I inherited my grandfather's Tang Dynasty assets.

Chapter 49 Child Prodigy Di Renjie

After Liu Boyan arrived, the two of them immediately went to Qujiang, where Yipinlou was a famous tavern.

The building also contains many poems by talented scholars, and it was packed almost every day when it was popular.

It's the off-season now, and there aren't many tourists. The entrance is deserted, so Chen Yue easily got a private room.

Chen Yue and Di Renjie sat inside chatting, while the tavern prepared food for Di Renjie's old woman and Seventh Sister, who were waiting outside.

"Renjie, is there anything special about your and your father's trip to Chang'an?"

"Grandpa is working in the capital and hasn't been home for two years, so this year Father said we should all come to Chang'an to keep her company."

Di Renjie was able to become a respected elder statesman during the Wu Zhou period not only because of his outstanding abilities, but also because of his noble character.

This is related to his upbringing. Born into a prominent family in the Guanzhong Plain, he received the best education from the day he was born, and Di Xiaoxu set a good example for him.

After waiting for about half an hour, Fan Tao finally arrived, accompanied by Liu Boyan.

On the way here, Fan Tao had already told Liu Boyan about Chen Yue's altered appearance, but he was still greatly surprised when he actually saw it.

Just as the two were about to greet Chen Yue, they suddenly saw Di Renjie at the same table. They immediately swallowed the words they were about to say and looked at Chen Yue with some confusion.

"Lord Fang, Liu Boyan, this is Di Renjie, his grandfather is Di Xiaoxu, the current Minister of the Secretariat."

"Renjie, this is the friend I told you about, Fan Tao, the magistrate of Wannian County. This is Liu Boyan, who just passed the imperial examination this year and will be going to Nanzhou to take up his post after the New Year."

Chen Yue gave them a brief introduction and secretly gave them a look, meaning not to reveal his identity as Shennong Envoy.

"So you are Lord Di's grandson. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Seeing Chen Yue introduce Di Renjie so solemnly, Fan Tao and the other man quickly exchanged a glance, both abandoning their contemptuous thoughts, and cupped their hands in greeting.

Di Renjie quickly stood up and respectfully returned the greeting.

"Lord Fan, Mr. Liu, please don't say that. It is Renjie's great fortune to know you two."

"Please sit down."

Chen Yue gestured for them to take their seats and instructed the restaurant staff to serve the food and drinks.

"Mr. Chen, is the person you mentioned in your letter perhaps Di Renjie?"

Fan Tao also changed his form of address, no longer calling him "sir." He was just a child of about ten years old; was he really a master at solving cases?

Or perhaps the person Chen Yue was referring to was actually Di Renjie's grandfather, Di Xiaoxu, but he hadn't arrived yet.

Chen Yue smiled.

"Lord Fan is right. The expert in solving cases I was talking about is my young friend Renjie. Don't underestimate him because of his young age. He has an exceptional talent for solving cases."

We met by chance, and we just talked about Yang Wanli's case at Xishikou. His remarks were very enlightening to me.

You said yesterday that there were no leads in this case, why don't we hear what he has to say?

Fan Tao was even more shocked to receive Chen Yue's personal confirmation.

"Young friend Renjie, since you have earned Mr. Chen's approval, you must possess exceptional abilities. Could you perhaps offer some guidance?"

Liu Boyan sat to the side without saying a word, but his eyes kept scanning Chen Yue and Di Renjie's faces.

This child is so highly regarded by Chen Yue. Others may not know, but he and Fan Tao know each other's true identities.

Di Renjie glanced at Chen Yue and took a deep breath.

"Lord Fan, I dare not presume to offer my guidance. These are merely Renjie's thoughts. If there is anything inappropriate, please point it out."

He then repeated his conversation with Chen Yue verbatim. At first, Fan Tao and Liu Boyan didn't pay much attention, but as they listened, they sensed something was off, and their expressions kept changing.

"Renjie, did you come up with all of this yourself?"

"Um."

"Haha, Mr. Chen, you truly have a discerning eye. Renjie, you are indeed a genius. After your explanation, this case has truly cleared up the fog for me, Mr. Fan."

Mr. Chen mentioned these two points yesterday as well. I have just found some clues. Back then, Yang Wanli handed over that batch of silk to his brother-in-law, Sun Ming. He has always managed the business in the palace.

After the incident, he returned to his hometown of Tongzhou. Now the Sun family is extremely wealthy in the area, and they are in the business of cloth and silk...

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent. Di Renjie's analysis alone was enough to earn Fan Tao's sincere admiration; he certainly hadn't anticipated that much.

Perfect! Combined with what I had just found out, the whole case became much clearer.

Di Renjie looked somewhat surprised after hearing this.

"Oh? The Sun family is in the cloth and silk business in Tongzhou? If Renjie is not mistaken, it should be related to Yang Wanli back then. It's really good that he wasn't silenced."

Fan Tao thought for a moment and said.

"The specific details have not yet been investigated, but as far as I know, the Sun family was able to quickly build up their business in Tongzhou precisely because they got involved with Yang Wanli."

The implication was that he had received a favor from Yang Wanli, which was only natural; once you have the ability, it's perfectly normal to help your wife's family.

Di Renjie then said something that surprised Chen Yue as well.

"Lord Fan, don't you find it strange? Even if the Sun family wasn't implicated, Yang Wanli's entire family was executed. Sun Ming should feel extremely guilty and remorseful. How could he still have the mood to return to Tongzhou and build such a large business in just a few years?"

There is only one possibility: he gained huge profits back then, and Hu Shanren was also in this kind of business. If the truth of this case is that he really set up a scheme to replace Yang Wanli.

During those five years, he must have had dealings with Sun Ming, or perhaps Sun Ming used this to blackmail him into helping him. Only then could he have rapidly expanded his business in Tongzhou in just a few years.

This analysis is well-reasoned and logical.

Fan Tao and Liu Boyan nodded repeatedly.

"That's absolutely right. Perhaps it was Hu Shanren who promised that after the matter was over, he would help him when he returned to Tongzhou and make him the biggest silk merchant in Tongzhou. They must have been corresponding in the past few years."

"How was it, Lord Fan? Is the expert detective I introduced to you reliable?"

"Very reliable, Mr. Chen. Young friend Renjie is truly intelligent. He was able to deduce the case to this extent with such a small amount of information, and his words are without any loopholes. It truly makes me ashamed."

"As expected of Lord Di's grandson, given time, he will surely become a pillar of our Great Tang Dynasty."

Fan Tao sighed in admiration. Di Renjie was so young, yet he had such insight into solving cases. Moreover, his speech was measured and his word choice was very accurate, which was enough to show that he was also excellent in other aspects.

But the child is only ten years old, about the same age as his son, yet the difference between the two is quite significant.

"Lord Fang, you flatter me. I am unworthy of such praise."

As he spoke, he glanced outside and looked at Chen Yue with some difficulty.

"Mr. Chen, Renjie needs to go home, otherwise my father will definitely scold him for what you promised..."

"Don't worry, I mean what I say."

Chen Yue knew what he wanted to say: to investigate the case with Fan Tao. Chen Yue would have done so even without Fan Tao's suggestion.