The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 51 A Shocking Reversal! You Killed the Wrong Person!
"I can try..."

These five words were like a torch in the darkest winter night, instantly igniting a glimmer of light in everyone's dejected eyes.

Wang Gui wondered if he had misheard. He thought he would hear something like "I can't do anything about it," but instead he heard "I can try."

The fact that I can give it a try means that Liu Shuyi is different from them; Liu Shuyi still has a way!
"Master Liu, do you really have a solution?"

Wang Gui asked, both incredulous and excited.

Everyone else looked at Liu Shuyi with equally tense expressions.

Liu Shuyi didn't waste any words and said, "As I said before, everyone's actions are supported by an internal logic, and the same applies to choosing where to kill."

"What we need to do is find out the killer's logic."

He then looked at Wang Gui and said, "I need you to confirm two things as soon as possible."

Wang Gui immediately said, "Please speak, Mr. Liu."

"First, determine as quickly as possible who the two dead are, who the living are, and where their homes are located."

"Second, immediately send someone to the inn where Bai Ju'an and his wife had their accident to check if the inn is still there. If it is, ask the innkeeper or waiter if there are any very thin people who can book a room there."

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "Does Master Liu suspect that Bai Jinghong might go to the room where his parents had their accident to kill the last person?"

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly: "For Bai Jinghong, that room is the source of all his pain, so it is very possible that he will go back there and put an end to everything."

"However, the premise is that it is still an inn. If it is not an inn, or even if that room no longer exists, then it is meaningless to Bai Jinghong. He will choose a similar environment to where his parents were at the time, just like he did in the previous two crimes, and let the victims be burned to death in the flames in full view of everyone."

Wang Gui's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly nodded: "This humble official understands, this humble official will arrange it immediately!"

Without any delay, he immediately gave instructions to the yamen runners.

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment, then looked up at the tall mansion with red bricks and green tiles beside him and said to Zhao Feng, "Zhao Lingshi, can you help me investigate something?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Feng hurriedly said, "Please speak, Mr. Liu."

Liu Shuyi lowered his voice and told Zhao Feng what he needed.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Feng looked somewhat surprised, as if he couldn't understand what Liu Shuyi had asked him to investigate.

"be quick."

Liu Shuyi looked at Zhao Feng and said, "I know you have many questions, but time is tight right now, and I can't explain them to you. Once we find the murderer, you will understand everything."

Seeing Liu Shuyi's words, Zhao Feng had no further hesitation.

He immediately replied, "This humble official will personally investigate."

After saying that, he mounted his horse, slapped its rump hard, and the horse neighed, its front hooves flying, and it charged off, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Seeing Zhao Feng leave in such a hurry, Wang Gui glanced at Liu Shuyi, who was riding on a fine horse, staring intently at Zhao Feng as he departed, and seemed to be deep in thought.

He came to Liu Shuyi's side: "The arrangements have been made. The inn is not far from here, and we'll know the result in half an hour."

"Half an hour..."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "Let's head towards Anyefang."

“Anyefang?” Wang Gui asked, puzzled.

Liu Shuyi said, "Our current location is too remote. Anye Ward is located in the central part of Chang'an City. From there, the distance to any other ward is about the same. Once we receive the intelligence and make a decision, we can get there as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if the murderer commits the crime in the northernmost area of ​​Chang'an City, even if I determine where he will act, it will be too late to get there."

Wang Gui nodded knowingly: "That's true, Anyefang is indeed a fast place to go."

Without further ado, the group turned their horses around and headed towards Anyefang.

On the way, Wang Gui kept glancing at Liu Shuyi. After hesitating for a while, he finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been nagging at him.

“Master Liu, why do you think Bai Jinghong insisted on faking that Chen Feng and the others died by self-immolation? Your previous speculation was that it was because his relatives also died by self-immolation, which caused him an indelible inner demon, so he pursued the method of killing by self-immolation.”

“But the clues we have now are that his parents were burned to death, not self-immolated. If that’s the case, even if he thinks his parents’ death was not an accident, he should just burn them to death like his parents did. Why go through all that trouble to kill them in this way?”

