The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 197 Zhang Bu, the Judicial Officer, Returns! Case Closed? The Final Battle Arrives! (6.5k)

Seeing Liu Shuyi regain his composure, as if everything was under control, Du Ying's eyebrows unconsciously relaxed as well.

She asked softly, "How should we investigate?"

Her voice was gentle, a stark contrast to her cold tone towards Chu Xiong just moments before.

Liu Shuyi glanced at the tightly closed door and said, "We don't have much time. Chu Liu is Chu Xiong's trusted servant and won't be delayed for too long by Changsun Sicheng. I'll get straight to the point."

“From now on, Chu Liu will definitely stick close to me. I can’t get rid of him for anything, and I can’t let him know that I have a chance to solve the case, otherwise Chu Xiong will definitely take action…”

"But this may not be a bad thing. The fact that he is staring at me means that Chu Xiong's attention is mainly focused on me, so you will have a lot more freedom."

"so……"

Liu Shuyi gazed at Du Ying, whose demeanor was aloof but whose eyes were gentle: "Miss Du, the rest is up to you."

Du Ying's eyes flickered slightly. Her tacit understanding with Liu Shuyi meant that she understood everything without Liu Shuyi needing to explain.

Without hesitation, she replied, "What do you need me to do?"

"Go and secretly inform our people to do four things..."

Liu Shuyi glanced at the doors and windows to prevent being overheard, then stepped forward, almost touching Du Ying.

Du Ying felt Liu Shuyi's aura enveloping her in a domineering way, and the hot breath he exhaled made her earlobes burn, as if half of her face was burning.

An overwhelming tingling sensation spread from her earlobes throughout her body, so much so that she had to support herself slightly on the table with both hands to keep herself standing.

Her heart was pounding like a deer's. Afraid that Liu Shuyi would notice her strange behavior, she subconsciously lowered her head, suppressing the strange feeling, and carefully wrote down Liu Shuyi's instructions.

After a moment, Liu Shuyi finished explaining everything that Du Ying needed to do secretly, then took a half step back and asked, "Can you write it all down?"

Du Ying turned slightly to avoid Liu Shuyi noticing her bright red earlobes and half her face, and nodded, saying, "I've got it."

"but……"

She changed the subject again, asking, "Won't that matter be dangerous?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Seeing Liu Shuyi say this, Du Ying stopped asking questions. She had unconditional trust and support for Liu Shuyi.

Bang bang bang!
At that moment, there was a knock on the door of the morgue.

Changsun Chong's lazy voice came: "Doctor Liu, Miss Du... although you two are in love, you should still be affectionate in different situations, right? Everyone is waiting for you to get down to business."

Hearing Changsun Chong's words, Liu Shuyi knew that he could no longer hold off Chu Liu, and this was a reminder that it was time to leave.

Otherwise, Chu Liu would have some doubts.

He and Du Ying exchanged a glance, and without a word, they understood each other's meaning.

After the two nodded slightly, Liu Shuyi did not delay any longer and opened the door directly.

Looking at Changsun Chong, who was casually fanning himself with a folding fan in the cold wind outside the door, and then at Chu Liu beside Changsun Chong, who was tiptoeing and subconsciously looking into the morgue, Liu Shuyi said irritably, "What lovey-dovey talk? How could I be so inappropriate for the occasion? We have important business to attend to."

"Business?"

Changsun Chong glanced at Du Ying, who was walking out behind Liu Shuyi, and raised an eyebrow: "What important matter could make our ice queen blush?"

Face flushed?

Liu Shuyi was startled and subconsciously turned his head to look.

Only then did he realize that Du Ying's left cheek and ear were indeed bright red and very alluring.

"If you don't speak, no one will treat you as mute!"

Du Ying reverted to her original aloof beauty, glared fiercely at Changsun Chong, and stormed off.

He looked as if he had been embarrassed and annoyed that his secret had been exposed to his face.

Not to mention Chu Liu and the others, even Liu Shuyi almost believed that he and Du Ying had just been being affectionate.

"Awesome!"

"I never expected Miss Du to be such a great actress. She blushes so easily, and her performance with Changsun Chong is flawless..."

"So Miss Du is also a film queen!"

Liu Shuyi was filled with emotion.

