The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 73 The truth is revealed: This is the so-called victim!
Liu Shuyi's words were like a thunderclap, resounding in everyone's ears and making them feel a buzzing in their ears.

Just a moment ago, they were still feeling sorry and moved by the kindness of Lin Jiangqing's family because of what their neighbors said, lamenting that good people don't always get good rewards.

The next moment, Liu Shuyi presented the facts, telling them that the Lin Jiangqing family's simplicity and good deeds were problematic and fabricated...

In the blink of an eye, their understanding was reversed, causing a huge upheaval in their hearts that they could not calm down for a long time.

Wang Gui looked at Liu Shuyi, couldn't help but swallow, and said, "What you mean, Master Liu, is that the Lin Jiangqing family isn't actually any kind and good people who treat their neighbors well? Why would they dress so simply, have such a dilapidated house, and sell their belongings to help their neighbors... all just to deceive their neighbors and make everyone around them think they are good people?"

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

Du Ying's cool, clear eyes also fell on Liu Shuyi's face.

“Normal wealthy people will maintain their mansions beautifully, dress luxuriously, wear fine jewelry, and travel in luxury cars with a large retinue of servants. This is not to show off, but rather the way that wealthy people of this level should behave.”

"What about the Lin family?"

Liu Shuyi looked at everyone: "The Lin family's mansion is dilapidated and doesn't have a single servant. If they want to help a neighbor, they have to pretend to sell their belongings..."

"They are clearly rich, but they don't act like rich people at all."

"Is it that they don't want to?"

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "No! Judging from all those expensive clothes they bought, they also want to be like other wealthy people, dressed in fine clothes and living a life of luxury..."

"But they can't, or rather, dare not, show it."

“But they are so rich, yet they live in more poverty than ordinary people. They must feel resentful.”

"So they retaliated by buying large quantities of expensive clothes, filling their closets to bursting."

"Because of the clothes, as long as they don't wear them outside, no one will know they have these clothes."

"And all of this proves one thing..."

Everyone instinctively held their breath, and then Liu Shuyi slowly said, "They are deliberately hiding their wealth; they are afraid that others will know that they are very rich!"

They deliberately hide their wealth, afraid that others will find out...

"Could it be..."

Zhao Feng suddenly had a guess, and looked sharply at Liu Shuyi, saying, "Is their money ill-gotten? Is that why they dare not let anyone know?"

Upon hearing Zhao Feng's words, everyone's hearts skipped a beat.

"The money was obtained dishonestly!?"

Wang Gui couldn't help but ask, "Really?"

"If it's really not righteous, then where did they get their money? Did they do something illegal or disorderly in private?"

Everyone was taken aback by what they heard.

They never imagined that, in the blink of an eye, the Lin family would transform from a frugal and philanthropic family into a wealthy and lawless criminal family.

The difference before and after is truly enormous.

Is that really the case?
They couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi.

"Have you ever thought about something...?"

Seeing everyone looking at him, Liu Shuyi pondered for a moment and then said, "It's one thing for the Lin Jiangqing family not to want others to know that they are wealthy, but why do they have to sell their belongings to help their neighbors and make them grateful to them? Why do they want them to think that their family are great philanthropists and good people?"

"This……"

Wang Gui thought for a moment and said, "Trying to bribe them? What if they help save my life someday when things come to light?"

"Help?"

Du Gou shook his head and said, "These neighbors are all ordinary people. If their money really comes from illegitimate sources, and it is exposed one day, the imperial court will surely send people to arrest them. In that case, how can these people save them? Fight against the imperial guards?"

"Leaving aside whether they can do it or not, their behavior when they arrived just now didn't seem like they would risk their lives for the Lin family."

Hearing Du Gou's words, Wang Gui frowned and thought for a moment.

Indeed, although these neighbors kept saying that the Lin family were good people and hoped that the government could catch the murderer and avenge the Lin family, that was all they did. Apart from talking, they did not do anything else.

