Chapter 67 Prepare for a rainy day
Zhao Ji stared at Di Renjie, waiting for him to speak.

However, in this tense silence, it was the outspoken Li Yuanfang who spoke first.

He raised a key question: "Why did Princess Yiyang come out of the maid's room?"

Di Renjie tried to calm down and give a reasonable explanation: "Maybe... maybe the maid moved out early, and then the princess was locked up. This is just a coincidence."

Zhao Ji sighed, a little disappointed: "Sir, don't deceive yourself. We broke into the rebels' lair, the bandit leader Jin Mulan faked her death and escaped, and her maid was poisoned and used as a substitute."

"Just at this time, Princess Yi Yang, who had disappeared for a month, suddenly resurrected and walked out of Jin Mulan's maid's room. Isn't this strange?"

Di Renjie's expression became increasingly solemn, but he was still hesitant inside.

Seeing this, Zhao Ji frowned even deeper, obviously feeling helpless about Di Renjie's attitude.

"Sir, do you want me to explain it more clearly? Tonight, Hu Jinghui showed up in the East Flower Hall where the princess was, and then the princess started to make a scene. Is this another coincidence?"

"With your intelligence, if it weren't for the word 'Li', you should have understood the truth earlier than me. You shouldn't let external things affect your reasoning!"

When Di Renjie heard Zhao Ji mention the word "Li", his expression suddenly froze. This was indeed his lifeline.

Zhao Ji bowed deeply to Di Renjie solemnly and said, "Sir, please think about it. This is about the peace and war between the two countries and the safety of the people in Youzhou. You must not let personal feelings ruin the world's affairs!"

Since every word from Zhao Ji was as sharp as a knife, Di Renjie could no longer remain silent.

He closed his eyes and said, "I understand, I understand everything, but I just can't imagine that the descendants of Emperor Taizong would actually collude with the Turks and betray the country."

Zhao Ji secretly shook his head when he heard this. When the Li family first started fighting for the world, they had an ambiguous relationship with the Turks.

Li Qingxia's tradition can be regarded as a continuation of the tradition and "development". Even the future Li Tang royal family borrowed troops from foreign tribes.

Di Renjie naturally didn't know what Zhao Ji was thinking. He was still struggling with how to deal with Li Qingxia's matter.

The reason why he was extremely hesitant was that if something happened to Princess Yi Yang, not only would she die, but all the princes with the surname Li would also be implicated.

It would be fine if only he and Li Yuanfang knew about this matter. They could block the news and after defeating the rebels, secretly execute Princess Yiyang and put an end to it once and for all.

The emperor was far away and it was too late for Wu Zetian to learn about this matter afterwards. The princess was already dead, so it was difficult for her to make a big fuss about it.

But the problem lies in the matter of Princess Yi Yang, which was exposed by Zhao Ji, a Qianniu Guard.

The matter has come to this, there is no other way.

Di Renjie walked up to Zhao Ji, looked him straight in the eye, and asked, "If Princess Yiyang is really in trouble, what does Chengyuan plan to do?"

Zhao Ji looked at Di Renjie's serious expression and unusual eyes, and immediately understood that he was asking about his attitude and position.

There is actually nothing to ask. Zhao Ji did not want to be written into the biography of cruel officials, so why would he be willing to add fuel to the flames of a major case with so many implications?

Zhao Ji said without hesitation: "Your Excellency is the Grand Commander of Youzhou, and you are the imperial envoy. All matters in Youzhou should be decided by Your Excellency."

"However, in my humble opinion, the current situation in Youzhou is not stable, and a large number of rebels are missing. Therefore, once the rebel leader Jin Mulan is captured, it is necessary to deal with her as soon as possible to stabilize the situation in Youzhou."

After hearing what Zhao Ji said, Di Renjie's eyes lit up and he felt at ease.

He let out a long sigh and smiled with satisfaction: "Good! Good! Good! What Chengyuan said is exactly what I want."

After that, Zhao Ji and Di Renjie smiled at each other and reached an agreement. Li Yuanfang listened to their conversation, seeming to understand, but also not to understand.

Di Renjie got a satisfactory result and said, "Okay, there is no need to discuss the matter of the princess anymore. We should discuss how to deal with these rebels in Youzhou."

Li Yuanfang had been confused before, but now he finally got a chance to speak: "Does Your Excellency know where those rebels are hiding?"

Di Renjie smiled and shook his head: "Of course not, but I know that the reason these rebels are trying so hard is to unite with Mordo and start a rebellion."

"So they are targeting Youzhou. Maybe they have already lurked in Youzhou City. Moreover, they can't wait any longer and will definitely take action soon."

Li Yuanfang was surprised when he heard this: "In that case, isn't the current situation very urgent?"

Zhao Ji nodded: "Yes, so we must defeat the rebels as soon as possible. And the whole process must be quick and decisive, so as to prevent the rebels from wreaking havoc in Youzhou City and endangering the people in the city."

Di Renjie agreed and said, "Chengyuan is right. The most urgent task now is to understand the specific time and plan of the rebels' actions, and then make targeted arrangements."

"But how can we know the rebels' plan?" Li Yuanfang asked.

Di Renjie smiled mysteriously: "Today, Qiao Tai reported that he had discovered an important contact point of the rebels in Youzhou, Tianbao Silver Bank! We can start from there."

As soon as Zhao Ji heard the name of Tianbao Silver, he thought of General Yu Feng.

He asked knowingly, "I guess Your Excellency must have sent someone to monitor the Tianbao Bank in advance, right?"

Di Renjie said confidently: "Yes, I have sent Di Chun to monitor the actions of Tianbao Bank. If the rebels make any unusual moves, we will definitely notice it."

Zhao Ji was a little worried when he heard this. Di Chun was fine for monitoring, but it seemed that he was not up to the task of tracking.

But the Tianbao Silver Bank is still there, so it’s not a big problem.

Zhao Ji then thought of another hidden worry in his heart: "Sir, if the rebels are preparing to make trouble, they will definitely attack the Youzhou camp. Although there is a team of Qianniu Guards stationed in the camp, the personnel arrangements in the Youzhou army were made by General Hu before. Shouldn't we take precautions?"

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie couldn't help but frown and fell into deep thought.

It was indeed Hu Jinghui who was in charge of the purge of the Youzhou camp. At that time, he had not been exposed yet, so there was no guarantee that he would not have made some mistakes.

After a moment, Di Renjie said, "That makes sense. We must guard against this, but we can't investigate the spies in a big way, otherwise we might alert the enemy."

Zhao Ji said: "In this case, why don't we stay outside the Youzhou camp and capture the spies when the rebels are communicating, and then follow the clues to catch all the spies in the camp!"

Di Renjie nodded and said, "Well, this is a feasible plan. You and Qiao Tai will lead the team to go there tomorrow to see if there is any gain. If everything goes well, you two will station in the Youzhou camp and be ready to lead troops to suppress the unrest at any time."

"Yes!" Zhao Ji agreed.

Li Yuanfang, who was standing nearby, got anxious when he heard this: "Sir, what about me? What should I do?"

Di Renjie pondered for a moment and said, "Your mission is to keep an eye on Princess Yiyang and be alert to her leaking information. In addition, you must act as if everything is normal and never let her see any flaws!"

"Don't worry, sir. There was a small problem tonight. Even if I avoid the princess now, she probably won't feel strange." Li Yuanfang said.

Di Renjie was a little confused when he heard this, but Zhao Ji smiled knowingly.

(End of this chapter)