The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 24 Revealed! A Terrifying Scheme!

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's meaningful words, Miaoyin'er's aggrieved expression froze for a moment.

She wanted to say something more, but Liu Shuyi didn't give her the chance.

Liu Shuyi continued, "I don't know if anyone in this world can fly, but I do know that the murderer probably can't."

"so……"

He looked at Cheng Chumo and the others: "She used a special tool."

"Special tools?"

Cheng Chumo looked at Du Gou and saw that Du Gou was also frowning and deep in thought, clearly not understanding what Liu Shuyi meant by "special tool".

He then asked bluntly, "What tools?"

Upon hearing this, Du Gou and the others also perked up their ears.

Liu Shuyi looked at them and said, "I wonder if you have noticed that on the road from the gate of Wutong Temple to the temple, there are not only clear footprints of the three Zhaos on the snow, but also some strange marks."

"Strange marks?"

Cheng Chumo blinked blankly, his mind too rough to recall anything.

Du Gou's mind raced, as if he had thought of something, and he said, "Are you talking about those circular marks?"

“Circle marks?” Cheng Chumo was even more confused.

Do you see this on the snow?

Du Ying glanced at the careless Black Charcoal and reminded him, "It's right next to those footprints, but the distance between them isn't close, and the marks aren't very big."

"Is that so?" Cheng Chumo still couldn't remember.

Liu Shuyi smiled and nodded to Du Gou and his sister, saying, "That's right, those are the traces."

"When I saw these marks, I was very curious about how they came to be."

"After all, those marks were clearly not animal footprints. But if they weren't animal footprints, why would they appear in an abandoned Taoist temple where only the Zhao mother and son and the murderer would come?"

"This question has remained unanswered for me until..."

His gaze was deep and somber as he said, "It wasn't until I was certain that Sun Zhouming wasn't the murderer that I finally realized what was going on."

As he spoke, he looked at Cheng Chumo: "As General Cheng said, since the murderer is not Sun Zhouming, there are only footprints of Sun Zhouming and two others on the snow. And the murderer would have entered the temple after committing the murder..."

"Then there is only one possibility: the murderer used some special method to enter the temple without leaving footprints. And when I think about the special mark on the snow that connects the temple to the gate, besides the footprints, I understand everything."

Everyone instinctively leaned forward, and then they heard Liu Shuyi say, "The murderer must have used stilts or something similar!"

"Stilts!?" Cheng Chumo was taken aback.

He quickly racked his brain trying to figure out what stilts were, and soon his eyes widened: "Are those the stilts that people walk on and juggle on, standing on two wooden sticks?"

Stilt walking had been practiced since the pre-Qin period, and by the Tang Dynasty, it had become a common prop for many street performers and acrobats.

Cheng Chumo, being a little troublemaker, had spent a lot of time on the streets and had naturally seen a lot.

Liu Shuyi nodded: "It's those stilts."

"I see!"

Du Gou suddenly realized: "When people walk on stilts in the snow, they only leave the marks of the sticks stuck in the snow. Moreover, the higher the wooden sticks used on stilts, the wider the stride and the greater the distance between them."

Upon hearing Du Gou's words, Cheng Chumo understood everything.

"Isn't that a bit too insidious?"

He couldn't help but say, "Who the hell would have thought that the murderer would use stilts to avoid leaving footprints! No wonder even someone as capable as you was almost fooled. If it were me, I probably would never have known the truth in my entire life!"

Liu Shuyi smiled, his gaze returning to Miaoyin'er beside the dry well, and said, "When I left Miaoyinfang, I specifically asked Miss Du to inquire whether you had ever walked on stilts, and the result was..."

"Miss Du has learned that during last year's Lantern Festival, you, the madam of Miaoyin Pavilion, specially wore stilts to lead the pavilion's floats forward..."

"Miaoyin'er, didn't you want a name?"

Liu Shuyi stared intently at the beautiful woman, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Now that your name is mentioned, what do you have to say?"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, everyone couldn't help but look at Miaoyin'er.

Miao Yin'er's expression changed slightly, and the aggrieved look on her delicate face was about to break down completely.

"What you said, Manager Liu, is interesting."

Miao Yin'er finally frowned her beautiful brows: "There are many people who can walk on stilts. In the whole city of Chang'an, there are at least eight hundred, if not a thousand. I just happen to know how to walk on stilts. Is that a crime? Tang law should not have said that courtesans cannot walk on stilts, right?"

