Chapter 313: Frank Confession (Continued)

The air seemed to suddenly freeze, and everyone's eyes were focused on Zhao Ji and Xiao Mei.

Zhao Ji looked at the scene in the room and almost couldn't help laughing.

Xiaomei looked at the face opposite her that looked exactly like her and laughed out loud.

Ruyan glanced at Xiaomei opposite her and decided not to pretend anymore. She tore off the human skin mask on her face, revealing her true face.

"Ruyan", who was lying on the ground without showing her face, stood up when she saw something was wrong. She was a maid in the Di mansion.

If Zhao Ji had not met Xiaomei in advance and seen Ruyan fall to the ground, Xiaomei and Li Yuanfang fighting with their lives in danger, he might have revealed his flaws in his haste.

However, since Zhao Ji had already decided to be honest with him, Di Renjie's plan seemed futile.

After a long silence, Di Renjie finally spoke: "What are you doing..."

Xiaomei smiled and replied, "I promised you that I would give you a reply today. I am not someone who likes to break my promises."

"I...you guys..." Xiaomei and Zhao were so decisive that Di Renjie was at a loss.

He didn't know what to say for a moment, his eyes were fixed on Zhao Ji, his emotions were complicated and difficult to express in words.

Li Yuanfang was standing aside, looking dazed. He shook his head slightly and muttered to himself, "I didn't expect it to be like this..."

Zhao Ji pursed his lips and said, "I didn't expect that the Lord would guess the truth so quickly. Let's go to a more suitable place to talk about it."

Di Renjie's eyes still stayed on Zhao Ji, and he finally nodded.
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Afterwards, the group walked into the study of the Di Mansion. Li Yuanfang walked at the end and closed the study door casually.

Inside the study, Zhao Ji and Di Renjie were already sitting opposite each other, and the atmosphere was a little subtle.

"To be honest, I still can't believe that you would be that prince..." There was an indescribable excitement and emotion in Di Renjie's voice.

At this time, Xiaomei silently took off the jade pendant from her neck and handed it to Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji took it casually, and then sighed: "I would rather not have this identity."

As he said this, he handed the jade pendant back to Di Renjie.

Di Renjie obviously would not treat this token as casually as Zhao Ji. He took the jade pendant solemnly and held it in his hand to examine it carefully.

"Keep...faith..." Di Renjie murmured the name engraved on the jade pendant.

Zhao Ji chuckled, leaned back, and crossed his legs: "I still like the name Zhao Ji. To be honest, this so-called son of King Yong has only brought me burdens."

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie seemed to be touched by some distant memory and sighed: "Prince Yong... the virtuous prince praised by the whole court! If he could have succeeded to the throne, everything would have been different..."

Zhao Ji curled his lips and said with a little sigh: "It is precisely because he is virtuous and popular among the ministers that he ended up like this..."

After hearing this, Di Renjie's face became gloomy and he seemed to want to say something but stopped, and in the end he could only let out a heavy sigh.

"Yes! But you have suffered a lot. As soon as you were born, you were trapped in the tiger's den and wolf's lair of snake spirits. I'm afraid you must have suffered a lot." Di Renjie returned the jade pendant to Zhao Ji with a hint of pity in his tone.

Zhao Ji shook his head and smiled calmly: "You can't say that. I have been living a life of luxury since I was a child. Apart from the restrictions on my personal freedom, I haven't suffered any hardship. I am still much luckier than the people at the bottom."

Di Renjie nodded slowly, as if he was pleased with Zhao Ji's optimism and unrestrained attitude.

Seeing that Di Renjie was immersed in the past and felt quite sad, Zhao Ji changed the subject: "Okay, sir, let's put these old memories aside for now. I am curious, how did you find out my identity in advance?"

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie laughed: "Actually, I'm not sure either, so I asked Ruyan and Yuanfang to act out that scene, but it didn't come in handy."

Xiaomei seemed to be thinking: "The problem is probably with us sisters, right?" Di Renjie shook his head: "Not entirely."

Zhao Ji held his chin with one hand, looking very interested.

Once he analyzed the case, Di Renjie became confident and calm again: "After the assassination at Hanguang Temple, I learned about the existence of this mysterious prince."

