The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 23 The Truth! An elaborate deception!

"What!?"

"The madam of Miaoyin Pavilion!?"

"You mean, the murderer who killed the Zhao mother and son wasn't Sun Zhouming, but the madam of Miaoyinfang?!"

Cheng Chumo was completely stunned when he heard Liu Shuyi's words.

His eyes widened, his mouth gaped open, and his face was filled with disbelief.

After taking Sun Zhouming back to the prison, he was about to interrogate him, but Liu Shuyi stopped him, saying that there was a good show to watch tonight, and that he could watch the show first before interrogating him.

Therefore, Cheng Chumo followed Liu Shuyi here in a completely daze.

He was completely unprepared beforehand.

Hearing Liu Shuyi say that the madam was the murderer at that moment, a wave of absurdity, shock, and disbelief surged through him.

It gave him a dreamlike, unreal feeling.

after all……

He couldn't help but say, "Didn't the murderer rape Zhao? The madam is a woman, how could she have done that?"

Cheng Chumo looked at Liu Shuyi: "Manager Liu, what exactly is going on here?!"

Upon hearing Cheng Chumo's words, Du Gou, Du Ying, and the other Jinwu Guards all looked at Liu Shuyi at the same time.

Du Gou and Du Ying knew a few things because they had done some things for Liu Shuyi, but even so, they still couldn't believe that the murderer was the eloquent and slippery madam of Miaoyinfang!

The Imperial Guards were even more shocked than Cheng Chumo.

Liu Shuyi knew what everyone was thinking, but he didn't rush to answer. Instead, he looked at the graceful figure dressed in black beside the dry well and said with a half-smile, "Aren't you going to show your true colors?"

"Or do you want to spar with the Imperial Guards, have them tie you up, and then help you reveal your true form?"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, the Imperial Guards quickly surrounded the figure dressed in black.

They drew their swords and cautiously approached slowly.

The sword reflected the light of the torch, appearing exceptionally sharp.

Seeing the Imperial Guards surrounding and approaching her, the graceful figure who had been standing silently by the dry well finally spoke.

"You really have no mercy for women..."

The sound was soothing, like a feather gently brushing against my ear.

Whose voice could it be but that of the madam of Miaoyinfang?
"It really is you!?" Cheng Chumo looked surprised.

She slowly raised her hand and gently pulled off the black cloth tied to her cheek.

Then, a beautiful face with azure eyes, fair skin, and the refined features that have stood the test of time appeared before everyone.

The madam ignored the shocked crowd, her amorous eyes gazing at Liu Shuyi. She said coquettishly, "Don't keep calling me madam, it sounds awful. I have a name, remember, my name is Miaoyin'er."

At this moment, the two were clearly mortal enemies, and the atmosphere was clearly filled with murderous intent, yet Miao Yin'er could say such almost coquettish words to Liu Shuyi, which made Cheng Chumo feel goosebumps.

What exactly is the madam of Miaoyinfang thinking?
Du Ying's cool eyebrows furrowed slightly; she simply disliked Miao Yin'er's affected and coquettish tone.

"Miaoyin'er? That's a good name."

Liu Shuyi's expression remained unchanged despite the madam's words. He said calmly, "It's just a pity that your ruthless and treacherous heart has ruined the good meaning of this name."

Miao Yin'er raised an eyebrow, a hint of coldness appearing in her shimmering eyes: "Why can't I understand what Master Liu is saying?"

Her face was full of confusion, giving the impression of a lost deer: "I know it was wrong of me to come here wearing night clothes and ignoring the curfew... but how could this mistake have anything to do with being a murderer? Manager Liu, please don't take advantage of me just because I'm a weak woman."

Miao Yin'er seemed to possess a natural charm; her furrowed brows and aggrieved expression naturally aroused a man's trust and protective instincts.

Seeing that even the Imperial Guards hesitated, Liu Shuyi sneered, "You really are a born actress."

"But now that I'm here, do you think pretending to be stupid will work?"

Miao Yin'er frowned, but this time, she did not refute.

Cheng Chumo couldn't hold back any longer: "Manager Liu, what exactly happened? How did the murderer change from Sun Zhouming to Miaoyin'er? Tell me quickly, I'm dying of curiosity!"

The Imperial Guards standing nearby couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Liu Shuyi didn't keep them in suspense. He stared at the brothel madam, who was still looking pitiful by the dry well, and slowly said, "From the moment I received the head until tonight when I arrived at Miaoyinfang and captured Sun Zhouming... this whole journey can be described as a trap."

"A scheme?" Du Gou frowned.

Liu Shuyi nodded in a deep voice: "A carefully prepared scam, with every step planned out for me, attempting to manipulate me like a puppet!"

"how come!?"

Cheng Chumo was somewhat incredulous: "She treats you like a puppet? How is that possible? How did she do that?"

"How did you do that? It's very simple!"

Liu Shuyi said, "Just prepare the clues I need one by one."

"The clues you need?"

Du Gou's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but ask, "Are you referring to the footprints in the snow? Or the medicinal powder?"

