Chapter 551 Solve the case safely (2)
"Mr. Zhang Wang, you continue to talk."
The magistrate of Chun'an saw that the scene had quieted down a bit, and nodded to the young woman, motioning for her to continue talking.
"Wuwu. Master Qingtian, my master told me three days ago that he had hired the boatman Wang Gui, and that he would go to Yingtian Mansion to buy goods this morning. Immediately packed up, saluted, took Xiruan and went out."
The young woman, Zhang Wangshi, was sobbing, wiping her tears while telling the ins and outs of the incident.
"After my master left the house this morning, about an hour later, the maid Bi'er reported to me that she heard someone knocking on the door, knocking very urgently, and shouting 'Mrs. Zhang, Mrs. Zhang, open the door quickly.' I walked to the yard Hearing such a shout, I asked the servant girl Bier to open the door, and found the boatman Wang Gui outside. I asked Wang Gui why he was in such a hurry and what happened."
"Wang Gui asked anxiously, 'Madam Zhang, it's getting late, why hasn't Mr. Zhang boarded the boat yet?'. I was surprised when I heard that, my master has been away for an hour, why hasn't he boarded yet?" A boat? Then I felt flustered, so I took my maidservant and called my natal family to follow the boatman to the riverside to find my master. On the way, I met acquaintances. You can walk down the river to the pier. When we arrived at the river, there was only one boat, and there was no trace of my master. My family was worried, so I followed Wang Gui to the county government to report the case."
"My master is a good man. He helped neighbors, and he did a lot of good things by laying bridges and roads. My master is famous for keeping his promises. As long as he promises, he will definitely do it. He will arrive when he says it will arrive." , If you didn’t make it at the appointed time, something must have happened. Master Qingtian, you have to be the master of my slave’s family, and my master.”
The young woman held back her tears and couldn't hold back any longer. From sobbing and sobbing at the beginning to tearing her heart, she knelt on the ground and begged the magistrate of Chun'an to make decisions for her.
There was a buzzing sound around, as if there were countless flies flying, because there were officials around, people dared not speak loudly, but the whispers were continuous, especially when the young woman was talking.
Because the officials were on the sidelines, they just whispered to each other, expressing their views.
"Master Zhang only went out on the front foot, and she opened the door when someone knocked on the back foot. What does this mean? She is really used to being watery."
"That's right, it's really worthless for Mr. Zhang."
"Hey, I have long heard that this woman does not obey women's morals. You are a serious wife. Who opens the door for men early in the morning? Maybe they regard the boatman as that concubine."
"I often walk by the river, how can I not get my shoes wet. Mr. Zhang is also a big help. You can take a shortcut, but you must pay attention to safety. It rained last night, and the riverside is the most slippery."
Compared with the people talking in a low voice, when the young woman was kneeling and talking, Zhu Pingan listened very carefully. Halfway through the hearing, Zhu Pingan's eyebrows moved slightly and raised slightly, like a closed room Like opening a door.
Looked at the young woman kneeling at the feet of the magistrate of Chun'an, then glanced at the boatman Wang Gui who was standing beside him waiting to reply, and then Zhu Pingan turned his attention to the magistrate.
Let’s see how the county magistrate handles it first.
"You get up first. As a parent official, I will naturally make decisions for the people." Zhixian Xu raised his hand and asked someone to pull the young woman up. Then he looked at the boatman Wang Gui and asked him to tell the story again.
"Go back to Master Qingtian, and the younger one is Wang Gui. My ancestors lived by the Yangtze River for generations, and so did the younger one. Three days ago, Master Zhang asked someone to find me, and made an appointment to go to Yingtian Mansion to buy goods at the moment of Mao today. It is by this river, When he arrived at the boat, the younger one came to the riverside to wait for Mr. Zhang. By the time of Mao, Mr. Zhang hadn’t come yet. The younger one waited for Mr. Zhang on the left side of the river, and waited for Mr. Zhang on the right. No, I have been waiting for almost half an hour, but Elder Zhang has not been able to come."
