The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 84 Du Gou's Shock: You've already found a way to save people?
Outside the Dali Temple government office.

The rapid sound of horses' hooves, like the beating of drums, came again.

The guards at the Dali Temple instinctively looked in the direction of the sound.

Then they saw Liu Shuyi return.

This made them unconsciously frown.

"Why is Master Liu here again?"

"Director Qin has already made it clear that he will not see him, so why is he so ungrateful?"

"Stop talking nonsense. If Master Liu hears this, we'll be in deep trouble. Master Qin may not give Master Liu face, but we don't have that right."

Whispering among themselves, Liu Shuyi and his group quickly approached.

"Uu——"

The horse stopped, and Liu Shuyi quickly dismounted.

The guard, whose forehead was already visibly red and swollen, couldn't help but say, "Master Liu, why are you here again? I just relayed the message, wasn't it clear enough? Chief Secretary Qin will not see you."

Liu Shuyi knew that the guard in front of him had just suffered an undeserved disaster because of him, so he did not hold a grudge against him.

He didn't speak, but looked at Du Gou, who had dismounted a step behind him.

Du Gou stepped forward and said, "What Qin Sizhi? Liu Yuanwailang is my honored guest. I am the one who invited him into the yamen to discuss official business. What does this have to do with Qin Sizhi?"

"how?"

His dark eyes swept over the guards at the gate, his voice slightly cold: "Does this Dali Temple belong to Qin Sizhi? Do I not even have the right to invite my colleagues in?"

Du Gou was a gentle person and rarely got angry.

His sudden display of a strong attitude startled the guards, whose expressions changed slightly. They quickly replied, "Your subordinates dare not."

“Since it is an invitation from Vice Minister Du, Assistant Minister Liu may naturally enter.”

Du Gou knew that these guards were just following orders and not deliberately making things difficult for Liu Shuyi, so he did not continue to reprimand them. He turned to Liu Shuyi and said, "Liu Yuanwailang, please."

Liu Shuyi nodded to Du Gou and walked directly into the Dali Temple.

As Lu Yangyuan followed behind Liu Shuyi, he let out a cold snort as he passed the guards, as if he were venting a great deal of pent-up frustration.

Why won't you let us in?
We still got in!

The group entered through the main gate and walked on the smooth stone slabs. Liu Shuyi said, "Minister Du, there are two things I need your help with."

"Please speak freely, Mr. Liu."

"First, ensure Zhao Feng's safety."

Liu Shuyi said, "I'm worried that Qin Wuyang might torture Zhao Feng into confessing because of me, forcing him to sign a document and admit to the crime of murder."

"Before I uncover the truth and clear Zhao Feng's name, I ask that you, Du Sicheng, protect Zhao Feng, at least so that he doesn't suffer too much in prison."

Du Gou nodded without hesitation: "Don't worry, I will personally keep an eye on the prison and make sure that Zhao Lingshi suffers too much harm."

Du Gou was the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Qin Wuyang was the Director of the Court of Judicial Review. Although their official positions were different, they were both of the sixth rank. In addition, with Du Gou's background, Qin Wuyang had to give Du Gou face no matter what, as long as Du Gou was protecting Zhao Feng.

At least in the short term, this ensures that he will not use excessive torture.

"second……"

Liu Shuyi looked at Du Gou and said, "I need the case file. If I don't have the file, I need to know the specific details of the case."

"Qin Wuyang used this case to trap Zhao Feng, and I will use this case to break the deadlock."

"I'll make him release Zhao Feng in the same way he arrested him."

"And he went through all that trouble but failed to find the real murderer. Instead, he almost wronged an innocent person and created a miscarriage of justice. But I was able to find the murderer... I want to see if he will still say that he didn't see me, or that he was an accomplice of the murderer."

Du Gou could sense the coldness in Liu Shuyi's voice.

Liu Shuyi was truly enraged.

The thought that Qin Wuyang had used the case to provoke Liu Shuyi made Du Gou think of a saying: "Showing off one's skills in front of Guan Yu."

He nodded emphatically: "Go to my office and rest first. I'll go to the prison to check on Zhao Feng's situation, and then I'll try to gather intelligence on the case for you."

