Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Suppressing his fluctuating emotions, so as not to fall into Chen Shao's trap, Gu Yingzhao said calmly, "Whether Brother Zhu believes it or not, Young Master Chen Liu really just came here to play chess for a night."

Then, he pointed to the servant who was following Chen Shao and said, "To be honest with you, Brother Zhu, before you came here, Wanli and I were also speculating on the purpose of Young Master Chen Liu's coming here, and even sent people to follow her whereabouts after she left the Gu family."

Master Gu was also a smart man. From the ambiguous smiles on Master Zhu and Master Zhu's faces, as well as Gu Yingzhao's words, he immediately understood Chen Shao's purpose of coming to play chess. After secretly cursing Chen Shao for being vicious, he followed Gu Yingzhao and ordered his servants, "Tell me again the result of your following Master Chen Liu."

The servant repeated it word for word.

After hearing this, Master Zhu smiled meaningfully and said, "Brother Gu, what is this for? We have been friends for so many years, how could I not know what kind of person you are? Sixth Young Master Chen is looking for Brother Gu to play chess, no matter what her purpose is, this is a good thing. The Ren family has tried their best to get close to Sixth Young Master Chen, but Brother Gu did nothing, but Sixth Young Master Chen took the initiative to come to the door."

This is a yin and yang. Chen Shao has come to the door. How can his Gu family miss such a good opportunity to curry favor with him? Gu Yingzhao's face remained unchanged, but he snorted in his heart. Don't say that he didn't curry favor with him. Even if he did, what would it matter? The little tricks that his Zhu family has been doing behind the scenes over the years, do you really think that his Gu family doesn't know?

Master Gu Er sensed that the atmosphere was not right, and he quickly winked at Master Zhu Er, then explained with a smile, "If Young Master Chen Liu really came to win over the Gu family, it would be easy. Big Brother Zhu, Second Brother Zhu, look at our dark eyes. My big brother and I were on tenterhooks all night, because we were afraid that Young Master Chen Liu would suddenly attack us like she did to the Wen family, and we were also afraid that she would ask us questions that we couldn't answer. As a result, when we waited until dawn, Young Master Chen Liu left without saying anything, and even refused to let us ask her to stay for breakfast before going back. We also know that those who show kindness without any reason are either treacherous or thieves, but my big brother and I haven't figured out what it means yet, and you guys happened to come over."

Master Zhu said half-truthfully, "From what Second Brother Gu said, are we here at the wrong time?"

"Brother Zhu, you misunderstood. That's not what I meant." Second Master Gu looked at the silent Second Master Zhu and quickly explained, "I just wanted to remind you two brothers that Sixth Master Chen came to our Gu family to play chess but didn't say anything. Now we are arguing here about whether it's true or not. We are completely falling into Sixth Master Chen's scheme to sow discord. We can't let the friendship between our two families for so many years cause a rift because of this."

I knew they would say that! The smiles on Master Zhu and Master Zhu Er's faces faded at the same time.

Seeing this, Second Master Gu was anxious and wanted to continue explaining, but Gu Yingzhao stopped him and asked Master Zhu and Second Master Zhu in a bad tone, "What do you think Sixth Master Chen should say when he comes to our Gu family?"

Seeing that he was angry, Master Zhu quickly smiled again and responded calmly, "Didn't Brother Gu say that Young Master Chen Liu came here just to play chess?"

Seeing Gu Yingzhao's face getting darker, Master Zhu laughed and said, "After so many years, Brother Gu still can't take a joke. How boring!"

Master Zhu's expression relaxed, and a smile slowly formed at the corners of his mouth and in his eyes.

Master Gu blurted out, "Are you trying to trick us?"

"You can't say that," Master Zhu turned around, patted Master Gu on the shoulder and said, "Let's not even talk about the friendship between the Gu family and my Zhu family. Just your eldest brother and I, and you and Xing Gong, have known each other for how many years? How could we not know who we are? How could Master Chen Six sow discord among us in just one night of chess?"

Master Gu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile, "I told you, you really scared me to death just now."

Mr. Zhu laughed and changed the subject.

Had breakfast together.

As usual, Master Zhu and Master Zhu II sat for a while, talked about business for a while, and then got up and said goodbye.

Gu Yingzhao and Gu Erye stood up to see them off.

Walk out of Guangrenyuan.

Master Zhu slowly stopped and told them not to send him off. Then he asked calmly, "Brother Gu, do you still remember the oath you made when you were young?"

Before Gu Yingzhao could say anything, Master Zhu pounded his chest and said, "I have always kept it in my mind and never dare to forget it!"

After he finished speaking, he turned and left without waiting for Gu Yingzhao to reply.

Gu Yingzhao looked at his back, his expression gradually darkening.

