The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 182 A shocking discovery: This was a controlled crime!

On the return trip, Liu Shuyi still carried Little Sparrow.

He wrapped his robe tightly around the little sparrow, protecting it from any night wind.

As he rode away, he said, "Just now, due to the urgency of the situation, I didn't ask for your opinion and directly used your future as a condition to get Yang Hui to give up..."

"You don't need to take this to heart. Your future belongs to you. Where you want to go and who you want to follow is up to you."

"You don't need to worry about Yang Hui... He gave up killing and suicide at that critical moment, which means he has overcome that mental hurdle. He shouldn't easily have suicidal thoughts again in the future. After he gets out, if he wants to adopt a few children and start a new family, it won't be difficult. You don't need to feel guilty."

Although Little Sparrow is young, her performance just now showed a maturity far beyond her years. Liu Shuyi was afraid that Little Sparrow would feel burdened and really think that her future had been decided by his few words, so he made things clear before she started to overthink.

Hearing Liu Shuyi's gentle voice, the little sparrow couldn't help but raise its head and stare at him blankly.

Seeing that the little sparrow was only looking at him without saying a word, Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "What kind of reaction is that?"

The little sparrow pursed its lips and said, "I have to get my master's permission to do anything, and I can't disobey anything my master says... This is the first time I've had a choice."

Liu Shuyi sighed inwardly. Deng Hao, that charlatan, had imprisoned such a smart and brave girl like this, almost ruining her future. He deserved to die.

He raised his hand and patted the little sparrow's head, saying, "From now on, no one will restrain you anymore. You can decide for yourself what to do, of course..."

He laughed and said, "Except for illegal and disorderly conduct."

Little Sparrow sensed the amusement in Liu Shuyi's words and smiled back. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Uncle Yang, are you sure you won't die?"

"will not."

Liu Shuyi spoke with great certainty.

Although he would not make a direct decision on Yang Hui's fate, he would advise Li Xinchun to report the case to Li Shimin so that Li Shimin could make the final decision.

In this way, no matter what decision Li Shimin makes, it will not affect them, and no one will use it to attack them.

Li Shimin was a wise and virtuous ruler, and after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he needed to enhance his image in terms of family ties. Under such circumstances, when he encountered Yang Hui's ten years of forbearance in order to avenge his family, how could he not take this opportunity to show his emphasis on family ties?
In other words, Yang Hui's dismemberment and disposal of the body disturbed the people and caused panic among some of them; and he could have reported the matter to the authorities and asked the court to avenge him, but he chose to bypass the court instead... Otherwise, Liu Shuyi estimated that Yang Hui might not have even been imprisoned.

But no matter what, it's a foregone conclusion that Yang Hui will not die.

Seeing the little sparrow's face furrowed in distress, Liu Shuyi said, "You don't need to rush to make a choice. You're still a bit young. Wait until you're older and more mature before making a decision."

Seeing Liu Shuyi say this, Little Sparrow let out a long breath. She had just experienced a major change, was unfamiliar with Yang Hui, and was very confused about the future, with a hint of panic. She really didn't know what decision was the right one.

"Dr. Liu."

At this moment, Lu Yangyuan rode up and said, "Yang Hui wants to see you alone."

"Yang Hui?"

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow. He had only recently parted ways with Yang Hui, so why did Yang Hui suddenly want to see him? And alone at that?

Is it...

He remembered something: he had previously asked Yang Hui how he had lured Yang Wanli out of the Yang residence, but Yang Hui had refused to answer...

Now that Yang Hui wants to see me alone, does it mean he's willing to answer my questions?
Liu Shuyi stopped his horse and said to Lu Yangyuan, "Take good care of Little Sparrow."

After saying that, he switched horses with Lu Yangyuan and rode to the horse where Yang Hui was tied up.

Because they arrived in a hurry, they hadn't prepared a prison cart, so they could only tie Yang Hui up with ropes and then carry him on horseback. This was certainly not very comfortable, but compared to Deng Hao, whose hands were tied up and who could only run desperately to avoid being dragged to the ground, it was already a preferential treatment given by Li Xinchun and the others.

"You were looking for me?" Liu Shuyi asked bluntly.

