The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 166 Liu Shuyi Offers Another Ingenious Plan, an Opportunity for a Fourth-Rank Vice Minister!
The next day, at the fourth quarter of the Yin hour.

Wan'er knocked on Liu Shuyi's door: "Young Master, it's time to get up, wash up, and prepare for court."

Liu Shuyi groggily opened his eyes and looked at the pitch-black bedroom. He felt an urge to pull the covers over his head and sleep like a maniac.

However, once his rank reached the fifth grade, his status improved, but his lazy sleep was gone forever.

He yawned, got up, lit a candle, and opened the door.

Wan'er brought in hot water. Although the temperature was rising day by day and it was hard to see any snow outside, the night before dawn was still bitterly cold. Wan'er had only been waiting for a short while when her face turned pale from the cold.

Liu Shuyi took the basin of water, then grabbed a quilt and wrapped it around Wan'er, saying, "Next time you call me, wear more clothes so you don't get cold."

In ancient times, there were no alarm clocks, and he had not yet developed a biological clock for going to court. He could only rely on Wan'er and the others to wake him up. Therefore, even though Liu Shuyi felt sorry for Wan'er, he could only temporarily let her work harder.

When Wan'er was wrapped in the quilt by Liu Shuyi, she felt Liu Shuyi's aura enveloping her from all sides, giving her the illusion of being embraced by him. This made her pale face turn red instantly, and her delicate earlobes became hot and red. Her mind went blank for a moment before she realized what Liu Shuyi had said.

"understood."

Her voice was low, and carried a rare hint of shyness.

"What?" Liu Shuyi didn't hear clearly.

Afraid that Liu Shuyi would notice her unusual behavior, Wan'er quickly raised her voice: "I know~ Don't worry, young master, I will take good care of myself. Young master, please wash up, it's getting late."

Liu Shuyi thought Wan'er's voice sounded a bit strange, but he didn't think much of it.

He first brushed his teeth with willow twigs, then washed his face with hot water. After a quick wash, Liu Shuyi put on his official robe.

Upon seeing this, Wan'er quickly ran out of the quilt and carefully helped Liu Shuyi put on his official robes, belt, fish-shaped pouch, and official hat...

The court assembly is different from going to the yamen to work. The eyes of civil and military officials are watching at all times. The censors of the Censorate, who are good at finding fault, are like cameras and want to check every single hair to see if it is neat. Therefore, the official robes must be worn very neatly. Otherwise, if the censor finds a problem, he will inevitably make a note of it in his little notebook.

"Okay!"

After smoothing out Liu Shuyi's collar, Wan'er carefully checked it over and, confirming that there were no problems, happily said...

"Thanks for your hard work."

Liu Shuyi smiled and nodded: "It's still early. You can go back to sleep after I leave."

"I know, young master, let's hurry up and set off, we can't be late."

Liu Shuyi had been calculating the time in his mind. He really couldn't delay any longer. He smiled, turned around, and was about to walk out.

But then, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly turned around and went to his desk.

On the desk were four thin books, neatly stacked together.

After sleeping all day yesterday, he woke up in the evening and was no longer sleepy. Taking advantage of the free time, he copied down the rest of the "Lianshan".

He has now copied the entire book "Lianshan" into four copies, each accounting for a quarter of the entire book.

Calculating the time, it took him more than half a month to copy "Lianshan". Indeed, during this period, cases came one after another, and his free time was really limited.

Fortunately, the transcription is finally complete. Next, it should be handed over to four people who understand divination, so that they can analyze it, and then their analyses can be summarized to see if anything can be discovered.

Yesterday, he asked Miaoyin'er again, and Miaoyin'er said that the secret in the ancient book was the hiding place of the Imperial Seal of the State... Judging from Miaoyin'er's reaction when answering those three questions yesterday, the possibility of her lying seems not to be very high.

However, this "Lianshan" is clearly an ancient book, and the Imperial Seal of the State was taken to the northern desert by Empress Xiao more than ten years ago before it disappeared. Even if this "Lianshan" was copied by later generations, it was done much earlier than the time when the Imperial Seal of the State disappeared.

How could it possibly hold the secret of where the imperial seal was hidden?
Logically, it's really hard to make sense.

