The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 188 The Stone Lion Devours Man! Liu Shuyi's First Clash with the Remnants of the Prince of Xi!
Rumble…

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out in the silent mountains.

People going about their work instinctively stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.

Then they saw hundreds of riders galloping down the mountain road, their hooves kicking up dust that flew into the air, covering everything with an astonishing momentum.

Before long, they arrived near them.

Only then were the people able to see the procession clearly.

This was a group of over a hundred people. The person at the front was dressed in a light blue outfit, with a handsome and dashing appearance, clearly of noble status. Four people followed him half a step behind, three men and one woman. The two men had a scholarly air about them, clearly learned, while the other man was burly and carried two huge battle axes on his back, undoubtedly a highly skilled general.

The woman possessed a cool and aloof demeanor, like a snow lotus from the Tianshan Mountains, unapproachable and aloof. The young men only dared to steal glances at her.

Behind them were two men, one civil and one military. Their status was probably lower, but their official robes made the common people dare not look directly at them... After that, there were guards wearing black armor, with swords hanging at their waists, sharp eyes, and a murderous aura.

The people, seeing this strange procession they had never seen before, hurriedly retreated to both sides of the road, not daring to stop it, while their eyes were full of curiosity as they observed it.

"Uu——"

The handsome man at the head of the group suddenly stopped his horse as he passed by them.

He turned to look at the people on the left side of the road, cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask you fellow villagers, how far is this place from Xingzhou City?"

The people were surprised that the leader of the group would stop and ask them for directions. They looked at each other, and an older man stepped forward and said, "Sir, this place is not far from Xingzhou City. Continue along this road for five more miles, and you will arrive."

"Five li..."

The man nodded: "Thank you."

He glanced at the people's clothing and asked, "Have you all come from Xingzhou City?"

The man dared not hide the truth: "Yes, our homes are all in Xingzhou City. The weather is getting warmer, and spring plowing is just around the corner. We are preparing to go to the fields to work."

"I see……"

The man gently stroked the reins with his fingertips and said, "On the way here, I heard that something happened in Xingzhou City. It seems that the governor of Xingzhou had an accident. I wonder if any of you know about this?"

The man hesitated for a moment, and before he could speak, the boy beside him said, "Of course I know, my father even saw Governor Jiang's corpse with his own eyes!"

"Ah Hu, shut up!" The man hadn't expected his son to talk so quickly, so he quickly scolded him and stopped him.

Ah Hu said, feeling a little aggrieved, "Father did see it."

"You still say it!"

The man glared at his son and was about to apologize to the mysterious official in front of him when he looked up and met those deep, dark eyes that seemed to see through his thoughts.

"You saw Governor Jiang's corpse with your own eyes?" The man's voice was still gentle, but there was a hint of power in his eyes, which made the man subconsciously tense up and break out in a cold sweat.

The man dared not hide anything any longer and quickly nodded, "Yes."

"That day, Xiaomin went out to work, but he hadn't gone far when he heard a very noisy noise not far away. Xiaomin looked up and saw a lot of people gathered at the intersection ahead, as if something unusual had happened."

"Being curious, I went over to investigate, and then..."

Even though seven days have passed, the man still feels cold in his hands and feet and a chill runs down his spine when he recalls the scene he witnessed.

He took a deep breath and said, "As it turns out, I discovered that in the very center of the intersection, someone had moved a stone lion there. The stone lion was covered in blood and was stepping on a person who was also covered in blood. The person was lying on his back on the ground, and the stone lion was stepping on his heart. He had been disemboweled, and one end of his intestines was being bitten in the stone lion's mouth, while the other end was still inside his body..."

"It looked as if the stone lion had come to life at night and bit the person to death. It was terrifying."

hiss……

Listening to the man's story, the man carrying the axe couldn't help but say, "Such a bizarre way to die?"

"Dr. Liu, this case sounds quite complicated."

That's right, this team was led by Liu Shuyi and others who set off from Chang'an to investigate a case in Xingzhou.

Apart from necessary rest, they traveled at full speed for three days and finally arrived here on the morning of the fourth day.

Compared to Cheng Chumo's astonishment, Liu Shuyi was much calmer. Of course, it wasn't that he didn't think Jiang Rui's death was strange, but rather that Li Shimin and the others had given him information about the case before they set off, so he was already prepared.

However, those intelligence reports were only hastily sent back by undercover agents, and there weren't many details about the case. So, Liu Shuyi naturally couldn't let go of such a witness.

He looked at the tense man and said, "No need to be nervous. I am just curious about this case. Just answer truthfully."

The man nodded subconsciously.

Liu Shuyi continued, "Did you know at the time that the deceased was Jiang Rui, the prefect of Xingzhou?"

