The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 118 Du Ruhui's biased support, and An Qingxi's important secret revealed!

Liu Shuyi didn't know much about the former Sui Dynasty, and without any more concrete clues, he couldn't further speculate on the identity of the mysterious owner of the Floating Life Pavilion.

He shook his head, temporarily suppressing his wandering thoughts, and looked back at An Qingxi, who looked listless and pale.

How much do you know about the theft of the Prince of Xi's remains?

Du Ruhui, who had been holding his water glass with a calm expression, raised his gaze and glanced at An Qingxi when he heard Liu Shuyi's question.

Then he saw Anqing hesitate to the west, his expression flickering a few times.

Liu Shuyi stared intently at An Qingxi with his dark eyes and said, "In order to accumulate strength, your Fusheng Tower has always remained hidden in the shadows. Throughout the entire Wude era, you have not done anything, or rather, even if you have done something, you have done it secretly, without causing much of a stir or attracting much attention."

"Only the matter of stealing the remains of the King of Xi... you almost pierced a hole in the heavens."

"From acting in secret to alarming the whole world, this shows that you believe that you have accumulated enough power in secret to truly carry out the task of overthrowing the Tang and restoring the Sui."

"And this is the first thing you have done since you appeared in the world. If you can really succeed in restoring the former Sui Dynasty, this will be a great event that will be recorded in history!"

"Therefore, your Fusheng Tower must be taking this very seriously. Even if you don't mobilize the entire Fusheng Tower, you should at least let your Seven Stars know about this, so that you won't be caught off guard if anything unexpected happens."

Liu Shuyi suddenly stepped forward, his figure suddenly magnified in An Qingxi's pupils.

An Qingxi subconsciously looked into Liu Shuyi's eyes, feeling as if those dark eyes could sweep away all the illusions in the world, and any secret would be exposed under their gaze.

Liu Shuyi stared directly into An Qingxi's throbbing eyes and said, "Therefore, don't tell me things like you're in Bingzhou and don't know what's happening in Chang'an. Of course, if you want to go through those torments again, you can say that."

An Qingxi's pupils contracted, and his whole body trembled involuntarily. He swallowed hard, feeling a tightness in his throat, and said, "Now that I've spoken, I won't hide anything."

If you won't hide it, then what were you hesitating about just now?
Liu Shuyi naturally didn't believe An Qingxi's explanation, but after being intimidated, An Qingxi should no longer dare to hide it.

Du Ruhui watched as Liu Shuyi subtly controlled An Qingxi with just a few words, instantly dispelling An Qingxi's nascent thoughts, and nodded approvingly.

"Then speak," Liu Shuyi said calmly.

An Qingxi took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said, "Actually, we're not ready yet."

"Ok?"

An Qingxi sighed, "According to our original plan, we should have let you know about the disappearance of the Prince Xi's remains a year later. But who would have thought that an earthquake would occur, causing the Prince Xi's tomb to collapse directly, which led to you discovering the loss of the Prince Xi's remains ahead of schedule."

“Our plan was so meticulous that it completely fooled everyone, and the subsequent events were also part of a well-thought-out plan that had been in the works for years.”

"But man proposes, God disposes; an earthquake caught us completely off guard."

"We were forced to reveal ourselves before we had even completed the follow-up plans, which forced us to change our original plans and risk exposing ourselves in order to push forward the implementation of the plan."

Seeing An Qingxi's sigh, Liu Shuyi and Du Ruhui exchanged a glance.

As Liu Shuyi had predicted, the earthquake was indeed an accident for the thieves.

Liu Shuyi recalled An Qingxi's risky act of taking matters into his own hands and said, "So, your purpose in stealing the remains of Prince Xi was to incite conflict between the imperial court and Prince Xi's former subordinates in Hebei, hoping to create an opportunity for your rebellion by having the two sides go to war?"

