The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 123 Finally, we've found evidence of your existence!

at the same time.

Inside a restaurant in the western market of Chang'an, famous for its Hu women.

In the elegant private room, Qian Wenqing held up a wine glass and smiled as he looked at Qin Wuyang, who was sitting opposite him in the official robes of the Chief Clerk of the Court of Judicial Review. He said, "My uncle said this case is difficult to investigate, but he told me not to worry. He has arranged for a highly capable person with excellent investigative skills to help me. I have been wondering who this capable person, whom my uncle praised so highly, would be. I never expected it to be Chief Clerk Qin."

"Director Qin is exceptionally skilled in investigating cases and has solved many long-standing and major cases. With his assistance, I am confident that we will be able to solve this case."

Hearing Qian Wenqing's words, Qin Wuyang's expression changed. He shook his head and sighed, "This humble official is no longer the Chief Justice of Dali Temple. His Majesty has demoted me to the position of Registrar of Dali Temple. Please do not call me Chief Justice anymore, Qian."

Upon hearing this, Qian Wenqing replied, "In my heart, Brother Qin will always be Qin Sizhi."

"Moreover, I know very well why Qin Sizhi has fallen to this state. If it weren't for Liu Shuyi openly making things difficult for Brother Qin and speaking ill of him in front of His Majesty, how could Brother Qin have ended up in such a sorry state?"

Upon hearing Qian Wenqing mention Liu Shuyi, resentment welled up in Qin Wuyang's eyes. He had only made things difficult for Liu Shuyi's follower, Zhao Feng, but who would have thought that Liu Shuyi would be so narrow-minded and petty, retaliating against him in this way and causing him to be demoted two ranks.

He, who had originally been on the verge of promotion, was now unable to even lift his head in the Dali Temple.

Seeing Qin Wuyang's barely concealed hatred, Qian Wenqing's smile deepened.

Qin Wuyang was not originally one of his uncle's men, but now that Qin Wuyang is in trouble and has a common enemy with him, he can take advantage of the situation to win Qin Wuyang over and make him a sharp weapon in his hands.

"To be honest, Brother Qin, I also have an irreconcilable conflict with that vicious and treacherous Liu Shuyi."

Qian Wenqing said, "I know better than you how despicable and insidious he is, having spent every day with him."

"Therefore, no matter what, we cannot allow someone like that to be promoted to a physician, don't you think?"

Qin Wuyang nodded emphatically, gritting his teeth as he said, "If he becomes a doctor, it will be an outrage against heaven and earth, and we will have no chance of survival!"

"Yes."

Qian Wenqing was very satisfied with Qin Wuyang's answer. He said, "Therefore, I will rely on Brother Qin from now on. Let us work together to solve this mystery and completely crush Liu Shuyi in terms of merit!"

"The only person who can threaten me right now is Liu Shuyi. As long as I can defeat him, the doctor will be within my grasp."

"I can make a promise to Brother Qin..."

Qin Wuyang subconsciously looked at Qian Wenqing, and heard Qian Wenqing say seriously, "As long as Brother Qin helps me to become a physician, I will do my best to help you return to the sixth rank as quickly as possible. Even if you can't return to the position of Dali Sizhi, you can come to the Ministry of Justice and take my position as the Assistant Minister of Justice."

Qin Wuyang's pupils dilated sharply, and he stood up almost without hesitation.

He bowed very formally to Qian Wenqing: "This humble official will do his utmost to assist Master Qian in finding out the truth and will live up to Master Qian's trust."

Qian Wenqing accepted Qin Wuyang's generous greeting with a smile before rising and helping Qin Wuyang up.

"With Brother Qin's words, I am relieved. With Brother Qin's abilities, I believe it will not be difficult to find out the truth."

“This time, my brother and I will show Liu Shuyi the consequences of offending us, and make him regret offending us.”

Qin Wuyang nodded emphatically. Just as he was about to say something, there was a knock on the door.

Wang Xun, the chief clerk of the Ministry of Justice who was guarding the door, said: "Master Qian, the county magistrate of Wannian has sent a letter through someone."

"Gu Wen? What message did he send me?"

