Chapter 27 Chapter Four

The trial of the afternoon Yamen in the lobby of the state government office began. The corridors and verandahs of the Yamen Hall are still crowded with people, and there are a bunch of ordinary people watching the trial.Although Di Gong disappointed them greatly in the early court, they were very interested in Xiao Chunyu's case, and they wanted to see for themselves what new tricks and style the new governor had in asking criminal names. Di Gong ordered Xiao Fuhan to be brought to court. Xiao Fuhan knelt down immediately when he was brought into court.Seeing that he is honest and honest, and his clothes are plain, Duke Di couldn't help feeling sympathetic to him.

"Xiao Fuhan, the case of your daughter Chunyu's murder has already been ruled by the former governor, Mr. Feng. Originally, I didn't need to do anything more, but I saw a few doubtful points in the case file, so I couldn't help but ask a few more questions. It seems that it will take some time to conclude the case. Day, but you don’t have to worry, this hall should decide for you, capture the real culprit, and avenge Miss Chunyu’s shame. Now you go to the hall first.” Di Gong ordered Wu Zuo to go to the court.After a while, Wu Zuo went to the hall and kowtowed to see Di Gong.Di Gong asked: "Is it your autopsy after Xiao Chunyu was killed?"

Wu Zuo respectfully replied: "My lord, Xiao Chunyu's body is being inspected here." Di Gongdao: "Now tell me about Xiao Chunyu's physical appearance." Wu Zuo nodded, and said: "Miss Xiao is tall and strong, with callused hands and feet. She looks very healthy and has no physical defects." Duke Dee asked, "Have you ever paid attention to her nails?" "My lord, I have carefully observed Miss Xiao's nails. The previous Master Feng also paid great attention to her nails. He hoped that there would be some clues of the murderer left in the nails of the deceased. However, Miss Xiao's nails are very short. You can tell that she is a girl who has been doing housework all year round. The nails are clean, and there is no suspicious trace left."

Duke Di nodded and said, "The deceased was strangled to death. I think there must be fingerprints of the murderer's fingernails between the bruises on her neck." Wu Zuo thought for a while, and replied: "The criminal's nail marks are crescent-shaped, but they don't penetrate deep into the flesh. However, I saw that one part of the skin was broken." Di Gong said: "You have to fill in these details on the post-mortem grid." Wu Zuo nodded and stepped back. Di Gong patted the gavel and ordered Wang Xianqiong to be brought to the hall.The two yamen servants agreed, and immediately took Wang Xiucai to the courtroom, and pushed him down on the bare bluestone floor.Di Gong saw that although Wang Xianqiong had broad cheeks and plump cheeks, and fine features, his face was pale, his expression was dull, his chest was shriveled, and his back was slightly hunchbacked.One can tell at a glance that he is a scholar studying hard under the cold window.Dee also noticed several scars on his left cheek.

Di Gong shouted: "Wang Xianqiong, raise your head! What a scum who desecrates Confucianism, puts aside the etiquette, integrity and shame, and the teachings of the sages, and prefers to do such dirty things, which are intolerable by etiquette and law. Rape a naive and ignorant person. The woman is not counted, but she dared to commit crimes boldly and kill people. The laws and laws of the country are the same as the sun and the moon. You should understand the punishment for such crimes. This hall is like a circle of ink pens. The death penalty is proposed and sent to prison. I would like to verify a few suspicious points in your confession. When I ask you today, you must answer everything truthfully, without half a sentence, so as to avoid flesh and blood pain."

