Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 93 The Murder Case Five Months Ago

Qian Xun was astonished. This young man dared to go out? Wasn't he afraid...? Qian Xun thought about it and realized that there was really no need to be afraid. He had heard that the people around Jia Chuan were extremely skilled in martial arts. Even if he sent someone to follow him at all times, it would only be a matter of following. If he wanted to take action, he would have to plan carefully in advance.

Qian Xun felt sorry for Zhu Heng, took a deep breath, and went to the back courtyard to find Lin Wei.

Lin Wei, who had already been working at the front office despite his illness, heard that Qian Xun had arrived. He grabbed his robe and ran to the back residence. He had just lain down on his sickbed when Qian Xun arrived.

"What case is he investigating, a judge?!" Qian Xun asked angrily by the sickbed. After asking, he realized he had asked a pointless question, and said, "Doesn't he want grain? Shouldn't this matter be discussed? Order someone to call him back."

“He’s not in charge of grain matters either,” Lin Wei said with difficulty.

Qian Xun then realized that Jia Chuan's official position did not cover this matter. He asked angrily, "Why is he asking so many questions when it's none of his business? Since he asked, we should see it through! Stop talking nonsense and quickly order someone to call him back, or you can come with me to the Prince's mansion to see the Prince."

Lin Wei quickly ordered people to go and search.

……

After persuading Lin Wei, Jia Chuan immediately divided the work with him. For the civil disputes, Jia Chuan told Lin Wei to stop worrying about who could give more money and to quickly retry and close the cases based on the principles of fairness and justice. If money had been received before, it should be returned immediately. Jia Chuan guaranteed that as long as the pending cases were resolved as soon as possible, he would not only not file a complaint but would also speak well of Lin Wei to the Emperor. Jia Chuan would handle the remaining criminal cases.

Jia Chuan was an expert at making empty promises, and Cui Youzhi from Dongzhao County was waiting for a promotion.

Having received Jia Chuan's promise, Lin Wei's condition improved significantly. Just as he was about to make a big splash at the front office, Qian Xun arrived.

The reason Jia Chuan was so quick was that he had already decided which case to investigate first. He went to the prison after leaving the back house, and then went to the yamen to check the files. Just as the people in the Prince of Han's mansion were discussing how Jia Chuan would treat the grain that was being transported back, Jia Chuan led his men out of the yamen. Wu Bing and the others had also changed into the uniforms of yamen runners.

Jia Chuan is investigating a murder case that occurred five months ago.

The man Jia Chuan met in the prison cell was an old carpenter. To be precise, the night before last, when he returned to the yamen and helped arrange accommodations for those people from the Prince of Han's mansion, Jia Chuan saw this old carpenter who was on the verge of death. That night, he asked the jailer about the man's situation, and yesterday he had talked to the old carpenter and learned that the old carpenter had been wronged.

Five months ago, the old carpenter made several wooden boxes for a wealthy family in the city. It seemed that the family was going on a long journey. The wooden boxes were easy to make, and the old carpenter finished them in two days by himself. Two days after he returned home, just as he was about to have lunch, the constables from the yamen rushed into the yard and brought him back. Since then, he has not left again.

The case file states that on the sixth day of the fourth month, Wang Wenyuan, a cloth merchant in the west of the city, was found dead by his servants near the well in the backyard. His head had been smashed and his face was covered in blood. The person who reported the incident was the deceased's nephew, Wang Shunfa.

The coroner determined that the victim died from being struck on the skull with an axe. The evidence included a bloodstained axe, half a piece of bloodstained coarse cloth left from a scrape on the courtyard wall, and half a receipt found in the victim's arms, which showed a bill with a carpenter.

Lin Wei then identified these three pieces of evidence as irrefutable proof that the old carpenter had committed murder.

However, the old carpenter refused to plead guilty, and the evidence was insufficient. The case was reported for retrial, and the case was thus stalled.

Every household has an axe, so how can we be sure that the axe used in the crime belonged to the old carpenter? As for the half-piece of coarse cloth stained with blood, Jia Chuan examined it carefully and concluded that it was definitely not left behind during the scraping. The edges were too neat. The most suspicious thing was the receipt. It didn't amount to much wages, so why would the employer need to issue a receipt?

The old carpenter also said that he left after finishing the work and receiving his wages. Even if there was an account, it was the deceased's family's accountant who kept the accounts. But the Wang family was just a cloth merchant. They had an accountant in their shop, but only two servants who did rough work at home. So where would they get an accountant?
The old carpenter cried to Jia Chuan, "They insist that I coveted their money. I don't even know where they keep their cash. If I kill someone, wouldn't I be taking the blame for nothing? Then they said I was unwilling to pay them less than I was owed. I said I paid them every penny. How could I be shortchanged?"

