The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 38 He's still making his move! (Author's note at the end)

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Liu Shuyi's words made Cheng Chumo choke on his breath, choking so badly that tears and snot streamed down his face, and he felt like he was going to cough his lungs out.

But he couldn't care less about that. After catching his breath, he quickly looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "Steward Liu, what do you mean by saying that the thieves will be very happy?"

The others also looked at Liu Shuyi with suspicion.

A look of confusion appeared on Liu Yuanming's serious and dignified face: "Does Chief Liu and General Cheng have different opinions? Do they think, like me, that there is a misunderstanding here?"

Liu Shuyi didn't keep everyone in suspense and said, "General Cheng's analysis does have some merit, however, there is a logical problem here."

"A logic problem?"

Cheng Chumo frowned, not understanding Liu Shuyi's words.

Liu Shuyi asked directly, "Is death inevitable?"

"What?" Cheng Chumo was taken aback.

Liu Shuyi looked at him and said, "You just said that Wu Qi was afraid of being exposed and unable to keep their secret, so he committed suicide by poisoning himself to protect the secret with his death."

"But is he really at the point where he has no choice but to die?"

Cheng Chumo seemed to understand a little, but not completely: "What do you mean?"

Why didn't he run away?

"Why not hide?"

Liu Shuyi said, "Under normal circumstances, the prerequisite for a thief to choose suicide to keep a secret is that he has no way out and no way to escape."

"But Wu Qi's situation is different."

"I only had some suspicions about him, and I had the same suspicions about many people who stayed at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices that night. He wasn't the only person I suspected!"

"Not to mention, when he died, I probably hadn't even arrived at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices yet, and none of us were even paying attention to him. If he felt guilty at that time and thought he was about to be exposed, he would have had a good chance to escape. Even if he hid in a corner, Chang'an is such a big city that we might not be able to find him easily."

"He clearly had so many options to avoid death. He could have kept the secret simply by hiding or escaping, yet he chose to commit suicide by poison, General Cheng..."

Liu Shuyi stared at Cheng Chumo and coaxed, "Do you think this is reasonable?"

"Now that you mention it..." Cheng Chumo pondered for a few moments, then couldn't help but say, "It does seem a bit strange."

"But……"

He frowned: "He bought those two kinds of medicine himself. He died from the medicine he bought himself, isn't that a fact?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "Buying these two medications and taking them at the same time are two different things."

"Not to mention, the old steward was referring to those two packets of medicine, both of which were bought by Wu Sicheng. But the medicine was in a paper bag, and the old steward didn't know whether the medicine in the paper bag was one type or two types."

"What if Wu Sicheng was killed by the murderer? What if the murderer wanted to fake a suicide and deliberately replaced the medicine in one of the paper bags? How would the old steward know?"

"This..." Cheng Chumo thought for a moment, then quickly looked at the old butler beside him and asked, "Did your master bring back two kinds of medicine, or just one?"

The old butler shook his head, looking bewildered: "I only saw the master bring back these paper bags. He didn't say what kind of medicine they contained, so I don't know either."

"So how did you prepare the medicine?" Liu Shuyi asked.

"The master gave me the medicine, and I just followed his instructions to brew and deliver the medicine on time."

Liu Shuyi recalled the medicine bowl in the inner room and asked, "When was the last time you brewed medicine for Wu Sicheng?"

"Just before I set off to buy an old hen for my master."

Liu Shuyi stroked his chin and said, "There are two possibilities now. One is what General Cheng said, that Wu Sicheng committed suicide because he couldn't think straight... The other is that there are no signs of struggle on Wu Sicheng's body, so he must have drunk the poison voluntarily. If there is a murderer, then the murderer must have arrived just as Wu Sicheng was taking the medicine and secretly mixed the medicine into Wu Sicheng's medicine bowl, so that Wu Sicheng drank it without knowing it."

Du Gou pondered for a moment and said, "Logically speaking, the second possibility is more likely."

Liu Shuyi nodded slowly: "Also...did everyone see the water glasses on the table?"

"A water glass?" Everyone instinctively looked at the table.

Liu Shuyi said, "The water in the cup was full and still a little warm, which means that Wu Sicheng must have poured the water out before he died."

