Many people lost sleep that night, including Wu Caiwei and Li Yuqun. Originally supposed to be held separately, the two were confined together due to Madam Li's bribe.
To be honest, this was Wu Caiwei's first time in prison in all her years, and she found it somewhat novel.
"Why do you think we're here?" Li Yuqun asked curiously.
"Didn't you hear the officers? We're implicated in a murder case," Wu Caiwei said, standing up and looking around.
"Do you think the person in the shadows did it?" Li Yuqun wondered, as he had no enmity with anyone, yet found himself linked to a murder case after a single outing.
"What do you think? Is it such a coincidence? You've just recovered, and we're already in trouble." Although Wu Caiwei felt they had stumbled into trouble, she was quite excited at the prospect of their adversary revealing a weakness.
"I don't know who's hiding so deeply and knows our movements so well. It's clearly someone from our household or Madam's side. Before you arrived, I never realized there was such a person in the manor." Li Yuqun spoke with great interest.
Wu Caiwei didn't want to dwell on the topic and started chatting with him about random things. Before they knew it, dawn broke.
The court session began early in the morning, with a large crowd gathered outside the yamen to watch.
After the magistrate spoke for a while, Wu Caiwei finally understood that Old Master Zheng had died halfway up South Mountain.
"Li Yuqun, Bai Xue, with witnesses and evidence, do you admit your guilt?" the prefect asked sternly, slamming his gavel.
"Your Honor, I am not talented, but I wish to know who the witness is and where the evidence was found?" Wu Caiwei, feeling dizzy and confused, directly asked.
"The witness is Zheng Yiming. He told this official that he saw you, husband and wife, push his father into the pond. He was hiding in the bushes nearby, afraid that you would discover him and harm him too, so he didn't dare to come out and stop you." The magistrate said with a straight face. "The evidence is that after Old Master Zheng's death, Li Yuqun's purse was found in his sleeve, and his scattered jade pendant was also found in the grass nearby."
As soon as the magistrate finished speaking, the officers presented the evidence to the court.
Both of them looked astonished. The items indeed belonged to Li Yuqun. The purse was embroidered by Wu Caiwei before they were married, and the jade pendant was a gift from Madam Li on his eighteenth birthday, engraved with his name. They couldn't understand why it appeared at the crime scene and was now being presented as evidence.
"Reporting to Your Honor, I have been weak since childhood. My grandmother, worried about me, sent many guards and maids to attend to me. We were never out of their sight at that time. How could we have committed the crime?" Li Yuqun tried to defend himself.
"Early this morning, I questioned the guards who accompanied you. Their statements are the same as yours. However, they are members of your Li family and can only be used as reference, not as conclusive evidence," the magistrate said expressionlessly.
"So, the only witness is Zheng Yiming. As far as I know, Zheng Yiming hates his father deeply and has a motive to commit the crime." Wu Caiwei always felt that Zheng Yiming was a cunning person and couldn't be innocent in this matter.
Hearing them say this, Zheng Yiming quickly pointed to his right hand and then to his mouth.
"You mean your right hand is weak and you couldn't push?" the aide guessed his meaning, and Zheng Yiming nodded quickly.
"But if Uncle was bending down to drink from a spring, and you rammed him with your body, he wouldn't be prepared, and your physical condition wouldn't affect your ability to do it," Wu Caiwei speculated about the possibility of him being the murderer, while constantly watching him for any flaws.
Zheng Yiming's hand paused, and he quickly raised his head, shaking his hand, indicating it wasn't him.
Although his hand paused for only a moment, the observant Wu Caiwei noticed it and tried to recall what she had said that might have touched him.
"How did your belongings appear at the crime scene?" the magistrate asked, posing the key question of the case.
"Reporting to Your Honor, we know you might not believe us, but this is the truth. We don't know either. It's possible there's a mole in the manor, specifically targeting our Li family, colluding with outsiders," Li Yuqun voiced his speculation.
The magistrate thought this was possible but couldn't help saying, "This is just your speculation. We need solid evidence to make a judgment."
Li Yuqun's mention of collusion startled Wu Caiwei. Could it be that Zheng Yiming didn't kill his father, but knew who did?
"Your Honor, may I ask my cousin some questions?"
"You may."
"My cousin became like this, and he once asked me to help him get revenge, but I refused. Do you hate me very much?" Wu Caiwei asked, looking into his eyes, word by word.
Zheng Yiming clenched his right hand and lowered his head, hiding his expression, and shook his head.
"As far as I know, if it weren't for Uncle, you wouldn't be in this predicament. Would you still be kind enough to travel with him?" Wu Caiwei continued.
Zheng Yiming knew he had to remain calm no matter what Wu Caiwei said, to present a case of no witnesses. But when his father was mentioned, he couldn't help but tremble with hatred, gritting his teeth. Even though his father was no longer alive, the harm he had caused would last forever. His life had been ruined by him. Unconsciously, a fierce look appeared in his eyes.
This time, everyone noticed his abnormality.
Wu Caiwei pressed on, "His gambling, his lack of remorse, caused your mother's death, and squandered the Zheng family's assets for decades, reducing you, a dignified scholar, to this state. You could have proudly pursued higher degrees, even become an official, but now all that is gone."
Hearing her mention these things, Zheng Yiming cried out in pain, clutching his head, falling into deep despair, tears streaming down his face.
"May I ask, cousin, how did Yuqun and I push Uncle into the pond?" Wu Caiwei tried to elicit the truth from Zheng Yiming while he was losing control.
Although Zheng Yiming had no tongue and could not speak, upon hearing the question, he reflexively said, "He deserved to die, he deserved to die..."
Even without hearing the sound, one could guess what he was saying by looking at his mouth.
Seeing that he had descended into madness, Wu Caiwei suggested bringing the maids and matrons from his courtyard to testify about how he and Old Master Zheng usually interacted.
The maids and matrons were timid and had never been to court. Frightened by the magistrate, they confessed the truth.
From their testimony, it was clear that the relationship between father and son was extremely tense, to the point of mutual hatred. Old Master Zheng had said his son wanted to poison him and strangle him, while Zheng Yiming constantly resented Old Master Zheng for ruining him.
At this point, new doubts arose. If Zheng Yiming killed his father, where did the evidence come from? Who planted it? And who was the person cooperating with him?