Chapter 9: The Shocking Revelation That Stunned Everyone! (Please Continue Reading! Two-in-One!)

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Upon hearing Liu Shuyi’s words, everyone almost instinctively turned their gaze toward him. Zhao Feng, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly lifted it sharply, his expression revealing unmistakable panic as he looked at Liu Shuyi.

“What’s the problem?” he asked nervously.

“Why be nervous?” Liu Shuyi saw Zhao Feng’s anxiety and surprisingly tried to soothe him. “As you said, we worked on these cases together. So you shouldn’t be unable to answer my questions. What are you afraid of?”

“I—I’m not afraid!” Zhao Feng stammered.

Liu Shuyi smiled faintly and said, “The second question is simple... How did we kill them? And how did we fake the ghosts?”

At this question, Zhao Feng visibly relaxed, as if he had long pondered this. Without hesitation, he explained, “Faking the ghosts is simple. Just release a paper kite at night. Under the cover of darkness, the kite’s string is hidden, making people mistake it for a ghost.”

“As for how we killed them, that’s thanks to you.”

“Thanks to me?” Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow.

Zhao Feng fixed his gaze on Liu Shuyi, bit his lower lip lightly, took a deep breath, and nodded firmly. “Yes, thanks to you. After all, the methods of killing were all your ideas!”

“First, there was Han Du. You told me Han Du made mistakes and was reprimanded by His Majesty and his peers. Han Du was kind-hearted and felt deeply guilty... You said we could use this. We deliberately planted rumors near Han Du, saying he caused the deaths of many innocent people because of his errors, that he deserved to die...”

“In this way, Han Du’s kindness and guilt would consume him, ultimately leading him to take his own life!”

“As for the other three, it was simpler. You said you had a rare poison that had a delayed onset, so by poisoning them and timing the effect to strike at midnight, it would appear as if ghosts had killed them.”

“That jade pendant found in Zhao Ci’s study was dropped by you in a hurry when Zhao Ci almost caught you poisoning him. Zhao Ci picked it up! It is the proof of your poisoning!”

Listening to Zhao Feng, everyone in the room fell into deep thought.

They pondered whether Zhao Feng’s described killing methods were feasible and if they matched the causes of death of Zhao Ci and the others.

Du Gou furrowed his brow.

Because Du Gou actually felt that it all made sense.

Not only feasible, but it completely corresponded to the causes of death of Han Du and the other three.

Han Du’s hanging, the poisoning deaths of Zhao Ci and the other three, the eerie ghost sightings... all perfectly matched!

And the details of Han Du and the other three’s deaths were still confidential; only those investigating the case knew the specifics.

Yet Zhao Feng could precisely recount all of it...

Zhao Feng was not an investigator, so the only explanation was... he was the perpetrator!

Was he truly the murderer?

And he said all this was Liu Shuyi’s idea...

He even clearly explained why Liu Shuyi’s jade pendant appeared in Zhao Ci’s room...

Du Gou’s heart sank. Even though there had been doubts about Zhao Feng’s words before, after hearing these, his identity as the murderer was confirmed.

Now, Zhao Feng was accusing Liu Shuyi...

Bang!

Pei Ji slammed his palm on the table.

“Liu Shuyi! What do you have to say for yourself?”

His face was icy cold as he said harshly, “You almost had me fooled again! You cannot prove Zhao Feng didn’t really hide the family heirloom. Everything you said is just like last night—nothing but desperate excuses!”

“I never imagined you’d be so sinister and cruel! Driving Han Du to death, poisoning Zhao Ci and the others... all by your hand!”

“No wonder you fought so hard for the chance to investigate the case. You never wanted to investigate; you wanted to destroy the evidence and escape justice!”

“But people won’t be fooled—now that I’ve caught Zhao Feng, you’re fully exposed!”

Zhou Mo nodded heavily at Pei Ji’s words.

He felt a great relief; he had almost believed Liu Shuyi was being falsely accused by Zhao Feng and that Pei Ji was wrong.

Thankfully, everything was still under control.

This Liu Shuyi was truly cunning!

The atmosphere in the room turned deadly once more.

But who would have guessed that facing Pei Ji’s cold words and everyone’s suspicion, Liu Shuyi showed no panic or fear of exposure—instead, he laughed!

“So that’s it, the murderer’s trick is right here!”

He looked at Zhao Feng, flames dancing in his dark eyes, as if he had seen through everything.

Liu Shuyi spoke slowly, “Using some truth as evidence, mixed with false accusations—truth and lies blended. How can those who don’t know the truth tell the difference?”

“This kind of deception is quite skillful.”