Wang Xianqiong nodded numbly. Di Gong leaned against the desk, opened the case file, and asked, "Wang Xianqiong, in your statement, you said that you were lying in the ruins of an old house when you woke up on the morning of the 17th. Are you going to use this Retell the episode, explaining what it was like around the ruins." Wang Xianqiong replied with a trembling voice: "Xiaosheng is a scholar, and he still longs for a day of birth, how can he commit crimes and murders? Ms. Chun Wang and Xiaosheng are in love with each other, and they have a private contract for life. How could Xiaosheng ruin her life? Look at the master's enlightenment. When the master asked, Xiaosheng dared not say half a word. In the early morning of the 17th, the sky was bright, and the sun had not yet come out. In the dimness, I saw that there were ruins, wild hazels and thorns all around me. This scene Xiaosheng remembers the most Yes, I was clear. At that time, I struggled to stand up, and after taking a few steps, I felt top-heavy, the sky was spinning, and the stars flashed in front of my eyes, and then I fell on the pile of bricks and gravel. The thorns of thorns tore my clothes, my body and legs. They were all punctured, and there was a lot of blood. At that time, I didn't feel any pain, and I only thought about Chunyu who had been waiting for me all night, and I felt very regretful and guilty."

Di Gongdao: "I want to talk nonsense to Chunyu! You unbutton your clothes and let me see the scars on your body." Two yamen servants came forward, they couldn't help but hold Wang Xianqiong left and right, and the other two yamen servants immediately tore off his old blue robe.During the first trial, Wang Xianqiong was beaten with 30 sticks by Master Feng until his ass was dripping with blood. It has not healed yet, and the stained blood stuck to his robe, so he screamed in pain for a while.Di Gong hurriedly stopped the yamen servant, and carefully inspected the exposed chest, back, and arms. Sure enough, there were several cut bloodstains.

"Wang Xianqiong, you claim that your relationship with Chunyu was only broken by Tailor Long. Can you affirm that no one else knows about it? The two of you are cooperating inside and outside, sneaking around, but you have never been caught by a passerby." Pass?" Wang Xianqiong replied with a mournful face: "Master, Xiaosheng commits such behavior, and the etiquette cannot be tolerated. It's just that he can't suppress his evil thoughts for a while, and he really knows the pros and cons in his heart. Therefore, he is very careful, and he dares to date Chunyu every time after midnight. The Banyue Street was dark and narrow, and there were no idlers walking at night except the watchmen. Even if there were passers-by, they could hide in the dark corner for a while, so they never leaked the mechanism. Besides, Chunyu was standing in front of the window at that time Respond, if there is any suspicious sound, whistle and report..."

Di Gong frowned and scolded: "How shameless! You are like a thief. Think about it carefully, is there any sign that aroused your suspicion?" Wang Xianqiong rolled his eyes and thought for a while, then said: "I remember half a month ago, that night when I slipped out of the back door of Long Tailor's shop, I saw two watchmen walking leisurely with their clappers on. Waiting for them to walk slowly. I saw the two watchmen walking to the door of the raw medicine shop at the end of Banyue Street. Then I walked out of the alley and came to the wall of Chunyu’s Boudoir. Yu, ask her to put down the cloth strips. I suddenly heard the sound of a watchman's clapper not far behind me. I was so scared that I was out of my wits. Peeping under the wall. I thought he had spotted me and was about to call the police, but he staggered and left. He obviously didn't see me, so there was silence. I guessed it might be a watchman who had fallen out of line I stayed in the pure jade room that night until the cock crowed before climbing down, and I didn't show any flaws."

Di Gong signaled the secretary to write down what Wang Xianqiong just said, no doubt he thought this was a new situation.Di Gong also asked Wang Xianqiong to press his fingerprints on the confession.Wang Xianqiong stood up tremblingly and stretched out his bony hand to press his fingerprints on the statement in front of the secretary's case. Di Gong took a cold look and saw that Wang Xianqiong's slender fingers had long and neat nails. ——It is very common for scholars to like to have long nails. Di Gong yelled: "Put Wang Xianqiong in the prison. - Get out!" When Di Gong returned to the inner office, he ordered Qiao Tai to invite Gao Zhengming, the owner of Banyue Street.

