Meng Tianchu said to Cai Zhixian: "After the autopsy, it was found that the deceased Lin Si died about three watches last night, so to solve this case, we must first determine the people who had entered the new house at about three watches last night, so as to delineate the scope of the suspects." ”

Cai Zhixian nodded and said: "What Mr. said is very true, Lord Yuan, tell me, during the third watch last night, who in your mansion ever came to the new house?" ”

Master Yuan thought for a while: "After Lord Cai and Master Meng left, the scribes and guests also left one after another, and after the second watch, until nearly the fourth watch, there were only about seven or eight people who stayed and continued to drink.

"Which ones?" Meng Tianchu asked.

Master Yuan thought about it for a while, and counted them one by one: "There are our husband and wife and the in-law couple, and the guests are Zhang Xiancheng, Wen Ming, the secretary of the torture room, Ruan Jiali, the secretary of the workshop, Zhuo Xin, Li Worm, Zhuo Xin's friend Lin Tianhu, by the way, and Mr. Zhou Mozhou, the teacher of the county Confucian Lifting Division. ”

"Do you remember clearly? No one else? ”

"No, after Lord Cai and Master you left, the yamen scribes and other guests also left one after another, and only these people were left, drinking happily, everyone gathered at a table to drink and order, until nearly four watches, they dispersed together. We simply cleaned up, and it was already four watches. ”

Zhang Xiancheng interjected: "That's right, these people were the only ones at that time, and the others were all gone in a day or so." ”

Meng Tianchu counted, plus the Yuan family and the Lin family, a total of eleven people. Theoretically, it is impossible for the Yuan couple and the Lin couple to kill Lin Si, so there are a total of seven people included in the list of criminal suspects.

For the slaves and servants of the Yuan Mansion, Meng Tianchu did not include them in the scope of detection for the time being, because if they want to kill people, they will be under the same roof, and there will be opportunities in the future, and it is common sense that it is unlikely that they will kill the hostess when they are newly married, so it is unlikely that they will kill people, and they can not be included in the scope of detection.

In addition, if what Yuan Tiehe said is true, the doors and windows of the new house were indeed closed last night, then it is impossible for these seven people to become murderers, and there is only one murderer, and that is Yuan Tiehe. So, the first thing that needs to be solved is what happened last night, whether there is a possibility that someone else entered the new house to kill someone, or something else. Therefore, the first person who needs to be asked, of course, is Yuan Tiehe, who is the most suspected of committing the crime, and he is also the only person who is known to be at the scene when the deceased died at the time of the third watch.

Meng Tianchu said to Wang Zhutou: "You immediately take a few brothers to bring Mr. Zhou Mozhou, the teacher of the county Confucian Academy, Wen Ming, the secretary of the torture room, Ruan Jiali, the secretary of the workshop, Zhuo Xin and Li Worm, and the gangster Lin Tianhu here. Needless to say, they are not allowed to talk to each other, and I will ask each of these seven people one by one. Do you understand? ”

Wang Zhutou bowed down and agreed, and left with a few catchers.

Meng Tianchu set the interrogation location in the new house. The body of the deceased Lin Si had been transported, but Meng Tianchu deliberately emphasized that the new house should be kept as it was and not moved.

Meng Tianchu and Cai Zhixian took Yuan Tiehe to the new house, and Song Xiangyu and several others quickly moved two chairs for Cai Zhixian and Meng Tianchu to sit down.

After Yuan Tiehe was escorted, of course there was no place for him in front of the county lord, so he could only kneel on the side and reply.

Meng Tianchu stared at Yuan Tiehe for a long time, and then said slowly: "You tell me in detail what happened last night, let me remind you, now you are the most suspected of committing a crime, and I want to find out that you are lying, so I can determine that you are the murderer." Do you understand? ”

"Understood...... Yuan Tiehe's face was pale, he knelt on the ground and lowered his head and said, "Last night, when I went back to the cave room, I was making love with my lady, I heard movement outside the door, ran out of the door to take a look, and found that it was the scribe Zhuo Xin and the gangster Lin Tianhu, the two of them, who were climbing the window to listen to the wall, I was very angry and reprimanded them, but Zhuo Xin said that he wanted to talk to my mother, although my mother said that there was nothing to say to him, but I heard that they might have something to do with it, and in a fit of anger, Zhuo Xin pushed Dao, and slapped my mother, And then you came. ”

Meng Tianchu only saw the result at that time, and didn't know the process, after listening to Yuan Tiehe's words, he knew that the bride and Zhuo Xin might have had some emotional entanglements before, which led to Zhuo Xin's big trouble in the new house. Zhuo Xin drank until late at night last night, presumably because he was angry with the bride's desperation and deliberately tortured himself.

Meng Tianchu asked, "You go on, what happened later?" ”

"Later, after my wife and I entered the new house, when I heard that you were all gone, I grabbed my lady by the hair and forced her to ask her what was going on."

Of course, this result can be imagined, it is impossible for a man to tolerate his wife and other men not being clear, even if it is a previous matter, he also wants to make it clear, let alone in this Ming Dynasty, where men are superior and women are inferior.