Master Gu was also a little impatient. After looking at Gu Yingzhao, he took a few steps forward to catch up with Master Zhu and said, "You don't believe us either?"

Master Zhu asked back, "When did I say I didn't believe it?"

Master Gu gritted his teeth and said, "Young Master Chen Liu said last night that she came to play chess with my brother because she was itching to do something. No matter what her real purpose is, I hope you remember that only if the Gu and Zhu families trust each other can they avoid the same fate as the Wen family!"

Master Zhu said calmly, "You don't have to explain to me so hastily. If the Gu family can really establish a relationship with Master Chen Liu, I will only be happy for the Gu family. But besides being happy, I hope you can help my Zhu family because of our many years of friendship."

Master Gu stopped and smiled, saying, "Of course." But when they disappeared, the smile on his face suddenly faded, "Big Brother."

"Do you think they don't know that Young Master Chen Liu is trying to sow discord?" Gu Yingzhao sneered.

Master Gu was indignant: "If they knew, why are they still so aggressive?"

"Why?" Gu Yingzhao did not answer but asked, "If Mr. Chen Liu went to the Zhu family last night, would you dare to trust him completely and say nothing and do nothing except playing chess?"

Master Gu was speechless for a moment.

The Gu family and the Zhu family are separated by just one street.

Leave Gu's house.

Return to Zhu's house.

Master Zhu immediately said, "Looking at Master Gu's condition, it doesn't seem like he's lying."

Master Zhu sneered, "When the fake is true, it is also true. When the real is fake, it is also false. How many people can tell the difference between the real and the fake? I know you have a good relationship with Gu Wanli, but don't forget how the third brother died."

The third brother and Gu Wanli went back to Wujun to celebrate the birthday of Old Master Zhu. On the way back, they encountered robbers. The third brother died, and all the Zhu family members who went back with him died. Gu Wanli survived, and although most of the Gu family members who went back with him died, the two followers around Gu Wanli were still alive.

The group of robbers disappeared without a trace afterwards, as if they had never appeared.

Thinking of the Third Brother, the last bit of trust that Master Zhu had in Master Gu was gone in an instant: "Since we can't tell, what should we do next? Big Brother, please give me some instructions."

Master Zhu said slowly: "Don't worry, let's wait and see tonight."

Tonight? Master Zhu frowned, "Brother, are you saying that Young Master Chen Liu will go to Gu's house to play chess with Brother Gu today?"

Master Zhu put his hands behind his back, walked around the room slowly for two circles, and whispered, "Send someone to tell Zhang An to tell him that the reason the store stopped the students from looking was because of Master Gu's order. Find a way to pass it on to other people in the pharmacy, and then guide them to pass it on to Master Qi or Zhao Liangzhu."

Zhang An is a clerk at Anrentang and has recently been helping out at Huimin Pharmacy.

After Master Zhu Er agreed, Master Zhu curled his lips and sneered twice: "If Master Chen Liu really just wanted to play chess, he would naturally not go to Gu's house again after hearing this news. But if she went to Gu's house not just to play chess, then she would definitely go to Gu's house tonight."

Master Zhu nodded and asked, "If Young Master Chen Liu goes to Gu's house tonight, should we go there too?"

Master Zhu smiled, "Why should we go? If the Gu family wanted to prove their innocence, they would naturally send someone to invite us. If they didn't send someone to invite us, then their intentions would be obvious."

Master Zhu couldn't help but frown again: "Why would Master Chen Liu suddenly attack us?"

According to their previous speculation, Chen Shao's target was the Wen family, the Ren family, the Zhou family, and the Hu family, and only the four families would be the last. And with the strength of the Zhu family, even if it was the four families' turn, they should be the last.

Master Zhu also found it hard to understand why Chen Shao suddenly attacked them, but he couldn't show it in front of Master Zhu. After thinking for a moment, he could only say, "This is why she is the Sixth Master Chen, and you are just Master Xie. She attacked the Wen family first. First, she was indeed influenced by those gardens and was afraid that we would unite to deal with her. This can be seen from the fact that she tricked the Wen family into a place like Dashu Village to attack them. Second, although the Wen family is weaker than the four of us, they are also a noble family in Hongyuan County. It seems that she is dealing with the Wen family, but in fact, she is using the Wen family to find out our strength."

Master Zhu found it hard to accept and said, "Brother, are you saying that she had planned to attack us after she dealt with the Wen family?"

"That's not necessarily true." Master Zhu also didn't want to admit that Chen Shao was so smart. "After she dealt with the Wen family, she might have planned to deal with us, but her target was definitely not my Zhu family. Judging from her current actions, it is very likely that something happened recently that made her change her original plan."

At this point, Master Zhu couldn't help but ask Master Zhu Er: "Is it still impossible to contact Master Luo?"

Master Zhu said, "He lives in the courtyard of the Imperial Guards, and our people can't get in."

