Chapter 5 Death Row

〔Criminal investigation file〕 (positive volume) Name of the case: Qingyang County Government Prison Murder Case Case Number: None Name of suspect: XXX Time of occurrence: Ming Xiaozong Hongzhi 12th year Source: "Qingyang County Chronicles" In the prison of the Qingyang County Yamen, there is a death row prisoner named Xue Yi. He was a carpenter. He was 25 years old this year. He was just at the age of blood. He was sentenced to death for committing a murder while drunk. The case was reported to the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and the three divisions approved after a joint review: "The facts are true, and they will be executed after autumn."

That is to say, as soon as autumn comes, he will have his head fall to the ground. Xue Yi stayed in death row for more than a month, and seeing that autumn was coming, someone suddenly came to visit the prison on this day. The prison chief saw that although the visitor was a young girl, her face was covered with a red veil, which concealed her appearance so that people could not see her face clearly, so she couldn't help becoming vigilant, yelling at her and refusing to let her in. The girl in red gauze took out a silver ingot, slipped it into his hand and said, "I'm Xue Yi's friend, I just talk to him a few words before leaving, and I would like to ask the messenger to make it easier for me."

The cell boss accepted the bribe, immediately smiled, waved his hand, and signaled the jailer to let him go. The girl in red gauze walked along the long and narrow passage to the front of Xue Yi's prison, and whispered a few words to Xue Yi through the wooden fence. Hearing this, Xue Yi jumped up excitedly from the ground, dragging the iron chains of his shackles rattling loudly. He walked back and forth in the prison for a few steps, then tore off a piece of prison clothing from his body, bit his finger, wrote a few lines on it dipped in blood, and handed it to the red yarn girl. The girl put away the blood book, wiped away her tears through the red scarf, turned around and walked out.

On the second day, another person came to visit Xue Yi in the death cell. This time, it was a middle-aged man with gorgeous clothes and extraordinary bearing. He was holding a three-layer red lacquer food box in his hand, and said that he was Xue Yi's good friend, and when he heard that he was in trouble, he specially came to treat him to a meal and wine, to show his friendliness.After finishing speaking, he opened the food box for the guard to inspect. There were some small dishes and a jug of white wine in the food box. The cell boss recognized this person as Shi Qingquan, the owner of Qingquan Villa in Qingyang City, and he couldn't help being awed.

He had long heard that Shi Qingquan was a man of righteousness and loved to make friends. It was not surprising that he had a friend like Xue Yi, so he hurriedly opened the door and let him go. "Wait a minute!" Shi Qingquan was about to step in, when he suddenly heard a soft shout from behind him, when he looked back, he saw a black-clothed officer with a steel knife in his waist, walking over with a sullen face. He recognized this person as Zhao Dahai, the arresting head of the county government office, and hurriedly put down the food box and bowed his hands in salute. Zhao Dahai leaned down, opened the lid of the food box, took out a long silver needle, stuck it in each vegetable bowl, and poked it in the flagon. After careful observation, he saw that the silver needle was not The color changed, and there was no sign of poisoning in the wine and dishes, so he breathed a sigh of relief, smiled at Shi Qingquan and said, "Don't blame the owner of Shizhuang, Xue Yi is a serious criminal, and no one can afford it if something happens."

Shi Qingquan smiled apologetically, "It should, it should." He took out a letter of silver, about twenty taels, and stuffed it into Zhao Dahai's hand. Zhao Dahai's face darkened, and he said, "What is this for? Are you trying to bribe me?" Shi Qingquan hurriedly said: "Zhao Butou, don't misunderstand, I heard that the magistrate has given a dowry to the mansion, and the magistrate's eldest son has fallen in love with your daughter, and your love will be married soon, and the magistrate also intends to bring you to the magistrate." The yamen is on duty. Double happiness is coming to the door, this little meaning, the right to be Shi's congratulatory ceremony, please accept it."