Yuan Tiehe continued: "My lady refused to say it at first, and then under my repeated coercion, she cried and said that she met Zhuo Xin two years ago, and the two fell in love with each other, and then made a private agreement for life. Zhuo Xin's family asked the media to go to the Lin family to propose, and the Lin family thought that the Zhuo family was a small family and was not worthy of his daughter, so they did not agree...... eloped, Lin Si didn't agree, and later my father and mother entrusted me to the matchmaker, and the Lin family got engaged to my family. ”

Meng Tianchu recalled carefully, Lin Si's body did not have the scars of fighting or beating, and it was a little strange, so he asked: "You know the news, didn't you beat your lady Lin Si?" ”

"I ...... I was very angry, she kept crying and begging me to say that since she married me, she was a member of our Yuan family, and she would never have anything to do with Zhuo Xin in the future, so although I was jealous at that time, I didn't beat him. ”

"Oh, you still know how to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade, but what about later?"

"Later...... Later, we went to chuang, and after having sex together, I fell asleep, and it wasn't until dawn that I got up to go to the bathroom, and then I realized that my wife had ...... It's been a long time since I've been dead......"

"Okay, that's the point." Meng Tianchu looked around the new house and said, "You said earlier that the doors and windows of the new house were closed all night, and I checked carefully just now, and the windows in this room were indeed bolted, and there was no trace of opening. Let me ask you again, do you really remember clearly? Did you really close the doors and windows? ”

Yuan Tiehe hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "Yes...... It's closed......"

"You're lying!" Meng Tianchu stood up suddenly, walked to the round table, picked up the empty three-pound wine jug on the round table, and said, "Although you didn't beat your lady, you poured her wine until you got her drunk!" When your lady gets drunk, she rushes out the door and vomits, and you drag her back, tear off her dress, throw her naked on the bed, and ravage her, she struggles and screams desperately, and you cover her mouth and nose and forcibly share a room with her. Because you covered her mouth and nose, causing her to suffocate to death, you are the real murderer who killed your lady Lin Si! ”

Yuan Tiehe waved his hand again and again in horror: "No, no! I didn't kill my mother! I didn't kill her! ”

"Is it true that you poured her wine?"

"Yes...... It's true, but I was jealous, and I couldn't bear to beat her, so I was angry, so I grabbed her hair while drinking and poured her wine ......, she was not good at drinking, and soon got drunk and ran outside to vomit, I pulled her into the room, took off her clothes, and then had sex with her, but I really didn't kill her......"

Cai Zhixian had been quietly listening to Meng Tianchu's interrogation, and when he heard Yuan Tiehe admit Meng Tianchu's judgment just now, he asked with some surprise: "Sir, how did you learn the truth?" ”

"The empty flask, the small stall of vomit in the corner of the steps outside the door, and the torn woman's dress next to the bed, it is not difficult to judge when combined."

"Couldn't that vomit be Yuan Tiehe's vomit?"

"Nope! It can be seen from drinking last night that Yuan Tiehe is a person who often drinks, if he is drunk and wants to vomit, he must know in advance that he will vomit into the toilet bowl and vomit at will to people outside the door, usually, people who do not drink often, do not know when they will get drunk or be drunk coldly, and they turn their stomachs sharply, and they have no time to find a suitable place to vomit, so the one who vomits on the steps outside the door can only be the bride Lin Si. In addition, Lin Si's dress had dirt that inadvertently adhered to it when he vomited, which also confirmed my judgment. ”

Cai Zhixian nodded again and again: "Mr. is insightful, admire!" Please continue the trial. ”

"Good!" Meng Tianchu turned his head to Yuan Tiehe Road: "You said that you didn't kill your lady, so do you admit that you covered your lady's mouth and nose?" ”

"I ......" Yuan Tiehe was a little panicked, "I didn't ......"

"You're lying!" Meng Tianchu said coldly, "If you want to make people not know, you can't do it unless you do it!" You cover your lady's mouth and nose, because your lady is struggling desperately, your nails scratch her mouth and nose, if you don't admit it, I have a way to find out, if necessary, I will let the magistrate punish you! ”

Yuan Tiehe said: "I ......"

"You did the bruises on your breasts and inner thighs, right?"

"I ...... I can't remember ...... exactly, I was very drunk at the time...... I fell asleep in a daze......"

"You mean, you didn't cover her mouth and nose? Didn't knead her breasts and inner thighs either? ”

"I don't remember exactly, really! I'm not lying! I was so drunk that I fell as I helped my lady in through the door — yes, probably I forgot to close the door at that time. ”

"Then why did you insist that the doors and windows were closed in the first place?"

"I didn't know that my mother was killed at that time, I thought she was dying of a violent illness, so I casually said that I had closed the doors and windows, because I was worried that the Lin family would blame me for not taking good care of Lin Si. At the time, I just said it casually, and then I couldn't change my words......"

"It's about human life, and you're talking nonsense. And then? ”