Chapter 82: Trial (3)
Zhang Fei’s shout seemed to quiet the entire world!
Lu Gongzhu furrowed his brow. According to prevailing cultural norms, one should be subtle and restrained about such sensitive matters. Shouting the truth aloud was not something a smart person would do.
Yet Zhang Fei was evidently not foolish!
Sure enough!
The officials in the courtyard couldn’t bear it any longer upon hearing this. Does this guy think we dare not do anything to him? Or did he think they were too old to wield a blade?
But seeing that Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Tang Jie, and other big shots remained unmoved, they could only relent, simply grumbling a few times to express their dissatisfaction.
Wang Anshi was not only not annoyed but rather sighed, “One would wish to have a son like Zhang San!”
This was an extremely high praise. He knew well that Zhang Fei was just speaking up for Lin Fei.
Yet how many people in the world dared to speak up like that?
Sima Guang was curious, “I wonder where he learned such rhetoric.” After circling around for so long, what was Zhang Fei asking?
Actually, he was telling everyone that Lin Fei had ample motive to commit the crime!
The key was that Lin Fei even involuntarily recounted his own motives.
Sima Guang felt inferior in his questioning techniques, and this was something he had never experienced before.
Moreover, there many details which the Kaifeng Prefectural Office had not considered, such as who Li Yong was—a person whom Lu Gongzhu had never heard of.
Cao Ping, hiding in the side door, also breathed a sigh of relief. Although it was only proven for now that Lin Fei had a motive to commit the crime, it at least proved that Zhang Fei was not on the opposite side!
…
“Zhang San.”
Lu Gongzhu suddenly called out.
“Yes, Your Honor?”
“You have said much, but you have not proven that Cao Dongdong is innocent.” Lu Gongzhu chose to avoid the issue that Zhang Fei had raised.
He needed to quickly steer the conversation back. Even if the army was corrupt, it had nothing to do with this case.
As soon as Cao Dongdong was mentioned, it seemed to awaken the onlookers outside the door, and there was another wave of cursing towards Cao Dongdong, even worse than before.
Good and honest men were being bullied!
These were men who had fought and bled for the country. It was one thing not getting promoted. It was even worse their wives were being violated by young nobles. This was simply too much, man and gods alike would be furious!
They didn’t realize that Lin Fei already had a motive to commit the crime, which was suspicious. Instead, they sympathized even more with Lin Fei. So, they vented all their anger on Cao Dongdong.
Cao Dongdong felt terribly wronged. Why are they cursing me again? I didn’t say anything!
“Silence! Silence! Silence!”
Lu Gongzhu pounded the gavel several times, and gradually the noise outside subsided.
Zhang Fei asked Lin Fei very gently, “Can you continue?”
Lin Fei nodded, but as he looked at Zhang Fei, his gaze became somewhat complex, seeming to contain a hint of gratitude.
However, Zhang Fei raised a teasing smile at the corner of his mouth, as if reminding him that he should still be vigilant. He did not intend to use this kindness to get him to confess. That would be too shameless. He asked, “I heard that Instructor Lin has a good tolerance for alcohol.”
Encouraged by Zhang Fei, Lin Fei regained his spirits and said enthusiastically, “It’s alright.”
“It’s alright?”
Zhang Fei chuckled, “It’s not just alright! According to what other instructors say, Instructor Lin’s alcohol tolerance is among the best in the Imperial Army, and no one can outdrink you.”
Lin Fei said, “I haven’t competed, so I’m not sure.”
Zhang Fei smiled and asked, “At least when you drink with those instructors, no one can get drunk after you.”
Lin Fei replied, “So what if that’s the case?”
Zhang Fei continued, “According to your testimonies, on the night of the incident, you, Cao Dongdong, and Officer Wu were drinking together. Why is it that you and Officer Wu got drunk, but Cao Dongdong still had the energy to assault your wife? As far as I know, Cao Dongdong’s alcohol tolerance is far inferior to yours.”
