The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 164: The Truth Finally Revealed! The Truth Behind the Brother's Disappearance!

Liu Shuyi parted ways with Du Ruhui and went to the prison alone.

After entering, he did not go directly to Miaoyin'er, but instead asked the jailer, "Which cell is Ren Xing in? Take me to see him."

During his previous conversation with Ren Xing, due to time constraints, he only asked about the salary case, so he did not ask Ren Xing about Liu Shuzhong.

Why Ren Xing only took credit for Liu Shuzhong's earlier achievements, and why he later took the initiative to recommend Liu Shuzhong for promotion... He still didn't know the answers to these questions.

Before Liu Shuzhong disappeared, he spoke to Han Xi at Miaoyinfang about wishing time could turn back. Whether this was because of something he regretted, or whether it was the silver coin case, he didn't know.

In order to gain more advantages in his upcoming confrontation with Miaoyin'er, he needs to gather as much information as possible about Liu Shuzhong, which may prove very useful.

After walking for a short while, the jailer stopped. He looked at Ren Xing, who was sitting dejectedly against the wall in the dark and cramped cell, and shouted, "Ren Xing, come here quickly, Doctor Liu wants to see you."

Doctor Liu?
Upon hearing the name, Ren Xing immediately looked up.

Upon seeing Liu Shuyi outside, he quickly got up, ran straight to the railing, gripped the iron bars with both hands, and looked at Liu Shuyi with a mixture of anxiety and expectation: "Doctor Liu, how is it? I... will I survive?"

After learning that Liu Shuyi had uncovered the truth, Ren Xing went to the palace to meet the emperor.

And once they meet His Majesty, the punishment for them should already be clear.

Seeing Ren Xing's nervousness, his fingers gripping the railing so tightly they turned white, Liu Shuyi said, "His Majesty was furious when he heard about what you did. This time, unlike in the past, His Majesty did not wait for the Three Departments to discuss the matter, but gave a decision directly."

Ren Xing swallowed nervously and asked, "What will His Majesty do with us?"

"To be executed in the autumn."

Ren Xing's pupils suddenly contracted, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant.

His eyes widened, and he staggered backward uncontrollably: "Execution...execution..."

He laughed bitterly, "I should have known it would turn out this way. After all, it involved the lives of hundreds, the fates of thousands... Why did I collude with them back then? I regret it! I regret it so much!"

Seeing Ren Xing's desperate and remorseful expression, the prison warden couldn't help but sneer. Everyone who comes to the death row, every prisoner who hears about the death penalty, says they regret it.

But did they really regret it?
If time could be reversed, and they returned to that past time, could they really resist temptation and threats?
Once greed takes hold, once shortcuts are taken, once one enjoys wealth and luxury that doesn't belong to one's social class, it becomes difficult to endure poverty and difficult to climb the ladder step by step in a down-to-earth manner.

It's not that corrupt officials haven't returned to officialdom, but once they do, they often can't stay in office for more than a few years before resuming their corrupt practices.

Therefore, the prison warden believed that they did not regret their choices at all, but rather regretted not being clean enough and being found out because they knew they were going to die.

Liu Shuyi didn't care whether Ren Xing was genuinely regretful or not. He said calmly, "However, I will plead with His Majesty to spare your life."

Ren Xing froze, then abruptly raised his head, staring at Liu Shuyi as if grasping at a lifeline: "You...you..."

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "What? Did you think that after I used you to solve the case, you were no longer of any use to me, and I would turn my back on you and deny the promises I made to you before?"

Ren Xing subconsciously said, "Isn't this normal?"

Liu Shuyi said calmly, "It's normal for you to go back on your word, but for me, a promise is a promise. Once I've said it, I will definitely do it."

This isn't a one-off deal. In future investigations, I might encounter similar situations where I need to make promises of benefits. If I go back on my word this time and promise to let Ren Xing live, but Ren Xing dies instead, then no one will trust me anymore.

Reputation is very important; he can't afford to ruin his reputation and credibility because of Ren Xing.

Ren Xing was naturally unaware of what Liu Shuyi was thinking. Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, he was stunned for a while, then took a deep breath and solemnly bowed to Liu Shuyi: "Thank you, Doctor Liu, for saving my life. However, I will probably never be able to leave the prison in this life and will be unable to repay Doctor Liu. I only hope that in the next life, I will have the opportunity to repay today's kindness."

Liu Shuyi waved his hand: "It's just fulfilling a promise, it's nothing more than a life-saving favor."

