The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 212 Blizzard Lodge Mode? Spending the Night in a Lonely Inn!
after one day.

Boom!

Dark clouds obscured the moon, and lightning flashed and thunder roared.

A downpour is about to begin.

Having already entered the territory of Jizhou, Liu Shuyi and his group looked up at the lightning bolts, which resembled electric snakes, weaving through the thick clouds, and their expressions became somewhat solemn.

"Why is it suddenly going to rain out of the blue?" Lu Yangyuan frowned and said, "This is probably the first rain we've encountered this year."

Zhao Feng also said, "Spring rain is usually not particularly heavy, but right now, with strong winds and thunder and lightning, it doesn't look like a light rain."

"If it rains heavily, it will be troublesome."

Using the light from the lightning, Lu Yangyuan looked at the winding and somewhat steep mountain road ahead and said, "Mountain roads are already difficult to travel at night, and if we encounter heavy rain, we may not be able to move an inch, and the danger will be extremely high."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Chumo turned to look at Liu Shuyi: "Doctor Liu, what do you think?"

Having removed his straw hat and donned a fine dress, Liu Shuyi understood Cheng Chumo's meaning. He said, "We have been traveling day and night for almost a full day and night. The enemy is unaware that we changed our route midway. In addition, two other teams have bought us time. It is almost impossible for them to catch up with us in a short period of time."

"Moreover, the heavy rain will not only affect our speed, but it will also affect them..."

"Therefore, there is no need to risk traveling in the middle of the night in a downpour. Everyone is exhausted and needs a good rest."

He looked into the distance, where the peaks stretched as far as the eye could see. After a moment of contemplation, Liu Shuyi said, "We may not be able to find a suitable place to rest ahead. We passed a mountain inn when we came here. Let's turn back and rest there for the night."

Zhao Feng said with some concern, "That inn is in the middle of nowhere... I'm afraid it might be dangerous for me."

"Master Zhao hasn't traveled far from home much, has he?"

As soon as Zhao Feng finished speaking, Changsun Chong, fanning himself with a folding fan, asked with a smile.

Zhao Feng was somewhat embarrassed: "Aside from being exiled away from Chang'an, I haven't really traveled far from home much."

Changsun Chong laughed and said, "Master Zhao is still young, he will have many opportunities in the future, there is no need to rush..."

Zhao Feng nodded quickly.

Changsun Chong continued, "Sect Leader Zhao, you may not know this, but within the territory of our Great Tang, there are actually quite a few inns nestled in the mountains and fields..."

"When two adjacent cities are far apart, and when the roads are winding and steep, making it difficult to travel smoothly for one or two days... people will open inns in these places."

"This provides a place for passersby to rest and shelter from wind, rain, and snow."

"Moreover, our Great Tang encourages merchants, and there are a large number of merchants. Caravans are slower than ordinary pedestrians because of the heavy loads they carry, and they need places to rest and replenish supplies along the way. Therefore, the main guests of these inns are these caravans."

"If you host a few caravans a month, the money you earn can be just as much as you would at an inn in the city."

Zhao Feng suddenly understood: "I see. I understand now. I am relieved."

"We can't be completely at ease, though."

To everyone's surprise, Changsun Chong waved his folding fan and said with a smile, "The mountains and fields are not like the city. There are not many people here, and the government can hardly take care of them... Therefore, if any accident happens, as long as no one reports it to the authorities, no one will know."

"So, sometimes there are shady inns in these mountain villages... Manager Zhao, you know what a shady inn is, right?"

Changsun Chong deliberately lowered his voice and said in a seductive tone, "They kill anyone who stays at the inn, then chop them up and make them into human meat pies... So if you see delicious meat in an inn like this, don't eat it easily. If you're not careful, you might end up eating the flesh of the previous guest."

hiss……

Upon hearing Changsun Chong's words, Zhao Feng gasped, his face tightened, and he instinctively shrank back.

"Vice Minister Changsun, why are you scaring Chief Clerk Zhao?"

Liu Shuyi watched as Changsun Chong covered his face with a folding fan, his shoulders shrugging as if he was about to burst out laughing. Helplessly, he said to Zhao Feng, "There are indeed black shops, but not that many, and not all black shops like to make human flesh pies."

