"Greetings to His Majesty the Crown Prince, I am Zhang Wenjin, the left minister of the Ministry of Punishments. Look, this is the sachet you lost!"
Chu Ran laughed, and then said seriously:
"I've met Mr. Zhang. This sachet is my favorite thing. Thanks to you, it was lost and recovered. Today, Mr. Di and I are here with your majesty's order. There is one more thing to do, and that is to interrogate the prisoner Zhou Huai, the witnesses of the Wang family, and a bunch of files. Enter Dali Temple for review!”
After hearing this, Mr. Zhang slapped his thigh:
"So that's what happened. Your Highness, Lord Di, please go inside quickly. However, the witness from the Wang family is currently in the vacant room of the Criminal Department. Perhaps he has been a little acclimated these past few days. He is currently recuperating and may not be able to move around!"
"Oh? In this case, I have to go and take a look. This witness is of great importance, so there must be no problems!" Di Xue said and let Zhang Shilang lead the way.
"Master Di, please go and pick up Zhou Huai to avoid long nights and dreams. I am somewhat familiar with medical skills, so I will go see the girl from the Wang family first!" Chu Ran whispered to Di Xue.
Di Xue listened to Chu Ranzhi's words and nodded lightly with confidence.
"Master Zhang, the prince can just go see the girl from the Wang family. I am impatient and have to go see the murder suspect now!" After Di Xue said this, Zhang Wenjin did not stop him and sent a guard to take Di Xue to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
The prison of the Ministry of Punishment was very cold and dark, and it was necessary to light a candle to barely see during the day.
Di Xue narrowed her eyes and allowed herself to adapt to the environment. She followed the guard to the door of a cell and stopped.
"Prisoner Zhou Huai, you have been handed over to Dali Temple. Master Di of Dali Temple is now escorting you back!" the guard said.
"I was detained from Dali Temple, and I have to go back now. Can you handle the case well? I have said countless times that I did not kill anyone!"
Di Xue followed the sound and saw that Zhou Huai was wearing a hemp-colored prison uniform, his hands and feet were shackled, and he was slumped on the straw looking boredly at the small skylight in the prison.
Di Xue saw that his body was clean and tidy, and the skin on his handcuffs and shackles was not frayed. It seemed that he had not suffered any physical pain.
If you look closely, his hands are covered with calluses and his skin is bronze. It seems that he is a practitioner.
So he cleared his throat and said: "The conditions in the prison in Dali Temple are better than those in the Punishment Department. Mr. Zhou, please condescend to go there!"
Zhou Huai turned around when he heard the voice and saw a tall, fair-skinned, and dressed woman who looked very familiar: "But Mr. Di from Dali Temple!"
Di Xue nodded: "I met Mr. Zhou once in the palace, let's go then?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the jingle of iron chains, and then Zhou Huai walked to the door and said to the guard: "Why are you standing there, open the door!"
The guard opened the door and Zhou Huai came out: "Master Di, you are not only an expert in solving cases, but you are also as beautiful as a flower. You must clear my name!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Zhou, I will enforce the law impartially. If you have any grievances, the truth will naturally come to light!" After Di Xue finished speaking, she took Zhou Huai's shackles and walked forward.
Zhou Huai followed behind and asked nonstop: "Master Di, how young are you? Are you married? Do you have any sisters at home?"
"Ahem, the patrol from Dali Temple is here. Master Di, let's go and file the file?" Chu Ran came to the prison door at some point, glared at Zhou Huai behind Di Xue, and then said.
Without waiting for Di Xue to answer, Zhou Huai suddenly said in surprise: "Brother Ran, why are you here!"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was ordered to investigate this case!" Di Xue returned.
Seeing this, Zhou Huai already understood, and his anxious heart was relieved. He shut his mouth obediently and followed the Dali Temple patrolman into the escort car.
"Master Di, do you think we should take the prisoner back first, or should we wait for you to come with him?"
Said a pleasant-looking boy in his early twenties wearing patrol clothes.
"Let's go back together later, Han Shu, come with me to get the file!"
After Di Xue said this, the young patrolman named Han Shu followed him.
The files of the Criminal Department were placed in the inner hall, and Di Xue and his party walked around for a long time before reaching the place.
Looking at the inconspicuous house with earth walls and thatch in front of him, Chu Ran asked:
"Isn't the file extremely important? Why is it placed in this shabby room? From a distance, it looks like a larger toilet!"
"This is for fear of being stolen. The Ministry of Punishment was stolen twenty years ago and many important files were lost. At that time, the late emperor was furious and dismissed most of the officials in the Ministry of Punishment. So in order to prevent the tragedy from happening again, the Ministry of Punishment thought of this person who confused the gentleman in Liang Shang. Method!"
Chu Ran nodded after listening to Di Xue's words. At this time, Zhang Shilang came over:
"Your Majesty, Master Di, it is really unfortunate that Master Shangshu is ill, and the junior officials who are sorting out the files are also sick. The files have not been completely sorted out, so they cannot be taken away today!"
"It doesn't matter, just hand over the incomplete file to me!" Di Xue said and glanced at Chu Ran, and it was as expected.