Qian Wenqing was somewhat puzzled, but Gu Wen was his friend of many years and had just helped him solve a case yesterday, earning him merit. So even though he had doubts, he did not hesitate at all, opened the door, and took the letter.

Open the letter and look up—

"What!?"

Qian Wenqing was taken aback at first, then her eyes suddenly lit up and a smile that she couldn't hide quickly appeared on her face.

"Brother Qin, this is great news! This is fantastic news!"

Qin Wuyang looked at Qian Wenqing with a puzzled expression.

Qian Wenqing then shook the letter in his hand and said happily, "You probably don't know what case Liu Shuyi went to investigate."

"What case?" Qin Wuyang asked.

Qian Wenqing grinned and said, "The Ma Qingfeng family massacre case!"

"What? The Ma Qingfeng family massacre case!?"

Qin Wuyang was only slightly taken aback before he understood why Qian Wenqing was so happy. He couldn't help but ask, "Has Liu Shuyi gone mad? Doesn't he know who's behind this case?"

Qian Wenqing sneered, "You probably don't know him well. Liu Shuyi is a man of principle. He wants to get to the bottom of any case he encounters!"

"And no matter who the murderer is, no matter how dangerous it is, Liu Shuyi will forge ahead without hesitation..."

Qin Wuyang couldn't help but say, "But the person in charge of this case is different from those in other cases."

Qian Wenqing shrugged: "We see it differently, but Liu Shuyi, who is as principled as Wei Zheng and inflexible, might see it the same?"

“When he was still a minor official, he dared to break ties with my uncle and force him to apologize. Now that he has a higher position, perhaps he has become even bolder?”

Qin Wuyang couldn't understand Liu Shuyi's thoughts, but that didn't stop him from being happy about it.

He said, "Liu Shuyi is courting death. The more skilled he is at investigating cases and the closer he gets to the truth, the faster he will die... Now, he may not even have a chance to compete with you."

Qian Wenqing never expected things to turn out this way. He had been worried that his contributions wouldn't be as great as Liu Shuyi's, but now it seemed...

Qian Wenqing almost burst out laughing. He coughed and said, "To be on the safe side, we still need to solve this case. Only in this way can we leave others far behind. We can't be like Liu Shuyi, arrogant and conceited, and end up with a miserable end."

Qin Wuyang nodded quickly: "What Master Qian says is true."

At the same time, the light in his eyes grew brighter. With Liu Shuyi's own self-destructive behavior and Qian Wenqing's help, his promotion to doctor was a foregone conclusion.

In other words, he would soon be able to return to the sixth rank.

Liu Shuyi, on the other hand, may soon become a prisoner...

Thinking of this, Qin Wuyang felt a surge of anger finally dissipate. Once he returned to the sixth rank and Liu Shuyi was imprisoned, he would definitely go to the prison to humiliate Liu Shuyi properly and let him know the consequences of offending him!
Outside.

Wang Xun, who heard the sounds coming from inside the room, looked somewhat conflicted.

He had just expressed his intention to join Liu Shuyi, but now he learned that Liu Shuyi had foolishly gone to investigate the case of Ma Qingfeng's family massacre.

Should I go and seek refuge with Liu Shuyi again?
If Liu Shuyi is really killed by His Majesty, and Qian Yuanwailang is promoted to Langzhong, wouldn't I also suffer a bad end?

After hesitating for a moment, listening to the almost celebratory sounds coming from inside the room, Wang Xun finally let out a long breath.

I'd better stay by Qian Yuanwailang's side.

Sure enough, Qian Yuanwailang has a brighter future, and I didn't make the wrong choice from the start.

Fortunately, not many people knew that he had joined Liu Shuyi's forces, and he had not actually betrayed Qian Yuanwailang.

"Thank goodness, everything is still in time! From now on, I will be Qian Yuanwailang's most loyal subordinate. Who is Liu Shuyi? He is my greatest enemy in this life!"

…………

As the news spread, more and more people learned that Liu Shuyi was investigating the Ma Qingfeng family murder case, and countless rumors began to circulate, forming a storm of public opinion.

Meanwhile, Liu Shuyi, who was at the center of the storm, was slowly following Gu Wen, wading through the muddy snow water, to the back kitchen of the Ma residence.

