The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 100 An Unexpected Result! Wan Rong is not dead!?

"Uu——"

Du Ying, with her cool demeanor and heroic spirit, tightened the reins and stopped in front of Liu Shuyi.

She looked somewhat surprised, as if she hadn't expected to run into Liu Shuyi and his group on the way.

However, she wasn't the type to pry into everything, and she knew what was most important to Liu Shuyi.

Without exchanging pleasantries with Liu Shuyi, she went straight to the point: “My father said that a month ago, Wan Rong, a senior official in the Ministry of Justice, along with Ding Feng, an imperial censor, and Ren Cheng, a judge in the Court of Judicial Review, were ordered to inspect cases in various prefectures and counties of Shannan Circuit. In the past month, they have inspected Fengzhou, Liangzhou, Jinzhou, Dengzhou, Shangzhou and other places. After inspecting each prefecture and county, Senior Official Wan would write a letter back to the Ministry of Justice to explain the inspection situation.”

“Ah Ye has received seven letters so far, the last one was received yesterday at noon.”

Yesterday at noon?

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed.

Unsurprisingly, Wan Rong was killed around midnight last night.

As a result, Du Ruhui received a letter from Wan Rong at noon yesterday.

Wan Rong would never have allowed the messenger to deliver a letter to Du Ruhui slowly, yet he died six hours after Du Ruhui received the letter, on Cuihua Mountain, not far from Chang'an…

What does this mean?
Shortly after Wan Rong sent a messenger to deliver a letter to Du Ruhui, he also set off for Chang'an...

Since he had already written to Du Ruhui, why did he still need to go to Chang'an in person?
What unexpected event occurred sometime after he wrote the letter that forced him to return to Chang'an in person?

Liu Shuyi's mind raced. He asked, "Where did Wan Langzhong write his last letter to Master Du? Did the letter mention anything unusual?"

Du Ying said, "Father said that this was the last letter Wan Langzhong wrote to him in Shangzhou. There was nothing special about it; it was just a normal official document..."

As she spoke, Du Ying took out several envelopes from her bosom and said, "Father asked me to bring all the letters over, saying you might need them."

As Liu Shuyi accepted the letter, he thought to himself that having such a reliable teammate as Du Ruhui saved him a lot of trouble.

He glanced at the envelopes of the letters, which indicated where they were sent. He easily found the last letter Wan Rong wrote to Du Ruhui in Shangzhou.

Take the letter out and look up.

As Du Ruhui said, this was a very normal official document, which contained Wanrong's inspection methods and results of cases in Shangzhou and its subordinate county governments. There was not a single unusual word in the entire document.

Furthermore, at the end of the letter, Wan Rong also wrote down the next state capital he would visit and the estimated time he would spend there.

In other words, Wan Rong's original plan was to set off for his next destination after sending a letter to Du Ruhui. He had no intention of returning to Chang'an, at least not when he wrote the letter to Du Ruhui.

But in the end, he arrived near Chang'an only six hours later than the messenger...

Combined with the message he hid here regarding the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi...

Liu Shuyi's eyes were deep and unfathomable, and he had a guess in his mind.

It is highly likely that Wan Rong received the information about the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi after writing a letter to Du Ruhui. He knew that this matter was of great importance, far more important than his inspection mission, so he made a decisive decision to return to Chang'an to inform the court of this news.

However, this raises new questions.

Why didn't Wan Rong send this intelligence back to Chang'an via messenger, using the fastest possible courier service?
Shangzhou is not far from Chang'an, only about 250 or 260 li away.

Although the journey involves crossing some mountains and the roads are covered in ice and snow, which limits the speed, even at its slowest, the special method of urgent communication, the Eight Hundred Li Express, is still much faster than sending a message by himself.

Why insist on doing it yourself when there's a faster way?
Are you worried that the messenger is unreliable and that something unexpected might happen?
Or is there some special reason why I have to do it myself?
Moreover, Cuihua Mountain is not a necessary route on the way back to Chang'an from Shangzhou. There are clearly better routes available, so why would Wan Rong choose to traverse the steep and difficult Cuihua Mountain? This wouldn't shorten his journey to Chang'an; on the contrary, it would increase his travel time...

