The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 217 The Murderer Emerges? Guan Feng's Reflections: Meeting County Magistrate Qin, He Realized the Vastness of Heaven and the Inferiority of Earth.

Listening to Liu Shuyi's words, and seeing how Liu Shuyi deduced all the arrangements made by the murderer in just a few words, and with clues directly confirming it... Guan Feng and his men couldn't help but be shocked, and their expressions toward Liu Shuyi became more serious and surprised.

Guan Feng couldn't help but clap his hands in praise, "Seeing County Magistrate Qin investigate the case today, I realize just how vast the difference is between people! To be honest..."

He said to Liu Shuyi, "With Qin's abilities, it's a real waste to only be a county magistrate."

Liu Shuyi smiled and shook his head: "County Commandant Guan is too kind. It was just a sudden inspiration. I just had a particularly good feeling about investigating the case today..."

"Many people go through their entire lives without ever having a flash of inspiration! Not to mention that solving cases is a matter of accumulating experience; every experience, every shift in thinking, can help with subsequent investigations..."

"So, what seems like a flash of inspiration now may well continue into the future."

Guan Feng looked at Liu Shuyi and said seriously, "County Commandant Qin, to be honest, I really think it's a waste of your talents to only be a county commandant. With your abilities, you should be a judicial officer in the prefecture, or even a high-ranking official in the Three Departments of Chang'an!"

"Look how successful Liu Shuyi is now, right? With your abilities, if you were given a stage like the Three Departments, I believe you would be even more successful than Liu Shuyi!"

I'm more successful than myself?

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered, and he sighed, "You know the relationship between the imperial court and our Hebei Circuit. How could I possibly have the opportunity to go to Chang'an? And the official positions in Hebei Circuit... are already fixed. I'm afraid our positions won't change for the next few years or even decades."

He shook his head and sighed, "If nothing unexpected happens, county lieutenant... that's the highest position we can reach in our lives."

Guan Feng's eyes darkened as he listened to Liu Shuyi's sigh. He said, "No one can predict what the future holds. Perhaps the opportunity to change the future will come soon?"

Liu Shuyi looked at Guan Feng, puzzled: "What does County Commandant Guan mean?"

Guan Feng smiled and said, "In short, I am not willing to be just a lowly county magistrate for the rest of my life. If I have the opportunity, I will definitely seize it... To be honest, County Magistrate Qin, I am a bit arrogant and rarely admire others. You are one of the few people who can truly convince me. So I hope you will not waste your abilities. If I have the opportunity to appear in front of you, I hope you can seize it as firmly as I do."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment, then nodded: "Of course! People strive for better things, and if I have the opportunity, I certainly won't give it up."

Seeing Liu Shuyi nod, Guan Feng stopped talking about the topic and returned his attention to the case: "Besides these, has County Magistrate Qin made any other discoveries?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "Time is limited, I haven't had time to properly search for clues yet..."

"That's true, then let's hurry up and thoroughly inspect the scene."

As he spoke, Guan Feng led his men to conduct a thorough inspection.

Seeing Guan Feng walk towards the bedside, Changsun Chong whispered to Liu Shuyi, "He mentioned your name, Doctor Liu, twice. Does he suspect you?"

Liu Shuyi also felt that his name appeared a bit too frequently, but...

He frowned slightly and said, "I didn't see any suspicion from their reactions or expressions..."

Lu Yangyuan said in a low voice, "Are they too good at disguising and hiding?"

"Uncertain." Liu Shuyi did not make a judgment easily.

"Then do you think they are either illegitimate children of the Prince of Xi, or his people?" Cheng Chumo asked.

Liu Shuyi watched the two men rummage through the blankets, searching carefully, and slowly shook his head: "So far, I haven't found any evidence on them related to the Prince of Xi being a concubine's son..."

"To be honest, I hope they are indeed the illegitimate sons of the Prince of Xi. Right now, the bridge outside has collapsed, and the torrential rain has separated this place from other places into two worlds. The illegitimate sons of the Prince of Xi cannot get in at all."

"It is precisely when the difference in numbers between him and us is the smallest that if we can find out who is the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi or his people, we will have the opportunity to eliminate them directly. In that case, once we leave, it will be extremely difficult for them to track us down!"

