CH 15: Witness Examination

In fact, in ancient times, nearly every official used intimidation, threats, and torture to obtain confessions. This was permitted by the law.

This was because there was no advanced technology in ancient times to assist officials in solving cases. Moreover the focus was on substantive, not procedural, justice. The simplest method was therefore to rely on corporeal punishments to force the accused to confess.

Compared to torture, mere threats and intimidation were considered more humane.

Sima Guang didn’t talk about the case right away when he started the trial, but instead focused on Zhang Fei’s identity and misconduct. His intention was to establish his authority, which was, in these times, considered a very humane process.

All officials did this, and most of them were even harsher.

Zhang Fei knew this well, but such a state of affairs was still very disadvantageous for him. If he was not allowed to have free conduct of the litigation and was instead led by the nose, he could not possibly win this lawsuit.

His agitated outburst was not recklessness. It was part of a premeditated plan.

He had deliberately not revealed anything about Wei Ada’s testimony because Wei Ada testifying for his assailant would definitely raise suspicion.

And Sima Guang would surely question this point.

Zhang Fei was waiting for him to do so.

And he cleverly dragged the Emperor into the issue, which really caught Sima Guang off guard.

Sima Guang could not risk undermining the power that ministers had to override the Emperor’s decision, just to get a leg-up over a mere pen-in-cap. He did not even dare to take risks by talking about this topic.

The balance of power between Emperor and his senior officials was a delicate matter. This man was a headstrong youth—who knew what he would say if he continued to argue about this matter.

Sima Guang was furious at being challenged by a youngster in front of his colleagues, but he had to show great humility. He acknowledged, “You’re right, I was wrong.”

This show of humility was put on so that the Emperor could learn from it. The Emperor should also be open-minded, receptive to admonition, and willing to correct mistakes.

Wang Anshi laughed because he knew Sima Guang too well. To make Sima Guang humble himself was a hard thing to do.

Of course, it would be even harder to make him, Wang Anshi, humble himself.

However, it should be noted that Sima Guang’s show of humility did not mean that he had given up on his position in relation to the case. It was just that the situation had now become more equal. The case would now be centered on rational arguments, not on status and official authority.

This was exactly what Zhang Fei was aiming for.

Zhang Fei came to Wei Ada’s side and spoke softly, “Wei Ada, don’t be scared. Everyone present here is upright and honorable. They are people who listen to reason.”

“I-I’m not scared, not…not scared!” Wei Ada stammered.

He really wasn’t as scared as he was before because he had seen that Zhang Fei seemed quite formidable.

Zhang Fei asked, “Wei Ada, do you remember where you were on the night of the crime?”

Wei Ada nodded and said, “I-I remember, I was keeping watch in the straw shed by my family’s field.”

Zhang Fei asked again, “Then do you remember what you were doing at that time?”

Wei Ada said, “I was sleeping at the time.”

Zhang Fei asked, “Were you just falling asleep, or were you in deep sleep?”

Wei Ada scratched his head and recalled, “I should have been in deep sleep. I-I was sleeping very soundly.”

As they started getting into the main topic, Sima Guang, Wang Anshi and the other officials found themselves feeling sleepy.

Just like that?

Was this a trial? It felt more like casual chitchat between neighbors.

But they didn’t dare to let their guard down. This youngster lay traps everywhere—they had to be cautious.

Zhang Fei asked, “Did you notice anyone sneaking into your straw shed at the time?”

Wei Ada shook his head straight away.

Zhang Fei continued to ask, “When did you find out that someone had entered your straw shed and was trying to harm you with a knife?”

As he was being questioned, Wei Ada gradually immersed himself in the events of the night, and inadvertently relaxed. He replied, “I suddenly felt some pain in my back and arm, and that’s when I woke up. At first, I thought that I had been bitten by a snake. Only after I opened my eyes did I realize that someone was trying to kill me.”

Zhang Fei nodded and asked, “So, before this, you did not put up any resistance or take any precautions.”

Wei Ada nodded, looking sad, and said, “How would I know that someone would try to kill me?”

Zhang Fei said, “You mentioned earlier that you felt some pain. But to my knowledge, the pain of a severed finger is intense and can cause someone to pass out.”

Wei Ada replied, “It was after I woke up that my finger got cut off.”

Zhang Fei said, “Could you tell us how the attacker cut off your finger?”

Wei Ada said, “When I saw her swinging the knife, I waved my hand to block. That’s how my finger was cut off.”

Zhang Fei asked, “What happened after that?”

Wei Ada replied, “She ran away afterwards. I didn’t even get a chance to see who she was.”

Zhang Fei said, “Was that the entire sequence of events?”

Wei Ada nodded.

Sima Guang and the other officials had originally thought that the two were going to conspire to overturn Wei Ada’s prior testimony. Otherwise, it would be impossible to overturn the case for Ayun. But after listening to the witness examination, what Wei Ada said was the same as what he had said before. And this was enough to prove Ayun’s crime of intentional murder.