An Qingxi said, "According to our original plan, within this year, we will secretly contact the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi, select the strongest and most ambitious person, hand over the remains of the Prince of Xi to him, and secretly support him to help him unify the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi."

"Then at the appropriate time, through a miracle, announce to the world that Li Shi—His Majesty—has obtained the throne illegitimately, which is against the principles of Heaven. Heaven has sent down a miracle, and the Prince of Xi has appeared and voluntarily left the tomb to choose another wise ruler for the Tang Dynasty... In this way, the legitimacy of the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei Province will be declared, and great chaos will be stirred up."

"War between the two sides will inevitably lead to the displacement of people and the tragic deaths of countless individuals, which will surely stir up public resentment. Taking advantage of this opportunity, our Floating Life Pavilion can appear in the world, denounce the Tang Dynasty for its disregard for the lives of its people and its cruelty and tyranny, and proclaim that only by restoring the Sui Dynasty can peace and stability be brought about. In this way, we can recruit people into our army and win over the hearts of the people..."

Upon hearing An Qingxi's words, both Liu Shuyi and Du Ruhui were startled.

The mere fact that the tomb of Prince Xi collapsed and his remains were lost caused many rumors and a great deal of chaos at the time. If An Qingxi and his group had succeeded, one can imagine the chaos that would have ensued, given their thorough preparations and the fact that the old forces of Prince Xi in Hebei had already unified the region.

By then, the unrest will likely extend beyond just Hebei Province.

Even public opinion might be swayed by their incitement and the so-called miracles, leaning towards the former followers of the King of Xi.

In this situation, the internal strife in the Tang Dynasty would be far more terrifying than imagined, and yet neither the imperial court nor the former subordinates of Prince Xi knew that this internal strife was being orchestrated by Fushenglou behind the scenes…

What's more, no matter who wins in the end, it will be a lose-lose situation for Fushenglou. The one who will truly have the last laugh and reap the benefits is Fushenglou!
Du Ruhui slowly exhaled and said, "It seems that Heaven's will is still on His Majesty's side, on the side of the Tang Dynasty."

After thinking for a moment, he looked at Liu Shuyi again: "It's also fortunate that you're here."

If there hadn't been an earthquake, they probably wouldn't have discovered the disappearance of the Prince of Xi's remains until they took action at Fusheng Tower.

If Liu Shuyi hadn't repeatedly uncovered Fushenglou's schemes, the imperial court and the former subordinates of Prince Xi might have already gone to war.

Even if Anqing Xi was unwilling to admit it, he had to nod in agreement. Whether it was the earthquake there or Liu Shuyi's rise, it was as if the heavens were protecting the Tang Dynasty.

"Your plans have been affected. Apart from your own intervention, which led the court and the former subordinates of Prince Xi to take action, have there been any other changes?" Liu Shuyi continued to ask.

Upon hearing this, Du Ruhui's gaze returned to An Qingxi, as this directly concerned the next move of Fushenglou.

An Qingxi said, "Before I was arrested, we were still trying to provoke a war between the imperial court and the former subordinates of Prince Xi. As for whether they have changed their plans now, I don't know."

Liu Shuyi frowned, gave An Qingxi a deep look, and then turned to meet Du Ruhui's gaze.

Du Ruhui nodded slightly to Liu Shuyi, indicating that he did not see any signs that An Qingxi was deliberately concealing something.

Liu Shuyi shared the same view. After a moment's thought, he asked again, "Do you know where the remains of the Prince of Xi are?"

With Li Jiancheng's body in Fushenglou's hands, it was like a butcher holding a butcher's knife. Who knew when that knife would stab him so viciously? Therefore, if given the chance, Liu Shuyi still wanted to find Li Jiancheng's body as soon as possible.

An Qingxi shook his head: "The location where the Prince Xi's remains are hidden was personally chosen by the Lord of the Pavilion. I don't know the exact location either."

