There is a god in the sky

Chapter 113 The Strange Case of Fuchunju 11

Madam Wu was taken to the jail cell by Shen Lan, who drew a picture of the man who had given money to the Wu family based on her description.

Mrs. Wu was initially uncooperative, saying she couldn't remember anything when asked.

Later, Sui Feng threw the splint in front of her and branded the pigskin with a red-hot iron right in front of her, scaring her so much that her legs went weak.

"High nose bridge, small eyes, single eyelids, thin lips, and..." Shen Lan quickly picked up her pen and drew a portrait based on Madam Wu's description.

Madam Wu thought to herself: Can a person be drawn based on just a few words?

It wasn't that she looked down on Shen Lan, but rather that the girl was too young and it would be indecent for her to be among men.

"Look, is this the person?" Shen Lan shoved the painting in front of her.

Mrs. Wu glanced up casually, then froze.

"This...this is him!" It looks so much like him, as if a living person is standing right in front of her.

She reached out to touch the painting, but Shen Lan quickly moved it away.

"Are there any other characteristics? For example, are there any moles on your face or hands? Do you walk with an uneven gait? Are your teeth straight?"

Madam Wu was still reeling from the portrait when Shen Lan asked her questions, and she answered them all very cooperatively.

When she came to her senses, she saw that Shen Lan had added a line of text under the portrait.

Sui Feng was delighted. He figured that if he used this portrait to find the person, as long as they were still in the city, he would definitely be able to find them.

The Wu family mother and son were left at the yamen, and the yamen sent a team to search for Wu, the coroner, in the mountains where he often went.

Although everyone had a feeling that the person was unlikely to be found.

In the afternoon, Prefect Dou returned.

Upon learning the results of the interrogation, he hurriedly ran to find the young prince.

This is outrageous! How can you gamble with human lives?

Ma Long was locked in the woodshed of Fuchun Residence, with more than a dozen government officials guarding the door.

Shen Lan walked around the area and confirmed that anyone who came to this place would definitely be discovered.

If the murderer isn't Ma Long, will the person behind him come to save him or kill him?

"Is Officer Ma still unwilling to say anything?" Xiao Ji sat in the woodshed, his gaze level with Officer Ma's.

Officer Ma sighed, "Lord Xiao, some things are not as you think."

"You should know that no matter how heinous the person being killed may be, it is not a reason for you to kill them."

Seeing that he didn't speak, Xiao Ji got up and walked out of the woodshed.

Before closing the door, he said to Ma Long, "If you're still alive after tonight, then the other person is still a human being."

As soon as Prefect Dou came out of the Prince's study, he saw Xiao Ji and quickly blocked his way.

"Lord Xiao, why are you acting just like the young prince?"

Xiao Ji asked with a forced smile, "So Prefect Dou also knows about the young prince's antics?"

Prefect Dou's face darkened. "Lord Xiao, shouldn't you consider whose territory you're standing on?"

Xiao Ji didn't have time to argue with him; he still needed to review the cases handled by the young prince.

"Lord Xiao is young and impetuous, and cannot tolerate any wrongdoing. When you reach my age, you will understand that there are not so many right and wrong things in officialdom."

"I really don't understand Prefect Dou's helplessness and compromise. I only know that human life is not something to joke about, and the Provincial Judicial Commission is not a playground for the powerful and wealthy."

"Can Lord Xiao himself distinguish between public and private matters? You appointed a woman as a coroner; didn't you have any ulterior motives?"

"If I had any selfish motives, it would probably be that I didn't want Shen's talent to be buried. Compared to Wu, whose fate is unknown, Shen is much better."

Xiao Ji has a clear conscience.

He led a group to review the case files.

Over the past year, the young prince has handled a total of 37 cases, large and small, of which 25 involved homicide.

He was furious after flipping through just a few files.

The case file contained vague details about the incident, and the evidence was completely nonsensical.

In a case of marital discord, the wife had an affair with her neighbor and conspired with her lover to murder her husband. Both were sentenced to be executed in the autumn.

The only evidence was the deceased's mother's confession. She believed that her daughter-in-law had killed her son and that her daughter-in-law was lazy, did not work, and was flirting with the man next door.

So the young prince imprisoned the two men, tortured them into confessing, and they wrote a lengthy dossier that was more speculative than factual.

Shen Lan also came across a bizarre case.

A scholar was accused of stealing a wealthy woman's personal belongings and using them to blackmail a rich merchant into marrying his daughter to him.

The wealthy businessman naturally refused, and the young lady, her reputation damaged, hanged herself in her own home.

So the wealthy merchant took the scholar to the authorities.

The young prince's method of solving cases was quite peculiar. After listening to the wealthy merchant's confession, he sought out the deceased's personal maid to verify the information.

The maid's testimony stated: "Miss was in love with Young Master Yang and gave him her personal belongings. Unexpectedly, Madam discovered this and suggested that Young Master Yang come to propose marriage, but Master refused."

The master had found a good husband for the young lady, but she was unwilling to marry him. She packed her things, intending to elope with Young Master Yang, but was rejected and heartbroken. She then hanged herself.

This confession contradicts the wealthy businessman's account in every way, and can completely prove that Young Master Yang is not the murderer.

But the young prince didn't think so.

In his closing statement, he wrote: This case was caused by Yang Shuo. He should not have seduced Miss Chen and failed to take responsibility. If he had not accepted Miss Chen's personal belongings, none of the subsequent events would have occurred.

The young prince sentenced Yang Shuo to death.

If he weren't a corrupt official, Shen Lan would have suspected him of accepting a large sum of money from wealthy businessmen.

But the result wasn't much better than embezzlement and bribery.

His arbitrary judgments are no different from treating human life as worthless.

In half a day, they finished reading through more than twenty case files.

There aren't many cases where the facts are clear and the evidence is solid, but fortunately, some cases are clear. Even if the evidence is lacking, as long as the young prince doesn't distort the truth, the murderer can't be wrong.

"Of the twenty-five cases, half need to be reviewed. I don't know how these cases passed the review when they were sent to the Ministry of Justice."

Xiao Ji wearily pinched the bridge of his nose.

In his three years in officialdom, he had seen people exploit the common people, amass wealth, and disregard human life.

But this was the first time he had ever seen someone like the young prince, who could kill without leaving a trace.

“It would take a long time to review each case one by one, and we can’t wait that long. Let’s pick out a few cases where we can get revenge and investigate them first.”

Like that neighboring couple who might have been wrongly accused, they were just ordinary farmers who, after their deaths, were even cut off from their relatives.

There is probably no one in this world who would avenge them.

Finally, Xiao Ji uncovered two cases.

A murder case stemming from theft.

The Princess Consort's family home was robbed, a servant guarding the storeroom died, and several thousand taels of valuables were stolen.

The last person arrested was a habitual thief in the city, and many unidentified items were found in his hideout.

The young prince sentenced him to death.

He deserved to die, but the habitual thief had two sworn brothers in the martial arts world who were said to be highly skilled in light-footed martial arts. After his death, they took his body away.