National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 751 - 694: Testimony

Chapter 751: Chapter 694: Testimony

Noon.

Jiang Yuan and the others had lunch at a donkey meat restaurant near the Zhengguang Bureau, choosing it for its affordable and interesting menu as a break from the usual cafeteria fare.

Beijing’s local dishes were hardly commendable, essentially just tourist traps. But the restaurants from other regions were competing fiercely, earnestly seeking recognition.

The Hejian Donkey Meat Huoshao Shop they chose was serious about its craft, using real donkey meat, real donkey intestines, and freshly baked flatbread, along with just-cooked millet soup—a combination of high-quality protein and explosive calories that was delicious and guilt-inducing, perfectly replicating Western fast food but with a transcendent twist.

"Captain Jiang, try this donkey tripe," said Wei Cheng, who had come along, while Liu Cheng was still busy in the office. "It’s one of the owner’s specialties, dry pot donkey tripe, first braised, then fried, and finally stir-fried with chili peppers, without the slightest off-flavor."

Jiang Yuan obligingly took a piece of the donkey tripe, chewed it carefully, and indeed, it was both aromatic and tender.

Liu Jinghui next to him also tried a piece and kept nodding his head, "It’s really good. As the old saying goes, I’d rather lose my wife than give up donkey tripe. There’s some truth to that."

Mu Zhiyang pondered for a moment before catching on and laughing, "Director Liu, if your sister-in-law heard you say that, you’d be in trouble."

Li Haochen was taken aback and then smiled, "Director Liu, you wouldn’t want your sister-in-law to hear you say that..."

All the young people present started laughing.

Liu Jinghui didn’t understand the joke and didn’t care, just doubled up on the donkey tripe, ate it, and then laughed, "If I took some donkey tripe home, my kid’s mom would probably let me off the hook, since I’m not any important person, not worth a meal of donkey tripe."

"It’s normal for a man not to be worth a strand of donkey tripe at home," Meng Chengbiao, who felt the same way, clinked his cup with Liu Jinghui’s and took a big sip of tea.

The detectives, who commanded the weather in their units, jurisdictions, and technical fields, couldn’t help but raise their cups.

The few female officers present exchanged looks but didn’t see any issue.

After a satisfying meal and tea, upon returning to the bureau, they saw Liu Cheng with a delighted expression on his face.

"A breakthrough?" asked Liu Jinghui.

Liu Cheng nodded and beamed, "Yang Wanjun couldn’t hold out anymore; he’s pretty much confessed to everything."

Liu Jinghui also lit up with joy, "How did he suddenly become cooperative?"

"We found a video of He Wei dumping a body on a USB drive we seized from his house. With that, we’ve solidified the case against He Wei, and Yang Wanjun’s motive and means are also confirmed," Liu Cheng laughed heartily. "He hid the USB in the lens of a digital camera, totally ineffective; amateurs really do think too simply."

"He’s dealing with a death penalty case, so he’s considered an industry insider," Cui Qishan corrected from the side.

"Okay, for Cui’s sake, we’ll consider him an industry insider, even though he’s a bit subpar," Liu Cheng said, laughing.

"So he confessed just like that, his psychological defenses were weak," Director Liu shook his head.

Liu Cheng explained, "That’s because we informed him about the policies. We told him that since he hadn’t killed anyone with his own hands and if he showed a positive attitude, and especially if he could get a letter of forgiveness from the victim’s family, he could very well be sentenced leniently."

Liu Jinghui laughed upon hearing this, "And he believed that? No different from the average petty thief, huh?"

"After all, it’s his first time. Although most people start their criminal activities quietly and sneakily."

"But if he really managed to get a letter of forgiveness, that would be truly absurd," Mu Zhiyang knew Yang Wanjun’s target was his own aunt, but still found it unacceptable.

The system of writing letters of understanding is designed to coerce the perpetrator to compensate the victim; otherwise, some may cling to the thought of serving time in prison as a way to avoid paying damages, trying to endure imprisonment to the end. In such cases, it’s very difficult for the victim and their family to have their rights protected.

Of course, letters of understanding can only be one of the conditions for a lenient punishment, and the extent of leniency is limited. In a murder case like this one, even if there is a letter of understanding, its effect isn’t significant. Yang Wanjun is implicated in at least two cases, being the mastermind, engaging in extortion and coercion, and specifying the burial and abandonment of the corpse—these are all aggravating factors. Even with a letter of understanding and factors such as a confession, escaping the death sentence would be hard.

Liu Cheng just smiled and said, "It’s a desperate attempt to find life in death. Why are people with terminal illnesses easily deceived? What I’ve given Yang Wanjun is akin to legitimate treatment. If he confesses properly and actually obtains a letter of understanding, at least he’ll die with some dignity."

"Even if it’s useless, it’s still disgusting." Mu Zhiyang felt that Yang Wanjun’s aunt, the mother of the deceased Liu Zhiwu, might actually end up writing a letter of understanding!

Liu Cheng shrugged his shoulders: "You’re a police officer now; don’t expect to see a perfect happy ending."

"Does Liu Zhiwu’s mother know that Yang Wanjun is the murderer?" Mu Zhiyang pressed on.

"She knows; she’s crying right now." Speaking of this, Liu Cheng had someone switch to the monitoring screen of the room where Liu’s mother was being questioned. She was weeping over her hands, her entire body trembling.

"Ah..." Liu Jinghui watched the scene, his mind filled with thoughts that eventually just turned into a sigh.

Liu Zhiwu is dead, Yang Wanjun will die. Whether Liu’s mother wants to change her attitude or continues as before, it makes no difference now.

The greatest impact of death on the people around is the perpetual existence of regret.

...

Tao Lu brought the director over to review Yang Wanjun’s confession.

As the director learned more about the case, he couldn’t stop praising it: "Not bad at all. The ’Rain Drenched Corpse Case’ turned out to be a case within a case. Now that we’ve caught both murderers, we’ve at least given the victim, their family, and the public an explanation."

Tao Lu humbly said, "Getting this case done, first of all, I have to thank the bureau for providing so many resources. It’s because the director resolutely approved my application that we were able to make progress in the case..."

The director waited for Tao Lu to finish and then chuckled: "Let’s not talk about this. Save the compliments for the reporters. They should be interested in the ’Rain Drenched Corpse Case’."

"Of course," Tao Lu agreed immediately.

"The most frustrated one here must be this serial killer." The director commented in a good mood after reviewing the dossier. "He was a successful man with a wife and children, a villa and a company. After committing murder, he temporarily escaped legal punishment. Little did he know, the second time he killed, he was filmed, and then he was blackmailed incessantly... This suspect, Yang Wanjun, is somewhat foolish."

In card games, 235 can beat a triple, including three aces, but it can only beat triples and loses to any other ordinary hands.

Tao Lu smiled and responded, "That’s quite true."

"Now, this murderer, He Wei, he’s lost everything, hasn’t he?" the director shook his head.

Tao Lu replied, "His villa was already mortgaged twice, and now that he can’t pay off his debts, it should be put up for auction due to a lawsuit. His company was already failing, and now it should be over."

"Midlife bankruptcy, wife and children gone, better that he’s dead," the director couldn’t help but lament.

Tao Lu also felt moved and said, "He was caught by forensic botany, it’s not unjust."

"Ningtai Jiangyuan, lives up to its reputation?" the director immediately asked.

Tao Lu nodded emphatically: "Absolutely unstoppable!"

"Then make good use of it, seize the opportunity."