The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 14 Young Master, I'm here!

A spacious carriage stopped in front of the Liu residence.

Liu Shuyi jumped down from the carriage, turned around to look at it, and cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you for seeing me off, Master Du."

Du Ruhui smiled and waved his hand, his gaze towards Liu Shuyi exceptionally gentle: "You solved this case, which helped me a great deal, so it's only right that I give you a ride along the way."

Drop by?

Du Ruhui's residence was located in Chongrenfang, a neighborhood where princes and nobles gathered, while his own residence was located in Xinghuafang. These two residences, one to the east and one to the west, spanned almost half of Chang'an City, which was quite convenient.

Liu Shuyi's eyelids twitched, but he had to accept his superior's kindness.

So he thanked them again.

Du Ruhui nodded slightly: "Alright, it's getting late, go back and rest."

"Yes."

Liu Shuyi nodded, but instead of turning around and entering the mansion, he stood there and watched Du Ruhui and the others leave.

Looking at Liu Shuyi's sensible appearance, Du Ruhui sighed inwardly, "Liu Wenjing has a good son."

He lowered the carriage curtain and looked away, only to see his son staring at him with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong?" Du Ruhui asked, in a good mood.

Du Gou couldn't help but say, "This is the first time Father has personally escorted a subordinate home."

"Can't you?"

"It's not that it's impossible... but Father once said that colleague relationships are just that, colleague relationships. We must keep our distance and not get too close, especially given Father's current position. We must be careful with our words and actions and keep our distance from others."

Du Gou asked in confusion, "Why did Father make an exception today?"

"An exception? Not really."

Du Ruhui said slowly, "It would indeed be an exception to treat Liu Shuyi as a colleague, but it wouldn't be an exception to treat him as family."

"Family?" Du Gou was taken aback.

Du Ruhui looked at his outstanding eldest son with deep eyes and said slowly, "Some people are destined to soar to great heights. Even if they are currently in a state of silence, they will eventually take flight. At that time, all the beauties will see him and try to recruit him. Not only will the competition be fierce, but more importantly, it will only be icing on the cake."

"But for truly talented people, we shouldn't add flowers to brocade, but rather provide charcoal in snowy weather."

"You need to show your sincerity before he gains momentum in order to truly enter his heart and ensure that he won't be snatched away by others after he becomes famous."

Du Gou asked thoughtfully, "What does Father mean?"

Du Ruhui said in a deep voice, "My health is deteriorating day by day, and I don't know when I won't be able to hold on. I need to find someone you can trust and rely on even after I'm gone..."

He looked at Du Gou and said, "Your sister will arrive in Chang'an tomorrow. Find an opportunity to let her meet Liu Shuyi..."

…………

Liu Shuyi had no idea what kind of "timely help" Du Ruhui was going to give him. After watching Du Ruhui's carriage leave, he knocked on the door of Liu's residence.

Not long after, the door was opened.

A sound of surprise immediately rang out.

"Young Master! You're back! Are you alright? Did they give you any trouble?"

Wan'er rushed out in surprise and circled around Liu Shuyi.

The elderly Uncle Chang also carried a lantern to illuminate Liu Shuyi's path. Seeing that Liu Shuyi had returned unharmed, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

"It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back safely! If the young master hadn't come back, this old servant wouldn't know how to face the master in the afterlife."

Hearing their concerned words, Liu Shuyi finally relaxed.

Although Du Ruhui treated him very well, the two had only just met and their statuses were so different that he dared not relax too much.

Only when he is with his real family can he completely let down his guard.

"I made you worry."

Liu Shuyi said, "The case has been solved, and I have been completely cleared of suspicion. You don't need to worry about me anymore."

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Wan'er's bright eyes couldn't help but show curiosity: "The case has been solved? Who is the murderer? Who is so despicable as to frame Young Master?"

Chang Bo also showed a curious expression.

As Liu Shuyi walked with the two men into the courtyard, he explained the details of the case to them.

After hearing this, Chang Bo shook his head and sighed, "In order to get promoted, he framed Zhao Zhuo, who was standing in his way, and had him killed, so he took his place. Fearing that he would be betrayed, he also killed Zhao Ci and the other three. I never thought that Zhao Chengyi could be so insidious and vicious. Fortunately, the young master found out the truth. Otherwise... I can't imagine how many more people would be harmed by such a person in the future if he were an official in the court."

"That's it!"

Wan'er nodded repeatedly with her pretty little head.

"But young master is amazing!"

"Zhao Chengyi is so cunning and his schemes are so meticulous, yet the young master still saw through him!"

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "I was just lucky."

"No, Young Master is amazing!"

Wan'er's eyes brimmed with undisguised admiration: "Young Master, this counts as a great achievement, right? Will you get a promotion? Will our lives be even better then?"

