female catcher

Chapter 189
In the courtroom, Zhang Renqing was already kneeling in the middle, kowtowed to the ground and reported his name, Xia Chu walked up to him and bent slightly, said: "Guard Zhang, you have testified that Tang Baoxin was the murderer of Yue Xiaohong a few days ago, One is because Yue Xiaohong had a quarrel with Tang Baoxin before she died, and the other is that Tang Baoxin's whereabouts were unknown between Xumo and Chouchu that night, right?"

Zhang Renqing nodded, but Xia Chu said, "Yes or no, please speak clearly."

"Yes. Tang Baoxin personally recognized these two points." Zhang Renqing replied loudly.

Xia Chu didn't say yes or no after listening, took out two pieces of paper and handed them to him, "Here is the transcript, Zhang Guanshi must read it carefully, there may be discrepancies with what you said."

Zhang Renqing glanced at her, took it nervously, glanced roughly at the main points, then nodded, "Yes, it's exactly what I'm talking about."

"Okay, you think Tang Baoxin is the real culprit who killed Yue Xiaohong." Xia Chu paused, speaking to Zhang Renqing, but turned to look at the people outside the courtroom, "Let me tell you why he wasn't .”

After she finished speaking, she cleared her throat, and said loudly: "Around [-]:[-] on the night of April [-], Tang Baoxin went to look for her in Yuexiao's red room. The two of them had a conversation, and more than one person overheard it."

Zhang Renqing moved his knees and said, "It's not a conversation, it's a quarrel."

"How do you know it's a quarrel?"

"It was Lan Suqiu who said it. He lives next door to Yue Xiaohong, so he could hear it clearly."

Xia Chu nodded, and said to Chang Qing, "Bring Lan Suqiu to the court for questioning."

After a while, Lan Suqiu walked up the hall with her hips swinging, lowered her head a little, and bowed gracefully in a men's attire, and said in a soft tone: "Crassman Lan Suqiu, I greet you sir."

Xia Chu walked up to Lan Suqiu and said, "Lan Suqiu, did you see Tang Baoxin in Yuexiao's red room on the night of April [-]th?"

"If you go back to the official, I saw you."

"Zhang Renqing said that you have heard that the two had a quarrel. Is there such a thing?"

"Yes." Lan Suqiu blinked and looked at her, "The last time the official went to ask questions, Cao Min also told the official, but he didn't hide anything."

"What were they arguing about?"

"This..." Lan Suqiu lowered his head and thought for a while, "The grass people only heard them arguing, but they didn't hear what it was about."

"Since you haven't heard the content, how do you know that the two are arguing?"

"Their voices are kept low, and it can only be heard that they are in a hurry. After all, they only talk like that when there is a dispute." Lan Suqiu pressed the cuff, "Sixth brother... oh, it's Tang Baoxin who often comes here on weekdays That's not the way to talk to Yue Xiaohong."

Xia Chu smiled, and said: "The people in the Defang Bandongkua courtyard haven't stopped around Xushi, that is to say, you can still hear the whispers in Yuexiaohong's room when there are noisy people in the room. Is that right?"

Lan Suqiu nodded, "Yes."

"After Tang Baoxin left, you said that you went to find Yue Xiaohong, and she was fine at that time, and there was no abnormality. Then you went back to your room, right? When was that time?"

"Yes." Lan Suqiu still nodded, and answered very positively, "Caomin just stood at the door and talked to him a few words, the time to return to the room... probably not more than [-]:[-] o'clock."

"What happened after that? Have you ever heard any sound? You can hear it when it's noisy, but you can't hear anything when it's quiet, right?"

"This..., it's gone." Lan Suqiu helped her cheek, then pursed her lips and said, "Afterwards, Caomin fell asleep, it doesn't matter if it's quiet or not."

"Sleeping?" Xia Chu smiled, turned to Jiang Xiyuan and said, "My lord, this subordinate wants to summon a witness."

Jiang Xiyuan was staring at her intently, when Xia Chu turned his head to meet his gaze, his heart trembled, and he hurriedly avoided it.Jiang Xiyuan also moved his eyes away, lowered his eyes and said, "Biography."

Lan Suqiu straightened her body, looked towards the side door, seemed a little nervous, after seeing clearly the witness brought by Chang Qing, she breathed a sigh of relief.

The man looked about 40 years old, dressed in rough clothes and trousers, with a cloth headscarf, and bowed down in the hall.Jiang Xiyuan asked him to raise his head, "Who is kneeling in the hall?"

"My lord, the younger one is called Sun Ping, and he's a watchmaker at Datong Square in the south of the city."

Xia Chu took the call and asked Sun Ping, "Are you on duty on the night of April [-]th?"

"It's the small one."

"What did you see that night? To tell the truth, you must not speak nonsense in the courtroom."

"Yes." Sun Ping replied gruffly: "The young one was on duty that night, and saw a person coming out of the side door of the yard of the German squad after midnight. The young one thought that the German squad had entered the thief, so he followed him to see Look, I later recognized Lan Suqiu from their team, so I didn't care about it anymore."

Lan Suqiu's complexion changed suddenly, and she no longer cared about her manners, she stammered: "Nonsense, nonsense!" After speaking, she turned and kowtowed to Jiang Xiyuan, "My lord! The little one didn't kill Yue Xiaohong, little one Although she is not on good terms with her, but there is no deep hatred!"

"I didn't say you killed Yue Xiaohong, so don't be nervous for now." Xia Chu said slowly, and then continued to ask Sun Ping: "It's late at night after midnight, how do you know it belongs to Lan Suqiu?"

Sun Ping grinned grinningly, "Hey, Boss Qiu's two steps are easy to recognize. Besides, the little one didn't go far and saw him knock on a door. I heard him say, 'Suqiu is late, my master can Wait a minute', that's probably what he said."

