Chapter 11 Big Willow Village
The black shadow that flew out was Li Er. He overheard the identities of Di Renjie and his companions during the day and planned to come for help at night.

However, when Li Er was sneaking into Di Renjie's room, he was discovered by Li Yuanfang and the two fought. If Di Renjie had not ordered Li Yuanfang to spare Li Er's life, Li Er would have been killed by now.

Zhao Ji and Hu Jinghui rushed back and saw Li Er running away. They didn't bother to chase him and went into the room to check on Di Renjie's safety.

"Sir, what's going on?" Zhao Ji asked.

Li Yuanfang explained: "He was a killer. If the adults hadn't told me to stop, he would have been dead."

Di Renjie shook his head and did not agree with Li Yuanfang's statement.

"I don't think so. Our trip this time is kept absolutely secret and no one knows about it."

"Besides, my identity is now confirmed. If I send assassins to assassinate you, it will be tantamount to telling the court that the thieves who killed the Turkic envoys are in Youzhou. The enemy should not be so stupid."

"Then why did he sneak into the room in the middle of the night?" Li Yuanfang was a little puzzled.

Di Renjie smiled and asked Li Yuanfang, "Why did you sneak into Lanqiao Inn in the middle of the night?"

"Your Excellency means that this person also has something to say? And it is not convenient for him to show up during the day?" Zhao Ji asked knowingly.

Di Renjie was not sure why Li Er sneaked into the inn: "It's hard to say. I want to know how he knew we were in Youzhou?"

His eyes swept over Hu Jinghui, Li Yuanfang and Zhao Ji secretly. The seeds of doubt had been planted, waiting to take root and sprout.
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The next morning, the sky was overcast, there was a cool breeze and it looked like it was going to rain.

Zhao Ji, Di Renjie and three others hired a donkey cart, bought a lot of food, and trekked all the way to Daliushu Village.

Hu Jinghui told Di Renjie about Zhao Ji's tricks last night to entertain him. Although he had a grim face at the time, he made the story vivid and interesting, making Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang smile.

Hu Jinghui was used to serving the emperor, and was very good at flattering and considerate. He was good at observing people's expressions, making people laugh, willing to serve, and the first to stand up when there was danger. It was no wonder that Di Renjie was unwilling to accept that he was a traitor.

This trip was clearly to investigate the sufferings of the people, but Hu Jinghui made it look like a picnic. Zhao Ji was unhappy and expressionless. He watched his performance without saying a word.

"Chengyuan, I didn't expect you to have this skill. How did you come up with it?" Li Yuanfang smiled and patted Zhao Ji's shoulder, but Zhao Ji still had a cold face.

Li Yuanfang noticed something was wrong and asked, "Why do you look unhappy?"

Zhao Ji looked up at the sky and said, "It's going to rain. Those old men and women on the execution platform have been punished for their crimes."

"Yes, we have to hurry and not waste time." Di Renjie also said worriedly.

After Zhao Ji's intervention, the mood of several people instantly dropped and they quickened their pace towards the big willow tree.

Hu Jinghui fell behind, looked coldly at Zhao Ji's back, and chased after him.
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After half a day's trek, the group arrived at Daliushu Village at noon.

The huge village was in a state of desolation. No chickens crowing or dogs barking could be heard. The silence was so eerie that it was a little scary.

There was not a single person in the entire village. Every door was open and all the valuable things had been looted.

The four of them didn't know where to go, and they wandered around the village like headless flies.

Suddenly, Zhao Ji saw a figure flash by and pointed: "Sir, there is someone over there!"

Several people hurriedly chased after him and came to a thatched house.

The door was wide open. Di Renjie reached out and knocked, but there was no answer.

Di Renjie walked slowly into the house. The thatched house had two entrances, the stove outside and the bedroom inside, separated only by a tattered curtain.

Di Renjie called out again: "Is anyone there?"

Still no answer.

Zhao Ji looked around, walked to the stove, and reached out to pick up the iron pot. With a "wow" sound, a woman's voice came from the stove.

A middle-aged woman with a face covered in black dust and unkempt hair curled up in front of the stove and cried, "General, spare me! Spare me! There are only me and my children left in my family, and no one is rebelling!"

Di Renjie came over and helped her up, and said in a gentle voice, "Don't be afraid, we are not military commanders."