Yang Hui raised his head with difficulty, his gaze sweeping over the horses. When he confirmed that Liu Shuyi was the only one there, he felt a little lost and sighed.

He said, "If Doctor Liu likes Little Sparrow, then let Little Sparrow stay in the Liu residence... Even if I don't die, I'll be a penniless pauper when I get out, and I don't want her to suffer with me anymore."

Liu Shuyi never expected that Yang Hui's first words to him would be these.

Just now at the grave, Yang Hui held the little sparrow tightly, as if he truly regarded her as another daughter.

Liu Shuyi asked, "Without her, would you still want to commit suicide?"

Yang Hui shook his head: "Now that I've decided to give up on suicide, I won't turn back..."

He looked at Liu Shuyi, his eyes no longer filled with despair and lifelessness, but with a hint of regret: "In all these years of searching for the murderer, I've been regretting one thing..."

“After Wei Miao died, I didn’t want my daughter to suffer from gossip, and I didn’t want her to actually marry a dead man, so I broke off the marriage alliance with the Wei family behind her back.”

“I thought I was protecting my daughter, keeping her from the rumors, and that she could find a better husband in the future… But when my daughter found out what I had done behind her back, we had a huge fight.”

“That was the first time she argued with me. Doctor Liu probably doesn’t know that my daughter is quiet and gentle. She always speaks softly and gently to people and never speaks harshly. But that time, she lost her temper.”

“She said I was just using the excuse of doing what was best for her to decide her future… It was us who made her marry Wei Miao, and it was also us who broke off the marriage alliance with the Wei family behind her back. We never considered her feelings.”

"After that, she became depressed and fell seriously ill...and after she recovered, she disappeared."

At this point, Yang Hui's eyes reddened again, and his face showed lingering regret.

"I've been thinking, if I had asked my daughter's opinion when choosing Wei Miao as her son-in-law, would she have been kept out of the spotlight by Deng Hao and Yang Wanli? Even after Wei Miao's death, if I had considered her feelings, would she have avoided falling seriously ill and giving Yang Wanli an opportunity to make his move?"

"I deeply regret what I did..."

"so……"

He took a deep breath and looked at Liu Shuyi: "I don't want the mistakes I made before to happen to Little Sparrow again."

"I don't want to decide everything for her like I did for Wen Wan."

"Love should be about restraint, not control. Even if she's not by my side, as long as I know she's alive and happy, that's enough."

Yang Hui's voice was tinged with melancholy: "I don't know if Doctor Liu can understand how I feel. To me... her being alive is truly better than anything else."

Liu Shuyi looked at Yang Hui quietly, listened to Yang Hui's heartfelt words, and nodded emphatically.

"I can understand."

"Thank you... I'm so glad there are still people in this world who understand me."

In fact, Yang Hui, like himself, did not want to easily decide the future of Little Sparrow, so they were both willing to leave the choice to Little Sparrow herself.

It's normal for Liu Shuyi, who comes from a later era, to have such thoughts, but it's truly remarkable that Yang Hui also has such thoughts.

“Let Little Sparrow decide for herself after you get out of prison,” Liu Shuyi said.

Yang Hui nodded repeatedly: "I hope that Doctor Liu can convey my meaning to her so that she won't feel pressured."

"Okay." Liu Shuyi nodded. He looked at Yang Hui, who seemed relieved, and knew that Yang Hui must have struggled and hesitated for a long time before saying these words. Now that he had said them, he felt relieved and no longer felt bitter and resentful as before.

He said, "You called me here just to talk about this?"

Yang Hui pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "During this time, I have often heard about Doctor Liu's detective work, so I know that Doctor Liu is a very capable and good official."

"When I couldn't find any clues and was in despair, I actually thought about whether I should go and ask you, Doctor Liu, for help..."

Upon hearing Yang Hui's words, Liu Shuyi's brows furrowed slightly.

He truly rose to fame, and ordinary people became aware of his deeds, at least after he had solved three or four cases.

And from then until now, it has been no more than two months.

For cases like this that happened ten years ago, as time goes by, clues and information will only become fewer and fewer, making it increasingly difficult to uncover the truth.

So Yang Hui had no clues at that time, and finding Yang Wanli was, frankly, almost impossible!

