The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 91 The real culprit is him! A truth that no one can believe!
"Died from poisoning!?"

Upon hearing Du Ying's words, Zhao Feng couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but say, "How could he not have been stabbed to death? I saw with my own eyes that Kang Shaoqing only fell down after Ba Zhuo stabbed him. Before Ba Zhuo made his move, Kang Shaoqing showed no signs of anything amiss. How could he not have died from an assassination?"

Liu Shuyi frowned, equally surprised and puzzled.

Du Ying said, "It's not entirely accurate to say that Kang Shaoqing wasn't stabbed to death..."

She thought for a moment and said, "To be more precise, the dagger that Ba Zhuo used to stab Kang Shaoqing was coated with a deadly poison. This poison is extremely potent and can kill instantly upon contact with blood. When Ba Zhuo used this dagger to stab Kang Shaoqing, the poison entered Kang Shaoqing's body, took effect, and took Kang Shaoqing's life first."

"Because the poison was applied to the dagger, what you saw was Kang Shaoqing dying after being stabbed three times by the dagger. But in reality, such a knife wound could not take a life in such a short time. What was really effective was the poison that you could not see."

"A dagger coated with poison?" Liu Shuyi's pupils dilated in surprise.

He seemed to have thought of something and asked directly, "What kind of poison?"

"An extremely rare poison, from the poisonous land of Lingnan, is made from several poisonous insects and herbs such as venomous snakes, centipedes, and scorpions. If I hadn't gone to Lingnan with my mentor three years ago to collect herbs, I wouldn't have recognized it."

A rare and highly toxic substance from Lingnan?
A thoughtful look flashed in Liu Shuyi's eyes as he asked, "Is there an antidote?"

"No, or rather, even if we did, there wouldn't be enough time to use them."

Du Ying said, "This poison is fatal upon contact with blood, and its effects are extremely rapid. In such a short time, even if there is an antidote, it will not be used in time, and the poisoned person will die. Unless one can foresee that someone will harm him and take the antidote in advance, death is certain."

Liu Shuyi frowned, looked at Li Chengqian and the others, and said, "We may have gone in the wrong direction."

"What?" The group was taken aback.

Liu Shuyi said, "We have always suspected that Ba Zhuo's sudden madness might be due to someone tampering with his food and drink, controlling him in some way that we don't know about."

"But now it seems that his problem didn't occur at the banquet. Even if he was taken into custody, it must have happened before the banquet."

A hint of confusion appeared on Li Chengqian's still-childish face: "Why does Assistant Minister Liu say that?"

"Because the dagger was coated with poison!"

Liu Shuyi said, "Under normal circumstances, people who come to see His Highness the Crown Prince are not allowed to carry sharp weapons. Ba Zhuo could not possibly be unaware of this rule, but he secretly hid a dagger."

"Of course, even so, I didn't suspect his purpose in carrying the dagger at first."

"After all, Ba Zhuo already knows that there is a treacherous Turkic spy lurking in his team. This Turkic spy may be harmful to him, so he always carries a dagger, so that he will not be helpless in case of an accident."

"There wouldn't be any problem with that, but the problem is, he coated the dagger with poison, and it was an extremely rare and deadly poison from the Lingnan region that kills on contact with blood!"

"This is no longer just a precaution against accidents; it clearly indicates that a decision has already been made to use this poison-coated dagger to take a life without giving the victim any chance to receive treatment!"

Everyone looked thoughtful.

Zhao Feng thought for a moment and nodded, "That's true. It's already against the rules for him to bring a dagger to see His Highness. If he also smeared a deadly poison on the dagger, he would have no way to explain himself if he were discovered. Given that Xueyantuo is trying his best to gain the support of our Great Tang, what he fears most is complications. Secretly hiding a dagger to protect himself is already the most outrageous thing he can do."

"And..." Liu Shuyi said, "Bazhuo is very clear that living Turkic spies are more useful to our Tang Dynasty and Xueyantuo in their next actions than dead Turkic spies."

