Detective Di Renjie: The Mysterious Dynasty

Chapter 363 Coming
At dusk, a blood-red sunset hung in the sky.

On the deserted official road, the sound of horse hooves echoed, each one sounding so powerful and rapid.

As time passed, the team arrived at a pier where various ships were docked.

The leading knight pulled the reins suddenly, and the Thousand Bull Guards behind him also stopped.

"Your Highness, we have arrived in Jiangzhou. Should we rest here for a while and then set off tomorrow?" a Qianniu Guard suggested cautiously.

Zhao Ji's eyes swept across the boats docked at the pier and he decisively ordered: "Change to the water route, get on board immediately, and rest on board!"

In any case, riding a boat is more comfortable than riding a horse all day, so the Qianniu Guards were very excited.

Finally, before it became completely dark, Zhao Ji and the Qianniu Guards boarded a speedboat and sailed downstream to Wuping.

However, not long after they left, two more people caught up with them on horseback.

The hairstyles of these two men are both like those of Hu people, and the weapons they carry on their horses are also strange in shape.

One of them had a rat-like face and was called Zhang Zhi. He asked the older man, "Brother, I seem to have lost him. What should I do?"

The eldest brother's name was Long Feng. He pondered for a moment, and then said, "According to the young master, the imperial envoy will first go to Wuping, and then transfer to Yangzhou. From Jiangzhou to Yangzhou, we must take the waterway, so we will work hard on the boat!"

There was a hint of confusion in Zhang Zhi's eyes, and he obviously did not fully understand Long Feng's intention.

But Long Feng did not expect him to come up with any brilliant ideas. He rode forward alone, and Zhang Zhi had to follow closely behind him.
-
The Pingnan Marquis Mansion was still brightly lit at night, and Xue Qinglin hurried to the east wing where Feng Wanchun was.

The doors and windows of the east wing were closed tightly, not letting in any air or sound.

In the entire room, there was only Feng Wanchun's restless figure and continuous sighs.

The sound of the door opening startled Feng Wanchun. When he saw Xue Qinglin clearly, he asked hurriedly, "Brother, what's the situation?"

Xue Qinglin looked solemn, with surprise and fear in his heart: "I found out that the second and third brothers were indeed killed last night!"

Feng Wanchun sucked in a breath of cold air, beat his chest and stamped his feet, saying: "They didn't listen to my advice, and insisted on doing it their own way, and finally brought disaster upon themselves!"

Xue Qinglin nodded sadly: "Alas, it seems that the remnants of the Li family are targeting us brothers! Now the second, third, fourth and sixth brothers are all dead..."

When Feng Wanchun heard this, a chill ran up from the soles of his feet to his head.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Xue Qinglin in horror: "This...what should we do? They will never let us go!"

Xue Qinglin said fiercely: "Brother, don't panic. I have told you before that Xiaoyun is a spy in the Marquis' Mansion. I have ordered people to monitor her and prepare to follow the clues to completely eliminate those remnants of the Li family!"

Feng Wanchun grabbed Xue Qinglin's hand as if he had grasped the last straw. He said, "Don't let any fish slip through the net, otherwise we will never have peace again!"

Xue Qinglin nodded heavily.

However, neither of them noticed that there were ears on the other side of the wall. Li Yuanfang lay on the roof again and memorized their conversation in his heart.

Xue Qinglin comforted Feng Wanchun and left. Li Yuanfang couldn't help but frowned: "Remnants of the Li family? Spies from the Marquis' Mansion? Could it be that the murderers of several murders are really descendants of Duke Huang?"

He couldn't confirm it for a moment and remembered the most important mission of this trip - to find the mysterious master.

In a flash, Li Yuanfang left the east wing and began to search the mansion.

In the huge marquis's mansion, Zhang Yi was currently lying obediently on his bed resting.

He was originally going to meet with Lin Yongzhong tonight to discuss the next plan, but now the plan has been cancelled.

Because Lin Yongzhong came to the Marquis' Mansion in person today, the two of them got in touch without anyone noticing.

Only then did he realize that the murder scene of the two of them last night was witnessed by someone and his identity had been exposed.

