The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 155 Overturning Past Speculations, Miaoyin'er, You're Really Good at Hiding! Ren Xing Found It
Liu Shuyi looked up at the two characters "Zhao Mansion" on the plaque, and his brain was shocked like never before.

In his original deduction, the underground passages and secret spaces of the Ministry of Revenue's treasury were secretly built by Emperor Wen of Sui. Therefore, the one who knew this secret should be Fushenglou, who inherited the will of the former Sui Dynasty and attempted to overthrow the Tang Dynasty and restore the Sui Dynasty. Moreover, if Fushenglou wanted to overthrow the Tang Dynasty, then he would seize every opportunity to betray the Tang Dynasty, secretly seize the military funds, and accumulate his own power. His motives were completely consistent.

From any perspective, Fushenglou should be considered the mastermind behind the cash donation scandal.

However, he found Zhao Chengyi's residence through the underground passage!
Why is the other exit located at Zhao Chengyi's residence?

Zhao Chengyi and Miao Yin'er are clearly important members of the same faction!
Is it...

The faction that Zhao Chengyi and Miao Yin'er belong to is the Floating Life Pavilion!?
Or perhaps I misjudged the situation.

Although the underground passages and secret spaces were built by Emperor Wen of Sui, judging from the circumstances of their construction, very few people knew about them. Even Yuan Tiangang, Yuan Shoucheng's own nephew, was kept secret by Yuan Shoucheng, so that even after nearly forty years, Yuan Tiangang knew nothing about them. Therefore, even if the Floating Life Tower was built by people of the Sui Dynasty, they might not know about it.

Did the forces behind Miaoyin'er accidentally learn of this secret?
Then, using this secret passage, they secretly replaced the paychecks?
It actually has no connection with Fusheng Tower?
Both possibilities exist, which one will it be?
Liu Shuyi pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned around and looked at Fu Wuwei, whose expression was still complex and shocked, and said, "Doctor Fu, do you know when Zhao Chengyi bought this house?"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Du Gou and Du Ying also quickly looked at Fu Wuwei.

Upon learning that the secret passage led to Zhao Chengyi's residence, they, who had gone through many cases together with Liu Shuyi and were very clear about Zhao Chengyi and Fushenglou's situation, were as shocked as Liu Shuyi. Now they both desperately wanted to know what had happened.

Fu Wuwei thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "It's been a long time, so I don't remember very clearly."

Liu Shuyi guided, "Then let's recall by key moments... Did Zhao Chengyi purchase this mansion before or after the silver coin case?"

"The salary payment case... I remember now, it was before the salary payment case!"

With a point of reference, Fu Wuwei answered quickly this time.

"Before the silver payment case..."

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, and he asked again, "How long ago was this case? Was it several years ago, or just a few months ago?"

A look of reminiscence flashed across Fu Wuwei's face. Liu Shuyi did not urge him, but waited quietly for Fu Wuwei to begin his recollection.

"Time is running out!"

Fu Wuwei looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "I just remembered something. Zhao Chengyi was a doctor at the time. According to the custom of our Ministry of Revenue, if someone moves to a new house, they need to host a banquet for their colleagues to celebrate."

“Zhao Chengyi told us that after he renovated his new house, he would invite us to his mansion for a big drink. Later, his mansion was finally renovated, and he sent invitations to all of us, but in the end… we couldn’t go.”

Liu Shuyi's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "Because of the salary case?"

Fu Wuwei was filled with emotion. He had only revealed a little information, yet Liu Shuyi was able to quickly trace it back to the source... Such ability to unravel complexities was truly terrifying.

He nodded emphatically: "Yes! I remember it very clearly. When the silver treasury case occurred, the Emperor Emeritus was furious. Although we all believed that this matter had nothing to do with the Ministry of Revenue and that the Emperor Emeritus's anger could not reach the Ministry of Revenue, at such a critical moment, we dared not go to a banquet together to drink and make merry."

"In addition, the Emperor Emeritus also demanded that the Ministry of Revenue find a way to raise a new salary, which almost drove us crazy. We didn't have time to attend the banquet."

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly, his mind already racing.

According to Tang Dynasty custom, the first thing to do after moving to a new residence was to clean and repair it, followed by inviting relatives and friends to celebrate together.

Therefore, the banquet should have taken place immediately after the renovation.

Repairs generally don't take too long, especially when dealing with powerful officials. Craftsmen wouldn't dare to slack off and would work even faster and more efficiently.

In addition, Fu Wuwei said the time was very short...

So... Zhao Chengyi purchased this residence not long before the silver coin case occurred, at most no more than three months ago.

