Chapter 3: The Revelation! Not One Case, But Two! (Combined Edition)

“What?”

Everyone present was taken aback by Liu Shuyi’s sudden words. They had considered the possibility that Liu Shuyi might deny the charges, but never imagined he would offer such a reason.

Normally, one might protest innocence or claim to be wrongly accused, but Liu Shuyi’s claim—that he was at the murder scene to save someone—was truly unique.

Even the dignified and stern Wei Zheng, the shrewd Du Ruhui, and the cultured, reserved Pei Ji were momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

Wan’er stood behind Liu Shuyi, gazing at his upright and handsome figure, listening to his calm and composed voice. A flash of surprise crossed her beautiful eyes.

Is this really her young master?

How could he be so brave?

And how could he dare present such a reason?

Saving someone at a murder scene… who would believe that?

As expected, Pei Ji was so irritated by Liu Shuyi’s words that he laughed bitterly. “Liu Shuyi, are you mocking us?”

Though smiling, his tone was icy enough to make Wan’er feel as if a blade might strike down in the next moment.

Yet Liu Shuyi remained calm and shook his head in response to Pei Ji’s fury. “I am telling the truth.”

“The truth? I think you’re talking nonsense!” Pei Ji was thoroughly enraged, his voice cold and cutting. “You are just like your father—malicious, selfish, spouting morality while hiding filth in the shadows!”

“Eyewitnesses and physical evidence, irrefutable facts are all here, and you still dare to lie? Do you think I need your nod to arrest you?”

With that, Pei Ji waved his hand sharply and commanded, “Guards, seize him and lock him in the dungeon!”

The soldiers, upon hearing this, immediately pointed their swords at Liu Shuyi and advanced cautiously toward him.

“Master, be careful!” Wan’er’s delicate hand quickly grasped the corner of Liu Shuyi’s robe.

Liu Shuyi knew time was short. Without hesitation, before the soldiers reached him, he loudly called out, “Doctor Wei, Deputy Minister Du, don’t you want to know why I say I went there to save him?”

“Don’t you want to uncover the truth behind the murders of Zhao Ci and the others?”

“Do you want to be toyed with by the murderer, fooled into thinking these are two separate cases, kept in the dark, and later, when the truth comes out, be nailed to the pillar of disgrace, your lifetime reputation ruined forever?”

His voice pierced the silent night, echoing sharply around them.

The soldiers’ expressions changed instantly, unsure whether Liu Shuyi’s words were true. They instinctively glanced at Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui.

At this, both Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui furrowed their brows.

Seeing this, Pei Ji said bluntly, “Don’t be fooled by him! He’s just like Liu Wenjing—master of sweet talk! Once I lock him away and interrogate him harshly, he’ll confess everything!”

Yet this time, Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui did not remain silent.

“You claim to know the truth behind Zhao Ci’s murder? What is it?” Wei Zheng’s voice was as commanding and solemn as his reputation.

Du Ruhui’s deep eyes regarded Liu Shuyi with a mix of surprise and interest.

He spoke slowly but gently, “Go ahead and tell us.”

Pei Ji frowned. “Are you really going to believe his words?”

“Pei Sima, what harm is there in letting him speak? He won’t escape,” Du Ruhui said calmly and deliberately. “Truth can’t hide for long; hearing him out won’t hurt.”

Pei Ji’s face darkened. Though he led the arrest, Du Ruhui and Wei Zheng wielded immense power, and he didn’t want to make enemies over something trivial.

After some thought, he coldly said, “Then I’ll see what lies you can concoct! Liu Shuyi, I see right through you and your deceitful father. Don’t think you can fool me!”

“I advise you to tell the truth—no tricks, or you’ll regret it.”

Hearing Pei Ji constantly bring up his father to insult him, Liu Shuyi’s gaze grew colder.

He knew his father and Pei Ji had been bitter political rivals.

After his father’s death, Pei Ji had gloated over solving a treason case, often using it as a boast. The original owner’s downfall and weakness were closely linked to Pei Ji.

Thankfully, Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui had come tonight, both concerned about their reputations and unwilling to risk disgrace. Otherwise, no matter how many reasons Liu Shuyi had, his fate would likely be sealed.

Liu Shuyi took a deep breath, ignoring Pei Ji’s threats, and looked to Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui.

