Detective Di Renjie: The Mysterious Dynasty

Chapter 357: Appointed as Imperial Envoy
In the Zhenguan Hall, Wu Sansi and Yuan Gui stood respectfully at the bottom, while Wu Zetian sat upright on the throne, reading the memorial submitted by Ying Wang Yuanqi.

After a long time, Wu Zetian slowly closed the memorial in her hand and sighed: "When I suppressed the rebellion of Xu Jingye, Yuan Qi made great contributions and came to the capital to receive rewards. I met him once. Now, it seems like a lifetime ago. More than 20 years have passed in a hurry!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Gui bowed slightly and said, "Although my father lives in Yangzhou, he often misses the relationship between him and your Majesty. Unfortunately, he is getting older and weaker, and it is difficult for him to go to the capital to see your Majesty again. I always feel regretful. I can only send this humble minister to the capital to apologize to your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zetian sighed again and said, "Alas, looking at your appearance, I vaguely remember how heroic your father was. I thought he had the talent of a great general and could defend the country's territory, but unfortunately I never had the opportunity to employ him again."

"He has been guarding Yangzhou all these years and has been law-abiding. Now that the country is in trouble, he has donated his family property to help it. He is truly loyal and brave!"

Wu Sansi saw the opportunity and quickly interrupted, "Your Majesty, Prince Ying is a man of honor and wisdom in the court, and he always cares about the country. Although Prince Ying is old now, the crown prince is young and promising, and his military strategy is quite similar to his father. If he can use his energy and talent, the court will have a great general!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zetian couldn't help but look at Wu Sansi a few more times and thought secretly in her heart.

Shangguan Wan'er laughed secretly, "An old minister of the court suddenly asked his son to come to the capital, donated a large sum of money, and mentioned their old relationship. If there is no special purpose, it is natural that he wants to pave the way for his son. But this Prince Ying is another matter."

Wu Zetian didn't think much about it. She waved her hand and agreed: "Well, Sansi's words are in line with my opinion. Let's do this. Yuan Gui will stay in the Qianniu Guards for the time being. He will be of great use in the future!"

Yuan Gui bowed down immediately and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

Wu Sansi nodded secretly, and took the opportunity to speak again: "Your Majesty, I am not being nosy, but old ministers like Prince Ying who have made great contributions to the court and are loyal should be treated favorably by the court, so as not to chill the hearts of meritorious officials!"

However, when Wu Zetian heard this, her face suddenly became gloomy, revealing her displeasure.

At this moment, a palace servant came to report: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Yan and Lord Zhang want to see you!"

When Wu Sansi heard that Zhao Ji and Zhang Jianzhi wanted to see him, he suddenly had an ominous premonition.

Yuan Gui was even more perceptive: "Since it is the Lord who wants to see you, there must be some urgent court affairs to discuss. I will take my leave first!"

Wu Zetian nodded and waved her hand, "Call Chengyuan and Jianzhi in!"

So Yuan Gui slowly stepped back and left the hall.

At the same time, Zhao Ji and Zhang Jianzhi walked in side by side, just passing by Yuan Gui. Their eyes met, and each of them paused slightly.

"This is a master!" Both of them felt threatened by the person in front of them.

Yuan Gui, whose status was lower, took the initiative to bow and said, "Greetings to His Royal Highness Prince Yan and Lord Zhang."

Zhang Jianzhi had met Yuan Gui once before, so he returned the greeting and said, "How is your Highness?"

Zhao Ji nodded and looked up and down at the mysterious Prince Ying in front of him, his eyes full of amusement.

Yuan Gui seemed to sense that Zhao Ji had some bad intentions, but due to his status, he could not show it and could only leave in a hurry.

Zhang Jianzhi saw Yuan Gui walking away, but Zhao Ji was still distracted, so he quickly reminded him, "Your Highness, let's go see the emperor first!"

Only then did Zhao Ji retract his gaze and followed Zhang Jianzhi into the hall.

However, when the two entered the palace, they heard Wu Zetian's angry rebuke from afar: "He used the story of Huang Wenyue to ask about Di Huaiying's whereabouts. Humph, he is a treacherous person, and his heart deserves death!"

With a plop, Wu Sansi fell to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, I dare not. I dare not!"

