Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 20 Ascension to the Hall
Jia Chuan returned to the county yamen and immediately decided to go to the official residence to catch up on some sleep. The murderer's identity was pretty much out in the open. Gao Yuntian, though a bit... naive, was a serious investigator. His image as the "crown prince's confidant" had held firm in the magistrate's mind for the time being. Furthermore, the two families involved were civilians, so he figured the magistrate wouldn't frame someone at this moment.

Old Zheng wanted to drag Jia Chuan to continue studying the corpse in the morgue. Jia Chuan also wanted to figure it out as soon as possible, but his body did not allow it. He had been holding on and slept for a day and a night, thinking that he had recovered. But after such a trip, he felt obviously tired, which was not good for deep thinking.

He thought that Zhu Zhanji must have arrived in the capital, and the royal funeral must be complicated, and he had to go through the procedures to take office as emperor. Only after this series of operations were completed would Zhu Zhanji think of him. In other words, he still had time, so he let the body lie on the ice for two more days.

Gao Yuntian waited for Jia Chuan to follow him happily and then take the initiative to tell him the answer, but Jia Chuan ignored him. He whispered a few words to Old Zheng and then let Old Zheng lead the way, leading Dong Shuben and Shunzi away.

Gao Yuntian wanted to stop him but couldn't open his mouth because he wanted to save face. He could only grit his teeth, thinking that his men would come back soon and would surely know the various reasons.

Gao Yuntian hurriedly went to Cui Youzhi to report on his work, and vowed that everything had been basically ascertained, and they only needed to wait for the murderer to confess in court.

Cui Youzhi was a bit bewildered. A murder case was a major one, so naturally, the case had to be filed as quickly as possible. Anyone who dared to delay would be punished with a beating. But it couldn't be rushed this fast. Something happened in the morning and the court was already in the afternoon? They hadn't even read the indictment yet. Had they found the victim, the defendant, the witnesses, the village head, and so on?
Gao Yuntian saw Cui Youzhi hesitate and advised, "On my way back, I sent someone to ask the village head and neighbors. This case has solid evidence, and the crime was committed during a time of national mourning. If the county magistrate can solve the case with swiftness and decisiveness, it will be a good story if it gets out."

"You just said... Jia Chuan went with you?"

"Yes!"

Cui Youzhi was overjoyed when he heard this, thinking that this murder case would be easy to solve. There was still a confidant of the prince in the county government. When this matter reached the ears of the new emperor in the future, it would be an opportunity to demonstrate his ability, and promotion to prefect would naturally be just around the corner.

So, Cui Youzhi urged Gao Yuntian to hand in the statement, gathered all the people together, and then ordered all the officials in the county government to take their seats and have lunch. After everyone arrived, he put up the notice board and started the court!
In theory, the hearing of the case is an indispensable step. It is necessary to first question a number of witnesses and find out the reasons for the plaintiff's lawsuit. Then the plaintiff is taken away and the defendant is summoned for interrogation. If the defendant is dissatisfied and insists on his own story, the plaintiff, the defendant, and the other witnesses are summoned for interrogation together.

Cui Youzhi couldn't wait any longer. Gao Yuntian's words made him feel itchy, as if the murderer would confess his crime as soon as the gavel was banged in court.

This kind of murder case is just a preliminary trial for him, and it is not his turn to convict. The provincial government will review it, and the censors, the chief judges, and the procuratorate will also review and record it. He only needs to make sure that there are witnesses and evidence.

The time of the entire process will be clearly stated, so that the officials above can see that the trial is completed clearly in half a day. What an honor!

So, when the mother and son were taken back to the county government office, the village head and several neighbors also arrived. Regardless of whether they were the plaintiff or the defendant, they were all there, so Cui Youzhi went straight to the court.

But Cui Youzhi never expected that the mother and son would refuse to plead guilty and repeatedly protest their innocence. The woman, Liu, even asked, "Why should I stop my nephew from getting married? If I stop him this time, what will happen next time?"

Cui Youzhi was confused. Yes, why did he kill that woman?

Liu said loudly again:

"My husband's idea, while bad for our reputation, can save us a lot of betrothal gifts. Our family is poor, and if we could spend less money, I would have loved to get married as soon as possible. Why did he do such a thing? It must have been that cruel stepmother. She knew she could no longer use Qing'er in exchange for money, so she was furious and said everything she wanted to, swearing out all sorts of dirty, smelly things. Qing'er committed suicide out of shame and anger!"

The old woman was also in the hall. After hearing this, she became furious and cursed Liu with a barrage of curse words, but she couldn't say anything.

Liu was not someone to be trifled with, so the two of them started arguing in court.

Cui Youzhi banged the gavel until his hands were sore, but it was of no use. He shouted that he wanted to beat the two women with a stick, and only then did they stop talking.

Cui Youzhi hurriedly called Gao Yuntian to his side and asked angrily, "Didn't you say that this case was because your aunt was stingy with the betrothal gift? But she's right!"

