The Tang Dynasty: Wu Zetian made me her imperial tutor

In the center of the main hall in the front courtyard of the Lu residence stood a tall, robust elderly man in his sixties.

He wore a light scarlet robe, had a long beard, and a dignified appearance. His eyes were bright as he looked into the courtyard.

Lu Jun quickly stepped forward and bowed, feeling as if two people were missing from his side...

"Lord Di must have taken the time to grace my humble abode with his presence; there must be something important on your mind. Please do not hesitate to offer your guidance." This form of address sounds so familiar.

Di Renjie remained silent until Yan Niang finished serving the tea and knelt outside the door to serve, then he took a deep sip.

"It is said that in the capital city, the common tea-making techniques are found in Tuanzixuan, the celestial tea-making techniques in Taichu Palace, and the divine tea-making techniques are only found in the Lu residence. This is because the source of the tea-making art can be found here, and it is indeed well-deserved of its reputation."

He still wouldn't get down to business.

Only after Yan Niang was sent away did he smile mysteriously: "Shi Yi is indeed very talented. Have you already guessed why I've come?"

Lu Jun asked, "Is it about the official land?"

Di Renjie asked, "How did you guess that?"

Lu Jun replied:

"I have never had the opportunity to visit Lord Di before. My sudden visit may be related to my visit to Vice Minister Li's residence at the beginning of the month."

"Minister Li has agreed to help me investigate the matter of the land grants. The person I entrust with this task is none other than Lord Di."

"It is only because my hometown is in Luhun, which is under the jurisdiction of Luozhou, and the Sima of Luozhou is my local official."

"Your reputation as a 'Recorder' is well-deserved; you are indeed exceptionally intelligent!" Di Renjie's face showed approval, and he asked again, "Could the 'Recorder' guess who intended to frame you?"

Lu Jun chuckled self-deprecatingly, "You'd never guess that, I've offended too many people..."

He acts too recklessly, and could be a cruel official, Wu Chengsi, a member of the Li clan, or an extreme pro-Li faction.

They deliberately offend high-level players.

"I really can't guess who would be so bored as to come up with such a trivial trick." He added.

Di Renjie shook his head: "This is no trivial trick. If Shi Yi had not been honest, upright, and quick-witted, he would have already fallen into their trap."

Lu Jun asked curiously, "Even if they really did accept the official land or grant land, it wouldn't be a serious offense since I was an underling and didn't notice, would it?"

"What if the key lies not in the fields, but in the people?" Di Renjie smiled slightly.

"The Assistant Director of the Agricultural Colony is named Liu Yicong. The Imperial Censor already knows this. In recent years, he has been in close contact with the Vice Director of the Ministry of War."

What Shi Yi didn't know was that ten years ago, Liu Yi had been the Registrar of the Prince Xiang's Office.

"And the Prince Xiang is none other than the current emperor..."

"Ah!" Lu Jun sat up abruptly.

"Does Lord Di mean that if I accept bribes, whether intentionally or unintentionally, it could implicate the current emperor and make it seem like the emperor is trying to win me over?"

Immediately sensing something, he asked, "Has this Liu Yicong pledged allegiance to the Duke of Zhou?"

Without a doubt, the person most eager to frame Li Dan was Wu Chengsi.

Di Renjie slowly shook his head:

"The emperor is the empress dowager's biological son, and he is humble by nature. The empress dowager will not easily touch him; doing so would be too obvious."

"Furthermore, Liu Yi was not authorized by the emperor. If the person sent by the Empress Dowager to investigate was not a cruel official, the situation is self-evident."

Lu Jun frowned: "Then what is Liu Yicong trying to do? Is he waiting for me to ask him?"

According to Cui Shi, Liu Yi not only took care of himself, but recently he has also been taking care of other officials, trying to get things done indirectly.

Therefore, Lu Jun never went to ask him directly, lest she alert him...

"Don't go to pick up lost items," Di Renjie said firmly.

"The best way to avoid trouble is to neither accept his favors nor pay him any attention."

"Once contact is made with him, someone will impeach the Imperial Censor, intending to curry favor with the Emperor through Liu Yicong!"

"Their target isn't the Emperor, but the Imperial Censor himself. The Emperor will be fine, but the Imperial Censor is in grave danger!"

Lu Jun's soul came from a thousand years in the future. She was usually calm and composed in the face of adversity, but at this moment she was terrified.

He immediately asked, "Who will impeach me?"

Di Renjie countered, "Now that Shi Yi knows Liu Yi's background, can he guess who he is?"

Lu Jun was somewhat dazed. In her memory, Di Guolao also liked to do this, always taking a jab at his opponent before explaining the whole story.

Based on the known information...

Let's rule out Wu Chengsi first, because his opponent is the emperor, and even if he wanted to harm us, he wouldn't be in a hurry to act at this time.

The Li clan? They're barely surviving these days, how could they possibly have the resources to do all this?

There are also extreme pro-Li factions. Although they all hate those who support the military and urge Li Dan to ascend the throne, using Liu Yicong as bait would only tarnish Li Dan's reputation, making it a losing proposition.

After eliminating all the impossible options, only one option remains.

"Is he a cruel official?"

"Tsk tsk, Lu Shiyi is meticulous. It's a pity he's not in the Ministry of Justice!" Di Renjie gave a thumbs up.

Despite the praise, Lu Jun felt no joy: "But why is this cruel official targeting me? Who is it?"

Although he had a grudge against Zhou Xing, he had apologized and they had reconciled, so he shouldn't cause any more trouble.

Di Renjie slowly said:

"This person's methods are extremely shrewd and covert; without careful analysis, it would be impossible to detect them."

"I first investigated the magistrate of Luhun County and thought that this person was instructed to do so. Later I found out that he was just a sycophant who was offering his services on his own initiative."

