Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

For a moment, no one spoke.

After a while, Master Qi Sanye spoke first: "Did she see us? Will she suspect us because of this?"

Master Zhu looked at him, who was usually so loud and fearless, but now had a look of fear on his face, and couldn't help but snort in disdain. Master Gu was also a little afraid, but he couldn't show it. He coughed twice and said, "How is it possible? Not to mention that we are so far away, and there is a curtain between us."

Fan Zhirong, who clearly saw the expressions of the two, lowered his eyes slightly to hide the mockery in his eyes, then raised his eyes again and said, "It's okay even if she saw it. This has been the most lively place in the county city recently. It's normal for us to come here to drink tea and join in the fun."

Master Qi San didn't think so. Thinking back to the sharp look in Chen Shao's eyes when she looked at him, and thinking about the killing of all the people in the Wen family, he couldn't help but feel regretful. If he had known earlier, he would not have agreed to this matter. If she really pursued it, they would put all the blame on him, then he... After looking at the other three people, Master Qi San quickly suppressed this thought and reluctantly said, "That's right, it's nothing to see it."

"The Ren family is really good at this. They got close to Young Master Chen Liu so quickly." Second Master Gu didn't want to say more about this matter. He turned his head slightly and looked at Ren Zhongxing downstairs. He took the opportunity to change the subject and said, "The Wen family is gone, and Hu Qinglu was also punished because of him. If something happens to the Zhou family, they will really be the only ones left."

Fan Zhirong cooperated and said, "It's okay for the Ren family to dominate alone. We can suppress them anyway. The consequences of their dominance are more worthy of our attention. Ding Lisheng has not given us an explanation for Mr. Luo's secret reliance on Mr. Chen Liu. He is not even a governor yet, but he dares to be so arrogant. If he really becomes a governor, I'm sure you will have to kowtow to him three times and nine times to see him."

"So, whether Mr. Chen Liu saw us or not is not a big deal at all." Mr. Zhu Er said indifferently, "It is a fact that the people in Ding's farm killed the people. Even if Mr. Chen Liu knew that we instigated them to block the road and appeal for justice, there is nothing to say."

Master Gu didn't expect him to bring the topic back, but he heard that what he said made some sense. After thinking for a moment, he also said: "Even if she has something to say, she dare not say it. She has always been sympathetic to the people since she came to Hongyuan County. If she wants to accuse us because of our instigation, isn't this just hitting herself in the face?"

Master Qi San was relieved.

Fan Zhirong played with his teacup, and after glancing down at Ren Zhongxing who was about to leave, a faint sneer flashed through his heart: Judging from the current sequence of Chen Shao's actions, it is obvious that she is dealing with them one by one from the weak to the strong. When they attacked those gardens, they swore to unite to deal with her and make her return empty-handed, but at that time none of them thought that she could really deal with them. But the Wen family is gone. The Wen family, the Hu family, the Zhou family... Then what?

Fan Zhirong looked at Master Gu and Master Zhu calmly. If Chen Shao really wanted to choose targets from the four families, he would definitely start with the Fan and Qi families. The two families have always been closer than the other families. So if he wanted to protect himself, he had to strike first!

When they each had their own thoughts.

Chen Shao also took the three of them back to the prefectural government.

Ding Lisheng had already received the news and was waiting in the second hall. When he saw Chen Shao coming, he immediately knelt down and apologized.

In the past half month, Ding Lisheng did not follow Chen Shao to check the Wen family's farm. After dealing with the bodies of the Wen family and executing Shi Xing, Hu Lilan and others, he was going to go to the farm to find her, but Zhao Lin stopped him. The Wen family was gone, so what to do with the 21 bodies in Luoyanju was up to him.

Luoyanju does not only belong to the Wen family, but also to the Ren family.

In the past, Ding Lisheng would have used this opportunity to bring down the Ren family and weaken Lei Dehou's strength. But Ren Zhongxing was following Chen Shao to deal with the Wen family's farm, and Chen Shao also asked him to help look after the Wen family's stewards and servants, which made Ding Lisheng a little undecided.

But when dealing with Wen Zhongtian and others in Dashu Village, the first piece of evidence Chen Shao asked him to read out was about Luoyanju, and it clearly stated that Luoyanju belonged to the Wen family and the Ren family. It was impossible for him to give up dealing with Lei Dehou, skip the Ren family, and put all the faults of Luoyanju on the Wen family.