Liu Shuyi was not surprised by Wang Gui's question, as it was indeed significantly different from his previous speculation.

"I think his goal was not just revenge."

"It's not just about revenge?" Wang Gui frowned.

Liu Shuyi stared straight ahead at the increasingly dark sky and said, "He probably still wants the truth to come out."

"To bring the truth to light?"

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Think about what he did. Before Chen Feng and the other man died, he impersonated their voices and said things like 'I deserve to die,' so that outsiders would know that the reason why Chen Feng and the other man committed suicide by self-immolation was because they felt guilty."

"After the incident, he even dared to come to the restaurant to watch, and took the opportunity to specifically tell the unsuspecting people around him about the strange things that happened to Chen Feng and the others before their deaths, and specifically mentioned their feelings of guilt..."

"Clearly, they hope these words can be spread so that more people know that Chen Feng and the others' self-immolation was out of a sense of guilt."

"If one person self-immolates, it's because they feel guilty; if two people self-immolate, it's still because they feel guilty; and when a third person self-immolates, it's still because they feel guilty..."

He looked at Wang Gui and said, "Do you think the people will be curious and want to know what wrong things they have done?"

“This…” Wang Gui thought for a moment, then nodded: “Not to mention the common people, even I am very curious.”

"Yes, even you, an official, are curious, let alone ordinary people..."

Liu Shuyi said, "And at this time, if news comes out that Chen Feng and the other two were witnesses to the same fire two years ago, and that the fire was unusual, and that they all died by self-immolation... If you know nothing about the specifics of this case, what would you think if you suddenly heard this news?"

Wang Gui's pupils contracted, and he almost instinctively said, "I would believe that they were responsible for the fire, otherwise why would they apologize by self-immolation?"

"So that's it!"

Wang Gui finally understood and said, "So, Bai Jinghong's killing was only one of his purposes. His bigger purpose was to make sure that his parents' deaths were not an accident, but rather the work of Chen Feng and his two companions, so that the whole world would know about their crimes!"

“He not only wants to kill people, but also destroy their spirits…” Wang Gui couldn’t help but say, “He’s really good at hiding things! And he’s really ruthless! He’ll make sure they can’t rest in peace even after they die.”

Liu Shuyi gazed into the distance: "The hatred for one's parents is irreconcilable, I can understand that, but..."

He narrowed his eyes and said, "I have some doubts. Why does he insist on solving this himself? Why doesn't he report it to the government and let the government do it? It's obviously faster and safer for the government to give the final result than for him to announce it to the world in this way."

Wang Gui speculated, "Perhaps he believes that only by avenging this grudge himself can he quell the hatred in his heart?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head. He couldn't guess what Bai Jinghong was thinking either. Moreover, there was another matter that he was also concerned about.

The incident involving Bai Ju'an and his wife occurred in April of the ninth year of the Wude era, almost two years ago.

If Bai Jinghong wanted revenge, why did he have to wait until today?
Why has there been no movement for so long?

Did he never suspect Chen Feng and the other two before? Or had he been secretly plotting and preparing for almost two years before he was finally satisfied?

Also, my brother participated in the investigation of this case. Did my brother have any contact with Bai Jinghong, the only remaining survivor of the Bai family?
If so, would Bai Jinghong know anything about his brother's movements before his disappearance?

Many thoughts kept surfacing in my mind.

Liu Shuyi gazed into the distance, his eyes growing increasingly profound...

He had a feeling that there was probably some secret hidden in this case.

…………

Half an hour later, at Anyefang.

Liu Shuyi and others were sitting at a table in a sesame seed cake shop on the street drinking water when they suddenly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats.

"Master Liu..."

The yamen runner from Chang'an County arrived at the flatbread shop, quickly dismounted, and charged towards Liu Shuyi.

Upon seeing this, Wang Gui hurriedly asked, "How is it? Is the inn still there?"

The constable wiped the sweat from his brow and shook his head, saying, "They're gone."

