My mouth opened and closed, but not a single word came out.
Zheng Wuji ignored him first, but said to his subordinates: "Bring the evidence to court."
A government servant walked up carrying a chamber pot on a wooden stick.
The chamber pot was full of urine and alkali, and there was a pungent smell from all the way. Everyone in the hall covered their mouths and noses.
"It's only July now, and you refuse to go to the yard to relieve yourself at night, let alone September?" Zheng Wuji asked.
"This..." Liu Bucun blinked his eyes very quickly, "The villain originally wanted to relieve himself, but when he got outside, he didn't want to do anything anymore, so he just peed."
"Then let me ask you again, when you heard something moving in the yard next door, you climbed up the wall. Where did you see that person at that time?" Zheng Wuji did not dwell on the previous matter.
"That man was standing by the window." Liu Bucun said.
"Are you sure?" Zheng Wuji asked.
"It's absolutely true, I swear." Liu Bucun said, and he really looked like he was swearing.
He was completely different from when he was peeing just now.
"Then let me ask you? What did you shout after you found someone in the yard?" Zheng Wuji continued to ask.
"The villain is shouting that there are flower pickers." Liu Bucun said.
"This is ridiculous again!" Zheng Wuji sneered, "I saw someone in the yard at night, maybe a thief going to steal. Why didn't you call me catch the thief? Instead, I called you flower picker?"
As soon as he said this, not only Liu Bucun was stunned, but everyone else in the hall was also in a daze.
Zheng Wuji was right. Wu Laoliu did not enter Cui's house at that time, but was only in the yard.
It was all in the dark and he didn't do anything obvious, so how could you tell at a glance that he was going to pick flowers instead of stealing?
"Villain... villain..." Liu Bucun stammered and couldn't say a complete sentence.
Zheng Wuji's eyes sank and he ordered the officer: "Come here! Give this unruly citizen a punishment!"
Liu Bucun was so frightened that he almost peed his pants. He waved his hands quickly and said: "Wait a minute, wait a minute! Sir, tell the truth! Tell the truth! Please don't use torture."
"I will only give you one more chance. If you dare to talk nonsense again, you will be punished with a serious crime!"
This Liu Bucun is just an old bachelor in the village. How can he continue to deny it?
Therefore, he honestly explained: "The villain is a bachelor, and because Cui is really beautiful, he has thoughts that he shouldn't have.
However, he didn't dare to do anything too extreme. He only occasionally climbed over the wall in the middle of the night to watch Cui take a shower when Liu Shuangxi was not at home.
On the night of September 8th, I knew that Liu Shuangxi was not at home. Mrs. Cui went into the house and closed the door. I heard the sound of scooping water again, and I knew that she was about to take a bath again.
So I climbed over the wall secretly, but as soon as I reached Dongfang Mountain, I saw another person climbing over the wall into the yard.
The villain didn't dare to move, and the man didn't see me. He went to the door and pushed it. The door was blocked from the inside and he couldn't push it open.
Then he went to the window again and heard Mrs. Cui taking a bath inside. He pierced the window paper and looked inside.
Seeing that he was fascinated, I hurriedly climbed back to the yard, then leaned on the wall and shouted."
After listening to Liu Bucun's words, everyone realized that there was such a hidden story.
"You just said that when Wu Laoliu entered Cui's courtyard, he pushed the door first but didn't push it, right?" Zheng Wuji asked.
"Yes." Liu Bucun nodded quickly, "This villain will never dare to tell another lie."
"Listen, all of you, if Mrs. Cui really made an appointment with Wu Laoliu to meet at night, why wouldn't she leave the door open for him?" Zheng Wuji said.
The people in Liujiacun nodded quickly. They just wanted to prove Cui's innocence, otherwise it would be very embarrassing.
The people in Wujiacun obviously don't believe it yet, or they don't want to believe it.
Zheng Wuji also noticed it and said: "In addition to Liu Bucun, I also found a witness. Someone, please bring Mrs. Song to the court."
People in both villages knew Mrs. Song, and some were related to her.
Mrs. Song came up and explained the situation in detail.
"Did you hear it clearly? If Mrs. Cui really had an affair with Wu Laoliu, why would Wu Laoliu ask others? The two of them must have made an appointment in private." Zheng Wuji said, "
Although Cui and Wu Laoliu are both dead, the truth is not without trace.
Now that the case has been heard and made clear, there is no need to say more about who is right and who is wrong.
According to the law, Wu Laoliu had evil intentions first and framed Cui later. Although his crime did not lead to death, Cui also died to apologize.
Therefore, his mistake cannot be ignored.
Cui's husband will be compensated by his family.
Mrs. Cui is a pure and fierce woman, and she will not hesitate to commit suicide to prove her innocence. I will report to the court and clear her name.
As for Liu Bucun, although the evil deeds he did were small, they could not be tolerated. He was ordered to express his gratitude in front of Cui's grave and burn thousands of pieces of paper money."
When both parties heard Zheng Wuji's decision, they could not say it was unfair, so no one refuted it.
Zheng Wuji added: "Now that this matter has been sorted out, there are still things to come. People from your two villages have had many disputes, and everyone has been hurt.
Even if Ms. Cui's case is settled, I'm afraid the enmity you formed later will not disappear immediately.
In order to avoid trouble in the future, I have decided that starting from this year, every year on the Double Ninth Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival, the people of your two villages will compete in tug-of-war and dragon boat races to determine the outcome.
Whichever side loses will give the other village a pig and two sheep as spoils.
Apart from this, the incident must not be repeated again. Otherwise, if I find out, I will not be lenient."
Zheng Wuji turned the fight between the two sides into a competition, which was both competitive and not rude.
Everyone shouted that Master Zhizhou had made a wise decision. Even if the people in Wujiacun felt a little unhappy, they still blamed Wu Laoliu for being a bastard.
When several county magistrates saw that Zheng Wuji had solved an old case in just two days, they could not help but feel less contempt for him.
After withdrawing from the court, Zheng Wuji refused to let them go.
"There is one more important matter that I need to discuss with the county magistrates." Zheng Wuji said with a smile.
How could the county magistrates dare to be negligent? They quickly bowed and asked, "Sir, please speak. I am all ears."
Zheng Wuji said, "No hurry, no rush, let's talk while eating."
At this time, it was already time to have dinner, and Zheng Wuji sat down with the county magistrates to eat and drink together.
During the banquet, several people praised Zheng Wuji, saying that he was very sharp and his eyes were as bright as a torch.
Zheng Wuji just listened with a smile, pretending to be very helpful.
After three glasses of wine, Zheng Wuji cleared his throat: "To be honest, we are officials to serve the court, but we also have to consider ourselves.
I have neither talent nor virtue, and Chenzhou has always been peaceful and happy. It is really difficult to achieve anything!"
When everyone heard what Zheng Wuji said, they understood what he meant.
Which official should not make some political achievements while in office?
Therefore, they said: "Your Majesty is absolutely right. What's more, if you have political achievements, they will also benefit the people and the local area! Why not do it?"
Zheng Wuji burped, raised his thumb and said, "You guys are so clear-cut. What I want to discuss with you is to set up volunteer schools in various counties.
Recruit Su Confucians as teachers to teach the children of poor families.
As for the expenses, each county can just withdraw a sum of money from its account every year."
The other county magistrates thought about it for a while and realized that this matter would also be good for them.
Not only can you gain a good reputation, but you can also earn some money from the running accounts.
Anyway, it was advocated by Zhizhou. Don't say there is nothing wrong, even if there is something, you have to shirk it.