The man shook his head: "There were so many people there, three or four layers around. I was just on the outside, so I couldn't see very clearly... Besides, the man's face was covered in blood, and his expression was very ferocious and terrifying. Even if I could see his face, I wouldn't recognize who he was."

"Then how did you find out the deceased's identity?"

"Not long after, the officials from the prefectural government arrived. After carefully examining the deceased's face, their expressions changed drastically, and they said that the deceased was Prefect Jiang."

Liu Shuyi nodded, the scene from that time appearing in his mind.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Do you know where the stone lion on the body of the deceased came from?"

The man nodded: "I didn't know at first, but then I heard that one of the stone lions in front of the governor's office was missing, so..."

Cheng Chumo's eyes widened: "The stone lion that kills people, or the stone lion of the governor's office?"

He couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi and whispered, "Doctor Liu, is this case really not the work of the imperial court? Using the stone lions of the governor's office to murder Governor Jiang Rui seems ironic no matter how you look at it..."

It's more than just ironic...

The meaning represented by the stone lion came to Liu Shuyi's mind.

The stone lions in front of the government office symbolize the imperial court's power to "dominate all directions," representing the court's authority and demonstrating its majesty. Therefore, if the stone lions are used to kill someone, it can be interpreted that the murderer's message is that the court wants to eliminate that person.

When the person killed was the governor of a prefecture, it carries an additional layer of meaning.

The imperial court was dissatisfied with this governor, or rather, believed that he was unfit to serve in the position. Therefore, the stone lion, representing the authority of the court, personally took action and eliminated him.

Of course, this idea is rather extreme, and in most cases, not many people would think in this direction.

However, this is not the case in most situations right now.

After all, the officials in Hebei Province knew that Jiang Rui was a staunch supporter of Prince Xi and was not loyal to the court. So it was obvious what those officials would think when he died at the hands of the stone lion that represented the authority of the court.

"Originally, when Jiang Rui was murdered, the first suspects would have been the imperial court. But the murderer even went so far as to use a stone lion, which represents the authority of the imperial court, to create a shocking death scene..."

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes: "Are you afraid that the blame won't fall on the imperial court?"

"Is this a conspiracy against the imperial court?"

"Or is it just a coincidence, and the murderer didn't intend to frame the court, but had other reasons for doing so?"

While pondering, Liu Shuyi continued, "Seven days have passed. Has the Prefectural Government made any progress?" The man shook his head, "I don't know, but Xingzhou City is under martial law these days. Except for the residents of Xingzhou City, no one else is allowed to enter or leave."

"Apart from the residents of Xingzhou City, no one else is allowed to enter or leave..."

Du Gou's heart skipped a beat, and he whispered, "Does the Prefectural Government confirm that the murderer is not a local of Xingzhou City, but an outsider?"

"I'm afraid it's not confirmed..."

Changsun Chong, in a very unrestrained manner, fanned himself with a folding fan in the cold wind and sneered, "They believe from the bottom of their hearts that this was done by someone sent by the imperial court."

As he spoke, he looked at the man and asked, "When did the governor's office begin imposing martial law? Did they also search the inns in the city?"

The man was somewhat surprised. He said, "How did you know that the yamen had searched the inn, sir? That's right, the yamen has searched the inn more than once, and their martial law... began shortly after they discovered that the deceased was Prefect Jiang."

"Look..."

Changsun Chong continued fanning himself with his folding fan: "As soon as the deceased was discovered to be Jiang Rui, martial law was imposed, prohibiting any outsiders from entering or leaving... Unless they are detectives like Liu Langzhong, who can find out the identity of the murderer in such a short time, they are just subjectively believing who the murderer is."

"Do you think..." Changsun Chong said with a half-smile, "They're detectives?"

Du Gou frowned. Of course, he knew that there could not be another Liu Shuyi in this world.

He looked worried and said to Liu Shuyi, "Jiang Rui's case may not be so easy to investigate."

Since the prefectural government immediately identified the murderer as an official of the imperial court, those of them who came to investigate the case on behalf of the court were destined to be unwelcome.

If it were just a lack of enthusiasm, that would be fine. What Du Gou feared was that they would think the imperial officials were crying wolf and then obstructing their investigation. In that case, even if Liu Shuyi were a brilliant detective, he probably wouldn't have a good outcome.

Liu Shuyi had anticipated this situation and was therefore prepared. He smiled and said, "There are many ways to investigate a case. There are ways to investigate if you cooperate and ways to investigate if you don't. As long as we can get into Xingzhou City, whether the case can be solved or not is not up to them."

He smiled and reassured everyone's worries, then turned to the man and said, "You said the governor's office has searched all the inns in the city more than once. I wonder if they arrested anyone from the inns?"

The man shook his head: "I don't think so... I haven't heard any related rumors."

no……

Liu Shuyi stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

"The governor of Xingzhou has been killed. I wonder if any officials from other nearby cities have come to investigate?"

