The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 215 The shocking speculation: He is the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi!?
The appearance of the two county constables surprised everyone, but at the same time, they also found their backbone.

Although the officials in Hebei Province were not under the control of the imperial court and often preyed on the people, being greedy and profit-driven, ordinary people would still subconsciously lean towards them in the face of the ever-present threat of death.

This is a habitual way of thinking formed over thousands of years, and it cannot be changed by the short-term abuses of a few officials.

Therefore, whether it was the innkeeper or the other guests, they all stared intently at Liu Shuyi and his companion after Liu revealed their identities, waiting for the two officials to lead them to safety.

However, the two people who were seen as a lifeline by everyone completely ignored everyone's thoughts at this moment.

They looked at each other as if no one else existed around them, their eyes only on each other.

"I wouldn't call it low-key."

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, the man who claimed to be the county magistrate of Yuancheng County stared intently at Liu Shuyi, smiled, and walked towards him, saying, "It's just that I have a mission to perform, so it's inconvenient to make a fuss about it."

Upon reaching Liu Shuyi, he cupped his hands and said, "I am Guan Feng. I am hiding in a caravan to conceal my whereabouts... I wonder what my colleagues' names are, and why they are also hiding their identities?"

Closure?

Liu Shuyi had never heard of this name before, which was understandable. He didn't even know who the judicial officer of Weizhou was, let alone the county magistrate of a county under Weizhou.

His expression remained unchanged as he returned the greeting and said, "I am Qin Yu, and I am currently apprehending the fugitive Zhao Wen. He committed murder and robbery in Qingchi County and fled the city amidst the chaos. Because we were worried that he would discover our identities, we went into hiding and therefore could not reveal our identities... I never expected to encounter such a situation, and I had no choice but to step forward."

As he spoke, he took out a token from his pocket.

The token was entirely black, with the four characters "Qingchi County Government Office" written on it.

Guan Feng glanced at the token and also took out a token from his pocket. The token was also jet black and had the words "Yuancheng County Government Office" on it.

"I see. I wonder if County Magistrate Qin has found this wanted criminal?" Guan Feng asked.

Liu Shuyi sighed and shook his head: "He is very cunning and runs fast. I originally planned to pursue him overnight, but I encountered a rainstorm and could not continue. I had to retreat here, thinking that I would continue the pursuit at dawn, but I encountered this unexpected event."

Guan Feng nodded in deep agreement.

He glanced at the pitch-black night outside, then turned back to the room where the crime occurred, and said, "This murderer is truly brutal. He actually wanted to kill us all. Right now, all the roads leading out of the inn are impassable. If we don't find the murderer, who knows how many innocent people will die at his hands."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "That's right, we must find him..."

He looked at Guan Feng: "Does County Lieutenant Guan have any leads?"

Guan Feng shrugged and shook his head: "I haven't even investigated the room where Cao Rui's case occurred, so naturally I have no clues..."

"Too."

Liu Shuyi said, "The murderer may strike again at any time, so let's hurry up and investigate the case."

"I have the same idea, but before that..."

Guan Feng looked at Xiao Er and the others and said, "To prevent the murderer from secretly harming people, everyone must stay together. No one is allowed to leave the group, otherwise they will be treated as the murderer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the men behind him drew their swords and coldly surveyed the crowd.

This startled everyone, filling them with tension and fear.

Seeing this, Liu Shuyi gently reassured everyone, "There's no need to be nervous. If you are not the murderer, then it's a good thing that you're all together. In that case, it will be very difficult for the murderer to harm others as he did with Cao Rui."

Hearing Liu Shuyi's gentle explanation, everyone's expressions softened.

Liu Shuyi continued, "Only the lobby on the first floor can accommodate everyone, so please move to the lobby on the first floor... I will arrange for someone to question you next. Before that, I hope you will not talk to each other, so as not to be mistaken for the murderer colluding with his accomplices. If this is misunderstood, that would be bad. Do you all agree?"