Liu Shuyi cupped his hands and said earnestly, "Thank you, Vice Minister Du."

Du Gou shook his head: "Between you and me, there's no need to say such things."

With that, he pushed open the door, invited Liu Shuyi into his office to sit down, and then hurriedly left.

Looking at Du Gou's retreating figure as he worked tirelessly for them, Lu Yangyuan couldn't help but sigh, "Du Sicheng is truly a good man. Without him, I really don't know what I would have done."

Du Gou was indeed a good person, a good person in every sense of the word.

Liu Shuyi chose him because he knew that Du Gou was loyal and righteous and would definitely help him.

Of course, even without Du Gou, he wasn't without other options; he could have sought out Du Ruhui, or even Changsun Wuji...

Although he had only been in the Tang Dynasty for less than ten days, his personal connections and influence were already far beyond what the original owner of the body could ever have imagined.

As a mere sixth-rank official in the Court of Judicial Review, he was not worthy of using the favors of people like Du Ruhui and Changsun Wuji. As long as he could protect Zhao Feng from harm and obtain the specific details of the case, he would be able to resolve his current predicament on his own.

Liu Shuyi sat down in Du Gou's office and, taking advantage of the free time, pondered Qin Wuyang's situation.

Judging from Qin Wuyang's previous attitude towards me, Qin Wuyang is definitely not the kind of person who would take things seriously in order to uncover the truth of the case.

On the contrary, if anyone objects to or refutes a case he has decided on or a result he has made, he will feel that his authority has been challenged and will be extremely ashamed and angry.

He didn't even give face to someone of the same rank as him, a junior official in the Ministry of Justice. One can imagine... how Qin Wuyang would react when his elder brother questioned the contents of the case file regarding Bai Jinghong's parents' case and pointed out that there were problems with the file.

and so……

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes: It was Qin Wuyang's attacks and suppression that made his brother so negative.
If that's the case...

Qin Wuyang's grudge against him was not just Zhao Feng.

Was the elder brother's subsequent disappearance related to Qin Wuyang?

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered, and a raging fire burned fiercely in his heart.

He hadn't felt such a strong urge to teach someone a lesson in a long time.

call……

Liu Shuyi let out a long breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart.

There's no use thinking about it now; the important thing is to calm down, wait, and solve the case.

He leaned back slightly and took a nap with his eyes closed during the free time.

He probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. He had drunk some more wine with Changsun Chong and needed to rest and relax his mind in preparation for the next part of the investigation.

Liu Shuyi slept for about 15 minutes when he heard the sound of a door opening.

He opened his eyes instantly.

Then Du Gou hurried in. He gently patted the snowflakes off his shoulders and said, "When I came, the moon was shining brightly. I didn't expect it to start snowing now."

Liu Shuyi glanced outside the door.

Under the lanterns' glow, snowflakes drifted down, and a thin layer of snow had appeared on the ground, making it look like a white blanket had been laid across the earth.

He looked away and asked, "How is it?"

Lu Yangyuan looked at Du Gou with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.

Du Gou said, "As you expected, Qin Wuyang really wanted to close the case as soon as possible. When I went to the prison, he was interrogating Zhao Lingshi."

"However, Zhao Lingshi insisted that he did not kill anyone, and no matter how Qin Wuyang tortured him, he did not budge."

"After my persuasion, Qin Wuyang agreed to temporarily suspend the torture, but he will continue to interrogate Zhao Lingshi until he relents."

Du Gou looked at Liu Shuyi apologetically and said, "After all, he is in charge of this case. I can stop him from using torture, but I can't stop him from investigating the case. Next, he will probably arrange different people to interrogate Zhao Lingshi non-stop for twelve hours, not letting Zhao Lingshi rest or relax, and to torture Zhao Lingshi mentally."

Liu Shuyi said, "It's already very good that Vice Minister Du was able to prevent Zhao Feng from suffering any further physical pain."

"As for the mental torment..."

He sneered, "It's not that I look down on them, but this kind of torture is not even on the same level as the mental torment Zhao Feng and his family suffered when they were exiled."

"Qin Wuyang underestimates Zhao Feng if he thinks he can get Zhao Feng to confess like this."

