The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 184 Clash with Miao Yin'er's forces: Offense and defense, it's time to change!
The meeting is over.

As soon as Liu Shuyi stepped out of the main hall, he was stopped by Li Xinchun.

"Dr. Liu, wait for me."

Liu Shuyi turned around and saw Li Xinchun quickly catching up. He smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "I was just looking for Magistrate Li. Why did you give me the biggest credit for the case?"

Li Xinchun said matter-of-factly, "If it weren't for Doctor Liu's intervention, we might only have found the crime scene by now. But by then, Deng Hao and Yang Hui would have been dead long ago, and even if we found it, it would have been too late... So the fact that this case was solved and ended so perfectly is all thanks to Doctor Liu. You should naturally take the main credit."

That being said, in officialdom, vying for credit and recognition is the norm.

Just like when his elder brother Liu Shuzhong made a discovery in the salary case, Ren Xing directly stole the credit. Credit is extremely important for all officials in the year-end assessment, whether they can be promoted or demoted.

The case was still under the jurisdiction of Wannian County Government, and the Ministry of Justice had not taken it over. My investigation could only be considered friendly assistance between colleagues. Under such circumstances, I would not feel neglected if Li Xinchun shared half of the credit with me and the rest was divided among the people of Wannian County Government. But in the end, he directly gave me the majority of the credit.

This goes beyond mere fairness...

Liu Shuyi sized up Li Xinchun, and Li Xinchun felt inexplicably uneasy under Liu Shuyi's all-seeing gaze.

"Cough cough."

He coughed and said, "During the case of Ma Qingfeng's family massacre, I misunderstood Physician Liu and almost affected his judgment. I wanted to host a banquet for Physician Liu to apologize, but he didn't agree, so..."

oh~
It turned out to be the case.

Li Xinchun is trying to make up for the misunderstandings he had about Ma Qingfeng's family murder case.

Liu Shuyi understood. He smiled and said, "I almost forgot about the Ma Qingfeng case if Magistrate Li hadn't mentioned it. Actually, it wasn't that I didn't want to go to the banquet, but that night, Han Shaoqing from the Court of Imperial Stud came to see me. Han Shaoqing had met my brother once before and was the last person to see him, so I went to see Han Shaoqing... Then I encountered the salary case. The salary case had just ended when I received Magistrate Li's request for help, so I rushed over as fast as I could."

Li Xinchun suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. Doctor Liu values ​​family ties and must be worried about his brother's disappearance day and night. Doctor Liu should go and see Han Shaoqing."

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "So, Magistrate Li, you don't need to overthink it. I've said before that you've misunderstood me because you've been deceived by thieves. I've never blamed you."

Although that's what they said, how could Li Xinchun really believe it?
Especially after working with Liu Shuyi on this case and witnessing Liu Shuyi's terrifying abilities firsthand, he became even more certain that Liu Shuyi's future would not be limited to the fifth rank, the fourth rank... no, even the third rank of Minister. With Du Ruhui's support and His Majesty's favor, he might not be able to reach that level.

As for himself? At most, he could only be promoted to the fourth rank by luck, so how could he dare to harbor any resentment towards Liu Shuyi?
He said, "Although I am not very capable, I hold the power of the Wannian County government. If Doctor Liu needs me in the future, as long as it is within the jurisdiction of Wannian County, I will do my best to help."

This was an attempt to further strengthen their relationship... Liu Shuyi had been expanding his network and influence, so naturally he wouldn't refuse.

He smiled and said, "The same goes for Magistrate Li. If you need my help, you can send someone to me as you did this time, and I will do my best to assist you."

Li Xinchun got the answer he wanted, and the weight that had been hanging over his heart finally lifted completely.

Although I am quite old and it is a bit embarrassing to rely on Liu Shuyi, a young man, Liu Shuyi's ability to solve cases is really too strong. Even if I can only get a small share of the credit each time, if all the cases that happen in Wannian County can be solved, the credit will be like trickles of water flowing into a river.

At this rate, I estimate that I'll have a chance to get promoted in a few years.

Career or reputation? The answer is self-evident.

Seeing Li Xinchun laughing for no apparent reason, Liu Shuyi wondered what good idea the magistrate was thinking. He asked, "Magistrate Li, have the identities of the owners of the other four urns of ashes been confirmed?"

Upon hearing that it was serious business, Li Xinchun nodded hurriedly: "Deng Hao confessed everything, and the identities of the four people have been confirmed. They are three men and one woman. Two of the men and one woman, like Yang Wenwan, went to Deng Hao to have their horoscopes told in order to get married."

"The other man was studying to take the imperial examination, and his family wanted to have his fortune told to see if he could pass the exam... As a result, his birth date was revealed to Deng Hao."

