The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 2 Confrontation
"Uncle Chang is trying to buy you some time, young master. You'd better escape through the back door quickly, or it will be too late!"

Before Wan'er could finish her anxious words, a creaking sound was heard, and the tightly closed door was suddenly opened.

A tall, slender figure with a young and handsome face appeared before us.

"Who is the leader?" a calm voice asked.

"what?"

Wan'er was taken aback.

"Who led the people who arrested me?" Liu Shuyi asked again.

Wan'er then realized what was happening and quickly said, "It is the Minister of Works, the Grand Censor, and the Right Minister of Works."

After she finished speaking, Wan'er realized that the young master in front of her seemed to be a little different from usual.

The young master has been bullied for years and has a timid personality. In her opinion, when faced with such a high-ranking official coming to arrest him, he should at least be trembling with fear and panic, if not completely at a loss.

But the young master in front of me had a straight back and a deep gaze. There was not a trace of tension on his handsome face.

Why is this happening so abnormally?
Wan'er couldn't help but give Liu Shuyi a deep look.

Liu Shuyi felt the maid's scrutinizing gaze, and glanced lightly at the maid in front of him, who was dressed in green, had a beautiful face, and was even more beautiful than the stars in his previous life. Her eyebrows were deep.

Since Liu Wenjing was beheaded, the Liu family has fallen into ruin. Their assets were seized by others, and they have been living off their savings all these years. Now, all that's left is this dilapidated house.

While they weren't destitute, they were certainly not wealthy either. Apart from Chang Bo, the steward who had always served the Liu family, all the other servants had long been dismissed.

The beautiful maid in front of her was someone who, two years ago, was rescued by the original owner of this body after her brother went missing. Afterwards, she stayed at the Liu residence as a maid because she had nowhere to go and wanted to repay the debt of gratitude.

For the past two years, Wan'er has been diligent, meticulous, and clever, earning the trust of the original owner of the body. As a result, the original owner had long forgotten that the beautiful maid in front of her had no household registration or identity certificate, and no one else could vouch for her. She was still a person of unknown origin.

However, this is not something we need to consider right now.

The imperial court has come to arrest him. Since he had no background or connections in Chang'an, there was no way he could escape.

Moreover, once they flee, it's equivalent to running away from their crimes, which directly confirms their guilt!

Therefore, he had to find other ways to break the deadlock.

But the person has already arrived, and there's no time left!

How can he break this deadlock?

Liu Shuyi's eyes darted around, and he frowned in thought.

Seeing the calm and thoughtful look on Liu Shuyi's face, Wan'er was even more surprised.

She knew how terrified her young master was of these important officials. If he saw them on the road, he would immediately turn around or lower his head and pretend not to see them. Her young master usually didn't even have the courage to greet them, but now, upon hearing that they were coming to arrest him, he remained unmoved and fearless.

Wan'er couldn't help but extend her fair hand to check the temperature of Liu Shuyi's forehead, to see if her young master had suffered brain damage from a fever, causing his personality to change drastically.

"Liu Shuyi, stop running!"

"Catch him! Don't let him get away!"

Just then, dozens of soldiers suddenly rushed over and surrounded the room where Liu Shuyi was.

They held swords, wore black armor, and each of them exuded a murderous aura.

Wan'er was startled and quickly turned around to protect Liu Shuyi behind her.

"Don't even think about hurting the young master!" Wan'er held a lantern in her hand, her beautiful face instantly showing tension, anxiety, and determination.

Looking at the petite girl in front of him, Liu Shuyi shook his head. He never expected that the first thing he would encounter after transmigrating would be being protected by a girl who looked like she couldn't even kill a chicken. If this were told back in his previous life, he would be laughed at to death by his colleagues.

At this moment, the soldiers suddenly retreated to both sides, making way for people to pass through.

Three men dressed in scarlet official robes, exuding an imposing aura, walked slowly towards them.

The man in the middle, with a refined and scholarly air, was in his fifties but walked with a vigorous stride and showed no signs of aging.

