The Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

Chapter 978 Overturning the verdict

Not long after, an old official wearing dark gray clothes walked into the courtroom.

Ji Zhibai's expression calmed down and he said nothing.

Fang Yun looked at the man and said, "I want to ask you, have you ever done an autopsy for a man named Zhu Yueming?"

"Back to my lord, I remember."

"Tell me more." Fang Yun observed the old man with a calm expression, without any fear.

"That day when the little old man was in the army, he heard that a prisoner who had been exiled died on the road, so he went to do an autopsy. When the little old man saw the body, he asked the officer who escorted him. As soon as the man was on the road, he sickly He was not acclimated to the weather all the way, and because he was driving under the bright sun, he fell into the river and drowned when he passed by. The little old man wrote down the descriptions of what he saw that day. According to the officer's words, he concluded that he died of drowning. ”

Ji Zhibai secretly breathed a sigh of relief and his expression softened.

Fang Yun nodded and said: "Send the officer who escorts Zhu Yueming!"

Soon, two police officers from Ning'an County walked into the court with calm expressions. After greeting Fang Yun, they also did not forget to greet Ji Zhibai.

Fang Yun said: "You two tell me again how Zhu Yueming died that day."

"Report to your lord. That day, the two of us escorted Zhu Yueming to Yingyang Army. Not long after we got on the Yuhe Bridge, we failed to check for a while, causing Zhu Yueming to accidentally fall into the river. Although the two of us were good at water, we panicked at that time. , it took a while before I went down to the river to save people, but it was too late.”

Fang Yun said: "The road you are taking, the Yuhe Bridge is not long. Where did he fall into the water on the bridge?"

The officer immediately said: "It's in the middle of the bridge. It was August and the water was deep."

Fang Yun nodded and said, "Come here, take those two things."

I saw an official holding a tray with two porcelain plates on it. There was mud on the left plate and mud on the right plate.

Fang Yun looked at the work and asked: "Your document once said, 'There is a lot of sand between the nails.' Which plate is most similar to it?"

The man was stunned for a moment, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes, and his right hand shook slightly and undetectably.

Ji Zhibai's expression changed slightly.

The man was stunned in place and didn't speak for a long time. Fang Yun said slowly: "You didn't hear clearly. Do you want me to ask you again?"

There was an invisible chill and coercion in Fang Yun's voice. The man shook his body and pointed to the sand on the right, as if he didn't dare to look at Fang Yun and Ji Zhibai, lowered his head and said: "This is the sand in this plate. "

"Crack..." The alarm bell rang.

Wu Zuo was so frightened that his body trembled. The two guards only trembled slightly, but Ji Zhibai couldn't see the change.

Fang Yun looked at the two guards and shouted: "The water in the middle section of the Yuhe Bridge is deep and fast. If Zhu Yueming fell into the water from there, not to mention that his nails would not be able to catch the mud at the bottom of the water. There would be very little mud and sand in his nails after death. Even if he could catch it, it would be something else." The mud on one side of the plate! As for the mud on the right, it is the mud in the shallow water of the river. You two told me why Zhu Yueming died in the deep water and there was mud in the shallow water! "

"This..." The two guards looked at each other, not daring to answer.

Ji Zhibai said: "Perhaps when the two dragged the body ashore, their nails scratched the sand in the shallow water."

Fang Yun sneered and said: "It seems that Chief Ji is not proficient in killing people. What kind of posture do you use to drag people ashore, and a lot of sand will be left in the ten fingernails! In addition, Zhai Wuzuo, the document describes that the deceased's face had scratches , there are a lot of them in the nose "Sand and sand" is a typical symptom of being pushed into shallow water and drowning! Zhai Zuo, you are experienced, how could you not see it? Since you dare to write all the signs truthfully, you come to the opposite conclusion. thought!"

Zhai Wuzuo sighed softly, knelt on the ground, lowered his head and said: "The person who came with the officer that day was also the chief of the army. Chief Zhang looked at me and said, this person was assigned from the rule of his good friend. He must have accidentally fallen into the water and drowned! In front of him, Xianguan said that he had indeed fallen into the water and drowned. However, Xianguan had been a widower for many years and still described the true details of the dead body in order to prevent the verdict from being overturned in the end. ”

Ji Zhibai interjected: "I do know Director Zhang. He just said that casually and you followed him. It would be unbelievable."

Zhai Wuzuo suddenly raised his head and looked at Ji Zhibai, with a trace of resentment that had been suppressed for many years flashing in his eyes, and said: "Master Ji, what the superior officer says is what we, the young ones, do. How unbelievable is that."

"You..." Ji Zhi was interrupted by Fang Yun before he finished speaking.

Fang Yun said: "Zhai Wuzuo, tell me your true conclusion today!"

"Reporting to your lord, I believe that Zhu Yueming was pinned down in the shallow water of the river and drowned!" After Zhai Wuzuo finished speaking, he lowered his head.

Fang Yun looked at the two guards whose expressions changed greatly, his eyes were as cold as ice, and said: "You two, what else do you have to say?"

The two guards looked at each other and lowered their heads.

A stern look flashed in Fang Yun's eyes, and he did not hesitate to use the code and conduct a separate trial!

The two officers were sent to separate courts respectively. Fang tried his best to pry Wu Da's mouth open, but Wu Er soon collapsed. It turned out that before escorting Zhu Yueming, Shen Ming, the chief clerk at the time, asked the two to Killed Zhu Yueming on the road.

Fang Yun did not expect this result, so he let go of the code and looked at the two policemen coldly. Thinking of the expressions on the two policemen's faces when they entered the court just now, his heart was filled with deep disgust.

As a police officer escorting prisoners, he has naturally done many things, but he has obviously killed someone at least once, but when he went to court, he didn't care at all, had no fear at all, and didn't care about human life at all. How cold-blooded!

Fang Yun sat in a chair and pondered.

Shen Ming was dead, and this clue was broken. The only way to continue was from the coroner and Zhang Zhushi.

Ji Zhibai looked up at the sky, and his expression became more and more relaxed.

Fang Yun took out the order and threw it to Yu Ba Chi, saying: "Yu Dianshi, you order people to go to Yingyang Army and ask Zhang Zhushi to come to Ning'an County to assist me in investigating this murder!"

"Yes!" Yu Ba Chi left quickly.

Fang Yun turned his head to look at Ji Zhibai and said: "Ji Zhushi, this case still needs new witnesses, please stay in Ning'an City for a few more days."

Ji Zhibai smiled and said: "It's okay, I just learned from my colleagues in the Ministry of Personnel that after tomorrow, the Ministry of Personnel will issue an official document to let me take charge of the Ministry of Personnel inspection and inspect the counties of Mizhou. Then I will temporarily inspect Ning'an County." After saying that, he looked at Fang Yun with a smile.

"Then I will write to the court. When you were the acting county magistrate of Ning'an County last year, you had repeatedly neglected your duties and may even have bigger problems. To prevent you from interfering with the trial, you are not allowed to exercise any power in Ning'an County!" Fang Yun immediately responded.

Ji Zhibai's face darkened and he said, "We have to wait for the documents from the Ministry of Personnel to come down! May I ask County Magistrate Fang if this case is temporarily suspended and if I can leave the county government?"

Fang Yun said, "Master Ji can leave."

Ji Zhibai stood up and found that Fang Yun had no intention of seeing him off. He said, "As a seventh-rank county magistrate, you should see me off, right?"

Fang Yun thought, and said, "I still have to deal with the documents of this case. If I am done, I will definitely see you off."

Ji Zhibai sat back on the chair, opened the fan, and said while fanning, "Then I will wait for you to finish!"