The Demon Concubine of God

Chapter 173: Trial of the Rape Case

Shang County Magistrate returned to his seat and slammed the gavel again to rule on the case: "Shen Wen is so audacious to kill his brothers. He shall be sent to prison and executed in the autumn."

The few people kneeling in the hall became active, especially Shen Zhi, who almost jumped up and laughed.

Shen Wen said, "Shang County Magistrate, you just open your mouth and accuse me of murder. I don't admit it. You have to have evidence when you speak. Shang Lord, you are making false accusations and turning black into white. I won't do it."

Shang Haili said: "Who said I framed you out of thin air? The handprints I just took from the dead man clearly match yours. Who else could have killed that person if not you?"

Shen Wen smiled and said, "What a great Wei County Yamen!"

He looked at the group of people on the ground, nodded with great satisfaction and said, "No wonder you chose such a good place. Have you colluded with this dog official before?"

Shang Haili in the court angrily said, "Shut up! You dare to blatantly slander me in my court. I will have someone slap you in the face. Don't think that I will give you respect just because you are the son of a marquis."

Just as he finished begging for information, two people came to the gate of the government office. The man said, "Shang Sir! Who are you going to slap in the face?"

Shang Haili looked over when he heard the voice, his expression changed immediately and he stood up to greet them, saying, "It's Lord Ji Xiaoguo and Lord Wen Dai, the head of the Ministry of Justice. I wonder what the two gentlemen are here for?"

Ji Zichu pointed at Shen Wen and said, "For him. He is my specially hired assistant who handles cases for me."

Shang Haili’s eyes were about to cramp!

How come he doesn't know about this?

Ji Zichu walked up to Shen Wen, grabbed him and left.

The legal advisor of Wei County Yamen immediately stopped him from leaving.

Ji Zichu shouted at the lawyer, "Go away! I want to take him to investigate the case. Who dares to stop me? If you delay the opportunity to catch the serious criminals of the court, I will arrest you one by one and take you to the people to give an explanation."

The master was frightened by his authority and trembled, his mouth dry and he dared not speak.

Shang Haili quickly apologized with a smile: "Sir... Sir, it's not that we don't want to release him, it's really that Shen Wen... he is a murder suspect and cannot be taken away!"

Shen Wen said: "I didn't kill anyone, you framed me, you made false evidence to frame me!"

Then he said to Ji Zichu: "He just compared my handprints and they didn't match at all. He was the one who protected the murderer and helped the Shen family's prodigal sons to murder me."

When Ji Zichu heard this, he immediately frowned and shouted angrily, "How dare you! Shang Haili! I think your position as county magistrate has come to an end!"

Then, ignoring Shang Haili's explanation, he strode to the back of the desk, sat behind the desk, picked up the two pieces of paper with handprints on them, and compared them.

This smooth movement was completed in one go, leaving no time for the lowly Shang County Magistrate to stop it.

Ji Zichu was furious and said, "You are so bold, Shang County Magistrate, do you know your crime?"

Shang Haili argued: "My lord! Please listen to me!"

Ji Zichu took the two pieces of paper with handprints and showed them to Magistrate Shang, then went down to the courtroom to show them to everyone present, especially to Shen Wen.

Shen Wen looked at it and nodded secretly. He knew it was like this.

Wen Dai, the head of the Ministry of Justice, said at this time: "Sir Shang, please stop quibbling. Even if you succeed in quibbling over this false evidence, there is still a lot of evidence waiting for you. Don't you think about why I, the head of the Ministry of Justice, came to your small temple with Sir Ji?"

Wen Dai said to the guards outside the gate: "Someone, bring up all the evidence collected from Baiji Noodle House last night!"

He turned around and said to Shang Haili, "Sir Shang, how about you take a look at the evidence I found at the first murder scene last night?"

Shang Haili's legs went weak and his whole body was trembling. Why didn't he ask about what happened at the murder scene last night? This lawyer was also a freeloader. Why didn't he tell him in advance that officials from the Ministry of Justice had already collected evidence? He was also an old fool. He said that it was transferred by Jingzhao Yin, not by his own county government officials. How could he be so bold?

Ji Zichu sat back behind the copywriter and slammed the gavel, saying, "Shang Haili, you are so bold, why don't you kneel down?"

After being yelled at like that, Shang Haili immediately fell to his knees as if his bones and muscles were pulled out.

Wen Dai bowed to Ji Zichu and said, "Your Excellency can now try the case."

Ji Zichu said: "Bring the witnesses, the waiter and the shopkeeper of Baiji Noodle House."

As soon as he finished speaking, the police brought two people to the hall, and they knelt down and kowtowed.

Ji Zichu asked: "Whatever I ask you, you must tell the truth!"

The two immediately said, "I definitely wouldn't dare to lie."

Ji Zichu pointed at Shen Wen and asked, "Mr. Shen Shiqi, did you go to your Baiji Noodle House last night to meet with Shen Zhi, Shen Ju and others?"

The waiter and the shopkeeper said in unison: "My Lord, it is true."

Ji Zichu asked: "When did he go to Baiji Noodle House, and when did he leave Baiji Noodle House?"

