The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 141 Li Shimin Takes the Bait! Cause and effect are reversed, and the goal is achieved!
Mo Xiaofan drove the carriage at breakneck speed toward the palace.

Lu Yangyuan rode his horse alongside Liu Shuyi, protecting him.

Liu Shuyi sat in the carriage with his eyes closed, pondering how to persuade Li Shimin to bring up the matter again and reopen the investigation of the military pay case.

The salary case is different from the cases he has investigated before. It involves too many important figures, so he can re-investigate it, but he must not let these important figures think that it was his idea.

He had to make Li Shimin attract the attention of these important figures and make Li Shimin take the blame.

He wanted to make these important figures understand that he was merely a lowly fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice carrying out the emperor's orders. He didn't want to offend his superiors, but he had no choice; imperial commands were inviolable…

In this way, after this case is over, he won't have to worry about being retaliated against by these big shots.

Liu Shuyi sighed. He didn't want to scheme about these things, but his position was too low. If he didn't do more scheming, this case might be the last case of his life.

"It's still too low-grade..."

"The fifth rank is merely the threshold to enter the core of the imperial court. If I were of Du Ruhui's rank, why would I need to ponder and scheme like this?"

Liu Shuyi opened his eyes, a resolute glint in them.

Next, he will continue to seize every opportunity to make contributions and advance his career as quickly as possible, just like before.

Only his rank is his best shield against all crises.

Before his rank reaches a high enough level to protect himself, he must continue to develop his power and build connections. He must do his best to create a sufficient security barrier for the crisis that may come at any time.

"Uu——"

At this time, the carriage stopped.

Mo Xiaofan's voice came through: "Young Master, we've arrived."

Liu Shuyi took a deep breath, suppressed his complicated thoughts, and got up and got off the carriage.

Looking at the solemn and imposing palace gates, he said, "Wait for me here. If nothing unexpected happens, I will come out in an hour or two at most."

Having said that, he walked towards the palace gate...

…………

The magnificent and solemn Liangyi Hall.

Liu Shuyi arrived at the palace and bowed to Li Shimin, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Li Shimin waved his hand gently, his voice steady: "My dear minister, there's no need for such formalities. Rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Liu Shuyi straightened up.

Li Shimin looked at Liu Shuyi, who was handsome and had an extraordinary demeanor, and nodded slightly in his heart.

In the past few days, he had heard that many officials intended to marry their daughters to Liu Shuyi. Even Cheng Yaojin, Changsun Wuji, and Du Ruhui had this intention, which he found very interesting.

This was the first time in all these years that he had seen a young man so sought after.

However, considering Liu Shuyi's background and abilities, with a clean background, free from messy constraints, a kind and righteous nature, and outstanding capabilities, he is indeed an excellent son-in-law.

This made Li Shimin's heart itch a little, after all, what father wouldn't want to find the best husband for his precious daughter?

But I heard that Du Ruhui had already said that Liu Shuyi and his daughter Du Ying were in love and had decided to arrange their engagement... As the emperor, I couldn't possibly steal the son-in-law of my right and left hands, could I?

Li Shimin's mind was filled with wild thoughts, but his face remained solemn and dignified as he asked, "What brings you to see me, my dear minister?"

Liu Shuyi looked at Li Shimin and, without any preamble, went straight to the point, saying, "Does Your Majesty still remember the case of the military pay?"

"The issue of military pay?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Li Shimin's deep eyes. He hadn't expected Liu Shuyi to suddenly bring up a case that had been going on for four years.

However, Li Shimin had a very deep memory of this case.

After all, the silver treasury scandal happened right under his nose, almost causing problems for the army he was leading.

If he hadn't had to fight the Turks and guard against their continued southward advance, he would have personally participated in the investigation of the treasury case long ago.

Even though he wasn't involved in the investigation, he had been paying close attention to the salary case. When he finally learned that Feng Mu was the mastermind behind it, he was somewhat surprised. Although he wasn't very familiar with Feng Mu, he knew of Feng Mu's abilities. He never expected that Feng Mu would do such a treasonous thing for Yang Wengan, who was plotting rebellion.

