The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 64: Case Closed! The Truth Revealed!
"Master Liu, are there really two corpses?"

"Was Governor Ma's body really swapped with another corpse's body?"

Listening to the discussions of the crowd, Wang Gui could no longer suppress his overwhelming curiosity and couldn't help but ask Liu Shuyi.

Upon hearing Wang Gui's words, the previously noisy discussion abruptly ceased.

All eyes immediately fell on Liu Shuyi.

Cui Lin stared at Liu Shuyi, his face pale. All he wanted to know was what the truth of the case really was.

Who exactly is the murderer who deceived him so badly?
Even the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei Province were looking at Liu Shuyi with great curiosity. They had been unknowingly drawn in by Liu Shuyi's reasoning.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Liu Shuyi didn't keep them in suspense. He said, "Based on the clues of the blood volume and the official boots, my conclusion is consistent with yours."

"However, inferences are still inferences and need to be based on facts."

"Therefore, I request that Cheng Zhonglang come to help me verify the authenticity of this matter."

General Cheng?

Upon hearing this, everyone subconsciously looked at Cheng Chumo, who was standing next to Liu Shuyi and had two huge battle axes on his back.

Liu Shuyi said, "Duting Post Station only has two gates, and both gates were guarded all night. Therefore, I believe that if there is indeed another victim as I have predicted, then the murderer would definitely not be able to send this person's body out of Duting Post Station."

"In other words, the corpse is still hidden inside the Duting Post Station. Therefore, I have entrusted General Cheng to conduct a thorough search of the entire Duting Post Station, leaving no stone unturned. As for the specific details..."

He looked at Cheng Chumo and said, "General Cheng, you should inform everyone."

Cheng Chumo nodded, and when he spoke, his voice was extremely loud.

"After Liu Yuanwailang came to this storeroom, he asked me to help him find two very important things. I didn't know what they were, so I curiously asked him what he was looking for..."

"As it turned out, Liu Yuanwailang said he needed to find a headless corpse and a head..."

"You probably can't imagine how surprised I was at the time, after all, Liu Yuanwailang was pressed for time and didn't explain any of this to me..."

Everyone felt that they should be able to imagine it.

After all, they were just as surprised as they had been.

"However, I trust Liu Yuanwailang. Although I was puzzled, I still led people to search immediately."

Cheng Chumo continued, "We searched every room in Duting Post Station, inside and out, but found nothing."

"After that, we searched places that were not habitable for humans."

"For example, the stables, the rarely visited outhouses, and the artificial hill in the garden that's frozen over and hasn't been visited in a long time..."

"After our thorough search, which was as deep as digging three feet into the ground, finally..."

He paused for a moment, and everyone's hearts seemed to tighten at that moment.

Then, Cheng Chumo said, "We found bloodstains in a dry well on the northwest side of Duting Post Station!"

"Blood?"

Everyone was stunned.

Wang Gui couldn't help but ask, "Aren't they corpses and heads?"

Cheng Chumo shook his head: "There's snow all over the bottom of the dry well. If you stand on the dry well and look down, you can't see anything but snow."

"However, because of Liu Yuanwailang's instructions, we searched very carefully and cautiously, so... the bloodstains on the snow did not escape our eyes."

"Because that dry well has long been unused, no one ever comes here normally, let alone the fact that there are bloodstains on the snow..."

"Therefore, as soon as I saw this scene, I realized that there might be a problem with this well."

"Then I sent people down to the bottom of the well to clear away the snow. As the surface snow disappeared, what was underneath finally came into view..."

Wang Gui felt a tightness in his throat and hurriedly asked, "What's under the snow?"

"I have already ordered my men to bring it over; you will all see for yourselves."

As Cheng Chumo spoke, he clapped his hands vigorously.

As he clapped his hands, several Imperial Guards immediately carried over a stretcher.

Everyone immediately looked over.

then……

"That is!?"

"A corpse! There really is a corpse!"

"And the head! The head wasn't attached to the body!"

"Just as Liu Yuanwailang said, there were two dead!"

Exclamations of surprise rose and fell.

The former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei couldn't help but take a step forward. Looking at the separated corpse and head on the stretcher, they couldn't hide the shock and disbelief on their faces.

Clearly, the case has now developed in a way that has completely exceeded their expectations.

At this moment, they were all somewhat uncertain whether Ma Fuyuan's death was related to the imperial court.

Cui Lin stared intently at the corpse and head, his face deathly pale. The last shred of hope in his heart vanished at this moment.