Master Zhu frowned, "What about the thirty people in the small kitchen? It's been almost a month, and we haven't captured any of them yet?"

Mr. Zhu's answer was similar to Mr. Gu's.

Except for matters concerning the Zhu family, Master Zhu rarely restricted Master Zhu's private words and deeds. But this time, he couldn't help but say, "What kind of person is Ding Lisheng? You have been dealing with him for a long time. Even if he really became the governor, it doesn't matter. The Ding family is not uninvolved in the affairs of those gardens. As long as you have this handle, why worry about not being able to control him?"

Master Zhu also knew that their momentary quarrel had caused them to lose control of the prefectural government, so he could not help but say, "I will have someone send two ginsengs to him later."

Master Zhu nodded and reminded, "You must keep the plot against him a secret. Also, be prepared. If Young Master Chen Liu goes to the Gu family again tonight, you will have to go to the Fan and Qi families. Find a way to tactfully tell them that Young Master Chen Liu went to the Gu family to discuss a solution to one of their two families."

Master Zhu said yes.

Prefect's Mansion.

When they returned to Chengfeng Courtyard, they saw Chanyi was about to put away the chess box, but Chen Shao stopped her: "No need to put it away, we will continue tonight."

Chan Yi said, "Sir, are you going to Gu's house tonight?"

Chen Shao smiled and said, "Not only tonight, but also tomorrow night."

Fu Jiu reminded: "When we came back just now, someone followed us. Judging from the person's clothes, he should be from the Gu family."

Li Tianliu immediately reminded: "The one who followed was from the Gu family. Not long after that person went back, the Zhu family went to the Gu family. However, after leaving the Gu family, the Zhu family members didn't look too good."

Chen Shao's smile deepened: "Very good, go back and rest, we will continue tonight."

Chen Shao woke up after only three hours of sleep.

After washing up, he came out and sat in the main hall to make himself some tea. Quan Shuyu came over with a piece of paper and said, "The account books of Fenglong Trading Company have been checked. According to the request of the young master, a total of 17 business transactions between Fenglong Trading Company and the people of other countries in Changming City, Tuoyu City and other cities bordering other countries were found. The first time we did business with the people of other countries was on October 23, the 15th year of Yuanhe, when we bought 500 kilograms of various medicinal materials from the people of Shan State in Kunlun Town."

On October 23, the 15th year of Yuanhe…

Lei Dehou once said that in September of the fifteenth year of Yuanhe, the Wen family and the Ren family suddenly became friendly to him, and the Zhou family even made an exception and gave him two shops and nearly a thousand taels of silver.

In the same September, Ding Lisheng gained the support of the Gu, Zhu, Fan and Qi families.

After the inexplicable group formation in September, at the end of October, Fenglong Trading Company had business dealings with the Shan Kingdom, and even purchased 500 kilograms of medicinal materials at one time. When thinking about the pile of green jade from the Shan Kingdom in the Zhongtian treasury in the text, no matter how you think about it, something is wrong.

Chen Shao took the paper and read through the seventeen records from beginning to end.

Of the seventeen records, fourteen were about business dealings with Shan State, and only three were with South Vietnam.

From a historical perspective, Hong Leong Commercial Bank's business dealings with other countries basically maintained a frequency of three times a year.

Chen Shao's gaze moved away from the paper and fell on the sunlight outside that was gradually moving westward.

Fenglong Trading Company is the property of the Wen and Ren families. The medicinal materials business of Fenglong Trading Company covers the capital, Jiangnan, and Shujun. Fenglong Trading Company is engaged in land transportation. Wen Zhongtian's treasury contains Shan country's green jade and a lotus-seated Buddha statue with a dagger-shaped flesh bun. Fenglong Trading Company started to do business with the people of Shan country at the end of October in the 15th year of Yuanhe, and in September of the 15th year of Yuanhe, all the nobles and gentry in Hongyuan County suddenly formed a group.

All this information comes together...

She couldn't jump to conclusions yet, and she had to seal off a noble family to verify her judgment.

"Young Master," Chen Shao was just thinking about whether he should add some extra layers to his visit to the Gu family tonight, when Fu Jiu shouted from the tree, "Uncle Liang Zhu is here."

Zhao Liangzhu?

Chen Shao gestured to Quan Shuyu: "Go and invite him in."

Quan Shuyu went out and brought Zhao Liangzhu to the main hall after a while.

"Sir," Zhao Liangzhu said straight to the point as soon as he entered the room without bothering to exchange pleasantries, "I just heard a piece of news. Master Qi asked me to come and tell you something. When Master Qi was investigating the serial murder case earlier, he asked the students to go to the store to check the records of Shi Xing's odd jobs. The store didn't let the students get close because it was instructed by Master Gu Er."