Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

"You are quite calculating," Li Tianliu's voice came from the tree, "with just a few worthless lies, you can make people willingly work like slaves."

Chen Shao glanced at him and said, "Since you have nothing to do, go and bring Madam Gao to the second hall. I will go over to interrogate her after breakfast."

Li Tianliu said calmly, "Since Master Chen Liu wants to command me, have you thought about what kind of position you want to give me?"

"You can get any position you want." Thinking of the tricks used by the company managers in his previous life to enslave their subordinates, Chen Shao couldn't help laughing and said in the same way, "The prerequisite is that you have to show me your ability to do things first."

Li Tianliu jumped down from the tree, looked at her in amazement, and turned away.

Chen Shao couldn't help laughing again, then turned around and put the confession in the study, went back to the main room to have breakfast, and when he came out and was about to go to the second hall, Xu Guang hurried over.

Not far behind him, Fu Jiu also rushed over like a gust of wind.

"Sir, are you going to Luoyanju?" Fu Jiu asked first.

"I won't go there today." Chen Shao answered him while looking at Xu Guang, "The task of bone splicing is now left to you. If you can find helpers, go ahead. If you need money, ask Chan Yi for it."

Xu Guangxian agreed, then pulled out two pieces of yellow paper from his sleeve and handed them over, "This is the information I know about the various noble families and gentry. You can use it as a reference."

This is his letter of surrender.

It represents his determination to follow her.

Chen Shao took it and said yes with a smile, "Go ahead and pick a horse from the stable."

After Xu Guang left.

As Chen Shao walked towards the second hall, he said, "If you have anything to say, just tell me."

Fu Jiu shook her head: "It's okay."

Chen Shao glanced at him, and Fu Jiu quickly said, "I'll be back to pick you up, Master."

Chen Shao looked at him again, and after making sure that he was really okay, he asked, "Are there many corpses in the Bi Tao Garden?"

Fu Jiu nodded solemnly: "Same as Luoyanju."

After a pause, he continued, "When I took them there, they all asked me if I wanted to find a few more people to dig the bones. They said that many people came to Juxian Tower this morning to look for them and asked them to help introduce them to the young master. They also said that those people didn't want any wages."

Chen Shao asked knowingly, "How did those people know?"

Fu Jiu said, "They must have told someone after they went back last night."

Chen Shao asked again: "Does everyone outside know about this?"

"That should be it." Fu Jiu said uncertainly, "Anyway, when I took them there this morning, I heard people talking all the way."

"You can find an appropriate opportunity to talk to them about the conditions or causes of death of the bodies we brought back yesterday." Chen Shao said tactfully, "As for the people who will dig the bones, there is no need to add more people for the time being. Currently, only Li Tianliu, Xu Guang and I can dig bones. No matter how fast we are, we can't catch up with you. It won't make much sense to have more people come to help."

After he agreed, Chen Shao continued, "If you have nothing to do today, don't just focus on digging bones. Go around those gardens and ask around to find out who else lives there besides the Ren and Wen families. Ask those families if they know about these gardens."

Just as Fu Jiu agreed, a guard came running over and said, "Sir, there are so many people in the garden delivering straw mats!"

Chen Shao stopped and asked, "Who sent them?"

"The Ren family, the Wen family, the Gu family, the Zhu family... there are too many people, and I can't remember them all." Yu Linwei said, "There are too many straw mats sent, probably no less than a thousand in total, and they were all delivered by the stewards of these families in person."

Chen Shao instructed Fu Jiu, "Go and pick up all the straw mats. Register each family's number. When registering, ask them if they have a separate courtyard nearby, how far it is from the garden, and who usually stays in the courtyard."

Fu Jiu asked, "Are all the straw mats placed there after they are collected?"

Chen Shao nodded. "Put them all over there. Tell Xu Guang to move all the assembled skeletons onto the straw mats, and have them brought back one by one on a cart."

After Fu Jiu followed the Imperial Guards, Chen Shao followed to the second hall.

Mrs. Gao looked very embarrassed and haggard.

After decades of luxury, she was dragged to Luoyanju by Yulin Guards with her hands tied. She couldn't keep up with the horse, and she felt ashamed to be watched by people all the way, so she couldn't keep up with the horse. For a long distance, she fell to the ground and was dragged.

There were two long wounds on her legs.

When she returned to the prefect's mansion, not only did no one treat her, but she was also thrown back into prison. She couldn't eat well or sleep well, and in just two days, she lost a lot of weight and quickly became old.

Chen Shao sat at the desk, looking at her haggard appearance, without any sympathy. He picked up the gavel and knocked hard, then asked coldly, "Who killed those people in the garden?"

Mrs. Gao was really afraid of dragging her down again, so she quickly replied, "It's not me!"

Chen Shao asked: "Who is that?"

Mrs. Gao shook her head: "I don't know."

Chen Shao questioned, "You don't know, or you don't dare to say it?"

Mrs. Gao still shook her head, "I don't know."

Chen Shao knocked the gavel hard: "You don't know who killed these people, and you don't know what happened to those bones?"

"I don't know, I really don't know," Mrs. Gao kowtowed and cried, "I am only responsible for their food, clothing and daily expenses. I don't know anything else, and they don't let me know."

"You mean you haven't hurt anyone?" Chen Shao asked.

Madam Gao kowtowed repeatedly, "Your Excellency is wise, I have never harmed them."

Chen Shao sneered: "Then how did Xue Meilan die?"

"Yes, it was Gao Han who instructed me to poison her. I didn't want to harm her!" Mrs. Gao begged for mercy.

"He ordered you to poison Xue Meilan, so you poisoned Xue Meilan. Xue Meilan is dead now. According to the laws of Datong, you should pay for Xue Meilan's life." Chen Shao questioned, "Why are you crying and begging for mercy?"

"I shouldn't have listened to him! I shouldn't have poisoned Xue Meilan!" Madam Gao suddenly slapped herself like crazy, "I know I was wrong, please spare my life, sir. I won't dare to do it again!"

"Okay, stop pretending." Chen Shao said coldly, "I don't buy it."

Mrs. Gao stopped awkwardly.

"Go and bring Gao Han here." Chen Shao ordered Li Tianliu.

When Li Tianliu led his men, she continued to interrogate, "Who arranged Xue Meilan's funeral, and where was she buried?"

When she heard that Gao Han was going to be invited, Mrs. Gao replied anxiously, "It was arranged by Shi Xing, and he was buried at the foot of Wu'an Mountain."

The foot of Wuan Mountain?

If she remembered correctly, this place was one of the places where Shi Xing cleaned the carriage every time he killed someone. Chen Shao saw her impatience and asked slowly and deliberately: "He buried Xue Meilan in this place, and the Xue family didn't care?"

"The Xue family said that Shi Xing killed her. They were so busy moving things from his house that they didn't care where he buried Xue Meilan." Madam Gao answered hastily and quickly took the initiative to say, "Sir, although I don't know who killed those people, I know who often went to those gardens!"