Chapter 2072: Confession

Chapter 2072: Confession

When Ruan Hai received the message and rushed to the county yamen, Ruan Kewei had already confessed to everything and was kneeling in the hall with vacant eyes.

As soon as Ruan Hai saw his son's state, his legs nearly gave way, and he was about to collapse.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, Constable Jiang, accompanied by two constables, suddenly rushed out and surrounded him along with his eldest son. Constable Jiang said, "Village Chief Ruan, your timing is quite coincidental. The magistrate was just about to send us to apprehend you."

Ruan Hai was taken aback, and the constables pushed him into the courtroom.

The county yamen officially began the trial. Shu Yu, who had witnessed the discovery of the body in Ruan Village and had promised to ensure the safe return of the innocent, was granted the privilege to observe.

Apart from her, many villagers from Ruan Village also attended the trial.

The more informed elders of the clan already knew what had happened, and they felt their vision darken upon seeing Ruan Hai and his son kneeling in the middle of the hall. They were nearly unable to catch their breath.

Other villagers who were unaware of the details were still puzzled. They only thought that the county yamen had found Ruan Kewei but had no idea that they already knew he was the murderer.

Magistrate Xie sat behind his desk, slammed the table, and began to state the background of the murder.

"On September 29th, Ruan Chengqian, a villager from Ruan Village, discovered two fingers exposed by rainwater erosion while hunting on the mountain. When he dug deeper, he unexpectedly found a buried corpse. The deceased, Cao Jiang, was 23 years old and a resident of Da'an Village. According to the coroner's findings, the victim's death was caused by two heavy blows to the back of the head with a hoe. The murder weapon belonged to Ruan Jinqian from Ruan Village and was stolen on September 13th."

Based on Ruan Jinqian's confession, he indeed had put the hoe behind a tree in his field. Of course, Ruan Hai's earlier questioning was also accurate. Considering the angle and height of the tree's shade, Ruan Jinqian could indeed see what was happening on the embankment.

However, when he arrived at the county yamen, Ruan Jinqian confessed that he had actually buried a jar of wine under the tree in the shade because his wife didn't allow him to drink. So, that day, he had dug up the wine jar while facing the embankment, and when he turned around, he found the hoe missing.

He feared that revealing this would lead to his wife's scolding, as losing the hoe due to drinking would certainly earn him a reprimand. However, now that he had been suspected of murder, Ruan Jinqian had disclosed everything.

Constable Jiang went to the tree and indeed found a jar of wine buried there. Moreover, based on the coroner's analysis, the person who used the hoe to kill Cao Jiang would have been slightly taller than the victim. Ruan Jinqian's petite stature, combined with the fact that he had no motive to kill Cao Jiang since he didn't even know him, made him a less likely suspect.

After being cleared of suspicion, Ruan Jinqian was released and returned to testify as a witness. Compared to his previous visit to the yamen, he appeared much calmer now.

Magistrate Xie provided a brief summary of the case's background and slammed the table again. He said, "The suspect, Ruan Kewei, had a conflict with Cao Jiang due to an incident involving a courtesan, providing a motive for the crime. On the day of the murder, he had no alibi. When the body was discovered, he immediately fled his home and went missing. Fortunately, this morning, he was found by Constable He outside the city. According to his confession, he did indeed kill Cao Jiang. Furthermore, both he and his father, Ruan Hai, were involved in burying the body."