"Unexpectedly, you are quite well-informed." Zhao Dahai laughed, stuffed the envelope of silver into his sleeve, and then waved his hand to let him lift the food box and enter the cell. The light in the cell was dim, and there was a long and narrow passage in the middle, with more than a dozen cells separated by wooden fences lined up on both sides. Shi Qingquan opened his eyes wide and searched for a long time before he found the death cell where Xue Yi was being held, and said loudly: "Brother Xue Yi, Shi has prepared a jug of special thin wine and came to see you."

After finishing speaking, he put the food and wine on the ground and invited Xue Yi to eat. The two whispered for a while, and then Shi Qingquan got up to say goodbye and left the prison. Early the next morning, when the prison chief inspected the cell, he suddenly found Xue Yi lying on the ground, bleeding from his mouth and nose, and motionless. The prison chief was shocked, he hurriedly opened the prison gate, went in and saw Xue Yi's complexion was dark purple, his eyes turned white, his hands and feet were cold, he had no breath, and he had been dead for a long time. This morning, Zhou Dunru, the newly appointed county magistrate of Qingyang County, had just woken up and was brushing his teeth with green salt when he heard hurried footsteps outside the bedroom. Report: "My lord, it's not good. Xue Yi, a death row prisoner in the county government prison, suddenly died suddenly last night."

Zhou Zhixian couldn't help being taken aback. The prisoner died suddenly for no reason. This is not a trivial matter. He didn't even have time to wash his face, so he followed Zhao Butou to the county government jail. After entering the death row, he saw Xue Yi bleeding from his mouth and nose, lying dead on the ground, and hurriedly ordered someone to call Wu Zuo to examine Xue Yi's cause of death in detail. Wu Zuo worked for a long time before reporting back: "The deceased's eyes turned white, his complexion was dark purple, his lips were black, his fingernails were black and blue, and blood flowed from his mouth, eyes, ears, and nose. He should have died of poisoning."

"Death from poisoning?" Zhou Zhixian couldn't help frowning, and said, "The prisoner is imprisoned here and has little contact with the outside. How could he be poisoned? Could it be that there is something wrong with the food provided in our cell?" The cell boss hurriedly said: "That's not necessarily the case. All the prisoners in the cell eat the same prison food. If the prison food was poisonous, Xue Yi would not be the only one who was poisoned to death. I think it may be the same as visiting the prison in the past two days. His people are related." So he told Zhou County magistrate in detail about the woman who covered her face with a red veil and Shi Qingquan, the owner of Qingquan Villa, who came to visit Xue Yi in prison respectively.

Zhou Zhixian stared at him and asked, "You mean that when Shi Qingquan came, he brought a food box and food?" Zhao Dahai knew what the county magistrate meant, he quickly bowed and said, "It's true that Shi Qingquan brought food, but I have tried it with silver needles beforehand, and there is no poison in the food and drink." Zhou Zhixian pondered for a moment, looked at him and asked, "So in your opinion, what is going on?" Zhao Dahai thought for a while and said: "I have seen some desperadoes who hid the poison in their dentures in advance. Once they were caught committing crimes and knew that they would die, they would immediately bite the poison sack of the dentures and kill themselves. I think Xue Yizui A few teeth are missing in the middle, he is usually a brave and ruthless person, and he probably learned this trick as well." Zhou Zhixian was quite assertive. After thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "You're not right. Xue Yi's case has been going on for several months from the filing of the case to the trial to the approval of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. If he wants to settle it on his own, I won't wait until today." Zhao Dahai slapped his thigh and said, "The poison was neither placed by the people in the cell nor brought in by the people outside the cell, nor was it Xue Yi who committed suicide by taking the poison himself. So what's going on?" Zhou Zhixian paced back and forth in the prison cell with his hands behind his back, looked at the corpse on the ground and said, "This Xue Yi died strangely, there must be something hidden in it. Catcher Zhao, hurry up and get all the files of Xue Yi's case." Come and give it to me, I want to take a closer look." He is the magistrate of Xinyang County who took office in Qingyang County just half a month ago, and Xue Yi's murder case was tried by the magistrate of the previous county, so he didn't know much about it. Zhao Dahai