Detective Di Renjie: The Mysterious Dynasty

Chapter 342 A chance encounter

Li Yuanfang hurriedly asked: "What is the big case?"

When Di Renjie mentioned this, he couldn't help but sigh, his eyes were full of complex expressions: "Speaking of which, this matter is also related to Kui Wenzhong."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanfang and Ruyan opened their mouths in astonishment and exclaimed in unison: "Kui Wenzhong?"

Di Renjie nodded solemnly: "That's right. Kui Wenzhong's father is Li Ai, Duke of Huang, the nephew of Emperor Taizong. He is well-known for his virtue and has a very high prestige in Jiangzhou."

After hearing this, Li Yuanfang seemed to be thinking about something, and slowly said, "I remember that Kui Wenzhong once mentioned that his entire family of dozens of people were wronged by the emperor and ended up with a tragic end of being executed. That's why he joined the Snake Spirit and was determined to seek revenge!"

Di Renjie took a deep breath, his eyes full of regret: "Do you still remember Liu Jin and the list in the Youzhou case?"

Li Yuanfang seemed to understand something: "Of course I remember that the King of Yue held the Xiangyang Conference in the name of flower appreciation, luring many innocent people into it, and trying to use it to threaten them to participate in the rebellion, so there was that list."

Di Renjie nodded and said, "That's right. Before and after the defeat of Yue Wang Li Zhen, Xue Qinglin was staying with Huang Guogong. So he wrote a secret letter and put it in the bronze box, accusing Huang Guogong and Yue Wang of colluding secretly to hold the Xiangyang Conference and plot a rebellion."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanfang was furious. He slammed the table and scolded Xue Qinglin: "What a despicable villain!"

Di Renjie sighed again: "At that time, the emperor had just ascended the throne and his position was not stable. He also encountered the rebellions of Xu Jingye and Yue Wang Li Zhen one after another. It was inevitable that he was frightened."

"So, without a thorough investigation, she sent the inner guards to Jiangzhou to arrest Duke Huang's family and bring them to the capital, where they were all executed. This also implicated nearly a hundred descendants of the Li family."

"This tragedy is the largest purge of the Li family since the Yue King's Rebellion. So far, almost all the descendants of the Li family have been exterminated!"

Hearing this, Li Yuanfang let out a long sigh.

Di Renjie continued, "The person who presided over the case at that time was none other than Liang Wang Wu Sansi, and Xue Qinglin took the opportunity to get close to him and gained the emperor's favor."

"The emperor even personally issued an edict to commend him and grant him the title of marquis, which will be hereditary. Just like that, Xue Qinglin sat on the chair of Marquis of Pingnan by stepping on the blood of the Li clan."

Ruyan gnashed her teeth and said, "People like this will definitely not have a good death!"

Di Renjie's eyes seemed to still be filled with the shadow of the past, with deep sorrow: "It has been more than 20 years since this happened. At that time, I was the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, and I witnessed the massacre of Huang Guogong's family with my own eyes. The scene was so shocking that I can still remember it vividly."

Li Yuanfang shook his head, thinking of what happened to him and Di Renjie, and said with a little resentment: "The emperor killed people without hesitation. I think she will never be at peace in her life."

However, Di Renjie still defended Wu Zetian: "The emperor had her own reasons for doing this. At that time, the struggle between Wu and Li had reached a point where it was either one or the other, so she had no choice but to take such measures."

"The truly abominable ones are treacherous people like Xue Qinglin. They fanned the flames and stirred up trouble. They are truly the worst of all evil! Especially Xue Qinglin, who lived in the mansion of Duke Huang and received great favors. Instead, he turned evil into kindness. He is truly an inhuman being!"

As the three were talking, the waiter came over with two large plates of steaming fish soup and shouted, "Old sir, the fish essence you asked for is here!"

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie immediately stopped talking and said with a smile, "Okay, thank you for your help."

"Enjoy your meal!" The waiter put down the fish soup, brought the dishes and wine one by one, and then left.

Di Renjie picked up the chopsticks and deliberately tried to dispel the heavy atmosphere: "Come on, let's not talk about the past, let's taste this fish spirit!"

Li Yuanfang and Ruyan burst out laughing when they heard this, and picked up their chopsticks together, ready to fill their stomachs.

Just at this moment, a crisp bell sound came from outside the door. Di Renjie looked up and saw a middle-aged man who looked a little weak walked into the store.