Hearing Wan'er's words, Liu Shuyi couldn't help but look at the shabby courtyard.

With the execution of their father, Liu Wenjing, the Liu family's status plummeted, and they were unable to hold onto their original wealth.

Add to that the disappearance of his elder brother, and the cowardly personality that the original owner had developed from years of being bullied...

This has led to the complete downfall of the Liu family.

The mansion hadn't been repaired for years, and some parts of the roof were leaking. They couldn't afford much charcoal in the spring and winter, so the three of them often had to endure the bitterly cold nights with thick quilts.

Although the original owner of this body could receive some salary in the Ministry of Justice, as a low-ranking official of the ninth grade, the salary was very meager, barely enough to ensure the basic survival of the three of them.

They could survive, but life was indeed very hard.

Looking at Chang Bo's robe, patched many times, and at the pretty maid's whitewashed dress, and meeting the expectant gazes of the two, Liu Shuyi finally nodded.

"It will get better."

"It will definitely get better."

Upon hearing this, Wan'er immediately beamed with joy.

Her smile seemed to brighten the whole world. She said happily, "That's wonderful! Young Master can buy new clothes and eat even better! I'll go prepare some hot water for Young Master. You've had a long day, you should rest well..."

As she spoke, Wan'er skipped and hopped away quickly.

Watching Wan'er's happy figure as she walked away, Uncle Chang sighed, "Wan'er has suffered a lot with us. With her looks, she could easily marry into a wealthy family, but she is grateful and kind, and she stays here to take care of us without asking for anything in return. Young master, we cannot let her down."

"of course."

…………

The next day.

Liu Shuyi slept until noon before waking up.

Knowing how hard Liu Shuyi worked investigating the case, Du Ruhui specially allowed Liu Shuyi to take a day off to rest and recharge before going back to work.

Before I knew it, I had fallen into a deep sleep.

Get dressed and open the door.

As soon as he stepped out of the room, Liu Shuyi was stunned for a moment.

He discovered that three large wooden crates were now placed in the previously empty courtyard.

Several other people were carrying boxes into the yard.

He looked at Uncle Chang, who was greeting people, and asked, "Uncle Chang, what's this?"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Chang's wrinkled face lit up with joy as he said, "This is the deed money that the Han family sent to us."

"The Han family? Deed money?" Liu Shuyi asked, somewhat puzzled.

Uncle Chang explained, "The Han family are businessmen. They used to rent our Liu family's shop to do business. Later, when the master had an accident, the Han family used some tricks to swindle us out of our shop and stopped paying us the deposit."

"It's been almost five years. I never expected that they would come to us today and offer more than we originally agreed."

Listening to Chang Bo's words, Liu Shuyi finally found the relevant memories of the original owner.

Because his elder brother was still alive at the time, he was in charge of these matters, and he only heard about some of them and didn't know much about them.

But we also know that the Han family is not an isolated case.

As one of the founding heroes who initially followed Li Yuan in raising an army, Liu Wenjing amassed a considerable fortune. However, like a whale falling from the sky, his wealth was divided up by others, enriching countless people.

The Han family had some connections and background in the imperial court. Although it was a lie, it was so convincing that it was hard to find any obvious problems with them. They were considered one of the more lenient ones.

Unexpectedly, after solving the case and making a contribution last night, he took the initiative to come to the door this morning to pay the rent... His insight is not bad.

It seems that news of last night's events has already spread.

I wonder how many people with the same discernment as the Han family will be there.

How many people will feel fear and worry? Or hatred and resentment?

Liu Shuyi sneered. He would settle some scores one by one.

He stretched, looked at the heavy boxes, and knew that what he had said last night had come true...

"Where's Wan'er?"

Liu Shuyi said, "The money from the good days has come, but why haven't I seen her?"

Given Wan'er's personality, she should be happily circling around these boxes right now, while counting on her fingers how to buy him new clothes.

"Wan'er."

Chang Bo said, "She must have gone out to give the leftovers to the beggars. She is very kind and gives our leftovers to the beggars every day."

…………

Outside.

Wan'er poured the leftover food into the beggar's broken bowl.

At the same time, he glanced at the street to the east and caught a glimpse of a figure flashing into the teahouse.

Her beautiful eyes narrowed suddenly, and her tone turned abruptly cold: "Young Master has just accomplished something, and now flies are already buzzing around..."

The beggar waved his hand in thanks while cautiously glancing around, and whispered, "What do we do?"

"Wan'er——"

Just then, Liu Shuyi's shout came from behind.

"Flies must be swatted!"

The usually aloof Wan'er suddenly broke into a radiant smile.

After saying that, she turned around and skipped and hopped towards the house, her voice clear and melodious like a lark's as she ran: "Young Master, I'm here~"

(End of this chapter)