The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 162 Promotion to Nobility! Pei Ji's shock was a case of shooting himself in the foot!

Every moment.

Imperial palace, main hall.

The morning assembly has not yet ended.

Du Ruhui stood at the forefront of the officials, listening to his colleagues report on state affairs while glancing out of the corner of his eye at the areas of the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Revenue.

There were several very obvious empty spaces there.

"Wu Chenyang, Vice Censor-in-Chief; Wei Qian, Vice Minister of Justice; Xue Ming, Vice Minister of Revenue..."

Du Ruhui silently recited the names of the missing people in his mind, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

As the Minister of Justice, although he did not go to the Ministry of Justice, he knew about what was happening there.

Therefore, he knew that all these people had been summoned to the Ministry of Justice by Liu Shuyi.

But he didn't know why Liu Shuyi summoned these people to the Ministry of Justice and wouldn't even let them attend the court assembly.

While investigating the case is important, it is not as important as His Majesty's court assembly.

If someone were to seize the opportunity to attack him, even I wouldn't be able to stand up for Liu Shuyi.

After all, preventing court officials from attending court assemblies is, at best, a matter of not knowing the rules. If it were taken too seriously, it could be considered a sign of disrespect for the emperor, implying that the court assemblies presided over by the emperor are unimportant!
This charge is one that even Du Ruhui, let alone Liu Shuyi, cannot bear.

"Liu Shuyi is usually very intelligent, how could he do something so irrational?"

"Could it be that he got so caught up in the investigation that he forgot about the time?"

Du Ruhui knew Liu Shuyi's habits very well. When faced with a case, he would investigate day and night and would not rest until he found out the truth.

Normally, when he saw this kind of crazy enthusiasm, he would only praise Liu Shuyi for being hardworking and capable.

But now, Liu Shuyi is dragging others to do this with him, and even delaying such an important event as the court assembly, which is not a good thing.

Is it really true that, as always, he's too focused on the case and has lost track of time?

still is……

Du Ruhui thought of another possibility, and his heart skipped a beat. Was there something wrong with these people? He couldn't let them leave.

While Du Ruhui was lost in thought, Duan Lun, the Minister of Works, finished reporting on his affairs.

Li Shimin, seated on the dragon throne, nodded slightly. His gaze swept over the officials in the hall, and his voice, majestic and resounding, echoed throughout the hall: "It is getting late. Do any of you ministers have anything else to report? If not, let the court adjourn."

Upon hearing Li Shimin's words, Du Ruhui's furrowed brows suddenly relaxed.

Hurry up and adjourn the court session, so he can quickly return to the Ministry of Justice to see Liu Shuyi, find out what Liu Shuyi is doing, and then, before anyone else has a chance to cause trouble for Liu Shuyi, bring Liu Shuyi to the palace to explain the reason to His Majesty.

If Liu Shuyi really lost track of time because of the investigation, then it would be much better for him to take the initiative to apologize than for others to write letters and cause trouble.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a voice suddenly rang out.

Du Ruhui subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound, and when he saw who was walking out from among the officials, his brows, which had just relaxed, immediately furrowed again.

"How could it be this guy..."

"Now we're in trouble!"

The man who walked out was over forty years old. His back was slightly hunched, his body was thin, and his eye sockets were sunken, with dark circles under his eyes that were almost as black as ink. He looked as if he hadn't slept for months.

This man was Zhu Xun, a censor in the Censorate, who was a fellow townsman and classmate of Wu Chenyang, the Vice Censor-in-Chief.

His sudden appearance at that moment... gave Du Ruhui a bad feeling.

As expected, after obtaining Li Shimin's permission, Zhu Xun said, "Your Majesty, my Censor Wu was summoned away by Liu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, last night and has been out of contact ever since. He was unable to attend the court meeting today, and I am worried that something may have happened to him."

As soon as Zhu Xun finished speaking, the court officials began to whisper among themselves.

In fact, not only Du Ruhui noticed the absence of Xue Ming and others, but other officials also noticed it.

After all, Xue Ming and the others were the second-in-commands of their respective government departments, each wielding real power and holding extremely high positions. It was rare for even one of them to be absent on ordinary days, and this time, with three of them missing, it would be difficult for them not to be noticed.

Seeing this, Li Shimin looked at Du Ruhui and asked, "Does Minister Du know the reason?"

Du Ruhui pondered for a moment and said, "I have learned that Liu Langzhong asked Wu Zhongcheng and others to leave late at night because of the investigation into the silver payment case. The silver payment case has a great impact and is a case that His Majesty is particularly concerned about. Liu Langzhong dared not slack off and investigated day and night, which is why he did this late at night."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xun said directly, "The investigation of any case cannot be completed overnight, let alone such a complicated case as the payment of wages."

