The courtroom had to have the county magistrate, an official historian, the executioner, and the three court runners. Except for the county magistrate and the official historian, in order to prevent collusion and bribery with the people, they also had to live with their families in the inner and outer courts of the county government. The others lived outside, except for the few on duty. Now, most of them had gone home, so they had to be quickly called back to serve as the courtroom was needed. Dressed in official robes, Li Ke, sorted and unflustered, looked at the man who was tightly bound and held down by archers, unable to move. He looked extremely disheveled, with his headscarf nowhere to be seen, but he was wearing a scholar's robe, the standard attire of a scholar of the Ming Dynasty, and was clearly the sought-after person Hu Dinghua. Suppressing the joy in his heart, he asked Xie Yuan beside him, "Inspector Xie, where was this man captured?"
Xie Yuan suppressed the odd feeling in his heart since capturing the suspect and replied, "Report to Master, he was captured at his home."
Li Ke was greatly surprised and suspiciously asked, "At his home? How is that possible? How could he be so audacious to let it come to this!"
Xie Yuan replied, "It is indeed at the suspect's home. On the day of the incident, three people were killed, and the next day their bodies were discovered one after another. Everyone pointed the finger at him, and when the catchpole sent by the adult went to search for him, he saw no way out and climbed down the well in the courtyard of his house using the well rope, holding his breath at the bottom of the well until the catchpole left. After that, instead of trying to escape, he stayed hidden in his house all the time, until he was caught just now."
When dangerous places are actually safe places, it generally follows this reasoning. Everyone thought he had run away and went to search everywhere, but none would have thought that he had been hiding in his own home all along!
Suppressing the indignant anger that leapt up inside him, Li Ke looked sharply at Hu Dinghua, and couldn't help but be curious, looking at Xie Yuan, and asked, "How did you find him hiding at home?"
"The archers patrol and inspect the gates of the town day and night. The day after the incident, I ordered an increase in patrols and questioned those outside the city, but none of them had any information. A weak scholar like him, if he really escaped from the town, it would be impossible not to leave a trace. I suspected that he was still inside the city. If he were in the city and hiding elsewhere, and with Catchpole Jiang familiar with the city, he would not be without any information. A big man disappearing out of thin air, the only hiding place is where we didn't pay attention. I asked his neighbors and learned that when he was studying at the college, he rarely saw his widowed mother. Recently, she would come out for a visit every three or four days. Following her, I found out that she was inquiring about the government's arrest of people. This abnormal behavior must have a reason. So today I took people to search his home again. He heard the commotion and hid in the well again, but this time he was caught."
Li Ke and the others nodded in agreement to what was said. The fact that this junior official and son-in-law of his looked more and more agreeable to him. He also thought of the people who had been with his father and son in the barracks ten years ago, and he had heard them say that during the battle with the Wala, he had cut off the heads of ten Mongol leaders in succession on the battlefield. It was just because he had been falsely accused of gaining merit and receiving rewards above his rank by his superiors that he became a military household, but he had only the status of a military household, he had quietly boarded a Japanese warship several years ago to control a ship full of Japanese pirates and ronin and rescue the officials. Before, he thought it was a bit exaggerated, but now, seeing how meticulous he was in his work, it must not have been without reason. Unable to help he praised, "Good, good. Really as sharp as a razor, nothing escapes your eyes. Since the suspect has been brought, you are relieved of duty if you have other things."
A patrol officer only needed to capture criminals, and once the criminal was handed over to the high officials, Xie Yuan was no longer obliged to stay in the main hall and listen. But at this moment, when he looked at the slender figure of Hu Dinghua, he remembered how, at the moment of capture, he had shouted out wronged and claimed that he had hidden because he knew he was the target of all and feared to be wrongly accused and under the fear did such a thing.
When a suspect is captured, whether or not the crime is committed, at first they stubbornly refuse to admit the crime and argue cleverly; he had long been used to such things. But in his experience, a person's expression can be faked, but in a moment of surprise, a brief expression should be a true reflection of his inner thoughts. Thinking about how he had been sitting by the well, ordering people not to make a sound, and this man had surfaced again for air when he couldn't hold his breath anymore and saw him, that expression and look, he always felt like it wasn't a lie. After some hesitation, he said in a low voice, "Wise man, I have always felt that this person might not be the real culprit, Daren…"
He did not finish his sentence, as the gate of the yamen was already filling up with people. Li Ke was very unlikely to listen to what he had to say, and he waved his hand, in a hurry, "I'll make the determination myself whether he's the true culprit or not! Someone, strip off his scholar's robe and bring him into the court!"
In the vigorous and resounding voice of the third-class yamen bailiff, the matter of Xie Yuan has already been settled. Given his official position, saying more would be exceeding his authority.
Of course, this is just my own experience and feeling, and may not be reliable. In the courtroom, evidence and testimony are the key to the case. Although the superior, Li county magistrate, is not Li Qingtian, he is not an evil person either. Otherwise, he would not have agreed to the marriage proposal for his niece. It is thought that he should be able to make the judgment in the case.
Xie Yuan glanced at the suspect Hu Dinghua, who had already had his clothes removed, and thought of the despair of his mother when he was taken away. He shook his head slightly and left.
Chunfang spoke fluently and unreservedly. After finishing speaking, she realized how fast it was and quickly covered her mouth, looked around, fortunately, there was no one nearby.
Wenlan smiled and said, "Listening to you, this King Henghai can also be considered a hero, stronger than that narrow-minded one-eyed dragon. But be careful when speaking next time."
Chunfang chuckled and nodded hastily.