"A Turkic spy who can infiltrate the Xueyantuo envoy group so secretly and carry out such an important mission must be of a very high status. He may know important secrets of the Turks. In this case, if we can capture him alive and get him to talk, it may help reduce casualties for both the Tang Dynasty and the Xueyantuo in the upcoming war."

"Therefore, even if Ba Zhuo wanted to render the Turkic spy incapable of resistance with a single strike just in case, applying some drugs that could paralyze and render the person unconscious would have been sufficient. There was no need to apply such a terrifying, lethal poison."

"Therefore, given all these factors, it is impossible that Ba Zhuo Hui applied the poison. Moreover, he carried the poisoned dagger with him before heading to the banquet. It can be confirmed that something unexpected happened to him before the banquet."

Liu Shuyi was worried that Li Chengqian was too young to understand his words, so he explained in more detail.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian tilted his head slightly, his eyes showing a look of sudden realization: "So that's how it is! Assistant Minister Liu is truly amazing; he found the key to the case right away. I hadn't thought of these things."

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "Your Highness is still young, and Your Highness's duty is to govern the country and bring peace to the nation, to make the Tang Dynasty stronger and more prosperous, and to make the people more prosperous and peaceful. We are in different positions, so we only need to do our own thing and there is no need to envy others."

Li Chengqian blinked and said, "How come what Liu Yuanwailang said is the same as what my teacher taught me? But compared to the teachers' lectures, I still prefer to listen to Liu Yuanwailang."

Liu Shuyi couldn't help but smile.

No matter how mature Li Chengqian was, he was still a nine-year-old boy, and the occasional glimpses of his youthful spirit made him irresistibly fond of him.

He had no idea how the lovable Li Chengqian would one day become the crown prince whom Li Shimin had no choice but to depose.

It's unknown whether the appearance of this butterfly, which shouldn't have appeared in the Tang Dynasty, can change Li Chengqian's future.

He took a deep breath and suppressed these distracting thoughts.

The case's bizarre and strange nature compelled him to focus entirely on it.

He looked at Du Ying and asked, "Besides this, is there anything else unusual about Kang Shaoqing's body?"

Du Ying shook her head: "No."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "If we're sure the problem didn't happen at the banquet, then we don't need to waste our time here."

He strode out and said, "Next, we'll go find Ba Zhuo and see why he went mad."

He walked out of the main hall and headed towards Ba Zhuo's room.

As they walked, Liu Shuyi asked Li Chengqian, "After Ba Zhuo killed Kang Shaoqing and he fainted, what did you do with him?"

Li Chengqian said, "What else can we do? Putting aside the relationship between our Tang Dynasty and Xueyantuo, just considering Bazhuo's identity, he is still the crown prince of a country. Even if he killed someone in front of us, the person was unconscious. We can't just brutally lock him up in prison."

"Moreover, the Xueyantuo envoys also took special care to protect Bazhuo. After Bazhuo fell into a coma, the general Hulile who pulled him away carried Bazhuo on his back and sent him back to Bazhuo's room. He asked us to find a doctor for Bazhuo first, and said that we could send troops to guard Bazhuo. Before the truth of the case came to light, they would do whatever we said."

"Look..."

Li Chengqian shrugged like a little adult and said, "They've already said so much, I don't know how to deal with Ba Zhuo either. So I can only do as they say, put Ba Zhuo under guard for now, and wait for the case to be closed."

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly. Ba Zhuo's identity, as well as the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the Xueyantuo, were indeed difficult to handle.

He asked, "Is Bazhuo alone in his room now, or is he accompanied by the Xueyantuo envoy?"

"one person."

Li Chengqian said, "There are Turkic spies hidden among the Xueyantuo envoys. I don't know who the spy is, so how dare I let anyone accompany me? What if the spy is behind this? What if the two of us are in the same room, and he kills Bazhuo or destroys some evidence?"