"So there are still shady shops doing this?" Zhao Feng's face turned even paler.

Changsun Chong couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter: "Don't worry, Steward Zhao, at least in all these years, I've never encountered a shady inn, much less a human flesh pie, hahaha..."

"Really?" Zhao Feng asked cautiously.

"Really! I'm not lying to you this time." Changsun Chong found Zhao Feng very interesting. No wonder Liu Shuyi liked him so much and wanted to mentor him.

"okay."

Liu Shuyi interrupted the two of them. The wind was getting stronger and stronger, and there was a noticeable dampness in the air. A heavy rain was coming soon.

He turned his horse around and said, "Let's hurry up, or we'll get soaked and catch a cold, that would be troublesome."

…………

Two quarters of an hour later.

The group arrived at the courtyard of a sizable inn.

The inn is located at the foot of the mountain, and the courtyard is enclosed by a fence.

Two red lanterns hung at the entrance, swaying violently in the strong wind. In the pitch-black night, they looked like the two scarlet eyes of a giant beast from the abyss, somewhat eerie.

The faint light of the lanterns illuminated the signboard above the door—Heshun Inn.

A three-story building, located in the center of the back of the courtyard, should be the main building of the inn where guests eat and stay.

There is a row of houses on each side of the main building.

Following the typical construction practice of mountain inns, the building on the left is a warehouse used to store goods for caravans.

The stables are on the right, where the horses can rest.

The inn was brightly lit, and the noise from the closed doors and windows was very clear.

"It seems there are quite a few guests at the inn," Du Gou said.

“Normal.” Changsun Chong lightly clapped his palm with his folding fan: “A storm is coming, and the night road will be difficult to travel. Nobody is stupid enough to risk traveling. And there are no cities within a hundred miles. Where else can we choose to rest but here?”

"That's true." Du Gou nodded.

Liu Shuyi said, "With so many people around, there might be spies from the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in the inn, and there might be danger... Everyone should be careful, keep your identities hidden, and don't expose yourselves easily."

After dealing with the tail sent by Wen Jun, Liu Shuyi and his men took off the robes they wore when they left Xingzhou City, put on brand new clothes, and also made simple changes to their faces through makeup.

They are now identified as three imperial examination candidates from Cangzhou, heading to Chang'an to take the examination. Their families are influential, and they have many servants and guards protecting them.

On the way, they met two women who were on their way to visit relatives in Chang'an. They chatted happily and, being from the same hometown and also heading to Chang'an, decided to travel together.

Seeing that everyone nodded seriously, Liu Shuyi said no more and said, "Let's go into the inn."

The group rode their horses directly into the inn.

As soon as I entered the courtyard of the inn, someone came out of the inn.

A man dressed in gray, like a waiter, hurriedly greeted them: "Gentlemen, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

Liu Shuyi chuckled and countered, "Given this weather and this hour, do you think we should stop for a bite or stay at an inn?"

The waiter slapped his forehead and quickly said, "Look at my brain, I've been talking nonsense. Please come in, sir. Just take the horses to the stables, and I'll feed them the finest hay shortly."

Liu Shuyi casually tossed out a dozen or so copper coins, acting like a spoiled brat who knew nothing of human suffering, and said, "Good attitude, here's your reward."

The waiter's eyes lit up, and he quickly put away the coins, becoming even more enthusiastic: "It's windy outside, please come in, sir."

Liu Shuyi and the others dismounted. He went to the waiter's side, looked at the shadowy figures on the inn's window paper, and said, "Your inn is doing well."

The waiter said with a smile, "It's just that there's a sudden downpour tonight, so there are more customers. Normally, we don't have a single customer for days."

"Indeed, the weather changes so quickly, it's ruined all my plans."

Liu Shuyi nodded, his gaze sweeping over the stables, where dozens of horses were grazing, and many carts carrying goods were parked beside the stables.

He asked casually, "So many horses and carts, is it a caravan?"

"Yes, a caravan from Zhengzhou."

"It looks like a large-scale operation." "Indeed, it's quite large; there are nearly a hundred people in total."

