Chapter 2073: An Unexpected Matter for Shu Yu
Chapter 2073: Chapter 2073: An Unexpected Matter for Shu Yu
As soon as Lord Xie finished speaking, everyone inside and outside the courtroom turned shocked eyes toward this father and son.
Even the village elders were full of amazement. They had received word that the murderer might be Ruan Kewei, but they didn’t know Ruan Hai was also involved.
“Ruan Kewei, do you confess?”
Ruan Kewei didn’t want to confess, but the situation had reached a point where everything that should and shouldn’t be said had been said, leaving him no room to argue.
Lord Xie then asked Ruan Hai, “Do you confess?”
Ruan Hai was in his death throes, unwilling to admit, only saying, “I didn’t know Kewei did this. He rarely tells me about his matters. On the day Cao Jiang was murdered, I was at home all day.”
Little did he know, as soon as he finished speaking, Ruan Jinqian, nearby, suddenly shouted, “You’re lying, you weren’t home that night at all. After my hoe was stolen, I went to your house to find you, but your wife said you had gone out. I wondered at the time what you were doing out so late. It turns out you went with your son to bury the corpse that night.”
Saying this, he suddenly seemed to understand, “No wonder when the body and hoe were found two days ago, you immediately tried to pin the blame on me. You were trying to cover up the murder and burial committed by you and your son.”
Others who heard this recalled the situation. They hadn’t thought much of it before, but now looking back, it indeed seemed so.
Ruan Hai’s words were evasive; even with the testimony of two witnesses, he still tried to shirk responsibility. Eventually, Lord Xie imposed punishment, and only then did he finally confess that the body was indeed buried by him and Ruan Kewei.
Lord Xie struck the gavel, “Ruan Hai, as the village chief of Ruan Family Village, your crime is more severe for knowing the law and breaking it.”
The truth was revealed, and the villagers of Ruan Family Village were deeply shocked. Ruan Hai was the village chief, yet he committed murder and burial, tarnishing the village’s reputation.
The motivations and consequences of the murder were also explained by Ruan Kewei. That day, when he was returning home, he ran into Cao Jiang at the foot of the mountain. The two met without pleasant expressions. However, Ruan Kewei was alone at the time and didn’t dare to make a move.
But Cao Jiang still resented being beaten by Ruan Kewei and his gang a few days earlier. Now, without his buddies around, why shouldn’t he seek revenge?
The two soon came to blows, and Ruan Kewei lost. Cao Jiang spat on his face, venting his anger satisfactorily.
After Cao Jiang left, Ruan Kewei slowly got up and headed back.
Unexpectedly, when he reached the edge of Ruan Jinqian’s field, he saw the hoe placed there. In a fit of rage and seeing no one around the edge, he grabbed the hoe and pursued Cao Jiang, attacking him with bloodshot eyes.
Once the person was beaten to death, Ruan Kewei finally came to his senses.
He panicked beyond measure at the time and fled without thinking. When he got home, he realized this wouldn’t do.
He immediately ran to Ruan Hai, stammering out the whole story. Ruan Hai was so shocked that he knocked over his teacup, and promptly took Ruan Kewei back to the scene to deal with the corpse.
Luckily they returned in time. As they carried Cao Jiang’s body up the mountain, they could hear Ruan Jinqian nearby cursing because he couldn’t find his hoe.
Just a little more and if Ruan Jinqian had reached that area, he might have discovered the body.
After the father and son buried the body and the hoe, they cleaned up the bloodstains at the scene, and early the next morning, they went back to check. Seeing nothing amiss, they finally felt at ease.
Interestingly, after Ruan Hai confessed to the crime, he also revealed something unexpected about Shu Yu.