Three people had grand wedding plans, one had a promising future... all with beautiful aspirations, but in the end, their dreams turned into a nightmare.

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "Let's try to find their family members and let them be buried as soon as possible."

"I have already given the order, but I don't know if Yang Wanli will kill their families as he did Yang Hui's family."

Liu Shuyi was silent for a moment, then looked up at the rising sun: "Let's do our best."

Li Xinchun nodded silently.

"correct."

Li Xinchun suddenly said, "Yang Hui asked me to pass on a message to you."

"What did you say?" Liu Shuyi looked away.

Li Xinchun thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be something... If he is lucky enough to survive, I hope Doctor Liu will take him in."

At this point, Li Xinchun looked at Liu Shuyi cautiously and tentatively said, "Doctor Liu, we were already being kind enough to him by bringing this matter to His Majesty's attention and using His Majesty's hand to spare his life. But this fellow seems to be taking advantage of us... Don't be angry, I'll scold him when we get back."

Liu Shuyi knew that Li Xinchun was protecting Yang Hui. He was unaware of the content of his conversation with Yang Hui when they met alone, and he genuinely believed that Yang Hui thought his home was a charitable institution where anyone could be taken in.

He laughed and said, "Magistrate Li has misunderstood. Actually, I value his ability and will, and asked him if he would like to work for my Liu family after his release from prison... The message he asked you to convey is that he accepted my invitation."

"I see." Li Xinchun breathed a sigh of relief. He had been wondering what had gotten into Yang Hui, that old bastard, that he would dare to ask him to pass on such a message.

Yang Hui's quick response surprised Liu Shuyi. Liu Shuyi thought Yang Hui would hesitate for a while, but he didn't expect him to be so decisive.

It seems that Yang Hui has been too tired, too lonely, and too exhausted over the past ten years.

“Magistrate Li, I would also like to trouble you to give Yang Hui a message for me, and tell him that I will bring Little Sparrow to pick him up on the day he is released from prison.”

Li Xinchun quickly replied, "This is no trouble at all, it's just a matter of a word."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you still need Yang Wenwan's ashes?"

Li Xinchun's mind raced slightly: "What does Doctor Liu mean?"

Liu Shuyi did not hide his thoughts: "She has been dying with her eyes open for ten years, and I hope to let her rest in peace as soon as possible."

This is probably one of the reasons why Yang Hui gave him a reply so quickly.

Li Xinchun replied without hesitation, "Of course! Ashes are different from other physical evidence; we cannot seal them away. I also regret Yang Wenwan's situation; she should be laid to rest as soon as possible."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Yang Hui is already in prison. Since I promised to take him in after his release, I will consider him half a family member... Give me Yang Wenwan's ashes, and I will bury them in peace."

"Alright!" Li Xinchun said, "When will Doctor Liu need it?"

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment: "Since Yang Hui believes in metaphysics, the date of his daughter's burial cannot be chosen casually... How about this, I will have someone go to find Yuan Lingtai later and ask him to calculate a date for Yang Wenwan. I will have someone inform you of the specific date after it is determined."

“Alright.” Li Xinchun nodded. “Then I’ll wait for news from Doctor Liu.”

…………

The Ministry of Justice.

Just as Liu Shuyi sat down in his office, Zhao Feng walked in carrying a stack of case files.

Watching Zhao Feng carefully arrange the case files, Liu Shuyi asked, "I wasn't here yesterday. Did anything noteworthy happen at the Ministry of Justice?"

Zhao Feng thought for a moment and said, "Minister Liu is back."

"Minister Liu?"

Information about Vice Minister Liu quickly came to mind.

The Ministry of Justice had two vice ministers, but with Wei Qian imprisoned by Li Shimin for the silver treasury case, the Ministry of Justice now only has one vice minister, Liu Quan.

Liu Quan, aged forty, was from Bingzhou and was among the first to follow Li Yuan in the uprising, but his performance in the early stages was not particularly outstanding.

During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he chose the right side and was promoted by Li Shimin to the position of Vice Minister of Justice.

He was cautious and sought stability, never taking action without absolute certainty. In addition, he was quite capable, so after he was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he solved every case he personally handled perfectly.

He was highly respected in the Ministry of Justice.

Not long after he transmigrated, a major case occurred in Jiangnan, and he was ordered to go and investigate it, only returning yesterday.

Therefore, he had never met Liu Quan, his superior.

Now that Wei Qian has fallen from power, and Du Ruhui is often absent from the Ministry of Justice, Liu Quan has become the person in charge of the Ministry of Justice most of the time.

"After Vice Minister Liu returned, what did he do?" Liu Shuyi asked.

