The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 189 Leading by the nose? Liu Shuyi uses the same tactics against him!

"What!?"

"Governor Jiang's body is missing!? What does that mean? What do you mean by 'missing'?"

As soon as Chu Xiong finished speaking, Cheng Chumo and Lu Yangyuan's expressions changed drastically, and they exclaimed in surprise.

Although Du Gou and Changsun Chong did not speak, their furrowed brows revealed their inner turmoil.

They trekked through mountains and rivers, without a good night's sleep or a decent meal, all to reach Xingzhou as quickly as possible and solve the case before the worst could happen... But who knew that as soon as they arrived, before they even began their investigation, they were told that Jiang Rui's body had disappeared.

They arrived seven days late, and due to the time difference, many clues may have already disappeared. The only thing they could rely on was Jiang Rui's body.

As a result, the body was gone!
How can this case be investigated?
Even if Liu Shuyi is incredibly capable, he can't possibly conduct an investigation by staring at thin air, can he?
Du Yingqing's cold brows furrowed, and she looked at Liu Shuyi with concern. But Liu Shuyi was just gently tapping the reins with his fingers. His face did not show the annoyance and worry of Du Gou and the others. Instead, he was deep in thought.

"When and how did Governor Jiang's body disappear?" he asked calmly.

Chu Xiong had been observing Liu Shuyi and the others. Seeing that Liu Shuyi remained calm and composed despite hearing such terrible news, Chu Xiong's opinion of Liu Shuyi improved even further.

"Hey."

Chu Xiong sighed deeply: "Governor Jiang was murdered and died a gruesome death. Although we have tried our best to investigate, the murderer is really cunning. We have spent several days but have not found a single clue."

Therefore, Governor Jiang's body could not be laid to rest and could only remain in the morgue of the governor's mansion.

"This morning, the coroner, as usual, went to the morgue to check on the condition of Governor Jiang's body, and the result was..."

He looked at Liu Shuyi and the others: "As a result, after pushing open the door, the coroner discovered that the wooden board on which Governor Jiang's body had been placed was empty! Governor Jiang's body was gone!"

"The coroner quickly informed me of this matter, and I immediately ordered the yamen runners to search the entire prefectural government office..."

“But…” Chu Xiong shook his head, his expression grave and puzzled: “We searched the entire yamen, but we couldn’t find Governor Jiang’s body. It’s as if his body vanished into thin air, without a trace!”

"How could this happen?" Cheng Chumo frowned, completely unable to understand: "How could the corpse just disappear for no reason?"

Changsun Chong and Du Gou exchanged a glance. Changsun Chong asked, "Is the morgue guarded?"

Chu Xiong shook his head: "We have a limited number of people, and we have to investigate cases and handle daily affairs. In addition, there have never been any accidents in the morgue, so we have not arranged for anyone to guard the morgue."

Du Gou then asked, "Is there anyone guarding the gate of the governor's mansion?"

"Have!"

Chu Xiong said, “In the past, we would just close the gate at night and arrange for the gatekeeper to guard it and open and close it. Later, Governor Jiang had an accident, and the stone lion came from the governor’s office, so since then, I have had the yamen runners guard the gate at night to prevent similar accidents from happening again.”

Du Gou nodded: "Did the guards at the gate notice anything unusual last night?"

"No."

Chu Xiong shook his head: "I asked them in detail, and they said that no one entered or left the yamen last night, and everything was normal."

“No one goes in or out of the yamen…” Du Gou thought for a moment, then asked, “Does the prefectural yamen only have one door?”

“There is also a back door. Normally, Governor Jiang’s family members and servants would use the back door to enter and exit the governor’s mansion.”

"Is there anyone guarding the back gate?" Du Gou asked again.

Chu Xiong continued to shake his head: "The back gate belongs to Governor Jiang's family, so I can't arrange for anyone to guard it."

"In other words, there is no one guarding the back door, so you wouldn't know if someone went in or out."

Chu Xiong hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Yes."

“However…” he added, “Although the back door is unguarded, it is locked with a padlock. I sent someone to check it, and there were no signs of the padlock being damaged.”

"The lock wasn't damaged..." Du Gou said thoughtfully.

Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Liu Shuyi said, "Prefect Jiang has been dead for seven days. His body should be rotting and stinking by now, right?"

"Yes." Chu Xiong realized that he didn't need to answer these people's questions at all. They already knew the answer the moment they asked the question, so he could do nothing but nod.

“A rotting corpse is not so easy to hide.”

Liu Shuyi raised his head and looked at the heavily guarded city gate, saying, "The city gate guards are so conscientious and responsible that they couldn't possibly not notice if a foul odor were to approach... Therefore, it's impossible for Governor Jiang's body to have been taken out of Xingzhou City."

"And a rotting corpse can't be hidden anywhere like other things; to avoid being smelled by others, it must be far away from human habitation..."

