Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

In the first year of the Shengli era in Luoyang City, the autumn wind was blowing the parasol leaves across the eaves of the Di Mansion.

Di Renjie was sitting in his study, with two letters with wet ink on the desk, one from Wang Xiaojie in Youzhou and the other from Zeng Tai in Jiangnan.

He twirled his gray beard, his gaze falling through the window lattice on the old locust tree in the courtyard - this tree was planted by him six years ago when he left Beijing for an inspection. Now it has grown tall and majestic, just like the seeds of officialdom he has sown in various places over the years.

"Di Gong, General Wang and Lord Zeng both wrote that frost and snow are coming early in the north, so please take care of yourself."

Li Yuanfang stood beside the table, his voice as steady as usual.

The chain knife on his waist swayed gently with his breathing, and the copper rings on the scabbard occasionally collided with each other, making a small sound.

Di Renjie smiled, picked up his pen and dipped it in ink: "Tell them that my old bones are still very strong."

"Last year, when we cracked the salt case in Bingzhou, I didn't sleep for three days and three nights, but in the end, we still managed to catch that gang of officials and businessmen."

The tip of the pen slid across the paper, leaving behind a strong, vigorous handwriting. "Have Wang Xiaojie keep a close eye on any unusual Turkic activity on the border. Zeng Tai, double-check the Huzhou grain transport accounts. I've always felt that there's something fishy about those losses."

As he was speaking, a sudden commotion broke out outside the courtyard. Li Yuanfang frowned slightly and said, "Wait a moment, Mr. Di. I'll go out and take a look."

He strode through the corridor and just as he arrived at the gate of the mansion, he saw a young man huddled beside a stone lion. His coarse cloth jacket had several patches on it and his trouser legs were stained with mud. It was obvious that he had come from a long journey.

When the young man saw him come out, he shrank behind the pillar like a frightened rabbit, but his pair of bright black eyes were staring straight into the mansion.

"Who are you? What are you doing here stealthily?" Li Yuanfang's voice suddenly rose, with the majesty unique to a military general.

He has been fighting in the army for many years, and the evil spirit on his body is not something ordinary people can bear.

The young man was so frightened that he trembled and squatted on the ground with a plop. He held his head with both hands and shouted, "Don't hit me! I'm not a bad person! I just want to meet Di Gong and take him as my teacher!"

His voice was tearful, but he deliberately raised it a few notches, as if he was afraid that others couldn't hear him.

Li Yuanfang was stunned. He had seen all kinds of people, from fawning officials to heroic heroes, but he had never seen anyone like this—someone who wasn't threatened at all, yet was actually ready to be beaten.

He was about to open his mouth to scold him when the young man suddenly raised his head, tears streaming down his face like beads from a broken string. "General, please be kind and let me see Di Gong! I've been begging all the way from Longyou for over three months, just to ask Di Gong to accept me as his apprentice!"

The voice was so powerful that it instantly attracted the neighbors. Peddler carrying loads and women holding children gathered outside the gate, peering in and pointing at Li Yuanfang.

"Isn't this General Li from the Di Mansion? Why are you making things difficult for a child?"

"I heard that Judge Dee loves his people the most, why are his men like this?"

The discussions came like a tide, and Li Yuanfang was suddenly panicked.

He knew that Di Gong always valued his reputation, and it would be terrible if people spread the rumor that he was "bullying others by taking advantage of his power."

He quickly leaned over, picked up the young man, and bowed to the onlookers. He smiled and said, "Don't be surprised, everyone. This child admires Di Gong, but he was a little too eager. Everyone, please disperse."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice and gritted his teeth at the young man, "If you dare to cry or scream again, I'll throw you out right away!"

The young man seemed not to hear and cried even harder: "General, please spare my life! I really just want to see Di Gong once!"

Li Yuanfang was at his wit's end. He could only hold him tightly as they walked towards the mansion, whispering to him, "Don't cry. Can't I take you to see Lord Di?"

These words seemed to have magic power. The boy's crying stopped abruptly and he was held in his arms obediently, but his shoulders were still twitching and his eyes were looking around the scenery in the mansion. There was no trace of the panic he had just felt.

In the study, Di Renjie listened to Li Yuanfang's report and couldn't help laughing. "Oh? There's such a thing? Ordinary people would either hand in a name card or use connections to become his disciple, but this guy is using a self-torture trick."

He put down his pen and pointed to the chair opposite him. "Bring him in. I want to see what kind of person he is."

A moment later, Su Wuming was brought in. As soon as he entered the study, he was shocked by the scene before him - a painting of "River and Mountain Society" hung on the wall, a pile of files was piled high on the desk, and the air was filled with the fragrance of ink and a faint smell of medicine.

