The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 6 I know the secret of the King of Breath's ghost! (Two chapters combined)

After having a simple breakfast at a street stall, Liu Shuyi and his entourage went to the Ministry of Revenue.

After the messenger was informed, a middle-aged man dressed in a scarlet official robe quickly walked out.

The man was about forty years old, with a small mustache on his chin and a black mole at the corner of his left eye. Upon seeing Liu Shuyi, he smiled and said, "Is this the Chief Liu who determined that the disappearance of the Prince Xi's body and the murder case by the Prince Xi's ghost are not the same case? You are indeed a man of great talent and your reputation is well-deserved."

Seeing that Liu Shuyi did not seem to recognize the person in front of him, Du Gou whispered in Liu Shuyi's ear: "He is Zhao Chengyi, the newly appointed Vice Minister of Revenue. Father's evaluation of him is that he is meticulous in his actions and quite skillful."

A fourth-rank official, serving as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?

Liu Shuyi was somewhat surprised, after all, this was a truly powerful minister. In the past, the original owner of this body didn't even have the right to speak to him, yet today he was praised so highly upon their first meeting...

Could it be that Du Ruhui made the request?

He bowed and said, "Greetings, Vice Minister Zhao. I have been ordered to investigate the suicide of Assistant Minister Han. You can easily arrange for any subordinate to assist me, so how could I dare to ask you to personally greet me?"

Zhao Chengyi was a straightforward person. He waved his hand and said, "Han Yuanwailang is my colleague in the Ministry of Revenue. Now that we suddenly know that he may have been murdered, how can the Ministry of Revenue not take it seriously? It's just that Minister Tang is not in Chang'an, otherwise Minister Tang would have to see you in person."

"Let's go."

As he spoke, he grabbed Liu Shuyi's sleeve and led him into the Ministry of Revenue with great enthusiasm.

As they walked, Zhao Chengyi said, "Ask me anything you want to know, and I will answer to the best of my knowledge."

Seeing Zhao Chengyi's enthusiasm, Liu Shuyi didn't stand on ceremony: "Please tell me about the circumstances of the day when Assistant Minister Han died."

Because Han Du was presumed to have died by hanging, the Ministry of Justice did not have any files related to Han Du's death, and not many people were paying attention to the matter. Liu Shuyi was still unaware of the more specific details.

Zhao Chengyi looked on with a look of reminiscence, and after a moment, said, "Actually, there was nothing special about that night. Han Yuanwailang had official business to finish, so he did not return to the mansion to rest."

"He was in his office handling official business. Everyone else in the yamen, except for those who still had tasks to complete, had returned home. Those who had tasks were all focused on their work and no one was wandering around. Therefore, no one went to see Han Yuanwailang all night."

"It wasn't until the next morning, when his colleagues went to Han Yuanwailang's office, that they discovered he had hanged himself."

"Because the coroner found nothing unusual during the autopsy, and there was a torn suicide note left by Han Yuanwailang on the ground, we concluded that Han Yuanwailang could not bear the inner torment and hanged himself. So we let Han's family take the body back for burial."

After saying that, Zhao Chengyi stopped.

He pointed to the room with the door open and said, "This is the office where Han Yuanwailang hanged himself."

Liu Shuyi nodded and went inside.

This is a room where four people work together.

The room was quite spacious, with four desks, each with a small bookshelf behind it, filled with various books.

However, there was no one else in the office at that time.

Zhao Chengyi said, "Master Liu's arrival is untimely. The other three colleagues in this office are out on official business and will not return until the afternoon. If Master Liu is in a hurry to see them, I can order someone to call them back first."

"On the night Han Yuanwailang hanged himself, did any of the three of them also stay at the Ministry of Revenue?" Liu Shuyi asked.

"No."

"That's not necessary."

Liu Shuyi ignored the other three and glanced at the four desks in front of him, asking, "Which desk belongs to Han Yuanwailang?"

“The one by the window,” Zhao Chengyi pointed to the desk in front of the window.

Liu Shuyi walked over and found that Zhao Chengyi's desk was completely empty, without even a pen holder.

The bookshelf behind the desk was now empty, with only a few books and notebooks scattered about, far less crowded than the others' bookshelves.

Zhao Chengyi seemed to understand Liu Shuyi's meaning and took the initiative to explain: "After Han Yuanwailang's incident, his belongings were all taken away by his family. Before a new successor appears, his official duties have also been distributed to other colleagues, so there are no of his belongings here."

