"Master Zhu, Master Zhao, I have something to report." The clerk stepped forward, bowed to Magistrate Zhao and Zhu Ping'an, and said with a somewhat excited look on his face.
"Master Zhu, this is a clerk in our yamen who was demoted. He was born as a student and has always been careful and conscientious in his work."
County Magistrate Zhao introduced him to Zhu Ping'an softly.
"Yes, Zuo Shuli, what did you find?" Zhu Ping'an nodded approvingly and asked Zuo Qian.
"Your Excellency, I made a discovery when I was inquiring about the records of Liuwang Town Charity. Liuwang Town Charity undertook three funerals during the period of the incident. During the funeral of a maid from Zhaozhuang, Zhao Yuanwai, a strange thing happened. At that time, Zhao Yuanwai sent someone to invite them over, saying that a maid from their family had unfortunately passed away. When Liuwang Town Charity arrived at Zhao Yuanwai's house, the coffin was being closed. They only had time to take a look and saw a young maid lying in a thin coffin wearing shrouds. After the coffin was closed, it was carried out of the town for burial. When the people from Liuwang Town Charity were carrying the coffin for the funeral, they felt that the coffin was very light. Although it was a thin coffin, it was a little abnormally light, as if there was no one buried in the coffin. At that time, they thought that Zhao Yuanwai was stingy and cut corners on the thin coffin for the maid, and they didn't think much about it."
Zuo Qian stepped forward with a bow and whispered to Zhu Ping'an and County Magistrate Zhao about the doubts in the records of the Liuwang Town Yizhuang in detail.
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Zhao became excited. This suspicious point was worth digging deeper into. He looked at Zhu Pingan excitedly.
Zhu Ping'an nodded slightly.
"Check who made the coffin for Mr. Zhao's family and see if there was any cutting of corners." Magistrate Zhao ordered.
"Your Excellency, I have verified it." The left clerk replied, "It was made by Qianji Coffin Shop in Liuwang Town. Qianji Coffin Shop swore that although the coffin they made for Mr. Zhao's family was thin, they definitely did not cut corners and used real materials. They made money with conscience, and cutting corners will bring retribution."
"Whether it's cutting corners or something else, we'll know once we check it out." Zhu Ping'an made a prompt decision and decided to go check it out immediately.
Magistrate Zhao immediately made arrangements. "Master Zhu is right. Invite the people from Liuwang Town Yizhuang to find out where the maid from Mr. Zhao's family is buried. Ask them to lead the way. We will take the coroner and others with us to open the coffin and perform an autopsy."
Soon, the coroner and runners from the county government were ready to go.
"Master, the maidservant of Mr. Zhao's family is buried outside Liuwang Town, in the forest belonging to the Zhao family."
The people in Liuwang Town Yizhuang remembered it very clearly. They got on the government's carriage, led the way, and led everyone there.
After hearing the news, Chen Dacheng and his clansmen outside the yamen also followed.
Soon, the people from Liuwang Town Charity Cemetery brought everyone to the place. In the middle of a forest, there was a small grave mound in an inconspicuous place.
After a pile of paper money was burned, Zhu Ping'an bowed to the grave and said, "I'm sorry, I will take care of it for you."
County Magistrate Zhao also bowed and waved his hand to order the people in the charity cemetery and the servants to start digging.
After a while, they dug out the coffin.
It is indeed as Qianji Coffin in Liuwang Town said, although this coffin is thin, it is indeed of sufficient workmanship and materials.
Open the coffin.
The coroner from the government office began to perform the autopsy.
Everyone covered their mouths and noses and went forward to watch. As soon as they saw it, they raised their voices in confusion, "Huh? Something is wrong. There is something wrong inside this coffin. Why is the area below the head so flat? It's like there's only a layer of clothing?"
When the coroner opened his clothes, there was a burst of surprised screams, "How come there is only one head, and underneath is a ball of rotten cotton..."
Although the head has rotted and cannot be identified, it is obvious that this is the one we are looking for.
County Magistrate Zhao could not help but look at Zhu Ping'an with admiration, shocked by her beauty. If it weren't for the wrong occasion, he would have prostrated himself in front of her.
"The longer the night, the more dreams you may have. County Magistrate Zhao, please give the order quickly." Zhu Ping'an took a deep breath and said to County Magistrate Zhao.
"As you command." Magistrate Zhao nodded vigorously, and then ordered his captain, "Follow my command, arrest Mr. Zhao and bring him to justice."
