The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 201 A Shocking Deduction! Chu Xiong's horror—how could this be accomplished in just a few hours?
"Which three possibilities?" Zhang Bu couldn't help but ask.

"First."

Liu Shuyi didn't keep us in suspense and said, "The murderer couldn't use arsenic, a deadly poison, because if he used such a poison, and if we knew that Governor Jiang had died from poisoning, we would easily notice him."

"To poison someone, one would need to have contact with Governor Jiang, but Governor Jiang is a governor of high status, and not many people have the opportunity to contact him... Therefore, as long as we discover that Governor Jiang's death is related to poison, we will definitely be able to narrow down the possibilities of the murderer."

"That's why the killer didn't want to be exposed to us, which is why he didn't dare to choose a deadly poison that could directly cause death."

Zhang Bu's eyes darted around, revealing a thoughtful expression, before he nodded: "That makes sense."

"The reason why I made no progress in my investigation for so many days was because I had no direction... If I knew that Governor Jiang had been poisoned, I would definitely gather everyone who had been in contact with Governor Jiang these days and question them one by one. Perhaps I could find out who was the problem."

After thinking it over, Tian Kang and other officials from various prefectures and counties all nodded in agreement.

Chu Xiong's expression grew increasingly gloomy. The clearer Liu Shuyi's logic and the more accurate his analysis, the more likely he was to have actually found the truth, rather than just bluffing.

"second."

Liu Shuyi didn't delay and continued, "Since the murderer knew that once the authorities discovered the poisoning, he would easily be exposed to us... if he knew this risk, why would he have to poison Governor Jiang?"

"He clearly not only poisoned the governor, but also personally attacked Governor Jiang. Since he chose to take action, why did he risk poisoning him?"

Zhang Bu frowned deeply; this was something he couldn't understand either.

The murderer's actions were truly contradictory.

"As I just said, given the killer's intelligence, he wouldn't do anything unnecessary. So the reason he would do this seemingly contradictory thing is because he had no other choice but to do it..."

Liu Shuyi stared directly at Zhang Bu: "Military Advisor Zhang, under what circumstances do you think a murderer would know he was going to kill someone, but still have to poison him first?"

“This…” Zhang Bu looked thoughtful.

Liu Shuyi cautioned, "Don't just think about the act of poisoning; also consider the effect of the poison the perpetrator used..."

"The effects of the poison... the three poisons... paralyze the body and slow the brain..."

Suddenly, Zhang Bu's eyes widened as he realized a possibility: "Could it be that the murderer felt he couldn't defeat Governor Jiang with his own strength? So he used this poison that can paralyze a person's entire body, making Governor Jiang unable to resist?"

"joke!"

As soon as Zhang Bu finished speaking, Chu Xiong sneered: "After killing Governor Zhang, the murderer even moved the stone lion from my governor's office. You all know how heavy that stone lion is. Do you think someone who can move a stone lion can't defeat Governor Jiang?"

Jiang Rui was a scholar by birth and his strength was limited. Any of the yamen runners in the hall would not lose to Jiang Rui in a fight.

None of these yamen runners were able to lift the stone lion by themselves.

Although strength is not entirely equivalent to martial arts, absolute strength would make no difference in the outcome against Jiang Rui, who comes from a scholarly background.

Zhang Bu initially felt that his guess was close to the truth, but Chu Xiong's rebuttal made him feel that it was equally reasonable. This put him in a dilemma, unsure of what the truth was.

"What Prefect Chu said makes sense..."

At this moment, Liu Shuyi's voice rang out calmly: "However, has Prefect Chu considered why Governor Jiang suffered a severe blow to the back of the head?"

"A heavy blow to the back of the head?" Chu Xiong frowned.

Liu Shuyi said, "Miss Du's autopsy revealed that Governor Jiang's head injury was extremely severe. Even if this injury could not kill him, it could have made Governor Jiang completely unconscious and unable to resist."

"This shows that the murderer's attack on Governor Jiang was definitely intended to kill him."

"The location of the wound indicates that Governor Jiang was standing with his back to the assailant, rather than having been knocked down and tortured by the assailant... In other words, the assailant's attack on Governor Jiang was a sneak attack!"

