Chapter 124. There's a third point of doubt...
"Smack!"
The gavel slammed down heavily, causing the torture tokens in the container on the judge's desk to tremble slightly.
Wang Yongnian's face turned ashen. His gaze swept over the boiling crowd below the courtroom, and he shouted sternly, "Who dares to roar in the courtroom here?!"
The courtroom fell silent instantly. Then, a clear female voice came from behind the crowd, piercing through the solemn atmosphere of the courtroom: "I am Pei Zhiwei, daughter of Pei Lin."
As soon as he finished speaking, the onlookers, as if they had known each other beforehand, stepped aside and made way for him.
With a calmness beyond her years, she walked step by step through the crowd to the fence.
Wang Yongnian narrowed his eyes, subtly scrutinizing Pei Zhiwei, a cold smile playing on his lips, but a glint of shrewdness in his eyes: "Oh? So you're Pei Shaoqing's daughter. Come to the hall and report."
Pei Zhiwei walked to the front of the official desk, knelt down properly, placed her hands together in front of her knees, and said in a calm and even voice: "This commoner, Pei Zhiwei, greets Your Highness and all the officials."
"Pei Zhiwei." Wang Yongnian tapped the gong table and warned, "You just said there are doubts about this case?"
You should know that a courtroom is not a place where a young woman like you can question things at will.
If your words are baseless, I can charge you with shouting in court at any time. Do you understand?
Pei Zhiwei nodded without flinching, "Thank you for your reminder, sir. I am aware of the implications."
But the woman's words were absolutely true; there is solid evidence to prove that there are other hidden circumstances in this case.
"Oh?" Wang Yongnian raised an eyebrow, adopting an attitude of listening attentively.
"Then tell me, what are the suspicious points in this case? If you can't give a clear answer, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Pei Zhiwei did not answer directly, but instead turned to look at Luo Yao, the person who reported the case, who was kneeling to the side.
He asked in a deep voice, "Sir, the person who just reported the case, Luo Yao, said that he did not enter the house between hearing someone shout and kicking open the door to see the body, is that right?"
Luo Yao paused for a moment, then nodded emphatically: "That's right! The door was locked from the inside, and I was just knocking and calling out from the door. I couldn't even step into the house."
"And then you said..." Pei Zhiwei continued to press, her gaze fixed on Luo Yao's eyes.
"After you saw the body, because you heard from storytellers that you shouldn't enter a murder scene casually, neither you nor your neighbor stepped into the scene."
Until the county constables arrived, no one had entered or left the scene?
Although Luo Yao didn't understand why she was repeating what he had just said, he still replied firmly, "That's right, absolutely not!"
My neighbors can all testify, including myself, that no one dared to step across the threshold, and no one ever came out of the house!
Pei Zhiwei turned to Wang Yongnian and said earnestly, "Sir, please summon all the constables and coroners who were the first to enter the scene after receiving the report to court."
"This woman has important questions to ask them."
Wang Yongnian hesitated for a moment, glancing at Chen Chong, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review beside him, who still had that same indifferent expression. He then looked at Xiao Yunzhan and Qin Liang on the judge's bench.
The two men remained calm and offered no objections. Only then did he raise his hand and order, "Summon Li Lin, the head constable of the county yamen, and Fang Qing, the coroner, to the court."
Li Lin and Fang Qing were key investigators in the case and were already waiting in the hall.
Upon hearing the summons, the two quickly walked to the front of the hall, knelt down and bowed: "Li Lin and Fang Qing greet Your Highness and all the officials."
Wang Yongnian: "Pei Zhiwei, ask whatever questions you have. Don't delay the court hearing."
Pei Zhiwei asked Li Lin in a serious tone, "May I ask Officer Li, who entered the crime scene after you arrived at the scene that day?"
When you arrived at the scene, did you confirm whether anyone intentionally or unintentionally took any items from the scene?
Li Lin straightened his chest and said with great certainty, "I have been a constable for more than 20 years, and I have always strictly abided by the rules of the yamen, especially the rules at the scene of a murder case."
I swear on my life that no one who entered the scene took anything away, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
"How can you be so sure?" Pei Zhiwei pressed, showing no sign of letting up.
"Fifteen years ago, a yamen runner accidentally left behind a handkerchief that his wife had given him, which caused the investigation to go in the wrong direction."
So from then on, the head constable at the time, who was also my master, stipulated that anyone who had been to the scene would have their companions search each other before entering to ensure that no one brought in anything extra.
They will search you again after you come out to make sure you don't take anything from the scene.
And after I became the head constable, I continued to follow this rule.
"Every government office in the capital knows about this," Li Lin explained.
"Moreover, all items at the scene were meticulously documented, with the location and condition of each item recorded. It was absolutely impossible for us to bring any evidence into or out of the scene."
