The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 175 A shocking discovery: He wanted immortality!
Xuanyangfang, Yang Mansion.

Yang Wanli's residence is located on the west side of Xuanyangfang. It is a three-courtyard mansion, much larger than the houses of ordinary people, but much smaller than the mansions of other officials of the same rank. Moreover, the courtyard walls are somewhat old, and the vermilion paint on the gate has faded. It looks very simple, just as Yang said.

The frail Yang stepped down from the carriage, ordering her servants to knock on the door while saying to Liu Shuyi and the others who were looking around the mansion, "Master has always been frugal, never extravagant, and never compares himself with others, so our mansion is a bit old compared to other mansions."

Li Xinchun nodded and said with emotion, "Dr. Yang was truly honest and simple, a role model for us all. It's just a pity that Heaven is blind and let him be harmed by thieves."

Madam Yang wiped her eyes with a handkerchief: "My master always told us that an official should be incorruptible and have the common people in his heart, so as not to fail the emperor's grace and be worthy of this official robe."

"Dr. Yang was a good official, what a pity." Li Xinchun shook his head as he recalled the tragic state of Yang Wanli before and after his death.

Yang's eyes reddened again, and tears streamed down her face once more.

When Liu Shuyi and Ding Feng saw this scene, they exchanged a glance and both saw a strange look in each other's eyes.

If Ding Feng hadn't captured Chen Fengshui, after seeing the Yang family's humble and simple lifestyle, they might have truly believed, like Li Xinchun, that Yang Wanli was an honest and frugal man.

But now that they know what Yang Wanli did to Chen Fengshui and his students, as well as the secrets of cheating in the examinations, they only find Yang and Li Xinchun's words ironic and laughable.

"That Yang Wanli is really good at pretending. He embezzled so much money, but he pretended to be incorruptible in front of his family, making them suffer. And his family actually believed he was an honest official." Ding Feng couldn't help but mutter to Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi nodded: "He is very good at disguising himself. I'm afraid few people know his true colors."

“That’s right. Even his wife, who shares his bed every day, doesn’t know. Let alone anyone else.” Ding Feng nodded in agreement, and then added, “Yang Wanli embezzled so much money, but he didn’t use any of it for himself or his family. We don’t know where he spent it.”

Liu Shuyi looked at the gate that had been opened by the servants and said calmly, "Perhaps we will know soon."

After the courtyard gate opened, Liu Shuyi and the others followed Yang into the residence.

The condition inside the mansion was basically the same as what was seen from the outside. The stone floor had obvious cracks and was no longer smooth in some places. The eaves were mottled and the vermilion paint on the pillars supporting the house had peeled off. If it weren't for the fact that the mansion had been cleaned very well by the servants, it would have been comparable to Yang Hui's mansion that had been uninhabited for ten years.

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly. The house was not ordinary on the outside, but magnificent inside. Yang Wanli had indeed not used a single penny of the embezzled money for his home.

At this moment, the courtyard was covered with white cloths, and the sad atmosphere of the deceased master enveloped the entire mansion.

All the servants who passed by had very obvious expressions of sadness on their faces. They were bent over, with their heads down, walking quickly and quietly. No one looked around. Compared to the servants of other mansions, they were indeed very well-behaved.

But it gave Liu Shuyi a numb feeling, lacking a bit of humanity. Even the sad expression on his face didn't seem very vivid to Liu Shuyi. It was like... a machine that had to make that expression in a specific situation.

Liu Shuyi knew that this was the result of Yang Wanli's long-term oppression through extreme and strict rules.

"Where is Doctor Liu going next? And what is he looking for?" Madam Yang asked Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "Besides his study, is there any other place in the mansion where Doctor Yang doesn't allow others to approach? Besides his study, where else in the mansion does he spend long periods of time alone?"

Madam Yang shook her head: "Master is a book lover and has no other hobbies. Whenever he is in the mansion, he will go to his study to read, and he will read for a whole day. Even when it is time to eat, he will not allow us to disturb him while he is reading. If he feels hungry, he will come out to eat on his own."