Liu Shuyi felt that Wan Rong was shrouded in a thick fog, making his actions seem shrouded in mystery. But if he could clear away the fog, the truth would not be far away.

He let out a long sigh, put the letter back into the envelope, and then tucked it into his pocket.

Seeing that Du Gou and the others were looking at him with tension and worry, he smiled and said, "The letter is indeed fine, but it's not like we gained nothing at all."

"The most urgent task now is to determine exactly how Wan Langzhong was murdered. Once that's determined, our investigation will have a clear direction."

After saying that, he took the horse back, mounted it, and led Du Ying and the others back to the shrine.

Enter the secret passage through the lotus platform, pass through the hidden cave, and exit through another door to reach the mountain cave.

Looking at Wan Rong, who lay dead with his eyes wide open beside the statue, Liu Shuyi said, "Miss Du, I'm entrusting Dr. Wan to you."

As Du Ying put down the black wooden box she was carrying, she said, "I'll give you the results soon."

Knowing Du Ying's abilities and temperament, Liu Shuyi led everyone out of the cave when he saw Du Ying begin the autopsy, so as not to disturb Du Ying.

Outside the cave entrance, there are some trees and withered grass, which perfectly conceal the entrance. If you are walking on the road and do not look carefully, it is difficult to find the cave.

There was a thick layer of snow underfoot, and some obvious tire tracks could be seen on the snow, which led directly to the mountain road ahead.

Liu Shuyi followed the tire tracks to the mountain road. Looking into the distance, he saw that the mountain road was winding and twisting, leading straight up to the top of the mountain and down to the foot of the mountain. The tire tracks continued down and disappeared into the distance.

"County Commandant Wang."

Liu Shuyi asked Wang Gui, "Is this mountain path connected to the mountain path over by the shrine?"

Wang Gui nodded: "Yes, there is only one road on the entire Cuihua Mountain."

"Are there any villages at the foot of the mountain if we follow this road down?"

Wang Gui shook his head: "No, there are only villages at the foot of the mountain along the road to the shrine on Cuihua Mountain. You have to go another ten miles or so before you can find a village."

Liu Shuyi stroked his chin and said, "In other words, the thieves used vehicles to transport the stone tablet up the mountain, making it very difficult for anyone to witness it?"

"Yes."

Wang Gui looked worried and sighed, "The road over the shrine is alright. There are villages at the foot of the mountain, and the villagers often go up the mountain to hunt or chop firewood. So if someone passes by that road, there is a certain probability that they will be encountered by the villagers. However, the villagers' activities are basically limited to the side where their village is located. After all, to get to this side, they have to cross the entire Cuihua Mountain. In this icy and snowy place, the road is steep and slippery, making it difficult and dangerous to travel."

Liu Shuyi nodded knowingly.

No wonder the villagers never noticed any strangers coming up the mountain. The thieves' route up the mountain didn't overlap with their usual area of ​​activity, so naturally they couldn't find them.

When I arrived at the shrine earlier, I observed that there were far fewer people going up the mountain along that road, so the snow on the road was intact and had not been damaged.

Therefore, he could clearly see that there were no wheel tracks, horse hoofprints or any other traces on the mountain road leading upwards, and very few human footprints. Thus, he ruled out the possibility that the thieves had crossed the mountains from the other side of Cuihua Mountain and transported the stone tablet to the shrine from the mountaintop.

This prompted Wang Gui to send people to carefully inquire with the villagers whether they had seen any strangers.

Now it seems I was wrong.

After all, how could he have imagined that there would be such a hidden passage inside the temple that could lead directly to the other side of Cuihua Mountain?

Liu Shuyi slowly exhaled and looked at the tire tracks on the snow.

He crouched down, gently ran his fingertip across the tire tracks, and said, "There's some loose snow on the tire tracks. It snowed a couple of days ago, but it wasn't heavy; the thickness is about the same as the loose snow on the tire tracks."

"It seems they transported the stone tablet here at least a few days ago."