"They also sent people to keep an eye on Liu Yicong, but he always acted alone, attending court and performing his duties as usual, remaining calm and composed whether in court or out of court..."

"How did you find out that it was related to cruel officials?" Lu Jun asked curiously.

Di Renjie smiled slightly: "The more composed he is, the more he exposes his own problems, doesn't he?"

Lu Jun immediately realized, "That makes sense! With everyone in the court feeling insecure, how can we be so relaxed?"

Liu Yicong should have felt guilty for doing this.

It would be strange if I wasn't nervous.

"Di once served in the Court of Judicial Review and had friends in the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate. He asked someone to investigate on his behalf..."

"Someone recalled that Liu Yi had been targeted by cruel officials since the beginning of the year, and someone from the Autumn Bureau had seen his case file. But now, upon further investigation, the case file has disappeared."

"Usually, if there's no concrete evidence against a suspect, the file will be blocked, not removed. The only possible reason is..."

"He sided with the cruel officials, and the case files were secretly kept."

"It's Zhou Xing!" Lu Jun exclaimed softly.

The case file had appeared in the Ministry of Justice, and combined with my own experience, it could only be Zhou Xing, the Vice Minister of Justice!

This skinny bamboo stick is like a persistent ghost; even though the matter is over, it's still staring at me!

"It was Zhou Xing." Di Renjie nodded, then asked, "Does Shiyi know why he targeted you?"

Lu Jun frowned: "This humble official has never taken the initiative to provoke Minister Zhou, nor does he have the power to bring him down. I don't understand."

Although the cruel official was ruthless and greedy, he was also the best at seeking profit and avoiding harm. He couldn't understand why Zhou Xing was so fixated on him.

There's no question of seeking personal gain.

I pose no threat to myself and have no need to avoid harm.

"Although Shi Yi has never attacked Zhou Xing, he enjoys the Empress Dowager's deep trust. Isn't he worried that Shi Yi might retaliate one day?"

"This person is ruthless and will definitely try to set a trap. We need to find out what he has to do with it so that we can retaliate in the future."

"Liu Yicong is a case in point. The trap may seem simple, but it is just the beginning. As it accumulates, it becomes evidence of his misdeeds."

"Shiyi has the reputation of being a saint of tea. If he had not been upright and honest and had not pursued the profits of merchants, he would probably have been impeached long ago."

"Also, recently many officials have disappeared without a trace. Surely someone must have stopped them on the street to ask them to come and help them out..."

"Huh?" Lu Jun broke out in a cold sweat.

These days, the cruel officials are extremely arrogant. Some officials were kidnapped when they went to court, and cries of agony were often heard in various neighborhoods and residences.

Lu Jun was enjoying the Emperor's favor, and no one dared to make a move against him. However, a wronged man with a grievance on his head stopped him, saying that he could get close to the Empress Dowager and begged him to say a few words of justice for his father.

He didn't know the victim and was powerless to help, so he only listened for a couple of sentences before choosing to stay far away.

It turned out to be a trap too...

Di Renjie continued, "Zhou Xing is skilled in criminal law and will most likely investigate Zhou Xing's past experiences privately..."

hiss--

Lu Jun felt as if she had been electrocuted; her scalp tingled and her blood pressure soared to the top of her head.

My heart was pounding loudly, but I felt frozen, and my breathing was sluggish.

He suddenly thought of something...

Zhou Xing has an undercover agent among Li Ying's people; heaven knows when he was sent there.

If he had been sent earlier, Wei Xuantong would have recommended himself to Li Ying for admission to the Imperial Academy, and this matter would have been seen. After Zhou Xing investigated it carefully, it would definitely have been brought up again.

Once Zhou Xing learned of this relationship, he saw himself as someone who had to be eliminated.

Because Wei Xuantong was his benefactor, yet he had been framed and killed by him, their enmity was irreconcilable.

It's either him or me who dies!

Suddenly, a face with high cheekbones, sunken cheeks, and an extremely sinister expression appeared before Lu Jun's eyes.

Behind that face lies the damp, musty prison of Lijing Gate, and the officials' trembling fear.

"No...it has to be him who dies!" Lu Jun's mind raced, her right hand clenching tightly as if holding a sharp blade.

"Is the tension over finding lost items due to your relationship with Prime Minister Wei?" Di Renjie's voice rang out.

Lu Jun was taken aback: "How did Judge Di know?"

He immediately realized that Li Ying was an employee of the organization, so the other members of the organization naturally knew about it.

Di Renjie did not answer, but slowly said, "Now that things have come to this, I will help you collect the lost items and will not let you fight alone."

"You want me to join the organization?" Lu Jun raised her head, the determination in her eyes the answer.

Di Renjie asked with a faint smile, "Judging from Shi Yi's expression, he doesn't seem afraid of the cruel officials?"

"I'm afraid too." Lu Jun took a sip of tea.

But if the organization takes advantage of the chaos, it's no different from a cruel official... We will never accept coercion!

Di Renjie shook his head, his voice deep and resolute: "It has nothing to do with the organization. I helped with the collection of lost items because Lord Wei was also my benefactor."

"Shiyi once suggested that exiles from Lingnan be sent to the army. I know that this was secretly helping the descendants of the Wei family."

"You have never received any favors from the Li family, so it is understandable that you would not protect them. Your willingness to repay Lord Wei's kindness shows that you are a righteous man."

Please accept my bow!

He stood up and bowed deeply.

Lu Jun quickly returned the greeting: "Lord Di, you are too kind. I didn't expect anyone to be able to see through it..."

Di Renjie raised his head, his gaze sharp: "Then Shi Yi has miscalculated! Because Zhou Xing has already seen through it..."

"This is the real reason why Mr. Di visited today."