"If the murderer was truly confident that he could easily defeat Governor Jiang, why would he have resorted to a sneak attack from behind?"

“This…” Chu Xiong’s eyes darted around, his brain working at lightning speed. He said, “Perhaps the murderer was afraid that Governor Jiang would discover him, so he made a shout and was discovered by the surrounding people.”

“That makes sense.” Liu Shuyi didn’t refute Chu Xiong, but instead nodded in agreement. Then, he changed the subject: “As you said, Prefect Chu, the murderer was afraid that Governor Jiang would have a chance to shout and attract the attention of others, so he chose to attack from behind… If that’s the case, then Prefect Chu, do you think it’s better for the murderer to kill Governor Jiang with one blow, or to strike first and see what happens, even if it’s uncertain whether he can kill him?”

Chu Xiong didn't understand what Liu Shuyi was up to. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Of course, it's better to kill him outright. Otherwise, Governor Jiang will have a chance to shout, and what's the point of the murderer launching a sneak attack?"

"Yes, it's better to just kill him outright, since that's the case..."

Liu Shuyi suddenly stared intently at Chu Xiong and asked, "Why didn't the murderer use a knife?"

"What? A knife—"

Suddenly, Chu Xiong's gaze sharpened; he finally realized what Liu Shuyi was about to say.

Liu Shuyi said, "The murderer cut such a large wound in Governor Jiang's abdomen, so he must have been armed with a sharp weapon."

"If such a weapon could pierce Governor Jiang's heart from behind, it would guarantee his immediate death, leaving him no chance to utter a single word."

"However, the murderer did not use a knife, but instead used a wooden stick that could not even be considered a sharp weapon, striking the back of the head as a sneak attack..."

He said meaningfully to Chu Xiong, "Could you explain why the murderer chose a wooden stick instead of a knife that could kill directly?"

"I..." Chu Xiong opened his mouth, not knowing how to refute it for a moment.

If it were only the condition of the three poisons, he could easily refute Liu Shuyi's deduction about the murderer. However, now that Liu Shuyi has combined the murderer's actual behavior with many other conditions, he finds it difficult to think of a rebuttal for a while.

Seeing that Chu Xiong remained silent, Liu Shuyi looked at Changsun Chong and asked, "Can Changsun Chong guess the reason?"

"of course."

Changsun Chong flicked his folding fan and chuckled, "To have a suitable sharp blade but instead use a wooden stick that's not even as hard as a stone to launch a sneak attack... there can only be one reason: the murderer's strength or martial arts skills are limited, making it impossible for him to guarantee that he could pierce Governor Jiang's heart with a single blow..."

"If it cannot pierce the heart, but only the tip pierces the flesh, then Governor Jiang will not only not die, but will also let out a shrill scream of pain... In this way, the surrounding people will all be awakened."

"Therefore, the murderer used a wooden stick... The back of the head is the most vulnerable part of the body. As long as it is hit hard, even if it is not fatal, it is easy to knock the person unconscious. Moreover, a wooden stick is different from a sharp blade. If a sharp blade is stuck in the body, it is difficult to pull it out if you don't have enough strength. But if you can't kill someone with a wooden stick, you can continue to hit them easily."

Du Gou also said, "Prefect Jiang was poisoned by three poisons beforehand, which slowed his reaction. Under such circumstances, it would have been difficult for Prefect Jiang to detect the murderer sneaking up behind him."

Cheng Chumo suddenly realized, "So that's why the murderer used the Three Poisons. A sneak attack is not an easy thing, especially to sneak up behind the opponent... The murderer was trying to increase his success rate in his sneak attack!"

Zhao Feng understood: "Everything the murderer did was for the purpose of a sneak attack. He never considered confronting Governor Jiang head-on... Only if the murderer was absolutely certain that he was no match for Governor Jiang would he have done this."

Seeing that everyone else had spoken, Lu Yangyuan felt he should say something too, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't think of anything to add. In the end, he could only say, "You're right!"

After thinking for a moment, Tian Kang and the others nodded subconsciously.

