The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 96 Du Gou was shocked: We've only just arrived, and you've already found a breakthrough?

The interior of the shrine was even more dilapidated than the exterior appeared.

The roof tiles were broken and incomplete, and large patches of sunlight shone through them into the shrine.

The ground wasn't covered in dust accumulated from a long period of neglect; it was covered in a thick layer of snow.

The snow layer was not flat; it was higher on the north side and lower on the south side, corresponding to the direction the wind was blowing from the doors and windows.

A table was missing a leg and was half buried in snow.

Behind the broken table stood a completely black stone tablet, which was ten feet tall, five feet wide, and three feet thick. Standing there, it exuded a sense of weight and oppression.

Twelve scarlet ancient seal characters, resembling fresh blood, are carved on it.

—Those who seize the throne illegitimately will ultimately suffer divine retribution; those of legitimate blood will be restored to the throne!

The writing is messy yet unrestrained, giving the impression of a very elegant calligrapher who, in a fit of extreme discontent, wields his brush and creates a masterpiece in one go.

But these characters couldn't have been written with a brush. They were completely recessed into the stone tablet, and with the color of the scarlet blood, it was as if these characters were created by the stone tablet itself because it was angered by the heavens, and were generated by the destruction of itself according to the will of heaven.

Even Liu Shuyi was slightly surprised by the shocking scene when he first saw the stone tablet. If ordinary people saw this stone tablet and the words on it, one can imagine how shocked and horrified they would be.

and……

Liu Shuyi lowered his gaze, which fell back onto the snow layer on the ground of the shrine.

At the entrance of the shrine, there were many footprints at his feet.

It can be seen that quite a few people have come to their positions at different times.

But further on... until the location of the stone tablet, there was only a pair of footprints on the snow.

The footprints looked very new and not very deep.

Given the weight of the stone tablet, let alone whether such a large stone tablet could be carried by one person, just the fact that someone did carry it into the shrine would mean that the footprints left on the snow would be extremely deep.

But this footprint was only of normal depth.

Liu Shuyi turned to Wang Gui, who had followed closely behind, and said, "County Commandant Wang, do you know who left these footprints?"

"Yes, it is your humble servant."

Wang Gui explained, "After arriving at the shrine, I went straight to the stone tablet to examine it and look for clues."

"But apart from being larger, this stone tablet has nothing special about it, so I didn't find any clues in the end, and on this snow layer..."

His gaze swept across the thick layer of snow, and he said, "As you can see, Mr. Liu, there are no footprints. I was afraid that others would leave footprints and disturb the scene, so I did not allow anyone to approach the stone tablet."

really……

There were originally no footprints around the stone tablet.

In other words, based on what we've seen so far, the stone tablet couldn't have been carried in by someone.

But if it wasn't carried in, how else could it have gotten in?
It couldn't have flown in by itself, could it?
Moreover, there was originally a statue of Shen Tu inside this shrine.

The statue had vanished without a trace, and in its place, a stone tablet had appeared without any human intervention...

In addition, there was the divine light that everyone at the foot of the mountain witnessed last night...

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes and sneered, "They really have perfected every aspect of miracles."

"If this news gets out, even the most rational and calm person would probably hesitate upon hearing about these inexplicable things, right?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui immediately exclaimed, "Exactly! The situation here is damn weird!"

"To be honest, Mr. Liu, I have been investigating cases for over a decade and am quite experienced, but this is the first time I have ever encountered something so bizarre."

"If I didn't disbelieve in gods and demons, I might have already gone to pray to Buddha and ask the gods for protection."

Liu Shuyi neither agreed nor disagreed with Wang Gui's words. After thinking for a moment, he walked towards the stone tablet.

Stepping on the snow, I could see that my footprints were slightly shallower than Wang Gui's, which was because I was lighter than Wang Gui.

As he walked, he said, "Have you asked the surrounding villagers how long it has been since they last visited the shrine?"

Wang Gui followed behind Liu Shuyi, stepping in the same footprints he had left earlier. He said, "I asked them, and they said they only come here to take shelter from the rain on rainy days; otherwise, they never come here."

