"This fellow is so evil, President, arrest him."
"Slap him in the face and see if he dares to lie again."
"He is lying with his eyes open. I want to dig his eyes out."
At this time, the crowd was outraged, and the people watching the trial outside the court pointed at Li Yan and cursed him.
It is so infuriating to give false testimony just for the sake of momentary boasting.
Faced with the criticism from thousands of people, Li Yan was so scared that his face turned pale and he looked at Zhang Fei in fear.
Officials such as Cai Yanqing standing by were all embarrassed. To them, these voices seemed to be scolding them.
Boom boom boom!
Zhang Fei knocked the gavel a few times, "Silence! Silence!"
Seeing that it had little effect, he said loudly: "If anyone dares to make noise again, I will order him to be expelled from the Imperial Court immediately."
...
...
Then the sound gradually became smaller.
Zhang Fei said to Ma Xiaoyi again: "Officer Ma, take the witness away."
"yes."
After Li Yan was taken away, Zhang Fei said to Su Zhe, "Prosecutor Su, although Li Yan's previous confession was untrue, this does not prove that it was not Wu Zhang who pushed Wu's mother down.
As you just said, if Li Yan was squatting at the time, and the person on the other side was also half squatting, he couldn't see the other person. So according to Li Yan's confession just now, he just didn't see Wu Zhangshi at first glance, but it is also possible that Wu Zhangshi squatted and pushed Wu's mother down, and then stood up, and was seen by Li Yan. "
"???"
The people outside the court looked at Zhang Fei in confusion.
What are you doing?
Aren’t you trying to overturn the case for Wu Zhang?
They still believe that the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments are just one department.
Cai Yanqing and his colleagues gradually understood the way the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments tried cases, and they could not help but nod their heads slightly.
Su Che replied: "We have also found an eyewitness in the procuratorate, who is sufficient to prove that it was not Wu Zhang who pushed Wu's mother down."
"pass."
"Call the witness Guo Rui."
But then a Royal Police officer came up with a man in his thirties, of medium build, thin, with a few sparse beards.
He also chose to stand. It was the first time he encountered such a scene, so he didn't dare to sit down.
Su Che asked for his personal information as usual.
"My name is Guo Rui. I'm from Pinglu County and I make a living by selling medicinal herbs."
"Brother Guo, do you still remember what happened in the early morning of April 16 this year?"
"Remember! Remember!"
Guo Rui nodded and said, "I remember that day, I had to rush to Hanguguan Wharf to deliver a batch of medicinal materials, so I got up before dawn and hurried on my way. When I passed the path behind the mountain in Guixiang, I saw a young woman standing under a big tree crying. I didn't dare to meddle in her business, so I continued on my way. But after walking a few steps, I suddenly heard a plop sound.
I thought that the woman might have jumped into the river, so I looked back and found that the woman did not jump into the river, but was just running towards the river in a panic.
I thought she was going to jump into the river, and I wanted to call her to stop, but it turned out that she didn't want to jump into the river. She just squatted by the river and cried loudly. But since I had to hurry on my way, I just ignored her. "
"What time was it?"
"Around the morning."
"Did you see anyone else besides that woman?"
"No."
Guo Rui shook his head and said, "I just saw a cart parked by the river."
Su Che asked, "Then where did the splashing sound you heard come from?"
Guo Rui thought for a moment and said, "At the time, I heard something that seemed to come from the cart, but since I was in a hurry to get on with my journey, I didn't think much about it."
Su Zhe said: "Besides this, did you hear any other sounds?"
Guo Rui shook his head, "No!"
"Thank you very much."
Su Che nodded.
The Royal Police next to the witness stand asked Guo Rui to leave again.
Su Che looked up at Zhang Fei and said, "Although neither Li Yan nor Guo Rui saw the old woman, according to their testimonies, they both heard a splash at around 12:00 a.m. and did not hear a second splash, which shows that they heard the same splash. So the situation at that time was that there was a splash first, and then Wu Zhang ran to the river."
Zhang Fei nodded thoughtfully, and then asked, "That is to say, when Guo Rui passed by the crime scene, Wu's mother had not yet fallen into the river. Logically, he should have seen Wu's mother."
"He can't see."
"Why?"
"Because Wu's mother couldn't walk and could only crawl, our procuratorate sent someone to test it. If Wu's mother got off the cart and crawled to the river, the cart would have blocked Guo Rui's sight, so he couldn't see it."
Su Che picked up another document and said, "We have enough evidence to prove that Wu's mother crawled to the river by herself. According to the results of the previous coroner's examination, there were traces of dragging on the shore at the crime scene. Later, our procuratorate went to carefully question the coroner in charge of the case and checked the records at the time.
According to the coroner's records, the palms of Wu's mother's hands were all worn and there was dirt under her fingernails. Most importantly, her pants were worn at the knees, but there were no signs of wear on the heels of her shoes or the backs of her legs.
This is enough to prove that Wu's mother crawled over the cart by herself. Since Wu's mother was paralyzed, she could only crawl with her hands, so her hands were rubbed raw. Her knees were also rubbed raw. If she was dragged over, her heels should have been rubbed raw as well.
The coroners in the Song Dynasty were still quite powerful, because the government had a very strict inspection system, and everything had to be written down.
A prosecutor sent the report and the coroner's examination records to Zhang Fei.
Cai Yanqing and Wei Yingfang looked at each other awkwardly again.
The person in charge of the interrogation and investigation of this case was the judge Wei Yingfang, but since Wu Zhang had confessed his guilt early on and there could be no second murderer, they did not pay attention to these details.
