Chapter 34: Fang Qian's Story Collection Cracked Version (Part )

In the main hall of the Governor's Mansion, Di Renjie held a cup of tea in his hand, his eyes deep, and seemed to be lost in a whirlpool of thought.

Suddenly, Di Chun knocked on the door and interrupted Di Renjie's thoughts: "Master, General Zhao wants to see you."

Di Renjie gently put the cold tea in his hand aside, came back to his senses, and said, "Please ask him to come in."

As soon as Zhao Ji entered the room, he said with a teasing smile: "I knew that the master had not rested yet."

Di Renjie didn't take it seriously and asked, "Chengyuan came to see me late at night, what's the matter?"

"Of course I came here for Zhen Fangqian today. Why do you have to ask when you already know the answer?" Zhao Ji went straight to the point and sat down on the chair next to him.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with Lord Fang?" Di Renjie was still pretending to be confused.

Sometimes, Di Pangpang clearly knows the truth, or has doubts in his heart, but he just keeps it to himself and doesn't say it. He always saves it up until the very end and then tells it all at once when facing the villain.

"Sir, there is no need to tell me all this. It has only been a few days since the fake governor was discovered, and the real governor has shown up. Don't you find it strange, sir?" Zhao Ji said with a smile.

"Haha, Chengyuan is still so direct." Di Renjie showed a doting smile on his face, "Yes, I do have some doubts about Fang Qian's appearance."

Zhao Ji volunteered after hearing this: "In that case, I'd like to express my opinion first, just to stimulate discussion."

Di Renjie's heart moved, and he nodded and said, "Okay, I also want to hear your opinion."

After getting Di Renjie's approval, Zhao Ji started with a violent statement:
"I think what Fang Qian said at the dinner table today were all pre-made stories, not facts."

Hearing these outrageous remarks, Di Renjie did not seem surprised, but rather more curious.

He knew that Zhao was not the kind of person who spoke without thinking, and that there must be a basis for what he said.

"Why do you think so?" Di Renjie asked.

Zhao Ji explained his views:

"When people recall events from three or four years ago, they are bound to be confused and leave out some things. They usually start by talking about the things that left the deepest impression on them, and then slowly add in the less important things. It is considered good if they can explain the events clearly."

"But what about this Lord Fang? He speaks eloquently and non-stop, and he explains things clearly without any pause."

"Is this the appearance of a man who has been imprisoned for three years? If he hadn't prepared the story in advance, how could he tell it so smoothly and fluently?"

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie shook his head and said, "That being said, this is just your speculation after all. It is not enough to prove that what Fang Qian said is false."

Zhao Ji immediately added evidence upon hearing this: "Of course there is evidence. Did you notice the scene when Fang Qian left the secret passage?"

Di Renjie recalled and shook his head, "At that time, I was pulled up by Jinghui. I was only paying attention to Jinghui and didn't notice Fang Qian. Could there be something wrong with him?"

"Yes, Yuan Fang and I helped him out of the secret passage, and we saw clearly that there was something wrong with Fang Qian's eyes." Zhao Ji suddenly changed the subject and mentioned something seemingly unrelated.

"What's wrong with the eyes? What's wrong with Fang Qian's eyes?" Di Renjie didn't quite understand what Zhao Ji meant.

Zhao Ji explained, "Think about it, sir. According to what Fang Qian said, he was arrested three years ago and locked up in the secret passage half a year after being arrested. That means he was locked up in the secret passage for at least two and a half years."

"There is no sunlight in the secret passage, and there is no light either. Fang Qian's eyes should not be able to adapt to the strong light."

"But after Fang Qian came out of the secret passage, there was not even a hint of something strange in his eyes. This proves that he lied."

Di Renjie's eyes sparkled when he heard this: "Yes, I heard that miners have to cover their eyes with black cloth before coming up from the mines, otherwise they may go blind. This must be the reason."

