During the reign of Renzong in the Song Dynasty, more than a hundred families lived in Xinghua Village, , Fufeng County. Most of the villagers made a living by farming, and their lives were very peaceful and peaceful. Unexpectedly, such a peaceful life was suddenly broken by a murder case in the village, which triggered many cases one after another, making many people in the village still talk about it.
A year ago, Wang Yuanwai's family in the county built a new house and courtyard, and hired dozens of carpenters to help with the work. Carpenter Yang from Xinghua Village was also hired by Wang Yuanwai. Carpenter Yang was a carpenter with very high carpentry skills in Xinghua Village.
This time he was invited by the county's Wang Yuanwai to build a house. Since there were many carpenters, Wang Yuanwai divided them into several groups to do their own work and hired a chief engineer to manage them. Unexpectedly, during the process of building the house, Yang Carpenter had a conflict with chief engineer Engineer Wang. Even though it was later confirmed that Yang Carpenter was right, Engineer Wang did not apologize to Yang Carpenter or admit his mistakes due to his identity.
As a result, the two of them did not speak to each other after Wang Yuanwai's new house was built. This situation lasted for more than half a year.
Until one day half a year later, several carpenter friends of Carpenter Yang invited him to drink in a restaurant. Unexpectedly, these carpenter friends of his also invited Engineer Wang. To this, Carpenter Yang felt very unhappy and remained silent during the drinking. This atmosphere made everyone present feel embarrassed. Engineer Wang looked indifferent and said carelessly: "I don't love love as much as some people do." If you care about a trivial matter, you will never interact with each other."
Carpenter Yang was just drinking and didn't want to talk to Engineer Wang, but after hearing his words, he became very angry. You must know that the dispute he had with Engineer Wang was not a trivial matter, but about the mortise and tenon structure of the entire house. Once this was not handled properly, the house would easily collapse. How could such a thing be considered a trivial matter?
Carpenter Yang couldn't stand listening, so he couldn't help but snorted coldly: "I really should tell everyone this little thing you said, so that I can dare to ask you to build a house in the future!"
When Engineer Wang heard what Carpenter Yang said, he couldn't help but said with a face: "Why bother? Ending my life? Besides, didn’t I listen to your words and correct myself later?”
The people next to him saw that the two were about to quarrel again, and they hurriedly tried to smooth things over. However, Yang Carpenter was no longer in the mood to stay here and drink, and went home alone regardless of everyone’s pleas.
After Carpenter Yang left, the other carpenters who were still drinking shook their heads and sighed: "Brother Yang is good at everything, but he is too stubborn and will not forgive others."
The next day, when the genius was just shining, Liu Sanniang, Carpenter Yang's wife, came to the door of Engineer Wang's house. While crying, she shouted: "You returned my husband, and my husband had a problem with you. You must have killed him!"
Villagers passing by saw this scene and went to inquire. After asking, they found out that Carpenter Yang had not returned home after he went out to drink with the carpenters last night. But according to the carpenters, Carpenter Yang was the first to go home last night.
Ever since Liu Sanniang got married to Carpenter Yang, it had never happened that Carpenter Yang stayed home all night. Especially when she thought about her husband's holiday with Engineer Wang, she wondered whether Yang Carpenter's failure to return home had something to do with Engineer Wang, so she came to Engineer Wang's house early in the morning to cause trouble.
Engineer Wang naturally denied the fact that Liu Sanniang came to her husband early in the morning and slandered him for killing Yang Carpenter. He said to Liu Sanniang with a dark face: "Don't talk nonsense here and slander me. Your husband left the banquet early yesterday. I and the other carpenters drank until very late. Everyone present can testify. Now that your husband has not come home, you come to me to ask for someone. It's really ridiculous!"
"It's not ridiculous. Let's go to the government to talk about it. Now that my husband is missing, it has something to do with you. You have always had a problem with him. You are jealous that his carpentry skills are better than yours. So when you built a house at Wang Yuan's wife's house last time, you used your status as the chief engineer to make things difficult for him. And I have inquired about it. You had a conflict with my husband again last night. I have reason to suspect that you have attacked my husband!"
"You woman, you are really good at messing around. I just have some disagreements with Yang Carpenter because of his work! Should I attack him? "
" No, only you know it in your heart. If you really have a clear conscience and are innocent, then do you dare to go to the Yamen with me? "
Engineer Wang saw more and more people watching in front of his house. Considering that it would affect his old mother who was still sick at home, he said to Liu Sanniang: "What are you afraid of! Who is afraid of whom? Anyway, I am You are not afraid of the shadow being crooked! "
Just like that, Engineer Wang and Liu Sanniang went back and forth, cursing and swearing all the way to the Yamen. When they arrived at the Yamen, Liu Sanniang actually took out the complaint that had been written long ago and submitted it to the county magistrate. The ins and outs of the whole matter were clearly written on the paper. Engineer Wang couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat when he saw Liu Sanniang's behavior. He never expected that Liu Sanniang had come prepared.