No words are more convincing than the facts before us!
Looking at the corpse placed on the ground, Liu Shuyi said to the Hebei officials, "Fellow officials, do you know if this headless corpse is Governor Ma?"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei Province all looked somewhat hesitant.

But after thinking about the development of the case, it seemed that it really had nothing to do with Qin Wuyuan, the highest-ranking reception officer arranged by the imperial court. After hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded and stepped forward to identify him.

They looked at the headless corpse on the ground, examining it from left to right. Finally, Miao Xian, the Prefect of Hengzhou, said, "Reporting to Assistant Minister Liu, the body shape of this corpse is indeed very similar to that of Prefect Ma, but we do not know whether Prefect Ma had any birthmarks or other characteristics, so I dare not be sure if it is him or not."

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly. He didn't want the Hebei officials to make the decision directly, but rather to involve them.

The people in Hebei Province have always been extremely wary, as if they were in another dimension, which is not a good thing.

Solving the case is important, but convincing them that it wasn't the government's doing is even more important.

"You might want to take a look at the instep of the corpse's left foot. If he were Governor Ma, I think the instep should correspond to the official boots," Liu Shuyi reminded.

Upon hearing this, the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi all hurriedly lowered their heads to look.

then……

"There are red and swollen marks!"

"It really does!"

Their eyes lit up, and they couldn't help but speak up.

Upon hearing the voices of the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi, the other officials also subconsciously looked towards the deceased's left foot.

"Indeed!"

"Master Liu is right! This is indeed the true corpse of Governor Ma!"

"Incredible! Master Liu didn't utter a single wrong word!"

As Cui Lin listened to the crowd's words and looked at the instep with its obvious swelling, he clenched his fists tightly.

Even though he disliked Liu Shuyi, at this moment he had to admit that Liu Shuyi was really good at investigating cases!
"It seems the identity of the corpse has been confirmed..."

Liu Shuyi said, "Then, a new question arises: why did the murderer kill another person, and why did he exchange the heads and bodies of the two victims?"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, everyone immediately looked at him.

This was also what they were most puzzled about.

Liu Shuyi glanced at everyone and said, "Killing one person and killing two people take completely different amounts of time. There were many people in Duting Post Station last night, and someone could have gone out at any time. The longer the crime takes, the greater the risk of the murderer being exposed."

"Even so, he still found another person from somewhere and killed him, and even swapped his body with that of Governor Ma... The murderer went to great lengths and took risks to do this, so he must have had a reason to do so."

"What do you all think his purpose might be?"

Everyone shook their heads; they had all thought about it, but they couldn't figure it out at all.

Cui Lin also subconsciously tried to analyze the situation, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what benefit this would bring to the murderer.

Such bizarre behavior was something he had never encountered in his more than ten years of investigating cases.

Seeing everyone shaking their heads in confusion, Liu Shuyi said, "The body was replaced, but the head was not changed. This means that the murderer wanted us to believe that the body double's body was the body of Governor Ma."

Why would he want us to think that way?

"There is only one possibility, and that is, only if we think this way, can he use this to hide a secret that is very important to him."

"In other words, that substitute corpse will give us false information that is different from the body of the Ma family's chieftain!"

"We can't get any truly useful clues just by examining the body double's corpse!"

"Therefore, to find out why the murderer swapped their bodies, all we need to do is compare their corpses!"

"The difference lies in the killer's motive!"

As he spoke, he looked directly at Du Ying beside him and said, "Miss Du, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again."

Between you and me, there is no need to talk about hardship.

Du Ying gave a cold reply and went directly to the corpse to examine it carefully.

Upon seeing this, everyone instinctively held their breath and waited anxiously.

Even Cui Lin and the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi watched Du Ying examine the body with bated breath; not a single person was distracted at this moment.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Du Ying raised her head.

"how?"

Wang Gui couldn't help but ask.

Du Ying said, "Prefect An was also stabbed in the back, but his wound was larger and not as neat as the previous corpse. This indicates that Prefect An must have struggled a few times after being stabbed, but due to being ambushed and being too badly injured, he did not last long."

"This can be seen from the fact that there are no other obvious injuries on his body."

“Apart from that, Governor An and the other corpse were indistinguishable on the surface.”

Wang Gui frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Whether you struggled or not seems to make no difference to the case..."

Zhao Feng nodded: "Yes, and the other person wasn't from Duting Post Station, so the murderer must have prepared him in advance."