Li Xinchun, unaware of Yang Wanli's secret, sighed again upon hearing this: "Dr. Yang is truly a role model for us scholars. If all of us scholars had Dr. Yang's dedication and passion, how could we not become successful?"

Liu Shuyi and Ding Feng exchanged another glance, their eyelids twitching involuntarily. They both felt a pang of unease, wondering how embarrassed Li Xinchun would be if he discovered Yang Wanli's shameful secret in the study.

"cough."

Liu Shuyi coughed and said, "Then let's go to Doctor Yang's study first."

Madam Yang said, "Master's study is in the backyard. Doctor Liu, this way please."

Led by Yang, the group walked through the long corridor, around the artificial hill, and through the gate to the backyard.

There was a row of houses in the backyard, which was where the Yang family master lived. However, Yang Wanli's study was not in this row of houses, but in a separate small courtyard on the east side of the Yang mansion's backyard, which was separated by a wall.

The courtyard walls were very high, almost comparable to those of the mansion, and the gate was an iron gate, locked with a padlock.

Liu Shuyi looked around, then looked at Yang Shi, and then he noticed that Yang Shi was looking at him awkwardly.

"I...I don't have the key." A blush rose on Yang's pale face, clearly showing her embarrassment.

Liu Shuyi was not surprised. Yang's status in the Yang family was equivalent to that of a nun staying overnight. He said, "Does anyone still have the key?"

Madam Yang shook her head: "Only the master has the key. He always carries it with him, and he took it with him when he left yesterday..."

Liu Shuyi looked at Li Xinchun. Without Liu Shuyi saying anything, Li Xinchun understood what Liu Shuyi meant. He shook his head and said, "We did not find any keys in those places where the corpses were hidden, or in the courtyard where the bodies were dismembered."

Ding Feng frowned and said, "The murderer took the key?"

Li Xinchun shook his head: "Perhaps the murderer took it, or perhaps the murderer drugged Doctor Yang and took him to Anshanfang, and it accidentally slipped off Doctor Yang's body and was lost."

Liu Shuyi didn't dwell on how the key went missing. He looked at Lu Yangyuan and said, "Since we can't find the key, we'll have to resort to force. Lieutenant Lu, it's up to you."

Lu Yangyuan nodded. He went to the door, carefully examined the lock, and then turned to the servants of the Yang family and asked, "Do you have an axe?"

"Yes, yes." The servant didn't dare to delay and quickly brought Lu Yangyuan a broad axe.

Lu Yangyuan gripped his axe tightly, raised it high, and chopped down hard at the weakest point of the lock...

boom!
A piercing sound accompanied by sparks rang out, and at the same time, the lock that firmly secured the door broke in two and fell to the ground.

"Finished!"

Lu Yangyuan tossed the axe to a servant and said, "Doctor Liu, that's enough."

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly and said, "Well done."

As he spoke, he pushed open the heavy iron gate and walked into the secluded courtyard.

The yard is not large, and there are no plants growing in it, so it looks empty.

Behind is a house, but it is not built on the central axis of the courtyard; instead, it is built to the left, making the house and the courtyard look somewhat out of place.

Liu Shuyi turned to Yuan Tiangang behind him and asked, "Yuan Lingtai, is there anything special about the feng shui of this courtyard?"

Yuan Tiangang's expression was somewhat strange after entering the Yang residence. It wasn't until he entered the courtyard where the study was located that his furrowed brows relaxed slightly. Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's question, he replied, "Yes! And there's quite a bit to say about it."

"Oh?" Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow: "Tell me about it."

Yuan Tiangang said, "The Yang residence is located on slightly elevated ground, with an underground river behind it and facing the stars. Its feng shui is considered quite good in Xuanyang Ward. However, as soon as you enter the gate of the Yang residence, you are greeted by a locust tree."

"This locust tree directly disrupted the feng shui of the Yang family mansion, causing the originally good feng shui of the mansion to leak out as if it had an outlet."

