Song was lying on the damp floor of the cell. The prison uniform on his body was black and smelly with blood stains. He suspected that the original owner would die of infection according to the settings.
The inmate next door was a skinny young man with sunken eyes as if he was hungry. When he saw Song Que's look, he couldn't help but came over, pressed his face against the wooden railing, and asked, "Are you still alive?"
His voice was not pleasant.
Song did not reply, but opened his eyes towards him. There was no wave in those eyes, no struggle, no pain.
Ji Xiao was stunned for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Why don't you plead guilty? If you don't plead guilty, you will be beaten to death."
He watched with his own eyes as Song Que was pulled out while he was standing and dragged back in while lying down. He didn't know whether he was alive or dead. It was extremely scary. But according to others, he still did not plead guilty.
Song Que finally spoke, with a deliberately disguised hoarseness and haggardness: "Oh? What crime do you plead guilty to?"
Ji Xiao didn't think too much, and his earlier stubbornness was polished off in prison. He was even more frightened by the fact that Song Que was tortured, and he was tricked by Song Que in a few words.
Song Que's father is a well-known small landowner, and he can usually afford to be a master. More than ten years after Master Song and his first wife gave birth to Song Que, his first wife passed away. He remarried a lovely wife and gave birth to a pair of twins, who were only five years older than the daughter of Song Que. It has only been a few years since Mr. Song held someone in his hand, and recently he took in a beautiful concubine. He held it in his hand for fear of falling, and held it in his mouth for fear of melting away. She seemed to have become his new eyeball.
The problem lies with this beautiful concubine. Mr. Song is old and he is doting on Aunt Chen, but he doesn't know when he will leave. Aunt Chen wanted to find someone to rely on, so she hooked up with Mr. Song all day long to do that kind of thing. After all, Mr. Song was older and was not as powerful as before. After three days of fooling around, he was hollowed out and suddenly suffered a stroke. , I lay in bed all day long and couldn't speak. When I called the doctor, he said he didn't have much time left.
A few days ago, Aunt Chen was found dead in her room. She had been raped before her death. Her personal maid sued the eldest young master in the mansion for taking advantage of his inability to move, and made rude remarks to his concubine. Killing later, and then trying to kill people to silence them, really shows no regard for human ethics, and is no different from animals.
The county magistrate sent people to investigate, and the county captain led people to conduct an autopsy. They obtained a lot of evidence, except for Song Que's confession. However, Song Dynasty refused to admit it. He was also a scholar. Although there was no legal provision, he was usually exempted from prison during interrogation. But for some reason, Song Dynasty was punished, but in the end he was not punished. Plea guilty. Tomorrow the case will be heard publicly again. In Ji Xiao's eyes, it is Song Que's last chance. If he went through another severe punishment without a conviction, Song Qing would not be able to bear it anymore.
Ji Xiao's original words were naturally not that clear, and he himself probably only had a partial understanding of them, but what kind of person was Song, he could complete the context with just a little thought.
Now Mr. Song is still bedridden, sometimes awake and sometimes drowsy, but he can't even speak. The family is naturally controlled by stepmother Qian. As long as she wants to, she is afraid that Mr. Song will not even hear any news.
Song Que's younger siblings were only five years old, while Song Que was already over 20 years old. Although his wife died in childbirth, leaving only one daughter and no children, his age advantage was too great and he was a scholar. If Mr. Song was now If he dies, most of his family property will go into Song Que's pocket. Qian and her children were in danger.
From the perspective of the stakes, Qian's suspicion is really high. After all, the victim, Aunt Chen, was quite arrogant when she was favored, and she had a lot of bad relations with Qian.
Song Que was thinking about these things in his mind, but he didn't show it on his face. He asked in a hoarse voice: "Little brother, why were you arrested?"
Ji Xiao lowered his head: "I copied books for the study. I don't know why, but my master suddenly accused me of stealing books. I have been imprisoned for a while. I don't know whether I should plead guilty. If I plead guilty, I will be beaten. If I don't plead guilty, I will be beaten. Even if you give him a beating, the former will be punished with a cane, but the latter will not know. If one of them is not good, he will not necessarily be beaten to death... "
That's why he paid special attention to Song Que's pleading not guilty, and seemed to want to learn from him to determine what he should do.
Song Que thought that those who could afford to open a study these days would probably have some money and power. This kid had been imprisoned until now, but he had not been beaten into a crime. The people investigating the case were relatively clear-headed. As for the fact that he was sentenced as a scholar, it should be related to the nature of the case. The Song family had some money, but no power. As long as a few of the people who made the decisions were innocent, the real murderer could only bribe the officials below.
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Song Que comforted Ji Xiao and then concentrated on preparing for tomorrow's court hearing.
On the first day of the trial, Song was taken out of the cell and brought into the court. There were many people watching outside the court. After all, this kind of case of a legitimate son raping his concubine and then murdering his concubine is not seen every day. However, Song was a scholar. Due to his subtle psychology, many people came to see the excitement.
Song Que was unkempt and disheveled, but that couldn't stop him from being tall and handsome in appearance. The prison uniform was obviously covered in bloodstains and stains, but the way he walked out with his back straight and slouching, he had the character of a scholar. Even when he kneels, he kneels very stiffly.
