The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 165 Miao Yin'er's prophetic dream, Liu Shuyi's terrifying conjecture!
The already deathly silent prison was now even more silent.

Liu Shuyi and Miao Yin'er both fell silent, but Liu Shuyi was deep in thought about the information he had just obtained through probing, while Miao Yin'er dared not speak.

She knew Liu Shuyi was very smart, so she was always extra careful whenever she came into contact with him.

Every word was carefully considered before being spoken. Even lies were carefully considered to ensure they would not offend Liu Shuyi, while also concealing the truth, before being uttered.

But she never expected that less than a month had passed since Liu Shuyi last came to see her, and in such a short time, Liu Shuyi had found so many clues.

Before Liu Shuzhong disappeared, he appeared at Miaoyinfang. The truth about the silver coin case, the fact that Liu Shuzhong was framed... So much information hit her like a thunderbolt, making her, who had always been calm, feel dizzy and thus make the wrong judgment that Liu Shuyi had really found out everything.

As a result, Liu Shuyi discovered many secrets.

Miao Yin'er couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi. In the candlelight, Liu Shuyi's handsome face was sharply defined, and his dark eyes were no longer as gentle as when they first met, but were full of majesty and sharpness.

She wondered if it was just her imagination, but at that moment, she saw in Liu Shuyi the terrifying aura that only those in positions of power possessed.

How could a sixth-rank official develop such an air of superiority?
Seeing Miaoyin'er looking him up and down, Liu Shuyi collected his thoughts and said calmly, "Now, do you still have the nerve to say you want to be my sister-in-law?"

Miao Yin'er pursed her lips, then smiled brightly: "Your brother and I are in love and have pledged our lives to each other. What's there to be ashamed of? On the contrary, you, my brother-in-law, are always causing trouble for your future sister-in-law. This time you even deliberately plotted against her. If your brother knew, he would be heartbroken."

“I love your brother so much. If he is sad, I will be sad too.”

As she spoke, Miaoyin'er even pretended to wipe the corner of her eye. To be honest, this time it was much more realistic, and she actually managed to squeeze out a few tears.

Liu Shuyi was amused and exasperated by Miao Yin'er's shamelessness. She had just exposed Miao Yin'er's scheme against Liu Shuzhong, but the next moment she acted as if nothing had happened, even wiping away tears and saying that they were in love...

Liu Shuyi looked directly into Miao Yin'er's eyes and said, "Since you say you deeply love my brother, then tell me about the situation of your faction."

Miao Yin'er sighed, "Public matters are public matters, and private matters are private matters. We must keep public and private matters separate. Please don't make things difficult for me, brother-in-law."

"Embarrassed?"

Liu Shuyi said, "Alright! Then I'll say something that won't be difficult. I have three questions for you. You can choose to answer them or not, but if you do answer, I hope you can tell the truth. That shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

Miao Yin'er smiled and said, "Of course it's not difficult. I knew I hadn't misjudged you. You're such a good brother-in-law."

Liu Shuyi didn't reply. He stared intently at Miaoyin'er, not missing any of her subtle reactions, and asked, "My first question is, is my brother... still alive?"

Miao Yin'er sniffed, as if she was very sad, and said, "That heartless man took my money pouch and disappeared. He didn't say a word about giving it back to me. I also want to know if he is alive or dead now."

Liu Shuyi frowned. Although Miao Yin'er's expression was somewhat affected, she didn't exhibit the subconscious defensiveness or evasiveness that a liar would show... Was she telling the truth? Or had lying become such a sophisticated skill that, when prepared, she could perfectly control her body's reactions?
Liu Shuyi continued, "My second question is, was my brother's disappearance also unexpected by your forces?"

Miao Yin'er's pupils dilated slightly. She quickly raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, covering her vision.

But this time she didn't speak and chose to refuse to answer.

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes. The reason he asked this question was because he felt that Miao Yin'er's forces had gone to great lengths to scheme against Liu Shuzhong and hold his biggest weakness in their hands, so they certainly didn't want Liu Shuzhong to do anything in the dark.

To put it bluntly, Liu Shuzhong is just a weak scholar, unable to lift a finger or carry anything heavy. Apart from being Liu Wenjing's eldest son, he has nothing of value. To make him work in secret is tantamount to abandoning even his last remaining asset, making him no different from an ordinary scholar.

It's simply not worth Miao Yin'er's forces expending so much effort to control Liu Shuzhong.

Moreover, Miao Yin'er's forces are best at planting people in the imperial court and secretly supporting their pawns. With Liu Shuzhong staying in the court and being Liu Wenjing's son, he might be of great use in the future.

This... is also Liu Shuyi's deduction that the most likely reason for Miaoyin'er's forces choosing Liu Shuzhong is...

