The world of film and television begins with Hikaru no Go

Zhang Rui thought about it for a moment, and since he had nothing else to do, he finally followed along.

When Di Renjie saw him follow, he didn't say much, only glanced at him and whispered, "When we get there, wait outside, don't go in."

A carriage was already parked in front of the county government office. A bailiff was leading the horse, while two other bailiffs stood to the side, holding ropes and lanterns.

Upon seeing Di Renjie emerge, the group bowed in unison.

"Let's go." Di Renjie mounted his horse, glanced back at Zhang Rui, and said, "Stay close."

Zhang Rui responded and floated to his side. The group headed west of the county town.

The village where Zhou Er's family lived was not far away, and they arrived in no time.

Before even entering the courtyard, the sound of crying could already be heard.

It was a man's voice, rough and hoarse, as he cried and stomped his feet, mumbling something indistinctly.

The courtyard gate was not closed; it was wide open.

The courtyard was small and somewhat dilapidated. The walls were made of adobe bricks and had cracks in some places.

Several bundles of firewood were piled up in the yard, and an axe and a wooden stake were placed against the wall.

The door to the main room was not closed, and half a tattered bamboo curtain was hanging on the door frame, swaying gently in the wind.

A person was hanging from the roof beam.

It was a woman, dressed in a plain-colored dress, with her hair hanging down in a mess, and a rope wrapped around her neck, tightly binding her.

Zhang Rui didn't go in; he just stood far away by the earthen wall outside the courtyard gate, some distance from the villagers who were watching.

He's never been the type to join in the fun, especially not something like this.

Come to think of it, he has never actually seen a dead person.

Of course I've seen it in TV dramas, but that's different; it's on the screen, not real.

However, he wasn't curious enough to insist on finding out for himself.

Just hearing the crying coming from the courtyard from afar made my heart ache.

Di Renjie had already entered the courtyard and was standing under the eaves. He didn't rush forward but looked around.

The deceased was neatly dressed, with no obvious external injuries, and was wearing a pair of cloth shoes with relatively clean soles.

Looking at the person hanging there, he was located on the left side of the roof beam, with a stool lying on the ground beneath his feet.

Di Renjie shifted his gaze from the corpse to the furnishings inside the room.

An old table, four long benches, and a bamboo tube on the table with several pairs of chopsticks stuck in it.

There wasn't much dust on the desktop, indicating it was used frequently.

A large vat stood in the corner, its mouth covered with a wooden board, and a gourd ladle rested on its rim.

Di Renjie's gaze shifted to the corner of the wall, where a hoe stood, its handle clean and free of mud.

On Tuesday, she stood at the door with tear stains on her face, her clothes open, and her hair a little messy, as if she had just come home after working all morning.

The location is not far from the courtyard gate.

Di Renjie withdrew his gaze, said nothing, but his brows twitched slightly.

Zhang Rui stood by the courtyard wall, but never went inside.

Di Renjie walked around the room, looking around.

As Zhang Rui watched those familiar movements from afar, the scenes from his memory gradually surfaced.

He still had some recollection of the case; it seemed that Zhao's death was not a suicide, but rather something her husband had done.

In the TV series, Di Renjie made his first appearance here.

After some investigation, the case was solved without much effort.

After returning from working in the fields on Tuesday, the two had a fight. In a moment of impulse, he strangled Zhao to death and hung her on the roof beam to make it look like a suicide.

Zhang Rui lowered his head slightly, looking at his body, which was invisible to others, that allowed him to stand beside Di Renjie, talk to him, eat with him, and sleep on the low couch in his inner room.

It feels like I'm becoming a character in the story of Di Renjie.

And the story is about to begin.

"I'm getting old, and I get tired after standing for a while."

Di Renjie walked around the room and finally stopped in front of the table, where he sat down on a bench.

Di Chun, ever perceptive, handed over a bowl of water. Di Renjie took it, drank a sip, and then looked up at Zhou Er.

On Tuesday, she was still standing at the door, the tear stains on her face had dried, leaving only her red and swollen eyes.

"Tuesday."

"Grandpa."

"You're saying your wife hanged herself?"

"Yes...yes. I just came back from the fields, and as soon as I entered the door, I saw...I saw her hanging from the beam."

"So that's how it is." Di Renjie put down the bowl, and Di Chun took it. "Zhou Er, come with me. I'll teach you how to set up this case."

Tuesday paused for a moment, not quite understanding.

"First of all—" Di Renjie pointed to the corpse on the roof beam, "If I were you, after strangling her, I would give her a new set of clothes. Because the clothes she was wearing were freshly torn. This proves that she had been fighting with someone before she died."

Tuesday's expression changed instantly.

"Second—" Di Renjie's gaze fell on Zhou Er's neck, "If I were you, I would cover up the scratches on my neck."

"The torn clothes and the scratches on her neck make it easy to prove that you were the one who fought with her."

"Third—" Di Renjie pointed to the corner of the wall, "If I were you, I would throw that hoe at the door. You said you came back from the fields and found your wife hanging. Did you really have time to calmly walk into the house and then leave the hoe standing in the corner?"

Tuesday's lips moved, but no sound came out.

"fourth--"

Di Renjie stood up, walked to the body, and bent down to right the fallen stool.

"If I were you, I would never hang her this high." He pointed to the deceased's feet. "Look, her feet are quite a distance from the stool. If someone were to hang themselves, after kicking over the stool, their feet should be dangling near the stool, not this far away. She couldn't have reached that distance."

Di Renjie straightened up and looked at Zhou Er: "So, you strangled her to death and then hung her from the roof beam."

On Tuesday, his face turned deathly pale, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Grandpa...Grandpa...I...I..."

Di Renjie shouted, "How dare you, Tuesday! Now that things have come to this, what do you have to say?"

On Tuesday, he kept his head down, his shoulders trembling, and his voice was broken and intermittent.

"I...I came back from the fields...we had a fight...I acted impulsively..."

He couldn't continue, covered his face, and began to sob.

"A moment of impulsiveness has led to such a tragedy." Di Renjie sighed. "Come on."

"exist!"

"Take him down."

Two bailiffs stepped forward and set up Tuesday on either side.

On Tuesday, she didn't struggle and let them drag her out.

Di Renjie didn't speak, but just quietly watched his back.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Did he really do it?"

"Did you all hear what Lord Di said inside the room just now? The clothes, the scratches on the neck..."

"I heard you clearly, I heard you clearly. One by one, until Zhou Er couldn't even open his mouth."

"As expected of Lord Di, he recognized me at a glance."

Outside the courtyard, Zhang Rui stood by the earthen wall, listening to the sounds coming from inside.

The wind stopped, and the broken bamboo curtain stopped swaying.