Detective Di Renjie: The Mysterious Dynasty

Chapter 340: Wuping Storm

On the banks of the Xunyang River, in late spring in March, the grass south of the Yangtze River is long, various flowers are growing on the trees, and groups of warblers are flying around.

The warm sunshine spreads on the surface of the Xunyang River, the breeze blows gently, ripples lightly, and the water sparkles, which is beautiful beyond words.

There are towering cliffs along the river, and a winding path quietly extends to the riverside.

The clear sound of bells on the path came from afar and gradually approached, and a green donkey turned the corner of the mountain and slowly came towards us.

Sitting on the donkey was a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar, with a frown on his face and a solemn expression. Behind him followed servants carrying luggage, hurrying on their way.

On the river parallel to the path, a passenger ship with a deep draft was breaking through the waves and overtaking the pedestrians on the road.

On the bow, a sturdy old man dressed in indigo cloth stood facing the wind, immersed in the river view before him.

Behind him, a young man held a cloak in his hand and gently draped it over Di Renjie's shoulders, saying with concern: "Sir, the wind is blowing on the river, you should go to the cabin and rest!"

If these two people are not Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang, who else could they be?

Ruyan, Zhang Huan, Li Lang and others were all on the boat, and the cabin was filled with everyone's luggage.

"Oh, it's okay. It's a rare beautiful spring day. I feel like writing two good poems today!" Di Renjie smiled and looked back at Li Yuanfang.

"Uncle!" Ruyan's voice came from behind. Ruyan, dressed in red and dressed like a village girl, came from the stern of the boat with a tea bowl in hand: "The tea is ready."

Di Renjie took the tea bowl with a smile, took two big sips, wiped his beard and said: "Well, the tea is good, the water is good, but the tea-making skill is a little bit lacking."

Ruyan rolled her eyes at Di Renjie and said, "Ah, it's good enough for you to have something to drink! I heard people say that you should sip tea slowly and savor it. You're drinking like a cow!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang could not help but burst into laughter. The boat was filled with a cheerful atmosphere for a while, and even the wind on the river became a little gentler.

The laughter gradually faded away, and Li Yuanfang felt an inexplicable emotion in his heart. He said to Di Renjie: "Sir, since I followed you, day after day, I was either investigating major cases or traveling in a hurry. The past six months, I have been enjoying the mountains and rivers, which is really a different experience."

Di Renjie smiled and said, "That being said, I'm afraid there won't be many more days of leisure like this!"

Li Yuanfang was stunned when he heard this: "Why do you say that, sir?"

Di Renjie sighed softly, his tone heavy: "Your Majesty specially ordered us to move to Wuping County to 'listen more and see more'. I believe there is some deep meaning in it."

Hearing this, Li Yuanfang's face also became serious, and he frowned and asked: "Oh? What is the deep meaning?"

Di Renjie took a deep breath and said slowly: "There is nothing special about Wuping County, except that there is a man of great merit in the imperial court."

"Sir, are you referring to Xue Qinglin, Marquis of Pingnan?" Li Yuanfang asked thoughtfully. It was obvious that he had heard of this man's name.

Di Renjie nodded slightly, his eyes deep: "In Wuping County, only this person is worthy of the emperor's attention. I think the problem must be with this Pingnan Marquis!"

Li Yuanfang suddenly realized, but frowned and said, "Yes, but I heard that Lord Xue's reputation is not very good. He is in Wuping, but his bad reputation has spread to Pengze!"

Di Renjie nodded again and fell into reminiscence. "When I was the county magistrate of Pengze, I had heard that this man was notorious, greedy for money and lustful, and indulged his subordinates to do many evil things. Jiangzhou officials have impeached him many times, but all of them fell on deaf ears and no one has heard back."

"Hiss! What kind of means does Xue Qinglin have to be so arrogant?" Li Yuanfang was full of confusion.

Di Renjie explained: "Xue Qinglin has a title but no real job, so he is not to be feared. However, he has the support of the powerful officials in the court, and it is difficult for ordinary people to shake him in the slightest."

"Who is it?" Li Yuanfang's face showed some anger.

When mentioning this name, Di Renjie's face showed a bit of ridicule: "It's none other than Liang Wang Wu Sansi!"

"How did they know each other?" Li Yuanfang was about to ask when an accident suddenly happened by the river.

It turned out that a sharp scream of a woman was heard from the cliff, followed by men's shouts one after another, breaking the tranquility of the riverside.

Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang were stunned and looked up.

