The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 15 Ahhhhhh! How come it's all heads?!

As Liu Shuyi walked to the door, he saw the pretty maid separating from the beggar.

He glanced casually at the beggar, and just as he was about to look away, he suddenly paused.

"Master!"

Wan'er ran to Liu Shuyi, her pretty face blocking his view, her eyes crinkling: "Did you see those boxes in the yard? They're full of good things, silks and satins, and copper coins. We're really going to live a good life."

Hearing Wan'er's cheerful words, Liu Shuyi looked away and nodded with a smile: "Of course I saw it."

Under the sunlight, Wan'er's face was so delicate it seemed like it could be broken with a touch. The fine downy hairs on her skin looked even more beautiful in the sunlight. As she counted on her fingers, she said, "With money, you can do so many things."

“We can buy the young master new robes, new shoes, and a new turban. We can also buy more meat so that the young master won’t have to eat only minced meat anymore.”

"And also, the house needs repairing now. If the roof isn't fixed soon, the house will be flooded and rotten in the summer..."

Seeing Wan'er meticulously calculating like a housekeeper, Liu Shuyi couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

He raised his hand and gently rubbed Wan'er's soft little head, saying, "Let's go."

"Where?"

Wan'er raised her head blankly.

"Didn't you want to buy new clothes? Come on, let's go buy them. Buy some for me, and some for you and Uncle Chang too. We're a family, no one can be missing."

Liu Shuyi is not a stingy person. Now that he is no longer short of money, he cannot treat anyone unfairly.

Upon hearing this, Wan'er's bright eyes immediately lit up: "I have one too?"

“If you’re not my family, then you don’t have to be either,” Liu Shuyi said with a smile.

"No, no, no, of course I am." Wan'er shook her head like a rattle drum.

Liu Shuyi glanced almost imperceptibly in the direction the beggar had gone, then smiled and said, "In that case, don't ask such a silly question. Let's go, pick and choose whatever you like..."

He waved his hand dismissively and uttered a rare, somewhat childish statement: "Everything today will be on my plate... I'll pay."

Seeing Liu Shuyi's spirited appearance, Wan'er couldn't help but sniff. She couldn't help but say, "Young Master no longer hides his talents. Mingzhu has finally washed away the dust. That's wonderful."

"Still not leaving?"

Liu Shuyi took a few steps and suddenly noticed that the pretty maid was staring at him blankly, so he waved and called out.

"I'm here! Young master, wait for me~"

…………

"Oh, it's Steward Liu!"

At the entrance of a clothing store.

Liu Shuyi was leaning against the doorpost, yawning, and waiting idly for the pretty maid to choose clothes when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

Turning around, they saw Cheng Chumo, dressed in black armor with skin as dark as the armor itself, leading the Imperial Guards, hurrying towards them from the east side of the street.

"General Cheng".

Liu Shuyi cupped his hands in greeting and, seeing Cheng Chumo's hurried demeanor, asked curiously, "Are you on official business?"

"Don't mention it."

Cheng Chumo waved his hand, looking worried: "Didn't you drag Zhao Chengyi out last night? After that, I was ordered to take people to the Zhao residence, thinking of first taking control of the Zhao family and then searching to see if we could find the python robe and kite he used to pretend to be a ghost, as well as the disaster relief funds that went missing last year."

"Not going well?" Liu Shuyi guessed.

"It's more than just unsuccessful!"

Cheng Chumo shook his head and said, "We searched the entire Zhao residence but couldn't find a trace of the python robe or the kite. The tens of thousands of yuan in disaster relief funds that were lost have also disappeared without a trace."

"And that's not all. I originally planned to arrest Zhao Chengyi's wife and children and interrogate them to see if I could get any secrets out, but who knew..."

He looked at Liu Shuyi and shook his head, saying, "They weren't at the Zhao residence at all."

"Not at the Zhao residence?"

Liu Shuyi was not surprised that the python robe and the kite could not be found during the search.

After all, those who needed to be silenced have already been killed, so the ghost of the King of Xi has no reason to exist. Keeping it around would only become a hidden danger.

Given Zhao Chengyi's personality, he would naturally destroy Zhao Ci immediately after killing him.

It's not surprising that the disaster relief funds couldn't be found.

Hiding tens of thousands of dollars in disaster relief funds in his own home could lead to his utter ruin if a thief discovered the money or if his servants leaked the information.

Therefore, it's normal not to hide it in one's own residence.

Not to mention, there is clearly someone of even higher status behind Zhao Chengyi. Such a serious matter as framing a fourth-rank official may very well have been orchestrated by that person.

Therefore, it's quite possible that the disaster relief funds ended up in that person's hands.

It's perfectly normal that we couldn't find anything on this trip.

