Chapter 63 Confession: A Profound Trial
Even?
That word again!
Chen Mu felt that he had caused Zhang Yuansheng's death and decided to pay with his own life to even things out.
Chen Zhigang believed that he had harmed his son, so he took a bullet for Chen Mu to even things out.
Hu Shuifen thought that an eye for an eye would wipe away all grudges.
childish!
She handed the jade pendant to Liu Haoran; was that her way of atoning for her sins?
What if Liu Haoran and Su Xinwan hadn't handed over the jade pendant? What if the police hadn't connected it to Zhang Lei's death at all? Then Zhang Lei's murder would still be a mystery.
She won't die, and Chu Jingen will be fine.
Now that the police have followed the clues and arrested her and Chu Jingen, even if they are both executed, can they really exchange one life for another?
Zhang Lei died at the age of seventeen years and nine months. He was about to take the college entrance examination. His dream was to become a physical education teacher. He loved playing basketball, he loved to laugh, he had many friends, and he had parents who loved him dearly.
His life is like a painting, about to be painted with vibrant colors.
Can Hu Shuifen afford to take Zhang Lei's life?
A young life vanished before her very eyes, and she actually thought that by handing the jade pendant over to the police, the feud would be settled.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling spoke coldly.
“Zhang Lei’s parents’ hair turned white overnight. His mother was on the verge of a mental breakdown. She waited at the school gate every day for her son to get out of school. Whenever she saw a student with a basketball or wearing a basketball jersey, she would ask: Have you seen my Zhang Lei? Why isn’t he home yet?”
"You think this evens things out?"
“Zhang Lei was a premature baby who grew up in an incubator. He was always sickly as a child. To help him get better, his father exercised with him every day and taught him how to play basketball. He finally grew into a tall and handsome young man with a bright future, but you tricked and murdered him.”
"You think this evens things out?"
Jiang Ling's words were like a sharp sword, mercilessly piercing Hu Shuifen's despicable soul that she was unwilling to admit.
Her cowardice, disguised as pitifulness, and her cruelty, disguised as maternal love, were thus exposed to the light of day.
Hu Shuifen stopped crying.
Her body was burning hot and her cheeks were flushed.
Shame made her feel utterly ashamed.
"I……"
"I am guilty."
"Shoot me."
At that moment, Hu Shuifen had only one thought in her mind: Let me die.
Jiang Ling showed no mercy whatsoever, her words piercing like knives.
"If you stand firm and resist on the first day you are abused and humiliated by Chu Jingen, you will be like Chu Jingen's ex-wife, stay away from scumbags and start a new life."
"If you had resolutely distanced yourself from Chu Jingen after discovering that he was spying on Su Xinwan while she was bathing, you wouldn't have needed to live in fear and risk your life to clear Su Xinwan's name."
"If you had known that Chu Jingen coveted Su Xinyan, you would have called the police and let them protect your family. Su Xinyan would not have been abused or left with a heavy psychological shadow."
"Even if we take a step back and assume that Chu Jingen used Su Xinyan's future as leverage to force you to harm Zhang Lei, in the minutes before that child was killed, if you had even a shred of conscience and had called the police, Zhang Lei wouldn't have died!"
Jiang Ling's voice suddenly grew louder, like thunder and lightning, striking Hu Shuifen's head and destroying all her preconceived notions.
"What do you mean, even things out?"
"You'll never be even!"
"Su Xinwan fears love and marriage, and trembles at the slightest noise; Su Xinyan is timid and cowardly, completely closing herself off emotionally, and has no close friends in her three years of university; Wen Mo is still in the ICU, his life hanging by a thread; Zhang Lei lost his life long ago..."
"How can we make peace with all this?!"
Hu Shuifen slowly raised her head and began to speak, her voice trembling, as if a spider's web, blown by the wind, was about to snap completely.
"I have no choice. I have no house, no job, no money. If I don't get married, I can't support Wanwan and Yanyan. I'm a woman with two children in tow. Who would want me except Chu Jingen?"
Jiang Ling took a deep breath, slowly leaned back in her chair, and said in a calm and clear voice, "Let me tell you a story."
"There was a woman, born in a rural area, whose family favored sons over daughters and planned to sell her. They had already agreed on a price, but she ran away."
"A sixteen-year-old girl came to the county to work. She first washed dishes in a restaurant, and later worked as a nanny to take care of children. When she was eighteen, she met a man with smiling eyes, and she married him."
"She became a mother at the age of twenty and gave birth to a boy. She thought her life would be stable from then on, but she didn't expect her husband to have an affair and even bring her home to cheat on her. She didn't choose to endure it. She started crying and making a scene, fighting with her husband, and finally got a divorce."