hesitated for a moment, and said: "My lord, Xue Yi's case has already been reported to the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and the emperor's Zhubi has decided to settle it. If something goes wrong and something goes wrong, we can't afford it. Why don't we just report it and commit suicide in fear of crime? It will save trouble." .” Zhou Zhixian stared at him and said, "Bastard, this is a matter of life and death, how can it be such a joke? You just do what I say, and I will take care of everything." Zhao Dahai blushed, Had to take orders to go. Zhou Zhixian frowned, walked back to the signing room, and after a while, Zhao Butou sent over all the files of Xue Yi's case.Zhou Zhixian locked himself in the signing room and carefully studied the files for two days, but he couldn't find any clues about Xue Yi's death from poisoning. Xue Yi's murder case was actually not complicated. Xue Yi is from Taipingfang, Qingyang. His parents died early, he learned some carpentry skills from others, and earns a living by carrying his clothes around the streets to make wooden utensils for others. Once, he went to Qingquan Villa to work as a carpenter. He worked hard for more than a month, but when he calculated his wages, he didn't get a cent.He said that he had received porridge relief from Qingquan Villa many years ago. A man who received a drop of water should repay it with a spring. What is a month's salary? Shi Qingquan, the owner of Qingquan Villa, is also a hospitable person who likes to make friends. After going back and forth, he became friends with him. On the day when the incident happened, it was raining heavily, and Shi Qingquan met Xue Yi to drink at Wangjianglou. In the evening, both of them were seven or eight points drunk, and they went back together in the rain. On the way, they passed an alley and met a rogue named Ge San walking towards them. The alley was extremely narrow, and it was impossible for the three of them to walk side by side, so Xue Yi took advantage of his drink and ordered the other party to make way. That Ge San also drank some wine, refused to give in, and cursed dirtyly. When the two sides disagreed with each other, they started pushing and shoving. On the spur of the moment, Xue Yi pulled out a dagger and stabbed at the opponent. Ge San couldn't dodge in time, was stabbed in the chest and died on the spot. The incident happened to be spotted by an officer patrolling at night, and Xue Yi was arrested on the spot. Xue Yi confessed to the fact that he was drunk and killed people. It didn't take much effort for the county magistrate to settle the case. The county magistrate has read the file in his hand countless times. Judging from the situation recorded above, the case is simple and clear, and the court trial has no twists and turns. The sentence of the previous magistrate is also reasonable and legal. Nothing wrong. He couldn't help frowning, wondering if Xue Yi's death was really just an accident and had nothing to do with the case? After thinking behind closed doors for a long time, I still couldn't figure it out. At this time, he suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly called Catcher Zhao over and asked, "Did you leave any evidence in Xue Yi's case?" Zhao Dahai thought for a while and said, "As for the evidence, there is only one dagger, which is the dagger that Xue Yi used to commit murder. According to reports from several brothers who arrested Xue Yi at the scene, they searched for Xue Yi at that time. When he turned around, he had nothing on him except the bloody dagger in his hand. This dagger has also been preserved as an important evidence." Zhou Zhixian said, "Go and show me." Zhao Dahai turned around and ran out. After a while, he took a kraft paper bag from the warehouse where the files were stored.Zhou Zhixian opened the paper bag and saw that there was indeed a dagger inside. He carefully took out the dagger, only to see that the dagger was about seven inches long, and it was inconvenient to clean because it was an evidence, so it was covered with blood stains from Xue Yi's murder. The handle is gilt iron, inlaid with a turquoise, which looks quite expensive. Although the blade was stained with blood, there was still a chill in general. Zhou Zhixian tore off a piece of hair, put it on the blade, and blew lightly, the hair broke in two immediately. Sure enough, it is a sharp weapon for blowing hair and breaking hair! Holding the dagger in his hand, he thought to himself as he examined it carefully. Naturally, it was impossible for such a sharp weapon to be carried on his body with the blade exposed, otherwise, if he was not careful, he would stab himself. Such an extremely sharp and expensive dagger must be equipped with a gorgeous scabbard. But Zhao Dahai said just now that at the time of the crime, Xue Yi had