Chapter 17
Xuanshi Palace.
When Liu Ju came over, Liu Che was once again reviewing Lei Bei's statement and the records of the Embroidered Uniform Envoy's surveillance of Liu Ling over the past two years. There were some points worth pondering, but they were just "worthy of pondering" and nothing more.
Hearing Liu Ju's voice, Liu Che put down the bamboo slips and beckoned him over. Seeing that his forehead was covered in sweat, he wiped his sweat while asking, "Why are you running so fast? Is there something you want to see me about?"
He then casually instructed Wu Changshi: "Pour a glass of warm water for His Highness."
Liu Ju didn't answer immediately, but glanced at Wu Changshi while holding the water cup. Liu Che was slightly stunned and winked at Wu Changshi.
Wu Changshi immediately understood and quietly withdrew.
Liu Ju then spoke and told his guesses one by one.
The smile on Liu Che's face faded gradually, and his expression gradually became serious: "So you suspect she is a spy, and very likely a spy planted by Liu Ling?"
Liu Ju thought about it and hesitated a little: "I... I don't know. I just feel something is wrong. I'm not sure. I... the points I thought of are very subtle... well, they all seem normal and can't prove anything. Maybe I'm overthinking, but I just... just..."
Liu Ju hesitated, not knowing how to express himself, and spoke incoherently, but Liu Che understood.
He touched Liu Ju's little head and said, "But you are suspicious and think there is something wrong."
Liu Ju nodded.
"Can you tell me why you feel this way, Father? How did you come up with her, and how did you connect these details together?"
Liu Ju was stunned for a moment, then started to think about how he came up with this idea.
A large part of this was probably due to the things in his head. He had recently watched three dramas, two of which were detective stories, so he specifically looked up some information and found some relevant textual knowledge.
A lot of the content was obscure and difficult to understand, and it was not something he could fully comprehend at his age, but he roughly understood the main points.
First, a good screenwriter won't create unnecessary plots. Any scene you think is insignificant in daily life may be a foreshadowing of subsequent events. Of course, life is not a script, but if a case is a script, then the mastermind behind the scenes is the screenwriter.
Second, if you see the same person in two or three consecutive incidents, then believe in yourself, no matter whether he or she is a passerby or how normal his or her behavior seems, he or she must be related to the incident and may even be the core key to the incident.
Third, don’t easily dismiss someone’s suspicion just because their behavior is caused by someone else. As long as their behavior is part of a chain of events, then the “caused by someone else” may be a deliberate trick they created to cover up their own behavior.
Fourth, clever murderers are masters at disguising themselves. The truth often hides in the most inconspicuous and easily overlooked places.
Based on these points, he reviewed all his memories from the incident a while ago to the present, and was surprised to find that there was a person whose appearance inexplicably matched all of them. If she was substituted into the role of the spy, everything seemed to make sense, and some of his previous doubts were also explained.
Liu Ju could not reveal his secrets, but it did not affect the knowledge he had already mastered. He tried to organize his language to express these elements in appropriate words and told Liu Che his analysis process.
"Once might be a coincidence, twice maybe, but what about three or four times?" Liu Ju frowned and tilted his head. "Are there really so many coincidences in the world?"
Liu Che's eyes flashed with shock, each time more intense than the last. It wasn't because of the result, but because of the process by which Liu Ju arrived at the result, as well as his keen perception and ability to unravel the mystery.
He took a deep breath, his eyes shining.
Is he an expert?
No, that's not right. When the incident with Lei Bei broke out, Liu Ju had already returned to the palace and even stayed in Feixiang Palace, not going anywhere else. He only saw and interacted with a few people. Liu Che was sure that none of them were masters.
So it must not have been told to him directly by an expert.
There may be masters, but even if they teach Liu Ju some knowledge, how much he can absorb depends on Liu Ju himself. Even if he absorbs it, whether he can integrate it, apply it in practice, and draw inferences about other situations is another matter.
It is not easy to do this. But Liu Ju not only did it, but also did it very well, extraordinarily well!
Liu Che's heart surged, and a multitude of emotions surged through him. Amazement, joy, admiration... and then he suddenly realized that this was his child, his own, a genius prodigy! Pride, pride!
He curled his lips and said, "Okay, Father understands. Leave it to him, and he will investigate carefully."
Seeing that he believed in him, Liu Ju breathed a sigh of relief, but seemed to have thought of something again. He stammered, hesitated, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Liu Che was suspicious: "But is there something else?"
"How does the emperor plan to investigate? If...if there is no problem found, what will the emperor do?"
Liu Che's expression flickered, and he instantly understood what he meant. Last time something happened, he dealt with a group of people who served Liu Ju. If it weren't for Liu Ju's plea, the life and death of these people might have been uncertain.
Liu Ju was worried about a repeat of the past, fearing that even if he hadn't found any definitive flaws, he would still harbor suspicion and would rather kill the wrong person than let him go. Honestly, he had done this before, and Liu Ju understood him quite well in that regard.
Liu Che restrained his expression and said, "If you are worried, why did you tell me? Haven't you considered other solutions?"
Liu Ju pursed his lips and said, "I've thought about it. I thought about asking my cousin Qubing for help, or borrowing some help from my mother's uncle, and then I could investigate it myself first, and then report to my father when I found something."