At this remark, both Lu Gongzhu and Huang Gui simultaneously frowned.
This detail hadn’t occurred to them at all.
Lin Fei snorted, “Drinking together doesn’t mean everyone drinks the same amount. I drank much more than Cao Dongdong that night.”
Cao Dongdong immediately protested, “What do you mean much more? You didn’t drink much more than me that night.”
Zhang Fei looked at Cao Dongdong displeased, “I didn’t ask you!”
Cao Dongdong looked at Zhang Fei with resentment but remained silent.
“It seems that Cao Dongdong indeed drank less than Instructor Lin.” Zhang Fei nodded with a smile and asked again, “I heard that you had gone to the Lu Family Inn across the street to purchase the drinks for that night?”
Lin Fei nodded.
Zhang Fei took out an account book, “Due to the imperial court’s alcohol monopoly system, every tavern keeps very clear records of alcohol sales. This is the account book of the Lu Family Inn for that day, clearly stating that Instructor Lin ordered two barrels of wine.”
Lu Gongzhu asked, “What does this prove?”
Zhang Fei replied, “According to what other instructors say, it’s no problem for Instructor Lin to drink a whole barrel alone. So, with the three of them drinking, let’s assume that Instructor Lin drank one entire barrel on his own. However, that was far from leaving him so drunk that he would lose consciousness.”
Lu Gongzhu said, “This is just your speculation. They themselves can’t remember how much they drank that night, so it’s impossible to verify.”
Huang Gui couldn’t hold back either and immediately stood up, “There’s no specific measure for alcohol tolerance, so how can it be used as evidence?”
In other words, how do you prove that Lin Fei wouldn’t get drunk after drinking a barrel of wine? That’s impossible to prove!
Zhang Fei smiled, “Although it’s against the rules, I don’t mind Chief Clerk Huang raising this question, because even if Chief Clerk Huang didn’t raise it, I would still explain this point. I’m not using this as evidence, just raising a doubt, that’s all.”
A doubt?
Huang Gui fell silent.
Zhang Fei then asked Lin Fei again, “How long have you known Cao Dongdong?”
Lin Fei hesitated slightly, “About three years, I guess.”
Zhang Fei said, “It should be three years and seven months, am I right?”
Lin Fei thought for a moment, unable to recall clearly, “More or less.”
But he felt a bit uneasy. He had never seen such a litigator who seemed to know more about his affairs than he did.
Zhang Fei asked again, “How did you two meet?”
Lin Fei replied, “He’s the son of the Deputy Commander of the Infantry, and he’s good at wielding a staff, so he often came to the training ground to play. Seeing that I was skilled in martial arts, he asked me to teach him, and that’s how we met.”
Zhang Fei nodded, “What was your relationship like?”
Lin Fei said, “It was not bad.”
Zhang Fei continued, “Was it always good, or did the two of you become close only in the past half year?”
Lin Fei replied, “It’s always been good.”
Zhang Fei nodded and asked, “Since your relationship has always been good, Cao Dongdong must have visited your house many times as a guest.”
Lin Fei thought for a moment and said, “Not that many.”
Zhang Fei smiled, “Really? Then why has Cao Dongdong visited Instructor Lin’s house twelve times in the past three months, averaging at least four times a month?”
Lin Fei asked, “Is that a lot?”
Zhang Fei chuckled, “Whether it’s a lot or not depends on how you compare it. As far as I know, Cao Dongdong has known you for over three years, but in the preceding three years, the number of times he visited your house was few, just twice. More often, Cao Dongdong would invite you to his house for dinner or you would eat together in a restaurant.”
A trace of guilt flashed in Lin Fei’s eyes, “I just thought it wasn’t right for Cao Dongdong to always be the one to treat me to meals.”
“Is that so?” Zhang Fei continued, “But in these twelve times he visited your home, at least eight times, Cao Dongdong was the one who bought the wine. What’s the difference between that and treating you?”