"Before killing Governor Ma, the murderer could not have known that Governor Ma's struggle would result in wounds that were different from the other person's... Therefore, it should not have been for this reason that he chose the other person."

Wang Gui couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi: "Then what else could it be?"

Everyone looked at Liu Shuyi.

Then Liu Shuyi's face showed a thoughtful expression. After a moment, he looked at Du Ying and said, "Dissect the body! Remove the stomach!"

Du Ying raised her cool eyebrows slightly: "You mean to say?"

Liu Shuyi said, "Of that corpse, the most important clue you gave me, the one that will help me in the investigation, is only one..."

"That's the time!"

"It was because of your autopsy results that I was so certain that the time of the crime was between 1-3 AM and 3-5 AM!"

"So, if the bodies look identical on the surface, then perhaps what the murderer is trying to hide from us is time!"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Wang Gui and the others felt a jolt in their hearts.

"time?"

"real or fake?"

The crowd instinctively started whispering among themselves.

Du Ying's cold eyes trembled slightly. Without any hesitation, she immediately said, "Give me a quarter of an hour!"

After saying that, she immediately ordered the Imperial Guards to carry the corpse out.

There were too many people here, and the lighting was too dim, making it unsuitable for her to perform an autopsy.

Moreover, her tools were all in the room where she had previously performed the dissection, so she needed to go back there to perform the dissection.

As Du Ying left, everyone in the warehouse began to wait anxiously.

They would crane their necks from time to time, looking towards the warehouse entrance, hoping to see if Du Ying had returned.

Some even wanted to go with Du Ying, but since Liu Shuyi hadn't given the order, none of them dared to move.

They could only pace back and forth, whispering amongst themselves, while peering out the door.

And so, time flew by as everyone waited anxiously.

About fifteen minutes later.

"She's back! Miss Du is back!"

Someone suddenly shouted.

Everyone's eyes immediately turned towards the doorway.

Then, the slender and beautiful Du Ying walked briskly towards them.

As soon as Du Ying arrived, Zhao Feng couldn't help but ask, "Miss Du, how is she?"

Everyone pricked up their ears and held their breath, afraid of disturbing Du Ying.

Then, they saw Du Ying look at Liu Shuyi, her cold voice echoing in the storeroom: "The food hasn't been fully digested yet. Considering the time they ate last night, we can confirm..."

"The time of Ma Cishi's death was before the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)!"

"The specific time is between midnight and 1-3 AM!"

brush!
Eyes widened instantly!

"The time of death really does differ!"

"Master Liu's prediction was correct again!"

"Master Liu truly deserves to be called a detective in this world. Even without knowing the specifics, he still guessed correctly!"

"The time of death of Governor Ma was between midnight and 1-3 AM, while the time given by the other corpse was between 1-3 AM and 3-5 AM. In other words, the murderer actually committed the murder a full hour earlier than we know!"

The crowd couldn't help but discuss it excitedly.

Cui Lin was also visibly shocked: "The time difference between the crimes was a full hour..."

"It's not from the hour of Chou to the hour of Yin, so..."

He couldn't help but look at Qin Wuyuan, who was kneeling on the ground and bound hand and foot, his pupils dilating: "Qin Wuyuan, who appeared on the road between the hours of Chou and Yin, is really not the murderer!?"

Qin Wuyuan listened to everyone's words, stunned for a moment, and then suddenly burst into tears of joy.

"The murderer committed the crime before 1 AM, while I went out after 1 AM..."

"My suspicion can finally be cleared!"

"I told you I wasn't the murderer! Now you believe me, right?"

Qin Wuyuan laughed and cried at the same time. Then, he kowtowed heavily to Liu Shuyi: "Master Liu, you saved me! You really saved me! If it weren't for you, I might have really been wronged!"

Seeing Qin Wuyuan's joyful tears, everyone couldn't help but feel moved.

Qin Wuyuan was truly unlucky, as he happened to appear at the time the murderer had fabricated.

But he was also lucky.

He met Liu Shuyi; otherwise, the outcome would have been unpredictable.

"The Qin messenger need not perform such a grand ceremony."

Liu Shuyi stepped forward, untied the ropes binding Qin Wuyuan, and helped him up.

Qin Wuyuan shook his head vigorously and said, "I was extremely unlucky and ran into the time frame that the murderer had falsified. If it weren't for Liu Yuanwailang, I would have been wrongfully killed! Liu Yuanwailang is like my second father, so it is only right and proper for him to perform this great ceremony."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Qin Wuyuan was right. Without Liu Shuyi, he would have certainly died. Liu Shuyi cleared his name and was indeed like a second parent to him, a kindness that was like giving him a second life.