In this era, there were not many restrictions on women, but the original Song Dynasty was obsessed with reading, did not go out often, and was less public than an unmarried young lady. Therefore, few people in the county had actually seen Song Que. Many young ladies and ladies were curious and came to see what the rumored scumbag looked like. Unexpectedly, after one glance, they became suspicious.
I heard that the deceased aunt was only in her teens, and Mr. Song was almost fifty. He was lying on the bed unaware of anyone else. The eldest young master was the eldest son, and he looked so... so handsome. Those women didn't say anything, but they felt in their hearts that they would not go to the stage of being forced to silence them. They also knew that this idea was wrong, but they still couldn't help but think about it, and everything fell silent outside the venue.
Naturally, Magistrate Gao, who was sitting upright, could not notice it, and his face suddenly became even more stinky.
Song Que looked up and saw that County Magistrate Gao was no more than 30 years old. He was very young and promising, but he was a bit unattractive. He seemed to be a little disgusted with Song Que.
County Magistrate Gao is new here, so he shouldn't have any issues with Song Que. Song Que lowered his eyes and his mind was working rapidly.
Magistrate Gao was stunned and began to state the case.
The person who made the report was Aunt Chen's personal maid Xiaodie. According to Xiaodie, she saw with her own eyes the young master pressing Aunt Chen on the bed and intending to do something inappropriate. Aunt Chen struggled desperately, which angered him, and he pinched Aunt Chen with one hand. He picked up the jade pillow with one hand and smashed it on Aunt Chen's head. The results of the examination showed that there were indeed strangulation marks on Aunt Chen's neck, the scars on her forehead were also consistent with the shape of the jade pillow, and there was indeed male semen in the delivery door.
There were not many servants in the Song family. There were only maids in the inner courtyard and strong servants in the outer courtyard. The door between the inner courtyard and the outer courtyard was guarded by someone. At that time, only Song Que was the only adult man who could appear in the inner courtyard. According to various reports reported by officials at the survey site, there was no evidence of corpse removal.
Taken together, this case can be said to be supported by both human and material evidence, but the fact that Song refused to plead guilty is rather suspicious.
After Magistrate Gao finished explaining the case, he asked, "Song Que, can you plead guilty?"
He is stern and dignified.
Song Que lowered his head and kowtowed, and said: "My lord, I don't acknowledge you. Can you summon the widower to confront the officer who inspected the site?"
Magistrate Gao saw that he was calm and resolute, and hesitated for a moment. People in the world have multiple looks, and even the imperial examinations are just like this. Gao Fenglin has suffered a lot because of his appearance, and he doesn't want others to treat people with good looks, but he is not someone who will turn a blind eye to doubts. Song Que was previously sentenced because the evidence was conclusive and only a confession was missing. Seeing that Song was so determined now, Gao Fenglin had some suspicions that there was something hidden. Regardless of his dislike for good-looking people, he summoned the police officers and police officers responsible for the case.
Unlike modern forensic doctors, the magistrate is only responsible for examining corpses and is not responsible for inferring from various symptoms. That is the responsibility of the county lieutenant. In other words, the examination of the body and the determination of homicide are completed by two people, so there is a lot of room for maneuver.
Song didn't know if the puppet had been bribed, so he asked directly: "How deep and how long is the bruise on Mrs. Chen's neck? Is it a bruise on her left hand or a bruise on her right hand?"
A few days had passed since the autopsy, and the man thought about it and answered one by one.
After Song Que heard this, he asked the clerk next to Magistrate Gao: "Can you please repeat the description of the neck marks on the autopsy sheet?"
The chief clerk glanced at County Magistrate Gao, who nodded, and the chief clerk read it again. Although there are discrepancies between what he said, they are not very different.
Song Que knew it well and asked again: "Can I ask about the scar on your forehead?"
Wu Zuo said: "The entire forehead was hit by a blunt instrument, and there was a large blunt injury. The size is consistent with the injury caused by the jade pillow."
Song asked, "Is the injury on the forehead serious near the face or near the top of the head?"
After thinking about it, Wu Zuo replied: "It's more serious near the top of the head."
Magistrate Gao frowned slightly after listening to several questions he asked.
Song Que said: "Sir, can you please ask the accuser to confront me in court?"
Magistrate Gao was right.
Xiaodie was brought in. As soon as the officer let go of her hand, she knelt down with weak legs. She didn't dare to look at Song Que since she came in.
Song Que said: "You said you saw me kill Aunt Chen with your own eyes. Can you recount what you saw that day?"
Xiaodie stammered and repeated it.
Song Que asked: "Where were you at that time?"
Xiaodie was stunned for a moment and said, "I went to bring desserts to my aunt. When I came back, I saw her from the bedroom door."
Song Que asked: "What direction is the bedroom door facing? Can you clearly see the figure on the bed?"
Xiaodie was startled, remembering that from the doorway of the bedroom, she could only see the bed sideways, and if there was someone on it, she could only see the back of the head, and she immediately began to tremble.