nothing on him except the dagger, so naturally there was no scabbard. If this dagger really belonged to Xue Yi, how could he not find the scabbard on him? Zhou Zhixian's heart skipped a beat suddenly: Could it be that this dagger does not belong to Xue Yi? In the morning of the next day, Zhouzhi County was promoted to a director of the hall, threw down a signed ticket, and shouted: "Speed ​​up and bring Shi Qingquan, the owner of Qingquan Villa, to the court for a hearing." Catcher Zhao under the hall received the signed ticket, knowing that the county magistrate must have had a good idea of ​​the case of Xue Yi's sudden death, so he couldn't help but cheer up, led a few arresters, and hurried away.After a while, Shi Qingquan was brought to the court. The three classes of yamen servants stomped their water and fire sticks and shouted in unison: "Wei-wu-" Shi Qingquan trembled all over, and couldn't help but knelt down with a plop. Zhouzhi County "Ba" slapped the gavel, and shouted in a cold voice: "Shi Qingquan, are you convicted?" Shi Qingquan was startled, looked up at the county magistrate sitting in the hall, and asked inexplicably in amazement: "My lord, what is the crime of the grassroots?" Zhou Zhixian's face darkened, and said: "Shi Qingquan, you took the opportunity of visiting the prison to poison the wine and vegetables, and poisoned the prisoner Xue Yi to death. How dare you say that you are innocent?" Shi Qingquan hastily kowtowed and said: "The grass-roots people are wronged. When the grass-roots people visited the prison with the wine and vegetables, Zhao Butou checked the wine and vegetables one by one with a silver needle and confirmed that there was no poison in them. Xue Yi's death has nothing to do with the grass-roots people, please be careful." Zhou Zhixian sneered and said: "I have a little knowledge of medical skills, and I know that the silver needle test can only detect poisons such as arsenic. If it is other types of poisons, such as toadstools, rat poison, etc., it is difficult to detect. So Although Zhao Butou has tested with silver needles, that doesn't prove that you didn't poison your food and drinks." Shi Qingquan argued: "Where did you say that, my lord? Caomin and Xue Yi have been friends for many years, there is no enmity between them, Mao Dun, how could Caomin poison him for no reason?" Zhou Zhixian glanced at him majestically, and said: "The reason why you want to kill Xue Yi is actually very simple. Because the one who committed the crime while drunk that day and accidentally killed Ge San was not Xue Yi, but you. Xue Yi did it for his friend." Sincerely, I took the murder weapon in your hand and took the blame for you. I have carefully looked at the murderous dagger. The handle is inlaid with a turquoise stone. It is very precious, not like what a poor carpenter can have. The most important thing is that Xue Yi didn't have a scabbard on him. A rare and sharp dagger like this must have a scabbard. If I guessed correctly, the scabbard was on you at the time. It's a pity that you were out of the way when the crime happened. You were not searched." Shi Qingquan's complexion changed, and he said: "If that's the case, he has already taken the blame for me, and the Ministry of Punishment's approval document has come down, and it is determined that he is the murderer who killed Ge San, then I have no reason to kill him. " County magistrate Zhou said: "It's a pity that things didn't go as smoothly as you imagined. Just the day before you went to visit Xue Yi in the prison of the county government, there was a mysterious woman who also visited him in the prison. Finger, wrote a blood letter and asked her to bring it out. If my deduction is correct, that blood letter was written to you by Xue Yi. For some unknown reason, Xue Yi took the blame for you and was imprisoned in death row for more than a month Afterwards, you suddenly repented and wrote this bloody letter, asking you to surrender yourself to the Yamen and get him out of the crime. And you, in order to kill someone, pretended to visit him in the prison, stabilized him with words, and let him He ate poisonous wine and vegetables and killed him. Shi Qingquan, I ask you, do you plead guilty?" Shi Qingquan's face was pale, cold sweat broke out from the tip of his nose, he raised his head to look at the high-ranking magistrate, opened his mouth, wanted to defend himself, but stopped talking, hesitated, and suddenly kowtowed: "My lord, the grass-roots plead guilty. Then Ge San was indeed killed by grass people drunk. Xue Yinian, I have a family and a family. Once the crime is committed, my wife and children will lose their support, orphans and widows will not be able to support themselves, so he took the murder weapon from me and covered the crime of murder for me. Originally, this lawsuit was closed by the