With the appearance of the ironclad evidence, Cai Dingkun and Cao Yueniang finally admitted their crimes.
Strictly speaking, it was Cao Yueniang who admitted to murder, while Cai Dingkun confessed to disposing of the body and acting as an accessory after the fact.
Cai Dingkun claimed that after chasing after the victim, he lost him. He then returned home grumbling, only to find the door ajar and no one inside.
He then realized his wife had followed. He went out to look for her and met Cao Yueniang on his way back.
She was weak, her eyes vacant, her spirit dazed, and her hands covered in blood.
"What happened to you? Where is he?" At that moment, Cai Dingkun had an inkling of what had occurred, but he couldn't believe it.
It wasn't until Cao Yueniang came to her senses that she told him everything.
"I was just worried about my husband; I didn't mean to kill him," Cao Yueniang recounted the events.
That night, she saw Cai Dingkun chase after the man and was unsure whether to worry about her husband's safety or his potential wrongdoing.
So, she followed him out.
When she passed their meat stall, she suddenly realized she had no suitable weapon. If a fight broke out, she would be helpless.
Thus, Cao Yueniang returned to the shop and retrieved an iron rod.
Her intention was simple: her husband had a knife, so she would have a club; one of them was bound to be useful.
What she didn't expect was that her husband had already lost track of Han Xiu.
In the vast darkness, Han Xiu's red attire was particularly conspicuous.
Especially when he stood at a height.
As Han Xiu disappeared over the rooftops, Cao Yueniang crept to the base of a wall, actually looking for Cai Dingkun.
But she couldn't find Cai Dingkun, and Han Xiu jumped onto the wall again.
Cao Yueniang became a little flustered. She hid in the corner, praying Han Xiu wouldn't discover her.
But fate had other plans.
Han Xiu suddenly felt the urge to urinate.
He came to the alley where Cao Yueniang was hiding.
He unbuckled his trousers and took out his… This thoroughly terrified Cao Yueniang. She thought Han Xiu had discovered her and intended to commit indecent assault.
She instinctively stepped back, making a sound.
The alley was shaped like an 'F', with two small branching paths in the middle of the long corridor. Han Xiu came out from the longest section to investigate but missed the middle junction.
Han Xiu had originally been behind Cao Yueniang, but now Cao Yueniang was behind Han Xiu.
Yet, things took an even stranger turn.
Cao Yueniang thought she had escaped a terrible fate, but Han Xiu surprisingly stopped and began to turn back. Seeing him retreat, Cao Yueniang was completely panicked. She instinctively raised the iron rod.
From back to front, she thrust it directly through Han Xiu's chest.
"Wait!" Hu Jia interrupted, unable to contain himself.
An iron rod passing through someone's chest and back was understandable. But for a woman to pierce a man's front and back? That was hard to comprehend.
Who had that much strength? Did Cao Yueniang have it?
"I learned to butcher pigs since I was young. A country person like me has some strength," Cao Yueniang said agitatedly upon hearing Hu Jia's doubt.
It was precisely her emotional outburst that made everyone begin to question her account.
"I believe you have some strength. Here, try this," Hu Jia said, gesturing to a sandbag that Guan Jinsong had just brought in. "If you can embed this iron rod halfway into it, I'll believe you had the ability to kill Han Xiu alone."
Huh?
Cao Yueniang hesitated. "My hand was injured from work yesterday."
"If you don't drive this iron rod in, then I'll have your husband try," Hu Jia dismissed Cao Yueniang's excuse. When was her hand injured? She looked perfectly fine.
Uh…
Cao Yueniang faltered, then silently took the iron rod.
The rod felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Cao Yueniang held it rigidly without moving.
"Stab it!" Yu Yi'an had lost all patience.
Cao Yueniang's fingers turned white with effort. She first held the iron rod with one hand, then switched to two.
But no matter how many times she adjusted her posture, the iron rod refused to penetrate.
"Jinsong, go bring Cai Dingkun in," Hu Jia said, understanding everything at this point.
"No!" Cao Yueniang cried out.
Seeing everyone's eyes on her, she finally gritted her teeth, raised the iron rod high, and fiercely plunged it into the sandbag.
It penetrated less than a third of the way.
As expected!
"You weren't the only one at the scene at the time!" Hu Jia stated. He had already inspected the alley and found a very distinct small pit on the wall of the alley.
This pit was about 1.3 meters from the ground, precisely at the height of Han Xiu's chest. Furthermore, judging by the damaged marks, it had been made by a sharp object.
Therefore, Hu Jia suspected that Cao Yueniang had only managed to pierce Han Xiu's back with the iron rod from behind, but it hadn't penetrated his body.
First, it was due to her insufficient strength.
Second, the remaining traces at the scene corroborated this.
Thus, the logical sequence of events was likely that Han Xiu did hear a strange noise while urinating, but it wasn't made by Cao Yueniang. It was made by Cai Dingkun, who had arrived shortly after.
This explained why Han Xiu, upon emerging from the alley, bypassed the first junction. He saw someone standing at the alley entrance, and that person was Cai Dingkun.
Seeing Han Xiu approach Cai Dingkun, and out of concern for her husband, Cao Yueniang raised the iron rod. Cai Dingkun, seeing his wife act, likely panicked and instinctively shoved Han Xiu.
Han Xiu stumbled backward, his back hitting the alley wall, and it was under this force that the iron rod pierced his chest.
"No, no, he didn't kill him. It wasn't intentional. I stabbed him with the iron rod, he was just trying to save me. He's not the murderer," Cao Yueniang's mental state collapsed upon hearing Hu Jia's analysis, and she knelt on the ground, sobbing.
Seeing this scene, Lü Qingqing felt a pang of pity.
Knowing the cause and effect, she felt even more helpless. One could interpret it as sympathy or as a lament for their fate.
What a loving couple. Their lives could have been filled with happiness. But because of one person, a lustful individual, all of that was ruined.
"Yueniang, please get up," Lü Qingqing helped her up. "Don't worry, things might not be as bad as you think." Lü Qingqing explained that, first, the cause of the incident was clear. They had gone from victims to perpetrators, which was a factor in their favor.
Second, Cao Yueniang had indeed struck the blow, making her the primary aggressor. However, the depth to which she had inserted the iron rod wasn't the main cause of Han Xiu's death. His actual cause of death was the secondary penetration of the rod, creating a through-and-through wound that injured his heart and lungs.
Finally, although it was Cai Dingkun who ultimately caused the fatal penetrating wound, it was unintentional and accidental. "Therefore, the sentencing will involve a specific analysis, and the outcome might not be as dire as you imagine."
Lü Qingqing's voice was gentle and soft, like a form of magic that allowed Cao Yueniang to see a glimmer of hope. "Really?"
Cao Yueniang's eyes were filled with longing.
"Yes, believe me. However, you did take a life, and the law will pass judgment, which you cannot escape. But I believe you will see each other again after your time is served."