Chapter 3 Yuan Fang Appears (Part )

The lights in the room flickered, and Di Renjie came to his senses, temporarily putting his doubts aside.

He said to Zhao Ji: "After the princess was assassinated, the Ministry of Personnel received a letter from Gannan Road that the Turkic envoys were robbed in the Gobi Desert of Gannan Road. The envoys had 46 people and the Gannan Road guards had 120 people, all of whom were killed. Only the guard captain, the former Gannan Road guerrilla general Li Yuanfang, disappeared."

Seeing Di Renjie talking about Li Yuanfang, Zhao Ji's heart was a little shaken for a moment: "That's right, the court believes that Li Yuanfang is a traitor. It was he who colluded with the criminals to rob and kill the envoys, and then escaped. Now a warrant has been issued for his arrest, and the whole country is wanted."

Di Renjie held up a document on the table and narrowed his eyes. "I just received an urgent document. It said that Li Yuanfang appeared in Lingzhou and killed the constable in the inn. The court has increased the reward again to capture this Li Yuanfang. Chengyuan, what do you think?"

Zhao knew that Li Yuanfang was wronged.

But to reveal this information to Di Renjie, one needs to put some thought into it and do it in a reasonable way.

After a moment's silence, Zhao Ji said, "Sir, something is fishy. Since all the Turkic envoys have been killed, and Li Yuanfang has left, who can find him? How could he suddenly show up in Lingzhou?"

"You hit the nail on the head. Li Yuanfang robbed and killed the envoys and is wanted nationwide. According to common sense, it is impossible for him to show up rashly." Zhao Ji said what he was thinking. Di Renjie became a little excited and stood up.

Zhao Ji stood up with Di Renjie: "Even if he had a reason to go to Lingzhou, why would he stay in an inn? He is simply seeking death."

When catching fugitives, they usually start by checking suspicious people from other places. Places with a large number of people, such as inns and pubs, are the places that the yamen runners pay special attention to.

A wanted criminal would not normally risk staying in these places.

"This may be a rough truth, but it is true. This is indeed seeking death. But a normal person would not seek death." Di Renjie said.

Di Renjie frowned and paced slowly, saying as he walked: "You are right, he must have a reason to go to Lingzhou. So, what is this reason?"

Zhao Ji walked up to Di Renjie and decided to give Di Renjie some guidance.

"Sir, I have some thoughts, but I don't know whether I should speak them out or not."

"It doesn't matter, just speak up."

Zhao Ji said: "I think it seems a bit arbitrary for the court to determine that Li Yuanfang is a traitor."

"Go on!" Di Renjie blinked and looked at Zhao Ji, somewhat excited.

Encouraged by Di Renjie, Zhao began to speak eloquently.

"If I were a bad guy, I would find a scapegoat to replace Li Yuanfang and create the illusion that Li Yuanfang is dead. The court would naturally think that Li Yuanfang was killed along with the envoys and would not issue a warrant for his arrest."

"Or after robbing and killing the envoys, they took away a few bodies and destroyed them. If several people were missing at the same time, it would not directly expose Li Yuanfang's identity as a traitor."

"Why did you leave Li Yuanfang alive? Isn't that selling him out?"

When Di Renjie heard this, he thought to himself: Perhaps the mission of robbing and killing the envoys has been completed, and Li Yuanfang's identity as a traitor no longer needs to be kept secret.

But Di Renjie denied this speculation because it was impossible to explain why Li Yuanfang appeared in Lingzhou.

Zhao didn't know what Di Renjie was thinking, so he continued to express his own opinion: "To put it another way, even if all the envoys were killed and Li Yuanfang disappeared, there is no evidence to prove that he was the traitor."

"Couldn't it be that Li Yuanfang was a skilled martial artist who managed to break through the encirclement on his own? Why do you think he's a traitor?"

This made Di Renjie laugh: "Although it's a bit far-fetched, it's true. Without evidence, it's hard to draw a conclusion. However, we can make an assumption."