Hearing this, Zhao Feng’s scarred face changed expression; he instinctively clutched his clothes and stammered, “Y-you’re lying. I never framed you.”

“No framing?”

Liu Shuyi stared deeply at Zhao Feng. “Good! Then let me pick one accusation you made and explain it properly.”

“What is it?” Zhao Feng swallowed nervously.

“You said I used rumors to exploit Han Du’s kindness and guilt, forcing him to kill himself?”

“That’s right.”

“So, as you said, Han Du did hang himself, and the suicide note was written by him personally—an indirect proof of us forcing him to death?”

Zhao Feng pressed his lips together tightly, still nodding. “Yes.”

“Good! Then I must be very clever! Killing without even laying a hand!”

But then Liu Shuyi’s tone shifted sharply. “But what if I say Han Du did not hang himself, and that the suicide note was not written by him but forged by the murderer? What then?”

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“What?”

“Forged?”

At these words, someone gasped aloud.

“Is this... true? Director Liu? The suicide note of Officer Han was really forged?” Zhao Chengyi, the Ministry of Revenue’s Deputy Minister, who had stood quietly by, finally spoke.

The Minister of Revenue, Tang Jian, was away on official business, making Zhao the highest-ranking official present in the ministry. Still, he was only a fourth-rank deputy minister, hardly a match for Pei Ji or Du Ruhui.

Thus, Zhao was left standing quietly aside.

“Nonsense!” Pei Ji snapped coldly. “The handwriting on the note is Han Du’s. How could it be forged? Liu Shuyi, don’t try to fool us!”

Even Wei Zheng and Cheng Chumo frowned.

Although Pei Ji was openly hostile toward Liu Shuyi, the handwriting on Han Du’s note had indeed been authenticated when Han Du’s hanging was discovered.

Han Du was a sixth-rank official; dying in the government office, even by suicide, required thorough examination.

Therefore, the note’s handwriting was definitely Han Du’s.

Others nodded in agreement, their expressions growing more suspicious of Liu Shuyi.

Unexpectedly, Liu Shuyi said, “I never said the handwriting wasn’t Han Du’s, did I?”

“What?”

“You admit it?”

“This...” Everyone was stunned. They expected Liu Shuyi to deny it, to argue that even if authenticated, the handwriting could have been imitated.

They never expected him to simply admit it.

“You still say the note was forged?” Pei Ji asked, confused.

Liu Shuyi replied calmly, “I’m not wrong. The handwriting is definitely Han Du’s, but the note itself is still forged.”

“You’re just twisting words—”

Pei Ji was about to scold, but Liu Shuyi didn’t give him the chance. Instead, he looked at Zhao Chengyi. “Deputy Minister Zhao, please bring Han Du’s suicide note.”

Zhao Chengyi was startled but saw everyone looking at him, so he nodded quickly. “I’ll get it now.”

Not long after, he returned with the note wrapped in paper and handed it to Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi took the bundle, immediately turned it upside down, and emptied the note’s fragments onto the table.

He spread the pieces out. “Everyone, look at this so-called note. It has two irregularities.”

“Irregularities?”

“Two of them?”

The ministry officials standing at the door exchanged glances.

They had been examining these fragments for ten days and had noticed nothing.

Liu Shuyi didn’t hold back. “First, it’s torn into too many tiny pieces!”

“The note has 113 characters, but there are over a hundred fragments. Almost every fragment contains a complete character—none are torn in half.”

Everyone looked closely.

“It’s true!”

“Every character is intact on each fragment.”

Pei Ji sneered, “So what does that prove?”

“What does it mean?” Liu Shuyi smiled and picked up a sheet of paper, scanning it briefly before handing it to Pei Ji. “This paper has 89 characters. Please tear it into 89 pieces, ensuring each character is intact, with no character split.”

“Is that difficult?” Pei Ji didn’t understand Liu Shuyi’s intent but knew that if he could do it, Liu Shuyi’s claim would be disproved.

He began tearing the paper.

But as he continued, his expression changed.

His initial ease and disdain gave way to seriousness.

Finally, with a ripping sound, his face darkened.

No matter how careful he was, some characters were torn.

To tear a paper so every character is whole and occupies a single fragment was extremely difficult.

Seeing Pei Ji’s grim face, Liu Shuyi asked kindly, “Do you still think it’s easy, Director Pei?”

Pei Ji said nothing, his silence implying consent.

Liu Shuyi smiled. “As you’ve seen, even under normal conditions, Pei Ji couldn’t tear the paper into 89 intact characters. But what about Han Du back then?”

Suddenly his tone deepened, as if plunging everyone from the clouds into a valley, making all present shudder.

