Although Tang Ning had watched a lot of detective dramas in her previous life, such as "Young Bao Qingtian", "The Criminal Judge of the Song Dynasty", "Detective Di Renjie", and "The Strange Case of Shi Gong", but after personally experiencing the plots in the TV series, the two
This is the first time in my life.
This is a human life case. Throughout the ages, cases involving human life have always been serious cases.
And in this case, my cheap father-in-law is in trouble.
Tang Ning read all the files last night. The case was actually not complicated, nor had it had any twists and turns.
The deceased was a member of the Communist Party of China who had a small fortune outside the city. He was found dead in his home a month ago.
After many days of investigation and visits by the police, the suspect was finally pinned on the son-in-law of the deceased Zhao Yuanwai.
Zhao Yuanwai had no children and only had one daughter with his deceased wife. If Zhao Yuanwai died, his family property would naturally be inherited by his daughter and son-in-law. According to common sense, Zhao Yuanwai’s son-in-law, a man named Xu Jie, had enough motive to commit murder.
But the problem is that Xu Jie had a perfect alibi on the night Zhao Yuanwai died.
He was drinking with friends that night and didn't go back until very late.
After the case was investigated here, according to past practice, Xu Jie only needed to be tortured to extract a confession. With the torture methods of this era, unless he was a very mentally strong person, if Zhao Yuanwai was really the murderer, it would not take long for the criminal to endure it.
Constantly confessing.
This is where the trouble lies with his cheap father-in-law.
Ever since he offended the governor of Lingzhou by marrying his daughter, the governor had regarded him as a thorn in his side and was waiting to catch him.
This case occurred in Yong'an County and involved a major human life. The governor strictly ordered the Yong County magistrate to solve the case within a time limit. This is understandable.
At the same time, the imperial court has been cracking down on cruel officials in the past two years, and has strictly prohibited local county governments from abusing heavy weapons and beating them to death. Once discovered, they will not be lenient.
Therefore, when serious cases are tried, there will be local people standing outside the court to observe. Once severe punishment is used, in full view of the public, and violates the imperial ban, the Lingzhou governor will have enough reasons to move him.
But if there is no need for punishment and no evidence can be found, the criminal will definitely not be recruited. There is a murder case under his jurisdiction and the murderer has not been caught for a long time. The Lingzhou governor has another reason to touch him.
My father-in-law is really a sinner...
Tangning sighed, silently mourning for his cheap father-in-law, and started writing.
In the courtroom, Zhong Mingli's face was extremely gloomy. He looked at the men in the hall and asked: "Xu Jie, you said you were drinking with friends that night. Apart from the two of you, were there any other witnesses that night?"
The man knelt in the hall, with a bitter look on his face, and said loudly: "Returning to your lord, I was drinking at Wang Er's house that day, and there was no one else around except Wang Er."
Zhong Mingli looked at the other person kneeling next to Xu Jie and asked: "Wang Er, Xu Jie said that on the night of the 15th of last month, the two of you were drinking at your house, and he didn't leave until midnight. Is this true?
"
Without waiting for Wang Er's answer, he raised his voice again and said, "You think about it before you decide. If it's a serious human life case, you'll be punished as the same crime if you shield the perpetrator!"
Wang Er, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled, glanced at Xu Jie beside him, and said in a trembling voice: "Returning to your lord, everything I said is true, I hope you will see clearly!"
"Okay, then tell me what kind of wine you drank that day and what kind of food was served with it!"
"What I drank was home-brewed rice wine, and what I drank with it was two taels of pig head meat..."
…
In the corner, Tang Ning looked at the two people kneeling in the hall and shook her head slightly.
He had read all the files all night yesterday. He had asked his father-in-law countless times, but the two men, Xu and Wang, had obviously colluded in confession beforehand, so they couldn't get anything out of it.
Or maybe Xu Jie was simply wronged. If so, this case would be even more difficult.
He put down his pen and rubbed his stomach, feeling a little hungry.
This trial lasted for almost an hour, but there was no progress at all on the case, and the meal was already over...
It was okay if he didn't rub it, but when he did, his stomach suddenly made a "gurgling" sound again.
The case had already reached a bottleneck. The magistrate's face was as dark as water. Others were also trembling with fear and did not dare to make a sound. The sound of Tang Ning's stomach growling was particularly obvious.
Zhong Mingli looked towards the corner and met Tangning's eyes.
Ever since she experienced extreme hunger last time, Tang Ning has become particularly afraid of hunger. He is a little worried that if his father-in-law procrastinates like this, will he miss lunch?
The case was once again at a deadlock. Zhong Mingli was already upset. He didn't know what he had eaten in the morning, and his stomach was filled with turmoil. He looked at Tang Ning and said, "I'll be out for a while. I didn't record anything just now. You can do it again now."
Ask them both."
After saying that, he held his stomach and left in a hurry.
Tangning could replay her memory at any time and didn't have anything to ask, but she still took a pen and paper and walked out of the corner.
The government servants standing on both sides looked at Tang Ning who came out with a strange expression on their faces.
