The Wang family, taking their child, withdrew with profuse thanks. Liu Shi and the midwife were escorted away by the constables.
Liang Xiao was responsible only for judging cases. Sentencing, a time-consuming and arduous task, was left to the yamen according to the law. With Gu Hai in Jinling, Gongyang Teng dared not act with undue favoritism or pervert justice.
After the first case, everyone dared not question Liang Xiao casually and kept silent, eager to see how the second case would unfold.
"Last night, Chen San discovered a body in the well. Yang Shi, upon hearing the news, rushed over and confirmed it was her husband, Yang Ping, who had been murdered. She accused Chen San, who lived by the well, of murdering her husband due to past grievances and then falsely accusing her, attempting to possess her after killing her husband. Both sides presented conflicting accounts, and the yamen is thoroughly investigating this matter. Summon Yang Shi and Chen San!"
Gu Hai read out the second case, and a heavy feeling settled in everyone's hearts.
This was a murder case that had occurred just the night before and was brought to them immediately!
The beautiful Yang Shi and the lecherous-looking Chen San were brought in, and both parties argued vehemently.
"My lord, Chen San must have coveted my appearance and hated my husband for scolding him in the street multiple times, thus he murdered my husband and threw him into the well!"
"Your lordship, I am wronged! I was the first to discover the body in the well and immediately notified the surrounding neighbors. I knew nothing about Yang Ping's murder..."
"You are crying wolf to absolve yourself of suspicion! My husband and you, this scoundrel, have always been at odds. Your eyes have always been fixated on me..."
The two continued to argue until they were red in the face, and were restrained by the constables.
Zhuo Zifang and the others also frowned.
This kind of judgment was much more troublesome than deciding custody of a child, and might even require a coroner to examine the body!
Liang Xiao looked at the confessions of Yang Shi and Chen San provided by the yamen and asked, "Yang Shi, your husband went out last night? The yamen recorded accounts from neighbors stating that you arrived at the well and immediately recognized the body as your husband's, falling into immense grief?"
"Yes, my lord!"
"Chen San, you went out to fetch water last night because your water缸 was empty, and you were also thirsty?"
"Yes, my lord!"
Liang Xiao reread the confessions and the yamen's records, and said sternly, "Do you confirm that these perfectly match the situation at the time?"
Both replied, "They perfectly match!"
Liang Xiao nodded slightly, "Then your confessions and the yamen's records have no issues."
Gu Hai reminded him, "Marquis An Guo, the body has been retrieved, but there are too many people here, making it inconvenient to bring it out. Do you wish to..."
Liang Xiao waved his hand, "No hurry. Have those neighbors been brought here?"
Gu Hai immediately had dozens of neighbors brought over.
They all looked fearful, "My lord, this matter has nothing to do with us. We know nothing..."
Liang Xiao smiled, "If you are innocent, there is no need to be afraid. I am merely asking a few questions."
"Marquis An Guo, please ask..." The neighbors were extremely nervous.
"Do you recognize the deceased, Yang Ping?"
"We do, we've been neighbors for over a decade. We'd recognize him even if he turned to ashes!" An old man responded, and everyone else echoed his sentiment.
"Good!" Liang Xiao nodded with satisfaction and asked again, "When you went to the scene last night, could you recognize the body?"
The crowd was stunned and shook their heads, "It was pitch black, there wasn't even a moon, and the well was so deep. We could vaguely see a body floating on the surface, but we couldn't tell who it was!"
Liang Xiao then asked Chen San, "Chen San, how did you discover the body?"
Chen San replied, "While fetching water, I felt the water bucket hit something. So, I took a lantern and looked closely. I vaguely saw a body, which scared me to death!"
Liang Xiao asked further, "So you only knew it was a human body, but not who it was?"
"I'm not a night owl, how could I possibly recognize it..." Chen San replied with a wronged expression.
Liang Xiao then turned his gaze to Yang Shi, who was wiping away tears, and said in a deep voice, "Yang Shi, then why could you recognize it as your husband at a glance?"
Yang Shi's expression changed, and everyone else was also surprised!
"This commoner certainly recognizes him..." Yang Shi responded weakly.
"It was pitch black, and everyone couldn't recognize the body. You took one look at the well and said it was your husband? Are you a night owl?" Liang Xiao asked.
Yang Shi said urgently, "My lord, this commoner's eyesight is indeed very good..."
Liang Xiao looked at Gu Hai, "Lord Gu, since you can command respect, I would trouble you to personally take Yang Shi to be tested, to see if her night vision is truly that good. Test Chen San as well."
Gu Hai had already vaguely sensed something was amiss and immediately agreed, taking the trembling Yang Shi away.
A quarter of an hour later, Gu Hai returned with Yang Shi, his face stern, and announced loudly, "Marquis An Guo, I have conducted the test. Yang Shi has extremely poor night vision. In a slightly dim room, she cannot see what I am holding in my hand at all. She should be night-blind! In comparison, Chen San's eyesight is relatively normal, but he also has no night vision."
Yang Shi's face had turned ashen, while the crowd was both shocked and angry.
Liang Xiao then stared at Yang Shi and said sternly, "So you were lying. Even if you lived with your husband for over a decade, in the dark, you couldn't possibly recognize the body at a glance. Yet you looked down the well once and claimed it was your husband's body? Is there such a bizarre occurrence?"
Everyone suddenly understood and felt a chill run down their spines.
"This clearly means Yang Shi already knew the body in the well was her husband's!"
Yang Shi's face had already turned pale with fear, and she stammered incoherently.
After Gu Hai's stern interrogation, Yang Shi, drenched in sweat, finally stammered out the truth.
"My husband discovered my affair with my lover last night and planned to divorce me and expose our affair. Thus, my lover and I colluded to suffocate him and threw him into the well..."
The truth was revealed, and everyone clapped their hands and praised, "Marquis An Guo has discerning eyes!"
Gu Hai looked at Gongyang Teng and said in a deep voice, "Immediately dispatch men to accompany my guards to arrest Yang Shi's lover, Bai Jun, and interrogate him strictly. Also, search Yang Shi's residence!"
Gongyang Teng could only grudgingly agree and went to make arrangements.
Gongyang He and the others' expressions grew increasingly grim.
With the supervision of Gu Hai's men, Gongyang Teng's subordinates dared not slack off.
So, both cases had been judged by Liang Xiao?
This time, Gu Hai had nothing to say. He bowed deeply to Marquis An Guo, his face filled with sincerity, "Marquis An Guo is truly a wise minister as prophesied by the Emperor. He judges cases like a god, righting the wrongs that cannot be righted, and judging the black and white that cannot be judged. I am truly impressed!"
Applause and cheers erupted from the surrounding crowd.
Zhuo Zifang and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief and also applauded.
"Brother, Liang Xiao is so amazing~" Zuo Jing said charmingly, acting coquettish.
Hong Jie had a bead of cold sweat on his forehead, only nodding, "I have no choice but to be impressed!"
Even in this situation, she still remembered to feign innocence. She was too good at acting...
After judging two cases, no one dared to question Liang Xiao's ability to judge cases anymore.
Gongyang He and the others looked as if they had eaten a fly's excrement, their faces extremely ugly.
Xiao Chang felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles, staring at Liang Xiao and Nie Yuan in the distance.
Nie Yuan and Shi Liuyun looked excited.
Perhaps Nie Yuan could be saved!
As the crowd's wishes, Liang Xiao returned to the main seat and extended his hand to Gu Hai, "Now, do I have the qualifications to review Nie Yuan's case file?"