“May I ask, Doctor Wei, Deputy Minister Du, how do you view the disappearance of Prince Xi’s body and the murders of the three officials?”

Wei Zheng furrowed his brow but said nothing.

Du Ruhui chuckled lightly. “We do not believe the tales of Prince Xi’s ghost roaming the world.”

“Judging from the disappearance of Prince Xi’s body, the ghostly murder rumors, and the recent instigated rumors, it is highly likely that loyalists to Prince Xi, discontented with his death and the emperor’s ascension, conspired in these acts.”

“They aim to kill those who sided with the emperor—whom they see as traitors.”

“This is meant to unsettle court officials, and ultimately, they likely intend to foment rebellion or treason.”

Listening to Du Ruhui, Liu Shuyi glanced at Wei Zheng.

He understood why Wei Zheng remained silent: Wei Zheng was the greatest traitor to Li Jiancheng. They tacitly accepted these explanations, but only Du Ruhui, Li Shimin’s confidant, could speak so freely.

He then looked at the three senior ministers present.

Du Ruhui was Li Shimin’s trusted aide; Wei Zheng was an old retainer of Li Jiancheng; Pei Ji was the most trusted by the retired emperor Li Yuan. Li Shimin’s arrangement of these representatives to handle the case was indeed thought-provoking.

“So, Deputy Minister Du, you believe the disappearance of Prince Xi and the murders of the three officials are the work of the same person and the same case?” Liu Shuyi asked.

Du Ruhui nodded. “Exactly.”

“Deputy Minister Du, have you considered something?”

“What?”

Suddenly, a sharp gleam flashed from Liu Shuyi’s steady eyes.

At that moment, his entire demeanor changed dramatically.

He looked Du Ruhui directly in the eye. “Does impersonating Prince Xi’s ghost to kill really require such elaborate schemes and great risk to steal the prince’s body?”

“In other words… if Prince Xi’s body hadn’t gone missing, could the ghostly murders still have been faked?”

Du Ruhui’s gentle gaze suddenly stiffened.

“Are you saying…” he stared intently at Liu Shuyi, “that the disappearance of Prince Xi’s body and the murders of Zhao Ci and the others are not directly connected?”

“Deputy Minister Du, don’t be fooled by him!”

At this, Pei Ji interjected, “Even if the ghost story could be faked without the body’s disappearance, it is precisely because Prince Xi’s body is missing that people are so terrified of the ghostly murders! That’s how those traitors’ schemes succeed!”

“If Prince Xi’s body hadn’t gone missing, the emperor wouldn’t have pressured us so much, would he?”

Du Ruhui frowned; Pei Ji’s argument made sense.

Seeing Du Ruhui remain silent, Pei Ji sneered at Liu Shuyi, “You’re just like your dead father! Almost had us fooled with your twisted lies!”

“Twisted lies?” Liu Shuyi shook his head. “What you call twisted lies is just you being blinded by the murderer’s tricks!”

“That’s enough!”

Pei Ji refused to listen to any more of Liu Shuyi’s evasions. He shouted, “All the victims are Prince Xi’s former retainers, and the ghost disguise clearly targets them as traitors! Only the stubborn loyalists of Prince Xi would steal his body—it’s obvious they’re all in cahoots!”

He looked at Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui. “Doctor Wei, Deputy Minister Du, you see for yourselves: he hasn’t produced any real evidence to back his claims. He’s just picking at eggshells, deliberately arguing! Why waste more time with him? Let’s arrest him and close the case to report to the emperor. I know the Liu family well—he’s just like his father—”

“Who says all the dead are Prince Xi’s retainers?”

Before Pei Ji finished, Liu Shuyi’s voice suddenly rang out.

“What!?” Pei Ji froze and turned sharply toward Liu Shuyi.

Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui also fixed their gaze on him.

Facing the three dignitaries’ imposing and scrutinizing eyes, Liu Shuyi did not flinch in the slightest.

He remained calm. “What if there are other deaths, not of Prince Xi’s retainers? What if the first victim was not one of them, and the death occurred before Prince Xi’s body disappeared?”

“What?”

“The first victim wasn’t a retainer of Prince Xi?”

“And it happened before the body vanished?”

“Is that true?”

The soldiers whispered among themselves.

Wei Zheng frowned, pondering if anyone else had died.