Wu Zetian snorted heavily and said in a cold tone: "Di Huaiying has retired. What does it matter to you where he is? The state affairs are so difficult, but you don't pay attention to the government affairs, but focus on party struggles. Is this how you act as a prime minister?"

"I have warned you many times, but you have not changed! I think you don't want to be the Right Prime Minister of Wenchang anymore!"

Wu Sansi kowtowed and said, "I have spoken too much. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"

As the palace door opened, Wu Zetian noticed Zhao Ji and Zhang Jianzhi walking in, and she suppressed her anger a little and saved some face for Wu Sansi.

"Get up!"

Wu Sansi's body was trembling. He barely stood up and stepped aside.

Wu Zetian continued to admonish him, "In the future, you must be honest in your actions and don't resort to such womanly tricks! What benefit did Xue Qinglin give you that was worth it for you to make friends with him and cheat in front of the emperor?"

Wu Sansi nodded in agreement and repeatedly blamed himself: "I know I was wrong, I am guilty!"

Wu Zetian was really angry at him for not fighting back: "You still say that the ministers of honor and service should be treated with more favors. Rebellious people like Xue Qinglin are arrogant and domineering, causing trouble for the local area. I have long wanted to deal with them!"

"As the Prime Minister, you should be more cautious and not get too close to these people, lest you be taken advantage of and fall into injustice, and even put the court at a disadvantage!"

Wu Sansi obeyed orders and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes! I will follow your majesty's instructions!"

Wu Zetian shook her head helplessly and sat back on the throne. At this time, Zhao Ji and Zhang Jianzhi had already approached.

"You two have come here together. What's the important matter?" Wu Zetian asked.

Zhang Jianzhi presented several memorials in his hand, one new and the other old, and said, "Your Majesty, this morning another memorial impeaching the Marquis of Pingnan, Xue Qinglin, was delivered from Jiangzhou."

"This time, the evil servant of the Marquis's Mansion beat a man to death in the street, and was arrested by the new county magistrate. After hearing the news, the Marquis of Pingnan led his servants to openly break down the gate of the county government office, intending to kidnap the prisoner. I was horrified when I saw it, so I dared not delay and came to report to Your Majesty!"

Wu Zetian was shocked when she heard this, and could hardly believe her ears: "What? Breaking into the county government office? Isn't this a blatant rebellion? Show it to me!"

Shangguan Wan'er quickly handed the memorials to Wu Zetian one by one. Wu Zetian was furious and somewhat skeptical. She snatched the memorials from Shangguan Wan'er's hand and read through them at a glance.

When Wu Sansi heard that Xue Qinglin had committed such a serious crime, he suddenly felt panic in his heart.

Soon, before Wu Zetian had time to finish reading the memorial, her anger erupted like a volcano and she was almost mad to death.

She slammed the table and looked at Wu Sansi in anger: "Look! This is the 'loyal' Pingnan Marquis you mentioned! I didn't know he was so arrogant and unscrupulous!"

"Does he still have the imperial court and me in his eyes? Hmm?"

Wu Sansi was so frightened by this sudden rebuke that he trembled all over, sweated profusely, and lowered his head without daring to say a word.

Wu Zetian looked at the other memorials, held up one and asked Zhang Jianzhi, "What are these?"

Zhang Jianzhi looked solemn and replied, "These are all memorials submitted by successive governors of Jiangzhou to the emperor regarding the Marquis of Pingnan."

Wu Zetian flipped through the pages, her anger growing with each word she read: "Abducting women, beating people to death, forcing people to buy land and houses, setting houses on fire, and beating officials!"

Her tone became increasingly harsh, her anger almost overflowing from her eyes: "Rebellion! Rebellion! It's simply lawless! Lawless!"

"Why haven't these memorials been delivered before?" She glared at Zhang Jianzhi and asked harshly.

Zhang Jianzhi glanced at Wu Sansi, then lowered his head and knelt on the ground: "I am guilty. It is our fault! Your Majesty, please read the memorial and you will find this matter mentioned in it."

"Xue Qinglin is a marquis, so whenever someone impeaches him, he will be the first to plead guilty. The memorials from Jiangzhou were delivered late, and since he has support in the court, these memorials were repeatedly suppressed, causing big things to become small, and small things to be nothing!"