Changsun Chong snapped his folding fan shut and winked at Liu Shuyi, saying, "I didn't realize that Doctor Liu was so capable; he really can melt this iceberg."

Liu Shuyi also glared at Changsun Chong. Miss Du was just acting; he shouldn't really ruin her reputation.

He coughed and said, "Don't talk nonsense. These trivial matters are nothing compared to investigating the case."

Changsun Chong understood Liu Shuyi's meaning. Seeing that Chu Liu did not doubt his words, he said no more. He asked Liu Shuyi, "Does Doctor Liu have any ideas on what to do next?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Liu immediately stared intently at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi sighed and shook his head: "I've thought through all the clues I have so far, but I still haven't found a breakthrough. So, I can only continue to use the safest and most rudimentary method."

He looked at Changsun Chong: "Changsun, I would like to ask you to go and find Du, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and together with him, inquire about the local people at the intersection where the incident occurred, and see if you can get any new clues."

Changsun Chong's eyes flickered slightly; with his intelligence, he quickly understood Liu Shuyi's meaning.

Liu Shuyi deliberately sent him away, asking him to go find Du Gou, clearly hoping that he would do something secretly with Du Gou.

As for what exactly happened... Du Ying has already left in a huff, so finding Du Ying should be enough to find out.

His mind raced, but his face showed only helplessness: "Alright, I'll ask Du Sicheng more questions, but the Prefectural Governor's Office has already been consulted, so it's best if Physician Liu doesn't have too high hopes."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Although the hope is slim, this is the only thing we can do right now. Let's go, we can't just do nothing."

Changsun Chong didn't linger any longer. He unfolded his folding fan and strode outside.

Liu Shuyi withdrew his gaze and looked at Chu Liu beside him, saying, "Brother Chu... Chu Liu, is there any place in this governor's office that I cannot go?"

Chu Liu tentatively asked, "Where is Physician Liu going?"

"I would like to go and take a look at Governor Jiang's office. Since we can't find any clues or ideas outside, we might as well go to Governor Jiang's office and see if we can find anything."

Chu Liu hesitated for a moment, but before Chu Xiong left, he had not said that Liu Shuyi could not go anywhere. His task was only to keep an eye on Liu Shuyi and report every thing Liu Shuyi did and every clue he found to his master in a timely manner. Moreover, Liu Shuyi did not have much time, so he thought that he would not find anything in such a short time.

Thinking of this, Chu Liu quickly nodded: "Of course."

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you to lead the way."

"That's what a petty person should do..."

Chu Liu extended his hand, leading the way: "This way, Physician Liu..."

Liu Shuyi followed Chu Liu, leaving the courtyard where the morgue was located, passing through the long corridor, going around several buildings, and finally arriving in front of a house.

Chu Liu said, "This is Governor Jiang's office."

Liu Shuyi looked up and saw that it was a separate small courtyard with only one house in it. The house occupied a considerable area, making Jiang Rui's office very spacious.

This clearly exceeds the standard specifications for a governor's office...

Clearly, Jiang Rui no longer regards the rules and regulations of the imperial court and has already separated Xingzhou from the scope of the imperial court.

Liu Shuyi showed no sign of anything unusual, as if he didn't see anything special about Jiang Rui's office. He went to the door, pushed it open with force.

Sunlight streamed through the open door, illuminating the office. Only then did Liu Shuyi realize that he had underestimated Jiang Rui's extravagance.

Inside the office, there were many shelves. Two rows of shelves were filled with books, one row with files, and the other three rows were filled with precious pottery, jade, writing implements, and paintings.

There were six rows of shelves, stretching vertically, all completely full... Those who knew would recognize this as Jiang Rui's office, but those who didn't would think it was some wealthy family's warehouse.

Liu Shuyi made no comment on Jiang Rui's extravagance and entered the office with a normal expression.

Directly opposite the door were several cabinets, and under the window closest to the door was a vermilion desk, behind which were six rows of shelves.

At this moment, the Four Treasures of the Study were laid out on the desk. A sheet of fine Xuan paper was spread out with half a page of writing on it. A wolf-hair brush was casually placed on the inkstone, and the ink in the inkstone had dried up, revealing cracked ink flakes.

Liu Shuyi walked to the desk and casually glanced at the papers.

Then, on the far right of the paper, several large characters were written: "A Proclamation from Yuan Shao to the Governor of Yu Province."

