The testimonies of Cai Dingkun and his wife had significant discrepancies. While the initial parts aligned perfectly, the account of Cai Dingkun chasing after someone and then returning was completely different.
This indicated that the truth of what happened in between was not what they claimed.
"Then it's highly likely that Cai Dingkun killed Han Xiu," Guan Jinsong said. Cai Dingkun must have pursued Han Xiu, who then escaped midway and ran into Cao Changming's yard to steal trousers.
Cao Changming had mentioned asking Han Xiu why he was wearing women's clothes, and Han Xiu replied it was due to his philandering ways, encountering someone who already had a partner and almost being stabbed to death by that man.
The "man" Han Xiu referred to at this moment was Cai Dingkun.
After leaving Cao Changming's yard, Han Xiu thought he was in the clear, but unexpectedly encountered Cai Dingkun's attack. Judging by the angle of the assassination, it might have been a surprise attack.
After killing Han Xiu, Cai Dingkun disposed of the body in a well, where it was discovered the next day.
The couple must have also considered what would happen if the police came knocking.
Therefore, they planned to end their story at the point where Cai Dingkun "chased after someone, failed to catch them, and returned home." It was precisely because of this that their subsequent testimonies completely fell apart, leading to their exposure.
However, there was a problem. It would be difficult to convict Cai Dingkun and his wife based solely on these inconsistencies in their testimonies, as they could easily claim they were too nervous and misremembered.
This meant they needed to find concrete evidence.
That afternoon, Hu Jia took the iron rebar to the Zhong County police station. The equipment at the municipal inspection bureau was better and could check for human blood on the rebar and determine the blood type.
Meanwhile, Ouyang Wen, based on the locations of Cao Changming's residence and the well, pinpointed the crime scene. Bloodstains were eventually discovered in an alley not far from Cao Changming's yard.
Lu Qingqing and Guan Jinsong, on the other hand, found the most crucial witness.
According to Cao Changming's recollection, he had been woken by a call to the watchman at night. However, being groggy from sleep, he hadn't heard it clearly, only a slow beat followed by several quick beats. He couldn't remember if it was three or two quick beats, though.
Therefore, he couldn't determine the hour.
Although Cao Changming's clue was incomplete, it significantly narrowed down the timeframe.
Many might not understand the practice of beating the watch. However, both Lu Qingqing and Guan Jinsong, having grown up in the countryside, were very familiar with it.
At the first watch (7 PM), there was one slow beat and one fast beat, repeated three times, sounding like "Dong! — Dong!," "Dong! — Dong!," "Dong! — Dong!";
At the second watch (9 PM), there was one beat followed by another, repeated multiple times, sounding like "Dong, Dong!," "Dong, Dong!";
At the third watch (11 PM), there was one slow beat followed by two fast beats, sounding like "Dong! — Dong! Dong!";
At the fourth watch (1 AM), there was one slow beat followed by three fast beats, sounding like "Dong — Dong! Dong! Dong";
At the fifth watch (3 AM), there was one slow beat followed by four fast beats, sounding like "Dong — Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!";
Overall, the rhythm progressed from slow to fast, with three repetitions signaling the end of the watch.
According to Cao Changming, he heard one slow beat, which ruled out the first and second watches. Although he couldn't recall the number of fast beats, if there were four, it would have been very distinct and impossible to misremember. Therefore, the fifth watch was also ruled out.
The most likely possibilities were the third or fourth watch.
During the third watch, the town's restaurants had just closed, and there would still be some pedestrians on the streets. By the fourth watch, it was the time for the town's night patrol officers.
The murder weapon was an iron rebar, which was kept at the pork stall. If Cai Dingkun was indeed the killer, he would have had to return to the pork stall to get the rebar.
Therefore, questioning people who passed by the pork stall to see if they saw Cai Dingkun or noticed that his pork stall was still open would serve as some corroboration that Cai Dingkun did not, as he claimed, return home without catching anyone.
Following this line of reasoning, Lu Qingqing and the others finally heard the desired answer from a man who had been frequenting a pleasure house.
That night, as he was returning home, he indeed saw Cai's pork stall was open. He found it strange that someone was still there so late.
He intended to go over and chat for a bit, but then he saw Yue Niang rushing out from inside.
Yue Niang was Cai Dingkun's wife. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
At this point, everyone was stunned.
Dingkun's wife, also known as Cao Yueniang, claimed she hadn't left the house. Yet, someone had seen her at the pork stall?
Why would she be at the pork stall so late?
The likely answer was that she went to grab an iron rebar.
Immediately, Lu Qingqing further investigated Cao Yueniang's daily habits. It turned out that while Cao Yueniang appeared meek and gentle on the surface, she was actually a resolute woman.
For one thing, the pork stall was passed down to her by her father, and she had brought it with her dowry to Cai Dingkun.
Considering a woman who grew up watching pigs being slaughtered and butchered, and had even done so herself, could she truly be considered meek?
This raised a possibility:
What if the person who killed Han Xiu was actually Cao Yueniang, and not Cai Dingkun?
This would explain why the couple couldn't account for what happened after Cai Dingkun returned home.
It was because when Cai Dingkun returned, Yue Niang was no longer at home.
Coupled with the details discovered by Ouyang Wen at the crime scene, Lu Qingqing quickly made a deduction.
Ouyang Wen had found a patch of dried blood at the crime scene. The way the blood had meandered and flowed across the ground suggested it had been obstructed by something.
Perhaps it was a shoe, indicating the killer had lingered there, their foot blocking the flow of blood.
To this end, Ouyang Wen had specifically examined the soles of Cai Dingkun's shoes, but unfortunately, no bloodstains were found.
"Check Cao Yueniang's."
All along, Lu Qingqing and the others had assumed the killer was Cai Dingkun.
Therefore, they had never conducted a thorough examination of Cao Yueniang's clothing and shoe soles.
Now that she was listed as a suspect, the investigation naturally focused on her.
And with this investigation, good news followed one after another.
First, Hu Jia brought back the results of the rebar examination. It indeed had bloodstains, and the blood type was identical to that of the deceased, Han Xiu.
Secondly, the police discovered in Cao Yueniang's courtyard that she had washed a pair of women's cloth shoes. Faint bloodstains were found on the sides of the soles and the fabric of these shoes.
The blood type of these stains also matched Han Xiu's.
With irrefutable evidence and eyewitnesses, Cao Yueniang could no longer escape.
...
"So he's not only poor but also entangled in a lawsuit?" Yang Shaoquan was so angry upon hearing about Cao Changming that he almost lost his breath.
He didn't care whether Cao Changming was guilty or not. What he cared about was that Liu Yuxin was still stubbornly devoted to him.
"He didn't kill anyone. Little Jia and the others are investigating, and I believe they will soon clear his name," Liu Yuxin explained, kneeling on the ground.
She knew her uncle disliked Cao Changming and was using this as an excuse to get her to leave him.
But she couldn't.
Cao Changming might not be the man she most wanted to marry, but he was her only choice.
She knew she still held feelings for another person, but he hadn't left, and had continued to wait and wait.
He waited until that person arrived, and until he thought he had lost.
It was then that Liu Yuxin realized that the best person was right beside her.
Perhaps, without her even realizing it, she had already accepted Cao Changming, and that other person was merely a bright spot in her memories.