The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 56 revealed! Liu Shuyi's strategy exposes Liu Yuanming's conspiracy! (Two chapters combined)

Pei Ji stood rooted to the spot, stunned by Liu Yuanming's completely unexpected answer, unable to recover for a long time.

Not only Pei Ji, but even Du Ruhui was somewhat surprised at this moment.

He knew very well how difficult Liu Yuanming was to deal with, and how stubborn Liu Yuanming was. The reason he sent Liu Shuyi to try was because neither he nor Pei Ji had any ideas.

With the idea of ​​trying anything as a last resort, let's give it a shot.

But who knew that Liu Yuanming would act like a completely different person when facing Liu Shuyi?

They agreed so readily!

Is this still the same Liu Yuanming who almost made Pei Ji vomit blood just now, the same tough and unyielding man?
Liu Yuanming's gaze swept over the incredulous Pei Ji, and the sneer on his lips became even more pronounced. Then he looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "I've given you the good ending you wanted. How about it? Doesn't it feel good to see this old man choked half to death?"

"You—" Pei Ji's expression froze, then his beard trembled with rage: "Liu Yuanming, are you looking for death?!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuanming grinned and said, "How did you know I was courting death?"

"I'd rather be dead than be tortured like this by you, but..."

He said with a half-smile, "Old man, do you really dare to kill me?"

"you……"

Pei Ji was so angry that he wanted to draw his Imperial Guard's sword on the spot and chop this despicable bastard in front of him to pieces.

But reason told him that Liu Yuanming could not die, at least not by his own hand.

This made him both angry and resentful. Unable to vent his anger, he felt like his lungs were about to explode.

"Liu Shuyi!"

Pei Ji suddenly looked at Liu Shuyi, as if he had found a place to vent his anger, and said angrily, "What exactly do you want? Do you want to interrogate me or not? If you continue to waste my precious time talking nonsense with Liu Yuanming, I will throw you out no matter what!"

Liu Yuanming's mouth stretched wider and wider, and a meaningful smile appeared on his pale face covered with bloodstains: "Liu Shuyi, look, this old bastard can't do anything to me, so he bullies you who are of lower status than him. Tell me, how did someone as disgusting as him climb to the position of Minister of Works?"

"To be honest, I've met your father, Liu Wenjing. In my opinion, Liu Wenjing is far superior to Pei Ji in both looks and ability, yet he ended up dying at Pei Ji's hands. Now I even doubt whether your father actually committed treason, or whether Pei Ji was jealous of your father and deliberately framed him..."

"shut up!"

Before Liu Yuanming could finish speaking, he was rebuked by two voices at the same time.

Pei Ji was furious and shouted, "Liu Yuanming, if you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll sew your mouth shut! You don't want to speak? Fine, I'll make sure you never speak again for the rest of your life!"

Du Ruhui frowned, his deep eyes giving Liu Yuanming a long look, and said, "If your intention is to sow discord, I advise you to give up. Both Liu Yuanwailang and Pei Sikong are extremely intelligent people and will not be swayed by your provocations."

Liu Yuanming listened to the two men's conversation without fear or anger. He simply looked at Liu Shuyi and asked, "Master Liu, what do you think of what I said?"

Liu Shuyi's dark eyes were fixed on Liu Yuanming. Seeing that Liu Yuanming had provoked Pei Ji's anger with a few words and deepened the hatred between him and Pei Ji with a few more words, he slowly shook his head and said, "Looking at you now, and recalling how we first met at the Taichang Temple, I feel like I'm dreaming."

"Back then, you were rigid and serious, with no smile on your face. You gave me the feeling that anyone could do bad things, but you were the only one who could never."

"Even now, even though you've been caught and are imprisoned, you'll still seize every opportunity to scheme against us, set traps for us, and make our lives miserable..."

"Liu Shaoqing, if this is the ending you're talking about, then it's not good for me."

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Liu Yuanming paused for a moment, then suddenly looked up and burst into laughter.