However, the fact that Zhao Chengyi's wife and children were not at the Zhao residence surprised him somewhat.

He said, "Have you asked the Zhao family servants? Do they know where Zhao Chengyi's wife and children have gone?"

"Of course I asked."

Cheng Chumo said with a bitter face, "But they all say they don't know."

"I wonder where they went?"

“Not only do we not know where they went, we don’t even know when they disappeared.” Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi’s expression finally became more serious.

He realized that something was wrong.

He looked at Cheng Chumo and asked, "When was the last time you saw Zhao Chengyi's wife and children?"

"Around the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), after having dinner, they went back to their rooms to rest."

Cheng Chumo knew Liu Shuyi's abilities and spoke without reservation.

He looked very unwell. Last night, he thought he was just carrying out a simple task and could easily finish it, but who knew that they couldn't find any physical evidence, disaster relief funds, or even the people in question.

Zhou Mo and he were in the most intense competition within the Golden Guard. If he could perform such a simple task so poorly, Zhou Mo would definitely not miss this opportunity and would surely kick him while he was down.

At that time, his situation will be very unfavorable.

Opportunities for promotion could be lost.

Now perhaps only Liu Shuyi can help him.

Liu Shuyi was unaware of Cheng Chumo's predicament. He only knew that he had exposed Zhao Chengyi and that Zhao Chengyi was hiding a secret about him. Therefore, since he had encountered Zhao Chengyi's situation, he could not ignore it.

He looked at Cheng Chumo, pondered for a moment, and said, "So, Zhao Chengyi's wife and children suddenly disappeared last night, and none of the Zhao family's servants saw how they left?"

"Yes."

"Have you asked Zhao Chengyi?" Liu Shuyi said, "He was arrested last night, and his wife and children also secretly disappeared last night. If nothing unexpected happens, this is related to him. It is possible that he was suddenly summoned to the Ministry of Revenue last night, which made him realize that he might be exposed, so he hid his wife and children to ensure their safety."

To everyone's surprise, Cheng Chumo's expression turned even more unpleasant after hearing Liu Shuyi's words.

Even when he looked at Liu Shuyi, he seemed hesitant, as if he didn't know how to start the conversation.

Having seen countless people, Liu Shuyi's heart sank when he saw Cheng Chumo's expression, a man known for his straightforwardness. He asked, "Has something happened to Zhao Chengyi?"

Cheng Chumo nodded heavily: "He was killed in prison."

"Killed!?" Liu Shuyi's pupils dilated slightly. "Wasn't he under guard in prison? How could he be killed?"

"He was killed by the people guarding him."

Cheng Chumo said, "Last night we escorted Zhao Chengyi into the Ministry of Justice prison and specifically instructed the guards to keep a close eye on him and not let him escape. We also instructed them not to allow any outsiders to approach Zhao Chengyi, so as to prevent anyone from colluding with him."

"result……"

He shook his head: "We took every precaution, but we never expected the jailer to make a move!"

He looked at Liu Shuyi: "Suddenly, the jailer pulled out a dagger from his pocket and stabbed Zhao Chengyi in the heart without warning, stabbing him three times and killing him on the spot! Afterwards, without any hesitation, he used the dagger to slit his own throat."

“This jailer had no relatives and was all alone. After he died, we couldn’t even find anyone to collect his body, so naturally we couldn’t investigate him through his relatives.”

Hearing Cheng Chumo's words, Liu Shuyi frowned.

He said, "So it seems... Zhao Chengyi was silenced. Was it done by the 'he' he mentioned?"

"To be able to place assassins in the Ministry of Justice's prison and to act so decisively and swiftly..."

"This 'he' is no ordinary person!"

Cheng Chumo nodded quickly: "Minister Du thinks so too. The entire Ministry of Justice is conducting an internal investigation to prevent a second prison guard from hiding."

These kinds of pieces are probably not something that can be discovered through self-examination.

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered. Zhao Chengyi was dead. If anyone in the world still knew his secret, besides "him," perhaps only his wife and children remained...

But his wife and children have mysteriously disappeared. Where can they be found?
"what is that?"

"What a huge eagle!"

Just as Liu Shuyi was frowning and deep in thought, suddenly some voices of discussion arose.

Liu Shuyi and Cheng Chumo subconsciously looked up.

Two eagles were seen gliding overhead, their wings spread wide.

Its grayish-brown wings, when spread out, give the impression of blotting out the sky.

At the same time, they seemed to be grasping at something with their claws.

suddenly……

An eagle released its talons.

A round, plump thing fell from the sky.

That direction was exactly towards Liu Shuyi... and Cheng Chumo, who was standing next to him.

Cheng Chumo didn't have time to think much and almost subconsciously opened his hands.