"What bad luck?"

To everyone's surprise, Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow upon hearing Qin Wuyuan's words and said something that sent chills down everyone's spines: "You don't really think it's just a coincidence that you ran into the murderer's fabricated time of the crime, do you?"

These words were like a boulder suddenly thrown into a calm lake.

In an instant, a huge wave of astonishment swept through everyone's hearts.

Qin Wuyuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, looking at Liu Shuyi with disbelief in his eyes, and said, "Master Liu, do you mean... that I am not unlucky?"

Everyone else was also staring intently at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi glanced around at everyone and slowly said, "Miss Du has just proven that the only difference between Governor Ma's corpse and his double corpse is the difference in the digestion of the food in their stomachs."

"Previously, in a case, I suggested to Miss Du that she determine the time of death by dissecting the body and removing the stomach."

"Although this matter hasn't completely spread, it's not exactly a secret either. Therefore, the murderer specifically changed the food to digest more corpses in order to replace Governor Ma. I think..."

He narrowed his eyes and said, "The murderer probably anticipated that this case would fall into my hands, so in order to deal with my investigation, he made this arrangement in accordance with my habits."

"His purpose was to make me believe that Governor Ma died between the hours of Chou (1-3 AM) and Yin (3-5 AM)."

"Furthermore, why did the murderer light benzoin, which is said to burn all night, on Ma Cishi's head?"

He looked at everyone, his voice neither fast nor slow, giving them an instinctive sense of conviction: "I think the murderer didn't just want to use this method to convey his purpose of cursing and mocking the deceased King Xi, but more importantly..."

"He wanted to use benzoin to help me confirm the time of the incident once again."

"A single clue might be problematic, but when two clues can corroborate each other, in this situation..."

Liu Shuyi slowly shook his head and said, "Even I, without any other clues to question the present, would never doubt it!"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, everyone's faces showed shock.

They never imagined that the murderer had done all of this as part of a deliberate plot against Liu Shuyi!

Before committing the crime, the murderer had even considered Liu Shuyi's habits and how the coroner would conduct the autopsy.

The meticulousness of his mind is truly terrifying.

Even Cui Lin couldn't help but have his pupils twitch repeatedly.

He wondered, if it wasn't Liu Shuyi investigating the case, but himself, would he be deceived?
The answer is yes.

Although he didn't know how to dissect a stomach to determine the time of death, he did notice the benzoin...

Therefore, the murderer not only plotted against Liu Shuyi, but also clearly considered what to do if the person investigating the case was someone else instead of Liu Shuyi.

"Who is the murderer? How could they be so cunning?!" Cui Lin frowned.

Liu Shuyi continued, "The murderer went to such lengths to make us believe that the crime occurred between the hours of Chou (1-3 AM) and Yin (3-5 AM)..."

Why would he want us to think that way?

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, everyone quickly put aside their random thoughts and listened attentively.

Then Liu Shuyi said, "I think there can only be one answer: during this period of time, the murderer planned something else to escape the law or achieve other goals."

"Therefore, all we need to know is what happened during this period, and we can deduce the killer's purpose from that."

"And during this time period..."

Liu Shuyi's gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Cui Lin, and he said, "Only two things happened."

Cui Lin's pupils suddenly dilated.

"The first thing..."

Liu Shuyi said, "Military Advisor Cui and Prefect An, because of something, did not sleep and came outside."

"Secondly, Military Advisor Cui and Prefect An personally witnessed the Qin messenger heading towards the warehouse..."

Liu Shuyi squinted and said, "It's precisely because Military Advisor Cui and Prefect An saw Qin the Postmaster with their own eyes and acted as witnesses that Qin the Postmaster was unable to defend himself just now, and that everyone regarded him as the murderer. Military Advisor Cui even confronted me because of this..."

"So, does everyone understand?"

Liu Shuyi raised his voice: "It is precisely because the time is from the hour of Chou to the hour of Yin that the murderer's identity has become that of the Qin courier!"

"And what was Qin the Postmaster's status? He was the Postmaster of the Capital Post Station, the highest-ranking official appointed by the imperial court to receive officials and envoys from other regions. He represented the imperial court..."

"Therefore, if the murderer is Qin the Postmaster, then Qin the Postmaster's cruel killing of Governor Ma from Hebei Circuit..."