The smile seemed to aggravate the wound on his face, causing him to gasp sharply.

But his smile remained unchanged: "Truly worthy of being the one who arrested me, to be honest..."

His gaze swept over Pei Ji and Du Ruhui, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt. He said, "There are countless people in this world, but only a handful can catch my eye. And among these few, I don't include Du Ruhui, much less Pei Ji, but..."

He turned his gaze to Liu Shuyi and said, "Including you."

"so……"

His smile faded, and he said, "You have the right to ask me questions."

Liu Yuanming's pride and arrogance made him hold his head high even in this situation.

He was neither afraid of death nor wanted to live, so he was even more unrestrained. He would say more to anyone he liked and curse anyone he disliked.

He had hidden his true nature for most of his life, which was enough. In the final stage of his life, he wanted to be himself and be himself more freely.

Liu Shuyi had already seen through Liu Yuanming, so he was not surprised by Liu Yuanming's reaction.

He was also taking advantage of Liu Yuanming's personality.

In fact, the moment he stepped into the interrogation room and saw Pei Ji and Liu Yuanming clashing, he already had a plan in mind.

Liu Yuanming's personality is characterized by extreme pride and arrogance, and this extreme personality makes him most vulnerable to manipulation.

As long as he could get Liu Yuanming to agree to answer his questions, the proud Liu Yuanming would never take back what he had said.

Therefore, his subsequent message to Liu Yuanming, giving Liu Yuanming the opportunity to annoy Pei Ji, was all intentional.

This is the moment I've been waiting for.

Liu Shuyi looked at Liu Yuanming, whose chin was held high, and without delay asked, "After you stole the remains of the Prince of Xi, where did you take them? Where are they hidden?"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi ask the important question, Du Ruhui's deep eyes immediately turned to Liu Yuanming. Even Pei Ji, disregarding his own frustration, stared intently at Liu Yuanming, wanting to know if Liu Yuanming would truly treat Liu Shuyi differently and if he would truly answer Liu Shuyi's question.

"You've gone straight to the heart of our plan. If I were to answer you, wouldn't I be betraying my comrades?"

Liu Yuanming raised an eyebrow: "However, since I promised to answer you, I can't not answer, so..."

He looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "I can only tell you a general area; you'll have to find out the exact location yourselves."

"Where?" Liu Shuyi ignored Liu Yuanming's previous nonsense and asked directly.

Liu Yuanming looked at him: "The land of Hebei."

Hebei?

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes.

Pei Ji and Du Ruhui's expressions both changed.

In the fifth year of the Wude era, Liu Heita rebelled. He was first driven to the Turkic Khaganate by Li Shimin, and then, with the help of the Turks, he raised an army again and forcibly occupied the land of Hebei.

In November of that year, Li Yuan ordered Li Jiancheng to lead an expedition against Liu Heita.

Ultimately, Li Jiancheng killed Liu Heita and pacified Hebei and Shandong.

When Liu Heita seized Hebei, he plundered the people's grain and indiscriminately killed innocent people, causing widespread resentment. However, after Li Jiancheng pacified Hebei, he adopted Wei Zheng's strategy of appeasing the people, which enabled them to recover their strength.

Therefore, Li Jiancheng enjoyed a very high reputation in Hebei and was very popular among the people.

Furthermore, there were many officials in Zhucheng, Hebei, who were personally appointed by Li Jiancheng at the time.

Now that the remains of the King of Xi have been transported here, what's the difference between that and releasing a bird back into the sky or throwing a fish into the sea?
Let alone asking the officials in Zhucheng, Hebei to search for it, it would be good enough if they didn't secretly harbor it.

They even worried that the land of Hebei had secretly changed due to the arrival of the King of Xi's remains.

If that's the case...

Pei Ji looked at Du Ruhui with a solemn expression, and saw that Du Ruhui's brows were furrowed, and his usually gentle and composed face showed a rare heavy expression.

