Chapter 10: The People Are Innocent
Zhao Ji was so busy having fun that he even ignored Li Er, the key figure.

Otherwise, according to Zhao Ji's character, he would not put Li Er at risk of poisoning. This is the reason why the saying "extreme joy leads to sorrow" applies to all.

After the four of them had been chatting and laughing, they were about to find a hotel to rest when they suddenly heard a voice coming from not far away: "Military officer, please, give this old man a sip of water!"

Zhao Ji and others turned around and saw the execution platform not far from the tea shed. A bunch of old, weak, women and children were tied to the execution platform. They were all innocent villagers who were the target of Fang Qian's anger.

The voice came from an old man in his sixties on the execution platform. The old man had been exposed to the sun for half a day and his lips were cracked.

"You want some water? Come on, come on, come on..." The officer guarding the execution platform walked up to the old man with a bowl of water and handed it to his mouth.

The old man's mouth moved closer to the bowl, and the officer moved the bowl back a little. The old man's head kept moving forward following the bowl, and the officer kept moving his head back with the bowl.

Just as the old man's mouth was about to touch the bowl, the officer poured the water onto the ground bit by bit, and the old man let out a desperate scream.

This officer actually treated the old man like a dog or a horse!
"You bunch of traitors, you still want to drink water?" The officer laughed viciously and slapped the old man in the face.

"Beast!" Zhao Ji was furious. He stood up suddenly, slammed his hand on the table, spilling the tea on the table, and was about to go to the execution platform.

Li Yuanfang wanted to hold Zhao Ji, but Zhao Ji waved him away. It was only after Di Renjie pulled him again that Zhao Ji was persuaded to leave.

"A little impatience will ruin a great plan!" Di Renjie was also filled with anger, but now they could not reveal their identities, so they had to endure it for the time being.

Zhao Ji stared at the officer's face, memorizing his features, and secretly vowed in his heart: "If I don't kill you, I will take your surname."

After this incident, the few people were no longer in the mood to drink tea. After paying the money, they quickly left the tea stall, but did not notice that Li Er had followed them quietly.

The four of them found an inn to stay in and rested in the guest room.

Zhao Ji was angry and sat aside with an expressionless face.

Di Renjie came over and patted Zhao Ji on the shoulder: "Okay, Chengyuan, that officer is indeed hateful. But don't get angry about it."

Li Yuanfang also spoke up: "Since I met Chengyuan, I have never seen him so angry."

Zhao was still angry and said fiercely, "Killing people is not the right thing to do! Why torture a group of old, weak, women and children like this? That officer is even more heartless, a beast among beasts."

Hu Jinghui looked at Zhao Ji from the side, also with a heavy expression, and nodded slowly.

Hu Jinghui himself didn't realize that today's scene made him feel a little uncomfortable.

He changed the subject: "Sir, I still don't understand why you came to Youzhou?"

Di Renjie smiled calmly: "Of course it's to investigate the murder of the envoys."

"But the delegation was robbed in Gannan Road. Youzhou and Gannan Road are thousands of miles apart, so they have nothing to do with each other." Li Yuanfang also asked in confusion.

"It's been too long since the delegation was killed. We won't find anything if we go to the scene now." Di Renjie shook his head.

"Then how did you determine that the enemy is in Youzhou?" Hu Jinghui asked again.

Di Renjie did not answer immediately. He looked at Zhao Ji, who was still keeping his head down and saying nothing, and chuckled, "Chengyuan, explain to Jinghui and Yuanfang why we came to Youzhou."

Di Renjie deliberately let Zhao Ji speak to break the heavy atmosphere.

Zhao Ji heard Di Renjie's words, collected himself, and raised his head and said, "My Lord said on the way that Liu Jin, the core figure in this case, was arrested in Youzhou. This means that Youzhou may be the power base of Liu Jin's organization. So he will most likely return to Youzhou after being rescued."