"A rainy day?"

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow: "So, you mean no one has come here since it snowed last winter?"

“Yes,” Wang Gui said. “It should be after October last year. There wasn’t much rain last year. There was only one rain near Chang’an in early October, and then it was dry until a sudden blizzard in November.”

Since last October, more than five months have passed... Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "When they last came to the shrine, was the statue of Shen Tu still there?"

"Yes."

Wang Gui said, "Although the shrine has been abandoned and no one comes to worship anymore, the people still dare not do anything to the statue. They are still very afraid of Shen Tu, who has protected this place for three hundred years."

Liu Shuyi nodded and stopped in front of the stone tablet.

Before, we were too far away to truly feel the oppressive presence of the stone tablet. Now, standing before the completely black tablet, with the sunlight streaming in from the roof blocked by it, we had to crane our necks to barely make out the characters on it. And then there was that chilling red color, like fresh blood... The terrifying sense of oppression gave us a suffocating feeling that made our skin crawl.

Liu Shuyi frowned slightly, increasingly feeling the "good intentions" behind this miracle.

He reached out and touched the stone tablet.

Cold and rough.

Wang Gui couldn't help but exclaim, "This stone tablet is really big. I wonder where the thieves got such a big stone from and how much effort they put into making it like this."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Yes, putting aside everything else, just moving such a large stone and carving such a large stone tablet is not something that a few people can do alone."

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui was startled.

He couldn't help but ask, "Does Master Liu mean... that behind this stone tablet lies a powerful force, or a person of immense strength?"

Liu Shuyi squinted, stood on tiptoe, and touched the scarlet characters with his fingertips, saying, "County Commandant Wang, if you were to deduce who placed this stone tablet here?"

"This……"

Wang Gui hesitated.

Liu Shuyi said, "We are just having a normal discussion about the case. County Lieutenant Wang can say whatever comes to mind without worrying about making mistakes. Before we find any breakthrough clues, we can work backward to deduce the suspect based on the possible consequences of the case, which is also a feasible method."

Wang Gui understood this principle. After thinking for a moment, he said, "My first suspicion is that of the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi."

"After all, this stone tablet points to the faction of the Prince of Xi. Now that the Prince of Xi is dead, who can be considered his successor? It is those who followed the Prince of Xi in the past."

"They had been restless all along, but the court was very lenient with them, so they had no suitable reason to rebel. Now that the stone tablet has appeared, they can directly attribute it to the will of Heaven. Now, they have a reasonable reason to rebel."

"Judging from the perspective of the party with the greatest interest in the appearance of the stone tablet, the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi are the most suspicious!"

Liu Shuyi nodded. Wang Gui's guess was reasonable and logical. He believed that most people inside and outside the court probably shared Wang Gui's guess.

But is it really so?

Liu Shuyi looked thoughtful.

Wang Gui was unaware that Li Shimin had already begun taking action against the former subordinates of Prince Xi.

By employing various methods—including sowing discord, winning over, suppressing, and bribing—the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei Province were no longer a united front.

In other words, if the former subordinates of Prince Xi really had some grand plan, the court should not have been completely unaware of it.

However, Du Ruhui did not give them any hints, which indicates that they knew nothing about the stone tablet.

Unless, this stone tablet was not made by the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in a joint effort, but by a single former subordinate of the Prince of Xi.

However, the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi are concentrated in Hebei Province, making it difficult for their influence to extend to Chang'an. Even if there are some people in Chang'an who cooperate, their numbers are certainly not large, and those people are likely cooperating with the entire force of the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi.

For a single former subordinate of the Prince of Xi to want to secretly carve such a large stone tablet, avoid the eyes and ears of the imperial court, transport it here without alerting anyone, and meticulously create such a miracle... to be honest, the difficulty is far too great.

And what are the benefits?

Even if this stone tablet truly provides a legitimate reason for the rebellion of the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi, then all the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi who harbored disloyal intentions would benefit from it.

