The eldest grandson of the Red Chamber

The guard ignored his surprise and took him directly to the back hall of the yamen. Before it was time for the trial, the main gate was already surrounded by people watching the excitement.

Qing Rong and Ming Xu were taken to the back hall of the yamen and stood around, surrounded by dozens of people, and no one answered their doubts, so they had to wait to be arranged. The county magistrate reported the situation.

The leading guard called Li Shui entered the room, bowed and cupped his hands to the person sitting at the table, and said, "My lord, I have brought him back, my lord can go and see him."

Liu Kuan, magistrate of Nanqing County, was having lunch. When he heard his subordinates report, he didn't stop his chopsticks. He said casually, "Didn't you say that they were two foreigners? Let's find out what happened, and judge according to the law." .” This is the meaning of meeting in court this afternoon.

But Li Shui obviously knew a little about his family, so he hurriedly explained the reason, "Those two are well-known scholars, and they are not very young, but they have extraordinary bearing. It's hard to say whether there will be any fate in the future." Fa, my lord, why don't we meet in advance?"

He only explained that the two of Xu could not be promising in the future, but he didn't guess that the two of them came from a wealthy family. This is also based on the experience of more than ten years. He will not be taken back obediently.

"According to Mrs. Zheng Zhao, these two foreigners were offended by Zheng Daniu, so they killed them in anger. She is an ignorant woman, so she dared not lie to this official. Since these two people have committed murder, where did they come from?" Talk about the future?" Liu Kuan said with a bit of indifference.

But when he said this, he wiped his mouth numbly with his hands, walked to the bronze mirror, straightened his clothes, and walked to the yard.Li Shui behind him twitched his mouth and followed.

Here Qing Rong and Ming Xu were waiting bored, when they heard the noise and turned their heads, they saw a man wearing a kei scarf uniform, with broad shoulders and straight back, a square face and a wide mouth, looking closely at the brows, there seemed to be a man of righteousness coming out of the main room Now, the person who followed behind was the leader of the guard who took the people. Mingxu knew in his heart that this must be the county magistrate here.

So he went forward with Qing Rong and made a scholar's salute: "Student Qing Rong, Ming Xu has met your lord."

Liu Kuan personally stepped forward to help the two of them up, his attitude was actually kind: "You two don't need to be polite, you might as well sit down and talk."

It's no wonder that Liu Fu was so polite to the two suspects, it's just that when he went out just now, he had a bias in his heart. These two juniors who claimed to be Qing and Ming were really unusual, and they made people feel refreshed at a glance. , no matter how old or young he is, he is very handsome, with a romantic bearing, and even more of a well-behaved, courteous and calm, handsome young man.

It is really hard to make people believe that these two are murderers. Liu Kuan deeply feels that the case is full of doubts and needs to be thoroughly investigated.

The two of them sat down on the chairs they quickly moved out as they said, and it was still Qing Rong who said, "Your Excellency, we two brothers are from Yangzhou. We traveled here recently and didn't stay much, and we don't know people well. The student is stupid, and he didn't figure out what to alarm the lord, so that my brother and I came to see him at the government office, and I ask the lord to explain it clearly."

Qing Rong got straight to the point, she has been in a daze for a long time since the morning, only knew that the farmer named Zheng Daniu, the host who stayed overnight the day before yesterday, died, and there was no more news.

Liu Kuan also sat down casually, and said: "Just yesterday, Mrs. Zheng Zhao from Zhongshang Village, Changyu Town knocked on the yamen at night and sued you two for killing his husband. Please, Mr. Wei, explain the details to you."

After Liu Kuan finished speaking, a middle-aged man dressed as a teacher came over at the side who didn't know when he came over and said: "Zheng Zhao reported the case yesterday, and his husband Zheng Daniu was brutally murdered. After receiving it, the Lord immediately asked for an autopsy, and found that Zheng Daniu took manganese. After Tuo Luohua fell into a coma, she was thrown into a well and suffocated to death. Zheng Zhao sued you and others for killing because of discord with Zheng Daniu, deeply offended and angry."

"Is there evidence?" Qing Rong frowned, the death was too sudden.

"The mandala flower in Zheng Daniu's body is expensive, and it was not obtained by a farmer's family. It happened that the two of you stayed at his house, and no one was suspicious of the rest." Mr. Wei explained.