He turned his gaze away and said to Chu Xiong, "Focus your search on those empty, uninhabited houses. If nothing unexpected happens, the missing body will be there."

Chu Xiong was completely stunned.

No, I just told you the bad news that the body is missing, but instead of being upset, you immediately figured out where the body was hidden...

How could things have developed like this?
This was completely different from what Chu Xiong had originally expected.

In his plan, Liu Shuyi should have been either worried and flustered or furious, but who would have thought... that the man didn't even flinch, and immediately started investigating the case, even pointing them in the right direction.

"Why aren't you going?"

Liu Shuyi glanced at Chu Xiong casually and said indifferently, "Didn't Prefect Chu just say that he would fully cooperate with me, even if it meant death? Was Prefect Chu's words just empty talk?"

Chu Xiong's pupils dilated violently, and he felt a buzzing in his head.

I was actually lifted up by Liu Shuyi!
"Doctor Liu is joking."

Chu Xiong hurriedly said, "I just didn't expect that Physician Liu could deduce the location of Governor Jiang's body so quickly. I was a little surprised and shocked, which is why I didn't react in time."

"I will immediately arrange for the officers to search the area."

As he spoke, he turned to turn around.

"Wait a moment……"

Unexpectedly, Liu Shuyi suddenly called out to him.

Chu Xiong looked at Liu Shuyi: "Does Doctor Liu have any further instructions?"

Liu Shuyi thought for a moment: "If I stole the corpse, to be absolutely sure, I would not only hide it in a place far from human habitation, but I would also dig a hole and bury it directly. That way, even if someone comes looking for it, they won't know where I hid the corpse..."

"so……"

He said to Chu Xiong, "Prefect Chu, could you remind the yamen runners to pay attention to the color of the soil on the ground during the search?"

“Governor Jiang’s body was lost last night. Even if someone dug a pit to hide it, the color of the soil would not match the color of the other old soil. By observing the color of the soil, one can easily tell where the soil has been dug up.”

Chu Xiong never expected that in such a short time, Liu Shuyi would even come up with a way to determine whether Jiang Rui's body had been buried.

He gave Liu Shuyi a deep look and nodded, saying, "I will give them my instructions."

After saying that, he turned to leave again.

"Wait a little longer..."

Unexpectedly, Liu Shuyi's voice rang out once again.

Chu Xiong's eyelids twitched. Suppressing his irritation, he forced a smile and turned his head, saying, "Does Doctor Liu have any further instructions?"

"It's not really an order."

Liu Shuyi said, "I just suddenly remembered what Prefect Chu just said. You mentioned that you have limited manpower and can't do many things... But finding the body will definitely require a lot of manpower. To avoid tiring you out too much, let the guards I brought come along to search as well." "What?"

Chu Xiong's eyes widened.

He said he didn't want his people to be too tired, but that was clearly a way of arranging for his people to monitor the actions of the yamen runners.

He was about to refuse.

"Prefect Chu, there's no need to thank me."

Before Chu Xiong could speak, Liu Shuyi said with a smile, "We are all officials appointed by the imperial court, we are all family... Why should we distinguish between you and me when we are family? It's only natural for you to help me and I to help you. If you thank me, that would be too formal!"

After saying that, Liu Shuyi said, "Lu Yangyuan, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and take some men to help. Do you have to ask Prefect Chu for help before you go?"

Although Lu Yangyuan was a military man, he had followed Liu Shuyi for a long time and had developed a tacit understanding with him. Upon hearing this, he did not hesitate at all and immediately said, "Prefect Chu, rest assured, we will do our best to cooperate with the Prefect's office to find Prefect Jiang's body."

Having said that, he didn't give Chu Xiong a chance to refuse and quickly left with his guards.

Only Chu Xiong was left standing there, bewildered in the wind.

Who asked you for help? Which ear of yours heard me ask you for help?

Chu Xiong was furious, but since things had come to this point, he couldn't refuse. He could only force a smile at Liu Shuyi and say, "Thank you for your support, Doctor Liu."

Liu Shuyi feigned displeasure: "Why is Prefect Chu being so distant? If you continue like this, I'll get angry."

Chu Xiong was furious. "You're angry? You're smiling like a flower, you don't look angry at all."
He took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and said, "Does Doctor Liu have nothing else to instruct me on now?"

Liu Shuyi nodded: "That's all."

"Then I'll go give the order..."

Chu Xiong turned around, about to leave, when he suddenly turned back and looked at Liu Shuyi: "Really, there are no other instructions?"

Liu Shuyi smiled and shook his head.

Chu Xiong withdrew his gaze, turned around again, and cautiously took a step forward, waiting for Liu Shuyi to say "wait a minute."

But this time, Liu Shuyi really had no other instructions.

Seeing this, Chu Xiong breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left.

Seeing Chu Xiong's nervous and cautious appearance, Cheng Chumo chuckled and laughed out loud: "Liu Langzhong, you've given Chu Biejia a psychological trauma."