Seeing this, Chu Xiong's gaze grew even colder. He said, "Even if what you say makes sense, the fact that the murderer moved the stone lion is still inexplicable. That stone lion could not have been moved by a weak and powerless person."

“That’s right, I tried moving that stone lion myself, and it’s definitely not something an ordinary person could do…” Liu Shuyi first agreed with Chu Xiong’s words, then his tone changed: “But… who told Prefect Chu that the murderer must be the same person?”

"What did you say?!" Chu Xiong's pupils suddenly narrowed, and his expression froze.

Liu Shuyi looked intently at Chu Xiong: "What if there were two, three, or even more murderers? Would body size still matter?"

Chu Xiong opened his mouth, remaining silent for a long time.

Normally, he would have considered this possibility long ago, but today he had experienced too many unexpected events in a short period of time, so much so that his brain was already somewhat tired and confused, and he overlooked the possibility that the murderer might not be a single person.

Zhang Bu couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that the murderer was part of a gang?"

Liu Shuyi said slowly, "I will talk about this later; let's not discuss it here."

He glanced around at everyone: "The murderer was very careful. Even though he used poison to increase his chances of success in the sneak attack, he didn't want us to find out that he used poison... That's why he used the rare triple poison."

"After being poisoned by the Three Poisons, only the eyes will show subtle signs, and there will be no abnormalities in other parts of the body. Therefore, as long as the coroner does not pay much attention to Governor Jiang's eyes, or does not recognize the Three Poisons, even if he sees them, he will not think that they are signs of poisoning. In that case, no one will know that the murderer has poisoned him, and thus no one can determine the scope of the murderer by poisoning."

This was quite obvious, and everyone nodded in agreement; Chu Xiong couldn't find any fault with it.

"We have just roughly deduced the details of the murderer."

He looked at Minister Zhang: "Let's not consider whether the murderer had accomplices, or even the stone lion incident. Judging solely from the way the murderer poisoned and attacked, the murderer should not be a match for Governor Jiang..."

“Prefect Jiang is a scholar, not skilled in martial arts, and his strength is limited... Under such circumstances, if the murderer still believes he is no match for Prefect Jiang, it can only mean that the murderer is thinner, shorter, and weaker than Prefect Jiang!”

“We had already narrowed down the suspects based on the condition that the poisoner had to have contact with Governor Jiang. Now, with the added condition of being thin, short, and weak, I think…”

Under Zhang Bu's wide-eyed, shocked gaze, Liu Shuyi's lips curled up: "There should be very few people who meet the criteria. We should only have a few suspects left after screening them out."

Zhang Bu felt his head buzzing. If he had doubted at first whether Liu Shuyi had found out the truth, now he was absolutely convinced.

Is this the legendary detective's skill?
In just a few hours, they uncovered the truth that they had been searching for for seven days.

From having no clues at all, to narrowing down the suspects to just a few people... Liu Shuyi didn't even use any other clues, relying solely on the autopsy results.

Although it was the prefectural coroner's incompetence that prevented him from detecting the three poisons... Zhang Bu also knew that even if the coroner had discovered the poison, he would have had no chance of identifying the murderer in such a short time through reasoning and analysis. Compared to Liu Shuyi, he was far inferior!

"Somebody come!"

Zhang Bu took a deep breath and directly ordered the yamen runners: "Immediately bring here everyone who had contact with Prefect Jiang in the ten days before his murder... no, screen them and bring here those who are smaller and weaker than Prefect Jiang!"

Upon hearing this, the yamen runner couldn't help but steal a glance at Chu Xiong.

Chu Xiong frowned: "Why are you looking at me? Why would I stop you?"

Although he didn't want to help Liu Shuyi, everyone was watching him, and he had no other choice.

Liu Shuyi's lips twitched slightly as he stopped the departing constable, saying, "No rush, let me finish explaining the third point before you go."

"Correct!"

Zhang nodded quickly: "There's a third point that Doctor Liu hasn't mentioned yet."

Based on the first two points, Liu Shuyi determined the scope and physical characteristics of the murderer, which made Zhang Bu eagerly anticipate Liu Shuyi's third speculation.