Even more suspicious is that the body was found near the well in the backyard. Was it dragged or mixed in with other evidence? A head injury would have resulted in blood splattering everywhere, but were any bloodstains found elsewhere? Was the primary crime scene in the backyard or somewhere else?
It wasn't mentioned in the case file.

Therefore, Jia Chuan was to go to the deceased's home.

……

The deceased, Wang Wenyuan, was 38 years old. He lived with his wife in the west of the city. They had a daughter who was already married.

Jia Chuan led his guards on donkeys to the deceased's home. He didn't ride horses to keep a low profile, as there weren't many people riding horses in the city. It was one thing to ride one to or from work to save one's life, but during work hours, with so many people with him, he didn't want to frighten the victim.

He was received by the deceased's wife, Ms. Zou.

Ms. Zou said that her daughter had just given birth when the incident occurred. She went to visit her daughter and stayed at her daughter's house for three days. She was not at home on the day of the incident.

Although the two servants whose bodies were found in the house had worked for the Wang family for many years, they were both men and it was not appropriate for Zou, a widow, to keep them at home. So they were sent away after the incident, and two older women were brought in to keep her company. They were responsible for cleaning and cooking on a daily basis.

"Did you notice any missing cash or silver after the incident?" Jia Chuan asked.

Ms. Zou wiped away her tears and shook her head.

Jia Chuan then asked, "Is the family business still going?"

Madam Zou nodded and said, "It's being done. My husband's nephew is managing it. I don't have much money here, so he gives me some cash every month, which is a kind of income. After I die, all of this will be left to my daughter, and the business will be left to my nephew."

"Why not hand over the business to your son-in-law?"

Ms. Zou shook her head helplessly and said:

"My husband and I only have one daughter. The business was started with money from the division of the family property between my husband's and his family. Logically, the business could be handed over to my son-in-law, but... there are three brothers in the Wang family. My husband is the second oldest. Before my parents-in-law passed away, the family property was divided. The eldest brother is doing well, but the youngest brother's family... was quite good a few years ago, but they have been struggling in the last two years. My daughter married well; her husband's family has shops in Le'an and the capital. We only have one daughter, and her dowry was all we had. So... if we really think about it, having another shop like mine will just be icing on the cake. But it's different for the youngest brother's family..."

"Did you originally think this way, or did Wang Wenyuan persuade you to think this way?"

Mrs. Zou sighed and said, "I originally disagreed, but what could I do? My husband is the second oldest in the family. Everyone says the eldest grandson and the youngest son are the most beloved by my mother-in-law when she was alive. Besides, I didn't give birth to a son, so I received less when the family property was divided. The two shops that my in-laws had saved up over their lifetime were given to my eldest and youngest brothers-in-law... Of course, I didn't want to do this. They treated me badly back then, and my in-laws never even looked at my daughter properly when they were alive..."

"Logically speaking, your brother-in-law's family should be better off than yours, so how come they're struggling?"

"Although we all live in the same city, I haven't had much contact with them since we separated our families. I only heard that first my sister-in-law fell ill, then my nephew also got sick, and then my nephew got married. It was a high-status marriage, I suppose. He was a relative who was an official, and the dowry was quite generous. My sister-in-law was very busy at the time, showing off everywhere. Who knew that joy would turn to sorrow? They were originally hoping that their in-laws could help their business, but a few months after the marriage, that official relative was imprisoned. Maybe their in-laws needed money to make connections. Sigh, I'm too lazy to ask. Anyway, from then on, their shop was sold, and their lives became difficult. This year, my nephew became a father, and life has become even harder."

"Was this request made by Wang Wenyuan or his brother's family? You are all still young, why are you talking about these things?" Zou frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "It was just something we talked about casually, we never brought it up intentionally. Actually, the brothers didn't have much contact in previous years, but in the last two years, the third brother's family has been secretly borrowing money from him, and I've turned a blind eye. As time has passed, some of the past grievances have faded, and when he brings it up again, I just listen."

"You two only had one daughter, while the third son's family only had one son?"

"Yes."

Does this nephew often come to visit us?

"I have to say I owe him a lot. My daughter was still in confinement at the time, and my son-in-law's business was very busy. My nephew handled all the funeral arrangements. He was also very respectful to me and would come to see me almost every day. He was more like a son than I am. So I told him that he could just give me a fixed amount each month, and the rest, whether more or less, would be his, so that he could have a more comfortable life."

"I mean, in the period before Wang Wenyuan's accident, did your nephew come over often?"

After thinking for a moment, Ms. Zou nodded and said, "That's true."

"Wasn't it him who persuaded you to replace the servants in your household as soon as possible?"