For safety reasons, he could no longer meet Lin Yongzhong or Jinniang directly, and he had to be more careful in the future. However, this was not all bad news. After all, his identity as the Marquis's advisor had successfully drawn suspicion to Xue Qinglin, which was a glimmer of comfort in misfortune.
-
In the east wing of the Di Mansion, Jinniang sat on the bed in a daze, her eyes empty and lifeless, as if she was a body without a soul.

"Knock knock knock", a knock on the door broke the silence.

"Jinniang?" Ruyan's gentle voice sounded outside the door.

Jinniang's eyes regained some spirit, and she quickly stood up and ran to open the door for Ruyan: "Sister Ruyan..."

Ruyan held a bowl of steaming lotus seed soup in her hand and smiled warmly: "I made some midnight snacks, do you want to try it?"

Jinniang looked helpless: "Sister Ruyan, I'm really not hungry."

Ruyan's eyes fell on the almost untouched food on the table, and she couldn't help but sigh softly.

She put the lotus seed soup on the table and took Jinniang's hand and sat down together.

"Why do you lock yourself in the room all day? I see you haven't come out all day. Is the food unpalatable? Why don't you use chopsticks?" Ruyan's eyes were full of concern.

Jinniang was speechless and could only lower her head silently.

Ruyan held her hand and said, "Jinniang, tell me if you have anything to say. Don't keep it in your heart. I noticed that you seemed a little dazed these past few days. What's wrong?"

Jinniang forced a smile and said, "No, no. Sister Ruyan, really, nothing happened..."

Ruyan sighed, almost pleadingly: "Okay, sister won't ask anymore, but you have to eat something. How can you hold on like this?"

Jinniang looked at Ruyan's expression and felt a little guilty, so she nodded and picked up the bowl of hot soup to taste it.

Ruyan finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the worries in her heart grew heavier.
-
The moon is bright tonight, and Di Renjie is strolling leisurely in the silver light of the back garden.

Ever since he accidentally ran into Jinniang preparing for a night action that night, he would linger near Wen Kai and Jinniang's room every night to be prepared for any eventuality.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Yuanfang came back and called out in a low voice, "My Lord!"

Di Renjie pulled himself out of his contemplation and asked, "Are you back? What did you find on this trip?"

Li Yuanfang shook his head and said with a hint of regret: "I didn't gain much. I only found out that the master's name was Zhang Yi, but he didn't take any action tonight."

Di Renjie was not disappointed when he heard this, but nodded calmly.

Li Yuanfang thought for a moment and added, "But I overheard the conversation between Xue Qinglin and Feng Wanchun. They both believed that the murderer who killed Huang Wenyue, Ge Bin and others was the descendant of Duke Huang. He also mentioned that he wanted to deal with the traitor in the Marquis' Mansion, a man named Xiaoyun."

Di Renjie was stunned: "Traitor?"

Li Yuanfang nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "Yes, according to the slaves in the prison, Xiaoyun is one of Xue Qinglin's women. She has been in the mansion for more than a year and is very much loved by Xue Qinglin! She is very likely the woman who asked the maid to sneak out of the mansion that day!"

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie frowned.

Li Yuanfang was a little confused because of his experiences in the past few days. He couldn't help but ask: "Sir, I am getting more and more confused. Who is the murderer who killed those four officials? Is it Xue Qinglin, or the so-called descendant of Duke Huang?"

"Jinniang, Xue Qinglin, Feng Wanchun, Zhang Yi, and now there's Xiaoyun. Just like you said, there are many forces hidden in Wuping County, and things are becoming more and more complicated!"

Di Renjie looked serious and said slowly, "Yes, the situation has become increasingly complicated. I have a feeling that with the deaths of Zhang Xiangong and Wu Shun, the development of the situation in the next few days will be beyond our imagination!"

"But our identities are very awkward. As retired officials, we are completely unable to control the situation. And Wen Kai's attitude is uncertain. It is hard to say whether there is the emperor's will behind this..."

"Then what should we do?" Li Yuanfang looked worried.

Di Renjie shook his head lightly, his tone filled with helplessness: "There is no other way but to wait. The letter I sent to Cheng Yuan should have arrived. It depends on how the emperor reacts!"

　I'm so sleepy that I can hardly open my eyes. I've only slept for a few hours in the past two days... There's only one chapter today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)