Chapter 2 Night Talk
Before entering Di Renjie's room, Zhao Ji carefully considered every detail, including which information should be fully stated and which should be withheld. He could be said to have it all planned out.

In Zhao Ji's opinion, Di Renjie's questions were just reciting answers based on the plot and some of his personal experiences.

But he didn't expect that Di Renjie's strange question would really stump him.

Seeing Zhao Ji in a daze, Di Renjie smiled slightly and said slowly: "According to common sense, the members of the fake Turkic delegation should all be fake Turks. But from your description, these people are more like real Turks."

Zhao Ji looked at Di Renjie's mysterious smile, and a flash of lightning suddenly flashed through his mind. He somewhat understood Di Renjie's thoughts.

Zhao Ji's face showed excitement. He carefully recalled what he had seen and heard as a guard in the palace and at the banquet.

Zhao Ji analyzed, "It should be confirmed that they are Turks. Before I joined the Qianniu Guard, I served in Youzhou and participated in many wars against the Turks. I am familiar with the Turks and know a little bit of the Turkic language."

"If the fake envoys were not real Turks, but Han Chinese or other foreigners pretending to be Turks, they would definitely not be able to hide it from the officials of the Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites."

He had figured out the connection. This fake delegation must be Turks that Snake Spirit had found through its allies on the Turkic side. It must be a mixture of at least some Turks and some Han killers.

"If there was a dance when the envoys presented the pearl, it would be extraordinary. In addition, the behavior of these people is not something that ordinary people can do in disguise. There may even be some Turkic nobles." Zhao Ji continued to analyze.

"My lord, do you want to use this to illustrate that Turkic forces are involved in this case?" Zhao's true intentions were exposed, and he boldly expressed Di Renjie's thoughts.

Hearing these words, Di Renjie couldn't help but look at Zhao Ji with a new respect. He thought he would have to explain himself.

This captain of the guard is truly extraordinary. Although he is so young, he can think of this. I'm afraid his family background must be extraordinary.

"Yes, the boy is teachable. If the dozens of people in this fake delegation are all Turks, or even Turkish nobles, then it proves that the Turks themselves are inseparable from this conspiracy!" Di Renjie said with appreciation.

"In this case, regardless of whether this conspiracy was planned by the Turks themselves, at least both sides have their own responsibilities. Even if the case cannot be solved, our Great Zhou may not be in the wrong. If the Turks are sincere in negotiating peace, there is still room for easing the situation between the two countries." Di Renjie concluded.

"Your Excellency is truly a god!" Zhao Ji couldn't help but feel like Zeng Tai was possessed, but he meant it sincerely.

Di Renjie is Di Renjie. Even Zhao Ji, who has opened his third eye, subconsciously thinks that all this is caused by the snake spirit.

The only person related to the Turks, Jili Khan, is a victim, as if the Turks are just a background.

However, from the fake Turkic envoys that were so realistic, to Jili Khan being hunted down and exiled to Youzhou, to the Turkic foreign aid that Jin Mulan had been waiting for...

How could all this be achieved without the help of the Turkic hawkish forces?

In the case of the murder of the envoys, the Turks were not just a background figure, but were in an extremely critical position.

Di Renjie noticed this keenly and, at the political level, came up with a plan to deal with the worst-case scenario.

This is what distinguishes Di Renjie from other detectives. While he is a detective, he is also an outstanding politician.

"Haha. I only thought of this just in case. The most important thing now is to get to the bottom of the case. Please continue to talk about the case." Di Renjie responded with a kind smile.

Zhao Ji continued, "If the delegation had not revealed any flaws, the banquet would have been a great success for both the host and the guests."

"The only strange thing is that the delegation requested to return to Turkestan right after the dinner. It was very hasty."

"This point was also mentioned in the secret report from Luantai. The emperor and his ministers all found it strange and guessed that something had happened within the Turkic interior and they needed to return urgently. So they had no choice but to order Princess Yiyang to move immediately and return to the Turkic with the delegation the next day." Di Renjie nodded and added.

Zhao Ji replied, "That's right. As a result, Princess Yi Yang met with an accident on her way to the palace that night, and her guards and sedan bearers were killed together." He described the general situation at that time to Di Renjie - Zhao Ji had finished his night guard in the palace and should have rested during the day.

Helplessly, Hu Jinghui, the General of the Guards, urgently summoned his subordinates and said that the secret treasure of the palace was stolen. The emperor was furious and wanted to arrest the thief.

All the garrison troops in the capital, as well as the detectives and runners from various government offices, were mobilized to search house by house for any suspicious persons in the city.

Zhao Ji knew that this was a fake mission to raid the kiln. The criminals rescued Liu Jin, and Wu Zetian ordered a manhunt, but she just found an excuse of theft.

Unfortunately, the thief was not caught, but the bodies of Princess Yi Yang's guards were discovered.

Hu Jinghui immediately took Zhao Ji and other subordinates to the place where the body was found.

Dozens of bodies filled the courtyard, which was obviously not the first scene. Among them, there was only one woman whose face was difficult to recognize, and the rest were men.

The accompanying soldiers recognized that one of the bodies was Ge Bin, the captain of the Yiyang Princess's guard team. Hu Jinghui also found a jade bracelet bestowed by the emperor on the woman.

Princess Yi Yang’s ceremonial procession was not found at the crime scene, but was used by the fake envoys to sneak Liu Jin out of the city.

This confirmed her identity as Princess Yi Yang, and Hu Jinghui rushed to the palace to report to Wu Zetian.

After listening to Zhao Ji's story, Di Renjie thought for a moment and asked, "Do you think there is anything suspicious at the scene?"

"Yes. I noticed that most of the weapons of the Yulin Guards had no bloodstains, and some of them even had their swords not yet unsheathed. Except for a few who were shot to death by sharp arrows, the rest of the dozens of fully armed Yulin Guards were killed in one blow and had no time to resist." Zhao Ji seemed to be prepared for this.

After hearing this, Di Renjie frowned, shocked by the viciousness of the criminals.

"What a powerful killer! The villain's power is not to be underestimated."

"Your Excellency is right. These Yulin Guards are fully armored and are elite soldiers. Even hundreds of ordinary bandits cannot do anything to them. In the end, they were completely wiped out without even a decent resistance. It is really unbelievable." Zhao Ji said.

Di Renjie did not respond and fell into silence. He still had doubts in his heart.

There are dozens of guards. In order to kill these soldiers without alerting others, at least dozens of killers will be needed to work together.

But how did so many killers get into Chang'an City?

The move of Princess Yi Yang was a sudden event, and the news was probably known only to the emperor himself and a few prime ministers, and at most a few eunuchs.

As a result, the emperor's carriage was attacked before it even left Chang'an City. How could the criminals be so well-informed?
It seems that in addition to the Turks, forces within the Wu Zhou Dynasty were also involved in this major case.

If the envoy group, the "robbing of the imperial palace" and the murder of Princess Yi Yang, there should be an intrinsic connection between these events.

Di Renjie vaguely realized that this case was more complicated and difficult than all previous cases.

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(End of this chapter)