Liu Shuyi shifted his gaze to the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi, whose expressions were solemn and who seemed to have understood something. He asked, "I wonder what you colleagues think? Do you believe that this murder case is related to the imperial court?"

Suddenly!

The expressions of the former subordinates of Prince Xi all changed. They hadn't expected Liu Shuyi to be so blunt as to say such things!

The officials of Bingzhou, as well as the officials of Duting Post Station, also thought about the backgrounds of these officials from Hebei Province, and their expressions changed drastically.

"My colleagues in Hebei Province need not worry. The reason I am speaking so openly is because I know a secret that none of you are aware of."

"A secret?" Everyone was taken aback.

The former subordinates of the Prince of Xi stared intently at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi said, "As you all should know, two days ago, I solved the case of the disappearance of Prince Xi's remains and personally captured Liu Yuanming, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who stole Prince Xi's remains."

“Last night, at the invitation of Minister Du, I questioned Liu Yuanming.”

"I won't go into the details of the process, but in short, during my confrontation with Liu Yuanming, I saw through his trickery and learned of their audacious conspiracy!"

conspiracy?

Everyone instinctively felt a chill run down their spines.

Then Liu Shuyi said in a deep voice, "Liu Yuanming and his accomplices intended to frame the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei Province for the crime of stealing the Prince of Xi's remains, thereby causing conflict between the court and Hebei Province, which would then lead to internal strife in the Tang Dynasty and widespread suffering among the people..."

"!!!"

Liu Shuyi's words were like pouring a basin of water into a boiling pot of oil.

In an instant, everyone was terrified.

Wang Gui's eyes widened.

Qin Wuyuan's hands and feet were ice cold.

Cui Lin was also dumbfounded and utterly horrified.

He never imagined that what seemed like a simple murder case was hiding such a terrifying conspiracy!

But when Cui Lin thought about his actions just now, and if he really treated Qin Wuyuan as the murderer, and the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei Province misunderstood him... he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave!
He couldn't even imagine how serious the consequences would be!
As for the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi, their expressions were not much better than those of Qin Wuyuan and the others.

Their pupils contracted, they looked at each other, their faces showing shock and disbelief.

Liu Shuyi looked at the drastically changed expressions on the faces of the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi, his gaze deep.

He had actually hesitated about whether to expose Liu Yuanming and his accomplices' conspiracy.

Later, as the case progressed and he learned that problems might have arisen in Hebei Province, he made a decisive decision to go public.

The conspiracy has been exposed, so if similar incidents of Hebei officials being killed happen again, this predicament can be avoided. Even other dirty deeds can be blamed on Liu Yuanming and his accomplices.

Moreover, by making it public, he was essentially telling everyone that the imperial court trusted the former subordinates of the Prince of Xiangxin and believed in Hebei Province. At this point, if there were still some people in Hebei Province with ulterior motives who wanted to cause trouble, it would be difficult for them to find a reasonable reason to take action.

If we take action again, we will lose the moral high ground.

They were already in a weak position, and without a banner of righteousness to win over the people, it would be extremely difficult for them to cause trouble.

This gave the imperial court time to resolve the hidden dangers in Hebei Province.

Kill two birds with one stone.

As for the fact that once the plan was made public, it was impossible to hide it from Liu Yuanming's accomplices and let them know that the court had already grasped their plans... that was something that could not be helped.

Everything has a price.

The best choice is one where the gains far outweigh the costs.

As expected, as Liu Shuyi finished speaking, the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei Province no longer looked at him with the same wariness as before.

Liu Shuyi took in their subtle reactions before continuing, "Liu Yuanming and his accomplices intend to incite conflict between the imperial court and Hebei Province."

“Using the remains of the King of Xi to frame his former subordinates is one tactic.”

"Using the death of Governor Ma to frame the imperial court is another tactic!"

"so……"

He looked at Qin Wuyuan again and said, "Qin Yishi, do you still think you're just unlucky?"

"I……"

Qin Wuyuan never imagined that he, a mere postmaster of Duting Post Station, would be able to decide whether or not internal strife would break out in the Tang Dynasty at this very moment...

I never imagined I'd have such an important moment!
But this moment is the worst...

He couldn't help but say, "So, the reason I have an upset stomach... is not because I ate something bad, but because the murderer poisoned me?"