"The short time spent in court cannot possibly have any impact on the investigation of the silver coin case. Liu Langzhong can simply have Wu Zhongcheng and the others attend court, and then have them continue to cooperate afterward."

"But even this little bit of time, Physician Liu won't give Vice Minister Wu..."

Zhu Xun's gaze swept over the crowd, meeting Pei Ji's eyes as he passed by. He gave a barely perceptible nod, his tone suddenly rising: "This humble official would like to know, is Physician Liu doing this because he has His Majesty's decree, deliberately trying to intimidate Vice Minister Wu and the others, or is it..."

He looked at Du Ruhui and said, "In his eyes, His Majesty is not even a part of the court. So, he can exclude whoever he wants from the court assemblies presided over by His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, the previously noisy hall instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Du Ruhui's expression also changed slightly.

His worst fears came true.

Moreover, the person who said this was an imperial censor from the Censorate... a force that even he was unwilling to confront.

However, since Liu Shuyi was his prospective son-in-law, he couldn't just stand by and watch Liu Shuyi be subjected to such a serious accusation. Du Ruhui took a deep breath and said, "Imperial Censor Zhu's words are too harsh."

"For the Tang Dynasty and for His Majesty, Physician Liu has resolved countless dangers. His loyalty to His Majesty is evident to all. How could he not have His Majesty in his eyes?"

Other officials feared Du Ruhui's identity, but Zhu Xun, as an imperial censor, was not afraid at all. What they, as imperial censors, did was to be enemies with these officials.

Zhu Xun said, "Since you have His Majesty in your heart and know the importance of the court assembly, can Minister Du explain why he did not allow Vice Minister Wu and others to attend the court assembly?"

"This……"

Du Ruhui frowned. He hadn't been to the Ministry of Justice last night and had no idea what Liu Shuyi had done. How could he possibly answer that question now?
Seeing that Du Ruhui remained silent, Zhu Xun laughed and said, "It seems that Minister Du has no idea what Physician Liu is doing. Minister Du has taken good care of him, but he has even kept it from Minister Du. Physician Liu seems... not very grateful."

Du Ruhui's eyes turned cold. It was bad enough that Zhu Xun was finding fault with Liu Shuyi at the court meeting, but now he was even trying to sow discord between him and Liu Shuyi.

As expected... Zhu Xun's backside is crooked; he doesn't really want to know the answer, but rather wants to use this opportunity to deal with Liu Shuyi!
However, Liu Shuyi and Zhu Xun had never met, yet Zhu Xun was now making such a big deal out of Liu Shuyi... Du Ruhui's mind raced, and he suddenly turned his head to look at Sikong Peiji not far away.

At that moment, he noticed that Pei Ji was looking at Zhu Xun with satisfaction. As if sensing his gaze, Pei Ji turned his head, and their eyes met.

Then... Du Ruhui saw Pei Ji's lips curl up and said, "Imperial Censor Zhu can't say that. Everyone knows that Minister Du is a benefactor of Physician Liu. Even if Physician Liu were to hide it from anyone else, he wouldn't hide it from Minister Du. Minister Du might not know it just because this matter is rather special and needs to be kept secret."

"Somewhat special?"

Zhu Xun said, "It's just a part of the investigation. What's so special about it? Not to mention that we need to keep it a secret. As a senior official in the Ministry of Justice, Liu Langzhong concealed it from Minister Du, the Minister of Justice. This makes it hard for me not to suspect that Liu Langzhong has ulterior motives, or that he is simply too arrogant and doesn't take anyone else seriously."

Listening to the two of them singing in unison, Du Ruhui's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

He knew he couldn't let the two continue talking, otherwise the situation would completely spiral out of control.

He looked at Li Shimin and said, “Your Majesty, I believe in Liu Shuyi. He is by no means an arrogant and ignorant person. There must be a reason why he prevented Wu Zhongcheng and others from attending the court meeting. Your Majesty may order someone to summon Liu Shuyi. You will know the reason once you ask him.”

Upon hearing Du Ruhui's words, Zhu Xun and Pei Ji exchanged a glance. They did not stop Du Ruhui, which was also their original intention.

Liu Shuyi is currently highly regarded by Li Shimin, and Li Shimin will certainly not easily punish Liu Shuyi based on just a few words from them.

