Humans in All Heavens: Starting with Detective Dee

After lunch in Huzhou County.

At night, the three of them went out to find food.

Di Renjie treated everyone to a meal, since he had lost his bet with Zhou Yi.

Although all his expenses as the deposed envoy during this trip to Jiangnan were paid by the national treasury.

However, he was an honest and upright person, so he paid for the meal with his own salary.

I have no intention of asking someone to reimburse me.

Inside a small shop in Huzhou County.

Zhou Yi and the other two sat at a table by the roadside.

Li Yuanfang looked at the bowl of plain noodles in front of him.

I was startled.

"No, sir, are we really going to eat this?"

"What? Is this plain noodle soup not good?"

Di Renjie smiled slightly.

"This is just too much."

Brother Di and I are both martial arts practitioners.

Practicing martial arts is a very demanding activity.

You need to eat meat regularly to nourish your body.

You treated us to noodles for lunch, and you're having noodles again for dinner.

That's a bit unreasonable, isn't it?

"Yes, sir, at least treat us to some meat!"

"We're always eating noodles, just plain water, this won't do," Zhou Yi complained along with him.

"Alright, alright, my salary isn't even enough to treat you to a meal."

Let's be more careful with our spending.

If this continues, I doubt my meager salary will be enough for my retirement.

"Haha, my lord, the emperor's trip to Jiangnan this time is to reward merit."

It also promoted my and Brother Di's official positions.

"If your salary isn't enough for your retirement in the future, the two of us will take care of you." Li Yuanfang laughed heartily.

"Come on, I have three sons of my own, someone will take care of me in my old age."

However, Yuanfang, you're only half right.

The emperor was indeed rewarding merit.

But that's not entirely true.

"Oh, then what for?"

Li Yuanfang was puzzled.

"Think about it yourself first."

After thinking for a long time, he shook his head: "Sir, I can't think of anything. Why don't you tell me?"

Di Renjie smiled and looked at Zhou Yi: "Let Di Chun explain it; he should have figured it out."

Seeing Zhou Yi's confident expression, Di Renjie knew what was going on.

"Oh, Brother Di? Please enlighten me?" Li Yuanfang looked at Zhou Yi.

"You know about the imperial censor Li Zhaode being ordered to commit suicide by the emperor before we left, right?"

"Yes, I know. I've heard about it too. But what does it have to do with adults?"

"Now, many ministers in the court have submitted memorials requesting the emperor to return the throne to the crown prince."

Li Zhaode is a prime example of this.

The emperor was displeased but could not express it openly, so he found a pretext to execute Li Zhaode.

Consider it an example to deter others.

Many of the other ministers were students of the emperor, and the emperor worried that they would approach the emperor and ask him to lead the petition.

That will put the adults in a difficult position.

So, the trip to Jiangnan can be seen as a way for you to escape that whirlpool.

"So that's how it is?" Li Yuanfang suddenly realized.

"These ministers are commendable for their loyalty, but they have overlooked one thing," Di Renjie said at this moment.

"What's wrong?"

"Your Highness, I know the Emperor well. Once he harbors a grudge, he can kill someone without making a sound."

I fear that if the emperor turns his anger on the crown prince, his situation will be dire.

The crown prince, however, was a weak and incompetent man.

Zhou Yi listened to Di Renjie's evaluation of Wu Zetian and Crown Prince Li Xian.

It is clearly very accurate.

Wu Zetian can only be considered a politician, not a statesman.

Compared to empress dowagers like Empress Lü who ruled from behind the curtain, she was quite poor in both domestic affairs and foreign wars.

When it comes to scheming against people and engaging in political struggles, Wu Zetian was exceptionally skilled.

In his early years, he relied heavily on cruel officials like Yong Junchen to eliminate dissidents, and after using them, he would execute them.

In foreign wars, they suffered more defeats than victories.

During her reign, the Tang Dynasty lost a great deal of territory.

As for Crown Prince Li Xian, he couldn't bear to look at him either.

When he first became emperor, he actually said something like, "What if I give the throne to my father-in-law?" This led to Wu Zetian deposing him.

After Zhang Jianzhi and others launched the Shenlong Coup and helped him regain his throne, they surprisingly did not eliminate the Wu clan.

This allowed Wu Sansi and others to remain active in the imperial court.

After his own crown prince was forced to rebel and kill Wu Sansi, he even used his son's head to offer sacrifices to Wu Sansi.

This kind of person?

If Zhou Yi were Empress Wu Zetian, she would rather not have had such a son.

On the contrary, Prince Xiang, Li Dan, seems to be better, much stronger than Li Xian.

……

As they were talking, a commotion suddenly broke out on the street.

"Get out of the way, all of you, get out of the way."

"I'm innocent! I'm innocent! What right do you have to arrest me?"

The sudden appearance of Buddha immediately attracted everyone's attention.

On the street, several yamen runners were seen escorting a person toward the county government office.

Di Renjie stared at the scene, lost in thought, and stroked his beard.

"Di Chun, Yuan Fang, we..."

As he was about to turn around and give instructions, he saw that Zhou Yi had already paid the shopkeeper.

Li Yuanfang then picked up the things the three of them had brought.

The two had clearly guessed his intentions and had prepared everything.

"Sir, you want to go and take a look at that case, right?"

Li Yuanfang laughed from the side.

"As you said before, when adults encounter a case, it's like a gourmet encountering a delicious meal."

A case is readily available.

How could an adult not be interested?

Moreover, observing how a county magistrate handles cases can also reveal what kind of person he is in general.

Zhou Yi walked over with a smile: "Right, sir?"

"Hahaha, you guys, you guys? You've figured out my little schemes perfectly."

I think, given enough time, you two will become like tapeworms in my stomach.

"Haha, sir, let's go. Brother Di and I are all ready. Let's go take a look."

Di Renjie watched the two men's actions, chuckled, shook his head, and strode towards the county government office.

At this time, a large crowd had gathered outside the Huzhou County Government Office to watch the spectacle.

In the courtroom, the villagers of Xiaoyang Village had already been beaten until their skin was torn and bleeding.

His back was covered in blood.

The constables on both sides were glaring at him fiercely, holding fire and water sticks.

This morning, the local constable smelled a foul odor, so he led his men to dig up a body in Zhang Chun's house and immediately reported it to the police.

Zhang Chun was also arrested and taken to the county government office.

After a day of interrogation and beatings, Zhang Chun still refused to confess.

Di Renjie and his two companions arrived outside the bustling county government office.

"Excuse me, excuse me." Zhou Yi and Li Yuanfang, acting as left and right protectors, led Di Renjie from the back to the front of the crowd that had gathered outside.

Even if someone is unhappy, seeing the two burly men will involuntarily dispel their anger.

Outside the courtroom, at the very front of the crowd.

The three looked up at the courtroom.

Magistrate Zeng Tai glared angrily at Zhang Chun below, slammed his gavel down, and shouted, "Zhang Chun, won't you confess?"

"My lord, I have already said that I am innocent. I did not kill the person."

Zhang Chun, whose skin was already torn and bleeding, looked up.