Liu Shuyi said, “You hosted a banquet for the envoys and officials from other places, and you all ate the same food, which was made by the kitchen of Duting Post Station and was food you often ate. As a result, no one else got sick, but you were the only one who got sick, and it just so happened to happen after the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)... Does the Qin post station envoy think this is normal?”

"This……"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Qin Wuyuan's eyes widened, and he realized that something was indeed wrong.

Even if someone is having trouble adjusting to the local environment, it should be other people who are having trouble adjusting.

If I eat like this every day, how could I be the only one who gets sick?
Everyone else also fully understood that Qin Wuyuan was a scapegoat deliberately pushed out by the murderer to incite the imperial court and the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei!
"This murderer is truly cunning and cold-blooded!"

Wang Gui couldn't help but say, "Not only are they wronging innocent people, but they also want to incite internal strife in the Tang Dynasty. Don't they know how many innocent people will die in the war and how many families will be torn apart by doing this?"

Zhao Feng nodded emphatically: "Extremely ruthless!"

Even the usually mild-mannered Du Gou spoke in an icy voice: "Those who disrupt the nation and start wars deserve to die!"

The officials from Hebei Province hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

For a time, the crowd was excited.

Even Cui Lin couldn't help but join in with a few curses.

He didn't hate the murderer's plot, but he almost had to bear a huge responsibility because of the murderer. If that responsibility fell on his shoulders, even the Cui family probably couldn't save him.

He could not tolerate this.

Wang Gui looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "Master Liu, who exactly is this insidious and vicious murderer?!"

Upon hearing Wang Gui's words, everyone's gaze instantly fell upon Liu Shuyi.

The more people learned about the killer's plans and schemes, the more curious they became about the killer's identity.

Cui Lin also stared intently at Liu Shuyi, wanting to know who this bastard who almost ruined his life was.

Then, they saw Liu Shuyi slowly say, "Actually, I have already told everyone the answer."

"what?"

"They told us?"

Everyone was startled.

Wang Gui and Zhao Feng exchanged a glance, and then both saw the confusion in each other's eyes.

Cui Lin frowned, thinking hard, but he couldn't figure out where Liu Shuyi had revealed the murderer's identity.

"Do you all remember the two things that happened at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) that I just mentioned?"

Liu Shuyi said, "The main reason why Qin the courier became the murderer is that someone can prove that he took action between the hours of Chou (1-3 AM) and Yin (3-5 AM)."

"So, who can prove it... do you all think it was just a coincidence that they appeared at that time?"

Everyone was stunned at first.

Then, after they understood Liu Shuyi's meaning...

Instantly, everyone's gaze turned towards the Bingzhou officials.

His eyes instantly fixed on the composed Prefect An Qingxi and Cui Lin, who had just clashed with Liu Shuyi.

"Could it be that they are the murderers?" Wang Gui exclaimed in surprise.

Cui Lin's expression changed drastically in an instant.

He never imagined that just a moment ago he was shining brightly, pointing at Qin Wuyuan and saying that Qin Wuyuan was the murderer.

Soon after, he was suspected of being the murderer!

"not me!"

Cui Lin shook his head vigorously and hurriedly said, "Don't talk nonsense, I am not the murderer!"

But his words not only did not change anything, but instead drew more attention to him.

After all, just now, he was the one who kept saying that Qin Wuyuan was the murderer.

After Liu Shuyi provided other clues, they tried every means to refute him.

Therefore, considering the murderer's intention to frame Qin Wuyuan... Cui Lin's actions just now were precisely aimed at achieving this goal!
As for An Qingxi, the governor of Bingzhou, he was obstructing Cui Lin and speaking up for Liu Shuyi from beginning to end...

Comparing the two, it goes without saying which one is more suspicious.

Seeing the unwavering gazes of the crowd, Cui Lin's heart sank. He finally understood how Qin Wuyuan had felt when he had just rebuked him as the murderer.

"Hey……"

At that moment, a sigh echoed softly behind Cui Lin.

“Military Advisor Cui, I truly never imagined you were this kind of person. I trusted you so much, yet you used me to become a witness for yourself…”

"After four years of friendship and four years of trust in you, is this how you take advantage of me?"

Cui Lin's pupils suddenly condensed.

He turned his head in disbelief.

"Prefect An, you..."

Seeing the disappointment on An Qingxi's face and hearing his words, Cui Lin seemed to finally understand something at that moment.

"It's you!"

"You're the murderer!"

"You're using me!"

An Qingxi shook his head, his disappointment deepening: "Even at this point, you're still making false accusations. I really misjudged you."

