Chapter 92 Yangchun Noodles

At the same time, while Liujiazhuang was filled with joy, a terrible incident occurred in Zeng Tai's county government office.

A fisherman pulled out a body from his fishing net, and a body was also dug out from the backyard of Zhang Chun's home in Xiaoyang Village. These were two murders.

There was a row of corpses in the morgue, young and old. Among them were two burly male corpses, who were the two guards sent by the prince.

Zeng Tai reported the situation: "These two people seemed to be merchants from other places who came to Huzhou. The suspects Zhang Chun and Wang Wu were tempted by their money and killed them. Now Zhang Chun has been arrested by the county government, and Wang Wu has also sent people to arrest him."

Zhao Ji had a blank expression on his face. He didn't even look at Zeng Tai. He was just busy examining the body.

He pretended to fiddle with the corpse, examining the calluses on its hands and the scars on its neck.

Zeng Tai continued, "The order from the prefecture has arrived, saying that the Jiangnan Deposed Envoy Di Gong will arrive in Huzhou within three days. Envoy Qiao once again reminds all counties to be careful. General, rest assured, I will handle these two cases properly before Di Gong arrives."

Zhao Ji then stopped what he was doing, turned around and looked at Zeng Tai and said, "Di Gong has already arrived in Huzhou, maybe he is in Changcheng County."

Zeng Tai's face froze when he heard this, and he asked in surprise, "How did the general know that Di Gong had arrived?"

Zhao Ji smiled slightly and explained, "After all, I have followed Di Gong for a few months, and I am familiar with his style of doing things."

Zeng Tai panicked when he heard this: "What should we do? Now there's a murder case, how can he explain it to his father?"

The envoy for demotion and promotion will be here soon, and now two murders have happened at once, so Zeng Tai can't help but be anxious.

When Zhao Ji heard this, he shook his head and laughed.

Zeng Tai saw this and said anxiously, "General, what do you mean? I am almost dying of anxiety."

"Brother Zeng, don't panic. Di Gong has always been known for his ability to make accurate judgments. As long as you are not corrupt, when he sees the case, he will most likely not blame you, but will be happy to see a prey." Zhao Ji said with a smile.

“That’s what I said, but…” Zeng Tai was still a little worried.

Zhao Ji patted Zeng Tai on the shoulder and said soothingly, "Don't worry. You just need to treat it calmly and don't be anxious. Don't torture the two suspects, but convict them based on solid evidence. Think twice before you act, be cautious, and be careful again. This may not be an opportunity."

Zeng Tai heard the hidden meaning behind Zhao Ji's words and said with a happy expression, "Thank you for your advice, General."

Zhao Ji asked: "Do you really understand what I mean?"

Zeng Tai nodded hurriedly and said, "I understand!"

Seeing how confident he was, Zhao Ji couldn't help but laugh: "I can't show up in public, and I have to go to Liujiazhuang again today and tomorrow. This case depends entirely on you."

"General, you are too polite. I have benefited greatly from your guidance today." Zeng Tai said with a smile and bowed.
-
In the evening, in a small restaurant in Changcheng County.

Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang chose a table by the roadside, ordered two bowls of plain noodles, and chatted about their experiences in Huzhou.

Li Yuanfang took two mouthfuls of noodles, frowned, and then put down his chopsticks.

He asked Di Renjie, "Sir, isn't Qiao Tai, the former Youzhou Chief, now the governor of Huzhou? Why don't you go meet him first?"

Di Renjie swallowed a mouthful of noodles and replied, "Qiao Tai was recommended by me, so I have to investigate the people's livelihood under his rule. If I come to Huzhou with a big fanfare, I'm afraid he will go to great lengths to entertain me, which will waste the government treasury and be bad."

"Nowadays, if you go on a private visit in disguise, you can not only see the actual situation of the place, but also understand the customs and habits of the people, and you can also eat a bowl of delicious plain noodles. Isn't this a good thing?"

After saying that, Di Renjie ate a few more mouthfuls of noodles with relish.

Li Yuanfang sighed and said stiffly: "This bowl of noodles is not tasty to me."

Di Renjie swallowed a big mouthful of noodles and suddenly realized: "Oh, I forgot, you are from Liangzhou, you are not used to eating this southern food."

