The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 221 The Shock of the Crowd: Doctor Liu, are you trying to kill the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi?!
Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, even the composed Du Gou and the intelligent Changsun Chong suddenly widened their eyes, their expressions a mixture of astonishment and delight.

The outspoken Cheng Chumo was even more excited, almost exclaiming aloud, "Really? We really have a chance to turn the tide?"

Although so far, they have maintained control of their escape and have not truly faced the crisis... when have they, as the most prestigious second-generation members of the Tang Dynasty, ever been chased by someone with a knife like this?
Despite being heroes who had made great contributions, they received no applause or praise on their return journey. Instead, they faced constant danger, making them extremely nervous and fearful. They dared not relax their vigilance even while sleeping, lest the enemy suddenly appear and deliver a fatal blow.

This feeling of being constantly on the go, not even knowing where the enemy is or whether they even exist, is truly awful, even more so than when they were investigating a case in Xingzhou City.

Back then, at least they knew where the enemy was and how to break the deadlock, unlike now, where pursuers are always on the horizon, and treacherous illegitimate sons of the Prince of Xi are like venomous snakes lurking in front or beside them, seeking opportunities...

Even Cheng Chumo, with his carefree personality, was so tense he was about to go crazy.

Unexpectedly... the turning point came so quickly!
Liu Shuyi understood the ordeal everyone had been going through. Without keeping them in suspense, he handed the note directly to Cheng Chumo and the others, saying, "Take a look."

Du Gou and Changsun Chong quickly moved closer to Cheng Chumo and took a closer look. They saw that the note contained only four lines of small characters:
"We are trapped in Heshun Inn by the torrential rain. We have discovered a group of people with two women, who may be Liu Shuyi and his men. Please decide on our assistance, Master."

Looking at these four lines of small characters, Du Gou breathed a sigh of relief: "There's no mistake, it must be someone from the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi. It's impossible for Wen Jun's people to arrive here before us. Only that mysterious illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, whose whereabouts are uncertain, could appear before us and arrive before us."

Changsun Chong stroked the jade-bone fan with his fingertips and said, "His letter asking the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi for support shows that they definitely don't have many people here, and at least in their opinion, they shouldn't be able to deal with us."

As Cheng Chumo listened to the two men, his large, bell-like eyes shone even brighter.

He said happily, "The carrier pigeon was struck by lightning and died, so it had no chance to send the message. Therefore, as long as we can find out who the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi is and kill them all, the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi will not know that we are here at all, and he will completely lose our trace."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi said, "The illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi will still know that we were here... After all, if his people do not contact him for a long time, as if they have vanished from the face of the earth, he will definitely be able to guess that something happened to these people, and then deduce that it was us who did it."

"However, by the time he found out, we had already left. Since he didn't have many people on this road, it means he couldn't be sure which road we took. He must have cast a wide net to search before gathering more people to make a move."

"In other words, there's a high chance there won't be any of his people on this road anymore... By the time he finds out we're on this road, it could be quite some time later, and it will take even longer for him to send people here..."

"We are racing against time. Whoever gains the advantage in time will have the last laugh... As the saying goes, if you are one step behind, you will be behind every step. If he is somewhere ahead of us, he still has a chance. But if he is behind us waiting for news... We work day and night. If he is one step behind, he will have no chance to catch up with us."

“Even if he is ahead of us, his eyes on this road have been blinded by us, and he cannot know our exact location. He will hesitate and worry whether we have overtaken him or changed our route halfway... His situation will not be better than it is now. To find us, he can only send more people to cast a wide net. But we already know that they are looking for us by the number of women. At that time, we can have Miss Du and the others disguise themselves as men to counter their search method.”

"All of this means that no matter where he is, the advantage no longer belongs to him!"

Cheng Chumo listened with great enthusiasm.

If the occasion had allowed, he would have definitely danced and howled a few times to vent his pent-up frustration.

He exclaimed excitedly, "That's great! The situation has reversed, and we no longer have to live in fear."

Du Gou and Changsun Chong exchanged a glance, then smiled and nodded emphatically.

"Besides that, do you remember what I said before about sending a big gift to the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi?" Liu Shuyi added.

"Big gift?"

Cheng Chumo blinked and said, "If Doctor Liu hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten. You said that as long as we get through tonight, the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi will receive your big gift, and we'll be safe..."

Du Gou and Changsun Chong also remembered this matter.

Cheng Chumo asked curiously, "Now that we're all safe, will Doctor Liu still send us that big gift?"

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "My big gift was prepared in advance, and it should have already started to spread now, so it can't be taken back even if you want to."

"Oh?" Changsun Chong and Du Gou exchanged a glance, their interest piqued. Changsun Chong asked, "I wonder what kind of grand gift Doctor Liu has prepared for the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi?"

They were all partners who had shared life and death, and Liu Shuyi was no longer going to hide anything from them.

