Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

After receiving the money, both the Ye and He families readily agreed to rebury their bodies.

Chan Yi was afraid that they would only agree verbally, so she warned them: "After the burial, remember to go to the prefect's mansion and let us know. Our master will arrange for someone to check it out. If the inspection is qualified, the remaining silver can be used at your discretion."

That meant the remaining silver would all belong to them, and the two families happily agreed.

While she was arranging these chores, Chen Shao was also re-interrogating the manager and two doctors of Tongchuntang.

It has been confirmed that Luo Zhengxin’s two ex-wives died of poisoning. Next, as long as the chain of evidence is perfected so that Luo Zhengxin can’t find an excuse to shirk responsibility, he can be used as a breakthrough point to uncover the truth behind the crimes in Luoyanju and other gardens!

After sorting out the clues from the previous interrogation, Chen Shao continued to ask the shopkeeper of Tongchuntang: "How many people know that Tongchuntang accidentally obtained the golden silkworm and it was bought by Luo Zhengxin?"

"Besides the people of Tongchuntang, only the second master and the third son of the Fan family know about it." The shopkeeper secretly glanced at the dug-up graves, feeling both relieved and panicked. He was relieved that he had earlier recognized Luo Zhengxin as the one who poisoned people, but he was panicked that Chen Shao had no scruples in digging up the graves and conducting autopsies. If he had not been so decisive earlier, and she had found out that the two former Luo wives had died of poisoning, Tongchuntang would most likely have followed the old path of Fenglong Commercial Bank: being sealed off and imprisoned.

But... the shopkeeper was also a little worried. Luo Zhengxin was not only the dean of the Imperial College, but also a relative of the Fan family. If Chen Shao made him pay for his life after proving that he had poisoned someone, the Fan family would pursue the matter. They would not dare to trouble Chen Shao, but they could trouble them.

I have to go back and report the situation to Master Fan.

Chen Shao then asked, "How many people know that Luo Zhengxin poisoned his first two wives to death?"

The shopkeeper said timidly, "They reported it to me when they came back from their consultation. I also mentioned it to the other two older doctors in the hall. But I was afraid that if the matter leaked out, I would get into trouble, so I strictly ordered them not to spread it."

Chen Shao glanced at the two doctors behind him, then looked back at him: "Luo Zhengxin poisoned two ex-wives in succession. Not only did he use the golden silkworm poison that he bought from Huichuntang, but he also asked the doctors from your Huichuntang to treat them. Tell me, why is he not afraid of the news leaking out, and why did he take the initiative to let you have such a life-threatening handle?"

"This..." The shopkeeper broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly raised his eyelids to look at her. When he met her cold eyes, he quickly retracted his eyes and answered carefully while considering the answer. "The golden silkworm poison will not kill people immediately. Supervisor Luo did not know this at the beginning. By the time he knew it, it was too late. In order to preserve his reputation, he had no choice but to find Huichuntang. Such a thing must not be exposed. Supervisor Luo is such a person, so he threatened me at the beginning that if I dared to report it, he would accuse Huichuntang of selling him poisonous things without telling me, and must have ulterior motives. I really can't afford to offend him, so I have kept it secret until now."

Chen Shao did not pursue the truth of his words, but simply asked, "How many years has Huichuntang been open?"

The shopkeeper replied cautiously: "Nearly fifty years."

"In the past fifty years, you have gone through a lot of ups and downs." Chen Shao said nonchalantly, "Since Supervisor Luo threatened you so viciously, I think you have kept a lot of tricks to protect yourself. Tell me, what are your tricks?"

The previous cold sweat had not yet dried, and a new wave of cold sweat broke out. The shopkeeper trembled and picked up his sleeve to wipe his forehead twice, then said bluntly: "The next step is that I ask them to record the time, place, and symptoms of the patients, and then, then..."

After a long while, he still couldn't explain it. A doctor standing behind him looked around randomly and accidentally saw Mrs. Gao standing beside him. He suddenly said, "Then Mrs. Gao can testify for me!"

Madam Gao jumped up like a cat whose tail was stepped on, and said, "Stop spitting blood at me. What can I do to prove your case?"

"Mrs. Gao can certainly testify for me," the doctor said hurriedly. "Mrs. Gao should not have forgotten that when I went to see Mrs. Luo after she fell ill, you happened to be there. After I came out from the examination, you even came to me and asked what illness Mrs. Luo had."

Mrs. Gao thought for a while before reluctantly saying, "That's true. I remember you said she was thin, had sunken eyes, and was yellow and white all over. I've never encountered such strange symptoms before."

The doctor nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, I didn't dare to say it clearly at the time, so I can only tell you this."

At the end, the doctor continued, "If I remember correctly, Mrs. Shi looked like this when she was sick."

When Mrs. Gao heard this, her face instantly turned cold.

Chen Shao asked, "After Xue Meilan fell ill, was it also the doctor from Tongchun Hall who went to treat her?"

The shopkeeper replied guiltily, "Yes."

"Since Xue Meilan's symptoms are the same as the previous two Mrs. Luos, and both were treated by doctors from Tongchun Hall," Chen Shao ordered, "then go dig up Xue Meilan's body and examine it again."

The shopkeeper secretly groaned in his heart, but did not dare to refuse.

Chen Shao saw the pleading in his eyes, but ignored it. Seeing Chan Yi coming back, he ordered: "Go pick up some glutinous rice from each of the two coffins, separate them and keep them, and bring those black donkey hooves and talisman paper over here."

Xu Guang stopped him, saying, "Don't dirty Miss Chan Yi's clothes anymore. I'll go. I've already been there twice."

Chan Yi knew that he was seeking to show off, so she smiled and let him go.

Xue Meilan's grave is at the foot of Wu'an Mountain, which is in the northwest, and is in the opposite direction of Anshan Mountain. It takes at least half an hour to get there. It's already past noon, and when we go there to dig up the grave and examine the body, it will be dark when we return to the prefectural government.

And they haven't had lunch yet.

Chan Yi squinted at the slowly setting sun and asked in a low voice, "Sir, do you want to go back and have a meal before going to the autopsy?"

Chen Shao followed her words, looked at the sun outside the shade of the tree, and said casually: "Send a yamen runner to Juxian Tower to tell Manager Zhou to prepare some simple food. When we return to the county city later, ask him to arrange for someone to deliver it."

Chan Yi joked, "If we keep looking for Shopkeeper Zhou like this, Juxianlou will become ours."

Chen Shao smiled and let her make the arrangements.

After she made the arrangements, Xu Guang also retrieved the evidence. Chen Shao got on the carriage and, as he was going down the mountain, he told Li Tianliu, "Go back to the county town and get the evidence from Tongchun Hall."

As the convoy left, the onlookers immediately gathered around. After asking the Ye and He families for the whole story, they learned that they were going to perform an autopsy elsewhere, so they quickly chased after them.

The convoy returned to the county town and slowly stopped in front of Tongchun Hall.

After taking a quick look through the car window at Tongchun Hall, which was as big as five shops, Chen Shao ordered the shopkeeper and two doctors who came with the Yulin Army: "Find out all the backup plans you had for Luo Zhengxin, the other people who knew that Luo Zhengxin was poisoning people, and the doctors who had diagnosed Xue Meilan."

The shopkeeper followed the two doctors and went away in misery.

Li Tianliu arranged four Yulin guards to follow them.