Zhao Feng said, "I didn't do anything special, I just went to the other three departments to check on the current situation."

"To one of the other three departments? Didn't you come to the Ministry of Justice?"

"No," Zhao Feng said. "Perhaps Vice Minister Liu knows that Physician Liu is not here."

No… even if I wasn’t there, Vice Minister Liu Quan should have come to the Ministry of Justice to let everyone know that the Ministry’s only Vice Minister had returned. That way, when Du Ruhui was away, they would know who was in charge and who to contact. If that’s the case, why did the other three ministries go, but not the Ministry of Justice?

Is this a show of force to intimidate them?
However, neither the original owner nor himself had any conflict with Liu Quan, and Liu Quan was not a member of Pei Ji's faction.

If that's not a show of force... then is it caution?

Liu Shuyi thought of Liu Quan's personality. Liu Quan was extremely cautious and never did anything uncertain... So, is it possible that he didn't know his own limitations, or the extent of his relationship with Du Ruhui? Therefore, to be on the safe side, he didn't come to the Ministry of Justice unless Liu Shuyi was there, so as not to discover any problems in the Ministry of Justice, and then blame Liu Shuyi or not?
Given Liu Quan's personality... believe it or not, this possibility actually exists.

Liu Shuyi pondered for a moment and said, "I understand. Since Vice Minister Liu has returned, I cannot refuse to see him. I will go to see him in a little while."

"Besides that, is there anything else?"

Zhao Feng shook his head: "No, everything else is normal."

"What about Qian Wenqing? What did he do?"

“There were no cases that required him to go out yesterday, so he came to see Doctor Liu first. When he found that Doctor Liu was not there, he locked himself in the office until his shift ended.”

"He's relatively honest. Keep a close eye on him, and tell me immediately if he does anything unusual."

My rank is already high enough. If I continue to make meritorious contributions, I will really have the opportunity to become a fourth-rank vice minister. Once I reach the position of vice minister, I will no longer be able to only passively defend against Pei Ji. I will have the ability to directly threaten Pei Ji.

Therefore, Pei Ji would never stand by and watch himself succeed. He would definitely do something next. It's just unknown what his conspiracy is, but no matter what he does, unless Pei Ji directly sends assassins, he can only take action against him in some way within the Ministry of Justice. In that case, he will definitely not be able to get around Qian Wenqing.

Boom boom boom!
Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Your humble servant, Qian Wenqing, requests an audience with Physician Liu."

Qian Wenqing?
Liu Shuyi and Zhao Feng exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised. Speak of the devil, and he appears? What a coincidence.

Liu Shuyi picked up his water glass, leaned back, and said calmly, "Please come in, Mr. Qian."

crunch--

Qian Wenqing walked into the office, and when she looked at Liu Shuyi, her eyes were filled with fear and a hint of anger.

Liu Shuyi couldn't understand this look. He hadn't dealt with him for a while, so why was he so angry?

"What business does Master Qian have with me?" Liu Shuyi asked.

Qian Wenqing took a deep breath, concealing the expression in his eyes, and cupped his hands, saying, "Doctor Liu's order is for me to report on yesterday's official business every morning and to request instructions on today's official business. Doctor Liu has not forgotten, has he?"

You don't seem like someone who's here to obediently deliver the daily newspaper... Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "How could I forget? Qian Yuanwailang, please speak."

Since Liu Shuyi became a doctor, Qian Wenqing's power has been greatly reduced, leaving him with very little to do. He can finish his two days of official business in just a few words.

Liu Shuyi nodded and commented: "Not bad, Qian Yuanwailang is indeed a very experienced official in my Ministry of Justice. His efficiency is indeed very high."

Experienced and seasoned... These four words made not only Qian Wenqing's eyelids twitch, but even Zhao Feng's eyelids twitched violently.

Everyone knows that Qian Wenqing has been in the Ministry of Justice for more than three years. After all that time, he was just about to have a chance to become a physician, but he was directly surpassed by Liu Shuyi, a newcomer... Liu Shuyi's words, though not insults, made Qian Wenqing want to vomit blood even more than insults.

Qian Wenqing's forehead veins throbbed violently. He couldn't hold back any longer. Recalling what had happened this morning, he said directly, "Why did Doctor Liu try to sow discord among friends and cause brothers to turn against each other?"

"Sowing discord among friends? Turning brothers against each other?" Liu Shuyi was quite bewildered: "What do you mean by that?"

He did suppress Qian Wenqing and occasionally annoyed him, but apart from that, he didn't use any underhanded methods to deal with Qian Wenqing.

"Does Doctor Liu not know?"