"The place has been turned into a cosmetics shop and a jewelry shop. I asked the shop assistants, and they said that after the incident two years ago, everyone felt that the place was unlucky. Some people even said that they could hear eerie crying at night. No one went to stay or eat there anymore. The inn lost its customers and closed down in less than three months."

"Later, the place was bought and renovated, and it became the jewelry store and cosmetics store it is today."

Wang Gui's heart sank, and he looked at Liu Shuyi: "The inn is no longer there, and it has been rebuilt. The rooms from back then are probably all gone. It seems that Bai Jinghong will not choose to make his move there."

Liu Shuyi frowned slightly and nodded, saying, "This is not good news."

"Yes, if the inn were still there, he would probably choose that place, and we wouldn't have to bother looking for him at all. But now that the inn is long gone, he has too many places to choose from."

Wang Gui felt heavy-hearted. He subconsciously looked up at the sky and saw that the sun had set and the lanterns were just coming on. The lanterns of the bustling city of Chang'an were everywhere, making the ancient city as bright as day at night.

However, no matter how bright the night is, it cannot change the fact that it is already dark.

There's nothing that can be changed; less than half an hour remains until the third quarter of Hai hour.

“Master Liu!” He couldn’t help but look at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed intensely as he asked, "How long will it take for the people who confirmed Chen Feng and the other two to return?"

"They should have been back by now..."

"County Commandant Wang, we're back..."

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves rang out again.

Everyone hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound and saw several yamen runners riding fast horses to the front of the flatbread shop.

They then dismounted and prepared to pay their respects.

Wang Gui stopped them directly, saying, "Why is it taking so long? Tell us the result quickly."

The head constable quickly replied, "I went to their residence first, but their families told me that they either frequently spend the night in brothels, or have mistresses outside and are often not home, or they say they are going to visit friends before leaving and will not return for several days. So their families are not sure if something has happened to them."

"Based on what their family members said, I went to the brothel, their mistress, and their friend to inquire, and that's how I confirmed the situation of the three people."

"No wonder you guys are so slow..." Wang Gui asked, "And what was the result?"

The constable said, "Chen Feng didn't go to the mistress's place at all last night; he's disappeared."

“Zhao Meng said he was going to a brothel the night before last, but when we went to the brothel he frequented to inquire, we learned that he had not gone to a brothel, and that he had not gone to the yamen for the past two days. He has been missing for two days.”

"As for Deputy Lieutenant Lu Yangyuan, he was off duty today. After having lunch at noon, he told his family that he was going to visit a friend and would not be returning at night, so his family did not need to wait for him."

“But when I went to his friend to inquire, his friend said that the two had no agreement and that Lu Yangyuan had not gone there. Lu Yangyuan had disappeared after noon.”

Wang Gui's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.

His face turned pale, and he couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi: "Lu Yangyuan has probably already met with Bai Jinghong, and may even have been taken to the restaurant by Bai Jinghong now, just waiting for the hour of Xu to arrive before sending him to his death."

Hearing Wang Gui's words, everyone felt a chill.

The worst has come to pass.

Their last chance to intercept Lu Yangyuan and prevent him from meeting the murderer also failed.

The only hope now is that Liu Shuyi can find the restaurant where the murderer committed the crime... But there is only half an hour left. Is it possible to make it in time?

They all instinctively held their breath and looked nervously at Liu Shuyi.

At this moment, Liu Shuyi seemed oblivious to the urgency of time. His face showed no anxiety or tension, only extreme calmness and rationality.

In such a critical moment, Liu Shuyi had to force himself to remain calm.

Because he knew that if he panicked too, everything would be over.

He quickly took out the map of Chang'an that he had asked Wang Gui to prepare earlier and unfolded it.

Then he took out a cinnabar brush from the Ministry of Justice's storehouse and drew three circles on the map at lightning speed.

These three circles are located in Buzhengfang, Huaidefang, and Changshoufang respectively.

This is the location of Chen Feng's residence.

Then, he drew two circles in Yanshoufang and Xishi respectively.

Furthermore, the enclosure of Yanshoufang was connected to Buzhengfang, and the West Market was connected to Huaidefang.