"How many troops have you gathered in Hebei? Who are the people who want to rebel with you?" Pei Ji couldn't help but ask.

But Liu Yuanming completely ignored Pei Ji; he just looked at Liu Shuyi.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Shuyi nodded and said, "That's the same question I have."

Liu Yuanming then grinned and said, "I still can't tell you the specifics, but I can give you a general idea of ​​the scope."

"The number of people exceeds 50,000. You can guess exactly how many."

"Who are they... I can only say that every city has them."

"Over 50,000!?"

Pei Ji's pupils contracted, full of surprise: "When exactly did you start planning this? You've already gathered over 50,000 troops?"

Du Ruhui had not expected the number of people to be so large.

If there really were 50,000, then why bother fighting Liang Shidu?

If we don't pacify Hebei first, I'm afraid our rear will be in turmoil, and there's a risk of overthrowing the Tang Dynasty!

Liu Yuanming chuckled and said, "Never mind when we started planning this, in short... it's far beyond your imagination!"

Pei Ji and Du Ruhui exchanged a glance, and both of them suddenly had a guess in their minds.

It is likely that Li Jiancheng had secretly recruited a group of people before the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Its purpose, without a doubt, was to contend with His Majesty, who was then in control of the military forces under the command of the Supreme General of the Heavenly Strategy.

They might even be considering taking action against His Majesty.

However, His Majesty acted first, preventing Li Jiancheng from using this secret force.

Seeing the solemn expressions on Pei Ji and Du Ruhui's faces, Liu Yuanming's smile deepened: "I didn't say anything for your own good. Look, now that I've said it, you're under even more pressure."

Pei Ji's face grew increasingly gloomy from Liu Yuanming's sarcastic words.

Du Ruhui was also unable to relax for a moment.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

Liu Yuanming shifted his gaze to Liu Shuyi and said, "While I'm in a good mood and willing to answer, ask as many questions as you like. If I'm in a bad mood later, I won't answer a single one of them."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi pondered for a moment and said, "If I were to ask you about your specific plans for rebellion, the time of your uprising, and how you intend to carry them out, would you refuse to tell me?"

“Of course!” Liu Yuanming said, “But even if I wanted to say it, I couldn’t. I’m far away in Chang’an and can’t communicate with them in time, so I don’t know exactly what they will do.”

Liu Shuyi nodded, sighed, and said, "Then let's ask something closer and more specific."

"Oh? Closer?"

Liu Shuyi looked at him: "Do you know that I solved a self-immolation case today?"

"The self-immolation case?" Liu Yuanming was somewhat bewildered.

Liu Shuyi said, "This is a case of revenge disguised as self-immolation. The cause of the incident was that three military officers who had retired due to injuries but had been granted the title of military officer for their merits set fire to a wealthy merchant and his wife, Bai Ju'an, under the pretext of an accident, in order to seize the wealth of a wealthy merchant."

"Later, they gave their testimonies as eyewitnesses, saying that Bai Ju'an, drunk, knocked over a candlestick, causing a fire, and that they tried to save him, but it was too late."

"This case was handled by the Wannian County government at the time, and it was eventually closed as an accident. However, Bai Ju'an's son, Bai Jinghong, knew that his father never drank alcohol when he was away from home, so he always doubted the authenticity of this matter."

Even after the case was closed, he persisted in investigating in secret, and eventually... he found out the truth and learned that his parents' deaths were caused by Chen Feng and two other military officers.

"Then, he began his revenge."

Liu Shuyi recounted in detail how Bai Jinghong had committed suicide by self-immolation, which made Liu Yuanming's eyes light up: "This kid named Bai Jinghong has some brains. If it weren't for you, Chen Feng and the other two would probably have been believed by everyone to have died by self-immolation. Interesting, very interesting!"

"It's a pity I'm locked up here, otherwise I would definitely want to meet this interesting guy."