"Secondly, the fake Qianniu Guard we met at Lanqiao Post had a Youzhou accent, but he insisted that he was from Shandong. This was a bit of an attempt to cover up something, and he didn't need to tell this lie at all."

Li Yuanfang showed a look of sudden realization, but Hu Jinghui still looked unconvinced. It was unknown what he was thinking.

Zhao Ji saw it all and thought, "What's the point of questioning it? We have come all the way to Youzhou. Do you think we can just go back without doing anything?"

Hu Jinghui also knew that Di Renjie was determined to stay in Youzhou, so he changed his mind and tried to get information. He asked again, "What should we do next?"

Di Renjie smiled slightly, but before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door.

It turned out that the waiter was here.

The waiter came in with a basin of hot water and said, "My dear guests, you are tired from the journey. Wash your face and feet to relieve your fatigue."

"Waiter, I want to ask you something. What happened in the city? Why is the security so tight?" Di Renjie asked with a smile.

The waiter looked outside the door and whispered, "You may be from outside the city, so you may not know. Last night, the rioters from Daliushu Village broke through the city gate, entered the prison, and took away more than a dozen death row prisoners."

Di Renjie exchanged glances with Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang, and then asked, "When I entered the city just now, I saw many old men and women tied to the execution platform at the south gate. What's going on?"

"After rescuing the people, the rioters ran into the mountains and the government troops couldn't catch them. The governor was furious and arrested all the elderly and women in Daliushu Village who couldn't run. He posted a notice saying that if the rioters didn't surrender within three days, these elderly people and women would be killed." The waiter said with a look of reluctance on his face.

Zhao Ji snorted coldly and shook his head, looking as if he couldn't bear to watch.

Di Renjie slammed the table fiercely: "This is outrageous!"

The waiter sighed, "What a sin!" Then he quickly walked out of the room and closed the door.

Di Renjie snorted heavily: "The governor of Youzhou, a high-ranking official, does not know how to take care of the people on behalf of the emperor, but instead bullies the elderly and the weak and takes human lives lightly. No wonder the country is in turmoil and foreign invaders are invading!"

"Sir, we are here to investigate a serious case of the imperial court. I think we should put these small matters aside for now and deal with them after the case is solved." Hu Jinghui said.

After listening to what the waiter said, Hu Jinghui, although he was still unclear about the details, knew that it was Jin Mulan's doing, so he spoke up casually to help cover it up.

Di Renjie suddenly turned around, staring at Hu Jinghui with eyes as sharp as lightning: "A small matter? People's livelihood is the most important matter for the court. As the governor of Youzhou, how can I stand idly by when encountering such injustice?" Seeing that Di Renjie was furious, Hu Jinghui knew he had said the wrong thing and quickly apologized.

Di Renjie then explained to Hu Jinghui the principle that the ruler is the boat and the people are the water, and brought up Emperor Taizong Li Shimin. Hu Jinghui had no choice but to accept his teachings.

Zhao Ji pondered for a long time, and suddenly said to Di Renjie: "Sir, I think we should go directly to Youzhou Governor Fang Qian to rescue those elderly people and women at the South Gate first."

Zhao Jike remembered that in the original drama, these innocent people were killed by Fang Qian to silence them.

Di Renjie pursed his lips, frowned, and carefully considered Zhao Ji's suggestion.

After a long while, Di Renjie shook his head and said, "It's not a good idea to alert the enemy for now. Let's go to the nearby countryside tomorrow to have a look."

"Well, tonight, while the defense is relaxed, let's see if we can send some food and water to the villagers to relieve their stress."

"I promise you that I will rescue these people within two days." Di Renjie vowed.
-
Zhao Ji, Di Renjie and others bought some food and water, and after nightfall, they prepared to visit the people on the execution platform.

Di Renjie didn't know martial arts, had a handicapped body, and was too conspicuous to be noticed, so he stayed in the inn.