Du Gou frowned and said, "We can't determine the exact time they transported the stone tablet, so even if we send someone to investigate, we can't do it."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Yes, so if we want to find the thief, we can only rely on Wan Langzhong's case."

He stood up, crossed the mountain path, and came to the cliff.

This mountain road is built along the mountainside, with a mountain wall on one side and a cliff on the other.

Standing on the cliff and looking down, the almost 90-degree verticality and the bottomless height made Liu Shuyi feel a little dizzy.

Du Gou came to Liu Shuyi's side, looked into the distance at the mountain peaks hidden in the clouds and said, "According to the Guoyu, a landslide occurred on Cuihua Mountain in the second year of King You of Zhou. The landslide caused the mountain on this side to collapse, which formed a cliff landscape that is completely different from the one at the shrine."

Liu Shuyi exclaimed, "Du, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, is truly learned; he even knows about such matters."

Du Gou shook his head: "He's just someone who's read more books, but unfortunately, it's of no use to the case."

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "It's too early to draw conclusions now. Perhaps what Vice Minister Du just said will play an important role in the future?"

Du Gou paused for a moment, turned to look at Liu Shuyi, and was about to say something when he heard his sister's voice: "Master Liu..."

Upon hearing Du Ying's words, Liu Shuyi and Du Gou quickly exchanged a glance, then turned around and returned to the cave.

Seeing that Du Ying had already gotten up and was packing up her autopsy tools, Liu Shuyi asked directly, "Miss Du, how is it?"

Everyone else looked at Du Ying nervously.

Du Yingqing stared at Liu Shuyi with her cool and beautiful eyes and said, "The fatal wound was in the heart, and the murder weapon was a two-inch-wide, slightly thick blade."

"Wan Langzhong did not fight or resist before his death. There were no signs of ropes or other bindings on his body, and I did not find any signs of poisoning or drugging."

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, and he said, "So, the murderer stabbed Wan Langzhong in the heart with a dagger right in front of him, and Wan Langzhong was able to move freely, but he didn't resist at all?"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Du Gou suddenly looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "The murderer is acquainted with Wan Langzhong! And Wan Langzhong trusts him completely!"

Liu Shuyi smiled and nodded, saying, "It seems we need to make a trip to Shangzhou..."

"Shangzhou?" Everyone was taken aback.

Liu Shuyi said, "Through Wan Langzhong's letters, we know that the last place he appeared was Shangzhou."

"So, something must have happened in Shangzhou, or on his way to his next destination, that forced him to change his plans."

"I'm not sure exactly where the accident happened, so let's go to Shangzhou to confirm it first, and then we'll know exactly where Wan Langzhong changed."

"At the same time, if Wan Langzhong left with other people, and those people are unharmed, then..."

Wang Gui's pupils dilated, and he exclaimed excitedly, "Then this person is the murderer!?"

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "We can't say for sure that he is the murderer, but he is definitely the most suspicious. And even if he is not the murderer, he can definitely bring us new clues."

Wang Gui nodded emphatically and said quickly, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's set off right away!"

Liu Shuyi nodded: "We need to set off as soon as possible, but there's something I need to confirm before we leave."

He glanced at everyone, then said to Lu Yangyuan, "Deputy Lieutenant Lu, we'll go first. You stay here and confirm something for me."

"What is it?" Lu Yangyuan asked.

A glint of light flashed in Liu Shuyi's eyes. He leaned close to Lu Yangyuan's ear and whispered what he needed to confirm.

Lu Yangyuan looked at Liu Shuyi with some confusion: "Master, this..."

Liu Shuyi asked, "Is it possible?"

Although Lu Yangyuan didn't understand why Liu Shuyi wanted him to do these things, he still nodded: "Of course."

"That's good."

Liu Shuyi cautioned, "Safety should be the top priority in everything. Don't put yourself in any danger."

"I understand."

Liu Shuyi let out a soft breath, and without further delay, said to Du Gou and the others, "Let's go."

The group quickly returned to the cave and exited through the entrance of the lotus platform.

