The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 12: Case Closed!

Seeing Zhao Chengyi's reaction, Liu Shuyi didn't need to say anything more; everyone understood.

"It's him! He really is the murderer!"

"It's truly unbelievable! Zhao Shilang usually acts so kind and gentle, who would have thought he could be so insidious and ruthless!"

"Who says it isn't?"

"It still feels like a dream!"

"He's such a hypocrite! He was so aggrieved just now, and I actually believed him! If it weren't for Manager Liu, I probably would never have known his true colors in my entire life!"

"Yes!"

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue were buzzing with discussion, their expressions showing utter surprise.

Zhao Feng then charged straight over.

He gripped Zhao Chengyi's neck with both hands, his face contorted with rage, and gritted his teeth as he said, "You bastard who harmed my father, I'm going to kill you!"

"General Cheng, stop him!" Liu Shuyi said to Cheng Chumo, seeing Zhao Feng's frantic state.

Cheng Chumo already held Liu Shuyi in the highest esteem. Upon hearing this, he did not hesitate at all. He reached out and, as if picking up a chick, lifted the skinny Zhao Feng, who had no flesh on his body, aside.

Looking at Zhao Chengyi, who was clutching his neck and coughing incessantly, Liu Shuyi said indifferently, "Does suffocation feel good? That's how you felt when you killed Han Du."

Zhao Chengyi trembled involuntarily. He suddenly raised his head, staring intently at Liu Shuyi with a fierce and resentful look in his eyes.

Liu Shuyi calmly said, "I haven't told you your motive for killing him yet. Do you want to hear it?"

Looking at Liu Shuyi's composed expression, as if everything was under control, and listening to the crowd's discussions and insults, Zhao Chengyi gritted his teeth: "What are you listening to? Are you going to show off your power again?"

His face was full of anger as he cursed, "It's all those four greedy idiots' fault!"

"If they hadn't come to me again demanding money, and if I hadn't been worried that their stupidity would expose me, would I have attacked them?"

"I have already replaced Zhao Zhuo as a fourth-rank Vice Minister. If I take another step, I will be a Minister! I don't want to fight anymore! They forced me to!"

"And if I don't take action against them, you incompetent lot..."

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Wei Zheng, Pei Ji, and the others, and sneered, "You think you can uncover my secrets? You'll never know the truth about the Zhao Zhuo case in your lifetime!"

"Unfortunately……"

He shook his head: "I actually chose such a stupid group of people as my partners!"

Pei Ji's face turned extremely ugly when Zhao Chengyi pointed his finger at him and insulted him like that.

He slammed his hand on the table with a bang.

He shouted sternly, "Zhao Chengyi! You're facing death, yet you still refuse to repent!"

Wei Zheng's expression also darkened. After all, he was always the one pointing fingers and scolding others, and this was the first time someone had pointed fingers and scolded him like this.

But unfortunately, he couldn't refute it.

After all, Zhao Chengyi was right. If Liu Shuyi hadn't exposed Zhao Chengyi, he probably would never have suspected that Zhao Chengyi had any problems.

"You call them stupid? They really are stupid."

Liu Shuyi looked at Zhao Chengyi and nodded in agreement, saying, "After all, even in the end, Zhao Ci still chose to protect you. He was indeed extremely foolish."

"What did you say?" Zhao Chengyi was taken aback.

Liu Shuyi said slowly, "You may not know this, but Zhao Ci did not die in the bedroom like the other two."

"No?" Zhao Chengyi frowned.

Liu Shuyi said, "To make the ghosts' killings more realistic, you specifically calculated the wind direction to ensure that the ghosts could appear above their bedrooms, so that when they were poisoned in their bedrooms, it would seem as if the ghosts were killing them... However, last night, Zhao Ci did not rest in his bedroom. Instead, after returning to the Zhao residence, he locked himself in his study with a furrowed brow and a heavy heart."

"Do you know why, contrary to your expectations, he didn't sleep with his beautiful wife, but instead locked himself in the study?"

Zhao Chengyi first frowned, but gradually, as if he had thought of something, his expression hardened.

Liu Shuyi observed the changes in Zhao Chengyi's expression and said, "In the study, I found a sheet of Xuan paper laid out flat on his desk."