Liu Shuyi had a smile on his face the whole time, but what he said made everyone's hearts skip a beat.

Unlike Guan Feng's cold and commanding tone, Liu Shuyi gave everyone a more unpredictable feeling.

Their reverence for Liu Shuyi was even greater than that for Guan Feng.

So as soon as Liu Shuyi finished speaking, no one dared to say anything more, let alone hesitate, for fear of being mistaken for the murderer or the murderer's accomplice. They silently walked downstairs.

Guan Feng's eyes flickered when he saw this, and he said, "County Commandant Qin has excellent methods. He has won them over with gentle persuasion."

Liu Shuyi smiled wryly and said, "County Commandant Guan, please don't make fun of me. Threatening these ordinary people is hardly a good tactic. It's just that the murderer could make a move at any time, and we don't have time to waste, so we resorted to some underhanded methods."

“Any method that works is a good method.” Guan Feng disagreed with Liu Shuyi’s words.

Liu Shuyi shook his head and did not argue with Guan Feng.

He said, "There's no time to lose, let's get started."

"it is good!"

Without wasting words, Guan Feng directly selected three of his men and ordered them to go downstairs for questioning, while keeping an eye on the people on the first floor.

Liu Shuyi turned to Zhao Feng and said, "Take our men and guard all the entrances and exits of the inn. Then find a few empty rooms and question them one by one."

With Guan Feng right in front of him, Zhao Feng, despite having a lot to say, showed no sign of anything amiss. Without hesitation, he replied, "This humble official understands."

After saying that, he turned around and left with the Imperial Guards.

Upon seeing this, Guan Feng exclaimed, "County Commandant Qin, the yamen runners of your Qingchi County are all so robust; they are comparable to the elite soldiers in the army."

Liu Shuyi quickly waved his hand: "County Commandant Guan, don't flatter them. Apart from being a bit burly and intimidating to the people, they are not comparable to the elite troops at all. Their martial arts are far inferior."

Guan Feng laughed and said, "If you can intimidate the people, that's quite impressive. Unlike the yamen runners in my Yuancheng County, they're all skinny and scrawny. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were monkeys from some mountain that had become spirits."

Liu Shuyi was surprised that Guan Feng would speak ill of his subordinates like that, and couldn't help but laugh, "If County Magistrate Guan hears these words, it will really hurt their feelings."

"Just telling the truth, whether I'm hurt or not, they're all like monkeys." Guan Feng didn't care about any of that, and as he spoke, he returned to Cao Rui's room.

At this moment, Du Gou, Changsun Chong, and others arrived at Liu Shuyi's side.

Du Gou whispered, "Has Guan Feng suspected you?"

Liu Shuyi gently stroked the token he had temporarily carved from wood with his fingertips. After receiving the secret letter in Xingzhou City, he had considered the many situations he might encounter on his return journey.

And many countermeasures have been prepared for these situations.

One such instance is when an official uses their position to resolve problems that are difficult for ordinary people to handle.

This identity is that of the county magistrate of Qingchi County, Cangzhou.

Cangzhou belonged to Hebei Circuit, and in the eyes of the officials of Hebei Circuit, it belonged to the same faction.

At the same time, it was relatively far from places like Jizhou and Xingzhou, so people in those places might not know about the situation of the Cangzhou government.

Qingchi County, among the counties of Cangzhou, is considered a lower-middle-class county, and even fewer people know about the county government...

Furthermore, the people in the Qingchi County government office were also on the list that Du Ruhui had given him. They were people who had completely submitted to the imperial court. The list contained their detailed information, so unless someone really knew the Qingchi County magistrate, it would be impossible to see through his disguise through a simple conversation.

Therefore, for all these reasons, Liu Shuyi chose Qin Yu, the county magistrate of Qingchi County, as his second disguised identity.

It was not very credible for him to claim to be a county magistrate based solely on words, so while waiting for the carrier pigeon, he had Du Gou and his men forge the token.

