"Student Shen Zhang!" Although Shen Zhang didn't know what was going on yet, there was no panic on his face.
"What's your relationship with the deceased, Qin An?"
As soon as Lord Liang finished speaking, a yamen runner stepped forward and lifted the white cloth covering a corpse in the courtroom, revealing Qin An's face covered in blue and purple bruises.
Among the crowd, there was suddenly another burst of wailing. It was Qin An's relatives. "Woohoo! My son! How could you leave like this!"
While crying, Qin's mother rushed towards Qin An's body regardless of the yamen runners' obstruction. She lay on his body and wailed loudly.
Qin An came from an ordinary family. His father used to be a minor official in the capital, but he died in his thirties without any other descendants, leaving only Qin's mother to raise him. Now that Qin An had suddenly died an unnatural death, it was like a bolt from the blue for Qin's mother.
"Silence!" Seeing that the woman's cries were getting louder and louder, Lord Liang impatiently banged the gavel as a warning.
Qin's mother didn't stop crying. She just lowered her voice and still lay there, unwilling to get up from Qin An's body.
Lord Liang took a look and didn't say anything more.
Only then did Shen Zhang speak. "My lord, Qin An and I were schoolmates in the same academy."
"The coroner has examined the body and determined that the deceased was killed between the Hour of the Boar and the Hour of the Rat last night. The body was found in the deceased's room in the academy. There were also finger marks around the deceased's neck, obviously indicating that he was strangled to death. I ask you, where were you and what were you doing between the Hour of the Boar and the Hour of the Rat last night?"
"Your honor, after school in the academy last night, I went straight home. I didn't leave my house until I was brought here by the yamen runners just now. I went to bed early last night. I was sleeping at home between the Hour of the Boar and the Hour of the Rat."
"Is there any witness to testify?"
"My pageboy can testify that I was sleeping in my room last night. And the servants in my mansion can also prove that I never left the house."
Qin's mother, who had been lying there crying softly, heard this and raised her head. She stared at Shen Zhang with a fierce look in her eyes. "They are all the servants of your family. You have their indentures. Naturally, they will say whatever you tell them to say."
"My poor An'er was just killed like this! Woooooo!" After she finished speaking, she burst into tears again.
Shen Zhang frowned as he looked at Qin's mother, who was on the verge of collapsing from crying.
"You're right! Shen Zhang, besides the people in your mansion, who else can testify for you?" Lord Liang looked at Shen Zhang and asked.
Hearing this, Shen Zhang could only shake his head helplessly. He had been staying in the Shen Mansion last night and never left. How could he find anyone else to testify for him?
"So there's no one to testify!" Lord Liang had a plan in mind and asked again. "Someone said they saw you beating Qin An in public. I ask you, do you admit it?"
"The student admits it, but it was because Qin An spoke rudely and deliberately provoked me. I was so angry that I punched him."
"So you admit that you had an old grudge with the deceased!" Lord Liang directly came to a conclusion.
"I wonder what this grudge was about. Now tell me everything in detail!"
"My lord, this matter concerns my younger sister's reputation. I don't want to publicize it here."
Hearing this, Lord Liang was a bit unhappy. "This is a case trial. Do you think it's a game? You can say it if you want and not say it if you don't."
Shen Zhang's face also looked unpleasant. No one would feel good if they were forced to say in front of so many people that someone had insulted their sister.
Next, Shen Zhang repeated what he had said to Aunt Su and Shen Zhen in front of Lord Liang.
"Qin An came to propose marriage with ill intentions. He even spoke rudely in public in front of many students in the academy, insulting my younger sister's reputation. That's why I was so angry and punched him."
"So you harbored hatred in your heart and took the opportunity to kill him last night!"
"My lord, this matter really has nothing to do with me. I didn't kill anyone."
Lord Liang banged the gavel and said to Shen Zhang, who was kneeling below. "Whether you killed someone or not, I will conduct a proper trial. Don't try to defend yourself here!"
"Please, my lord, make the right decision and catch the murderer who killed my son!" Qin's mother knelt in the courtroom and kowtowed to Lord Liang several times.
"My lord, you said it was me who killed Qin An. May I ask if you have any evidence?" Shen Zhang clasped his fists and said to Lord Liang, who was sitting above.
"A pageboy from the academy saw you leaving the academy in a hurry last night! Summon the pageboy from the academy!"
In this academy, there were not only classrooms but also many dormitories for students from other places. There were also special servants to clean the dormitories.
Qin An had a dormitory in the academy, but he shared it with others.
The pageboy from the academy was quickly summoned. "Your humble servant, Niu Er, pays respects to my lord!"
"Niu Er, I ask you, what did you see on the night of the incident? Now tell me everything. Don't hide anything!"
"Yes, my lord! Last night, it happened to be my turn to be on duty. I heard the sound of the door and saw Young Master Qin staggering back. At that time, I even helped Young Master Qin and escorted him back to his room."
"At that time, I saw that Young Master Qin was drunk, so I casually asked him why he didn't go home but came back to the academy. At that time, Young Master Qin told me that he was afraid that his mother at home would worry, so he came back to the academy."
As soon as Niu Er finished saying this, Qin's mother let out another wail. "An'er! My son! You were so sensible and obedient. How could someone be so cruel as to harm you? My poor son!"
Qin's mother cried heart - rendingly, which even moved some of the on - looking commoners outside to tears.
This time, Lord Liang rarely didn't interrupt. He motioned for Niu Er to continue only after Qin's mother's cries gradually subsided.
"After I helped Young Master Qin back to his room and laid him down, I left. After the Hour of the Boar, when I went out to patrol the academy, I saw a figure rushing out of Young Master Qin's room. I thought it was strange, so I took a few more looks."
"Maybe because he felt guilty, the man looked back when he left, and that's how I saw his face. It was Young Master Shen! At that time, I was standing in the shadow, so I wasn't discovered. After Young Master Shen left, I originally wanted to go back to Young Master Qin's room to check on him, but I found that the lamp in his room was already out."
"I thought Young Master Qin had gone to bed, so I didn't go in."