"This is the kitchen of the Ma family."

Gu Wen pushed open the half-closed door, and heard a creaking sound. As the door opened, dust immediately flew down from above.

After two years of neglect, the kitchen was just as dusty as the main living room.

However, compared to the empty main hall, the kitchen was so full of things that it seemed a bit crowded.

Liu Shuyi glanced at the ground. There was a thick layer of dust on the ground, and no footprints or other traces. It was certain that no one had been here since the time of the incident.

Upon entering the kitchen, one sees four large stoves connected in a row, with several large vats next to them used to store water, rice, flour, and other grains.

Near the wall were two wooden shelves, on which were placed many plates, which were standing upright and covered in dust.

Beside the plate were several silver wine jugs and several exquisitely crafted jade wine cups, all placed upside down on a bamboo woven rack.

Further inside, there were several tall cabinets.

Liu Shuyi went to the cabinet, opened the door, and saw that the cabinet had layers of shelves inside, with some plates and other tableware on the shelves. About half of the shelves were empty.

“County Commandant Gu…”

Liu Shuyi's voice suddenly rang out: "You said before that the Three Departments determined that everyone in the Ma family had been drugged by investigating the remaining food in the Ma residence, which is why they did not resist."

"I wonder what kind of food was left at the Ma residence? And from which food did you find the sleeping potion?"

"Huh?" Gu Wen was taken aback; he hadn't expected Liu Shuyi to ask such a question.

He frowned and hesitated for a long time, but this time he was not deliberately delaying. It was just that the time had been too long and it was not a very important matter to him, so he really didn't remember it very clearly.

"All I remember is that when I arrived at the kitchen, there were several dishes on the shelves, and the slop bucket was full of uneaten leftovers..."

"As for the specific dishes..."

He thought for a long time and said, "It seems there was Shengpingzhi and Jinjiyu Kuai... I only remember these two special dishes, and I really can't remember the others."

Shengpingzhi is made by slicing sheep's tongue and deer's tongue, pouring apricot sauce over them, and then roasting them. It is delicious and expensive.

The dish "Golden Shredded Jade Carp" is even more famous. It consists of finely sliced ​​fresh sea bass, chilled, and served with golden wild rice vegetables. In later generations, it even became an idiom representing a precious delicacy.

Although Liu Shuyi had been in the Tang Dynasty for some time, he had not yet had the opportunity to taste these two renowned delicacies.

It wasn't that he was short of money and couldn't afford it, but rather that these delicacies weren't something that ordinary restaurants could make; most of them were only prepared by wealthy and noble families when entertaining distinguished guests.

Gu Wen didn't care about the leftovers from the Ma family's meal, yet he still remembered these two dishes, which is enough to show how rare they were.

And this also confirmed one thing for Liu Shuyi...

He said, "On the night the incident happened at the Ma residence, they must have been hosting a banquet for some distinguished guest, right?"

"Inviting distinguished guests?"

Gu Wen was taken aback.

Liu Shuyi frowned: "Shengpingzhi and Jinjiyukuai are usually only made when entertaining distinguished guests, and these plates, wine cups and wine pots on the shelf..."

He looked at the shelf and said, "Normally, plates and other tableware should be placed in the cabinet to prevent dust and dirt from getting on them. But there are so many plates on the shelf, which can only mean that they were used on the night of the incident. They were placed there to be washed and drained, and then put back in the cabinet after they were completely clean."

"If it's just the Ma family eating, there are far too many plates. Besides, such expensive wine pots and cups are usually only used when entertaining distinguished guests."

"Even if Doctor Ma suddenly wanted a drink, would he really need to take out all the silver wine pots and jade wine cups from the cabinet?"

"All of this is enough to prove that the Ma family was definitely hosting distinguished guests that night..."

He glanced at Gu Wen: "County Commandant Gu, surely you could have figured this out back then?"

Gu Wen was surprised that Liu Shuyi's thinking was so meticulous and quick. He had only been in the kitchen for a short time, yet he had been able to analyze so much information based on the tableware and the two dishes that Gu Wen had casually mentioned.

