Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Fan Zhirong and Fan Chuanfang wanted to say something polite, but Li Tianliu walked towards them with his arms folded and said in a bandit-like tone, "You two, please come in."

He had been to the battlefield. He was the second son of the Duke of Chen and had slaughtered eight thousand elite soldiers in the enemy camp. Fan Zhirong and Fan Chuanfang did not dare to confront him head-on. They folded their arms slightly, bowed to Chen Shao, and left obediently.

Since he was a discarded pawn anyway, it didn't matter whether he said polite words or not. The two of them just left without looking back.

Luo Zhengxin had a gloomy face and stared at the two of them.

The two still didn't look back.

"Sir, we..." The shopkeeper of Tongchun Hall also wanted to leave, but like Fan Zhirong and Fan Chuanfang, he was interrupted by Chen Shao before he opened his mouth. "If you had reported to the government in time when Ye was poisoned, there would not have been the deaths of He and Xue Meilan. Although you are not the murderer, you are no different from the murderer. Considering that you were coerced by them, you can be spared the death penalty, but you cannot escape the living punishment. The shopkeeper of Tongchun Hall will be caned 60 times, and the rest of you will be caned 40 times. The caning will be completed tomorrow and you will be exiled immediately!"

The shopkeeper of Tongchun Hall and the others knelt down quickly and begged for mercy: "Please spare our lives, sir. We already know our mistakes, and we still beg you..."

"Why spare your life?" Chen Shao interrupted them coldly, "Do you think sixty is too little and want to add twenty more? Or do you think the army is not good and want to go to the frontier to open up wasteland?"

It would be better to give him twenty fewer strokes of the cane and send him to the army. Everyone immediately shut up and stopped begging for mercy.

Chen Shao looked at Wu Dong again, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Wu Dong had originally begged for mercy, but when he saw the fate of the Tongchuntang shopkeeper and others, he said with a dead look on his face, "I know my crime, and I only hope that you will have pity on my age and give me a lighter sentence."

Chen Shao sneered, "I pity you for being old, but have you ever felt pity for the lives your master has killed and still has a good life to live?"

Wu Dong was extremely terrified: "I already know I was wrong."

"Since you know you are wrong, be a good person in your next life." Chen Shao said sternly, "Your master has harmed others, and you have been an insider from beginning to end. Your crime is equal to his, and you should be beheaded together with him!"

"Sir, please spare my life, sir, please spare my life!" Wu Dong thought that he would be beaten with a stick several dozen times like the shopkeeper of Tongchuntang, and then sent to serve in the army. He never thought that Chen Shao would actually kill him. For a moment, he was so panicked that he kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Chen Shao ignored him. Seeing Li Tianliu coming back, he immediately ordered: "Take them away and arrange for someone to take good care of them. Anyone who dares to commit suicide at night will be punished with the entire clan!"

The Yulin soldiers came forward to arrest him. Wu Dong could not struggle free, and in desperation he blurted out, "Sir, I want to sue Supervisor Luo for taking advantage of his position to accept bribes and secretly letting students search for young girls for him in the name of taking concubines!"

Luo Zhengxin, who was also resisting the arrest of the Imperial Guards, heard this and immediately flew into a rage, "Selling out for fame, you bastard! How have I ever treated you unfairly?"

Wu Dong ignored him and just shouted: "He took in many concubines, but in fact he was sending those young girls away..."

"Shut up!" Luo Zhengxin rushed over to stop him, but was caught tightly by the Yulin Guards. He struggled several times but couldn't get free, so he could only curse.

The curses were too harsh, so Chen Shao picked up the black donkey hoof and knocked, "Quiet!"

Luo Zhengxin glared at her angrily, but after seeing the black donkey hoof, he seemed to be in a nightmare. He looked at her in horror and suddenly screamed, "Don't come over, go away, you forced me to kill you!"

"Don't kill me, I say, I say, it's not my fault! If you want to blame someone, blame their brothers. They gave them to me in order to enter the Imperial College and curry favor with the rich and powerful!"

"They gave it to me, so they are mine. Whether they live or die is up to me!"

Seeing him running away with his head in his hands, waving his arms and cursing like crazy, Chen Shao raised his eyebrows slightly. Is he really afraid of ghosts? He looked at Wu Dong, who said quickly, "Your Excellency, after the death of the first wife, Supervisor Luo often had nightmares. After the second wife cursed him before she died, saying that she would not let him go even if she became a ghost, he often had nightmares like this."

He often has nightmares, and he still dares to continue to harm people? After Chen Shao sneered twice, he ordered Li Tianliu: "Take these black donkey hooves and lock them up with him. No matter whether he is really afraid of ghosts or pretending to be afraid of ghosts, just regard it as a pardon for the people he killed before beheading him."

Li Tianliu laughed strangely twice, stepped forward and took a few black donkey hooves, and said to the two Yulin guards who were arresting Luo Zhengxin: "Take him away!"

Luo Zhengxin was still struggling, and Li Tianliu kicked him: "If you keep twisting around like a ghost, I will kill you now!"

After Luo Zhengxin stumbled to the ground, he immediately became quiet.

Li Tianliu disdainfully hit him twice with his black donkey hoof before ordering him to be dragged away.

Wu Dong, who was left alone, couldn't help but feel even more frightened when he saw his fate. He turned around tremblingly, met Chen Shao's gaze, and kowtowed in panic to beg for mercy.

Chen Shao said coldly: "Keep talking. If you speak well, you may not be spared from death."

When Wu Dong heard this, he kowtowed three times in gratitude, and then said, "Under the pretext of taking a concubine, Luo Jianyuan secretly asked the students of the academy to send him sisters from their families. Among these young girls, those with outstanding looks were kept at home by him, and the rest were sent to Luoyanju to be enjoyed together with the nobles in the county city."

Chen Shao asked slowly, "Only Luoyanju?"

Wu Dong said yes, and then explained: "Luo Jianyuan is the brother of the third wife of the sixth room of the main Fan family. Because the side branches in Hongyuan County were not well controlled by the main family in the early years, he was sent here to supervise. And because of his status, although he has been in Hongyuan County for more than 30 years, neither the side branches of the Fan family nor other noble families are very close to him."

So that's it. Chen Shao took a pen and wrote down this important information, then asked, "What other gardens do you know?"

"I have only heard of a few other gardens." Wu Dong did not dare to hide anything and explained hastily, "Because Supervisor Luo was not treated with courtesy by these noble families, he often smashed things and cursed them. I often heard some of his curses."

Chen Shao looked at him and asked, "Have your family members also come to Hongyuan County?"

Wu Dong hesitated, "No, no. After I came here, I married a wife and two concubines."

Chen Shao asked: "Don't you want your family over there anymore?"

Wu Dong grunted and didn't answer.

Feelings have different levels of importance. When faced with a choice, it is natural to protect whoever is closer. Chen Shao did not delve into his personal choice, but continued to ask: "Since the nobles and gentry in Hongyuan County are not very close to him, how did he join Luoyanju? How did he get Madam Gao to manage other gardens?"