The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 146 Cracked! The Truth Behind the Feng Mu Case! Du Ying's Arrival, Liu Shuyi's Plan!

A night wind blew outside, rattling the windowpanes loudly.

The room was eerily quiet.

When Liu Shuyi asked about his financial difficulties, Wu Chenyang was completely speechless.

He stood before the desk, staring at Liu Shuyi with terrified eyes. Cold sweat poured down his body, making his smooth silk undergarment stick tightly to his skin, causing him great discomfort.

But he couldn't care less about that. He kept swallowing, wanting to say something to Liu Shuyi, but he had no idea what to say.

Tonight's conversation was completely unexpected.

In his plan, he should take the initiative, use his power and official position to suppress Liu Shuyi, and then lead Liu Shuyi by the nose, making the investigation of the case proceed according to his ideas.

Little did anyone know that from the moment Liu Shuyi responded after I criticized him... everything spiraled out of control.

So much so that now he only feels ice cold all over his body.

Why isn't Wu Zhongcheng saying anything?

Liu Shuyi looked at Wu Chenyang, who suddenly stood up and stood in front of him like a wooden stake. His expression remained calm and composed, and he didn't even blink. It was as if he had already expected Wu Chenyang's reaction.

This made Wu Chenyang's heart grow even colder. He finally understood that it was all Liu Shuyi's conspiracy. Liu Shuyi deliberately made him lower his guard at first, and then step by step, he pushed him to the brink of despair.

He took a deep breath, barely suppressing the chaotic emotions in his heart, and asked, "Besides that, what else did Doctor Liu find out?"

Liu Shuyi looked at Wu Chenyang with a half-smile: "Wu Zhongcheng's question is quite interesting. It was clearly I who was questioning you based on the case, so why is you turning around and asking me a question?"

Wu Chenyang frowned deeply.

He stared intently at Liu Shuyi, wanting to know what else Liu Shuyi had discovered besides the financial difficulties.

But Liu Shuyi met his gaze calmly, his face full of a composed smile that suggested he had everything under control. He couldn't possibly discern Liu Shuyi's thoughts.

His heart sank, his eyes darted around, and suddenly he clutched his chest, a pained expression on his face: "My chest is suddenly cramping, and I'm having trouble breathing. I'm afraid I won't be able to continue cooperating with Physician Liu..."

Seeing Wu Chenyang, who was full of energy just a moment ago, suddenly become weak and sickly as if his time was coming to an end, Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes.

Immediately, he shouted, "Someone come here!"

Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's voice, Zhao Feng and Cui Lin, who were guarding outside the door, quickly opened the door and came in.

Then they were all stunned.

At this moment, Wu Chenyang was clutching his chest, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, leaving traces of sweat on the ground. He was panting heavily, as if he was about to die.

They clearly remembered that when Wu Chenyang first came in, he had a straight back and an imposing presence, even better than the Golden Guards. How could he have become like this in such a short time?

What questions did Doctor Liu ask Wu Chenyang? Why did he ask him such a question?
Liu Shuyi quickly said, "Wu Zhongcheng is suddenly feeling unwell. You should immediately take him to an empty room in the Ministry of Justice to rest. At the same time, go find Miss Du as quickly as possible and have her treat Wu Zhongcheng."

Wu Chenyang was about to faint when he suddenly heard that Liu Shuyi not only didn't send him out of the Ministry of Justice, but also wanted Du Ruhui's daughter to treat him.

He seemed to have gained a little strength in an instant, and said weakly, "No need...no need to trouble Miss Du. Just take me to any clinic and find any doctor."

"How can that be done!"

Liu Shuyi approached Wu Chenyang and gripped his arms tightly, saying, "Minister Wu may not know, but although Miss Du is young, she is a disciple of the Medicine King Sun Simiao and her medical skills are superb. I was very moved by your cooperation just now, and now that I see you are unwell, I must find the best doctor for you."

"Don't worry, Wu Zhongcheng. The Du residence is not far from the Ministry of Justice. Miss Du will arrive soon, and she will definitely be able to cure you."

After saying that, Liu Shuyi didn't give Wu Chenyang a chance to object. He looked directly at Zhao Feng and said, "Master Zhao, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and take Vice Minister Wu to his room to rest."

Although Zhao Feng didn't know what had happened, Liu Shuyi's words were like a royal decree to him, requiring no further thought.

Without saying a word, he picked up Wu Chenyang and, despite Wu Chenyang's weak "no need," quickly ran out of the office.

Watching Wu Chenyang struggle, Cui Lin narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "This Wu Chenyang... he shouldn't be sick, right?"