This certainly doesn't seem like someone who would risk their life for the Lin family.

"What could it be for? It can't be that you really enjoy doing good deeds and caring for your neighbors, can it?" Wang Gui said.

"It's impossible for me to enjoy doing good deeds and caring for my neighbors."

Seeing everyone frowning, Liu Shuyi said meaningfully, "But it is still possible to gain the recognition of their kind image among the neighbors, and to spread the word so that the Lin family becomes a well-known family of good deeds in the neighborhood."

"what?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

"Let them become a well-known family of philanthropists..."

Wang Gui frowned even more: "What's the use of this?"

"They probably don't care about their reputation anymore, do they?"

“If they really care about their reputation, then they shouldn’t acquire ill-gotten gains.”

"They've all done bad things for money, and they have to hide their wealth. How could they possibly care about a kind title?"

Everyone else nodded in agreement with Wang Gui's words.

Du Gou pondered for a moment, then looked at Liu Shuyi and said, “Although there are indeed many people who secretly amass ill-gotten gains while putting on airs to maintain their reputation, those are things that only people of high status do. They want to be remembered in history, they want to be respected, and status and reputation are very important to them.”

"Moreover, even if they maintain a public reputation, they secretly use their ill-gotten gains to spend lavishly, buy mansions, and have many wives and concubines... The reason they amass wealth is to make their lives more comfortable and luxurious."

"But what about Lin Jiangqing's family?"

He said, "Is what the neighbors call them really such a great reputation?"

"Lin Jiangqing is no ordinary person. He has served as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Revenue. He has seen a lot in his life. How could he possibly do something that outsiders would find foolishly kind just for the sake of a few dozen people's so-called 'good people' title?"

"Not to mention, they acquired ill-gotten gains but didn't actually use any of it for themselves..."

"You could say they're afraid their neighbors will find out they're wealthy, afraid they won't be able to explain it... So why don't they move?"

“As long as they move to a new place where the people around them are unfamiliar with them, they can live the life of a truly wealthy person.”

"But they didn't! Several years have passed since Lin Jiangqing left officialdom, and they have been living a life that appears so impoverished to outsiders, year after year using so-called good deeds to make their neighbors believe they are great philanthropists..."

"Their behavior is really strange..."

Du Gou frowned deeply: "No matter how I think about it, I can't explain why they did this."

Everyone pondered Du Gou's words carefully, and finally nodded in agreement.

Indeed, someone like Lin Jiangqing, who has seen a lot, would not pretend to be kind for years just to satisfy the opinions of a few dozen ordinary people.

But then another question arises: if it weren't for this reason, why would the Lin family go to such lengths to make everyone around them think they are good people?
Strange, really strange.

Not only Du Gou couldn't understand it, but everyone else couldn't figure it out either.

Even Du Ying, with her usually cold and aloof eyes, was filled with doubt and confusion.

"But if I say..."

At this moment, Liu Shuyi's voice suddenly rang out: "So what if the so-called reputation of a family that accumulates good deeds is the most important basis and source for them to acquire ill-gotten gains?"

"What!?"

Everyone was taken aback by Liu Shuyi's words.

The reputation of a family that accumulates good deeds becomes the basis and source of acquiring ill-gotten gains...

This……

How can this be?

It's just a reputation for kindness; how could it possibly help them acquire ill-gotten gains?

Everyone frowned deeply, their faces showing they were racking their brains.

They thought about it for a long time, but they still couldn't figure out the connection.

Wang Gui couldn't help but say, "Master Liu, what do you mean by that? Reputation is nothing; how can it be the basis or source for them to obtain ill-gotten gains?"

Upon hearing this, everyone else immediately looked closely at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi did not immediately answer Wang Gui's question, but instead talked about something else.

"Do you remember when I first arrived in the backyard, I said that the backyard gave me a strange feeling?"

Wang Gui was taken aback. How did the topic suddenly shift to this?