Liu Shuyi frowned. Just as he had expected, with the structure of Fushenglou, which was similar to an intelligence organization, even if An Qingxi spoke up, the information he could obtain would be very limited.

He thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you know if the Prince of Xi has any descendants in the world?"

An Qingxi was taken aback for a moment, then his expression changed slightly. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Liu Shuyi say, "Think carefully before you answer."

An Qingxi's heart tightened, and he subconsciously looked up. He saw that Liu Shuyi's deep eyes were even more profound than before, as if Liu Shuyi already knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth.

His pupils contracted instinctively, he pursed his lips, and finally sighed, "Have you heard some rumors?"

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered... Judging from An Qingxi's appearance, could it be that Li Jiancheng really has an illegitimate child outside?
An Qingxi wondered if he had heard some rumors... It seemed he really knew nothing about the miracle of the stone tablet.

Liu Shuyi said coldly, "Now it's my turn to ask you, not the other way around."

An Qingxi pursed his lips, lowered his head even further, and said, "I'm not sure."

"uncertain?"

An Qingxi nodded: "I am the governor of Bingzhou, and Bingzhou is the place where the Tang Dynasty rose to power. Prince Xi and the others have spent a considerable amount of time in Bingzhou."

“During the years I served as the governor of Bingzhou, I heard about a woman who had been very close to the Prince of Xi. Later, this woman suddenly disappeared. After the retired emperor raised an army, this woman returned to Bingzhou from somewhere, and she also brought a child with her.”

"She was unmarried but had a child, which led to a lot of gossip and people asking her who the child's father was, but she just shook her head. Later, she passed away from an illness, leaving behind only her child."

"This child survived by eating food from many families and begging until I found him."

Liu Shuyi never expected that the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi mentioned in the secret letter left by Wan Rong actually came from Anqing West.

He said, "You think he is the son of the King of Xi?"

An Qingxi hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded: "I've asked so many people, and she only got close to Prince Xi. She never got close to any other men. Moreover, I heard that Prince Xi even looked for her when she disappeared."

"After she returned, did she meet with Prince Xi?" Liu Shuyi asked.

"I don't know." An Qingxi shook his head: "I haven't found out anything about these things. Maybe I've met them in secret."

"After that woman died, did the Prince of Xi ever take care of this child?"

“This…” An Qingxi frowned.

Liu Shuyi sneered, "If he really is the son of the Prince of Xi, as you say, the Prince of Xi has secretly met this woman. Would he really abandon his own son?"

"No matter how lowly his mother's status was, she was still at least a grandson of the emperor, right? Putting aside others, it wouldn't be too much to ask her to give him some food, would it? But you said that after his mother died, he, at such a young age, could only survive by relying on the food from various families and begging. Do you think Prince Xi would be so cruel to his own son?"

An Qingxi hadn't thought about these things. He frowned and said, "But from what I've heard, the relationship between Prince Xi and this woman is indeed somewhat ambiguous."

"Information obtained through inquiries may not be true; I only believe what I see with my own eyes."

An Qingxi couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that he isn't a son of the Prince of Xi? Am I mistaken?"

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes. If he was really mistaken, things would get interesting.

In Fushenglou's eyes, this so-called heir of the Prince of Xi should be an ace up his sleeve. Combined with the remains of the Prince of Xi, it's a top-tier ace where one plus one equals more than two.

But if this Prince Xi's heir is a fake, then when they finally play the trump card they've prepared with so much care, he thinks it will be quite interesting.

Liu Shuyi slowly exhaled. This was one of the biggest gains of the day. However, whether it was as he expected, he still needed to arrange for someone to go to Bingzhou to investigate thoroughly.

He thought for a moment and said, "The last two questions: What have you done for the Floating Life Pavilion? Have you met with the other five stars, or worked with them? Do you have even the slightest clue or guess about their identities?"