Gao Yuntian's head hurt because of the quarrel between the two women. He felt something was wrong, but his mind was stuck when County Magistrate Cui asked him questions.

He was certain that the murderer was the mother and son, and he kept thinking about how to make them confess how they did it. The constable who went to the drug store came back before the court session, and no drug store had recently sold drugs that could make people sleep. Gao Yuntian kept thinking about the question left for him by Jia Chuan, and he really didn't think carefully about the murderer's motive.

Seeing the mother and son crying out for justice with tears in their eyes, Gao Yuntian couldn't find a reason to question them. The idea of ​​torture flashed through his mind. On the one hand, he didn't want to be suspected of forcing them to confess, as it would damage his reputation if it got out. On the other hand, the "Ming Dynasty Law" clearly stated: If someone proves his innocence through evidence but deliberately refuses to confess, he may be tortured with a wooden stick.

If it was any other case, it would be fine to use torture secretly, but today's case was different. With so many people in the court, Gao Yuntian knew that Cui Youzhi agreed to rush the case just to show Jia Chuan, and he took advantage of this. If he proposed to use torture now, Cui Youzhi would definitely not agree.

The kind-hearted Gao Yuntian thought of Jia Chuan in a hurry.

He did not ask the question himself, but forced Jia Chuan to speak in the court. In this way, he saved his face and County Magistrate Cui achieved his goal.

Jia Chuan was sleeping soundly, snoring loudly, when a yamen runner pushed him. The snoring stopped abruptly, and the sweetness in his dream disappeared with it.

Jia Chuan was a little grumpy when he woke up. The crime scene was right there, he had given the necessary instructions, and the autopsy report was from Old Zheng. Wasn't everything complete?
Does it have to be chewed before feeding?

Jia Chuan, filled with rage, followed the bailiff into the hall.

Although the two women in the hall stopped insulting each other, they were still blaming each other. The uncle and nephew knelt on the ground with their necks shrunk and did not even dare to raise their heads.

"...You don't think we don't know you beat Qing'er so badly that she's covered in wounds. Why did you only hit her body and not her face?"

"She's been slacking off at work, can't we teach her a lesson?"

"Bullshit! You're forcing her to go with you to meet someone. Who? The buyer will always want to see her appearance and figure, right? Qing'er refused to comply, so you beat her. If it were me, I wouldn't want to live either..."

"You know quite a lot!" Jia Chuan snorted coldly, stepped into the hall, and first interjected something. Then he saw that there were so many people in the hall. He was stunned for a moment and bowed to Cui Youzhi.

"Of course I know. Qing'er told me everything. How could I harm her life?!" Seeing that the man who came was just a yamen runner, Liu raised her head and answered without any fear.

Jia Chuan paused for a moment. It didn't matter to him how many people were in the court. He just needed to explain the case clearly.

He walked over to the uncle and nephew, bent down and patted his uncle, and asked, "Your family... is so considerate. Did you only find out today?"

"What do you mean?" The woman saw that her unreasonable talk was quite effective. She straightened her body and said, "Qing'er and Hui-ge often interact with each other. I don't know how many times I have seen them. It's normal for her to talk to me about family matters..."

"That's right. I haven't said enough. How could you have arranged it so well? When did you know that Qing'er and Hui-ge had secretly decided to get married?"

The woman was stunned. She hadn't expected such a question. She subconsciously looked at the uncle and nephew. "Don't look at them. Just tell me when you knew about this."

"me……"

"Didn't you just say Qing'er often visits your family? If it weren't for Brother Hui, why would she go to your house? Brother Hui has been living with you since he was thirteen. How do you treat him? Compared to how she treats Qing'er..." Jia Chuan pointed at the woman: "Just a little better, right? Brother Hui naturally won't get close to you. He himself doesn't have a place in your family, so how dare he bring Qing'er back from time to time?"

The woman looked at Jia Chuan in astonishment with her mouth open, as if asking: How do you know?
Jia Chuan looked at Brother Hui, who was lying on the ground and had already begun to sob, and said:

"Brother Hui is a coward. Fortunately, this uncle truly loves him, but he doesn't have the final say at home. You can't even come up with the betrothal gift that Qing'er's stepmother wants. Even if you could, would you, as his aunt, be willing to pay it? I don't know how Brother Hui and Qing'er met, but they share the same suffering. Saving each other is like saving themselves, so Brother Hui is determined to marry Qing'er."

Jia Chuan bent down and said to Uncle Hui, "You are an uncle who has no say in the family and can't help Brother Hui on a daily basis. You must have felt guilty about it, right? So when Brother Hui asks you for help this time, you must be determined to fulfill his wish. What's your name?"

"Chen, Chen Er."