However, he quickly replied, "Of course I remember. At that time, I told Zhao Lingshi that it might be a feng shui issue..."

"I don't understand feng shui, and I don't know if I can sense whether feng shui is good or bad, but I know..."

Liu Shuyi looked at everyone and said, "I find it strange, and it's definitely not because of feng shui."

"Not because of feng shui?"

Wang Gui asked instinctively, "Then why?"

"Small!"

"Small?"

Wang Gui paused for a moment.

"Simply saying it's small isn't accurate..."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "It should be said that the length-to-width ratio is incorrect."

"The proportions are wrong?"

Everyone looked somewhat bewildered.

Liu Shuyi looked at them and said, "Although I don't know what the proportions of a normal courtyard should be, I have been to quite a few mansions and seen quite a few courtyards because of the case. The first impression I got of those courtyards was very comfortable."

"But the backyard of the Lin residence felt very out of place to me, though at the time I didn't know that the reason for this disharmony was a matter of proportion."

"The reason I understood everything later was because of those rooms in the backyard."

"The room?" Wang Gui couldn't help but ask, "Master Liu, don't tell me there's something wrong with the room too?"

Liu Shuyi nodded: "There is indeed a problem."

Everyone was even more confused.

They were unaware of the problem with the yard.

Who knew that even the room itself would be in trouble now?

But they searched all those rooms and found nothing unusual!
Liu Shuyi said, "When I went into Lin Jiangqing's and the others' room to check, I felt something was wrong. This feeling was the same as when I was in the yard."

"But I still don't understand why, and I even wondered if it was really bad feng shui, until..."

His tone shifted, and everyone's hearts tightened.

They leaned forward, holding their breath for a moment, afraid of disturbing Liu Shuyi, because they knew that the most crucial part was about to begin.

Then they heard Liu Shuyi say, "It wasn't until I went to the side rooms and checked those four rooms that I finally understood where the problem was!"

He looked at everyone, took a deep breath, and said, "Size!"

"The five north-facing rooms we inspected were smaller than the four side rooms!"

"Although the sense of space is not obvious due to the arrangement of furniture, I pay the most attention to details when investigating cases, so this kind of obscuring of perception due to layout is exactly what I can't hide from me."

"So I can clearly see the differences between these rooms."

"But then another problem arises..."

Liu Shuyi's gaze swept over everyone, and he said in a deep voice, "In a normal residence, the main house, which faces south, should be at least the same size as, if not larger than, the side rooms where guests stay, and should never be smaller than, the side rooms."

Why is the main house of the Lin residence in this state?

"They deliberately made it smaller than the side rooms when they built it..."

"Or……"

He squinted and said meaningfully, "The main room isn't any smaller than the side rooms, it's just that part of it is hidden away."

Hidden away!?
Everyone couldn't help but be stunned.

Although some of them cannot afford to live in such a two-courtyard house.

However, this did not prevent them from knowing that when building a house, it was impossible to make the area of ​​the side rooms larger than that of the main house.

This is common sense.

If any craftsman makes a mistake, he will definitely be scolded to death by the homeowner.

There's no way I'll get any more work in the future.

Therefore, this is a mistake that should never be made.

If it wasn't a construction issue, could it really have been hidden away?
But how can you hide things in a house with limited space?
Everyone frowned and pondered.

At this moment, Du Gou's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he looked sharply at Liu Shuyi, saying, "Could it be... there's a secret room?"

"A locked room!?"

Wang Gui's pupils dilated, and he immediately clapped his hands: "That's right! If there's a secret room, then that explains it."

“If the secret room is not underground, then it must require some space, so if there is a secret room hidden in the Lin family’s house, it will indeed make those rooms look small.”

Zhao Feng thought for a moment and said, "Could it really be a secret room? That's a bit too small for all five rooms. If there really is a secret room, how big would it be?"

Everyone was shocked.

Indeed, it's not just one room that's small; all five rooms facing south are small!
If there really is a secret room, its size would probably be enormous.