Du Gou thought for a moment and nodded: "That's true. However, Qin Wuyang is not very magnanimous. He can tolerate Zhao Lingshi for a while, but I'm afraid he won't be able to endure it for long. Even if I stop him, I'm afraid I can't stop him for too long."

"Therefore, we should rescue Zhao Lingshi as soon as possible."

"It's natural."

Liu Shuyi nodded. He had never intended for Zhao Feng to remain in the hands of the narrow-minded Qin Wuyang for long.

He asked Du Gou, "I wonder if Vice Minister Du has been able to ascertain the specific details of this case?"

Du Gou nodded and said, "The files are firmly in Qin Wuyang's hands; even I can't get them out."

"However, he mobilized a lot of people from the Dali Temple to investigate the case, so I still managed to get some information out of him."

He sat down next to Liu Shuyi and said, "The deceased family was the family of Xu Xi, the Imperial Censor."

"Last night, Xu Xi, his wife and children, and his bedridden elderly mother, the four of them, were murdered in the mansion."

"Imperial Censor Xu Xi?" Liu Shuyi had no recollection of this person, indicating that his predecessor had never had any contact with him.

He asked, "What was the cause of death? When exactly were they killed? Who discovered them? Did the Xu family only consist of Xu Xi and his family of four, with no servants?"

Liu Shuyi asked several questions in one breath, each of which pointed directly to the key to the case.

Knowing that Liu Shuyi had begun to consider the case, Du Gou did not delay and said, "After the coroner's examination, it was found that Xu Xi's family all died from stab wounds. They all had wounds of different sizes on their bodies, and there were many wounds, mainly concentrated in the chest and abdomen."

"Because the charcoal brazier went out, the bodies were frozen by the cold weather, making it impossible to determine the exact time of death. However, Xu Xi was on duty as usual yesterday, but this morning, Xu Xi did not go to the Censorate. Therefore, it is inferred that their exact time of death was last night."

Liu Shuyi nodded.

Since there were no survivors in the Xu family, it was impossible to determine when they had their dinner last night, and the method of inferring the time of death by examining food residue in their stomachs was no longer feasible.

Du Gou continued, "Xu Xi was a serious and diligent worker. He served in the Censorate for many years, and even when he was in the wind and rain or suffering from illness, he never missed a single day."

"But today, Xu Xi did not arrive at the Censorate on time as usual, nor did he send anyone to inquire why he was absent. So at noon, the Censor-in-Chief sent someone to Xu's residence to inquire about the situation and why Xu Xi was not on duty."

"As a result, when the people from the Censorate arrived at Xu's residence and knocked on the door, they found that the door opened with just a little force."

"When he saw the door being pushed open, he called out to the courtyard a few times, but there was no response. Puzzled, he entered the Xu residence."

"As he walked, he called out to people, but the entire Xu residence seemed to be empty. Apart from his voice, there was no sound. Out of curiosity, he came to the main hall and found that the doorway was open."

He stood in the doorway, looking inside...

Du Gou looked at Liu Shuyi, his tone lowered, and he said in a deep voice, "Then I saw... the entire Xu family of four, all hanging from the beam with white silk!"

"Their eyes were wide open, their eyeballs bulging out, staring at the doorway. The people from the Censorate felt as if they were looking at him, which scared him so much that he almost sat down on the ground."

"He shouted and ran out in a panic... That's how the government learned about the Xu family's situation."

Listening to Du Gou's words, Lu Yangyuan felt goosebumps rising on his skin.

The thought of four corpses hanging overhead in a dark room, their faces deathly pale, staring intently at him... this eerie image flashed through his mind, sending chills down his spine.

Although he had seen many corpses on the battlefield and had also killed enemies himself.

But that corpse was completely different from the corpse in the Xu residence.

Liu Shuyi frowned slightly and said, "Didn't you just say they died from knife wounds?"

"Yes."

Du Gou nodded: "The coroner's examination confirmed that they did die from knife wounds, but they were also indeed hanging from the beams."

"And it wasn't just their corpses, but also a white cloth hanging on the beam, right beside them, with four large characters written in blood on it."