former county magistrate, but a few days ago, a girl covered with a scarf suddenly came to my house, took out Xue Yi's blood book, and said that Xue Yi suddenly repented and refused to take the blame for me He told me to go to the Yamen to surrender and get rid of his crime. In order to escape the crime, the Caomin murdered Xue Yi. The Caomin went to visit the prison with wine and food, and asked Xue Yi to give me a few more days until I arranged a family. Surrender yourself, let him eat poisonous wine and vegetables..." Zhou Zhixian was stunned when he heard his confession in full, he had expected that he would refuse to tell the truth if there was no severe punishment, but he did not expect that he confessed so readily, it was really unexpected. The news of Xue Yi's sudden death in prison had already spread like wildfire. It was heard that the magistrate was about to hold a public trial, and the gate of the court was already surrounded by spectators. Normally, Shi Qingquan is righteous and generous, and is respected by the villagers. Now, after hearing his confession, everyone knows that he is a shameless villain who would not hesitate to kill his friends just to save his life, and they can't help spitting. The county magistrate of Zhou was trying the case in the hall, and the teacher beside him had already recorded the confession of the prisoners one by one. Seeing that the truth of the case has been revealed, the magistrate of Zhou couldn't help but heaved a long breath, slapped the gavel, and shouted: "Shi Qingquan, after you were charged with murder and wounding while drunk, I will add you an impostor to kill and silence you." Sin, can you plead guilty?" Shi Qingquan's face was ashen, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Caomin plead guilty." Seeing that he had already pleaded guilty, the master next to him hurriedly put the confession he had compiled and recorded on a plate, and handed it to him, asking him to sign it. Shi Qingquan didn't even look at it, just signed his name on the blank space behind, dipped his finger in the ink, and was about to press the fingerprint, when someone shouted: "Wait a minute! Magistrate, you can try this case." unfair……" Before the words were finished, a middle-aged woman broke in from the outside and knelt down in the lobby with a plop. Shi Qingquan looked at her, couldn't help being surprised, and said: "You, why are you here?" The magistrate of Zhou slapped the gavel until the mountain rang loudly, and shouted: "Who is under the hall? How dare you yell at the court and slander me for unfairly enforcing the law? What should I do?" The middle-aged woman raised her head and said: "The little girl's maiden name is Li, her name is Cuizhu, she is Shi Qingquan's wife. My lord does not know, but the person who poisoned Xue Yi to death was not my husband, but me." "Oh, it's you?" Zhou Zhixian was taken aback, staring straight at her with a pair of sharp eyes. Li Cuizhu nodded and said: "A few days ago, a mysterious woman came to my house with a blood book, and I only knew that my husband killed someone while drunk, but Xue Yi took the blame. Now Xue Yi suddenly repented and wanted to arrest my husband. Confession. I thought to myself, what if something happened to my husband and left us orphans and widowed mothers? Just at this time, my husband was going to visit Xue Yi in the county government prison with wine and food. I thought, if at this time , Xue Yi suddenly died suddenly without anyone knowing it, and there was no proof of his death, so this matter could no longer involve my husband. So I cooked by myself, made a few small dishes, and threw rat poison in the wine and dishes. My husband didn't know about it, so he took the food and wine to the county government jail...My lord, Xue Yi's death was really caused by a little girl and has nothing to do with my husband. Please be careful, my lord." Zhou Zhixian became more and more amazed when he heard it, and couldn't help shouting: "Presumptuous, in the court, it's a joke. You said that you poisoned it, how could your husband plead guilty in court, admitting that he poisoned it?" Li Cuizhu said: "Because my husband knows that only he and I have taken care of the food and wine that Xue Yi ate. If Xue Yi really died of poisoning after eating those food and wine, one of us must be in the food and wine Poisoned. If it wasn’t for him, then of course I did it. He was afraid that if the trial continued, he would implicate me, so he simply pleaded guilty and took it upon himself.” When Shi Qingquan heard this, he couldn't help but shed tears, looked at his wife and said, "Cuizhu, the crimes I committed are all borne by me alone, why are you bothering?" Li Cuizhu said with a wry smile: "After ten years of cultivation, we can cross the same boat, and after a hundred years of cultivation, we can