Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

The Wen family’s granary in Daqiao Town was built in the west of the town and was several times larger than the granary in the Wen residence.

When Chen Shao arrived, the person who opened the door to greet him was Ren Zhongxing, the third son of the Ren family.

Ren Zhongxing walked to the carriage nervously and stretched out his arm to help Chen Shao. Seeing that Chan Yi came out first, he stretched his arm forward a little more, with a polite and flattering smile on his face. Chan Yi didn't even look at him and jumped off the carriage. Ren Zhongxing was not embarrassed and continued to stretch out his arm and wait for Chen Shao.

Chen Shao came out, looked at him first, then looked at the granary compound, and also avoided his arm, stepped down from the carriage, and asked, "What's going on?"

Chen Shao didn't know Ren Zhongxing and didn't know he was a member of the Ren family. And seeing that he was dressed luxuriously, it was obvious that he was not a servant of the Wen family.

Ren Zhongxing hurriedly bowed and said, "I am Ren Zhongxing, nice to meet you, sir."

"Ren family?" Chen Shao looked him up and down for a moment in the firelight, "What are you doing here?"

Ren Zhongxing faced her sharp gaze and explained quickly, "The Ren family also has a farm here. The day before yesterday, I came here on my father's orders to do some work. I accidentally saw some unusual movements in the Wen family's granary. Thinking of the friendship between the two families, I brought people to check. Unexpectedly, I found that the servants guarding the granary were secretly transporting the grain from the cellar and selling it at a low price to use as running money. I didn't dare to make a decision on my own, so I ordered people to take care of them first, and sent someone back to the county city to report to my father. My father asked me to guard the granary here and wait for you to come, so I have been waiting here."

"Your Ren family... is not bad." Chen Shao complimented him vaguely, then walked up the steps and slowly into the yard. Although it was just a yard where the servants who guarded the granary lived, it was still built on a large scale. The four courtyards were not only built against the mountain, but also had pavilions and towers.

Ren Zhongxing was praised and followed her more diligently to show her the way. "The servants are locked up in the woodshed in the southeast, and the grain storage cellar is in the mountain in the northwest."

Chen Shao paused slightly, then turned and walked towards the northwest.

"The Wen family's granary is built against the mountain. There are ten cellars in total, each of which can store 200 dan of grain." After taking out the key from his arms and opening the door of the granary, Ren Zhongxing walked her in and carefully introduced, "Now, of the ten cellars, only Cellar A is empty. It is in preparation for the storage of new wheat this year. However, Cellar A is not completely empty. There are still about 20 dan of wheat in it. When I came here before, the servant guarding the granary was stealing the remaining grain from Cellar A."

"Except for cellar A, are the other cellars full?" Chen Shao asked.

"Yes, the other warehouses are full." Ren Zhongxing said as he walked forward and opened each warehouse one by one for her to check.

"One warehouse holds 200 dan of grain. There are ten warehouses here, so that means 2,000 dan of grain." Chen Shao asked as he checked the grain in each warehouse. "With so much grain, the 200 or so people in the Wen family definitely can't finish it all. How do they deal with the leftover grain?"

Ren Zhongxing answered without hesitation: "They were all taken out and sold."

Chen Shao looked at him: "Who are you selling it to?"

Ren Zhongxing replied: "Sell it to grain merchants in Shu County or Jiangnan."

After a pause, he added, "Every year before the new grain comes out, the Wen family will use ships to transport a large amount of old grain to Jiangnan. According to past years, this year's new wheat will soon be shipped from various farms to the granaries here, and the granaries here will also soon ship out the old grain from two or three years ago."

After saying this, he silently said in his heart: If those accidents had not happened.

Seeing how cooperative he was, Chen Shao asked with satisfaction, "Which grain merchants are selling it to?"

Ren Zhongxing didn't know that she had just killed the Wen family, but he came here in a hurry after she had killed Wen Shengwu and Wen Ting and surrounded the Wen family. Before coming, he had been told by the elders in the family, especially his father and grandfather, that no matter what she asked, he must not hide anything. Therefore, although the Ren family also sold grain to the same grain merchant, he said without hesitation: "The grain warehouses in Shu County are full, and the grain in Jiangnan is abundant, prosperous, and prosperous."

After silently memorizing these names, Chen Shao came out of the granary, walked around the courtyards, and slowly walked to the woodshed where the servants were imprisoned. There were 28 servants and two stewards guarding the granary. After scanning them one by one, Chen Shao ordered: "We have to go to Yunhe Town in a while, so please ask your Ren family to send someone to the prefect's mansion tomorrow."