When asked by Liu Shuyi, he said somewhat awkwardly, "At the time, some people in the Three Departments did raise this suspicion, but since everyone in the Ma family is dead, this suspicion cannot be verified at all. Moreover, we asked other officials in the Ministry of Personnel, and they said that Physician Ma had a big appetite and was quite gluttonous. He had mentioned wanting to eat delicacies like 'Golden Minced Jade Slices' many times. So it's not impossible that he occasionally asked the kitchen to make Golden Minced Jade Slices because of his gluttony."

"Therefore, because we do not have sufficient evidence, we dare not make a judgment easily, so as not to affect the already difficult case. That is why we did not write this speculation into the case file, nor did we use it as a definite clue."

Liu Shuyi frowned slightly.

He didn't know whether he should praise the three officials for being cautious enough, or criticize them for being so hesitant and timid for fear of making mistakes.

In his view, investigating a case should involve making bold assumptions and then carefully verifying them.

If you don't even dare to make assumptions, and you get stuck in a dead end, sighing and complaining, how can you possibly find the right path?

However, different people have different habits. At that time, it was the most intense moment of the struggle between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin. The people of the Three Departments not only had to consider the case, but also their own situation. Liu Shuyi could not criticize them for anything.

He slowly exhaled and said, "Does County Magistrate Gu know if Physician Ma ever invited anyone to dine at the Ma residence before his death?"

Gu Wen shook his head: "Let alone that I am just a minor county constable, even if I were the county magistrate, I would not know about such a thing. After all, we have no reason to keep an eye on the residence of a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Personnel to monitor who he is entertaining."

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered slightly.

Gu Wen indeed had no reason to monitor who Ma Qingfeng was befriending, but what about the people from the Prince of Qin's mansion at that time?
Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng have essentially broken off relations and are both aware of each other's intentions. Under these circumstances, the people of the Prince of Qin's residence are unlikely to let Li Jiancheng's confidants go unchecked. In other words, Du Ruhui and his group are likely to keep an eye on Ma Qingfeng.

Even if they don't arrange for someone to monitor the door every day, they should at least know exactly who Ma Qingfeng is trying to win over, who he is bribing, and who he is on good terms with.

and so……

He looked directly at Zhao Feng and said, "Master Zhao, please arrange for someone to go and find Minister Du, and ask him for my question to see if he has an answer."

Ask Minister Du?

Zhao Feng was taken aback at first, but he quickly figured out the key point and understood Liu Shuyi's meaning.

His eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded: "This humble official will go right away."

"besides……"

Liu Shuyi stopped Zhao Feng again and said, "Arrange for someone to find the vegetable farmer who delivered vegetables to the Ma residence. I have something to ask him in person."

Zhao Feng nodded again. He looked at Liu Shuyi, and seeing that Liu Shuyi didn't say anything more, and was sure that there were no other instructions, he turned and walked out.

Looking at the spacious kitchen, Liu Shuyi could almost hear the lively sounds that had echoed from this kitchen two years ago.

The sounds of conversation, cooking, and chopping meat filled the air with the warmth of everyday life, but after that night, only the deathly silence remained.

He looked at Gu Wen again and said, "County Commandant Gu, you haven't answered another question of mine yet."

Gu Wen was stunned for a moment before realizing that he had only answered half of Liu Shuyi's question.

He hurriedly said, "The coroner detected the drug in the sashimi, and also detected drug components in the leftover food mixed together in the swill bucket."

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes slightly.

Finely shredded fish was meant for the master or honored guests, while the leftovers poured into the swill bucket were food for ordinary servants... In that sense, the murderer had considered everyone when administering the drug.

No wonder he was able to take down everyone with just a drug.

but……

Special dishes like "Golden Minced Meat and Jade Sliced ​​Fish" are all about freshness. This means that once the chef has prepared them, they should be immediately served to the table by servants, without any period of unattended service.

So... how did the murderer administer the drug to the fish?

Is it in production?

On the way to deliver food?

Or perhaps during the consumption process?

These three different scenarios represent three different identities of the person who administered the drug.

Cook, servant, or guest.

But guests probably wouldn't have been able to go to the kitchen and poison the servants' regular meals.

Therefore, Liu Shuyi preferred cooks and servants.