"Is this a proclamation sent by Yuan Shao to the governor of Yu Province?"

Liu Shuyi had never studied history and didn't know what these words represented, but the original owner of the body had studied for more than ten years, which allowed Liu Shuyi to quickly understand what they meant.

A proclamation against traitors written by Chen Lin during the Three Kingdoms period.

The language is ornate and the words are fierce. It is a thorough and scathing critique of Cao Cao, from the inside out and from top to bottom.

Even after the Three Kingdoms period, many people still greatly admired this document on suppressing traitors and regarded it as a model for such documents.

On the Xuan paper before him, only the first half of "A Proclamation to the Governor of Yu Province on Behalf of Yuan Shao" remained. It was clear that it was already dark, and Jiang Rui had gone to a brothel before finishing writing it...

When Jiang Rui was secretly colluding with the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, he specifically copied this popular document on punishing traitors, the meaning of which is self-evident.

"Is this an attempt to imitate Chen Lin's 'Call to Arms' document, and write a righteous declaration of rebellion?"

Liu Shuyi squinted and casually picked up the stack of books on the table to look through them.

These books contain all aspects of official business in Xingzhou, including people's livelihood, taxation, and cases. As the prefectural governor, he had many responsibilities.

However, none of these books contained any annotations, indicating that Jiang Rui did not process them in a timely manner.

After Jiang Rui's death, Chu Xiong succeeded him and should have taken over all the official duties that Jiang Rui had not handled.

But these books were left here... Liu Shuyi tapped the desk lightly with his fingertips. He looked at Chu Liu, who was secretly glancing at him, and said, "Chu Liu, I wonder if you were busy with official duties before Governor Jiang was murdered?"

Chu Liu hesitated and asked, "Is this related to the case?"

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "It was just a casual question. As you know, I've always worked in the Ministry of Justice and don't know much about local government, so I'm just curious."

Chu Liu was relieved and said, "Prefect Jiang is a very responsible and hardworking person. He does many things personally, so you are not particularly busy, sir."

Very responsible? Very hardworking?
Liu Shuyi glanced at the mountain of unprocessed books on his desk, then looked at the half-written document denouncing thieves... What kind of responsible and diligent person would rather copy documents denouncing thieves than handle official business?

Chu Liu then said that Chu Xiong was not busy...

and so……

Does this mean that Jiang Rui is a power-hungry person who would rather put aside his official duties than share power with others?

In other words, although Chu Xiong was a powerful governor and the second most important person in Xingzhou, his power was actually usurped by Jiang Rui, so much so that he didn't have the opportunity to do the things that governors of other prefectures should do.

Is the conflict between Chu Xiong and Jiang Rui related to this?

Chu Xiong did not take away or deal with these books. Perhaps it was because he had never dealt with such matters before and was overwhelmed by the sudden assignment, so he preferred to leave them there rather than rush to deal with them, lest problems arise at this crucial moment and be discovered by others, affecting his future status.
Liu Shuyi was deep in thought, but his expression remained unchanged.

He put down the book in his hand, stood up, and went to the shelves that were full of books.

As he looked at the dazzling array of precious items on the shelf, he said, "Prefect Chu said that his conflict with Governor Jiang was to prevent Governor Jiang from reducing the monthly salaries of ordinary officials. I wonder what his relationship with these officials is like?"

Chu Liu said, "Master cares about them very much. If any of them fall ill, Master will personally inquire about their condition."

Are you very concerned?
Considering what Chu Xiong had done in front of the morgue, Liu Shuyi completely ignored Chu Liu's words.

He thought for a moment and then asked in a different phrasing: "I wonder what Vice Prefect Chu usually does in the governor's office, and what specific official duties he is responsible for?"

Chu Liu didn't notice anything unusual about the question, so he said, "Because Governor Jiang handles many things personally, the things you usually take charge of are sudden events that Governor Jiang can't handle."

"For example?" Liu Shuyi asked.

"For example, in the event of a sudden case, although the case is usually handled by the judicial staff, the magistrate will also personally intervene and urge the judicial staff to find out the truth as soon as possible, catch the thief, and give an explanation to the people."

Unable to intervene in important matters such as money and grain, he chose to focus on relatively less important cases in order to demonstrate his power to the people and officials below him, so that everyone would know Jiang Rui but not Chu Xiong.
Chu Xiong really put a lot of thought into this.