Changsun Chong said thoughtfully, "So that's how it is. No wonder you changed your previous low-key demeanor and came up here to intimidate everyone with your powerful investigative skills."

"If they are either a son of the Prince of Xi or someone affiliated with him, seeing how capable you are at investigating cases, they will definitely become suspicious of you. You deliberately created this loophole to try and determine whether they are related to a son of the Prince of Xi?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yangyuan and Cheng Chumo widened their eyes in surprise, completely unaware that Liu Shuyi had such intentions.

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "The one who knows me best is Changsun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices... That's right, I did deliberately show off a bit to see who would treat me differently because of it."

"Who?"

Changsun Chong's expression flickered slightly: "You not only want to test Guan Feng and the others, but also the others?"

Liu Shuyi ran his fingers across the counter, looking at the bloodstains on his fingertips, and slowly said, "Until we are certain whether the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi or his people are hiding here, and what their identities are... I cannot let any possibility slip by."

At this point, he sighed, "They say the unknown is the most terrifying thing... That's true. If I had even a tiny bit of information about the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, I wouldn't be so nervous right now, unable to trust anyone."

Cheng Chumo and the others nodded in deep agreement.

Even Changsun Chong, who is usually the most relaxed, has to be ready to fight at any time... After experiencing this kind of thing where he has no idea when the enemy or danger will appear, Changsun Chong never wants to experience it a second time in his life.

Changsun Chong took a deep breath, unfolded his folding fan again, and casually placed it in front of him to cover his mouth, so that others could not read his lips and know what he was saying.

He looked at Guan Feng and the other man again and said, "Shall we continue testing them?"

"of course."

Liu Shuyi said, "This may be our only chance to turn the tide and change the situation on our way back. If we can seize it, we certainly can't let it go."

“Besides that…” he narrowed his eyes, “I’m also concerned about what Guan Feng just said to me.”

"What did you say?" Changsun Chong thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Those words that advised you to seize the opportunity?"

“Yes.” Liu Shuyi nodded, his gaze deep: “I always felt there was something behind his words, as if he really believed that some opportunity would appear in front of me.”

Changsun Chong frowned, puzzled: "What other opportunity could there be? Does he really think that these people in Hebei Province can succeed in their rebellion and then have a lot of official positions waiting for them?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head. He didn't understand Guan Feng's meaning either, but judging from Guan Feng's behavior, even if Guan Feng was not a son of the Prince of Xi or a related person, he was by no means an arrogant and foolish person. Such a person could not possibly not know what the fate of these traitors in Hebei would be if the court really made up its mind to take action.

Unless... these former subordinates of the Prince of Xi have other trump cards... but Guan Feng is just a minor county constable, how could he have the opportunity to come into contact with such secrets?
Liu Shuyi let out a sigh of relief: "Forget it, there's no need to overthink things we can't understand. If he really has some plans, they will definitely show up next. Let's just wait and see."

Changsun Chong nodded: "That's the only way."

"County Commandant Qin, come and see..."

At this moment, Guan Feng waved to Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi and Changsun Chong exchanged a glance. Changsun Chong understood that Liu Shuyi wanted him to send someone to the first floor to spread Liu Shuyi's deduction and demonstrate Liu Shuyi's abilities. If the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi or his people were on the first floor, they would definitely have some suspicions and take action.

He gave Liu Shuyi a barely perceptible nod.

Seeing that Changsun Chong understood, Liu Shuyi didn't delay any longer and quickly went to the bedside, asking Guan Feng, "County Commandant Guan, have you discovered anything?"

Guan Feng pointed to the bed and said, "Look, the bed is uncovered, and there's only one obvious crease on the mattress. There are no other signs of disarray on the bedding..."

"There was also Cao Rui's robe on the bedside table... If the murderer entered the room by knocking normally, Cao Rui would have put on the robe to keep warm when he got up to open the door."

"But he wasn't wearing any robes, and there were no signs of a struggle on the bedding, so I guessed..."

He looked at Liu Shuyi: "When the murderer attacked Cao Rui, Cao Rui was likely unconscious."

