Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Suppressing his emotions, Chen Shao continued to ask, "Does Quan Shuyu know that her father came to Hongyuan County?"

"I definitely know." Chan Yi also glanced at the east wing. "But it wasn't just her father who came. Her mother, uncle, brother, sister, and younger sister all came. When they arrived in Hongyuan County, they came to the prefect's mansion to look for her. The yamen runners at the gate didn't know Quan Shuyu, so they stopped them from entering and were unwilling to inform them. They even had an argument with the yamen runners about this. Later, when they couldn't argue anymore, they went to find Lord Ding, Lord Lei, and others. Lord Ding and Lord Lei knew Quan Shuyu and that she was in Chengfeng Courtyard, but without the young master's consent, they naturally didn't dare to make a decision rashly, so they also politely rejected them. In this way, they spread bad things about her everywhere, saying that she was originally the concubine of the fourth young master Wen, and because she was not a good woman, she was driven out of the mansion by the fourth young master Wen, and she made a living by selling her body. The young master saved her because he was deceived by her."

Chen Shao's eyes suddenly turned cold.

Chan Yi's face also looked unhappy: "I ran into Quan Shuyu when I got up earlier, but she didn't mention this to me. It was the Yulin Guards guarding Chengfeng Courtyard who told me."

Chen Shao asked: "Where does her family live?"

Chan Yi replied, "I heard that he lives in an inn in the alley not far from the prefect's mansion."

Chen Shao stood up and said, "Send someone to bring them to the lobby."

When Chan Yi went to ask Fu Jiu to invite someone, Chen Shao went to the study. Quan Shuyu was still looking at the account book. Chen Shao stood at the door for a while, and when she saw that she didn't turn the page for a long time, she walked in. This time she didn't scare her, but made a noise on purpose.

Quan Shuyu heard the noise, quickly turned to the next page, stood up and said, "Sir."

Seeing her red eyes, Chen Shao took out a handkerchief and handed it to her. After she took it, he said, "You are so smart, I didn't expect your family to be so stupid."

Quan Shuyu paused slightly while wiping her tears.

Chen Shao sat down opposite her. "Anyone with a normal brain should know that the fact that I keep you by my side, no matter what the reason is, proves that I value you very much. Whether they want to save people or seek power and wealth, what they should do is to use family ties to curry favor with you, not to destroy you."

Quan Shuyu lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the embarrassment in his eyes and said: "They are not stupid, they just want to provoke the young master, so that he will abandon me because he dislikes me."

"Then they are even more stupid." Chen Shao said bluntly, "If I were someone who could be swayed by others' random provocations, how could the Wen family end up like this?"

Quan Shuyu's anger over the past few days gradually gave way to a warm feeling: "Thank you, sir."

Chen Shao stood up: "I told you, you don't have to thank me. You can stay because you are talented and capable."

Quan Shuyu was moved and said, "I understand."

Chen Shao shook his head: "If you knew, you would tell me the first time I returned to the prefectural government."

Quan Shuyu lowered his eyes again: "I..."

"So, knowing alone is useless. You should also remember," Chen Shao interrupted her, "when they can only use your past to attack you, it is enough to prove that they are jealous of you. However, jealousy is the most useless thing, whether for them or for you. If you hate their slander caused by jealousy, it only proves that you are not strong enough. When you are strong enough to scare them, the past sufferings are no longer sufferings, but medals of praise for your purity or perseverance."

Quan Shuyu looked up at her, with stars in her eyes. After a while, the stars turned into tears and fell down. She bowed respectfully and said, "I know what to do."

"That's good to know." Chen Shao smiled, "Have you got back the twenty strings of cash you paid to Ding Lisheng?"

"I got it back." Quan Shuyu, who had regained his fighting spirit, turned around and moved a large box, "And these land deeds."

Chen Shao picked up the two deeds and looked inside the box again. "How many copies are there in total?"

Quan Shuyu said: "There are seventy-three copies in total."

Seventy-three, twenty-one more manors than the Wen family. The Wen family was relatively weak among the noble families in Hongyuan County, so the gap was about the same. Chen Shao took a look at the deeds in her hand and asked her, "Who sent these deeds?"

Quan Shuyu replied, "They are the two followers of Lord Ding."

Putting the deeds back into the wooden box, Chen Shao asked, "Besides paying back the money and giving away the deeds, did the two followers say anything else?"

Quan Shuyu shook his head: "No."

"Okay, you keep these deeds first, and I'll have someone come get them later." Chen Shao said, looking at her, "Don't worry about your family, I'll take care of it."