Taking on such great risks and expending so much energy, all for the benefit of everyone, isn't that too much of a selfless act?

Unless... this former subordinate of the Prince of Xi has a different trump card than others.

Even if they were to conspire together in a rebellion, he could still maintain a dominant position based on the inscription on the stone tablet.

The stone tablet clearly bears the inscription "legitimate bloodline".

What if this bloodline isn't what Wang Gui said, representing the old guard who inherited the will and spirit of the Prince of Xi, but rather... truly the legitimate bloodline?

That would be a completely different story!

According to him, during the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin had already executed all of Li Jiancheng's sons, leaving not a single one alive.

Since Li Shimin wanted to eliminate all traces of the enemy, he couldn't possibly leave any survivors.

If there really is such a thing as a legitimate bloodline, where does it come from?

Liu Shuyi's eyes gleamed.

He now has two theories in mind.

One possibility, as Wang Gui stated, is that it was the work of a former subordinate of the Prince of Xi, who may possess the trump card of Li Jiancheng's bloodline.

Another possibility is that this is a conspiracy targeting the imperial court and the former subordinates of Prince Xi. Someone is using Prince Xi's former subordinates as pawns to stir up internal strife within the Tang Dynasty and undermine Li Shimin's position.

And there are many people who want to do this...

He couldn't rule out the fact that Liang Shidu, fearing the Tang army's intervention, and the Turks, had stolen the remains of the Prince of Xi, and that Liu Yuanming and the forces behind An Qingxi, who had acted before, were also involved. He also couldn't rule out the fact that the master behind Miaoyin'er was no saint either, and that there were still former officials who were loyal to the Sui Dynasty and wanted to restore it...

Thinking of this, Liu Shuyi couldn't help but sigh. The Tang Dynasty had truly had a difficult journey. Every step forward required resisting countless open and hidden attacks and overcoming countless obstacles. The sweat and effort that the Tang Dynasty put in to achieve its future prosperity were far beyond what ordinary people and later generations could imagine.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Shuyi composed himself.

Although it is still uncertain who did it, searching for suspects based on interests can still roughly determine the range of suspects.

The next step is to find the real thief who created the miracle, based on the available information!

"County Commandant Wang."

Liu Shuyi withdrew his hand from the stone tablet and said, "Send someone to find Vice Minister Wang of the Ministry of Works and ask him to bring the most skilled stone carvers from the Ministry of Works here. I need the Ministry of Works to help me confirm how difficult the stone tablet was to carve, and how many people in the entire Tang Dynasty could complete a carving of this level."

When he was investigating the case of the disappearance of Prince Xi's remains, the clue to Li Jiancheng's coffin was found for him by Wang Kun himself. Therefore, he still intends to leave professional matters to professionals.

Wang Gui naturally had no objection and immediately said, "This humble official will arrange for someone to invite Vice Minister Wang."

With that, he quickly walked outside.

Liu Shuyi slowly exhaled and looked at the stone tablet in front of him again. This stone tablet was so huge that if it were to fall, it could crush a person into a pulp.

How did the thieves manage to bring such a huge and heavy stone tablet in without going through the snow?
And... what about the original statue of Shen Tu in this shrine? That was definitely not a light object either.

In an attempt to create a miracle, the thieves made a point of removing the stone tablet and taking away the statue of Shen Tu. It was no easy task to carry away such a large object without attracting attention.

And, is it really necessary to move it?

Unlike stone tablets, which must be brought here to demonstrate divine miracles, statues of gods are not like stone tablets.

Statues are acceptable as long as they do not affect the miracles recorded on the stone tablet.

and so……

Liu Shuyi stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

His gaze swept across the snow layer: "There is only a little loose snow on the surface, which should be the snow that fell the night before last. The rest of the snow is old snow... We can rule out the possibility that the thieves trampled on it and then sprinkled new snow on top."

"However, there is another possibility... They moved the stone tablet here a long time ago, and the snow later covered the footprints. But if that's the case, the stone tablet might have been discovered earlier, and they wouldn't have been able to create the divine light in advance to increase the credibility of the miracle."