Ren Xing did not argue with Liu Shuyi. He was also a high-ranking official in the Three Departments and had experienced many similar things. Therefore, he knew very well how precious it was that Liu Shuyi could keep his promise. It was no different from saving himself from the executioner's knife.

Originally, he only thought that the difference between him and Liu Shuyi was that he didn't have Liu Shuyi's amazing talent for solving cases. If he had that ability, he would definitely do better than Liu Shuyi. But now he realized that he was actually not qualified to compare with Liu Shuyi at all.

Seeing Ren Xing's gratitude and excitement, Liu Shuyi had an idea and knew the time was right. He said, "Ren Xing, is there anything else you want to say to me about my brother Liu Shuzhong?"

Upon hearing this, Ren Xing's eyes flickered a few times.

He mumbled, "I've said everything I needed to say."

"What should be said? So that means there's something that shouldn't be said?"

Liu Shuyi stared intently at Ren Xing, giving Ren Xing the same terrifying feeling he had when he first met Liu Shuyi at the inn, where he felt completely seen through. This made Ren Xing subconsciously swallow again, somewhat afraid to look Liu Shuyi in the eye: "Doctor Liu, it's best not to ask any more questions."

Don't ask... instead of saying there is no.

Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes, and some guesses began to form in his mind.

He turned to the jailer and said, "You go ahead and do your work. I know where Miaoyin'er's cell is. I'll go find Miaoyin'er myself after I finish talking with Ren Xing."

The jailer knew that he was no longer qualified to listen to the conversation that was about to begin.

He nodded tactfully: "I do have official business to attend to, so I will not keep you company any longer, Physician Liu. If you need anything later, just have someone call me and I will come immediately."

Liu Shuyi smiled and nodded: "Okay."

The jailer didn't delay any longer and said coldly to Ren Xing, "Cooperate well with Doctor Liu. Answer whatever Doctor Liu asks, or you'll be in big trouble in prison!"

After threatening Ren Xing and making a good impression on Liu Shuyi, the jailer quickly turned and left without any hesitation.

Seeing this, Ren Xing couldn't help but say, "He does know how to get things done."

Liu Shuyi smiled and said, "It's just a way for lower-level officials to survive."

He didn't talk much about the jailer, his dark eyes fixed on Ren Xing, and asked directly, "Did my brother forbid you from telling me?"

Ren Xing's eyes suddenly widened, and he stared at Liu Shuyi in shock: "You..."

"really."

Upon seeing Ren Xing's reaction, Liu Shuyi understood.

He said, "You stole my brother's credit for the matter of Feng Mu's whereabouts, but you didn't steal his credit for the later evidence of letters and memorial tablets... Did my brother make some kind of agreement with you? And is this agreement also related to me?"

Ren Xing pursed his lips, feeling that Liu Shuyi was simply a monster.

All he did was tell Liu Shuyi not to ask any more questions, but Liu Shuyi deduced everything from that one sentence.

Seeing that Ren Xing remained silent, Liu Shuyi said, "I know that my brother doesn't want me to know anything that can't be brought to the table. He wants me to live in a positive and sunny world forever. But he has disappeared. After he disappeared, everything is no longer something that he or I can decide."

"I have long since fallen into the mire of worldly affairs and seen the dirtiest, most selfish, and most ruthless side of this world."

"Compared to all this, what are my brother's so-called shameful deeds? I just want to know what he did for me and for the Liu family."

"Ren Shaoqing..."

Liu Shuyi and Ren Xing locked eyes: "You're not even willing to help me with such a small thing?"

Ren Xinggang thanked Liu Shuyi for saving his life. Faced with Liu Shuyi's words at this moment, what other choice did he have?

"Ugh."

Ren Xing sighed and said, "Just as Doctor Liu said, it was your brother who asked me not to let you know about the deal between him. He said he was incompetent and couldn't protect you like a father would and give you a comfortable life. The only thing he could do was to let you live in the sunlight as much as possible and keep you away from dirty things."

Liu Shuyi had already anticipated this, and he said, "I wonder what kind of deal you have with me, brother?"

Ren Xingdao said, "After I stole the credit for your brother's discovery of Feng Mu's whereabouts, he somehow found out about it and came directly to me, questioning why I stole his credit."

"Doctor Liu, can you imagine what that scene is like? I, a dignified fifth-rank official of the Court of Judicial Review, stole the credit from a lowly clerk who wasn't even a ninth-rank official, and he still dared to question me!"

Immediately, Liu Shuyi's mind conjured up the image of Liu Shuzhong, his face contorted with rage and determination.

