A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 163 The Truth Revealed to the World (49)

The case has finally made a breakthrough!

Song Shuyu instructed Lin Shuban to take careful notes, not allowing a single word to be omitted!
Lu Xun and Ji Yue also breathed a sigh of relief. This case was really too difficult for the interrogators!
Mu Qingcheng did not rush things; she gave Liu Pei time to vent and calm down.

Liu Pei tilted his head back, closed his eyes deeply, and laughed insincerely. "From childhood to adulthood, my younger brother lived a carefree and unrestrained life, while I, because I was a bastard child living under someone else's roof, lived like a rat in the gutter, in the darkness that could not see the light! For you, my father, I sacrificed my marriage and caused the death of my wife and children. I thought that as long as I was obedient enough, at least my mother and younger brother would be treated kindly by you and loved by you... Who would have thought that you didn't love my mother, didn't love me, you only loved yourself and the woman behind you. For her, even my younger brother was just a pawn you used to threaten my mother and me!"

"If that's the case, let's die together! After all, this is Yun Yao's hope, the truth that my brother is risking his life for!"

After a moment, Liu Pei opened his eyes, forced back his tears, and greeted Song Shuyu and Mu Qingcheng, saying calmly, "I have caused trouble for the Jingzhao Prefecture! Your physical evidence and speculations are completely correct. The real culprit who killed Li Mu is indeed Liu Changqing. I only disposed of the body! This case has far-reaching implications. I hope Lord Song will not go back on his word and will investigate to the end!"

Song Shuyu raised his chin slightly and said righteously, "Liu Pei, just tell the truth. I will certainly live up to the Emperor's grace and the people's expectations!"

After suppressing his emotions for years, Liu Pei was finally able to speak his mind. His tense body gradually relaxed, and he slowly said, "My life, from the day I was born, has become a joke. Before I was three years old, I was raised in a separate courtyard and never saw my parents. It wasn't until my younger brother was born that I was brought back to the Liu family. On my fifth birthday, Liu Changqing locked me in a small dark room and told me that I was a bastard child born to my mother and a bandit. Although he acknowledged me and made me the eldest son of the Liu family, I was just his dog, a killing tool. I was not allowed to call him 'father' in private, but only 'master.' I had to obey him unconditionally, otherwise, my mother and younger brother would die a terrible death!"

"From then on, I was trained by Liu Changqing to be a suicide soldier. I had no childhood, no friends, and I didn't even deserve to have a toy. I was only ten years old when I killed someone for the first time. Liu Changqing locked me and five other children of similar age in a warehouse. Of the six of us, only one could walk out alive. If we were not skilled enough or ruthless enough, we could only accept the fate of being devoured by the weak. That day, we fought for five hours. I crawled out of the warehouse with seven knife wounds, a broken leg, and not a single piece of my body was intact."

"When I was twelve, I received my first mission. Liu Changqing ordered me to infiltrate the home of Mu Yan, the then Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to find a mysterious ancient medical book. However, I searched the entire Mu residence but couldn't find it. Liu Changqing punished me by making me kneel for three days and three nights. In the same year, Liu Changqing ordered me to put poison into the medicine soup of the imperial physician Liu Yu. I don't know who drank the soup, but I suppose they were doomed. Three years ago, Liu Changqing suddenly found out the whereabouts of the ancient medical book and ordered me to find Li Mu's wife, Yang Caiyu, and force her to hand over the book. Yang Caiyu refused to hand it over, so Liu Changqing ordered me to kill her. The poison and the method used were exactly the same as the assassination many years ago."

"After Yang Caiyu's death, Li Mu, in order to protect his only daughter Li Yunyao, voluntarily handed over ancient medical texts. However, Liu Changqing discovered that pages were torn and the prescriptions were incomplete. Since Li Mu was skilled in pharmacology, he forced Li Mu to refine medicines, specifically the Muscle Regeneration Pill and the Aphrodisiac Pill. To better control Li Mu and ensure that he wouldn't reveal the details of the medicine-making, Liu Changqing planned to marry Li Yunyao to Liu Xiao, making her a member of the Liu family and keeping her under his watchful eye as a hostage. Therefore, Liu Changqing created an opportunity for Liu Xiao and Li Yunyao to meet by the lake, tricking Li Yunyao into danger. Liu Xiao, being kind-hearted, rescued Li Yunyao without hesitation, causing Li Yunyao to fall in love with Liu Xiao. She then went to propose marriage. Li Mu disagreed, but Li Yunyao happily agreed, and the marriage was arranged."

"I didn't want Liu Xiao to become Liu Changqing's pawn. At least, I didn't want his marriage to be manipulated, and I wanted him to have his own free life. My life is already ruined, so let my brother live freely like the wind. So, I betrayed Liu Changqing for the first time. I secretly encouraged Liu Xiao not to accept the marriage arranged by his parents, and I even arranged for Wan Tang from Shuanghua Pavilion to seduce Liu Xiao. Sure enough, Liu Xiao and Wan Tang fell in love, and on the eve of his wedding, he eloped with Wan Tang!"

"Liu Changqing was furious. He couldn't tolerate his plans being ruined, so he ordered me to marry Li Yunyao, or he would kill her! During those days, I kept a close eye on Li Yunyao. Before I knew it, I had fallen for her. But I knew I was not worthy of liking anyone, nor should I harm innocent women. However, for Li Yunyao's life, I had no choice but to obey orders and force her to marry me by threatening Li Mu."

"After the marriage, Li Yunyao was very cold to me, and I dared not approach her, fearing she would discover my depravity. Li Mu chose Mu Yan's vacant old house as the place for refining medicine. In order to cover his tracks, Liu Changqing spent a lot of money to build a secret passage in Li Mu's study, which led directly to the Mu residence. Later, Liu Xiao returned with Wantang. Li Yunyao was in a bad mood and went back to her parents' home for a while. During this time, she discovered the secret of Li Mu's study and learned that Liu Changqing had not only poisoned her mother, but also forced Li Mu to work for him, using living people to refine medicine."

"Li Yunyao was extremely resentful and had a huge argument with me, even threatening to appeal to the emperor. But how could she possibly defeat the cunning and shrewd Liu Changqing? The father and daughter were each other's Achilles' heel, and neither dared to make a move for fear of endangering the other's life. However, Li Yunyao touched me. I didn't want to live this inhuman life anymore. I wanted to take a gamble and help Li Yunyao escape Liu Changqing's control. Therefore, I devised a meticulous plan."

"Six months ago, I found my mother and confessed my decision. She not only supported me but also wanted to help me. So, I faked my death, and with my mother's help, I fooled Liu Changqing and hid myself in Granny Yang's mortuary. Then, I waited for an opportunity to rescue Li Yunyao. Unexpectedly, not long after, Liu Changqing discovered the deception. In order to force me to show myself, Liu Changqing actually gave Li Yunyao an aphrodisiac. I had no choice but to return to the Liu family, consummate my marriage with Li Yunyao, and then go from open to covert service to continue serving Liu Changqing."

(End of this chapter)