"Yes!" the man answered quickly this time: "There is only one road into Xingzhou City. I come out to work every day, so I can see whoever passes by... In the past few days, some officials have indeed passed by."

Have they left?

"I only saw them heading towards Xingzhou City; I didn't see them leave."

Only in, no out...

This indicates that they have not yet reached an agreement.

The worst-case scenario has not yet occurred.

Liu Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief. As long as these former subordinates of the Prince of Xi had not yet decided to band together in rebellion, he still had a chance.

I rushed as fast as I could and finally made it.

He thanked the man and then spurred his horse onward toward Xingzhou City.

Five li is not a long distance, and soon the outline of Xingzhou City came into view.

Compared to Chang'an, Xingzhou was much smaller. In the Tang Dynasty's system of prefectures, it belonged to the middle-level prefectures. In the early Tang Dynasty, prefectures were divided into three levels based on the number of households. Upper-level prefectures, such as Chang'an and Luoyang, had more than 40,000 households. Middle-level prefectures had between 20,000 and 40,000 households. Lower-level prefectures had the fewest households, with fewer than 20,000 households.

The ranks of officials in different levels of prefectures also differed. The governor of a superior prefecture was a third-rank official, while the governor of a middle prefecture was a fourth-rank official. Other officials were also demoted accordingly.

Therefore, with the death of Jiang Rui, the governor of Xingzhou, the official currently in charge of Xingzhou is Chu Xiong, the deputy governor of Xingzhou, who holds the rank of fifth grade.

"crunch-"

Just as Liu Shuyi was looking around Xingzhou City, the city gates, which were tightly closed, were suddenly opened.

Then, more than ten people walked quickly out of the city and headed towards Liu Shuyi and the others.

The two groups met outside the city, and the dozen or so people quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, esteemed envoys."

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow. He had not arranged for anyone to inform the Xingzhou officials in advance about his investigation, but before he even entered the city, these officials were already waiting at the city gate... This meant that their whereabouts had already been known to these former subordinates of the Prince of Xi.

They came out of the city gate first, not to greet me, but to make me understand whose territory this was.

The purpose was to issue a warning, but what was displayed was respect and enthusiasm... Not to mention Liu Shuyi, even Wei Zheng, who was known for his critical eye, probably couldn't find any fault with it.

"interesting."

Liu Shuyi wasn't afraid of their tricks, but he was afraid of their straightforwardness.

If someone is straightforward and openly says they don't believe in you and want to stop you, then even if you have a thousand skills, you won't be able to use them.

But when they play mind games and scheme, that's a different story.

He glanced at the dozen or so people and said, "My colleagues, there's no need for such formalities."

"His Majesty was furious upon hearing of the murder of Governor Jiang. Governors of our Great Tang are the cornerstones of the court, guarding the four directions. How can we allow others to murder them at will! Therefore, His Majesty ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to join forces and immediately rush to Xingzhou to investigate the case and avenge Governor Jiang."

"You are all colleagues who have worked with Governor Jiang for many years. I believe you share the same hatred for the murderer as the court. Therefore, I hope you will cooperate with me to help me find the murderer as soon as possible so that Governor Jiang can rest in peace."

Liu Shuyi didn't waste any words. He immediately stated the court's attitude and his own needs. Whether these people believed him or not, as long as they hadn't decided to break ties with the court, they would have to maintain appearances.

As expected, the officials nodded hurriedly as soon as Liu Shuyi finished speaking.

The leader, Chu Xiong, the Prefect of Xingzhou, said, "Who doesn't know that Physician Liu is a legendary detective? As long as Physician Liu takes action, I believe we can quickly find the murderer!"

Chu Xiong was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old. He was tall and strong, with a square face. He had an imposing presence and gave people a very upright feeling.

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Prefect Chu to cooperate."

"Easy to say."

Chu Xiong waved his hand dismissively, saying, "As long as the murderer can be found, I won't hesitate to cooperate, or even die for him."

Everyone was somewhat surprised by Chu Xiong's enthusiasm; his behavior clearly contradicted their expectations.

Cheng Chumo couldn't help but whisper to Changsun Chong, "He's being very cooperative. Have we misunderstood him?"

Changsun Chong squinted, his fingers gently stroking the jade-framed folding fan, and slowly said, "True villains aren't scary; hypocrites are the most troublesome..."

hypocrite?
Cheng Chumo frowned, about to say something, when Chu Xiong's voice suddenly rang out: "By the way, Physician Liu, there's something I almost forgot to tell you."

"What is it?" Liu Shuyi asked with interest, noticing Chu Xiong's furrowed brows and serious expression.

Then they heard Chu Xiong say in a solemn tone, "Prefect Jiang's body is gone!"

(End of this chapter)