Ms. Zou nodded subconsciously, then paused for a moment as if she had thought of something, and asked, "Wasn't the murderer caught?"

"Were you making these wooden crates for a long journey?"

Mrs. Zou waved her hand and said, "No, no, it's for my daughter. With the addition of a grandson, there are naturally more things to buy. What my in-laws are preparing is theirs. Whether it's useful or not, it's still a token of our appreciation as grandparents. Rather than carrying it over again and again, it's better to put it in a wooden box and take it over in one cart. That would be more dignified."

"After this kind of work is finished, do you need to write something for the carpenter to sign and put his fingerprint on before you can get paid?"

"Write what? I don't understand. Even if I write it down, will the carpenter recognize it?"

"Is Wang Wenyuan someone who usually delays paying wages?"

Mrs. Zou quickly waved her hand and said, "He is very kind-hearted. How could he owe wages? Back then, he was the least favored in the family, which also caused my daughter and me to have to endure the scorn of others in my husband's family. But when it came to his younger brother's family being poor, he always helped them out. Even after he died, he thought of handing the shop over to his nephew. How could he owe a few wages?"

Jia Chuan stood up and said, "Take me to the backyard to see the well."

Zou got up and led the way, turning back every few steps, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping herself.

Although the Wang family could be considered wealthy, they were only moderately wealthy. Their house had two courtyards and a back garden, which was now mostly used for growing vegetables. There was a well in the middle of the left side of the courtyard.

"Were vegetables grown here before?" Jia Chuan asked.

Ms. Zou said, "No, we planted some flowers and plants before. After he left, I had nothing to do, so I planted some vegetables with the two maids."

Jia Chuan glanced at the distance from the well to the courtyard gate and asked, "Before the incident, you were living in the main house of the second courtyard?"

"That's natural."

"After the incident, when you came back, did you notice anything missing from the main room? Like the table, chairs, teapot, or decorations..."

Madam Zou thought for a moment and said, "There was a bookshelf, but it didn't have many books to begin with. We had already said we didn't want it anymore and wanted to replace it with a display shelf. I was so heartbroken when I came back that I didn't notice it. It wasn't until later that I realized the bookshelf was gone. By then, the servants had already been replaced. I think her father probably removed the bookshelf before his accident..."

"Since they were removed, they should be found at home. They're all made of good wood, right? Why would they just throw them away?"

Ms. Zou thought for a moment and said, "That's true. I really hadn't thought of this before, but I haven't seen this bookshelf anywhere else in the house."

Jia Chuan looked at Gao Yuntian behind him and said, "Have Wu Bing's men find out where the shop is, and find some excuse to call this nephew home. If he delays, just tie him up and bring him back, but don't mention the case from five months ago."

Gao Yuntian loved doing this kind of job. He had already figured out the clues from Jia Chuan's series of questions. He hurriedly walked to the front yard, where Wu Bing and his men were waiting at the gate. He pointed to three people and followed Gao Yuntian out of the yard.

……

Not long after, Gao Yuntian returned carrying Wang Shunfa, while Jia Chuan, with Zou Shi's permission, waited in the main room of the backyard.

As soon as Gao Yuntian entered the room, he let go of Wang Shunfa's hand and said, "You guessed right again. He said he had something to do at the shop and would come over later."

“How could you guess? Thieves are always nervous; they’d tremble at the sight of a constable in this uniform.” Jia Chuan said, then looked at Wang Shunfa.

Sure enough, Wang Shunfa was trembling.

"You killed your second uncle right here, didn't you?" Jia Chuan pointed to the display cabinet next to the bedroom in the hall and asked in a deep voice.

Wang Shunfa's legs went weak, he swayed, and almost knelt down, but he held on and answered in a trembling voice, "Wasn't the criminal already apprehended? How come..."

"You think the false evidence you fabricated can really fool us? You killed him here with an axe, and then wanted to drag the body to the backyard and throw it into the well. But you were too weak, and you ran out of strength when you got to the well. Besides, you alerted the servants at home. You promised them a lot of money, right? You wanted them to help you throw the body into the well to make it look like an accidental fall, but those two refused to help you, right? If you had really done that, they would have had to run away with the money you gave them. Where would they run to? If they were caught one day, they wouldn't be able to explain themselves. So, in the end, you thought of framing him."

Wang Shunfa's mouth was agape, and for a moment he even forgot to breathe. When he remembered, he took several deep breaths. At this point, he didn't have time to think of making excuses, but he could still hold on. However, after hearing what Jia Chuan said next, he could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground.

"But there's something I don't understand: why did you take that bookshelf away?"

Gao Yuntian and Chen Mo couldn't understand how a bookshelf could have made Wang Shunfa break down.

(End of this chapter)