Ren Zhongxing responded repeatedly.

Chen Shao turned around and looked towards the granary. "This granary... we have to ask your Ren family to take care of it for the time being."

"Don't worry, sir," Ren Zhongxing assured, "I will guard it strictly and will not let the villain steal even a grain of rice!"

"Thank you for your hard work." Chen Shao agreed casually, and then asked, "Is there any Wen family farm nearby?"

Ren Zhongxing immediately said, "I will take you there right away!"

"That's enough for today." Chen Shao said as he walked out, "If you are still busy, you can take care of the manor for me. I will come back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to check it out."

Ren Zhongxing agreed without thinking. In fact, just like this granary, the Ren family had already taken control of the Wen family's farm.

"Thank you for your hard work." After Chen Shao gave a few more instructions, he took a bus to Yunhe Town.

Yunhe Town was the same as Daqiao Town. The Ren family had already controlled the Wen family's servants on the grounds that they were stealing and selling grain. Chen Shao knew that they were selling good things, so he didn't point it out.

The granary in Yunhe Town is larger than that in Daqiao Town, with a total of 15 cellars, each of which can store 250 dan of grain. And all the cellars in Yunhe Town are still full.

After still asking the Ren family to help look after the child, Chen Shao took a carriage back to the county town.

On the way back to the county town.

Chan Yi said, "The Wen residence plus the two granaries already have more than 6,000 dan of grain. If what the Ren family said is true, the granary in Hanyuan County is as big as the granary in Yunhe Town, then we have to add another 3,750 dan, which is 9,800 dan. This amount of grain is enough..."

Chen Shao added: "Enough for nearly 5,000 people for a full year."

Chan Yi continued, "This doesn't even include the fifty-plus farms. If we count the Ren family, the Gu family, the Zhu family, and the Fan family...it will be enough food for the next few years."

Li Tianliu reminded slowly: "There are more than 5,000 people at the border."

Chan Yi retorted: "There are more than 5,000 people at the border, but have you forgotten that the Wen family and the Ren family are the weakest among the noble families in Hongyuan County?"

Li Tianliu was always being refuted by her recently, and he also became more aggressive, "Then have you forgotten that the food on the farm is to be distributed to the common people by you, the young master?"

Chan Yi sneered: "Then General Li, have you forgotten that in addition to food, there are also gold bars and silver ingots?"

Well, she won.

Li Tianliu shut up.

Chan Yi snorted softly.

It was past the fifth watch and the sky was already beginning to brighten.

The breakfast stalls in the county town have already lit their lights, started the stoves, and are kneading dough.

An old couple was running a noodle stall not far from the West City Gate. The old man was washing the pot when he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the direction of the city gate. He subconsciously tilted his head to look out. Seeing the Yulin Guards clearing the way, he quickly retracted his head and muttered, "This Lord Chen is really busier than us ordinary people."

The woman who was kneading dough came out and looked at the approaching convoy, muttering, "I heard that Master Chen searched the Wen family yesterday afternoon and killed many people. I wonder if the Wen family is gone and the land that was occupied earlier can be taken back? And Sanwa was driven back from the academy for helping those two girls get wronged. I wonder if Master Chen can make a decision for him?"

The old man said, "Master Chen is busy with important matters all day long, so he has no time to care about us ordinary people..."

As the two of them were mumbling, the convoy passed the stall and sped away. After going about thirty or forty feet away, when the two were about to turn around and continue washing the pot and kneading the dough, the convoy slowly retreated back. When it retreated to the stall, it stopped directly. The old couple had never seen such a scene before, and they were so scared that they immediately knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.

Although they didn't know what they had violated.

Chan Yi got off the carriage first, walked over quickly to help the two of them up, and comforted them, "Don't be afraid, sir, sir. Our young master just heard what you two said when he passed by, and wanted to confirm it with you two elders."

Just now, they were talking so quietly, but she heard it? The old couple was even more frightened.

Chen Shao got off the carriage and glanced at the stall before looking at the two of them. He bowed slightly to them and replied in front of their trembling eyes, "Don't worry, the fields occupied by the Wen family will be returned one after another after I settle the accounts."

Then, without waiting for the two elders to reply, he continued to ask, "Auntie just said that your third son was unjustly expelled from the academy for helping the two girls. I don't know what the incident was about. Can you explain it more clearly?"