sleep together. Husband, if you are gone, how can I survive as a concubine?" Zhou Zhixian asked: "Shi Qingquan, what your wife said is the truth?" Shi Qingquan looked at his wife affectionately, tears streaming down his face, speechless. The county magistrate already understood, so he winked and asked the master to take the confession and get Li Cuizhu to sign it, then he slapped the gavel and pronounced the sentence in court: "Shi Qingquan committed murder after drinking, killed and wounded people, and instead of surrendering himself, he found someone to take the blame. As a result, a catastrophe was caused, the crime was aggravated, and he was sentenced to beheaded. Li Cuizhu poisoned and murdered, an unforgivable crime, and was sentenced to be hanged. The two criminals were temporarily imprisoned until the Ministry of Punishments received approval, and they were executed together." When the new magistrate of Zhou County took office, he started with a bloody dagger. Not only overturned a major case that had been concluded by his predecessor, but also solved a case in the case by the way. The people in Qingyang praised him highly, saying that he was "Zhou Qingtian".After hearing this, Zhou Zhixian was very proud. A few days later, the magistrate of Zhou County was working in the county yamen's escrow room. Suddenly, a yamen servant sent a letter, saying that a child outside the yamen was entrusted by a young lady to send it. Zhou Zhixian was taken aback and ordered him to bring in the child who delivered the letter. Unexpectedly, the yamen servant ran out to see that the child delivering the letter had long since disappeared. The county magistrate was even more amazed. He opened the envelope and took a look at the letter. The contents were as follows: The letter was written here, and it came to an abrupt end. The handwriting on the letter was scribbled, it was obviously written in a hurry, and there seemed to be some unfinished meaning behind it, but it was too late to write. After reading the letter, Zhou Zhixian's thick eyebrows frowned. He thinks that he has a clear mirror to see every detail, and he solved a major case as soon as he took office, but after such a detailed analysis, he found that he had indeed handled the case a little sloppily. Shi Qingquan and his wife, no matter who poisoned them, would be easily found out once the incident happened. If the two of them really wanted to kill Xue Yi to silence them, they would definitely not adopt such a stupid method. It's all my fault that I was too confident when adjudicating cases in court, and didn't think of this level. The letter said that apart from Shi Qingquan and his wife, there was a third person, namely Zhao Dahai, who had been in contact with Xue Yi's dinner and wine. However, according to the testimony of the cell boss, Zhao Dahai just inserted a silver needle into the food and drink to test it, other than that, he did not touch the food and drink. Could it be that the "contact" mentioned in this letter refers to Zhao Dahai's drug test with silver needles? Zhou Zhixian with his hands behind his back, frowning, kept pace in the signing room.A thought suddenly popped up in his mind: If Zhao Dahai’s drug test was not an ordinary silver needle, but a highly poisonous poison needle, and it was inserted in every vegetable bowl, wouldn’t it be a mystery? Unknowingly poisoning every dish and wine? If there is really a problem with the silver needle used by Zhao Dahai, then it is not a good idea to turn an ordinary silver needle into a poisonous needle without changing the color of the silver needle so that others can see its flaws. easy job.Except for doctors or pharmacists in pharmacies who have been with drugs for many years, it is probably extremely difficult for ordinary people to do so. Thinking of this, Zhou Zhixian had an idea in mind, immediately called two confidant government servants, and ordered them to inquire about clinics and pharmacies in Qingyang City, to see if anyone came to the clinic or pharmacy with a silver needle recently Ask someone to heat and quench the poison. The two yamen servants walked around Qingyang City and asked all the clinics and pharmacies in the city, but they didn't find any silver needle poisoning. The magistrate of Zhou thought for a while, and asked them to call more people to ask around clinics and pharmacies. Three days later, the news finally came.A yamen official reported that in Huarong County, tens of miles southeast of Qingyang City, there was an inconspicuous Ren'an Tang medicine shop. According to the recollection of their shopkeeper, a person had held a silver needle more than ten days ago. When I came to their pharmacy, I asked them to put some crane crest red on the silver needles with a lot of money. The yamen servant took out a portrait of Zhao Butou and asked him if it