The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 199 Liu Shuyi's move shocked everyone's analysis! Is this the skill of a master detective?

"What did you say!?"

Zhang Bu's pupils twitched violently, his eyes fixed intently on Liu Shuyi.

He could tolerate Liu Shuyi's sophistry and even his anger and outbursts, but he could not tolerate Liu Shuyi slandering the truth he had painstakingly uncovered.

Although he stood on the same side as Chu Xiong and Jiang Rui, he also had his own principles and pride.

He believed he was worthy of the judicial officer's uniform he wore.

As long as Jiang Rui and his team did not accept bribes, he would do his best to investigate the case, and every truth he uncovered would be convincing to everyone.

Therefore, in Xingzhou City, the people's evaluation of him was far higher than that of other officials.

As for the case of Governor Jiang's murder, since no one interfered with him, he investigated it with utmost dedication and selflessness, working day and night... He finally found the truth, but Liu Shuyi, who was an accomplice of the murderer, said that his truth was full of loopholes and errors... How could he tolerate this?

He gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist tightly with his right hand, his eyes sharp: "Doctor Liu, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

"Rumor has it that you have the ability of a divine detective, are fair and impartial, and can solve any case. Although you and the court want to exterminate us former subordinates of Prince Xi, as a judicial officer, I still respect you in my official duties."

"Although you cannot leave here today, at least you will remain a good image in my heart. I hope that in the final moments of your life, you will not erase this last good image with your own hands."

Zhang Bu's words were tantamount to a direct break in relations. If Liu Shuyi could not perfectly explain his words, what awaited him was the fate of the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi, who, in order to survive, would have no choice but to rise up in rebellion and use him as a sacrifice.

The veins on the back of Lu Yangyuan's hand, which was gripping the knife hilt, bulged. His muscles were tense, and he was prepared to fight to the death.

The surrounding constables also pointed their blades at Liu Shuyi, ready to strike and kill him at any moment.

At this moment, Chu Xiong relaxed a lot. He stretched slightly and looked at Liu Shuyi with a half-smile in his eyes: "Doctor Liu, you really made a bad move."

"Even if you try to deny it and refuse to admit it... it's better than directly denying the truth about Zhang Canjun."

“Sometimes, Zhang, the military advisor, would disobey Governor Jiang’s orders for the sake of a case. He has no other faults, but he doesn’t allow anyone to interfere with the cases he takes on… As a result, you accurately stepped on Zhang’s sore spot. You really brought this upon yourself.”

Officials from other states and counties exchanged glances and nodded with cold stares.

If the court continues to treat them with leniency, they wouldn't mind secretly accumulating more strength. But now the court clearly can no longer tolerate them, so even if this isn't the best time to rise up, they have no choice but to stand up and resist.

Even Tian Kang, a neutral party, sighed inwardly. He knew that everything was beyond saving, and whether he liked it or not, he would be forced to make a decision today.

"He brought this on himself?"

But just as everyone was making their own judgment and decision, Liu Shuyi's voice rang out as calmly as before: "I know how hard Zhang Canjun worked to investigate the case, but hard work is not a reason to accept the truth just because we know it is wrong."

"Moreover, I am not looking for trouble for Military Advisor Zhang. On the contrary, I am helping him. I do not want all the efforts he has made in the first half of his life to be ruined by this case today... So, how can you say that he brought this upon himself?"

As he spoke, he turned to look at Zhang, who had a furrowed brow, and said directly without giving Zhang a chance to speak, "There are three obvious problems with Zhang's case."

"Three questions?" Zhang Bu was taken aback.

"First……"

Liu Shuyi held up one finger and said, "A problem of logic."

"A logical problem?" Zhang Bu didn't understand what Liu Shuyi meant.

Liu Shuyi and Zhang Bu looked at each other and Liu said, "Zhang, the military advisor, just said that you happened to run into the murderer trying to silence the night watchman when you went to find him last night..."

"Yesterday was the sixth day since Governor Jiang was killed."

“Normally, if a murderer is afraid of being accused by witnesses and wants to silence them, then he should have done so as quickly as possible after the crime.”

"Only in this way can we prevent the authorities from obtaining any clues about him from the witnesses."

"So, under these circumstances, the murderer should have done everything in his power to silence the witnesses as soon as possible... Why did it take six whole days after the incident to make his move? Didn't Zhang, the military advisor, ever consider that this was somewhat illogical?"

Zhang's eyes widened involuntarily, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

At the time, he was preoccupied with finding a breakthrough and was focused on finding out the truth and catching the real culprit as soon as possible. He didn't really calm down and carefully consider the timing of the murderer's attempt to silence him.

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, they realized with shock that the murderer had indeed been a little too late in silencing them.

