "I heard that he doesn't like his own background?"

Di Renjie looked a little gloomy, and nodded, "Yes, this life experience only brought him childhood fear, hatred and abuse, without any benefits. No matter who it was, I'm afraid they wouldn't like this identity."

After hearing this, Wu Zetian was speechless for a moment and just silently quickened her pace.

When she reached the corner of the city wall, she stopped and looked at the scenery outside the city: "He is a good child, capable, and quite like his father. What's more rare is that he has a clear sense of justice and a forgiving heart. On the other hand, some people..."

There was a hint of sadness in her tone: "Huaiying, tell me the truth, people in this world cannot tolerate me? Even my children and grandchildren are trying to kill me!"

It was difficult for Di Renjie to answer this question directly.

He paused for a moment, then gritted his teeth and replied, "Your Majesty, this is not your fault. It is because these people were blinded by power, and with the instigation of villains like Yuan Tiangang and Xiao Qingfang, they made such a big mistake!"

When Wu Zetian heard this answer, she nodded slightly and sighed, "Yes, he didn't even let his own brother and nephew go, so how could he be targeting me alone?"

"Huaiying, how do you think I should deal with him?"

Di Renjie was silent for a long time after hearing this question, and then he answered: "Your Majesty, at this moment, after all, it involves the matter of the Luohe stele offering that year, I am afraid it is not appropriate to make it public."

Wu Zetian understood immediately after hearing this, but she also said bitterly: "Well, those followers who support him should be eliminated as soon as possible to prevent further incidents."

"I was wondering how a snake spirit could win over such important officials as Su Honghui and Zong Huaichang, and how the East Palace could be occupied so easily. It turns out that the previous owner of the East Palace was responsible!"

"It seems that the remnants of the snake spirits are causing great harm! We must conduct a thorough investigation of the government and the people!"

After hearing this, Di Renjie felt helpless, knowing that Wu Zetian would definitely take this opportunity to make a big fuss.

He could only try his best to persuade him: "Your Majesty, this matter needs to be handled with caution and should not be publicized, otherwise it will cause unrest in the court, which will be detrimental to the country and the people!"

Wu Zetian did not answer, but just nodded, and it was unknown whether she heard it or not.

It seemed that Wu Zetian felt that the conversation was not going well and lost interest, so she changed the subject casually: "Huaiying, you have achieved great feats this time, what reward do you want?"

Di Renjie declined, "Your Majesty, all of this is my duty as an envoy, so there is no need for rewards. Cheng Yuan and Li Yuanfang are the ones who have truly risked their lives and made great contributions. Especially Cheng Yuan, he has been hiding his real name until now, and he still needs to have his name cleared!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zetian nodded solemnly this time.

(End of this chapter)