When Jiang Yufeng saw Bai Yutian approaching, she said warmly and politely: "Jiang Yufeng has met Bai Shaoxia!"
Bai Yutian took a good look at Jiang Yufeng and saw that she had beautiful facial features, skin like snow, a graceful figure, and her eyes were full of hope. She looked like a lady who did not eat the fireworks of the world. She couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration in her heart. She quickly moved Zhang Yaner He pulled her forward and said with a smile: "Miss Yufeng, this is Zhang Yanyan, the precious daughter of the hero Zhang Tianhao."
Jiang Yufeng and Zhang Yan'er had met when they were children. Her father, Zhang Tianhao, was not only his father's old friend, but also had a certain reputation in the world. Seeing Zhang Yan'er's beauty and beauty, he did not dare to neglect her and said politely: "I have met sister Yan'er! "
Zhang Yan'er returned the favor and said happily: "I've met Sister Yufeng!"
Taoist Master Jingyin came closer and said cheerfully: "Don't stand there stupidly. After breakfast, everyone goes about their own business."
Jiang Yufeng stretched out her hand and said politely: "Taoist Master, Bai Shaoxia, sister Yan'er, please!"
The four of them entered the living room and gathered around a table. They ate the food together with laughter and laughter, and slowly finished eating.
After drinking tea, Bai Yutian said goodbye to Taoist Master Jingyin and Jiang Yufeng. He and Zhang Yan'er left Dequ's Mansion and walked through a street. As soon as their steps became even, they were stopped by a voice.
I saw an old woman wearing shabby clothes and walking towards me with a hunched body. She was crying and looking like she was lost.
Seeing how pitiful he was, Zhang Yaner went up to him and asked diligently: "Auntie, what's wrong with you? Who bullied you?"
The old woman didn't hear anything and kept walking her way, her steps wobbling, and she couldn't tell which was light and which was heavy.
An old man followed behind him. He kept shaking his head and said sadly: "Her son has been sentenced to execution. Her family has nothing and no head left to live!"
Bai Yutian listened to the old man's tone, as if the old woman's son should not be sentenced to death, and asked in a low voice: "Old man, why do you talk like this? If you commit a crime, if you are not punished by the king's law, , if everyone can do bad things for their own selfish desires without any inhibitions, then how can this world be peaceful?"
The old man glanced at Bai Yutian and saw that he had beautiful features and a sense of righteousness in his eyes. He stopped and said warmly: "Master, you don't know something. I watched Meng Liangyu's child grow up. He is kind, gentle, and familiar." If you read poetry and books, you won’t be able to do such ugly things.”
Bai Yutian saw that the old man's words were calm and powerful, and what he said was absolutely true, so he believed it and asked: "Old man, if Meng Liangyu was unjustly accused, why did the government insist on convicting him? Is there really no justice in the world? ?”
The old man sighed: "Hey! When you are summoned to the court, you hear only one side of the story. You don't use physical evidence to prove it. You are punished severely. You are beaten into submission. You only admit your confession. What is fair or unfair? Justice is all in the hands of power."
Bai Yutian was suddenly enlightened and thought to himself, if the government made a wrong judgment on the case and killed people, and if they were investigated in the future, not only would their official careers end here, but in serious cases they would be imprisoned. But Taoist Master Jingyin said that Mr. Zhizhou He was a good official. If a good official was lost due to a murder case, it would be very detrimental to the people of Quzhou and not much good to the Longwei Escort Agency. Seeing the old man walking by, he grabbed him and asked, "Old man, how did you know that it was an unjust case?"
The old man stopped and said politely: "Sir, judging from your accent, you must be a foreigner. Just ignore this kind of thing."
Although Bai Yutian didn't understand official ethics, he also knew that the Longwei Escort Bureau was located here and would inevitably have to deal with the government. It was better to be a neighbor with a good official than a thief. Seeing a teahouse next to him, he grabbed the old man and said, "Old man, although I am a foreigner, I am related to Lord Zhizhou He. It would be a good thing if I can help that lady."
The old man heard Bai Yutian's words and asked doubtfully: "Young master is really related to the prefect?"
Zhang Yan'er smiled and said: "We are close to each other when we meet. It is fair and reasonable. He and the prefect are not ordinary relatives. They have a good relationship!"