Seeing Zhang Bu deep in thought and silent, Chu Xiong's expression darkened. He said calmly, "What Doctor Liu said does make some sense, but the murderer may have been afraid that killing the watchman would attract our attention. So he kept a close eye on Zhang Canjun's investigation. If Zhang Canjun couldn't find out about the watchman, he wouldn't take action to avoid making things worse... Therefore, after discovering that Zhang Canjun knew about the watchman's problem, he had no choice but to kill him. And that's why Zhang Canjun caught him trying to silence him."

Zhang Bu's brows relaxed a bit, and he nodded, saying, "What Prefect Chu said is also possible."

Liu Shuyi glanced at Chu Xiong, who was relaxed and watching the show, and said, "Prefect Chu seems to have forgotten how Military Advisor Zhang knew about the night watchman's situation..."

Chu Xiong frowned subconsciously: "What do you mean?"

Liu Shuyi said, "Zhang Canjun said that he knew about the watchman's situation because he accidentally caught a thief, and the thief hid very well that night, so no one knew that he had seen the watchman's hurried figure as he fled."

“In this situation, the murderer would also be unaware of the existence of a third party, such as a thief.”

"And Zhang Canjun said that after the thief mentioned the watchman's problem, he immediately took his men to the watchman's house... So I want to ask Prefect Chu, you said the murderer was keeping an eye on Zhang Canjun's investigation, and that's how he found out that Zhang Canjun knew about the watchman..."

"How could he have kept such a close watch that he knew the thief had mentioned the night watchman, and that he could have set off almost simultaneously with Zhang Canjun, yet changed into his night clothes first, and then sneaked into the night watchman's residence to kill him and cover his tracks?"

Liu Shuyi looked at Zhang Bu: "Military Advisor Zhang, when you went to the watchman's residence, did you ride a horse or walk?"

“Of course, it’s on horseback!” Zhang said. “We finally got this clue, so naturally we want to confirm it as quickly as possible.”

"Riding a horse is already the fastest speed, so how could the murderer have been faster than Zhang Canjun?" Liu Shuyi asked with a smile.

“This…” Zhang Bu frowned deeply, unsure how to answer.

"Furthermore, as I just mentioned, the murderer couldn't possibly have learned about the watchman's clue from Zhang Canjun's capture of the thief. After learning about the watchman's clue, Zhang Canjun set off immediately without mentioning it to anyone. Therefore, the only way the murderer could have known is by seeing the thief speak..."

Liu Shuyi looked at Chu Xiong again, and said meaningfully, "If this is really the case, then it can only mean that... the murderer is right next to Zhang Canjun! So, is Chu Biejia trying to say that there are accomplices of the murderer hidden in your yamen?"

Chu Xiong was surprised to be outmaneuvered by Liu Shuyi, and his relaxed posture stiffened for a moment.

If he admits that the murderer's accomplices are hiding in the yamen, not to mention whether it will cause distrust among the people in the yamen and demoralize the staff, just the question of how the murderer's accomplices notified Feng Dao, and how Feng Dao was able to kill and silence Zhang Bu in front of him... he simply cannot reasonably explain this matter.

The moment Liu Shuyi refuted his deduction from this perspective, he no longer had the chance to refute it.

"This is an analysis from the murderer's perspective. We can also consider it from the watchman's perspective..."

Seeing that Chu Xiong remained silent, Liu Shuyi smiled and continued, "When I first arrived in Xingzhou City, I learned from Prefect Chu that you had already questioned the night watchman that night."

"So, if the watchman really saw the murderer and knew who the murderer was, he has already been questioned by you. Why would he hide it?"

“If he had just revealed the killer’s identity, you could have apprehended the killer immediately, and he wouldn’t have had to worry about being silenced. This would have been entirely in his favor… Yet, he didn’t reveal a single piece of information about the killer. This is clearly illogical and defies common sense!”

Chu Xiong's eyelids twitched; he hadn't expected Liu Shuyi to be able to find a reason to refute Zhang's key clues.

Zhang Bu was also stunned in place. It was obvious that he had not considered the matter from the watchman's perspective.

The expressions of the officials from various prefectures and counties who had stood up and stared coldly at Liu Shuyi had also changed. Their brows were furrowed, and their faces showed contemplation and hesitation. It was clear that they had taken Liu Shuyi's words to heart.

Upon seeing this, Lu Yangyuan's previously lifeless eyes suddenly lit up with hope. He hadn't expected that Doctor Liu would actually have a solution.

Perhaps, this time, they have a chance to survive!
"second question……"

Liu Shuyi didn't give everyone much time to think or react before raising his second finger.

He glanced around at everyone and said, "Feng Dao's identity as a Snake Tiger Bodyguard!"

Identity?

Chu Xiong's face darkened. Liu Shuyi's words had already affected his purpose. Even if there were doubts about whether Feng Dao was the murderer, the fact that he was a man of Li Shimin and was hiding in the territory controlled by the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi already represented Li Shimin's attitude towards them.