Looking at the completed map, Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, and he said, "Just as I thought!"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Wang Gui hurriedly asked, "Has Master Liu discovered something?"

Liu Shuyi said, "Zhao Meng's home was in Yanshou Ward, and he died in a restaurant in the neighboring Buzheng Ward; Chen Feng's home was in Huaide Ward, and he died in a restaurant in the neighboring West Market..."

He looked at Wang Gui and asked, "What does County Commandant Wang think this represents?"

Wang Gui looked at the two almost connected circles on the map, a thought suddenly struck him, and he said, "The place Bai Jinghong chose to kill wasn't far from the victim's home, it was in the neighboring neighborhood! So..."

He quickly looked at Liu Shuyi: "If Bai Jinghong wanted to kill Lu Yangyuan, would he also choose a neighboring neighborhood?"

Liu Shuyi said, "Choosing an adjacent neighborhood is just a facade; the real reason is that he can't let Chen Feng and the other two feel too much of a crisis."

"We can't let them feel a sense of crisis?" Wang Gui pondered.

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Everyone has their own familiar activity area. Within this area, they feel more confident and safer. They might be on guard in other places, but they will be very relaxed in their own territory."

"Although I don't know what reason Bai Jinghong had for inviting them to the restaurant, I do know that Chen Feng and the others had no idea that going to the restaurant was a suicide mission."

"Furthermore, Xiao Er also mentioned that Chen Feng didn't really want to have dinner with the murderer, which suggests that the murderer's method of inviting them to meet might not have been to their liking and might have made them feel uncomfortable."

"This means that if you go to a place they are unfamiliar with, they may refuse outright. They might not even go, let alone give the murderer the opportunity to harm them."

Wang Gui nodded with a look of understanding: "What Liu Yuanwailang said makes sense."

"But the murderer couldn't have chosen a restaurant that was too close to their home."

Liu Shuyi added, "If the distance is too close, the deceased may become very familiar with the people in the restaurant. Once they become familiar, if something happens to the deceased, their identity will be immediately recognized."

“If Zhao Meng’s identity is confirmed, Chen Feng and Lu Yangyuan will likely find out that he is in trouble.”

"Once they find out, they will inevitably suspect that the other person's death is related to the fire two years ago, and thus take precautions."

"And once they are on guard, it will not be easy for the murderer to attack them again."

“Especially Lu Yangyuan, if he knew that Zhao Meng and Chen Feng had both gotten into trouble, even if he was slow to react, he should know what was going on. Under such circumstances, why would you invite him to a restaurant? I'm afraid he wouldn't even step out of his bedroom.”

Wang Gui pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "We only just learned the identity of the deceased. Lu Yangyuan could not possibly know that Chen Feng and Zhao Meng were in trouble, so he will not be on guard at all when Bai Jinghong attacks him."

"I didn't expect Bai Jinghong to have considered even these things."

Liu Shuyi said, "Compared to his ingenious method of killing that deceived everyone, this is nothing."

Wang Gui nodded and said, "In that case, Bai Jinghong will choose an area familiar to the deceased, but not one that is too close to the deceased's home. Therefore, the neighboring neighborhood is the best choice."

As he spoke, he looked at the map and said, "Lu Yangyuan lives in Changshou Ward, and the surrounding wards are Fengyi, Huaiyuan, Yankang, Chongxian, Jiahui, Yanfu, and eight other wards..."

"Compared to the entire city of Chang'an, it's much smaller, but..."

He changed the subject, his brows still furrowed: "Eight districts are still too large a scope for us. Even if we had three hours left, we could still try our best and maybe even search all the restaurants in those eight districts. But now we only have less than half an hour left."

"With so little time, and we still need to get going, we can only inspect one ward..."

"If the wrong place is searched, in the end..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

If he chooses the wrong workshop, Lu Yangyuan will surely die!

Moreover, it was practically equivalent to dying right in front of them!

This is even shorter than the last step before; it's practically the last half step out of a hundred.

But if they miss this last step, and Bai Jinghong kills Lu Yangyuan right before their eyes, then this incident will definitely become a psychological shadow for the rest of their lives.