Hearing Zhao Chengyi's words, Du Gou's gentle brows furrowed slightly.

This means that all traces of Han Du have been erased.

Even if there were any clues left, they have all been destroyed.

Is there anything else that can be found out?
He couldn't help but frown and look at Liu Shuyi.

But this glance startled him.

Because... Liu Shuyi suddenly jumped onto Han Du's table without warning, and before anyone could react, he tiptoed and climbed onto the roof beam above their heads.

"This……"

Not only was Du Gou stunned, but Cheng Chumo and Zhao Chengyi were also somewhat bewildered by Liu Shuyi's abrupt and bizarre behavior.

"What is this, Manager Liu?" Zhao Chengyi couldn't help but look at Du Gou and Cheng Chumo.

Cheng Chumo and Du Gou looked at each other in bewilderment, after all, they had only just met Liu Shuyi.

"Is the Ministry of Revenue always kept this clean?"

At this moment, Liu Shuyi, who was on the roof beam, suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

"What?" Zhao Chengyi didn't understand what Liu Shuyi meant.

Liu Shuyi jumped down, looked at his clean and dust-free official robe, and said, "The beams of our Ministry of Justice are covered in dust, but yours are so clean."

"This..."

Zhao Chengyi said, "When we untied the rope that Han Yuanwailang hanged himself, we found a lot of dust on the beam, so I ordered people to clean the entire Ministry of Revenue inside and out, as a way to get rid of bad luck."

"As Director Liu also knows, if a house where someone has died is not properly cleaned up, it will always make people feel uneasy, not to mention that there are colleagues who still need to do official business here."

"understand."

Liu Shuyi nodded, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Did the Han family take away all of Han Yuanwailang's belongings? Did your Ministry of Revenue leave nothing behind?"

"Not really."

Zhao Chengyi said, "His will is still at the Ministry of Revenue because it involves last year's tax revenue. We have discussed with the Han family that we will return the will to them after we have completely resolved this matter."

"Oh? Where's the suicide note?" Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow.

"I'll get it for you."

With that, Zhao Chengyi quickly left.

Watching Zhao Chengyi's figure disappear, Cheng Chumo, who couldn't keep a secret, couldn't help but ask, "How was it? Did you gain anything?"

Du Gou also looked at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly: "Our opponent seems to be more troublesome than I expected."

Upon hearing this, Du Gou and Cheng Chumo felt a chill in their hearts.

Before they could say anything more, Zhao Chengyi's footsteps could be heard.

Zhao Chengyi strode into the room and handed a paper bag to Liu Shuyi.

"Because Han Yuanwailang's will was torn to pieces, we collected all the fragments together for easy preservation and to prevent them from being lost."

Liu Shuyi nodded, indicating that he understood.

He turned the paper bag upside down and poured out the suicide note.

Only then did Liu Shuyi realize just how shredded the so-called torn suicide note really was.

The suicide note contained only a little over a hundred words, but there were nearly a hundred fragments.

It can be said that it is almost just a single word, a single fragment.

Looking at the dense, chaotic pieces of paper, Liu Shuyi had a headache. Piecing them together didn't seem like an easy task.

"It took us almost an hour to piece together the suicide note."

Seeing that Liu Shuyi seemed to want to piece together the will, Zhao Chengyi took out a piece of paper from his pocket: "This is a copy of the will we made based on the pieced-together content. If you want to know the specific contents of the will, you can read this."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi's eyes lit up. He thought to himself, "No wonder he can become a high-ranking official; his insight is truly remarkable."

"Thank you!"

He took the transcribed suicide note and read it carefully.

Then he narrowed his eyes. If you only look at the contents of the suicide note, Han Du's suicide by hanging is indeed reasonable.

Because of his mistake, he caused trouble for many people. His Majesty blamed him, his colleagues complained, and he was also a petty person, so he couldn't bear it anymore and chose to end his own life.

Even he couldn't find any fault with it.

But if that's really the case, wouldn't it prove his deduction was wrong?

Liu Shuyi's gaze shifted to the fragments of the suicide note on the table. Looking at the torn pieces of paper, his eyes were deep and unfathomable.

Suddenly, he asked Zhao Chengyi, "Minister Zhao, what is the relationship between Han Du and Zhao Wenyi, the warehouse supervisor? Have they ever had any conflicts with others?"