Under normal circumstances, no one would dare to impersonate a government official, and with a token to prove their identity... this would be enough for them to perfectly deceive everyone in most cases.

Liu Shuyi watched Guan Feng's leisurely retreating figure and said, "At first, we should have had some doubts, but now, we should believe in our identities about 80%."

Eighty percent?

Du Gou and Changsun Chong exchanged a glance. Although it wasn't complete trust, they had only met by chance and knew very little about each other. To have 80% trust was already quite high.

What they need to do next is investigate the case, not deceive Guan Feng or do anything else... So as long as Guan Feng doesn't suspect them or hinder their investigation, that's enough.

"but……"

Liu Shuyi suddenly changed the subject: "Although he doesn't have much suspicion about me, I have a lot of suspicion about him."

"Suspicion about him?" The two were taken aback. Changsun Chong's eyes flashed: "Could it be that his position as a county magistrate is also fake?"

Upon hearing this, Du Gou, Lu Yangyuan, and the others all changed their expressions.

"Really!?" Lu Yangyuan couldn't help but ask.

Liu Shuyi's gaze was deep as he said, "When I asked him just now why he was so low-key, he only said that the mission required it and it was not appropriate to make a fuss, without going into details... Even after I explained my situation in detail, he did not take the initiative to explain his mission in more detail."

"This means either his identity is perfectly legitimate, and therefore he feels no need to explain anything... or..."

He narrowed his eyes: "He didn't expect someone like me, who also claims to be an official, to suddenly appear. He didn't think of a reasonable reason to hide his identity beforehand, and he was afraid that the reason he gave might have flaws, so he simply skipped it to avoid us noticing anything unusual."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yangyuan couldn't help but gasp: "If it's the latter, who would he be? Besides us, who else would need to pretend to be a government official?"

Du Gou and Cheng Chumo both looked thoughtful.

Changsun Chong's eyes flickered a few times before he said, "If this man's identity as a county magistrate is truly fake, then his reason for stepping forward now is probably the same as Liu Langzhong's... to find the murderer as quickly as possible, lest we be delayed here. You can think about it; apart from those of us who are fleeing Hebei Province, no one else can afford to be tied down here. We must leave as soon as possible, lest we lose track of his target..."

"You mean..."

Du Gou's pupils contracted, and his expression changed drastically: "He's a son of the Prince of Xi, an illegitimate child?!"

"What!? The Prince of Xi's illegitimate son!?"

Lu Yangyuan and Cheng Chumo almost cried out in surprise.

Cheng Chumo stared wide-eyed in the direction Guan Feng had disappeared, his scalp tingling with fear: "Is he really a son of the Prince of Xi?"

Changsun Chong shrugged: "The illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi is very mysterious. To this day, no one knows what he looks like... I am only making inferences based on the current situation."

"But whether he is a son of the Prince of Xi, or just a subordinate of a son of the Prince of Xi, or has no relation to the Prince of Xi at all... I cannot be sure."

Cheng Chumo couldn't help but complain, "What's the difference between saying that and not saying anything at all?"

Changsun Chong was not annoyed. He chuckled and unfolded his folding fan, saying in a carefree and unrestrained manner, "The difference is that, as I said, regardless of whether he is or not, you will subconsciously treat him as a son of the Prince of Xi and be wary of him. In this way, no matter what his identity is in the end, you will most likely not suffer any losses."

Cheng Chumo and the others exchanged glances. Indeed, before they were certain of Guan Feng's true identity, they would be very wary of him.

"All right."

Liu Shuyi said, "The reason I told you about my suspicions about Guan Feng was to make you more vigilant. Changsun Temple Assistant is right. Before we are sure of his true situation, we should treat him as our biggest enemy and be on guard against him."

"Next, I will take advantage of the investigation to test Guan Feng and see if I can confirm his true identity... Until then, you should all consider yourselves as people from Qingchi County."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Besides that, there's one more thing I need to confirm."