Of course, if the person who administered the drug was highly skilled, they could sneak into the Ma residence undetected and secretly administer the drug... Although Gu Wen and the others said the probability was very low, low does not mean nonexistent, and this possibility still exists.

"We still need to find a way to confirm this..."

Liu Shuyi gently stroked his chin and murmured to himself.

"My lord, I'm back."

Just then, a rough voice came from outside the door.

Liu Shuyi's heart stirred slightly. He walked out of the kitchen and saw Lu Yangyuan striding towards him.

Beside Lu Yangyuan, Cheng Chumo, carrying two huge battle axes on his back, also followed with a smile.

“Master Liu, I’ve come to join in the fun. You won’t mind, will you?” Cheng Chumo said with a smile and cupped his hands in greeting.

"We'd be more than happy to welcome you, how could we possibly dislike you?"

Liu Shuyi returned the greeting with a smile. Only a few people knew the true inside story of Ma Qingfeng's family massacre, and none of them would openly reveal it.

Therefore, what Cheng Chumo knows at this moment must be that he himself dared to investigate a case related to His Majesty...

In this situation, Cheng Chumo was still willing to come and help him personally, which shows that his feelings and intentions were genuine.

Cheng Chumo grinned, glanced at the others, then leaned closer to Liu Shuyi and whispered, "You really want to get to the bottom of the Ma Qingfeng family massacre case?"

Liu Shuyi didn't hide anything and nodded, saying, "Yes."

"hiss……"

Cheng Chumo hissed as if he had a toothache: "Can we not investigate?"

Liu Shuyi understood Cheng Chumo's meaning and smiled, "No."

"You...you're still laughing!"

Cheng Chumo truly considered Liu Shuyi a brother, and said irritably, "Do you know you're courting death? Do you know who you might end up tracing back to?"

From the moment Liu Shuyi began investigating the case, apart from Zhao Feng and Lu Yangyuan who knew the inside story, no one had any confidence in him, but no one explained everything as frankly as Cheng Chumo.

Gu Wen, on the other hand, only cared about extricating himself from the situation and didn't care about Liu Shuyi's life or death at all. Cheng Chumo, however, was afraid that Liu Shuyi wouldn't know he was courting death, so he made it clear from the start.

This made Liu Shuyi sigh inwardly, realizing that only those who care about him the most would notice he was going astray and rush to stop him.

He knew that if he didn't tell Cheng Chumo the truth, Cheng Chumo might take him away even if it meant taking the blame.

"General Cheng, may I speak with you in private?"

As he spoke, he and Cheng Chumo went to a secluded spot, and he briefly explained the situation of Ma Qingfeng's family massacre.

Cheng Chumo was stunned.

After a long pause, he swallowed hard and said, "So, the real culprit in the Ma Qingfeng family massacre is not His Majesty! And if you can solve this case, it would be equivalent to clearing His Majesty's name, which would be a tremendous achievement?"

Liu Shuyi smiled and nodded: "Yes!"

"I knew it! With your intelligence and talent, how could you possibly seek death?"

Cheng Chumo slapped Liu Shuyi's arm hard and said, "Why didn't you say so sooner! Do you know how scared I was when I heard you were going to investigate the Ma Qingfeng family murder case?"

“I came here with Lu Yangyuan with the intention of kidnapping you even if it means tying you up. I can’t just stand by and watch you die.”

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "I didn't mean to hide it from you. It's just that I didn't have a chance to tell you the truth."

"Too."

Cheng Chumo nodded: "I'm relieved to know you're not courting death."

"Then let's not waste any more time. I've brought all the people you wanted. Arrange them however you like. Let's find out the truth as soon as possible so that those who are waiting to see you make a fool of yourself can see just how wrong they are."

Liu Shuyi didn't intend to embarrass anyone, but his time was indeed precious, so he said, "Then let's meet them first."

Soon, Liu Shuyi and Cheng Chumo arrived at the front yard and met the Jinwu Guards who were waiting there.

Cheng Chumo said, "Except for two Jinwu Guards who are on duty and unable to come, the rest of the Jinwu Guards who accompanied Hu Hebing on night patrol are all here."

