Episode 2

Judge Dee’s Mystery Episode 2 Plot Introduction: Wei Wuji steps in to protect Di Renjie

Ju Shui Tower, a theater with a plaque given by the Queen, was suddenly devoured by fire overnight. Eight of the nine people died. Only Di Renjie survived, so he became the biggest suspect.Hong Liang discovered that Di Renjie had not returned all night, so he and Qiao Tai went to the streets to search. They happened to see Di Renjie being dragged all the way to the county government office for interrogation by officers and soldiers, and hurriedly went to Wei Wuji for help.

The Ming government forced Di Renjie to sign a signature acknowledging that Ju Shui Tower was a natural disaster, otherwise he would be considered the arsonist.Di Renjie recalled the events before and after and refused to sign, insisting that it was caused by a man-made accident.When the Ming Dynasty ordered Di Renjie to be tortured, Wei Wuji came forward as a guarantee and revealed that Di's father was Zuo Cheng Di Zhisun.

With this relationship, the Ming government naturally did not dare to neglect Di Renjie, but it was also worried that he would take the opportunity to escape and be unable to explain to the saint.Wei Wuji proposed to put black iron shackles on Di Renjie to eliminate the concerns of the Ming Dynasty.In the end, the Ming government agreed that Di Renjie should prove his innocence by investigating the case, and he had to report the progress every day and find the real culprit within ten days.

On the first day, Di Renjie and others came to the morgue.Seven of the eight corpses were charred, but Yaxin's body was intact.In addition, Di Renjie discovered that Yaxin had the palace key on her body and the sachet on her waist was very exquisite and could not be owned by ordinary people, so he immediately asked Qiao Tai and Ma Rong to investigate the people who bought this spice.

Later, Di Renjie returned to the Ju Shui Building to investigate the scene and found the burned knot used to lock the door. Based on various signs, it was speculated that Yaxin was hiding in the secret room and was unable to escape and was killed by the thick smoke.Qiao Tai found out that the sachet contained a mixture of myrrh, sandalwood and tulip, both of which were the queen's favorite spices. From this, he could conclude that Yaxin was Si Bao's palace maid beside the queen.Di Renjie personally went to the Jinwu Guard Yamen to inform him of the discovery. Sure enough, the queen's confidant general Kang Zhiyi came to confirm his identity and ordered a thorough investigation of Pingkangfang.

That night, the senior ministers headed by Captain Changsun put pressure on the saint. Yaxin was in charge of the stolen phoenix seal. All because of the queen's negligence, the imperial power fell aside and was used by evil people to kill Zhongliang. The whole court and the public were panicked.The saint had concerns and did not make a decision, while the queen knocked on wooden fish in the harem to calm her mind, saying nothing the whole time.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and until the third day, Ju Shui Tower was still guarded by officers and soldiers, making it impossible to get close.Qiao Tai and Ma Rong collected information on the street. Ma Rong could not change his past bad habit of stealing things. He always grabbed something when passing some stalls, and ended up packing a whole bag of snacks and fruits, which left Qiao Tai speechless.

At this time, Di Renjie was drinking alone in the yard and was in a daze. He Dajing's voice and smile appeared in his mind, and he felt extremely heavy.During this period of time, all the things or people that the queen loved were met with misfortune one after another, which made everyone suspect that it was a punishment from the wrath of heaven, and rumors spread in the city of Chang'an.

Wei Wuji was worried about Di Renjie's safety and asked about the progress of his investigation.Di Renjie did not want to believe the news in the newspapers, but analyzed the situation based on what he saw and heard.He believes that the reform of the Queen's Imperial Examination is to break the monopoly of the clan, and the reform of agricultural affairs is to no longer pursue the crime of deported refugees, allowing them to settle nearby and arrange land, so that the people can cultivate and prosper. All these benefits are for the people.common people.

Therefore, in Di Renjie's view, the real culprit was someone from the hostile forces targeting the queen, and there must be many of these people in high positions.Wei Wuji acquiesced to Di Renjie's view, and also explained the stakes involved. They were not the real masters of Chang'an City, and they would be in trouble if they were not careful.

Hearing these words, Di Renjie felt distressed, returned to the room and locked himself up.Upon seeing this, Ma Rong set up a plate of pastries and sent it over. By the way, he asked Hong Liang about Di Renjie's life experience. He learned that his parents had died when he was a child, and he suddenly felt sympathy for the same illness.Although Hong Liang was a loyal servant of the Di family, he only knew that Di Renjie was nosy, and his specific thoughts were unclear.

After a thunderstorm, another murder occurred in a silkworm shed outside the city. Four people died in the fire, which seemed to be another natural disaster.Di Renjie took Ma Rong and Qiao Tai to the scene to watch. Hearing that they had a sudden illness and could not come, he took the initiative to ask for an examination and determined that the deceased were all men. The calluses on their palms may have been farmers. The clean mouth meant that they died before the fire.

Later, Di Renjie, with the help of Ma Rong, found the token from the fire scene.The Ming government stopped Di Renjie from continuing the investigation and reminded him in a low voice that there was something fishy about the fire and that he might be fighting for the gods, which meant something.Di Renjie felt like a mirror, so he had to leave first with Ma Rong and Qiao Tai. He found four tall horses on the roadside in the suburbs, one of which looked familiar to him. After careful reflection, he determined that the four dead were all members of the Imperial Guard.