"If Wu Sicheng truly intended to die, why would he pour himself a full cup of hot water before he died? If he was thirsty and couldn't go without water... wouldn't it be more reasonable for him to wait until he finished drinking the cup of water before he died?"

Du Gou pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, "Indeed, if drinking water was his last obsession, he should have fulfilled it. If it wasn't his obsession, then there was no need for him to do this unnecessary thing before taking his own life."

Seeing that both of them said this, Cheng Chumo said, "Then what are we hesitating for? Wu Sicheng must have been murdered and then faked his suicide. He was framed by the murderer. This murderer is really cunning. I was almost fooled!"

"It's not just 'almost,' it's 'I've already fooled you...'" Zhao Feng thought to himself.

"But……"

Just then, Liu Shuyi's voice rang out: "Take a look at this."

As he spoke, he took out the scraps of paper he had picked up from the charcoal brazier, the scraps left after they had been burned.

Du Gou took the edge of the paper with a puzzled look, examined it closely, and then...

"this!?"

His eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked at the last two characters, "Prince of Xi," and his expression changed.

Seeing Du Gou's strange behavior, Cheng Chumo couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Is there something on this paper?"

Du Gou frowned and pondered, "The words 'Prince Xi' can be seen on this burned paper. Does that mean... Wu Sicheng was corresponding with someone, and the content is related to Prince Xi?"

"And when he died, this letter was deliberately burned in a charcoal brazier, clearly because he didn't want it to be discovered by others..."

"Such secrecy and caution—why would normal communication require this much effort?"

Cheng Chumo's eyes widened. "Doesn't this mean he's the thief? Was I right just now? Or was he silenced?"

Du Gou looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "Master Liu, what do you think?"

Liu Shuyi looked thoughtful and shook his head slightly: "The clues are limited, and we cannot draw conclusions easily. I have already asked Miss Du to send someone to the Imperial Medical Bureau to retrieve the medicine collection records. At that time, we will know whether Wu Sicheng obtained two kinds of medicine or one kind."

"If it is a drug, then it can be directly determined that his death was murdered. Judging from the edges of the paper, there is a certain probability that it was to silence him."

"If it's two kinds of medicine..."

Liu Shuyi frowned; the situation was complicated.

Seeing this, Du Gou thought for a moment and said, "This is the only way for now."

As he spoke, he looked at Hong Wenlu and Liu Yuanming and asked, "I wonder how Wu Sicheng usually behaves at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices? Has he shown any unusual behavior recently?"

“Something’s wrong?” Hong Wenlu thought about it carefully and shook his head. “I didn’t find anything. Wu Sicheng has always been conscientious and hardworking. He arrives earlier than most of us and leaves later than most of us. I have almost never seen anyone more conscientious and responsible than Wu Sicheng.”

Even the serious and rigid Liu Yuanming nodded: "That's right. I trust Wu Sicheng the most when it comes to doing things, which is why I entrusted the reburial of Prince Xi to him... But if I had to pick something strange, there really is one."

"What?" Upon hearing Liu Yuanming's words, everyone immediately looked at him.

Liu Yuanming said, "Three days ago, Wu Sicheng suddenly gave me a book. He is an honest and upright official who disdains scheming, so this is the first time he has given me anything. When I asked him why he gave me the book, he just said that he happened to see the book at a bookstall and thought I would like it, so he bought it for me."

"A sudden delivery of a book?"

Du Gou's eyes showed a thoughtful expression: "Three days ago, not long before his death today, he, who had never given anything before, suddenly sent a book without any warning..."

He looked at Liu Shuyi: "Manager Liu, could that book contain some secret?"

"possible."

Liu Shuyi looked at Liu Yuanming: "Lord Liu, may I take a look at that book?"

"nature."

Liu Yuanming replied without hesitation, "The book is at my residence; I'll go and fetch it for you."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Thank you, Vice Minister Liu."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Feng and said, "Zhao Feng, you drive the carriage and take Liu Shaoqing to retrieve his book."

"Yes!" Zhao Feng nodded readily.

Soon, the two turned and left.

The shabby Wu mansion fell silent once more, with only the old steward's intermittent sobs breaking the silence.

Liu Shuyi turned his gaze back to the corpse on the ground, looking at Wu Qi's open eyes and distorted expression, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Based on the timeline, Wu Qi's death basically occurred after he went to the Ministry of Works.

