The next morning, all of Ma Ye's ox carts were full. Song Yuehua asked Zong Yi to drive out his own ox cart as well, and take Tian, Grandma Jin and Zhang with him.
I won’t talk about other times, but this time Grandma Jin is going and no one can stop her.
At the yamen, the villagers had been waiting here early.
Tang pushed Mrs. Mu over here.
Tian explained, "Because of Erniu's matter, his family has been in the county town these days and has no time to travel back and forth. When Grandma Mu heard about it, she let them stay at her home."
Song Yuehua nodded and went over to comfort Tang.
Not long after, the door of the yamen opened.
Zhang Daniu and Zhang Rushan hurried over.
Not long after, Zhang Erniu was brought up. Apart from his dejected look, he didn't seem to have been subjected to any punishment. Song Yuehua felt relieved.
People arrived one after another.
Let the lawyer state the case first.
Zou Cai's nickname was Fake Monk. He was originally a peddler. This time when he came back, after dinner, he asked his good friend Huang Jia to go out for a few drinks.
Before leaving, Zou Cai's wife Xu asked Zou Cai to buy some soy sauce.
Xu testified that when Zou Cai left the house, she personally handed him the 10 taels of silver.
The two drank a few pots of wine. Huang Jia, a good friend who was traveling with them, went back early because he couldn't hold his liquor. Zou Cai also paid the bill and left soon after.
All of this was testified by the tavern owner.
There was nothing unusual when Zou Cai paid the bill, so the 10 taels of silver were still with him at the time.
However, on the way back, Zou Cai slipped and fell into the water. Because he was drowning for too long, he was too late to be rescued when Zhang Erniu rescued him.
There was a broken rope in the body's arms, one end of which was originally tied to a purse, which ruled out the possibility that the purse fell into the river when the man drowned.
Zou Cai's mother, Mrs. Lu, sued Zhang Erniu for murder and robbery.
But in the opinion of the Yan County Magistrate, there was no intersection between the two men, and Zou Cai did not show off his wealth on his way back after drinking. How did Zhang Erniu know that Zou Cai had 10 taels of silver.
But after rescuing the master, it is possible to search the corpse for money.
"Zhang Erniu, Zou accused you of taking advantage of someone's misfortune and stealing 10 taels of silver. Do you admit it?" Yan County Magistrate asked.
“It’s unfair!”
Zhang Erniu cried out, "Sir, I am innocent. When I saw Zou Cai fall into the water, I was so busy saving him that I had no time to steal the silver."
"Nonsense! He was the one who pushed my son into the water! It was him!" A skinny old lady jumped out from behind and retorted.
"quiet!"
Yan County Magistrate slammed the gavel and continued, "Three people have confirmed that Zou Cai had 10 taels of silver on him before he fell into the water. No one else had contact with him except you, so naturally we can only suspect you."
Zhang Erniu didn't know how to explain, so he could only repeat over and over again, "No, I didn't take it, I didn't take it!"
"grown ups!"
Zhang Rushan stepped forward, bowed to the magistrate of Yan County, and said, "Would you allow me to speak a few words in defense of my father?"
The magistrate of Yan County saw that Zhang Rushan behaved well and was the son of Zhang Erniu, so he agreed.
Zhang Rushan then said, "It is certain that Zou Cai had 10 taels of silver on him. The broken rope on his body also proves that the silver was taken away. In addition to Zou Cai's wife, there were three other people who knew that Zou Cai had silver on him. Among these three people, only Xu and Huang Jia knew that it was 10 taels of silver. Excluding Xu who had no motive for committing the crime, only Huang Jia had the opportunity and motive to commit the crime."
Huang Jia, who was outside the door, heard this and was about to speak when he was stopped by the yamen runner.
In the courtroom, the magistrate of Yan County said, "When Huang Jia and Zou Cai separated, the tavern owner testified, and when they returned home, the neighbors testified. With all the witnesses, there is no suspicion on him."
Zhang Rushan nodded and said, "On the surface, it is true, but I found that the wall behind Huang Jia's house is not high. After climbing over it, we can walk along the path to the bridge where Zou Cai fell into the water and wait. As long as we wait for Zou Cai to pass by, we can rob him of his wealth, kill him, and push him into the river."
Originally, it was considered a case of Zou Cai falling into the water accidentally, but after Zhang Rushan's explanation, it became a murder for money.
The magistrate of Yan County slammed the gavel and asked, "Do you have any evidence for your speculation?"
"According to the students' investigations over the past few days, the time it took to run from the back wall to the bridge was more than enough time to commit the crime,"
Zhang Rushan added, "Huang Jia is a gambler. He didn't stop even after he lost all his family's wealth. During the last eating contest held by Fu Man Lou, he borrowed 10 taels of silver from a bank and bet it all on Zou Cai, but ended up losing it all."
"Gambling debts and revenge can all be used as motives for committing crimes!"
“Bullshit!”
Huang Jia shouted, "I am good friends with Zou Cai, I can do that, sir, please don't listen to this little bastard's nonsense."
The yamen runner shouted, "Shut up!"
Zhang Rushan said to the magistrate of Yan County, "Sir, this man has a very good motive. Why don't you search his home or ask the bank whether Huang Jia has paid back a sum of money recently?"
"Sir, it's unfair, it's unfair, sir!" Huang Jia shouted outside.
The magistrate of Yan County ordered the bailiff to bring the man in.
"Since you are crying out for injustice, I cannot let you suffer injustice. Come, go search Huang Jia's house. Lord, take people to the bank to verify." Yan County Magistrate ordered.
Huang Jia's face turned pale, and he could only mutter, "Sir, it's not me. It has nothing to do with me..."
The skinny old woman, Zou Cai's mother, Mrs. Lu, started to cry, "I knew my son had a violent death. Last night I dreamt that he cried and asked me to find the real murderer. I never thought it was you, a beast! It's a pity that my son treated you well!"
"And you, bitch!"
Mrs. Lu pointed at Mrs. Xu who was standing beside her and said, "You should just associate with the Huang family on weekdays. If you hadn't let the wolf into the house, my son would never have been harmed..."
When Mrs. Lu said this, she burst into tears.
"No noise is allowed in the court!"
A yamen runner dragged Lu away, and Xu followed him away.
Song Yuehua noticed that Xu kept her head down from beginning to end, did not say a word, and looked very dull.
After a long time, the lawyer jumped off the carriage, walked quickly to the court, and said, "Sir, I checked with the bank manager and found that Huang Jia did pay back 10 taels of silver a few days ago."
The people at the money shop used cruel methods to destroy the accounts. Huang Jia must have been unable to bear it, so he took out the dirty silver early.
Huang Jia below immediately defended himself, "Sir, these ten taels of silver are the money I saved for my coffin. I had no intention of using this money. I was forced to use it to pay off my debts. This is not the ten taels of silver that Zou Cai lost."
The silver and the motive matched, the only thing missing was the actual evidence. The magistrate of Yan County had already determined that it was Huang Jia, and was considering whether to impose punishment to make Huang Jia confess his guilt as soon as possible.
The yamen runners who searched Huang Jia's house also came back, but unfortunately they found nothing.
The magistrate of Yan County was just thinking about whether to beat him with a stick or pinch his fingers.
Zhang Rushan bowed again and asked, "Sir, I have a question for Huang Jia."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