“What County Magistrate Guan said makes sense.” This time, Liu Shuyi did not object to Guan Feng’s words. He said, “Moreover, I have evidence to prove it.”

"Evidence?" Guan Feng was taken aback.

He made his inference based on the current situation, and there was absolutely nothing to prove it... Where did Liu Shuyi get his evidence?
Seeing Guan Feng's expression, Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "County Commandant Guan probably didn't check the door latch, did he?"

"latch?"

Guan Feng looked directly at the door.

Without him saying a word, his subordinates quickly came to the door and removed the latch from it.

Liu Shuyi said, "County Lieutenant Guan might as well check if there's anything unusual about this door latch." "Unusual?"

Guan Feng took the bolt and quickly examined it carefully.

And the next moment——

"This……"

Guan Feng said in surprise, "There are tiny scratches on the door latch..."

"The scratches are still very new, right?" Liu Shuyi said.

"Yes!" Guan Feng nodded: "The natural color of the wood is very clear, and it was obviously recently carved."

Liu Shuyi continued, "These scratches are located in the center, and that's where the door is closed, right opposite the crack..."

Guan Feng's eyes flashed, and he quickly understood Liu Shuyi's meaning: "Does County Commandant Qin mean... the murderer was outside the door, used a sharp blade to pry open the door latch, and secretly sneaked into Cao Rui's room?"

“After the incident, no one touched the door latch... I don’t think the people at the inn would have nothing better to do than use a knife to cut the door latch, so it’s obvious that this could only have been done by the murderer.”

“That’s right!” Guan Feng nodded emphatically: “This corresponds to my deduction that Cao Rui did not get up to open the door.”

At this point, he couldn't help but ask, "If I remember correctly, County Commandant Qin, you didn't check the door bolt either, did you? How do you know there's something wrong with the door bolt?"

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "Although I haven't examined it carefully, I did observe the door closely when I was looking for how the murderer lit the fuse, and that's when I saw the scratches on the door latch."

"So that's it."

Guan Feng sighed, “I need to be very careful to find the scratches on the bolt, but you found them without even getting close, and you know everything perfectly… The gap between us is getting bigger and bigger. Someone with your abilities really shouldn’t just be a lowly county magistrate.”

Here we go again… Liu Shuyi looked somewhat gloomy and shook his head, saying, “Let’s not talk about things that can’t be changed.”

Guan Feng glanced at Liu Shuyi's calm demeanor, his eyes flickered, and he said nothing more.

"besides……"

Liu Shuyi continued, "The condition on the bed also confirms your speculation."

"Bed?" Guan Feng and his subordinates did not understand Liu Shuyi's meaning.

Liu Shuyi said, “County Commandant Guan, please look... There is not a single bloodstain on the mattress of the bed, but there are many bloodstains on the quilt.”

"At the same time, the walls around the bed, as well as the cabinets, doors and windows, were stained with blood."

"This shows that the murderer was arranging the crime scene..."

He pointed to the bloody ground and said, "There must have been some bloodstains that splashed around and landed in these places, but the walls behind the bed are stained with blood, the blankets are stained with blood, but the mattress is intact... This can only mean that when the murderer set up the scene, the blankets were on top of the mattresses."

“The murderer wouldn’t have been idle. After setting up the scene, he would have pulled back the blankets… The fact that the mattress was like that only proves that Cao Rui was lying on the bed when the murderer set up this bloody scene.”

"Therefore, after setting up the scene, he wanted to take action against Cao Rui, so he pulled back the quilt and dragged Cao Rui off the bed."

"If Cao Rui saw the murderer suddenly appear in his room and set up the scene, it's impossible that he wouldn't have made any move... Therefore, the fact that there were no signs of struggle on the bed suggests only one thing—Cao Rui was completely unaware of everything from beginning to end, and at least he had been unconscious since the moment the murderer arrived."

Listening to Liu Shuyi's clear and logical analysis, and recalling his own guesses about the same thing... even Guan Feng, who considered himself thick-skinned, felt his face burning at this moment.

It's true that without comparison, one doesn't know how high the sky is, how thick the earth is, or how big the gap is between the two.