"Four big characters?" Liu Shuyi keenly realized that this might be an important reason why the murderer killed Xu Xi's family of four and then hung them up.

He asked, "Which four words?"

"Doing justice for the heavens!"

"Acting on behalf of Heaven!?" Lu Yangyuan exclaimed in surprise.

Liu Shuyi also raised an eyebrow.

Acting on behalf of Heaven... but what kind of justice?

He said, "Has Xu Xi done anything wrong?"

Du Gou shook his head: "The Dali Temple has not found any wrongdoing by Xu Xi, and the Censorate's evaluation of Xu Xi is also very good."

Liu Shuyi frowned. Was Xu Xi hiding something very well? Or was there another reason?

Seeing Liu Shuyi pondering, Du Gou continued, "As for Xu Xi's residence, it is true that there are only the four of them, and no servants."

"Xu Xi was an honest and upright official who disliked extravagance. He originally had an old servant at home, but the old servant passed away last year, and the Xu family did not hire any new servants after that."

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly.

He thought for a moment and said, "Have you asked the neighbors if they heard any noises last night?"

Du Gou nodded: "I asked, but the neighbors all said they hadn't heard anything, and they also spoke highly of the Xu family, saying that Xu Xi was a good person and a good official."

Good people and good officials?

This aligns with the assessment of the Censorate.

However, after experiencing the so-called perfect family of the Lin family, Liu Shuyi became skeptical of any similar assessments.

He tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, mentally processing the information in the case. After a moment of contemplation, he continued, "Does Vice Minister Du know Qin Wuyang's reasons for arresting Zhao Feng?"

“I specifically inquired about it.”

Du Gou said, "There are three reasons."

Three reasons?

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow.

Then Du Gou said, "First, when Zhao Feng's father was arrested for embezzlement, Xu Xi submitted a memorial denouncing Zhao Feng's father, saying that Zhao Feng's father embezzled not only the court's disaster relief funds, but also the life-saving grain for the disaster victims. He said that Zhao Feng's father was a murderer who had taken the lives of countless innocent disaster victims. Therefore, he hoped that His Majesty would punish him severely and show no mercy, otherwise it would be an injustice to all the people of the world."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yangyuan couldn't help but ask, "But wasn't Zhao Feng's father later exonerated by Liu Yuanwailang? Wasn't he framed?"

Du Gou said, "He was exonerated, but when Liu Yuanwailang was exonerated, Zhao Feng's father had already been beheaded long ago."

"Xu Xi was unaware that Zhao Feng's father had been framed, so he wrote a memorial for ten consecutive days. It can be said that he played a part in Zhao Feng's father's later execution."

"hiss……"

Lu Yangyuan couldn't help but gasp: "So, Zhao Lingshi and Xu Xi do have some kind of grudge?"

Du Gou nodded and looked at Liu Shuyi: "Qin Wuyang said that this was Zhao Lingshi's motive for killing people. His father was killed because Xu Xi submitted a memorial, and the whole family was exiled and almost lost their lives. So Zhao Lingshi killed Xu Xi's whole family to avenge this."

"nonsense!"

Lu Yangyuan retorted directly: "Although I haven't known Zhao Lingshi for long, I know he's definitely not that kind of person!"

Du Gou said, "I also believe that he is not that kind of person, but in fact, there is a motive. Qin Wuyang is using this to hold Zhao Feng accountable, and there is nothing we can do about it."

Lu Yangyuan frowned and looked at Liu Shuyi, only to see Liu Shuyi lightly tap the table twice with his fingertips, and then asked, "What about the other two reasons?"

Du Gou continued, "The second reason is that Zhao Lingshi's residence and Xu Xi's residence are both in Xuanping Ward, and the two families are not far apart. Zhao Lingshi had every opportunity to make a move in the middle of the night. Moreover, last night when the incident occurred, Zhao Lingshi said that he was resting at home alone, but there are no witnesses to prove that he had an alibi."

Lu Yangyuan laughed in anger: "Zhao Lingshi's family has been exiled and is on their way back, so only Zhao Lingshi lives in the Zhao residence. How can he find someone to vouch for him? Where is he supposed to conjure up a second person?"