Magistrate Shi of Fufeng County was transferred here as a local magistrate the year before last. He was an honest and fair official, but he was a bit confused. Sometimes he would rely on his subjective will to decide cases. Therefore, the people called him "Qing Mu Guan" behind his back, which means a sober and confused official.
However, during his two-year term in Fufeng County, he still did a lot of good things for the people. Under his governance, thefts and vicious shark cases rarely occurred in the county.
Now Liu Sanniang is suing Engineer Wang for murdering her husband. This can be said to be the first major case in the two years since she became an official.
After reading the paper submitted by Liu Sanniang, County Magistrate Shi believed that Engineer Wang was indeed suspected of killing Carpenter Yang, so he detained Engineer Wang. Then he sent people to find the carpenters who drank with him that day. After some verification, it was confirmed that Carpenter Yang had indeed left the banquet that day.
When the trial was held again, County Magistrate Shi asked Engineer Wang again: "Foreman Wang, what did you do after you followed Carpenter Yang out that day? Call him truthfully!"
How many days have passed? On remand for trial, and because Engineer Wang was still thinking about his sick old mother at home, he looked extremely haggard. He replied feebly: "Sir, I told you that I went out that day because I had a sudden stomachache and went to the toilet. I didn't follow Yang Mu. Go away, workman. Although the younger one has a problem with Carpenter Yang, I won’t kill him! "
" Then let me ask you, you repeatedly said that you went to the toilet, are there any witnesses? "
"Although...even though no one saw me going to the toilet, I was really wronged! Please be careful! "
" Even now, you are still making excuses! Come on, bring me witnesses! ", Shi County Magistrate gave the order.
At this time, a bearded man came up from the government hall. As soon as he came up, he glared at Engineer Wang viciously and cursed angrily: "You are so cruel! How could you do such a thing to my brother Yang!"
Engineer Wang recognized this bearded man. This bearded man was Butcher Hu, who sells pork on the street.
After Butcher Hu said this, he said to Magistrate Shi: "Sir, I saw with my own eyes that day that Engineer Wang was following my brother Yang and arguing on the street corner. During this period, he even pushed my brother Yang. After that, because I had customers coming to buy meat, I found that they were all gone after a while!
Magistrate Shi heard this, patted the gavel and said angrily: "Foreman Wang, what else do you have to say now, why don't you call me here quickly?"
Foreman Wang immediately kowtowed and said: "Sir, I admit that I followed Carpenter Yang out that day, and I did. He quarreled, but I really didn’t kill him! "
At this time, Magistrate Shi was completely angry. He looked at Engineer Wang and said, "I will ask you again, where is Carpenter Yang? If you refuse to answer again, don't blame me for punishing you! "
But Engineer Wang still refused to recognize him. He shouted: "I really don't know where Carpenter Yang is. I really didn't kill him! Sir, I am wronged! "
In the end, Magistrate Shi couldn't bear it anymore and ordered Engineer Wang to be beaten with a cane. Engineer Wang couldn't bear the pain of the cane and confessed in pain, telling Magistrate Shi that "Carpenter Yang's body was thrown into the ditch." ’
Now, with the confession of Engineer Wang, the case of Yang Carpenter’s disappearance finally made progress. After receiving the confession, County Magistrate Shi immediately sent two workmen to retrieve Yang Carpenter’s body from the river in the village.
The officials of the Yamen were originally the officials who inspected the dead and injured, but for those who died unexpectedly, according to the regulations at the time, they were also responsible for handling the cases.
However, the search for Yang Carpenter's body was not so smooth. Although the river in Xinghua Village was not very big, the two gangsters had been searching here for more than ten days and could not find it. Magistrate Shi on the other side was also very anxious. In addition, the case had been reported to the Censor of the Ministry of Justice and Jing Zhaoyin . The attention from above and the urging to close the case as soon as possible made everyone involved in this case extremely anxious.
Especially the two coworkers who were looking for the corpse were worried every day. If Yang Carpenter's body was found all the time, they might lose their jobs and even be convicted of incompetence.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and the two coworkers still did not find the body of Carpenter Yang. On this day, the two coworkers were scolded by Magistrate Shi again. The two of them walked listlessly along the river. The coworker named Xu Er said to his coworker Xu Da: "Brother, it has been almost a month, but I still haven't found the body of Carpenter Yang." , It’s not an option for us to keep searching like headless flies. The Shi County Magistrate has issued an order this morning. If we can’t find the body within the next seven days, we will be punished and our job will be gone!”