It was noon, and after traveling for half a day, he was very hungry. He followed the smell and unknowingly came here.

However, the business in the store was very good today, and every table was full, except for Di Renjie's table, which had only one empty seat.

Di Renjie carefully looked at the new guest. He had a calm, elegant and slightly weathered face, a slender and dry right hand, and was wearing a three-section brocade round-collar robe, which made him look quite elegant.

Di Renjie's heart moved, and he suddenly opened his mouth to invite, "Sir, if you don't mind, how about inviting me to dine with you?"

The middle-aged man declined, saying, "We just met by chance, how dare I bother you, old man."

Di Renjie stroked his beard and said with a smile: "A bosom friend is always a friend indeed. It's just a pair of bowls and chopsticks, sir, why should you be so polite!"

Seeing how simple the people here were, and seeing Di Renjie quoting from classics and speaking in an extraordinary manner, the middle-aged man couldn't help but feel a bit of respect and curiosity in his heart.

He nodded happily and said, "Old sir, what you said makes sense. I'm sorry to bother you then."

As he said this, he walked quickly to the table. Li Yuanfang and Ruyan quickly made room for him and asked him to sit opposite Di Renjie.

After the middle-aged man sat down, he smiled and asked, "My name is Lin Yongzhong. May I ask your name, old gentleman?"

Di Renjie smiled slightly, but still did not introduce himself: "My surname is Huai, and my given name is Ying."

At this time, the waiter served the new customer a bowl and chopsticks, and joked: "Old sir, the fish essence in my shop tastes best when it is hot. It would be a pity if it is cold."

Lin Yongzhong was stunned when he heard this: "Fish spirit?"

Everyone around burst into laughter when they heard this. Lin Yongzhong then realized that this was a joke, so he started laughing too, and the atmosphere became relaxed and happy.

Di Renjie happily picked up a piece of fish and tasted it. His expression instantly became colorful and he praised it endlessly: "Mm! Wonderful! It is truly unique in the world! Unique! You should try it too."

Seeing this, Li Yuanfang, Ruyan and Lin Yongzhong let go of their reserve and started to eat with relish.

At the table, several people ate and chatted, and the atmosphere was harmonious. While praising the food, Lin Yongzhong also began to test: "Old sir, you are very eloquent and elegant, so you must be no ordinary person. In addition, your accents do not seem to be locals?"

Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang looked at each other and both found Lin Yongzhong interesting and started laughing.

"I am ashamed to say that I have lived in Luozhong for a long time. I once served as a minor official in Pengze County, Jiangzhou. I do have some family background in this field. We just moved to Wuping today." Di Renjie said half-truthfully.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yongzhong put down his chopsticks, folded his hands and asked in confusion: "Old sir, to be honest, there is a Pingnan Marquis in Wuping County. He bullies men and women and does all kinds of evil. It is said that the people have suffered greatly from him."

"On the contrary, Pengze County is a place of good government and harmonious people. Both the local customs and human sentiments are better than Wuping. Why would you abandon a good place and move here to a bad place?"

This question really surprised Di Renjie. This was the second person he met who mentioned Marquis Pingnan.

However, he had guessed the identity of the person in front of him, so he was not surprised. Instead, he said meaningfully, "There are some matters in the county, so I have to come. Although you are new here, you seem to be quite familiar with Wuping. It seems that you are not an ordinary person, right?"

Lin Yongzhong was also surprised when he heard this. He didn't expect that his good intentions in persuading his father-in-law to move carefully would yield such a reward.

He deliberately tried to test her: "Please guess it, old man, just for fun."

Di Renjie smiled slightly and looked at Lin Yongzhong in a serious manner: "Sir, you have a heroic look and a decent appearance. You must be the son of a wealthy family."

Lin Yongzhong's pupils shrank suddenly, his face changed drastically, and he blurted out: "Son of a wealthy family?"

Di Renjie nodded and said, "Yes, he is as good as the princes and generals."

Hearing this, Lin Yongzhong shook his head bitterly, his brows full of disappointment and helplessness: "Then you guessed wrong, sir. My parents died when I was young, and my family is poor. How can I be called a 'big family'? I can't even be called a 'middle class'!"

After these words were spoken, Di Renjie had not yet reacted, but Li Yuanfang and Ruyan were stunned at first, then looked at Di Renjie in surprise, and then turned to look at Lin Yongzhong.

