Chapter 14 Aftermath
It was midnight when Hu Jinghui returned to Daliushu Village.

It was raining heavily, and even though Hu Jinghui was wearing a straw raincoat, his clothes were still soaked with rain.

He took off his wet viper green robe and muddy boots, changed into regular clothes, hid the wet clothes, and returned to Di Renjie's resting place.

Di Renjie was still unconscious in the inner room, so Hu Jinghui tiptoed in, lay down next to Li Yuanfang and pretended to fall asleep.

After a while, there was a loud thunder, and Li Yuanfang and Di Renjie in the inner room woke up almost at the same time.

Li Yuanfang shook his head and got up to go to the bathroom.

Li Yuanfang was strong and healthy and didn't notice anything unusual, but Di Renjie, who was awakened at the same time, felt a splitting headache.

Di Renjie reached out to touch the tea bowl to drink some water, but the bowl was empty. Another thunderbolt flashed, illuminating the tea bowl in his hand, which actually had some dregs on it.

Di Renjie looked at it carefully for a long time and found that it was actually a knockout drug.

He put down the bowl, put on his clothes and put on his shoes.

Suddenly, there was a slight "rustling" sound from the opposite side. Di Renjie looked closely and saw a viper coiled on the opposite side, and quickly jumped out of the door.

Di Renjie followed him to the outer room, where Hu Jinghui was lying on the big kang, soundly asleep, but Li Yuanfang was nowhere to be seen.

Another flash of lightning flashed across the room, illuminating the floor. Di Renjie saw some signs of wetness on the floor, extending all the way to the kang where Hu Jinghui was "sleeping".

Di Renjie was carefully observing every detail of the room, but Li Yuanfang suddenly appeared behind him silently, making him take a step back in surprise.

"Sir, are you looking for me?" Li Yuanfang asked.

Di Renjie regained his composure and asked calmly, "You're still going out so late?"

"I went there because I had to go to the bathroom." Li Yuanfang explained.

Di Renjie looked down at the more obvious water stain under Li Yuanfang's feet, as if thinking about something.

After a moment, Di Renjie said, "Tomorrow Jinghui and I will return to Youzhou to see what's going on in Chengyuan. Yuanfang, you stay and take care of the folks in Daliushu Village. Don't let anyone hurt them."

Li Yuanfang naturally had no objection and agreed. He didn't know that Di Renjie's real purpose was to test him and Hu Jinghui separately.
-
Zhao Ji took advantage of the heavy rain to rescue the people, and waited in the rain for a long time. When no so-called pursuers appeared, he went straight to meet Qiao Tai.

When he arrived at the Changshi Mansion, Zhao Ji did not knock on the door and go in directly. Instead, he walked around the mansion and found no signs of abnormality.

Then he climbed over the wall, flew directly into the governor's mansion using his lightness skills, and went straight to the main hall.

In the main hall, Qiao Tai was walking back and forth with his hands behind his back, shaking his head, stamping his feet, and sighing.

When he turned around, he found Zhao Ji already sitting on the chair behind him.

Seeing Zhao Ji suddenly appear, Qiao Tai was not surprised and hurried forward to ask: "General Zhao, what's the situation?"

Zhao Ji was not in a hurry. He shook off the rain on his body, picked up a cup of hot tea, and took a sip: "Ah~"

"Oh, my General Zhao, please say something." Qiao Tai pulled Zhao Ji and was about to cry in anxiety.

"Don't worry, it's raining too hard and it's night, no one will find out." Zhao Ji said while drinking.

"I've also looked around your mansion and there's nothing suspicious. There shouldn't be any problem."

"I hope everything is OK." Qiao Tai breathed a sigh of relief, but still had a distressed expression on his face.

"How are the civilians and soldiers?" Zhao Ji asked, putting down his teacup.

"As for the people, I ordered people to cook ginger soup and hot water, and everything is arranged properly. The soldiers are locked up in the woodshed and are under strict guard." Qiao Tai responded weakly.

Zhao Ji nodded. He was very satisfied with Qiao Tai's response.