An Qingxi answered readily this time: "Our main focus is still on lying low and accumulating strength. Before the Lord of the Tower gives me a specific task, I am secretly looking for people who still have feelings for the Great Sui Dynasty, recruiting them into the Floating Life Tower, and supporting and cultivating our own power."

"As for the other five stars, I have not met any of them... After all, we are local officials and cannot easily leave our jurisdiction, so it is difficult for us to get together."

"but……"

He looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "Once, the landlord wrote me a letter asking me to help Yaoguang."

"Oh?"

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow, finally hearing something that piqued his interest. He asked, "What kind of help?"

"It's actually not a big deal."

An Qingxi said, "It's about capturing a thief who has fled to Bingzhou, and then letting that thief die suddenly from an acute illness."

"What a convenient way to die suddenly from an accident," Liu Shuyi sneered.

Cold sweat dripped down An Qingxi's forehead, and when it touched the wound on his face, he gasped in pain.

Liu Shuyi asked, "What thief? What time?"

"Two years ago, in March, the thief's name was Wei Ji." Two years ago...

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, because his brother had disappeared two years ago, so he was always concerned about this time.

He said, "Why kill Wei Ji? You call him a thief, but what did he steal?"

An Qingxi shook his head: "I don't know why I killed him. I was just following orders. As for what he stole... I found a few luminous pearls on him."

"Ye Mingzhu?"

Whenever a case comes up, Liu Shuyi's professional instincts kick in. He instinctively asks about the case: "Is it certain that he stole it, or that someone gave it to him, or that it was his own?"

An Qingxi said, "He was dressed very poorly at the time, and it was obvious that his clothes were not his."

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes: "So, you didn't investigate carefully at all, and it's all just subjective conjecture?"

"I……"

An Qingxi was about to defend himself, but when he saw the seriousness and sharpness in Liu Shuyi's eyes regarding the case, he was startled and subconsciously looked away, saying, "My mind was full of the Lord's orders, and I really didn't pay much attention to his affairs."

Liu Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief. When he encountered officials who didn't take cases seriously, he always had the urge to slap them to death.

He asked, "Besides the luminous pearl, does he have anything else on him?"

The fact that the mysterious landlord wrote a letter specifically to ask An Qingxi for help shows that Wei Ji is definitely not simple.

The other person may indeed be a thief, but they must have been involved in something or stolen something they shouldn't have, which is why they need to be silenced.

Therefore, if the other party was captured by Anqing Xi, they are likely carrying something important.

An Qingxi thought carefully for a moment and said, "There's nothing else... Oh, there's a passageway."

"Passing through?"

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed: "He fled to Bingzhou? Which government office issued the travel document?"

An Qingxi seemed to understand something, looked up at Liu Shuyi, and said, "Wannian County Government Office."

"Wannian County?"

Liu Shuyi's expression flickered. The fact that Wannian County had issued a document indicating that Wei Ji had escaped from Wannian County back then meant that he had fled from there.

In other words, in March of the ninth year of the Wude era, Wei Ji encountered something or did something in Wannian County that forced him to flee.

This matter is related to Yao Guang of Fusheng Tower.

So... if we could find out what they did, perhaps we could find this Yao Guang!?
Liu Shuyi's eyelids twitched a few times. He turned to look at Du Ruhui and saw that Du Ruhui was looking at him. Their eyes met, and in an instant, they understood each other's thoughts.

Liu Shuyi quickly turned around and said, "After you dealt with Wei Ji, did the Lord of the Tower or Yao Guang contact you? Did they instruct you on how to dispose of Wei Ji's body?"

An Qingxi said, "The master instructed me that no one should be allowed to notice that there was anything wrong with Wei Ji's death. Only if someone comes to check will it be confirmed that he died suddenly from an acute illness."

"As for the handling of the matter, it was done entirely in accordance with official procedures. After Wei Ji died, I followed the rules of the yamen and posted notices to wait for his relatives to claim him. However, no one came to claim him. When the time came, I had him buried."

