Chapter 280: Confrontation in Court

"No shouting allowed in the courtroom!"

Qin Zhangfeng stood out and shouted angrily.

Under Liu Zheng's instructions, the courtroom was required to be a solemn place; how could these petty people be allowed to act wantonly? The Yinzhou troops on the side were also well-prepared and drove out all the members of the crowd who were making the most noise.

Qiao Guang and the others also had their expressions change slightly; they could only snort coldly and wait for this public trial to proceed.

"Open court!"

Liu Zheng shouted loudly.

The Counselor of the Supervision Department struck the gavel and asked Zhou, the legal wife of Wang: "Plaintiff Zhou, you are accusing Chen Mingze of the Yinzhou army of murdering Wang. The court is now in session! This official upholds the law impartially, without bias, and the sun and moon are my witnesses! Zhou, state your grievances quickly!"

This was a set of procedures Liu Zheng had designed by combining ancient and modern methods.

The first stage was the plaintiff's statement of grievances.

Sobbing, Zhou recounted the ins and outs of the case; the content naturally needs no elaboration. Finally, she pointed the finger at Chen Mingze: "My Lord, my husband was an easygoing person and rarely had conflicts with others. If it wasn't that Chen Mingze, then who could it be!"

The commoners listening were also filled with righteous indignation.

Did a case like this even need to be said? It was already out in the open! It must be that Chen Mingze was jealous of Wang and acted with such cruelty that Wang died suddenly the next day. Such methods were very common in ancient times; those with high martial arts skills could achieve it.

Some even thought that Prefect Liu was being far too protective of his own!

To whitewash Chen Mingze, he had made such a big fuss and talked about judicial reform—it was pure bullshit! He just wanted to clear his brother's name.

"No shouting!"

"Quiet, quiet!"

As the commoners caused a stir, the Yinzhou troops came out again to maintain order.

The Counselor of the Criminal Judgment Department said coldly: "Any speculation is just speculation. In the courtroom, we only speak of evidence. How Wang behaved in his daily life is not within the scope of judgment. Does the plaintiff have any other evidence to provide? Executive Luo?"

Executive Luo was the Executive of the Supervision Department responsible for assisting the plaintiff with the lawsuit this time.

He nodded, stood out, and said: "My Lord, the clue we possess is the motive of the defendant, Chen Mingze. He and Wang's concubine, Miss Liang, knew and loved each other in their early years. Upon meeting again, Miss Liang was already another man's wife. Therefore, the motive for murder is established. Secondly, on that day at Chunmanyuan, the two did indeed have a physical altercation, and there are witnesses."

As soon as these words were spoken, many people nodded.

It was clear at a glance; what else was there to argue about?

However...

The fact that the government was helping the commoners fight a lawsuit really did make people feel it was very novel.

"My Lord!"

Just as he sat down, Jiang Xuan stood up: "Chen Mingze is not a practitioner of martial arts. The conflict that day was also a spur-of-the-moment incident, and there was no premeditated intent to murder. Therefore, I believe there was no serious harm that day, yet he died suddenly the next day; this matter is truly suspicious. The defendant was not the last person to have contact with the plaintiff. On that night, the plaintiff was also drinking and listening to music at Chunmanyuan with several companions. Jiang Xuan believes that they cannot be ruled out as suspects either!"

As soon as this was said, Qiao Guang and the others changed their expressions one after another.

"Nonsense!"

"Slandering!"

"I and Wang were sworn brothers; what suspicion could I have?"

"Quiet, quiet!"

The scene quieted down again.

Although there was a lack of experience in this first public court session and the scene was slightly chaotic, this fresh way of judging cases still made many people present feel it was incredible.

Was this an argument?

No!

It was not an argument; this was a confrontation in court!

A true confrontation in court! One must know that lawyers in Huaxia civilization only appeared during the Qing Dynasty. At this stage of the Longyan Dynasty, there was naturally no such thing as a lawyer. Before, judging cases was always handled by the government. To put it bluntly, the commoners were always the ones being slaughtered, and when a Powerful Clan committed a crime, it was naturally different from a commoner.

In ancient times, killing a lowly person would only cost a cow in compensation.

Who had ever seen...

The government acting on behalf of the common people to file a lawsuit?

Suddenly.

The commoners who had just been shouting all quieted down. They seemed to understand that Prefect Liu was truly doing something great, something that could change the judicial environment of Liangzhou.

"My Lord, this is simply sophistry! When considering the motive for a crime, one must first consider the person involved in the conflict..."

Jiang Xuan retorted: "Executive Luo, one must be cautious with their words! Whether the cause of death of the deceased is actually a crime has yet to be determined!"

"Magistrate Jiang, that is incorrect. Wang died an unnatural death; this is a fact..."

"Dying an unnatural death does not mean it was murder! I ask you, have there been people in history who died from drinking too much? Yes, and quite a few! Have there been people who died from taking medicine? Also quite a few!"

"Magistrate Jiang, Wang died from the rupture of his internal organs; it must have been external trauma!"

"What if it was internal causes?"

"Wang was well-liked; no one else had a motive to kill him!"

"The Counselor just reminded us that popularity cannot be used as a standard for judgment! Executive Luo, I only ask you, did anyone see Chen Mingze kill Wang with his own hands!"

"..."

The two of them, one sentence after another—the people at the scene felt that this side had a point, and that side also had a point. Soon, the commoners didn't know who to support.

"Stop!"

Half an hour later, the confrontation in court process was completed.

The Counselor of the Criminal Judgment Department said calmly: "Now it is time for both sides to present evidence!"

People looked at each other. The meaning was that for this process, the two people didn't need to "argue"! Or perhaps they would argue again after bringing out the evidence? Interesting, interesting; this fresh way of litigation made people want to keep listening.

Presenting evidence.

Executive Luo's presentation of evidence naturally started with witnesses; the brothers who were drinking with Wang that day came out one by one to accuse Chen Mingze.

And the tables and chairs used during the conflict that day were also brought by them.

And on Jiang Xuan's side.

First, he presented evidence that Chen Mingze had never undergone systematic martial arts training and lacked the strength to truss a chicken. Furthermore, he and Miss Liang had not met for four years, meaning the conditions for premeditated murder did not exist.

Therefore, he argued that the cause of Wang's death was questionable.

Then.

He made a startling statement: "My Lord, according to my recent investigation, it is not impossible that Wang died from other causes! Firstly, Wang had always suffered from consumption and took medication long-term. Secondly, his wives and concubines were at odds, and neighbors have testified that several intense arguments occurred. Thirdly, why did Wang take a concubine to a brothel that day? Jiang Xuan believes this matter is highly unusual!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire crowd was in an uproar.

Unknowingly.

The tens of thousands of onlookers at the scene finally began to slowly realize, following Jiang Xuan's rebuttals and evidence, that there were actually so many suspicious aspects to this matter.

At the very beginning.

The situation where everyone was siding with Wang's family changed for the first time.

People discussed it one after another.

Could it be...

That Wang was truly not killed by Chen Mingze?

【Author's Note】

Taking one day off a month, sorry to keep everyone waiting...