But then Liu Shuyi said, "Don't forget, I just said that the proportions of the backyard are also wrong..."

“We came to the Lin residence from the north gate of Guanglu Lane. The front and back gates of the Lin residence are located on two streets, one to the north and one to the south. We passed through these two streets when we came, so although I don’t know the exact length of the Lin residence, I have a general idea.”

"That's why I was surprised when I came to the backyard and saw its length, because it didn't match the length of the street when combined with the buildings in the front yard and the main hall." "So, to connect the front and back streets perfectly, the only way would be for the houses I hadn't passed to fill in the missing distance."

"That is to say..."

He looked at Zhao Feng and said, "You think this secret room is already very big, but in reality, it's even bigger! The length of those five rooms is even longer than the side rooms!"

Zhao Feng's pupils suddenly trembled.

"Even bigger!?"

He asked incredulously, "What exactly is the Lin family planning? Why would they build such a large secret room?"

Wang Gui and the others were also filled with shock and doubt. Just from what Liu Shuyi said, they could imagine how big the secret room must be.

In normal households, even if there is a secret room, it is only used to hide secrets or valuables, and at most it is the size of a room.

It could never be as big as the Lin family's!
The size of the Lin family's secret chamber has exceeded the scope of a normal secret chamber.

What secrets do they hold that require a secret room of this size?

“Master Liu!” Wang Gui quickly looked at him.

Liu Shuyi understood Wang Gui's meaning and nodded, saying, "Go find it..."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "The entrance to the secret room is most likely in Lin Jiangqing's room, and if nothing unexpected happens, it might be on his bed."

"what?"

Everyone was stunned.

Not only did Liu Shuyi know the secret of the secret room, but he even knew where the entrance to the secret room was?
When did he find out?

They were following Liu Shuyi closely during the investigation, so how come they didn't find anything?
Did they really check the same room?

Jia Ping, the steward of the Changsun residence, was also somewhat dumbfounded... As the saying goes, even a prime minister's doorman is a seventh-rank official; he had seen all kinds of people—capable, incapable, clever, and foolish...

He had met all sorts of people, but he had never met anyone like Liu Shuyi.

Is this the legendary detective?
Sure enough.

Liu Shuyi said, "The mattress on Lin Jiangqing's bed is too thick and too soft."

"It was two inches higher than the bed, and with a simple press, it could completely envelop my hand."

"This is not the thickness and softness that a normal person would use."

"I think there must be something under the bed board. To prevent others from discovering it, and also to prevent sleeping on it from hurting oneself, that's why Lin Jiangqing made the mattress so thick."

"besides……"

He said, "We checked all the rooms, and only the quilt in Lin Jiangqing's room was spread out. However, the robes Lin Jiangqing was wearing on his body were intact and very neatly arranged. This means that he was not resting on the bed before he was killed."

"Then the blanket is spread out, either because he is lazy and doesn't want to tidy up, or because his bed was moved not long ago, causing the blanket to spread out."

"Considering my assessment of the mattress and my speculation about the secret room, I am more inclined to believe the latter possibility."

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui's curiosity could no longer be contained.

He immediately said, "Men, go and investigate!"

Upon hearing this, the yamen runners of Chang'an County Government immediately turned around and ran to the backyard.

"Let's go take a look too."

Liu Shuyi said to everyone, "If I'm not mistaken, they built such a large secret chamber to make ill-gotten gains."

"The answer we're looking for should be inside the secret room."

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, everyone realized why he had suddenly changed the subject.

Wang Gui said, "Let's go, let's go take a look."

Go through the hanging flower gate to the backyard.

This time, even Wang Gui felt that the proportions of the backyard were indeed somewhat narrow compared to other residences.

He once again praised Liu Yuanwailang in his heart, "He's amazing," and then stopped thinking about it and hurried towards Lin Jiangqing's room.