was this person, and the shopkeeper said that it was this person, but he was dressed in casual clothes when he came, not the official clothes like in the portrait. After tracing this point, Zhou Zhixian already knew that what was said in the letter was not groundless.Xue Yi's death is likely to have a lot to do with Zhao Dahai. But right now, he has two questions that he can't figure out: First, Zhao Dahai has nothing to do with Xue Yi, so why did he deliberately kill Xue Yi like this? Second, who is the person who wrote this letter?The sender said that he was entrusted by a lady to deliver the letter, so it can be seen that the person who wrote the letter must be a young woman.But how did she know that Zhao Dahai was involved in this case? Zhou Zhixian leaned back on the chair, squeezed his slightly painful temples, closed his eyes slightly, and thought about the case from beginning to end, but suddenly realized that he had ignored one person from the very beginning. It was the mysterious woman who first visited Xue Yi in the prison and passed the blood letter to him. Who is this woman?Is it the same person as the woman who wrote this letter? He immediately called the cell leader who had seen the woman over and asked him in detail about the woman he had seen. The cell boss recalled that the woman was very young, probably a young girl, wearing a white skirt, because she covered her face with a red scarf, so she couldn't see her face clearly. Zhou Zhixian asked: "Then why do you think she covered her face with a scarf?" The cell boss said, "I think it's because we are afraid that we will see her face and know her identity." Zhou Zhixian said: "So, she is probably an acquaintance you know?" Hearing his question, the cell boss opened his mouth, wanted to say something, hesitated, but still didn't say it. The county magistrate had already seen his hesitant expression, so he said, "If you have anything to say, just say it." Then the jailer lowered his voice and said: "My lord, to be honest, when I saw the woman's figure for the first time, I felt a little familiar. I felt a bit like Zhao Yanzhi, the daughter of Zhao Butou. I have a good relationship with Zhao Butou. I often go to his house to drink, so I know his daughter well. In addition, I also saw that woman's belly is slightly protruding, and she seems to be pregnant... My lord, you also know that Zhao's daughter is about to marry the magistrate's son So even though I saw it at the time, I didn’t dare to talk nonsense.” When Zhou Zhixian heard this, he suddenly frowned, stood up and said, "Okay, I have understood. I will be promoted immediately, and Zhao Dahai will be sent to the court for questioning." The gavel sounded, and the hall was silent. Sitting high under the plaque of "Mirror Hanging High", the magistrate of Zhou county cast a majestic glance at Zhao Dahai who was kneeling under the hall, and asked, "Zhao Dahai, why did you poison Xue Yi? Bring him quickly so that you don't have to kill Xue Yi." The pain of punishment." Zhao Dahai lay down on the ground, shouting with grievances on his face: "You are wronged, my lord, it was Shi Qingquan's wife Li Cuizhu who poisoned Xue Yi. This case has already been concluded, my lord, so why is it involving a lowly official again?" Zhou Zhixian's face darkened, and said: "Zhao Dahai, it seems that you are not willing to confess your crime honestly. Well, you turn around and see who I invited here?" Zhao Dahai looked back suspiciously, and saw two yamen servants leading a melancholy girl in white into the courtroom. He took a closer look, and found that the girl was actually his daughter Zhao Yanzhi, and his expression changed.Then he turned his head to look at the magistrate who was sitting high in the hall, and saw Zhou Zhixian's eyes were piercing, and he looked confident in his chest. Crying: "My lord, spare my life, the villain is convicted, and the villain is willing to confess..." It turns out that Zhao Dahai's daughter, Zhao Yanzhi, had already secretly fallen in love with the carpenter Xue Yi. After Xue Yi was imprisoned in an accident, Zhao Yanzhi went to visit him alone in the prison, and quietly told him that she was pregnant with his child. Xue Yi was very excited after hearing this. He was originally alone, with a humble life and no cares. He took the blame for Shi Qingquan out of loyalty.At this time, I suddenly learned that I had a future, and when I was excited, I felt remorse and wanted to survive. I didn't want to take the blame for Shi Qingquan and die, so I tore off the corner of my clothes and wrote a blood letter to Shi Qingquan, asking him to report to the government. Turned himself in and pleaded guilty. After Shi Qingquan watched it, he felt that everyone has the desire to survive, and it is reasonable for him to regret it halfway through. To blame can only be blamed