"With so many people, can your inn accommodate them all?"

The waiter raised an eyebrow and said, "Sir, you may not know this, but our inn was built specifically for these passing caravans. Therefore, we took the number of people into account when it was built. Not to mention one caravan, we can accommodate another caravan of this size."

The waiter only said that there was room, but didn't say whether the room would be comfortable... Liu Shuyi glanced at the inn in front of him. Although it had three floors, the area was limited. Liu Shuyi guessed that at least half of the rooms must be large communal rooms, so that at least two hundred people could stay.

"We're so late, are there no rooms left?" Liu Shuyi asked with concern.

The waiter didn't realize that Liu Shuyi was trying to get him to reveal the information he wanted. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir. Although we have a lot of guests at our inn tonight, there's only one caravan, a few candidates for the imperial examinations, a few travelers, and a few officials. We have plenty of rooms, enough for you to rest."

"Official?"

Liu Shuyi hadn't expected to find government officials in the inn. He secretly exchanged glances with Du Gou and the others, then asked curiously, "Which officials are they? Is there anything we should be careful about?"

As he spoke, he slipped a few copper coins to the waiter.

The waiter became even more enthusiastic and hurriedly said, "Those officials look very fierce and speak very little. I don't know which county they are from, but although they look fierce, they have never bullied anyone. So you can rest assured, sir. As long as you don't provoke them, you should be fine."

Liu Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. To be honest, we are also going to Chang'an to participate in the imperial examination. Before this, we had never left Cangzhou, so my father was very worried about my trip."

"Before I left, my father repeatedly told me to be kind to everyone on the road, not to provoke others, and especially not to offend the officials... To be honest, I was afraid of running into the officials. If I accidentally offended them, I would be in trouble."

The waiter nodded with a smile: "Who isn't afraid of the officials? We are very afraid too, but fortunately these officials don't oppress the people."

As they spoke, the group entered the inn.

Upon entering the inn, one is greeted by a very spacious lobby, filled with tables and chairs.

Most of the tables were full of people, who were making a lot of noise and disturbance.

But as Liu Shuyi and his group entered the inn, the noise suddenly stopped, and almost everyone in the room turned to look at Liu Shuyi and his group at the door at the same time.

Their faces showed scrutiny; some looked curious, some indifferent, and some deep in thought.

Zhao Feng and Lu Yangyuan felt as if they were commodities, being scrutinized and judged by others. This inexplicably made them feel nervous, especially since the once bustling inn had suddenly become silent. This stark contrast increased their psychological pressure.

The waiter seemed to sense Zhao Feng and his group's unease and quickly said, "This way, sir, there are seats here..."

As he spoke, he led Liu Shuyi and the others into the crowd.

As Liu Shuyi and his group entered the crowd, they became like fish in a school of fish, no longer conspicuous, and the attention of others also turned away.

The clamor resumed.

After sitting down, Zhao Feng finally let out a long breath and said in a low voice, "That really scared me. I thought they were going to do something to us."

Lu Yangyuan nodded emphatically in agreement, saying, "I almost drew my sword."

Changsun Chong twirled the folding fan in his hand and said slowly, "You all know that your identities are fake, yet you are too guilty."

"In any situation, if a stranger suddenly arrives, others will subconsciously take a look... especially in this desolate wilderness, a place far more dangerous than within a city. Therefore, it is perfectly normal for them to look at us a few more times to make sure we are not in danger."

"Keep a calm mindset and stop thinking that you are pretending and deceiving others. You need to believe that you are just study companions for us candidates for the imperial examination. Only when you believe it yourselves can you make others believe it without a doubt."

Hearing Changsun Chong's words, Lu Yangyuan and Zhao Feng exchanged a glance, and then both nodded emphatically.

They also realized that only the two of them were nervous and guilty; even Qingqing, the courtesan, did not show any change in expression.

This made the two realize that they were still far behind others in many aspects and needed to continue to work hard.

Liu Shuyi glanced around and said, "The caravan has the most people, over ninety, and they're making a lot of noise. At the table furthest away from them are five people dressed as scholars, holding books in their hands while eating. They frown frequently because of the caravan's noise, so they seem to dislike the caravan very much."