A clerk questioning a fifth-rank Dali Temple official—to anyone else, it would seem like he'd lost his mind. They would think Liu Shuzhong was brainless, ignorant, and was ruining his own future… But Liu Shuyi understood the situation of the Liu family at that time. Only Liu Shuzhong was working in the yamen, and he was just a clerk.

Meanwhile, the father's political enemies, such as Pei Ji, constantly suppressed the Liu family.

At that time, the Liu family was really struggling to even get enough to eat, and Liu Shuzhong had been driven to the brink of despair.

If he doesn't change the current situation, he might have to sell the Liu family mansion, the only house his father left him.

So it wasn't that Liu Shuzhong had lost his mind or was being unreasonable; it was simply that it was the only hope he could see, and he had no other choice!
"Continue," Liu Shuyi said in a low voice.

Ren Xing didn't dare to delay and quickly continued, "I was so angry at his naive words that I laughed. So I asked him what he wanted, whether he wanted me to return the credit?"

"Then your brother said that he could forgo this credit, but if there were any more credits to be earned, I couldn't take it from him. Furthermore, after the salary case was resolved, I had to promote him based on his merits, and at the same time..."

Ren Xing hesitated for a moment, looked at Liu Shuyi, and said, "I will also give you a chance to become an official."

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed.

Just as he expected, the original owner suddenly had the opportunity to take the exam and become an official. That was not due to luck, but rather the result of Liu Shuzhong's hard work behind the scenes.

Liu Shuzhong used his greatest merit, which originally belonged to him, to secure the opportunity for the original owner of the body to become an official, giving the Liu family a chance to survive.

"You agreed?" Liu Shuyi asked.

Ren Xing said, "Originally I didn't want to agree. To put it bluntly, a clerk who isn't even a ninth-rank official is an ant in my eyes. What right does he have to make demands of me?"

"However, Liu Shuzhong said that if I did not agree, he would immediately announce that he was the one who discovered Feng Mu's whereabouts, because there were other people who also saw Feng Mu at the time and could testify for him. He was sure that someone would believe him."

"At the same time, he would also say that I stole his credit, and that he was confident that he could expose my lie about seeing Feng Mu... Because I was not sure if he was lying to me, and it was a critical time for me to be promoted to Junior Minister. Any problem could be seized by others to attack me. I could not gamble my future for a small ant like him."

Liu Shuyi finally understood the whole story: why his brother's achievements weren't taken away, why he was promoted by Ren Xing but not favored by Ren Xing... All the questions became clear.

The confrontation between Liu Shuzhong and Ren Xing also shows that even when Liu Shuzhong was driven to the brink of despair, he was still able to remain calm and rational. He seized the opportunity when Ren Xing was unwilling to cause any more trouble and successfully threatened the fifth-rank Dali Temple official with his lowly position, pulling the Liu family back from the brink of disaster.

That's quite a skill.

Liu Shuyi gently stroked the Liu family's heirloom jade pendant at his waist. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Did you eventually learn that Feng Mu and the others were wrongly accused?"

Ren Xing thought for a moment, then shook his head: "He probably doesn't know."

"Even if Liu Shuzhong made a contribution, it cannot change the fact that he was of low status. With such a status, he was not even qualified to interrogate soldiers."

"So he hardly participated after that. At most, he would organize the testimonies, run errands, and serve tea and water."

"Therefore, he was unaware that Feng Mu and others had refused to confess, nor did he know that I had discovered that Dai Fei had replaced Feng Mu's statement."

Liu Shuyi's eyes darkened slightly: "So, in your opinion, the case of the treasury was closed smoothly and normally, and the thieves were Feng Mu and others?"

"Yes." Ren Xing nodded.

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered. In Liu Shuzhong's eyes, he deserved the credit for the successful conclusion of the silver treasury case. Therefore, his promotion and the original owner's final official position were both well-deserved.

So... if one day, someone suddenly tells Liu Shuzhong the truth about the salary case, that Feng Mu and others were wronged, and that Liu Shuzhong played a crucial role in Feng Mu's wrongful conviction... what would Liu Shuzhong think?
Will he blame himself? Will he regret it? Could this be the regret that Liu Shuzhong wishes he could turn back time to make up for?
Both Liu Shuzhong and the original owner of this body obtained their official positions because of the salary embezzlement case. If the truth of the case is revealed, will Liu Shuzhong and the original owner lose their official positions as a result...?

Will the Liu family's revival be completely jeopardized as a result?

If someone uses these to threaten Liu Shuzhong, what will Liu Shuzhong do?
Could this be the reason for Liu Shuzhong's disappearance?

Liu Shuyi took a deep breath. Although Ren Xing had resolved many of his doubts, he also had many more questions.