Upon returning to the shrine, Liu Shuyi noticed a group of people circling around the stone tablet.

"This craftsmanship is truly remarkable!"

"Yes, this carving skill requires at least several decades of experience."

"I've never seen such a big rock before. I wonder which mountain it was cut from."

"It looks a bit like the rocky mountains in Bingzhou."

"No, I think it's a mountain in the Lingnan region." "How many rocky mountains are there in Lingnan? I think it's from the Youzhou area."

These people were examining the stone tablet as if it were a precious treasure, and they were about to start arguing.

Hearing their words, Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow and immediately understood their identities.

And then these people arrived...

His gaze swept quickly over the people, finally landing on a figure who was sticking his butt out, as if trying to jump onto the stone tablet. He smiled and said, "Minister Wang."

The figure with its butt sticking out paused for a moment, then turned around.

This man was burly, with a full beard, and his official robes looked like they were about to burst from his muscles. Who else could he be but Wang Kun, the Vice Minister of Works who had helped Liu Shuyi confirm the issue of Li Jiancheng's coffin?
When Wang Kun saw Liu Shuyi, he laughed heartily: "Liu Yuanwailang, after receiving your message, I immediately led the most skilled craftsmen from my Ministry of Works here. I'm not too late, am I?"

Liu Shuyi smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "It's better to be lucky than early. It's just right, not too early and not too late."

"That's good. I was afraid of delaying your investigation, but our Ministry of Works' craftsmen are scattered all over Chang'an, so it took time to gather them. Fortunately, it didn't delay you."

Liu Shuyi thanked him, saying, "Minister Wang, you have gone to great lengths. After this case is resolved, I will find an opportunity to host a banquet for you."

Wang Kun waved his hand. He came from a military background and was straightforward, so he didn't care about such things.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Liu Shuyi got down to business, saying, "Minister Wang, I wonder if you have come up with anything about this stone tablet?"

Getting down to business, Wang Kun's smile faded, and he said, "Let's talk about the material of the stone tablet first."

"This stone tablet originated from a single piece of basalt without any signs of splicing. Such a large stone is extremely rare. We have been dealing with stones every day for years and have traveled all over the mountains, but we have never seen such a large stone. Therefore, we speculate that it was specially cut out of the mountain."

"Cut it out of the mountain?" Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow. "Is that easy?"

"It's hard!"

Wang Kun said, "Even our Ministry of Works has never quarried such a large stone. It requires craftsmen to chip away at it bit by bit and chisel it out little by little... The time and manpower required are terrifying."

“Our ministry is burdened with heavy tasks and we do not have the time or energy to do such things.”

Liu Shuyi understood Wang Kun's words and said, "So, as long as you're willing to spend the time and effort, you can do it?"

"Not really..."

Wang Kun thought for a moment and said, "To put it this way, mining such a large stone would require at least several dozen skilled craftsmen and at least three months of work, assuming no mistakes along the way."

Liu Shuyi suddenly realized: "That is indeed not easy, and with such a long period of continuous mining, it must be difficult to avoid being discovered by others."

"Yes!"

Wang Kun nodded: "After all, it requires force to strike, and the banging sound can probably be heard from miles away."

Such a long period of time, such a loud noise, and so many people involved... it's impossible to hide it from the people nearby. If the quarry site can be found, perhaps there will be new clues.

Liu Shuyi asked, "Can you pinpoint the exact location of the mining site?"

Wang Kun shook his head: "It's impossible to determine for the time being, but our Ministry of Works has stone samples quarried from various mountains. Give us some time, and we'll compare them one by one. We'll definitely be able to help you determine it, or at least narrow down the scope to a few areas."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment, then nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble Vice Minister Wang."

What he needs to do now is to indirectly solve the case of the stone tablet through Wanrong's case, so he is not too anxious about the secret of the stone tablet itself.

However, he still needed to determine the location of the stone tablet's quarry. From Wang Kun's words, he knew that the person who planned this must belong to a very powerful force. Even if he could find the murderer through Wan Rong's case, he probably would have difficulty eradicating this force completely.