It was obvious that either Miaoyin'er was still fooling him, or there was a secret hidden in this that he was not yet aware of.

The truth will be revealed... we'll see if the books I've copied down will prove useful.

After carefully placing the books close to his body, Liu Shuyi left the room without further delay.

…………

An hour and a half later, the court session ended.

Liu Shuyi glanced furtively at the crowd and, relieved to find that his colleagues today didn't have the same burning gaze they had yesterday, as if they wanted to devour him, breathed a sigh of relief.

He bowed to his colleagues as he approached Du Ruhui.

"Master Du, are you going to the Ministry of Justice today?" Liu Shuyi asked.

Du Ruhui shook his head: "There are some new developments in Hebei Province. I need to see His Majesty next, so I won't go to the Ministry of Justice."

"Hebei Province?" Liu Shuyi looked around and lowered his voice, "Has something gone wrong with the plan?"

Since the plan to deal with the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi was proposed by Liu Shuyi, Du Ruhui did not hide anything from Liu Shuyi. He said, "The plan is progressing very smoothly. We have now basically won over those who did not have much rebellious intention, and at the same time, we have sown discord among those who are more ambitious. Now, the officials in Hebei Province have a lot of opinions among themselves and cannot unite as one in a short period of time."

"Since the plan is going smoothly, what's the new situation?" Liu Shuyi asked curiously.

Du Ruhui stared intently at Liu Shuyi with his deep eyes and said in a deep voice, "A person claiming to be a son of the Prince of Xi has appeared and arrived in Hebei Province."

A glint flashed in Liu Shuyi's eyes.

The story of the illegitimate son of Prince Xi first appeared in the Stone Tablet Case. Zhang Xu, the governor of Shangzhou from Fusheng Tower, used Wan Rong, a former secretary of the Ministry of Justice, to try to let the court and the people of the world know that Li Jiancheng had an illegitimate son who was living abroad.

This confirmed the identity of the illegitimate child, and caused a stir in Hebei Province.

Given the circumstances surrounding Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, regardless of whether Li Shimin denies the identity of this illegitimate child, it will ultimately make his identity more authentic. Therefore, after Liu Shuyi uncovered the truth behind the silver treasury case, he offered Li Shimin and others a solution.

If this illegitimate child really appears, then Li Shimin should secretly fabricate a batch of illegitimate children, have them openly declare themselves to be the sons of the Prince of Xi, and do things that disgust the people, thereby tarnishing the image of the Prince of Xi as a son of a concubine. Afterwards, local officials should arrest them and, during the public trial, have them voluntarily say that they are fake, and that they only had the idea because they heard that His Majesty was benevolent and willing to treat his brothers and descendants leniently.

In this way, Li Shimin's image of benevolence could be enhanced, and an impression could be left in the minds of the people and officials that those who claimed to be the sons of the Prince of Xi were all fake, thus resolving the potential crisis brought about by the sons of the Prince of Xi.

However, after the stone tablet case, there was no further news about the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, leading Liu Shuyi to believe that Fushenglou had given up on the opportunity.

Unexpectedly, at this time, the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi actually appeared and had already arrived in Hebei Province.

He asked, "Which city did the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi go to? Have you found out what he's planning to do?"

Du Ruhui shook his head: "The officials we have recruited in Hebei Province told us that they have heard rumors that the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi has arrived in Hebei Province. They also said that the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi intends to gather them together, but they are not sure where the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi is at present or whether he really intends to do so."

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow and said, "Shall we release some information first and see how people react?"

“I think so.” Du Ruhui nodded: “If most officials express expectations or show a willingness to continue following the descendants of the Prince of Xi, this hidden illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi may show himself and gather power. If most officials show resistance, he may hide even deeper than a rat.”

Liu Shuyi looked thoughtful and asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Du Ruhui looked up at the cloudless blue sky and said in a deep voice, "First, follow your previous plan and muddy the waters regarding the identity of the Prince of Xi as a concubine, making his identity uncertain and causing those who are already wavering in their centrist stance to hesitate even more."

"At the same time, we need to find a way to root out this illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi. As long as he is not eliminated, he will remain a threat to the court."

