Chapter 25 Corpses Containing Grievances
Song Que was lying on the damp floor, his prison uniform was covered with black and smelly blood. He suspected that the original owner would die of infection according to this setting.
The inmate next door was a skinny young man with sunken eye sockets due to hunger. Seeing Song Que lying, he couldn’t help leaning over, pressed his face against the wooden railing, and asked, “Are you still alive?”
His voice was not pleasant.
Song Que didn’t reply but opened his eyes towards him. There were no waves in those eyes, no struggle, no pain.
Ji Qiong 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 saw with his own eyes that Song Que was being dragged out awake but unconscious when he came back. Didn’t know whether he was alive or dead, it was terribly scary. According to others, Song Que still has not pleaded guilty.
Song Que finally spoke, with deliberately disguised hoarseness and haggardness: “Oh? Admit to what”
Ji Qiong didn’t think too much. His stubbornness was also worn away in the prison, and he was frightened by the torture Song Que got. With just a few words, Song Que tricked him into saying something.
Song Que’s father was a well-known small landlord. Master Song and his first spouse gave birth to Song Que several years ago. When his first spouse passed away, he remarried another beautiful wife and gave birth to a pair of dragon and phoenix twins, who were only five years older than Song Que’s daughter. Master Song treasured her for a few years, then he took in another beautiful concubine. He held it in his palm for fear of falling and held it in his mouth for fear that it would melt. It has become the new apple of one’s eye.
[龙凤胎 (long feng tai) A pair of twins with different sexes]
[含在嘴里怕化了,捧在手里怕摔了 (Hán zài zuǐ lǐ pà huàle, pěng zài shǒu lǐ pà shuāile) It was metaphor means that you can’t put it down and cherish something very much]
The problem lie with this beautiful concubine. Master Song was getting old, although he pampered Aunt Chen, but they didn’t know when he would go. Aunt Chen wanted to rely on herself, so she seduced Master Song to do that kind of thing all day long. After all, Master Song was old, and he was not as vigorous as he used to be. He was hollowed out after three days of fooling around. Suddenly he had a stroke and could only lie in the bed, unable to speak. The doctor said he didn’t have much time left.
A few days ago, Aunt Chen was found dead in her room. She was raped before her death. Her personal maid sued the young master of the mansion, who took advantage of the inconvenience of the master to disrespect his concubine mother. It was really disregarding human relations, no different from animals.
The county magistrate sent people to investigate and conduct an autopsy and obtain a lot of evidence. All that missing was Song Que’s confession. However, Song Que refused to admit it. He was a scholar. Although there were no laws and regulations, he should be exempted from prison during interrogation. But for some reason, Song Que was served by torture. He still did not plead guilty. Tomorrow the case will be tried again in public. In Ji Qiong’s eyes, this was Song Que’s last chance. If Song Que has to go through the torture again, before the convention Song Que will not be able to bear it.
Naturally, Ji Qiong’s words were not so clear, he himself may only have a little understanding. But Song Que was a person who could complete the context after a little thought.
Now Master Song was still sick in bed, sometimes sober and sometimes drowsy, and he couldn’t even speak. Naturally, his stepmother⎯⎯Madam Qian was in charge of the family. As long as she wanted, he was afraid Master Song wouldn’t even hear any news.
Song Que’s younger siblings were only five years old, and Song Que was already in his twenties. Although his wife died of dystocia, leaving only one daughter. But his age was his great advantage, he was also a scholar. As for Madam Qian and her two children, they were in a precarious situation.
From the point of view of the stakes, Madam Qian was a big suspect. After all, the victim, Aunt Chen, was quite arrogant when she was favored, and had a lot of bad blood with Madam Qian.
Song Que was thinking about this, but he didn’t show it on his face. He asked in a hoarse voice: “Little brother, why were you arrested?”
Ji Qiong lowered his head: “I copied the books for a bookshop. I don’t know why, but the owner suddenly accused me of stealing the 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, I will also get beaten. There will be a fixed amount of beating for the former, I was not sure for the latter. I don’t know if I’ll beat to death…”
That’s why he paid special attention to Song Que’s refusal to confess and seemed to want to use him as a reference to determine what he should do.
Song Que thought, those who can afford to open a bookshop these days probably have some money and power. This kid has been imprisoned until now, but he has not been beaten in order to extort a confession. The investigators were relatively clean. As for him being a scholar but being beaten, it should have something to do with the nature of the case. The Song family has some money, but no power. The real culprits can only go to the lower officials if they want to bribe them.
Song Que comforted Ji Qiong with a few words and then submerged himself to prepare for tomorrow’s court trial.
On the day of the court trial, Song Que was taken out of the prison cell and brought into the court. There were many people watching outside the court. After all, it was a very rare case of a son raping his concubine mother and then murdering her, and Song Que was a scholar. Out of subtle psychology, there were a lot of people who came to see the excitement.