Liu Che's eyes moved: "Why did you change your mind again?"
"If my suspicion is true, then this matter is extremely serious and involves a wide range of people. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it properly, and I'm afraid I might alert the enemy and ruin the situation.
"Whether we seek help from cousin Qubing or our mother's uncle, they are naturally no match for our father. She is with us every day and even has frequent contact with our mother. What if she hurts my sister or our mother?
"Although I'm worried that my guess might be wrong and kill her, I'm even more afraid that a moment of weakness could lead to a catastrophe. Not only could it endanger my elder sister and mother, but it could also cause my father great anxiety and even lead to more serious consequences."
Liu Che was stunned. He had previously thought Liu Ju too gentle, lacking a certain amount of toughness, and had worried he was too kind and soft-hearted. Now, he realized his gentleness had its limits. He had his own thoughts, and could distinguish between close and distant friends, and discern the importance of things.
Liu Che did not answer him directly, but asked: "Let me ask you, if there is no solid evidence, will your doubts be eliminated?"
Liu Ju thought about it and shook his head affirmatively: "No."
After saying this, he paused and said, "I understand."
What they understood was clear, and both father and son understood. They understood that when the situation was of vital importance and the consequences were grave, the principle of "better to kill the wrong person than to let him go" made sense. Ultimately, they had to prioritize their own interests.
Liu Ju's expression was slightly complicated, perhaps he was still struggling inside, but he didn't ask any more questions, as he had already made his choice.
Be gentle and compassionate when conditions permit, and be ruthless and give up when conditions don't permit.
Liu Che's lips curled up, a faint smile flashed in his eyes, and he said, "I won't touch her for the time being. You don't have to do anything either. Go back and pretend you know nothing and haven't discovered anything. Can you do that?"
"Yes." Liu Ju nodded. "She was there when I arrived, so I said I came to exchange carriages with my father."
Liu Che:?
Liu Ju explained the whole story, and Liu Che's smile grew even wider: "Smart."
"Then Father, would you really want to get me a new carriage?" Liu Ju's eyes rolled, his thoughts clearly revealed. "After all, even though this is just an excuse to deceive her, I have to cover it up later to make it seem more convincing."
Liu Che remained calm and said, "You can say I don't allow it, and you can still get away with it."
Liu Ju: ...Father, you are not lovable like this.
Liu Che chuckled, his "father" heart was as hard as iron. No matter what Liu Ju said, he just wouldn't agree. Humph, you're so high-end and classy, are you afraid that others won't know your identity?
Liu Ju could only give up, his head drooping, like a flower withered by rain, and even his voice was dejected: "Alright."
Then he asked, "Don't touch her, what about my sister..."
Liu Che scoffed, "Since I'm already suspicious of her and know she might be a spy, how could I let her hurt anyone?"
Liu Ju trusted his father's abilities and felt relieved. When he was done, he was about to kneel and leave, but Liu Che stopped him and said, "Nothing else to ask?"
Liu Ju: Huh? What else?
"Aren't you curious why I didn't arrest her for interrogation?"
Liu Ju casually replied, "Isn't that obvious? It's like playing the long game to catch the big fish. Why do you even need to ask? I don't know why she led me to the rockery complex, but I can't figure out what good it would do them even if something happened to Madam Wang and me.
"But if she really did it, then there must be something else going on. Ah Yu, who was captured, was just a scapegoat.
"Ayu admitted everything and didn't even cry out for injustice. It's clear she took the blame willingly. Perhaps she was also on the other side. One her, one Ayu, that's two. If they can have these two, why can't there be others?
"Moving her now will only alert the enemy. It's better to pretend we don't know and keep an eye on her. Through her, we can figure out all their arrangements in the palace, get all the evidence of Liu Ling's actions, and even get solid evidence of Huainan's conspiracy."
Liu Chuan said it as a matter of course, with immense confidence. That's right, that's how it's played out in TV dramas. While the situations in TV dramas are different, the formulas are similar; just copy and paste.
Liu Che's heart skipped a beat and his eyes flickered again.
His purpose was indeed this. The King of Huainan was a vassal, so he couldn't act without a legitimate reason, nor could he rely solely on analysis and speculation. But once he had solid evidence, he could not only reduce his fiefdom, but completely eliminate Huainan and use it to defeat the other vassal states.
The little guy is really smart and sharp.
Liu Che's thoughts turned, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Since you discovered the matter, you might as well take care of it to the end."
Liu Ju: Hmm?
"Don't worry, I will make good arrangements and won't let her get out of control, so you just need to observe and think carefully as before."
Liu Ju: Huh?
Before he could speak, Liu Che continued, "If you're interested in criminal investigations, you can talk to the Imperial Court. Even though Zhang Tang is busy, he still has subordinates. You can also take a look at the case files of the Imperial Court."
Liu Ju: Ah?
Liu Ju was completely bewildered as Liu Che spoke one sentence after another, completely confused as to how his father could tell that he was interested in criminal investigation. Before he could come to his senses and refute anything, Liu Che had already waved his hand and said, "Alright, that's it, leave now."
The decision was made immediately and it was final.
Liu Ju: ...Thank you!
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