Liu Shuyi said, "I'm telling you about this case not to amuse you, but to explain the motives behind Chen Feng and his two accomplices in seizing the wealth of a rich businessman back then."

"Motive?" Liu Yuanming narrowed his eyes, as if he had realized something.

Liu Shuyi looked at him and said, "Chen Feng and his two companions weren't driven by greed. Their lives didn't become extravagant after acquiring this enormous wealth. On the contrary, they became even more frugal after obtaining it, which puzzles me greatly. Why is that..."

"So I continued my investigation, and I discovered that all the wealth they had seized had mysteriously disappeared; they hadn't kept a single piece for themselves."

"I find this utterly baffling. I have no idea where the wealth they painstakingly acquired through murder went, until..."

Liu Shuyi looked directly into Liu Yuanming's eyes and said, "It wasn't until you just said that the Prince of Xi had 50,000 old troops that I suddenly realized what was going on."

“I checked, and Chen Feng and Lu Yangyuan exchanged letters with Wei Chengyi, the Prefect of Cangzhou, and Zhao He, the Chief Secretary of Hengzhou, respectively, during the past year.”

"Chen Feng and his two companions happened to be former subordinates of Prince Xi who fought against Liu Heita back then, so..."

Liu Shuyi said, "Aren't they actually your inside agents in Chang'an? They were the ones who helped you secretly transport the remains of the Prince of Xi away, and the wealth they seized was used on the Prince of Xi's 50,000 troops, right?"

As Pei Ji listened to Liu Shuyi's words, he was shocked that Liu Shuyi had solved such a complicated case in just one day. At the same time, he stared intently at Liu Yuanming, wanting to know if it was really as Liu Shuyi said.

If true, it means the final piece of the puzzle in the case of Prince Xi's remains will be completed.

The case of the remains of the Prince of Xi will be thoroughly investigated, and all those involved will be identified!

Du Ruhui, however, had a glint of light flash in the depths of his eyes. He glanced at Liu Shuyi, who was looking serious, and his gaze became even more profound.

Then they saw Liu Yuanming grin and say, "I didn't expect you to find them after all."

"What a bunch of idiots!" Liu Yuanming's expression was filled with undisguised disdain: "I didn't betray them, and instead, they were avenged by a defenseless boy!"

"Is it really them?" Pei Ji was overjoyed.

Liu Shuyi stared at him and said, "But when I mentioned them just now, your reaction was as if you didn't know them."

Liu Yuanming shrugged: "To avoid the situation where everyone is taken down if one person is arrested, we all address each other by code names, so I don't know their specific names or identities. But I know what their mission is, and I also know that someone did send a large amount of money to Hebei two years ago. So, by comparing them, everything becomes clear."

"I see." Liu Shuyi nodded.

Pei Ji said coldly, "No wonder we knew nothing about you. You didn't even know each other's identities. You are truly cunning to the extreme!"

"Indeed, he was extremely cunning."

Liu Shuyi rarely agreed with Pei Ji's statement.

Pei Ji snorted coldly, about to smugly echo...

Then, Liu Shuyi turned to Du Ruhui and said, "It's confirmed. He's not a former subordinate of the Prince of Xi. He stole the Prince of Xi's remains with ulterior motives."

"What!?"

Pei Ji's expression suddenly froze, as if he had been hit on the head with a hammer, his ears ringing.

What did he hear?
This was the second time tonight that he had doubted his ears.

What the hell is Liu Shuyi talking about?
What do you mean by "He is not a former subordinate of the Prince of Xi"?

Could this "he" refer to...?

Pei Ji suddenly turned his head and looked directly at Liu Yuanming, who was tied to the pillar.

Liu Yuanming, who had been holding his chin high and looking arrogant, suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Liu Shuyi.

His expression was one of surprise and bewilderment, with an unconcealable hatred in his eyes.

That demeanor was completely different from how he had almost exploded with anger before!
His reaction was enough to prove that he hadn't misheard. Liu Shuyi really did say, "He's not a former subordinate of Prince Xi!"
But how come Liu Yuanming wasn't a former subordinate of Prince Xi?