After Qiao Tai left, Hong Canjun said, "Master, you seem to be very interested in the watchman Wang Xianqiong talked about. Do you want to find new clues from that watchman?" Di Gongdao: "Feng Xianggong once interrogated the two watchmen who were patrolling on the night of the accident, and they both vehemently denied that they had anything to do with Chunyu's death. In fact, there are usually only two watchmen on patrol, and there is no third watchman. A watchman. So this matter is a bit strange." After a while, Qiao Tai brought Li Jia Gao Zhengming to the inner office.Di Gong ordered Gao Zhengming to lead the way to investigate the scene of the crime in Banyue Street. Qiao Tai led four yamen servants who pretended to be ordinary people to accompany him and act according to circumstances. Mr. Di changed his official uniform and wore a black hat.A group of people quietly left the Yafu through the corner gate of the back garden. They quickly walked south across Zhouyaqian Street, turned west after passing the Town God's Temple, and walked along the back wall of the Confucian Temple in a secluded street.After passing the small river flowing from south to north in the west city, the narrow and dark Banyue Street is just like a maze.It was dirty and damp, with many dilapidated buildings, and it was a neighborhood where poor families lived.Gao Zhengming pointed to Di Gongyao the butcher shop of Xiao Fuhan. They came to Xiao Fuhan's butcher shop.Di Gong saw that the butcher's shop was opening at the corner of Banyue Street and an alley, and Xiao Chunyu's boudoir was a few doors away from the butcher's shop.The window of the boudoir is facing the secluded alley, and Long Tailor's shop is opposite the entrance of the alley.From the small window in the back building of Long Tailor, you can overlook everything in the alley, and when you look up, you can clearly see Xiao Chunyu's boudoir.The window of the boudoir was open at this moment. Di Gong smiled and said to Qiao Tai, "Try to climb up the window of that boudoir." Qiao Tai tucked the skirt of his robe into his belt, rubbed his hands together, inserted one foot into the hole in the wall and jumped up, onto the wall connecting the butcher shop to the gatehouse of the washing and dyeing workshop.He pressed his chest against the wall, slowly stood up, leaped again, grasped the window sill tightly with both hands, pulled one leg into the window, and then climbed into Chunyu's boudoir with his whole body. Di Gong smiled and nodded from below, and Qiaotai stepped out of the window nimbly, clasped the window sill tightly with both hands, and dangled his feet in the air twice, in a "butterfly fluttering flower" posture from one foot five feet to the other. The high mid-air fell to the ground.A cloud of dust was raised, but there was almost no sound. Gao Zhengming and his servants couldn't help applauding in their hearts, but they didn't dare to shout because of the prohibition.He turned to ask Di Gong if he wanted to check Chunyu's boudoir.Di Gong shook his hand and said, "Let's go back to Yamen!" Back at the state office, Gao Zhengming took his leave first. Di Gong said to Hong Canjun: "I just went to see the scene and confirmed my suspicion. Go and call Ma Rong." When Hong Canjun went to have a cup of tea, Ma Rong entered the inner office enthusiastically. Di Gongdao: "Ma Rong, I entrust you with a difficult and somewhat dangerous mission." When Ma Rong heard this, he was overjoyed.He likes to do those difficult and dangerous errands most in his life, and when he has been idle for a long time, he feels uncomfortable all over his body. "I don't know if the master has any exciting business to entertain me with?" Di Gongdao: "You have to dress yourself up as a wandering refugee, haunt teahouses, taverns, wild shops, and deserted temples, and look for a wandering beggar or an idler dressed as a wild monk. He He must be holding a pair of wooden fish in his hand, and he may also be wearing a shabby, dirty cassock. This person is characterized by a strong body and quick limbs. He is not a hero from the green forest, but a surly and cruel libertine. The most important thing to verify his identity is a pair of finely crafted gold hairpins. This is the pattern of the gold hairpins, you must carefully remember it in your heart. But beggars and rascals who hear that gold jewelry is sold should not miss it. Once the pair of golden hairpins are found, we will not worry about solving the case and finding the real culprit of the murder." Ma Rong was shocked: "Could it be that the master said that the person holding the golden hairpin was the murderer who killed Butcher Xiao's daughter. Could it be that Wang Xiucai was innocent and wronged?" Di Gong nodded solemnly.Ma Rong happily left. Hong Canjun was full of suspicion: "Master, what is going on?" Di Gong smiled: "You should also understand my conclusion."