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhiwei showed a satisfied expression and turned to Wang Yongnian, saying, "Sir, since Officer Li is so certain, it proves that someone among us is lying."
"Explain yourself clearly!" Wang Yongnian frowned, somewhat impatient.
"Don't try to be mysterious here."
Pei Zhiwei did not respond directly, but instead looked at Qin Liang in the supervisory seat.
Qin Liang understood and raised his hand to the imperial guards beside him.
Soon, two imperial guards carried a tray into the hall, on which lay two broken wooden door bolts, with splinters still visible at the break.
“Officer Li,” Pei Zhiwei pointed to the door bolt on the tray, “do you recognize what this is?”
Li Lin peeked out and immediately replied, "This is the door bolt that Luo Yao kicked off at the crime scene."
We carefully examined these two door bolts during our site inspection that day.
"During the on-site inspection, did you ever compare the two door bolts by piecing them together?" Pei Zhiwei pressed.
"Of course, we've compared them," Li Lin answered without hesitation.
"Judging from the angle of the break and the wood grain, it was indeed the same door bolt that was broken from the outside by gravity. The marks on the door panel are consistent with the marks of the door being kicked from the outside. We confirmed this at the time."
Pei Zhiwei: "Did Officer Li notice that after these two bolts were put together, one piece was missing?"
Li Lin's face froze instantly, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes.
He glanced instinctively at the latch on the tray, his brows furrowing slowly. After a long pause, he hesitated before saying, "This... was pieced together back then."
We compared the fit and bending angle of the fracture ends to confirm that it was the same bolt that broke, but we didn't find anything missing.
"Officer Li, please calm down. This is not your fault," Pei Zhiwei said gently.
"Because the missing part of this door bolt is not easily visible from the surface; it is the inner core that is missing."
It's not big; it's easy to miss if you don't repeatedly piece it together and compare it.
As she spoke, she got up and walked to the tray, carefully picked up the two bolts, pieced them together, then pried open a small gap, pointing to the middle part.
Only then did everyone notice that a piece of the inner core was indeed missing from the middle of the door bolt, and the wood grain at the break point could not be perfectly aligned.
"Look, gentlemen. This missing piece of wood, though not large, is not small either, and certainly not so small as to be completely ignored when stepped on."
Because the capital city is located in the north and has a dry climate, this door bolt looks quite old, and the wood itself is rather porous.
Under external impact, the location of the fracture may indeed be unpredictable; it could occur at the edge or inside.
Wang Yongnian stared at the two bolts, his face darkening: "These bolts are evidence from the crime scene. How do you know they're missing a piece?"
"It was I who had Pei Zhiwei re-investigate the scene," Qin Liang said, taking over Wang Yongnian's question with a calm yet authoritative tone.
"When she was inspecting the site, I personally watched over her from the side and never left her side for a moment."
Moreover, after the inspection, a palace lady-in-waiting personally searched her to ensure that she did not bring any items from the scene with her.
Therefore, her findings are credible and not fabricated out of thin air.
"Lord Qin!" Wang Yongnian slammed his hand on the desk.
"This is against the rules! Pei Zhiwei is Pei Lin's daughter. According to the law, she should avoid suspicion. How can she be allowed to participate in the on-site investigation?"
"If those who follow the rules can't find any clues, then we can only let those who don't follow the rules investigate," Qin Liang replied calmly.
"This case concerns the lives of two high-ranking officials of the imperial court. If we let the real culprit go free because of adherence to conventions, that would be truly against the rules."
Wang Yongnian was speechless for a moment after being rebuked, and after a long while he turned to Pei Zhiwei, "Even if the door bolt is indeed missing a piece, what does that prove? Does it prove that Zhang Qifeng and his son were not killed by Pei Lin?"
“Of course we can’t draw conclusions based on this alone,” Pei Zhiwei replied calmly.
"This is just the first point of doubt in this case."
The missing piece of wood was neither at the scene of the crime nor brought out by the constables, and it could not have simply vanished into thin air.
Based on Luo Yao's testimony that "no one entered or left the scene," there is only one possibility.
Luo Yao was lying. The bolt had already broken; he had only pretended to kick the door. The missing piece of wood had been removed from the scene before he supposedly "kicked the door."
"I didn't lie!" Luo Yao said, his face pale, as he hurriedly defended himself.
"I kicked the door open, and the neighbors can all testify to that!"
That piece of broken wood might have fallen into some corner a long time ago, or been carried away by a mouse. How can you accuse me of lying based on that?
Pei Zhiwei's lips curled into a mocking smile. "I have thoroughly searched every crevice in the room, including the roof beams. Prince Rui and Lord Qin can testify to that."
As for your claim that it was carried away by a rat, I'm curious about that. The whole scene was covered in blood, with pools and drops of blood everywhere. Did the rat have some kind of human-like intelligence?
