usatvline Chapter 376 How dare you deceive me
Chapter 376 How dare you deceive me
"Empress, this is what happened. I have explained everything I can." After saying this, Zhang lowered her eyes and waited for Gu Jianchu's voice.
Gu Jianchu leaned back in his chair naturally, tapped the table with his fingers, and a sneer appeared between his eyebrows.
[Poor parents, but unfortunately they are protecting a bad seed, a bad seed who does not know how to be grateful.]
[The real murderer is at large, and instead an accomplice is dragged into this crime. Wu Yuan will surely not be able to close her eyes in her grave.]
Zhang was clever enough. Even if he took full responsibility, he would still try to make the murder an accident. This way, even if a verdict was handed down, the sentence would likely be reduced.
The silence, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, makes people feel uneasy.
Zhang looked up at Gu Jianchu who was sitting in the high seat.
Gu Jianchu's legs were swinging back and forth, his eyes cold and gloomy, playing with a string of Buddhist beads in his hands. As she looked over, Gu Jianchu's eyes happened to look over at her, "Really? But Wu Yuan pointed out Chen Cong."
"Was it really your mother who killed Chen Cong and Wu Yuan?" Gu Jianchu looked at Chen Cong again.
Chen Cong nodded without a second thought, "It was my mother. When my mother came home, she happened to see Wu Yuan and I together. She went crazy and started beating and scolding Wu Yuan. Then she accidentally had an accident. After that, it happened just as my mother described. We were scared, so we disposed of Wu Yuan's body together."
"I believe you for now, but have you done anything else?" Gu Jianchu asked slowly.
Zhang and Chen Cong immediately began to recall in panic.
Zhang shook her head, "No."
Although Zhang was watching next to him at the time, it was not him who did it, so in such an extremely panicked environment, it was easy to overlook the details.
"How dare you lie to me." Gu Jianchu threw the teacup in his hand onto the table, making a tinkling sound.
The two were frightened by this sudden situation and looked at Gu Jianchu again, "I am terrified and dare not deceive the Queen. I hope the Queen will understand."
"You said you wouldn't dare lie to me. The imperial physician examined Wu Yuan and found two overlapping wounds on her forehead. Let's say the first was from hitting the corner of a table, but would someone be foolish enough to hit something a second time after hitting it once? Furthermore, the second wound is far larger than the first. Even though they're overlapping, you can still tell it's two separate wounds."
"If Madam Zhang accidentally hit her forehead while working, would she immediately hit it a second time in the same place to increase the area of the wound?" Gu Jianchu stared at the two of them and asked back.
Zhang felt guilty for a moment when she was looked at by Gu Jianchu's deep eyes.
She indeed forgot the second time Chen Cong had slapped Wu Yuan's forehead.
Just as she was trying to make excuses to cover up the incident, Chen Cong beside her spoke faster than he could think, "Maybe she accidentally bumped into a rock when she rolled down the cliff."
After all, this was done by Chen Cong. He would panic and look for excuses and try every possible way to cover it up. Otherwise, he would not speak faster than his brain.
"Really? Doctor Lin, please tell me about the condition of the wound." Gu Jianchu glanced at Doctor Lin who was waiting on the side.
Zhang and Chen Cong had already noticed that there were other people in the room, but they never expected that there was an imperial physician among them.
The moment he saw Doctor Lin, Chen Cong became even more panicked.
Doctor Lin stepped forward and spoke truthfully, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, after examination, the wound on Wu Yuan's forehead doesn't look like it was caused by hitting a rock while falling from the cliff. The blood in the wound has already clotted. Furthermore, judging by the wound, it appears to have occurred last night. Miss Wu Yuan was discovered by the Imperial Guards not long after she fell from the cliff. If the wound was caused by a rock, the blood would have been flowing, not clotted. The blood in the wound has even dried up."
"I also checked on the mountain and found no obvious stones. I also didn't find any bloodstains along the way up." Wen Zhu added immediately afterwards.
Doctor Lin waited until Wenzhu finished speaking before continuing, "Although the two wounds overlap, it's clear from the wounds that they were inflicted not very long apart. There's also dirt and gravel on the wounds. The dirt is on the surface, probably accidentally rubbed against the dirt and covered it, but the gravel is inside the wound, so it's likely not accidentally rubbed against it, but entered the wound along with the trauma. If it had just been hit on the corner of the table, there would have been sawdust in the wound, not gravel."
"Aside from the gravel, there's another suspicious thing: Miss Wu Yuan's wound."
"Tell me." Gu Jianchu glanced at the two of them imperceptibly, but saw that they were so guilty that their bodies were trembling slightly.
A layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"I see that Miss Wu's skull is fractured. The skull is one of the hardest bones in the human body. Even if someone were to commit suicide or hit a huge object with all their might, it wouldn't necessarily fracture the skull. Moreover, Miss Wu is just a little girl, not very strong. Even if she accidentally hit the corner of the table while unconscious, it wouldn't be possible to cause such a severe fracture. I'm afraid that only a heavy object like a brick would cause such a severe fracture."
After arriving at Wanguo Temple, Gu Jianchu arranged for Doctor Lin to examine Wu Yuan's body.
Imperial Physician Lin never expected that he, a mere imperial physician, would be assigned to examine corpses one after another.
The main reason was that Gu Jianchu didn't expect that they would encounter a dead person when they came to Wanguo Temple to pray. It was impossible to go back to the capital to find a coroner. There was no time at all. Besides, she already knew the cause of Wu Yuan's death. She just asked Doctor Lin to do a simple examination, which was enough to shock the mother and son.
Gu Jianchu had long expected that the mother and son would not tell the truth. After all, there was no evidence. Now it was impossible for Wu Yuan to come out and confront them. There was almost no evidence. He could only take advantage of their guilty conscience and find a way to make them confess voluntarily.
Gu Jianchu stopped tapping on the table and looked at Doctor Lin again, "Doctor Lin, are you sure?"
"I'm absolutely sure. Even if we ask another doctor to examine the body, I'm sure the result will be the same." Although Doctor Lin is not a professional coroner, his level is unquestionable.
Before Gu Jianchu could wave off Doctor Lin, Cheng Song rushed in anxiously, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Chongfeng is back."
"Let him in." Xie Ci'an roared in response, then turned to Gu Jianchu and explained, "I asked Chongfeng to find some evidence, which will surely help the Queen solve this case."
Gu Jianchu glanced at the man next to her in surprise. She didn't know when Xie Ci'an asked Chongfeng to find the evidence.