In such a short period of time, it can be said that the house was purchased and the cashier's case occurred shortly afterward.

This could not possibly be a coincidence.

That is to say...

This house was purchased by Zhao Chengyi's backers in order to embezzle military funds.

However, the records state that the attack on the Tang Dynasty by the two Turkic Khans was very sudden, and the Tang court was completely unprepared.

Does this mean that... the forces behind Zhao Chengyi and Miaoyin'er possess an intelligence network even more powerful than that of the Tang Dynasty court at the time?

They even secretly orchestrated the sudden attack on the Tang Dynasty by the two Turkic Khans?
If that were the case, they would know in advance about the Turkic attack on the Tang Dynasty, and based on the situation at the time, they could predict what Li Yuan would do, and thus prepare stones and boxes in advance to make preparations for the substitution.

No wonder, the pay had just arrived, and in such a short time they were able to prepare all the stone boxes, with the chain caps and seals being exactly the same, without the slightest difference...

It now appears that it wasn't that they prepared so quickly, but rather that they had everything prepared before the funds arrived, even before the Turks attacked the Tang Dynasty, just waiting for the court to allocate the funds.

Are they really short of money?

Liu Shuyi suddenly remembered Zhao Chengyi's framing of Zhao Feng's father for embezzlement.

In that case, Zhao Chengyi embezzled a lot of the imperial court's disaster relief funds. He also used the incident to bring down Zhao Feng's father, Zhao Zhuo, who was then the Vice Minister of Revenue. In the end, Zhao Chengyi got money and was promoted to the position of the new Vice Minister of Revenue.

However, after he exposed Zhao Chengyi's true colors, the imperial court came to confiscate his property, but found no trace of any disaster relief funds.

A huge sum of disaster relief funds simply vanished.

At the time, I suspected that the disaster relief funds had been handed over by Zhao Chengyi to his master.

Now he also learned that the 200,000 strings of cash in military pay had also fallen into the hands of Zhao Chengyi's master...

What exactly is Zhao Chengyi's faction up to? Why would they risk stealing such enormous sums of money time and time again?

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered. He wasn't afraid of what Zhao Chengyi's forces would do, but he was afraid of what they wouldn't do. The more they did, the more their secrets would be exposed.

Now that we know their power requires money, we may have the opportunity to use this information to confront them in the future.

But thinking about these things now is a bit too far off...

Liu Shuyi took a deep breath, and his mind calmed down again.

Although he still couldn't be sure whether Zhao Chengyi and Fushenglou were in cahoots, there was one thing he was certain of... that is, Zhao Chengyi's faction must have only learned of the secret of the Ministry of Revenue's underground warehouse shortly before purchasing this mansion.

Otherwise, they would have acquired this mansion long ago; it's impossible that they would have allowed Zhao Chengyi to buy it so openly just before taking action.

After all, if someone discovers the secret passage and finds this place, wouldn't that directly harm Zhao Chengyi?

Zhao Chengyi is of a high rank, and even within the Floating Life Pavilion, he must hold a very important position. He is by no means a pawn that can be easily discarded.

Moreover, this matter is easy to handle. Finding someone else to buy the house on your behalf, or even buying it and then leaving it there unused, is better than Zhao Chengyi temporarily taking over.

However, they still allowed Zhao Chengyi to openly purchase the house, thus completely binding Zhao Chengyi to it.

This can only mean one thing... they don't have enough time! Not enough time for them to find someone else to buy the mansion.

Firstly, this residence is not far from the capital and is very expensive. It is not a house that ordinary people can afford. Only officials of the court or wealthy merchants can afford it. If an ordinary person suddenly wants to buy this house, it may attract the attention of Wannian County Government and make them suspicious of the source of their money.

And finding someone qualified to buy this house will not be easy in a short period of time.

Secondly, this residence is involved in a massive case concerning military pay. If the secret is exposed by someone who is not trustworthy enough, the failure to steal the pay would be the least of the problems. In more serious cases, it could lead to the complete annihilation of Zhao Chengyi's faction.

After all, the matter of the military pay concerns the very foundation of the Tang Dynasty, and the court will inevitably investigate frantically. To successfully steal the military pay, their people hidden in the Ministry of Revenue must take action themselves. If the person holding the house on their behalf leaks the information, causing the court to follow the trail to find the accomplice hidden in the Ministry of Revenue, or even find the hiding place of their master behind the military pay, then it would truly be a disaster.

For all these reasons, there was not enough time to find a suitable person, and the person chosen randomly could not be fully trusted. That is why, even though they knew that there was a certain risk in Zhao Chengyi buying this mansion, they still let Zhao Chengyi make the purchase.