It was already difficult for him to decide whether or not to deal with the Ren family, or how to deal with the Ren family. In order to protect himself, the steward beside Wen Zhongtian had previously revealed that the Wen family had a list of the boys and girls in Luoyanju. Chen Shao also got it, but the list was not given to him, and he was not even allowed to take a look. In other words, he had to find out the identities of the 21 bodies in Luoyanju by himself, and he could not forge even a little bit of falsehood.

Find excuses to delay it, Hu Qinglu's fate is already there.

After thinking it over for three days, Ding Lisheng decided to only find out the identities of the twenty-one bodies. As for whether the Wen family or the Ren family was guilty, he let Chen Shao decide for himself.

However, those who knew their identities, such as Lu Yifeng and his son, Luo Ye, Li Hong, the Wen family and others, were either imprisoned in prison, following Chen Shao, or already dead. It was not an easy task to find out their identities.

Together with Zhao Lin, the two worked hard for nearly ten days before they found out the identities of the five people. Originally, he thought that they had worked so hard, and when Chen Shao came back, he would definitely show his merit to her, but he heard about the three people blocking the road and suing him first.

He returned to the Ding family in a state of panic and asked the steward what had happened. While asking the steward to bring the people from the farm back immediately, Ding Lisheng also hurried back to the prefectural government. When Chen Shao and the three people arrived at the second hall, he knelt down swiftly and said, "It is my humble servant who is unable to discipline them. Please punish them, sir."

Chen Shao walked past him and entered the second hall.

When Ding Lisheng was about to get up and chase in in a panic, he saw the three people led by Chan Yi, and quickly retracted his raised leg and said sincerely: "Auntie, please forgive me, I just learned that those beasts beat and killed your family. But don't worry, auntie, I have sent someone to catch those beasts. Killing someone means paying with your life, and I will make them return the same way they beat and killed your family!"

The old woman, the middle-aged woman and the young man were already afraid of him, and after hearing what he said, they became even more afraid. The three of them all hid behind Chan Yi unconsciously.

"Don't be afraid." Chan Yi protected them as they entered the second hall.

Ding Lisheng raised his legs again and prepared to follow in. Li Tianliu stopped in front of him and asked, "They seem to be afraid of you?"

Ding Lisheng retracted his legs again and said humbly, "It is my fault for not disciplining him properly."

Li Tianliu seemed not to hear his words and asked again: "Why are they afraid of you?"

Ding Lisheng hurriedly said, "It was my incompetence that failed to take good care of them."

Li Tianliu didn't listen to him and walked into the second hall. Ding Lisheng hurriedly followed him in and knelt in the middle of the hall, again apologizing: "It is my fault for not being able to discipline me. No matter how you punish me, I have nothing to say."

Chen Shao said nonchalantly: "So you already knew about the injustice suffered by Auntie and Auntie?"

"No, I just learned about this!" Ding Lisheng explained hurriedly, "The Wen family ended up like this because of similar things. If I had known about this earlier, I would have solved it long ago and would not have waited for them to come and report it today. But don't worry, sir. I have sent people to arrest them and they will be back soon."

Chen Shao's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Something similar?"

"No, that's not it." Feeling the cold air falling on him, Ding Lisheng kowtowed twice, "They beat him to death, but they didn't bury him alive."

"Did they beat someone to death?" Chen Shao repeated, then stood up and walked down from the table, slowly approaching him. "Tell me, where did they get the courage to beat someone to death?"

"It is because I failed to discipline you..."

Chen Shao interrupted him: "Is it because you didn't discipline them well, or are you bullying them like this all the time, so they just follow your example?"

Ding Lisheng panicked and kowtowed, begging for mercy: "Sir, please be wise. I have never…"

"How else do you want me to investigate?" Chen Shao sneered and interrupted him again, "Isn't it true that your Ding family's servants beat the common people to death? After they beat the people to death, no one dared to come to the prefectural governor's mansion to ask for justice. Isn't that also true?"

Ding Lisheng's voice was already tearful: "Young Master..."

"Take him away and punish him with twenty strokes of the cane!" Chen Shao ordered in a cold voice, "Let the Imperial Guards carry out the execution!"

"Sir, sir, I know I was wrong, I beg you..." Ding Lisheng wanted to beg for mercy, but two Yulin guards came up quickly, held his arms, and dragged him out forcibly.

Soon, the sound of beating came from outside.

