Detective Di Renjie: The Mysterious Dynasty

Chapter 339: Bloodshed in Jiangzhou
Time passes, and in the blink of an eye it is spring again.

The snake spirit is no longer in the world, but its legend is still circulating in the world.

To this day, the inner guards still occasionally invite court officials back to Lijing Gate for tea in the name of Snake Spirit spies.

However, the newly appointed chief of the Internal Guards, known as Phoenix, is very sensible in his handling of matters. He is different from the cruel officials of the past and seems to be very sensible.

It was noon and Zhao Ji was strolling leisurely in the palace. Today was the day when the repair of the damaged rooms in the imperial palace was completed.

The whole process went smoothly without any unnecessary trouble.

However, Wu Zetian was still very concerned about this matter and specially sent Shangguan Wan'er to investigate the matter, not for anything else, just for that tunnel.

Looking at the tunnel that was completely blocked, Zhao Ji couldn't help but feel a ripple of regret in his heart.

As for Shangguan Wan'er, her mind was not at all on such trivial matters. She frowned deeply, with a hint of obvious sadness between her brows.

Zhao Ji cherished the rare opportunity to have such an open exchange, so he asked with concern, "Why are you frowning?"

In the past, Shangguan Wan'er was either portrayed as capable and prudent, or as domineering. However, with a face like Lin Daiyu and a slightly melancholy look, she has a bit of the flavor of a talented woman, which makes her even more attractive to love.

Shangguan Wan'er sighed softly, with a hint of resentment in her tone: "You ask even though you know the answer. Your Majesty has been increasingly lazy about state affairs recently, and has been spending most of his time with the Zhang brothers."

When Zhao heard this, he immediately understood.

Because of the incident with Prince Xiang and Di Renjie's retirement, the momentum of restoring Tang was greatly reduced. Wu Zetian was no longer politically burdened. In addition, as she was getting older, she gradually tended to let go of government affairs and hung out with the Zhang brothers every day.

There is no need to misunderstand. This move was not just for fun, but to rely on the Zhang brothers to make elixirs and find medicines, and to indulge in matters of ghosts and gods.

It has been a common practice for emperors to want to become immortals, and thus the famous Control Crane Bureau came into being.

Wu Sansi was the prime minister, but in order to curry favor with the Zhang brothers, he personally held the stirrups for their horses. Although this was a step below the limit, it also showed that the two Zhangs were very powerful at the time.

However, as a result, Shangguan Wan'er's power was greatly reduced, and she was naturally depressed.

To put it bluntly, the power of the emperor's secretary is institutionally like a tree without roots and water without a source. He is just a fox relying on the power of a tiger. Without the emperor, he is nothing.

Shangguan Wan'er had been keeping her head down. Suddenly, she looked up and said, "Your Highness, I am getting older now and have already reached the age to leave the palace. Otherwise, I will ask His Majesty to let me leave the palace..."

Before he could finish his words, Zhao Ji's eyelids trembled slightly involuntarily. How could he not understand the implication of Shangguan Wan'er's words?

He quickly coughed twice to cover up the turmoil in his heart: "Wan'er, are you kidding me?"

Shangguan Wan'er saw Zhao Ji's reaction and raised her lips with a smile: "Why, are you afraid that the two of you in your family can't tolerate me?"

Zhao Ji felt quite uncomfortable under Shangguan Wan'er's piercing gaze, and frowned, "What are you talking about? If you have made up your mind, I can take the initiative to ask His Majesty to give you to me!"

After hearing this statement, Shangguan Wan'er did not show any joy, but instead sighed in frustration: "Alas..."

Obviously, she also knew that this was totally unrealistic. How could she dare to talk to Wu Zetian?

Seeing this, Zhao Ji could only comfort him, "Don't worry. People like the two Zhangs are ignorant and incompetent. They are just playthings and cannot be put on the stage. Your Majesty still cannot do without you."

"Wu Sansi is a narrow-minded and vindictive person. Er Zhang actually dared to let him lead the horse and hold the stirrup. I think there will be a conflict between the two. The day of sweetness after bitterness is not far away."

Shangguan Wan'er nodded slightly and forced a smile: "Perhaps. Let's not talk about this. Do you know that His Majesty recently issued a secret decree to Lord Di?"

Zhao Ji was moved when he heard this, but pretended to be confused: "Since Di Gong and Yuan Fang went to the court last autumn, I have been exchanging letters with them. After Di Gong arrived in Jiangzhou, he has been recuperating in Pengze County."

"Speaking of which, before Di Gong was reinstated last time, he was serving as the magistrate of Pengze County. When he was reinstated, I was the imperial envoy who personally delivered the order! I just wonder what secret order Your Majesty could have that would allow you to bypass Fengge Luantai and personally find Di Gong?"

Shangguan Wan'er looked around and lowered her voice with a hint of mystery in her tone: "That's the weird thing. Your Majesty asked Di Gong to move from Pengze to Wuping. Other than that, there were only four words, saying 'listen more, watch more'."

"Oh? 'Listen more, watch more'? It's really strange!" Zhao Ji said with a smile on his face.

Shangguan Wan'er did not keep Zhao Ji in suspense and explained: "This matter is related to Pingnan Hou of Wuping County, Jiangzhou, and it is also related to the case of Huang Guogong Li Ai decades ago..."