Qian Wenqing frowned deeply: "This morning, Gu Wen, the county magistrate of Wannian, came to see me and said that he had misjudged me and that he would sever all ties with me from now on... Gu Wen was perfectly fine before, but after investigating a case with Physician Liu all day yesterday, he suddenly wants to break off our friendship. Isn't this the work of Physician Liu?"

Gu Wen?

Upon hearing Gu Wen's name and recalling Gu Wen's painstaking performance in front of him yesterday, he understood what had happened.

Gu Wen is really decisive.

Wanting to make amends, she turned to herself, not only trying her best to please him, but also immediately severing ties with Qian Wenqing, who had bullied her...

In this light, Gu Wen's defection is indeed something worth considering.

He shook his head: "Master Qian, you are wronging me. I did meet with County Magistrate Gu yesterday during the investigation, but I never spoke to him alone. Moreover, County Magistrate Li and others were present during our conversation... I never said anything to him about breaking off our friendship. If Master Qian does not believe me, you can go to the Wannian County government office to ask him yourself."

Seeing Liu Shuyi's calm demeanor and his willingness to let him confirm anything, Qian Wenqing became suspicious.

Is it really unrelated to Liu Shuyi?

What could that be related to?
Could it be that Gu Wen made a mistake and was reprimanded by Li Xinchun, causing him to feel down, and I didn't comfort him?

Impossible. Gu Wen isn't a fragile woman. What's a little setback to her?
Qian Wenqing couldn't understand it, and if he couldn't understand it, he could just blame Liu Shuyi. Anyway, Liu Shuyi was his mortal enemy, and he would take revenge sooner or later!

He took a deep breath, suppressed his thoughts, and said, "It seems that I have wronged Physician Liu. Please punish me, Physician Liu."

Liu Shuyi shook his head slightly: "I understand your feelings about your friend's sudden departure. I won't blame you this time, but this is a one-time thing. Next time, I won't be so lenient."

Qian Wenqing felt a chill run down his spine, knowing this was Liu Shuyi's warning, and quickly replied, "This humble official understands."

"Go ahead."

"Yes."

Qian Wenqing didn't dare to delay for a moment and hurriedly left the room as if running.

After the door closed, Zhao Feng couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "Dr. Liu, is the falling out between Qian Wenqing and Gu Wen really related to you..."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "That's really hard to answer. I can't say it has nothing to do with me, but it wasn't my doing. It was Gu Wen who wanted to abandon the darkness and embrace the light."

As soon as he heard the words "abandon darkness and embrace light," Zhao Feng understood.

"Alright, it's getting late, I need to go and pay my respects to Liu Shaoqing."

Just as Liu Shuyi was about to get up, he remembered two things and said, "Zhao Feng, there are two things I need you to do next."

Zhao Feng hurriedly said, "Please give your instructions, Physician Liu."

"The first thing is for you to have Lieutenant Lu go to the Imperial Observatory and find Yuan Lingtai to ask him to calculate an auspicious day for Yang Wenwan's burial."

"The second thing..."

He took out three books from his pocket and said, “Take two of these books and Deputy Lieutenant Lu take one. You two should secretly find someone you know in the Taoist community, or someone from the Bureau of Astronomy, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, or the Ministry of Rites, and ask them to translate and annotate these three books for you in more accessible language.”

"If they ask you where this book came from, say that you found it by chance and were curious about what its contents meant."

"If you really can't find such a person, just tell me. Don't force it... But you must remember to keep it a secret and not let anyone else know that you have other books."

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Zhao Feng immediately realized the importance of this mission.

He took the book and carefully placed it close to his body, saying, "Don't worry, Doctor Liu, your subordinate and Deputy Lieutenant Lu will be extra careful."

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "Since I have chosen you, it is natural that I trust you. Go ahead."

"Yes!"

Zhao Feng turned and left without hesitation.

As Liu Shuyi watched Zhao Feng's departing figure, his fingertips tapped lightly on the desk. From this moment on, his counterattack against Miao Yin'er's forces officially began. He had known too little about them before, so he could only deal with each one that emerged.

But "Lianshan" is different. "Lianshan" is something they desperately want to obtain, and it definitely contains some secret they desire.

If I can grasp this secret before they do, I can gain the upper hand and perhaps even learn about some of their purposes.

Knowing their purpose means you gain the upper hand...

"Attack and defense, there's finally a chance to change..."

Liu Shuyi let out a soft breath, then stood up and walked outside.

It's time to go see Vice Minister Liu, the only one I forgot to mention...

　My cold isn't better yet... I felt cold and my legs ached for the first three days. I started coughing yesterday and woke up several times in the middle of the night, which made me feel very tired. That's all for today.

　
(End of this chapter)