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment and said, "Actually, whether or not we get rid of this illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi is not important. Even if we get rid of this one, the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi or Fusheng Tower can create another illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi if they wish..."

"What we need to do is ensure that even if there really is a illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, the Prince of Xi's former subordinates will not dare to believe it or follow him."

Du Ruhui's eyes flashed, and his deep gaze met Liu Shuyi's: "You mean to say?"

Liu Shuyi's lips curled up, and he said meaningfully, "Why not take this opportunity to trick those ambitious guys?"

Du Ruhui seemed to understand something, and he said directly, "Tell me about it."

Liu Shuyi laughed and said, "Isn't this so-called illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi hiding very well? Well then... he shouldn't show up. We'll find someone to appear in his place!"

"Anyway, nobody knows what the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi looks like. The former subordinates of the Prince of Xi in Hebei Province don't know him at all. Since they haven't seen the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, then whoever steps forward is the one who should be identified."

"Moreover, for the ambitious former subordinates of the Prince of Xi, whether the Prince of Xi is a son of a concubine or not is not important. They just need such a banner to represent 'legitimacy'. So as long as the son of the Prince of Xi that we arrange gives them hope, they will naturally be willing to acknowledge it."

"They've admitted it. I believe you, Lord Du, know what will happen next without me having to tell you. We'll use this illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi to really screw them over, to make these ambitious former subordinates of the Prince of Xi take a hard fall, and maybe they'll never be able to get back up."

"In that case, I believe they will develop a psychological trauma from the words 'Xi Wang’s illegitimate son.' If anyone claims to be a former subordinate of Xi Wang in the future and tries to gather them together, remembering this setback, they might not even need us to do anything; they will want to kill that guy themselves."

As Du Ruhui listened to Liu Shuyi's words, his deep eyes lit up.

Although Liu Shuyi's plan was still very rudimentary, it must be said that his thinking was very unique, opening up a path he had never thought of before.

Moreover, with the groundwork laid by the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi spreading rumors in the early stages, the people arranged by the court didn't even need to make any further preparations; they could simply step forward... This was equivalent to the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi paving the way for the people of the court.

Even if this illegitimate Prince Xi were to step forward again, the people arranged by the court could turn around and accuse him of being a traitor planted by the court to obstruct their grand scheme...

With both of the princes' illegitimate sons showing up, whoever appears first will have a greater advantage. After all, who would have thought that the imposter would be so bold as to show up first, while the real person would hide away?
By then, perhaps the court won't even need to do anything; those ambitious former retainers of the Prince of Xi will deal with that illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi. Afterward, the court can plot against these former retainers of the Prince of Xi. Even if they can't annihilate them all, they will surely give them a severe setback and severely damage their strength... Du Ruhui believed that this would definitely become a lifelong shadow for these former retainers of the Prince of Xi.

Finally, with Liu Shuyi's previous plan to smear the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi, making the people and other officials believe that anyone who flies the banner of the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi is a fake... this would fundamentally eliminate the threat of the illegitimate son of the Prince of Xi from both the people and the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi!

This idea is truly brilliant!

Du Ruhui couldn't help but say, "I never expected that not only is your investigative skill unmatched, but your strategic thinking is also far beyond that of ordinary people!"

Liu Shuyi smiled modestly and said, "Master Du is too kind. I just had a flash of inspiration and thought of such a method... However, this idea is still very rudimentary. If we really want to do it, we need to plan it in a comprehensive way."

Du Ruhui exclaimed, "This method is ingenious and achieves victory through surprise; it's truly a brilliant strategy! You keep surprising me!"

He said to Liu Shuyi, "I will inform His Majesty of your plan shortly. If His Majesty approves, we will refine your plan carefully, so you need not worry! If this plan ultimately succeeds..."

Du Ruhui patted Liu Shuyi on the shoulder and laughed, "That's a great achievement that's no less than your work in solving the silver treasury case!"

Liu Shuyi never expected that his casual remark would lead to such a great achievement. He quickly cupped his hands and said, "It's all thanks to Lord Du's high regard for me."

Du Ruhui, having found a solution to the problem, was in high spirits. He looked around and then lowered his voice, saying, "You brought down Wei Qian through the salary case, and now there's a vacancy for the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice..."