Seeing that Liu Shuyi had completely subdued Zhang Bu, one of the most troublesome enemies, Du Ying and the others chuckled inwardly, while their eyes filled with even more anticipation as they looked at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi didn't keep them in suspense, saying, "I've already explained why the murderer didn't directly poison Governor Jiang, and why he first administered three doses of poison before actually killing him..."

"And the third point is no longer related to poison, but to the murderer..."

His gaze swept over the crowd: "Why did you have to kill them yourself!"

"Why did you personally commit the murder?" Zhang Bu frowned and asked, "Doctor Liu means... why didn't the murderer hire someone else or have someone else do it?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "My statement was somewhat ambiguous. What I meant was, why didn't the murderer fabricate Governor Jiang's death as an accident?"

“Fake an accident?” Zhang Bu seemed to be thinking.

Liu Shuyi said, "Prefect Jiang was poisoned by three poisons. This poison would slow his thinking, slow his reaction, and paralyze his whole body... Under such circumstances, the murderer could have easily faked Prefect Jiang's death as an accident."

"For example, if he pushed Governor Jiang into the river, given Governor Jiang's poisoning condition, there would be no way for him to return to shore. In that case, even if the authorities investigate, as long as they don't find that Governor Jiang was poisoned, they can only close the case by saying that Governor Jiang accidentally fell into the water."

"In this way, the murderer can kill people, hide himself completely, and not worry about the authorities continuing to investigate and threatening his safety."

“That’s right!” Lu Yangyuan said, “Since the murderer has already used three poisons, pushing Governor Jiang into the river to stage an accident would obviously be more advantageous for him, so why wouldn’t he do it?”

Zhang and the others hadn't thought about these things. It was only after Liu Shuyi reminded them that they realized that the murderer using a weapon to kill was indeed not the best option.

Zhang Bu also said, "Why didn't the murderer choose to fake an accident?"

Meeting Zhang Bu's inquiring gaze, Liu Shuyi said, "I think it should be related to his motives."

"Motive?" Zhang Bu was taken aback.

Liu Shuyi said, "Up to now, we have only considered how the murderer did it, but we still haven't considered the most crucial aspect... that is, the murderer's motive for killing."

"There is no love without a reason in this world, and there is no hatred without a reason. You need a reason to curse someone, let alone kill someone."

"And the motives for murder are nothing more than a few... interests, hatred, jealousy, conflict, etc."

"If the murderer killed for reasons such as profit or conflict, he would have tried to make Governor Jiang's death an accident in order to avoid arousing suspicion from others."

"Only in this way can the death of Governor Jiang not draw the attention of others."

“That’s right!” Zhang Bu nodded repeatedly. He had also investigated many cases and understood Liu Shuyi’s meaning: “Therefore, as long as Governor Jiang dies, people will immediately suspect the murderer’s motive, but it will not be the murderer’s real motive for killing.”

"In other words, motives such as interests, conflicts, and hatred can all be excluded."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi shook his head: "There is another situation, which is that if there are many people competing with Governor Jiang for his interests, and many people with conflicts or hatred, so that even if Governor Jiang dies, we cannot focus our attention on the murderer, then whether Governor Jiang's death seems to be an accident is also not so important."

“This…” Zhang hesitated.

If it were anyone else, he would definitely argue with Liu Shuyi. Who would have so many people wanting the other to die?

But when the deceased was Jiang Rui, things were different.

Jiang Rui's many deeds in Xingzhou have caused many families to be ruined and people to die. He has also accepted bribes and sentenced many wrongful convictions. There are so many people who want Jiang Rui dead that they can't even count them on one hand.

Seeing Zhang Bu hesitate, Liu Shuyi smiled slightly and said, "Therefore, we can eliminate the motives that involve fewer people, so there won't be many motives left."

Zhang pursed his lips and shook his head, saying, "It's not that there aren't many, but that there's only one left."

"What?" Liu Shuyi stared at him intently.

Zhang Bu took a deep breath and said, "Only hatred remains as the motive!"

"Only hatred could generate such a large number of people; there are no other motives, such as jealousy of Governor Jiang; the only one who had conflict with Governor Jiang was Vice Minister Chu, but Vice Minister Chu and Governor Jiang have already reconciled; as for interests..."