"But that's not all. As we went deeper into the Yang Mansion, I discovered that there were many places in the mansion that disrupted the feng shui. The location of the artificial hills and lakes, the interweaving of bamboo and locust trees... these all acted as outlets, draining away the good feng shui."

"If there were only one or two problems, it would be fine, but almost every place that affects the feng shui has problems, which is obviously intentional."

"My original thought was that someone didn't want the Yang family to have good feng shui and wanted to harm them."

Upon hearing this, Madam Yang's expression changed. She said, "How could this be... The locust tree in front of the door was planted by Master. The location of the rockery and lake was also chosen by Master himself. The bamboo and locust tree were also planted by Master because he said he liked them. Master would never harm the Yang family."

Yuan Tiangang nodded: "That's right, Doctor Yang really wouldn't harm the Yang family... After arriving at this courtyard, I understood why this is the case."

"Why?" Li Xinchun asked curiously.

Yuan Tiangang looked at the courtyard in front of him and said, "This courtyard doesn't look very harmonious. It seems like the house is built off-center. But in fact, it is exactly in the superior position according to feng shui. Didn't I just say that there are many feng shui outlets in the Yang Mansion that draw the feng shui out? Actually, the feng shui didn't really leave the Yang Mansion. Instead, it was all drawn into this house, or more accurately, into the study."

"This small study room has almost monopolized the feng shui of the entire Yang mansion, and even the feng shui of the surrounding area has been affected here."

"If the blessed lands described in ancient books exist, this is what they must be like."

Li Xinchun was stunned. He felt that what Yuan Tiangang was saying was too mysterious. He didn't understand what Yuan Tiangang meant by blessed lands and feng shui domination. But that didn't stop him from thinking that it was a very impressive thing.

Liu Shuyi said, "So, this study is the best place in the Yang residence? And it's even man-made, with the best feng shui?"

“Yes!” Yuan Tiangang nodded emphatically and said with emotion, “I have been involved in feng shui for decades, and this is the first time I have seen someone do this. I have learned a lot today.”

"interesting."

Liu Shuyi chuckled: "To create such a paradise within one's own residence... I'm really curious why Doctor Yang would go to such lengths to drain the feng shui of the entire residence just to create such a study."

Li Xinchun couldn't wait any longer: "We'll know once we go and take a look."

As he spoke, he strode to the study, placed both hands on the door, and pushed it open forcefully—

"careful!"

Lu Yangyuan's ears twitched, and he seemed to hear something. Suddenly, he grabbed Li Xinchun by the collar and pulled him to his side like a chick.

Just as Li Xinchun was feeling completely bewildered, as if he were floating on clouds, several steel needles shot out from the study, almost grazing his face as they flew outside.

If Lu Yangyuan hadn't acted in time, Li Xinchun's face would have turned into a hedgehog.

"This this……"

Li Xinchun watched as the steel needle flew past his eyes, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his expression changed drastically.

He instinctively exclaimed, "Assassin!"

“Not an assassin.” Liu Shuyi arrived at the door and squatted down to look at the steel needles that had fallen to the ground. The tips of these steel needles were all black, and there was a notch at the end, as if they had been hooked and fixed by something before.

Du Ying also squatted down, wrapped her fingers with a handkerchief, picked up a steel needle, and examined it carefully.

"It looks like it's been poisoned."

Du Ying brought the steel needle close, sniffed it gently, and said, "It has a fishy smell and this color. If I'm not mistaken, this should be 'Blood-Seeing Sorrow' poison, which is mainly composed of snake venom, combined with scorpion, centipede and other insects."

"Blood-Seeing Sorrow, just as its name suggests, kills instantly upon contact with blood; even a god cannot save it!"

Is it a terrifying poison that kills instantly upon contact with blood?

Liu Shuyi nodded thoughtfully, then looked up and gazed into the study.

As the door was pushed open, sunlight streamed into the study, allowing him to clearly see the scene inside, as well as a broken thin thread tied to the door, which was being blown back and forth by the wind.