"You—" Cui Lin almost vomited blood from anger.

He wanted to seek support from others.

But when he looked at others, all he saw was disgust, contempt, wariness, and loathing...

"you……"

"You have to believe me, it really wasn't me!"

"He really is the murderer!"

But no one believed him; his past actions were seen by everyone as the biggest evidence.

Cui Lin had never felt so as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He came from a prestigious family, and even though he was only from a collateral branch of the Cui family, he was still highly respected by others. When had he ever been treated like this before?

And this is just the beginning.

If he is indeed proven to be the murderer, the consequences would likely be dire, even death would be the least of his worries...

He was no longer arrogant as before, and quickly looked at Liu Shuyi, saying, "Master Liu, you are so good at solving cases, you must know that I am not the murderer!"

"Help me, you have to help me!"

He finally bowed his head to Liu Shuyi, completely surrendering his pride in the face of life and reputation.

An Qingxi looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "Liu Yuanwailang, do not believe his sweet talk. I have worked with him for four years and still do not know his true colors. This shows how deep his scheming is and how terrifying it is."

“I was thinking before, how could it be such a coincidence that just as we were about to return to Chang’an, he happened to capture a Turkic spy and happened to learn these secrets.”

"Now I realize that this was all part of his long-planned scheme. He wanted to use me as a witness to carry out his conspiracy."

The others were unaware of the spies, and upon hearing that An Qingxi and Cui Lin had left at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) because of the so-called spies Cui Lin had captured in Bingzhou...

In that instant, I became even more convinced that Cui Lin was the murderer.

Wang Gui said, "Master Liu, the truth is out, arrest them!"

Cui Lin's face turned deathly pale: "No, it wasn't me..."

But no one paid any attention to him.

He looked at Qin Wuyuan, who was glaring angrily at him, and his body swayed involuntarily.

Only at that moment did he truly understand how desperate it felt to be falsely accused.

"Go ahead and grab him..."

At this moment, Liu Shuyi's voice slowly rang out.

Cui Lin looked at Liu Shuyi in despair, but before he could say anything, Liu Shuyi continued, "Arrest Governor An."

"What!?"

Wang Gui, who was about to make a move, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

His eyes widened, his expression somewhat blank, as if he were wondering if he had misheard.

What did he hear?
Whom did Liu Yuanwailang order him to arrest?

Governor An?
real or fake?

He couldn't help but turn to look at Liu Shuyi.

At that moment, Cui Lin, who was in despair, paused, then suddenly raised his head and looked at Liu Shuyi in disbelief.

“Master Liu, you…”

A glimmer of hope quickly appeared in his despairing eyes.

Looking at Liu Shuyi, she seemed to grasp at a straw, no longer harboring the hostility and jealousy she had before.

At that moment, An Qingxi, the governor of Bingzhou, froze on his smile and his expression suddenly darkened.

"Master Liu, who did you just say you wanted to arrest?"

He was a high-ranking local official of the third rank, with extremely high status and position. At this moment, his expression darkened, and his gentle temperament vanished, replaced by a terrifying pressure as high as a mountain.

Everyone was terrified by An Qingxi's terrifying oppressive aura and instinctively fell silent, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Despite being heavily pressured by such an imposing aura, Liu Shuyi was not as terrified as the others. He simply smiled and said, "Prefect An shouldn't be too old to be blind or deaf, right?"

"How dare you insult me!"

An Qingxi stared coldly at Liu Shuyi: "Liu Shuyi, do you really think I can't do anything to you?"

"Don't even mention a mere sixth-rank official like you, a junior assistant minister in the Ministry of Justice. Even if you were the vice minister or the minister of the Ministry of Justice, you would still have to treat me with the utmost respect!"

"How dare you insult and slander me like this? You're asking for death!"

"court death?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head, still showing no sign of tension. He stared intently at An Qingxi and said, "Prefect An colluded with traitors like Liu Yuanming to murder a fourth-rank prefect of our Great Tang, intending to incite internal strife within the Great Tang..."

"If this matter were reported to His Majesty, Governor An, do you think it would be you who would die, or me, the one who has rendered such great service?"

An Qingxi's expression changed.

He flicked his sleeve and sneered, "Nonsense! How could I be the murderer?"

"And Liu Shuyi, don't forget, it was Cui Lin who was targeting you just now!"

"On the contrary, it is I who am helping you!"

"If I were truly the murderer, why would I help you?"

Upon hearing this, the others nodded subconsciously, which was why they believed Cui Lin was the murderer.

But Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "That's why I said Governor An is very cunning and his intentions are unfathomable!"

He looked at Cui Lin and said, "Military Advisor Cui comes from a prestigious family, is proud, and has solved many cases. He is very confident in his own abilities..."

"But I just so happen to have gotten the position of Assistant Minister before him. In Cui Canjun's opinion, I stole his position."

"Therefore, considering all these factors combined, I don't think Governor An wouldn't be able to guess how he would react if I encountered Military Advisor Cui, given his firm belief that Qin Wuyuan is the real culprit..."

Cui Lin's eyes widened slightly. Only at this moment did he realize that he had become a pawn of An Qingxi.

Let Anqing West guide and utilize it at will.

But he himself was completely unaware.

An Qingxi frowned and said, "It's all just your wild speculation!"

"Liu Shuyi, I am not Cui Lin, nor am I a nobody like Qin Wuyuan. I am the third-rank governor of Bingzhou!"

"You say I am the murderer, then produce the evidence!"

"If there is no evidence, then you are framing a high-ranking official of the court, a crime..."

He looked at Liu Shuyi with a threatening gaze: "Can you take the blame?"

Feeling the oppressive force of Anqing West's aura, everyone subconsciously held their breath and looked at Liu Shuyi with worry.

Then they saw Liu Shuyi smile slightly.

"Does Governor An really think his actions are so perfect that they are beyond reproach?"

"Governor An will not forget..."

Liu Shuyi stared intently at him and said in a deep voice, "What did Governor Ma do before he died?"

brush!
An Qingxi's pupils suddenly narrowed as if he had thought of something.

Liu Shuyi raised his hand, his fingertips lightly touching the shelf beside him, and said, "There is a separate pool of blood here, different from other places. I think... it must be the place where Governor An attacked Governor Ma."

"Although I don't know how Governor An lured Governor Ma here, I do know that Governor Ma is very cautious and vigilant. It's impossible for Governor Ma to be completely unprepared to come here in the middle of the night."

"And as Miss Du just said, Governor Ma's wound shows signs of struggle, which means... even though Governor An attacked him, Governor Ma still had the opportunity to struggle and resist."

"happen……"

Liu Shuyi turned his head and looked at the bloodstained scratch on the shelf, saying, "I just found this scratch caused by a sharp object when I was inspecting this place."

"But Miss Du said that Governor Ma had no other wounds, only that fatal stab wound, which means the murderer only stabbed him that one time until Governor Ma died..."

"Then I'm curious, if the marks left by this sharp blade weren't made by the murderer, then..."

He looked at An Qingxi meaningfully and said, "And who could be behind this?"

An Qingxi's pupils changed drastically, and his expression changed from calm and gloomy at the beginning to unpredictable.

Seeing this, Cui Lin seemed to understand something and exclaimed with delight, "That goes without saying! Governor Ma was prepared in advance and even struggled and resisted. It must have been caused by Governor Ma stabbing the assailant when he was ambushed!"

The others thought about it and nodded in agreement.

Liu Shuyi said, "Military Advisor Cui is wise, and that's what I thought too."

"And at the same time, there was some blood on the scratch..."

"So, does this prove that the murderer... was injured?"

Was the murderer injured?
Everyone's expression changed, and they finally understood what Liu Shuyi meant.

Liu Shuyi stared intently at An Qingxi: "Prefect An may not know, but I just secretly asked Miss Du to smell your clothes to see if they smell of medicine..."

"Miss Du follows the Medicine King in his cultivation and is extremely sensitive to medicines. No matter how faint the smell is, it cannot escape her nose."

"And ultimately..."

Liu Shuyi said in a deep voice, "Miss Du told me that she did indeed smell a very faint herbal scent."

Du Ying nodded and said, "The smell was very faint. It must have been deliberately covered with cloth to prevent the smell from spreading. However, I grew up surrounded by medicine, so I can smell even the faintest smell. Others might not be able to detect it."

Upon hearing Du Ying's words, everyone understood everything.

Their eyes involuntarily fixed on Anqing West.

Liu Shuyi looked at him and slowly said, "Then, Governor An, who keeps crying out that he has been wronged, would you be willing to take off your clothes and let us see them..."

He asked meaningfully, "Are you injured?"

　Sometimes, I want to create an atmosphere, but I also want to explain things too clearly, which results in being a bit long-winded... I will pay attention to this in the future and try to be more concise.

　　Thank you all for your support. Here is 11,000 words.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)