Song Que was unkempt, but it couldn’t hide his figure and his handsome features. Although the prison uniform was full of blood and stains, he walked out with a straight back and slow steps, showing a certain literati temperament. Even when he was kneeling, his back was straight.
In this era, women were not very constrained, but the original Song Que was obsessed with studying and did not go out often. He didn’t like to appear in public. Therefore, few people in the county have actually seen Song Que. Many young women and young ladies were curious to see what the rumored scum looked like.
They heard that the dead concubine was only in her teens, Master Song was almost fifty years old and was sick and could only lay in bed. This young master was the eldest son, and he looked so… so handsome. Those women didn’t say anything, but in their hearts, they felt it couldn’t reach the point of murder. They also knew that this idea was wrong, but they still couldn’t help thinking about it, and the outside of the venue became quiet for a while.
Magistrate Gao, who was sitting upright, couldn’t help but notice it, and his expression became even worse.
Song Que looked up and saw that the county magistrate Gao was young and very talented, but he was far from being handsome and seemed to be disgusted with him.
This Magistrate Gao was new, so he shouldn’t have any problems with Song Que. Song Que lowered his eyes, his mind was running fast.
County magistrate Gao slapped the gavel and began to state the case.
The person who made the report was Xiaodie, Aunt Chen’s personal maid. According to Xiaodie, she saw with her own eyes that the young master pressed Aunt Chen on the bed to do something. Aunt Chen struggled desperately, which annoyed him. With one hand, he picked up the jade pillow and slammed it on Aunt Chen’s head. The result of the autopsy, Aunt Chen did have strangle marks on her neck, the scar on her forehead matched the shape of the jade pillow, and there was indeed male semen inside.
The Song family didn’t have many servants, only maidservants in the inner courtyard, and strong servants in the outer courtyard. The door between the inner courtyard and the outer courtyard was guarded by a special person. At that time, the only adult man who could appear in the inner courtyard was Song Que. However, according to the various situations reported by the officials at the survey site, there was no phenomenon of moving corpses.
On the whole, this case can be said to be full of witnesses and material evidence, but Song Que gritted his teeth and refused to plead guilty, which was quite suspicious.
After County Magistrate Gao finished talking about the case, he asked, “Song Que, did you plead guilty?”
He was stern and dignified.
Song Que lowered his head kowtowed, and said, “My lord, I don’t admit it. Can you summon the coroner to confront the officers who examined the scene?”
County Magistrate Gao saw his calm and resolute face and hesitated for a moment. The world looked at appearance, and even the imperial examinations were no exception. Gao Fenglin has suffered a lot because of his looks, and he can’t see others turning a blind eye to people with good looks, but he was not someone who would turn a blind eye to doubts. Previously, Song Que was sentenced to punishment because the evidence was conclusive, all that was left was a confession of guilt. Seeing that Song Que was so firm now, Gao Fenglin had some suspicions, and at the moment, regardless of his aversion to good-looking people, he sent someone to call the assistant and the coroner who were in charge of the case.
Coroners were different from modern forensic doctors. They were only responsible for examining the corpses, not inferring from various symptoms, which was the responsibility of the county assistants. That is to say, the inspection of the corpse and the determination of the murder were done by two people, and there was a lot of room for maneuvering.
Song Que didn’t know if the coroner had been bribed or not, so he asked directly, “How deep is the bruise on Aunt Chen’s neck, and how long is it? Is it the bruise was from the left hand or the right hand?”
A few days had passed since the autopsy, and the coroner pondered and then answered one by one.
Song Que listened, and then asked the assistant next to the county magistrate Gao: “Can you please repeat the description of the neck scar on the autopsy grid?”
The assistant glanced at Magistrate Gao, who nodded and then read it again. Although there were discrepancies with the autopsy grind, the difference was not big.
Song Que had a clear idea in his heart, and asked again: “May I ask about the scar on the forehead?”
The coroner said: “The entire forehead was hit by a blunt instrument, and there were large blunt injuries, the size matched with the injury caused by the jade pillow.”
Song Que asked: “May I ask if the injury on the forehead is more serious near the face, or near the top of the head?”
After thinking about it, the coroner replied: “It’s more serious near the top of the head.”
Magistrate Gao frowned slightly after hearing the few questions he asked.
Song Que said: “My lord, can I ask the accuser to confront me in court?”
County Magistrate Gao approved.
Xiaodie was brought in, and as soon as the guard let go, she knelt down with limp 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 repeat what you saw that day?”
Xiaodie stammered and repeated.
Song Que asked, “Where were you at that time?”
Xiaodie was stunned for a moment, and said: “I went to bring dessert for my lady, I saw it from the door of the bedroom when I came back.”
Song Que said: “Where is the door of the bedroom facing? Can you see the figure on the bed clearly?”
Xiaodie was taken aback, remembering that from the position of the door of the bedroom, she could only see the bed obliquely, and if someone was on it, she could only see the back of their head. She immediately trembled.