Recalling his memories of the military pay case, Li Shimin looked at Liu Shuyi with a puzzled expression and asked, "Why did you bring up the military pay case, my dear minister?"

Liu Shuyi said, “Your Majesty, while sorting through the case files today, I happened to come across the case files of the military pay case. Since the military pay case is known as the biggest case of the Wude era, and my elder brother also participated in the investigation of the military pay case, I was somewhat interested in the case and opened it to read through it.”

Liu Shuyi did not conceal Liu Shuzhong's existence. If Li Shimin was curious about why he suddenly paid attention to the silver payment case, he would definitely be able to find out about his summoning of Zhao Wenzhong, and he would also be able to learn about Liu Shuzhong's relationship with the silver payment case through Zhao Wenzhong.

Therefore, by bringing up Liu Shuzhong, he was not afraid of Li Shimin's subsequent investigation.

Furthermore, by proactively explaining the reasons, he could conceal the causal relationship between Liu Shuzhong and the silver payment case, making Li Shimin believe that he only looked at the silver payment case out of curiosity about the case his brother had investigated, rather than that he directly targeted the silver payment case because he discovered his brother's problem.

Li Shimin had no doubts whatsoever. He nodded slightly, signaling Liu Shuyi to continue.

"I was just curious and wanted to know how the sensational silver coin case was investigated back then, and I also wanted to learn their investigation methods."

"result……"

Liu Shuyi paused for a moment, his tone becoming slightly more serious: "I don't know if I'm overthinking it... but there might be some problems with the case files regarding the military pay."

"Is there a problem?"

Li Shimin was at the age when he was most wise and powerful, and he had personally experienced the twists and turns of the silver treasury case. So when Liu Shuyi suggested that there might be problems with the case file, many thoughts flashed through his mind.

And without exception, these thoughts all represent a wave that could shake the entire world!
His previously smiling face suddenly turned serious, and his relaxed posture, which had been leaning back in his chair, quickly straightened up. Li Shimin's deep eyes stared at Liu Shuyi, and his voice was devoid of emotion: "It turns out the investigation was wrong. It's not Feng Mu."

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "I don't know."

"Don't know?" Li Shimin frowned slightly.

Liu Shuyi said, "I have only found some problems in the case file, but I am not sure whether the problem lies in the investigation of the case at the time or in the writing of the case file."

Li Shimin tapped his fingertips lightly on the armrest and said, "Speak."

Liu Shuyi took out the dossier from his pocket, handed it to Li Shimin with both hands, and then said, "There are three issues with the dossier."

"Firstly, it only talks about the result and lacks the process."

Seeing that Li Shimin had begun reading the case file, Liu Shuyi said, "In a normal investigation, you either follow the clues step by step to find the truth, or you use experience or a flash of inspiration to deduce or find clues."

"In this case, the most crucial issue of confirming Feng Mu's whereabouts suddenly came to a conclusion, stating that there was a problem with Feng Mu's whereabouts. The missing information was how to find out Feng Mu's secret whereabouts and why the suspicion suddenly arose about the whereabouts provided by Feng Mu."

"If the problems with Feng Mu's confession were so obvious, it's impossible that so many people in the three departments couldn't find out for so long. So there must be a turning point here, but the case file doesn't mention what that turning point is."

Li Shimin saw the turning point in the silver payment case. Just as Liu Shuyi said, when the three judicial departments were at a loss and very anxious, Ren Xing suddenly pointed out that there was a problem with Feng Mu's whereabouts in his confession and gave the whereabouts of Feng Mu when he secretly left Chang'an during that period.

Ren Xing then led his men to search Feng Mu's residence, where they eventually discovered the memorial tablets and letters hidden in a secret compartment.

If Liu Shuyi hadn't brought it up, Li Shimin wouldn't have noticed the problem. After all, as a ruler, he generally only cared about the result; whether the process was tortuous or not was unimportant to him.

"Second..."

Liu Shuyi's voice continued: "It still only has the result, but no details."

He then recounted what he had discovered earlier: there were no details about Feng Mu bribing the soldiers, only the result that the soldiers had been bribed by Feng Mu.