Liu Shuyi seemed to be deep in thought... No one should notice anything unusual. Whoever comes to check should be told that the person died of illness. Moreover, the body should not be disposed of lightly on their own initiative. It should be handled strictly in accordance with the rules.

This shouldn't be for the sake of protecting Anqingxi. After all, given Anqingxi's rank and status, dealing with a petty thief, even if the procedure is wrong, shouldn't pose any danger.

So why are they taking such a formal stance against Wei Ji? Is it to prevent someone from investigating Wei Ji later and discovering anything unusual?
Liu Shuyi asked, "After Wei Ji died, did anyone go to Bingzhou to investigate him?"

An Qingxi shook his head: "No, I haven't heard of this."

No?

The people investigating Wei Ji couldn't find him and didn't know he had fled to Bingzhou.
Or is it that... someone came to investigate Wei Ji, but instead of An Qingxi, they were looking for someone else?
Liu Shuyi voiced his guess, and An Qingxi thought for a moment and said, "They might have found someone else, like Cui Lin. After all, if it's just a case, Cui Lin can usually handle it without it coming to me, unless it's a particularly big case, in which case I would need to handle it personally."

"As for Wei Ji, he was unaware of the inside story. He was just a petty thief who died in prison. From arresting him to his death to the disposal of his body, everything went smoothly. Cui Lin could easily provide the results."

Liu Shuyi nodded. It seems we still need to find Cui Lin.

Fortunately, Cui Lin has become practically one of us, so there's not much of a problem.

"When you caught Wei Ji, what was Wei Ji's reaction? Did he say anything?" Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and asked again.

An Qingxi said, "He was just like any other thief, refusing to admit he was a thief and claiming that all the luminous pearls were his. Other than that, he didn't say anything else."

"certainly……"

He glanced at Liu Shuyi furtively, lowered his voice, and said, "I was also afraid that he would say too much and affect Yao Guang's mission, so I ordered someone to gag him. He died in prison not long after, without ever having a chance to speak."

Liu Shuyi stared sharply at him and sneered, "You really are a good teammate! You've thought so thoroughly about Yao Guang!"

An Qingxi's face paled slightly, and his voice lowered even further: "I never expected things to turn out this way. If I had, I would have asked a few more questions."

Liu Shuyi glared at An Qingxi. If he wasn't afraid that he would kill An Qingxi with a few slaps, he would have liked to slap him a few times.

An Qingxi stammered, shrinking back, "That's all I know. I've told you everything. You must keep your promise and stop torturing me..."

Upon hearing An Qingxi's words, Liu Shuyi gave An Qingxi a deep look, and after confirming that An Qingxi was not lying, he withdrew his gaze and looked at Du Ruhui.

Du Ruhui understood Liu Shuyi's meaning. He put down his water glass, slowly got up, and left the prison with Liu Shuyi without even glancing at An Qingxi or responding to him.

The warm sunlight fell on me, dispelling the chill of the prison.

Liu Shuyi looked up at the eaves of the houses along the street and saw water dripping down from the eaves. The temperature was gradually rising and the ice and snow were beginning to melt.

Du Ruhui's voice slowly rang out: "How credible do you think An Qingxi's words are?"

Recalling An Qingxi's reaction, Liu Shuyi said, "At least I didn't find any signs that he was lying."

"However, the absence of any signs of lying does not necessarily mean that he is not lying. When we interrogated Liu Yuanming last time, Liu Yuanming did not show any obvious signs of lying, but he was actually setting a trap for us."

Du Ruhui nodded and sighed, "We were frightened by Liu Yuanming and Miaoyin'er. Once bitten, twice shy. We want them to confess, but we're also afraid of them confessing... So, we need to verify An Qingxi's words."

Liu Shuyi looked at Du Ruhui: "Didn't An Qingxi confess all his men? Let's randomly grab a few, interrogate them, and see if we can get anything out of them."