Only then did Chen Shao look at the three people who had complained, put away the coldness on his face, and slowly instructed Chan Yi: "Take them to the side hall to talk."

After entering the side hall and asking them to sit down, and waiting for Chan Yi to pour tea for each of them, Chen Shao asked again: "Auntie, Auntie, who of you did the servants of the Ding family kill, and why? Please tell me the details of what happened."

The old lady, the middle-aged woman and the young man never expected that Ding Lisheng would be beaten before they said anything. Surprised and happy, the old lady's tears fell, and she was about to kneel on the ground while holding the chair. Chan Yi held her arm in time, helped her up, sat her back down, and advised: "Auntie, if you have anything to say, just sit down and talk."

The old woman said hello several times before wiping her tears and saying, "There used to be a pond at home, and his grandfather and father thought about raising some fish in the pond to supplement the family income. The Ding family has a farm near us, and the people in that farm would go to the pond from time to time to catch fish and bring them back to eat. It would be fine if they caught fish occasionally, but that time, they caught two buckets and wanted to catch a few more. When his grandfather and his father saw it, they tried to stop them, and they beat them to death for this."

Chen Shao said gently: "After the incident, did you report it to the authorities?"

"How dare we?" the old woman cried and wiped her tears, "After they beat the man to death, they said that the fish were caught for Lord Ding to eat. If we want to report it to the authorities, we can do so as long as we are not afraid of death."

"Go and take a look. Drag him in after beating him with the stick." Chen Shao ordered Fu Jiu.

After Fu Jiu left, she came back after a long time.

After asking the three to wait in the side hall for a while, Chen Shao returned to the second hall and looked at Ding Lisheng, whose butt was already covered in blood, and asked, "How many farms does the Ding family have?"

There were traces of blood on the corners of Ding Lisheng's mouth, and cold sweat was pouring down his face like rain. Fortunately, he was fat, and the thick fat reduced some of the damage. Although he was in excruciating pain, he was still energetic. Hearing Chen Shao's question, he tried to bow his hands and answered: "I have taken on the position of the military officer of the Law Department, and all clan affairs are in the hands of my second brother. I really don't know how many manors there are."

Chen Shao naturally didn't believe it, but he didn't ask any more questions. "Which village did the case happen in?"

Ding Lisheng endured the pain and replied, "In the manor in Longmen Town."

Chen Shao asked again: "Why kill people?"

Ding Lisheng hated secretly: "It's just for a few fish."

Chen Shao snorted coldly, "Did you eat these fish?"

Ding Lisheng felt a chill in his heart, and he didn't care whether his butt hurt or not. He struggled to get up, knelt down, and kowtowed vigorously, saying, "My Lord, please understand. I have never disregarded human life for the sake of my appetite!"

"You haven't done it," Chen Shao said coldly, "Have the Ding family or the people in the Ding family's farm ever done anything against the will of heaven and earth just to please you?"

"This..." Ding Lisheng didn't dare to argue anymore and could only beg for mercy.

Chen Shao taunted: "Didn't you just say that you would let me punish you?"

"My Lord," Ding Lisheng cried bitterly, "I know I was wrong. I will strictly discipline the people of the Ding family in the future and never let them do such evil things again!"

"Are you convinced by the twenty lashes you received?" Chen Shao suddenly asked.

Ding Lisheng didn't dare to say he was not convinced. He kowtowed again and cried bitterly, "Thank you for showing mercy, sir."

Chen Shao said "hmm", and after accepting his thanks, he asked, "Has this manor occupied the good farmland of the people?"

Ding Lisheng said quickly: "I have asked them to return them all."

"That means there are some." Chen Shao said, "and there should be more than one village that has them."

Ding Lisheng began to tremble again, this time not because of pain, but because of fear. However, Chen Shao did not speak harshly to him, nor did he blame him. He just asked him calmly: "Hand over all the manor and compensate the people who were harmed. It can temporarily save the lives of your Ding family. Are you willing?"

Thinking of the fate of the Wen family, Ding Lisheng felt pained but still agreed: "I am willing."

"Give me the deed to the manor tomorrow," Chen Shao ordered, "and you can go back and rest."

"Thank you, sir." After expressing his gratitude, Ding Lisheng struggled to stand up and limped out of the second hall. Only then did a bailiff muster up the courage to come forward to help him.

He had not walked far when the Imperial Guards came in to report: "The Ding family has brought the manager and servants of the manor that committed the crime."

Chen Shao said: "Let them in!"