Even if he could find clues about Yang Wanli's plot to murder Yang Wenwan, it would all be based on Yang Wanli's death, allowing him to openly and legitimately search the Yang residence.

If Yang Wanli hadn't died, making him suspicious of the events between Yang Wanli and Yang Hui's family back then, he might not have been able to connect the two.

How could Yang Hui, who had investigated for ten years without finding a single clue, possibly determine Yang Wanli's actions and devise such an ingenious scheme in less than two months? This scheme not only lured Yang Wanli out, dismembered and disposed of the body, but also concealed his own clues, preventing the authorities from finding any flaws. This is not something an ordinary person could do in a short period of time.

"Someone is helping you?" Liu Shuyi stared intently at Yang Hui.

Yang Hui exclaimed, "Doctor Liu is truly amazing. I only gave him a few clues, and he was able to guess the reason behind it all."

"Can you tell me?" Liu Shuyi pressed.

Yang Hui remained silent for a moment before continuing, "I believe that Physician Liu is a good official, and I also believe that Physician Liu would never lay a hand on an innocent person. Therefore, I am willing, but I can only tell Physician Liu."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Don't worry, if the person who helped you is innocent, I will never make things difficult for him."

Yang Hui took a deep breath and continued, "Just as I was hesitating, wondering whether I should try my luck at the Liu residence and go to see Doctor Liu, I received a letter."

"letter?"

“Yes, an unsigned letter,” Yang Hui said. “The letter details the misfortunes my Yang family suffered back then, all caused by Yang Wanli’s pursuit of immortality. The letter also gives me several options for revenge: I can simply kill Yang Wanli and end it all, or I can make Yang Wanli suffer a painful life, a cruel death, and be denied even reincarnation…”

"After suddenly learning the truth about what happened back then, I wanted nothing more than to tear him apart and drink his blood. How could I let this scoundrel who ruined my family die so comfortably?"

Even now, thinking of what Yang Wanli did back then, he felt so angry that he wanted to grind his teeth to dust.

The hatred of a family being destroyed and its members killed can never be resolved in several lifetimes!

"Therefore, I choose to give him a taste of his own medicine. He wants to use the Five Elements to achieve immortality, right? I'll make him fall into hell forever and suffer a terrible death!"

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered: "So, you don't understand the Five Elements at all, nor do you understand the ritual of the Demon Eye. You just followed the contents of the letter?"

"Yes." Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi's pupils twitched violently.

what is this?
This is a pre-arranged crime!

Manipulating a crime is different from committing a crime yourself. During the crime, all sorts of unexpected events may occur. If all the unexpected events cannot be fully considered, the result of manipulating a crime will inevitably end in failure.

It can be said that manipulating someone to commit a crime is far more difficult than committing the crime yourself.

The person who wrote the letter was able to make Yang Hui commit the crime so perfectly with just one letter, and even the person himself was convinced that Yang Hui understood the Five Elements Taoist method... This ability is truly terrifying.

Moreover, he had a very good grasp of Yang Hui's psychology. He seemed to be giving Yang Hui multiple options for revenge, but in reality, he was making Yang Hui choose the path of revenge that he had designed for him.

What about Yang Hui? He thought it was all his own choice, but little did he know that he had long been controlled by the person who wrote the letter, like a puppet on a string.

Even in later generations, cases of this type are extremely rare.

Moreover, even if it is a controlled crime, in later generations, instant communication devices are often used for real-time control to deal with emergencies... But in the case before us, Yang Hui was able to commit the crime perfectly with just a letter before he could even take action.

This must be because he knows Yang Hui very well, is very familiar with Yang Wanli, and has a thorough understanding of the situation around the crime scene, in order to ensure that everything proceeds according to his plan.
This ability is something Liu Shuyi has rarely possessed in his life.

Suddenly, he remembered something...

Liu Shuyi looked at Yang Hui and asked, "Did the letter you received contain any instructions for you to take action against Deng Hao?"

Yang Hui shook his head: "No, I would only know that Deng Hao was involved when Yang Wanli confessed to it while he was torturing Yang Wanli. Otherwise, I would never have known that the root cause of my daughter's accident was a fortune telling based on her birth chart."

really!

