Not long after, an old official dressed in dark grey walked into the courtroom.
Ji Zhibai's expression calmed down, and he did not say a word.
Fang Yun looked at the coroner and asked, "Have you ever performed an autopsy on a person named Zhu Yueming?"
"Yes, Sir. I remember."
"Speak." Fang Yun observed the old coroner. His expression was calm without a trace of fear.
"That day, I was in the army. I heard that a banished criminal had died on the road, so I went to perform an autopsy. When the little old man saw the corpse, he asked the bailiff who had escorted him. That person had been sick since the start of the journey. He had not acclimatized to the environment and because he had been hurrying along under the hot sun, he had fallen into a river and drowned to death. I wrote down everything I saw that day. According to the bailiff, he died from drowning. "
Ji Zhibai secretly sighed in relief and his expression relaxed.
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Summon the bailiff who escorted Zhu Yueming!"
Soon, two bailiffs from Ning An County walked into the courtroom with calm expressions. After they finished greeting Fang Yun, they didn't forget to greet Ji Zhibai.
Fang Yundao said, "Tell me again how Zhu Yueming died that day."
"Yes, Sir. That day, the two of us escorted Zhu Yueming to Soaring Eagle Cavalry. Not long after we crossed the bridge, we were careless and caused Zhu Yueming to fall into the river. Although the two of us are good swimmers, we panicked at that time. It took us a while to save him, but it was too late. "
Fang Yundao said, "The bridge isn't long on the road you took. Where did he fall into the water?"
The bailiff immediately said, "It was in the middle of the bridge. It was the eighth month of the year, and the water was deep. "
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Men. Bring me those two items. "
An official came in with a tray. There were two porcelain plates on the tray. The plate on the left had mud on it, while the plate on the right had sand on it.
Fang Yun looked at the coroner and asked, "In your document, you wrote that 'there was a lot of sand between your fingernails'. Which plate is the most similar to?"
That Rong Zuo was taken aback, and his eyes flashed with a trace of shock. His right hand trembled slightly.
Ji Zhibai's expression changed slightly.
The coroner was stunned and didn't speak for a long time. Fang Yun said slowly, "You didn't hear clearly. Do you want me to ask again?"
Fang Yun's voice carried an invisible chill and pressure. That Yu Zuo's body trembled and he pointed to the sand on his right. As if he didn't dare to look at Fang Yun and Ji Zhibai, he lowered his head and said, "It's the sand in this tray."
"Bang …" The gavel sounded.
The coroner was so frightened that his body trembled. The two bailiffs only trembled slightly, but Ji Zhibai couldn't see any changes.
Fang Yun looked at the two bailiffs and shouted, "The water in the middle section of the bridge is turbulent. If Zhu Yueming fell into the water from there, his fingernails wouldn't be able to catch the silt at the bottom of the water. After his death, there is very little silt in his fingernails. Even if he did catch it, it would be the silt from the other side of the bridge! As for the sand on the right. It's the silt from the shallow part of the river. Both of you, tell me why Zhu Yueming, who died in the deep part of the river, has the silt from the shallow part of the river under his fingernails! "
"This …" The two bailiffs looked at each other. They didn't dare to answer.
Ji Zhibai said, "Perhaps when the two of them dragged the corpse ashore, their fingernails scraped the silt in the shallow part of the river."
Fang Yun sneered, "It seems that Manager Ji isn't proficient in killing people. What kind of position did you use to drag the corpse ashore? Only ten fingernails would leave a large amount of silt! In addition, Coroner Zhai, the document described the deceased as having 'abrasions on his face. A large amount of silt in his nose '. This is a classic sign of drowning in shallow water! Coroner Zhai, you are very experienced. How could you not see it? You dared to write down all the evidence, but you came up with the opposite conclusion. What exactly are you thinking? "
Coroner Zhai sighed softly and knelt on the ground. He lowered his head and said, "That day, there was also a military manager accompanying the bailiffs. Manager Zhang looked at me and said that this person was sent here under his good friend's administration. He must have accidentally fallen into the river and drowned to death! This lowly official said in front of him that he had indeed accidentally fallen into the river and drowned to death. However, even though this lowly official has been a coroner for many years, I still described the truth of the corpse in detail in order to prevent … the case from being overturned. "
Ji Zhibai interrupted, "I do know Manager Zhang. He was just casually speaking. It's hard to believe that you would follow his words."
