Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

There was only one sentence on the paper ball: Three o'clock in the morning, same place.

After reading it, Ding Lisheng crumpled the paper again. Two breaths later, he opened it again.

He knew what the Fan family wanted to do. If it was before yesterday, he would have gone to the appointment without hesitation, but now, he had to think about it carefully. He had no ambitions, and all he wanted was a high position and a generous salary. If he could achieve his goal in an upright manner, it seemed unnecessary to take risks.

It would be good if the risk is successful, but if it fails, he will be the next Luo Zhengxin and Wu Dong.

After carefully putting the paper ball away in his arms, Ding Lisheng walked out and asked casually, "No one is passing by, right?"

The attendant whispered, "No."

"When did Lei Dehou and Hu Qinglu go to Chengfengyuan, and how long were they there?" Ding Lisheng asked as they walked.

The attendant followed him closely, "Soon after Young Master Chen Liu returned to the prefect's residence, he asked someone to invite them over. About two cups of tea later, Lord Hu came out first, and about another cup of tea later, Lord Lei came out."

After a pause, he continued, "Mr. Chen Liu also invited Liu Yi, who sells cattail fans and bamboo chairs outside the prefect's mansion."

Ding Lisheng paused for a moment, "That Liu Deming's father? What do you want him to do?"

The attendant said uncertainly, "When the lord was dealing with the rumors just now, I walked around Liu Yi's stall twice. From what he said, it seemed that Master Chen Liu was asking him to find someone, and it seemed that there were quite a few people."

Ding Lisheng stopped in his tracks. Chen Shao asked Liu Yi to find a lot of people. "Damn it, I forgot about this! You don't have to follow me. Go find the owner of Qin's Coffin Shop and tell him to make me a hundred coffins within half a month, no matter what he does."

The follower was embarrassed: "Half a month, last time..."

"Yes, that's half a month!" Ding Lisheng said without question, "Tell him that the quality can't be bad within half a month. As long as he can finish it, money is not a problem!"

The attendant went immediately.

Ding Lisheng stood there for a while, still feeling unsafe. After thinking about it for a while, he finally remembered something. Two days ago, Chen Shao asked that old lady Pan to go back and get the calligraphy and paintings that the teachers in the academy had given her. As a result, after she brought them back, Chen Shao was busy all the time and had no time to see her. He happened to see them, so he took the calligraphy and paintings and put them away. He was so busy these two days that he forgot about it.

He quickly turned back to Fa Cao's room, took out the calligraphy and paintings and checked them. After confirming that nothing was missing, Ding Lisheng immediately took them to Chengfengyuan.

"You've come just in time," Chen Shao greeted him when he saw him, "I was looking for you for something."

Ding Lisheng hurried over and handed the calligraphy and painting to Chanyi respectfully, and quickly glanced at the desk. Seeing that the silverfish bag and the certificate were no longer on the desk, his heartstrings instantly tightened: Was the silverfish bag put away, or was it given to Lei Dehou?

Chan Yi took the calligraphy and paintings, flipped through a few of them, and seeing that they were just ordinary calligraphy and paintings, she handed them to Chen Shao.

Chen Shao also glanced through a few of them and asked, "Did Mrs. Pan send them?"

Ding Lisheng quickly calmed down his anxious mood and complimented, "Young Master, you have good eyesight."

"Aren't there names on all the calligraphy and paintings? How did you get such good eyesight?" Chen Shao put the calligraphy and paintings aside, opened the drawer, took out two wooden plaques with Luo Jian, Luo Zhong and others sworn brotherhood, and handed them to him, saying, "I forgot to give them to you last night. According to them, these are tokens of their sworn brotherhood with Ren Yujie, Guo Wengui and Zhao Letian."

Ding Lisheng noticed the silverfish bag in the drawer with his sharp eyes. His heart was instantly relieved and he quickly stepped forward to take the wooden sign.

Chen Shao pretended not to notice his change of mood, and while he was looking through the wooden sign, he continued, "When Madam Gao gave out the fifty-four people, she didn't produce any strong evidence, and I don't have time to search her house for the time being. I think it won't be easy for you to investigate without any specific clues, so why not start with these few people?"

Ding Lisheng responded loudly.

Chen Shao glanced at him and said, "Tell me about your business."

"It's not a big deal." Putting away the wooden sign, Ding Lisheng rubbed his hands and said, "The area outside the prefect's mansion has been cleaned up, and the vendors have set up their stalls and returned to their previous state, but..."

Ding Lisheng hesitated for a while before continuing, "While I was cleaning up, I heard many people criticizing you for executing Luo Zhengxin but not Shi Xing, and that you were intentionally protecting Shi Xing. Although I have already explained this to them, I still think I should tell you. Also, I took advantage of my free time in the morning to find the owners of several coffin shops, and through coercion and inducement, they promised to make the missing dozens of coffins within half a month, but the money might be a little higher than usual."

Chen Shao looked at him meaningfully for a moment, and when he lowered his head and laughed foolishly, he slowly said, "It doesn't matter if it's a little higher, as long as the speed is fast and the quality can keep up."

Ding Lisheng said honestly: "That's what I told them."

Seeing that she didn't respond, he continued, "The reason why the money is slightly higher than usual is that they don't have enough wood in their storage, so they need to go to the county town or other county towns to buy it. The round trip to the nearest county town takes three to five days, and the ones a little further away take about eleven or twelve days. After the wood comes back, they have to work all night long."

"How much money does it cost? Tell me the price later." Chen Shao said.

Ding Lisheng did not refuse immediately, but responded politely: "Then I will get started now."

Chen Shao nodded and said, "Go ahead."

Chan Yi watched him walk away, then turned around and said, "Last time you said it would take a month, but after you knew that you could really promote him, it became half a month. How hypocritical!"

"Just because he can be promoted doesn't mean he will be promoted. Calling him hypocritical doesn't mean you are also calling me hypocritical?" Chen Shao joked and ordered, "Fu Jiu is still here, right? Ask him to go to the prison and bring Huang Jiangnan and Ji Qinglin over."

Both of them were students of the Imperial College.

They were also among the fifty-six students who were brought back last night.

One of them is the brother of the two bodies found in Luo Zhengxin’s dark room, and the other is his cousin.

"Haven't they been arranged to investigate? Sir, you should take a rest for a while." Chan Yi advised, "I slept for less than an hour this morning. If I continue to sleep, I won't be able to hold on any longer."

"We arranged for them to investigate because we don't know much about the people in Hongyuan County. We can only use them to find the solution. This doesn't mean..."

"I know you are eager to solve the case," Chan Yi held her arm and forcibly pulled her up before she could finish. She dragged her out and said, "But the case is important, and your health is also important. Besides, it's already noon. If you don't eat, Xu Guang will have to eat. He is old, and he can't stand your hardship."

Li Tianliu, who was lying on a tree taking a nap, heard her voice, opened his eyes slightly and looked over. Seeing her and Chen Shao being intimate, he teased, "It's broad daylight, take care of yourself."