Zhao Ji nodded slightly and said casually, "The case of Huang Guogong Li Ai? I heard Kui Wenzhong mention it. It was an unjust case and I heard that it implicated many people."

"Pingnan Hou Xue Qinglin made his fortune through this incident. From then on, he got in touch with Wu Sansi and rose to prominence in one fell swoop..."

Shangguan Wan'er saw that Zhao Ji was quite familiar with the matter. She opened her cherry lips slightly, revealing a bit of surprise: "Huh? Why do I feel like you seem to be quite familiar with this matter?"

Zhao Ji's eyes flashed with cunning light, and he deliberately kept it a secret: "What do you think?"

Shangguan Wan'er's eyes flickered as she heard this, as if she had realized something: "Oh, now I remember, I heard that you have a good relationship with Wen Kai, the governor of Jiangzhou. I guess he must have given you the news!"

Zhao Ji couldn't help but burst into laughter when he heard it. Shangguan Wan'er looked at Zhao Ji's reaction and was a little confused: "Why, did I guess wrong?"

"Yes, you guessed it right!" Zhao Ji said with a smile.
-
It was late at night and the Jiangzhou Inn was hushed and silent, except for a brightly lit room in the second courtyard, where faint sounds of conversation could be heard.

The slightly dim light in the room cast the shadows of two people sitting opposite each other on the window.

Suddenly, a man stood up abruptly, with undisguised horror in his voice: "It's you!"

The other person slowly stood up and said in a low but firm voice: "That's right, Huang Wenyue, you probably never dreamed that after ten years, I would appear in front of you again!"

Huang Wenyue screamed when he heard this and almost instinctively ran out the door.

The person behind him suddenly picked up a heavy object and smashed it mercilessly on the back of Huang Wenyue's head.

With a muffled "bang", all sounds disappeared.

Then, there was dead silence.

After a long time, the door of the guest room slowly opened, making a creaking sound.

A middle-aged man with a short beard had blood all over his head, his eyes were unfocused, his body was shaking, and finally with a "bang", he fell heavily on the threshold.

A blood-stained iron spike fell from mid-air, making a dull sound.

Then, a foot ruthlessly stepped over the corpse, and the figure quickly disappeared into the dark night.

In the early morning, three shifts of yamen runners under the Jiangzhou Governor's Office had surrounded the post station.

In front of the guest room, the middle-aged man's body lay there quietly, his eyes rolled back, his mouth wide open, and he had long lost any signs of life.

Jiangzhou Governor Wen Kai stood quietly beside the corpse, staring at the scene.

After a long time, he took a deep breath, squatted down and carefully examined the body.

There was a shockingly large hole at the back of the corpse's head, and the blood had dried and coagulated.

Wen Kai slowly stood up and whispered to Ge Bin, the Sima of Jiangzhou beside him, "Isn't this person Huang Wenyue, the Magistrate of Wuping County?"

Ge Bin looked solemn, as if frightened by the tragic state of the corpse, and did not hear the governor's questions for a while.

Seeing this, Wen Kai coughed twice as a reminder: "Sima Ge...Sima Ge!"

Ge Bin was startled, and when he came to his senses, he quickly bowed his head and saluted, his voice trembling: "Ah, Lord Governor! I am here!"

Wen Kai cast a doubtful look, then spoke again: "What does Ge Sima think of County Magistrate Huang's misfortune?"

Ge Bin swallowed hard and replied, "Mr. Huang returned to Jiangzhou after his term ended ten days ago. I arranged for him to stay in the post house. After the reprimand was completed, I reported to the Ministry of Personnel for another assignment. Who would have thought that something like this would happen..."

Wen Kai nodded slightly and walked into the house.

Everything in the house seemed normal. Wen Kai looked around and asked the manager behind him: "Did you hear any unusual noises last night?"

The official replied respectfully, "I was on duty last night. Around the second watch, I seemed to hear a quarrel in the room."

Wen Kai nodded and continued to ask: "What else?"

Guan Cheng shook his head, looking bewildered: "Nothing else, I didn't hear anything else."

At this time, Ge Bin suddenly interrupted and asked, "Did anyone come to see County Magistrate Huang last night?"

The official thought for a moment and replied, "It seems that a visitor in a black cloak came, but I was unable to see his face clearly."

When Ge Bin heard this, his expression suddenly changed, as if he had thought of something.

Wen Kai saw Ge Bin's reaction clearly, but he remained calm and gave Ge Bin an order: "Order the coroner to come and perform an autopsy immediately, seal off the posthouse, and start an investigation immediately!"

Ge Bin's face was pale and he responded in a low voice. After Wen Kai left, his forehead was covered with dense beads of sweat.

Looking at Huang Wenyue's tragic death, Ge Bin felt his scalp tingling more and more as he thought about it. After leaving the inn, he quickly ran towards the government office.

　I'm used to writing this, so I'll follow the readers' advice and not change Zhao Ji's name. It's a time travel after all, so I'll talk about it later if it really involves ascending the throne. In addition, the happier I was at the S game yesterday, the more frustrated I felt today. Fortunately, I hate water ghosts. What a retribution!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)