Liu Shuyi sat back down and said with a smile, "Why do you say that?"

Cui Lin said, “If a normal person were to suddenly fall ill like him, he would naturally want to find the best doctor to treat him. However, when Doctor Liu went to find the renowned Miss Du for him, he made excuses and even struggled to refuse when Steward Zhao carried him to rest. This is not something a sick person would do.”

Liu Shuyi picked up his water glass and smiled, "Master Cui is indeed very observant."

Upon hearing this, Cui Lin couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi: "What exactly did Doctor Liu ask him? He was so perplexed that he had to feign illness to avoid answering?"

Liu Shuyi took a sip of water, looked at the ripples on the surface of the glass, and slowly said, "I didn't actually ask him anything. I just told him the information you found out for me, and this is how he reacted."

Cui Lin was able to rise through the ranks from a lower prefecture to a judicial officer in a higher prefecture, and finally to become a sixth-rank official in Chang'an. His ability to investigate cases was outstanding. Upon hearing Liu Shuyi's words, he quickly understood what was going on.

His expression changed, and he glanced back at the empty courtyard, lowering his voice to ask, "Could it be that Feng Mu and the others were really wronged?"

Liu Shuyi stroked the cup, his eyes still fixed on the rising and falling water: "At least based on the clues we have so far, and Wu Chenyang's reaction, Feng Mu and his subordinates should be innocent."

"Is that really true!?"

Although Cui Lin had already confirmed his guess, he still felt a chill run down his spine and his eyes widened when Liu Shuyi told him the truth.

As a member of the prestigious Cui family of Qinghe, and having spent over ten years training in various prefectures, he had seen much of the world and considered himself to have witnessed the darkness of human nature... However, the thought that the thief of the silver treasury case, which shocked the entire Tang Dynasty and was known as the biggest case of the Wude era, was innocent, still left him unable to calm down for a long time.

After all, there were at least a hundred people who died tragically because of the so-called truth about the salary case!
More than a thousand people were implicated and exiled!
So many lives lost, so many broken families... and yet, he was wrongly accused!
If they were wrongly accused, and the real thieves were cunning enough to deceive the investigating officials, then he could accept it to some extent. But judging from the information they had gathered and Wu Chenyang's reaction just now... the truth is probably not like that at all.

He couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi.

Cui Lin was not someone who knew how to hide his emotions; all his thoughts were written on his face. So even though Cui Lin didn't ask, Liu Shuyi could understand what Cui Lin meant.

He said, "I'm thinking about something."

"What?" Cui Lin asked instinctively.

Liu Shuyi said, "Tell me... is the truth we've been searching for really important in the eyes of other high-ranking officials?"

Cui Lin pursed his lips and said, "I don't know, but I do know that in my eyes, the truth is extremely important!"

He looked at Liu Shuyi, who was even younger and more handsome than himself, and it was as if he saw himself when he left the Cui family, full of vigor and high spirits, but was soon worn down by the cruel reality.

He paused for a moment, then said, "Has Doctor Liu's belief in pursuing the truth wavered?"

Liu Shuyi looked up at Cui Lin, whose hands were clenched tightly and whose eyes were fixed on him nervously, as if afraid he would shake his head. He smiled and said calmly, "What do other people's choices have to do with me?"

He has lived two lives, and has thus traversed the path to the underworld.

It would be utterly ridiculous to let such a trivial matter shake the beliefs that one has pursued throughout one's past life.

He said, "I'm just feeling very emotional. Based on the clues we have so far, almost all of the high-ranking officials in the three departments who investigated the salary case back then chose to turn a blind eye to the truth for their own benefit."

"Or rather, in order to avoid punishment from the Emperor Emeritus and to gain credit for this world-shaking case, instead of seeking the truth, they fabricated it. Knowing that Feng Mu and the others were wronged, they put on a righteous face and spoke with righteous indignation in front of the people, enumerating the non-existent crimes of Feng Mu and the others..."

"Afterwards, they watched helplessly as Feng Mu and others died tragically because of them, and even celebrated their success, taking pride in the glory that came with solving the case..."

Liu Shuyi shook his head and said, "I really want to know, as high-ranking officials in the three departments, they always claim to be righteous, but what does the truth really mean to them?"

Cui Lin sneered, "What else could it be? It's a tool for them to profit! A stepping stone for them to climb the ladder!"

Liu Shuyi leaned back and slowly closed his eyes.

He now has a general understanding of the Feng Mu case.

Li Yuan was so enraged that he imposed extremely harsh demands on the Three Departments. If they failed to meet the requirements, all the key officials would be demoted... Such a price was simply unacceptable to the higher-ups of the Three Departments.