He said slowly, “The note says Han Du was wracked with pain and guilt, his mind nearly broken... Under such conditions, do you think he could tear the note into this state, with every character intact?”

There was silence.

Without Pei Ji’s demonstration, they might not have found the fragments odd. But now, seeing that Pei Ji couldn’t do it deliberately, could Han Du, on the brink of collapse, have torn it like this?

Something was wrong.

Indeed, very wrong.

Du Ruhui, seeing Pei Ji no longer arguing, spoke: “If he couldn’t do it, why did the note end up like this?”

“Simple!” Liu Shuyi stopped playing coy and said, “Because only by tearing the note into such fragments could the truth be concealed! This is the second problem with the note I wanted to point out...”

He picked up two fragments and handed them to Du Ruhui. “Look at these two pieces. Both have the character ‘吾’ (I). Whether by stroke pressure or style, they match—clearly Han Du’s writing. But their ink color...”

Liu Shuyi paused deliberately. “Doesn’t it seem a bit off?”

Ink color?

Du Ruhui leaned in to examine the characters closely with his deep eyes.

Suddenly...

“There is indeed a difference! Though subtle, it’s real!”

“Difference!?”

Wei Zheng, hearing this, seemed to understand something. His stern face showed surprise as he took some fragments and examined them.

“Indeed, they differ!”

Du Gou and Cheng Chumo exchanged glances and stepped forward.

Cheng Chumo looked this way and that, scratching his head. “Different?”

Du Gou frowned deeply. “Only subtle differences. Without careful comparison, you wouldn’t notice.”

“And these subtle differences mean one thing!”

Cheng Chumo instinctively asked, “What?”

Du Gou took a deep breath and looked toward Liu Shuyi, who clearly knew everything. “These characters were not written at the same time! There are at least several days’ difference!”

“What?”

“Not written simultaneously?”

Cheng Chumo’s eyes widened. “So, these characters...”

Du Gou nodded firmly. “Exactly. These characters were not written by Han Du before his death. Someone cut them from other papers and pieced them together!”

“No wonder the note was forged this way, no wonder they wanted us to think it was torn like this!”

“Because only this way could the murderer make Han Du’s note look authentic enough for the handwriting to pass inspection!”

Cheng Chumo gasped, staring at the fragments on the table. “The murderer was so devious! Who would have guessed the note wasn’t forged by imitating handwriting but by patching together Han Du’s real writing!”

“Who the hell could have guessed that?”

“No, Director Liu guessed it!”

“And I recall Director Liu only glanced at it briefly before...”

Cheng Chumo’s voice trailed off as everyone’s hearts suddenly shook.

At this moment, they finally realized what Liu Shuyi’s discovery meant.

Zhou Mo’s confident expression cracked completely.

Pei Ji’s gaze darkened with unwilling disbelief and gravity. He never expected Liu Shuyi to have such skill.

Now that Liu Shuyi had proven the note was forged, did that mean...

Pei Ji suddenly flared with rage, stood up, and kicked Zhao Feng, who was kneeling, to the ground.

“You brat! How dare you deceive me!”

Zhao Feng’s face was pale; he curled up, trembling violently, drenched in cold sweat.

His mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came.

Liu Shuyi looked at Zhao Feng’s miserable state, narrowed his eyes, and said slowly, “The murderer told you the method used on Zhao Ci and the other three, so you could frame me completely truthfully. Only with Han Du’s death did he lie to you. Do you know why?”

Zhao Feng instinctively lifted his head, his pale face looking at Liu Shuyi.

“Wh-why?” he asked.

Liu Shuyi looked down at Zhao Feng, like an ant on the ground, and shook his head. “Because for Zhao Ci and the others, he could kill at a distance with poison.”

“But for Han Du, to fake his hanging, he had to do it in person.”

“In other words, if any case could directly implicate him, it was only Han Du’s.”

“And Han Du was killed in the Ministry of Revenue, a heavily guarded place with guards day and night. No outsider could have snuck in.”

“So... he didn’t tell you the truth because he wanted to hide this only method of killing!”

Everyone instinctively held their breath, eyes fixed on Liu Shuyi tensely.

Liu Shuyi said calmly, “He knew that once his method was discovered, his identity would be immediately pinpointed!”

“Pinpointed...”

Du Gou suddenly recalled Liu Shuyi asking for the ministry’s attendance list earlier, and hurriedly looked at Liu Shuyi. “You mean...?”

Liu Shuyi nodded. “Yes, the murderer is one of the fifteen people who stayed in the Ministry of Revenue with Han Du that night!”

“He...”

Liu Shuyi scanned everyone present and then looked at the Ministry officials gathered by the door. “Right here!”

“And at this very moment, watching us coldly!”

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