Wu Zetian read Di Renjie's memorial with trembling hands. At this point, how could she not understand the truth of the matter.

She was so angry that she ignored her dignity, held the memorial in her hand, and looked at Wu Sansi fiercely: "Haha, Sansi, you have a part to play in this, right?"

Wu Sansi was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and apologized: "Your Majesty, I didn't know Xue Qinglin dared to be so rampant! I just remembered that he had done great service to Your Majesty in the past..."

Wu Zetian shouted angrily, her eyes wide open, "Enough! Shut up! The court has a prime minister to manage government affairs and correct mistakes. If you block people's voices like this, what's the point of you?"

"From now on, Wu Sansi is dismissed from his position as the Right Prime Minister of Wenchang, relieved of all assignments, fined for one year, and ordered to return home to reflect on his mistakes! During this period, no officials are allowed to visit him!"

Wu Sansi was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth. He suddenly raised his head and looked at Wu Zetian with wide eyes: "Your Majesty, I am innocent!"

Wu Zetian breathed rapidly and turned away angrily: "No need to say more, I don't want to see you anymore!"

Wu Sansi burst into tears: "Your Majesty... your servant..."

Shangguan Wan'er winked at Wu Sansi frantically and mouthed, "Your Highness Prince Liang, please take shelter for a while!"

Zhao Ji also pretended to be a good guy, but in fact he was adding fuel to the fire: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Although the King of Liang made mistakes, his crime is not serious enough..."

However, Wu Zetian was in a rage, and the more she pleaded, the angrier she became, until she completely lost her patience: "Someone, take him out!"

Wu Sansi finally kowtowed as if accepting his fate: "I acknowledge my guilt and will return home to reflect on my mistakes!"

Then he cooperated with the Qianniu Guards who came after hearing the noise and was "invited" out.

Seeing that Wu Sansi had been temporarily impeached, Zhang Jianzhi asked further, "Your Majesty, Xue Qinglin is lawless and treasonous. How should we deal with him?"

Wu Zetian sighed, sat weakly on the throne, and remained silent.

At this time, Shangguan Wan'er nodded slightly to Zhao Ji, giving a positive signal, and Zhao Ji felt relieved.

After a long while, Wu Zetian took a deep breath and slowly stood up: "Yesterday we discussed the issue of the grain transport last time, and it's time to make a decision. I think that Chengyuan should be appointed as the imperial envoy, the governor of Yangzhou, and go south to inspect the salt."

"The officials you recommended, along with the imperial envoys, will take the water route to Yangzhou. You can go to Jiangzhou in person to convey my order and deal with the Marquis of Pingnan. Then you and Di Huaiying will go to Yangzhou to deal with the grain transport issue."

"This is like repairing the plank road in the open while marching through Chencang in secret. I wonder what Jianzhi and Chengyuan think of this?"

Zhao Ji and Zhang Jianzhi had won a great victory today, and naturally had no objection to achieving their goal. They hurriedly said respectfully: "Your Majesty is wise!"
-
Outside Shangyang Palace, Yuan Gui was looking forward to offering some compliments to Wu Sansi in order to deepen their relationship.

He stood in front of the palace gate, looking forward to it, but what he saw was the dejected and distraught figure of Wu Sansi.

Wu Sansi's mood today was somewhat similar to that of Xue Qinglin who had been tricked a few days ago.

Yuan Gui was surprised to see him in such a state of disgrace: "Uncle, what happened to you?"

Wu Sansi looked at Yuan Gui deeply and sighed: "This time, I have fallen into the hands of Zhang Jianzhi and the Li gang. I am afraid Xue Qinglin will not have much time left."

He handed the Hongtong Kuifang flying money back to Yuangui, and then patted Yuangui on the shoulder: "Your Majesty has ordered me to reflect on my mistakes behind closed doors. It is better for us to reduce our exchanges in the future! My dear nephew, you should be more careful!"

After saying this, Wu Sansi kept shaking his head, and slowly left with a heart full of sadness and helplessness.

Yuan Gui looked down at the flying money in his hand, felt the seriousness of the situation, and hurriedly ran in another direction.

(End of this chapter)