With a little maneuvering, it is still possible to achieve a united front against external forces from the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi.

He said coldly, "Does Doctor Liu mean to say that Feng Dao's identity as a Snake Tiger Guard is also problematic?"

"It seems that Prefect Chu and I are thinking the same thing," Liu Shuyi said with a smile.

fart!

Who thought the same thing as you!

Chu Xiong leaned forward, staring at Liu Shuyi with emotionless eyes: "Military Advisor Zhang found a secret letter and identity token that Feng Dao had hidden very well in his residence... This is irrefutable evidence, and no matter how much Doctor Liu tries to deny it, it will be useless."

Zhang Bu nodded in agreement: "Although there are indeed some issues regarding the murderer's silencing of the night watchman, which I haven't yet sorted out, there is absolutely no problem with Feng Dao's identity as a member of the Snake Tiger Guard."

"There won't be any problems?" Liu Shuyi looked at Zhang Bu with his dark eyes: "Does Military Advisor Zhang really think so?"

Staring into Liu Shuyi's seemingly all-knowing eyes, Zhang Bu felt inexplicably uneasy.

Before he could reply, Liu Shuyi shifted his gaze to the secret letter and token that the constable was holding, which had been seized from Feng Dao's residence.

"May I see this secret letter?" Liu Shuyi asked Zhang Bu.

Zhang Bu didn't know what Liu Shuyi was planning, but he had no reason to stop him, so he could only say, "Of course."

Liu Shuyi casually picked up a few letters, opened them, and quickly scanned them.

He then placed the letter back on the tray and said, "The contents of this letter are indeed as Zhang Canjun said. It is a correspondence between Feng Dao and Minister Changsun and Minister Du, detailing everything that happened in Xingzhou..."

Zhang Bu said, "I would not fabricate anything out of thin air, much less wrong any innocent person. There is no problem with Feng Dao's identity. If Doctor Liu wants to find fault with me here, he will be disappointed."

"Why does Military Advisor Zhang also feel that I'm finding fault with you?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head and said, "I have already said that I am helping you. If I do not point out your problems, you will close the case and wrong an innocent person, allowing the murderer to go unpunished and causing you to lose the reputation you have worked so hard to build over the years. I believe that Zhang Canjun would not want that either."

Zhang hesitated for a moment. Seeing this, Chu Xiong frowned and said, "Doctor Liu, what exactly are you planning to do? Just say it directly! Military Advisor Zhang is honest and trusting. Doctor Liu, you'd better not scheme against Military Advisor Zhang."

"Plan?"

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "Prefect Chu, you think too badly of me... Never mind, I'll let the facts speak for themselves."

As he spoke, he looked at Commander Zhang and said, "Commander Zhang, I want to ask you something..."

"If you were a Snake Tiger Secret Guard secretly arranged by the imperial court, after contacting the court, would you leave behind these secret letters that could expose your secrets at any time, or would you burn these secret letters to make yourself safer in hiding?"

"Of course, burn it—"

Zhang Bu opened his mouth, about to answer instinctively.

But before he could finish speaking, his expression changed, and he abruptly shut his mouth.

His pupils suddenly narrowed, and his eyes were fixed on Liu Shuyi.

Seeing this, Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "Of course it's burning...burning what? Why don't you finish, Military Advisor Zhang?"

Zhang Bu's pupils contracted sharply; he finally understood what Liu Shuyi meant.

This remains a matter of logic and rationality.

The answer is self-evident.

But if he really answers like that, wouldn't that mean there's something wrong with his investigation here?
"This question about Doctor Liu clearly has a guiding bias..."

Just then, Chu Xiong's voice rang out softly.

Zhang Bu quickly looked at Chu Xiong, who then said, "Military Advisor Zhang, you've been led into a trap by Physician Liu where you have to choose between two options."

"With safety as the primary concern, Physician Liu asked you whether it was better to keep the secret letter or burn it. The answer was obviously to burn it. Even a three-year-old child would know to choose this answer."

"However, the reality is not just about security."

"Moreover, even in terms of security, Feng Dao has hidden himself extremely well. No one suspects him, and he has kept these secret letters very well hidden... Under these circumstances, Feng Dao has no need to worry about the secret letters being discovered by others. It is an extremely unlikely thing."

"Therefore, for Feng Dao, burning these secret letters is not much different from keeping them. In fact, keeping them can serve as proof of his merits, allowing him to accumulate merits after returning to Chang'an... This is the truth."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Bu nodded quickly: "Prefect Chu is right."

"rational?"

Liu Shuyi raised his eyes and met Chu Xiong's gaze: "Prefect Chu seems to be unfamiliar with the situation of the Snake Tiger Guards."

"For the Snake Tiger Guards, who must hide their identities and never be exposed... ensuring that they are not exposed and that the missions they are carrying out are not discovered by others is their most important task. Everything else is secondary."