Xu Da responded: “I now suspect that Engineer Wang must still be lying, Yang. He didn't throw the carpenter's body in the river at all. He was trying to trick us and wanted to delay the case. As long as the body was not found, the case would never be closed and he would not be convicted. "
" If this is really the case, what should we do now? I can't lose this job, there are still a lot of young and old at home for me to support! "
" I'm not the same. My whole family depends on my job for food. If this job disappears, it will be like asking our whole family to beg for food! "
As the two of them talked, they felt more and more sad. But after a short period of sadness, they suddenly had a plan in mind. After they said it, they coincided with each other.
Seven days later, Xu Da and Xu Er found Yang Carpenter's body under their plan.
That day, Carpenter Yang’s body was placed in the government hall. Because it had been soaked in water for so long, the whole body had almost no human appearance. However, when Magistrate Shi asked Liu Sanniang to identify it, Liu Sanniang didn’t take a closer look at it, so she threw herself on the body and cried: "My poor husband, how did you become like this!" You must make decisions for women, severely punish the murderer, and avenge my husband!"
Everyone present looked at this scene, and everyone was moved, especially when they saw Liu Sanniang crying and throwing paper money by the river with Yang Carpenter's clothes. The villagers in the township even shed tears after hearing this. They wrote and left messages one after another asking County Magistrate Shi to judge the case fairly and punish Engineer Wang severely.
In the end, Engineer Wang was sentenced to death with solid evidence!
However, the results of the case were not reported to the Shi County Magistrate until after the case was concluded. While waiting for approval from superiors, the Yamen received another person who came to report the case.
According to the person who reported the case, his father went out to the market on a donkey 7 days ago and never came back. The family searched for it for many days but could not find it. Today, when they were walking on the street, they met a man riding a donkey, and that donkey was his father's donkey.
The person who reported the crime and was looking for his father immediately took the donkey rider to the government office. However, the donkey rider said that he met the donkey by the river in the village and did not see the reporter's father, but no one believed what he said.
In addition, the reporter firmly believed that his father must have been killed by the donkey rider. As a result, human blood was found on the donkey. Under this evidence, the donkey rider could not argue. In the end, he confessed because he could not bear the severe punishment. However, the reporter's father was not found in the place where the body was hidden.
Magistrate Shi was furious and wanted to interrogate the donkey rider again. Unexpectedly, the donkey rider was frightened and suddenly fell ill and died in prison. As a result, the disappearance of the reporter's father was also shelved.
After some time, the verdict of Yang Carpenter's murder case was finally approved. Foreman Wang was approved Qiuhouwenzhan, and the execution date was just one month later.
After this announcement came out, Engineer Wang's mother was unwilling to give up and went around looking for someone to avenge her son. The carpenters who were led by Engineer Wang in the past all visited the imprisoned Engineer Wang, and Engineer Wang repeatedly told them that he was wronged.
Engineer Wang, apart from his harsh words, is also very respectable in his conduct. He is usually filial to his mother. It is unbelievable that he killed Carpenter Yang because of such a trivial matter.
So the carpenters decided to help Engineer Wang and not let him die unjustly. However, they did not know how to avenge him. After thinking about it, the carpenters collected a hundred taels of silver and then posted a notice stating that if anyone saw what happened after Carpenter Yang left and told the truth, they would be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver.
A few days after the notice was posted, someone came to the restaurant where the carpenters gathered. The person who came was Zhang San, a habitual thief in the village. Zhang San said to the carpenters: "I know who killed Carpenter Yang." , But you have to give me money first!"
The carpenters all know Zhang San's nature. He is just a sneaky person and always likes to brag. They don't believe him. When they see him coming, they all drive him away.
But Zhang San said emphatically: "I really didn't lie to you this time. If you don't believe me, just prove it with my words! If I lie to you, how about you take me to the government?"
Everyone saw that he was confident in what he said, so they chose to believe him for once! After signing the document with him, Zhang San informed the carpenters of his plan.
In the evening, the carpenters followed Zhang San from a distance, and Zhang San pretended to be drunk and came to Yang Carpenter's home. When Yang Carpenter's wife Liu Sanniang opened the door, Zhang San went forward to tease Liu Sanniang.
Liu Sanniang was provoked by this, and immediately yelled: "You shameless thief and beggar, you really want to eat swan meat, how dare you molest me!"
Because Liu Sanniang spoke so loudly, after the neighbors heard it, they all ran over, scolding Zhang San for his rude behavior, and picked up the guy to beat him!
At this time, Zhang San's face showed a smile. He rushed into the house and went straight to lift the kang mat in Liu Sanniang's house. When the kang hole was opened, Zhang San shouted: "No, there is a corpse hidden in the kang hole. Come and see!"
All the people outside the house rushed in. When everyone saw the corpse in the kang hole, everyone was stunned.