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered. The person who wrote the letter didn't mention Deng Hao at all, because he knew that if Deng Hao was mentioned, Yang Hui would definitely take action against him.

At that time, Yang Wanli had already died. Given Yang Wanli's status, the imperial court would certainly attach great importance to the investigation, and it was possible that the investigation would lead to Deng Hao.

Therefore, it would be too dangerous for Yang Hui to kill Deng Hao again.

In other words, the person who wrote the letter was genuinely concerned for Yang Hui, hoping that Yang Hui could successfully avenge himself without being captured by the imperial court.

Where did this compassionate and merciful bodhisattva come from?

and also……

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes; he remembered something else.

Because of Yang Wanli's death, Ding Feng was unable to arrest Yang Wanli himself, and was unable to get information out of him about his actions over the years. Therefore, he was unable to get Yang Wanli to confess who he had accepted bribes from and who he had helped.

Yang Wanli's line of communication was actually an ambush set up by the forces behind Miaoyin'er many years ago.

They detonated the bomb in a distant place, intending to kill themselves without their knowledge!
If Yang Wanli hadn't died, he might have already been thrown into prison by Ding Feng at this moment.

So... is there any connection between these two?
He looked at Yang Hui and asked, "When did you receive the letter?"

"Two days ago, in the evening."

It was evening two days later... Ding Feng was on his way back to Chang'an and had not yet arrived.

Given Ding Feng's stamina and speed, if someone were to set off with him regardless of the cost, they would definitely arrive in Chang'an a day or two earlier than him.

In other words, the timing is exactly right.

"You received the letter two evenings ago, and then you took action the following night... Was it the letter that asked you to act as soon as possible, or did you simply not have time to wait and wanted to act immediately?" Liu Shuyi asked again.

Yang Hui did not hide anything: "I have been searching for almost ten years. When I learned the truth, I did not want to wait a moment longer. I wanted to kill Yang Wanli immediately to avenge my wife and children. So, I wanted to act immediately, but the letter told me that I should prepare the things to do in advance and be ready to evacuate. I could not rush, but no matter how late, I could not delay until the third day."

We can't wait until the third day, so it has to be the evening of the second day...

A day is enough time for Yang Hui to prepare everything he needs to get started.

They took action the following evening, satisfying Yang Hui's urgent psychological needs.

Meanwhile, the next evening was exactly when Ding Feng arrived in Chang'an. If he had arrived a day later, Ding Feng would have been able to arrest Yang Wanli.

Could it be a coincidence?
Liu Shuyi said, "Could he explain in the letter why it couldn't be delayed until the third day?"

Yang Hui shook his head: "He didn't say, but he did his best to help me, so he must have had a reason for doing so."

The letter writer revealed all of Yang Wanli's secrets, but failed to explain why he chose to act on the second night...

Is it hard to admit to having ulterior motives?

Could this selfish motive be for myself?

Yang Hui's seemingly satisfying revenge was actually a way to help himself avoid attacks from Miao Yin'er's forces.

Liu Shuyi's heart pounded; this guess was undeniably bold.

But ironically, the probability of this guess is not low!

If that's the case, who will help me?
Moreover, despite doing me such a huge favor, he didn't even want me to know.

If Yang Hui hadn't spoken up, I might never have known about this in my entire life.

Are there really bodhisattvas in this world who do good deeds without asking for anything in return?

Liu Shuyi frowned. He had always been involved in cases that touched on the darker side of human nature, and he found it hard to believe that such a person existed.

Moreover, even if such a person exists, they probably wouldn't act in such a roundabout way; it's far too complicated, as if... they're deliberately keeping it from me.

This was the first time Liu Shuyi had encountered someone secretly helping him since he transmigrated. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he had guessed correctly or if he was overthinking it, and if it was all just a coincidence.

Taking a deep breath to suppress the turmoil in his heart, he asked, "Do you still have that letter?"

Yang Hui shook his head: "My original plan was to kill Yang Wanli and then go find my wife and children. I was afraid that this letter would expose my benefactor and cause him unnecessary trouble, so I burned it after killing Yang Wanli."

Liu Shuyi nodded. Given Yang Hui's personality, this was indeed something he would do. Therefore, the person who wrote the letter chose Yang Hui after much consideration.

