Governor Tang only believed in ghost stories and did not pay attention to evidence, which almost caused an unjust case; And Jiangsu Shilang Zhong Ji Rongshu and Yu Wenyi, the director of the Criminal Department, although they encountered supernatural things, they still fulfilled their duties, and finally let a grievance be revealed.
In the fifteenth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1750), the jade in the treasury of the government was stolen, and the yamen hurriedly recruited the servants and subordinates who guarded the garden to investigate one by one.
On this day, the inquisitor interrogated Chang Ming, the owner of a servant household. Chang Ming replied to the interrogation, and as he spoke, he suddenly turned into a child's voice and said, "He didn't steal the jade, but he killed the person." I am the one he killed. ”
This bizarre phenomenon made the interrogator too frightened, and transferred the case to the Criminal Department, where Ji Rongshu, the then Jiangsu Shilangzhong, and Yu Wenyi, the director of the Criminal Department, took over the case.
Chang Ming was brought to the front of the hall, and Ji Rongshu and Yu Wenyi interrogated, "What grievances do you have?" ”
The soul that possessed Chang Ming replied: "My name is Li Erge, I am 14 years old this year, I live in Haiding, and my father's name is Li Xingwang. Then he told what happened to him.
During the Lantern Festival the year before last, Li Erge followed Chang Ming to see the lanterns, and on the way back, Chang Ming took advantage of the dead of night to flirt with Erge. Erge was shocked and tried his best to resist, he said to Chang Ming: "I'm going back to tell my father!" When Chang Ming heard this, he was worried that his deeds would be revealed.
Chang Ming strangled me to death with his clothes, and then buried my body under the river. Erge Soul continued, "My father suspected that Chang Ming had hidden me, so he reported to the ** in charge of security in the capital. ”
After the case was transferred to the Criminal Department, there was no evidence of Chang Ming's crime, and the interrogator made another proposal to arrest the real **.
From then on, Erge's unjust soul followed Chang Ming's side. At the beginning, as soon as the Erge Soul approached Chang Ming, he would feel that it was as hot as fire, so he could only follow Chang Ming four or five feet away. Gradually, the two squares can be closer to two or three feet; After another period of time, you can get about a foot closer to Chang Ming.
Erge Soul said, "Yesterday, because I couldn't feel the heat, I was able to attach myself to him. When Chang Ming, who was possessed by the soul of the two grids, spoke, Chang Ming was like a groggy and drunk.
When Ji Rongshu and Yu Wenyi heard this, they were very surprised, so they sent someone to check the case file according to the month mentioned by Erge, and really called up the case file reported by Erge's father at that time; Then he sent someone to the burial place mentioned by Erge, and dug up the body.
Erge's father received a notice and came to identify the corpse, looking at the corpse that had not yet completely decomposed, and after recognizing it as his son, Erge's father cried bitterly, "It's my son!" The soul of Erge talked with his father about the trivial matters at home, and they were all detailed.
Ji Rongshu and Yu Wenyi flipped through the case file, and after combing through the evidence one by one, they said loudly: "Chang Ming, can you plead guilty?" At this time, Chang Ming suddenly woke up as if from a dream. At the beginning, Chang Ming, who knew that his deeds were exposed, was still unwilling to admit his guilt.
The soul of the second grid went up to Chang Ming's body again, and this ghost debated alone. Chang Ming saw that the evidence was conclusive and could no longer cover it up, so he had to admit his guilt.
Ji Rongshu, Jiangsu Shilangzhong, who was in charge of the case, was the father of Ji Xiaolan, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty. Ji Xiaolan wrote about this matter in the book "Notes on Reading Wei Caotang".
In this book, there is also a story of a "wronged soul" retribution.
This is a homicide case, which has been reviewed by Governor Tang Zhiyu and concluded.
One night, Governor Tang Zhiyu was sitting alone in front of the lamp, when he suddenly heard a slight cry, which gradually approached the window. Tang Zhiyu called the little maid and said to the little maid, "Go out and see who is crying." ”
The little maid walked out, screamed suddenly, and fell to the ground. Governor Tang hurriedly lifted the curtain, but saw a ghost covered in blood, kneeling under the stone steps.
Governor Tang was startled, and shouted loudly. The ghost kowtowed and said, "It was XX B who killed me, but the county magistrate mistakenly judged that ** was XX A." My revenge can't be revealed, and I won't be blind to death! ”
When Governor Tang heard this, he thought that there was indeed a case, so he said to the ghost, "I know." When the ghost heard this, he immediately left.
The next day, Governor Tang reopened the case.
Governor Tang watched as everyone confessed the clothes and shoes of the deceased, and they matched the clothes worn by the ghost last night. I believe even more in what the ghost said yesterday: the case was committed by a certain B. So Governor Tang changed the sentence to **.
When the original interrogator heard this, he believed that the evidence of a certain A's crime was conclusive and that it was impossible to misjudge, so he pleaded to Governor Tang. However, Governor Tang repeatedly insisted on his verdict, arguing that "Nanshan can be moved, but this case cannot be changed."
Governor Tang's friends felt that something was wrong, so they asked Governor Tang tactfully. After listening to Governor Tang's account of last night's incident, he didn't know how to respond for a while.
In the evening, the curtain friend came to the Tang governor's mansion, and he asked the governor, "The ghost came from **?" The governor said, "The ghost came to the bottom of the stone steps by himself." ”
Ghost from **? The curtain friend asked again.
Suddenly he went over the wall. The Governor replied.
When the curtain friend heard this, he thought about it and said: "The ghost has an appearance but no substance, and when it leaves, it should disappear quickly, not over the wall!" ”
Then he went to the bottom of the wall, and then walked along the wall to the outside wall to take a look. He found that the bricks and tiles on the roof had not cracked, but after the rain, there were faint human footprints on several layers of the roof's ridges, and they continued under the outer wall.
"This must have been done by the prisoners who bought off the robbers." ”
When Governor Tang heard this, after pondering for a while, he suddenly realized that he had been deceived.
The next day, Governor Tang followed the original verdict: ** is a certain A, and it will not be changed. Governor Tang also did not delve into this matter because of the taboo.
Governor Tang only believed in ghost stories and did not pay attention to evidence, which almost caused an unjust case; And Jiangsu Shilang Zhong Ji Rongshu and Yu Wenyi, the director of the Criminal Department, although they encountered supernatural things, they still fulfilled their duties, and finally let a grievance be revealed.