"Because she had no house and no money, her son was awarded to her ex-husband. She started working desperately to earn money so she could bring her son over as soon as possible. She started working three jobs a day. She was willing to do anything that could earn money and that wasn't illegal or criminal."
"She was hardworking and shameless, and quickly became a top salesperson for electrical appliances in a shopping mall. She became a team leader, her salary increased, and she began to focus on electrical appliance sales. From an ordinary employee to a shopping mall manager, and then to an independent brand distributor, she persevered through seven years of hard work."
"She finally had the money to bring her son to live with her and raise him. But she discovered that during the seven years she worked so hard to earn money, her husband had not treated their son well. Her son developed depression and refused to communicate with the outside world. But she did not give up and poured all her love into her son. She discovered that her son had a talent for painting, so she hired famous teachers to guide him. After many years of hard work, her son was finally admitted to a nationally renowned art academy, and his condition improved."
At this point, Jiang Ling looked up at Hu Shuifen and said, "This woman is called Wen Liyuan, and her son is called Wen Mo."
Upon hearing the name "Wen Mo," Hu Shuifen's lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a single word.
As a mother herself, Wen Liyuan was braver than her.
At sixteen, she had the courage to leave home; faced with her husband's infidelity, she dared to take the step of divorce; she was not afraid of poverty or hardship, and she forged ahead persistently, eventually creating her own success.
Tears of regret streamed slowly down Hu Shuifen's cheeks.
One wrong step leads to another.
If she had been braver back then, if she had sought help from the police, if she had known that women could make a living without men, perhaps she wouldn't be sitting here today, and her daughter and son wouldn't have a criminal mother.
Seeing Hu Shuifen silently weeping, Jiang Ling asked the question she had always wanted to ask, word by word: "Your son is your son, but other people's sons aren't? Seeing Zhang Lei's corpse, seeing Wen Mo's emaciated and dying appearance, doesn't your conscience hurt?"
Self-blame surged up like a tide.
Hu Shuifen felt as if she was being submerged by the tide, her mouth and nose blocked by water, and she could not breathe at all!
Unable to bear the immense psychological pressure any longer, she began to scream: "Stop talking! Please stop talking! It's all my fault. I'll tell you everything, just please stop."
Jiang Ling looked at Liu Haoran.
The groundwork has been laid, and Hu Shuifen's psychological warfare plan has been successfully completed. What remains is to clarify the criminal process, secure all evidence, and ensure that Chu Jingen has no chance of redemption!
Liu Haoran began to inquire about the details of the case.
"How did you manage to trick Zhang Lei into leaving?"
“I often saw Zhang Lei playing basketball in the back alley of the school. When he was alone, I pretended to fall and asked him for help. Zhang Lei is a kind-hearted kid. He saw me asking for help through the back gate, and without thinking, he climbed over the wall, helped me out of the alley, and drank the water I gave him without any suspicion. Chu Jingen was waiting in his car at the other end of the alley. I helped the unconscious Zhang Lei into the car. The rest was all done by Chu Jingen. I had nothing to do with him.”
"Zhang Lei was still alive when he handed you the jade pendant. Was he already injured at that time, and to what extent?"
"How long was it from when Zhang Lei was tricked away by you until his death?"
"When did you remove the body, and where did you bury it? What kind of tools did you use?"
Completely overwhelmed by guilt, self-blame, and remorse, Hu Shuifen had no more illusions and honestly answered all the questions asked by the police.
Why was Wen Mo imprisoned?
"At that time, Xinyan had just finished the college entrance examination. Her estimated score was very high, and getting into her first-choice university was no problem at all. But Chu Jingen insisted that he give it up and go directly to the brick factory to manage the finances, saying that he was going to inherit the family business. Xinyan was unwilling and said that if he couldn't study, he would die. Helpless, Chu Jingen had to settle for second best. He asked me to find a substitute for Xinyan. He took a liking to Wen Mo, who came to town to paint, so I..."
"How did you take Wen Mo away?"
"The brick factory is near the river, and there's a boat in the factory. Chu Jingen parked his car at the brick factory and took the boat to the shore by himself. I took the initiative to approach Wen Mo and coaxed him to drink the water that had been spiked with chemicals. Sigh! This child doesn't like to talk, but I don't know why he's willing to be close to me. I'm sorry to him."
Why is my home suddenly being renovated?