Seeing Di Renjie eating so happily, Li Yuanfang couldn't help but complain: "This noon, it was you who invited me to eat臊子面. In the evening, it was you who invited me to eat 阳春面. It seems that eating noodles is inevitable when I follow you in the future."

Li Yuanfang sighed again and said, "What Di Chun said really makes sense." When Di Renjie heard what Di Chun had to say, he put down his chopsticks and asked, "What did this boy say about me?"

"In fact, Chengyuan also said something similar. If anyone wants to take advantage of adults, it is harder than climbing to the sky." Li Yuanfang said with a smile and shook his head.

Di Renjie laughed heartily, stroked his beard, and picked up his bowl and chopsticks to eat again.

Li Yuanfang hadn't finished his words yet: "Since I can't benefit from your kindness, I can't apply for it. Don't eat noodles for the next meal."

Di Renjie nodded, put down the bowl and said, "Okay, I promise you, I won't eat noodles next time."

Then he actually picked up the noodles that Li Yuanfang had not finished eating and put some of them into his own bowl.

Li Yuanfang was shocked when he saw this.

Di Renjie ignored Li Yuanfang's reaction and continued to move his hands: "Ah, you are not used to it anyway, why not give me some."

Li Yuanfang shook his head and laughed after hearing this.

Di Renjie at least left some for Li Yuanfang, and returned the bowl to Li Yuanfang, saying, "If you ask for another bowl, we can't finish it together, so we might as well share it and save some."

Li Yuanfang was also helpless. He took the bowl and saw that less than a quarter of it was left.

He immediately finished the noodles in two or three mouthfuls, and then said, "Sir, this time His Majesty appointed you as the Commissioner of Promotion and Demotion in Jiangnan Province, and promoted me to the rank of General of the Guards. In my opinion, this is to rectify the administration, and also to reward me for my merits."

Di Renjie put down his chopsticks after hearing this and looked at Li Yuanfang with a smile: "Reward?"

Li Yuanfang said solemnly, "That's right. You have worked so hard and devoted yourself to the Youzhou trip. You have been working day and night. You have a lot of white hair on your temples. The reason why His Majesty sent you to Jiangnan for inspection is to let you cultivate yourself."

Di Renjie laughed and said, "You are so good, Li Yuanfang. You have guessed fifty percent of the emperor's thoughts."

Li Yuanfang frowned and said, "Only 50%? What about the remaining 50%?"

Di Renjie took a deep breath and said, "Before we left, the ministers wrote to His Majesty, asking him to abdicate and return power to the Li Tang Dynasty. Many of these people were my students and former officials."

"If I don't leave, they will definitely ask me to lead the charge. It will be difficult for me and even more difficult for Your Majesty. Therefore, Your Majesty came up with this plan to help me avoid the vortex."

Li Yuanfang nodded.

Di Renjie continued, "These ministers had good intentions, but they did something bad. If the petition could have gotten Your Majesty to return power to the Li Tang dynasty, there would be no need to wait until now."

"Doing so will not only harm themselves, but will also put the Crown Prince in the spotlight. The fact that His Majesty transferred Cheng Yuan, a Qianniu Guard, to the Eastern Palace as a Langjiang is a clear proof that he must have some mission against the Crown Prince."

Di Renjie sighed, his eyes full of worry.

"Your Excellency means that Chengyuan will do harm to the Crown Prince? That shouldn't be the case, right?" Li Yuanfang asked in surprise.

Di Renjie shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. It depends on whether the prince is truly innocent, and also on your majesty's specific attitude towards the prince."

Li Yuanfang comforted him, "I still believe in Chengyuan. Now that things have come to this, it is useless for you to worry. It is better for you to rest and recuperate."

Di Renjie sighed again: "Yeah, worrying is useless..."

As the two were talking, a group of bailiffs suddenly passed by on the street, escorting a prisoner in shackles.

The prisoner was Wang Wu. He kept shouting that he was innocent, and the people around him were talking about it.

Seeing this, Di Renjie quickly finished the noodles in his bowl in two mouthfuls and chased after him: "Come on, Yuan Fang, follow and see."

(End of this chapter)