Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

"I will ask Lord Zhang, but..." Chen Shao paused for a moment before asking, "Words are not enough, do you have any concrete evidence?"

"Evidence?" Madam Gao frowned. She wanted to say that with her status, she would not bother to lie. But after looking at the Luo and Wang families and then at Madam Luo, she took out two name cards from her bosom with a cold face and handed them over respectfully. "This is the birth date of Miss Zhang and my son. There is Mr. Zhang's private seal on Miss Zhang's name card. Madam Zhang sent someone to give it to me at the beginning of the month."

Not only was Zhang Chunhua's name card stamped with Zhang Boshan's seal, but Gao Yu's son Gao Yu's name card also stamped with Gao Han's seal. Holding the two pieces of evidence, Chen Shao curled his lips calmly, glanced at the uneasy Luo and Wang families, then looked back at the arrogant Gao Madam, and said slowly: "Since Gao Madam has some friendship with Lord Zhang, the death penalty can be spared. Next, let's talk about the price of the living penalty."

Madam Gao seemed to have known that she would say this. She smiled a little, bowed and asked, "Sir, please tell me the amount. As long as I can afford it, I will never refuse."

Chen Shao did not answer but asked, "What price do you think is appropriate, Madam?"

Madam Gao asked in a negotiating tone, "How do you think of ten thousand taels of silver?"

Chen Shao shook his head: "Madam is the wife of the headmaster of the Imperial College after all. Ten thousand taels of silver is too derogatory to her status."

"Your Excellency is right." Although Mrs. Gao felt pain in her heart, she still gritted her teeth and said, "Then let's go with thirty thousand taels."

Fearing that Chen Shao would raise the price again, Madam Gao immediately added: "This is all the cash I can afford."

"Okay, Madam will bring the silver to me later, and I will be spared the death penalty." Chen Shao reluctantly agreed, and then said, "Now let's talk about the price of Gao Shanchang."

Madam Gao's expression froze slightly, "My Lord, this is..."

Chen Shao was slightly surprised: "Madam, don't you plan to save Gao Shanchang?"

Madam Gao said quickly: "My thirty thousand taels of silver not only cancel my affairs, but also my husband's."

Chen Shao smiled: "What are you thinking? Gao Han is the headmaster of the Imperial College. You want to write off everything with 30,000 taels of silver? Are you dreaming?"

Madam Gao suppressed her anger and reminded respectfully, "Sir, our Gao family will soon have our children in-laws with Sir Zhang. By then..."

"Madam, I'm afraid that your wish to marry your children to Lord Zhang won't work." Chen Shao restrained his smile and said calmly, "Lord Zhang, the one you wanted to marry your children to, was imprisoned with Gao Han and Luo Zhengxin two days ago!"

Mrs. Gao took two steps back in disbelief and said firmly, "Impossible!"

Chen Shaoyang raised his eyebrows and said to Zhao Lin who was standing beside him: "Since Madam Gao doesn't believe it, take her to the prison to have a look."

"Please have mercy, sir." Since they were going to the prison, it must be more than just a simple look. Madam Gao could no longer maintain her dignity, and fell to her knees, terrified, and said, "I know I was wrong, please have mercy on me, sir!"

"Since you know your mistake, let's talk about the price again." Chen Shao said leisurely, "I wonder how much money Madam is willing to pay to buy her life?"

Madam Gao said quickly, "Twenty or three hundred thousand taels of silver, fifty boxes of rare treasures and jewels, forty-two shops, forty-six villas, and one thousand three hundred acres of fertile land. As long as you are willing to let me go, I am willing to give you everything I have!"

Chen Shao's face was grim. "How many years has Gao Shan been studying at the Imperial College?"

Mrs. Gao said, "It's been almost thirty years."

"It took only thirty years to accumulate such a huge fortune," Chen Shao said in a cold voice, "it's really a great skill!"

Three hundred thousand taels in thirty years, which is equivalent to ten thousand taels a year, plus rare jewelry, shops, villas, fertile fields... If he is like this, one can imagine what Zhang Boshan, who is more powerful than him, is like!

But from the villages and towns she had seen during her investigations into the Shi Xing case, the people did not suffer from too much taxation. So where did their property come from?

Suddenly, the jade chess piece and Zhao Qiang's earlier words, 'In order to obtain precious medicinal materials, Fenglong Trading Company often secretly trades with people from other countries in cities bordering other countries such as Changming City, Tuoyu City, Kunlun Town, Butou City, etc.' came to Chen Shao's mind.

If... then everything would make sense.

"I know I was wrong," Madam Gao knelt on the ground and pleaded in a trembling voice, "I am willing to give everything to you, sir, and I only ask for your mercy."

"Madam, are you mistaken?" Chen Shao said coldly, "Your wealth was obtained illegally by Gao Han and should have been confiscated. You used public money to absolve yourself of your guilt. How could such a good thing happen in the world? Take her away!"

"Your Excellency, please have mercy on me. Your Excellency, please have mercy on me..." The bailiff stepped forward quickly, covered her mouth swiftly, and then dragged her out.

"Sir, I, I..." Seeing Chen Shao's eyes on her, Mrs. Luo was so scared that her legs softened and she knelt on the ground again. Chen Shao interrupted her begging coldly, "Tell me, Gao Han's net worth is 300,000 taels of silver, how much is Luo Zhengxin's net worth?"

"Your Excellency, have mercy..."

Chen Shao slammed the gavel hard: "Speak!"

"I don't know." When her life was at stake, Mrs. Luo didn't care about dignity. After knocking her head twice, she cried bitterly and said, "Luo Zhengxin, that beast, won't let me touch his money."

Chen Shao asked coldly, "What kind of business do Gao Han's shops do?"

With Mrs. Gao's experience as a lesson, Mrs. Luo did not dare to hide anything and said, "We have all kinds of business."

Chen Shao continued in a cold voice, "Where are his shops?"

Madam Luo still did not dare to hesitate: "There are both in the county town and the county town under the county town."

Chen Shao: "Who is he doing business with?"

Madam Luo shook her head: "I don't know."

Chen Shao: "How many concubines have you given to Luo Jianyuan?"

Mrs. Luo answered without thinking, "I have taken in twenty-seven concubines."

Chen Shao didn't think he had heard wrongly: "Room 27?"

"It's not that I want him to have so many concubines," Mrs. Luo explained while crying, "some were given to him by others, and some were forced by him to take them in."

Chen Shao said coldly: "Who gave it to him?"

Mrs. Luo answered quickly, "There are the Wen family, the Jing family, the Ren family, as well as Mr. Zhang and Mr. Wang in the south of the city, Mr. Huang in the north of the city, and some merchants and some students in the academy."

There are quite a lot of people!

Luo Zhengxin was only the dean of the Imperial College. If these people sent him a concubine, they would certainly send one to Gao Han. They would not send a concubine for no reason, so they all might have business dealings with Gao Han. Chen Shao suppressed the coldness in his heart and continued to ask, "Does the twenty-seven concubines include Miss Luo?"

Mrs. Luo nodded.

Chen Shao asked again: "Where are the remaining twenty-six concubines?"

"In..." Madam Luo's eyes flashed with a hint of hesitation, then she lowered her eyes and answered, "In Luoyanju in the east of the city."