Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

"What are you arguing about so early in the morning?"

"My lord, someone died again!"

The prefectural government office of Hongyuan County.

Judicial officer Ding Lisheng carefully handed the petition to the governor Zhang Boshan who came out from the inner room.

Zhang Boshan yawned sleepily: "How many people have died?"

Ding Lisheng replied in a low voice: "The fifth one."

"It will be soon." Zhang Boshan waved his hand and hugged his new concubine who came out with her clothes on. "Let them go back and wait. How can we solve the case so quickly?"

Ding Lisheng reminded nervously: "The notice sent by the post station yesterday said that the Sixth Young Master of Chen Guogong Mansion has set out from the capital, intending to inspect the new and old cases in various counties to hone himself. If the Sixth Young Master comes to Hongyuan County..."

"What do you mean by honing one's skills? It's just an excuse for the children of the noble families in the capital to come out and eat, drink and have fun," Zhang Boshan said disapprovingly. "There are so many prosperous counties in Jiangnan Road. What is he doing in Hongyuan County? Come on, it's just a small matter, is it worth arguing about it? Go!"

Ding Lisheng agreed, and waited until Zhang Boshan and the concubine returned to the inner room before he slowly straightened up and walked out.

Back at the court room, several judicial assistants and judicial historians immediately raised their heads from the card table and asked, "What did you say, sir?"

"What else can I say? Anyway, every few years, this murderer will come out and kill eight or nine people. This is the fifth one. If he kills three or four more, everything will be fine." Throwing the complaint on the table, Ding Lisheng said proudly, "Come on, I'll treat you to lunch at Juxianlou to calm your nerves."

……

"On July 13, the sixth year of Yuanhe, Zhou Lan, a 51-year-old peasant woman from Daye Village, was killed by having her neck cut in her own cornfield. Her hands were tied behind her back when she died.

"On September 19, the sixth year of Yuanhe, Yang Hongjiu, a 32-year-old peasant woman from Zhougong Village, was killed by having her neck cut in a vegetable field a hundred feet away from the village. Her hands were tied behind her back when she died.

"On September 27, the sixth year of Yuanhe, a five-year-old boy named Wang Sanwa from Yunhe Town was killed by having his neck cut and his body thrown into a ditch three hundred feet away from the village. His hands were tied behind his back when he died.

"On the ninth day of the third month in the seventh year of Yuanhe, Zhao Ping, a 59-year-old peasant woman from Changhe Village, was killed in the field by having her neck cut. Her hands were tied behind her back and her ears, nose, and mouth were scratched.

"On May 21, the seventh year of Yuanhe, Zhao Erwa, a four-year-old boy from Xiaochang Village, was killed by having his neck cut in the woods outside the village. His hands were tied behind his back when he died.

"On the third day of the seventh month in the seventh year of Yuanhe, Sun Fen, a 29-year-old peasant woman from Wan'an Village, was killed by having her neck cut in a wheat field. When she died, her hands were tied behind her back, she was naked, and there were dozens of knife wounds on her chest.

"On the first day of August in the seventh year of Yuanhe, boys from seven villages in Lijiagou...

"On October 17, the seventh year of the Yuanhe era, a 63-year-old peasant woman from Yunhe Town...

"On December 30th of the seventh year of Yuanhe, a 30-year-old peasant woman from Wenhai Township..."

……

"On the 23rd day of the first lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanhe reign, Wang Gaolan, a 31-year-old peasant woman from Xiaotian Village, was killed by having her neck cut on a field ridge. Her hands were tied behind her back, she was naked, her abdomen was cut open with a knife, and half of her intestines fell out.

"On February 9th of the 14th year of Yuanhe, Li Lan, a 62-year-old peasant woman from Xiaochang Village, was killed by having her neck cut in a fruit forest. Her hands were tied behind her back, and her ears, nose, and mouth had cut marks. Her chest and abdomen were cut open with a knife and filled with leaves, mud, and stones.

"On February 17, the 14th year of Yuanhe, a two-year-old boy named Sanwazi from Zhaojia Village was killed by having his neck cut behind his house. His hands were tied behind his back when he died.

"On the first day of April in the fourteenth year of Yuanhe, a fifty-four-year-old peasant woman named Ma Ni from Pinggao Township was killed by having her neck cut in Yuannan Mountain. Her hands were tied behind her back when she died, and there were cut marks on her ears, nose, and mouth. Her chest and abdomen were cut open with a knife and filled with leaves, mud, and stones.

"On May 13, the 14th year of Yuanhe, Hua Erya, a 24-year-old peasant woman from Lijiagou, was killed by having her neck cut in Kuihe Mountain. Her hands were tied behind her back, her left chest was slashed with a knife, her abdomen was hollowed out and filled with leaves, mud and stones, and her lower body was stuffed with branches.