Therefore, in order to avoid being demoted, they discussed it and decided to fabricate a story to complete Li Yuan's mission and give him an explanation.

Because all the high-ranking officials were united, even Li Yuan was deceived... Or perhaps Li Yuan had sensed something, but the people of the world and the Tang army needed an explanation, and stability was paramount. Therefore, even if Li Yuan sensed something, he ignored it and chose the option that was most beneficial to him.

The money that Feng Mu supposedly used to bribe the soldiers was actually paid out of the pockets of Wu Chenyang and other high-ranking officials.

Whoever wants to claim the credit has to pay the corresponding amount out of their own pocket.

However, they simply had too much money. Even though Wu Chenyang and his group held high positions, they couldn't afford to spend that much money, or they were unwilling to spend too much, not wanting to lose money.

Therefore, they told the outside world that they had only found some of the money hidden by the soldiers, and had not found any other money... Of course they could not find it, after all, they were unwilling to spend their own money, so how could money appear out of thin air?
As for Feng Mu... this innocent lieutenant general who was framed by them, he not only bore the blame for being the mastermind behind the theft of military pay, but even after his death, his reputation was smeared, with them saying that he was ruthless and ordered his subordinates to be killed to silence them, and that he even stole their money...

A general who fought for his country has now become a traitor hated by everyone!

Such a truth...how ridiculous!
Liu Shuyi scoffed. It was fortunate that Li Shimin had ascended the throne and purged the high-ranking officials of the Three Departments; otherwise, if he had to look up and all he saw were those same guys, he would have felt extremely disgusted.

Liu Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, he knew the truth about the Feng Mu case. With Li Shimin's support, Wu Chenyang and the others' good days were coming to an end.

However, there are still a few questions about this case that he doesn't understand.

First, does his elder brother Liu Shuzhong know the truth about Feng Mu's case? Was his discovery of the hidden compartment a coincidence or inevitable?
If it were a coincidence, Ren Xing and his associates would have fabricated such a miscarriage of justice for their own gain, so how could Liu Shuzhong, a minor official outside the capital, have received such a great deal of credit?

But if it's inevitable, why would Liu Shuzhong, an official outside the official system, be valued by Ren Xing and others and allowed to get a share of the pie?

It should be noted that the only people who truly made contributions in the salary case were a dozen or so people above Ren Xing, and Ren Xing was the lowest-ranking among them.

No matter how you look at it, Liu Shuzhong doesn't deserve this credit.

Secondly, following the same logic, Ren Xing was the lowest-ranking among those who made meritorious contributions, so why should the greatest merit be given to Ren Xing?

Even if Ren Xing happens to be in Binzhou and is in a suitable position to say that he saw Feng Mu there, if they are determined to frame someone, they can easily bribe someone in Binzhou to say that they saw Feng Mu, and it will have the same effect.

Ren Xing is not a necessary person!

Not to mention, they could have easily found the memorial tablet and letters themselves during the subsequent search of Feng Mu's residence...

Since they were determined to frame Feng Mu, they must have known they could find "ironclad evidence." In that case, whoever led the search would get the credit. Why did they hand over this opportunity to Ren Xing?

Third, why choose Feng Mu?
Feng Mu, as a Lieutenant General, held a high position.

Framing Feng Mu was much more difficult than framing the other soldiers.

Moreover, Feng Mu was the most stubborn, never admitting to stealing the pay until his death… This actually made the pay case less than perfect, leaving room for speculation. Didn't they consider these things when choosing their target?

Of course, they might think that someone who dares to steal military pay must be of high rank, otherwise they cannot command respect... In that case, they could also look for Feng Mu's deputy general. Feng Mu's deputy general was only slightly lower in rank than Feng Mu. At that time, there was also an imperial censor in the army, who was not a nobody either.

Feng Mu was not the only option, but the most difficult one.

Therefore, why they chose Feng Mu is also something worth considering.

Liu Shuyi hasn't figured out these three things yet. He tried to get Wu Chenyang to answer his questions earlier, but Wu Chenyang, seeing that things weren't going well, used illness as an excuse to avoid answering. It's going to be very difficult to get Wu Chenyang and the others to tell him the answers on their own initiative.

Unless I can arrest them directly and interrogate them as criminals.

However, he does not yet have conclusive evidence to prove everything. Although he knows that they were struggling financially during that period, it is difficult to determine the exact amount of money that was missing from Wu Chenyang and the others' residence during those two months, as it has been too long ago.

