Chapter 548: Suspicion
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
On the third day since the notice had been posted, a surprising silence lingered; no one had come forward to voice any complaints.
The bandits emerging from the mountains to gather information surprisingly refrained from causing trouble, at least for the time being.
The yamen showed no signs of a case backlog.
Su Bin found himself with an unusual amount of free time, prompting him to delve into the details of a case previously adjudicated by the former governor.
Over the preceding six months, the prior governor had only dealt with a singular murder case.
The widow, Zhang Lin’er, had enticed Wang Nian, a resident from the same street. Following their intimate encounter, Zhang Lin’er berated Wang Nian for not formalizing their relationship. The ensuing argument escalated, leading to Wang Nian’s fatal stabbing by Zhang Lin’er.
Upon her arrest, Zhang Lin’er readily confessed to the murder and was subsequently sentenced to execution after the autumn season, currently confined in a solitary cell.
Remarkably, hers was the sole occupant in the dozens of cells, transformed into temporary water prisons due to the rain before repairs.
Despite the grim circumstances, Zhang Lin’er maintained a stoic demeanor, exhibiting neither agitation nor any inclination to escape. Her only pursuit seemed to be a quiet wait for the impending autumn death.
Upon Su Bin’s initial examination, a sense of unease enveloped the case. Zhang Lin’er, in her early twenties, was renowned for her beauty. Despite the demise of all her husband’s family members, the two remaining family shops should have provided sufficient income through rent collection, eliminating the threat of starvation.
Furthermore, numerous suitors were eager to vie for her hand, making it puzzling that she would become entangled with Wang Nian. Wang Nian, aged over 30 with a facial scar and a tarnished reputation, seemed an unlikely candidate for an affair, let alone a tragic end in Chen Lin’er’s bed.
Chen Lin’er openly confessed to being the perpetrator of Wang Nian’s murder.
Su Bin had interrogated Poxed Face Wang and Liu Dazhuang, but Madam Zhang’s confession wasn’t extracted through torture; she merely signed it.
While repairing the government office, Su Bin and Mr. Chen clandestinely revisited the case, uncovering additional points of suspicion.
It was alleged that Wang Nian, the victim, had colluded with mountain bandits, habitually bullying individuals in the vicinity.
Chen Lin’er, an orphan adopted by her husband’s family, lacked knowledge of her biological family’s whereabouts.
Despite being a child bride, she received exceptional treatment from her husband’s family, never experiencing any mistreatment.
Upon reaching maturity, they successfully married, and she bore a son and later a daughter.
However, misfortune struck her household.
Initially, her in-laws faced a fatal accident, resulting in their demise.
Soon after, her husband fell critically ill and passed away.
Subsequently, her son and daughter were abducted by mountain bandits. Before she could sell the family shop to rescue them, the bandits cruelly tore them apart.
During this tumultuous period, she appeared to have descended into a state of madness.
Subsequently, Wang Nian, a fellow resident of the same street, enlisted the services of a doctor to aid in Chen Lin’er’s recovery from her madness.
As she slowly regained her mental faculties, no one anticipated her forming a romantic relationship with Wang Nian.
Wang Nian, desiring marriage, proposed to Chen Lin’er. Upon learning of her reluctance, he suggested becoming his official wife. However, this proposition proved impossible due to Wang Nian’s existing marriage; his wife’s brother held a prominent position among the mountain bandits and enjoyed the favor of their leader. Divorcing his wife would likely result in severe consequences, possibly costing him his life.
Tragically, the situation took a dark turn — one life was ended by a fatal stabbing, while the other faced a death sentence.
Following Chen Lin’er’s imprisonment, her two shops were compensated to Wang Nian’s family, but tensions flared with Wang Nian’s formidable wife.
Chen Lin’er’s uncles and brothers expressed a desire to contest the ownership of the shops. In response, Wang Nian’s wife issued a stern warning: “If you want to avoid ruin, come and try to take them!”
Faced with this intimidating threat, those seeking to claim the shops reluctantly abandoned their pursuit.
Speculation among the locals pointed to the mountain bandits as the orchestrators of the tragedies in Chen Lin’er’s household. Allegedly, her parents-in-law’s demise, initially deemed an accident, was orchestrated by the bandits. Similarly, her husband’s demise was attributed to illness following a beating by the bandits, and the children met their tragic end at the hands of the same criminals. The masterminds behind this series of misfortunes were believed to be Wang Nian and his wife..