Liu Shuyi suddenly realized, "No wonder Prefect Chu knows so much about the case. He used to participate in the investigations. So, he has a good relationship with the judicial officer in Xingzhou?"

Chu Liu nodded: "It's indeed very good."

Liu Shuyi walked up to the shelves full of files and casually flipped through a few.

Indeed, Chu Xiong's name appears at the end of all these files.

He nodded slightly and put the file back on the shelf.

"Did Doctor Liu find any useful clues?" Chu Liu asked tentatively, seeing that Liu Shuyi had looked through so many things.

Liu Shuyi shook his head, his face grave: "The murder of Governor Jiang was too sudden, and the motive for the murder is still unknown... so even when looking for clues, we can't find a clear target."

"I just casually flipped through the books and files and didn't find anything wrong. As for whether there are any clues here..."

He glanced around the spacious office: "This office is so big, and there are so many things. If we really wanted to search through everything in detail, it would probably take several days to finish."

Upon hearing this, Chu Liu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Liu Shuyi hadn't made any gains, that was the best news.

He comforted him, saying, "Everyone says that Doctor Liu is a genius at solving cases. With Doctor Liu's abilities, he will find clues sooner or later. It's just a matter of time."

Liu Shuyi said with a wry smile, "I hope so, I take your kind words to heart."

He took one last look at the spacious and luxurious office, let out a breath, and said, "I don't have the mind to search carefully right now. Chu Liu, take me somewhere else."

Chu Liu asked, "Where does Physician Liu wish to go?"

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "I heard that when Governor Jiang was discovered, he was being trampled by a stone lion. Take me to see this stone lion."

Zhang and his men had examined the stone lion countless times without finding any clues. Chu Liu didn't believe Liu Shuyi could find anything, so he said without hesitation, "This way, please..."

…………

The stone lion was placed in an empty room in the front courtyard of the governor's mansion by Chu Xiong. The surrounding area was the office where the governor's officials handled their official business. As a result, Liu Shuyi was silently watched by the officials as soon as he arrived.

From the eyes of these officials, Liu Shuyi sensed displeasure, hostility, resistance, and curiosity. Just as Changsun Chong had said, most of the officials in the governor's office were hostile towards him, with only a few clerks and yamen runners showing curiosity and a slightly better attitude.

"Most of the officials were promoted by Jiang Rui or Chu Xiong, and they are beneficiaries of the system. They are completely on the same side as Jiang Rui and Chu Xiong... The low-ranking clerks and runners who are just doing their jobs, some of them still have the court in their hearts, or they don't care whether their master is the court or the Prince of Xi. They just don't want their current stable life to be disrupted."

Although Liu Shuyi did not speak with them, he had already seen through the thoughts of these people in the governor's mansion.

crunch--

Chu Liu pushed open the tightly closed door, brushing away the dust as he said, "The stone lion is inside."

Liu Shuyi collected his thoughts and looked around the room.

The floor of the room was covered with a thick layer of dust, with obvious footprints on it. A bloodstained stone lion sat steadily in the center of the room.

Liu Shuyi entered the house, leaving very clear footprints in the dust. He looked at the majestic stone lion, its teeth bared and claws showing traces of intestines, and asked, "Did you witness the horrific scene of Governor Jiang's murder?"

Chu Liu nodded: "I followed you to the street corner and happened to see that scene."

“Tell me in detail,” Liu Shuyi said.

This was no secret, and Chu Liu didn't hide it: "Governor Jiang was naked, lying on the ground with his mouth open, his face covered in blood, his expression ferocious, and his stomach was open like a bag, with his intestines flowing out along the bloodstains."

"This stone lion is also blood red all over, and it is standing on the chest of Governor Jiang. Governor Jiang's intestines are hanging from its teeth. It looks as if it has come to life and is disemboweling Governor Jiang."

Chu Liu's account was similar to what the people Liu Shuyi met outside the city had said, but with more details. The people did not mention that he was not wearing clothes.

It is clear that ordinary people are not as calm as government officials when faced with such a shocking crime scene.

Liu Shuyi placed his fingertip on the stone lion and pushed it hard, but the stone lion only wobbled slightly.

