Uncle Detective Di Renjie, I build a crime-solving team

Chapter 656: Di Guangzhao's Bribery Case

Five hundred thousand taels of silver is an astronomical figure for most people.

For Di Guangzhao at this moment, and even for Di Guangzhao in the future, it is an astronomical figure.

And this was only the first time. One can imagine how high a price Di Guangzhao had to pay after accepting the bribe.

The most important thing is, what on earth happened that made people willing to offer 500,000 taels of silver as a bribe to Di Guangzhao.

You know, the Han Canal boat capsizing case shocked both Huai and Yang areas, and was called by Yuan Qi himself "the greatest strange case in ancient and modern times unprecedented in history". The Yangzhou governor Cui Liang even ran around for Yuan Qi in the case.

In this way, Cui Liang could only earn one million taels of silver a year.

Di Guangzhao received 500,000 taels at one time.

Li Cunxi frowned and said, "Uncle, you already know what happened, right?"

Di Renjie nodded silently.

He was the executive vice emperor of this dynasty, known as the number one person under the emperor. He was extremely cautious throughout his life, but he did not expect that he would end up in trouble because of his son.

According to the court's laws, Di Guangzhao accepted so many bribes and should be beheaded as a warning to others.

But even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, so how could Di Renjie possibly watch Di Guangzhao being beheaded in public?

Therefore, he kept dragging the matter on, waiting for Li Cunxi to come back before making a decision.

"Well, uncle, I will discuss this matter with my third brother."

"You have been working so hard these days, so please don't get involved. I will take care of it."

Li Cunxi turned to Di Renjie and spoke earnestly.

Di Renjie had been an official for so many years that he knew what Li Cunxi meant. He immediately stood up and said:

"I have had the servants clean up the yard where you used to live, waiting for you to come back and live here."

"You brothers haven't seen each other for a long time. Stay at the mansion tonight and rest."

"I have other things to do. I'm going to go and do my work."

Li Cunxi and Di Guangzhao hurriedly escorted Di Renjie out and accompanied him to the gate of Di's mansion. They watched Di Renjie leave in a carriage, and then returned to the small courtyard where they had lived.

Li Cunxi's small courtyard is in a corner. Although it is not big, it has four or five houses. The tree in the middle of the courtyard is no different from usual except that all its leaves have fallen off.

"Go to the study, Third Brother."

Li Cunxi took the initiative to step forward, pushed open the door of the study, and the two walked in together.

Sitting in his old seat, Li Cunxi pointed to the chair beside him.

"Third brother, sit down."

Di Guangzhao was a little reserved and only sat halfway.

"Cunxi..."

As soon as Di Guangzhao called out his name, he didn’t know what to say next.

He made a mistake and ended up having to clean his butt with his father, second brother and his former most beloved younger brother.

"Third brother, five hundred thousand taels of silver is not a small amount."

"The one who can give you 500,000 taels of silver at once must not be a simple nobody."

"If someone is willing to give you 500,000 taels of silver for one thing, this thing must be something big enough to break the sky."

Li Cunxi leaned back, his tone very calm.

"Tell me, what is going on?"

Di Guangzhao gritted his teeth and lowered his head: "Cunxi, when I was in Weizhou, I oppressed the people. After being caught by my father, I reflected on where I went wrong."

"Later I figured it out. It was because I exploited the people that I became a nuisance."

"Then, His Majesty sent me to Luzhou as a governor. I gritted my teeth and decided not to go against the people. I wanted to be a good official."

Li Cunxi tapped the armrest lightly and nodded nonchalantly.

He had heard several times about what happened after Di Guangzhao was transferred to Luzhou as the governor. It was indeed a lot of progress compared to before, and he no longer harmed the people.

Therefore, there is indeed nothing wrong with what was said in the first part, but I don’t know what will happen in the latter part.

Di Guangzhao swallowed his saliva and said:

"I thought that if I tried my best to be a good official, I would be able to change the current predicament I was facing, so I was diligent in my work and loved the people."

"Later, the big clans in Luzhou found me and hoped that I could cooperate with them and use my power to transfer a few officials to climb up the social ladder."

"I checked those officials early on and they were all idiots, so I didn't agree to it."

"In theory, rejecting the clans is not a good thing, because these local tyrants have all kinds of ways to oppose me. But after rejecting them, they seem to have forgotten about it, and we have always lived in harmony."

"Then one night, I was resting in the governor's mansion when someone suddenly came in and said that I was caught red-handed."

Di Guangzhao recounted his experience that night in a miserable tone.

It turned out that he was still handling affairs that night when suddenly the inner guards rushed into the study, pressed him on the table, and accused him of corruption and bribery and sent him to the inner guard office for prosecution.

He kept crying out for injustice and even brought up Di Renjie, saying that he had listened to his father's teachings, reformed himself, and wanted to be a good official.

But no one listened. The guards took him directly into the official residence and lifted the bricks on the ground in front of him, revealing a large box underneath.

Then Di Guangzhao was taken back to Beijing.

Out of consideration for Di Renjie's reputation, Wu Zetian made the matter public, but she still sent Di Guangzhao directly to Di's mansion and ordered him to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors.

After listening to Di Guangzhao's story, Li Cunxi was stunned and asked:

"Only 500,000 taels of silver were dug out?"

Di Guangzhao didn't understand and nodded:

"It is true that we only dug up 500,000 taels of silver. What's wrong, Cunxi?"

Li Cunxi found it very entertaining.

"Does anyone know who bribed you?"

"I don't know, this..." Di Guangzhao suddenly reacted, "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about my thoughts for now." Li Cunxi chuckled, "After you came back, you didn't tell anyone about these things, right?"

"No, absolutely not. I swear to God. I haven't even told my father about it because I know he doesn't believe me. My criminal record is there."

"Very good, Third Brother." Li Cunxi clapped his hands. "Now you must tell me the truth. That night, you did see 500,000 taels of silver being dug out from under the floor tiles. Moreover, you don't know who put it there, and it was definitely not a bribe you received. You haven't told anyone any details, right?"

"That's right, this is the truth. If any of it is false, I, Di Guangzhao, will be struck by lightning!"

Di Guangzhao spoke in an excited tone, as if he had already seen the possibility of escaping the crime.

The smile on Li Cunxi's face became more and more intense.

"Very good, Third Brother, wait for me in the mansion and don't go anywhere else. Just sleep in my bed."

"I'll go collect the remaining clues. I'll come back to find you when I'm done. Don't worry. If someone really framed you, I'll kill everyone in their family!"

Li Cunxi stood up, comforted Di Guangzhao again, and then walked out.

Di Guangzhao followed out, looking excited.

"Cunxi, am I saved?"