If they really wanted to send Liu Shuyi into the abyss, they had to confront him face to face. As long as they could silence Liu Shuyi in front of all the officials and leave him with no reasonable grounds to refute them, then under the witness of all the officials, even if Li Shimin was unwilling to punish Liu Shuyi, he would have to punish him!

This was an opportunity that Pei Ji's student had personally entered into to secure for him, and he had to seize it no matter what.

As for whether Liu Shuyi can find a reasonable explanation...

Pei Ji sneered inwardly. The emperor is the greatest emperor in the world. No matter what Liu Shuyi's reasons are, preventing officials from attending court is a contempt for imperial authority. Once this is confirmed, Liu Shuyi will have no chance to turn the tide.

"Liu Shuyi, Liu Shuyi, I've finally caught your chance!" Pei Ji couldn't wait to see Liu Shuyi fall into despair and be plunged into an abyss of no return.

Li Shimin's gaze swept across the faces of Du Ruhui and the others. With his keen eyesight, he could naturally see the undercurrents hidden beneath these clashes. He was also very curious as to why Liu Shuyi would prevent Wu Chenyang and the others from participating in the court assembly.

He doesn't believe in arrogant or conceited talk.

But he couldn't figure out the specific reason.

However, once Liu Shuyi is summoned, everything will become clear...

He said, "In that case, let's call Liu Shuyi over."

"His Majesty--"

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, before the eunuch could go out to relay the order, a guard walked in from outside the hall and said, "Liu Shuyi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, requests an audience."

"Liu Shuyi?"

"He's here!?"

Upon hearing the guard's words, all the officials were taken aback.

They didn't expect that just as they were about to call Liu Shuyi, Liu Shuyi himself came.

Pei Ji laughed as well: "It really is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Liu Shuyi came by himself, which saved us some time."

Li Shimin glanced at Du Ruhui and saw that Du Ruhui's brows were still furrowed and his face showed a hint of worry. A look of understanding flashed in Li Shimin's deep eyes. It seemed that Du Ruhui really did not know what Liu Shuyi was doing.

"Let Liu Shuyi in."

Not long after, Liu Shuyi, dressed in a scarlet official robe, strode into the main hall.

As soon as he entered, all the civil and military officials turned their gazes to him.

If it were an ordinary fifth-rank official, being stared at like this by so many important officials, he would probably be sweating profusely with nervousness. But Liu Shuyi didn't even blink, as if he didn't feel these strange gazes at all, and calmly walked to the front of the hall.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty." Liu Shuyi bowed respectfully to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin was very satisfied with Liu Shuyi's composed demeanor and said, "Rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Shimin said, "Minister Liu, you've come at the perfect time. Imperial Censor Zhu and Minister Du were just talking about you."

"Oh?"

Liu Shuyi looked at the censor Zhu Xun beside him with some surprise; Zhu Xun had sunken eyes and a thin, monkey-like build.

"I wonder what Imperial Censor Zhu and Minister Du were discussing about me?" Zhu Xun glanced at Pei Ji, and seeing Pei Ji nod, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He immediately questioned Liu Shuyi, "Doctor Liu deliberately prevented Vice Minister Wu and others from attending the court assembly. I wonder what Doctor Liu's intentions are?"

What are your intentions?

Zhu Xun's eye contact with Pei Ji had not escaped Liu Shuyi's notice, and Liu Shuyi immediately understood what was going on.

He laughed and said, "Where did Imperial Censor Zhu get that idea? I was just doing my job; I had no ulterior motives whatsoever."

"Strictly in accordance with official procedures?"

Zhu Xun thought Liu Shuyi would come up with some reason, but who knew it would be such an unconvincing one.

He sneered, "Is Physician Liu's official business meant to prevent a high-ranking official of our Great Tang from attending the court assembly? I wonder who gave Physician Liu this authority? I wonder if Physician Liu even respects His Majesty?!"

Does he even respect His Majesty? He's putting such a huge accusation on himself.
Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow, but he wasn't angry. He maintained his calm tone and said, "My power naturally comes from His Majesty and the laws of the Tang Dynasty. As for whether I have His Majesty in my eyes? Is there any need to ask? His Majesty values ​​me and has promoted me many times. His kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. I wish I could work for His Majesty day and night to repay him. How could I not have His Majesty in my eyes?"

"That sounds nice!"

Zhu Xun said coldly, "But unfortunately, I've heard these kinds of words so many times in the Censorate that I'm sick of them. The truth is, those officials don't care about His Majesty at all!"

