“Lord Zhu, Lord Zhao, humble servant has something to report.”The clerk stepped forward and bowed to Governor Zhao as well as Zhu Pingan, his face somewhat agitated as he said.
“Lord Zhu, this is our Yamen Household Office Clerk Zuo Qian, he is a child student and has always been careful and serious in his work.”
Governor Zhao softly introduced to Zhu Pingan.
“Not bad, Clerk Zuo, what have you found?”Zhu Pingan nodded approvingly and asked Zuo Qian.
“Back to Your Excellency, my humble servant made a discovery when inquiring into the records of the Six Wonders Town Volunteer Village. The Liwang Town Benevolent Villa undertook three funerals during the time of the crime, and one of them encountered a strange incident when they were organising the funeral for the maid of the Zhao family of the Zhao Village’s Zhao Warrantor. At that time, it was the Zhao magistrate who sent someone to invite them over, saying that a maid in their family had unfortunately died. When the Liwang Town Village arrived at the Zhao magistrate’s house, the coffin was being closed, and they only had time to look at it and saw a young maid lying in a thin coffin wearing a birthday suit, which was closed and then carried outside the town for burial. When the people of Liwang Township Yi Zhuang were carrying the coffin for burial, they felt that the coffin was very light, although it was a thin coffin, but the lightness was also a bit abnormal, as if there was no collector in the coffin. They thought at the time that Zhao was stingy and cut corners on the thin coffin for the maid, and didn’t think much of it.”
Zuo Qian arched his hand and stepped forward, softly reporting the suspicions recorded by the Six Wonders Town Benevolent Village in detail to Zhu Pingan and Zhao Zhi Xian.
When Governor Zhao heard this, he immediately became excited, this suspicion was too worth digging deeper, and looked at Zhu Pingan excitedly.
Zhu Pingan nodded slightly.
“Check who made the coffins for Warrantor Zhao’s family at that time and see if any corners were cut.”Governor Zhao commanded.
“Back to Your Excellency, my humble servant has already verified it.”The left scribe returned, “It was Qianji Coffin Shop in Liwang Town that did it. Qianji Coffin Shop swore that although the coffin they made for Mr Zhao’s family was a thin coffin, they definitely didn’t cut corners and used solid materials, they earn money with a clear conscience, and cutting corners will result in retribution.”
“Whether it’s jerry-building or something else, one test will tell.”Zhu Pingan made a snap decision and decided to go to the inspection immediately.
Governor Zhao immediately arranged it, “What Lord Zhu said is very true. Invite the people from Liwang Town’s righteousness village to ask where the maid of the Zhao family is buried, ask them to lead the way, and we’ll bring along the pallbearers and the like, and go ahead to open the coffin and examine the corpse.”
Soon, the pallbearers and servants from the county office were ready to go.
“Grand Master, the maid of the Zhao family is buried outside of Liwang Town, in the mountain forest belonging to the Zhao family.”
The people from the Six Wonders Town Benevolent Village remembered it well and got on the yamen’s carriage, leading the way in front of them and leading the crowd there.
Chen Dacheng and his clansmen outside the Yamen heard about it and followed.
Soon, the people from the Six Wonders Township Benevolent Village led the crowd to the place, a small graveyard in the middle of a mountain forest, an inconspicuous place.
After a pile of paper money had been burnt, Zhu Pingan bowed his hand to the grave bag and said, “I’m offended, this official will do the right thing for you.”
Governor Zhao followed suit and bowed, waving his hand to order the people from the righteous village and the police officers to start digging down.
Very open, the coffin was dug out.
Indeed, as Liwang Town Qianji Coffin said, this coffin is a thin coffin, but it is indeed sufficient work and material.
The coffin was opened.
Yamen pallbearers began to work on the autopsy.
The crowd covered their mouths and noses to watch, a look at a burst of doubt, “Huh? Not right ah, this coffin is not right ah, how the head below so flat, as if only a layer of clothing like ah?”
Waiting for the coroner to spend open the clothes, wow a burst of unexpected shouts, “how only a head, underneath is a rotten cotton ……”
Although the head has rotted and can not be identified, but it is obvious that this head is the head to find.
Zhao Zhixian could not help but look at Zhu Pingan with admiration, amazed, if not for the wrong occasion, he would have thrown himself on the ground.
“The night is long, Governor Zhao quickly gives the order.”Zhu Pingan took a deep breath and said to Governor Zhao.
“As ordered.”Governor Zhao nodded his head vigorously before ordering his subordinate constables, “At your command, you may arrest Warrantor Zhao.”