That means, the sun rises from the west, and Di Renjie still can't guess it right?
Di Renjie was also very surprised. He smiled and said, "Oh, I am ashamed. It seems that I have made a mistake this time."

Lin Yongzhong forced a smile at this time and said comfortingly: "It's okay, old man, why don't you guess again, just treat it as a joke!"

Di Renjie restrained his smile a little, and looked serious. He said, "Judging from your facial features, you are about 41 or 42 years old."

"The hands are long and dry, the tip of the right index finger is slightly concave, the middle finger is smooth and has no marks, and the joint of the ring finger is slightly thick. These are the hands of someone who holds a pen all year round."

"You are wearing a round-necked robe made of three-section brocade produced in Jiangzhou. Generally speaking, in this dynasty, people without any achievements mostly wear slanted-collar robes, while people with achievements are required to wear round-necked brocade robes. Therefore, you must have achieved some achievements."

"Am I right, Magistrate Lin?"

Lin Yongzhong opened his eyes wide, unable to believe his ears, and was speechless for a moment.

Di Renjie raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Why, am I wrong again?"

Lin Yongzhong's admiration was so strong that he stammered, "No... no no no, sir, you are absolutely right! But how can you be sure that I am the new county magistrate of Wuping?"

Di Renjie smiled slightly and patiently explained, "You are wearing a round-collared robe made of three-section brocade, which is mostly used by county-level officials near Jiangzhou. Therefore, I conclude that you must be a county magistrate."

"I heard that Wuping County Magistrate Huang Wenyue had left his post, and you happened to be in a hurry, exhausted. You are not a local, but you can tell me about the Pingnan Marquis Mansion. I think you must have heard the news before you took office. Therefore, I think you must be the successor."

Lin Yongzhong was simply stunned. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes, yes! That's right!"

Then, he stood up and bowed to the ground: "The old gentleman is truly a god. Lin Yongzhong admires you very much!"

Di Renjie hurriedly helped him up and said, "Mr. Lin, you are too polite. This is just a trivial skill. Please take a seat."

Lin Yongzhong sat down slowly and asked, "Old sir, how come you are so familiar with the rules of the court?"

At this time, Li Yuanfang and Ruyan could no longer hold back their laughter.

Di Renjie also smiled and explained: "Haha, I, an old man, have also worn such a round-collared robe in Jiangzhou."

This is quite true.

Lin Yongzhong suddenly realized what was going on and became more enthusiastic: "Oh, so you are my senior. I am so sorry. I would like to offer you a drink! Please!"

Di Renjie smiled and nodded, raised his glass in return, and both the host and the guest were in great joy, chatting more enthusiastically.

Just then, there was a noise in the street.

Di Renjie and others looked up and saw several evil servants of the Pingnan Marquis Mansion, walking in the middle of the street like crabs with their arms swinging, and passers-by dodged.

One of them was particularly sharp-eyed and saw the faces of Di Renjie and the others in the restaurant at a glance. It was also because Di Renjie had a prominent figure, and there were several men and one woman, so their features were obvious.

The man quickly pulled the leading butler Du Er aside and pointed and spoke to Di Gong and others in the store.

Du Er threw his sleeves and yelled, "You old bastard, you hid it here for me!"

　Di Renjie's analysis of the Jinshi in the first year of Shenlong was too confusing, and the judgment that Lin Yongzhong had studied for ten years was a bit arbitrary, so it was changed. This chapter still changed a little bit of the setting. The key to writing it this way is Di Renjie's change of view on Wu Zetian's behavior. At this stage, with the information Di Renjie has, he still understands and defends Wu. As the case develops, Di Renjie's concept has changed a lot. The author tried to make it more reasonable.

　　By the way, Li Ai, the Duke of Huang in Shen Di, did not exist in history. There was another person who was the Duke of Huang, named Li Xun. There was another person, the King of Fanyang, Li Ai (note that the characters Ai and Ai are different). This person was awesome. The kings with the surname Li agreed to rebel together. He felt that he could not defeat Wu Zetian, so he turned around and sold out his own father, uncle, and many brothers... In order to survive, he was really cruel. But he still did not survive the persecution of the cruel officials, and was later unjustly killed. So, according to real history, although these kings with the surname Li have nothing to say politically and morally, from the perspective of Wu Zetian's court, it can't be said that they were wronged. However, this is in the play, and the fictional Li Ai is innocent.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)