He stared at Liu Shuyi: "Physician Liu just said that His Majesty and the laws of the Tang Dynasty gave you this power. Then I would like to ask, did His Majesty allow you to prevent Wu Zhongcheng and others from attending court, or is it a law of the Tang Dynasty that allows you to prevent important officials from attending court?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Ji couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

He had taken Liu Shuyi seriously as an opponent, but Liu Shuyi turned out to be so incompetent.

If Liu Shuyi had found another excuse, he wouldn't have been so easily driven to a dead end by Zhu Xun.

Unfortunately, Liu Shuyi used the excuse of being in official business, which made things worse. Now, Liu Shuyi couldn't possibly answer Zhu Xun's question.

After all, Liu Shuyi couldn't possibly point the finger at Li Shimin; that would be tantamount to openly courting death. Nor could Liu Shuyi actually find any legal basis to support his actions...

Liu Shuyi had no way out.

Du Ruhui and the others also frowned deeply. They had not expected that Liu Shuyi would be driven to his death by Zhu Xun so quickly.

He's usually such a clever person, how come he's acting so foolishly now?

Was it because he was suddenly questioned and panicked, unable to think straight?
Du Ruhui knew he had to intervene; otherwise, if the experienced censor Zhu Xun continued his attacks, Liu Shuyi would surely die.

But he couldn't think of a suitable way to intervene.

Just as he was racking his brains for a solution, Liu Shuyi's voice rang out: "Imperial Censor Zhu, you've asked the wrong question."

"what?"

Everyone was startled.

What answer is this?
Zhu Xun couldn't figure out Liu Shuyi's thoughts either. He said coldly, "What's wrong?"

Liu Shuyi met Zhu Xun's murderous gaze with a slight smile and said, "I have already investigated the truth of the military pay case. Whether it is Vice Minister Wu or Vice Minister Wei, they have both committed heinous crimes in the case..."

"They shouldn't be called important officials at all; they should be called prisoners."

"Therefore, Censor Zhu's question should be revised to, 'Did His Majesty order me to prevent Vice Minister Wu and other prisoners from attending court, or is it which law of the Tang Dynasty that allows me to prevent prisoners from attending court?'"

"If that's the case, then I think..."

Liu Shuyi looked at Zhu Xun with a half-smile: "I don't need to tell you the answer, do I?"

brush!
Zhu Xun's pupils suddenly narrowed.

His confident smile froze instantly.

His eyes widened; he could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"What did you say!?"

His voice became shrill with excitement: "You say you've uncovered the truth about the silver treasury case, you say Wu Zhongcheng and the others are criminals? Is that... really true?"

The officials also quickly looked at Liu Shuyi.

Then they saw Liu Shuyi smile slightly: "Imperial Censor Zhu has already heard clearly, why ask again?"

"It turned out to be true!"

Zhu Xun was struck dumb, and his whole body swayed involuntarily.

All his attacks on Liu Shuyi stemmed from Liu Shuyi's obstruction of a fourth-rank official from attending the morning court session. From any perspective, this was a contempt for imperial authority and a violation of the laws of the Tang Dynasty!
Even with the legitimate reason of investigating the case, Liu Shuyi was unable to resolve this issue.

He thought he was invincible... but to his surprise, Liu Shuyi solved the problem perfectly using a method he had never imagined.

Liu Shuyi turned important officials into prisoners. Since they were prisoners, how could they possibly be qualified to attend court assemblies?
But... Liu Shuyi has only been in charge of the salary case for no more than twelve hours!

How could Liu Shuyi have uncovered the truth in such a short time?!

Is this something a human can do?
Zhu Xun's mind was in complete chaos; this was the first time he had ever suffered such a blow.

Pei Ji's reaction was not much better than Zhu Xun's.

He was even more horrified... because Liu Shuyi said that Wu Chenyang was a criminal!

Wu Chenyang achieved the rank of Vice Censor-in-Chief, making him one of the most outstanding students in his class, and arguably his right-hand man.

After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he lost real power and relied on his henchmen like Wu Chenyang to maintain his influence.

As a result... Wu Chenyang is now a prisoner, which is equivalent to cutting off one of his own arms!

It hurts!

Pei Ji felt as if his heart was bleeding.

He originally intended to scheme against Liu Shuyi, to plunge Liu Shuyi into an abyss... but who knew that it was his own student who would actually fall into the abyss, and he himself would suffer a great loss as a result.

Pei Ji and Zhu Xun were either in pain or distraught, but Du Ruhui was filled with relief.

He never expected Liu Shuyi to give him such a big surprise...

So that's how it is. Liu Shuyi had actually found out the truth about the silver treasury case. Wu Chenyang and the others were all criminals, which matched his previous guess.