"On July 19, the 14th year of the Yuanhe era, a five-year-old boy from Wan'an Village...

"On November 27, the 14th year of Yuanhe, a 25-year-old peasant woman from Wenhai Township...

"On November 29, the 14th year of Yuanhe, a 59-year-old peasant woman from Daye Village..."

……

Lightning roared and summer thunder rolled.

The sky was covered with dark clouds that rolled in from the distant sky.

"Hurry, we're almost there! Hurry up and get into the city before the rain starts!"

The convoy sped up faster and faster as ordered.

In the center of the convoy, in a protected carriage, a handsome young man was slowly flipping through the case files, without being disturbed by the outside world.

Half an hour later.

Looking at the city wall of Hongyuan County at the end, everyone except the young man breathed a sigh of relief: We're finally here!

It is more than 3,000 miles from the capital to Hongyuan County. They set out on April 27th and today is only May 16th. It only took them 20 days to arrive!

The convoy arrived at the city gate in a moment.

Seeing the guards raising their spears to stop them, the leading imperial guard quickly tore off the token from his waist, raised it high and shouted, "The Sixth Young Master of the Duke of Chen's Mansion has been ordered to investigate a case. Get out of here!"

The four characters "Mr. Chen's Mansion" were like thunder from heaven, shocking the gatekeepers who were blocking the road and causing them to retreat to both sides in fear.

The convoy rushed past.

The billowing dust and smoke covered the gatekeepers' heads and faces.

After everyone scrambled to spit out the mud in their mouths, the discussion began:

"It's strange. Young Master Chen Liu really left Jiangnan Road and came here to handle the case."

"This Sixth Master Chen is only seventeen years old, right? He is so young and has become a third-rank Dali Temple official. He is really amazing."

"That's why I came here to investigate the case. Some time ago, Wang Chongshan and Yang Tiesheng almost fought over who would be the leader. For a high-ranking official like the third rank, there must be more people fighting for him."

Clap clap clap.

The heavy rain came suddenly.

Pedestrians on the street ran in all directions in an instant.

In such a panic, the convoy quickly passed through Yanghuai Street and slowly stopped in front of the prefect's mansion.

"Master, we're here." Fu Jiu, the horse driver, put away the whip, jumped off the carriage, quickly moved out a low stool, set it firmly on the ground, and opened the door.

The young man looked up from his desk, looked at the pouring rain, and sighed, "It's raining again."

Fu Jiu said: "Fortunately we arrived in time, the rain started to fall when we were almost there."

If he had arrived in time, he should be at the crime scene now.

The young man sighed silently, took the umbrella handed to him by the maid Chanyi, stood up and walked out of the carriage, raised the umbrella slightly to glance at the plaque of the prefect's mansion, then walked towards the gate.

The two frightened yamen runners tried to stop them, but Fu Jiu scolded them, "Hurry up and inform your superiors that the Sixth Young Master is here!"

The yamen runner blurted out, "Which Sixth Young Master?"

Fu Jiu puffed out her chest proudly and said, "Of course it's the Sixth Master Chen of the Duke of Chen's Mansion, the Supreme Court Justice appointed by the Emperor!"

Chen, the Sixth Master Chen from the Mansion of Duke Chen!

The two yamen runners took a quick look at the young man, then rushed through the gate in panic and ran towards the back house.

"There are really no rules!" Fu Jiu was dissatisfied.

Chan Yi glared at him and said, "Stop talking and don't cause trouble for the young master."

Fu Jiu shut up.

The two followed the young man, Chen Zhao, the sixth son of the Duke of Chen and the Minister of the Supreme Court appointed by the Emperor at the grand court meeting on April 25th, through the main gate, ceremonial gate, lobby, and house gate, and walked towards the second hall.

Among the one hundred imperial guards accompanying him, twenty were quickly selected to follow closely behind.

"I am late in welcoming you, please forgive me, sir!" Zhang Boshan, who had run in the rain without even opening an umbrella, stood in front of the screen door with a group of officials, bowing in fear.

The Sixth Young Master of Duke Chen's Mansion, that young man who was like a genius, actually came to Hongyuan County! Zhang Boshan slightly raised his eyelids and looked at Chen Zhao who was walking slowly, trying to figure out his possible preferences through his behavior.

But Chen Zhao did not stop in front of him.

Chen Zhao walked straight through the passage that everyone had automatically made way for, entered the screen door, and walked into the second hall.

He handed the umbrella to Chanyi, shook off the rain on his body, sat on the table, and looked down at everyone.