Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

"It was bought together with the raw materials of green jade." The chief steward was still uncertain, "It seems that they bought it from a general. Whenever Master Zhu and Master Zhu discussed matters related to green jade, they would send us stewards away and discuss in secret. It was when they were discussing that Master Gu, Master Gu, and Master Gu Er suddenly came over. I bit the bullet and went over to pass on the message, and that's when I accidentally overheard those two words."

He spoke seriously and looked sincere, but Chen Shao did not believe him, or rather, did not believe him completely. Not to mention that he was the chief steward, even the stewards must be the ones who were most trusted by Mr. Zhu and Mr. Zhu to be entrusted with important tasks. No matter how important the Qingyu matter was, Mr. Zhu and Mr. Zhu could not do everything personally. However, Chen Shao did not expose him. No matter whether he explained everything or only partially, he always had something to ask for, so he just had to wait.

After picking up a few jade objects and playing with them one by one, Chen Shao then asked, "Does the Zhu family have business dealings with the Shan Kingdom?"

The chief steward said carefully: "It's not business dealings. The Shan Kingdom is rich in products, especially jade, wood and medicinal materials. Many businessmen will secretly do business with the Shan people in the border areas with the Shan Kingdom."

Chen Shao looked at him again: "Then is the Zhu family's business with Shan State a partnership with the Gu family, or is it independent?"

This time, the chief steward answered without any hesitation: "Partner with the Gu family."

"That means the Gu family also has green jade?" Chen Shao asked.

The chief steward nodded, "It should be."

Chen Shao ignored his hesitation and asked directly, "Will the Gu family's jade be sent to the Wujun Gu family?"

The butler had beads of sweat on his forehead. He quietly picked up his sleeves and wiped them twice quickly while no one was paying attention. He still answered with uncertainty, "It seems so."

"The Zhu family and the Gu family are old friends," Chen Shao sorted out. "The Wujun Zhu family took the risk of buying green jade in Shan State in order to curry favor with an important figure. So it can be inferred that the Gu family also knew this important figure, and the Gu family must have bought green jade to curry favor with this important figure."

Beads of sweat appeared on the steward's forehead again.

Chen Shao casually picked up a jade pendant with a lotus-seated Buddha carved with a dagger-shaped flesh bun, and said, "The jade objects here all have lotus patterns or lotus-seated Buddhas. Is this also what the big shot likes?"

"This..." Just as the chief steward was about to say he didn't know, Chen Shao looked up at him. The chief steward lowered his eyes, avoiding her sight, and answered carefully, "Whether the big shot likes it or not, I don't know, but every time I buy jade from Shan State, there is such jade."

Chen Shao asked casually: "What is the identity of that big shot?"

The chief steward said with a stiff upper lip: "I don't know about this."

"There are also green jades in Wen Zhongtian's small treasury," Chen Shao asked slowly, "Wen's green jade was also given to that big shot?"

The chief steward hesitated and said, "This... I don't know much about the Wen family."

Chen Shao: "When did the Zhu family get close to that big shot, and when did they start buying these jades from Shan?"

After saying "I don't know" several times in a row, the chief steward didn't dare to continue. After a while of grumbling, he reluctantly said, "It should be October or November of the fifteenth year of Yuanhe."

"Fenglong Commercial Bank is owned by the Wen and Ren families. The account books of Fenglong Commercial Bank record that the first time Fenglong Commercial Bank bought these jades was at the end of October in the fifteenth year of Yuanhe," Chen Shao said slowly, "It was about the same time as when the Zhu family bought the jades. They bought the same jades at about the same time, and I think they were giving them to the same important person. What kind of important person would have the nobles of the same county get close to him, and at the same time have the nobles of the same county compete to give him jades?"

The steward couldn't answer.

Chen Shao glanced at him, "I believe that Master Zhu and Master Zhu are not fools. As soon as the Wujun Zhu family said they had hooked up with a big shot, Master Zhu and Master Zhu immediately obeyed them. So, tell me."

The steward still couldn't answer.

Chen Shao chuckled and nodded, then changed the subject and asked, "Where is the roster of the Bi Tao Garden?"

The chief steward quickly replied, "In the Second Master's study."

Chen Shao ordered: "Go get it for me."

When Fu Jiu followed the steward to get the roster of the Peach Garden, Chen Shao picked out a jade plaque, a jade pendant, a palm-sized Buddha statue and a treasure box with a lotus pattern and handed them to Chan Yi: "Keep them and send them to the capital by express horseback later."

After coming out of the small treasury and taking a look around, the steward was already waiting with the roster of the Bitao Garden.

