From a public and private perspective, and from a legal and rational perspective, since he knew about Chen Erlang's murder of his wife, Zhu Ping'an could not stay out of it, so he said to Chen Dacheng with a serious face, "As the acting deputy envoy of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Judicial Inspection Commission, it is both my power and responsibility to review criminal cases in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Since I have encountered the case of your brother killing his wife, there is no reason to turn a deaf ear to it. I also ask Chief Chen to tell me the details of your brother's case from beginning to end, without any concealment or fabrication. If your brother is indeed innocent, I will never let the local county government wrongly accuse him; if your brother deserves the punishment, I will never bend the law for personal gain because of my relationship with Chief Chen."
When Chen Dacheng heard what Zhu Ping'an said, a flame of hope suddenly ignited in his eyes.
Yes, Lord Zhu, as the acting deputy envoy of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Judicial Inspection Office, has the responsibility to review criminal cases.
I have been running around for my brother's case for a year, and I have been to the county government and the prefect, but to no avail.
My younger brother is still in prison, and he will be identified and beheaded in public next autumn.
Now is the best and last chance.
"Yes, yes, yes. I will tell you in detail about my brother's case from beginning to end." Chen Dacheng said excitedly.
"That was last year..." Chen Dacheng closed his eyes and slowly told the story.
The incident happened last year, but the story began two years ago.
Chen Jiaerlang, whose name was Chen Jiaxing, was a scholar, 21 years old. Two years ago, with the help of his parents and matchmaker, he brought back his beloved wife, Zhang, in a sedan chair. Zhang was the youngest daughter of a cloth merchant, and she was beautiful and well-known in the surrounding villages. Chen Erlang doted on Zhang, and the couple lived in harmony and rarely quarreled.
After getting married, Chen Erlang and his wife lived in the west of Beilei Village, where the Chen family elders built a new big house for them.
Chen Erlang usually studies at home, but he would go out for a few days every month to meet friends, exchange knowledge, and improve his knowledge.
Last winter, Chen Erlang went out to meet friends and exchange knowledge as usual. Three days later, Chen Erlang returned home.
"ah!!!"
After Chen Erlang returned home, an extremely shrill scream was heard from his home, breaking the silence of Beilei Village.
When the neighbors heard Chen Erlang's screams, they thought his house had been robbed and rushed to help. Then they were shocked to find that Chen Erlang's wife had been brutally murdered and Chen Erlang collapsed at the door, screaming.
What shocked everyone even more was that there was only the body of Chen Erlang's wife Zhang in the house, but no head.
Suddenly, Beilei Village was in an uproar and everyone came.
Chen Erlang's father-in-law and mother-in-law also heard the news and rushed to the scene. Seeing the miserable state of their beloved daughter, they were heartbroken and thought that their son-in-law had killed their daughter, so they reported Chen Erlang to the government.
The magistrate of Yiwu at that time was the former magistrate. After the county government received the case, he came with the coroner and police officers.
The police found a bloody shirt worn by Chen Erlang under his bed and fished out a bloody kitchen knife from the well. Unfortunately, the knife had been soaked in the well, so there was not much blood left, and the fingerprints were also washed away.
However, Zhang's head has never been found.
Chen Erlang was arrested and taken to the county government office for a public trial. At the beginning, the magistrate questioned Chen Erlang why he killed his wife.
Chen Erlang refused to admit to killing his wife, saying that he found his wife brutally murdered when he returned home from visiting a friend.
The magistrate interrogated Chen Erlang again, and found out that the blood-stained shirt was his.
Chen Erlang said that the clothes were indeed his, but they were dirty clothes he changed into before visiting a friend. They were not stained with blood at the time, and he didn't know why they were stained with blood.
The magistrate interrogated Chen Erlang again, and asked him if the kitchen knife belonged to his family. Chen Erlang confessed that the kitchen knife belonged to his family.
The magistrate interrogated you and said that the bloody shirt was yours, the kitchen knife was from your home, and your wife was killed, but you said it had nothing to do with it. You are lying with open eyes. Why did you kill your wife and where did you throw her head? Tell the truth immediately.
Chen Erlang shook his head and refused to admit it.
The magistrate was furious and ordered the officers to beat Chen Erlang with 50 sticks for his stubbornness. Chen Erlang was a weak scholar who had never experienced such pain before. He screamed in agony and fainted after the 50 beatings. He was poured with cold water and woke up.
After being interrogated again, Chen Erlang shook his head weakly.
The magistrate ordered the use of the tongs. After a while, Chen Erlang could not bear it and begged for mercy. He confessed his crime and admitted that he had killed his wife. He said that the reason for killing his wife was that they were not in harmony. His wife said that he was incompetent and had been away from home for years studying but failed to pass the imperial examination. He killed his wife in anger. The blood-stained shirt was what he wore when he committed the crime, and the kitchen knife was also the murder weapon he used.
As for the head, no one knew where he had thrown it. After the torture, Chen Erlang remembered it and said it was still in a forest. The officers went to the forest to look for it for several days but couldn't find it. Perhaps it was eaten by wild dogs or wild beasts.
At the beginning of the year, the former county magistrate was promoted and transferred, and County Magistrate Zhao took office.
Chen Dacheng protested his innocence by writing a letter in blood.
County Magistrate Zhao reviewed the case and found all the witnesses and material evidence. Chen Erlang also admitted to murdering his wife in person and signed his name.
The facts are clear, the evidence is complete, and the verdict remains unchanged. Chen Erlang, who was resentful and killed his wife accidentally, will only be executed in autumn next year to comfort Zhang's spirit in heaven.
"... ... That's how it is. I hope you can help me, my brother." Chen Dacheng knelt down with his fists clasped.
"Please stand up quickly, Patriarch Chen." Zhu Ping'an helped Chen Dacheng up.
This case seems to have all the evidence, witnesses and motives, but Zhu Pingan went through it carefully and still found several unreasonable points. First of all, Chen Erlang's motive for killing his wife was not sufficient. Even if Zhang said that Chen Erlang was incompetent and had not passed the examination for a scholar because he had been away for many years, according to common sense, this stimulation was not enough to stimulate Chen Erlang to kill his wife. Chen Erlang was still young, only 21 years old, no, he was only 20 years old at the time of the crime. It is normal for a person to fail to pass the examination for a scholar at the age of 20. There are many people who take the examination for a scholar in their 60s. People in their 20s and 30s are the main force for taking the examination for a scholar. If he was in his 40s or 50s, he might be more stimulated if he was said to be incompetent for not passing the examination for a scholar. In addition, the neighbors said that Chen Erlang and his wife had a harmonious relationship and had never heard of them quarreling. Second, after Chen Erlang killed his wife, he threw away his wife's head, which was a bit redundant, meaningless and unreasonable. Third, even if he killed his wife out of hatred, he would certainly find some excuses to get away with it, such as saying that she died of illness, or making her die suddenly by accident. Killing his wife in such a blatant and undisguised way is not in line with common sense...
Human life is at stake. Since there are so many suspicious points, we must conduct a thorough investigation.
Zhu Ping'an then instructed Liu Dadao, "Dadao, go and ask County Magistrate Zhao to come and bring the case file of Chen Erlang murdering his wife. I want to review this case with County Magistrate Zhao." (To be continued)