Just as they reached the door, a yamen runner rushed out and nearly bumped into Liu Shuyi, who was at the front of the crowd.

"Be careful!"

Wang Gui glared at the flustered constable, then hurriedly asked, "Well? Did you find the secret room?"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately looked at the constable.

Then they saw the constable nod emphatically: "Found it!"

"only……"

He recalled the scene he had witnessed in the secret room, his expression turning grim. He pursed his lips and said, "But that secret room... something's not quite right..."

"Not normal?"

Wang Gui frowned, not understanding what the constable meant.

Seeing the constable's hesitant expression, Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes and said, "Let's go in and take a look."

The group quickly followed Liu Shuyi into the room.

He walked around the screen and came to the bedside.

The mattress on the bed had been lifted to the side, and the bed board had also been lifted, revealing a staircase leading down below.

"It really is here..."

Wang Gui said, "But isn't the secret room not underground? How come it's a passage leading underground?"

The constable hurriedly explained, "We just went down for a little while, and then went up... to that secret room..."

He thought for a moment, then pointed to the wall next to the bed and said, "It's right behind this wall."

Wang Gui then realized, "So that's how it is."

The butler nodded repeatedly, secretly thinking that Liu Shuyi had indeed been right.

Their investigative abilities are truly terrifying.

Ignoring everyone's thoughts, Liu Shuyi stepped directly into the passage.

First, go down to the bottom of a building, then there's a platform, and then it turns sharply upwards.

Illuminate the passage with lanterns, climb the steps, and soon you'll reach an iron gate.

The iron gate was made of high-quality steel and was very thick. It had a lock on it, which was currently open and hanging on the door handle.

Liu Shuyi looked at the open lock and said, "Was the lock open when you came?"

The constable nodded hurriedly: "Yes, the lock was hanging here when we came."

Liu Shuyi nodded thoughtfully.

Pass through the iron gate and enter the secret room.

Upon entering, everyone discovered that it was a very long and narrow secret room.

The width of the secret room is only half the size of a room, but its length is the sum of five rooms.

Under the torches held by the constables stationed in various locations, everyone discovered...

The floor of the secret room was stained with thick blood.

Some of these bloodstains had long since dried, while others seemed to have been frozen for only a short time, still vivid and glaring.

The varying thicknesses and colors of bloodstains sent a shiver down everyone's spines.

Zhao Feng couldn't help but ask, "How long must it have taken to accumulate so much blood? And to have so many different kinds of blood?"

Looking at the horrifying bloodstains scattered across the narrow strip of ground, Wang Gui swallowed hard. "Why is there so much blood? What exactly did Lin Jiangqing and the others do here?"

He suddenly had a very bad feeling.

I always felt that my already precarious official position was about to become even more dangerous.

Liu Shuyi frowned slightly as his gaze swept across the secret room.

He discovered that inside the secret room, besides bloodstains on the floor, there were also many ropes piled up to the side.

Beside the rope was a charcoal brazier, and inside the brazier was a branding iron.

There was also a whip, stained with blood...

To him, this place felt more like a prison cell.

"That is?"

At this moment, Liu Shuyi, having apparently discovered something, suddenly strode towards one of the walls.

Seeing this, everyone quickly followed.

Liu Shuyi reached the wall and squatted down. He brought the lantern closer to the wall, and then... a series of messy, blood-stained, and extremely fine characters suddenly came into view.

"help me."

"I don't want to die!"

"They are not philanthropists at all! They are not good people at all!"

"I just came here to beg for food, why are you arresting me?"

"They said they wanted to sell me, but where would they sell me to?"

“I don’t want to submit to them, so they beat me and torture me. I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to die. I’m ready to give in. If anyone comes here in the future and can save us, please remember that my name is Yang Ming. I fled here from Henan in the ninth year of the Wude era. They want to sell me to a wealthy family as a slave. Please save me. You must come and save me…”

The characters vary in depth and the handwriting is completely different.