He wasn't a former subordinate of the Prince of Xi, so why would he steal the Prince of Xi's corpse?
what on earth is it?

One moment Liu Shuyi had so cleverly deduced that Chen Feng and his two companions were Liu Yuanming's accomplices, but the next moment he directly said that Liu Yuanming was not a former subordinate of the Prince of Xi. The leap in this was too great, so much so that even Pei Ji, who had experienced many storms, was a little stunned for a moment.

At this moment, Du Ruhui, who had been silent all along, slowly nodded after hearing Liu Shuyi's words: "Yes, he is indeed not a former subordinate of the Prince of Xi."

As he spoke, Du Ruhui raised his head, his gaze turning deep as he looked at Liu Yuanming, his expression filled with an unprecedented murderous intent: "He deceived all of us."

"We almost caused a major disaster!"

Hearing Du Ruhui's words, Pei Ji finally realized what was going on. He couldn't help but ask, "Minister Du, do you understand what Liu Shuyi means? Is Liu Yuanming really not a former subordinate of the Prince of Xi?"

Liu Yuanming also stared intently at Du Ruhui and Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi met Liu Yuanming's hateful gaze and said calmly, "To be honest, I was almost fooled by you just now. I didn't expect that although you have an extreme personality, you also have extreme cunning, and you can use your cunning in your personality."

"However, you're still too hasty."

Liu Shuyi said, "Do you know where you gave yourself away?"

Liu Yuanming's eyes darted around as his brain raced, trying to recall what he had just said.

Suddenly, he thought of something.

The relaxed smile was gone from his face, replaced by a grim expression and gritted teeth: "You didn't solve the case at all today. The so-called self-immolation case, the so-called Chen Feng and the other two, are all fake. You were using them to test me!?"

Was the self-immolation case and the three individuals, including Chen Feng, all fake?
Pei Ji was taken aback and couldn't help but frown as he looked at Liu Shuyi.

But Liu Shuyi shook his head and said, "I've been working on this case all day, and you're just dismissing it as something that doesn't exist? That's not fair."

Liu Yuanming was taken aback: "Is there really such a case?"

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Of course I do. You don't really think I could come up with such a case in just a few breaths, with such a complete cause and effect, such an incredibly complex case, such a bizarre and unique method of crime, and such a logical loop that no one can find fault with, do you?"

Liu Yuanming frowned.

Recalling the case Liu Shuyi described, he indeed found no abnormalities whatsoever. Everything was reasonable and logically connected. If it were fabricated on the spot, it would be impossible to be so thorough in such a short time.

That's why he didn't doubt Liu Shuyi's words.

But if there's nothing wrong with the case, then where did the problem lie?
Liu Yuanming couldn't understand it.

Seeing that Liu Yuanming was racking his brains but still couldn't figure it out, Liu Shuyi didn't keep him in suspense and said, "The case itself is indeed fine, and the method is fine too. I know how smart you are. Since I'm lying to you, it naturally has to be convincing enough. Otherwise, once you notice something is wrong, how can I test you?"

"So, I didn't tamper with the main body of the case, but... when telling the truth, I slightly omitted a part of the truth, added a sentence, and changed a sentence."

"You omitted a part, added a sentence, and changed a sentence?" Liu Yuanming stared intently at Liu Shuyi.

Then Liu Shuyi slowly said, "The part I omitted is that the real murderer was not Chen Feng and his two companions. Bai Jinghong was deceived and mistakenly identified the murderer."

"What?" Liu Yuanming and Pei Ji were both taken aback.

The complex truth we just heard wasn't the whole story?
Just how complicated was the case that Liu Shuyi investigated?
"As for the sentence I changed..."

He looked at Liu Yuanming and said, "It's about the experiences of Chen Feng and the other two."

"The experiences of Chen Feng and the other two..." Liu Yuanming's eyes flashed: "Could it be that they weren't military officers? That they never participated in any battles?"