Du Gou understood Lu Yangyuan's meaning, and he said in a deep voice, "If it were just this reason, we could still refute him, but with the third reason added on top of that, it would be very difficult for us to refute Zhao Lingshi."

"What's the third reason?" Lu Yangyuan couldn't help but ask.

Du Gou took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "At Zhao Lingshi's residence, Qin Wuyang and his men found a bloodstained kitchen knife. After examination by the coroner, it was confirmed that this bloodstained kitchen knife was the murder weapon!"

"What!?"

Lu Yangyuan's pupils contracted: "The murder weapon is at Zhao Lingshi's residence!?"

"This this……"

He gaped, exclaiming, "How is this possible? Zhao Lingshi would never kill anyone, so this is a frame-up! This must be a deliberate setup by the murderer!"

Du Gou looked at Liu Shuyi with a solemn expression and said, "The motive is sufficient, the distance is not far, and the physical evidence is complete... Zhao Lingshi's residence is occupied by only one person, and no one can testify to what he did last night. Therefore, Qin Wuyang is convinced that Zhao Lingshi is the real culprit!"

"He might not be targeting you specifically; it just so happens that the suspect is Zhao Lingshi, and Zhao Lingshi is one of your men..."

Hearing Du Gou's words, Liu Shuyi chuckled and shook his head: "Du, you're thinking too highly of people."

"What?" Du Gou was taken aback.

Liu Shuyi looked at him intently and said, "Do you really think that Qin Wuyang is convinced that Zhao Lingshi is the real culprit? Is he really not targeting me specifically?"

Du Gou frowned slightly: "Isn't that right?"

Liu Shuyi calmly said, "At first glance, the above three reasons do seem like irrefutable evidence that Zhao Feng is the real culprit."

"But does this really stand up to scrutiny?"

He slowly said, "The first reason is that, given the nature of those censors in the Censorate who hate evil as if it were their enemy, when Zhao Feng's father was wrongly accused of embezzling disaster relief funds that the court had worked so hard to raise, only the Attendant Censor Xu Xi submitted a memorial? Only he denounced Zhao Feng's father?"

"Didn't the other censors rebuke him? Doctor Wei is extremely intolerant of any dissent, yet he didn't utter a single word?"

"This……"

Du Gou's official rank was below the fifth grade, so he was not qualified to attend court. Therefore, he was not clear about the specific events that occurred at court, but he had heard his father complain about it.

Aye said that Wei Zheng and the others scolded Zhao Zhuo for a full half hour, which almost delayed his reporting of border intelligence...

He said, "Indeed, Xu Xi was not the only one who did this."

Liu Shuyi said, "So, since so many people have done this, if Zhao Feng were to retaliate, would he only target Xu Xi?"

"Moreover, as a censor, Xu Xi must obey the orders of the Grand Censor and the Vice Censor-in-Chief. Shouldn't the real leader be Wei Dafu or other high-ranking officials in the Censorate? Every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. If Zhao Feng wants revenge, why not target the leader instead of a mere soldier?"

Lu Yangyuan felt that Liu Shuyi's words made perfect sense and couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

"Secondly, let's not even talk about the second point. Does living close by mean murder? Then why not arrest Xu Xi's neighbors? Aren't they even closer? Wouldn't that make it easier for them to carry out the crime?"

"As for alibis, if there isn't one, there isn't one. Everyone was asleep; how many people could vouch for each other?"

"As for the third reason..."

Liu Shuyi sneered, "How many cases has Zhao Feng investigated with me? Even if he's stupid, he should have gained some experience after going through these cases."

"So how could he possibly have killed someone and then taken the murder weapon back to his own residence?"

"Was he afraid that others wouldn't be able to find the murder weapon at his residence?"

"Not to mention, the murder weapon was covered in blood..."

Liu Shuyi said, "From the tragic death of Xu Xi's family last night to Zhao Feng's arrest, almost a day and a night passed. In such a long time, wouldn't Zhao Feng have cleaned it up? How much did he want to be caught that he took the murder weapon back without cleaning the blood off it?"