He shook his head, suppressing these thoughts, and said, "As County Magistrate Qin said, Cao Rui must have been drugged and fell into a coma... Then tell me, when and how was he drugged?"

Liu Shuyi's gaze swept over the doors and windows, and he said, "The paper covering the doors and windows has no holes, which means the murderer did not release the sleeping gas through the doors and windows."

"As a county magistrate, Cao Rui would certainly not be without precautions while he was away from home... and when the murderer pried open the door, there would definitely be some noise, and the creaking sound of the door opening would be unavoidable."

"If the murderer had released sleeping gas or something similar after opening the door, Cao Rui would have definitely noticed and wouldn't have just stayed in bed enduring it... So the possibility of releasing sleeping gas after opening the door is not high."

"It is obvious that Cao Rui was already unconscious before the murderer arrived... and before he lost consciousness, he had locked the doors and windows from the inside. It is impossible for the murderer to make him unconscious from a distance with something like a sedative needle."

"Therefore, the most likely cause is the drug that enters the mouth. And the effects of such a drug take a certain amount of time to take effect, which fits Cao Rui's behavior perfectly—he has enough time to lock the doors and windows normally, go to bed and rest, and no one else will notice anything unusual."

Guan Feng stroked his chin, agreeing wholeheartedly with Liu Shuyi's analysis.

“What County Magistrate Qin said is absolutely right. Having ruled out the two impossible methods, it can only be the last one... an oral drug…”

His gaze turned cold, and he immediately said, "Guards! Bring up the waiter, the manager, and the cook!"

Without any hesitation, his subordinates immediately walked out.

Upon seeing this, Cheng Chumo and Lu Yangyuan looked at Liu Shuyi and asked for his opinion.

Liu Shuyi shook his head slightly, not stopping him. He also had some things he wanted to ask the people at the inn.

Before long, the waiter, the manager, and the cook were brought up.

"We greet you both, sirs. May we ask why you have summoned us here?"

The waiter and the cook were trembling with nervousness, while only the manager, barely holding on, asked respectfully.

Guan Feng stared at the three of them and said coldly, "Was the food for Cao Rui and the others prepared by your inn?"

"Yes..." the innkeeper hurriedly replied, "After County Magistrate Cao arrived at the inn, he said he was very hungry and asked us to bring up the best food in the inn."

"During the journey from your hands to their table, did anyone else touch the food?" Guan Feng asked again.

"No..." the innkeeper said, "County Commandant Cao and his men did not dine in the lobby with the other guests. After he arrived at the inn, he went straight to his room, and we brought his meals directly here... The other guests knew that the food belonged to the officials, and they would avoid it as much as possible, let alone touch it."

"So, from beginning to end, the food for Cao Rui and the others only passed through your hands?"

The shopkeeper didn't understand Guan Feng's intention in asking that question, but he still nodded: "Yes..."

"I never expected that I would almost be fooled by you!"

Guan Feng immediately shouted, "Guards! Arrest these murderers!"

"What!? The murderer!?"

The shopkeeper and his companions were completely dumbfounded.

Their faces turned pale instantly, and they immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Honor, please see the truth! We are just ordinary shopkeepers, we are not murderers at all! Your Honor, please see the truth!"

"Still denying you're the murderer!"

Guan Feng said in an icy voice, "Before committing the crime, the murderer drugged Cao Rui and the others in their food... And after Cao Rui and the others arrived at the inn, they only ate food from your inn, and you also confirmed that no one else had touched the food... So the person who drugged them can only be you! What else do you have to say for yourself!?"

"This this……"

The shopkeeper's pupils trembled, and his whole body shook. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but he had no idea how to explain himself.

"Although we provided the food, we didn't drug it..."

He went on and on, repeating the same sentence over and over, but it did nothing to change Guan Feng's mind.

The shopkeeper had no choice but to ask another person for help. This person, who had not said a word from beginning to end, was rumored to be a very capable investigator from Qingchi County in Cangzhou.

He knelt before Liu Shuyi, tears streaming down his face, snot running down his face: "County Commandant Qin, you must believe me, I really didn't drug you, I really didn't mean to harm you!"

(End of this chapter)