"The two of us travel lightly. Although we have some ready-made medicines on us for emergencies, they definitely don't include mandala for anesthesia. This so-called evidence is just Zheng Zhao's one-sided statement. If your lord uses this It would be too hasty to suspect us of committing this crime." Qing Rong said in a deep voice, on the surface it seems that they are the most suspected, but in fact there is no hard evidence, so they cannot stand scrutiny.

"We met that old man Zheng by chance, but in just one day, there was no conflict, so why should we offend him. Please be careful." Mingxu added, not quite understanding how the county magistrate would believe such a reason, It sounds like a child's play to kill people because of verbal offenses. There are so many bloodthirsty people in the world.

At this time, Mingxu still doesn't understand that there are indeed not so many people who are easy to kill in this world, but there are quite a few who treat the lives of ordinary people as a joke, as can be seen from the case of Xue Pan killing Feng Yuan in order to capture Xiangling , Feng Yuan is the son of a village eunuch, and he is not allowed to repay his life, let alone Zheng Daniu, who has no power and no power, so Liu Kuan and others also accept this statement.

"You two are right, but it has been one night since the incident happened, and it is impossible to check whether the two of you are carrying mandala flowers. Then what Zheng Zhao said is not wrong. His husband died for no reason, and the official's parents and officials , I have to give an explanation, if that’s the case, then let’s go up to the court for trial.”

Liu Kuan stood up as he spoke, he had already given enough face to see these two people before the trial, if it is proved that these two people did not do it, it would not be regarded as an affair, that's enough.It's just that I can't help but start to doubt Zheng Zhao's. Since reporting the case, the woman has been too decisive and organized.

Seeing Liu Kuan walk into the East Pavilion to change his clothes, and the public trial is about to start, Ming Xu opened his mouth to stop him, he still had something to say, but before he could say anything, Qing Rong who was beside him helped him by the arm, and he closed it immediately Mouth.

Seeing Liu Bran walk away, Mr. Wei was left in the yard squinting at them.

Qing Rong sat back in the chair and asked Ming Xu: "What did you want to say just now?"

"I want to meet Mrs. Zheng and ask her a few words before I get promoted." Mingxu said truthfully, he still feels a little unreal now, why did the enthusiastic and honest old man Zheng die suddenly, and it was an obvious murder.

But Qing Rong sneered: "This is stupid again. You know well whether we killed Zheng Daniu or not. There are only a few people in total, and if it's not you and me, then Zheng Zhao's suspicion is the biggest. Maybe she bit it, if you see her now, besides making her take precautions, what else is there to do?"

When encountering such a thing as soon as he goes out, Qing Rong's mood will inevitably become bad, and it is because he has a premonition that their group is the opportunity to cause Zheng Daniu's life to die. If Zheng Daniu's death is really related to them, It's really hard to calm down.

Killing is a heinous sin.

Ming Xu stopped talking after hearing this, Qing Rong was right, he really did not think about it, in the face of the truth and the law, sympathy is superfluous.No matter who it is, the moment they do something wrong, they are ready to be exposed.

……

The gate under the plaque hanging high in the mirror was opened, the hall servants beat drums three times, and the three classes of government servants stood on both sides, shouting "Ascension hall, mighty~" in unison.County Magistrate Liu Kuan came in from the East Pavilion in official uniform, sat in the lobby, and slapped the gavel: "Bring the plaintiff, and the defendant to court."

Ming Xu was taken up, this was the first time he stepped into the courtroom in his previous life and in this life, as a defendant.

Qing Rong and Ming Xu knelt down in front of the lobby, the plaintiff Zheng Zhao was on the left, Ming Xu glanced at him through Qing Rong, but after not seeing him for a day, the pungent woman became much haggard, her eyes were red and swollen, and she was in a trance. He didn't turn his eyes to look at them, and murmured not knowing what to say.

"Quiet." Liu Kuan patted the gavel and shouted, "Who is the accuser? What is the accusation? Please tell me in detail."

Mrs. Zheng Zhao seemed to be intimidated by this battle, she trembled and stopped crying, and said in a mournful voice: "Mr. Zhao, a woman from Zhongshang Village, Changyu Town, sued the two people who stayed in my house yesterday to kill my husband. Please sir Let the women be the masters, catch the murderer, pay my husband's life, save my widow and widow, my miserable husband Huang Quanlu will not forget to thank the master." He cried again.