Based on the original owner's memories, Liu Shuyi knew that this person was Sikong Peiji, a founding meritorious official of the Tang Dynasty, and also... one of the chief judges in charge of investigating his father's treason case in the second year of Wude.

The man on the right was impeccably dressed; even while traveling, his official robes were without a single wrinkle. He possessed a rigid yet dignified air, and this was none other than the renowned "Great Mouth" Wei Zheng.

The man on the left, in his forties, had a pale, sickly complexion. He was of ordinary appearance, but his eyes were very deep, as if they were whirlpools that could suck in anyone he looked at.

Liu Shuyi knew that he was none other than the famous "Du Duan" from the "Fang Mou Du Duan" (a famous Chinese military strategy), Du Ruhui, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently Minister of Justice. All three officials appointed by Li Shimin were present!
As the three approached the armored soldiers, Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered, and he finally reacted.

He gently patted Wan'er's soft shoulder, then took a step forward and stood in front of the girl.

He bowed and greeted, "This humble official, Liu Shuyi, Principal of the Ministry of Justice, greets Minister Pei, Minister Du, and Grand Master Wei. It is still before dawn. May I ask what brings you gentlemen here so late at night?"

"Liu Shuyi, did you go to the residence of Zhao Ci, the Assistant Minister of Works, at midnight tonight?"

With a refined and scholarly appearance, Sikong Peiji went straight to the point and asked his question.

His imposing presence and the moment his voice rang out, Liu Shuyi immediately had the illusion that he was in a courtroom being judged, which made him shudder.

Liu Shuyi's gaze swept over Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui.

He then noticed that they were all watching him silently, clearly not intending to speak.

It was clear that they had reached an agreement before they arrived: Pei Ji would be in charge of the arrest tonight.

After a moment of internal struggle, Liu Shuyi did not deny it and simply nodded: "I've been there."

With the money bag and the night watchman as witnesses, there's no point in denying it.

"Good! You've got guts and guts! You're much better than your father."

Pei Ji continued, "Then take a look at these two items. Do you recognize them? Are they yours?"

As he spoke, a soldier handed him a tray.

There are two items on the tray.

One is a jade pendant, and the other is a money bag.

Liu Shuyi glanced at it, then shook his head and said, "No need to identify, it's definitely mine."

"it is good!"

Pei Ji said "okay" again.

He looked at Liu Shuyi, his expression having changed from refined to cold.

He said, "Around midnight tonight, Zhao Ci, an official in the Ministry of Works, was murdered in his residence! At the same time, the night watchman spotted you outside Zhao's residence. You fled in panic, leaving behind your money pouch!"

"And we also found your jade pendant in the study where Zhao Ci died..."

"After questioning, you have confessed to everything!"

"Therefore, it is obvious that Liu Shuyi, you are the murderer who stole the remains of Prince Xi and cruelly murdered three officials of my Great Tang! Do you plead guilty?"

Upon hearing Pei Ji's words, Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui also stared intently at Liu Shuyi.

After several days without any leads, they could only watch helplessly as court officials were killed one after another, and they were all extremely anxious.

Who would have thought that such great progress would suddenly occur tonight?

They actually found the murderer directly.

That's why a simple arrest would prompt all three of them to act simultaneously.

After all, this means they can give an explanation to His Majesty, close the case, and put down their burden.

As long as Liu Shuyi nods in agreement, everything will be settled.

Given Liu Shuyi's cooperation just now, and his past behavior of showing fear and weakness towards them, they didn't think there would be any problems.

Everything is about to end... Both of them felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both feelings and reflection).

"I don't recognize it!"

But just as they were feeling sentimental, Liu Shuyi's powerful voice suddenly rang out in the silent night.

Du Ruhui and the other two were startled and subconsciously looked at Liu Shuyi.

"I did drop the purse, and I did go near the Zhao residence tonight, but that doesn't mean I went to kill someone, quite the opposite..."

He looked at the crowd before him and said something that surprised everyone: "I'm going to save people, to stop the murderer, to investigate the case, and to catch the killer!"

(End of this chapter)