Sima Guang and Wang Anshi looked incredulous when they heard this.
One had to understand that Zhang Fei was discussing someone else’s affairs, not his own. Which meant that he had investigated all these details beforehand, such that he could now anticipate Lin Fei’s responses.
This was too meticulous!
Even Wang Anshi wondered, how did he come up with this?
Lin Fei said, “Cao Dongdong insisted on buying, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”
This statement was an obvious contradiction of his previous statement.
Wang Anshi and Sima Guang knew that Lin Fei was close to being broken down.
But Zhang Fei didn’t delve deeper into this contradiction. Suddenly, he asked, “I heard that during your second expedition, your wife and child died from complications during childbirth.”
Lin Fei immediately frowned, “What’s that got to do with you?”
This sudden question made Lu Gongzhu also a bit confused, “Zhang San, what are you asking?”
Zhang San immediately replied to Lu Gongzhu, “Prefect, rest assured, I will explain it all later.”
Not this again!
Lu Gongzhu was really getting annoyed, “If you don’t explain clearly later, I’ll punish you. Next time, there must be some rules for this kind of questioning.”
“Yes! I will definitely explain it all later.”
Zhang Fei bowed to Lu Gongzhu and then turned to Lin Fei, “After your original wife passed away, for nearly ten years, you remained unmarried. Only at the beginning of this year, you suddenly married a beautiful woman from out of town.”
“Yes,” Lin Fei nodded, but his confidence was obviously not as strong as before.
Zhang Fei continued, “It was only after you married your new wife that you started inviting Cao Dongdong to your house frequently for drinks.”
Lu Gongzhu widened his eyes and began to scrutinize Lin Fei.
This detail was crucial!
If it couldn’t be explained clearly, it would be troublesome.
Lin Fei defended himself, “Previously, I was alone at home without any help, so it wasn’t convenient to entertain guests. Now that I have a capable wife, it’s natural to entertain friends. What’s the problem?”
Zhang Fei chuckled, “There’s no problem. It’s just that there are over twenty instructors who are friendly with Cao Dongdong, and their relationships with him are not inferior to yours. But you are the only one who frequently invited him to your home after you got married. All the other instructors hid their wives from Cao Dongdong!”
Cao Dongdong listened with irritation, “What do you mean by that, I…”
“Shut up!”
Zhang Fei glared at him, then turned to Lin Fei, “What’s even more puzzling is that you only invite Cao Dongdong and Officer Wu to your house for meals. As far as I know, during this period, you invited several other instructors for meals, but without exception, they were all dined in restaurants. I wonder how you would explain this?”
A bead of sweat the size of a bean appeared on Lin Fei’s forehead. The questions asked by the Zhang Fei were all beyond his expectations. “I… I just didn’t want others to think I was currying favor with Cao Dongdong, so I invited him to dine at home.”
His words were starting to stutter.
Lu Gongzhu looked at Lin Fei with a furrowed brow, completely ignoring the aggrieved Cao Dongdong beside him.
Zhang Fei smiled, “So when Cao Dongdong invites you to dine in a restaurant, you don’t have to worry about being seen as currying favor with him.”
Lin Fei was momentarily speechless, unsure of how to respond.
Tang Jie, who had been supporting Lin Fei all along, was now wiping sweat profusely.
It’s winter, for heaven’s sake!
Zhang Fei didn’t press for an answer and continued, “In your testimony, you did not mention your wife’s background and identity.”
Lin Fei exclaimed agitatedly, “What does my wife’s background have to do with this case?”
Zhang Fei smiled, “Whether it does or not, I’ll find out after questioning your wife.”
Saying this, he turned to Lu Gongzhu and bowed, “Prefect, if possible, I would like to summon Lady Lin to testify.”
Before Lu Gongzhu could respond, Lin Fei suddenly interjected, “No need! I did everything! I set it up to extort Cao Dongdong! It has nothing to do with Officer Wu or my wife!”