Chapter 142 Nothing Much After All

"Where is General Suo?"

With a single question, Di Renjie's seasoned sophistication was fully revealed.

To put it bluntly, even if Suo Yuanli wanted to use today's incident to frame him later on, Di Renjie's remark clearly established that he had arrived in Fangzhou after Suo Yuanli, leaving no room for anyone to pin the blame on him.

Unfortunately, General Suo would never have that opportunity again.

"Reporting to Lord Di!" The man pointed toward the figure lying in the center of the crowd. "Suo Yuanli is right here!"

What!?

Fatty Di failed to react for a moment. "Where!?"

"Right here!" The man repeated, "The tyrannical and lawless wicked official Suo Yuanli angered the elders and citizens of Fangzhou. We joined forces to capture him, and we are about to bring him to Lord Di for justice!"

Di Renjie: "......"

The man continued, "Lord Di enforces the law impartially and loathes evil as if it were his mortal enemy!"

Di Renjie: "......"

......

"He is the reliance of us common folk."

Di Renjie: "......"

......

"You must seek justice for the elders of Fangzhou and restore fairness to the world!"

"......"

At that moment, Lord Di felt the world spinning around him, barely able to remain standing.

How ill-fated could he be!

First, that pile of mangled flesh on the ground was Suo Yuanli!!

Second, the townspeople were beating someone in the middle of the street simply to deliver Suo Yuanli to him?

And third, this enormous trouble had inexplicably and bizarrely landed squarely on his shoulders.

"Which bastard struck the first blow!?" Fatty Di almost cursed out loud. Was this not proof that people thought he was dying too slowly?

He had just been promoted to chancellor because of a certain Wang Hongyi. Would he now be demoted right back down because of a certain Suo Yuanli?

Headache!

Lord Di had a massive headache right now. Why on earth did Suo Yuanli have to die here of all places?

However, this was no time for headaches. How should this current predicament be resolved? How could he appease the public outrage in Fangzhou without implicating himself?

Thinking of this, Fatty Di forced himself to calm down, slowly walked through the crowd, came to a stop before Suo Yuanli's corpse, and furrowed his brows deeply.

He uttered, "General Suo, oh General Suo! What kind of heinous crimes must you have committed to incite such intense public wrath!?"

......

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"Brilliant!!" Far in the distance, Wu Ning could not help but shout out in sudden applause.

He sighed in heartfelt admiration: Simply exquisite! As expected of one of the few ministers in the entire Martial Zhou dynasty who had managed to survive the longest.

......

"What is so brilliant about it?"

Hearing Wu Ning's praise beside him, Sun Hongde did not understand. Di Renjie had merely said that one sentence—what made it so remarkable?

Wu Ning cast a deep look at Di Renjie, only to notice that the old man was also glancing casually in his direction.

Withdrawing his gaze, Wu Ning turned as if to leave. "With just a single sentence, he saved himself and the people of Fangzhou. Would you not call that brilliant?"

Still clueless, Sun Hongde wore a blank expression. "How did that save them?"

"Hey, you troublesome kid, come back and explain yourself clearly!"

There was no calling Wu Ning back, however. That fellow had already calmly made his way out of the city and headed home.

......

Grandpa Dao followed closely beside Wu Ning. "Are you not going to watch a bit longer??"

"There is nothing left to see." Wu Ning's expression was much more relaxed.

"Then how exactly did he save the situation?"

Well, Meng Cangsheng had not understood the profound strategy hidden in Di Renjie's words either.

Still refusing to spell it out, Wu Ning said, "Just keep watching and you will understand."

With that, he lowered his head and walked on, ceasing conversation with Meng Cangsheng.

Seeing that Wu Ning seemed somewhat downcast, Meng Cangsheng shook his head and silently accompanied him home.

......

Old Nine Wu truly felt a bit subdued, and not merely because he had played a rather calculated game this time. Eliminating Suo Yuanli had not brought him even a shred of a sense of accomplishment.

Moreover, regarding Di Renjie......

Wu Ning felt an indescribable sentiment.

How should he put it? For such a legendary, god-tier figure in history, Wu Ning's expectations had been exceptionally high.

Even if one knew nothing of history and was unaware of the figures who had once swayed the Tang Empire, there was likely not a single person in later generations who did not know the name Di Renjie.

Whether it was the chubby, brilliant detective from the television series or the handsome, dignified uncle from the films.

The three characters "Di Renjie" had been forged into a legend by posterity.

Upon arriving in this era, Wu Ning was naturally curious about what the real Di Renjie was like.

This sense of anticipation even surpassed his curiosity toward Princess Taiping and Wu Zetian.

Yet, upon truly meeting him today......