Therefore, he needs more clues that directly point to this force. The more clues he has, the more thieves he can expose, and destroying them will only be a matter of time.

Since quarrying stones requires so many people, there are probably quite a few witnesses. If we can find these people, there might be some unexpected surprises.

Liu Shuyi took a deep breath and continued, "Let's leave the mining aside for now, what about the carving?"

Wang Kun turned to look at the tall, dark stone tablet and said, "The carving technique is also extraordinary. The whole stone tablet is full of beauty. The craftsman who carved it must have put a lot of thought into it."

"but……"

He looked at the words on the stone tablet and said, "These words are not very good. I don't think they are worthy of this stone tablet."

Liu Shuyi was somewhat surprised. He found the blood-stained, ancient seal script characters to be very impactful, but he never expected that Wang Kun would denigrate them so harshly.

It seems that as an outsider, there is still a considerable gap between myself and true craftsmen in terms of both technique and aesthetics.

However, Wang Kun's words did bother him.

The overall carving of the stone tablet is quite remarkable.

However, the craftsmanship of the handwriting is lacking...

Why is this happening?
He thought for a moment and said, "The person who carved the stone tablet and the person who carved the characters are not the same person?"

Wang Kun thought for a moment and said, "It shouldn't be the same person. If it were, the carving wouldn't be so bad."

Why not the same person?
Did the person who built the stone tablet not know what the thief would write on it?
They are actually innocent? Not in cahoots with the thieves?

But that’s not right!

If word of the stone tablet spreads, the person who carved it will eventually find out about it, and then they will know what the words on the tablet are.

If they weren't working together, wouldn't the thieves be afraid that these people would expose them?
Or perhaps the person who carved the stone tablet has been silenced?
Liu Shuyi frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "The skill of the person who carved the stone tablet has been praised so highly by Vice Minister Wang. There must not be many people who possess such skills, right?"

“Of course not many.” Wang Kun nodded without hesitation.

"Who are they?"

Wang Kun immediately rattled off, "There are three people in my Ministry of Works who are at this level: Zhao Man, Wang Zhuo, and myself."

"What about outside the Ministry of Works?"

"Outside of the Ministry of Works?" Wang Kun said, "Of course there are none outside of the Ministry of Works. My Ministry of Works has gathered all the most skilled craftsmen in the entire Tang Dynasty. Those who are outside are all craftsmen who are not as good as those in my Ministry of Works."

"And the entire Ministry of Works only has three people, so how could there be more outside?"

Liu Shuyi did not expect Wang Kun to answer like this, and said: "Can't there be a few fish that slipped through the net? Can't there be skilled craftsmen hiding among the people who are unwilling to come to the Ministry of Works?"

"This……"

Wang Kun hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's possible, but the probability is not high."

He looked at Liu Shuyi and said, “Liu Yuanwailang may not know how we recruited craftsmen. When our Ministry of Works was first established, we directly asked the government offices of various prefectures and counties to provide a list of craftsmen, and then ordered these craftsmen to come to Chang’an to examine their skills one by one.”

“If these craftsmen can enter the Ministry of Works, it will be considered a political achievement for the local government offices. Therefore, it is impossible for the government offices to hide craftsmen and not recommend them to us. Moreover, since they are all selected by the local government offices, if the remaining craftsmen are really capable, the government offices would know about it.”

Liu Shuyi hadn't expected the Ministry of Works to be organized in this way. If it were recommended by local officials, the probability of anyone slipping through the net would indeed be low.

But if that's really the case, then who carved this stone tablet that Wang Kun praised so highly?
It couldn't possibly be one of Wang Kun's three, could it?

He thought for a moment and then asked Wang Kun about his guess.

Wang Kun immediately shook his head and said seriously, "It is absolutely impossible for them to be from my Ministry of Works. I don't need to say anything, they stay in the yamen every day. The other two also have their own tasks and almost no chance to leave on their own."

"It would take at least a month to carve such a large stone tablet."

"Their free time over the years, all in all, is less than a month, so it can't possibly be them."

Liu Shuyi frowned. If what Wang Kun said was true, wouldn't that be a contradiction?