"The ink next to the Xuan paper has been ground."

"But in the end, apart from the ink dripping from the brush tip, not a single word was left on the rice paper." "What do you think..." Liu Shuyi squinted and said, "What did Zhao Ci want to write, but ultimately didn't put pen to paper?"

"Do you really think that Zhao Ci, who was able to become a sixth-rank official, would not think about anything or doubt anything after seeing the other three die one after another?"

"When you last saw him and poisoned him, didn't you notice his hesitation and reluctance to speak?"

"Enough! Stop talking!!!" Zhao Chengyi trembled all over as he listened to Liu Shuyi's words.

His eyes flickered constantly, and his expression changed repeatedly.

"He He……"

He suddenly closed his eyes, his hands clenched tightly, his fingertips piercing his skin, and blood gushing out.

Liu Shuyi looked at him and said, "So you're right, Zhao Ci is really stupid. He clearly guessed that you were the murderer, and he clearly guessed that he was your next target, but he still refused to write down the truth... He knew that if he had written it down, you would have been dead for sure, but he still didn't."

“Zhao Chengyi…”

Liu Shuyi's voice suddenly turned low, like a dagger piercing the heart and lungs, sharp and cold: "How does it feel to kill a brother who treated you so sincerely?"

"Shut up!!" Zhao Chengyi opened his bloodshot eyes and shouted at Liu Shuyi in a stern voice.

He was in a frenzy and had completely lost his composure.

Seeing this, Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he immediately said, "Zhao Feng was originally the scapegoat you found. If something unexpected happened, your original plan was to have him take the blame for you. Now that you have already found a scapegoat, why did you still plot against me?"

"I lost that jade pendant half a year ago. Why is it in your hands? Did you start plotting against me six months ago?"

"And my brother, you used his information to scheme against me. Do you know the truth about his disappearance?"

Provoked by Liu Shuyi, Zhao Chengyi lost his composure. Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's question, he almost instinctively blurted out, "Who do you think you are! You think you're worthy of my scheming against you? If he hadn't given me the order, I wouldn't even know who you are!"

"he?"

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, and he immediately stepped forward, asking, "Who is he?"

"he is--"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Chengyi, whose face was contorted with madness, suddenly froze.

Then his eyes widened, his face filled with anger and lingering fear as he looked at Liu Shuyi: "You tricked me into telling me!"

"How could you be so insidious!"

"Liu Shuyi, just give up on that idea!"

"You won't get anything out of me! I won't say a word!"

“I’ll take all the secrets with me to hell! No matter how smart you are, there will always be secrets you’ll never find! Your brother, you’ll never find him either, hahaha…”

Hearing the maniacal laughter and seeing Zhao Chengyi's wary expression, clearly indicating he wouldn't speak easily again, Liu Shuyi couldn't help but sigh.

He knew that the meticulous Zhao Chengyi wouldn't speak easily.

So, taking advantage of the moment when the truth came out and Zhao Chengyi lost his composure, he provoked the other party, causing Zhao Chengyi to lose his calm and judgment, and thus ask the questions he wanted to know.

Unfortunately, Zhao Chengyi only said half of what he said before realizing what was going on.

Even so, he still learned a very crucial piece of information.

he!
Zhao Chengyi said that the reason he was framed was all at the behest of "him".

Who is he?
Are there other people behind Zhao Chengyi?
That person possessed the jade pendant he had lost six months ago, and even had Zhao Chengyi use his brother's information to lure his predecessor...

Does this mean that his brother's disappearance is related to the person behind Zhao Chengyi?

Liu Shuyi pondered for a moment, and seeing Zhao Chengyi looking up as if he were ready to be killed or tortured, he finally shook his head.

It's clear we can't get anything out of them now; we can only wait and interrogate them slowly later.

He took a deep breath, and without further hesitation, turned around and looked at Du Ruhui.

He cupped his hands and said, "The case of the murder by the ghost of Prince Xi, as well as the case of Zhao Zhuo's embezzlement in the middle of last year, have both been solved!"

"Your humble servant has not failed in his mission! He has not disappointed you!"

(End of this chapter)