"I will investigate the case myself, you just need to explain clearly." Liu Kuan was a little impatient.

"My husband went to the mountain to collect herbs the day before yesterday. On the way back, he met two people. They had nowhere to stay. It was fine to invite them to stay at home. However, my family was very poor. My husband saw that the two of them had good food and clothing. Unavoidably, I had the idea of ​​repaying the favor, so I asked the two for money, and they also gave it."

Mrs. Zhao paused and continued: "Daniu saw that the two were nobles, and thought he would give more, but he was so stingy. It was only ten taels of silver, and he was dissatisfied, so he asked for it again, but the two felt that he was too big a lion." I opened my mouth, but I stayed for one night, and didn’t spend anything, so I was not greedy enough. So I didn’t stay for lunch, and went straight away by car.”

"Go on, how did you find out that Zheng Daniu died, and what does it have to do with these two people?" Liu Kuan said.

"When it was time for dinner, I went to the field to ask him to eat, but there was no one there. I searched together with the neighbors, but it turned out to be in the well on the ground, and it was already dead. The woman thought that something was wrong, so she hurriedly reported it. My lord, my husband was kind to others, he never offended anyone in half his life, he just had a few words with those two, and he died in the afternoon, please judge me, my lord." After finishing speaking, Mrs. Zhao kowtowed.

"Defendant, what do you two have to say?" Liu Kuan turned to Qing Rong and Ming Xu and asked.

"Your Excellency, what Zheng Zhao said just now is all nonsense. Zheng Daniu never asked me for money. I left the ten taels of silver in the room. He probably didn't know when we left. Where did it come from?" I don't think there is much money, let alone repaying the favor."

Qing Rong frowned. Twelve couples are not a small number for a farmer's family. He knows the truth of the crime of being pregnant, so naturally he will not give more. The other reason is that he thinks that Zheng Daniu is a kind person, and he will not ask him to do things with good intentions. The money was given quietly.This distortion of the facts by Mrs. Zhao is equivalent to admitting that she was responsible for the case.

Mingxu also understood all of a sudden, and then said: "My lord, we didn't have any conflicts with Zheng Daniu when we left. He still came to see us off when we left that day. It was at noon, and many people were eating outside with bowls. You can testify, your lord will know when you ask. This Zheng Zhao family distorted the facts for no reason, and your lord will investigate clearly."

"Ms. Zheng Zhao, what else can you say? I will send someone to ask you which one is true and which one is false. If it is true that you lied about the case and the thief calls for a thief, you have to think about the consequences." Liu Kuan walked down and went to In front of her, the tiger's eyes stared very majesticly.The hall servants on both sides cooperated with each other and knocked the ground with their sticks.

The psychological tactics commonly used in Yamen trials.

Mrs. Zheng Zhao hurriedly prostrated herself and tapped the ground with her forehead: "My lord, what the woman said is true. Even if you don't believe what the woman said before, you should also believe what the man said. I am not the only mandala flower." If Mrs. Wuzhi's possessions are really the work of a commoner's wife as your lord suspects, why not take a pack of rat medicine and save so much trouble."

Qing Rong held his forehead in deep thought, this is also what he didn't understand, even if Mrs. Zhao had murderous intentions towards her husband and wanted to kill him and put the blame on others, she still couldn't justify the mandala flower. Mrs. Zhao's argument in this case was full of loopholes , obviously the killing of her husband was on a temporary basis, and I couldn't think of a thoughtful explanation. It didn't make sense to prepare the mandala flowers in advance.

He has already determined that Zhao is the murderer, and now the only thing that is missing is the identification evidence.

At this time, Mingxu suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and remembered a detail. Disregarding the rules of the court, he went straight to Zhao Shi, met her eyes and said, "Madam Zheng, I thought of it, the murderer really has something else people."

Liu Kuan waved his hand, stopped Li Shui who was about to reprimand, and stared at Zheng Zhao Shi to see her reaction.

Zheng Zhaoshi looked at Mingxu in front of him, there was a hint of understanding in the young man's clear eyes, but he didn't say anything.

Liu Kuan saw that Mrs. Zheng Zhao's pupils shrank suddenly, and she sat slumped on the ground: "No, no one else, I killed Zheng Daniu. My lord, I recognize that I am the murderer. There is no need to investigate any more. I want to make a confession. .”