"Master Qiao, from now on, no one in your house is allowed to enter or leave. Keep the news secret and wait for Lord Di to return to Youzhou." Zhao Ji added. "I have already closed the door to visitors."

Qiao Tai was not stupid. He blocked the news as soon as he got home. Only a few confidants in the entire Qiao family knew what happened tonight.

"General Zhao, such a big thing cannot be concealed. When will Lord Di arrive in Youzhou?" Qiao Tai asked anxiously.

"Lord Di is already in Youzhou, he's just on a private visit to the countryside. He will arrive in the city within the next two days. Even if Lord Di can't come, the imperial guards should be here. I guarantee you'll be fine." Zhao Ji comforted him.

Qiao Tai nodded and asked again: "General Zhao, I don't understand. You could just go to Lord Fang and ask him to release the people. Why do you have to look for me?"

Zhao Ji heard a hint of complaint in Qiao Tai's words and couldn't help laughing. He simply stopped trying to hide it and directly explained Di Renjie's intention to him.

"The reason we didn't save people through Fang Qian is, firstly, to prevent him from killing people to silence them. Secondly, Lord Di is very dissatisfied with Fang Qian and wants to find evidence of his crimes. He can't be allowed to find out." Zhao Ji said.

Qiao Tai felt sympathetic when he heard this: "To be honest, this governor is used to being domineering. The army is full of his lackeys. I'm afraid he can really kill people to silence them. Now I just hope that Lord Di will come soon."
-
The next morning, the clouds disappeared and the sky was clear.

Di Renjie and Hu Jinghui walked slowly on the muddy path, taking one step forward and one step back, and unknowingly walked into Xiaolianzi Mountain.

Hu Jinghui looked up at the sun and stopped walking: "Sir, this is not right. We are going the wrong way. This is the way into the mountains, not the way back to Youzhou."

"We're not in the wrong place. I've changed my mind. We've finally gotten out, let's walk around a little more." Di Renjie said meaningfully.

"But what about Chengyuan? The imperial guards will be here soon, and there might be trouble," Hu Jinghui said worriedly.

Di Renjie's sudden action made Hu Jinghui confused and panicked.

"Don't worry. Chengyuan is extremely intelligent and skilled in martial arts. There shouldn't be any problem leaving Youzhou to him." Di Renjie said.

In fact, Di Renjie was also worried about Zhao Ji, but judging from his performance at Lanqiao Station, Zhao Ji was capable of taking on the task.

Besides, it’s too late to rush back to Youzhou now, so it’s better to stay in the countryside and see if there are more clues.

Hu Jinghui looked at Di Renjie with a frown, he didn't understand why Di Renjie trusted Zhao Ji so much.

He was very conflicted inside. If he continued to let Di Renjie investigate, he would probably be able to find out his flaws.

Xiaolianzi Mountain is where Jin Mulan's lair is located. If Di Renjie accidentally enters it, his safety cannot be guaranteed.

From a personal perspective, Di Renjie took great care of him along the way, and Hu Jinghui still respected this honest old man who cared about the people.

Judging from the Jin Mulan plan, if something happened to Di Renjie, it would be equivalent to telling the court that there was a big problem in Youzhou.

Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang are not easy to deal with. Once they report back, the imperial court will certainly send troops to invade, and Jin Mulan's plan will be ruined.

However, Hu Jinghui could not stop Di Renjie from searching everywhere, so he had to take it one step at a time and act according to circumstances.

Walking forward, they arrived at a cemetery. There were hundreds of graves surrounded by white banners and paper money. There was no weeds growing on the graves, and they looked new.

Hu Jinghui looked around and said, "Sir, it looks like a mass grave."

Di Renjie shook his head: "I don't think so."

Di Renjie looked at the piles of new graves and felt strange. He muttered to himself: "Could it be that many people died at the same time? That shouldn't be the case."

Hu Jinghui asked: "What did you say?"

"Ah, no, I said it's almost noon, let's go to the village ahead to ask for water to drink and find out the situation." Di Renjie covered up.

The two of them went down the mountain and went to the village at the foot of the mountain.

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(End of this chapter)