However, in order to protect Zhao Chengyi, they did not allow him to participate in the Ministry of Revenue's salary matters. Therefore, even if the salary case occurred and the Ministry of Revenue was investigated, they could not find Zhao Chengyi, who had never been involved in the salary matters.

This also illustrates one thing... In addition to Zhao Chengyi, the Ministry of Revenue had at least one other thief, and this person's status was probably higher than Zhao Chengyi's, which is why Zhao Chengyi was excluded from the matter of the salary.

Thinking of this, Liu Shuyi suddenly remembered that Zhao Chengyi had been exposed by him and was silenced on the night he was imprisoned.

She also recalled that on the night Zhao Chengyi died, his wife and children were also silenced by Miaoyin'er.

Zhao Chengyi's entire family was brutally murdered on the very night he was exposed; not a single one survived.
His original thought was that Zhao Chengyi's master was very cautious and feared that Zhao Chengyi would reveal his secret, so he decisively killed him to silence him.

But now that I think about it, if I was afraid Zhao Chengyi would speak, killing Zhao Chengyi would have been enough. Why did I have to be so eager to kill Zhao Chengyi's wife and children as well?
Miao Yin'er's explanation was that Zhao Chengyi's wife and children knew her and might expose her... He believed it at the time, but now that he knows the secret hidden in this mansion, he suddenly has another guess.

Is it possible that the forces behind Zhao Chengyi were worried that Zhao Chengyi's wife and children also knew the secrets of their residence, and that if they were caught and questioned by the court, they would reveal the secret passages and mechanisms, thus letting the court know the truth about the silver coin case, and then follow the clues to find another person hiding in the Ministry of Revenue?
That's why they killed Zhao Chengyi's family to avoid exposing the man.
If that's the case... then it must mean that this person left clues or flaws on Zhao Chengyi.

Otherwise, there would be no need to be so careful.

Will the truth be as I imagine?
He thought about Miao Yin'er's enchanting and unpredictable nature and couldn't help but feel a headache. To be honest, he had doubted everything Miao Yin'er said in prison, but he never doubted her reason for killing Zhao Chengyi's wife and children.

Upon suddenly learning that even that statement might be false... even he couldn't help but sigh, "A witch is a witch indeed; not a single word of truth comes out of her mouth!"
Knowing about Zhao Chengyi's purchase of the mansion also confirms one thing: the power behind Zhao Chengyi has not yet reached the level of being able to directly incite an attack by the Turks on the Tang Dynasty.

After all, their time is not under their own control...

This suggests that they only possess strong intelligence capabilities, at most having the ability to slightly influence the Turks, giving them more time to prepare.

"fine……"

Liu Shuyi let out a breath. If the power behind Miaoyin'er could easily control even a not-so-weak country like the Turks, then it would be truly terrifying for him to be their enemy.

Even so, the power behind Miaoyin'er in the silver treasury case was terrifying.

If their power is not Fushenglou, it means that the power Miaoyin'er belongs to is by no means weaker than Fushenglou, and may even be stronger.

The goal of Fushenglou is to overthrow the Tang Dynasty and restore the Sui Dynasty. What will be the goal of Miaoyin'er and her group?
Liu Shuyi gently stroked the jade pendant that Zhao Chengyi had used to lure the original owner of this body with his fingertips, lost in thought.

After a moment, Liu Shuyi took a deep breath to calm his thoughts.

Although the faction to which Zhao Chengyi belonged was still shrouded in mystery, making it difficult for Liu Shuyi to see clearly, once he found this place and learned that it was Zhao Chengyi's residence, the fog surrounding the silver payment case began to gradually dissipate for Liu Shuyi.

He looked at Fu Wuwei again and said, "Doctor Fu, I want to know, who arranged the selection of personnel for the Ministry of Revenue to raise funds at that time? Or rather, who could decide who participated in this matter and who did not?"

Fu Wuwei thought for a moment and said, "The matter of the pay was of utmost importance and could not be overlooked. Therefore, Minister Wen at the time personally selected the personnel and took charge of the matter." "However..."

He then changed the subject: "Minister Chen and Minister Deng also have a great deal of influence. If they suggest who should participate and who is not suitable, Minister Wen should not object to such a trivial matter."

Liu Shuyi squinted and said, "So, only the Minister and the Vice Minister can decide on personnel arrangements?"

Fu Wuwei nodded: "Yes! For important tasks, even I, a doctor, can only follow orders and have no chance to make decisions."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment, then asked, "What is the relationship between these three people and Zhao Chengyi?"