"So after Hulil carried Bazhuo back to his room, I let them return to their respective rooms and forbade them to have any contact with each other. At the same time, I arranged for guards to stand watch at their doors."

"Then I personally looked after Ba Zhuo in his room until the doctor arrived and examined him before I left."

Liu Shuyi nodded and said, "Your Highness is right. This will ensure the safety of Ba Zhuo and the integrity of the evidence to the greatest extent possible."

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's praise for his decision, Li Chengqian's eyes crinkled into a smile.

"What did the doctor say?" Liu Shuyi asked again.

Li Chengqian frowned and said, "The doctor said he didn't find anything wrong with Ba Zhuo. He said Ba Zhuo is very healthy and the reason he has been unconscious is probably just because he was too drunk."

"What? You're too drunk? No other problems?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Feng exclaimed in surprise, "How is that possible? How could Ba Zhuo's swift and deadly killing moves be accomplished while he was drunk?"

"Moreover, he had already coated the dagger with poison beforehand in order to kill him, so he was clearly already under control at that time. How could he not have detected anything?"

Li Chengqian shook his head: "I don't know about that. Anyway, the doctor said that Ba Zhuo is fine and will be fine after a good night's sleep. Seeing this, I left Ba Zhuo's room and stopped looking after him."

Liu Shuyi knew that Li Chengqian wouldn't lie to him, and the doctor they had invited probably wouldn't dare to lie either.

He looked at Du Ying, who was walking beside him, and asked, "Miss Du, what do you think?"

Du Ying looked thoughtful and said, "I'm wondering if there's anything that can control a person remotely."

"Have you thought of anything?" Liu Shuyi asked.

Du Ying pursed her lips and said, "I've thought of two possibilities."

Before Liu Shuyi could ask further, she said, "The first method is to use Gu poison."

"The Miao people are skilled at raising Gu. They can control their lovers with love Gu and their servants with poison Gu... Therefore, it is possible that there is a Gu that the mother Gu can control the child Gu, causing the host of the child Gu to lose its rationality, or it can secretly influence the host of the child Gu, making it act according to its commands."

Zhao Feng's eyes widened in surprise: "There's such a thing as Gu?"

Li Chengqian and the others had never heard of this matter before, and they all looked curious.

Du Ying said, "I'm just saying that such a Gu might exist, but I've never encountered it, so I'm not sure if it exists."

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly and said, "What about the other one?"

"poison."

Du Ying said, "I remember in the Zhao Chengyi case, when you first showed your talent, Zhao Ci and others all behaved very strangely before they died. They were crazy and insane, completely different from normal people."

Liu Shuyi nodded and said, "The coroner's examination at the time said they were poisoned, but he didn't know what kind of poison it was."

"It is indeed poison."

Du Ying said, "That should be a hallucinogenic drug that causes hallucinations after ingestion. The images they see are completely different from what we see."

What seems ordinary to us might be the deepest hell to them, a demon, a monster, that wants them dead and forces them to fight to survive...

"If Ba Zhuo is poisoned by this type of poison and develops hallucinations similar to those of demons or mortal enemies in Kang Shaoqing, then it is possible that he might take action against Kang Shaoqing."

Liu Shuyi gently stroked the jade pendant at his waist with his fingertips and asked, "If it's either of these two situations, will Ba Zhuo's body experience any abnormalities?"

"If it's poison, the body's physical signs will inevitably be different from normal before it's completely detoxified."

Du Ying said, "But with Gu, if the offspring Gu stops acting and chooses to sleep instead of actively interfering with the host's body, then it's really not possible to detect anything unusual."

Liu Shuyi looked at her: "The doctor couldn't find anything wrong, which means that the cauterization is very likely related to Gu poisoning?"

“That’s possible,” Du Ying nodded.

"If it really is a Gu, and that Gu is dormant, can you detect it?" Liu Shuyi asked again.

Zhao Feng and the others also looked at Du Ying nervously.

Then the aloof and beautiful forensic doctor raised an eyebrow and said, "My mentor and I have treated patients who were poisoned by Gu, so we happen to know how to confirm whether someone has been poisoned by Gu."

