Mrs. Niu's heartbroken look made everyone in the hall feel miserable and secretly weep.
Suddenly there was a gentle thunder outside the hall, and soon it started to drizzle. The rain was falling lightly, but it refused to stop.
The sound of rain is patter, and the drops on the leaves make a fine clinking sound. Every drop of rain can make people feel the strong autumn feeling and the coldness from the bottom of their hearts.
A bolt of lightning passed by and Niu Xiaoyi's face was clearly reflected. Mrs. Niu held her son's body tightly in her arms and called "son" repeatedly.
"Wei——wu——" came the sound of authority, and everyone immediately cheered up and stood respectfully.
Xia Yunqing, dressed in official uniform and official hat, walked out from behind the screen with a serious expression and took a seat in the hall.
When he raised his eyes and saw Niu Xiaoyi's miserable death, even Xia Yunqing, who always kept a clear distinction between public and private matters, frowned:
Since he came to Lingzhou as a promotion officer, he has taken over cases of various sizes, mostly involving theft, robbery, and crowd fighting. This is the first time he has seen a murder case, especially such a cruel murder case.
Mrs. Niu cried for a long time, and she was exhausted. At this time, she just held her son's body and sat on the ground blankly, her eyes were dull, her lips were trembling, and she could no longer cry out a sound.
There was a loud bang in the hall, and Xia Yunqing asked majestically: "Who in the hall is making a noise here? Don't you know this is the lobby of a government office? Those who make innocent noises will be punished!"
Niu Dasou kowtowed three times and said sadly: "My lord is wise! You have to make the decision for the son of a common woman! My son was killed!" After saying this, she couldn't help crying loudly.
Xia Yunqing frowned and looked at everyone in the hall, and asked in a deep voice: "Can anyone tell me what happened?"
Lu Ning stepped forward, held up his hands, and said: "Mr.
His body."
Xia Yunqing looked at Sister-in-law Niu and asked, "Ms. Niu, is she telling the truth?"
Sister-in-law Niu nodded even more.
Xia Yunqing turned to Wu Zuo and asked, "When did he die and what was the cause of his death?"
Wu Zuo bowed and said: "Master Qi, he has been dead for about a day. He was stabbed seventeen times, but he did not hit any vital points. He died because all the blood was drained from his body..."
Hearing with one's own ears how her son was killed. For a mother, this is the most cruel torture in the world.
Sister-in-law Niu sat slumped on the ground, her face was bloodless, she was dazed and lost her mind. She was shaking her body and almost fainted, but luckily she was held firmly by someone on the side.
Xia Yunqing stroked his beard and thought to himself: The murderer's methods were so cruel, it must have been a vendetta.
He asked tentatively: "Sister-in-law Niu, think about it carefully, do you and your wife have any enemies?"
Sister-in-law Niu was in a trance, but she managed to keep her spirits up and murmured: "My husband is an honest farmer who can't tell a single thing. Now he feeds the horses in the caravan. I am a village woman, and I also work in the caravan on weekdays.
The three of us in our family are doing our jobs honestly and barely making ends meet, so how can we have any enemies!"
Xia Yunqing asked again: "This matter is of great importance! You have to think carefully, have you had any conflicts with others recently?"
Before Sister Niu could answer, Elder Yun stepped out and said, "Sir, when we found Niu Xiaoyi's body in the cave yesterday, we also found something that did not belong to Niu Xiaoyi. This can prove the identity of the murderer!"
After saying that, he presented the green jade flute to Xia Yunqing with both hands.
Seeing the flute, Lu Ning and Hu Qi looked at each other in shock, and their faces suddenly turned pale.
Xia Yunqing picked up the flute and asked in a cold voice: "Who knows this flute?"
At this situation, the people in the caravan looked at each other in confusion. Everyone knew who the flute belonged to, but no one wanted to tell it in front of Lu Ning. Even Elder Yun and Ma Huilan shut their mouths wisely.
To everyone's surprise, the owner of the flute came out, bowed respectfully, and said loudly: "Master Xia, that flute belongs to Mr. Hu.
But Hu didn’t know why it was in Niu Xiaoyi’s hands.”
Xia Yunqing pondered for a moment and asked, "Lu Gang Leader, please tell me in detail how you found Niu Xiaoyi on the mountain."
"Yes!" Lu Ning held up his hands and told the story of last night in detail: "Yesterday Hu Qi went out alone and did not return. We all split up to look for him. My brothers went to the city to look for various inns, and I rode there alone.
They went to the mountains. Later, the bodies of Hu Qi and Niu Xiaoyi were found in the cave."
To be on the safe side, she hid the incident between Xiao Yulou and the other escort.
Xia Yunqing looked at Hu Qi and asked, "Hu Qi, why did you appear in the cave, and how did Niu Xiaoyi's body get into the cave?"
Hu Qi cupped his hands and answered: "Sir, yesterday I went to the mountain to relax alone, and then suddenly I was knocked unconscious from behind. When I woke up, I was already in the cave. Not long after, I met the deer girl who came to rescue me. I am
I found the body with my caravan brothers, and I don’t know when the body was placed next to me.”
Xia Yunqing asked suspiciously: "Didn't you see a corpse next to you when you woke up?"
Lu Ning was the first to answer: "Sir, it was pitch dark in the cave and I couldn't reach out. When I went to rescue people, I almost thought Hu Qi was a beast. And I didn't find the body the first time. It was later that my brothers took it with them.