"Therefore, this possibility is unlikely. The stone tablet should have been brought here in the last few days."

"So, instead of bringing the stone tablet from the ground, could it be..."

Liu Shuyi raised his head and looked directly at the roof above him: "Is it in the air?"

Above him was a very high beam, and on the beam were holes exposed by broken tiles.

But the hole wasn't big enough to carry such a large stone tablet inside.

unless……

Liu Shuyi shouted loudly, "Deputy Lieutenant Lu!"

Lu Yangyuan immediately went to the door and said, "Liu Yuanwailang".

Liu Shuyi looked at him and said, "Deputy Lieutenant Lu, climb up to the roof and check the snow on it. See if there are any footprints or other marks, and whether the tiles have been lifted."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yangyuan immediately replied, "This humble official will do it right away."

With that, he went straight back outside.

Liu Shuyi thought Lu Yangyuan would go find a ladder first and then climb onto the roof. He was even prepared to rest for a while and wait. But to his surprise, as soon as Lu Yangyuan left, he heard a sound coming from the wall.

Then the roof tiles made a sound as if someone had stepped on them.

"My lord, I have reached the rooftop." Lu Yangyuan's voice came from the rooftop.

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed. From the sound that had just come from the wall, he could guess how Lu Yangyuan had climbed onto the roof.

This gave him a certain understanding of Lu Yangyuan's skills.

Did I really pick up a master?
He asked, "Is there snow on the roof?"

Lu Yangyuan said, "There is snow on the shady side, but there is no snow at all on the sunny side."

Liu Shuyi nodded. As the weather gradually warmed up, the snow on the sunny side had melted and turned into icicles hanging from the eaves, while the temperature on the shady side was lower, so the snow could last for a few more days.

"Are there any footprints in the snow?" he asked again.

"No."

Liu Shuyi said, "Come up to where I am and take a close look at the tiles above me. See if there are any signs that they have been turned over."

The snow around the statue was clean, without any trace of being weighed down by heavy objects. This indicates that if the thieves brought the stone tablet in through the roof, they could only have placed it from directly above, rather than from another location and then having someone adjust its position from below.

Click, click...

Following Lu Yangyuan's footsteps, he arrived at a position directly above Liu Shuyi.

Lu Yangyuan examined it carefully and said, "Judging from the color and dust on the tiles, they don't look like they were overturned and then put back on, unless the thief who did this was very careful and perfectly restored all the tiles."

Liu Shuyi frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "I just heard something cracking on the roof. Did you break a tile?"

Lu Yangyuan hurriedly said, "I have been very careful, but this shrine has been abandoned for too long. The tiles and the wood used to build the roof are all brittle and not very sturdy. Even though I was very careful, I still managed to break a few tiles and a piece of wood."

Liu Shuyi sensed Lu Yangyuan's nervousness. He knew Lu Yangyuan was afraid he would blame him, so he said, "This is not your fault. Don't worry, you did a great job. Come down now."

Hearing Liu Shuyi say this, Lu Yangyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Hearing Lu Yangyuan leave, Liu Shuyi frowned.

Lu Yangyuan was alone, yet he was so careful that he broke the tiles and snapped the wood under his feet...

And what about the thief?

He had to take away the heavy statue and bring over this even heavier stone tablet... Given the weight of the tablet and the statue, he felt the roof couldn't possibly support it.

It is very likely that the stone tablet will collapse the shrine, which has been abandoned for decades and built more than 300 years ago, as soon as it reaches the roof.

"It wasn't transported from above either..."

Liu Shuyi looked puzzled: "If we can rule out the ground and the roof, where else could it have come from?"

"Could it really be some kind of miracle that appeared out of thin air?"

He squinted, his gaze sweeping across the shrine.

His gaze swept over the walls of the shrine and the snow layer inch by inch.

Finally, his gaze fell on the stone tablet, and then... he lowered his head.