The probability of choosing the right one out of eight is far lower than the probability of choosing the wrong one.

How to choose? Which one to choose? They were pressed for time and didn't even have a chance to hesitate; they had to make a decision immediately.

But what can be done? Who dares to make this decision?
"Go to Huaiyuanfang!"

Just as everyone was struggling and hesitating, Liu Shuyi's voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone was stunned for a moment before realizing what Liu Shuyi meant.

Almost instinctively, they turned sharply to look at Liu Shuyi, who had spoken.

Wang Gui hurriedly said, "Master Liu, do you mean... Bai Jinghong chose Huaiyuanfang as the location?"

Liu Shuyi put away the map and walked quickly outside, saying as he went, "As I just said, everyone has their own familiar area. This not only refers to Lu Yangyuan and the other two, but also to Bai Jinghong."

"Bai Jinghong?" Wang Gui was taken aback.

Liu Shuyi nodded and said, "You know how complicated Bai Jinghong's self-immolation plan is, and the more complicated the plan, the more likely an accident will occur during its execution."

"Therefore, in order to avoid accidents, or even if accidents do occur, to be resolved as quickly as possible, the location chosen by Bai Jinghong must be an area he is familiar with. This will not only help him deal with accidents in a timely manner, but also give him psychological confidence." "Looking at the places where Zhao Meng and Chen Feng died, one was in the West Market and the other was in Yanshou Ward. The West Market and Yanshou Ward are closely adjacent, which means that Bai Jinghong is likely most familiar with this area."

"At the same time, we also learned from the steward of the Wei family that Bai Jinghong is homeless and destitute, without even a place to live. If he wants to survive, he either has to work for someone or beg... And whether he begs or looks for work, the most prosperous West Market in Chang'an is the most suitable place."

"Therefore, I suspect that Bai Jinghong has likely been trying to survive in Xishi for the past two years. Xishi and its surrounding areas are probably the places he is most familiar with and where he feels safest."

"Huaiyuan Ward, like Yanshou Ward, is directly connected to the West Market. Therefore, if we had to choose one of these eight wards, Huaiyuan Ward would be the most likely candidate!"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Wang Gui swallowed hard, his face filled with admiration for Liu Shuyi.

He never expected that at such a critical juncture, Liu Shuyi would be able to analyze the most likely scenario in such a short time!
At that moment, he finally understood the true gap between himself and Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi was the kind of person who, even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, would not change his expression.

Such a person has an absolutely limitless future.

He hurriedly said, "Quickly! Go to Huaiyuanfang and get there as fast as you can. Then immediately go to each restaurant to ask if Bai Jinghong has made a reservation for a private room!"

Bai Jinghong was terribly thin, just skin and bones, a feature that made her very memorable.

As long as he goes to the restaurant, the waiter and the manager will definitely remember him.

…………

Huaiyuanfang, the main street.

Wang Gui rode his horse around Liu Shuyi, his eyes frequently glancing at the distant street, his face revealing barely concealed anxiety.

After they arrived at Huaiyuanfang as quickly as possible, they immediately sent their men to inquire at various restaurants in Huaiyuanfang. As the night grew darker and the number of pedestrians on the road decreased, Wang Gui became increasingly anxious.

"Why no news yet?"

"It'll be three-quarters past 7 PM in a little while, we're running out of time!"

As Liu Shuyi listened to Wang Gui's words, his gaze grew increasingly deep.

His fingertips tapped incessantly on the reins, his brain still working non-stop, reviewing his reasoning to see if there was a problem in any part of the process or if there were any oversights.

The final conclusion was that he had done his best and found the most likely outcome.

If even this cannot stop Bai Jinghong, then it may truly be the will of Heaven.

stomping on...

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from the street in the distance.

The two quickly looked up and saw a constable riding up on horseback, shouting, "Found it!"

Upon hearing the words "found," Wang Gui felt a moment of disorientation. He could hardly believe his ears, fearing that his excessive anticipation had caused him to hallucinate.

"County Lieutenant Wang, what are you standing there for?"