"The time has been arranged in advance. When we arrive at Yingtianfu, we have to pick up the young owner of Li Ji Tea Shop. Mr. Zhang is almost half an hour late and he hasn't come to board the boat. If he misses the time to pick up Li Shaodong's home The younger one couldn’t afford to take the blame. So, the younger one hurried to Mr. Zhang’s house to urge him, and asked Mr. Zhang why he still didn’t board the boat.”
"When I arrived at Mr. Zhang's house, I hurriedly knocked on the door and asked Mrs. Zhang to open the door. Mrs. Zhang asked why I was in such a hurry, and I asked why it was getting late, why Mr. Zhang hadn't boarded the boat yet. Then Mrs. Zhang was surprised. Said that Mr. Zhang went out early in the morning. Then our group came to the river again, and there was indeed no trace of Mr. Zhang. Since Mr. Zhang had already left, why didn’t he get on the boat? Then I felt something wrong, so I persuaded Mrs. Zhang hastened to report the case."
What the boatman Wang Gui said was the same as what the young woman Zhang Wang said.
After listening to what the boatman Wang Gui said, the people around them exchanged their opinions in low voices. Some said that the young woman Zhang Wang colluded with her concubine and killed Mr. Zhang, some said that Mr. Zhang took a shortcut and fell into the Yangtze River and suffered an accident, and some said that Mr. Zhang might have been killed while going to the pier along the river. Understand
After hearing what the boatman Wang Gui said, the county magistrate of Chun'an frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. The words of the boatman Wang Gui and Zhang Wang's are basically the same, there is no difference.
After thinking for a while, the magistrate of Chun'an stretched his eyebrows slightly, he looked at the young woman Zhang Wang, and asked, "You just met an acquaintance on the way to the river, and the acquaintance said that Mr. Zhang took a small road The way to the riverside. Who is this acquaintance's name?"
In the eyes of the magistrate of Chun'an, the acquaintance Mrs. Zhang mentioned is the key. Whether Mr. Zhang has walked to the river is related to the location of the search work, and it is also helpful to the case.
"Yes" the young woman hesitated slightly.
"Who is it?" The magistrate of Chun'an set his eyes on the young woman, the eyes under the eyebrows were very deep.
"Master Hui, he is the son of the slave's natal village who carries goods at the pier, Erlang of the old Zhao's family in the east of the village." The young woman Zhang Wang replied under the watchful eyes of the magistrate of Chun'an.
After the young lady Zhang Wang finished her reply, the voices of people whispering to each other reached a climax. Even if there were guards around, the voices were still buzzing, and it seemed that people were very excited.
"Erlang from the old Zhao family, isn't she her best friend before she married Mr. Zhang?"
"It turned out to be Zhao Erlang, so I have to be embarrassed to say it, tsk tsk, didn't Zhao Erlang study for exams, why did he suddenly go to the pier to carry goods? Short of money?"
"Hey, poor Mr. Zhang, hey, bah, adulterer and rich woman!"
Listening to the young woman Zhang Wang's answer, people pointed at the young woman more, and many people even had a lot of images in their brains, and then sighed and spurned one after another.
"Come here, send Zhao Erlang to come. I have a few questions that I would like to ask." The magistrate of Chun'an recruited four servants and told them to "invite" Zhao Erlang to come.
Biography to Zhao Erlang?
Uh, how long does it take to go back and forth like this! It will take at least half an hour on the light road, plus inquiries from the county magistrate, etc., I don't know how long it will take. Moreover, there is no need for such trouble.
Zhu Pingan looked at the haggard and precarious sick old man not far away, his worrying son, the scholar who kept tiptoeing in the direction of Ying Tianfu, and the newcomer rubbing his hands and looking in the direction of home from time to time father.
The sun and the moon are passing away, and the age is not with me.
Forget it, let me do it for you once more.
Then, a clear voice sounded suddenly, a simple and honest boy crossed the crowd, pointed at the boatman Wang Gui, and looked up at the county magistrate of Chun'an.
"My lord, please arrest this murderer."
(end of this chapter)