It's clear that this wasn't left by just one or two people, but by at least dozens.

Moreover, the handwriting was extremely messy, and some parts were even illegible, which shows how panicked and desperate they were when they wrote these words.

Looking at the extremely fine handwriting, Liu Shuyi clenched his hands and said, "These handwritings are very fine, corresponding to the thickness of a fingernail. It is obvious that they were made with a fingernail, and it took an unknown amount of time to leave them on this solid wall."

"In our Great Tang Dynasty, there are not many literate people."

"This means that among those who were arrested and brought here, only one or two out of ten might be able to leave their handwriting."

"Then, the dozens of handwritings left behind indicate that at least several hundred people have been arrested and brought here over the years!"

Zhao Feng's pupils contracted.

Wang Gui was even paler than usual.

This area was under the jurisdiction of the Chang'an County government, yet hundreds of people were arrested here, and hundreds more disappeared here...

But the county government was completely unaware of this.

If this is investigated further, not only will I be finished, but even the county magistrate will likely be ruined!
"Based on what they left behind, we can know..."

Liu Shuyi took a deep breath and continued, "They were brought here to be sold into slavery or servitude to other people."

"Moreover, in order to sell them for a good price, Lin Jiangqing specifically trained and tortured them, causing them to have mental breakdowns and ultimately submit..."

At this point, Liu Shuyi couldn't help but sneer, "What a thoughtful seller! To satisfy the buyer, they've gone to such lengths! No wonder there are so many torture instruments here, no wonder there's so much blood on the ground. They must have made countless people bleed and countless people resign themselves to their fate here..."

"And most of these people are beggars and refugees, so their disappearance is unlikely to cause a stir."

"That's why Lin Jiangqing and his team chose these people."

"Similarly, that's why Lin Jiangqing and the others pretend to be great philanthropists..."

As he spoke, Liu Shuyi looked at Wang Gui and the others and said, "Don't you think their reputation as philanthropists is useless?"

"Isn't it contradictory to think that families who do good deeds are doing good deeds, while those who amass ill-gotten gains are doing so?"

"So now, do you still find it strange?"

Wang Gui subconsciously shrank his neck, and Zhao Feng's face also turned pale.

Du Gou's pupils contracted sharply, and he found his own words laughable.

Liu Shuyi's gaze swept over the crowd, and his voice was low: "The Lin family is in the business of human trafficking."

"The most difficult part of human trafficking is acquiring people."

"If you go out to steal or rob people... there's bound to be a risk of being discovered."

"Therefore, they deliberately created the reputation of a family that accumulates good deeds, and deliberately made everyone around them think that their family were all very kind and good people."

"In that case, beggars who come to beg, or refugees who can't survive, might come to the Lin family on their own initiative to ask for help."

"Because of the Lin family's reputation, they would have no doubts when Lin Jiangqing opened the door to welcome guests."

"In that case, they will willingly enter the Lin family's home, thus becoming lambs to the slaughter."

"Of course, Lin Jiangqing wouldn't kidnap just anyone. He would probably subtly inquire about the situation of these beggars or refugees while pretending to do good deeds. If these beggars and refugees still have relatives outside, then Lin Jiangqing might not take action, so as not to attract the attention of their relatives due to their disappearance, which would lead to them reporting to the authorities and causing trouble."

"But what if these beggars or refugees have no relatives left, then the result..."

His gaze swept across the dark and gloomy chamber, from the walls to the floor, finally settling on the bloodstains, some dried and some frozen. He said in a deep voice, "The bloodstains here include some of theirs."

Boom!
It was like a heart falling into an ice cave.

Everyone's faces were pale and shocked.

They never imagined that one day, kindness... would become a weapon for murder and an accomplice in harming others!

　Cavendish was mentally exhausted, which made him extremely inefficient. He had only written this much after a whole day.

　　I'm too tired to write anymore, that's all for today.

　　Finally, I wish everyone a happy and healthy Dragon Boat Festival.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)