If these questions can be answered, then the mystery of Liu Shuzhong's disappearance will be completely solved.

Perhaps, the next meeting with Miaoyin'er will be the turning point...

He looked at Ren Xing again and finally asked, "During the days my brother was missing, did you notice anything unusual about him?"

Ren Xing shook his head: "This is the first time I've been threatened like this since I became the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review. So I dislike him very much, but I'm worried that if I bully him, he will talk nonsense. Therefore, I can only treat him as air and ignore him."

"You asked me if he was acting strangely, but you've really asked the wrong person. I haven't paid much attention to him at all, and I didn't even find out about his disappearance until much later."

Well! I asked the person I should never have asked.

Liu Shuyi shook his head: "Alright, that's all my questions. Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

Ren Xing pursed his lips. He wanted to ask if his family would be affected by him, but when he thought that even if he knew, he couldn't change anything and would only feel more regret and pain, he closed his eyes and shook his head: "I am satisfied to be alive. I have no other desires."

Liu Shuyi nodded, stopped wasting words with Ren Xing, and turned to leave Ren Xing's cell.

As he walked, he organized the information he had obtained from Ren Xing.

With the support of this information, the fog surrounding Liu Shuzhong finally began to dissipate somewhat.

Although he still couldn't see Liu Shuzhong clearly, at least he could see Liu Shuzhong's outline. Moreover, he had a feeling that it wasn't far from completely unveiling the veil covering Liu Shuzhong.

While deep in thought, Liu Shuyi passed through the specially made iron gate and arrived at the deepest part of the Ministry of Justice prison.

Based on his memory, he stopped in front of an iron gate made from a single piece of iron plate.

Above the iron gate was a small window for delivering food, which was currently covered by an iron plate. Liu Shuyi lifted the iron plate, picked up a candle from the candlestick, and reached through the small window.

As the candle was extended, the darkness in the cell was quickly dispelled, revealing a small, cramped, and dark cell, but very clean.

At the same time, a figure standing upside down in the corner also came into view.

Seeing Miao Yin'er's handstand position with her hands on the ground, Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you doing?"

The moment the small window was opened, Miao Yin'er knew someone had come. She wasn't surprised by Liu Shuyi's question and continued to stand upside down. Her voice was as pleasant as ever: "I've been locked up for too long, and no one has been there to talk to me. I'm in a bad mood, and I feel like crying. But I don't want you stinky men to see me like this, so I thought of standing upside down to stop the tears from falling."

Liu Shuyi inexplicably thought of a scene from a TV series he had watched in the past.

He laughed and asked, "Will it work?"

"it works."

Miao Yin'er finally finished her handstand. She stood up, went to the door, pointed to her eyes, and said, "Can you see my tears? Can you tell I want to cry?"

Liu Shuyi looked closely by candlelight. Miao Yin'er's face was a little dirty, but her eyes were very bright and beautiful. There were no tears, not even a dark circle under her eyes.

It's clear how comfortably Miaoyin'er slept in this prison.

Moreover, those eyes clearly revealed a mischievous cunning, showing no sign of wanting to cry.

That vixen still loves to deceive people!

Liu Shuyi took a closer look and said, "There are indeed no tears."

Just as Miaoyin was about to say something in a happy mood, Liu Shuyi added, "But there's eye boogers."

"what?"

Miao Yin'er was startled, and a look of panic appeared on her face. She quickly turned her back and touched her eyes.

But after touching her eyes for a long time, she couldn't find any eye discharge, which made her realize what was going on.

"Fine! You dare to tease me!" Miao Yin'er put her hands on her hips: "You teased your future sister-in-law? Wait till I tell your brother, and he'll teach you a lesson."

Liu Shuyi didn't expect Miao Yin'er to start this, so he followed up with a cold laugh: "You tried to fool me last time, and you're trying to use the same method to fool me again this time. Do you think I'll believe you?"

Miao Yin'er pouted: "You're such a strange person. You believe my lies, but you don't believe the truth."

"Do you believe my lies?"

Liu Shuyi squinted: "What lie?"

"Huh? A lie? Have I ever told any lies?"

Miao Yin'er looked bewildered: "You must have misheard me, right? I'm the most cooperative with you guys, I would never lie to you."

Seeing Miao Yin'er deny everything in the blink of an eye, Liu Shuyi almost laughed in exasperation.

This Miaoyin'er is clearly not going to behave herself.

That being the case...

Liu Shuyi said calmly, "The so-called lie you told is the reason your organization silenced Zhao Chengyi, and the reason you silenced Zhao Chengyi's wife and children, right?"

