The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 1 Calculation!

Liu Shuyi was very troubled.

It is both physical and mental.

He sat on the cold, low stool, rubbing the large bump on his head as he looked at the antique-style room before him. Even he, who always prided himself on being calm and rational, couldn't help but show a look of astonishment in his eyes.

After all, time travel is not a very common thing.

Not to mention, the situation they found themselves in after transmigrating was also indescribable.

That's right, he traveled through time.

In his past life, he had just solved a serial murder case after working tirelessly for several days and nights. He had just apprehended the suspect and was thinking of taking a nap when he opened his eyes and found himself here.

Through the fusion of memories, he learned about his current situation.

The time was the 22nd day of the second month of the second year of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, and the place was the Liu residence in Xinghua Ward, Chang'an.

His current identity is Liu Shuyi, the second son of Liu Wenjing, a founding hero of the Tang Dynasty who was later executed for treason. He is a ninth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice.

Although the original owner had a father who was executed for treason, it wasn't enough to make him, who was always calm and rational, feel speechless, after all, nine years had passed.

Although the original owner had a very difficult time over the years due to her father's rebellion, she had at least entered the Ministry of Justice and become an official. Even though she was only a low-ranking official of the ninth grade, she had already escaped the hardships of the lower class.

What truly made him feel conflicted about his transmigration was that he, or rather the original owner of this body, had been tricked and gotten himself into big trouble!

And all of this started more than a month ago.

In the early part of the second year of the Zhenguan era, the tomb of Crown Prince Yin, Prince Xi, Li Jiancheng, was completed.

According to the calculations of the Ministry of Rites, he was buried on the thirteenth day of the first month at Gaoyangyuan in Chang'an County.

With Li Jiancheng officially buried, the Xuanwu Gate Incident has come to a complete end, returning to its original state.

But to everyone's surprise, an accident happened a month later.

On the night of February 13th, a sudden gale arose, and a blizzard raged.

The guards protecting Li Jiancheng's tomb were blown about by the strong wind and couldn't open their eyes, so they were forced to go into the room to avoid the wind and snow.

When the snow stopped the next morning, the guards went out to check and were stunned.

Because they discovered... Li Jiancheng's tomb had collapsed.

They rushed into the tomb and discovered that the frozen coffin had cracked. Looking through the crack, they saw that Li Jiancheng's body... had vanished!

Their hands and feet instantly turned ice-cold, as if they had fallen into an ice cave, and they felt as if their liver and gallbladder were about to burst. They hurriedly reported to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin was furious and ordered the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Imperial Guard to jointly investigate and search for Li Jiancheng's body.

As a result, Li Jiancheng's body was not found, but the ghost of Li Jiancheng appeared in the world and killed people.

Within seven days, two ministers in the court died one after another.

Both officials were former ministers who had served Li Jiancheng during the Wude era.

On the night they were killed, some people claimed to have seen Li Jiancheng's ghost floating in the night sky.

Rumors quickly spread that Li Jiancheng was unwilling to accept the loss of his throne, hated the traitors who betrayed him, and wanted to kill all the court officials.

For a time, people were filled with panic, and Li Shimin was even more furious.

He immediately ordered the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review to investigate, and personally ordered that the Minister of Works Pei Ji, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Du Ruhui, and the Grand Censor Wei Zheng preside over the investigation.

The entire city of Chang'an seemed to be shrouded in a dark cloud, and even ordinary people were silent. The once bustling East and West Markets had become much quieter in the past few days.

And this, in theory, has nothing to do with the original owner.

After all, the original owner of this body had a low status and had no connection with Li Jiancheng.

Even if the sky were to collapse, it would be the last thing to hit him.

But then, last night, a third official was killed by Li Jiancheng's ghost!

And yet, coincidentally, the original owner of this body appeared near the residence of the murdered official last night and was spotted by the night watchman.

The original owner was so frightened that she took off running, and in her panic, she bumped into a wall, resulting in a large bump on her head. She finally made it home, only to find that her purse was missing. Unsurprisingly, it must have fallen out of her clothes when she bumped into the wall and fell.

Even more fatal was that the money bag was embroidered with the character "Liu," which he had taken out at the Ministry of Justice more than once. Whenever his colleagues saw it, they would recognize it immediately.

At the same time, the night watchman also saw his appearance. Whenever the night watchman came to see him, he could identify him directly, and he wouldn't even be able to use the excuse of losing his purse.

The original owner was completely terrified, feeling as if the heavens were going to kill him. He developed a fever that night and, in his utter panic, found himself transmigrated into another body.

"He was scared to death..."

Liu Shuyi shook his head as he recalled this.

But he also knew that he couldn't entirely blame the original owner... The original owner was only ten years old when Liu Wenjing was killed for treason. After that, his whole family fell from the heights of being founding heroes to the abyss of shame of treason and being treated as traitors.

Over the years, the original owner of this body has suffered countless scornful looks and grievances, and has encountered countless injustices and beatings.

The once confident boy has become a timid and cowardly coward.

Two years ago, his only relative, his older brother, suddenly disappeared. The only person who could shelter him from the storm was gone, making him even more fearful, afraid that he would be the next one to disappear without a trace.

Therefore, it is understandable that the original owner of this body, knowing how furious Li Shimin was after what happened last night and knowing that he would definitely be found and would not have a good ending, would be scared to death.

Not to mention……

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes. The reason why the original owner of this body risked curfew to go to the residence of the murdered official last night was because the original owner received a mysterious note last night.

The note contained only ten characters: "Looking for your elder brother, arrive at Zhao Ci's residence at midnight."

That's right, the original owner was searching for her brother who had been missing for two years.

He was filled with a sudden hope, wanting his family to be reunited.

But in the end, he couldn't find his brother and was about to fall into the abyss... Hope turned into despair. Under this double blow, how could the timid and cowardly original body withstand it?
And all of this, without a doubt, was a complete and utter scheme!

Someone wants to make the original owner of this body bear the blame for these murders!
Now that the original owner has been lured to the crime scene and there are eyewitnesses, it is highly likely that other physical evidence related to the original owner will be found at the crime scene.

Even without the original owner's lost money bag, it would still point to the original owner.

You can't escape, you can't get away...

"I've spent half my life investigating cases, and I never imagined that one day I would be caught up in one, especially in such an irrefutable case!"

Liu Shuyi frowned slightly, his calm and rational mind working at a rapid pace.

He was thinking about how to break the deadlock.

He wasn't the original owner of this body; the word "accept fate" didn't exist in his life motto.

He wouldn't agree to just die like that.

But how do we break this deadlock?

Take out the note and tell the truth?

Who will believe?
More importantly... Li Shimin's anger, rumors that shook the foundations of the Tang Dynasty, and the pressure of the world's attention would put enormous pressure on Du Ruhui and others in charge of the case.

They desperately needed to give Li Shimin an explanation!
Even if there are still suspicions about him, they might hand him over without any other clues!

They had no other choice!

Once caught, there's no way to escape.

Can we escape? But where can we escape to?

Is it too late to escape now?

Perhaps Du Ruhui and his men are already on their way to arrest him.

Boom boom boom!
At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door.

The maid Wan'er's anxious voice came through: "Young master, something bad has happened! The government officials are here! They broke down the door and said they want to arrest you!"

(End of this chapter)