Lu Yangyuan clapped his hands, his eyes widening: "That's right! If it weren't for Master Liu saying so, I wouldn't have thought about it this much. Now that I think about it carefully, it really doesn't make sense!"

"Moreover, the murder weapon was a kitchen knife. Kitchen knives are not rare items; you can buy them anywhere on the street. Zhao Lingshi had absolutely no reason to take it back. Even if he left it at the crime scene, no one would recognize it as his."

Du Gou frowned and pondered for a moment, then nodded: "That's true."

“Upon careful consideration, these three reasons do indeed have certain flaws and cannot withstand further scrutiny, so…” He couldn’t help but look at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi said coldly, "If Qin Wuyang's abilities were only so-so, it would be fine if he couldn't discover the problem. But he has been in the Dali Temple for many years, rising step by step to the position of Dali Sizhi. Does he really have no meticulous mind for investigating cases at all?"

"Do you really not feel at all that there are any flaws in this so-called physical evidence motive?"

Du Gou couldn't help but recall Qin Wuyang's behavior at the Dali Temple.

Although Qin Wuyang was arrogant and narrow-minded, Du Gou had to admit that Qin Wuyang's ability to hold the position of Dali Sizhi was due to his skill and ability.

Because he had just learned about the case, he hadn't had time to think it through and hadn't noticed the problems in time. But Qin Wuyang had been investigating for a long time and found all the clues. How could he not have thought it through?
If you think about it carefully, how could you not notice the problem?
He pursed his lips, finally understanding Liu Shuyi's meaning; he had indeed thought too highly of people.

He took a deep breath, his face turning grim: "As an official of the Court of Judicial Review, knowing that there are problems with the case, yet ignoring the truth because of personal grudges, I am ashamed to associate with such a person!"

Liu Shuyi slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. Although Qin Wuyang had malicious intentions, and he knew that Qin Wuyang would not let Zhao Feng go because of these issues, at least he was not completely ignorant of the case.

Now that he knew the specifics of the case, the rest wasn't too difficult for him.

He asked, "Where are the bodies of Xu Xi and the others?"

Du Gou immediately turned around: "It's in the Ministry of Justice's morgue. I'll take you there."

Several people walked outside.

There was already a layer of snow on the ground, and it crunched when you stepped on it.

Du Gou, carrying a lantern, led the way while saying, "Should we call my little sister over to help with the autopsy?"

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "Let's take a look at the specific condition of the corpse first."

It was late at night, and Du Ying was fast asleep. Unless absolutely necessary, Liu Shuyi was unwilling to wake the young girl up in the dead of night, in the freezing cold of the snow, to keep her company with the corpse.

Soon, the group arrived at a somewhat dilapidated room.

There were no guards outside the room, and the door was unlocked. When the wind blew, it banged against the door frame.

Du Gou pushed open the door, and as the lantern entered, the darkness dissipated.

Inside the room were rows of wooden shelves, four of which held corpses.

Du Gou picked up a tinderbox, lit the candle, and said, "These are the corpses of Xu Xi and the other three. Because Qin Wuyang believed that the case was clear and the murderer had been caught, he no longer paid attention to the corpses of Xu Xi and the other three, and that's why no one was assigned to guard them."

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly: "That's good, otherwise it would be another waste of time in a fight."

He picked up the candlestick and went to the four corpses.

The four corpses were clearly distinguishable.

An old man, a young boy, a middle-aged man, and a plump woman.

This corresponds perfectly to Xu Xi's family of four.

Liu Shuyi's gaze swept over the four people's clothing, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

He said, "Except for Xu Xi, the other three were only wearing their undergarments. They were wearing these clothes all along, and it was only when the coroner examined the bodies that they took off their outer garments?"

Du Gou said, "The Dali Temple has a rule that the clothes worn before the autopsy must be restored to the same clothes after the autopsy, so as not to hide important clues and cause the clues to be lost."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "In other words, when the deceased killed the other three people, they were all wearing undergarments, and wearing undergarments at night is usually done while sleeping..."

Du Gou's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "Were they attacked and killed by the murderer while they were sleeping?"

Liu Shuyi came to the three corpses and examined them carefully. He said, "Only their abdomens and chests have obvious slash marks from sharp blades. Apart from that, there are no other marks on their hands, faces, arms, legs, feet, etc., and their clothes are not dirty or messy at all."

