Chapter 390: Chapter 384 If She Went Down, She Would Take Everyone with Her
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhao Chuchu watched them nonchalantly as they put on an act.
In truth, this situation was within her expectations.
Aside from claiming that she was ill, what else could they say?
“Zhao Chuchu and Madam Liu joined forces to frame us. Officer, please help us,” said Zhao Baotian as he lowered his forehead to the ground. “Madam Liu committed adultery with another man and was discovered by Big Bro. She was afraid that she would be exposed, so she secretly poisoned him. That is the truth of the matter. Officer, please do not be fooled by them.”
“Presumptuous!”
County Magistrate Qiao slammed down his gavel angrily, startling the members of the Zhao clan.
Madam Liu, who had remained silent all this while, suddenly laughed.
Madam Liu was very regretful. On the way there, she planned to retract her confession and deny what she had said. Instead, she would insist that Zhao Chuchu had drugged and threatened her.
She never imagined that at that moment, Zhao Baotian would still want to slander her for committing adultery!
Madam Liu could not take it anymore.
If she were going down, she would take everyone with her!
“Officer, I have something to say,” said Madam Liu. County Magistrate Qiao commanded, “Speak!”
Zhao Baotian and the others looked at her.
The former kept trying to signal her.
Madam Liu ignored his signal and continued, “I can testify against this. Big Bro and Big Sis were poisoned by my husband, Zhao Baotian. The poison packed in the yellow packet was bought in town. The other poison is a mixture of herbs bought from the medical hall. He told me that he learned how to make this poison from a friend.”
“Madam Liu, shut up!” roared Madam Yang.
[Bang!]
County Magistrate Qiao chided, “This is the court! It’s not a place for you to cause a racket. Officials, smack her five times. A more severe punishment will be issued if you repeat this offense.”
Madam Yang was terrified. The officials had already come forward to drag her outside.
Screams followed.
When Old Man Zhao and the others heard her, they felt afraid.
After a short while, Madam Yang was dragged back in.
She no longer had her prior strength. She could only lie motionless on the ground.
“Detain these people in prison for now. Officials, go to Lengshui Village to investigate properly,” said County Magistrate Qiao. He did not rush to carry out the trial. Zhao Chuchu had yet to submit sufficient evidence.
After pondering for a bit, County Magistrate Qiao told Zhao Chuchu, “Since you suspect that your parents were poisoned, the coroner will need to exhume their bodies to ascertain this. Otherwise, we can only take your word for it. We cannot use your suspicion as evidence.”
“I understand. If I can seek justice for my parents, I will cooperate with the government.”
“Hmm, very good. I will go prepare to head over to Lengshui Village.”
“Thank you, officer.”
County Magistrate Qiao turned and entered the inner chambers.
It had been a long time since a murder case had occurred in Yuanjiang County. This would affect his track record, so he would personally make a trip to Lengshui Village.
In the evening, Zhao Chuchu returned with the government officers.
Niu Tongsheng initially wanted to let County Magistrate Qiao rest first. However, the latter wanted to get to the bottom of the case as soon as possible.
After confirming with the coroner that they could still perform an autopsy, County Magistrate Qiao entered the mountains first.
Exhuming corpses from coffins was a rare thing. If it were any other person, they would definitely be unwilling to do so.
The villagers were curious but felt that Zhao Chuchu was disrespecting her parents. They were already dead, and she still wanted to open their coffins and disturb their peace.
However, no one dared to gossip about her.
Some of the braver villagers followed County Magistrate Qiao into the mountains.
The officials had already chased off the villagers in the cemetery. They established a parameter and prohibited the villagers from getting too close.
The villagers were very curious. All of them craned their necks in an attempt to get a better view of what was happening. However, they did not dare to get any closer after noticing the weapons the officials carried.
The coroner of Yuanjiang County was old and had lots of experience in the field. Even though he could not identify much helpful information, he could clearly deduce that Zhao Baolin and his wife died of poison.
After County Magistrate Qiao listened to the coroner’s report, he returned to the village immediately. He called the villagers over to gather more intel about Zhao Baolin and his wife.
When the Zhao clan head saw that County Magistrate Qiao had personally gone to Lengshui Village, he suddenly thought of a plan.
He had not been interacting much with the villagers recently, so he did not know much about what happened to Old Man Zhao and his family. He merely exaggerated whatever false rumors he knew.
“Officer, Old Man Zhao treated Baolin well when the latter was still alive. But on the other hand, Zhao Chuchu often finds fault with him. Moreover, she has medical skills. So perhaps she is framing Old Man Zhao and his family for what happened to Zhao Baolin.”
“Do not speak of anything unrelated to the case,” warned County Magistrate Qiao as he gave the Zhao clan head a cold stare.
The clan head had goosebumps all over his body. He did not dare accuse Zhao Chuchu anymore. However, he continued to defame her despite feeling scared of the county magistrate.
As long as the county magistrate had a bad impression of Zhao Chuchu, things would not go smoothly for her in the future.
When the clan head left, he swept a glance toward Zhao Chuchu. His old face was flushed with pride.
Zhao Chuchu turned around just in time and saw his facial expression.
She knew right off the bat what he had done.
However, she was uninterested in teaching him a lesson. After all, this old fart was a nobody in Lengshui Village now. So his attempt to validate his existence amounted to nothing.
He might die the very next day!
County Magistrate Qiao carried out his interrogation until midnight.
Niu Tongsheng invited him to stay in his home.
Early the next morning, from what he gleaned, County Magistrate Qiao had essentially confirmed who murdered Zhao Baolin.
Now, he only lacked the evidence to testify against the culprit.
Fortunately, after Madam Liu spoke yesterday, County Magistrate Qiao ordered for the person who sold the poison to Zhao Baolin to be captured, along with the medical hall’s shopkeeper and assistant.
County Magistrate Qiao rushed back to organize his clues and evidence. Soon, he called the trial back into session.
When faced with the evidence produced by County Magistrate Qiao, Zhao Baotian’s mental defenses could no longer hold.
He confessed to the poisoning.
Poisoning his own elder brother was too evil an act. County Magistrate Qiao immediately sentenced him to death by beheading.
Old Man Zhao, Madam Yang, and Madam Liu knew about the incident but did not report it. As a result, they also received punishments of varying degrees. As for Zhao Baogen and Madam Ma, both of them were not involved.
However, life would not be easy for them.
Having such a heinous person who murdered their brother in the family would significantly impact them.
Their only option would be to move away and start a new life under different names. Otherwise, they would be scorned for life.
Zhao Changrong would also have a hard time getting a wife in the future. Who would want to be married into such a family if they had better options?
Zhao Chuchu had long cut ties with them, so she was not affected by this incident.
The case of Zhao Baolin and his wife dying of poison was concluded after only ten days of interrogation.
Zhao Baogen vanished the day after the verdict was announced.
Zhao Chuchu knew that he had left the village overnight.
He even abandoned Madam Ma and Zhao Changrong.
Zhao Baotian’s sons, Zhao Changgui and Zhao Changfu, went from bullies to pitiful orphans ostracized by others.
The members of the Zhao clan refused to take care of Zhao Baotian’s sons because Old Man Zhao and Madam Yang had said that they would cut ties with them. They also pointed at the children and called them the sons of a headless ghost.
In the end, after Madam Ma consulted Zhao Changrong, she left the Chen residence with him and returned to the Zhao residence. She took on the responsibility of caring for Zhao Changgui and Zhao Changfu.
Zhao Chuchu’s only comment on her decision was this: ungrateful people would never count their blessings. The sufferings of Madam Ma and Zhao
Changrong had just begun.
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