Quan Shuyu agreed, and seeing that she was about to leave, he hurriedly said, "There is a girl named Wu'er who came to the prefect's residence a few days ago and took away two children. She originally wanted to see the young master, but because the young master was not at home, Lord Ding asked me to see her. She didn't say anything, but just asked me to convey her gratitude to the young master on her behalf."

Chen Shao nodded: "I understand."

Come out from Chengfengyuan.

On the way to the lobby, Chen Shao was thinking about Wu'er's past when he suddenly remembered Zheng Hua. He hurriedly asked Chan Yi, "How is Erya doing with Zheng Hua?"

Chan Yi had a cold expression at first, but when she heard her talking about Erya, her expression softened and she said, "She's already quite good. If she learns for another month or two, she can really go out and make money. That's not all. Erya is not only good-looking, but also skillful and sweet-mouthed. I think the depression in Zheng Hua's eyes has almost dissipated."

As she spoke, she showed the silk flower ring on her hand and said, "Look at this ring, sir. It was given to me by Erya when I went to the east wing to visit them. Zheng Hua said that she didn't help at all. Erya made it all by herself."

The silk flowers on the ring are still a bit rough, but you can still see the cleverness of the layout.

Just as Chen Shao was admiring the ring made by Cheng Erya, at the official residence on the east side of the prefectural government, Ding's residence.

Ding Lisheng lay on the couch with a gloomy face, wearing a short jacket on his upper body and only underwear on his lower body. The underwear was pulled down to his thighs, exposing his injured buttocks. Two concubines knelt on the futon on each side, holding scented fans in their hands, fanning his buttocks.

In front of the couch, there was a pile of broken porcelain, all thrown by Ding Lisheng. He threw some of it because he thought about how others would laugh at him after the news of his beating spread; he threw some of it because he was angry and resentful that the farm he had worked hard for many years was confiscated by Chen Shao; and he threw some of it because he thought that someone dared to plot against him so cruelly.

As the pile of broken porcelain increased, the servants inside and outside the house dared not even breathe.

until……

One of Ding Lisheng's followers who had been serving him for many years quickly walked into the room and broke the silence. "Sir, there is news."

Ding Lisheng was in high spirits and immediately ordered: "Get out!"

After all the servants in the room had left, he said again, "Speak!"

The attendant took out a thumb-thick bamboo tube from his sleeve, carefully avoiding the broken porcelain, and handed it to him.

Ding Lisheng took the bamboo tube, propped up his upper body, opened the lid, and pulled out the note inside. There was only one sentence on the note: It was Mr. Zhu's idea, and Mr. Qi invited him.

"Good, very good!" Ding Lisheng sneered sinisterly a few times before asking, "Where did you get the news?"

The attendant lowered his eyes and looked at the broken porcelain on the ground: "This is the little man that Mr. Fan Sanye's people stuffed into my hand."

"Fan Zhirong." Ding Lisheng sneered sinisterly, "Since he knew that it was Master Zhu's idea and Master Qi's people, it proves that he was there when they were plotting against me! Before those lowly people blocked the road to appeal, he had a chance but didn't tell me. He waited until I was beaten with a stick and lost my family property before he sent me the news hypocritically. What was he planning... Did he really think I was a fool?"

The attendant advised: "The Fan family and the Qi family have always been on good terms, but now they are willing to betray the Qi family. Although we know that he has other purposes, why don't you take advantage of the Fan family's betrayal to get rid of the Zhu family and the Qi family at the same time?"

"That makes sense." Ding Lisheng suppressed his anger and said slowly, "It's fine that they looked down on me before, but now that they see me wanting to be a governor, they're trying to get in the way. Don't blame me for being unkind and unjust."

After unfolding the note again and reading it word by word twice, Ding Lisheng still couldn't hide his anger and snorted, "I originally wanted to inform them about the evidence that Master Luo had collected from various families, so that they could prepare early. Now it seems that it would be easier."

The attendant advised again: "Your Excellency is too kind to them, so they forget their own weight. Don't forget, Your Excellency is now also an eighth-rank official, but how did Your Excellency treat them in the past? Not only did you never put on any official airs, you even often lowered yourself to please them. Who do they think they are? Since they don't know what's good for them, why should Your Excellency make trouble for yourself? You might as well take advantage of the opportunity when Mr. Chen Liu is investigating those gardens to catch them all in one fell swoop!"