Fu Wuwei frowned and said, "They're all alright. Zhao Chengyi is eloquent and knows how to get along with people, so he doesn't have a bad relationship with most people in the Ministry of Revenue."

The fact that he gets along well with everyone shows that Zhao Chengyi is deliberately hiding his relationship with his accomplices and doesn't want outsiders to see it.

Liu Shuyi nodded and continued, "Do you know why Zhao Chengyi didn't participate in the fundraising?"

Fu Wuwei said, "Zhao Chengyi was the Director of the Granary Department at the time, so he didn't need the Granary Department, right?"

“Isn’t it necessary?” Liu Shuyi said, “When I was reviewing the case file of Zhao Zhuo, I learned that the Granary Department was responsible for grain storage and transportation. Some people couldn’t pay their taxes in silver, so they would use grain instead. Then the Ministry of Revenue would need to exchange the grain for copper coins… The transportation of money, as well as the canal and land transport, were also related to the Granary Department.”

"The military pay was collected in the middle of the year, and the people were not necessarily wealthy. There were bound to be cases where goods were used instead of military pay. Not to mention the tight schedule and the extremely high speed required for transporting the military pay. No matter how you look at it, this is inextricably linked to the Ministry of Revenue, isn't it?"

Fu Wuwei was surprised that Liu Shuyi knew so much detail. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and said, "What Doctor Liu said is true. However, since the Minister and Vice Minister handled it personally at the time, no one dared to cause trouble in these matters."

Liu Shuyi squinted and said, "You mean to say that Minister Wen and the other two have taken over the affairs of the Granary Department? I wonder who is specifically in charge?"

Fu Wuwei listened with trepidation. He wasn't stupid, and naturally understood why Liu Shuyi was asking about these things in such detail.

He swallowed hard and shook his head, saying, "I only know that Minister Wen and the other two manage everything and do everything personally, but I don't know exactly who took over the management of the granary."

Liu Shuyi stared intently at Fu Wuwei, making Fu Wuwei swallow hard before finally looking away.

"Fu Wuwei was not lying..."

"But it doesn't matter. As long as we see Wen Jun and the others, we can find out the truth about this matter with a simple question."

Liu Shuyi changed the subject: "Do you know where Zhao Chengyi found the craftsmen to repair his mansion back then?"

"what?"

Liu Shuyi's topic jumped around so much that it caught Fu Wuwei off guard.

"This...this has nothing to do with official business..." Fu Wuwei looked embarrassed. "This humble official has never heard of this."

Liu Shuyi frowned, which startled Fu Wuwei so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Upon seeing this, Du Gou's heart stirred slightly, and he said, "Are you the one who suspects the person who stole the military pay, the craftsman who repaired Zhao Chengyi's residence?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Wuwei's eyes widened immediately, and he looked nervously at Liu Shuyi.

Then, he saw Liu Shuyi calmly say, "Xuanyangfang is mostly the residence of officials and nobles, so it is usually quiet and there is not much traffic."

"To steal the silver, a lot of stones would be needed, and moving these stones would require a lot of manpower. But this place is so quiet, and if a large number of people suddenly appear to be moving heavy objects, it will definitely attract attention."

"Therefore, in order to avoid suspicion, the forces behind Zhao Chengyi must need a reasonable opportunity to move heavy objects... Repairing the mansion is the most reasonable and least noticeable reason."

Fu Wuwei suddenly realized: "So that's how it is..."

He looked annoyed: "Why didn't I ask out of curiosity? If I had, we might have been able to find these thieves directly."

Liu Shuyi never wastes his emotions on things that are already in the past.

Seeing that this approach was not working, he changed his mind and said, "Doctor Fu, I need you to do two things for me."

Fu Wuwei quickly replied, "Please give your instructions, Physician Liu."

"The first thing is to investigate the sales records of this mansion for me. I want to know how many owners it has had, who the last owner was, and exactly on what day it was sold. If that person is still in Chang'an, then bring him here."

Fu Wuwei nodded directly: "This is not difficult. I will find out by checking the household registration books and transaction records."

Liu Shuyi nodded and continued, "The second thing I want to know is who went to that warehouse in the three days after the salary was taken away from the Ministry of Revenue by Feng Mu and others."

Fu Wuwei thought for a moment and said, "This is not difficult. The Ministry of Revenue's warehouse is an important place, and no one is allowed to enter or leave easily. Anyone who enters or leaves must register the detailed time and reason. I can find out with a simple check."

"We need to be quick," Liu Shuyi said.

Fu Wuwei dared not delay: "This subordinate will do it immediately."