When the old man saw that Zhang Yan'er was so beautiful and refined, and the white jade sky looked like spring water, he must be a child of a rich or noble family, so he began to believe it and asked nicely: "Master, what do you want to know?"
"As the saying goes, knowing yourself and the enemy is the only way you can win a hundred battles. Why don't you follow me to the teahouse, have a cup of good tea, and talk about the case, so that you won't have nothing to talk about when I meet the prefect." Bai Yutian took the old man's hand and said, Walk towards the teahouse.
The old man saw that Bai Yutian was so handsome and did not look down on a dirty low-class person like him. He had a good feeling in his heart, so he followed Bai Yutian's wishes and walked towards the teahouse.
Bai Yutian led the old man to the teahouse, asked for a private room, and helped the old man sit down. After ordering tea, he sat next to the old man and asked softly: "Old man, that old woman's son was sentenced to execution by the government. What did he do?"
The waiter brought tea and snacks, and Zhang Yaner poured a cup for the old man. The old man took a sip or two and replied in a low voice: "The deceased is the daughter of the king's wife at the east dock of the city."
Zhang Yaner felt a little uncomfortable after hearing this. She handed the old man a piece of snack and asked in a low voice: "How did the young lady die?"
The old man had some snacks, drank two sips of tea, and said in a louder voice: "Yesterday, I accompanied Aunt Meng to the hearing. The government charged the child with attempted rape and intentional murder of Miss Wang."
Seeing that the old man was very hungry, Bai Yutian handed him a piece of snack and asked, "Then how do you know that Meng Liangyu is not the murderer?"
After eating snacks and drinking tea, the old man replied: "As far as I know, the Miss Wang family admired Meng Liangyu's talent and fell in love with her. The two of them have been in love for many years. If it weren't for the fact that one is a rich lady, the other is a rich man. Boy, if you are from the wrong family, it should have turned out to be a good thing. The two of them had many trysts and committed themselves to each other, so why did Meng Liangyu rape her and beat her to death."
Bai Yutian asked: "Old man, how do you know that they often meet for trysts and even promised themselves to each other?"
"I watched Meng Liangyu's child grow up. His father passed away early, and he half regarded me as a relative. Whenever something happened to his heart, he would come to me and talk to me. The day before yesterday, I came back from meeting Miss Wang, and when he came to my house, he was in a state of disbelief. He was unhappy and troubled at first sight. I asked him nicely, and he told me that Mr. Wang had found a good husband for Miss Wang, but Miss Wang was pregnant with his child. Tell me, how could Meng Liangyu have the heart to beat that willing wife? Where is the woman who is pregnant with his child?" The old man burst into tears immediately and fell into the tea cup, making a ticking sound.
Zhang Yan'er was very moved after hearing it and couldn't help but shed two tears.
Bai Yutian had killed someone before and had a hard heart. He didn't react at all, but he was also a little puzzled. He quickly asked: "Old man, since Miss Wang is pregnant with a child, she is no longer a virgin. The result of the autopsy should be rape and murder. How did it turn into attempted rape and beating to death?”
The old man swallowed hard: "Once word spreads about a girl becoming pregnant out of wedlock, it will definitely bring shame to the Wang family and become the laughing stock of others. The county magistrate must have wanted to help the Wang family save some face."
Bai Yutian waited for the old man to stop crying, filled the cups of the three with tea, and said, "Old man, since Miss Wang didn't die during a tryst with Meng Liangyu, or she didn't die outside, why did she have scars all over her body? "
The old man took two sips of tea, looked at Bai Yutian, and saw that his eyes were full of kindness, and said: "I used to be a bamboo craftsman in a neighboring county, but because of a mistake, I felt guilty, so I went home and started working as a bamboo craftsman. Yesterday I saw the corpse being examined and found that Miss Wang's body was indeed covered in bruises. Over the course of a day or two, the color of the corpse had darkened and the scars were difficult to identify. But the location of those wounds was not at the fatal site."
Bai Yutian heard that the old man was a widower before and asked: "Old man, in your opinion, why did Miss Wang's death seem to have occurred?"