"Chen Er wanted to help his nephew Chen Hui, but he also knew there was a tigress at home," Jia Chuan straightened up and looked at Cui Youzhi. "He thought of this idea in a hurry, but if he wants to do this, he must get the consent of the wife in the family. There is a key point here. If Qing'er's stepmother agrees that the matter is settled, will she agree to marry Qing'er off for nothing? Just looking at her expression, it's impossible. Chen Er also knows that it's impossible to get a niece's wife for nothing. He must have a plan in mind. When he told his plan to the wife in charge at home..."

Jia Chuan looked at the woman and asked, "Do you agree?"

The woman shook her head subconsciously, then quickly explained, "Where did the family get the money to arrange his wedding?"

"Is this your son?" Jia Chuan pointed at the young man kneeling beside Liu.

"Chen Yang." Gao Yuntian introduced him.

"She looks about the same age as Chen Hui. Have you discussed marriage?" Jia Chuan asked.

For some reason, Liu lost her previous arrogance and said softly, "No."

"Stand up so I can see your height." Jia Chuan said to Chen Yang.

Chen Yang clenched his fists in panic.

"Why?!" Liu stretched out her hands to protect her son and asked in a roar.

Jia Chuan didn't force it, he looked at Cui Youzhi and said:
"The murderer strangled the victim first, then hung him from the beam. It wouldn't have been possible without some strength, and even if you had strength, it would have been difficult to do it alone. Someone would have needed help. Based on the conditions at the crime scene, one person should have held the victim upright, while another stood on a stool and hung a sheet. Then, the two of them would have worked together to hang the victim on the sheet. This would have required the person holding the body to be tall and strong..."

"Stand up right there!" Gao Yuntian shouted at Chen Yang.

Cui Youzhi and Chen Yang moved in sync, both shuddering. Cui Youzhi then straightened his waist and opened his mouth, wanting to scold Gao Yuntian, but Gao Yuntian was used to being arrogant, and he couldn't control himself for a moment, rushing to the stunned Chen Yang and picking him up.

Gao Yuntian is as tall and mighty as his name suggests, but who would have thought that Chen Yang is actually half a head taller than Gao Yuntian.

There was a reason why Gao Yuntian suddenly became angry. He was actually angry at himself. He had just been confused by the quarrel between the two women and had forgotten to refute the aunt. The deceased did not die by hanging, so her statements did not make sense. If she had remembered it earlier, why would she have brought Jia Chuan here?

"Your Excellency! He is so tall, there is no doubt that he is the murderer!" Gao Yuntian turned around and said to Cui Youzhi with certainty.

Liu tugged at Gao Yuntian's clothes and pleaded, "You can't conclude that he killed someone just because he's tall. It's unjust!"

Jia Chuan frowned and looked at Gao Yuntian and asked, "Why are you so anxious? You've seen what's in that room, haven't you thought of anything else?"

Gao Yuntian let go of Chen Yang's hand and tried hard to recall the scene at that time, but all he could think of was Qing'er's purple face.

"Does anyone seem to have lived in that house?" Jia Chuan reminded.

Gao Yuntian shook his head subconsciously.

"But the deceased had stayed in that room all night. There was only a dusty mattress on the bed, not even saliva on the table, no signs of a struggle in the room, and the rest of the room was spotless."

Gao Yuntian frowned, the scene of the crime scene flashing through his mind, and he suddenly said, "The deceased sought refuge at Chen's house yesterday. He refused to eat or drink anything until he died, and he remained sitting on a stool or lying on the ground."

"The deceased had injuries. The County Magistrate can summon the coroner to question him. Have the injuries been treated? Are there any serious injuries that could have caused the fever?"

"Call the coroner!"

……

The autopsy report is very important to the investigation. Jia Chuan thought that Old Zheng would definitely re-examine the autopsy when he returned and draw a conclusion. Gao Yuntian and Cui Youzhi would then know the truth. However, they were so eager to go to court without even asking about the autopsy results in detail.

Old Zheng came to the hall and told the deceased the time and cause of death. He also said that the deceased had multiple wounds with signs of suppuration and that he was likely suffering from a persistent high fever before his death.

Gao Yuntian finally understood. He pointed at Liu and shouted, "Evil woman! That woman was already covered in wounds, and not only did you not seek medical treatment or medicine, you even refused to give her water. No wonder you strangled her to death effortlessly at dawn, without making a sound!"

Liu was so frightened that she didn't know where to look, her whole body was shaking like a sieve.
Chen Yang could no longer stand and fell down in the hall.

　Today is the Great Cold, and the day after tomorrow is the Little New Year. In the south, the Little New Year is Thursday, right?
　　Year after year, I am very busy at the end of the year. I don’t know what I am busy with, but I am exhausted every day. When I was a child, I looked forward to the New Year. When I was young, I liked the New Year. But now, I feel tired when I think about the New Year!
　　Growing up means that in addition to candy and holidays, the Chinese New Year also brings an extra layer of fatigue.

　　Let’s get to work.

　　Don't panic on Monday, isn't it still a long way off from the holiday? Cheer up!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)