They even knew to avoid the blood and keep the scene tidy to avoid disrupting the government's investigation?
The onlookers began to discuss among themselves. Some thought Pei Zhiwei's words made sense, while others thought Luo Yao's defense was not impossible. The atmosphere in the courtroom became heated again.
"Silence!" Wang Yongnian slammed his gavel again.
"Pei Zhiwei, stop dwelling on this trivial matter of the door bolt. If this is all the flimsy doubt you have, then drop it now!"
“My lord, this is no small matter; it is the key to proving the contradictions in the testimonies.” Pei Zhiwei did not back down and turned to look at Qin Liang.
"Lord Qin, please provide the site photos again."
Qin Liang gestured to the Imperial Guards below the hall, and soon another group of Imperial Guards carried several large drawings up to the hall and laid them out on the open ground in front of the official desk.
The drawings meticulously depicted every detail of the crime scene, including the location of the deceased, the distribution of bloodstains, the arrangement of objects inside the house, and even the bloodstains splattered on the wall were clearly marked.
"This is a site map I personally drew yesterday when Pei Zhiwei inspected the scene," Xiao Yunzhan said.
"I and Lord Qin have compared it repeatedly, and it is completely accurate with the actual situation on site."
If Minister Wang doesn't believe it, he can send someone to the site to verify it again.
Wang Yongnian looked at the precise strokes and detailed annotations on the drawing, his lips twitched, and he suppressed his displeasure, saying, "Your Highness's drawing skills are naturally trustworthy."
So what is the second point of doubt?
Pei Zhiwei pointed to the spot marked with the location of the deceased Zhang Qifeng and said, "My lord, look, the deceased Zhang Qifeng was lying face down on the ground with his head facing the door."
Luo Yao, when you kicked the door open, was his posture like this?
Luo Yao peeked at the blueprints and nodded quickly: "That's right! He was lying there, covered in blood."
Li Lin also confirmed: "Sir, the position and posture of the deceased at the scene are completely consistent with the drawings."
Pei Zhiwei: "Coroner Fang, when you examined the body, did you confirm that the murderer held the knife in his right hand and stabbed Zhang Qifeng in the heart, causing his immediate death?"
Fang Qing replied, "That's true."
The victim's wound was located on the left side of his chest, near the heart meridian, and was more than three inches deep. The width of the blade perfectly matched that of the dagger found at the scene, and the angle of the wound indicated that the assailant was indeed right-handed.
Pei Zhiwei began to simulate the scene.
She first stood facing the door, playing the role of Zhang Qifeng, then turned around and had an imperial guard stand behind her, playing the role of the perpetrator.
"Please take a look, Your Honor." Pei Zhiwei's voice clearly echoed throughout the courtroom.
"If Zhang Qifeng died lying face down with his head facing the door, it means that he was probably standing facing the door when he was alive."
For the assailant to stab him in the left chest, near his heart, from face-to-face, they would have to stand here, right-handed, and thrust the knife.
She gestured for the imperial guards to demonstrate the actions she had described: "After committing the crime, if the perpetrator is Lord Pei, holding a bloodstained dagger, his normal reaction would be either to try to escape through the window or to rush to the door to break through."
However, the bloodstains at the scene indicated that after killing Zhang Qifeng, the assailant carried the weapon straight to the corner of the wall, the very spot where Lord Pei was found slumped over.
As she spoke, she instructed the imperial guards to simulate the actions of walking towards the corner after committing the crime.
"You see, according to common sense, the assailant attacked Zhang Qifeng from the opposite side, drew his knife, and then walked to the corner of the wall to the left front."
If you were to slump down, you would need to turn and adjust your posture; the blood dripping onto the ground would create a wavy trail.
After the demonstration, she pointed to the bloodstain mark on the drawing.
"However, the bloodstains at the scene show that after killing Zhang Qifeng, the murderer went straight to the corner of the wall. The bloodstains were in a straight line, without any trace of turning or detouring."
Isn't that strange?
The courtroom was silent. Everyone stared at the bloodstains on the drawing, recalling Pei Zhiwei's demonstration, and gradually a look of understanding appeared on their faces.
"Yeah, that doesn't make sense!" someone in the crowd couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
"How could someone slump down like that without turning around? The distribution of the bloodstains is definitely wrong!"
"Could it be that Pei Shaoqing was really wronged? Was the scene deliberately staged?"
Wang Yongnian's face grew increasingly grim. He slammed his gavel down abruptly: "Silence! How dare you speak so casually in this courtroom!"
Once the crowd quieted down again, Wang Yongnian spoke up: "This is just your speculation!"
How can Pei Lin's innocence be proven based solely on the bloodstains and the missing door bolt?
It's possible that Pei Lin, in a state of panic after committing the crime, didn't even consider running away, but instead went straight to the corner and slumped down. That's not impossible!
“What you say may make sense, but I have a third question.”
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