He now only hopes to perform well in front of Liu Shuyi and make up for his previous poor behavior towards Liu Shuyi, so that when Liu Shuyi finds out the truth and the court punishes the Ministry of Revenue, he will receive a lighter punishment.

If he could turn back time, he would definitely go back to the moment he threatened Liu Shuyi and slap himself hard.

You're so arrogant! You're almost going to get me killed!
Seeing that Liu Shuyi had no further instructions, Fu Wuwei regretted his past actions and quickly left.

Liu Shuyi then looked at Du Gou and said, "Minister Du, you can send someone to find Xue Ming and the others now."

Du Gou's eyes flashed: "Do you know who the real thief is?"

Upon hearing this, Du Ying turned her cool and beautiful eyes to Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "We still don't know for now, but barring any unforeseen circumstances... we'll find out soon."

Knowing Liu Shuyi's temperament, Du Gou said no more after hearing Liu Shuyi's words, and simply said, "I will arrange for someone to go find them right away."

With that, he turned and gave instructions to the people from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review.

Seeing that no one was around Liu Shuyi, Du Ying walked over to his side. Seeing Liu Shuyi staring at the dilapidated mansion in front of him, she said softly, "Are you tired? Do you want to take a stimulant?"

Liu Shuyi smiled and shook his head: "It's alright. Maybe I've gotten used to staying up late these days, and I'm gradually getting used to not sleeping at night."

“This is not a good habit,” Du Ying said.

Looking at Du Ying's fair skin, Liu Shuyi nodded and said, "It's definitely not a good habit. I'd better not let you stay up late with me so often in the future, otherwise your skin will get damaged and you won't be fair anymore. It's better to be fair."

Du Ying blinked. Had she misheard? Why did Liu Shuyi's words sound like he was flirting with her?
She turned to look at Liu Shuyi, only to see him still intently staring at the mansion before him. His serious and focused demeanor made him seem completely unlike the person who would say anything flirtatious to her.

Did I hear it wrong?

Du Ying frowned slightly and looked away.

Liu Shuyi saw out of the corner of his eye that Du Ying had looked away, and he breathed a sigh of relief. How did he accidentally blurt out what was on his mind?
He always unconsciously relaxes in front of Du Ying.

But this is not the time to relax.

Although the mansion was found and a plan for further investigation was developed, it was still not enough.

He still lacks crucial evidence, and there has been no progress on his brother's case.

These are the clues we can get from the Ministry of Revenue's treasury. We've reached the limit of our investigation.

To find more crucial evidence and to clarify the issues surrounding my brother... we need to take a different approach.

Currently, there is only one path left that offers any hope of taking.

——Ren Xing!
Although Zhao Chengyi's influence did not alert anyone who had smuggled the military pay, the military pay was of too great importance, and the imperial court was determined to find out the truth.

In this situation, it's not impossible that Li Yuan, in a fit of rage, would disregard everything and investigate everyone involved in the military pay, digging deep to find every place the pay had been.

Therefore, simply stealing and exchanging the salary money is far from enough.

If you truly want to remain unscathed and watch the show from the sidelines... then you must ensure the court successfully closes the case and finds the truth, so that the court won't dig up the truth.

In other words... they need to find a scapegoat!

And Feng Mu just happened to be the scapegoat found by the higher-ups of the three departments!
Was it a coincidence? Before Zhao Chengyi's forces could even make a move, the higher-ups of the Three Departments, eager to complete their mission, proactively provided a scapegoat...

Or is it that Feng Mu will become a scapegoat, and that this is actually the work of Zhao Chengyi's forces, with the high-ranking officials of the Three Departments being used by Zhao Chengyi's forces without their knowledge?

They thought they had found a scapegoat, but little did they know that this scapegoat had already been chosen by Zhao Chengyi's forces.

If so...

Ren Xing, the biggest beneficiary in the cash payment scandal, likely knew something.

After all, it was Ren Xing who first mentioned Feng Mu.

Therefore, if Ren Xing can be found, many questions can be answered directly.

But Ren Xing fled too decisively and too quickly; several hours have passed, and it's uncertain whether there will be any chance of finding him...

"Dr. Liu!"

Just then, someone suddenly strode out of the Zhao residence.

Liu Shuyi looked over and saw that the person who had come was Cui Lin.

Seeing Cui Lin's hurried appearance, Liu Shuyi remembered the matter he had asked Cui Lin to handle through the Cui family, and his eyes flashed: "Could it be?"

Before Liu Shuyi could speak, Cui Lin said directly, "We've found Ren Xing's trail!"

(End of this chapter)