Why must we choose one of the two?

Du Gou's pupils contracted: "You mean they are all like that!?"

"Not only are they all..."

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "Even the corpse... everything we saw at Wutong Temple was fake! It was all carefully prepared for me by her!"

"This...how is this possible!?"

Cheng Chumo exclaimed in disbelief.

Du Gou also looked astonished.

The Imperial Guards around them looked at each other in bewilderment.

Liu Shuyi knew how terrifying his words were.

He looked at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Actually, at the beginning, or rather before Sun Zhouming was exposed, I, like you, did not discover any problems."

"On the contrary, because I discovered all those clues myself, and because I painstakingly came up with all the reasoning, I am even more convinced than you that Sun Zhouming is the murderer... even if everything went too smoothly, so smoothly that I felt a little uneasy."

"But because my reasoning is based on reality and forms a logical loop, even if I am uneasy, I still believe that Sun Zhouming is the murderer."

"until……"

Liu Shuyi paused for a moment.

Du Gou and Cheng Chumo held their breath, too nervous to even blink.

Because they knew they had arrived at the most crucial point!
Even the alluring madam, Miaoyin'er, was staring intently at Liu Shuyi at that moment.

Then, they saw Liu Shuyi turn his head and look at the quiet and aloof forensic doctor beside him, and say, "Until Miss Du came to Miaoyinfang to find me and brought me two pieces of news that were like a bolt from the blue for me."

Du Ying!?
Everyone was startled.

They instinctively looked at Du Ying, who was as aloof as a fairy.

"Could it be..."

Suddenly, Du Gou seemed to realize something and said, "The autopsy report!? Your sister gave you the autopsy report?"

"Correct!"

Cheng Chumo also remembered: "Miss Du did give you the autopsy report, and then the two of you whispered to each other. You even said something like 'So that's how it is.' I asked you about it at the time, but you didn't have time to answer me."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "That's right, it's the autopsy report!"

"After returning to the Ministry of Justice, Miss Du immediately began to dissect the bodies of Zhao and her son. The result... yielded a conclusion, but also overturned a previous one."

To get a result?
Overturn a conclusion?
Du Gou and Cheng Chumo looked puzzled.

Liu Shuyi said, "Miss Du, you may speak." Du Yingming's bright eyes met Liu Shuyi's. She nodded slightly, without refusing, her clear, cool voice echoing in the silent, desolate courtyard:

"Due to the cold weather, it was difficult to determine the time of death of the Zhao mother and son using normal autopsy methods. I was at a loss at the time. Fortunately, Manager Liu told me that we could indirectly determine the time of death by observing the digestion of the food in their stomachs."

"Therefore, after I returned to the Ministry of Justice, I immediately dissected Zhao's stomach and found that there was not much food left inside, only some meat that had not been completely digested."

"Later, to verify this, I cut open the child's stomach, and it was the same; only a little bit of flesh remained."

"My mentor once told me when he was teaching me how to prescribe medicine that meat is the most difficult food to digest. If a patient has eaten meat within the past three hours, then when prescribing medicine, we need to consider whether there are any conflicting drugs."

"In other words, it takes about three hours for meat to be completely digested in the stomach."

"Both Zhao and the child had some meat left in their stomachs, which means that their time of death was no more than three hours after they last ate."

No more than three hours?
Du Gou and Cheng Chumo were still calculating the time.

Liu Shuyi's voice rang out: "General Cheng told me that after Zhao and her son had dinner at 7 p.m. that night, they went back to their room to rest, and no servants saw them again."

"In other words, they ate the meat before the hour of Xu (7-9 PM). So, adding three hours to the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) gives us the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)!"

"Therefore... the time of death given by Miss Du should be..."

He looked at Du Gou and Cheng Chumo, who were deep in thought, took a deep breath, and said, "Before the hour of Chou!"

Before 1-3 AM!?
Suddenly!

Du Gou and Cheng Chumo's expressions both changed abruptly.

They finally understood...

“Sun Zhouming left just after 1-3 AM, while Zhao and her son had already died before 1-3 AM! So…”

Du Gou looked at Liu Shuyi, his voice tightening: "Sun Zhouming couldn't have killed him! He was framed!"

"So that's how it is, how could it be like this..." Cheng Chumo couldn't help but repeat.

Liu Shuyi nodded: "The timing clashes, so Sun Zhouming can't be the murderer!"

"But all the clues I've gathered ultimately point to him!"

"So, from that moment on, I understood..."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Liu Shuyi.

Then Liu Shuyi said in a deep voice, "I've been deceived! All the clues I received were fake!"

"None of the evidence I currently possess is trustworthy!"

"I have exhausted all my efforts to overturn all the conclusions I have reached!"

"I'm back where I started!"

Listening to Liu Shuyi's words, Du Gou and the others felt a suffocating heaviness in their hearts.

Think differently.

They could easily imagine how much pain Liu Shuyi must have felt at that moment.

The light was just around the corner, the murderer was within reach... but then, at this crucial moment, we suddenly learned that we were wrong! Completely wrong! All our efforts had been in vain!
Fall short!
Back to square one!