On the wall directly opposite the door, there was a silver object that looked somewhat like a small crossbow.

“It’s an organization,” Liu Shuyi said.

"What? A trap?" Li Xinchun was completely dumbfounded: "How could there be a trap in Doctor Yang's study?"

“Yes…” Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes: “A study is a place for reading, why would Doctor Yang create such a deadly trap?”

Li Xinchun quickly looked at Yang Shi. Even though he didn't know about Yang Wanli's embezzlement, he had already sensed the problem.

It's bad enough that the study has its own independent courtyard, and that courtyard has absorbed all the feng shui, but now there are also deadly traps and hidden weapons inside the study. If Li Xinchun still can't figure out what unspeakable secret Yang Wanli has hidden here, he won't be able to sit in the position of magistrate of Wannian County.

"Mrs. Yang, can you explain this?" Li Xinchun's previously gentle expression suddenly turned serious and even cold.

This caused the delicate Yang's pretty face to turn pale: "I...I..."

Looking at the steel needles on the ground, Madam Yang's expression was full of bewilderment and confusion: "I don't know how there could be a mechanism here. There were clearly no such things when I came here before."

Liu Shuyi asked, "How often do you come to the study?"

"No...not many. Without the master's order, no one is allowed to enter here, not even me."

"So, every time you come to the study, it's when Doctor Yang is in the study?"

"Yes."

Liu Shuyi nodded. It was clear that Yang Wanli had not only locked the door outside the courtyard to ensure that the secret in the study would not be discovered, but also left an extra layer of security inside the study.

Unless he himself opens the door, anyone else, caught completely off guard, would definitely die on the spot.

With two layers of security, one overt and one covert, and with the servants of the Yang family completely under his mental control, it was enough to ensure that no one could easily enter the study.

"It seems that there is indeed a great secret hidden in this study."

Liu Shuyi glanced at Ding Feng out of the corner of his eye. Ding Feng was already rubbing his hands together, ready to go into the study and search thoroughly.

His eyes flickered a few times... If Ding Feng's anonymous letter of denunciation was indeed sent by Miao Yin'er's forces, then the original owner's ability to pass the test must be related to Yang Wanli.

Therefore, there is a high probability that there is indeed a fatal weakness in this study.

He had to find and hide the murderer before Ding Feng could find him, otherwise... before the murderer was found and Yang Wanli's problems were solved, he would be in jail first.

"call……"

Liu Shuyi let out a soft breath, subtly withdrawing his gaze, and said, "Let's go, let's go into the study to take a look."

With that, he went into the study first.

The study is quite large, about 70 square meters.

The three bookshelves are arranged in this way. Two of the bookshelves are full of books, while the other bookshelf contains the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper) and some bottles and jars.

A large red pearwood desk sits by the window, with no books closed on it.

The walls are adorned with calligraphy and paintings, both signed by Yang Wanli himself. There are two paintings: one depicting the Eight Trigrams and the other a crane ascending to heaven. There are also two pieces of calligraphy: one reads "Transcending worldly concerns, the Great Dao is achieved," and the other reads "Ascending the Immortal Platform, one attains the Dao and longevity."

Looking at these calligraphy and paintings, Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered slightly, as if he were deep in thought.

Although the study was large, it contained few items and was easy to see, reflecting Yang Wanli's usual unassuming image.

Ding Feng had been waiting for this moment for far too long. As soon as he entered the study, he couldn't contain his excitement and ran straight to the bookshelves to start searching.

Whether we can find evidence of Yang Wanli's embezzlement and whether we can further investigate the fraud case depends on what we can find in this study.

Seeing this, Liu Shuyi did not stop Ding Feng. At this point, if he stopped Ding Feng, it would be as if he were admitting his guilt. Of course, if there was a real crisis, he would not just stand by and watch.

The reason he didn't stop Ding Feng was because he felt that even if Yang Wanli really had evidence, he wouldn't put it out in the open.

Although Yang Wanli usually didn't allow anyone to enter and had set up two security measures, Yang Shi had entered more than once, and the servants must have occasionally come in to clean...

