A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 190 How can you judge people like that?

Song Shuyu shared the same sentiment: "Who can argue with that? We worked tirelessly for seven days and nights, solving three unsolved cases, yet we felt no excitement or joy whatsoever."

"Because the murderer wasn't a heinous, ruthless monster, he couldn't experience the sense of accomplishment of ridding the people of evil!"

A male voice followed closely behind, its words filled with a sense of vicissitude, as if he had lived through old age and seen through all the pessimism.

The two turned around, and Liang Ruoming's face loomed large before them. Seeing the surprise in their eyes, Liang Ruoming quickly added, "Of course, except for Liu Changqing! That guy is a lust-blinded man, completely out of his mind by that woman's intoxicating potion. He's heartless, ruthless, cruel, vicious, incapable of distinguishing right from wrong, and disregards all basic human decency..."

Before he could finish his long speech, the two men turned their heads back, their eyes and movements almost perfectly synchronized, as if they had rehearsed beforehand.

Liang Ruoming was somewhat unconvinced, "What, am I wrong in my evaluation?"

Song Shuyu remained silent.

Mu Qingcheng pondered for a moment before replying, "What the Vice Minister says is quite true. Liu Pei's killings were not of his own volition; he merely chose his conscience over his family. In Liu Pei's eyes, there is no distinction between good and evil, only between two evils to choose the lesser. Li Mu was the same. As for Liu Changqing's killings, on the surface, it seems he was consumed by love, resorting to any means to win a beauty's smile. But is it possible that Liu Changqing's evil is his true nature, that he is inherently such a ruthless and vicious person? That is why he can disregard the law and treat human life as worthless?"

"That's right!"

Song Shuyu was too lazy to pay attention to Liang Ruoming, but Mu Qingcheng raised a different opinion. To prevent Liang Ruoming from blaming Mu Qingcheng, he took the opportunity to speak, saying, "Although there is the saying 'beautiful women bring disaster,' is the source of the disaster really a beautiful woman? To push the blame onto a woman and completely absolve oneself is a fallacy. A truly steadfast and virtuous person would never fall in love with a vicious and wicked person of the opposite sex and betray their principles! The reason why Liu Changqing and his beloved are able to get along is because they are the same kind of people."

Lu Xun and Ji Yue came out side by side and listened to the whole conversation between the three of them.

"well said!"

Ji Yue clapped his hands and said, "Looking at all the people involved in the case, they can all be considered villains, but each of them has their own helplessness and suffering. There is no absolute black or absolute white, and most of them are in the gray area. Only Liu Changqing makes people feel no sympathy for him at all, and they just want to kill him as soon as possible!"

“Perhaps that’s just human nature.” Lu Xun glanced at Mu Qingcheng casually, then quickly looked away. “The line between good and bad people isn’t always clear-cut. One thought can lead to heaven, another to hell; it all depends on the choice you make.”

Song Shuyu nodded, "That's indeed the case."

"What's most upsetting about this case is that, in the end, Lu Ruyue felt remorse towards Liu Pei, and Liu Xiao felt guilty towards Li Yunyao, but Liu Changqing remained unrepentant, regardless of his mistreatment of Liu Pei or the many innocent lives lost," Ji Yue said indignantly.

Mu Qingcheng picked up where Ji Yue left off, saying, "Does Liu Changqing have no regrets about Lu Ruyue? Didn't he propose a divorce and set Lu Ruyue free?"

Song Shuyu frowned. "It's hard to comment on that."

"Why?" Mu Qingcheng asked, puzzled.

After pondering for a moment, Song Shuyu said, "If time could turn back, I think Liu Changqing would still deceive others by marrying Lu Ruyue. Because in Liu Changqing's heart, his beloved is more important than anything else. Even if he feels a little guilty towards Lu Ruyue, it can't outweigh his seven parts loyalty to his beloved."

"Whether Lu Ruyue will be happy to regain her freedom is unknown. After more than twenty years of entangled love and hate, even she herself probably can't truly understand whether she hates Liu Changqing for deceiving her into marriage, or for not loving her. As for Liu Changqing proposing a divorce, perhaps it's to avoid the Emperor's wrath and distance himself from Lu Ruyue to save her life; or perhaps it's to travel alone, thus fulfilling his and his beloved's wishes in terms of status." "Even if Liu Changqing has made himself single, hasn't his beloved already married someone else?" Ji Yue raised a new question. "Could it be that his beloved is also single? Is she... a widow?"

Song Shuyu's temple throbbed violently!
Lu Xun pondered for a moment and said, "Now, although the case is solved, several questions remain. First, the identity of the sweetheart who instigated Liu Changqing to commit the crime; second, how will Li Yunyao silence Lu Ruyue? Third, what exactly is Li Yunyao's revenge against Liu Changqing?"

Ignored, Liang Ruoming finally squeezed in, "Didn't Xia Yu already tell Coroner Mu about this third point? Coroner Mu, tell me, what are Li Yunyao's methods of revenge?"

Several gazes simultaneously fell on Mu Qingcheng's face.

Mu Qingcheng frowned slightly and glanced at Song Shuyu without making a sound.

Song Shuyu immediately said, "This matter should not be made public. I will lead Mu Wu to handle it secretly, and we will make further plans after we have the results. In addition, the deceased Huang Yiyi, Shuangcui, and Linglong were innocently implicated in this case and all had pitiful backgrounds. I intend to send someone to find their relatives and order Liu Changqing to pay them compensation. I wonder what Vice Minister Liang, Vice Minister Lu, and Lord Song think?"

This claim was reasonable and legal, and all three agreed that it was the proper course of action.

Song Shuyu nodded, then summoned the officials and instructed them: "Please ask the three gentlemen to go and rest. Treat them well and do not neglect them."

"Hey, the case is over, aren't you going to let us go?" Liang Ruoming became anxious upon hearing this.

Song Shuyu said, "In half an hour, I will discuss matters with you all and come up with a preliminary judgment, which will be presented to His Majesty at the morning court tomorrow!"

Lu Xun and Ji Yue agreed, so Liang Ruoming had no choice but to shut his mouth in frustration.

After the officials took the three away, Song Shuyu and Mu Qingcheng went to the council hall.

Mu Qingcheng asked first, "My lord, have you already made progress?"

"What leads?" Song Shuyu was taken aback.

Mu Qingcheng said, "You have someone in mind to suspect about Liu Changqing's sweetheart, don't you?"

“…No.” Song Shuyu hesitated for a moment before replying.

Mu Qingcheng frowned, staring blatantly at Song Shuyu. Her all-knowing gaze made him look away uncomfortably, his handsome face flushing a suspicious red. He muttered under his breath, "How can you look at people like that?"

"Isn't my job to observe people's words and expressions also to try and figure out what my superiors are thinking?" Mu Qingcheng said slowly, a faint smile curving her naturally red lips.

Song Shuyu glanced at her subconsciously, feeling increasingly guilty.

(End of this chapter)