As he said this, Liu Shuyi stared intently at Miao Yin'er's face, not missing any subtle changes in her expression.

then……

He noticed that Miao Yin'er's pupils suddenly narrowed in that instant.

My eyelids blinked repeatedly, almost unconsciously.

But soon, Miao Yin'er laughed and said, "What are you talking about? We killed Zhao Chengyi and his wife and children because we were afraid of being implicated. How could that be a lie?"

Liu Shuyi's deep eyes stared directly into Miao Yin'er's eyes: "Do you think your reaction just now could escape my notice?"

Miao Yin'er's expression finally changed slightly.

Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and her tone became serious: "Why would you suddenly have this idea?"

Seeing the change in Miao Yin'er's expression, Liu Shuyi knew that his words had struck a nerve with her. This vixen had indeed been deceiving him from the very beginning.

He smiled faintly: "During the time you were imprisoned, I did a lot of things and discovered a lot of interesting things. Do you want me to tell you about them one by one?"

Miao Yin'er frowned slightly as she looked at Liu Shuyi's calm demeanor, as if he had everything under control.

Before Miaoyin could speak, Liu Shuyi said, "For example... I already know that there is a huge secret hidden in Zhao Chengyi's mansion. You killed people to silence them to prevent them from revealing this secret."

Miao Yin'er's expression flashed, as if she had thought of something: "Did you check it again...?"

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly: "That's right, I have reopened the investigation into the salary payment case."

“I have found out that the mastermind behind the cash payment case is Wen Jun, the former Minister of Revenue, who is in your faction.”

"Oh, Wen Jun is in a cell not far from you right now. Would you like to say hello to him?"

Miao Yin'er said, "What Wen Jun? I don't know her, don't talk nonsense."

Despite saying that, her unconscious clenching of the hem of her clothes with both hands already revealed that she was not being true to herself.

Liu Shuyi's lips curled slightly as he continued, "Don't you know him? But Wen Jun said he knows you. Your heartlessness will hurt him greatly."

Miao Yin'er's eyes flickered. She didn't believe what Liu Shuyi said, but Liu Shuyi looked very calm. No matter how you looked at him, you couldn't see any signs that he was lying.

This made her panic for the first time.

"besides……"

Liu Shuyi continued, "I also found out that your forces had been eyeing my brother for a long time."

“In the case of the salary, you originally wanted to drag my brother into it, but you didn’t expect Ren Xing to appear out of nowhere, so you turned to use Ren Xing instead.”

"However, my brother still committed a grave mistake that he himself could not forgive, because of your conspiracy."

At this point, Liu Shuyi sneered at Miaoyin'er: "You kept saying you liked my brother and even wanted to be my sister-in-law... You pushed my brother into the water, causing him to be threatened by you and forced to leave the Liu family mansion, disappearing without a trace, without even a chance to say goodbye..."

"Is this how much you like my brother?"

"I..." Miao Yin'er, who was usually eloquent, was speechless for the first time.

She opened her mouth, wanting to explain something, but couldn't say anything.

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed, and his cold laugh grew louder: "My brother rarely comes into contact with women, which is why you were able to get close to him."

"In his final moments before leaving, he chose to go to you, but little did he know that the woman he trusted was the one who deceived him the most!"

"Little did he know, the money pouch you gave him was just a final trick to make him willingly be used by your organization!"

"Even now, he is still being used by you!"

Upon hearing this, Miao Yin'er's eyes, which had been struggling with their emotions, suddenly widened. She stared intently at Liu Shuyi, her voice sharp with emotion: "You haven't investigated any of this at all! You're bluffing me!?"

"Oh? You found out?"

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow, not surprised that Miaoyin'er would discover the truth.

After all, aside from what he said at the beginning, everything else he said was just speculation.

As long as a guess is wrong or does not conform to the facts, Miaoyin'er will naturally be able to detect it immediately.

And by observing when Miaoyin discovered the problem, she could also know which of her guesses were wrong.

So, he now confirms two things.

The first thing is that he made a wrong inference in his last few sentences, but he cannot yet determine which specific sentence or sentences were wrong.

The second thing is that there was nothing wrong with the few sentences I said earlier.

In other words, his speculation that "their forces had been targeting Liu Shuzhong for a long time and threatened him, forcing him to leave the Liu residence" is true!
It was no coincidence that Wen Jun chose to investigate Feng Mu's whereabouts; his target was Liu Shuzhong!

The disappearance of Liu Shuzhong has finally been clarified... It is related to Miao Yin'er's forces!
(End of this chapter)