Zhao Feng and the others immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Shuyi laughed too, realizing that meeting Du Ying was truly a stroke of luck.

Soon, the group arrived in front of Ba Zhuo's room.

Feng Chenggong asked the imperial guards, "Has Xueyantuo Yehu awakened? Is there any movement from him?"

The guard shook his head: "The room has been very quiet; he hasn't woken up."

"Open the door," Feng Chenggong said.

The guards dared not delay and quickly opened the door.

As Liu Shuyi and the others stepped through the door, they saw that Ba Zhuo's room was quite spacious.

The room is divided into two rooms, an inner room and an outer room.

The outer room, furnished with tables, chairs, and bookshelves, is where guests are received.

Calligraphy and landscape paintings hung on the walls, and the bookshelves were filled with books. Two candlesticks were lit, and the lights were bright.

The floor was covered with a patterned carpet, and the charcoal fire in the brazier was burning brightly, making the room warm and cozy.

After passing through the outer room, we entered the inner room.

The interior is equally spacious, with a bed made of pear wood that exudes a fresh scent, and a dressing table and two wardrobes neatly arranged.

Compared to the room Ma Fuyuan lived in in another courtyard, it was like the difference between a five-star hotel and a three-star hotel.

Liu Shuyi knew that this courtyard was specially prepared for the envoys, and this room was also prepared for the person of the highest status in the envoy group, so its specifications were much higher than the other rooms.

Upon arriving at the bedside, they saw that Ba Zhuo was covered with a soft quilt, his eyes closed, and he was motionless.

"Ye Hu, Ye Hu?"

Liu Shuyi called out twice.

Ba Zhuo did not respond at all.

Li Chengqian said, "He has been like this ever since he fell into a coma, and we can't wake him up at all."

Liu Shuyi nodded and looked at Du Ying: "Miss Du, it's up to you now."

Without any further ado, Du Ying put down the wooden box, then lifted the quilt, took out Ba Zhuo's hand from under the quilt, and took Ba Zhuo's pulse.

At this moment, Liu Shuyi noticed that Ba Zhuo's clothes were very disheveled and loose, revealing a white undergarment with some dust on it. There were also some dried bloodstains on his chest, which must have been splattered with blood when he assassinated Kang Wei.

dong dong dong.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door.

"Master Liu, we have finished our questioning," Du Gou's voice came.

Seeing that Du Ying was still busy, Liu Shuyi did not disturb her and returned to the outer room, opening the door.

After letting Du Gou and Cui Lin in, he asked, "How was it? Did you find anything?"

Du Gou handed a stack of papers to Liu Shuyi: "Their statements are recorded in detail on them. Take a look."

Liu Shuyi examined it carefully, his eyes narrowing slightly: "All day today, no, all the days they've been at Duting Post Station, no one has spent any time alone with Ba Zhuo. They eat together, travel separately on horseback, and negotiate together..."

"How could this be?"

Zhao Feng frowned: "If no one was alone with Ba Zhuo, how did the Turkic spies control Ba Zhuo, and how did they poison or curse him? They couldn't have done that in full view of everyone, could they?" Du Gou said: "I have verified these testimonies with different people, and they are correct. There is indeed no one who was alone with Ba Zhuo."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment, then looked at Cui Lin and said, "Military Advisor Cui, have you noticed anyone who is suspicious?"

Cui Lin, who had been so confident before, now had his brows furrowed into a deep frown. He said with a solemn expression, "This person is better at hiding than any of the Turkic spies I have ever encountered. I did not find anything wrong with anyone. They were all very calm and did not show any nervousness or unease that one would expect when lying."

"Since the matter of the Turkic spies has not yet been exposed, I cannot be too reckless, lest I alert them, so..."

He kept his head down, somewhat afraid to look Liu Shuyi in the eye, lest he see disappointment in Liu Shuyi's eyes.

The more proud a person is, the less they can bear to disappoint those they care about.