Without knowing the exact amount, it's impossible to get a complete match with the Ministry of Personnel's accounts.

The evidence is insufficient to arrest these high-ranking officials, or former high-ranking officials.

and so……

Liu Shuyi tapped his fingertips lightly on the desk. He still needed to find Ren Xing!

Ren Xing is directly related to these three questions. If we can find him and get him to talk, perhaps these three questions can be resolved all at once!

Thinking of this, Liu Shuyi opened his eyes again. He looked at Cui Lin and said, "Master Cui, I may have to trouble you again next time."

Without any hesitation on his cold and stern face, Cui Lin said directly, "Please do whatever you need me to do, Physician Liu."

Liu Shuyi didn't stand on ceremony with Cui Lin, saying, "I need to find Ren Xing as soon as possible. Although the Chang'an County government and the Wannian County government have both taken action, they have searched for several hours without any results..."

“Ren Xing is the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and is very familiar with the court’s methods of finding people. If he deliberately hides from the court’s methods, then the Chang’an County Government and the Wannian County Government will not be able to find him now, and they will probably not be able to find him in the future.”

"So, I want you to try the power of the unofficial."

Cui Lin pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand. I will use the power of the Cui family to search for it."

The powerful families are closely connected, and through marriage, they are intertwined. Therefore, the power of the Cui family does not only represent the Cui clan of Qinghe, but also the power of other powerful families related to the Cui family that Cui Lin can mobilize.

Liu Shuyi said, "Thank you for your trouble, for letting you use the power of the family time and time again."

Cui Lin shook his head: "Compared to the help that Doctor Liu has given me, this is nothing. Moreover, the family doesn't mind me using their power. The family only cares whether I can gain benefits through these powers. As long as the result is good, they would love for me to use them more. So Doctor Liu doesn't need to think that I will be in a difficult position because of this."

Listening to Cui Lin's understanding words, which were meant to help her understand that she was overthinking things, and recalling the first time she met Cui Lin, when he was arrogant and conceited, she realized that he was a completely different person.

However, the methods these aristocratic families use to raise their children are indeed quite ruthless and realistic.

He nodded slightly: "Then let's do it. Although we already know the truth about Feng Mu, we lack crucial evidence. It's still too early to expose their true colors and bring them to justice. And more importantly..."

"Regarding the issue of the salary, so far they haven't made even the slightest progress, and neither have we."

"To truly and perfectly complete the task of reinvestigating the salary case, in addition to clearing Feng Mu and the others of their names, we also need to find the real thief of the salary case."

“It’s been almost four years since the cashier’s case, and we have nothing to rely on, not even a single useful file. Compared to the Feng Mu case, this is the real challenge.”

Cui Lin nodded in agreement, but then smiled and looked at Liu Shuyi, his eyes filled with the same almost arrogant confidence that Liu Shuyi had shown when he first met him: "Although it is a difficult hurdle, I believe it will not be difficult for Doctor Liu. Doctor Liu is the great detective of our Tang Dynasty. There is no truth in this world that you cannot find out!"

Liu Shuyi hadn't expected Cui Lin to have so much confidence in him. He smiled and said, "Then, in order not to disappoint you, I have to do my best to find out the truth."

Cui Lin laughed heartily. Without further delay, he said, "This humble official will first investigate Ren Xing's whereabouts."

After saying that, he quickly left.

Watching Cui Lin's departing figure, Liu Shuyi nodded slightly. Although Cui Lin had some minor flaws in his personality, his merits outweighed his flaws, and he was more than capable of becoming his right-hand man.

He let out a soft breath and looked back at the files on his desk, but this time he didn't look at them for long before closing them up.

As he told Cui Lin, the case file was entirely fabricated to frame Feng Mu and others, and it did not help the case of the silver payment in the slightest.

He could only solve the case of the embezzled funds by approaching it from other angles.

How do I get started?
Feng Mu and others, who knew the best about the pay, have been executed, and the rest have been exiled.

Even if I send someone to the place of exile to find the soldiers who escorted the silver, it would take at least eight days for a round trip.

Eight days...that's too long.

Wu Chenyang and his group will definitely not surrender easily and will surely retaliate against me. If I cannot find Ren Xing as soon as possible, I will have no choice but to deal with them with the truth about the silver case.

Therefore, he couldn't just wait seven days idly, not to mention that it was unknown how many of those soldiers were still alive in the place of exile, and whether they could help him was even more unknown.

"No witnesses, no clues, no useful written records..."

Where should we begin?

Even with his extensive experience, Liu Shuyi was somewhat perplexed at this moment.