The roster of the Bi Tao Garden has two more volumes than that of the Luo Yan Ju, and the time span is three years longer. Chen Shao flipped through the roster and asked, "Is Bi Tao Garden the property of the Zhu family, or is it a joint property of the Zhu and Gu families?"

The chief steward replied: "It is the joint property of the Zhu family and the Gu family."

"In other words," Chen Shao said calmly, "those thirteen boys and girls were killed by the Gu family and the Zhu family together?"

The steward glanced at her secretly and replied, "Yes."

Chen Shao asked casually, "How did you kill him?"

The chief steward glanced at her twice before answering, "I don't know."

"I don't want to hear this again," Chen Shao said without raising his head, "Answer again."

The chief steward looked at her in surprise, and couldn't believe that such childish words would come out of her mouth. Chen Shao raised his eyes and looked at him: "Still don't know?"

The chief steward lowered his head quickly and said, "Bi Tao Garden has always been managed by Second Master and Second Master Gu. I really don't know much about it."

"Alright." Chen Shao's patience ran out. He closed the roster in his hand and turned to Li Tianliu, "Since he knows nothing, let's get someone who knows everything to come and answer. Things are complicated right now, and I don't have time to beat around the bush."

Li Tianliu glanced at the chief steward and said, "What can we exchange for? Since we know nothing about it, it's useless to keep it. Come on, drag it away and kill it."

Chan Yi pretended to persuade him, "Lord Ding is injured and sick. If you kill him, there will be no one to dig a grave to bury him."

Li Tianliu said disapprovingly: "Don't the Zhu and Gu families like to use people as fertilizer? If they kill them, just find a tree and bury them."

"Since you want to kill him, then you should investigate his family thoroughly," Chan Yi suggested. "The young master asked him so many questions, and he seemed to have answered every one of them, but he didn't say anything. This behavior is exactly the same as Wu Dong, Luo Zhengxin's steward. Luo Zhengxin was just a dean in the academy, but he gave Wu Dong several shops, manors and villas. Master Zhu and Master Zhu have higher status and position than Luo Zhengxin, so the property they gave him must be more abundant than Wu Dong's!"

The Imperial Guards had already come forward to arrest the man, and the chief steward was so scared that he knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.

Li Tianliu glanced at him and said, "Take him back first and find out more about his family situation."

"I confess, I confess everything." The chief steward said hurriedly, but neither Chen Shao, Li Tianliu, nor Chan Yi called for a stop. The chief steward was dragged out crying and shouting. When his voice completely disappeared, Li Tianliu asked, "Should we call another steward over for you?"

Chen Shao raised his head and glanced at the Zhu family. "Call one over."

Li Tianliu waved his hand outside, and the Yulin Guards immediately received the order and left.

Watching the Yulin Guards leaving, Chen Shao asked, "Have you brought back the stewards of the second and third houses as well?"

Li Tianliu leaned against the painted pillar on the corridor and replied lazily: "Not to mention the steward, even the cook in the kitchen was brought back."

Chen Shao glanced at him and arranged: "Take some time to help with the interrogation and see how much the second and third houses know about Qingyu."

Li Tianliu said lazily: "I understand."

Chen Shao continued: "The chief steward should also conduct a thorough investigation later. It would be best if he could find out which general of the Shan State the Zhu family is doing business with, and who the big shot the Zhu family is trying to get close to is."

Because of the terrain of the Shan State, there were twenty to thirty generals of varying sizes who held military power.

Li Tianliu glanced at the jade Buddha statue in Chanyi's hand, then looked at her and asked in an ambiguous tone, "Do you suspect that the Zhu family is colluding with the Shan Kingdom?"

Chen Shao kindly reminded: "It's not just the Zhu family that has green jade."

Li Tianliu had a nonchalant smile on his face, but his eyes were as sharp as swords: "What do you want to say?"

Chen Shao joked: "Haven't you already thought of it?"

Only the Shan Kingdom produces jade.

The jade mines in Shan State, especially the green jade mines, are controlled by aristocratic families.

This was the information obtained by the people he sent earlier to infiltrate Shan State.

In other words: if the nobles and gentry in Hongyuan County want to buy green jade, they can only buy it from the aristocratic families in Shan State who own green jade mines.

Shan State was just a tiny country. As the territory was full of mountains, it was difficult to expand outward or attack inward, so it had always lived an isolated life. Trade with Datong was limited to official caravans in the past. In recent years, Datong was in constant war and had no time to take care of trade, so it had long since cut off trade with Shan State.

Datong has always had strict control over smuggling, especially during the war years. In order to prevent spies or assassins from entering the country with the caravans, any smuggler caught was almost always sentenced to death.