"I see."

Unexpectedly, Liu Shuyi said gently, "Even I don't have a single clue about the Turkic spies yet, and I don't understand how the Turkic spies controlled Bazhuo or how they committed the crimes. This person is really difficult to deal with. It's normal that Cui Canjun hasn't found anything yet because he's currently holding back."

As Cui Lin listened to Liu Shuyi's words, he subconsciously raised his head. When he confirmed that Liu Shuyi's face showed only understanding and no disappointment, the corners of his mouth, which had been downturned, finally turned up again, and his bent back straightened up.

“Give me some more time, and I will definitely find out who is in the wrong,” he said.

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Alright, Military Advisor Cui, go ahead and do it. It doesn't matter if it exposes that we are looking for Turkic spies."

"Could the Xueyantuo envoy know about the Turkic spies?" Cui Lin asked in surprise.

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly: "We hid the information about the Turkic spies before because we didn't want to alert them. We wanted to take advantage of the Turkic spies' actions to expose them. But now that the Turkic spies have taken action and caused very serious consequences, there is no point in us hiding them anymore."

"Moreover, timely release of information about the Turkic spies will also allow the Xueyantuo envoys to understand why this happened, and will put them at ease, knowing that our Great Tang will not make things difficult for the Xueyantuo because of this."

"Furthermore, these envoys have been together all along and know each other best. After this matter is made public, perhaps they can provide us with some important clues."

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Cui Lin immediately said, "That's enough. I'll go and ask them again. This time, I'm determined to find that deeply hidden spy!"

After saying that, he left the room without hesitation.

Watching Cui Lin disappear from sight like the wind, Zhao Feng couldn't help but say, "This... are we really going to let him just go and announce the matter of the Turkic spies and question the Xueyantuo envoy like this?"

Du Gou thought for a moment and said, "How about I go with them?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head, watching Cui Lin's departing figure, and said, "Let him go. Although he's usually overconfident, he just hit his head and will learn his lesson. Besides..."

His eyes flickered slightly as he said, "I also want to see if any snakes will actually be startled after he uses this 'stirring up trouble' tactic."

Hearing Liu Shuyi's meaningful words, Du Gou gave Liu Shuyi a deep look and said nothing more.

Just then, footsteps could be heard coming from inside the room.

Liu Shuyi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned around, and sure enough, he saw Du Ying come out.

"How is it?" Liu Shuyi asked quickly.

Others gathered around.

Then, they saw Du Ying's heroic eyebrows furrow, and a look of confusion on her cold and elegant face. She said, "He was neither poisoned nor cursed."

"His pulse was stable, calm and strong, clearly indicating that he was as healthy as could be."

"The doctor who treated Bazhuo before was right, Bazhuo has no problems at all."

Zhao Feng's eyes widened: "How could this be? How could he be completely unharmed?"

Li Chengqian was also full of surprise: "It's not poisoning, nor is it a curse... then what else could it be to control him and make him go crazy and kill people?"

Although Du Gou didn't know exactly what had happened, he understood the general idea from their conversation. He guessed, "There's another possibility..."

"What?" Everyone looked at him in surprise.

Du Gou said: "Coercion!"

“Someone coerced Bazhuo, demanding that he do this, otherwise there would be consequences that Bazhuo could not bear.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi shook his head: "I also considered that possibility, but I quickly ruled it out."

"Ba Zhuo was not poisoned or afflicted by any Gu poison, which means the thief did not threaten his life..."

"What is most important to Ba Zhuo besides his life?"

"I think only Xueyantuo's future and his position as crown prince matter."

"Whether it is the future of Xueyantuo or whether the crown prince can hold his position, it is actually directly related to our Great Tang Dynasty."

"If our Great Tang no longer supports the Xueyantuo, then the Xueyantuo may not even last next month and will be destroyed by the Turks! As for the crown prince... the Xueyantuo Khan was supported by His Majesty. Who will become the next Khan is just a matter of His Majesty's word."