Not long after, the carpenters also rushed in. When they saw the body, they found that the body was their old friend Yang Carpenter. As for why it was found in his own kang hole, they could only ask Liu Sanniang.
The Yamen was raised again. When Magistrate Shi learned about the incident, he was shocked. He gave Liu Sanniang a few scares and asked Liu Sanniang to confess truthfully.
With all the witnesses and physical evidence available, Liu Sanniang had no choice but to tell the whole story.
It turns out that Carpenter Yang was murdered by Liu Sanniang and her adulterer Hu Tufu. That day, Carpenter Yang and the carpenters were drinking and having a banquet. They almost had a conflict with Carpenter Wang, so he left alone. When he left, he went to the toilet, but unexpectedly he met the same person again. Foreman Wang and Carpenter Yang in the toilet were already very drunk. When they met, Foreman Wang helped the staggering Carpenter Yang, but Carpenter Yang refused. This scene happened to be seen by Butcher Hu. He had long wanted to monopolize Liu Sanniang, so when he testified that day, he perjured himself and said that Foreman Wang pushed Carpenter Yang.
After Carpenter Yang and Engineer Wang separated, Butcher Hu followed Carpenter Yang back home. After arriving home, he conspired with Liu Sanniang to beat the drunk Carpenter Yang to death. After Yang Carpenter was beaten to death, Liu Sanniang and Butcher Hu found a place to hide the body in the house, and hid the body in the earthen kang in the house.
This earthen kang is hollow and used for heating in winter, but the space of the earthen kang is too small, so the cruel two people cut Yang Carpenter's body into pieces. After doing all this, the two people hatched a plan to frame Engineer Wang.
The two men's plan also went flawlessly and smoothly, and as if with divine help, the Yamen actually found a corpse, so that the crimes of the two were concealed.
Just when Liu Sanniang and Hu Tufu thought they could sit back and relax, one night their conversation was discovered by Zhang San, who had long coveted Liu Sanniang's beauty.
That night, Zhang San hid in the corner of Liu Sanniang's house and wanted to sneak into Liu Sanniang's house in the dead of night. However, while waiting to commit the crime, he heard something moving in Liu Sanniang's house. Zhang San hid outside the house and eavesdropped, and actually heard Liu Sanniang in the house say: "You, a pig butcher, can't do anything." You must not betray me. For your sake, I have harmed my loyal and honest husband. If you dare to betray me one day, I will tell the truth and we will die together!" After hearing this, the man in the room said that he would never betray you in this life. If he betrays you, he will be struck by lightning!
Although Zhang San didn't see who the man was inside, he recognized the voice. It was that of Butcher Hu, and it couldn't be fake!
The case was re-tried. These facts made it difficult for Magistrate Shi to accept. One stone stirred up a thousand waves. Who was the body fished out of the water by Yang Carpenter? After Magistrate Shi ordered the arrest of Butcher Hu, he then ordered people to summon two gangsters, Xu Da and Xu Er.
When Xu Da and Xu Er faced the trial, they could only confess that the body fished out of the river was that of an old man riding a donkey who they conspired to kill on the day they were reprimanded. When the old man was crossing the bridge, Xu Da, who was waiting by the bridge, was killed. Da Xuer was beaten to death and then pushed into the river. They planned this because the body would lose its original appearance after being soaked in the water. This way, when they fished the body out, no one would find it, and they could quickly close the case of Engineer Wang.
However, what he didn't expect was that after the old man was pushed into the river, his donkey was frightened and ran away before he could catch it. As a result, a few days later, the donkey appeared on the street again and was discovered by his son who came to look for him. A new case was added, but the poor man who picked up the donkey died unjustly because of this incident.
In the end, Xu Da and Xu Er were convicted of beheading, Liu Sanniang and the adulterer Hu Tufu were torn apart by a car, and Shi County Magistrate, who misjudged the case of Engineer Wang, resigned from office and was punished by being banned from holding office for life.
The story is adapted from " Folktales ". I wonder how you feel after reading this story? It was originally a case of conspiring to murder a husband, but unexpectedly, due to the negligence of the county magistrate and his over-eagerness to end the case, he did not really pursue the truth, and the suspect was beaten and convicted. In order to avoid being implicated and keep his job, his subordinates created another case. A murder case, and an innocent man who picked up a donkey was implicated in the death. What is even more ironic is that the person who discovered the truth was actually a thief. The truth of the whole case was discovered when he was about to commit a crime, which makes people feel very incredible.
The story of this series of unjust cases shows that when officials handle cases, every link needs to be carefully investigated. Once a mistake is made at the beginning, it may lead to errors in all subsequent links. Even if it is done, it will be too late. After all, what happened in the case has happened, and it cannot be undone even if you want to.
---(end of story)---