However, I thought that conjecture was too far-fetched and I hadn't really considered the possibility. But I never expected that Liu Shuyi would actually do it!

If that's the case, then a bad thing will turn into a good thing.

What awaits Liu Shuyi is no longer a severe punishment, but rather meritorious service!
Even Li Shimin, whose face was usually calm and composed, showed a look of surprise.

Clearly, he hadn't expected that Liu Shuyi had already discovered the truth.

The truth behind the cash prize scandal...

When Li Shimin recalled how his camp had almost mutinied due to the loss of pay and how the Turks had almost seized the opportunity to conquer it, his expression quickly turned cold.

"Tell me, what exactly happened in the salary fraud case? What was the truth back then?"

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly composed themselves and looked at Liu Shuyi. They were also very curious about the results of the reinvestigation of the Wude No. 1 case that had shocked the world back then.

Liu Shuyi didn't keep them in suspense and went straight to the point: "It all started with Feng Mu's confession..."

Then Liu Shuyi recounted his entire investigation process in great detail.

He divided the cases into two categories: the wrongful conviction of Feng Mu and the theft of military pay.

"...In the end, I was able to confirm that the person behind the cash embezzlement case was Wen Jun, the former Minister of Revenue. He and Zhao Chengyi, who was then a physician, jointly carried out the embezzlement of the cash embezzled funds."

After Liu Shuyi finished speaking, the entire hall was completely silent, and not a single one of the hundreds of civil and military officials uttered a word.

They were completely shocked by the complex truth behind the cash donation case.

Who could have imagined that the high-ranking officials of the Three Departments back then would be so audacious as to openly collude and frame innocent people, ultimately leading to the deaths of hundreds and the exile of thousands!
Who could have imagined that their framing was actually pre-planned? What an ingenious conspiracy, demonstrating such a profound understanding of human nature.

What they never expected was that such a mysterious place was hidden beneath the Ministry of Revenue's treasury, and that the salaries had been exchanged before they even left the treasury...

One truth after another, like waves crashing against the ocean, kept crashing into their minds, making them swallow hard.

After a long while, some discussion began.

"I never imagined the truth behind the salary fraud case would be so complicated!"

"If it weren't for Doctor Liu's solid evidence and the fact that Wu Chenyang and the others had confessed, I wouldn't have believed this was the truth!"

"Yes, who would have thought that they, who are usually so serious and dignified, would be so insidious behind the scenes!"

"Wen Jun is so cunning. I really can't believe that the mastermind behind this is such a kind-looking old man."

"This is what they mean by knowing a person's face but not their heart!"

"Even though Wen Jun and his gang were so cunning and treacherous, they were still caught by Doctor Liu in a single day... Doctor Liu truly deserves the title of Detective!"

The officials were abuzz with discussion. The more complex the case became and the more cunning Wen Jun and his associates appeared, the higher their praise for Liu Shuyi became.

This made Pei Ji feel that these people's voices had never sounded so grating.

Upon hearing these words, Zhu Xun subconsciously shrank back, trying to minimize his presence, and dared not nitpick at Liu Shuyi anymore.

Seeing this, Du Ruhui's smile deepened. Liu Shuyi really kept surprising him. His decision to choose Liu Shuyi back then was truly brilliant!

After listening to Liu Shuyi's account, Li Shimin closed his eyes.

He knew that his father had many incompetent subordinates like Pei Ji, but he never imagined it was this serious.

All the top executives of the three companies colluded... How dare they?!
Li Shimin suddenly opened his eyes, and as soon as he did, a terrifying pressure immediately made everyone's hearts tremble, and they subconsciously stopped discussing.

Li Shimin's gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on Liu Shuyi.

"You did a great job! Even better than I expected!"

Li Shimin did not hold back in praising Liu Shuyi, saying, "In just one day, you uncovered the truth that the Three Departments could not find even after a month, and you also uncovered the collusion between the Three Departments, bringing so many corrupt officials to justice for me!"

"Two cases, two achievements, I cannot fail to reward you."

"Liu Shuyi, receive your appointment..."

Liu Shuyi did not expect Li Shimin to react so strongly, wanting to bestow rewards on the spot. He quickly bowed and said, "Your subject is here."

Li Shimin said, "You have solved two cases in succession, and your judgment is like that of a god. Your talent is beyond measure. I have heard that great achievements should be rewarded. I hereby promote you to the position of Earl of Lantian County, and increase your fief by three hundred households, to recognize your ability in criminal justice."

(End of this chapter)