"No!"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "Chen Feng and the other two are indeed military officers and have indeed participated in battles, but they did not participate in the battle to quell Liu Heita with Prince Xi, but rather in the Turkic war with His Majesty."

"Not the Prince of Xi who followed..."

Liu Yuanming's pupils dilated, as if he understood something. He stared intently at Liu Shuyi and said, "The sentence you added... is it the sentence that Chen Feng and Liu Yuanming wrote to the Hebei officials?"

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "You guessed it?"

"really!"

Liu Yuanming's expression was uncertain, and he looked annoyed: "I should have known you were very treacherous. How could I have been so careless and believed your words so readily? I should have questioned them. The people in the letter they wrote last year are dead. You shouldn't have been able to find out so much about it."

“If you question me like this, you will still be exposed.”

"What?" Liu Yuanming frowned and looked at Liu Shuyi.

Then Liu Shuyi slowly said, "Because the Cangzhou Prefect Wei Chengyi, the Hengzhou Chief Administrator Zhao He... were all made up by me. I didn't even know what the Cangzhou Prefect was called or who the Hengzhou Chief Administrator was."

Liu Yuanming's pupils contracted sharply, and cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

Pei Ji also looked at Liu Shuyi with a surprised expression.

"If you are truly a former subordinate of the Prince of Xi, and if your companions are truly all in Hebei, then even if you are not so great, you should at least know the names of those accomplices in Zhucheng, Hebei..."

"After all, Hebei is not like Chang'an, where danger lurks at every turn. In Chang'an, you could use code names to hide your identities if you were afraid of being wiped out, but in Hebei... as you said, you're all going to rebel, so what's the point of hiding your identities?"

Listening to Liu Shuyi's words, Liu Yuanming finally realized where he had gone wrong.

No matter how hard he racked his brains, he could never have imagined that Liu Shuyi would deliberately test him with names.

In fact, he had indeed learned about the situation in Zhucheng, Hebei beforehand. However, he did not think he would be exposed, and there were too many people for him to remember. So he only learned who the governors of each prefecture in Hebei were, believing that knowing these names would be enough for him to use to frame someone if he was exposed.

But who would have thought that Liu Shuyi would be so insidious?

Even when testing his own name, he did not use the top governor of each prefecture, but rather the second-in-command.

He didn't know these people's names at all, and since he didn't notice any flaws in Liu Shuyi's account of the case, he subconsciously went along with Liu Shuyi's words and echoed his sentiments...

At the time, he was still smug, thinking that Liu Shuyi's cleverness had backfired, and that he had finally managed to deceive Liu Shuyi and make him suffer a setback.

But who knows...

He was the one who was too clever for his own good.

Having figured all this out, Liu Yuanming no longer hid his resentment towards Liu Shuyi, gritting his teeth and saying, "You are truly extremely insidious!"

"insidious?"

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow: "When it comes to cunning, I can't compare to you."

"After all, who could have imagined..."

He said with a half-smile, "In this situation, you would still scheme against us, even drag us into the abyss?"

Liu Yuanming stared intently at him.

Liu Shuyi sighed, "You truly deserve to be called the mastermind behind the theft of the Prince of Xi's remains. Even after being arrested and imprisoned, even when you were suffering a fate worse than death, you still managed to scheme against us one last time before you died..."

"If we truly believe, as you wish, and according to your calculations, that all of this was done by the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi, and that their purpose was indeed to rebel..."

"The result would be terrifying."

Pei Ji's heart sank, and Du Ruhui's expression also turned solemn.

Liu Shuyi's gaze deepened, and his tone grew heavier: "Originally, the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei might not have intended to rebel, but as a result, they discovered that the imperial court had suddenly assembled a large army and was marching towards Hebei..."

What will they think?

"They'll just think that His Majesty wants to settle scores with them, that His Majesty doesn't want them to live!"