Just thinking about this kind of blow makes them feel desperate.

And what about Liu Shuyi?
Only he knew the truth; even Du Ying, who delivered the message to Liu Shuyi, didn't know the meaning of the two characters "丑时" (chou shi, the hour of the 11 o'clock crow)...

Therefore, Liu Shuyi was the only one bearing that enormous blow, with no one to share the burden with.

Even so, Liu Shuyi did not show the slightest sign of abnormality.

She continued to act according to the original plan, making the murderer believe that her plot had succeeded, without alerting the culprit...

At that moment, Du Gou's face showed undisguised admiration.

He couldn't match Liu Shuyi's investigative abilities; that was a talent he couldn't envy.

But this time, Liu Shuyi's experience had nothing to do with investigating the case. It was a terrifying composure and calmness, an unimaginable strength of heart, that he displayed when faced with sudden changes, despair, and helplessness.
This has nothing to do with talent; it's all about personal skill.

He admitted that if it were him, he would never have been able to do what Liu Shuyi did.

Liu Shuyi not only earned his recognition and respect in terms of his investigation skills, but also in terms of his willpower.

Not to mention Cheng Chumo, whose eyes were already shining as he looked at Liu Shuyi.

Even the aloof, icy beauty looked at Liu Shuyi with admiration in her eyes, and it seemed to be mixed with a hint of...tenderness.
…………

On the courtyard wall not far away.

Two figures were sitting side by side.

Cheng Yaojin, whose skin was several shades darker than Cheng Chumo's and completely hidden in the darkness of the night, couldn't help but exclaim, "This kid from the Liu family is no ordinary person! His composure is terrifying! Is he really not some seventy- or eighty-year-old monster? Is he really just a young man in his twenties?"

Wrapped in a thick cloak and looking sickly, Du Ruhui listened to the devil's words, his deep eyes fixed on the blue-clad figure surrounded by stars in the crowd, and slowly said, "If he is a simple person, can you entrust your son's future to him with peace of mind?"

"Hi!"

Cheng Yaojin waved his hand: "I'm not familiar with him. I only felt at ease because you vouched for him. If it weren't for you, how could I dare to entrust such an important matter to a low-ranking official? Which official in Chang'an seems more experienced and reliable than him?"

"but……"

Changing the subject, Cheng Yaojin chuckled and said, "Now I know, he's more reliable than anyone else!"

"correct."

Cheng Yaojin glanced at the graceful figure standing beside Liu Shuyi, stroked his rough stubble, and said, "Tell me, this young man from the Liu family has helped my Cheng family so much. How can I thank him? How about I betroth my daughter to him and take him as my son-in-law?"

Du Ruhui's calm and composed expression almost crumbled because of Cheng Yaojin's words.

He glanced coldly at the despicable brute beside him and said, "Too late!"

…………

"The moment I realized that Sun Zhouming was not the murderer, I finally understood what kind of scheme the murderer had set up to deceive me!"

Liu Shuyi's voice brought everyone back to their senses.

They composed themselves and quickly looked at Liu Shuyi again.

Then Liu Shuyi said, "First of all, she used some means, either threats or enticement, to trick Sun Zhouming into leaving Miaoyinfang and making him go to Wutong Temple overnight."

"Because the ground of Wutong Temple is covered with snow, anyone who enters will inevitably leave footprints."

“Sun Zhouming was unaware that his trip was a setup by the murderer to frame him, so he left his footprints unprepared.”

"Furthermore, since Wutong Temple only has one entrance and exit, and there are only the footprints of Zhao's mother and son and Sun Zhouming on the snow, we naturally assumed that Sun Zhouming's footprints were the murderer's footprints, thus possessing the most direct evidence that we were extremely confident in pointing to the murderer."

Cheng Chumo listened and nodded.

He understood how the murderer had deceived them using Sun Zhouming's footprints.

But because of this, he also failed to understand.

“Master Liu, you said it yourself, Wutong Temple only has one entrance and exit, and the temple is surrounded by snow. As long as someone enters the temple, it is impossible not to leave footprints.”

Cheng Chumo frowned and said, "If that's the case, how did the murderer get in and out? She killed people and chopped off heads, so she must have gotten in, but she didn't leave any footprints. Could she fly?"

"fly?"

Liu Shuyi smiled, looked at the beautiful woman by the dry well ahead, and asked, "Miaoyin'er, can you fly?"

When Miao Yin'er heard Liu Shuyi say that the time of death was before the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), the smile on her face began to falter.

Hearing Liu Shuyi's meaningful question, Xiu's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.

But her voice still sounded aggrieved and pitiful: "Master Liu, please stop teasing me. How could I possibly fly? And it really wasn't me who killed anyone. Everything you just said only proves that this Sun Zhouming was wronged. My name isn't even mentioned. Why are you still holding onto me like this?"

"Not even half your name is mentioned?"

Liu Shuyi looked at the beautiful woman with a deep gaze and said with a half-smile, "Don't rush, I'll give you your name right away."

(End of this chapter)