"Zhao Wenyi?"

Zhao Chengyi stroked the mustache on his chin and said, "The two are just ordinary colleagues. They only come into contact with each other when there is official business that requires them to do it together. Otherwise, they won't say a word to each other all day."

"As for making enemies..."

Zhao Chengyi looked at Liu Shuyi and said with a wry smile, "As far as I know, both of them are honest and hardworking, and their personalities are not bad. They rarely make enemies. The only person they have offended is Zhao Zhuo, the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who was killed because of their report."

"Zhao Zhuo?"

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered slightly.

Zhao Chengyi explained to Liu Shuyi: "Last year, His Majesty ordered Zhao Zhuo to go south to provide disaster relief and build fortifications. He was accompanied by four officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue. After returning to Chang'an, the four officials reported that Zhao Zhuo had embezzled 50,000 strings of cash from disaster relief funds. His Majesty was furious and ordered a thorough investigation."

"In the end, it was found that 50,000 strings of cash in disaster relief funds had indeed disappeared, and these 50,000 strings of cash happened to be in Zhao Zhuo's possession. His Majesty dismissed Zhao Zhuo from his post and imprisoned him, wanting Zhao Zhuo to return the 50,000 strings of cash in disaster relief funds."

"But who knew that even after being arrested, Zhao Zhuo remained defiant. His Majesty ordered his men to search Zhao Zhuo's house, digging up the entire ground of his residence, but they still couldn't find any disaster relief funds..."

"As you know, His Majesty has only recently ascended the throne, and the national treasury is not full. The Tang Dynasty has been at war for years, and there have been natural disasters as well. Fifty thousand strings of cash for disaster relief is already a lot for the court. Zhao Zhuo refused to admit it, and His Majesty was furious. He beheaded him and confiscated all his family's wealth. His Majesty also took some money from his private treasury, which barely made up for the shortfall in disaster relief funds."

Liu Shuyi had read the case files through the original owner's memories, so he was also clear about the ins and outs of the matter.

He also knew that after Zhao Zhuo's death, the Zhao family members were all exiled.

Compared to the Zhao family, the original owner was quite fortunate, as although her father was executed for treason, her family members were not implicated.

"They only offended Zhao Zhuo? They didn't have any conflicts with anyone else?" Liu Shuyi asked again.

"No."

Zhao Chengyi answered with certainty. He looked at Liu Shuyi and said, "To put it bluntly, if someone really wanted to kill them, I think it would only be Zhao Zhuo's relatives... Of course, I won't investigate the case. I'm just saying. Don't take my words to heart, Manager Liu."

Du Gou and Cheng Chumo exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

After Liu Shuyi revealed that Zhao Ci and the other three were all people listed in the case file, they began to suspect Zhao Zhuo's relatives.

However, Zhao Zhuo's family members had all been exiled, and none of them were in Chang'an.

How could they have committed the crime? Unless... someone secretly returned to Chang'an.

"What Vice Minister Zhao said makes a lot of sense and fits the murderer's motive. It's not just random talk."

Liu Shuyi affirmed Zhao Chengyi's words, saying, "I will send someone to confirm whether anyone from the Zhao family is missing."

Zhao Chengyi laughed heartily: "If it really was done by the Zhao family, then haven't I helped them?"

"of course."

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "Next, I need to go to Zhao Yuanwailang's residence. Before that, there is something I may need to trouble Zhao Shilang with."

"Just say it."

"I would like to ask Vice Minister Zhao to have someone prepare a list for me of all the people who remained at the yamen on the night of Han Yuanwailang's incident."

“That’s easy. I was also at the yamen that night and I know who was there. If you need it urgently, I can write one for you right now.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi immediately cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your trouble, Vice Minister Zhao."

Although Zhao Chengyi was a scholar, his personality was as straightforward as that of a military general.

Without saying a word, he immediately dipped an official's pen in ink and began writing on the paper.

His brushstrokes were fluid and swift.

Not long after, Zhao Chengyi put down his pen.

He blew on the ink stains and then handed the paper to Liu Shuyi: "These are the people, but we were all busy with our own things that night and didn't pay attention to the others, so we probably can't offer you any more help."

"Minister Zhao has already helped me a great deal."

Liu Shuyi glanced at the list and saw that it contained fifteen names.

