Chapter 107: Targeting Only You for Trouble

Di Ying: "..."
He wanted to pat the little one's head, but his fingers felt as if they belonged to someone else entirely, refusing to obey his will.

Yi Lan, sharp-witted, stepped forward and helped Second Uncle pat the little one.

Yi Mei also accompanied the little one, gently blowing on Second Uncle’s hands.

Yi Ying, covering his eyes, ran outside and crouched silently by the wall, weeping.

Di Lei’s wife, Madam Xu, saw Yi Ying run out and followed him.

She crouched beside her son, murmuring softly.

“See? Being an official isn’t entirely peaceful either. But you must study well and learn your skills—not for anything else, but to help your Second Uncle shoulder some of the burden.

This time, when your Second Uncle and Auntie got into trouble, there wasn’t a single person from our own Di family by their side. How miserable is that?

We have such a big family; don’t all be useless. You be good, learn your skills early, and accompany your Second Uncle.

The bad guys never run out, and your Second Uncle will never have a moment’s rest. Having you by his side would give our whole family some peace of mind.

And at worst... if anything happens, he won’t be so alone, and we won’t be so heartbroken.”

Her words stopped Yi Ying’s tears.

Sniffling, he said, “I’m already eleven years old. In three years, at most four, I will pass the imperial examination and follow Second Uncle proudly and properly!”

Madam Xu nodded with tears in her eyes.

Inside the house, Di Lei asked his second younger brother foolishly, “These past few days, the house has been full of gifts and offerings from the common folk, with no place left to put them.

You need to get better quickly; we must think of a way to return their kindness properly. You also have to eat well—don’t waste their goodwill.”

Di Ying: "..."

He could only nod helplessly, feeling as if he were being fattened up like a pig—a very, very fat pig.

Seven days later, after “Di’s Three Needles” had mostly healed him, he entered the palace.

To give thanks.

Dressed neatly, covering the missing flesh on his body that couldn’t heal in time.

Also hiding the countless scars within his heart.

Upon seeing His Majesty, Di Ying bowed deeply, thanking the emperor for sparing his life.

The old emperor’s face was stern as he watched Di Ying meticulously complete his salutes, then asked, “Still so reckless?”

Di Ying answered evasively.

“Your Majesty, Qin Tiezong abducted and imprisoned my sister privately. The situation was dire, and I had no choice but to gather my servants and guards to storm the Magistrate’s Court to rescue her.

In the conflict, casualties were unavoidable. Why does Your Majesty punish me for willfully breaking the law? Which law forbids family members from rescuing their own?

And gathering the common people to execute criminals privately? How do servants, guards, and attendants become ordinary civilians?

Criminals? Since Your Majesty personally acknowledged that those in the Magistrate’s Court are criminals, what wrong did I commit by breaking in and seizing criminals?

Is my mistake that I didn’t follow protocol and report to you through proper channels when time was of the essence? Should I have waited to mobilize soldiers before rescuing her?

If so, I admit my fault.”

The old emperor said, “...The monks at the White Horse Temple, you sent people to kill them, didn’t you? And you set that fire, too, right? You’re a court official; don’t you know this violates the law?”

Without looking up, Di Ying fixed his gaze on the floor, straightened his back, and answered,

“I must report: At the White Horse Temple, countless women were forcibly abducted, imprisoned, and harmed by those monks. Therefore, I hurried with men to besiege and rescue...”

“Enough!”

The old emperor couldn’t bear it any longer and interrupted him, “Are you going to say again: casualties were unavoidable in the conflict? The candlestick toppled over?

Are you going to say: you deserve praise for saving people?”

“Your Majesty is wise!” Di Ying clasped his fists and bowed.

The old emperor said, “...Leave. I don’t want to see you again, especially don’t want to hear you speak.”

“I take my leave.”

Di Ying bowed and retreated backward.

Just as he reached the doorway, he heard the old emperor ask, “A man is emperor with three palaces and six courts; I am emperor—why can’t I keep even one close confidant?”

Di Ying looked up, meeting the emperor’s gaze, and replied earnestly,

“If Your Majesty opens your harem widely and selects concubines, let them scheme against only you, no one will mind.”

The old emperor was speechless.

He grabbed a memorial and tossed it at Di Ying.

Di Ying left.

Returning immediately to the censor’s office where he had barely warmed his seat, he packed his things, smiled, and bade farewell to Shangguan Wu Yongchang before going to the office of the Deputy Minister of Revenue.

The Deputy Minister of Revenue is the assistant to the Minister of Revenue, responsible for overseeing the entire nation’s finances and tax distribution.

In other words: Di Ying could no longer handle cases. He had become a mere accountant.

Moreover, his superior was Wu Chengsi.

Now that the emperor didn’t want to see Di Ying, Di Ying didn’t want to see Wu Chengsi either.

He didn’t even visit Shangguan or his colleagues, just registered at his new office, left a note saying he was “taking sick leave,” and leisurely went home.

He rode a carriage home.

His scrawny younger brother, Di Hui, was waiting for him.

“Second Brother, before, I was registering cases at the Supreme Court, right? You haven’t solved all those cases, have you? I brought all the remaining ones back when I left. There’s one you might want to look at first.”

Di Ying didn’t respond.

Instead, he bypassed Di Hui, went to the main hall, paid respects in order to his grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, and eldest sister-in-law, talked with the family for a while, then returned to his study.

He flipped through the case files Di Hui had placed on his desk.

Upon seeing one particular case, he squinted.

The case was simple, and all the charges made sense.

A fourteen-year-old maidservant stole a jade hairpin from her mistress, was caught red-handed and dirty.

The maidservant was sentenced to have both hands cut off and exiled for ten years.

After the mistress pleaded for mercy, the sentence was reduced to twenty years in prison. She was currently held in the Ministry of Justice’s main prison.

The maidservant’s family was dissatisfied and repeatedly appealed, but they were beaten and injured by the executioners.

After hearing of Di Ying’s reputation, they submitted their petition to the Supreme Court and to Di Hui.

Di Ying looked at the claimant’s name: Princess Yongtai, Li Xianxian.

Now this was interesting.

Who was Princess Yongtai? The seventh daughter of Crown Prince Li Zhe.

Married to Wu Chengsi’s son—Wu Yanji.

No wonder the maidservant’s family couldn’t win the case. Filing a suit against a princess as a commoner and not being beaten to death by the executioners was already a testament to Princess Yongtai’s kindness.

So, should he still investigate the case? Di Ying thought.

Of course, he should... not a chance.

Now he was a glorified “accountant.” Investigating cases?

The emperor would definitely pin the charge of overstepping authority and law-breaking on him.

And he would do so thoroughly and firmly.

Di Ying thought for a moment, pulled out the case file, and went to find Song Wen.

The capital’s cases, the jurisdiction of Jingzhao, were flawless.

Song Wen was carefully reading the autopsy records Di Ying had left him when suddenly a new case file appeared before him.

Startled, he looked up and saw Di Ying, who immediately sprang to his feet.