When she said she would return the land occupied by the Wen family, the old woman was a little afraid that she was speaking in a sarcastic way. But when it came to Sanwa, the old woman didn't care whether she was speaking in a sarcastic way or not. She knelt on the ground quickly, wiped her tears and said, "My lord, please make a decision for my Sanwa. My Sanwa was just trying to save people with good intentions, but they wrongly accused him of luring and raping those two girls..."

Chan Yi helped the old woman sit on a stool, "Auntie, please tell me slowly, who is that San Wa to you?"

"Sanwa is my grandson." The old woman couldn't stop crying, "What a good grandson, not only is he filial to us two old people, he also always rushes to do the housework, and studies very hard. He finally got admitted to the Imperial College. We two old people, as well as his parents, were waiting for him to bring honor to the family, but who knew that in just half a year, he was driven back without any reason."

Chen Shao asked patiently, "Who are those two girls?"

"I don't know who those two girls are," the old woman shook her head, "I just heard that they were concubines of the academy's dean, and Sanwa coveted their beauty, so he wanted to lure them to a deserted place and rape them. Our Sanwa is the most polite person, and he would never do such a thing!"

Chen Shao asked tentatively, "Superintendent Luo?"

"Yes, it's him!" said the old woman, "He was the one who framed our Third Child. If our Third Child was really like what he said, how could the adults kill him instead of our Third Child?"

Chen Shao avoided her question and continued to ask, "What did Sanwa say?"

"Sanwa said that they were not the concubines of the academy's abbot, but were kidnapped to show his affection to the abbot Luo. He heard them crying for help and went to argue with them. He didn't know he would be wronged like this." The old woman slid to her knees again and kowtowed, "Please, sir, make a decision for our Sanwa. Since he was kicked out of the academy, he has been like a madman. Rain or shine, he goes to the fields before dawn and refuses to come back before dark."

It's already daybreak.

In more than an hour, Huimin Pharmacy will open.

When Huimin Pharmacy opens, she will definitely go there to check it out.

Chen Shao pondered and asked, "Where is Sanwa now?"

The old woman immediately said, "He is still in the village. I will take you there right away."

"You are confused!" The old man at the side quickly grabbed her and said, "Who is Sanwa? How can you let adults go to find him? You watch the stall, I will go back to pick him up!"

"Yes, that's right." The old woman said quickly, "Master, come in and sit down. Let this old man go and get Sanwa."

There was a donkey tied to the stall, which should be their usual means of transportation. Chen Shao signaled Li Tianliu to arrange a Yulin Guard to follow the old man, then turned back to the old woman and said, "Madam, Huimin Pharmacy is open today, I have to go over to take care of it, so I won't wait here. When Sanwa comes, let him follow the Yulin Guard to Huimin Pharmacy to find me. Don't worry, if Sanwa is really wronged, I will definitely take care of it for him."

The old woman wiped her tears and smiled, and frantically tried to find something to give her, but after looking around, she found that the dough had not been kneaded yet, and the pot had been washed, but the fire had long been extinguished. She had no choice but to continue wiping her tears and said, "Then I'll trouble you, my Lord."

"It's not a problem. This is what I should do." After comforting the old woman with a few more words, Chen Shao got on the carriage and left.

Qi Ye, Shi Hui, Shi An, Zhao Liangzhu, Zhao Qiang, Xu Shifang and ten medical students, as well as the doctors and assistants from Kanglefang arrived at Huimin Pharmacy early and were making final preparations for the opening.

When Chen Shao's carriage stopped outside the pharmacy, people from Anrentang, Sizhentang and Wanhetang also arrived.

Seeing her, the shopkeepers of the three drugstores came over quickly. After they bowed and greeted her, Zhang, the shopkeeper of Wanhetang, explained on behalf of her: "Last night, after discussing with Master Qi, we all thought that since Huimin Drugstore has been providing free consultations for nearly half a month, there must be a lot of people coming to see the doctor. In order to avoid being too busy, we don't need to take turns to see the doctor, and we can just come together every day."

After hearing Shi An's announcement of her coming, Master Qi hurried over from the medicine storehouse at the back. After hearing what Shopkeeper Zhang said, he said, "Didn't you arrange for Master Xu and his students to come with you during the discussion last night? They are all here today. If you think there are too many people, I will send them back."

Looking at the several shop owners who obviously didn't want to go back, Chen Shao said, "Since the shop has been handed over to Master Qi, it will naturally be arranged by Master Qi."

Master Qi simply said, "In that case, then stay here for now. If there aren't many people around, you can go back later."

The tense nerves of several drug store owners relaxed instantly. After bowing repeatedly to express their gratitude, they swiftly led their people to the back of the shop to help.