Chapter 060 Daxing County Corpse Dismemberment Case (Part 1)
Watching Jia Yucun angrily get on the carriage and drive away, Sun Shaozong was so angry that he didn't even bother to go home to change his vest. He just rode his horse through the city in this bright yellow and red outfit and went straight to the Daxing County Government Office.
When they arrived at the gate of the county government office, the two bailiffs on duty thought that a royal relative had arrived, and they stepped forward trembling with fear to pay their respects.
Sun Shaozong dismounted and introduced himself, "I am the criminal judge of Shuntian Prefecture. I have a case that I would like to discuss with your county magistrate, Lord Wang. Could someone please help me report it?"
When the two yamen runners heard that it was the "divine judge Sun Tongpan" of the government office, they dared not neglect it and immediately sent one of them to run in and report.
Not long after, seven or eight officials came out of the middle door one after another. The leader was a man about fifty years old with a face full of wrinkles.
As soon as Sun Shaozong saw this man's appearance, he felt a little displeased - although he had never met the Daxing County Magistrate Wang Qian, he knew that he was a young and promising talented man, how could he look like an old country farmer?
Although the magistrate of Daxing County is also of the sixth rank, Sun Shaozong is at least a superior in the government office. Now he has come with an army to call for punishment. It would be unreasonable for Wang Qian not to come to greet him in person!
At this time, the official named "Old Farmer" quickly walked down the steps, bowed deeply in front of Sun Shaozong, and said with great fear and trepidation: "I am Shen Dan, the Magistrate of Daxing County. I am honored to meet the Magistrate."
Wang Qian sent Shen Dan to come forward. Could it be that he wanted to make this old man a scapegoat?
If this is true, this guy is so shameless!
As a senior official, he first abused torture to force a confession from the deceased, and then became a coward when the time came - I don't know why the Zhen family chose him as their son-in-law?
Thinking this way, Sun Shaozong felt more sympathy for the old county magistrate in front of him. He personally stepped forward to help him up and asked warmly, "Master Shen, there is no need to be so polite, but I wonder where your county magistrate is?"
"this……"
Shen Dan hesitated for a while before saying, "Lord Wang left the capital eight days ago because his mother was seriously ill."
You asked for leave and left Beijing eight days ago?
It is now the fifth day of the second lunar month, so didn't Wang Qian leave on the twenty-eighth day of the first lunar month?
So to say……
Sun Shaozong's face suddenly darkened, and he said sternly, "So, you were the presiding judge of the dismemberment case?"
Shen Dan's back, which had just straightened up, suddenly bent in half again. He shrunk his neck and clamped his shoulders, shaking like a sieve: "Yes... yes, yes, yes, I am the presiding judge. I am very terrified. I really don't know what went wrong in this case. Please explain it to me, sir."
Tsk~
Seeing that he was in his fifties and only managed to become a seventh-rank county magistrate, you knew he had no backing. In comparison, Sun Shaozong became a legitimate second-generation official.
Originally he wanted to angrily criticize the powerful, but in the end he became the one who bullied others. Sun Shaozong didn't know whether he should be relieved or depressed - if he had known this would be the result, why did he quarrel with Jia Yucun just now?
But since Wang Qian is not here, this matter is simple.
Sun Shaozong flicked his bright yellow sleeves, put on a superior face and scolded: "What went wrong, and you still don't know it? It's ridiculous! Come on, take me to see all the evidence and witnesses in this case, and then I will tell you what went wrong!"
County Magistrate Shen was already very nervous when he received the invitation in the morning. Now seeing Sun Shaozong in his "bullfighting suit" , even his bones were weakened. How could he dare to disobey his wishes?
He hurriedly ordered his attendants to summon witnesses and evidence, and then personally led the way and brought Sun Shaozong to the inner hall of the county government.
This inner hall is usually used for pre-trial so that the judges can familiarize themselves with the case in advance to avoid making a fool of themselves in court. According to the rules, Sun Shaozong still cannot come to court to try the case, so Shen Dan is still the one in charge in name.
So after Sun Shaozong entered the door, he sat directly at the clerk's seat on the left.
But when Shen Dan saw that he was sitting at the bottom, how could he dare to take the presiding judge's seat behind the case?
He hurried over to the left side of the clerk's seat and stood there with a pitiful look on his face.
Not long after, three people hurriedly walked in from outside. On the left and right were Hu and a burly old man. The leader was Zhou Da, the criminal prosecutor.
After Zhou Da entered the room, he immediately stepped forward to report: "Sir, Zhou Liang is seriously injured and is still receiving treatment. We cannot move rashly."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hu couldn't help sobbing again.
Sun Shaozong did not respond, but just raised his chin, motioning Zhou Da to stand behind him, and then waited quietly for the physical evidence to be presented.
Who knew that after waiting for a long time, I only saw a clerk carefully bringing in the files and two pieces of oil paper stained with blood, and then there was no further news.
Sun Shaozong's expression suddenly darkened. He turned to stare at Shen Dan and asked, "Is this the only piece of evidence? Also, where is the body of the deceased? Where is the body?!"
Shen Dan was frightened and shuddered all over. He quickly bent his waist like a shrimp and shrank his neck like a turtle. He said in a trembling voice, "Reply...Report to the Lord, it is really unsightly to leave the corpse in the county government office, so...so I have someone send it to the charity cemetery for temporary storage."
Seeing that Sun Shaozong was about to lose his temper, he pointed at the file and said, "Sir, there is a document of the coroner's autopsy in the file. It records everything in great detail. In fact, even if we don't see the body..."
Before he could finish, Sun Shaozong sneered, "If everything is based on the coroner's autopsy documents, what's the point of you as the chief judge? Well, I won't bother with you about the corpse, but where are the other evidence?"
Shen Dan wiped the sweat off his forehead and said awkwardly, "My Lord, this case... this case only has this oil paper bag as evidence, and no other evidence has been found."
"Ha...hahahaha...what a good oil paper bag as evidence! What a good thing that no other evidence was found!" Sun Shaozong was so angry that he laughed straight. He gritted his teeth and said, "Let me ask you, apart from the head, where was the rest of the body found?"
"Yes... it was dug out from the wasteland outside the back wall of Hu the Butcher's house."
"Then let me ask you again, it's freezing cold right now, how could Hu the butcher dig a pit big enough to bury the bodies? Did he have a pair of pangolin claws?!"
"this……"
Shen Dan said in confusion: "Sir, if he wants to bury the body, he will naturally use a hoe and a shovel..."
Bang~!
Sun Shaozong slammed his hand on the table and said angrily, "Why are there no hoes, shovels or other tools in this hall? Especially in the first month of the year, these tools are idle. You just need to have someone check to see if there are any signs of recent use. That will be enough to prove whether the body was buried by Hu the Butcher!"
“This…this, this, this…”
Shen Dan kept saying "this, this, this" for a long while, but he was speechless. Finally, he could only kneel down and bang his head on the ground, crying, "My lord, please forgive me, my lord, please forgive me! I have a seventy-year-old mother above me, and..."
"Stop talking about this useless stuff!"
Sun Shaozong waved his hand impatiently and said, "If you want to atone for your sins, then hurry up and bring the bodies back to me - remember to bring all of them back. If there is even a little bit missing, I will pay with your flesh and blood!"