If Yang Wanli's evidence were made public, there would be a risk of it being discovered. Given Yang Wanli's cautious nature, he would certainly not do such a foolish thing.

Liu Shuyi withdrew his gaze, pondering where Yang Wanli might have hidden the secret.

As he pondered this, he approached his desk.

Picking up the book that wasn't closed on the desk, I saw that it seemed to be a Taoist classic. The text was obscure and difficult to understand, and it was very awkward to read.

This reminded him of the ancient book "Lianshan" that he had copied.

The Lianshan is also equally obscure and difficult to understand, and even more so than this ancient book.

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment, then handed the book to Yuan Tiangang and said, "Yuan Lingtai, have you read this book?"

Yuan Tiangang flipped through a few pages and said, "This is the 'Cantongqi'."

"The Cantongqi? What book is that?" Liu Shuyi asked.

Yuan Tiangang explained: "Simply put, this is a classic text on alchemy, but it is different from other classic texts on alchemy. It was written by Wei Boyang of the Eastern Han Dynasty and integrates the principles of the Book of Changes, Huang-Lao philosophy, and alchemy. It is revered as the ancestor of alchemical texts in Taoism."

"Because its knowledge is profound and difficult to understand, even among Taoist practitioners, many people find it difficult to fully comprehend it in their entire lives."

As he spoke, Yuan Tiangang noticed the annotations in the book and exclaimed in surprise, "Doctor Yang can actually understand the 'Cantongqi' and even comment on its effectiveness... Could it be that Doctor Yang has refined elixirs based on the 'Cantongqi'?"

Have you practiced alchemy?
Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, and he turned around to the bookshelf without any books. Looking at the exquisite bottles and jars on the shelf, he picked up a white porcelain bottle directly from it.

He opened the porcelain bottle, and a peculiar smell, the residue of firecrackers, wafted out.

Liu Shuyi inverted the porcelain bottle, and several brown pills were poured out.

“Yuan Lingtai, take a look at these pills, are they elixirs?” Liu Shuyi asked.

Yuan Tiangang strode over, picked up a pill from Liu Shuyi's palm, sniffed it, and then licked it with his tongue. His surprise deepened: "It really is a pill, but I've never seen one like this before. I don't know its specific uses."

It really is a medicinal pill...

Liu Shuyi quickly picked up the other porcelain bottles and shook them vigorously.

Some of the porcelain bottles were empty, while others clearly contained something inside.

Liu Shuyi opened the porcelain bottles containing the contents, turned them upside down one by one, and pills of various colors fell into his palm.

Looking at these red, brown, blue, and white pills, Liu Shuyi couldn't help but gasp. As everyone knows, the pills made by ancient Qi cultivators often contained excessive levels of heavy metals.

Many emperors and nobles died from drug use.

If all these pills were refined by Yang Wanli, and he actually consumed them, then who knows how much heavy metal would have accumulated in his body? It's truly remarkable that he's lived this long.

And... why did Yang Wanli refine so many pills? Why did he need to consume so many pills? What was he planning to do?
Liu Shuyi couldn't help but recall Yang's words. Yang's birth chart was extremely auspicious, and Yang Wanli married her so that she would burn incense and pray for him every day, saying that Yang could help Yang Wanli realize his wishes...

Yang Wanli also transformed the place into a blessed land through changes in feng shui.

At the same time, Yang Wanli also studied Taoist teachings and personally refined and consumed elixirs.

Finally… Liu Shuyi looked up at the calligraphy scroll written by Yang Wanli himself, hanging on the wall—

"Transcending worldly concerns leads to the attainment of the Great Way."

"Ascend the Immortal Platform, attain the Dao and live forever."

Looking at these two calligraphy scrolls, and at the painting of cranes ascending to heaven that Yang Wanli himself painted...

In his mind, an absurd yet logical conjecture came to mind.

Could Yang Wanli be like the First Emperor and other emperors, seeking immortality?

(End of this chapter)