Liu Shuyi shrugged. He hadn't expected that just a few moves would make Chu Xiong so paranoid and fearful. Chu Xiong's mental fortitude still needed improvement...

Changsun Chong lightly waved his folding fan, watching Chu Xiong's retreating figure, and slowly said, "Doctor Liu, don't you think this is quite a coincidence... We arrived in Xingzhou today, and the most important part of the case, the corpse, was lost last night. Moreover, the place where it was lost was the heavily guarded governor's office. Is it really possible that a thief is so audacious as to dare to steal a corpse from the government office?"

Cheng Chumo's heart skipped a beat: "Does the Vice Minister Changsun mean that... Governor Jiang's body was deliberately lost by Vice Minister Chu and his men?"

"I didn't say that."

Changsun Chong slowly twirled his fan and said, "I just think this is a coincidence and quite interesting."

Cheng Chumo was getting a headache from Changsun Chong's words: "Was it really Chu Biejia and his men who lost Governor Jiang's body?"

Changsun Chong shrugged: "Who knows?"

Cheng Chumo couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi: "Doctor Liu, what do you think?"

Everyone looked at Liu Shuyi, but he shook his head and said calmly, "How Jiang Rui's body disappeared and who stole it is not important to us."

"Our mission is to solve the case and remove the blame from the imperial court..."

"So, as long as we can find the body and continue our investigation, that's fine. As for whether the loss of Jiang Rui's body was the work of the murderer or a show of force by Chu Xiong and his men, we don't need to care."

"Their goal is nothing more than to obstruct our investigation. The greatest revenge we can take against them is to uncover the truth."

Hearing Liu Shuyi's words, everyone felt their previously hazy minds instantly clear up.

"Yup!"

Cheng Chumo clapped his hands: "No matter who did it, their purpose is definitely to obstruct our investigation. As long as we can find out the truth, we will win! Doctor Liu sees things very clearly."

Changsun Chong gently closed his folding fan: "I was overthinking it."

Liu Shuyi chuckled and said, "Being in enemy territory, it's good to think more, but we must be careful not to be led by the nose... otherwise, we will be unable to move an inch."

Changsun Chong felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that they had almost been led by the nose by Chu Xiong. Fortunately, Liu Shuyi countered their moves with a direct and unexpected response.

"All right."

Seeing that everyone understood his meaning, Liu Shuyi didn't delay any longer: "Let's go, we should go into the city now, next..."

He gazed at the ancient and weathered city before him and said slowly, "The real challenge is about to begin..."

…………

The group passed through the city gate and entered Xingzhou City.

Upon entering Xingzhou City, they immediately sensed an atmosphere completely different from that of Chang'an.

As the capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an was economically prosperous and its people lived in peace and contentment. Whether it was the bustling streets or the people's spirit, it all felt like a golden age.

But Xingzhou City was quite the opposite.

There were hardly any vendors on the streets, and most of the shops along the road were closed.

Most of the people passing by were poorly dressed, walked with their heads down, backs hunched, and looked very listless.

When they saw Chu Xiong and his entourage dressed in official robes, they instinctively trembled and immediately stood still, bowing their heads in greeting, not daring to raise their heads even slightly.

Du Gou frowned as he watched this scene. He whispered to Liu Shuyi, "Xingzhou, as a medium-sized prefecture, shouldn't be so desolate and lonely. The people's reaction is also wrong..."

Liu Shuyi understood Du Gou's meaning, and he nodded slightly: "It seems that these former subordinates of the Prince of Xi have done a lot of exploitation of the people for their so-called 'loyalty'."

"Ah!"

Changsun Chong chuckled sarcastically, "I heard from Father that every year at the end of the year, the memorials submitted by these former subordinates of the Prince of Xi all claim that the government is efficient and the people are living in peace and prosperity. They even boast about their outstanding achievements and hope that the Ministry of Personnel will give them an excellent evaluation so that they can be promoted."

"With good governance and harmonious society, the people live and work in peace and contentment..."

He looked at the patched clothes on the people's bodies, at their trembling silence when they saw Chu Xiong and his men, and at Chu Xiong's arrogant chin that seemed to be held high in front of them. He sneered, "They say that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Today, I've come to know what 'good governance and harmonious people, peaceful and prosperous life' really means... The ancients were right."

Du Gou sighed: "Therefore, we must resolve the trouble caused by the former subordinates of the Prince of Xi as soon as possible, and bring all the cities in Hebei back under the control of the imperial court. Only in this way can the people have a chance to get rid of their current poverty."

"Solve it?" Changsun Chong squinted at Chu Xiong and the others, who were occasionally glancing back at him, and said, "It's difficult... If they sense any danger from the court, they will probably rebel immediately."

“If they rebel, these people will not even be able to maintain their current impoverished lives.”

"So, we can't give them a chance to realize the danger..."

Liu Shuyi then slowly said, "And that is also the reason we came here."

(End of this chapter)