"If we can't get any information out of him, or if an investigation reveals he has no problems, then it proves An Qingxi is lying and wants to use us to get rid of these people."

Du Ruhui nodded: "You're busy competing for the position of doctor right now... I'll arrange for someone to handle this matter, so you don't need to be distracted."

Liu Shuyi cupped his hands in greeting: "I will follow Lord Du's instructions."

Du Ruhui nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "You asked about Wei Ji's matter in such detail just now, do you have some ideas?"

Liu Shuyi did not hide anything. He said, "Fushenglou harbors treacherous intentions. As long as it is not uprooted, the Tang Dynasty will not be able to maintain its peace."

"Now that there is a rare opportunity to find Yao Guang, I really want to try and see if I can find him."

Of course, this is just one of the reasons.

More importantly, he thwarted Fushenglou's conspiracies multiple times and captured two Star Lords, making him an irreconcilable enemy of Fushenglou.

As a force advocating the overthrow of the Tang Dynasty and the restoration of the Sui Dynasty, Fushenglou possesses a rich foundation and its strength may even be greater than he originally expected. Moreover, each member is mysterious and unpredictable. As long as such an enemy lives, he will not be able to feel at ease.

Therefore, now that he has an opportunity to weaken the enemy, how could he possibly give it up?

Du Ruhui was insightful and understood Liu Shuyi's situation. He thought for a moment and said, "This happened two years ago, and we have no idea what Yaoguang did. He may have done it very cleanly without leaving a trace. Even if you investigate, you may just be wasting your precious time and gaining nothing... Even so, do you still want to investigate?"

Liu Shuyi was not intimidated by Du Ruhui. He simply said calmly, "This world is fair. If you want a certain amount of profit, you must also be willing to take a certain amount of risk."

Pei Ji had no idea what methods he would use to help Qian Wenqing achieve what kind of merit.

If I want to win decisively, I must produce results that even Qian Wenqing couldn't achieve by working himself to the bone.

Those who plotted rebellion at the same level as Liu Yuanming and An Qingxi were credited with such deeds.

Putting aside the hatred between himself and Fushenglou, let's just talk about the most realistic thing: the interests he needs most right now, which are worth risking his life for.

Not to mention, now there are both.

It's even more worthwhile for him to take a gamble.

Seeing Liu Shuyi's resolute expression, without the slightest hesitation, Du Ruhui smiled and nodded: "That's right, even if the road ahead may not be smooth, we have no fear."

"Those who achieve great things must have a fearless heart."

"go a head."

Du Ruhui said, "We will investigate the follow-up of the Anqing West case, and the Ministry of Justice will provide you with sufficient support."

Du Ruhui had stated that he would not favor him, so as not to discourage the other officials in the Ministry of Justice, but this time, Du Ruhui still favored him...

With the support of the Ministry of Justice, the convenience of conducting investigations is completely different from that of a mere assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice.

He took a deep breath and respectfully bowed to Du Ruhui, saying, "Thank you, Master Du."

Du Ruhui shook his head slightly, his voice gentle and mellow: "If you want to give it your all, I can't hold you back. Go ahead, and I hope you can bring back good news."

Liu Shuyi nodded emphatically.

Actually, there were some things he didn't tell Du Ruhui.

For example, he doesn't believe that Yao Guang's actions would leave no trace.

After all, the fact that the mysterious landlord specifically sought help from An Qingxi meant that they believed someone would definitely trace it back to Wei Ji, or even to the Bingzhou Prefectural Government.

This means that what they did was definitely not a trivial matter that would go unnoticed.

Furthermore, the fact that someone would investigate the Bingzhou prison and check whether all procedures were normal means that this is likely related to the criminal justice system. After all, only officials in the criminal justice system would pay special attention to these matters and have a legitimate official identity to investigate.

In other words, what Yao Guang and his group did will likely eventually manifest itself in the form of a case.

And investigating cases... is exactly what he excels at.

(End of this chapter)