"Because so many officials have run into trouble this time, the imperial court can't find enough suitable replacements in a short period of time..."

“So…” Du Ruhui looked deeply at Liu Shuyi: “Work hard and seize every opportunity to make a contribution. This may be your closest chance to becoming a fourth-rank vice minister in the next three years.”

Liu Shuyi suddenly raised his head: "What does Master Du mean?"

Du Ruhui smiled at Liu Shuyi and didn't continue the topic: "Alright, I have to go see His Majesty... Oh, by the way."

Du Ruhui had just turned around when he paused for a moment and said, "If you have nothing to do tonight, come to my residence for dinner after you finish your shift."

Are we going to Du Ruhui's residence for dinner?
Liu Shuyi had a strange feeling that he was about to meet his future in-laws.

Should I bring something with me when I visit for the first time?
Should we discuss this with Du Ying beforehand?
Wait, I haven't even officially started a relationship with Du Ying yet...

Liu Shuyi was unusually troubled. Although he had lived two lives, this was the first time he had encountered a marriage, and he didn't know what to do.

"That's all."

He shook his head, trying to think positively. What if he encountered a case today and couldn't go to the Du residence for dinner tonight?
…………

"Dr. Liu..."

As soon as Liu Shuyi stepped out of the palace gate, he heard someone calling his name from behind.

Turning his head, Liu Shuyi saw the person calling him and it took him a moment to realize who it was.

He smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "Imperial Censor Ding, when did you return to Chang'an? I didn't even notice when I was in court."

The visitor was none other than the Censor Ding Feng. During the Stone Tablet Case, Ding Feng, along with Wan Rong and Ren Cheng, the Director of the Court of Judicial Review, were ordered to inspect the government offices of various prefectures and counties. They happened to stop at the Prefectural Governor's residence in Shangzhou, and were conveniently used by Zhang Xu, the Prefect of Shangzhou, to provide him with an alibi.

If Liu Shuyi hadn't finally seen through Zhang Xu's time-related trickery, Ding Feng and Ren Cheng would still have never known Zhang Xu's true colors.

After uncovering the truth, Liu Shuyi returned to Chang'an first, while Ding Feng and the others, having to carry out Li Shimin's mission, continued to inspect other prefectures and counties after the case was completely concluded. The two then lost contact, and unexpectedly met Ding Feng again at this time.

Ding Feng hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "This humble official only arrived in Chang'an last night. After arriving in Chang'an, I heard about the deeds of Physician Liu during this period, and only then did I learn that Physician Liu had been promoted, and even his title had been raised again..."

"When I met Physician Liu in Shangzhou, I knew that Physician Liu was exceptionally capable and that he would surely rise to great heights and shine brightly in the future. But now I realize that I have underestimated Physician Liu. Physician Liu doesn't need a future; he is already someone I can only look up to."

Liu Shuyi was surprised to find that there was someone as eloquent as Ding Feng among the censors. He laughed and said, "Censor Ding, please don't say that. I'm just lucky to be favored by His Majesty."

Although Ding Feng spoke eloquently, he also possessed the straightforwardness and stubbornness of an imperial censor. He shook his head and said, "This humble official never lies. This humble official truly thinks this way. Physician Liu is far beyond what ordinary officials can compare to."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyi quickly looked around and, seeing that all the other officials had left and there was no one nearby, he breathed a sigh of relief.

If Ding Feng's words were heard by other officials, it might cause him some trouble.

These censors are really something else. They can give you a headache when they're finding fault with you, and they can also give you a headache when they're just being honest and praising you.

Liu Shuyi didn't dare let Ding Feng continue praising him, so he changed the subject, saying, "Now that Imperial Censor Ding is back, he should be able to rest for a while, right?"

Unexpectedly, Ding Feng shook his head and sighed, "I would like to rest, but I came back because I encountered some problems during my inspection and had to rush back. I just met His Majesty and received his decree. I will be busy from now on."

"Oh?"

Liu Shuyi asked curiously, "You encountered a problem during the inspection? What problem? How could I possibly know?"

Ding Fengdao said, "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't say anything, but firstly, Physician Liu is of upright character, and I believe he wouldn't spread the word; secondly, Physician Liu has exceptional investigative abilities and might be able to provide me with some insights, so I won't hide it from him."