The old man replied: "When I went to help the child and his mother leave the court, I took a sneak peek at the body and accidentally saw that Miss Wang's fingertips were blue and black, with obvious signs of poisoning."
Zhang Yan'er was very surprised and puzzled, and asked in a voice: "Then Miss Wang died of poisoning, what about the scars all over her body? Why can't the autopsy show it?"
Bai Yutian agreed: "Yes, old man, since he died of poisoning, the autopsy should be able to find out."
The old man took a sip of tea and replied: "Most people often have a common problem, that is, preconceptions, and Wu Zuo should be no exception. When he saw Miss Wang's body covered with bruises, he believed Master Wang's words and was wounded by It is also possible to mislead, deceive, and ignore other subtle observations.”
Zhang Yaner said: "Since Meng Liangyu is not the murderer, why should he admit it? Is it better to be dead than alive?"
The old man said: "Miss Wang's death was partly caused by Meng Liangyu. How could Meng Liangyu not feel pain and regret?"
Zhang Yan'er answered: "Old man, it is a good thing that these two people are happy with each other. How can you resent Meng Liangyu?"
The old man sighed: "How could a young lady with a rich family, a down-and-out scholar with a poor family, who is not from the right family or the right family, be able to do anything good? If Meng Liangyu hadn't been greedy for Miss Wang's beauty and affection, she would have been reluctant to let him go if he knew it couldn't be done. Let go, Miss Wang will not fall in love and be unable to extricate herself, become pregnant with a child, and find it difficult to get married. This is killing two people, and any normal person would not be able to accept it, not to mention that they are still in love with each other and have made countless vows. .”
After hearing this, Bai Yutian seemed to have figured something out, took two sips of tea, and said to the old man: "Old man, do you think it is possible that Miss Wang committed suicide by taking poison, and the scars on her body were left by her family members. "
Zhang Yaner said quickly: "Brother Bai, you are thinking nonsense again. How could a father kill his own daughter?"
The old man glanced at Bai Yutian and said, "Mr. Bai, it is not impossible. If Miss Wang knew that she was pregnant, due to her chastity, she told Mr. Wang about her affair with Meng Liangyu, and begged her father to let her marry Meng Liangyu. It was a good thing. But Mr. Wang not only did not agree, but also severely humiliated his daughter, beating and scolding him, and even forced his daughter to abort the child in her belly in order to marry innocently. Miss Wang saw that there was no hope of being with Meng Liangyu , and is reluctant to murder the child in her belly, and is ashamed to marry a strange man while pregnant with the child. It is possible that she may commit suicide by taking poison if she can't think about it for a moment."
Bai Yutian answered: "Miss Wang committed suicide. Mr. Wang not only did not reflect on himself, but he harbored resentment and bad intentions. He thought that Meng Liangyu had killed his daughter and wanted Meng Liangyu to be buried with her. So he beat his daughter's body severely, So I used a kind of discolored beech leaves to dye my daughter's skin purple, making it look like she had been beaten and bruised, and used it to frame Meng Liangyu and give her life for life."
The old man was shocked after hearing this and said: "Sir, how do you know that beech leaves can be dyed?"
Bai Yutian smiled and said: "To tell you the truth, I have five masters. One of them is called the 'Baicao Immortal'. In addition to treating diseases and saving people every day, he also plays with plants and medicinal materials. Over time, I know more or less."
The old man said: "Sir, if it is true that the wound was faked by staining it with beech leaves, we will know after a test."
Bai Yutian was very happy after hearing this and said: "Old man, if you were to re-examine the autopsy, would you be able to clearly determine this case and bring justice to Meng Liangyu and Miss Wang?"
The old man stood up, bowed respectfully to Bai Yutian, and said, "If Mr. Bai can give me a chance to go to court for an autopsy, the old man will do his best to do it and give justice to those two children."
Bai Yutian said: "Okay, old man, after you finish your tea, go to the county government office and wait there. I'll ask the prefect to retry the case."
The old man bowed slightly and said happily: "I thank you on their behalf!"
Bai Yutian said: "Old man, you don't need to thank me. I'm doing this for myself." Saying goodbye to the old man, he took Zhang Yan'er downstairs. After paying for the tea, he left the teahouse and headed towards the government office on Guifeng.