"Besides, there was no record in the files of Feng Mu bribing these soldiers. The soldiers said they knew that if the pay was lost, they would be arrested and questioned, so they hid the money in advance."

"But they later confessed, so there was no need to continue hiding the money. But what was the result?"

Liu Shuyi looked at the dossier in Li Shimin's hand: "There is no follow-up record in the dossier about the money of these soldiers. I don't know if the money was not found, or if someone deliberately ignored it and then embezzled it?"

Li Shimin frowned slightly.

Although Li Shimin acknowledged Liu Shuyi's findings, he did not think the lack of investigation process was a major issue.

After all, many shifts in thinking may occur in one's mind. It is normal that the person who wrote the dossier was unaware of Ren Xing's thoughts at the time and did not write them down.

However... the details of Feng Mu's bribery of the soldiers were so severely missing that Li Shimin finally realized that the problems in the dossier were not minor issues.

Even the most careless writer wouldn't be this careless.

And even if the writer didn't notice these details, what about the three higher-ups who reviewed them? Did they also miss them? Was everyone just careless?

"Third..."

Seeing Li Shimin's furrowed brows, Liu Shuyi knew that his words had finally stirred something within Li Shimin.

He pressed on, saying, "Even in the end, Feng Mu never admitted to stealing the pay!"

He raised his head and looked directly at Li Shimin, saying, "Does Your Majesty still remember Zhao Zhuo, the former Vice Minister of Revenue? Zhao Zhuo was framed by Zhao Chengyi and others, who accused him of embezzling disaster relief funds. However, when Zhao Zhuo was finally executed, he did not admit to embezzling the disaster relief funds..."

"How similar Feng Mu is now to Zhao Zhuo back then!"

“Feng Mu’s subordinates had already confessed, and the court had already convicted him. Feng Mu had no reason to continue concealing the truth… Yet, even so, he continued to cry foul until his death!” “Moreover, apart from the memorial tablet, letters, and his subordinates’ testimonies, there was no real evidence in the case file that could directly accuse Feng Mu of stealing the military pay!”

"Therefore, I cannot help but suspect that he, like Zhao Zhuo, may have some issues in this case."

Li Shimin's brows furrowed deeply.

Because he was misled by Zhao Chengyi and others, Li Shimin mistakenly killed Zhao Zhuo. In fact, Li Shimin felt somewhat guilty towards Zhao Zhuo.

Therefore, after Liu Shuyi vindicated Zhao Zhuo, Li Shimin immediately pardoned the Zhao family from exile and sent people to bring them back. At the same time, when Du Ruhui suggested that Zhao Zhuo's son, Zhao Feng, be admitted to the Ministry of Justice, he agreed without any hesitation.

After that, Li Shimin paid extra attention to any case that required beheading. He even considered whether to change the death penalty system to minimize the possibility of wrongful convictions.

Therefore, when Liu Shuyi mentioned Zhao Zhuo and said that Feng Mu was very similar to Zhao Zhuo, Li Shimin subconsciously thought of Zhao Zhuo's wrongful death and also became suspicious of Feng Mu's identity as a prisoner.

Seeing Li Shimin's tightly furrowed brows and the obvious change in his usually calm face, Liu Shuyi let out a soft breath.

He knew that his plan was already more than halfway to success.

Even if Li Shimin was an emperor, no matter how wise and powerful he was, he would still have the suspicions that came with it.

As the saying goes, "There are always treacherous people who want to harm me." Having taken that position, which was not obtained through normal inheritance, Li Shimin was even more cautious and careful than other emperors.

Therefore, when Li Shimin became suspicious of a case, especially when the case occurred right under his nose, he could not simply ignore it.

If there's really a problem with the case, if the truth isn't what the case file describes at all, and if Feng Mu stole the salary to avenge Yang Wengan, then who stole the salary? And why did the investigation lead back to Feng Mu?
And... what was the purpose of stealing the military pay?
If it wasn't to avenge Yang Wengan, but the money was delivered directly to him to appease the soldiers, then Li Shimin would inevitably suspect... that the person who stole the money might actually be targeting him!
If that's true, wouldn't it mean that the person who harbored great malice towards him and possessed extraordinary abilities is still alive and well, perhaps even hiding right next to him, and could strike him at any moment...?