"Furthermore, I don't understand why Master Liu insists on keeping an eye on me. Why was his first thought after thinking about the stilts incident that he wanted to investigate me?"

This time, Miaoyin'er's doubts were not fabricated.

She was genuinely puzzled as to why Liu Shuyi, upon learning the true time of death of the Zhao mother and son, immediately suspected her and even had Du Ying secretly investigate her.

What exactly did she do to arouse Liu Shuyi's suspicion?
Not only her, but Du Gou and the others also looked at Liu Shuyi with the same puzzlement when they heard Miao Yin'er's question.

Even Du Ying, who was secretly investigating Liu Shuyi, had a look of confusion in her usually cold eyes.

Although many of the messages were given to Liu Shuyi by her.

But she didn't know why Liu Shuyi made her do these things, or why Liu Shuyi was so certain that the murderer was in Miaoyinfang and was Miaoyin'er.

"Why am I only staring at you..."

Liu Shuyi met Miao Yin'er's gaze and said calmly, "I have to thank you for the two clues you left me specifically to deceive me."

"Two clues?" Miao Yin'er's eyes flashed.

"The first clue is the powder sprinkled on the temple floor and left under Zhao's fingernails."

"Medicine powder?"

Liu Shuyi said slowly, "I have to admit, you are really smart."

“You know, if the powder is spilled all over the ground and not cleaned up, I will definitely suspect that the murderer left it on purpose.”

"So, you first sprinkled the powder on the ground, and then carefully cleaned it up, leaving only a small amount of powder that you couldn't even notice without careful observation."

"At the same time, in order to allow me to verify the origin of these powders from other aspects, after killing Zhao, you deliberately sprinkled some powder on her fingernails, cleaned them, and covered them with dust to disguise the appearance that you were carefully cleaning and deliberately concealing them."

"Finally, there are the bruises on Zhao's body from the beatings..."

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "Even if I look with the most critical eye, I will not find any flaws that would allow me to logically deduce that the powder was brought by the murderer, exposed by Zhao, and then cleaned up by the murderer—the most crucial clue!"

"But how could I have known..." he lamented, "when I actually made that judgment, I had completely fallen into your trap. I was just a hair's breadth away from utter ruin!"

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Cheng Chumo couldn't help but swallow.

Miao Yin'er's plan was truly meticulous.

She really considered everything extremely carefully.

Even now, looking back, he still finds the arguments clear and the evidence conclusive...

Cheng Chumo thought to himself, if it weren't for Liu Shuyi helping him investigate the case this time, he might have really ruined his future because of this case!

The lingering fear left his back soaked with sweat.

But then I realized that even such a formidable person as Miao Yin'er was ultimately exposed by Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi is still more capable!
Choosing Liu Shuyi was definitely the right decision!

"Therefore, it can be said that the powder was the most important clue that led me to find Sun Zhouming."

Looking at the madam whose expression was growing increasingly cold, Liu Shuyi said, "After all, without the medicine powder, I wouldn't be able to find Miaoyinfang. Without finding Miaoyinfang, I wouldn't be able to find out about Sun Zhouming, and naturally, I wouldn't be able to verify it with footprints."

"And this means that there is a prerequisite that must be ensured, and that is..."

Liu Shuyi said in a deep voice, "Sun Zhouming, we must obtain the sachet!"

Must I obtain the sachet?

After thinking for a moment, everyone nodded.

Indeed, if Sun Zhouming hadn't obtained the sachet beforehand, he wouldn't have been able to frame Sun.

but……

Is there anything worth mentioning about this?

Cheng Chumo asked, puzzled, "Sun Zhouming obtaining the sachet is a very ordinary thing, isn't it? Why would it make you suspect the madam?"

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"ordinary?"

But to everyone's surprise, Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow and said, "Why does General Cheng think this is such an ordinary matter? Does General Cheng really believe that Sun Zhouming should receive the sachet?"

"Of course!"

Cheng Chumo didn't understand Liu Shuyi's meaning and asked in confusion, "Didn't Vice Minister Du say that brothels would give sachets to officials or wealthy merchants in the hope that they would come back to patronize the place? Given Sun Zhouming's status, it's normal for him to receive a sachet, isn't it?"

"normal?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head and said meaningfully, "General Cheng seems to have forgotten two things."

"what?"

"First, you forgot that when Sun Zhouming went to Miaoyin Pavilion, he didn't reveal his identity at all. So how could Xiangxiang, the girl from Miaoyin Pavilion, know that he was a high-ranking official and needed to curry favor with him?"