"Yes, sir." The captain obeyed the order.
"Wait. At the same time, search Mr. Zhao's house carefully. Don't miss any place, whether it's a well, a secret room, or a tunnel. Dig three feet into the ground and search it all. After finding Chen Erlang's wife Zhang, bring her back to the county government office. If you can't find her, arrest all the people in Mr. Zhao's family and ask them one by one whether they have seen Zhang, whether there is a secret room in the Zhao Mansion, and where Mr. Zhao has been frequently and mysteriously going in and out recently. After asking, go to the place immediately, find Zhang and bring her back to the county government office together. If you can't find Zhang, then arrest Mr. Zhao first." Zhu Ping'an stopped the captain and gave further instructions.
After finding the head, the case became clear. The instigator of Chen Erlang's murder of his wife was none other than Mr. Zhao, and the victim was a maid in Mr. Zhao's house. The reason why the maid's head was cut off was to confuse people and make them mistakenly believe that the victim was Zhang. The purpose of doing so is self-evident.
"Oh, yes, yes, yes..." County Magistrate Zhao said thoughtfully and nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, sir." The captain took the order and set off immediately with his officers.
"Clan leader Chen, the people in the county government may not know Zhang, so you should follow them to identify her." Zhu Ping'an said to Chen Dacheng and others.
"Yes, sir." Chen Dacheng clasped his fists towards Zhu Ping'an, bowed deeply, and then led his clansmen to chase after him.
About an hour later, the chief constable of Yiwu County Government, as well as Chen Dacheng and others, brought the tied-up wealthy middle-aged man and a flashy woman back to the government office to report.
"Sir, I and others have been ordered to arrest Mr. Zhang, Zhao Tongming, and found Zhang Chunmei in the secret room of the Zhao's study."
The captain of the police bowed and reported that the trip was very smooth. After arresting Mr. Zhang, they did not find Zhang in Zhang's mansion at first. However, the housekeeper of Mr. Zhang's mansion confessed that there was a secret room in Zhao's mansion. When the secret room was opened, they found a woman hiding. Chen Dacheng, who was traveling with them, directly called out the woman's name, and it was Zhang, the wife of Chen Erlang.
“Good, very good!”
County Magistrate Zhao nodded excitedly.
Now that Zhang was found, Mr. Zhao could no longer hide his crimes and confessed everything at the first trial.
Zhao Yuanwai was also a scholar, but he was a scholar who pretended to be cultured and had poems with Chen Erlang. Once, Zhao Yuanwai went to visit Chen Erlang at his home and saw Zhang, and was immediately struck by her beauty.
Mr. Zhao was an expert, wealthy, and extraordinary. After several attempts, he hooked up with Zhang.
The two often had an affair when Chen Erlang was out meeting friends. Sometimes Zhao Yuanwai would come to Chen's house secretly, but he was afraid of being discovered. More often, Zhang would go out on the pretext of going out to worship Buddha, return to her parents' home, or go to the market. Zhao Yuanwai would then take a carriage to pick Zhang up halfway, and the two would secretly meet in the carriage.
The two were not satisfied with just having an affair and intended to stay together forever.
After thinking hard for half a year, Mr. Zhao came up with an idea. He bought a maid who was of similar height and build to Zhang and of simple family background. After murdering her, he cut off her head and put it in a coffin. He then stuffed clothes with cotton to make the body and buried it in the coffin. He put Zhang's clothes on her body and took it to Chen Erlang's house at night, framing Chen Erlang for murdering his wife. As for the maid's funeral, Mr. Zhao gave the maid's family one hundred taels of silver to appease them. The maid's family was poor and destitute, so they were overjoyed to receive the one hundred taels of silver and would not bother to investigate.
Mr. Zhao hid Zhang in a secret room in his home, waiting for Chen Erlang to execute her. After the matter was settled, Zhang changed her appearance again...
Mr. Zhao and Zhang thought they had a good plan, and they had been spending all this time together in the secret room, having a great time, just waiting for Chen Erlang to execute them.
Unexpectedly, I met Zhu Pingan.
The two men's cleverness backfired, and the missing head became the key to solving the case, and finally their evil deeds were rewarded with evil.
"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir..."
Chen Dacheng supported his brother and knelt down and kowtowed excitedly. He couldn't stop himself and his head was swollen... (To be continued)