He knew in his heart that with his current strength, he couldn't move the stone lion by himself.

Even the elite Imperial Guards, probably couldn't manage it alone.

In other words, it would take at least two strong men to move this stone lion.

He gently stroked the stone lion with his fingers. The bloodstains had long since dried, and their varying thickness indicated that the blood was not spilled directly onto the stone lion, but rather rubbed onto it with something.

"This is?"

At this moment, Liu Shuyi discovered two finger marks on the neck of the stone lion. Each of these two finger marks had two knuckles and was clearly imprinted on the dried bloodstains.

Liu Shuyi asked Chu Liu, "Was this fingerprint caused when you moved the stone lion back to the yamen?"

Chu Liu shook his head: "It was there before we moved back."

It was there before we moved back... Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes. The murderer's?
Chu Liu seemed to know what Liu Shuyi was thinking. He said, "Prefect Chu and Military Advisor Zhang also discovered these two fingerprints. They also had many people compare them, and found that most of them could be matched. So these fingerprints are useless and cannot be used to directly identify the murderer."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi placed his finger on it as well... Just as Chu Liu had said, his finger matched the fingerprint almost perfectly.

This indicates that the killer's hand size is similar to his... Therefore, it can be inferred that the killer should be an adult male.

But more specifically, it's impossible to say for sure.

Liu Shuyi sighed inwardly. If this were in a later era, with the advanced equipment available, fingerprints alone would be enough to identify the murderer. Unfortunately, this was ancient times, and such crucial evidence was simply unusable.

Liu Shuyi's gaze continued to move across the stone lion, from front to back, from top to bottom. In the end, he only noticed that the stone lion was not made with great care. Some parts were not smoothed, causing his palm to be pricked from time to time, forcing him to pull his palm back to avoid being scratched and bleeding.

Seeing that Liu Shuyi was almost staring at the stone lion into the cave, Chu Liu couldn't help but ask, "Does Doctor Liu have any luck?"

It's true that he has to check whether he has found any clues for every matter he investigates... Liu Shuyi still shook his head and sighed, "This stone lion has nothing else besides those two finger marks, but those finger marks are useless."

Chu Liu was secretly delighted. Just as he had expected, this so-called detective? Half a day had passed and he hadn't found anything. He was truly all talk and no action.

Seeing Chu Liu's barely concealed glee, Liu Shuyi's lips curled up slightly. He believed that his constant pacing and investigation would surely make Chu Xiong pay close attention to him, making Du Ying and the others' actions much easier. He wondered what they had found out so far.

To ease the pressure on Du Ying and the others, Liu Shuyi didn't pause for a moment and walked outside again, saying, "Chu Liu, I wonder where Governor Jiang usually goes besides his office? Take me there..."

In this way, Liu Shuyi kept having Chu Liu take him around the governor's mansion, from one room to another.

From noon, it grew into dusk.

Finally, Chu Liu was so exhausted that he couldn't take it anymore and said to Liu Shuyi, "Doctor Liu, why don't we take a break?"

Liu Shuyi rubbed his forehead: "I also want to rest, but as you can see, I haven't made any progress yet. The case can't be delayed, so I can only continue the investigation."

Seeing that Chu Liu couldn't take it anymore, Liu Shuyi said, "Why don't you go back and rest?"

Chu Liu hurriedly shook his head: "Master instructed me to cooperate with Physician Liu, how could I dare to go back on my own?"

"It's alright, I will explain to Prefect Chu."

Chu Liu was even more afraid. He knew Chu Xiong's temperament all too well. If Liu Shuyi spoke up for him, given Chu Xiong's suspicious nature, he might think that he had been bribed by Liu Shuyi. At that time, he would definitely not have a good ending.

He quickly replied, "Don't worry, Doctor Liu, I've recovered. I'll take you wherever you go from now on."

Seeing that Chu Liu refused his offer, Liu Shuyi shrugged and was about to suggest the next place.

stomping on...

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly approached.

Then a yamen runner walked over quickly and, upon seeing Liu Shuyi, said directly, "Doctor Liu, Military Advisor Zhang has returned from investigating the case and says that the case of the governor's murder has been settled. Prefect Chu requests that you move to the governor's hall."

Is Zhang Bu back?
A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Liu Shuyi's eyes.

The moment has finally arrived...

(End of this chapter)