He looked at the group and said, "This is a highly confidential secret. You must not spread it after you hear it."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions immediately became serious. For Liu Shuyi to remind them of this, it must be an extremely important secret within the imperial court.

Liu Shuyi glanced at everyone, then said without further delay, "At my suggestion, the court has arranged for a fake illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi to appear before the real illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, thus confirming his identity as the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi."

"Before we set off, I had already sent him a message by carrier pigeon, instructing him to appear ahead of schedule as planned..."

"And using us as bait, they emboldened this fake Prince Xi's illegitimate son to send people to hunt us down..."

"If all goes well, the news should reach the surrounding area by tomorrow."

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, everyone's eyes widened, their faces filled with surprise and astonishment.

Even Changsun Chong couldn't help but say, "You actually tried to switch the real thing with the fake!"

He considered himself intelligent enough, having read many military strategies and historical books, and could readily name numerous conspiracies and schemes... Yet even so, he never imagined that he could resolve the calamity of the Prince of Xi's illegitimate son in such a way!
What a cunning and insidious scheme!
Du Gou, a pure and virtuous gentleman, and Cheng Chumo, a straightforward and impulsive warrior, need no further explanation.

They would never have imagined such a scheme of usurping someone else's place, even in their wildest dreams.

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "What's this about fake or real? Who dares to say that this illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi is definitely real? Besides, so far, no one has seen the true face of this illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi. Our people have stepped forward to say that he is the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi. Who dares to say that he isn't? And what reason is there to say that he isn't?"

"This……"

Changsun Chong frowned. It was true. No one had ever seen the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, so no one could say that this person was not the real illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi.

Liu Shuyi continued, "The illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi has come to Hebei Province and spread rumors. His purpose must be to consolidate the power of the Prince of Xi's old subordinates... At this time, someone suddenly steps forward to seize his fruits. What do you think he will do?"

"Is there any need to say more? They should definitely step forward and expose the fake Prince Xi's illegitimate son!" Cheng Chumo said without even thinking.

Changsun Chong stroked his fan and nodded, "It's like someone who's about to inherit the position of clan leader of a great clan, but then suddenly an imposter steps up and steals his position. He can't allow that to happen, and he'll definitely try his best to take the position back as soon as possible. Otherwise, once this person has secured the position and bribed others, it will be difficult to take it back!"

Liu Shuyi smiled and nodded: "So, with this big gift from me, do you think he'll still have the mind to pursue us?"

Almost instinctively, everyone shook their heads.

No wonder Liu Shuyi was so confident even when he didn't have the advantage he has now, daring to say that after a day or two, the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi would no longer threaten them.

This is like striking a snake at its vital point!

The illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi came for power. He used power as bait, and even though the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi knew that this was Liu Shuyi's trick, he had no choice but to take the bait!
This is already an open conspiracy!
But there's no solution to the open scheme!

Changsun Chong sighed inwardly and couldn't help but say, "First, we eliminated the eyes and ears of the Prince of Xi's illegitimate son, putting him behind us in terms of time and losing his advantage. Then, we used the Prince of Xi's illegitimate son's identity as bait to keep him busy... Doctor Liu really has this Prince of Xi's illegitimate son completely under his control! There won't be any more surprises. We can almost declare now that we are the winners of this chase and escape!"

Even the usually composed Du Gou couldn't help but nod in agreement upon hearing the suggestion to open champagne at the halfway point. Cheng Chumo grinned widely, his face beaming with joy.

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "Actually, the plan to usurp the throne was intended to deal with the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, to unite the old forces of the Prince of Xi under the identity of the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, and then create an opportunity for the court to wipe them out in one fell swoop... It was just a convenient result to help us out of our predicament."

"Whether it's easy or not doesn't matter. What matters is that the result is beneficial to us, and that's enough!" Changsun Chong said. No matter how ingenious the plan or how beneficial the strategy to the country and the people, it can't save their lives and is of no use to them. It's better to fart and stink up the enemy.

Cheng Chumo and Du Gou both agreed.

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "But before that, we have to deal with the people of the Prince of Xi's illegitimate son. If we can't deal with them, they will tell the Prince of Xi's illegitimate son about our whereabouts... If the Prince of Xi's illegitimate son is not far from here, he might come to deal with us first, and then take our corpses as evidence to confront the counterfeiters."

"In that case, we'll be in deep trouble."

Everyone nodded.

"Yes! We need to find the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi as soon as possible!" Cheng Chumo said, "But we don't know what his hidden identity is?"

Looking at the white lightning that suddenly illuminated the sky and earth outside the window, Liu Shuyi said, "I have some judgments, but I'm not completely certain. Next..."

He looked at Du Gou and said, "Du, please help me confirm a few more things."

“Speak!” Du Gou said without hesitation.

