Chapter 23: The Truth! A Meticulously Woven Deception!

"What!?"

"The madam of the Miaoyin Pavilion!?"

"Are you saying that the murderer who killed the Zhao mother and child is not Sun Zhouming, but the madam of the Miaoyin Pavilion!?"

Cheng Chumo was completely stunned when he heard Liu Shuyi's words. His eyes widened, his mouth hung open, and his face was filled with utter disbelief.

After he had brought Sun Zhouming back to the prison, he had intended to interrogate him, but Liu Shuyi had stopped him, saying that there was a good show to watch tonight and that it wouldn't be too late to interrogate him afterward. Thus, Cheng Chumo had followed Liu Shuyi here in a daze, completely unprepared. Hearing now that the madam was the murderer, a sense of absurdity, shock, and incredulity surged within him, making the entire situation feel as surreal as a dream.

After all...

He couldn't help but ask, "The murderer raped Lady Zhao, didn't they? The madam is a woman. How could she have committed rape?"

Cheng Chumo looked at Liu Shuyi, "Chief Liu, what is going on here!?"

Hearing Cheng Chumo's words, Du Gou, Du Ying, and the other Imperial Guards all turned their eyes toward Liu Shuyi. Du Gou and Du Ying knew a little more because they had assisted Liu Shuyi, but even so, they could hardly believe that the murderer was the glib and slippery madam of the Miaoyin Pavilion! As for the Imperial Guards, they were even more shocked than Cheng Chumo.

Liu Shuyi understood what they were thinking, but he didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at the graceful figure in night-travel gear standing by the dry well and said with a mocking smile, "Are you not going to reveal your true face?"

"Or perhaps you would like to spar with the Imperial Guards, so they can tie you up and reveal your true identity for you?"

At Liu Shuyi's words, the Imperial Guards quickly surrounded the figure in the night-travel gear. They drew their sabers, approaching cautiously. The blades reflected the torchlight with a chilling gleam. Seeing the Imperial Guards closing in, the graceful figure by the dry well, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

"You really have no shred of chivalry for a lady..."

The voice was soft and intoxicating, like a feather brushing against one's ear. This voice belonged to none other than the madam of the Miaoyin Pavilion.

"It really is you!?" Cheng Chumo exclaimed in shock.

A fair hand slowly lifted to pull away the black cloth covering her face. A delicate, aged face with deep blue eyes and fair skin appeared before them. The madam did not look at the shocked crowd. Her watery, affectionate eyes gazed at Liu Shuyi as she pouted, "Don't keep calling me 'madam,' it sounds so harsh. I have a name, you know. Remember, my name is Miaoyiner."

Even though the two were mortal enemies and the atmosphere was thick with murderous intent, Miaoyiner spoke to Liu Shuyi with a tone bordering on flirtation, which gave Cheng Chumo goosebumps. What exactly was this madam thinking? Du Ying’s cold brows furrowed; she simply disliked Miaoyiner’s affected and coquettish tone.

"Miaoyiner? That’s a nice name."

Liu Shuyi’s expression remained unmoved by her words. He said coldly, "It’s just a pity that your cruel and sinister heart ruins the beauty of that name."

Miaoyiner raised an eyebrow, a hint of coldness entering her shimmering eyes. "I don't know what you mean, Chief Liu."

She looked completely bewildered, appearing as innocent as a lost fawn. "I know I was wrong to come here in night-travel gear, ignoring the curfew... but how does this mistake have anything to do with being a murderer? Chief Liu, please don't bully me just because I’m a weak woman."

Miaoyiner seemed to possess a natural charm; her frown and feigned grievance were enough to make any man feel trust and a desire to protect her. Seeing the Imperial Guards hesitate, Liu Shuyi sneered, "You truly are a born actress."

"However, now that I am here, do you really think playing dumb will work?"

Miaoyiner frowned, but this time, she did not retort.

Cheng Chumo could no longer contain himself. "Chief Liu, what is going on? How did the murderer go from being Sun Zhouming to Miaoyiner? Tell us, I’m dying of curiosity!" The Imperial Guards nearby nodded in agreement.

Liu Shuyi did not keep them in suspense. He stared at the pitiful-looking madam by the dry well and said slowly, "From the moment I received the head to my arrival at the Miaoyin Pavilion tonight and the capture of Sun Zhouming... this whole journey has been a setup."

"A setup?" Du Gou frowned.

Liu Shuyi nodded heavily. "A trap carefully prepared for me, where every step I was supposed to take was planned out, all in an attempt to manipulate me like a puppet on a string!"

"How could that be!?" Cheng Chumo couldn't believe it. "Manipulate you like a puppet? How is that possible? How did she do it?"

"How did she do it? It’s simple!" Liu Shuyi said, "She just had to prepare the clues I needed one by one."