He noted down the names of the fifteen people, nodded, carefully folded the document, and then put it into his robes, saying, "There's no time to lose, so I won't keep you any longer. I'll host a banquet to thank Minister Zhao another day when there's an opportunity."

"Easy to say."

…………

The wheels keep turning.

The carriage traveled along the bustling Suzaku Avenue.

Liu Shuyi had kept his eyes closed and remained silent ever since he entered the carriage, which made Cheng Chumo's heart itch like a cat scratching. After enduring it for a while, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Master Liu, how is it? Have you found any clues about the murderer?"

Upon hearing this, Du Gou, who had been looking out the car window at the street, also turned to look at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi did not open his eyes, but nodded silently, then shook his head.

Cheng Chumo was completely dumbfounded. Why was he nodding and shaking his head at the same time?

Is there one or not?

Du Gouqing frowned and suggested, "We haven't started investigating Zhao Zhuo's family yet. Should we send someone to check if anyone from the Zhao family has gone missing? If so, perhaps this person is the real culprit behind this series of cases."

Cheng Chumo's eyes lit up immediately: "That works! Right now, only the Zhao family is a suspect."

But Liu Shuyi opened his eyes at this moment and shook his head: "It's too late."

"The journey to the place of exile will take at least half a month... but I only have three days. If I had time, I would have sent people there long ago. How could I have overlooked the Zhao family's suspicion?"

"What do we do then?" Cheng Chumo's dark face showed anxiety. "What if it really was the Zhao family? You're doomed! No matter how good you are at investigating cases, it's useless if you can't catch the culprit! It's over! Pei Sikong won't let you live for another half a month. You're really dead!"

Although I know you mean well, you really should learn how to speak properly...

"Don't worry! Things aren't that bad yet..."

Liu Shuyi lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the mansion that was getting closer and closer, with white silk hanging on the plaque. He said, "Zhao Ci is different from Han Du. He died not long ago. We can't find clues about Han Du, but we may be able to find Zhao Ci."

As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage stopped in front of the door.

Liu Shuyi got off the carriage and saw that the Zhao residence was guarded by the Imperial Guards.

After discovering Zhao Ci's murder last night, Du Ruhui ordered his men to seal off Zhao's residence. Although he later went to Liu's residence to arrest him, he did not remove these men.

This has resulted in the Zhao residence now being in a completely closed state.

"After Minister Du and the others left last night, has anyone else come in or out?" Liu Shuyi asked the Jinwu Guard at the gate.

"No."

As Liu Shuyi had predicted, although the enemy was cunning, fortunately, he had a brilliant teammate like Du Ruhui.

"Open the door."

With a creaking sound, the tightly closed door was pushed open.

Liu Shuyi led Du Gou and the other man into the mansion, which was covered with white silk ribbons and whose male owner had just died.

Not long after they entered, they saw a woman in her thirties, with a graceful figure, dressed in plain white, and with swollen eyes from crying, walking towards them.

Du Gou whispered in Liu Shuyi's ear, "She is Zhao Ci's wife."

Liu Shuyi nodded and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Madam Zhao, we have come here..."

Before Liu Shuyi could finish speaking, Zhao wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and said in a hoarse voice, "Is it Chief Liu of the Ministry of Justice? Minister Du sent someone to tell you that Chief Liu can ask whatever he wants. As long as it can help my master avenge his family and catch the murderer, I will not hide anything from you."

Du Ruhui was truly impressive.

Now there's no need for small talk, saving me time.

He said directly, "Take me to the room where Zhao Yuanwailang died."

"This way, please." Zhao was a quick and efficient person. Upon hearing this, she immediately turned around and led the way.

Liu Shuyi followed behind Madam Zhao, saying as they walked, "Please tell me about the events surrounding the incident involving Master Zhao last night."

As Zhao recalled the events of last night, her voluptuous body trembled involuntarily, as if something terrifying had occurred to her that she dared not recall.

She took a deep breath before saying, "It was almost midnight when I was suddenly awakened by a cry of alarm. I heard that something had happened outside, so I quickly put on my clothes and went out."

"As soon as I stepped out, I heard the servants shouting that something had happened to the master, while pointing to the sky and crying out in terror that there was a ghost."

"Following their fingers, I subconsciously looked up, and then..."

Her face was pale, and there was fear in her eyes. She said, "I saw a figure moving in the eastern night sky. It was a figure wearing a blood-stained python robe and with arrows stuck in its body!"