"The thief couldn't have entered through the door, nor could he have entered through the roof, and within the room, he couldn't have moved..."

"In other words, the stone tablet was exactly where it was placed, and the thieves didn't need to do anything extra."

"Since both ground and air can be ruled out, only one possibility remains..."

Liu Shuyi looked towards the door and shouted, "Someone come here!"

Wang Gui returned at this time, accompanied by Du Gou, Cheng Chumo, Zhao Feng, and Cui Lin. It seemed that Du Gou and the others had just arrived.

"What are your orders, sir?" Wang Gui asked.

Liu Shuyi first nodded to Du Gou and the other three, then raised his hand, pointed to the stone tablet, and said, "Arrange for people to move the stone tablet."

"Move the stone tablet?"

Wang Gui was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Won't this destroy the crime scene and the clues?"

"I'm just looking for clues."

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, Wang Gui immediately replied without hesitation, "This humble official will have someone move the stone tablet away right away."

Soon, more than a dozen yamen runners came in.

They took ropes and wood, first tying the stone tablet to the wood with the ropes, and then everyone carried the wood and lifted the stone tablet with all their might.

It took sixteen bailiffs, their faces flushed with embarrassment, to finally manage to lift the stone tablet with great difficulty.

Liu Shuyi casually pointed to a location and said, "Just transport it there."

Without any delay, the constables exerted all their strength and finally carried the stone tablet to the wall.

Liu Shuyi looked at the snow they had walked through and saw that their footprints were almost on the ground, much deeper than his and Wang Gui's footprints.

"Sir, why did you ask them to move the stone tablet?"

Wang Gui approached Liu Shuyi and asked him a question with a puzzled expression.

Du Gou and the others had just arrived and were still unaware of what had happened. Upon hearing this, they all looked at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi was staring intently at the spot where the stone tablet had originally stood.

This is a huge platform built by humans.

There is a lotus platform made of stone on top.

This lotus platform was originally used to place a statue of a deity. After the statue of Shen Tu disappeared, it was replaced with a stone tablet.

Because the stone tablet was much wider than the statue of Shen Tu, several petals on the lotus platform were cracked from the pressure.

Liu Shuyi looked at the cracked petals and his eyes suddenly narrowed.

"These petals not only have cracks, but also obvious scratches, and the scratches run inwards from the stone tablet..."

Hearing Liu Shuyi's unexpected words, Wang Gui was stunned for a moment and said, "What...does this mean?"

Liu Shuyi's lips suddenly curled up.

He said, "These scratches are very new, just as new as the cracks made by the stone tablet..."

"The direction of the scratches, running inwards along the stone tablet, indicates that after the stone tablet was placed on top of it, the lotus petals shifted relative to the stone tablet, and both petals on both sides moved inwards..."

Displacement?

The group was unfamiliar with the term, but they were all intelligent enough to quickly understand what Liu Shuyi meant.

Liu Shuyi continued, "If the scratches were caused by the thieves pushing the stone tablet after placing it on the lotus platform, the scratches should all point in the same direction, either all to the left or all to the right. But here, the scratches point to the center, one to the left and one to the right..."

"What does this mean?"

Everyone frowned and pondered.

Liu Shuyi didn't keep them waiting any longer and gave the answer directly: "This means that when the stone tablet was placed on the petals, the distance between the two petals was very far, not at all the distance that was visible in front of them..."

In other words, the lotus petals at both ends are separate!

"But now, they are connected, which can only mean one thing..."

Everyone instinctively held their breath. Even though Du Gou and the others didn't fully understand the situation, they could tell from Wang Gui's excited and nervous reaction how important Liu Shuyi's next words would be.

Then, they saw Liu Shuyi take a deep breath, look down at the lotus platform beneath his feet, and say in a deep voice, "This means there must be a mechanism in this lotus platform!"

"It can be separated, and it can be put back together!"

"Haven't we always wondered how the stone tablet ended up here?"

"Find the mechanism, open it..."

Liu Shuyi raised his toes and tapped the lotus platform: "The answer will be found there!"

(End of this chapter)