on himself for committing crimes after drinking and causing catastrophe, so he accepted it calmly. He decided to bring some food and wine to visit Xue Yi in the death cell the next day, and by the way, asked him to give him a few more days. Once he had settled down with his family, he would go to the Yamen to surrender and let him out. As for the love affair between his daughter and Xue Yi, Zhao Dahai was vaguely aware of it. Because the daughter has already got a marriage contract with the prefect's son, and he himself wants to climb the springboard of the prefect's in-law's family to be promoted to a higher level and work in the prefect's yamen, so he tried his best to prevent his daughter from interacting with the poor carpenter, but the daughter still went her own way. , Don't listen to him at all. He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until Xue Yi was imprisoned in an accident and sentenced to death. As long as Xue Yi dies, his daughter will naturally marry the prefect's son according to his wishes. After Xue Yi was imprisoned for more than a month, Zhao Yanzhi suddenly proposed to visit him in prison. Zhao Dahai thought to himself that this poor carpenter won't live long anyway, so it's okay to let them see each other for the last time. So he let her go, but in order not to reveal her identity and affect her engagement with the magistrate's son, he asked his daughter to cover her face with a gauze when she visited the prison. Even so, Zhao Dahai still felt uneasy. When his daughter was talking to Xue Yi in the prison, he quietly hid in the small window behind the prison and eavesdropped. When he heard his daughter say that he was pregnant with Xue Yi's flesh and blood, it was like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, and he almost fainted on the spot. Later, when he learned that Xue Yi was taking the blame for someone else, as long as Shi Qingquan turned himself in and pleaded guilty, he would soon be freed from the crime, and he panicked even more. If this kid is released from the prison, will the daughter still marry the prefect's son? Therefore, if Xue Yi is not eliminated, it will be difficult for him to fulfill his wish. When he learned from his daughter that Shi Qingquan would bring food and drink to visit Xue Yi in the cell the next day, a vicious plan to kill with a knife suddenly came to his mind. He went to other places overnight to ask someone to prepare poisonous silver needles at a high price. When Shi Qingquan came to visit the prison the next day, he used the silver needles for drug testing, and unconsciously poisoned the wine and vegetables. He had already made up his wishful thinking. After Xue Yi was poisoned and died, even if he was tracked down, Shi Qingquan was the one who put the poison, and he would never be implicated. But to his surprise, after Xue Yi died of poisoning, he threw the poisonous needle into the pond in his backyard in an attempt to eliminate the evidence, not wanting to be seen by his daughter. Zhao Yanzhi quietly picked up the silver needle, and soon discovered the mystery behind the poisonous needle. Bingxue was smart, and she soon realized that her father was the real murderer who poisoned her beloved.He was about to go to the county government to report him, but Zhao Dahai found out and put her under house arrest. Zhao Dahai originally thought that Zhou Zhi County did not have sufficient evidence at hand, so he was determined to deny it to the end. But when Zhou Zhixian brought his daughter to the court, showing the momentum to confront him in court, he suddenly felt that something was wrong and everything was over, and he knew that the crime of poisoning and murder could no longer be denied... After hearing what he said, Zhou Zhixian sneered and said, "Zhao Dahai, you must have never dreamed that even though your daughter was locked at home by you and lost her freedom of movement, she wrote a letter of report, through the fence at the back gate, please A child playing on the side of the road was delivered to this officer. It was only after receiving this letter that this officer gradually revealed the final truth of the case." After Zhao Dahai heard what the magistrate said, he couldn't help turning his head and gouged out his daughter with resentment. Zhao Yanzhi lost her mother when she was young, and her father single-handedly brought her up.At this moment, I personally sued my father and sent him to the guillotine. Thinking of not only losing my lover, but also about to lose my relatives, my heart was full of mixed feelings, and I couldn't help but shed tears. In the end, Zhouzhi County closed the case in court: Li Cuizhu was acquitted and Zhao Dahai was sentenced to execution. As soon as autumn came, Shi Qingquan, who murdered and injured people after drinking, was executed together with Zhao Dahai.