Seeing that Di Renjie had a kind face and did not seem like a bad person, the woman slowly calmed down, and Zhao Ji helped her out of the stove.

The woman called out, and a little girl came out from nowhere and threw herself into her mother's arms.

"Old man, who are you and why are you here?" The woman asked after taking a breath. Di Renjie paused, looked at Zhao Ji, and said with a smile: "I am a local resident. They are my strong men. I heard that you were suffering, so I came to bring you food."

"Really?" The woman was overjoyed and pulled the child to kowtow to Di Renjie.

Di Renjie quickly helped the child up, leaned over to touch the child's face, and asked, "Are you hungry?"

The child nodded.

"Go to the village and call everyone out to have dinner here." Di Renjie said to the woman with a smile.

"Oh! I'll go right away." The woman ran out.

Di Renjie held the child's shoulders and watched the woman leave. He turned to Zhao Ji and the other two and said, "Jinghui, go get some firewood. Yuanfang, pull the cart over. Chengyuan, light a fire and cook."

Zhao Ji and the other two split up and brought over the donkey cart loaded with food, preparing to make a fire and cook, but Hu Jinghui was a little slow in finding firewood.

The surviving woman gathered the scattered villagers to Di Renjie, there were more than a dozen people, young and old.

Some of them who could cook helped prepare lunch. Soon the meal was ready and everyone gathered together to eat.

The leader of the villagers was named Zhang Laosi. Di Renjie found out the truth about the villagers' riot and prison break from him:
The villagers' compensation money was swallowed up and their land was occupied, so they complained to the government. However, the governor Fang Qian not only ignored the complaint, but sentenced the villagers to death and threw them into jail.

The young people in the village rebelled and ran away, so the soldiers came to arrest the elderly and children and looted the village.

Di Renjie, Zhao Ji and others were all filled with righteous indignation and fury after hearing this, and promised to stand up for the villagers.

But the weather was not good. There was a loud thunder outside the house and it started to rain.

Zhao Ji thought of the villagers on the execution platform again. He frowned and said, "Sir, it's raining. What should we do with the elders on the execution platform? They are old and weak. I'm afraid they can't survive this heavy rain."

In late autumn, every rain brings a chill. The execution platform was filled with the elderly, the weak, women and children. After two days of torture and another night of heavy rain, there was no way they could survive.

Di Renjie was also very worried when he heard this: "I wanted to rush back tonight and find a way to rescue them tomorrow, but I didn't expect it to rain heavily, which made it difficult to deal with."

Everyone came on foot, and the hired cart did have a donkey, but it was not enough for four people to go back and forth.

Di Renjie hesitated for a moment and said, "It seems that we have no choice but to leave now and rush back in the rain."

Hu Jinghui was horrified when he heard this, and hurriedly tried to dissuade him: "Sir, this won't do. You are only thinking about the villagers, but you are old too. How can you travel in the rain?"

Li Yuanfang also chimed in: "Yes, sir, now the villagers have to rely on themselves to get through this. If you fall ill, won't the villagers have even less hope?"

"Fang Qian has ordered that the villagers must be executed within three days. How can I just stand by and watch them die?" Di Renjie said with a frown.

Di Renjie had made up his mind. Given his attitude towards the people, it was impossible for him to just watch them die.

"Sir, there is no need to trouble you. I am fast and can go back alone. Just give me the imperial edict and I will find a way." Zhao Ji bowed.

Di Renjie stood still and looked at Zhao Ji for a long time: "Okay, human life is at stake. Chengyuan, I believe you. If necessary, even if it is a prison break, save the people first."

He took the imperial edict from Hu Jinghui, walked up to Zhao Ji and asked, "Do you want Yuan Fang to go with you?"

Zhao Ji declined, "No need, I am enough. Yuan Fang and General Hu should stay to protect your safety!"

Di Renjie nodded, patted Zhao Ji on the shoulder and said, "It's hard to travel on rainy days, so be careful on the road."

Zhao Ji agreed: "Don't worry, sir, I will definitely save the people!"

After saying this, he wrapped the imperial edict in his clothes and left without looking back.

Hu Jinghui watched Zhao Ji walk away, his eyes flashing with ferocity. When he went out to collect firewood, he found Li Er who had been following them.

After Zhao left, Hu Jinghui was ready to take action at night.

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(End of this chapter)