Di Renjie wanted Hu Jinghui to experience the close relationship between the military and the people, so he ordered him to act together with Zhao Ji, while Li Yuanfang stayed behind to be responsible for Di Renjie's safety.

Hu Jinghui had a stiff expression and was somewhat reluctant before leaving, but he couldn't disobey Di Renjie's words, so he had to obey.

The two men arrived at the execution platform at night, but they didn't see any soldiers.

The Youzhou governor Fang Qian was indeed a coward who made Youzhou's military and political affairs a mess.

In the middle of the night, as the city gate was breached once, Fang Qian issued a strict order to keep a close eye on the prisoners, but the soldiers still did not learn their lesson and no one was willing to stay up all night to guard the execution platform.

"I prepared some knockout drugs, but they're useless now." Zhao Ji said.

"It's a good thing that we can't use it. Let's move quickly and go back early."

Hu Jinghui was a little impatient and walked quickly towards the execution platform, and Zhao Ji followed him.

Someone on the execution platform was groaning: "Ouch... Ouch..."

Hu Jinghui arrived and for some reason stood still.

Zhao was at a loss, so he stepped forward and had an idea: "Listen, villagers of Daliushu, we are guards under the command of the land god. The land god took pity on you and ordered us to bring you some food."

After hearing what Zhao Ji said, some people started to cry out: "Oh, God of Land, please save us... We are innocent..."

The people around also joined in the wailing, and the wailing became louder.

Zhao Ji hurriedly said, "The God of Land said that someone will come to rescue you in two days. Don't cry, don't cry. If you disturb the guards, the God of Land can't do anything!"

When the people heard this, they stopped crying.

Zhao Ji fed food and water to everyone one by one, and he looked back at Hu Jinghui who was standing still.

"General Hu, please help as well."

Hu Jinghui sighed. Although he felt helpless, he still stepped forward to help. The two of them spent some time feeding everyone with drinking water and dry food.

"You should go to bed early and conserve your energy. Don't tell anyone what happened tonight!" Zhao Ji warned the villagers.

"Thank you, God of Land, for saving our lives. Thank you, God of Land... Woohoo..." The villagers were all grateful and shed tears, vowing to burn incense and offer tributes.

Zhao Ji comforted the villagers again. Hu Jinghui stood aside, watching Zhao Ji and the villagers as if they were very close, and remained silent.

After a long journey, it was already the middle of the night when we returned. Dark clouds covered the moon, there was no one on the street, a cold wind blew, and everything was dark and silent.

Thinking about the people's grateful look in the end, Zhao Ji couldn't help but sigh: "General Hu, I remember you also came from a poor family, how could you say such words in broad daylight?"

Zhao was clearly using excuses to provoke Hu Jinghui and made him speechless.

Hu Jinghui walked with heavy steps and looked slightly depressed, as if Zhao Ji had reminded him of the past.

He recalled the scene of his clansmen being killed by Wu Zetian, the scene of being exiled to Lingnan, the scene of his relatives dying one by one, and his own experience of wandering as a teenager...

The miserable state of the old man during the day and the scene of the villagers crying just now flashed through his mind.

His hatred for Wu Zetian and his good intentions were intertwined in his mind, and he seemed to be trapped in a hell of suffering and hatred.

After a long while, Hu Jinghui slowly replied, "I'm just afraid... afraid of delaying the important affairs of your majesty... the court."

Hu Jinghui's voice was much weaker, no longer as strong and powerful as usual, and the word "Your Majesty" was difficult for him to say.

Zhao Ji noticed Hu Jinghui's emotional fluctuations and knew that he still had a conscience, so he said no more and quickened his pace.

The journey passed smoothly and the two soon returned to the inn, just in time to see a black shadow flying out of Di Renjie's room.

Zhao Ji woke up from his dream and slapped his head: "Oh, how could I forget about him!"

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(End of this chapter)