On the cliff by the river, a woman ran to the edge of the cliff, stopped, and looked around in despair.

Behind her, several men in servants' uniforms, each holding a weapon, were shouting and chasing after her aggressively.

The woman made a decision in desperation. She gritted her teeth, jumped from the top of the cliff into the river.

On the cliff, the servants were still unwilling to let the woman go, and were looking for another way to capture her.

Upon seeing this, Di Renjie quickly ordered, "Quick! Quick! Save her!" Upon hearing the order, Zhang Huan, Li Lang and others hurriedly helped the boatman row the boat towards the shore where the woman jumped off the cliff.

Seeing this, Ruyan rolled up her trouser legs without hesitation, jumped into the water, and rescued the woman out of the water in a short while.

Li Yuanfang was quick to reach out and pull her onto the passenger ship.

Di Renjie squatted down, pulled the woman's wrist and carefully felt her pulse.

Seeing that the woman had already stopped breathing, Ruyan anxiously said, "Uncle, she couldn't have already..."

Di Renjie raised his head and his expression eased a little. "It's okay. I think she fell from a height and was hit hard. She choked on some water and died! Ruyan, press her chest to drain the water."

Ruyan quickly squatted down and squeezed the woman's breasts.

Suddenly, the woman let out a loud scream, choked on some water, and then slowly opened her eyes.

Ruyan shouted excitedly: "He's awake! He's awake!"

However, at this moment, a noisy shout came from the riverside: "Hey! Boatman! Pull the boat over here!"

The group of evil servants had already run to the gravel beach by the river, waving at Di Renjie and the others.

One of them, who looked like a butler, shouted loudly: "Did you hear me? Hurry up and hand over the little girl on the boat! Otherwise, you will be in big trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang sneered disdainfully and ignored it completely.

The woman struggled to get up, pleading in a weak voice: "Please, please, save me, don't hand me over to them!"

Ruyan quickly stepped forward to comfort her: "Don't worry, we won't."

Another evil servant held a steel knife in his hand and shouted, "You bastards, you even dare to rob the Marquis's people. I think you are tired of living! Hurry and row the boat over!"

Li Yuanfang's expression suddenly changed, his hands clenched into fists, and he was filled with anger.

When Di Renjie heard the word "Marquis", he seemed to be thinking about something.

He patted Li Yuanfang's shoulder gently and advised calmly: "Don't worry about it. Let's settle down in Wuping County first, and then we can make a plan."

Li Yuanfang snorted and signaled Zhang Huan and Li Lang to order the boatman to start the boat quickly and leave as soon as possible.

On the shore, the evil servants were still cursing, but they could only watch the ship go away, unable to do anything.

Inside the cabin, the woman finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to Ruyan gratefully, "Thank you."

Ruyan responded with a warm smile and asked gently, "What's your name?"

The woman replied softly, "Jinniang."

Ruyan's eyes lit up and she smiled, "Jinniang, what a good name."

Di Renjie squatted down and asked gently, "Who are those evil servants chasing you?"

Jinniang paused for a moment and replied, "He, they are from the Pingnan Marquis's Mansion."

Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang looked at each other and frowned: "It is indeed the Marquis of Pingnan's Mansion!"

"Then why are they chasing you?" Di Renjie continued to ask.

Jinniang looked up at Di Renjie and forced a smile, looking a little uncomfortable: "Uh, they... are... the owner of the Marquis' Mansion took a fancy to my beauty and wanted to take me by force..."

Ruyan saw Jinniang's beauty and Xue Qinglin's bad reputation, so she didn't doubt him and cursed him immediately, "What a beast!"

Li Yuanfang was also filled with righteous indignation and wanted to settle accounts with the Marquis of Pingnan immediately.

However, Di Renjie was not the type of person who would easily trust others with his preconceived ideas. He had some doubts about Jinniang's words and seemed to want to explore them further.

　In the original plot, Di Renjie first lived in Wuping for half a year. I personally think that this treatment is unreasonable. With Di Renjie's character, it would be fine if he heard about it, but seeing Xue Qinglin's tyranny with his own eyes, how could he not care? I'm afraid he had already made a clever plan and used his connections to deal with Xue Qinglin. It just so happened that Pengze, Jiangzhou was where Di Renjie once served as a county magistrate. He was nostalgic for the old place, and there was nothing wrong with living there for a while. He was ordered to move by boat, and it seemed more reasonable to meet Jinniang jumping into the river on the way.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)