Reluctantly, Ye Xiaotian was brought back to the Torture Court. When Hua and Jiang saw Ye Xiaotian, they immediately came forward excitedly. Rubbing their fists and palms together, they said, "Daren, we have a case, we have a case! Zhang Tu wanted to sue Dai Tongzhi's daughter for causing his son's death. Dai Tongzhi said that the murderer was Pu Jie, the son of Pu Tou Tou, and Zhang Tushe falsely accused his daughter. Now that the criminal is in custody in the Torture Court, will Daren go to court to interrogate him? "
Ye Xiaotian looked at them in annoyance. They were really just here to watch a show and weren't afraid to blow things up. However, Ye Xiaotian couldn't even avoid pretending to be sick. It was impossible for him to not interrogate him. He could only bite the bullet and nod, saying, "Fine! I'll have to trouble the two of you to invite Zhang Tushe and Dai Tongzhi over. This official wants to interrogate them! "
"Wei ~ ~ Wu ~ ~ ~"
"Pa pa pa!"
Amidst the solemn sound of the Torture Court, two rows of servants knocked the water and fire cudgel loudly. Three years of closed business, but once it opened, it would last for three years! How long had the Torture Court been deserted? Advisor Li was right. Their Old Master was a jinx who specialized in harming others. As a matter of fact, as soon as he took office, business came in. Everyone was very excited.
The only pair in the Torture Court who were dejected, listless, and not excited were Ye Xiaotian and Li Qiuchi, the host and guest. Ye Xiaotian sat at the head of the table without saying a word. Li Qiuchi coughed and said, "Come, bring the plaintiff and the defendant!"
The plaintiff was the prefectural magistrate's younger brother, the Zhang tribe's Chieftain Zhang Yi. The defendant was the Tongren Province's Magistrate Dai Chonghua, the Chieftain of the Dai tribe. Zhang Yi swaggered into the Torture Court. When he saw Ye Xiaotian sitting behind the table and not standing up to welcome him, he was very displeased.
Ye Xiaotian wasn't trying to be arrogant. He was just thinking about how to push this case out of his hands, so he was a little absent-minded. When Zhang Yi glared at him, Ye Xiaotian reacted and hurriedly shouted, "Servants! Show the two Sirs seats! "
Immediately, servants brought two armchairs and placed them on the left and right. Zhang Yi pointed at the armchair, then to the middle. His attendants understood and immediately walked over, moving an armchair to the middle of the Torture Court. Only then did Zhang Yi walk over and sit down.
When Dai Tongzhi saw this, how could he be left behind? He signaled to his attendant with his eyes. His attendant also walked over and moved the other armchair, placing it side by side with Zhang Yi's chair. Dai Tongzhi arrogantly sat down, and the two personal attendants immediately stood behind the two armchairs.
Li Qiuchi frowned and was about to step forward to stop them when Ye Xiaotian signaled to him with his eyes. He immediately came to his senses and stopped moving. These two people were indeed rude and disrespectful, but Ye Xiaotian had made up his mind to push the case out. Therefore, the more domineering they were, the more reason Ye Xiaotian had to shirk his responsibility.
Ye Xiaotian coughed, grabbed the gavel and slammed it down, shouting: "Come, bring the suspects!"
With the sound of shackles, Pu Jie was brought into the Torture Court in shackles. Pu Jie looked up and saw Dai Tongzhi and Zhang Tushe sitting in front of the Torture Court. Behind them were four attendants who only showed their upper bodies. Behind them were Li Qiuchi and Su Xuntian on both sides of the Torture Court table. The two of them were standing one step higher, only showing their upper bodies. Behind them was the First Judge. Behind the First Judge stood Mao Wenzhi and Hua Yunfei, still only showing their upper bodies …
In Pu Jie's eyes, it was as if he was looking at the ancestral shrine of a rich family, with portraits of their ancestors hanging from top to bottom. Only a memorial tablet was needed in front of each portrait.
