Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

While Li Tianliu was preparing, Chen Shao asked Mrs. Gao again: "What were the maiden names of Luo Zhengxin's first two wives, and where did they live?"

"One is the Ye family, and the other is the He family." Having done business with Luo Zhengxin for decades, Mrs. Gao knew Luo Zhengxin very well. "Both families are poor scholars, relying on their son-in-law, Luo Jianyuan, to barely make ends meet. The Ye family lives in Tianshui Lane, Yanglou Street, in the north of the city, and the He family lives in Tianshui Lane, Yanglou Street."

Chen Shao glanced at Xu Guang's records. There were also the Ye family and the He family among the small noble families, but he didn't know if they were these two families. After marking them with a pen and putting a question mark next to them, Chen Shao called two yamen runners and two Yulin guards and asked them to go to Yanglou Street to pick up the two families, one yamen runner and one Yulin guard.

Afterwards, another group of people with the same combination were arranged to go to Tongchuntang and invite back the doctor who had treated the two former ladies.

In addition, people were sent to invite Chan Yi and Xu Guang.

After Li Tianliu drove over in his carriage, Chen Shao went outside the prefectural government's residence, inquiring about the injuries of Liu Deming's father and others while waiting for people.

After everyone arrived, we set off for Anshan.

Many people mistakenly thought that someone had died again, and followed them excitedly to watch the fun.

Chen Shao asked Li Tianliu to instruct the Yulin Guards and the yamen runners not to stop it.

Anshan is in the east of the city, and you can get there after walking seven or eight miles out of the east city gate. However, Luo Zhengxin’s two ex-wives were buried halfway up the mountain, so after getting off the official road, you still have to climb a long mountain road.

Under the guidance of Madam Gao, the convoy had just turned off the official road and onto the path up the mountain when a Yulin Guard came hurriedly carrying a package. After handing it to Li Tianliu, he whispered a few words to him.

Li Tianliu looked at the package, then looked at Chen Shao's carriage, rode his horse to catch up, and stuffed the package in through the window of the carriage.

Chan Yi answered the call and asked, "What is this?"

The path was narrow and it was difficult for Li Tianliu to keep pace with the carriage. He replied hastily, "It was sent from the capital at full speed," and then retreated behind the carriage.

Chan Yi handed the package to Chen Shao and wanted to say, "It must have been sent by the Sixth Young Master." But when the words came to her lips, she remembered that it was Xu Guang who was driving, so she swallowed them back.

Chen Shao opened the package and saw two boxes of Baiweizhai's Yunpian Cake and Mi Fu Su Nai Hua Pastry.

Chan Yi whispered, "This is the Master's favorite."

Chen Shao smiled and said "hmm" and handed the snacks to her. Under the snacks were three pearwood boxes.

The first wooden box contained two sets of Jinxiufang summer clothes. Without taking a closer look, Chen Shao handed it to Chanyi.

The second wooden box contained pens, ink, paper and inkstone, which was also given to Chan Yi without much scrutiny.

The third wooden box contained... a lacquered letter, three blank official documents with the emperor's seal and the official seal of the Ministry of Personnel, and a silver fish bag. After taking out the official documents and the silver fish bag and looking through them, Chen Shao opened the lacquered envelope and took out the letter paper inside.

When Chen Shao saw the handwriting on the paper for the first time, he was stunned for a moment, then quickly looked to the end of the letter and started writing.

The first thing written was the prince's name: Song Yuanlu.

And his private seal.

Chen Shao calmly moved his gaze back to the beginning of the letter, roughly scanned the contents, and after making sure that Chen Zhao was fine, he read it carefully with a little relief.

Song Yuanlu explained the reason for writing the letter at the beginning: Chen Zhao received her letter and asked him for help. After he secretly checked the information of Li Baozhong and other officials in the prefectural government, he wrote back to her directly.