"The clues you needed?" Du Gou’s heart tightened. "Are you talking about the footprints in the snow? Or the medicinal powder?"

"Why pick one?"

Du Gou’s pupils contracted. "You mean to say it was both!?"

"Not just them..." Liu Shuyi shook his head. "Even the corpse... everything we saw at the Wutong Temple was fake! It was all meticulously prepared for me!"

"This... how is this possible!?" Cheng Chumo exclaimed in disbelief. Du Gou was equally shocked, and the Imperial Guards exchanged bewildered glances.

Liu Shuyi knew how terrifying his words were. He looked at them and said in a low voice, "Actually, at the beginning, or rather before we caught Sun Zhouming, I didn't see any problems, just like all of you."

"On the contrary, because I had discovered those clues myself and because all the deductions were the product of my own hard work, I was even more convinced than you that Sun Zhouming was the murderer... even though everything went too smoothly, so smoothly that it made me uneasy."

"But because my deductions were based on reality and formed a logical loop, I continued to believe Sun Zhouming was the killer despite my unease."

"Until..." Liu Shuyi paused.

Du Gou and Cheng Chumo held their breath, too nervous to even blink. They knew the crucial moment had arrived. Even the alluring madam, Miaoyiner, was staring intently at Liu Shuyi.

Then, they saw Liu Shuyi turn his head toward the quiet, cold-eyed forensic expert and say, "Until Miss Du came to the Miaoyin Pavilion to find me and brought me two pieces of news that were like a bolt from the blue."

Du Ying!? Everyone was startled. They instinctively looked at the cold, fairy-like forensic expert.

"Could it be..." Du Gou suddenly realized something. "The autopsy report!? The one my sister gave you?"

"Yes!" Cheng Chumo also remembered. "Miss Du did give you an autopsy report, and then you two whispered to each other. You even said something like 'so that's it,' but you didn't have time to answer me then."

Liu Shuyi nodded. "Exactly, the autopsy report!"

"After Miss Du returned to the Ministry of Justice, she worked tirelessly to dissect the bodies of the Zhao mother and child. The result... overturned a conclusion."

"An autopsy result? Overturning a conclusion?" Du Gou and Cheng Chumo looked confused.

Liu Shuyi said, "Miss Du, you tell them."

Du Ying met Liu Shuyi's eyes, nodded, and did not decline. Her cold voice resonated through the quiet, desolate courtyard:

"Because of the freezing weather, it was difficult to determine the time of death for the Zhao mother and child using standard methods. I was at a loss at the time, but fortunately, Chief Liu told me I could indirectly judge it based on the digestion of the food in their stomachs."

"Therefore, after returning to the Ministry of Justice, I immediately dissected Lady Zhao's stomach. I found that there wasn't much food residue, only some meat that hadn't been fully digested."

"Later, for verification, I dissected the child's stomach, and it was the same; only a little meat remained."

"My master once taught me that meat is the most difficult food to digest. If a patient has eaten meat less than three hours before, one must consider whether there are any conflicting medications when prescribing. This means it takes about three hours for meat to be fully digested in the stomach."

"Since both Lady Zhao and the child still had traces of meat in their stomachs, it means their time of death was less than three hours after their last meal."

"Less than three hours?" Du Gou and Cheng Chumo were still calculating the time.

Liu Shuyi’s voice rang out: "Commander Cheng told me that the Zhao mother and child had dinner at the *Xu* hour (7-9 PM) and then returned to their room to rest. No servants saw them afterward."

"That means they ate the meat before the *Xu* hour. Adding three hours to the *Xu* hour brings us to the *Chou* hour (1-3 AM)!"

"So... the time of death given by Miss Du should be..." He looked at the pondering Du Gou and Cheng Chumo, took a deep breath, and said, "Before the *Chou* hour!"

"Before the *Chou* hour!?" Suddenly, the expressions of Du Gou and Cheng Chumo changed violently. They finally understood...

"Sun Zhouming left just after the *Chou* hour, but the mother and child had already died before then! Therefore..." Du Gou looked at Liu Shuyi, his voice tightening, "It couldn't have been Sun Zhouming who killed them! He was framed!"

"So that's how it is, it turned out to be like this..." Cheng Chumo repeated.

Liu Shuyi nodded. "The timelines conflict, so Sun Zhouming couldn't possibly be the murderer!"

"But all the clues I gathered pointed to him!"

"So, from that moment, I understood..."

Everyone looked at Liu Shuyi. He said in a deep voice, "I had been deceived! All the clues I received were fake!"

"All the evidence I currently possess is untrustworthy!"

"All the deductions I labored over must be discarded!"

"I was back to square one!"