Ye Xiaotian spoke: "Pu Jie, yesterday, there was a murder under the pagoda on Mount Lingzhang. The deceased was Zhang Tushe's son, Zhang Xiaotian. Now that someone has accused you as the murderer, what happened that day? Why don't you tell us the truth? "
As soon as Pu Jie heard this, he turned to look at his father, Pu Zongji, who had accompanied Dai Tongzhi to the hall and was standing on one side of the hall. If he stood up, he would die, and if he didn't, he would also die. In a situation where he had no choice, he could only go against his will and agree to die in place of Dai Tongzhi's beloved daughter. Now, his only hope was that his death could bring more benefits to his family.
His father had already told him that he would ask for more benefits from the Dai family. In the land of the tribe leaders, there would be order maintained by the tribe leaders. They would not allow anyone to go back on their word and destroy the order of the tribe leaders. As long as the contract was signed, the Dai family would not be able to go back on their word.
The natives were all soldiers. If the Pu family controlled most of the Dai family's assets, it would mean that they would control most of the Dai family's strength. By then, they would no longer be a soft persimmon that the Dai family could bully. Given time, there might even be a day that it would be replaced. If that was the case, his death would be worth it.
Seeing his son looking at him, Pu Zongji nodded lightly. As he nodded, he felt a lump in his throat and hot tears welled up in his eyes. Seeing this, Pu Jie was about to admit his guilt when Zhang Yi protested in dissatisfaction, "Imperial Judge Ye, I am the plaintiff. The plaintiff is Dai Chonghua. I have never accused Pu Jie's son as the murderer. Aren't you trying to mislead me by asking this? As the main judge, first impressions are not good. If you are biased towards someone, humph, humph, that is absolutely not good! "
Ye Xiaotian explained: "Zhang Tushe, I do not know if Pu Jie is the real murderer. That is why I want to interrogate him in court. You claim that your son was killed by the Dai family's daughter. Lord Dai claims that your son was killed by Pu Jie. Now that Pu Jie is in court, I have to interrogate him first before I can continue to interrogate others! "
Zhang Yi said, "That's preposterous! Pu Jie's father is the head of the Dai family. Who knows if he will bend to his master and let his son take the blame for his master? Questioning Pu Jie is a big mistake. If you don't bring the Dai family's daughter to court for interrogation, what can you get from the interrogation? "
"Fine, fine, fine. You understand. You can interrogate him. I will let him go." Ye Xiaotian was infuriated by Pu Zongji's unreasonable behavior. Moreover, he did not want to do such a thankless task. He immediately stood up and prepared to leave.
Yu Junting, who was dressed in casual clothes and standing behind the screen, couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw this.
Zhang Yi saw that Ye Xiaotian had lost his temper and left in a huff. He could not help but be dumbfounded. At this time, the judge, Yang Deity, suddenly appeared from the side room and blocked Ye Xiaotian's way. He frowned and said: "Daren, you can't leave. The prefectural magistrate has just sent people to guard the yamen entrance. He said that until this case is over, no one is allowed to leave the yamen."
Ye Xiaotian was stunned for a while. He fiercely spat out three words: "You win!"
Ye Xiaotian helplessly returned to his desk and sat down. He raised his voice and said: "Zhang Tushe, I have my own way of questioning. If the case is unjust, you can report it to the prefectural magistrate. But during the trial, I hope Tushe will not interfere with me. Otherwise, I am not competent enough to be the chief judge. I can only ask for forgiveness from the prefectural magistrate. "
Hearing his words, Zhang Yi resentfully snorted and kept his mouth shut.
Ye Xiaotian asked Pu Jie: "Pu Jie, what happened on the pagoda that day? Why don't you tell me quickly?"
Pu Jie looked at his father again and said to Ye Xiaotian: "Replying to daren, that day I, Yu Hai, Dai Chan 'er, Zhang Xiaotian and a few other children of officials were touring the mountain and climbing the Seven Stars Pagoda. Miss Chan 'er was the first to reach the top, followed by Zhang Xiaotian.