Therefore, no matter how you reason logically, Liu Shuzhong shouldn't have disappeared... So perhaps Liu Shuzhong's sudden disappearance was his own choice.

He didn't want to be threatened or manipulated into doing heinous things for them, but he also didn't want his mistakes in the salary case to cause the last bit of strength he had managed to secure for the Liu family to slip away...

In such a dilemma, disappearing or even dying might be the only way to break the deadlock.

However, Miaoyin'er refused to answer, and there was also her reaction when she first heard her own question...

Liu Shuyi seemed to be deep in thought.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and said, "One last question. You told me before that there was a book in Minister Changsun's residence that contained the whereabouts of the Imperial Seal of the State... Is this true or false?"

Miao Yin'er answered quickly this time: "Of course it's true. I'm your future sister-in-law, why would I lie to you?"

Her tone was light, the tears in her eyes had disappeared, and she smiled, as if this answer was the most relaxing of the three questions.

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Okay, that concludes my questions. Is there anything you'd like to ask me, or anything you'd like to say to me?"

"I'll have to think about that..."

Miao Yin'er touched the corner of her lips with her slender finger, her clever eyes darting around: "I've got it."

Liu Shuyi looked at her and saw that Miaoyin'er suddenly became serious and said, "If you ever hear any news about that heartless man in the future, don't forget to tell me at my grave, so that I won't still be thinking about him after I die."

Liu Shuyi frowned: "What do you mean? You think you're going to die?"

Miao Yin'er sighed and rubbed her forehead: "You may not believe it, but I've been having dreams these past few days. I dream that I'm dying, and I suspect it's a prophetic dream. I'm probably really going to die."

Liu Shuyi never expected that Miaoyin'er would say such a strange thing at the end.

She was spouting nonsense as always, deliberately trying to confuse her own judgment.

Or...did she realize something?
Liu Shuyi stared intently at Miaoyin'er, but after she finished speaking, she quickly returned to her usual smiling demeanor. Even he couldn't discern her true thoughts.

Liu Shuyi looked away and said, "Don't worry, if that day ever comes, I will grant your wish."

After saying that, he took the candle back from the window and prepared to turn and leave.

Miao Yin'er, as if struck by a sudden thought, came to the door, stood on tiptoe, and looked out the window while calling out, "Brother-in-law, wait a minute—"

Before she could finish speaking, when she saw the scarlet official robe Liu Shuyi was wearing, her previously shrewd eyes suddenly widened, her smiling expression abruptly stopped, and then…

"You got promoted again!?"

"A scarlet official robe? You've reached the fifth rank!?"

This was the first time Liu Shuyi had heard such a shocked and incredulous tone from Miao Yin'er.

He raised an eyebrow, looking at Miao Yin'er's wide-eyed astonishment, and said calmly, "Fifth rank? You mean a few days ago? That's right, I was indeed a fifth-rank physician a few days ago."

"A few days ago?"

Miao Yin'er's face showed a rare moment of mental blankness: "What do you mean?"

Liu Shuyi lightly dusted off the dust on his official robe and said, "An hour ago, His Majesty rewarded me handsomely for my meritorious service in solving the case and promoted my rank. I am now the fourth-rank Earl of Lantian County."

"A fourth-rank official...County Earl of Lantian!"

Miao Yin'er stared blankly at Liu Shuyi. She knew that Liu Shuyi was very capable and would sooner or later be promoted to the fifth rank and enter the core circle of the imperial court.

But she didn't expect it to happen so quickly!

The last time Liu Shuyi came to see her, he had just been promoted from a clerk to a sixth-rank official…

As a result, less than a month later, when Liu Shuyi came to see him again, he was already a fifth-rank physician! No, not just a physician, but also the fourth-rank Earl of Lantian County.

"It's actually the title of County Earl..."

Miao Yin'er couldn't help but ask, "Are you Li Shimin's illegitimate son? Li Shimin is extremely stingy and values ​​titles very much. Apart from bestowing titles upon his close confidants, when has he ever bestowed a title upon an outsider? And it's not even the lowest title!"

Liu Shuyi chuckled and said, "If word gets out, your dream might just become a reality."

Miao Yin'er listened to Liu Shuyi's teasing, but her expression was not as usual. Her expression suddenly became very complicated as she stared at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi sensed the change in Miaoyin'er's emotions and narrowed his eyes slightly: "I remembered something. You reminded me before that you wanted me to be promoted to the fifth rank as soon as possible... I am already a fifth-rank physician. Miaoyin'er, can you tell me now why you wanted me to be promoted to the fifth rank?"

Miao Yin'er pursed her lips but did not answer Liu Shuyi.

She turned around, her back against the cold iron gate: "You can leave now."

Liu Shuyi frowned; Miaoyin'er's reaction was very strange.