He said, "Besides these, is there anything else to add regarding the letters and the writers?"

"Nothing."

Yang Hui continued to shake his head. He looked at Liu Shuyi pleadingly and said, "Doctor Liu, my benefactor is a good man. Please don't blame him for this. Although he wrote me a letter, I was the one who ultimately chose to take action. He did nothing wrong."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Don't worry, I will enforce the law impartially. If he has no problems, I will not make things difficult for him."

Yang Hui nodded emphatically, then pursed his lips and said with some difficulty, "Doctor Liu, can I trouble you with one more thing?"

"What is it?" Liu Shuyi looked at him.

Yang Hui said, "Yang Wanli told me that he buried my daughter's ashes in the underground of his secret room... But I knew that after killing Yang Wanli, there was no chance to go to the secret room to retrieve my daughter's ashes."

"so……"

He pleaded, "Can you help me find my daughter's ashes and bury them in her cenotaph?"

So that's why Yang Hui was willing to reveal the letter; he had something to ask of him...

Liu Shuyi truthfully replied, "I have found Yang Wanli's secret chamber and your daughter's ashes. Her ashes were buried under a wood-attribute alchemy furnace, is that right?"

Yang Hui suddenly raised his head, his eyes shining with an unprecedented light: "Yes, yes! Yang Wanli said that my daughter's ashes are under some wooden alchemy furnace, and that is my daughter's ashes."

Seeing Yang Hui's excited expression, Liu Shuyi said, "I promise you, I will bury your daughter's ashes as soon as possible."

"Thank you... You and my benefactor are both incredibly kind people." Yang Hui was both moved and tears streamed down his face.

Liu Shuyi shook his head and asked again, "Do you know where your son's remains or ashes are buried?"

Yang Hui shook his head in anguish: "Yang Wanli said that our family was too troublesome, and that we kept focusing on our daughter's disappearance. He was very ashamed and angry, so he casually dealt with my son who had secretly left home to look for his sister... Then, he threw my son's body into a mass grave. Ten years have passed, and there is nowhere to find it."

Liu Shuyi sighed. Compared to her younger brother, Yang Wenwan was actually better off; at least she could be laid to rest.

"I've heard this said before."

Liu Shuyi suddenly said, "The death of a person's body is not true death, because he still lives in people's memories. He will only truly die when his image is no longer in our memories."

"As long as you still remember your son, even if he is not buried, he can still feel your love for him, and he can still receive the paper money you burn for him. He still lives in your memory."

Yang Hui stared blankly at Liu Shuyi, tears streaming down his weathered face.

Even when he was standing in front of the grave, tearing open the most painful scars of his past, he didn't burst into tears. But at this moment, he couldn't hold back any longer.

Liu Shuyi raised his hand and gently patted Yang Hui's shoulder, saying, "When you get out of prison, if you want to stir up trouble in the business world again, you can come to me. I can lend you some money as capital. If you don't want to work so hard anymore, and you can't bear to part with Little Sparrow, and you don't want Little Sparrow to suffer with you... you can also come to me. My household happens to be short of a steward."

Yang Hui looked at Liu Shuyi with tears streaming down his face. At this moment, he felt that Liu Shuyi was a true bodhisattva incarnate, and how fortunate he was to have met Liu Shuyi.

"Oh right, there's one more question I almost forgot."

Just as Liu Shuyi was about to leave, he suddenly paused and asked, "How did you lure Yang Wanli away?"

Yang Hui no longer concealed anything and said without hesitation, "The letter contained an invitation. The invitation said that a wandering master was passing through Chang'an and suddenly discovered that the Yang family was filled with a righteous aura, which was a sign of ascending to immortality. Therefore, he invited you to meet him."

"I see."

Yang Wanli dreamed of becoming an immortal and achieving immortality, but he was afraid that others would find out about this dream, so he kept it very secret. Under such circumstances, when a hermit suddenly said that he had discovered that he had signs of ascending to immortality, how could he remain calm?
Yang Wanli committed countless evil deeds in his quest for immortality, only to find himself willingly walking into a death trap because of it...

It really is a cycle of cause and effect; karma will surely come back to bite you!

(End of this chapter)