The torch came and we found it when we searched the cave again."
Xia Yunqing asked again: "Hu Qi, why are you going to Fengming Mountain alone?"
Hu Qi turned to look at Ma Huilan who was standing aside. Ma Huilan was shocked and quickly shook her head at him.
Hu Qi hesitated for a moment, and then replied in an evasive manner: "Back to the lord, because Hu was homesick yesterday, he wanted to go out alone to relax. But I am not familiar with Lingzhou, so I asked the caravan brothers where Fengming Mountain is.
The janitor recommended it to me."
Xia Yunqing pondered: "So, many people know where you will go?"
Hu Qi nodded hesitantly. After all, he asked the gatekeeper when he went out, and all he knew were the caravan brothers.
Xia Yunqing looked at the others and asked, "Are what Hu Qicai said true?"
A tall man came out and answered loudly: "Sir, it was Huo who told Mr. Hu that the closest place to here and the most beautiful scenery is Fengming Mountain. Later, it was also where I told the young gang leader Mr. Hu to go."
Xia Yunqing stroked his beard and thought for a moment. His many years of experience in politics told him:
It seemed that someone knew that he was going to Fengming Mountain, so they chased him to the mountain, knocked him unconscious and dragged him to the cave, and charged him with murder.
But he couldn't act based on intuition, so he asked further: "Hu Qi, during the period after Niu Xiaoyi disappeared, were you always with other people? Can anyone prove it for you?"
Lu Ning immediately replied: "Sir, on the day Niu Xiaoyi disappeared, Hu Qi was always with me and Toto. Toto and I can prove it. After returning, the brothers in the caravan can also prove it."
Ma Huilan also walked out gracefully, with a graceful look, and said softly: "Sir, we can all testify to Hu Qi that except for yesterday when he went up the mountain alone, he did stay in the caravan. But didn't he just say that,
Niu Xiaoyi has been dead for a day and a night, and Hu Qi has not left our sight during that time."
Xia Yunqing pondered for a moment and then said: "Hu Qi, even though everything you said is true, it doesn't prove that you had nothing to do with Niu Xiaoyi's death."
"Master, please be clear! Hu has no motive for killing Niu Xiaoyi!" Hu Qi knelt down quickly, pointed at Sister Niu, and explained: "Sister Niu and Mrs. Ye can prove that I have only met Niu Xiaoyi once."
At this moment, Sister-in-law Niu, who had been dumbfounded and lost her mind, finally came to her senses.
She climbed to the center of the lobby, kowtowed to Xia Yunqing, and said in a trembling voice: "Sir, Mr. Hu indeed has no grudge against the three of us. Moreover, Xiao Yi kept praising him for his patience after returning home.
The only person willing to play with him..." As she said this, she started to shed tears again.
Sister-in-law Niu's confession made Hu Qi, who was the most suspicious, breathe a sigh of relief, and also relieved Xia Yunqing's suspicion of Hu Qi.
But what was unexpected was that Mrs. Niu sobbed a few times and suddenly
Pointing at Ma Huilan, he gritted his teeth and said: "Sir, I remembered that Xiao Yi and Mrs. Ye had a dispute! It must be her, yes, it must be her. She was not satisfied with my son's disrespect for her, so he killed her in anger.
He must be like this!"
This sudden reversal shocked everyone present. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to deal with this unexpected situation.
But I heard Mrs. Niu continue to slap her thighs and moan: "Master Qingtian, let us make the decision. My son is only ten years old this year. He died so miserably. You must catch the murderer!"
Ma Huilan's expression suddenly changed, she glared at Mrs. Niu angrily, and said sternly: "You...you wronged a good person!"
Just at this time, a person suddenly walked out of the hall, it was Ye Guming who was full of weather and upright.
Under the gaze of everyone, he slowly walked into the hall on crutches, bowed his hands to Xia Yunqing respectfully, and said loudly: "Master Xia, everyone in the caravan is fully cooperating with you in investigating the case! If the murderer is really from the caravan, Ye
I will never show favoritism!"
Xia Yunqing stroked his beard and nodded in approval.
Suddenly, Mrs. Niu jumped up, rushed towards Ma Huilan, grabbed her hair, and shouted loudly: "You vicious woman, my son just contradicted you a few words, and you actually killed him so cruelly! You
I want to avenge this murderer for my son!"
As she said this, she rounded her arms and was about to hit her. Ma Huilan exclaimed "Ah" and had no time to escape.
Ye Guming had quick eyes and quick hands. He dropped his crutch and blocked Sister Niu's slap that was about to fall.
"In the court, there is a master who makes the decision. How can you beat people at will?"
Sister-in-law Niu struggled for a few times but couldn't get over it, so she turned to Xia Yunqing and shouted: "Sir, the murderer is here, arrest him quickly!"
Xia Yunqing's face was solemn, and he was shocked: "Ms. Niu, don't be so arrogant in court! I will give you an explanation when I get the results of the trial. If you dare to act like this again, I will give you forty beatings first."
Big board!"
Sister-in-law Niu trembled with fright and immediately closed her mouth and stopped talking. Ye Guming immediately let go of his hand.
Xia Yunqing looked at Ma Huilan and shouted: "Mr. Ma, you had a conflict with Mr. Niu's son. Is this the case?"