During this period, The Foster Family were not convinced and even appealed to the provincial capital. The case went back and forth for over a year, until last winter, when the verdict finally came down. Although Judge Brooks was not found guilty of embezzlement, he was dismissed from office and stripped of his rank for lax supervision and incompetence. Richard Foster was sentenced to death with a stay of execution, William Walker was given one hundred strokes for fraud and sent to the salt fields for five years of hard labor. As for Coroner Brown, he was sentenced to two hundred strokes for dereliction of duty and exiled three thousand li away. Later, due to his severe injuries, he died in prison...

　　Although this is no longer the Hongwu era, when embezzling twenty taels would get you skinned alive, the criminal law is still harsh and especially severe. For William Walker to end up like this is actually a light sentence...

　　……

　　After Henry Walker finished reading, he found that Emily Foster had already fallen asleep at the table, resting her chin on her hand. This girl was as fragile as a blade of grass, yet so resilient it made one ache for her. Although he was not someone who pitied delicate women, he still greatly admired Miss Foster.

　　Even though the girl looked utterly exhausted, Henry Walker couldn’t just sit with her in silence, so he lightly cleared his throat.

　　Emily Foster woke up with a start, rubbing her flushed cheeks, and said shyly, “Finished reading?”

　　“Mm.” Henry Walker nodded.

　　“How is it?” Emily Foster asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.

　　“From a procedural standpoint, it’s already been made into an ironclad case.” Henry Walker said slowly, “If you only look at the final report submitted, even I would believe your brother is the murderer.”

　　“He absolutely isn’t.” Emily Foster said firmly, “Do you know where that so-called physical evidence came from?”

　　“Where?”

　　“It was the jailer who saw my brother beaten senseless and kindly reminded him that if he really couldn’t remember where the murder weapon was buried, he might as well bury it again.” Emily Foster said with heavy sarcasm, “My brother sent word home, so my mother and I found one of my sister-in-law’s skirts. My mother pricked her arm to stain it with blood, then found a whistle stick and buried them under the crooked-neck tree at the village entrance. Then we notified my brother, so he’d have something to confess to.”

　　“So, the physical evidence is fake?”

　　“Of course it’s fake,” Emily Foster said through gritted teeth, “because my brother is innocent—he didn’t kill anyone!”

　　“Oh…”

　　“And also,” Emily Foster told Henry Walker what she’d overheard on the boat last time, “If they had nothing to hide, why would they be afraid of you, a no... and try to stop you from petitioning?” She looked at Henry Walker and asked, “Is what they said true?”

　　Henry Walker nodded, “It should be. Among my rowdy friends, there’s one called Thomas Lee, whose brother specializes in handling lawsuits and writing petitions for people. I asked Thomas Lee to get his brother to write a petition for me, but before I even got it, I was beaten up.” He paused, thinking carefully, “It must have been his brother who reported it, and then Thomas Lee spread the word.”

　　“So, my brother must be innocent!” Emily Foster nodded emphatically.

　　“Telling me is useless.” Henry Walker said coolly, “You have to make the authorities believe it—only then is there a chance to overturn the case!”

　　“How do we make the authorities believe?”

　　“You tell me…” Henry Walker thought for a moment, then suddenly lowered his voice and said word by word, “Could it be that your sister-in-law isn’t actually dead?”

　　“How could that be…” Emily Foster didn’t believe it. Even if that female corpse wasn’t her sister-in-law, she’d been missing for over two years—how could she still be alive?

　　“I think it’s very possible.” Henry Walker opened the case file and found a page, “Look at this part about the autopsy in Lingqiao Town. It clearly says the female corpse had been in the water for a long time, was deformed, and wild dogs had torn the face beyond recognition. How could the Zhao family recognize the body at a glance as their daughter?”

　　“Even if they could barely recognize her, it’s human nature not to accept a loved one’s death until the last moment. At that time, the body hadn’t even been examined—why was the Zhao family in such a hurry to hold a funeral?” He paused, then continued, “So there are only two possibilities—they already knew the corpse was your sister-in-law, or they already knew it wasn’t.”

　　“If it’s the former, then they must know who killed your sister-in-law and are trying to cover for the murderer. But if that’s the case, they’d want the case to die down and would never appeal, so the first possibility doesn’t hold!”

　　This kind of logical reasoning, which wouldn’t be much in later generations, left Miss Foster in awe. She thought it over carefully and realized it was true, and immediately said with respect, “You’re amazing!” Then, in disbelief, she added, “I never thought I’d hear something like that from you.”

　　“After three days apart, you should look at a person with new eyes.” Henry Walker said calmly, “So there’s only one truth—they know that female corpse isn’t your sister-in-law! And she must still be alive!” He slapped the table lightly, “If we find her, the case can be overturned!”

Chapter 0009: A Very Dark Hand

　　“But even if the Zhao family knows my sister-in-law isn’t dead, they should have let things go.” Miss Foster pondered for a moment, “Why are they so intent on making a big deal out of the case?”

　　“Either they have a deep grudge against your The Foster Family,” Henry Walker said in a low voice, “or they’re trying to ward off disaster for someone else!”

　　“They were in-laws after all—at most there were some quarrels, but nothing so serious as to want each other dead.” Emily Foster thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, “You mean, they’re trying to cover for the real murderer of the female corpse?”