Zhang Xiaotian saw that there was no one else at the top of the pagoda. Suddenly, a lustful desire arose and he tried to molest Miss Chan 'er. I climbed up the pagoda and immediately stopped him. Who would have thought that Zhang Xiaotian would fly into a rage out of humiliation and attack me. I am a member of the Dai tribe, so I should protect the young master. I resisted with all my might and accidentally pushed Zhang Xiaotian off the pagoda, killing him. "
Dai Tongzhi, who had been silent all this while, immediately spoke up: "Pu Jie did not intend to kill Zhang Xiaotian. This is manslaughter. Moreover, Pu Jie is loyal to the young master and the reason why he attacked was to protect my daughter's innocence. It is not a crime worthy of death. I hope daren can make a fair judgment! "
Zhang Yi jumped up and said: "My son has always understood right from wrong, etiquette, honor and disgrace, good and evil. How could he do such a shameless thing? Daren daren, Dai Chan's daughter is also one of the people involved in the incident at the pagoda. Whether she is the murderer or not, in order to clarify the matter, she should be called to the court for questioning. Dai Chonghua used the reason that his daughter was frightened and distracted to refuse to let her go to the court. He has a guilty conscience. "
Dai Tongzhi coldly said: "Zhang Tushe, what enmity do you have with me? Just because we are not on good terms, you must kill my son?"
Glaring at Dai Tongzhi, Zhang Yi said: "If my son's murderer is not your daughter, I will not bother with her. But if she is my son's murderer, you can forget about protecting her. My Zhang family's lives are not so cheap. You can find anyone to take the blame! "
The two of them immediately began to quarrel in the great hall, and the attendants they brought with them immediately drew their swords and prepared to fight. Behind them, Ye Xiaotian paid no attention to this scene, and only cared about whispering to Li Qiuchi.
Ye Xiaotian said: "Pu Jie has personally admitted to all the crimes. By right, it is enough to convict him. But Zhang Tushe's words are not without reason. Dai Chan's daughter is one of the people involved in the incident at the pagoda. A life is at stake. There is no reason not to call her to the court. "
Li Qiuchi whispered: "Dongweng, if the murderer is really Pu Jie, everyone will be happy. But I am afraid there is more to this case. Dai Chan's daughter is young and inexperienced. If Zhang Xiaotian's death is related to her, she will not be able to maintain her composure in court. If the truth is revealed, Dai Tongzhi will definitely vent his anger on Dongweng. "
Ye Xiaotian spread out his hands: "But if I do not call Dai Chan's daughter to the court, Zhang Tushe will not let the matter rest. If I decide this case in such a muddle-headed manner, I will offend Zhang Tushe. Won't I be in a dilemma? "
Li Qiuchi frowned: "Unfortunately, the Prefectural Magistrate is determined to let Dongweng take charge of this case. I can't think of a way to shirk this responsibility. Why don't we delay this case first? As long as the rules are complicated, it will be easy to find a loophole and let Dongweng off the hook."
Ye Xiaotian smiled bitterly: "In this situation, how can we delay it?"
Li Qiuchi said: "Right now the plaintiff and the defendant are both 'testifying'. This is a murder case, how can it be just a verbal accusation? Now that we have entered the official trial stage, it is reasonable to ask them to 'testify'. If they want to fill in the complaint, they will need some time. Right now it is already past noon. With this torment, the day will be over.
This is a murder case. According to the law of the court, there must be a scene inspection and relevant investigation. In addition, there must be a coroner to examine the body and provide the 'Autopsy Record' in triplicate. Daren will have one copy, the Disciplinary Commissioner will have one copy, and the deceased's family will have one copy. This process cannot be omitted.
Otherwise, if Daren does not carry out the scene inspection according to the law, then Daren has committed the crime of 'entering and exiting the residence'. Dongweng will have to inspect the scene and bring in all the officials' children and servants who were present at the scene for questioning. In this way, no matter what, we can delay it for a few days. "
Ye Xiaotian praised: "Wonderful! Let's deal with it accordingly! " Raising his head to look, he saw Dai Tongzhi and Zhang Tushe practicing 'jiao' again in the court. The attendants and servants of both sides were also punching and kicking each other, neither giving way to the other. The main hall of the Interrogation Court had become a 'martial arts' scene.
Ye Xiaotian immediately grabbed the gavel and slammed it on the table, shouting: "Silence, silence! This official has something to say!"