"Second..." Liu Shuyi looked at Cheng Chumo: "It was you who said it... When you saw the portrait, you told me that Sun Zhouming was a stingy, greedy and lecherous person. Even the straightforward General Cheng knew that Sun Zhouming was stingy and greedy. So I think his stinginess must be very obvious."

"Therefore, General Cheng thought he would be willing to spend a lot of money when he went to brothels?"

“This…” Cheng Chumo thought for a moment, then shook his head vigorously: “With his stinginess—pretending to be drunk every time he goes drinking, and unwilling to spend a single penny—how could he possibly be willing to spend money in a brothel?”

Liu Shuyi laughed: "Yes! He wouldn't be willing to spend money! That's very strange... He didn't reveal his official status, and he's extremely stingy. According to the rules of brothels, sachets are only given as gifts to high-ranking officials or generous wealthy merchants. He didn't qualify for either, so why would Xiangxiang give him a sachet?"

"Hey?"

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Cheng Chumo finally realized what was going on.

"Yup!"

"There is really no reason for Miaoyinfang to give that precious sachet mixed with gold powder to Sun Zhouming. It is indeed very strange!"

Du Gou frowned: "I had overlooked that."

Liu Shuyi said meaningfully, "So, how Sun Zhouming obtained the sachet is something worth investigating."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Liu Shuyi smiled and looked up at Miaoyin'er by the dry well again.

Seeing the increasingly cold expression on Miao Yin'er's face, he laughed and said, "Do you feel like you've shot yourself in the foot?"

"Without your sachet, I might not have been able to find Miaoyinfang, nor would I have known that the murderer was related to your Miaoyinfang. After all, only if you gave this sachet to Sun Zhouming would it not seem strange."

Miao Yin'er frowned and did not answer.

"But……"

Cheng Chumo was practically asking a million questions. He asked, puzzled, "But Miaoyinfang is full of women, and Miaoyin'er is a woman too. When Zhao died, wasn't she raped? How did Miaoyin'er rape her?"

Upon hearing this, even Cheng Yaojin, who was sitting quietly watching the show from the wall, couldn't help but lean forward a little.

He loves hearing about this kind of topic!

Even the calm and composed Du Ruhui turned his body slightly to face Liu Shuyi's direction.

Looking at the eager eyes of the crowd, Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "This is what I wanted to tell you, the second clue that Miaoyin'er left for me!"

"At the same time, this is the second piece of news that Miss Du brought me, which is what I just said, that [a conclusion has been overturned]."

The second clue?
A conclusion overturned?
Cheng Chumo, the most impatient of them all, asked directly, "What do you mean?"

Liu Shuyi looked at Du Ying: "This is the news that Miss Du brought me. Please let Miss Du tell me."

Du Ying wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Liu Shuyi seemed to be deliberately giving her a chance to shine.

She gave Liu Shuyi a deep look, and then said, "When I examined Zhao's body at Wutong Temple, I found that Zhao's clothes were very disheveled, and some parts were torn to shreds, which made me suspect that Zhao had been raped."

"So, I took off Zhao's clothes and examined them."

"As a result, I found redness and swelling, as well as obvious abrasions. All of these are consistent with the characteristics of rape. Therefore, I gave my judgment to Director Liu, saying that Zhao was raped by the murderer before she died."

Cheng Chumo and Du Gou both nodded.

Although they did not see the wound, they had witnessed the disheveled and tattered state of Zhao's clothes, and therefore fully agreed with Du Ying's words.

But to their surprise, Du Ying's next words took them by surprise.

"After returning to the Ministry of Justice, after dissecting Zhao's stomach, I thought about my judgment that Zhao had committed rape. Although I did not think there was anything wrong with my judgment, out of a doctor's responsibility to his patients, I had to further verify my judgment."

"So, I used a knife to dissect Zhao's wounds..."

"And this dissection left me completely stunned!"

"Because I discovered..."

Du Ying took a deep breath and said, "It's full of wounds, left from impacts by hard objects, and there's nothing left that would have been left after a rape..."

"And this made me realize..."

She looked at everyone, her usually cold voice tinged with the lingering fear of being deceived: "I was wrong! Zhao was not raped at all! I gave Manager Liu completely wrong information!"

"That's why I rushed to Miaoyinfang to find Manager Liu, because I was afraid that my mistake would affect Manager Liu's investigation and ultimately lead to an irreversible result!"