If Miaoyin'er was just teasing him before, keeping him on tenterhooks to make sure he wouldn't let anything happen to her easily... then she shouldn't have this expression right now.

Is it really that important for me to be promoted to the fifth rank?

So far, I haven't felt any significant changes in my promotion.

Is it because I haven't been promoted long enough?
Liu Shuyi wanted to ask more questions, but judging from Miaoyin'er's expression, she clearly wouldn't answer.

He pondered for a moment, then shook his head, took one last deep look at the cell, and without further hesitation, turned and strode away.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Miaoyin turned around again. She stood on tiptoe, trying to see Liu Shuyi's back through the small window, but Liu Shuyi had already gone far away, and she could no longer see anything.

"He's already at the fifth rank..." "Why now of all times? Why this particular moment?"

"Is it timing? Or fate?"

Miaoyin'er's murmured voice echoed slowly in the quiet prison cell.

…………

"drive!"

Mo Xiaofan started the carriage and left the Ministry of Justice.

Inside the carriage, Liu Shuyi closed his eyes and pretended to doze off while pondering his conversation with Miaoyin'er.

Although Miaoyin'er was very cunning, she still gained a lot this time.

She determined the reason for Liu Shuzhong's sudden emotional breakdown on the night of his disappearance and learned that Liu Shuzhong's disappearance was related to Miaoyin'er's forces.

It is now basically confirmed that Liu Shuzhong's disappearance was not part of Miaoyin'er's plan.

As he had predicted, Liu Shuzhong likely used his own disappearance as a way to break the deadlock.

It's just unknown whether Liu Shuzhong disappeared because he went into hiding or committed suicide.

If one commits suicide, where will one's remains be?

If he's hidden away, how could Miao Yin'er's forces tolerate losing what they've already got? They'll definitely look for Liu Shuzhong. Can Liu Shuzhong escape Miao Yin'er's pursuit?
Moreover, although Liu Shuzhong is gone, the original body is still here... Why didn't Miaoyin'er's forces go looking for the original body? Did they think that Liu Shuzhong's weakness couldn't threaten the original body?
He was still worried that the original owner of this body would be like Liu Shuzhong, preferring death to submission, and that all his efforts would be in vain in the end. So he didn't want to use this card unless it was absolutely necessary.
If that's the case, I'm already a fifth-rank physician and a fourth-rank county magistrate. Even if they use this card, can they still threaten me?
Although the original owner's initial reason for becoming an official was related to a shady exchange of interests, it was ultimately an exchange of interests between Liu Shuzhong and Ren Xing, and Ren Xing only gave the original owner the opportunity to participate in the assessment.

For the original owner, his entry into officialdom was entirely due to his own abilities... Ren Xing was just an official in the Ministry of Justice and could not control the assessment of the Ministry of Personnel. At the same time, Ren Xing disliked Liu Shuzhong so much that he would not be able to help the original owner.

In this situation, even if there are problems with the initial reasons for becoming an official, it shouldn't shake one's position and future, right?
unless……

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes, unless they had secretly tampered with the original owner's assessment.

If that's the case, then things are in a very bad situation.

Am I overthinking this?

Liu Shuyi felt that he might be overreacting and seeing threats everywhere, always subconsciously considering the worst-case scenario.

But when he thought about the cunning of Miao Yin'er's forces, and how Liu Shuzhong could trust the original body to disappear without a second thought and not worry about Miao Yin'er's forces retaliating against the original body, he felt a little uneasy.

This is very wrong.

Liu Shuzhong, a brother who doted on his younger brother, could not possibly abandon him. Therefore, before he disappeared, he must have considered what Miaoyin'er's forces would do to the original owner of this body.

Then how could he disappear without a care...? Either he possesses a crucial secret about Miao Yin'er's forces, and with this secret in hand, Miao Yin'er's forces wouldn't dare to offend him easily until they capture him.

Either the original owner also has a fatal weakness that Miao Yin'er's forces have in their hands, and after Liu Shuzhong disappeared, the original owner, who is also Liu Wenjing's son, is Miao Yin'er's last choice. However, they are afraid that the incident involving Liu Shuzhong will happen again, so as I just predicted, they are waiting for the right opportunity to make a move when they need the original owner.

Therefore, before this, they would not only not attack the original body, but might even protect it.

but……

Liu Shuyi frowned. Zhao Chengyi later directly used the original owner of this body, and Zhao Chengyi did not use any secrets to threaten the original owner...

Can the second hypothesis be ruled out?
The original owner was still timid and mediocre, far inferior to Liu Shuzhong, so they couldn't see any value in him and gave up on him.

Liu Shuyi tapped the carriage window frame lightly with his fingertips. He had no prior knowledge of this, so it was understandable that he hadn't thought of it.

Now that I've thought of all this, I have to confirm it no matter what.