The nobles of Hongyuan County who bought such a large amount of green jade from the Shan Kingdom's aristocratic families were already guilty of a capital crime. They took such a big risk to buy the green jade, but did not use it to make money, just to please a big shot? Such a statement is simply untenable, unless the big shot gave them benefits far greater than the green jade!

What kind of benefit can be higher than jade?

Considering the fact that the Wen, Ren, Zhu and Gu families all have Qingyu, the truth is clear as day.

Li Tianliu suppressed his smile, looked at her steadily and said, "So you didn't come to Hongyuan County to investigate the case at all!"

Chen Shao smiled and said, "I'm not here to investigate the case. What am I here for?"

Li Tianliu snorted coldly and walked away.

Chen Shao looked at his angry back, raised his eyebrows, and signaled Chan Yi: "Go and comfort him quickly."

Chan Yi blurted out: "I'm not going!"

"We still have to rely on him and the Imperial Guards for many things," Chen Shao persuaded with a smile, "If we don't coax him quickly, what will happen if he gets angry and returns to the capital? We can't deal with the remaining Gu family, Fan family, Qi family and the like by ourselves."

Chan Yi said, "Let Fu Jiu go."

"He can't do it." Chen Shao looked at Fu Jiu and shook his head. "He's not good at talking and can't win over Li Tianliu. Asking him to coax him will only make things worse."

Fu Jiu argued, "I can knock him out, so he can't leave. Or you can give me poison and I'll poison him, so he can't leave either."

Chan Yi sneered twice, stuffed all the jade items into his hands, and chased after Li Tianliu. Fu Jiu stuffed the jade items into his arms and tried to follow him stealthily. Chen Shao stopped him at the right time: "Come with me to take a look at a few more money vaults."

Fu Jiu stretched her neck and looked outside for a few times before following her to the treasury, looking back every few steps.

"How is the excavation of the remains from those gardeners going?" Chen Shao asked while counting the gold bars after entering the big treasury.

Fu Jiu's mind was still on Chan Yi and Li Tian Liu. When she heard her words, she replied casually, "There are only two more gardens left to dig."

"What about the bone?" Chen Shao picked up a gold bar and tapped it twice. The sound of the gold bars colliding finally brought Fu Jiu back to her thoughts. He moved to her side with the jade object in his arms, took a gold bar, and replied, "Luoyanju is almost done."

Chen Shao put down the gold bars and walked to where the cloth was stored: "How many corpses have you pieced together?"

Fu Jiu followed her closely, rummaging through the pile of cloth, and saw a piece of bright red cloud-patterned brocade. She touched it again and again and said, "There are more than 800 corpses."

"More than 800 bodies... It's a bit different from the number recorded in the roster." Chen Shao looked at the brocade he was touching, "Take it if you like it. I'll ask someone to make you two sets of clothes later."

Fu Jiu immediately pulled out the brocade and held it in her arms, laughing twice and saying, "Xu Guang also said that there are too many missing. He plans to wait until Wu Dong's family has finished digging up the remains in the remaining two gardens, and then have them dig at Luoyan Residence to see if they can dig up some more remains."

"No need to go to such trouble," Chen Shao said, "Just go back and ask the steward of the Wen family. If the steward of the Wen family doesn't know, then ask someone from the Ren family."

Fu Jiu nodded: "I'll go ask when we get back later."

Chen Shao said "hmm", and walked around the big treasury. Not only did Chan Yi coax Li Tianliu back, but Yulin Guard also came back with another manager.

Seeing that Li Tianliu still had a sour face, Chen Shao smiled and looked at the new manager, "What's your name?"

The new steward said respectfully, "I am Zhang Zhongcai."

"Zhang Zhongcai is right," Chen Shao walked to the main hall of Master Zhu's Changshou Courtyard and sat down, then asked slowly, "Is Bi Tao Garden the property of the Zhu family, or the property of the Zhu and Gu families?"

Zhang Zhongcai answered honestly: "It is the property of the Zhu family and the Gu family."

"Who killed the thirteen boys and girls who died in Bi Tao Garden?" Chen Shao asked.

Zhang Zhongcai answered honestly, "It was the Second Master, the Fourth Master, the First Young Master, the Second Young Master, the Fifth Young Master, the Seventh Young Master, as well as Master Gu, the Second Master Gu, the Third Master Gu, the First Young Master Gu, the Third Young Master Gu, and the Fourth Young Master Gu who sent people to kill him."

The people he described were exactly the same as those Madam Gao had told him. Chen Shao looked him up and down and asked, "How were they killed?"