Du Ruhui studied Liu Shuyi deeply, tapping the jade pendant at his waist thoughtfully, recalling recent official deaths.

Then, his gaze fixed, and he named, “Assistant Director of the Ministry of Revenue’s Warehouse Department.”

“Han Du?”

Pei Ji thought for a moment. “I remember. He was punished last year over tax errors, implicated several local officials, felt deep shame, and ultimately couldn’t bear it, hanging himself at the Ministry of Revenue.”

Du Ruhui nodded. “Though Han Du committed suicide, he was the only official to die in the past month besides Zhao Ci and the others.”

“That alone proves Liu Shuyi is talking nonsense!”

Pei Ji coldly stared at Liu Shuyi. “Han Du died by his own hand, not murdered! What else do you have to say?”

“How he died isn’t important. What matters is that he died!” Liu Shuyi’s voice remained steady under Pei Ji’s pressure.

“More importantly, not long after his death, the Warehouse Supervisor Zhao Wenyi and Ministry of Works Officer Wang Lucheng also died!”

He looked at Du Ruhui. “Deputy Minister Du, you should know I am an officer in the Ministry of Justice, usually responsible for copying and archiving case files. Because colleagues found me easy to push around, they’ve added much work to me, so I’ve seen all the case files entering the Ministry.”

“By chance, I have a good memory and recall one file containing four names.”

“They are…”

Liu Shuyi’s eyes swept the three officials, his voice calm but thunderous to their ears: “Assistant Director Han Du, Warehouse Supervisor Zhao Wenyi, Ministry of Works Officer Wang Lucheng, and… the Ministry of Works Water Department Assistant Officer Zhao Ci, who died tonight.”

As his words fell, the entire hall was stunned.

Hearing Liu Shuyi clearly name all four, the soldiers around felt their ears buzz.

“All four… in the same case file?”

“That’s too coincidental.”

“Is it true?”

“If true, if Han Du’s death relates to the others’, then perhaps their deaths have nothing to do with Prince Xi. After all, Han Du had no connection to Prince Xi!”

“Ugh…” someone swallowed nervously. “No way.”

Amid the soldiers’ shocked murmurs, Du Ruhui’s deep brows rose. “Which case file?”

He could not rely on Liu Shuyi’s word alone; he needed to verify personally.

Liu Shuyi understood and replied, “The file archived on the 18th day of the sixth month, first year of Zhenguan, located on the second floor of the archives, number Bingwei 13.”

Du Ruhui, serving also as Minister of Justice, immediately grasped the reference upon hearing the precise details, believing Liu Shuyi’s words about eighty percent.

“Go fetch it!” he ordered solemnly.

Then came a long wait.

The soldiers, still holding their swords, their arms aching, dared not relax vigilance without orders from Du Ruhui and the others, gritting their teeth to endure.

Surrounded, Liu Shuyi glanced toward the faint light of dawn breaking in the east, casually stretching as if unaware of his predicament.

Wan’er, behind him, watched, her lovely face once again filled with surprise and confusion. At this moment, even she wondered if her young master had deliberately concealed his abilities over the past two years.

Otherwise, how could he become so calm, composed, and wise overnight, able to control powerful men like Du Ruhui and Pei Ji?

What had seemed a hopeless situation now showed a glimmer of hope.

Meanwhile, the expressions of Pei Ji and the others varied.

Pei Ji’s gaze at Liu Shuyi seemed to peer through him, seeing the man he had most despised and even feared—Liu Wenjing. His refined face could not hide the chill in his eyes.

Wei Zheng stood firm in the wind, his posture unwavering despite the gusts slapping his cheeks.

Du Ruhui cleared his throat lightly, his sickly pallor deepening. His eyes studied the stretching Liu Shuyi, as if seeing something rare and intriguing—something that sparked his interest.

Like discovering a novel curiosity.

The previously noisy courtyard fell silent.

Until a quarter of an hour later—

“The case file has arrived!”

A soldier, wiping sweat from his face, ran in, panting.

All eyes turned to him at once.

Without delay, the soldier handed the file to Du Ruhui.

Du Ruhui quickly opened the file and scanned its contents—

“Well?”

Even the unflappable Wei Zheng could not help but ask.

Pei Ji also stared intently at Du Ruhui.

At that moment, Du Ruhui raised his head, shifting his gaze from the file to the handsome figure before him.

He spoke: “Just as he said!”