"According to Jingkong, after Yuan Tiangang was arrested, you fled the Yuan Mansion alone and separated from the Snake Spirit from then on. We no longer have any contact with each other."

Zhao Ji nodded and sighed, "Yes, when I saw the inner guards surrounding Yuan's residence and Xiao Qingfang risked his life to report the incident, I knew that the opportunity was too good to miss! So I decided to leave."

Di Renjie did not comment and continued, "Later, Jingkong suddenly turned against us, but died inexplicably in Yuan's mansion. This made me feel something unusual."

"Looking back, it was you who, in order to keep your background secret, ordered Jingkong to go to Yuan's mansion to make contact, and then informed Xiaofeng to use the Yuan's mansion's mechanism to kill him, right?"

Zhao Ji grinned, a little embarrassed: "That's right, in Hanguang Temple, Jingkong discovered my identity, asked to see me, and threatened me to save him!"

"But he was greedy and wanted to continue to blackmail me, so I came up with this idea. I let Xiaofeng kill him and then help Xiaofeng escape."

Di Renjie sighed: "At that time, Xiao Feng escaped from the siege of the Qianniuwei army. It would have been difficult to do so without the help of an insider."

"At that time, I felt that there was a conspiracy among the Qianniu Guards, but I thought it was the Snake Spirit who wanted to silence him, and I didn't think about Prince Yong."

"As for Jingkong meeting you alone, I was having a private conversation with the emperor in the palace. Yuan Fang didn't realize that this was a key piece of information until I asked about it today..."

When Li Yuanfang heard Di Renjie say this, he smiled embarrassedly.

Di Renjie continued, "But the experience at Yuan Mansion helped me discover the identities of Xiaomei and her sister, so it wasn't all in vain. Later, the fake viper incident happened."

"Yuan Fang mentioned that this fake viper had extremely high martial arts skills and was very fast. He felt very familiar with it and it had been bothering him for a long time."

"The Viper's costume has a hat and a large robe. Once it's on, it's impossible to tell his height or body shape. It's perfect for concealing his identity."

"Yuan Fang also said that the killer didn't say a word, so I immediately thought that this was an acquaintance. He couldn't speak because Yuan Fang would recognize him as soon as he opened his mouth."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji smiled bitterly and agreed with this.

Di Renjie shook his head and continued, "Since the assassin is wearing Viper's clothes, it means he knows Hu Jinghui. He doesn't speak, which means Yuan Fang knows him. He is also very skilled in martial arts. There are not many people like him."

"But at this time, I am suspicious of Kui Wenzhong. Because Kui Wenzhong meets all the above conditions, and I have also seen through his trick of false surrender, so I will not suspect others!"

"This is what I have always said is the biggest taboo in handling cases: preconceived ideas. This is exactly what made me ignore you!"

Zhao Ji smiled slightly: "It is precisely because I calculated this that I dared to take the risk of showing up."

Li Yuanfang took over the conversation at this time: "Until today, when the adults asked about this matter again, I denied this possibility because you are even faster than Kui Wenzhong! But, I never thought that the person was you..."

Di Renjie also sighed: "Yes, Yuan Fang described to me the situation of the battle that day. The coffin reminded me of the scene when you and Yuan Fang joined forces to deal with Hu Jinghui, so I vaguely thought of you."

"When Ruyan heard this, she started talking about the intimacy between you and Xiaomei. Adding to that the scene when you flew to save Xiaomei last night, it made me even more suspicious."

Zhao Ji and Xiaomei smiled at each other when they heard this.

Di Renjie continued, "You know me well. Once you become suspicious, you will get to the bottom of things. I remembered that you once encountered Xiaomei's assassination in Pingzhou. I guess that was when you met again, right?"

Xiaomei smiled and replied, "About the same, a little earlier than that."

Di Renjie nodded. "Another time, you also met a female killer in Hanguang Temple. That person was Xiaofeng! She had unclear connections with Xiaomei and her sister many times. Plus, your martial arts and age all meet the requirements. Even if it's not hard for me to believe, I have to believe it."

(End of this chapter)