The letter said that Li Baozhong was forcibly transferred from Hongyuan County because of his pedantic and stubborn character, and his arbitrary behavior. He had to bear 90% of the responsibility for Shi Xing's murder case, which had not been solved for a long time. As for who forcibly transferred him, it has not been found out yet. But judging from Li Baozhong's past resume, he is indeed stubborn, but not pedantic, let alone arbitrary. He was transferred, most likely because he touched the interests of some people.

As for the official title and fish bag, they were temporary grants to her of the right to appoint prefecture and county officials based on the real reason why Li Baozhong was transferred.

The writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstone, snacks and clothes were specially prepared for her by the Crown Princess.

The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess are among the few people who know her true identity.

The Crown Princess is also the best friend of her mother in this body.

Chen Shao's eyes fell on the pens, inkstones, snacks, and clothes that Chan Yi was packing. The Crown Princess left a message at the end of the letter, asking her to put her own safety first and the investigation second.

"Sir, would you like to try it?" Chan Yi opened the cloud cake and handed it to her.

Chen Shao took a piece and put it in his mouth, savoring the taste while reading the letter again. If Li Baozhong was really transferred because he touched some interests, what interests would they be?

She also wrote a letter to Li Baozhong, but has not received a reply from him until now. She doesn't know whether he is unwilling to reply or dares not to reply.

Whatever his reason was, the three official certificates and the fish bag came at the right time. The bait of the official medicine shop and the promotion of the governor, plus the official certificates and the fish bag, was more convincing!

The convoy has begun to slow down.

We have reached the halfway point of the mountain.

After keeping the letter close to himself and asking Chan Yi to put away the notice and the fish loan, Chen Shao got out of the carriage the moment Xu Guang opened the door.

"The graves of Luo Jianyuan's two former wives are over there."

Chen Shao looked in the direction of Mrs. Gao's finger. In the flat area in front of him on the left, facing away from the sun and towards the shade, stood two large and imposing tombs. There were many pines and cypresses planted around the tombs. Between the pines and cypresses, there were weeds. Without going closer to see, he knew that no one had come to worship for a long time.

"Bring the people from the Ye family, the He family, and Huichuntang here." Chen Shao retracted his gaze and gave the order.

The people from the Ye and He families followed the yamen runners over, greeted her awkwardly, and then remained silent.

The shopkeeper of Huichuntang also came over. After greeting each other warmly, he took the initiative to say, "Young Master, if you have anything to ask, please tell me. No matter how hard it takes, we at Huichuntang will do our best to help you!"

Chen Shao's eyes passed over him and looked behind him. Behind him were two gray-haired elderly men, about sixty years old. When they saw her looking at them, they hurriedly bowed to greet her. Chen Shao asked, "When the first two wives of Abbot Luo were sick, were you the ones who treated them?"

The two of them hurriedly responded.

Chen Shao: "What diseases do they have?"

The two looked at each other, and one of them answered, "Both ladies have tuberculosis. The patients have chest pains, and are accompanied by hemoptysis, coughing, fatigue, night sweats and other symptoms. It was too late when they were diagnosed and treated, so there is no cure."

"As far as I know, tuberculosis is similar to the plague and can be transmitted to others." Chen Shao asked Madam Gao, "Since you are the wife of Abbot Luo, you must have servants around you. Are there any people around you who have tuberculosis or have died of tuberculosis?"

Madam Gao immediately replied, "No! All the servants who served the second lady served the first lady."

The two doctors' expressions changed slightly.

Chen Shao glanced at them and asked the Ye and He families, "Is there anyone suffering from tuberculosis in your two families?"

The Ye family was the first Mrs. Luo's family. The people who came were the first Mrs. Luo's brother and sister-in-law, as well as their eldest son. The three of them looked at the yamen runners and imperial guards holding hoes and rakes, and had already guessed something. All three of them answered, "No."

The people who came from the He family were the second Mrs. Luo's eldest brother and nephew. They also saw the yamen runners and Yulin guards holding hoes and rakes, but they hesitated and didn't know how to answer.