Di Renjie, who was sitting behind the desk, had white hair and beard, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle. His purple official robe was not ostentatious, but it revealed the demeanor of a man who was in control of the situation.

With a "thump", Su Wuming fell to his knees and kowtowed hard. His forehead hit the blue brick floor with a dull sound.

He lay on the ground, his voice trembling with excitement: "Di Gong! My boy Su Wuming, I finally see you!"

Di Renjie was stunned for a moment. He was used to the empty formalities of officialdom, but he had never seen such prostrate worship. It was more like a farmer who had been thirsty and finally received a downpour, with a sincere and all-out effort.

He raised his hand and said, "Get up, the ground is cold."

Su Wuming refused to get up, still lying on the ground: "If Di Gong doesn't agree to take me as his disciple, I won't get up!"

"You are quite stubborn, kid."

Di Renjie looked at him with interest. "Let me ask you, there are so many people in the world who want to learn how to solve cases. What makes you think I would accept you?"

Su Wuming suddenly raised his head, his face still covered in dust, but his eyes were surprisingly bright: "Because I have seen real injustice!"

He took a deep breath, his voice suddenly rising. "Do you know anything about this? In my hometown, there was a butcher named Zhang who was falsely accused by the grain store owner of stealing government grain. It turned out the owner's son had lost money gambling and sold the grain to pay off his debts! But the county magistrate took bribes and sentenced Zhang to exile three thousand miles away! When his blind mother heard about it, she hit her head against a wall and died that very day!"

He grew increasingly excited as he spoke, his fists clenched loudly. "And then there's Aisha, the one selling Hu pancakes. Just because she's a foreigner, people accuse her of being a spy. It's actually just people being jealous of her business!"

"The soldiers smashed her pancake stand and threw her son into the river! I saw the child struggling in the water, but no one dared to save him!"

The study was so quiet that one could hear the flickering candlelight. The smile on Di Renjie's face gradually faded, replaced by a deep solemnity.

He had seen too many cases like this, but when it came from the mouth of a teenager, the naked cruelty was particularly heartbreaking.

"Why don't you report these things to the authorities?" Di Renjie asked.

Su Wuming lowered his head, his voice choking with sobs. "I filed a complaint. I went to the county government office to protest my injustice, but was beaten out by the officers. I asked someone to submit a complaint to the governor's office, but it was thrown back."

"They all say I'm nosy."

He suddenly raised his head, tears glistening in his eyes, yet with a stubborn air, "But I don't believe it! I heard that when you were in Jiangnan, you overthrew the governor because of the unjust case of a charcoal seller!"

"I just wonder, if I could learn your skills, could I redress the injustices of people like Zhang the Butcher and Aisha?"

Di Renjie fell silent. He looked at the energetic young man in front of him and felt as if he saw himself.

"Do you know how difficult it is to solve a case?" Di Renjie said slowly, "Not only do you need to be able to read and write, but you also need to understand the law and know people's hearts."

"Sometimes, for a piece of evidence, you have to travel thousands of miles; sometimes, for a confession, you have to endure for months."

"More importantly, you might offend the powerful, face retaliation, or even lose your life."

"I'm not afraid!" Su Wuming shouted without thinking, "I can't even get enough to eat, so why should I be afraid of losing my life? As long as those bad guys can be punished, I'm not afraid of anything!"

Di Renjie looked at him like this and suddenly laughed.

He picked up a copy of Tang Law Commentary from the table and handed it to Su Wuming: "Take this book and read it first."

"In three days, I will test you on one of the 'Laws of Names and Examples'. If you can answer it, I will accept you as my disciple."

Su Wuming took the book, his hands trembling with excitement.

The pages of the book were yellowed, but he held it tightly in his arms as if it were a rare treasure.

He knelt down again with a thump and kowtowed three times, leaving a red mark on his forehead. "Thank you, Lord Di! Thank you, Lord Di!"

Li Yuanfang was watching from the side in amazement. This kid was acting like a spoiled brat just a moment ago, but now he was so respectful that he seemed like a different person.

Di Renjie waved his hand and said, "Yuan Fang, take him down and settle him down. Find him some clean clothes."

"Yes, Mr. Dee."

Su Wuming followed Li Yuanfang out of the study, looking back at Di Renjie every few steps, his eyes full of gratitude and admiration.

Looking at his back, Di Renjie picked up his pen and added a sentence at the end of his reply to Wang Xiaojie: "I have recently accepted a disciple. Although he is young and crude, he has a pure heart."

"Perhaps, justice in this world should be protected by people like this."

The autumn wind outside the window rolled up the fallen leaves and swept across the files on the desk, as if responding to this sentence.

The "Tang Law Commentary" held tightly in the young man's arms seemed to be glowing between the lines under the candlelight - that was the hope of the people and the justice of the future.