At this moment, Liu Shuyi's voice pulled Wang Gui back to reality.

Wang Gui then realized that he hadn't just been thinking about it all the time, but that it was real!

Really found it!
He rushed forward and asked, "Where?"

The constable said, "Tongfu Restaurant."

…………

Tongfu Restaurant is located on the west side of Huaiyuanfang, next to a dark and narrow alley.

Upon arriving here, Liu Shuyi glanced at the dark alley and the two trees near the alley entrance and knew that this must be the place.

The group quickly dismounted and hurried into the restaurant.

As they walked, the constable said, "The waiter said that someone matching Bai Jinghong's description came to reserve a private room at noon. Around 5 pm, a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes went to the private room and never came out again."

"Because the middle-aged man specifically instructed that no one was allowed to disturb them without his order, the waiter and his companions didn't think much of it and never went to check that private room."

Wang Gui's expression was solemn: "Lu Yangyuan left at 5 PM, a full hour earlier than Chen Feng. There has been no movement for so long, so he has probably been taken into control by Bai Jinghong."

Liu Shuyi nodded and said, "Lu Yangyuan went so early, either because he was afraid of danger and went to scout the place in advance, or Bai Jinghong wanted to talk to Lu Yangyuan before taking action against his last enemy, perhaps to let Lu Yangyuan know why he died and that Chen Feng and Zhao Meng had died before him."

Wang Gui nodded in agreement: "After all, he is the last one. Once Lu Yangyuan dies, everything will be over. Letting Lu Yangyuan die knowing the truth and feel remorse for his past actions before he dies also aligns with Bai Jinghong's purpose."

Liu Shuyi looked at the constables and asked, "What did you do after you learned that Bai Jinghong was here?"

"No."

The constable shook his head: "We only secretly surrounded this restaurant to prevent Bai Jinghong from escaping. We didn't do anything else, for fear of alerting him and accidentally angering him, causing him to make his move prematurely."

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly.

As they were talking, the group arrived at the stairs and were about to go upstairs.

Suddenly, Zhao Feng's voice came from behind: "Master Liu, I'm back."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi paused, turned to look at Zhao Feng, and asked, "How is it?"

Zhao Feng glanced at everyone, then whispered what he had found out to Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, and he nodded thoughtfully.

"Hard."

He nodded to Zhao Feng, then, without further delay, led everyone directly to the second floor.

Finally, they stopped in front of the tightly closed doors with the wooden sign that read "Purple Bamboo Pavilion".

"This is it," the constable said in a low voice.

Liu Shuyi nodded, looking at the tightly closed door and listening to the completely silent room that seemed empty. After a moment's thought, he said, "Knock on the door."

"Knock on the door?" Everyone was taken aback.

Wang Gui frowned and said, "Wouldn't knocking on the door alert them? Why don't we just break down the door and catch them off guard?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "We've already alerted him... It's not even 7:45 PM yet. If we're polite, he might be able to hold out until 7:45 PM before making a move. But if we forcefully break down the door, he'll probably attack right now."

"What?! We've already alerted them?" The constable was taken aback.

"We didn't do anything!" he said, puzzled.

“You did nothing, but once you arrived, the diners and waiters in the restaurant couldn’t possibly pretend nothing had happened.”

Liu Shuyi looked at the door in front of him and said, "Listen carefully, can you still hear the lively sounds of diners drinking and eating downstairs? Can you still hear footsteps walking back and forth in the corridor outside the private room?"

“If a restaurant suddenly becomes eerily quiet during its busiest time, Bai Jinghong, as long as his hearing is sound, will know that something must have happened.”

The constable's face turned pale: "Then wouldn't we be exposed? Wouldn't we ruin Lord Liu's plans?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "Although you alerted the enemy, it is precisely because you did not do anything further that the room is still so quiet. Otherwise, when we arrived, it would have been ablaze with fire."

"I didn't expect there to be any smart people in the government offices, not just a bunch of stupid people who hold positions without doing their jobs."

Just then, the instant Liu Shuyi finished speaking, a cold, sarcastic laugh suddenly came from behind the closed door.