"Under these circumstances, in order to survive, they have no choice but to rebel, even if they don't want to!"

"And this directly led to internal strife within the Tang Dynasty. The Hebei region, which had finally found some peace, was once again ravaged by war, with people displaced and corpses piling up like mountains..."

"If you traitors and rebels were to take advantage of this opportunity to do something, the entire Tang Dynasty would likely be plunged into endless war!"

"So, you're saying I'm extremely treacherous?"

Liu Shuyi stared coldly at Liu Yuanming: "No matter how cunning I am, I'm only scheming against you. But what about you?"

"Your treachery will cause millions of people to be displaced and countless citizens of the Tang Dynasty to die in the flames of war! Compared to you, how can I be called the most treacherous of all?"

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, the Imperial Guards around him felt their hands and feet turn ice cold.

Looking at Liu Yuanming before them, they felt as if they were not looking at a person, but at a beast with bared fangs, vertical pupils, and a cold-blooded nature like a venomous snake.

They never imagined that Liu Yuanming's seemingly cooperative answer to Liu Shuyi actually concealed such a terrifying conspiracy!

If Liu Yuanming had actually succeeded, they couldn't even imagine how devastated the future Tang Dynasty would have become.

"Hehe...hehehehehe..."

As Liu Yuanming sensed the change in the expressions on everyone's faces, he suddenly burst into laughter. His laughter started as a low chuckle, then grew louder and louder until it became a maniacal roar.

As he laughed, the wounds on his face that had finally scabbed over burst open, and blood gushed down his cheeks.

He looked at Liu Shuyi and grinned, "You're right, I am indeed more cold-blooded than you, but that's only from your perspective. From my point of view, every great undertaking requires sacrifice!"

“I’m not afraid of being despised after I die. I just didn’t expect that you would be able to calmly analyze my confession and even try to verify its authenticity after getting it so easily.”

Liu Yuanming's gaze swept over Pei Ji and Du Ruhui, finally landing on Pei Ji: "If I had known, I would have pretended to be afraid of your torment, you old geezer, and made you my target."

"With your old foolishness, you'll definitely believe me and send troops. What a pity! What a pity! I chose the wrong person."

Pei Ji's expression froze, and his whole body trembled with anger.

He really wanted to kill Liu Yuanming!

That bastard keeps humiliating me!
Seeing that Pei Ji was so angry with him that he was about to ascend to heaven, Liu Yuanming finally looked away with satisfaction.

He looked at Liu Shuyi again and said, "Now that you understand everything, let's stop pretending and end this."

With that, he closed his eyes: "From now on, I will not say anything more. If you have the ability, continue to torture me and see if I can endure it. If you don't have the ability, just kill me. Anyway, you won't get anything out of me here, and I'll just be in your way."

After saying this, Liu Yuanming indeed shut his mouth and didn't say another word.

Du Ruhui frowned and looked at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi pondered for a moment, then without exchanging any pleasantries with Liu Yuanming, he said directly, "Master Du, let's go out."

Du Ruhui's heart skipped a beat, knowing that Liu Shuyi had something to say to him privately.

He nodded, then said to Pei Ji, "Pei Sikong, I'll still need your help here. I won't stop you from doing whatever you want, but remember... he can't die!"

Pei Ji had long wanted to teach Liu Yuanming a lesson, and upon hearing this, even Liu Shuyi forgot about showing any displeasure and stepped forward to whip him.

Meanwhile, Liu Shuyi and Du Ruhui had already left the interrogation room.

With the heavy doors closed, all sounds inside the interrogation room were blocked out.

Liu Shuyi looked at Du Ruhui and asked, "Lord Du, after you found out that Liu Yuanming was a former subordinate of the Prince of Xi and that the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi were plotting a rebellion, what did you do?"

Du Ruhui instantly understood Liu Shuyi's meaning, and his expression changed slightly: "We have sent scouts to Zhucheng in Hebei to investigate, and we have begun to gather troops to prevent a counterattack from the former troops of the Prince of Xi."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief: "Is that all? You didn't order any spies to secretly arrest or even kill the officials in Zhucheng, did you?"