"Let's assume that Li Yuanfang is a traitor. The criminals' behavior is very unreasonable, and it really seems like they betrayed Li Yuanfang. He appeared in Lingzhou, and he might have been forced by the criminals to show up."

"So, let's assume that Li Yuanfang is not a traitor. What would he do?" Di Renjie asked.

"Of course he had to go to the government and report the news that the delegation had been robbed. And he was probably injured in the battle and needed medicine to treat it. This explains why he had to go to Lingzhou City." Zhao Ji said. "Hahahaha... Chengyuan, your analysis makes sense. I have seen many young talents, but there are very few who are as clear-headed and clear-minded as you." Di Renjie clapped his hands and laughed.

He admired this young man more and more.

He was handsome and made a good first impression. He took good care of him along the way and was also very wise. Di Renjie could not help but want to help him.

Zhao Ji said modestly: "Your Excellency is too kind. I am just guessing. I actually have no evidence."

"Yes, there is no evidence for anything. But at least one thing is certain, this Li Yuanfang is just a minor character in the diplomatic mission case, and is definitely not the main culprit as stated in the arrest warrant."

Di Renjie thought to himself that if he could meet Li Yuanfang, all these doubts would be easily resolved.

I really want to meet this Li Yuanfang. Where is he?
It was just a coincidence that the heavens fulfilled the wish. An unexpected guest came to the posthouse. The Qianniu guards arranged by Zhao Ji were ignored by this person. It was none other than Li Yuanfang!
Li Yuanfang fought hard to escape from Shihechuan, and was chased all the way. He had to go to Lingzhou to heal his wounds, but found that the streets were full of wanted posters for himself, and he had somehow become a traitor in the raid on the delegation.

He made up his mind to wait until his injuries were slightly relieved and the news died down before he would explain his grievances to his superiors in the Gannan Road army.

Unexpectedly, the constables had quietly surrounded the inn where he was staying.

Fortunately, a mysterious person saved him and told him that if he wanted to survive, he had to find Di Renjie.

Li Yuanfang was left with nowhere else to go and had to follow the guidance of a mysterious figure and come to this inn.

He avoided the alert Qianniu guards and found the room where Di Renjie and Zhao Ji were.

Li Yuanfang secretly observed inside the window: two people were talking in the room, and the fat old man might be Di Renjie.

But the other young man seemed difficult to deal with. He sensed danger in this young man. He was a master.

Zhao Ji and Di Renjie were still discussing the case in the room, when suddenly Zhao Ji's ears moved and he noticed something.

"He's a master, Li Yuanfang is here, today!" Zhao Ji cheered inwardly.

However, he remained calm on the surface, turned his back and signaled to Di Renjie with his mouth that an outsider was coming.

When Di Renjie saw Zhao Ji's lip shape, he was a little surprised, but he still kept a smile on his face.

He deliberately said loudly: "Chengyuan, it's getting late. We have to travel tomorrow, you should go back and rest first."

So Zhao Ji left, and Di Renjie was the only one left in the room.

With a soft "pop" sound, the lights went out and the room was suddenly dark.

Di Renjie looked around. The doors and windows were closed. The moonlight was quietly pouring in through the window. Everything was so quiet and peaceful.

Di Renjie walked to the door and stretched out his hands to open it. There was another "pop" sound behind him. Di Renjie turned around and found that the lantern on the table had lit up by itself.

Li Yuanfang was already sitting at the table, looking at Di Renjie quietly. He had planned to test Di Renjie's ability first.

What surprised him was that Di Renjie was not surprised at all. He still smiled and pointed behind him.

Li Yuanfang realized something was wrong and tried to stand up in a hurry, but Zhao Ji was one step faster and put the sword on Li Yuanfang's neck.

Li Yuanfang took a deep breath and slowly sat down again.

"This is the first time I've met a master like you who can lurk behind me silently." Li Yuanfang's eyes were full of surprise.

(End of this chapter)