"It wasn't exactly sudden. After Xinyan started school, Chu Jingen got Wenmo as his new toy and was in a good mood. He happened to have some money, so he hired someone to renovate. However, he didn't let anyone into the basement; he just ran an electric wire down there. Wenmo was very weak and chained up, so he couldn't run away. After the renovation was finished, I would sometimes bring Wenmo up to get some sunlight when Chu Jingen wasn't home. He even gave me some pointers, saying that the colors in the living room clashed and needed some lighter colors to balance it out. The sofa cushions, vases, and even that dried-out lotus seedpod were all prepared according to his suggestions. And you know what? The room does look more comfortable after all that. Sigh! He studied art; he has a good eye."
Where is Zhao Rui?
Liu Haoran suddenly asked this question.
This question has been a lingering doubt in the minds of the investigators.
Taking advantage of Hu Shuifen's relaxed state of mind while she was immersed in reminiscing about the past, the question was suddenly thrown out, giving her no time to think, so that the most truthful answer could be obtained.
Hu Shuifen looked up blankly: "He, he was killed by Chu Jingen."
Jiang Ling's heart sank suddenly.
Zhao Rui, is he dead?
I had hoped Zhao Rui was unrelated to the case, but I never expected...
Was the young man described by his neighbors as "very loyal to his friends" really murdered? Zhao Rui's mother is still sitting at the door, waiting anxiously for him to come home from work.
After all, someone had died. Recalling the past, Hu Shuifen's voice still trembled slightly with fear.
"Wen Mo ran out of paint, so he asked Chu Jingen to buy some for him. At that time, Chu Jingen's brick factory had just received a large order and made a lot of money. He was in a good mood, so he drove to the city to buy it."
"When we got back to town, the car broke down, so we took it to Old Zhou's repair shop. Zhao Rui saw paints and drawing paper in the trunk and joked, 'Why did you suddenly buy so many paints? Are you going to become a painter?'"
"Originally, there was nothing wrong with what he said, but at that time the police were investigating Wen Mo's disappearance very thoroughly, and everyone in town knew that an art student had gone missing. Chu Jingen was guilty and his face changed immediately. When he got home, he became more and more scared, so the next day he went to Old Zhou's repair shop again and told Zhao Rui that he had a private job for him, and the price was high. He told Zhao Rui not to tell anyone and to wait for him at the bus stop outside the town after get off work."
"They were all from the same town, so Zhao Rui went without any precautions. Chu Jingen took him back to the villa and strangled him to death in front of Wen Mo. Wen Mo was willing to say a few words before, but after that incident, he stopped saying a word."
"Smack!"
Enraged, Liu Haoran slammed his hand on the table: "Speak! How was the body disposed of?"
Hu Shuifen was startled by the sound: "Buried, buried, buried in the back mountain. This time they dug deep and it wasn't discovered."
...
After hearing all of her statements, Jiang Ling suddenly stood up, her calm face masking a raging inferno of anger.
"Make her sign and put her fingerprint on it."
"Prepare to interrogate Chu Jingen!"
Zhang Lei and Zhao Rui buried their bodies in the wilderness.
Wen Mo is still in the ICU.
Two and a half lives.
Chu Jingen deserves to be torn to pieces!
The interrogation room was brightly lit, casting a pale light on Chu Jingen's sinister face.
He leaned back in his chair, the handcuffs clinking softly against the metal edge of the table, his face bearing the mask of an "honest man" that he had cultivated for many years.
Having run a brick factory for so many years, he's been to the police station before, but by playing dumb and denying everything, he always manages to escape unscathed.
Chu Jingen was terrified the moment the police handcuffed him.
However, as the extreme fear gradually faded over time, Chu Jingen once again built a strong psychological defense for himself.
—Hu Shuifen was also an accomplice, so she certainly wouldn't dare say anything to the police. As long as she stuck to her guns and wouldn't give in, what could anyone do to her?
Who said he killed Zhang Lei?
Does anyone know where Zhao Rui is?
Wen Mo isn't dead, and the law doesn't say that raping a man is a crime. Besides, what's the harm in locking Wen Mo up? Illegal imprisonment at most results in a sentence of ten years or so, not execution.
In Chu Jingen's view, as long as he could live, he had already made a profit.
What does "leniency for confession, severity for resistance" mean?
Chu Jingen only knew: Confess and you'll be lenient; resist and you'll be severely punished, but you'll be able to go home for the New Year.
Jiang Ling pushed open the door and entered, holding a stack of files in her hand.
Liu Haoran followed closely behind, carrying a tape recorder.
Li Zhenliang was in charge of taking notes, and he brought paper and pen with him.
The three men were dressed in police uniforms and had solemn expressions.
After everyone took their seats, the air in the interrogation room suddenly became heavy.
Chu Jingen's heart began to race.