"Therefore, for Bazhuo, only by gaining the support of the Tang Dynasty can he secure his position as crown prince, and only then will the Xueyantuo have a future..."

"How can the thief use this matter to coerce him? Unless the thief is from our Great Tang Dynasty and we forced him to kill an important minister of our Great Tang, our Great Tang will not support him. But is that even possible?"

Du Gou frowned and pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Indeed, there is a clear problem with the logic, but if it's not even coercion, how could the thief control Ba Zhuo?"

The others couldn't understand it either.

With the threat of poison and witchcraft ruled out, they really couldn't think of any other possibility.

Liu Shuyi's dark eyes flashed with a thoughtful look. Unlike the others, he was not solemn and his expression remained calm and rational.

Admittedly, their original guesses were overturned, but for the case, this was actually a good thing.

He firmly believed in a principle of reasoning: once all certain speculations have been ruled out, the remaining possibility, no matter how impossible it may seem, is still a fact.

Now, only one possibility remains...

Liu Shuyi looked at Du Ying again and said, "Since Ba Zhuo is in such poor health, why has he been unconscious? Is it really because he's drunk? Can he be so drunk that he can't be woken up no matter what?"

Du Ying shook her head and said, "His inability to wake up is not because he is drunk."

"If it's not because you're drunk, then what is it?" Li Chengqian asked curiously.

"He's been drugged. He's been drugged."

"A sleeping potion?" Everyone was taken aback.

Zhao Feng couldn't help but ask, "When was he drugged? Didn't he struggle for a while after killing the person before collapsing? Was he drugged at that time?"

Du Ying still shook her head: "I can't determine the specific drug used because I can't cut open his body to examine his stomach."

"Since the type of drug is unknown, it is impossible to deduce when or how he was drugged."

Liu Shuyi said thoughtfully, "So, it's also unknown when he will wake up?"

"Yes."

Du Ying said, "If the dosage is too high, it's possible for the patient to be in a coma for several days..."

"But if that's the case, his eating in the next few days will become a big problem, his health will be damaged as a result, and the prolonged coma will also affect his brain."

Upon hearing Du Ying's words, the young Li Chengqian's expression changed: "We can't let him become mentally impaired. He is a key figure in the alliance between the Tang Dynasty and Xueyantuo. We absolutely cannot let him have any mental problems."

Although Li Chengqian was interested in the case, as the crown prince, even at a young age, he placed national affairs in the most important position.

He had been watching the show with Liu Shuyi, but when he heard that Ba Zhuo might delay the alliance between the Tang Dynasty and Xueyantuo, he immediately became anxious.

Liu Shuyi asked Du Ying, "Can you find a way to wake him up earlier?"

Li Chengqian looked at Du Ying nervously. Du Ying thought for a moment and said, "I can try. Although I don't know what kind of drug he was drugged with, there are only so many types of drugs. If we try them one by one, we will eventually find the right one. However, this will take some time, and I'm afraid it will take some time to wake him up."

"It doesn't matter."

Liu Shuyi said, "Just make sure Ba Zhuo doesn't become an idiot."

"Okay," Du Ying nodded in agreement.

Liu Shuyi looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, are you relieved now?"

Li Chengqian's face flushed slightly. He realized that he had been too hasty. His father and teacher had specifically taught him to be calm and composed even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him, but he always lost his composure when it came to things he cared too much about.

Thinking of this, he looked at Liu Shuyi with a hint of admiration. Liu Shuyi was not only good at investigating cases, but also very calm. Even when faced with so many unexpected events and difficulties, Liu Shuyi never got nervous once.

"I must be as composed as Liu Yuanwailang in the future," Li Chengqian reminded himself.

Liu Shuyi noticed Li Chengqian's little scheme, smiled, and said nothing more before returning to the inner room.

Looking at the unconscious Ba Zhuo on the bed, Liu Shuyi seemed to be thinking of something, his eyes flashing. Suddenly, he said, "Zhao Feng, go and investigate something for me."