"What is it?" Du Gou asked.

Liu Shuyi glanced at the crowd that had gathered downstairs and lowered his voice, saying, "Du Sicheng, secretly arrange for someone to leave the inn later..."

"County Commandant Qin, come quick!"

Just as Cao Rui finished telling Du Gou what he needed to confirm, Guan Feng's voice suddenly came from inside Cao Rui's room.

"What's wrong? Did you find anything?"

Liu Shuyi casually replied, then said to Du Gou, "Be sure to do it away from everyone else."

Du Gou nodded emphatically: "Don't worry."

Liu Shuyi didn't delay any longer and quickly went to Cao Rui's room.

As soon as he arrived at the door, he saw Guan Feng standing in front of the cabinet in Cao Rui's room, looking through the bundles on the cabinet.

Liu Shuyi walked over and asked, "County Commandant Guan, have you found any clues?"

"This is Cao Rui's transit station..." Guan Feng handed the transit station to Liu Shuyi: "Take a look."

Liu Shuyi took the case and looked up...

"Ok?"

He raised an eyebrow and said, "This name?"

Guan Feng said, "Fu Ming! The name submitted is not Cao Rui at all, but Fu Ming!"

"And in this bundle, I found these paper packets."

Liu Shuyi stepped forward and saw that inside the bundle, besides a few sets of clothes to change into, there were several paper packages that had already been opened.

The paper packet contained white powder or small granules.

Liu Shuyi guessed, "Is it a sleeping drug or poison?"

"Yes."

Guan Feng nodded: "Although I can't identify them all, there are two that I can confirm: one is sleeping potion, and the other is arsenic."

Sleeping potion!
Arsenic!

Lu Yangyuan's eyes widened in surprise: "Why did he bring these sleeping pills and poisons?"

"Is there even a need to say it?" Guan Feng sneered, "What good person would carry sleeping pills and poison with them when they go out?"

"Furthermore, based on the document, we can tell that either the document is forged or the name he gave us is false! If he really is the county magistrate of Wuyi County, why would he forge the document? Or lie to us?"

"So, it's obvious..."

Guan Feng looked at Liu Shuyi: "This man is definitely not the county magistrate of Wuyi County! He is impersonating someone from the government office!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yangyuan and the others had very interesting expressions.

They had initially assumed that at least six of Cao Rui's men in the inn were genuine government officials...

But now Guan Feng says that Cao Rui and his group are fake!

They already know that they and the others are fake, but whether Guan Feng is real or fake remains to be confirmed.

If they're all fake... well, none of the three groups claiming to be government officials are real! Even traditional folk tales wouldn't dare write something like this, would they?

Guan Feng was unaware of Lu Yangyuan and the others' inner thoughts. Seeing their complicated expressions, he assumed they couldn't accept that Cao Rui and the others were impersonating government officials.

He said, "This place is not under the jurisdiction of Wuyi County. It is unreasonable for Cao Rui to swagger here... I think he must have deliberately found a county government office outside the jurisdiction to forge his identity. In this way, not many people know about Wuyi County, so it will be difficult for him to be exposed."

"How come it's the same idea we were pretending to have..." Lu Yangyuan and the others couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

However, although they were complaining in their hearts, they all accepted Guan Feng's deduction, after all, this was the true inner thought of these imposters.

Seeing that everyone had finally nodded, Guan Feng turned his gaze to Liu Shuyi and asked, "What does County Magistrate Qin think?"

“What County Magistrate Guan said makes a lot of sense.”

Just as Guan Feng was about to nod in satisfaction, Liu Shuyi's voice rang out again.

"But……"

But?

Guan Feng was taken aback and subconsciously looked at Liu Shuyi.

Then Liu Shuyi slowly said, "I still believe that Cao Rui is the county magistrate of Wuyi County!"

(End of this chapter)