As he spoke, he looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "When I was inspecting the Nanyang County government office in Dengzhou, I received an anonymous letter. The letter said that the magistrate of Nanyang County, Chen Fengshui, was corrupt, accepted bribes and fabricated cases. It also provided very detailed clues and evidence, and said that Chen Fengshui was colluding with a high-ranking official in the court, and that the magistrate's position was obtained improperly. The secret is hidden in Chen Fengshui's study."

"After careful investigation, we confirmed that everything in the letter was true, so we immediately arrested Chen Fengshui and searched his study as instructed in the letter."

"As a result, we found some letters in his study, which were correspondence between him and his teacher."

"We discovered a very serious secret in these letters..."

Ding Feng looked at Liu Shuyi, took a deep breath, and said, "His official position was obtained for him by his teacher through abuse of power!"

"At the same time, his teacher also used his position to help others obtain official positions through several special talent assessments he was in charge of..."

"What is this? This is cheating! Although it's not like cheating in the imperial examinations, it's much more serious! Because these special talent assessments were conducted during the Wude era when official positions became vacant for various reasons, and there weren't enough people to fill the vacancies through the imperial examinations. So, high-ranking officials recommended talented and virtuous people to participate in the assessments. Once they passed, they could directly become officials appointed by the court!"

"In other words, these people who committed fraud have been officials in the imperial court for many years... and some may even be in high positions now!"

"They were willing to commit fraud in order to become officials, which shows how despicable their character is. If such people were to sit in high positions, they would be an absolute threat to the court and the people! So when we discovered this secret, we did not dare to delay and immediately returned to Chang'an to report to His Majesty."

Ding Feng was filled with righteous indignation, and at the crucial moment he even gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, as if only in this way could he vent his anger towards these cheaters.

Therefore, he did not notice... that Liu Shuyi's expression had changed beside him.

Special talent assessment...cheating...high-ranking officials recommending candidates for direct appointment...

Upon hearing these keywords, Liu Shuyi almost subconsciously thought of the original owner's experiences.

The original owner of this body was able to become a principal officer in the Ministry of Justice because Ren Xing recommended her and she passed the examination...

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. But yesterday, he had just had a suspicion, a suspicion that Miao Yin'er's forces might have tampered with the original owner's assessment...

As a result, I heard about the exposure of the cheating scandal today...

This made him feel a chill envelop him for a moment.

Coincidence?
Or...it's inevitable!
Liu Shuyi asked directly, "Who is this official? Which assessments has he been in charge of?"

Ding Feng did not notice Liu Shuyi's unusual behavior. Upon hearing this, he said directly, "Chen Fengshui's teacher is Yang Wanli, the current Grand Master of the Palace and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He was in charge of the assessments three times, in the sixth, seventh and eighth years of the Wude era."

Sure enough it was him!

Liu Shuyi remembered clearly that the chief examiner who presided over the original body's assessment was Yang Wanli, who was then serving as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Now, Yang Wanli has been exposed...

And I was one of the test takers...

Liu Shuyi's bad premonition grew stronger.

He said, "Did you interrogate him? Did he confess?"

Ding Feng shook his head: "I arrived in Chang'an late last night, and His Majesty had already rested. So I didn't see His Majesty until this morning and only then did I receive his orders. That's why I'm preparing to send someone to take him to the Censorate for questioning."

Liu Shuyi's eyes flashed intensely. He said, "I happen to have nothing to do for the moment. How about I accompany you?"

Ding Feng's eyes lit up: "That's great! Doctor Liu is a brilliant judge. With Doctor Liu's help, this case will surely be solved in no time."

Liu Shuyi wasn't as happy as Ding Feng. He just wanted to know if Yang Wanli had anything to do with the original owner's ability to pass the test. If so... that would be troublesome.

"Dr. Liu—"

Just then, before Liu Shuyi and Ding Feng could leave, Lu Yangyuan suddenly rode up on a fast horse.

Upon seeing Liu Shuyi, Lu Yangyuan said directly, "The Wannian County government has sent someone to the Ministry of Justice for help. Grand Master Yang Wanli has been murdered..."

(End of this chapter)