They have all heard about this nerdy uncle in Magistrate Zhong’s family. It is rumored that he is a rigid person who only knows how to study, locks himself in his room all day long, and turns a blind eye to beauties like Miss Zhong...
There are also rumors that the reason why Mr. Zhong’s uncle is so cold to Ms. Zhong is because he can’t get up in the morning...
Tang Ning walked up to Xu Jie with a record book in one hand and a pen in the other.
"On the fifteenth day of last month, were you drinking at Wang Er's house?" He opened the book and asked.
"Yes, I had a drink with Wu Er that night and then left." Xu Jie nodded.
"What kind of wine did you drink and what kind of food did you eat?"
"The rice wine I drank was made by Wang Er, and the wine was served with two taels of pig head meat..."
Tang Ning took notes with pen and paper while the government officials around him were bored. They had listened to this question and answer countless times.
Tang Ning looked at Xu Jie and continued to ask, "Is pig head meat delicious?"
Xu Jie was startled and nodded again: "Okay, it's delicious..."
"Where did you buy it?" Tangning asked again.
"Butcher Zheng in East Alley."
"Does Butcher Zheng sell meat at a fair price?"
"Fair, fair..."
"Has Butcher Zheng ever bullied the market?"
"No, no..."
"Did you know that Butcher Zheng has a nickname called Zhen Guanxi?"
"have no idea."
"Does Butcher Zheng know that you killed Yuanwai Zhao?"
"I don't know..." Xu Jie subconsciously wanted to answer, but unexpectedly broke into a cold sweat and said immediately: "Sir, the villain didn't kill anyone!"
"Don't be nervous. Wipe off your sweat first. I'm just asking." Tangning smiled and closed the book.
He turned around and took two steps, then suddenly turned back and asked: "By the way, it's the fifteenth day. When you left Wang Er's house, the moon must be very round and it must be very bright outside, right?"
Xu Jie just breathed a sigh of relief. When he heard this, he was startled for a moment, then immediately nodded and said: "Yes, I remember it very clearly. The moon was very big and round that night, and it was very bright outside..."
"you are lying!"
Tangning's tone suddenly changed, she pointed at him and said sternly: "It was obviously cloudy on the fifteenth day of last month. Where did you see the big, round moon?"
The young scribe's expression changed from indifferent to stern, and Xu Jie was stunned on the spot.
Tang Ning looked at Xu Jie and raised her voice again: "Why did you lie? Tell us what you were doing that night and whether you killed Zhao Yuanwai!"
Xu Jie's body trembled and he broke into a cold sweat again. He quickly changed his words and said, "Sir, I remembered it wrong. I was drunk that night and couldn't remember clearly. I just remember now that there was no moon that night..."
Tangning knelt down, looked into his eyes, and said, "I was just talking casually..., but there was actually a moon that night."
Xu Jie shivered, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He changed his words again: "Sir, I was drunk that night. I don't remember whether there was a moon..."
"The submission is vague, repeated, and hesitant. There must be something to hide. What are you feeling guilty about?"
"Little, little man has no guilty conscience."
"Why are you shaking and sweating if you don't have a guilty conscience... Looking at you looking so haggard, you've been dreaming about Yuan Zhao a lot these days, right?"
"No..." Xu Jie was sweating like rain, his lips were trembling, and he was speechless.
Tangning's tone suddenly changed and she shouted, "Tell me honestly, what on earth were you doing that night!"
He shouted so loudly that even the officials in the court were startled.
Xu Jie was even more nervous and said in panic: "Sir, villain, villain was really at Wang Er's house that night..."
"How dare you quibble!"
Tang Ning interrupted him and waved her hand: "I'm not asking about the night you killed Zhao Yuanwai, I'm asking about the night before you killed him!"
"The night before I killed him..."
What he said just now was full of flaws. The young clerk was aggressive. Xu Jie was sweating like rain on his forehead. His heart was almost broken. He was breathing quickly and hurriedly explained...
Halfway through his explanation, his body suddenly trembled and his voice stopped abruptly.
…
Zhong Mingli came back from the hut. His body felt refreshed, but his heart was still depressed.
If there is no result in today's case, Governor Dong still doesn't know how to embarrass him. He sat back down and found that the courtroom was quiet. He looked at Tang Ning below and wondered, "Why don't you ask?"
Tangning turned around, cupped her hands slightly, and said, "Sir, I've finished asking."
Wow!
As soon as he finished speaking, the originally silent court suddenly erupted into a huge uproar!
A government officer looked at the prisoner who was lying limply on the ground, touched his companion with his shoulder, and asked: "Did he just confess?"
The companion next to him was still trying to remember whether there was a moon on the night of the fifteenth day of last month. Hearing this, he asked in confusion: "What did you say?"
The government official looked at the crowd of people outside who were almost boiling and knew that he had heard correctly.
This case that had been bothering them for nearly a month was just solved in a few words by Uncle Zhong?
Is this still the nerdy uncle from the Zhong family?
He looked at the young man standing in the hall.
All eyes in the hall couldn't help but look over.
Tangning stood in the hall and let out a long sigh of relief - the case was solved, he should be able to go back to eat, right?