Jiang Ling didn't rush to speak, but simply sat down quietly, her gaze sweeping across Chu Jingen's face like a knife.
Chu Jingen suppressed the gloom in his eyes and forced a "simple and honest" smile: "Officer, you've arrested the wrong person. I really haven't broken the law."
Jiang Ling didn't reply, but simply opened the file and lightly touched a photo with her fingertip. It was a photo of Wen Mo when he was just rescued.
Next to the photo is Wen Mo's medical report.
—Unhealed fractures, malunion of old fractures.
—Extensive deep pressure sores, old scar contractures, lacerations, burn scars, soft tissue defects, and necrotizing fasciitis.
— Chronic subdural hematoma of the head and peripheral nerve injury.
— Severe dehydration, hypokalemia, hypophosphatemia, hypomagnesemia, hypoproteinemia.
Chu Jingen's smile froze for a moment, but quickly returned to normal: "That's because he was disobedient and did it himself."
Jiang Ling remained silent and turned to the next page, which contained a photo of Wen Mo being imprisoned in the basement. The damp cement walls and the rust on the chains were clearly visible.
Chu Jingen's knuckles turned slightly white, but he remained defiant: "This is my own home, I can do whatever I want with it."
Jiang Ling finally spoke, her voice eerily calm: "Chu Jingen, do you know why you're sitting here?"
Chu Jingen looked up at Jiang Ling, his nostrils flaring and his breathing becoming rapid.
Jiang Ling stared at him and slowly said, "Because you lost."
Chu Jingen was stunned for a moment: "Lose? Impossible. I've never lost in my life!"
He has spent his whole life fighting against fate.
Who says a man with a castration can't get married? He married two.
Who said he didn't have a son to inherit the family business? Chu Jingen's adopted son got into university!
Who says a farmer's son can't get rich? He made a fortune running a brick factory, drives a car, uses a mobile phone, and every resident in town calls him "Factory Director Chu" with respect.
Chu Jingen always wins.
Therefore, he never admits defeat.
He felt he had the right to be arrogant.
Jiang Ling shook her head, her tone almost pitying: "Your wife accused you of murder, your stepson testified that you sexually assaulted him, Wen Mo's family has sued you for unlawful detention, and as for Zhang Lei..."
She paused, then pulled out an autopsy photo and pushed it in front of him. "His parents, classmates, and teachers are all waiting to see you sentenced to death."
Chu Jingen's pupils contracted sharply. In the photo, Zhang Lei's pale face, the ligature marks on his neck, the skull shattered by a blunt force... He abruptly turned his head away, a low growl escaping his throat: "Fake! It's all fake!"
Jiang Ling sneered: "Are you scared?"
"I'm not afraid!" he roared, but his voice was already unsteady.
Jiang Ling didn't give him a chance to catch his breath and gave Liu Haoran a look.
Liu Haoran pressed the play button on the recorder.
“He, he comes into my room every night…” Su Xinyan’s voice trembled in the recording, “He’s a useless man, yet he comes to torment me. I begged him to stop, but he smiled like a devil.”
Chu Jingen's face turned deathly pale instantly.
"Turn it off!" He suddenly sprang to his feet, but was pulled back into the chair by the handcuffs, the sound of metal clashing against metal was ear-piercing.
Jiang Ling remained unmoved.
The tape recorder continued playing—
“He killed Zhang Lei. He said Zhang Lei’s smile was too dazzling, but I know he was just jealous. Jealous of Zhang Lei’s good looks, height, and physique; jealous of how Zhang Lei could attract girls’ attention on the court. Zhang Lei had something he could never have in his life. He wasn’t a real man; that part of him was smaller than a three-year-old child…”
That's Hu Shuifen's voice.
Chu Jingen hated the phrase "real man" more than anything in his life. His breathing became more and more rapid, and beads of sweat seeped from his forehead. He clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, but those voices still slithered into his ears like venomous snakes.
“And Zhao Rui.” Jiang Ling turned to the last page. “Hu Shuifen confessed that you killed him, and the body has been found. The forensic report shows that he had been severely beaten before his death.”
Chu Jingen suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot. "That kid deserved it! He was meddling in other people's business!"
Jiang Ling stared into his eyes and suddenly smiled: "You finally admit it."
Chu Jingen froze.
The air froze for a few seconds. Only then did Chu Jingen realize that he had just confessed to his crime. His expression shifted from rage to confusion, and then to fear.
"I...I didn't..." he stammered, his voice growing softer and softer.
Jiang Ling stood up, slowly walked to Chu Jingen, and looked down at him: "Chu Jingen, you know very well that you are not a strong person at all."