Under such circumstances, how could Li Shimin possibly ignore it?
In addition, there was Li Shimin's regret over the Zhao Zhuo case...

Given all these factors, Liu Shuyi believed that Li Shimin would definitely make him reinvestigate the military pay case thoroughly.

And what about Liu Shuyi?
He simply stated the problems he had discovered objectively. As a senior official in the Ministry of Justice, it was perfectly normal for him to report to Li Shimin that he had found problems with the case files, especially since the case was related to Li Shimin. No one could find any fault with that.

In this way, the cause and effect of reopening the case can be reversed.

It became that Li Shimin hoped he could reinvestigate the case, rather than him requesting Li Shimin to reinvestigate the case.

Now, let's see if Li Shimin can do as he wants...

"Minister Liu..."

After a moment of silence, Li Shimin finally looked away from the files and focused his gaze back on Liu Shuyi.

His dark eyes stared at Liu Shuyi, his expression as calm as before, yet Liu Shuyi felt even greater pressure than before.

"Do you think Feng Mu was the thief in the silver embezzlement case?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head truthfully: "I can only find some problems from the text in the case file, but I have not personally investigated whether there are any problems with the final outcome of the salary case. Without more clues and evidence, I dare not speak rashly."

Li Shimin listened to Liu Shuyi's words and remained silent for a long time.

He tapped his fingertips on the armrest repeatedly, and the faint, continuous sound echoed in the empty and desolate hall. The sound was like the distant beating of war drums, and Liu Shuyi's heartbeat began to beat in sync with it.

Liu Shuyi subconsciously held his breath. He knew that Li Shimin's heart at this moment was like the war drum, wavering and struggling between whether or not to re-investigate.

"Liu Shuyi, listen to my command..."

Suddenly, Li Shimin paused in his finger movements and spoke.

Liu Shuyi quickly bowed and said, "Your subject is here."

Li Shimin looked intently at Liu Shuyi below and said, "I have always governed the country with fairness and integrity as my guiding principles. Now that we know there are many problems with the silver treasury case, we cannot let it go unchecked."

"More than a hundred people have died in this case, and nearly a thousand have been exiled. If there is really something else going on in this case, it means that thousands of people have been wronged and suffered!"

"Even if the possibility is only one or two out of ten, I cannot let the loyal soldiers of the Tang Dynasty be wronged and ignore it."

"Therefore, I have decided to immediately reopen the investigation into the matter of the military pay!"

"Since you discovered the problem in this case, you will be responsible for it. I give you the maximum authority to investigate this case to the best of your ability. I want to know the truth. I want to know... whether the final culprit is Feng Mu!"

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

The goal... has finally been achieved.

Without any hesitation, he immediately declared loudly, "Your Majesty, I obey! I will do my utmost to uncover the truth and repay Your Majesty's trust."

Li Shimin nodded slightly. He picked up a brush and quickly wrote a handwritten edict, then stamped it with the imperial seal.

He picked up the edict, gently blew on the still-wet ink, and handed it to Liu Shuyi, saying, "With this edict, you can mobilize anyone to assist you and make anyone cooperate with you. If anyone deliberately makes things difficult for you or is unwilling to cooperate with you, and you are unable to take action yourself, come to me, and I will take care of it for you!"

Li Shimin knew that the people who investigated the silver treasury case back then were all of high rank. Liu Shuyi, a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice, might not be able to control them. But when it came to the ability to investigate cases, no one was better than Liu Shuyi. Almost four years had passed since the silver treasury case, and the secrets involved were probably extremely deep. Apart from Liu Shuyi, he couldn't think of anyone else who would have the opportunity to find out the truth.

Therefore, he specifically instructed Liu Shuyi that he would become Liu Shuyi's biggest backer.

In any case, he had to know the truth about the cash embezzlement case and whether the mastermind behind it was actually targeting him.