Ding Lisheng had long been dissatisfied with the Gu, Zhu, Fan, and Qi families. After hearing what his followers said, he immediately came up with a plan and said, "Find a way to spread the news that the three people who blocked the road to appeal for justice were instigated by the Gu and Zhu families to the students who work with Master Chen Liu. Don't let everyone know, it's better to spread it to... No, you don't have to spread it to those students, just have someone spread it to that Liu Yi. If he knows, it means that his son Liu Deming will also know. After Liu Deming knows, he will naturally report it to Master Chen Liu. Since Master Chen Liu wants to deal with the nobles and gentry in Hongyuan County, he will never miss this opportunity!"

The attendant responded and went out to make arrangements.

The person who served before came into the room again.

The gloom on Ding Lisheng's face had disappeared. After ordering someone to clean up the broken porcelain, he asked someone to bring two cups of iced watermelon.

While he was immersed in his beautiful vision for the future, Chen Shao was on this side.

Chen Shaocai walked into the lobby when the yamen runners came over with Quan Shuyu's family.

Quan Shuyu's family lived in an inn in an alley less than a hundred feet away from the prefect's mansion. When they heard that the yamen runners were going to take them to see Chen Shao, they walked faster than the yamen runners, regardless of the scorching sun. After entering the hall and watching Chen Shao sitting on the table, Quan Shuyu's father Quan Qingya shouted for everyone to kneel down together, kowtowed to Chen Shao three times, pinched his thigh secretly, and cried, "My lord, please make the decision for us."

Chen Shao, who had seen all his little movements, said in cooperation: "Tell me what I can do for you."

Quan Qingya cried, "My third daughter, Quan Shuyu, who is now with you, cried and made a fuss that she would not marry anyone other than the fourth young master Wen. Her grandfather sacrificed his reputation and finally begged the fourth young master Wen to take her as a concubine, but she was unfaithful and eloped with someone. Over the years, her grandfather sent countless people to look for her in secret, but they couldn't find her. He thought she had died outside, so there was no news. But a while ago, someone from the Wen family suddenly came to say that you had saved her. Her grandfather was worried that she would cause trouble for you, so he ran to the county town in a hurry to take her back at such an old age. But she was so heartless that she didn't want to go back, and she even spread rumors to harm her grandfather!"

Chen Shao said slowly, "You said, she was begging to marry the fourth master Wen?"

Quan Wenbai nodded repeatedly and pulled the woman next to him and said, "It is absolutely true. If you don't believe it, you can ask her mother or her brothers and sisters."

The woman pretended to wipe away her tears and said, "We have advised her that the fourth master Wen is not a good man, but she just wouldn't listen. We thought she was possessed by a ghost, but she didn't expect that she had another lover."

The girl kneeling beside the woman also chimed in, "Grandfather loves her the most. If she had told him earlier that she had a lover, he would have agreed. But she should never, ever, hide this from Grandfather and pretend to marry the fourth son of Wen, then elope with someone else. And when Grandfather was worried about her and came to find her, she harmed Grandfather again. How can such a disloyal, unfilial, heartless, and shameless person like her follow you, sir?"

Chen Shao looked at her. The woman was about twenty years old, and her complexion was six points similar to Quan Shuyu. She was wearing a pink silk dress, with a handkerchief tied around her fingertips. When she saw her looking at him, her face was instantly tinged with shyness, and a charming smile rose just right on her lips.

"My Lord, you are so beautiful, how can you let her defile your body?" Seeing this, the woman hurriedly grabbed the girl and said, "This is my little daughter. If you like her, you can keep her by your side and serve her."

Before Chen Shao could say anything, Chan Yi couldn't help but sneer, "She is worthy of that. Who does she think she is?"

The woman's face turned pale at first, and then she became angry. When she was about to do something, the woman quickly pulled her back and said to Chan Yi with a smile, "Li'er's status is not as good as those young ladies in the capital, but she is clean after all, so you can use her with confidence, right?"

Chen Shao stopped the angry Chan Yi and looked directly at the woman and said, "Since you said Quan Shuyu's body is not clean, what is the evidence?"

"She eloped with someone..."

Chen Shao looked coldly at the woman who interrupted him, "Who told you that she eloped with someone?"

Without waiting for her answer, Chen Shao looked at Quan Qingya again: "You said Quan Shuyu was the fourth Master Wen who cried and made a fuss about marrying her?"

Quan Qingya avoided her gaze and said, "Yes, we can all testify to this."

Chen Shao laughed sarcastically: "You mean, your father lied to me?"