"Furthermore, all the missions of the Snake Tiger Guards were issued directly by Chang'an. Chang'an has its own records of how many merits he has made. Why would he need to leave anything behind to prove it?"

"Therefore, Prefect Chu's words are untenable..."

Chu Xiong frowned, about to refute Liu Shuyi's words, but Liu Shuyi did not give him the chance and continued, "Also, the contents of these secret letters are very problematic."

"Is there something wrong with the contents of the secret letter?"

Not only were Zhang Bu and the others taken aback, but Chu Xiong also frowned, not understanding Liu Shuyi's meaning.

Liu Shuyi picked up a secret letter, unfolded it, and faced the crowd.

He said, "You can take a look. This is a secret letter dated a month ago."

"The secret letter stated that Minister Changsun instructed Feng Dao to secretly monitor the Xingzhou Prefectural Governor's residence and promptly report the actions of Governor Jiang and others to Chang'an..."

Tian Kang asked, "Isn't this the task the imperial court is tasked with monitoring Xingzhou? Is there a problem?"

"Removing 'what' makes a big problem..."

Liu Shuyi pointed to the beginning of the secret letter and said, "Please look, everyone. The beginning of this secret letter directly mentions Feng Dao's name..."

"This shows that the person who wrote the letter was very familiar with Feng Dao."

"However, judging from the token, Feng Dao is just an ordinary Snake Tiger Guard. And what about Minister Changsun? He is the Minister of Personnel. How could someone of his status be so familiar with an ordinary Snake Tiger Guard?"

"Moreover, the Snake Tiger Guards have a clear hierarchy, with 10-man captains, 100-man captains, and even 1,000-man captains. Given Minister Changsun's status, if he were to issue a mission, he should have given instructions to someone of a higher rank, and then these 10-man captains or 100-man captains would contact the people below to carry out the specific tasks. This is the normal communication process."

"How could Minister Changsun and Minister Du, who are of such high rank, directly contact the lowest-ranking secret guards?"

He looked at Tian Kang and the others and said, "This is just like how the governor's office does things. I think if Governor Jiang wants to do something, he will definitely ask the deputy governor and the military advisor to issue the task, rather than bypassing them and going directly to the lowest-ranking yamen runners, right?"

Tian Kang nodded subconsciously: "That's right, orders are issued level by level, and they don't bypass the middlemen."

"Military Advisor Tian, ​​what nonsense are you spouting?" Chu Xiong glared at Tian Kang and said, "Perhaps it's a special case! Although there are rules, exceptions are not uncommon."

"special case?"

Liu Shuyi said with a half-smile, "If it were only one letter like this, then it might indeed be an exception."

"But if..."

Liu Shuyi grabbed all the secret letters on the tray and said, "All the secret letters are like this, so how can they be an exception?"

"All the letters?" Everyone was taken aback, including Chu Xiong.

He didn't see the letters with his own eyes. Chu Xiong quickly looked at Zhang Bu and said, "Military Advisor Zhang, is that so?"

Zhang Bu's face turned pale. He had realized the problem with these so-called secret letters. He pursed his lips tightly and nodded with difficulty: "Indeed, all the letters begin with Feng Dao's name."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yangyuan's eyes suddenly lit up. He was so excited that he almost danced with joy. He couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Doctor Liu, you haven't even read all the letters. How do you know they're all like this?"

Liu Shuyi took in the unpleasant looks on Zhang Bu and Chu Xiong's faces, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said, "The person who wrote the letter wanted to confirm Feng Dao's identity, so they wanted to add everything that could prove Feng Dao's connection with the court. In the end... they went too far and added unnecessary details."

“The three letters I just read were all like that… I have completely seen through the writer’s thoughts, so I will not make a mistake in judgment.”

Lu Yangyuan looked at Liu Shuyi with eyes full of admiration.

Given the current dangerous situation, anyone else would have panicked and lost their composure. Even he, who had crawled out of piles of corpses on the battlefield, could not think as usual.

But what about Liu Shuyi? Even with the knife at his throat, he remained calm and wise, just as usual.

With just a few glances, he discovered a problem that no one else had noticed, and directly turned the tide and shattered everything... How could he not admire such ability?

Seeing Lu Yangyuan's excited expression, Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "What I just said was a problem I discovered after going through these so-called secret letters."

"In fact, this was not the reason I initially wanted to refute them."

Lu Yangyuan's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but ask, "Doctor Liu, do you have any other reasons to refute Feng Dao's identity?"

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly. He did not continue whispering with Lu Yangyuan, but looked at Chu Xiong and Zhang Bu again and said, "Besides, there are other more fatal problems in these secret letters."

"What!?"

Everyone looked up abruptly, their expressions even more astonished: "There's more!?"

(End of this chapter)