Du Ruhui shook his head: "We don't know how far the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi have prepared, and we are not prepared at all. We need time to gather troops and supplies, so we don't want to alert them."

"Fortunately."

Liu Shuyi said, "As long as we don't touch those old subordinates of the Prince of Xi, and don't let them realize that the court is going to take action against them, there is still room for maneuver."

"Otherwise, if they sense a crisis, then..."

He looked at Du Ruhui and said in a deep voice, "We really think Liu Yuanming and the forces behind him are going to succeed! The consequences are unimaginable."

Du Ruhui felt a chill run down his spine; how could he not know all this?

Du Ruhui said, "Luckily, I found you in time, and you saw through Liu Yuanming's trick! Otherwise, if we had really taken action, the fake would have become real!"

Liu Shuyi looked at the tightly closed door and said, "Liu Yuanming is indeed more cunning than I imagined. If it weren't for his straightforward answer, and the fact that it made my heart race and gave me a sense of crisis that if we didn't send troops immediately, it would be too late, I wouldn't have noticed anything amiss and sensed a hint of urgency in Liu Yuanming's words..."

"I might not even have the thought of testing them."

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "He was too hasty. If he had been more composed, had dealt with us for a while longer, and had released these messages slowly, the outcome might have been different."

Du Ruhui understood Liu Shuyi's meaning. He pondered for a moment and said, "Does his eagerness mean...?"

He looked at Liu Shuyi: "What conspiracy do they have that makes them so eager for us to clash with the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi before they can proceed to the next step?"

A thoughtful look flashed in Liu Shuyi's eyes as he said, "That possibility cannot be ruled out."

Du Ruhui's heart sank.

A conspiracy based on war—just thinking about it makes it clear that once they take action, it will be no small matter.

It might be even more terrifying than the outcome of their military intervention in Hebei!
Du Ruhui frowned: "Liu Yuanming is not a former subordinate of the Prince of Xi, so which faction will he belong to?"

"Did they go to such great lengths and risk their lives to steal the remains of the Prince of Xi, besides framing his former subordinates, for any other purpose?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head and said, "There are too few clues to be sure. The most important thing right now is to prevent their conspiracy from succeeding and to prevent the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi from actually rebelling!"

Du Ruhui's heart skipped a beat. He immediately said, "I will go to the palace right away and report your discovery to His Majesty. We need to change our course of action in Hebei immediately."

"It just so happens that officials from Hebei are coming to Chang'an to report on their duties these past two days. We will appease them and inform them of the traitors' plot, so that they know the court's goodwill and trust, lest they be taken advantage of by the traitors."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "That would be best. As long as we can avoid fighting with the old subordinates of the Prince of Xi, we can fundamentally thwart their conspiracy... Even if we can't completely crush it, we can delay their conspiracy and give us a chance to find them."

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Du Ruhui took a deep breath, looked at him with great satisfaction, and said, "You were able to see through the villain's conspiracy, stop the internal strife in the Tang Dynasty, and make a great contribution. I will tell His Majesty about your performance in detail."

Liu Shuyi hurriedly replied, "This is all what I should do; I dare not take credit for it."

Du Ruhui waved his hand. Liu Shuyi was someone he wanted to promote, so naturally he couldn't let Liu Shuyi's efforts go to waste.

"Alright, I'm going to see His Majesty. After you've met with Lu Yangyuan, you should get some rest."

After saying that, Du Ruhui quickly left.

Watching Du Ruhui leave, Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and did not follow him out of the prison. Instead, he found a member of the Imperial Guard.

He inquired, "Do you know where Miaoyin'er is being held?"

Jinwuwei nodded hurriedly: "It's on the inside."

"lead the way!"

It's time to meet this enchantress, Miaoyin'er.

(End of this chapter)