Hearing Liu Shuyi’s words, Du Gou and the others felt a suffocating weight in their hearts. Putting themselves in his shoes, they could imagine how painful it must have been for Liu Shuyi at that moment. The light of victory had been right in front of him, and he had been on the verge of catching the killer... yet, at that very moment, he learned he was wrong! All his efforts had been in vain! Everything was lost! Back to the beginning! Just thinking about such a blow made them feel despair.

And Liu Shuyi? He was the only one who knew the truth. Even Du Ying, who delivered the news, didn't understand the significance of the *Chou* hour. Thus, Liu Shuyi had to bear that immense blow entirely on his own, with no one to share the burden. Yet, even so, Liu Shuyi had not shown any signs of distress. He continued to act according to the original plan, letting the murderer think her scheme had succeeded so as not to alarm her...

At this moment, Du Gou’s face showed undisguised admiration. He knew he couldn't match Liu Shuyi’s investigative talent; that was a gift he couldn't envy. But Liu Shuyi’s experience this time had nothing to do with investigation; it was about his terrifying calmness and composure when facing sudden changes, despair, and powerlessness. It required an incredibly strong heart, which had nothing to do with talent—it was personal strength. He admitted that if it were him, he could never have reached Liu Shuyi's level.

As for Cheng Chumo, the look in his eyes as he watched Liu Shuyi was already glowing. Even the cold, icy beauty was looking at Liu Shuyi with a trace of admiration, and perhaps, a hint of... pity?

***

On the courtyard wall not far away, two figures sat side-by-side. Cheng Yaojin, whose skin was several shades darker than Cheng Chumo's and who was completely hidden in the dark night, couldn't help but sigh, "This Liu lad is not simple! This temperament—it's terrifyingly steady! Is he really not some seventy- or eighty-year-old monster? Is he really just a twenty-year-old youth?"

Du Ruhuai, wrapped in a thick cloak and looking pale, listened to the "Demon King" and gazed at the cyan figure surrounded by the crowd like stars around the moon. He said slowly, "If he were a simple man, would you be able to trust him with your son's future?"

"Hey!" Cheng Yaojin waved his hand. "I wasn't familiar with him; I only trusted him because you vouched for him! If it weren't for you, how would I dare leave such a big matter to a ninth-grade official? Which official in Chang'an doesn't look more experienced and reliable than him?"

"However..." Cheng Yaojin changed his tone and chuckled, "Now I know, he’s more reliable than anyone!"

"By the way," Cheng Yaojin glanced at the graceful figure standing beside Liu Shuyi, stroked his coarse stubble, and said, "Since the Liu lad has helped my Cheng family so much, how should I thank him? Maybe I should betroth my daughter to him and take him as my son-in-law?"

Du Ruhuai’s expression, which had been calm and unruffled, nearly cracked at Cheng Yaojin's words. He glanced coldly at the hateful warrior beside him and said, "Too late!"

***

"The moment I determined that Sun Zhouming was not the killer, I finally understood what kind of trap the murderer had set to deceive me!"

Liu Shuyi’s voice pulled everyone’s thoughts back. They composed themselves and continued to look at him.

Liu Shuyi said, "First, she used some method—either threats or bribery—to lure Sun Zhouming away from the Miaoyin Pavilion, making him head to the Wutong Temple overnight."

"Since the ground at Wutong Temple was covered in snow, it was inevitable that footprints would be left behind upon entering."

"Sun Zhouming didn't know that this trip was a setup by the murderer to frame him, so he left those footprints naturally without any guard."

"And because there was only one entrance to the Wutong Temple and only the footprints of the Zhao mother and child and Sun Zhouming were in the snow, we naturally assumed that Sun Zhouming’s footprints were the murderer’s, thus giving us the most direct and confident evidence pointing to the killer."

Cheng Chumo nodded as he listened. He understood how the murderer used Sun Zhouming's footprints to deceive them, but he was still confused.

"Chief Liu, you said there was only one entrance to the Wutong Temple, and the area around the temple was covered in snow. Anyone entering would have to leave footprints." Cheng Chumo frowned. "If so, how did the killer get in and out? She had to go in to commit the murder and cut off the head, but she didn't leave a single footprint. Can she fly or something?"

"Fly?" Liu Shuyi smiled and looked at the beautiful woman by the dry well. "Miaoyiner, can you fly?"

When Miaoyiner heard Liu Shuyi mention that the time of death was before the *Chou* hour, her smile had already begun to waver. Now, hearing Liu Shuyi's meaningful question, her beautiful brows furrowed uncontrollably.

But her voice remained aggrieved and pitiful: "Chief Liu, please don't tease me. How could I possibly fly? And I really didn't kill anyone. Everything you just said only proves that this Sun Zhouming was wronged; it doesn't mention me at all. Why do you keep hounding me?"

"Doesn't mention you at all?" Liu Shuyi looked at the beautiful woman with deep, dark eyes and a mocking smile. "Don't worry, I'll give you your name right now."