Zhang Shilang quickly raised his hand and said, "Lord Di, you don't know something. The files of the Ministry of Punishments must be signed and sealed by Lord Shangshu before they can be transferred!"
Di Xue looked inside the room. Although there was no one on the surface, she could still hear subtle sounds thanks to her inner strength.
It seems that Zhang Shilang is determined not to let himself get the file, so it is better to go back to Dali Temple early to make arrangements.
"Since today is an unlucky day, we won't bother you too much. I hope Master Zhang will notify you after he has sorted out the files!"
When Chu Ran saw Di Xuesong relaxed, he naturally thought of the key point, so he said not to disturb them, and they took the Wang family girl and Zhou Huai back to Dali Temple.
Han Shu asked doubtfully on the way:
"Sir, that Minister Zhang is obviously trying to frustrate us, why are you going along with their wishes instead?"
Di Xue smiled slightly and said with half-closed eyes:
"They are prevaricating us and refusing to give us the files. They just want to delay the progress of our investigation. The more the Ministry of Punishment behaves like this, the more it shows that they have something evil in mind. In this case, it is better to let them delay the revision and we will ignore it!"
Seeing Han Shu scratching his head and still looking puzzled, Chu Ran said with a smile:
"Even if the files from the Ministry of Justice are handed over to us now, they will only be revised and refined versions, which will not be of much help to us!"
Seeing the understanding expression on Han Shu's face, Chu Ran smiled softly and said, "Your adults are good at everything, but they are too smart and don't think about others!"
"His Royal Highness, you are trying to accuse me of being stupid!" Han Shu finally came to his senses!
The carriage drove smoothly for half the time of burning incense, passing through the streets and alleys of Yuanjing, and finally stopped smoothly in front of the Dali Temple.
Di Xue gave up the room where he occasionally rested in Dali Temple to the Wang family girl.
Then he personally placed Zhou Huai in the prison, and ordered Zhang Ying to guard him personally. The number of patrolling guards inside and outside the prison was doubled, so Di Xue breathed a sigh of relief.
Di Xue rested on the stone table in the backyard and looked at the sky. The sun was already somewhat westward. Then she remembered that she hadn't eaten anything until now!
"Are you so nervous? You've been busy for a long time. You must be tired!" Chu Ran walked out of the Wang family girl's room.
Di Xue shook her head, and suddenly her stomach growled, and then she felt an uncontrollable pain in her stomach. Di Xue was sweating on her forehead, covering her stomach with her hands and was speechless.
When Chu Ran saw this, he immediately ran forward, got closer and asked, "What's wrong? Do you feel sick to your stomach?"
Di Xue looked at Chu Ran's face, which was very white in the shade of the trees. Her eyes were involuntarily attracted to the corners of his red eyes.
Coupled with his slightly red cheeks after running, he had an inexplicable feeling in his heart, and he couldn't help but blurt out: "It looks like a ripe apple!"
"What?" Chu Ran asked, not hearing clearly, and moved closer.
The autumn wind cooperated obediently and blew the corners of his clothes slightly, and the leaves rustled. Di Xue lightly brushed the broken hair on her forehead and said with a smile: "I said, the corners of your eyes and cheeks are like ripe apples!"
Chu Ran watched Di Xue lightly open her red lips, her words were like soft catkins running across her chest, but she hit her heart with such force that the girl in front of her was bright and bright, like a person in a fantasy, and people couldn't help but be attracted to her.
"Where did you get this pastry? It's so delicious!"
Chu Ran calmed down after listening to the voice, and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he found that Di Xue was no longer in front of him.
At this time, Di Xue had already detoured behind Chu Ran, tapped Chu Ran's arm, stuffed the pastry in the food box vaguely and asked:
"His Royal Highness? Chu Ran! Are you stupid?"
Chu Ran turned around and saw Di Xue's mouth full of pastries, her cheeks bulging, and her heart softened:
"Eat slowly, don't choke, I brought it to you specially, it's all yours!"
Di Xue swallowed the cake with difficulty, took a breath and said:
"You're alive, by the way, Chu Ran, the redness in the corners of your eyes is natural!"
"Yeah!" Chu Ran nodded shyly, but then his eyes dimmed. Because of the corners of his eyes, some people laughed at him since he was a child. Later, when he grew up, these people stopped talking due to their status. Didn't she also find it weird?
"That's really special. When I first saw you, I thought you were pretty. I thought you drew it yourself!" Di Xue said with a smile, and of course the second half of the sentence was meant to tease Chu Ran.
Chu Ran blushed even more when he heard this. He handed the food box in his hand to Di Xue and said:
"Stop making fun of me and eat quickly!"
"By the way, I don't have to be polite in the future, just call him by his first name!"
Di Xue picked up the last piece of pastry on the plate and stuffed it into Chu Ran's mouth, then smiled and waved her hand:
"You eat slowly. I'll go and find out what happened that day with Mr. Zhou."
Seeing Di Xue walking away, Chu Ran squatted on the ground in annoyance, wondering why she had manipulated him just now. Chu Ran, you have to be like a man and cannot always let her have the upper hand!