If Miao Yin'er's forces really tampered with the original owner's assessment, it would be no different from cheating in the imperial examination, and once exposed, it would be a fatal blow.

Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance, he still has to be on guard.

"We need to find a way to confirm the details of the assessment from back then..."

"Also, Miaoyin'er said she would die..."

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered, and he made a decision.

…………

"Young Master, you're back!"

As soon as Liu Shuyi entered the gate of the Liu residence, he saw Wan'er, dressed in a green dress, running towards him like a spring fairy.

Wan'er exuded youthful energy, and just looking at her made Liu Shuyi feel younger. Even after a day and night of non-stop work, he didn't feel so tired.

He smiled and rubbed his stomach: "I'm hungry."

After investigating the case, he went to the palace, and immediately went to the Ministry of Justice. After leaving the Ministry of Justice, he returned to the Liu residence... It was almost noon, and he hadn't had a sip of water yet, and his stomach was already full.

Wan'er chuckled: "After Young Master investigated the case, Xiao Fan asked someone to come back and tell us to prepare a meal, saying that Young Master could come back at any time. Chang Bo and I have already prepared Young Master's favorite dishes, so Young Master can eat now if he wants."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi turned to look at the boy.

Mo Xiaofan scratched his head: "I saw that Young Master didn't eat dinner last night, so I knew that Young Master must be hungry. Therefore, I took it upon myself to inform the manor. I hope Young Master will punish me."

Liu Shuyi flicked Mo Xiaofan's forehead and laughed, "It's a good thing that you care about my health. Why would I punish you? You did a great job. From now on, my belly is your responsibility."

Mo Xiaofan's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, young master, I will definitely not let you go hungry."

Liu Shuyi laughed and walked towards the side hall.

As he walked, he said, "Wan'er, there's something I need you to do."

"What is it?" Wan'er asked curiously.

Liu Shuyi glanced at Wan'er out of the corner of his eye and said, "I've been investigating a case recently and have offended quite a few people. For safety reasons, the Liu family needs to recruit a group of guards to protect us."

Wan'er nodded in realization: "Young Master is already a fifth-rank physician, but there isn't a single guard in the manor, and no one follows or protects him when he goes out. He should have hired guards a long time ago..."

"Moreover, it's not just about guards; we also need to find servants and maids so that the Liu family can look like a wealthy household and not embarrass the young master."

Liu Shuyi didn't have any particular thoughts on these matters. He said, "If you and Uncle Chang think it's necessary, then let's look for it together... How about it? Can you do this? The guards are here to protect us, so the requirements will be higher. If you think it's difficult to find someone, I'll ask my colleagues to introduce me to someone."

Upon hearing this, Wan'er replied without hesitation, "Young Master, don't use your connections for such a small matter. Leave it to me."

"Can it be done?"

"Of course!" Wan'er patted her chest, her fair chin held high, her face full of confidence: "It's a piece of cake. I will definitely find the most capable and loyal guards for the young master."

The most powerful, the most loyal?

Liu Shuyi gave Wan'er a deep look, then smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll wait for your good news... Oh, and also, my title has been promoted again. Now I am the Earl of Lantian County, and my salary and other income far exceed those before, so I don't need to worry about money. As long as it's suitable, I can recruit directly."

Wan'er's light steps suddenly stopped.

She turned her head sharply, her delicate and pretty face full of surprise: "Young Master, your rank has been promoted again! This... Young Master, you are amazing! Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, has anyone been promoted faster than you?"

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "There are still some, after all, Duke Du and the others suddenly became Dukes and Prime Ministers."

"This is different!" Wan'er couldn't help but clap her hands. "Young Master is simply unprecedented! I knew it, Young Master is the best!"

As she spoke, she shouted directly at Uncle Chang, who came out from the side hall, "Uncle Chang, you can go cry in the ancestral hall now!"

Uncle Chang, holding his tray, looked bewildered. Then he heard Wan'er shout, "Young Master has been promoted again for his merits! He's now the County Earl!"

Upon hearing Wan'er's words, Uncle Chang's expression quickly changed from bewilderment to surprise, then from surprise to delight, and his eyes, just as Wan'er had predicted, immediately reddened.

"Young Master... Young Master has been promoted again. If Master and Madam knew, they would be very happy."

"No, this old servant must tell the master and madam this good news immediately."

As he spoke, Uncle Chang wiped away his tears and quickly walked towards the ancestral hall.

They didn't even have time to congratulate Liu Shuyi.

Seeing this, Liu Shuyi couldn't help but raise his hand and tap Wan'er on the head, saying, "You, can't you let Uncle Chang cry less?"

Wan'er smiled and stuck out her tongue: "Uncle Chang will cry sooner or later, so he might as well cry now."

Liu Shuyi shook his head helplessly. What else could he do? She was his maid, and he could only spoil her.

(End of this chapter)