"Thank you." After Xia Chu asked Sun Ping, he turned back to Lan Suqiu. Lan Suqiu's face turned pale and her lips trembled.Xia Chu gave him a gentle smile, "Sun Ping said that we have gone to verify it, and the young master has been found. Lan Suqiu, do you want me to send him to court to testify against Sun Ping's words?"

"Don't!" Lan Suqiu stretched out his hand to grab Xia Chu, and retracted his hand when he was in front of her, his eyes were full of begging, "Master, you have spared Caomin, Caomin lied, but this is not your business. You... ..."

He choked softly, "Please. The young master is not wrong, the grassroots can't ruin his reputation, the official..."

Xia Chu nodded and sighed slightly, he thought to himself who said that an actor is not righteous, this Lan Suqiu looks quite frivolous, but in fact he is very affectionate.She was about to speak again, but she heard a gentle voice from the side of the hall saying: "I...willing to testify in court."

All the people inside and outside the hall looked over, only to see a man in his twenties standing beside the hall, with the appearance of a scholar, wearing a half-worn Confucian shirt, with a thin but straight body.Seeing Baishi pairs of eyes staring at him, he was inevitably a little shy and embarrassed, but he repeated what he said just now in a firm tone: "I am willing to testify in court."

Lan Suqiu's tears were red at that moment, she moved her lips, but said nothing.The Confucian scholar came up to the hall to stand without kneeling. He just cupped his hands and said: "My surname is Liu and my name is Xijiang. I am a person from Xihe. Jingde was elected in the 18th year. Jingde entered Beijing in the 20th year and failed the exam. At that time, there was not much money on him, and he I had a serious illness, thanks to Boss Qiu's generous help, Fang was able to settle down in the capital. Now I live in Datong Fang and prepare for the exam next year."

In a few words, he explained his situation and how he met Lan Suqiu in a clear and frank manner, and anyone could tell that he was a scholar with a clear mind.

Liu Xijiang paused for a moment, turned his head to look at Lan Suqiu, smiled at him, and continued: "I have a very close relationship with Boss Qiu, and we will meet each other three times at the beginning, middle, and end of each month. I will teach Boss Qiu how to read and write. Boss Qiu has nothing to do with me studying books, literature and drama. But Boss Qiu is concerned that he was born as a low-end actor, and he is afraid that his reputation will be burdened after he graduates from high school, so he asked me not to mention the two of us with others. The matter of acquaintance. Boss Qiu did not tell the truth to the officials this time, and it is also because of this concern. I hope you understand."

Rao Liu Xijiang said so, there were still whispers of discussion outside the hall.Lan Suqiu wiped her eyes and looked at Liu Xijiang, half complaining and half pleased, with a rather complicated expression.

Liu Xijiang took a deep breath, and said slowly: "This lawsuit involving human life, the officials found me for questioning, and I have already told the truth about the situation on the evening of April [-]th. Xia Butou has already agreed that I don't have to be in court. Confession, but..." He looked at Xia Chu, cupped his sleeves and said, "I have heard rumors about Xijing in the past few days, but I also know a few cases that Xia Tutou has solved since he took office. I believe Jiang My lord and Xia Tutou are good and upright officials. Therefore, this time to go to court, one is for the friendship between me and Boss Qiu, and the other is for the righteousness in my heart, and to do my part for the clean and honest officials in Xijing."

Hearing this, Xia Chu was moved in his heart, both sour and warm. He lowered his head and scratched the center of his brows, and said thank you softly.Jiang Xiyuan also admired his actions of emphasizing affection and righteousness, so he couldn't help but look at him a few more times, quite appreciative.

Liu Xijiang nodded slightly at Xia Chu, saying that he didn't dare to thank him, and when he raised his head, he no longer saw the nervousness when he first came to the hall, and said in a calm voice: "I have an appointment with Boss Qiu at Haishi, but Boss Qiu came late on April [-]th. Yes, we will arrive after midnight. On that day, Boss Qiu told his subordinates the reason, because Boss Yue, who lives next to him, just turned off the lights and went to bed at Zishi. He was worried that someone would catch him going out late at night, so he delayed the time. I haven't mentioned other things, but I guarantee that Boss Qiu is not a villain with my personality, and in private, Boss Qiu and I often praise Boss Yue's singing, saying that he is a rare and famous actress in Tsing Yi."

Xia Chu nodded, and said with a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Mr. Liu, for testifying in court this time. If you need to ask questions, you have already explained clearly. Please wait."

Liu Xijiang cupped his hands, smiled and nodded at Lan Suqiu, and left the court.Xia Chu asked Lan Suqiu again, and Lan Suqiu didn't hide any more at the moment, saying that because she was in a hurry to go out, she had been paying attention to the movement in Yuexiaohong's room, and she didn't leave until she saw her turn off the lights.During this period, there were no suspicious sounds.

After Xia Chu asked Lan Suqiu, he turned around and looked at Zhang Renqing with his hands behind his back, "Do you understand Zhang Guanshi?"

Zhang Renqing was stunned, his face changed slightly, and he thought for a moment and asked: "I don't quite understand. The official said just now that he wanted to tell me why the murderer was not Tang Baoxin, but now he just asked Lan Suqiu, what does this have to do with Tang Baoxin?" ?”

Someone outside the hall echoed a few words.Xia Chu smiled when he heard the words, and he didn't know whether he said it to Zhang Renqing or to the people listening to the case outside the hall: "If you don't know how to investigate the case, don't investigate it, and if you don't care about it, you will mess up. Maybe you will be used as a gunman. Good intentions to help the wicked."

"Lan Suqiu's testimony is very important." She chuckled lightly, raised a finger and said, "This is related to an important issue: the time of death."

(End of this chapter)