“Yes, sir.”The head constable led the order.
“Slowly. At the same time, carefully search Warrantor Zhao’s house, don’t spare any place, whether it’s a well, a secret room, or a tunnel, dig three feet into the ground and turn it over, and when you find Chen Erlang’s wife, Zhang, bring it back to the county office as well. If you don’t find it, then control everyone in Officer Zhao’s family and ask them one by one if they have seen Zhang, if there is still a secret room in Zhao’s house, and where Officer Zhao has been going in and out frequently and mysteriously lately, and after you ask them, immediately go to that place and bring them back to the county magistrate together after you find Zhang; if you can’t find Zhang, then first arrest Officer Zhao and bring him back to the case.”Zhu Pingan called out to the sheriff and further instructed.
After finding the chief, the case became clear. The originator of Chen Erlang’s wife murder case was none other than this Zhao Warrantor, and the victim was the maid of Zhao Warrantor’s residence, and the reason why the maid’s head was cut off was to confuse people into thinking that the victim was Zhang; and the purpose of doing so was self-evident.
“Oh, right right right ……”Zhao Zhi Xian gave a thoughtful oh and nodded his head uncontrollably.
“As ordered.”The head constable led the order and set off immediately with his errand boys.
“Patriarch Chen, the people from the county office may not necessarily know Zhang, so you guys also follow along to identify her.”Zhu Pingan said to Chen Dacheng and the others.
“As you wish.”Chen Dacheng clasped his fists to Zhu Pingan and gave a heavy salute before leading his clan members in hot pursuit.
After about an hour or so, the sheriff’s deputies of the Yiwu County Office as well as Chen Dacheng and the others returned to the county office to resume their duties with the rich middle-aged man who was tied up in a five-fold manner as well as a woman who was dressed up in a flamboyant manner.
“Your Excellency, my humble servant and the others have been ordered to return Zhao Tongming Zhang’s arrest, and found Zhang Chunmei Zhang in the secret room of Zhao’s mansion’s study.”
The constable cupped his fists and resumed his order, this trip went well, after arresting the Zhang Warrantor, Zhang was not found in the Zhang Mansion at first, but the housekeeper of the Zhang Warrantor’s residence confessed that there was another secret room in the Zhao Mansion, and when he opened the secret room, he found a woman who was in hiding, and the fellow traveller, Chen Dacheng, directly called the woman’s name, which was precisely the Zhang’s, Chen Erlang’s, wife.
“Good, very good!”
Governor Zhao nodded excitedly.
Zhang’s all been found, Zhao can’t cover up his crimes anymore, and he gave a full account in the first trial.
Elder Zhao was also a scholar, but he was a scholar who was attached to elegance and sang poetry with Chen Erlang. Once Zhao went to visit Chen Erlang at his home, he met Zhang and was amazed.
Zhao was a master of his trade and was rich and powerful, so he made a great deal of money. After a few visits, he hooked up with Zhang.
The two often cheated on each other when Chen Erlang went out to meet friends. Sometimes it was Zhao who came to Chen’s house secretly, but he was worried about being discovered, more often than not, Zhang went out on the pretext of going out to worship Buddha, returning to his mother’s home, catching the market, etc., and then Zhao took a carriage to pick up Zhang halfway, and the two of them secretly had a private meeting in the carriage and other places.
The two are not satisfied with the secret meeting, but intend to stay together for a long time.
Zhao thought hard for half a year, came up with an idea, deliberately bought a height, figure and Zhang’s about the same, simple family maid, will murder her, cut off the head, her head into a coffin, with cotton filled with clothes for the body, put into the coffin buried; will be put on her body Zhang’s clothes, while the night carried to the home of Chen Erlang, to set up Chen Erlang killed his wife; as for the aftermath of the maid, Zhao gave theAs for the aftermath of the maid, Zhao gave the maid’s family a hundred taels of silver to appease, the maid’s family is poor and desperate, received a hundred taels of silver, rejoicing, where will still pursue the investigation.
Zhao will hide Zhang’s secret room in his own home, ready to wait for Chen Erlang to open the sword, things completely calm down, Zhang’s then change his face ……
Zhao and Zhang thought that they had won the plan, this time in the secret room double-dating, so painful, just waiting for Chen Erlang to open the beheading.
Unexpectedly, met Zhu Pingan.
The two of them were smart and the missing head became the key to solving the case, and finally, evil came back to haunt them.
“Many thanks, Your Honour, many thanks ……”
Chen Dacheng helped his brother to kneel and kowtow in excitement, he couldn’t even pull it, his head was swollen ……