Sima Guang was quite embarrassed. This round of question and answer was somewhat a slap his face.

Wei Ada’s answers were very honest.

This made Sima Guang’s earlier suspicions seem totally uncalled for.

Sima Guang wondered if they were deliberately making him uncomfortable. This brat was too annoying. He asked, “Have you finished questioning the witness?”

“Yes, I am done with my questions.”

Zhang Fei said, “Wei Ada’s answers just now is enough to prove that Ayun did not have the intention to murder.”

Sima Guang was immediately dumbfounded. Did he hear wrongly? He was irritated and said, “She broken into someone’s house with a knife to kill him. How was there no intention to murder?”

Zhang Fei said, “Regarding this, I have a piece of evidence to present.”

Sima Guang nodded.

Then Wei A’er came to the stage with a roll of canvas.

The canvas was unrolled, revealing a human figure drawn on it.

This was indeed a novel approach.

Zhang Fei said, “Your Honor, this is a diagram of the wounds inflicted on Wei Ada’s body, drawn by a coroner from the Court of Judicial Review at my request.”

Immediately, Sima Guang looked at Xu Zun.

Xu Zun nodded and said, “I can confirm that this diagram accurately depicts the wounds on Wei Ada’s body. Academician Sima, you are welcome to send someone to verify its accuracy.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Sima Guang believed that Xu Zun would not dare present false evidence. He then asked Zhang Fei again, “What is the significance of this?”

Zhang Fei said, “Your Honor, please look at the more-than-ten wounds on Wei Ada. All of them were distributed on his hands, legs, and back, but not a single wound was on a vital part of the body.”

Sima Guang said, “If a vital part had been hit, Wei Ada might not be standing here today.”

Zhang Fei said, “But according to Wei Ada, he was completely unaware that Ayun had already entered the straw shed at that time, and he had taken no precautions whatsoever. In this situation, isn’t it strange that Ayun had hacked at him more than ten times without hitting a vital spot even once?”

Sima Guang said, “It was already dark at that time, and there was no light. In addition, it was Ayun’s first time committing such a violent act, so she might have been too nervous to hit a vital part. That seems reasonable.”

Zhang Fei said, “But as far as I know, Wei Ada has a habit of snoring thunderously when he sleeps. If Ayun really wanted to murder Wei Ada, she could have aimed for the head following the sound, which would surely have been fatal in one strike. But there are no wounds above Wei Ada’s neck.”

Having said that, he paused slightly, and then continued, “In addition to that, all the wounds on Wei Ada’s body, apart from the severed finger, were superficial flesh wounds. These wounds healed completely within half a month.

As for the severed finger, Wei Ada has already made it very clear just now. It happened when he actively swung his hand to block the knife, and the combined force led to his finger being chopped off. If he hadn’t swung his hand, would his finger have been severed? Of course not.

And when Ayun saw that she had severed his finger and had seriously injured Wei Ada, she immediately ran away and did not continue to commit violence. All these circumstances are enough to prove that Ayun had no intention of murder.”

Sima Guang immediately rebutted, “Ayun is just a weak woman, how could she have the strength to kill someone? That these wounds are superficial is insufficient evidence.”

Zhang Fei said, “But I can prove that she absolutely had the physical strength to kill, and her strength in fact is no less than that of a man. If she really wanted to kill someone, even if she couldn’t hit a vital part due to the darkness, she would have been able to seriously injure Wei Ada.”

Sima Guang asked, “What is your proof?”

Zhang Fei said, “Your Honor, how much do you think I weigh?”

Sima Guang was taken aback by the question and replied, “How would I know?”

Zhang Fei said, “I probably weigh around 65kg. I wonder if Your Honor agrees.”

Sima Guang looked at Zhang Fei. Although he was skinny, he was tall, so he nodded and said, “More or less. But why do you ask this?”

Zhang Fei said, “Your Honor, do not forget that after Ayun fled the scene, she saved me from drowning in a river. If she were just a weak woman, how could she have managed to rescue a 65kg man who was drowning and drag him up to shore?”

Many officials started to whisper and discuss quietly.

They had some common-sense knowledge about drowning. They knew that without substantial strength, it would be impossible to rescue someone from drowning.

Zhang Fei said, “This is enough to prove that Ayun definitely had the strength to kill. She also had the right environment and opportunity to do so. But because she had no intention to kill, Wei Ada lives to this day.”

Sima Guang immediately challenged, “But if she had no intention to kill, why did she carry a knife to attack Wei Ada? That evidence is irrefutable, and she herself has already confessed. We can’t determine that she had no intention to kill just because she was not successful.”

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, “Your Honor is right. Why would Ayun take a knife to Wei Ada’s straw shed to attack him? What was her motive and what was her purpose? We must trace events back to the case of Fang Datian using marriage to fraudulently appropriate property. The whole sequence of events started there.”