Chapter 2072 Confession

When Ruan Hai arrived at the county government office after receiving the news, Ruan Kewei had already confessed everything he needed to and was kneeling on the ground with lifeless eyes.

Upon seeing his condition, Ruan Hai's legs went weak and he almost collapsed forward.

Just then, Constable Jiang suddenly rushed out with two constables and surrounded him and his eldest son who was supporting him. "Ruan Hai, you've come at just the right time. The magistrate was just about to send us to arrest you."

Ruan Hai was taken aback, and then he was pushed into the courtroom by Jiang and the other constables.

The county government officially began the trial, and Shu Yu, who had personally witnessed the discovery of the body in Ruanjia Village and had promised to ensure the innocent person would return to the village safely, was also granted the right to attend the hearing.

Besides her, many other villagers from Ruanjia Village also came.

The well-informed elders already knew what had happened. When they saw Ruan Hai and his son kneeling in the middle of the hall, they felt a wave of dizziness and almost couldn't catch their breath.

The other villagers, who were still unaware of the details, were confused. They simply thought that the county government had found Ruan Kewei and were unaware that they already knew Ruan Kewei was the murderer.

Lord Xie sat behind his desk, slammed his gavel, and began to recount the events leading up to the murder and burial.

"On September 29th, Ruan Chengqian, a villager from Ruanjia Village, discovered two finger joints washed away by rain while hunting in the mountains. Upon digging further down, he unexpectedly found a body buried underground. The deceased was Cao Jiang, aged 23, from Da'an Village. According to the coroner's autopsy, the deceased died from being struck twice on the back of the head with a hoe. The murder weapon belonged to Ruan Jinqian from Ruanjia Village and was placed in the field on September 13th before being stolen."

According to Ruan Jinqian's confession, he did indeed rest in the shade of a tree after placing the hoe on the edge of the field. Of course, Ruan Hai's earlier question was also correct; given the angle and height of the shade, Ruan Jinqian could have seen what was happening in the field.

However, upon arriving at the county government office, Ruan Jinqian confessed that he had actually buried a jar of wine under the shade of a tree. Because his wife forbade him to drink, he could only drink it secretly. That day, he was so overcome with cravings that he dug up the wine jar under the tree with his back to the edge of the field.

But when he dug out the wine and turned around to come out from the other side, he found that the hoe was gone.

He was also afraid that his wife would scold him if he told her about it. He was sure he would be in big trouble if he lost the hoe while drinking.

Now that he was almost mistaken for a murderer, Ruan Jinqian has confessed everything he needed to.

Jiang, the head constable, went to the tree and indeed dug out a jar of wine.

Furthermore, according to the coroner, the murderer who struck Cao Jiang with a hoe was taller than Cao Jiang. Ruan Jinqian, on the other hand, was rather short, and since he didn't know Cao Jiang at all and had no motive, he was not a strong suspect.

After Ruan Jinqian was cleared of suspicion, he was released and returned to the court. Now, during the formal trial, he has returned as a witness.

Compared to his trembling demeanor when he first came to the yamen, he was much calmer now.

Lord Xie briefly explained the background of the case, then slammed his gavel down again. "The suspect, Ruan Kewei, had a conflict with Cao Jiang over the courtesan Chunyan, and thus had a motive for the crime. He had no alibi on the day of the incident. When the body was discovered, he fled his home and disappeared without a trace. Fortunately, he was found this morning in the woods outside the city by Constable He. According to his confession, he did indeed kill Cao Jiang. As for burying the body, he did it together with his father, Ruan Hai."

(End of this chapter)