He hesitated for a moment, then secretly glanced at Chu Xiong.

Chu Xiong glared at him angrily: "Why are you looking at me? I have been cooperating with Governor Jiang for many years. If I really wanted to monopolize power in Xingzhou, I would have done it long ago. Why would I wait until now?"

Zhang Bu shrank back after being scolded by Chu Xiong. He looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "The only one who fits the other motives is Chu Biejia... And for Chu Biejia, if he wants to take over the power of Xingzhou smoothly, the accidental death of Governor Jiang is the best choice. Otherwise, according to our habit of 'whoever benefits is the most suspicious,' Chu Biejia would be the first person we suspect."

"Therefore, after eliminating all other motives, only hatred remains."

"and……"

Zhang Bu added, "Judging from the fact that the murderer brutally attacked Governor Jiang and cut open his abdomen, the murderer's actions were clearly retaliatory, and revenge is the most likely explanation."

Liu Shuyi clapped his hands and said, "Now I finally understand why Zhang Canjun was able to solve so many cases. Zhang Canjun is quick-witted and understands things immediately."

Zhang Bu was quite embarrassed by Liu Shuyi's praise: "If it weren't for Doctor Liu's reminder, I'm afraid I wouldn't have thought of these things for days."

Liu Shuyi shook his head and laughed, "Investigating a case isn't about how much time it takes, it's about not being able to think of anything. Judging from the abilities that Zhang Canjun has shown, even without me, Zhang Canjun would have thought of these things sooner or later."

Zhang Bu hadn't expected Liu Shuyi to think so highly of him, which made him feel both regretful and touched.

I regret that I initially suspected that this detective was in cahoots with the murderer, and even tried to harm him; that was really wrong of me.

What's touching is that the detective doesn't hold any grudge against his past actions; he's truly a magnanimous person.

Seeing Zhang Bu's moved expression, Liu Shuyi nodded inwardly. He certainly wasn't praising Zhang Bu for no reason.

Although Zhang Bu was in the same faction as Chu Xiong, as an official in the criminal justice system, Zhang Bu had certain bottom lines and principles and was very concerned about the case. Unlike Chu Xiong, who wanted to rebel, he still had the opportunity to be won over.

Moreover, Chu Xiong clearly wanted to pin the blame on the imperial court immediately, but he could only patiently wait for Zhang's decision instead of directly ordering Zhang to fabricate evidence... This also shows that Chu Xiong and Zhang's group were not completely in cahoots, and Chu Xiong could not completely control Zhang's group.

This was his chance. In the enemy's stronghold, fraught with danger, Liu Shuyi naturally had to seize every opportunity he could.

Liu Shuyi continued, "Zhang Canjun is right. I also tend to think that the murderer's motive was revenge."

"Therefore, when screening suspects, we can also investigate their backgrounds. Whoever has a grudge against Governor Jiang is more likely to be the murderer."

Zhang Bu felt his heart pounding. The second condition was already enough to eliminate most people, leaving only a few. Now, considering the condition of having a grudge against Governor Jiang... Zhang Bu felt that after this kind of screening, there might only be three or five people left, or even just one person.

After all, Governor Jiang knew that many people hated him, so he was protected when he went in and out of the government office. Very few people could get in touch with him and had a grudge against him.

He quickly looked at the constables and said, "What are you all standing there for? Go and investigate!"

"Yes, yes! I'll go check right away..." The constable was about to rush out.

"No need!"

But before he could even leave, he saw Liu Shuyi look at Du Ying and say, "Miss Du..."

Du Ying understood Liu Shuyi's meaning and directly pulled a piece of paper from her sleeve.

Liu Shuyi took the paper and looked at Minister Zhang with a smile: "The three points I just mentioned were what I thought of when I learned about Governor Jiang's autopsy results from Miss Du."

"so……"

Zhang Bu's pupils dilated sharply, and he exclaimed excitedly, "Could it be!?"

Chu Xiong also looked surprised and stared intently at Liu Shuyi.

Then they saw Liu Shuyi unfold the paper, nod with a smile: "That's right, Miss Du has already investigated the results, and the shortlisted list... is right here."

(End of this chapter)