Old Nine Wu was left with a sense of "is that really it?"

......

Of course, from the perspective of wisdom and official acumen, Di Renjie was undoubtedly flawless.

At first, he had indeed worried whether this trouble might be too big for even Di Renjie to shoulder.

Yet facts proved that worry unnecessary.

Thinking about it, it made sense.

An official who had climbed the ranks from the Gaozong era all the way to reaching the pinnacle of power in the Martial Zhou dynasty.

From opposing the Empress's rule—becoming the person the old lady loathed most—all the way to remaining one of the few high-ranking ministers who ended up in Empress Wu's good graces and died a natural death.

Having weathered numerous political storms, surviving like an indestructible cockroach under the terrifying reign of the imperial inquisitors.

How could he not possess transcendent wisdom and a profound mastery of official survival?

Then why did Wu Ning still feel underwhelmed and disappointed?

Because......

This old fatty was a bit too slippery......

He completely lacked the righteous, upright, and unyielding demeanor one might imagine; if anything, he came across as somewhat crafty and evasive.....

Please......

Were you not the embodiment of justice? Were you not the Judge Bao of the Tang Dynasty?

Should you not be a pillar of the dynasty whose mere upright posture caused all evildoers to scatter?

How did you end up as a crafty old man with darting eyes, opening and closing his mouth purely to protect himself first??

What disappointed Wu Ning even more was that if Di Renjie—the very person the world relied upon—was like this......

Then Old Nine Wu truly wondered who else in Empress Wu's realm could be trusted, and who else could help the old lady implement that box of governance policies that did not belong to this era!

......

————————

Wu Ning had no idea that while he was observing Di Renjie,

Fatty Di had likewise been subconsciously observing him on account of that shout of applause.

Wonderful...

Could this youth have seen through the brilliance of it? Did he actually pierce the intent behind this official's words?...

Afterward, as the Magistrate of Fangzhou, Sun Hongde naturally had to step forward to greet him.

And Di Renjie was even more startled!

If he remembered correctly, this Magistrate of Fangzhou had been standing right behind that youth just moments before!

To make the chief official of a prefecture willingly stand behind him and instinctively look to him for reliance......

This youth was... unquestionably extraordinary.

Instructing his bailiffs to handle the scene, Di Renjie walked side by side with Magistrate Sun toward the prefectural office.

In the middle of casual conversation, Di Renjie brought up Wu Ning.

"The young man with extraordinary bearing who was standing beside the Magistrate just now shouted out in applause."

"Whose son might that young master be?"

Unaware of any hidden meaning, Sun Hongde answered honestly, "Reporting to Lord Di, that is Wu Ning, the nephew of Wu Changlu, the Assistant Governor of Shannandao. Princess Taiping is currently staying temporarily at his estate."

Wu Ning?

Di Renjie was startled! It was true he did not know anyone else in Fangzhou, but he had indeed heard the name Wu Ning before.

The mountain youth who had prompted the Holy Mother to issue three consecutive imperial edicts was precisely named Wu Ning.

Without probing further, his primary concern at the moment was neither Wu Ning nor Wang Hongyi, but rather Suo Yuanli, who had been trampled to death the moment he entered the city.

Without beating around the bush, the moment they arrived at the prefectural office, Di Renjie said to Sun Hongde, "Magistrate, send men immediately to detain the guards and officials brought by Suo Yuanli. Under no circumstances are they to leave Fangzhou and return to the Eastern Capital."

"Understood!"

With Di Renjie taking charge, Sun Hongde felt considerably more at ease.

"Then how should this official... draft the memorial report?"

Di Renjie said coldly, "Issue the memorial in three days, and report the facts truthfully without any concealment!"

"Ah!?"

Magistrate Sun panicked... Was this not courting death?

Though Suo Yuanli's death stemmed from public outrage, he as the magistrate had indeed intended to block it. Yet since the disaster had already occurred, any way he phrased it would be seen as dereliction of duty.

Magistrate Sun failed to notice that Fatty Di's emphasis was not on reporting the truth, but rather on *three days later*!!

Why three days later?

Because Di Renjie wanted Magistrate Sun's official dispatch to reach the capital a few days later than his own personal memorial to Wu Zetian.

Everything Fatty Di had done—whether it was detaining Suo Yuanli's subordinates or delaying Magistrate Sun's memorial—was to ensure that the news of Suo Yuanli's death reached Wu Zetian from him first.

......

A few days later, when the old empress received Di Huaiying's memorial and opened the first page, she was nearly driven to a fit of rage!

"Well, well, well, Di Renjie!!"

She had given him a bit of favorable treatment, and he had forgotten his own name?

He actually dared to cross-examine her?!

......