Only Wang Kun and two others in this world could do it, but none of them could possibly do it.

How was this stone tablet carved?
strange!
He thought the artisans from the Ministry of Works could help him resolve his doubts, but to his surprise, they only created more doubts.

Liu Shuyi glanced at Wang Kun, then at the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works circling the stone tablet, his eyes narrowing.

A puzzle that cannot be solved by logic either means that something went wrong at some point, or that one of the three—Wang Kun, Wang Kun, and Wang Kun—is hiding a secret. Regardless of the reason, the strangeness of the stone tablet's mystery suggests that someone is putting in a lot of effort behind the scenes, and that a huge secret is hidden behind it.

If we can crack it, we might reap unexpected rewards.

Liu Shuyi slowly exhaled. The most urgent matter now is Wan Rong's case, so the matter of the stone tablet will have to wait. After he solves Wan Rong's case, he will personally investigate why there is such a big logical contradiction in the carving of the stone tablet.

"Minister Wang..."

Liu Shuyi cupped his hands to Wang Kun: "I have important business to attend to and need to leave immediately. I'll leave the matter of the stone tablet to Vice Minister Wang."

Wang Kun waved his hand casually: "Since I'm here, I'm here to help you. Just go about your business. Hand over the stone tablet to me, and I will definitely find out where it was quarried. I will also use some resources to investigate whether there are any hidden master carvers among the people."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Thank you! After everything is over, I will host a banquet to thank Minister Wang."

Having said that, Liu Shuyi didn't linger any longer. He exchanged a glance with Du Gou and the others, then quickly walked out of the shrine, mounted his horse, and rode down the mountain.

As they traveled, he said to Zhao Feng, "Steward Zhao, please record our travel time. I need to know how long it took for Wan Langzhong to get here."

Zhao Feng nodded directly: "This subordinate understands."

The horses' hooves pounded the ground, kicking up dust once more.

The group quickly drove away along the winding mountain road.

…………

The night was dark.

The city wall of Shangzhou.

Because Shangzhou is relatively close to Chang'an, no danger can reach it, so the soldiers guarding Shangzhou are somewhat lazy.

They yawned, rubbed their eyes, and nodded their heads down from time to time, as if they might fall asleep at any moment.

rumbling...

Just then, a rapid sound of horses' hooves, like the beating of drums, echoed through the night.

The soldiers defending the city were taken aback at first, but then quickly realized what had happened.

They quickly and cautiously looked into the distance.

Then they noticed tiny lights appearing on the dark road.

As the sound of hooves drew closer, so did the torches. Gradually, they realized it was a cavalry unit carrying torches.

These cavalrymen were all clad in black armor, tall and imposing, exuding a terrifying aura. In front of them was a group of officials dressed in official robes, clearly of high status.

The soldiers defending the city were completely bewildered, having no idea what was happening.

When the cavalrymen arrived at the city gate, a dark-faced man wearing armor and carrying two huge battle axes on his back shouted, "We are here by order of His Majesty, led by Assistant Minister Liu of the Ministry of Justice, to investigate the murder of Assistant Minister Wan Rong of the Ministry of Justice. Open the gate immediately!"

"What!?"

The general on the city wall was stunned.

Cheng Chumo frowned and said unhappily, "I am Cheng Chumo, the General of the Golden Guard. Did you not hear me clearly? Or do you not believe my identity? Take a look at what this is."

As he spoke, he held up his identity token and the edict written by Li Shimin to Liu Shuyi.

The garrison commander examined the situation carefully and quickly explained, "General Cheng, please don't be angry. We didn't fail to hear what you said, nor do we doubt your identity, it's just that..."

He couldn't help but ask, "But Wan Langzhong of the Ministry of Justice has been staying at the governor's mansion the whole time and has never left. I haven't heard that he was murdered. How did you all find out?"

"What did you say!?"

As soon as the city's garrison commander finished speaking, Wang Gui exclaimed in surprise, "Wan Langzhong has been in the Shangzhou Prefectural Governor's Office the whole time; he has never left Shangzhou!?"

(End of this chapter)