After Zhang Fei carefully read it, he handed it to Cai Jing and others, then frowned and asked Su Che: "The evidence here can indeed prove that Wu's mother climbed over by herself, but why did Wu Zhang admit that she pushed Wu's mother down?"
Su Che said: "That's because Wu Zhang was indeed involved. Since Wu's mother was disabled, she could only crawl to the riverside where the cart was, but she couldn't crawl to the riverside from home. It was Wu Zhang who pushed her to the riverside, and Wu Zhang also knew that Wu's mother was going to commit suicide."
Zhang Fei frowned when he heard this, glanced at the document Xu Zhiqian had quietly handed over, and said: "According to Article 258 of the Song Dynasty Criminal Code, anyone who murders a relative, grandparents, husband, husband's grandparents, or parents shall be beheaded.
There is also a memorial explaining that regardless of conspiracy, wounding, or killing, all those who commit conspiracy shall be executed. According to what Chief Prosecutor Su just said, Wu's mother's suicide was obviously planned by Wu's mother and Wu Zhang, and Wu Zhang was not completely unaware of it. According to the law, it is murder. Even if Wu Zhang was not the one who pushed Wu's mother to death, she should be executed, and it is not manslaughter. "
Many people present nodded, but at the same time there was a look of doubt on their faces: Are you on the same side?
Su Che said: "But according to the laws of our dynasty, if someone's death is caused by his or her inability to see or hear, or his or her inability to think, it can be considered as manslaughter. It is obvious that Wu Zhang assisted Wu's mother in committing suicide because she was inconsiderate."
Zhang Fei asked: "Is there any evidence to prove it?"
What you haven't thought about?
This is hard to prove!
The officials present couldn't help but frown and think.
Su Che said: "Because it was Wu's mother who kept begging and pleading, and even threatened Wu Zhang with self-abuse, to help her commit suicide, she finally forced Wu Zhang to agree to help her commit suicide."
Zhang Fei asked, "Does Attorney Su have any evidence for what he said?"
Su Che said: "This matter is known to all the villagers in Huali Village, Guixiang. Moreover, Aunt Chen from Huali Village saw with her own eyes that Wu's mother hugged Wu Zhang's feet and begged Wu Zhang to help her die. Aunt Chen is now outside the court. The presiding judge can summon her to testify in court."
Zhang Fei said, "Send it to Chen."
Soon, a middle-aged woman came to the court. This lady was very carefree and sat down on the witness chair. She had no fear of being slanted by others, so why not sit down if she could?
Everyone looked at the old lady in surprise, but Zhang Fei, Cai Jing and others showed no expression.
Su Che did the same. He stood up and asked, "Excuse me, Aunt Chen, where are you from?"
Aunt Chen said, "I am from Lihua Village in Guixiang."
Su Che asked again, "I wonder if you know Wu Lei's family?"
"I have been his neighbor for decades, how could I not know him?"
"Are you familiar with Wu Lei's wife, Wu Zhang?"
"Very familiar."
"I don't know what kind of person this Wu Zhang is."
"Ms. Wu Zhang is a well-known virtuous wife in our village. Not only does she have to take care of two children, but she also has to take care of her paralyzed mother without a single complaint. She also manages the home in perfect order, and she is very filial."
"What do you mean?"
"One time, Wu Zhang and I went diving in the river. On the way back, Wu Zhang suddenly fainted. After being treated by a doctor, she woke up. When I asked her, I found out that Wu Zhang had not eaten for three days."
When Suzhe asked, the old lady said excitedly, "At that time, her husband Wu Lei was also ill, and she was taking care of the whole family. But the family didn't have much food, so Wu Zhang gave her own food to Wu's mother and Wu Lei, and drank water to fill her stomach. Everyone in Guixiang knows this."
There was a sense of injustice in his tone.
Faint sounds of sighs and sobs could be heard inside and outside the courtyard.
Many women wiped their eyes when they heard this.
Mrs. Lu, who was sitting in the courtyard, was crying loudly.
Su Che asked again: "I heard that Auntie saw with her own eyes that Wu's mother hugged Wu Zhang's legs and begged to die."
Aunt Chen nodded and said, "That day I had just finished working in the vegetable fields. On my way home, I passed by the Wu family and heard crying and shouting from inside. So I went over to take a look and found that Wu's mother was hugging Wu Zhang's legs and crying that she didn't want to implicate them and that she would rather die than live. Later, she even knocked her head against the ground. Wu Zhang hurriedly hugged Wu's mother, and the two of them cried together. In fact, Wu's mother had been asking for death for a long time. Everyone in the village knew it."
Su Zhe asked, "Does Wu Lei know about this, too?"
"Know."
Aunt Chen said, "She would make a scene from time to time. How could she not know that? But Wu Lei and his wife were very filial. They always comforted her and took care of her wholeheartedly. But the more they did this, the more she wanted to die."
Su Che said: "Since the son is so filial, why does Wu's mother still want to die?"
"Why else?"
Aunt Chen sighed, "Of course they think I am a burden to them. Wu Lei and his wife are struggling to make ends meet in order to help Wu's mother with her medical treatment. Recently, Wu Lei even planned to mortgage his own land to borrow money."
"I see. Thank you for being willing to testify in court."
"It's okay for me to run these few steps, but I don't know if you will still sentence Wu Zhang to death. Wu Zhang is really a good woman, please spare her life."
Aunt Chen asked about Su Che instead.
Su Zhe was stunned for a moment, then he bowed and said, "Sorry, this is not something I can decide."
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