Liu Shuyi, worried that staying in the room too long would arouse Guan Feng's suspicion, quickly said, "The people of the Prince of Xi's illegitimate son are hidden among three groups: the merchant caravan, a family, and the five examinees. Next, you will secretly go and confirm their situations separately..."

He spoke quickly, but Du Gou still wrote it all down without missing a single word, saying, "I understand, I will confirm it as soon as possible."

"And one more thing."

Liu Shuyi then asked, "Was the pigeon you found really struck by lightning?"

Du Gou didn't understand Liu Shuyi's meaning and said, "I didn't see the pigeon. He was afraid of being discovered by others, so he didn't bring it into the inn... However, he shone a lantern on it, and the pigeon's surface was charred black, with no other wounds. It should have been struck by lightning and died."

Liu Shuyi stroked his chin and said, "I wonder where he found the pigeon?"

Du Gou said, "Right below the inn's courtyard gate... He said that it was pouring rain and pitch black at the time, and he couldn't see anything. If he hadn't stepped on a pigeon, he wouldn't have known there was a pigeon on the ground."

Directly below the courtyard gate?
Liu Shuyi nodded and said, "I understand, and there's more..."

He looked at Du Gou and whispered, "Send someone to see Miss Du secretly later and have them convey a message to her for me..."

After hearing this, Du Gou looked somewhat surprised, but still nodded without hesitation and said, "I understand."

"All right."

Liu Shuyi looked at everyone and said, "Let's not delay any longer, let's split up and continue our work."

The others naturally did not object. They quickly left the room, and Du Gou returned to the first floor to inquire about the inn's guests, while Liu Shuyi and the others continued to search each room one by one.

"Doctor Liu just asked about the pigeon. Do you suspect that the pigeon died suspiciously?" Changsun Chong was quick-witted. While searching with Liu Shuyi, he couldn't help but ask about what had just happened.

Liu Shuyi didn't hide anything. He said, "Although I say that man proposes, God disposes... this pigeon was really unlucky. It was struck by lightning and killed before it had even completely left the inn."

"And its death conveniently confirmed the situation of the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi who was pursuing us, and also helped us avoid the crisis of the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi knowing our exact whereabouts..."

"To be honest, I have this illusion that I am favored by God, and this illusion makes me a little uneasy."

Changsun Chong hadn't thought about these things before, but upon hearing this, he pondered carefully, and his expression became more serious.

"Now that you mention it, it really is quite a coincidence! But if it's not a coincidence, what else could it be? It can't be that the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi deliberately did this to deceive us and make us think that we have the upper hand, can it?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "The existence of the carrier pigeons allows us to directly confirm that there are people from the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi in the inn. If they really did this, then it's not just a scheme against us, but a suicide mission..."

“If it wasn’t to scheme against us, who else could be helping us in secret?” Changsun Chong said.

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes. He didn't tell Changsun Chong that he had indeed had this idea.

After all, he had already been helped twice by people whose identities were completely unknown.

If there were a third time, he wouldn't be as surprised as he was the first time.

"Never mind, I'll stop thinking about it now."

Liu Shuyi let out a breath: "Whether it's a coincidence or the help of others, at least for now, it's only beneficial to us. Once we resolve the crisis at the inn and study the situation of the flying pigeons more carefully, we'll know the answer."

Changsun Chong nodded, a playful look in his dark eyes, and said, "This small inn hides not only a vicious murderer, but also the illegitimate henchmen of the Prince of Xi, and people like us who are also hiding our identities... I'm afraid there has never been such a complex situation in terms of personnel since it was established."
"Tonight's show is getting more and more exciting."

Liu Shuyi also felt that there were an unusually large number of actors in this grand production.

Moreover, the murderer probably never imagined that the most mysterious person in this inn tonight was not him at all!
He hid and schemed, but he had no idea what kind of monsters he was scheming against...

And so, the two of them talked in hushed tones as they quickly rummaged through drawers and cabinets before heading to another room.

Time flew by in this search.

Two quarters of an hour later.

Liu Shuyi had just stepped out of the last room he had searched when he heard Guan Feng's voice: "County Commandant Qin, have you found anything?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "I searched all the rooms, but there was no one hiding there. Where is County Commandant Guan?"

Guan Feng also shook his head: "I didn't see anyone either."

He crossed his arms and scanned the open doors of the inn's rooms, saying, "That's really strange! There were five people there. Even if they were chopped up and eaten as meat, they could fill several large basins. How come we can't find them? Could they have just vanished into thin air?"

As Lu Yangyuan approached them, he heard Guan Feng say that they should be chopped up and eaten as meat. This made him pause in his steps, and he couldn't help but recall what Changsun Chong had said to him when he arrived at the inn and told him about the black market.

He swallowed hard, approached Liu Shuyi, and said, "County Commandant Qin, I have made a discovery."

(End of this chapter)