Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

"Master, they are coming out." After a long time, Chan Yi came out from the dark room with a slightly hoarse voice.

"Take them to the carriage and see if there is any food or drink in the carriage. Prepare some for them." After Chen Shao gave her instructions, he said to Li Tianliu, "Ask a few Yulin guards to protect them."

The Yulin Guards were all very conscious, and after Chan Yi brought a few women out, they all protected them in the middle without looking away, and sent them to the carriage. They then stood quietly on both sides of the carriage, guarding them silently.

Chen Shao walked around Luo Jian and Luo Zhong's room again, and after making sure that he could not find any other evidence, he came out and walked to Wu Dong, who no longer dared to beg for mercy. Looking at his face, which had given up hiding, he said with mixed feelings, "Take him back to the prefect's mansion!"

Wu Dong had already prepared himself for death, and although he was surprised that she would let him go, he did not ask any more questions. It was always good to live a little longer, so Wu Dong stood up respectfully and followed the yamen runner.

After watching him walk away, Chen Shao turned to look at the several clumps of gardenia trees that were destroyed due to the digging of corpses.

The gardenia tree grows very lushly and the flowers are white and fragrant.

Chen Shao couldn't help but walk over, broke off a branch and put it to his nose to smell it.

Li Tianliu sighed twice, then broke off a branch and smelled it, then asked, "Do you still want to keep him?"

Chen Shao did not answer but asked: "How do you think we should deal with him?"

"Of course we should kill him to serve as a warning to others." Li Tianliu said as a matter of course, "Isn't he loyal and righteous? Then let others see that this is the fate of loyalty and righteousness!"

"Will killing him have a deterrent effect?" Chen Shao asked.

Li Tianliu said disapprovingly: "Killing him won't have a deterrent effect, so let's kill a few more."

Chen Shao nodded in agreement, "Then I'll have to trouble General Li to arrest Wu Dong's family."

Li Tianliu laughed out loud, "Waiting for me here?"

"You're overthinking it," Chen Shao said as he walked out, "I just suddenly realized from what you said about 'loyalty' that he must have some ulterior motive in covering up for Luo Zhengxin."

What could he want?

It’s definitely not for myself.

When his lies were exposed, the death penalty awaited him.

Then what else can he want?

There is only one answer: wealth and glory for future generations!

Wu Dong gave out the names of forty-nine students, plus the seven recruited by Luo Jian and Luo Zhong, a total of fifty-six students.

After nearly an hour's effort, with the cooperation of the yamen runners, the Yulin Guards, and Xu Xianmin who was responsible for guarding the Imperial Academy, they finally found all the people.

Fifty-six people stood together, forming a large dark area in the pitch-black night. Xu Xianmin followed the Yulin Guards and came over quickly. After bowing, he reported: "Since the adults asked us to guard the academy, many of them have wanted to sneak away. Fortunately, we had expected this and made preparations in advance. Otherwise, we really couldn't catch them."

Chen Shao said: "Thank you for your hard work."

Xu Xianmin quickly said, "It's not hard."

"It's getting late, you guys should go back and rest." Chen Shao glanced at the dark night and said, "Tomorrow we will execute Luo Jian, Luo Zhong, Wu Dong and others. If you are interested, you can go to the gate of the prefectural government tomorrow at noon to watch the excitement."

I thought the night watchman's words were just a rumor, but I didn't expect it to be true. Xu Xianmin suppressed his excitement and quickly replied, "I will definitely go tomorrow!"

Chen Shao nodded, turned around, mounted his horse, and escorted the fifty-six students slowly out of the Imperial College together with the Yulin Guards and yamen runners.

There are no stars or moon tonight.

The sky was dark and the wind was blowing rapidly.

There seems to be a storm brewing.

The sound of the night watchman's drum came with the wind, one, two, three, four, five...it was the fifth watch.

There were no pedestrians on the street.

Chen Shao rode a horse beside the carriage, and Fu Jiu also rode a horse beside her.

Chan Yi walked alone on the other side.

The four rescued women were riding alone in the carriage.

The air is stuffy.

It was so stuffy that I could hardly breathe.

Several women huddled together. As they were only wearing outer clothes, the curtains of the carriage were not opened. However, they did not feel the heat at all. They listened silently to the sound of the wheels rolling over the cobblestone road. Their mood gradually changed from fear to uneasiness.

When they were locked in the dark room, they longed to get out.

Now that I'm out, it's not as easy as I imagined.

They were all sent out as 'bribes' by their older brothers. They no longer have a home, so even if they get out, where can they go?

Before I could come to my senses, the carriage had already stopped.

The bodies of several people tensed up instantly.

"Don't stop here, stop at the entrance of Chengfeng Courtyard." Chen Shao's voice penetrated the car curtain steadily, "Chan Yi, you come with us. Arrange them to live in the east wing with Quan Shuyu."

The cicada shell responded with a "good".

The carriage started moving again.

Chen Shao did not follow. After the carriage had gone far away, she turned around and told Fu Jiu, "You go with them. Before locking them up in jail, check their names again."

Just as Fu Jiu rode his horse to follow, a student suddenly rushed out from the crowd, knelt on the ground, and cried out loudly, "Sir, I want to sue Li Hong. He also gave his cousin and sister to Abbot Luo!"

Following his lead, other students immediately followed suit and knelt down.

Chen Shao ordered Fu Jiu, "Take them to the prison first. If anyone wants to confess, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

Fu Jiu immediately whipped the horse whip to drive everyone away, and locked them up in the prison while they cried and made a fuss.

When Chen Shao returned to Chengfeng Courtyard, Chan Yi was calling on the Yulin Army to bring hot water. Seeing her coming back, she hurried over to report: "They have all been arranged, and Quan Shuyu is helping to comfort them."

Chen Shao glanced towards the east wing and asked, "Is she able to get out of bed and walk around?"

"She can barely get out of bed." Chan Yi also looked back, "It would be best for her to lie still, but she is so stubborn that I can't persuade her."

"Be more careful." After Chen Shao gave instructions, he asked, "Have you brought all the things into the house?"

Chan Yi said 'hmm', "They are all in the study."

"Go and get busy." Chen Shao had just raised his foot when Ding Lisheng suddenly rushed in, "Sir."

Chen Shao looked at him, "It's so late, why haven't you slept yet?"

"Young Master hasn't slept yet, how dare this humble servant sleep?" Ding Lisheng followed her into the study room in a flattering manner. Seeing her unpacking and preparing to pack up a few pearwood boxes, he immediately stepped forward and said attentively, "Young Master has been busy all day and must be tired. Let this humble servant do it."

"No need." Chen Shao avoided his hand, took out two boxes of snacks first, then took out the box containing the letter and the silver fish bag and opened it. While taking out the letter and the silver fish bag, he asked, "Tell me, what do you want to see me so late at night?"

Ding Lisheng stared at the notices and the silver fish bag, unable to speak for a long time.