Upon hearing the voice, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then their pupils dilated instantly.

Wang Gui almost instinctively drew his sword from his waist and shouted sharply, "Bai Jinghong!?"

Seeing this, the other constables also quickly drew their weapons.

In an instant, outside the tightly closed door, there were only sharp blades of swords.

"You were able to find this place so accurately and know my name. It seems you have investigated everything very thoroughly."

The voice inside the room seemed completely unaware of the danger, speaking in a calm and unhurried tone: "I wonder which official has the ability to find out everything in just two days?"

"As far as I know, the Chang'an County government is full of incompetent people; they shouldn't have anyone with such abilities."

Upon hearing these insulting words, the yamen runners of Chang'an County immediately erupted in anger.

"shut up!"

"Bai Jinghong, you're about to die, yet you remain so arrogant. Are you truly not afraid of death?!"

"You can't escape now! Open the door and surrender!"

The constables all spoke up angrily, and Wang Gui's face turned ashen.

He hadn't expected that even at this point, Bai Jinghong would still be so arrogant.

Liu Shuyi also raised an eyebrow, gaining a clearer understanding of Bai Jinghong's personality.

He did not conceal his identity, saying, "I am Liu Shuyi, the newly promoted Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice."

"Liu Shuyi?"

Upon hearing this name, Bai Jinghong's tone changed slightly.

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes and said, "You know me?"

"What difference does it make whether you know or not?"

Bai Jinghong did not directly answer Liu Shuyi's question, but said, "Anyway, after I kill Lu Yangyuan, that damned man, I will go to hell with him. Soon I will be a dead man too. What does it matter if a dead man knows your name?"

"What!?"

Wang Gui's expression changed: "You want to die too?"

He knew that Bai Jinghong must have sworn to kill Lu Yangyuan, but he did not expect that Bai Jinghong also had the will to die.

Once Bai Jinghong himself no longer wants to live, they won't even have the chance to threaten him or stop him from killing.

So what's the point of them finally finding this place?
Bai Jinghong seemed to have understood Wang Gui's thoughts. He said with a half-smile, "Do you think that if I open the door now and let you take me away, I can escape my fate of death?"

Wang Gui frowned and said, "You did this to avenge your parents, and you didn't harm any other innocent people in the process, so you might not necessarily die..."

"not necessarily?"

Bai Jinghong sneered, "You think you can make that decision?"

“I…” Wang Gui fell silent; of course, he couldn’t make the decision.

Both Chen Feng and Zhao Meng were court officials. Cases involving the deaths of officials had to be reviewed and determined by the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice. Ultimately, these cases would likely have no further connection to their Chang'an County government.

"Ha! Speechless now, huh..."

Bai Jinghong's voice was filled with coldness: "You officials only know how to protect each other and look down on us ants from your high and mighty position. How could you possibly care about the lives of us ants?"

"You're saying nice things now. As long as I open the door, as long as I let Lu Yangyuan go, you'll speak well of me and consider my interests..."

"But actually?"

He said coldly, "The moment I opened this door, my fate was already sealed."

“How can you high and mighty officials tolerate an ant like me ending your lives? In your eyes, no matter how you oppress me or kill my whole family, I should be begging for mercy and living a wretched life. How can I dare to defy you?”

"How dare I, a lowly person, kill you officials!"

"As for why I did all this to avenge my parents, does it matter? Would you really care?"

Wang Gui frowned as he listened: "You have a great prejudice against us."

"bias?"

Bai Jinghong sneered, "Do you dare swear that the situation I described will never happen?"

"I……"

Wang Gui remained silent once again.

He had no right to participate in how the case was tried, so he had no idea what Bai Jinghong's final outcome would be.

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi already had some guesses in his mind.

He said slowly, "Did you report your suspicions about Chen Feng and the others to the authorities, but no one paid any attention to you?"

Bai Jinghong's hostility towards Liu Shuyi was not as great as that of Wang Gui and others. After hearing Liu Shuyi's words, her tone calmed down and she said, "At first, I had no suspicions about Chen Feng and the other two. I just felt that the deaths of my father and mother were not as simple as accidents."