"At the table to the right of the caravan, there are three people. They look like a couple with their son. Their clothes are dusty, and there are bundles on the table. They must be the travelers the waiter mentioned."

"The three forces are clearly distinct, and their differences are obvious... As for the officials the waiter mentioned..."

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "I didn't see him. He's probably already in his room resting."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yangyuan couldn't help but whisper, "Is there something wrong with them? Are there any enemies hiding among them?"

"unconfirmed."

Liu Shuyi said, "Judging from their clothes and demeanor, I didn't find anything wrong, but I can't guarantee that they really have no problems."

After all, although Wen Jun's men couldn't catch up with him for the time being, the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi was still hiding in the shadows.

By hiding in the shadows, one cannot be certain whether the other party has discovered one's plan or is secretly following one.

Therefore, he did not make any definitive statements, saying, "After you finish eating, go back to your rooms to rest and do not have too much contact with anyone else... If you notice anyone paying too much attention to us, or if anyone seems unusual, inform me immediately."

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines when they heard Liu Shuyi say that.

They all knew Liu Shuyi and his habits. Liu Shuyi never did anything useless or said anything useless. Once he spoke, it meant that there was a certain probability that the matter would happen.

"There's no need to be too nervous..."

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "The illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi may not really have followed us. Moreover, I have already made arrangements. If we can get through tonight, at most one more day, the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi will receive my great gift."

"At that time, he won't be able to care about us. Even if he does target us, the crisis will be resolved."

Hearing Liu Shuyi say this, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.

If they can get through tonight, the danger will decrease, which is the best news for them.

At this moment, the waiter came over with the food, and everyone quickly shut up and stopped talking, lest the waiter hear something they shouldn't hear.

Soon, dishes of food were placed on the table, and everyone's stomachs began to rumble as they looked at the colorful, fragrant, and delicious food.

After a day and night of travel, with almost no stops except for allowing the horses necessary rest, and no proper meals, they were all starving.

But instead of picking up food, they focused their attention on Du Ying.

At this moment, Du Ying had shed her usual plain long dress and put on a crimson palace dress. Her fair skin and aloof temperament, paired with this red dress, truly gave people a stunning feeling, and she was breathtakingly beautiful.

Du Ying understood what everyone meant. She took a deep breath, smelled the food, picked up her chopsticks, dipped each dish in the soup, tasted it on her tongue, and then said, "It should be fine. However, I can't be sure if it's a colorless and odorless poison or a drug. To be on the safe side, after you finish eating, take one of the antidote pills I gave you."

With Du Ying's words, everyone felt relieved. Liu Shuyi picked up his chopsticks and said with a smile, "Don't just stand there, let's eat."

When a starving person eats, they devour their bento box in a flash.

In just fifteen minutes, all the plates on the table were empty.

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "Are you full? Order some more if you're not full?"

Cheng Chumo rubbed his stomach, leaned back, and said weakly, "I can't eat anymore, my stomach will explode if I eat any more."

Everyone else shook their heads as well.

Liu Shuyi smiled, then looked at Du Ying, who had a cool and aloof demeanor but wore a fiery red dress, and Qingqing, who was incredibly charming but managed to exude the air of a well-bred lady, and asked, "Where are the two young ladies?"

They put down their chopsticks even earlier, and naturally shook their heads as well.

"Alright! Now that you've all eaten, go and rest. Have a good night's sleep!"

Before he could finish speaking, the previously noisy lobby suddenly fell silent.

At the same time, the sound of footsteps came from the bottom of the stairs.

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, realizing something, and he turned to look.

Then a man dressed as a yamen runner came down the stairs.

With a sword hanging from his waist and a burly build, he ignored the stares of the crowd and swaggered to the table where Liu Shuyi and the others were sitting.

His gaze swept over Liu Shuyi and the others, and when he saw Du Ying and Qingqing, his eyes lit up noticeably.

But he didn't say anything to the two women. Instead, he looked Liu Shuyi, Du Gou, and Changsun Chong up and down. Finally, he raised his hand, pointed at Liu Shuyi, and said, "Come with me."

(End of this chapter)