Whether Wu Qi committed suicide or was murdered, it means that all his actions were being secretly monitored by the thieves.

The thief had anticipated his next move. Therefore, Wu Qi died!

Does this mean that the problematic craftsman in the Ministry of Works may have also met with an accident?

If that's the case, the situation could become very bad.

He felt as if he were playing chess with a thief, but the thief had a cheat code, able to see his moves ten steps ahead, while he was blindfolded, not even knowing who his opponent was...

To win this game, you must find a breakthrough, at least enough to lift the veil covering your eyes and glimpse some of your opponent's outline; otherwise... the outcome is unpredictable.

Where is the breakthrough point?
He stared intently at Wu Qi's corpse, his gaze sweeping over his body inch by inch...

Suddenly, Liu Shuyi thought of something.

He suddenly raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the outer room.

He first looked at the table, then at the cabinet, and finally at the bookshelf.

My gaze swept across the bookshelf, eventually settling on a few slightly disorganized books in the middle.

Liu Shuyi walked quickly to the bookshelf and picked up a book from it.

Opening the book, one's gaze fell upon it and realized that it was not a book at all, but rather official business of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Liu Shuyi looked at the old steward and asked, "Does your master often bring back official business from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to handle?"

The old butler wiped his eyes and nodded, "Master is never negligent in his official duties. Every time he returns home after his shift, he continues to handle official business in his room without ever relaxing for a single day. Even when he is ill, he does the same."

Liu Shuyi nodded, his eyes flashing slightly: "I see. Wu Sicheng is indeed diligent and cautious, working tirelessly day and night."

At this moment, a member of the Imperial Guard walked in and said, "Master Liu, the medicine dispensing records from the Imperial Medical Bureau have been retrieved."

As he spoke, he opened the book, stopped at a page, and handed it to Liu Shuyi: "This page contains Wu Sicheng's record of obtaining medicine."

"Hard."

Liu Shuyi took the book and looked up.

Then, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

"how?"

Seeing that Liu Shuyi's expression was strange, Du Gou couldn't help but ask.

Cheng Chumo and the others also looked at Liu Shuyi with curiosity.

Then Liu Shuyi's voice deepened slightly: "He went to the Imperial Medical Bureau twice to get medicine, and he got... two kinds of medicine, and these two kinds of medicine just happened to contain Veratrum nigrum and Asarum respectively."

"He got both kinds of medicine!?"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Du Gou and the others' expressions all changed.

Cheng Chumo was completely dumbfounded: "He got both kinds of medicine, so does that mean he committed suicide? Manager Liu, your deduction is wrong?"

Du Gou frowned deeply. Subjectively, he felt that Liu Shuyi's reasoning about logic and the water cup was flawless, but in reality, the two medicines that led to Wu Qi's death were both ones that Liu Shuyi himself had prepared!

Where exactly does the problem lie?
Why did Wu Qi choose to take these two seemingly unrelated medicines?
Could it be that he really has two diseases at the same time?

Wu Qi understood medical principles. Even if he really had two illnesses, he should know that these two medicines could not be taken together... He should have chosen a similar medicine that would not be dangerous!

But if he didn't commit suicide but was poisoned by the murderer, how would the murderer know that the two medicines Wu Qi prepared were poisonous when mixed? Could the murderer be someone from the Imperial Medical Bureau who had seen the records of Wu Qi preparing the medicines?
I can’t figure it out, I just can’t figure it out!
Du Gou couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi, wanting to know what Liu Shuyi was thinking.

"Steward Liu, something terrible has happened!"

But then, a panicked sound suddenly came from outside.

And they were all very familiar with that voice.

That's Zhao Feng's voice!
Didn't Zhao Feng go to retrieve the book with Liu Yuanming? Why did he return in such a panic?

Everyone immediately looked outside.

Zhao Feng rushed in, sweating profusely. He glanced at everyone, quickly found Liu Shuyi, and then rushed to Liu Shuyi's side, saying urgently, "Liu Shaoqing is in trouble! He...he's been killed!"

"What!?"

Cheng Chumo exclaimed in surprise.

Du Gou's pupils also suddenly contracted.

"Liu Shaoqing was killed? What happened? How could he be killed?" Du Gou asked hurriedly.