"Oh? If you don't suspect Chen Feng and the other two, why do you have this idea?" Liu Shuyi asked.

Perhaps because it was not yet the third quarter of Xu hour, Bai Jinghong was willing to talk a little more and prolong the time.

"Because I know my father well. When my father is away on business, he rarely drinks alcohol. Even when he does drink, he doesn't let himself get too drunk."

“My father has told me more than once that being drunk can lead to mistakes. Some people are malicious and will take advantage of you when you are drunk to trick you into signing contracts that are not good for you.”

“Ah Ye has learned this lesson the hard way, so he would never get that drunk.”

"Not to mention, Mother is with Father. If Father drinks too much, Mother will definitely stop him."

Liu Shuyi nodded and said, "So, in your opinion, it's impossible for your father to be so drunk that he can't even walk steadily?"

"Yes!"

Bai Jinghong said, "Moreover, it's strange that Father stayed at an inn that day. Even if he was really drunk, he should have gone home to rest. He wasn't far from home... But he and Mother didn't go home, nor did they ask anyone to send a message back. All of this seems very strange."

Liu Shuyi took out the files of Bai Ju'an and his wife from his pocket, looked at them carefully again, and said, "There is no relevant record in the files."

"Ah!"

Bai Jinghong sneered, "That's why I say you officials are all protecting each other!"

“I clearly explained these matters to the Wannian County government at the time, and I even went to the Dali Temple for the investigation…”

"But in the end, nobody listened to me. They just wanted to close the case quickly and add a mark to their record as soon as possible."

Liu Shuyi frowned, and Wang Gui pursed his lips tightly, this time without uttering a word of rebuttal.

Bai Jinghong continued, "At that time, I was very young and had little experience, so I really thought that maybe the government had investigated very thoroughly and that my questions had no impact on the case at all, which was why they ignored them."

"result……"

His voice suddenly rose, and his emotions became extremely intense: "Only after I learned the true colors of Chen Feng and the other two did I understand everything!"

"What do you mean by 'the investigation is very thorough'... it's all fake!"

"It's clearly because the perpetrators are people from your government, high-ranking officials!"

"And those who died were just insignificant merchants, like ants!"

"So, whether it's the Wannian County Government or the Dali Temple, how could they possibly stand up for us ants and try officials?!"

Bang!

Just then, there was the sound of a low stool being kicked over inside the room.

Bai Jinghong gritted her teeth, her voice sounding as if she were spitting out a gash: "You ask me why I have prejudices? Tell me, how can I not have prejudices? How can I trust you?"

"Therefore, I will not rely on you this time!"

“I’ll do it myself! I want them to experience what it felt like when my parents were burned to death. I want the world to know their true colors! To know that my parents were murdered, not that it was an accident caused by drunkenness!”

At this moment, all of Bai Jinghong's motives and all his actions became clear.

However, Wang Gui and others did not feel relieved as a result; on the contrary, they felt even more burdened.

Bai Jinghong's words have proven that he has no confidence in the government and that he will kill Lu Yangyuan and then commit suicide.

They couldn't save Lu Yangyuan, nor could they save Bai Jinghong.

"Okay, it's almost time."

At this moment, Bai Jinghong's words immediately made Wang Gui and the others tense up.

"Bai Jinghong, don't be impulsive!"

They all shouted.

But Bai Jinghong ignored him completely. He said, "At three-quarters past Xu hour, the time my parents died, it's time for all of this to end—"

"If I told you that your parents were indeed murdered, but not by Lu Yangyuan and his two companions, that you killed the wrong people and sought revenge on the wrong person..."

Unexpectedly, at that moment, Liu Shuyi's voice suddenly rang out: "Do you still want to continue?"

　I intended to conclude the case in this chapter, but I realized that several thousand more words are needed to fully explain the ins and outs of everything. It's already ten thousand words long, and writing any more would be too much, so I'll have to wait until the next chapter to completely end this case.

　　Stand at attention, bow your head, and admit your mistake.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)