He couldn't help but curse Wu Chenyang and the others in his heart. So many people had been investigating for more than ten days and hadn't found a single clue. They were truly useless!
It's useless to curse these corrupt officials; the key is to find a starting point...

"Dr. Liu."

Just then, Du Gou's voice came from outside the door.

"Come in," Liu Shuyi said.

crunch--

The door was pushed open.

Du Gou walked in, and behind him, Du Ying, wearing a thick woolen coat, also walked in carrying a food box.

Liu Shuyi was somewhat surprised: "Miss Du, you arrived so quickly?"

Du Yingying rolled her eyes at Liu Shuyi with her cool and aloof gaze: "Do you think your men are lightning fast, or do you think I'm the lightning fast one?"

Liu Shuyi touched his nose and laughed, "That's true, even if it were fast, it wouldn't be this fast. So they just happened to run into Miss Du?"

Seeing that the two of them hadn't gotten to the point, Du Gou said directly, "My sister heard that you hadn't eaten dinner because you were investigating the case, so she specially made dinner for you at home. On the way to deliver it to you, she happened to run into Steward Zhao who sent someone to invite her."

Liu Shuyi's eyes lit up as he looked at the food box in Du Ying's hand and said, "Did Miss Du make this for me personally?"

Du Ying placed the food box on the table in front of Liu Shuyi and said, "Only two dishes were made by me; the other two were made by the cooks in the manor—"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Du Gou coughed, interrupting Du Ying's words.

Why go into so much detail?
Who asked you these questions?

Du Gou really went to great lengths for Liu Shuyi and Du Ying.

He said, "My younger sister has never cooked for me at home. I envy Doctor Liu. Alas, daughters are truly gone once they grow up."

Du Ying glanced at her brother: "The lamb leg you ate last night wasn't made by me. Did it come from the Hu girls at Chunxiang Pavilion?"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Du Gou was speechless this time: "How do you know that Chunxiang Pavilion has Hu women... Bah, no, can't you just stop embarrassing me?"

Watching the bickering siblings, Liu Shuyi felt that the oppressive emotions caused by the silver coin case had been greatly relieved.

He smiled, picked up his chopsticks, looked at the four dishes that looked and smelled delicious, and asked, "Which two dishes were made by Miss Du?"

Looking at Liu Shuyi's expectant expression, Du Ying pursed her lips, raised her jade-like hand, and pointed to two dishes: "Fake roasted duck and chopstick spring."

Fake roasted duck is a vegetarian dish made with crispy gluten slices and almond sauce. Its texture is similar to that of roasted duck skin, hence the name.

Zhutouchun is roasted quail, which should be golden in color, crispy but not burnt, and oily but not greasy.

These two dishes are not the kind of side dishes we would normally eat; it's clear that Du Ying put a lot of thought into them.

Liu Shuyi picked up a piece of the fake roasted duck, took a bite, and his eyes showed surprise: "Crispy and tender, it tastes even better than the real roasted duck."

He picked up the roasted quail again, took a bite, and this time, without even commenting, quickly ate the whole quail.

Only then did he give Du Ying a thumbs up: "Miss Du's cooking skills are truly superb. These are the two best dishes I have ever eaten in my life."

Du Gou's eyelids twitched at these words. Although his sister's cooking skills were indeed not bad, there was still a certain gap compared to the master chefs of big restaurants. It was really difficult for him to be so flattering.

Du Ying was unaware that her brother was thinking about her. She was a little nervous when she saw Liu Shuyi eating her food, but when she heard Liu Shuyi's high praise, Du Ying raised her fair chin and her voice was filled with undisguised joy: "You can appreciate it. I can cook for you again in the future."

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "Then I'm in for a treat."

Seeing that Liu Shuyi had eaten her food and heard the feedback he wanted, Du Ying didn't delay any longer and said, "I'll go check on your patient."

Upon hearing that it was a serious matter, Liu Shuyi put down his chopsticks and said, "Miss Du, please confirm for me whether he is really sick."

Du Ying, unaware of the details, looked at Liu Shuyi with cold eyes upon hearing this: "A bad guy?"

Liu Shuyi did not hide anything, saying, "I suspect he is faking illness."

"What if he's faking illness? Should I expose him?" Du Ying asked.

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, and the corners of his mouth curled up as he said, "No need. Since he says he's sick, let's grant his wish."

"If he's faking illness, then make sure he really can't get out of bed."

“I hope he can stay there until I find out everything… so that even if other people see him, he can’t speak and can’t tell anyone the secret.”

"I want him to watch the final outcome unfold before his eyes, unable to change anything!"

(End of this chapter)