"Then why didn't you mention this matter at that time? If Lord Fang is innocent, wouldn't that harm him?" Di Renjie asked with some blame.

"I only thought of this afterwards." Zhao Ji scratched his head embarrassedly.

Zhao Ji really didn't lie to Di Renjie. This was indeed what he thought of when he was researching the negative materials about Fang Qian. Listening to Zhao Ji's explanation, Di Renjie smiled helplessly: "You, forget it, go on."

Encouraged by Di Renjie, Zhao Ji organized his thoughts and continued speaking.

"Fang Qian's statement that he was locked up in the backyard for half a year and then moved into the secret passage is probably a lie," Zhao Ji said again.

"Why do you think so?" Di Renjie asked.

"I asked the servants of the governor's mansion, and they told me that about a year ago, a large cart left the mansion at night with a sackcloth covering the roof, and mud would occasionally fall from the cart."

"Digging that secret passage that is more than a hundred steps long requires handling a lot of earth and rocks. These carts must be used to transport earth." Di Renjie understood it immediately.

"That's right." Zhao Ji agreed with Di Renjie's words.

"The servant also explained that the second hall was also built about a year ago. And the secret passage was built under the second hall for concealment."

"So the second hall must have been built first, and then the secret passage. From this, we can know that the secret passage was also built more than a year ago."

"If that's the case, then what Fang Qian said about being locked up in a secret passage two and a half years ago, if that's not a lie, then what is it?" Zhao Ji said.

After listening to Zhao Ji's words, Di Renjie thought for a moment, nodded, and then shook his head.

He concluded: "The two points you mentioned actually only prove one thing, that is, Fang Qian has not been in the secret path for the past three years."

Zhao Ji smiled upon hearing this and said, "Your Excellency is indeed very observant, but there are more suspicious points in Fang Qian's words than just these two."

"Oh? Are there any other suspicious points?" Di Renjie asked.

Speaking of the last point, Zhao Ji's face showed some contempt: "Fang Qian mentioned that he participated in the meeting of the King of Yue more than ten years ago and quietly slipped back to Youzhou. This is the most ridiculous."

"Local officials in our dynasty are all from other places. Fang Qian can be the governor of Youzhou, so he can't be from Youzhou. The term of office of a governor is no more than a few years at most. He said that he escaped back to Youzhou more than ten years ago. It's really ridiculous."

Di Renjie's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly: "This point agrees with me. I also think there is something wrong with Fang Qian mentioning this matter. He must have concealed some truth from that year."

"I am planning to order Di Chun to go to Chang'an tomorrow to retrieve Fang Qian's archive files to see if there is anything he can find."

Zhao Ji smiled slightly when he heard Di Renjie's words, and said in a mysterious way: "I think we can find out the truth without the archive files."

"Could it be that Chengyuan discovered something?" Di Renjie asked in surprise.

Zhao Ji nodded and said, "I have a bold guess."

"Tell me about it." Di Renjie said with interest.

Zhao Ji did not directly state the result, but beat around the bush first: "I wonder if you noticed that Fang Qian mentioned that it was the inner guards who arrested Liu Jin, which is very strange."

"The inner guards have always acted in secret. They are not like the Qianniu guards who have fixed uniforms. They often disguise themselves and act in plain clothes. How could Fang Qian tell that the one who arrested someone was the inner guards?"

Di Renjie thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps the inner guards have a bad reputation, and Fang Qian just subconsciously attributed the arrest to them."

Zhao Ji disagreed with Di Renjie's opinion: "How could this be possible? Fang Qian only needed to say that he saw Liu Jin being arrested. Why did he have to say that it was the inner guards who arrested him?"

"I don't think Fang Qian was just saying this casually. He really knew that Liu Jin was captured by the internal guards."

Di Renjie did not argue with Zhao Ji. He asked back: "Even if your judgment is correct, what does it prove?"

　I revised this chapter more than a dozen times, but I was never satisfied. I felt it was very abstract and only had half a chapter...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)