Liu Shuyi looked at the dozen or so Imperial Guards in front of him and said, "Gentlemen, there is no need to be nervous. I just want to know more about the events of the night of the massacre of the Ma family. You only need to answer a few questions for me."

Cheng Chumo shouted loudly, "Answer quickly! Anyone who dawdles or deliberately hides information will be whipped when we get back!"

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guards immediately tensed up, straightened their bodies, and stared intently at Liu Shuyi, afraid of missing a single question.

Liu Shuyi glanced at Cheng Chumo and thought to himself that Cheng Chumo really did have the majesty of a general.

Without delay, he said, "On the night of the incident, you passed by the Ma residence around midnight. I would like to know if your patrol route is fixed every night? Did you know in advance that you would be passing by the Ma residence at midnight?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a guard immediately said, "In order to prevent thieves with ill intentions from knowing our whereabouts and routes in advance and using them to commit evil deeds, our night patrol routes are only determined at dusk each day."

“That’s right.” The other guards quickly chimed in, “We only know the route before our night patrol, but because of our walking speed, and the possibility of encountering unexpected events or needing to rest along the way, we are not sure exactly when we will pass by the Ma residence.”

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Who decided your night patrol routes? Was it Hu Jieshi?"

"almost."

One of the guards said, "As our leader, Hu Jieshi is qualified to offer his opinion on night patrols."

"The speed at which you patrolled that night was also determined by Hu Jieshi, wasn't it?" Liu Shuyi asked again.

"Yes, Hu Jieshi is leading us ahead. If he goes fast, we go fast; if he goes slow, we go slow."

What was originally just speculation has now been confirmed by solid evidence.

Just as he had predicted, Hu Hebing used his status and power to ensure that he arrived at the Ma residence on time at midnight, thereby guiding the investigation of those who were investigating the case later.

Liu Shuyi continued, "When you passed by the Ma residence, a servant came out of the house. Do you remember what that person looked like?"

"Looks like?"

The Imperial Guards looked at each other, and finally shook their heads: "We only glanced at him casually. To be honest, we didn't even see his face clearly, so naturally we couldn't remember what he looked like."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "What are his characteristics? For example, how tall is he? Is he fat or thin? What are his walking characteristics? Or any other features that give you a slight impression?"

"feature……"

Everyone was frowning in thought when suddenly one of the Imperial Guards said, "This humble general noticed a detail at the time, and I wonder if it might be of any use to you, sir."

"Oh?" Liu Shuyi looked at the man and said, "Tell me."

The guard said, "This humble general noticed that he used his left hand when hanging the lantern."

"Left hand?" Cheng Chumo didn't understand what this person meant.

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, as if he had thought of something, and he said, "You mean, he's left-handed?"

Jinwuwei said, "This humble general is left-handed, so when doing many delicate things, I subconsciously use my left hand. Therefore, this humble general will pay more attention to using his hands than others... However, this humble general is not sure whether the servant that night was really left-handed or just happened to use his left hand."

"It doesn't matter!"

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered, and he asked, "What's that person's build?"

"He's quite tall and strong..."

Liu Shuyi nodded and said, "If this person's identity can be confirmed, you'll have done a great service..."

After saying that, he went directly to Gu Wen, who was prickling up his ears, trying to eavesdrop on Liu Shuyi's conversation with the Jinwu Guard.

“County Lieutenant Gu!” Liu Shuyi said.

Gu Wen quickly leaned back and subconsciously said, "I didn't hear anything."

Liu Shuyi looked at him intently and said, "I didn't mean to ask that question."

Gu Wen's expression changed, and he realized that in his panic, he had confessed instead.

He was about to explain when Liu Shuyi asked, "I want to know, is Wei Ji... left-handed?"

"what?"

Gu Wen was taken aback. How did the topic suddenly shift to Wei Ji?
However, Liu Shuyi didn't intend to target him, which was exactly what he wanted. After thinking carefully, he said, "When I inquired about Wei Ji's neighbors, they did say that Wei Ji was left-handed..."

really!

A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Liu Shuyi's eyes.

At the same time, he let out a long breath.

Finally... finally, we've found evidence of your existence! Wei Ji!
(End of this chapter)