Coroner Zhai suddenly raised his head and looked at Ji Zhibai. His eyes flashed with the resentment that he had suppressed for many years. He said, "Lord Ji, we lowly officials do whatever our superiors say. How is this hard to believe?"
"You …" Before Ji Zhibai could finish speaking, Fang Yun interrupted him.
Fang Yundao said, "Coroner Zhai, tell us your true inference today!"
"Replying to Lord Ji, this lowly official believes that Zhu Yueming was drowned in shallow water!" Coroner Zhai lowered his head after he finished speaking.
Fang Yun looked at the two bailiffs whose expressions had changed greatly. His gaze was like ice as he said, "Do you two have anything else to say?"
The two bailiffs looked at each other and lowered their heads.
Fang Yun's eyes flashed with a hint of sternness. Without hesitation, he used the code of law and divided the court into trials!
The two bailiffs were sent to separate courts. Fang Yun used all kinds of methods but still couldn't pry open Wu Da's mouth. However, Wu Er quickly collapsed. It turned out that before they were escorting Zhu Yueming, the registrar at the time, Shen Ren, had asked them to kill Zhu Yueming on the way.
Fang Yun didn't expect this result. He then released the code of law and coldly looked at the two bailiffs. When he thought of the expressions of the two bailiffs when they entered the court, his heart was filled with deep disgust.
As bailiffs who escorted prisoners, they had naturally done many things. However, they had clearly killed someone at least once. When they went to court, they didn't care at all and didn't have the slightest fear. They didn't care about human life at all. How cold-blooded!
Fang Yun sat on the chair and pondered.
Shen Ren was dead. This lead was broken. He could only continue from the coroner and Manager Zhang.
Ji Zhibai looked at the sky and his expression became more relaxed.
Fang Yun took out the order slip and threw it to Yu Ba Chi, saying, "Librarian Yu, send someone to Soaring Eagle Cavalry and ask Manager Zhang to come to Ning An County first to assist me in investigating this murder case!"
"Yes!" Yu Ba Chi quickly left.
Fang Yun turned his head to look at Ji Zhibai and said, "Manager Ji, this case still needs a new witness. I'll have to trouble you to stay in Ning An City for a few more days."
Ji Zhibai smiled and said, "No problem. I just found out from my colleagues at the Ministry of Personnel that tomorrow, the Ministry of Personnel will issue an official document for me to patrol the counties of Mishou. Then, I'll temporarily patrol Ning An County." When he finished speaking, he looked at Fang Yun with a smile.
"Then I'll submit a memorial to the imperial court. When you were acting county magistrate in Ning An County last year, you committed multiple dereliction of duty. You may have committed even more serious crimes. In order to prevent you from interfering in the trial, you're not allowed to exercise any authority in Ning An County!" Fang Yun immediately retorted.
Ji Zhibai's expression darkened. He said, "Then we'll have to wait for the official document from the Ministry of Personnel! Dare I ask, County Magistrate Fang, if this case is temporarily suspended, can I leave the county yamen? "
Fang Yundao said, "Manager Ji, you may leave."
Ji Zhibai stood up and realized that Fang Yun had no intention of coming out to see him off. He said, "As a seventh-ranked county magistrate, shouldn't you be seeing me off?"
Fang Yun thought for a moment and said, "I still have to deal with the documents for this case. Once I'm done, I'll definitely see you off."
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