Jiang Ling's voice was cold and her eyes were sharp, like a doctor holding a scalpel, about to use that cold, sharp knife to cut open the patient's festering sores.
"Your power is built on fear and violence. You only dare to point your fangs at those who cannot resist: innocent children, kind and sunny teenagers, depressed and silent young people, and unarmed women! You are like a hyena hiding in the shadows, only daring to prey on the weak and sick!"
"Faced with the law and justice, faced with the police and guns, do you dare to fight back? Do you dare to be arrogant? Besides trembling like a leaf, incontinence, and eyes that only beg for survival, what else do you have left? You're nothing but a coward who's been scared out of his wits!"
"You can't face your disability, you don't dare to challenge opponents of your own caliber, so you can only try to prove that you're not that pathetic wretch who's afraid of being ridiculed or seen through by torturing and destroying lives weaker than you! The abuse of Wen Mo and the hunting of innocent people are all desperate screams of your inescapable, cowardly self: Look, I'm strong, I'm not afraid!"
"How ridiculous. The more you scream and try to prove yourself, the more it proves your incompetence and cowardice."
"So don't say you haven't lost, don't say you're not afraid, it's just self-deception. You've never been a strong person, you're just a complete coward, a rotten soul, who only dares to vent his endless fear on the weak! Your name will forever be tied to the words despicable, cowardly, and bullying the weak, forever and ever nailed to the pillar of shame in the criminal records!"
This was a trial more profound than any physical punishment.
Jiang Ling's words completely stripped away Chu Jingen's facade of "strength" that he relied on for survival, exposing the most wretched and cowardly nature deep within his soul to the light of day.
Chu Jingen's shoulders slumped, and his eyes began to glaze over. At this moment, under Jiang Ling's judgment, he felt like a maggot wallowing in a cesspool, still thinking himself superior.
“Your wife is afraid of you, Su Xinyan is afraid of you, Wen Mo is afraid of you…” Jiang Ling said slowly and deliberately, “but now, no one is afraid of you anymore.”
"Oh, to add something, Su Xinyan has changed his surname because he feels disgusted by the surname Chu."
Chu Jingen finally understood what despair was.
It was as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff, letting the wind blow him down, and he would fall into an endless abyss.
It was as if he had been thrown into the sea, the salty seawater pouring into his lungs through his mouth and nose, bringing an indescribable, dull pain that felt like his body was being torn apart and burst from the inside out.
Chu Jingen's lips trembled; he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
Jiang Ling sat back in her chair: "Confess your guilt."
Chu Jingen stared intently at Jiang Ling, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows: "Confess?"
Jiang Ling remained silent.
After a long silence, Chu Jingen slowly reached out, as if trying to grasp something. But all he could see was emptiness, and he couldn't hold onto anything.
"I..." His voice was so hoarse it was almost inhuman, "I really didn't expect it to turn out like this."
Jiang Ling didn't speak, she just stared at him coldly.
A single, murky tear fell onto the back of his hand. Chu Jingen finally broke down, collapsing forward and wailing, "I was wrong... I was really wrong..."
But Jiang Ling knew that this was not repentance, but fear.
She put away the documents and turned to leave.
Behind him, Chu Jingen's cries gradually turned into roars, and finally faded into deathly silence.
Stepping out of the interrogation room, Jiang Ling breathed a long sigh of relief.
Chu Jingen's psychological defenses completely collapsed—from arrogance to rage, from denial to fear, and finally, in despair, he confessed his guilt.
But none of this could undo the lives he had destroyed.
Standing at the door, Jiang Ling turned to look inside.
Chu Jingen slumped in his chair, his eyes vacant, like a soulless shell.
He is no longer that arrogant demon.
Now, he is nothing more than a wild beast trapped in a cage, awaiting final judgment.
But what about Zhang Lei, whom he murdered?
That bright and sunny boy, whose life had countless possibilities, had his life frozen at the age of seventeen years and nine months.
What about Zhao Rui, whom he killed?
The young man who wanted to go south to work and earn money, but stayed in the small town because he was worried about his sick mother, will never see his mother, who has cried herself blind, return.
What about Wen Mo and Su Xinyan, who were abused by him?
Life is so long, can they overcome their psychological trauma, rise from the ashes like a phoenix, and begin a new chapter?
Jiang Ling's only consolation at this moment is that, because of her early intervention, at least Wen Mo is still alive, and at least Su Xinyan has not become a murderer.
I walked out of the interrogation room and stood in the corridor.
A gentle breeze carries the fragrance of flowers.
Jiang Ling took a deep breath, her resolve growing stronger.
Crime prevention is a long and arduous task.
The world is so beautiful, it deserves her protection.
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