Having experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he could not tolerate anyone who harbored ill will towards him hiding by his side! He did not want to experience the Xuanwu Gate Incident himself.

What Liu Shuyi wanted to hear was Li Shimin's words.

His voice was even clearer: "Your Majesty, I will certainly not disappoint you!"

…………

The heavy palace gates slowly opened.

Liu Shuyi strode out of the palace.

Lu Yangyuan and Mo Xiaofan, who were waiting outside the palace gates, rushed over to greet Liu Shuyi when he came out.

Before they could speak, Liu Shuyi said directly, "His Majesty has ordered me to reinvestigate the case of the military pay."

He looked at Lu Yangyuan and said, "Deputy Lieutenant Lu, you must immediately return to the Ministry of Justice and find Chief Clerk Zhao. Have Chief Clerk Zhao compile a list. I need to know the follow-up situation of all the officials from the Three Departments who participated in the investigation of the military pay case in the seventh year of Wude, including their contributions in the case, whether they were promoted, and what their current status is."

"If Chief Zhao encounters any difficulties, he can ask Assistant Minister Cui for help and ask them to compile the list as quickly as possible."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yangyuan did not hesitate at all and immediately said, "This humble official will do it right away."

Having said that, he quickly turned around and was about to leave.

"Wait a moment."

Liu Shuyi called him back again.

Lu Yangyuan looked at Liu Shuyi with a puzzled expression, and then heard Liu Shuyi say, "Wait for me a moment."

With that, he boarded the carriage. The carriage was quite spacious and had a small table on it. Liu Shuyi used the small table to quickly write a very concise letter.

He then put the letter into an envelope and handed it to Lu Yangyuan, saying, "After you have relayed my words to Master Zhao, go find Master Du and give him this letter."

Officially, Du Ruhui was his highest-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice. Privately, Du Ruhui was his benefactor who had supported him and was also his future father-in-law. Therefore, both in terms of sentiment and reason, he had to inform Du Ruhui about his reinvestigation of the salary silver case as soon as possible. This would not only show his respect for Du Ruhui, but also prevent Du Ruhui from being completely clueless and unable to take timely action should any unexpected events occur.

In officialdom, making more preparations is always beneficial.

After doing all this and confirming that there were no oversights, Liu Shuyi looked at Mo Xiaofan and said, "Xiaofan, let's go to... Dali Temple."

Dali Temple?
Mo Xiaofan seemed to be thinking of something, and his eyes flickered slightly.

Because he was sitting on the carriage shaft driving the horses, with his back to Liu Shuyi, Liu Shuyi did not notice the change in his expression.

He lowered his head, did not ask Liu Shuyi what he was going to Dali Temple for, and directly cracked the whip, driving the carriage away from the palace gate quickly.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the carriage arrived at the Dali Temple.

Liu Shuyi stepped down from the carriage, looked at the solemn and dignified Dali Temple, and nodded slightly.

The Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice are considered sister units, and they often have official dealings with each other, so he was not unfamiliar with the Court of Judicial Review.

"I have met Physician Liu."

When the guards at the Dali Temple saw Liu Shuyi, they quickly stepped forward, bowed, and asked, "Doctor Liu, are you looking for Vice Minister Du?"

The close relationship between Liu Shuyi and Du Gou was well known to everyone in the criminal justice system. Therefore, when the guards saw Liu Shuyi arrive at the Dali Temple, they assumed that Liu Shuyi had come to see Du Gou.

But this time, he guessed wrong.

Liu Shuyi said, "Please inform him that I wish to see Vice Minister Ren."

The turning point in the case of the salary payment was Ren Xing, who was then the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review.

The person who helped his elder brother achieve merit and was subsequently promoted was Ren Xing.

So now that Li Shimin has ordered a reinvestigation of the military pay case, Ren Xing is someone he cannot avoid.

Since we can't avoid it and will have to meet sooner or later, we might as well investigate Ren Xing first!
Having just received the imperial decree, and with the news yet to spread, there was no time to prepare or think if Ren Xing truly had a problem.

Therefore, if I go to see Ren Xing now, I might be able to catch him off guard!
(End of this chapter)