"Upon seeing that figure, I couldn't help but think of the infamous ghost of the King of Xi that had been the subject of much discussion lately. It floated around in the air, eventually landing right above my head. At that moment, I felt something fall and land on my face. I instinctively wiped it away, and then..."

As Zhao spoke, her voice tightened, and even the usually carefree Cheng Chumo could sense her tension and fear.

Then she said in a trembling voice, "And then I discovered that it was blood!"

Even though it wasn't the first time they had heard it, Cheng Chumo and Du Gou still felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing this.

They could imagine how terrifying it would be for Zhao, a frail woman, to see the legendary ghosts floating before her eyes at midnight, with blood raining down on her.

It's no wonder she trembled just from recalling it.

But Liu Shuyi frowned at this moment.

Because he didn't see any ghosts in his predecessor's memories... The original owner also came to the Zhao residence last night, so why didn't he see them?

He thought for a moment and asked, "Where did you find the so-called ghost of the King of Breath? And where did the ghost of the King of Breath appear?"

Zhao said, “Last night, the master said he had some official business to finish, so he told me to go and rest. Our bedroom is in the backyard on the east side, not too far from the east wall. When I came out of the room, the ghost was on the east wall of the courtyard, and then it was right above my head.”

"When I saw the blood on my hands, I was so scared that I fainted. When I woke up, the ghostly figure was gone."

"The servants said that the ghostly shadow only circled above my head once, and then quickly flew over the courtyard wall from the east. After that, the servants didn't know where it went."

"Because the master had already encountered an accident in the study at that time, I had no choice but to go to find him."

The east side... no wonder.

The Liu family's house is located to the west of the Zhao residence, so when the original owner arrived last night, it was in the alley to the west of the Zhao residence.

The Zhao residence is quite large; if the ghost doesn't float high enough, it's impossible to see the ghost in the eastern sky from the west.

"They came from the east, and they left from the east..."

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, "Let's go to the place where you saw the ghost last night."

Zhao paused, but remembering Du Ruhui's instructions, she did not hesitate and led Liu Shuyi directly to the backyard.

Upon arriving at the backyard, without Zhao's guidance, Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed... He saw a series of bloodstains on the ground.

These bloodstains formed an almost straight line, stretching from the eastern courtyard wall all the way to the outside of Zhao's house. However, the line was not uniform in thickness; in some places it could be as wide as ten feet, while in others it was only a few drops.

"This is?"

Suddenly, Liu Shuyi noticed something, took two quick steps, and picked something up from the corner of the wall.

It looked like a piece of jade, but it was very small, crystal clear, and had some bloodstains on it.

Liu Shuyi looked at the object, then at the few traces of blood on it, and thoughtfully stroked his chin.

He turned around and looked at Madam Zhao again, saying, "Madam Zhao, did you see clearly the ghostly figure's clothing? Was it really the python robe of the Prince of Xi?"

Zhao hesitated for a moment, then said, "I was fortunate enough to accompany my husband to a banquet held when Prince Xi was still the Crown Prince, and I saw Prince Xi's clothes... The python robe on that ghostly figure was indeed exactly the same as the one I had seen before. Moreover, Prince Xi had a habit of wrapping a circle of gold thread around his left sleeve, and the ghostly figure's python robe also had gold thread."

"How could you see so clearly in such poor lighting conditions?"

"The ghostly figure was surrounded by a green light, which made the python robe very bright and extremely eerie."

"Green light?"

Liu Shuyi suddenly narrowed his eyes, as if a flash of light had suddenly appeared in his mind.

Immediately, a smile crept onto his face: "I see, I understand..."

"You know? You know what?" Cheng Chumo asked curiously upon hearing this.

Du Gou had been thinking about the case, and upon hearing the conversation between Cheng Chumo and Liu Shuyi, he subconsciously turned to look at Liu Shuyi.

Then they saw Liu Shuyi smile slightly and say, "I know what's going on with the ghost of the Prince of Xi."

"What!?" Cheng Chumo was stunned.

"I know how to find the murderer now!"

"What!?" Du Gou's eyes widened as well.

No, what did we do?
We only came over to take a look at the scene and saw some bloodstains.

How do you know everything?
　The ending of the previous chapter has been slightly revised; readers who have already read it can take another look.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)