The waiter thought about it and said, "Your Excellency, this young man came to our Baiji Noodle Shop around three o'clock last night. At that time... I didn't see when he left."

Shen Wen's eyes swept over Shen Huifeng who had been kneeling quietly beside him. He was silent, his whole body was out of focus, his mind was absorbed in thought, as if his soul had returned to heaven.

The shopkeeper of Baiji also said, "I have been watching at the counter the whole time. My waiter did not lie. At that time, the young masters of the Shen family wanted to force Madam Lihua, and Madam Lihua fled to the back door. She happened to meet this Mr. Shen Shiqi. They exchanged a few words, and then the beasts took Madam Lihua back to the guest room."

Ji Zichu said, "Madam Lihua? So you know this woman called Madam Lihua? What does she do? Why was she raped by Shen Song and Shen Bai in the middle of the night for no reason?"

The shopkeeper said angrily, "My Lord, this Lihua lady is the new wife of Qiu Zijie, the second shopkeeper of my Baiji Noodle Shop. They have only been married for thirteen days. In order to go to work more conveniently, Qiu Zijie took his new wife out of her parents' home, and the two of them lived in a house next to Baiji Noodle Shop. Last night, Qiu Zijie's family sent a letter saying that the elder passed away and went to the funeral, leaving Lihua lady alone at home. Lihua lady is a very decent housewife and has never left home. I don't know who revealed Lihua lady's whereabouts last night. It was these beasts who broke into her home and dragged her into Baiji Noodle Shop."

Ji Zichu looked at Shang Haili below and said, "You idiot, don't you know the case file before trying it? Rape a decent woman, this is the point. How dare you do this at the foot of my Emperor's Imperial City?"

The sweat oozing from Shang Haili's forehead dripped down.

Ji Zichu looked at the owner of Baiji Noodle House and said, "Go on, tell me what else you saw."

He said, "In fact, before this Seventeenth Young Master came, they dragged Madam Lihua upstairs and teased her for a long time. At first, they only forced her to drink, and then they slowly took action against her. Our noodle shop is the quietest at this time, and most of the customers in the noodle shop have left. There was a lot of noise in their room, so the waiter and I could naturally hear it. Madam Lihua broke free, ran downstairs in dishevel, and went straight to the back door. They were like a crazy pack of wolves, and ran to the back door. Then they met this Seventeenth Young Master at the back door."

Ji Zichu asked: "Since you all know their evil deeds, why don't you stop them?"

The shopkeeper said, "The boss has told us not to intervene no matter what happens. Our shop is located in the imperial city, and the customers who come here are either rich or noble. If we offend any of them, our shop will be closed. I am a new shopkeeper. I heard that when the former shopkeeper Wan was on duty, he didn't dare to stop these people."

Lord Ji asked, "The former shopkeeper Wan?"

He said, "It's Shopkeeper Wan. Madam Lihua is Shopkeeper Wan's daughter."

At this time, a yamen runner came in and reported: "Sir, someone came to the yamen to file a complaint. He said he wanted to sue Shen Song, Shen Bai, Shen Zhi, Shen Ju, Shen Bifeng, Shen Huifeng and others for raping his daughter."

Ji Zichu asked the yamen runner to bring the man in.

The man came in and knelt on the ground, begging in a pitiful voice: "Sir, please help me!"

Ji Zichu asked, "Who is kneeling? What do you want to report?"

The man said, "I am Wan Fengnian, the former owner of Baiji Noodle House. My daughter... my daughter was raped by these beasts. I beg you to help me!"

Ji Zichu asked: "Is your daughter's name Wan Lihua?"

He nodded and said "That's right!" and then started crying with tears and snot.

When Shen Zhi saw that Shopkeeper Wan had arrived, his eyes rolled and he immediately said, "Sir, we were beaten to death. You should first help us catch the murderer. Now, we can... do other things."

Ji Zichu said, "Catch the murderer? I am dealing with your case. You are so bold. You first raped a decent woman, and then the rest happened. Now you come to claim injustice? If that's the case, I will make you die knowingly."

Then he asked Manager Wan to kneel down on one side and said to Wen Dai, "You have recorded all the evidence at the scene. Continue."

Wen Dai said, "The incident happened around 3:30 a.m. I and the officers and soldiers of the Patrol City discovered the murder at Baiji Noodle House. The officers and soldiers of the Patrol City entered the crime scene with me. Your Excellency can call them to testify."

Ji Zichu said, "Did you hear everything clearly? Shen Zhi! This Lord Wen Dai, what he saw is the truth. Even if he dares to give false evidence, there are still soldiers patrolling the city."

Ji Zichu asked Wen Dai to describe the on-site investigation.

Wen Dai said: "They had all fainted at the time. The two brothers Shen Song and Shen Bai seemed to be the most seriously injured. One of them was grabbed on the head and hit hard, and he slammed hard on the round table. The force was so great that his head was stuck in the hole on the table."

Ji Zichu said, "Did you hear that? Shen Song is a strong man who is eight feet tall. How much strength would it take for someone to get his head stuck on the table?"