Volume 1 Zhangqiao Iron Coffin Chapter 9 Just Right
"Oh my!" Zhao Yu was horrified and tried to defend himself. "Sir, please don't talk nonsense! I wouldn't dare to do this even if I had a hundred guts. That guy... that guy really committed suicide out of fear of punishment!"
"Yeah?"
Xu Zun stared at Zhao Yu's eyes, making Zhao Yu feel uneasy.
"Sir," Zhao Yu quickly explained, "Just now, my brothers and I were eating noodles outside. You can all testify for me!"
"Then tell me, what exactly happened just now?" Xu Zun asked.
"Just now..." Zhao Yu replied, "I came to the South Prison after I sent you to the county government office. It was past dinner time and the brothers were hungry, so we asked someone to prepare a few bowls of plain noodles, planning to interrogate You Dalang after eating! But I didn't expect..."
"Was You Dalang still alive when you came to the prison?" Xu Zun asked.
"Alive, of course!" Zhao Yu replied, "Because they were preparing for the interrogation, they locked him up in the inner cell, with two jailers watching over him. I went over to take a look at him, and he was alive and well."
The so-called inner prison refers to the prison where serious criminals are detained.
"Later, the two lazy guys had to pee urgently, so they left for a while!" Zhao Yu continued, "When they came back, they found that the man was already dead. It took only a cup of tea!"
A cup of tea is roughly equal to 10 minutes.
Xu Zun thought for a moment and asked in a low voice: "While the two of them were leaving, who else went to the inner prison?"
"No!" Zhao Yu was very sure, "There is only one way to the inner prison. We were eating noodles outside at the time. If someone went in, they would definitely know about it."
"Then..." Xu Zun asked again, "Is there something wrong with these two jailers?"
"Ah!" Zhao Yu understood what Xu Zun meant and waved his hands hastily, saying, "Sir, it's absolutely impossible! You know their rules. The keys to the cells are carried . The two of them can't open the door at all!"
oh?
Xu Zun retrieved his memory and found that it was just as Zhao Yu said. Because of the concern that prisoners might snatch the keys through the fence, the keys to the cells for serious criminals were generally not left with the guards. Instead, they were all managed by the prison boss.
"Then..." Xu Zun asked hurriedly, "Where is the prison boss?"
"The jailer is still eating outside! He ordered our plain noodles," Zhao Yu explained. "After we found out that You Dalang had committed suicide, we couldn't open the door, so we just smashed the lock!"
Xu Zun took a look and saw that the lock of the cell had indeed been broken open by someone.
Seeing this situation, he fell into deep thought again.
At the beginning, the reason why he bluffed Zhao Yu was that if You Dalang was murdered, the murderer must be a strong man with martial arts skills.
Among all the detectives, only Zhao Yu was the most suitable.
However, according to Zhao Yu's confession, he did not have the conditions to commit the crime.
Now, the lock didn't move, and I couldn't get into the cell. Could it be that... You Dalang really just committed suicide! ?
"Sir!" Zhao Yu said, "Are you worrying too much? Isn't it just right that You Dalang is dead? This way, he won't talk nonsense!
"You don't know, this guy has a foul mouth . When he was first brought in, he kept saying bad things about you and Chun Niang.
"That's why I put him in the inner cell. There's no one here anyway, so let him scream to his heart's content!"
"Oh? Really?"
Xu Zun's heart sank, and he instantly thought of a question: since You Dalang still wanted to slander him, why was he willing to commit suicide in prison?
What's more important is that if he had already decided to commit suicide, why didn't he do it in front of the jailer? Why did he have to do it when no one was around?
strangeness!
It's so weird!
From the secret meeting with Chunniang, to Chunniang's death, to the frame-up, and You Dalang's inexplicable suicide in prison, this series of events was very abnormal.
But, he didn't catch anything.
Am I overthinking it, or is there really something hidden behind this?
"Sir," Zhao Yu asked, "Why did you send people to block the silk shop? Is it... um? Hehehe..."
Zhao Yu did not say the rest of the words, but from his flattering eyes, one could guess that he probably thought Xu Zun was coveting You Dalang's property!
You Dalang had no relatives in Xinye County, and now that he and his wife were both dead, their property would naturally be confiscated.
As for how much will be paid to the public treasury at that time, it will naturally be decided by the county lieutenant Xu Zun.
Zhao Yu asked this, probably because he wanted to get a piece of the pie.
However, how could Xu Zun think so much?
He will never feel at ease until he gets to the bottom of the case.
"Captain Zhao," Xu Zun thought for a moment and asked, "Is it true that in order to reach the inner prison, we must come from the front row of cells?"
"This..." Zhao Yu didn't understand and nodded, "Yes, there is only one way here!"
"Then go ask the prisoners in that row of cells now," Xu Zun ordered, "to see if they saw anyone else enter the inner cell just now?"
"Well... okay!" Zhao Yu frowned and responded reluctantly.
"Also," Xu Zun said, "go call those two good-for-nothings over here. I have something to ask them!"
"Okay, okay..." Zhao Yu turned around and left angrily.
Xu Zun returned to the cell again and carefully observed the crime scene again.
There were messy footprints everywhere inside and outside the cell, and the scene had been destroyed.
He then carefully examined the back of You Dalang's head and collar, trying to see if there were any signs of external force.
It was discovered that the hair on the back of his head was still in a bun and his collar was relatively intact, so nothing could be seen.
Afterwards, he searched You Dalang again, but still found nothing.
Comparing the collision height, there is no problem either...
Tsk tsk…
Xu Zun smacked his lips and thought, You Dalang died so quickly and easily, if it was suicide, then it meant that he was determined enough to die!
But if it was homicide, then the murderer's methods were too professional and there was no trace of any flaws at all.
So... is there really such a murderer?
Soon, two jailers came to Xu Zun trembling with fear and told him what had happened again.
They frankly admitted their dereliction of duty and begged Xu Zun to show leniency and not punish them.
To this end, the two men took out five taels of silver in an attempt to bribe Xu Zun.
Xu Zun immediately rebuked them in a righteous manner, warned them not to do it again, and confiscated their bribes.
Next, Xu Zun asked them an important question:
Did You Dalang show any abnormality before he died?
The two tried hard to recall and said that after You Dalang was imprisoned, he had been cursing Xu Zun and denouncing his various affairs with Chun Niang, but there was nothing unusual or any signs otherwise.
"Sir," one of them added, "Actually... the reason we went out to use the toilet was because we were fed up with that guy's scolding, so we stayed outside for so long!"
"Yes!" another echoed, "We wanted to give him a beating, but the key is with the prison boss, and we can't get in!"
oh……
Xu Zun realized that there was a BUG here. Even if the jailer saw You Dalang committing suicide by hitting the wall with his own eyes, he could not stop him if he could not enter the cell!
However, this also once again confirmed Xu Zun's previous doubt, why didn't You Dalang commit suicide in front of the jailer?
It seems...his death was a little too perfect, right?