Zhao Feng hurriedly stepped forward: "What is it?"

Liu Shuyi approached Zhao Feng and whispered something in Zhao Feng's ear.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Feng's eyes flashed, and he quickly nodded, "This humble official understands."

After saying that, he quickly left.

Watching Zhao Feng's departing figure, Li Chengqian couldn't help but ask curiously, "What did you have him investigate?"

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "Please allow me to keep you in suspense for a moment, Your Highness. I have almost figured out what this case is all about. Now we only need to complete the last piece of the puzzle when Zhao Feng returns."

"What!?"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Li Chengqian was first taken aback, then his eyes widened in surprise.

His young face was filled with surprise: "You, you already know the truth about this case?"

Even the usually composed General Feng Chenggong, who had been quietly following along, couldn't help but show a look of surprise on his usually calm face.

Liu Shuyi said, "Although it hasn't been definitively confirmed yet, it's at least 80% likely."

Eighty percent is high enough!
Li Chengqian followed Liu Shuyi all the way, and he saw and heard the same things as Liu Shuyi. However, he was completely confused about the case. He felt that the case was extremely mysterious and could not understand how the Turkic spies had done it.

To everyone's surprise, Liu Shuyi immediately said that he was 80% confident he could solve the case.

Is this the legendary detective's skill?

Li Chengqian's eyes were shining as he looked at Liu Shuyi. He desperately wanted to know the truth of the case, but Liu Shuyi made it clear that he had to wait for Zhao Feng's results. Li Chengqian didn't like to force people to do things against their will, so he could only frown, find a stool and sit down. He appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, he was anxiously waiting.

Time continued to flow as always, but Li Chengqian felt that time was passing exceptionally slowly tonight.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Zhao Feng strode in: "Master Liu, I've found out everything."

Then, he whispered the results of his investigation to Liu Shuyi.

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi's expression showed a moment of surprise.

But soon, he suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. No wonder the imperial court has been watching for so long without any results..."

"So it was already exposed back then."

"I never expected it to be him..."

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Li Chengqian could no longer hold back and asked, "Master Liu, are the clues complete now?"

Liu Shuyi met Li Chengqian's expectant gaze, took a deep breath, and nodded, saying, "You can call everyone over now... I have a clear understanding of this case."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian immediately said, "What are you all standing there for? Go and call for help!"

The guards hurriedly ran outside.

While waiting for an opportunity, Li Chengqian couldn't help but ask, "Liu Yuanwailang, can you tell me first who the real murderer is?"

Upon hearing his words, Du Gou and the others subconsciously looked at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment, then said, "Of course."

“We have just ruled out the possibility of external control through Gu or poison, as well as the possibility of coercion or control…”

"To control Ba Zhuo remotely, only mental control remains. However, mental control requires very complex preparations, the control time is extremely limited, and the controlled person's willpower cannot be too strong, nor can their guard be too high..."

"But Bazhuo, as the crown prince of Xueyantuo, needs no introduction about how strong his willpower is as he leads troops in battle. He also needs no introduction about how vigilant he is when he knows there are Turkic spies in his ranks."

“Since he arrived in Chang’an, he has not been alone with anyone, so the preliminary preparations for mind control are almost impossible to complete, not to mention that this control will last for nearly two hours…”

"All the results prove that mind control is also impossible."

"Then, all means of control can be ruled out..."

"Only one last, and only, possibility remains..."

Everyone knew the most important moment had arrived, and they all subconsciously held their breath and stared intently at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi slowly swept his gaze over them, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice, "That means he wasn't controlled!"

"In other words, his poisoned dagger, his sudden killing, and his entire behavior were all things he did while fully conscious!"

"He wanted to kill! He's the real killer!!"

…………

P.S.: I'm writing this in advance so that some readers won't get impatient and feel like all their efforts to find clues have been in vain. The truth isn't that simple, and the protagonist group's actions weren't wasted either. The foreshadowing and the truth will be revealed tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)