TGCFNM -Chapter 54 Interrogating Chen Huai

This time, the public trial wasn’t held inside the yamen. Instead, Chu Ling had the table carried outside and took his seat beneath the yamen’s plaque.

The county magistrate Zhao sat to the side, fists clenched tightly, glaring at Chen Huai, who was tied up and wailing in pain. Gritting his teeth, he spat out, “You dare cry in pain? You dare claim innocence? You dare? You dare!”

Wan Sanjin stood beside Chu Ling, staring at Chen Huai with a look that begged to draw a sword and cut him down on the spot.

Su He sat poised at the side table, pen in hand, ready to record.

Chu Ling exhaled softly, then struck the gavel and shouted loudly, “Bring him in!”

The constables lined up on either side. At his command, they drew the swords at their waists. The blades glinted coldly in the light, clashing with a piercing metallic ring, before all pointing straight at the bound Chen Huai below.

“Prisoner Chen Huai, confess truthfully immediately!”

Chu Ling stepped out from behind the table and looked at Chen Huai, who glared at her with malice. She lifted her foot and stomped directly on the injured part of Chen Huai’s leg.

“Ah—”

“Prisoner Chen Huai, male, an outsider from Qingning County, twenty-three years old. His left leg is congenitally atrophied and supported only by a wooden leg.”

“Shut up!” Chen Huai shouted.

Chu Ling stomped again. Blood immediately gushed from the wound. Cold sweat broke out on Chen Huai’s forehead as he screamed hoarsely, trembling all over.

Chu Ling glared at him coldly. “Let’s see… how much more strength you have left to dare provoke me.”

Su He picked up his pen and began recording, carefully noting every word Chu Ling said.

“Chen Huai lost his mother as a child and was born with a disability. His father was only a night incense vendor, so he was ostracized at the academy and maliciously bullied by others. A pitiful life, wasn’t it?” Chu Ling suddenly laughed. “Yes, at that time, Chen Huai was indeed pitiable. But he didn’t dare fight back—he could only suppress his hatred deep in his heart.”

“On March 27 of last year, Chen’s father, wanting to save money to build a house and marry Chen Huai off, took Chen Dou from Qingning County to climb a cliff to collect medicinal herbs. By chance, Chen Dou discovered a set of skeletal remains in a cave, next to which were three books—extremely precious martial arts manuals. If sold, they would be worth ten gold pieces.”

“Chen’s father, driven by greed, pushed Chen Dou off the cliff, then returned alone with the books, falsely claiming Chen Dou had accidentally died. He intended to secretly sell the manuals. But Chen Huai saw them.”

As Chu Ling spoke, she walked to the side of the table and picked up the three books on it—these were none other than Meng Jiang’s ultimate techniques:

Wan Du Jing (Ten Thousand Poisons Scripture)

Xuan Men Xin Fa (Profound Sect Mind Method)

Feng Yun Qi Bu (Seven Steps of Storms)

All of this came from Chen’s father’s own confession during interrogation. He tried to take all the blame on himself, hoping to clear his son’s name. And so he confessed everything honestly.

But eleven lives… how could he possibly bear that alone?

Chu Ling’s voice was like ice, cold and cutting. “And you, Chen Huai. A man born with innate deficiencies, yet suddenly coming into possession of a martial arts manual, you began to train… I must admit, you have some natural talent for martial arts. Your agility is even more refined because your mind clung to obsession. And as your skills grew, so did your arrogance. You began to think of revenge.”

As Chu Ling finished speaking, among the crowd, Cheng Yuan’s father suddenly cried out, “Revenge… why take revenge on my daughter? Take revenge on me instead, Chen Huai! I am her father—have I wronged you? Have I… have I?!”

“He is a coward. He wouldn’t dare,” Chu Ling’s eyes glinted with icy steel. “He only dared to fixate on his former classmates, lament his own defective body, and then, driven by his delusions, he carried out a frenzied revenge against innocent women… Every autopsy, every witness statement, and every investigation confirms this…”

“Chen Huai is the mastermind behind the malicious killings of ten young women. By law, he should be executed!”

“Moreover, when he discovered that Grandma Qin had noticed the irregularities with the victims, he killed her to cover the truth. Deservedly so!”

“Of course, aside from Chen Huai, there is also the accomplice who coordinated with him—Sun Qingqing, the second daughter of the Sun family!” Chu Ling waved his hand, signaling for Sun Qingqing to be brought forward.

Wang Long and Wang Hu forced Sun Qingqing to her knees and tore away the cloth gag covering her mouth.

“How dare you! You actually lay hands on me! You… you’re bullying me! You hate me! You want me dead!” Sun Qingqing screamed like a madwoman, her hair in disarray. Her frail body struggled violently against the ropes, her eyes burning with hatred at everyone present.

Chu Ling showed not an ounce of pity and continued.

“The accomplice, Sun Qingqing, second daughter of the Sun family, seventeen years old, dwarfism. Jealous that her elder sister could marry normally, she conspired with Chen Huai to kill the bride-to-be, Sun Miao’er. To cover up the matter, the Sun family sent Sun Qingqing to the countryside and claimed the fault lay with the maid, who had already poisoned herself.”

Magistrate Zhao suddenly rose, pointing at the Sun family in the crowd, eyes red with fury. “It is because of you! You concealed the truth, which led to the deaths of so many!”

The Sun family looked panicked. Just as they tried to speak, Chu Ling’s gaze cut across them coldly. “I advise you not to lie now, or your crimes will be compounded. The younger generation of the Sun family will never sit for the imperial exams in their lifetime.”

Chu Ling snorted coldly and gestured for Su He to explain.

Su He nodded and stood. “During the autopsy, I noticed that Sun Miao’er differed from the other victims. The difference: her kneecaps had been deliberately broken.”

“Sun Miao’er’s kneecaps were shattered in concentric rings, indicating repeated malicious strikes. The perpetrator lacked strength, and the tools used were limited in size. Furthermore, the Sun family’s description of the maid avoided any resemblance to Sun Qingqing, making it different from the other cases. Therefore, Sun Qingqing is undoubtedly the culprit.”

Chu Ling no longer looked at the Sun family but read aloud the evidence she had meticulously compiled. “Sun Qingqing studied from a young age and was intelligent, capable of reading and writing. But upon discovering her illness, she became lethargic and even began to hate her elder sister. Familiar with her sister’s handwriting, she imitated a letter.”

“But that letter should have been quite crude. The Sun family would surely notice. The only possibility is this: among the younger generation of the Sun family, the eldest male is already eighteen. If such a scandal occurred, their path to the imperial exams would be ruined. So Sun Qingqing was sent to the countryside.”

“Sun Qingqing, overjoyed to be protected, continued to cooperate with Chen Huai, walking a path of no return. She used her small, weak body to appear pitiful, tricking kind-hearted women into taking her home. There, by serving them, she slowly copied their handwriting—thus the origin of the countless so-called ‘suicide letters.’”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Sun Qingqing shouted.

Chu Ling looked at her impatiently. “I dare to say this because I have already searched your residence. Each time you killed someone, you would take that person’s handwriting home, unable to contain your excitement, and hide it beneath the third secret compartment under your bed, carefully wrapped in oiled paper.”

Magistrate Zhao bellowed, “Witnesses and evidence are complete! You still refuse to confess?!”