Liu Shuyi also kept a close eye on Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng hurriedly replied, "After I accompanied Liu Shaoqing to the Liu residence, he asked me to wait in the side hall while he went to the study to retrieve a book. I know that the Liu family has strict rules and outsiders cannot easily enter the important study, so I waited quietly."

"But I waited and waited, almost half an hour, and Liu Shaoqing still hadn't returned. I was a little puzzled; does it really take this long to fetch a book?"

"So I summoned the servants of the Liu household and asked them to go to the study to inquire whether the books were misplaced and could not be found."

"Knowing that I was personally brought back by Vice Minister Liu, the servants dared not delay and hurried to the study to inquire. I continued to wait in the side hall, but then—"

He took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "I suddenly heard a scream. The scream came from afar, but it was clear enough to hear clearly."

"It was that servant's voice, and he was shouting... Someone come quick, something's happened to the master!"

"Upon hearing this sound and seeing the servants outside all running towards the backyard, my heart skipped a beat, and I quickly followed them."

"Then……"

He looked at Liu Shuyi, his face pale, and said, "I saw that the floor of the study was covered in blood, and Liu Shaoqing's body was lying in a pool of blood. Next to the body was a lantern, and the lantern was facing outwards. The lantern paper was gone, and in its place... was Liu Shaoqing's face!"

"His face skin was cut off and pasted onto the lantern!"

"Empty, lifeless eyes, just staring outwards..."

"And beside the lantern, there are words written in blood—I am watching you."

Just listening to Zhao Feng's story, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

Cheng Chumo couldn't help but mutter, "What a deep grudge! To kill someone and then cut off their face and stick it on a lantern—this is a human skin lantern!"

"And those words in blood, I'm watching you... Damn it, how creepy!"

He couldn't help but cross his arms: "It feels like there's a venomous snake watching me from behind, it's giving me goosebumps!"

Du Gou was concerned about something else: "Where is the book? Is the book that Liu Shaoqing is looking for still there?"

Zhao Feng shook his head: "No books were found near Liu Shaoqing's body, but the books on his bookshelf were all over the place..."

"Trouble!"

Du Gou suddenly looked at Liu Shuyi, his face grave: "It's probably the forces that stole the remains of the Prince of Xi. They found out that Wu Qi sent the book to Liu Shaoqing, and they knew that the book contained a secret... Then, they killed Liu Shaoqing, the only person who knew the truth, and took the book away!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Chumo's expression changed drastically: "What do we do now? Doesn't this mean the trail has gone cold?"

"It's all my fault. If I had stayed by his side every step of the way, he wouldn't have died..." Zhao Feng lowered his head in self-reproach, gritting his teeth. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh, blood dripping down. He wished he could turn back time and die in Liu Yuanming's place.

"Regret is the most useless emotion."

At this moment, Liu Shuyi patted Zhao Feng on the shoulder, and Zhao Feng raised his head with reddened eyes.

Even after such a turn of events, Liu Shuyi remained as calm and composed as ever, showing no signs of being hurt or upset.

He said, "Instead of wasting time and energy on regret, we should focus on catching the murderer."

Zhao Feng pursed his lips, his eyes reddening as he shook his head: "But, because of my mistake, Liu Shaoqing died, the book is gone, the clues are gone..."

But Liu Shuyi looked at him intently: "Who told you the clues were gone? That sentence..."

He said slowly, "I don't think I said that, did I?"

…………

P.S.: It will be available for purchase at noon tomorrow. I want to write as much as possible while I can, so I won't write a post-launch message.

I've been very touched these past few days because my monthly votes and recommendation votes have increased significantly. As you can see, my performance isn't great and I don't have many readers, but even so, the increase in monthly votes and recommendation votes has caught up with books that are doing much better than me.

This means that almost everyone left their votes for me. What have I done to deserve this?
So when it goes on sale tomorrow, I'll release all the content I've written at once, which is estimated to be at least 20,000 words. This case should also be closed tomorrow, as a way of thanking everyone.

After it's published, I'll try my best to update it. I plan to write at least 8,000 words a day. It might be 8,000 words in two chapters combined, or it might be 8,000 words in one chapter, depending on whether it's appropriate to take a break in the middle. In short, the total number of words per day will not be less than 8,000. I'll work hard for a month first, and then we'll make a new plan.

That's it. If you're satisfied, please subscribe to support me. That's my biggest motivation.

(End of this chapter)