Du Ying finished speaking.

But at this moment, the entire desolate courtyard was eerily silent.

Everyone was shocked by Du Ying's words.

They never imagined that the rape they thought was the most likely scenario was actually fake!
Cheng Chumo couldn't help but gasp: "Is this a method a normal person could think of? Even the rape was faked!"

He couldn't help but look at Miaoyin'er beside the dry well: "I don't even know now if you're a fake too!"

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "As Miss Du said, Zhao's rape claim is false!"

"And this, clearly, was left specifically for me by the murderer!"

"But this raises a problem."

problem?

Everyone couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi.

"What problem?" Du Gou didn't understand what Liu Shuyi meant.

Liu Shuyi asked, "Why would the murderer fabricate such a thing?"

Why forge it?

A flash of insight struck Du Gou, and he seemed to understand something.

"Why else?"

Cheng Chumo didn't think as much as Du Gou. Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, he said directly, "Of course it's to frame Sun Zhouming. After all, Sun Zhouming is greedy and lustful. He's perfectly capable of doing something like this. Isn't it just like the drug powder and shoe print from before?"

"Same? No!"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "The powder and the shoe print, one can guide me to find Sun Zhouming, and the other can help me confirm Sun Zhouming's identity. They have a reason to exist."

"Rape can be faked...there is no reason for it to exist."

“Even without the rape, the drug powder and shoe prints would be enough to serve as irrefutable evidence, and Sun Zhouming would not be able to escape either... Therefore, they are different.”

"Not to mention, for a murderer with limited time, fabricating such a thing is not easy. After all, she had to do it while Zhao was still alive, and Zhao couldn't possibly let her do it without resistance... But she still did it, which means that the murderer must have had a reason to do it!"

"That seems to make sense."

Cheng Chumo scratched his head, feeling like his head was about to explode.

He had been thinking far too much tonight, more than he had in the past month, to the point that he felt his brain was rebelling against him.

"Then why did she do that?" Cheng Chumo gave up thinking.

Everyone looked puzzled.

Liu Shuyi didn't keep them in suspense and slowly said, "As I just said, there's no need to fabricate rape to frame Sun Zhouming."

"Therefore, there is only one possibility why the murderer would do this..."

Cheng Chumo and the others stared intently at Liu Shuyi, when they heard him say, "For her own sake!"

"Herself?" Everyone was taken aback.

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Judging from the murderer's scheme, her caution and intelligence are no less than Zhao Chengyi's!"

"So, if Zhao Chengyi can prepare a backup plan after his failure, do you think the murderer wouldn't consider a backup plan for himself?"

"Wouldn't she consider... if she hadn't succeeded in deceiving me, hadn't succeeded in framing Sun Zhouming, how would she have kept herself from being exposed, how would she have ensured her invincibility forever?"

"This……"

Cheng Chumo's eyes, as big as copper bells, widened uncontrollably, his pupils throbbing violently.

He stared blankly at Liu Shuyi, raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and said, "So, you mean to say?"

Liu Shuyi nodded: "That's right!"

"The murderer did this to let us know that Zhao was raped, and that the person who could have raped Zhao must have been a man!"

"Therefore, no matter how hard we investigate, we will never be able to trace it back to the woman!"

"And that's why, the moment I received Miss Du's autopsy report, I realized..."

Liu Shuyi took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on Miao Yin'er, whose graceful figure and face were now devoid of any smile: "The murderer who set up such a grand scheme for me, so clever as to be almost demonic... is a woman!"

"And the sachets from your Miaoyin Pavilion are very expensive to make because they contain gold powder, so they are all kept by you. Your girls have to approve who they are given to!"

"In other words, you don't allow it, so Xiangxiang can't possibly give the sachet to Sun Zhouming!"

"When I asked about Sun Zhouming, you said you didn't know his identity, but from his words and actions, he seemed like a nobleman... You actually said that a stingy, lecherous guy who wouldn't even take out a penny acted like a nobleman?"

"Even Xiangxiang finds him lecherous, and even the simple-minded General Cheng can see that Sun Zhouming is stingy. How could you, a madam with extensive experience in running brothels, be so mistaken! How could you agree to give him your precious sachet..."

"Miaoyin'er, tell me, why do I suspect you?"

"you tell me……"

Liu Shuyi took a sudden step forward, his eyes sharp and his aura intimidating: "How could I not suspect you?"

(End of this chapter)