"It can be concluded that they barely fought with the murderer before they died."

"Furthermore, the neighbors did not hear any noise, which means they did not scream or call for help."

"It can be basically confirmed that he was attacked suddenly by the murderer while he was asleep and died in his sleep."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yangyuan couldn't help but click his tongue: "Once the eyes are closed, there's no chance to open them again. This murderer is really ruthless. Xu Xi's wife, children, and mother may never know why they died."

Liu Shuyi's gaze then turned to Xu Xi's corpse.

Xu Xi appeared to be about thirty-five or thirty-six years old.

He was thin, had a beard, and sunken eyes with dark circles around them.

He looks like someone who has been malnourished for a long time and often stays up late.

At this moment, his eyes widened, his lifeless white pupils staring straight at Liu Shuyi, giving Liu Shuyi the feeling that he was being stared at by Xu Xi, who was dying with his eyes wide open.

"Ok?"

Liu Shuyi suddenly let out a soft exclamation.

He gently lifted Xu Xi's head and looked at the back of her head...

"He also injured the back of his head?"

All that could be seen was that Xu Xi's hair at the back of his head was soaked with blood and frozen into a lump.

A distinct, gruesome wound was hidden behind a strand of hair.

Du Gou also stepped forward: "That's right. They didn't mention it. It must be because the wound wasn't fatal, so they didn't pay attention to it."

Liu Shuyi nodded, looking at the wound on the back of Xu Xi's head, and then at the messy scars on Xu Xi's chest. His eyes flickered, as if he was deep in thought.

"Du Sicheng, help me get the candlestick down."

Liu Shuyi handed the candlestick to Du Gou, then squatted down and carefully examined the wound on the back of Xu Xi's head.

Seeing this, Du Gou moved the candlestick closer so that Liu Shuyi could see as clearly as possible.

"This is?"

Liu Shuyi suddenly reached out and gently touched Xu Xi's wound, then looked down at his fingertips.

On his fingertips were a few black specks.

"What is this?" Lu Yangyuan also came over and asked curiously.

Liu Shuyi gently rubbed his fingers together and said, "It looks like ink that has dried and solidified into a clump."

"Ink block?" Lu Yangyuan blinked in confusion. "How could there be an ink block?"

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment, then suddenly put down Xu Xi's head and directly ripped off Xu Xi's robe.

His gaze swept quickly over Xu Xi, noticing the messy knife wounds and some obvious scratches. Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes.

"Is that right?"

"If that's the case..."

He lowered his head, took Xu Xi's hand, carefully examined her left hand first, then her right hand, and then...

"Du Si Cheng."

Liu Shuyi suddenly looked at Du Gou and said, "Can you take me to the prison?"

Du Gou was taken aback: "The prison?"

He frowned, somewhat troubled: "The prison is a place of great importance, and only officials from the Dali Temple are allowed to enter. Moreover... Qin Wuyang is currently interrogating Zhao Lingshi in the prison. If he weren't in the prison, I could find some reasons to take you in. But since he is in the prison, I'm afraid even if I take you in, he will kick you out, and then your reputation will be affected."

"It doesn't matter."

Liu Shuyi calmly said, "That's exactly what I was looking for."

"Why are you looking for him?" Du Gou asked, puzzled. Wasn't Liu Shuyi supposed to investigate the case and then use the truth to save Zhao Feng? Why did he suddenly want to go find Qin Wuyang?

Then Liu Shuyi slowly said, "I'm going to find him and demand my release! He arrested the wrong person, shouldn't he release me?"

Seeing that Du Gou still didn't understand, Liu Shuyi said, "I have found evidence that proves Zhao Feng is not the murderer..."

"What!?"

Du Gou suddenly raised his head, and Lu Yangyuan's eyes widened instantly. He was stunned for a moment, then excitedly asked, "Master Liu, you mean!?"

Liu Shuyi met their surprised gazes and nodded, saying, "Originally, I planned to find the murderer first and then use the murderer to exchange for Zhao Feng, but now it seems that my plan has to be changed."

(End of this chapter)