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

Three days later, just as the sky was getting light, Su Wuming was waiting outside the study with "Tang Law Commentary" in his hands.

There were bloodshot eyes, obviously he had been up all night, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, as if they contained stars.

When Di Renjie came in with breakfast, he saw him squatting on the stone steps, writing the laws on the ground with a branch, and he didn't even notice that the corner of his clothes was stained with dew.

"Please tell me about the 'Eight Discussions' in the 'Law of Names and Examples'."

Di Renjie handed over the hot porridge with a hint of warmth in his voice.

Su Wuming stood up in a panic, took the bowl of porridge but didn't drink it. He said urgently, "It's those who discuss relatives, discuss old friends, discuss the virtuous, discuss the capable, discuss meritorious, discuss the noble, discuss the diligent, and discuss guests! If these eight types of people commit crimes, we can petition the emperor to reduce their punishment!"

He paused, then added softly, "But I think if the powerful and wealthy use this to commit evil, won't the law become their umbrella of protection?"

Di Renjie raised his eyebrows: "Then what do you say?"

"It depends on what crime he committed!" Su Wuming clenched his fists. "Just like in the case of Zhang the Butcher, the grain store owner relied on his relationship with the county magistrate to frame an innocent man. Even if it was included in the 'Eight Discussions', he should be severely punished!"

Di Renjie smiled, took the branch from his hand, and wrote the word "degree" on the ground:

Su Wuming stared at the word "degree" on the ground, and suddenly remembered the desperate eyes of Aisha when she was dragged by the officers and soldiers.

His hand holding the bowl of porridge trembled slightly. "Di Gong, I always feel that behind this word 'degree' is whether the people can survive."

Di Renjie said nothing, but pointed to the study: "Come in, I will teach you how to read the files today."

Spread out on the desk was the Huzhou grain transport account book sent by Zeng Tai. The yellowed pages were densely packed with records of the number of grain ships and details of losses.

Su Wuming leaned over and frowned after reading only two pages. "These numbers all seem correct, but why is the loss of each ship exactly 30%?"

A glint of approval flashed in Di Renjie's eyes: "Ordinary people only look at the total number, right? But you pay attention to the proportion."

He picked up a red pen and circled a page. "Look here again. On March 17th, a grain ship capsized due to a storm, but the damage was 10% less than usual."

Su Wuming leaned in for a closer look and suddenly slapped his thigh. "No! The damage should be much greater if it capsized in the wind! This must be a lie they made up!"

"That's right." Di Renjie nodded, "But guesswork alone is useless. We need evidence."

He turned to Li Yuanfang and said, "Prepare the horses, let's go to the Canal Transport Office."

Su Wuming followed the two men through the streets of Luoyang City and saw Di Gong looking around as he walked - looking at the price tags in the rice shop, listening to the porters' gossip, and even squatting at the canal dock, picking up the rice grains left at the bottom of the cabin and smelling them.

By the evening, Su Wuming's cloth shoes were already covered in mud, but he felt his heart burning with excitement after hearing the lecture. It turned out that solving a case was not about sitting in the study and daydreaming, but about stepping into the mud to see the truth.

The head of the Canal Transport Bureau was a slick fat man. When he saw Di Renjie, he smiled widely, but turned around and winked at his subordinates.

Su Wuming had sharp eyes and saw half a piece of paper sticking out from his subordinate's sleeve, which seemed to have a picture of an anchor on it.

He quietly tugged at the corner of Li Yuanfang's clothes and nodded at the subordinate.

Li Yuanfang followed him out calmly and came back a moment later with an accountant.

The gentleman was shaking like a sieve, and a black account book fell out of his arms. It recorded that on the third night of every month, an unlicensed cargo ship would pick up grain at the reed marsh downstream.

"The third day of the new year?" Su Wuming suddenly said, "Today is the third day of the new year!"

Di Renjie immediately stood up and said, "Yuan Fang, take thirty elite soldiers and follow me to the reed marsh. Wuming, follow closely and watch carefully."

The night wind rustled the reeds, and Su Wuming saw from afar a black-sailed boat parked on the shore, with several men in black clothes loading grain bags onto the boat.

He was about to shout, but Di Renjie held his shoulders.

"Wait a little longer," Judge Dee whispered. "Look at the markings on the stern."

Moonlight passed over the stern, revealing a vague "Wei" character. Su Wuming suddenly remembered that the largest grain merchant in Huzhou was surnamed Wei.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance. The official in the lead had a peacock pattern embroidered on his uniform - that was the rank of the Huzhou governor.

"It's indeed collusion between officials and businessmen." Di Renjie winked at Li Yuanfang, "Take action."

The knife light drew a silver arc in the night, and Su Wuming watched without blinking.

"Di Gong!" He rushed over and picked up the jade pendant. "I've seen this jade pendant before! In the case of Butcher Zhang, the grain store owner also had a piece like it!"

Di Renjie took the jade pendant and looked at it carefully. There was a word "Wei" engraved on it.

He suddenly laughed: "It seems that the Longyou case and the Huzhou grain transport are originally from the same vine."

By the time they returned to Di's residence, daybreak had already begun. Su Wuming, leaning over the desk, watched Di Gong write his memorial. Suddenly, he asked, "Di Gong, when you overthrew the governor, weren't you afraid that he had someone behind him?"

Di Renjie dipped his brush in ink and said, "Back then, the charcoal seller's daughter was forced to death by the governor's son. The old man wept for three days and three nights at the gate of the government office, and his eyes were blinded by the weeping."

He put down his pen and looked out the window at the old locust tree. "I thought then, if I can't even protect an old man crying his eyes out, what's the point of wearing this official robe?"

Su Wuming recalled how he had seen too many people swallowing their anger while begging for food. He suddenly understood that the "degree" Di Gong was talking about was not about weighing the pros and cons, but about protecting those dying flames even if it meant being torn to pieces.

A few days later, the imperial edict came down, ordering Di Renjie to thoroughly investigate the Wei family.

When Su Wuming went to Longyou, he deliberately took a detour back to his hometown.

The grave of Zhang the Butcher's mother was covered with green grass, but Aisha's Hu Bing stall was set up again, but the stall owner was replaced by a lame old man - Aisha's husband, who had escaped from exile.

"Young man, the people you're looking for are no longer here." The old man wiped the pancake griddle, "but we all remember the justice you brought back."

He stuffed a piece of freshly baked Hu pancake into Su Wuming's hand. It was so hot that it burned his hand. "Just like this pancake, it needs to be baked by fire to be cooked. The world also needs someone to burn themselves to warm up."

Su Wuming bit into the Hu pancake, tears falling on it. He suddenly understood why Di Gong always said, "Adhere to the classics and exercise discretion"—the classics are the bones of the law, and discretion is the warmth that protects people.

By the time I returned to Luoyang, it was deep winter. The old locust tree in Di Mansion had lost all its leaves, and icicles hung from its branches.

Su Wuming was sorting files in his study when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the courtyard.

When he ran out, he saw a blind old woman kneeling in the snow with a bloody bag in her arms.

When Su Wuming saw the blood bag, he didn't know what was going on. He just felt dizzy and then fell down.

Li Yuanfang, who was standing by, felt something was wrong when he saw Su Wuming faint.

This person is Di Gong's last disciple, and he will help Di Gong solve strange cases in the future.

But when investigating a case, how can there be no bloodshed?

This kid clearly has a blood phobia!

In this case, even if you learn a lot of skills, how can you investigate the case?