Soon, County Magistrate Zhao, along with several runners and Liu Dadao, rode at full speed to Chen Dacheng's house.
"Sir, this is the case file of Chen Erlang murdering his wife. Please take a look." County Magistrate Zhao handed the case file to Zhu Ping'an with both hands.
While Zhu Ping'an was reading the case file, Magistrate Zhao said, "Sir, I have also carefully reviewed the case file of Chen Erlang. The witnesses, physical evidence, documentary evidence, and Chen Erlang's confession form a complete chain of evidence. I have also interrogated Chen Erlang once, and Chen Erlang himself admitted to killing his wife."
Chen Dacheng couldn't help but get excited after hearing what County Magistrate Zhao said. He said indignantly, "Your Excellency, please forgive me for not agreeing with you. My brother was tortured into confessing. My brother is just a weak scholar. My parents have never been willing to hit him. How could he withstand the torture? He was beaten half to death and had no choice but to confess."
Magistrate Zhao spread his hands and said helplessly, "Chief Chen, it is undeniable that the previous magistrate used torture during the trial, but when I interrogated Chen Erlang, I found that he did not use torture. When I asked him in court, he admitted it himself."
"Your Excellency, my brother is scared of being beaten. Last time, he was beaten half to death. If he didn't admit it, he would be severely tortured until he admitted it. When you interrogated him in court, he was afraid of being tortured again, so he had to admit it out of grievance." Chen Dacheng's eyes were red, and his voice was choked with sobs. "My brother is so pitiful. The last time I went to see him in prison, the suave scholar in the past has almost disappeared..."
"Patriarch Chen, please be patient."
Zhu Pingan comforted Chen Dacheng and waved to County Magistrate Zhao, "County Magistrate Zhao, please excuse me for a moment."
Zhu Ping'an pulled Magistrate Zhao aside and whispered, "Zhao Magistrate, this is a matter of life and death, we must be cautious. Once the sentence is made, there will be no chance to correct it. As a husband, who would have the heart to kill his wife just because of the sentence 'she is incompetent and has been away from home for many years and has not passed the examination'? After killing his wife, why would he throw away her head? This is too unreasonable, and..."
Zhu Pingan pointed out the doubts about the case to Magistrate Zhao one by one, and then said seriously, "So, Magistrate Zhao, please join me in re-examining this case. If there is indeed a mistake in this case, Magistrate Zhao will not lose the merit of re-examining it; if there is indeed no mistake in this case, then the original verdict will be upheld, and there will be no disadvantage."
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Zhao couldn't help but start thinking.
Zhu Ping'an asked him to re-examine the case because it was really for his own good. If he participated in the retrial, if the case of Chen Erlang murdering his wife was overturned, then he would not only be innocent, but would also have the merit of the retrial; if the case of Chen Erlang murdering his wife was upheld, then at most it would just waste some time and it would not have any adverse impact on him.
On the contrary, if Zhu Ping'an did not drag himself to participate in the retrial, but retried the case alone, if the case of Chen Erlang murdering his wife was overturned, although it was the former county magistrate who convicted him at the beginning, the case is now under his jurisdiction and he has also tried it. If the case is overturned, he will also be guilty of dereliction of duty.
Moreover, Zhu Ping'an holds a high position in the government, and he took the lead in re-examining the case. Even if problems arise in the future, Zhu Ping'an, as a high-ranking official, will be held responsible.
Thinking of this, County Magistrate Zhao nodded heavily and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you, sir. If you want a retrial, I will accompany you to retrial and thoroughly investigate the case. If you need me to do anything, I will do my best to cooperate."
"Thank you, County Magistrate Zhao, for your support." Zhu Ping'an bowed his hands in thanks. With the cooperation of County Magistrate Zhao, who is familiar with the local customs and practices, the retrial of this case will be much more convenient and can save a lot of energy and time.
"Your Excellency, please forgive me. Your Excellency's invitation to me to participate in the retrial is a sign of my care, and I should thank you." County Magistrate Zhao waved his hands repeatedly to thank Zhu Ping'an, and then said, "It's just that, after all, this case has been over for a year, the scene of the crime has long been destroyed, the victim has been buried, the body has rotted, and many other first-hand materials no longer exist. It is very difficult to re-examine the case now."
Zhu Pingan said calmly and confidently: "Some evidence has been destroyed, but some evidence cannot be destroyed. Although it is not easy, the truth cannot be covered up after all."
"I wonder where you are going to start your investigation, sir." asked County Magistrate Zhao.
"Start from the victim's head." Zhu Ping'an said without hesitation. Zhu Ping'an believed that this was the biggest and most prominent doubt in this case. All other doubts were highly subjective, and only this doubt was objective. Currently, only this doubt could be identified through investigation.
"What? Start with the victim's head?" Magistrate Zhao opened his mouth in surprise when he heard this, and said puzzledly, "Sir, the victim's head has not been found since the incident. According to Chen Erlang's confession of abandoning the woods, the previous magistrate sent out many officials and even offered a reward. After searching for more than ten days, the entire woods were turned upside down, but the victim's head was not found. I also sent people to search the woods, but found nothing. Maybe it has already been eaten by wild dogs or wolves. How can we investigate it?"
County Magistrate Zhao believed that a year had passed and that even after such an extensive search at the time of the crime, the victim's head had not been found. Now that time had passed, it was even more impossible to find the victim's head.
Magistrate Zhao did not wait for Zhu Ping'an to answer and continued, "Moreover, even if the victim's head is found, it can only further prove that Chen Erlang killed his wife."
County Magistrate Zhao tactfully reminded Zhu Ping'an that starting from the victim's head was a wrong idea and the wrong direction.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but shake his head and smile slightly. County Magistrate Zhao was actually trapped in inertial thinking.
"Master Zhao, the search for the head should not start from the forest where Chen Erlang confessed. Moreover, finding the head will not prove that Chen Erlang killed the victim, but on the contrary, the result may overturn the entire case."
Zhu Ping'an spoke slowly, his voice was not loud, but it was like a thunderclap to County Magistrate Zhao's ears.
"Ah? If we don't start from the forest where Chen Erlang confessed, then where should we start? Finding the head won't prove that Chen Erlang killed his wife, but will overturn the whole case?! This, this, where should we start..."
County Magistrate Zhao seemed to be struck by lightning. He stood there like a piece of wood, his mind was blank and his eyes were full of question marks. He felt that his thoughts could not keep up with Zhu Ping'an at all. I can understand every word of what Lord Zhu said, but why can't I understand what Lord Zhu said at all
From County Magistrate Zhao's perspective, Zhu Ping'an's thinking was like an antelope hanging on a horn, with no trace to be found. He could not keep up at all. Not only could he not keep up, he couldn't even see it, and had no idea where to start.
If we don’t investigate from the forest where Chen Erlang confessed, where on earth and in the world should we start? Also, why would finding the head overturn the entire case?!
County Magistrate Zhao seemed to have a thousand questions in his mind. (To be continued)