Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

As soon as he heard her tone, Xu Guang knew that his judgment was wrong. He hurriedly jumped down from the mud pit, knelt down in front of the corpse, checked it from head to toe, then picked up the pelvis, carefully examined it for a moment, and said: "The time of death of this corpse is between five and ten years. It is a female corpse, between fourteen and sixteen years old, and the height is between four feet seven and four feet nine."

Chen Shao asked expressionlessly, "You just said that her age was between thirteen and fifteen, why is it now between fourteen and sixteen?"

Xu Guang's face turned red with shame.

Chen Shao was not an aggressive person. Seeing that he had learned his lesson, he avoided the question and continued to ask, "Tell me, what was the cause of her death?"

Xu Guang did not dare to be arrogant anymore. He checked from head to toe twice more before picking up the skull. He pointed at the crack on the skull and said, "He must have died from being hit on the skull with a blunt object like a hammer or an axe."

Chen Shao said "very good" in a light tone, and then asked: "If you were asked to find the identity of this female corpse, where would you start?"

Xu Guang had never encountered this question before since he followed her to solve cases. Knowing that she was going to impart new knowledge to him, he immediately perked up and examined the corpse from head to toe again. Finally, his eyes fell on the silver hairpin next to the skull that he had taken away earlier.

It was a silver hairpin only half the length of a palm. It had been buried underground for so many years that its surface had turned half black. After picking up the silver hairpin and brushing off the dirt attached to it, it was clearly seen that it was a roughly polished lotus hairpin. After digging a few more times at the location where the lotus silver hairpin was found, a peach wood hairpin soon emerged. However, unlike the rough silver hairpin, the carving of the peach wood hairpin was very exquisite.

Handing the two hairpins to Chen Shao, Xu Guang asked tentatively: "Can we use these two hairpins to find out her identity?"

Chen Shao didn't say it was right or wrong, but asked, "How can we use these two hairpins to find her identity?"

Xu Guang picked up the silver hairpin and said, "This hairpin is too crudely made. It doesn't look like it was bought, but rather it was smashed by someone. The owner of this corpse has been wearing it all the time and obviously treasured it very much. You can ask an artist to draw a few pictures of the hairpin and post them on the notice wall to see if anyone recognizes it."

Chen Shao nodded, motioning for him to continue.

Xu Guang picked up the peach wood hairpin again and said, "This hairpin is beautifully carved. You can ask at every jewelry store in the county town."

"Very good." Chen Shao took the peach wood hairpin, looked at the lifelike lotus flowers carved on the hairpin head, and asked calmly, "I'll give the silver hairpin to you. Follow your method, find an artist to draw it, and immediately post it on the notice wall to find out her identity as soon as possible."

Xu Guang said yes.

Chen Shao got out of the mud pit and signaled the Yulin Guards to continue digging the bones.

Soon, corpses were dug up one after another, but no evidence such as silver hairpins or peach wood hairpins were found to identify the bodies.

Chen Shao looked at the peach wood hairpin and frowned slightly. The lotus on this peach wood hairpin was carved exactly the same as the jade pendant and the jade lotus sitting Buddha. The interrogation of the chief steward and Zhang Zhongcai revealed that the jade pendant and the jade lotus sitting Buddha were all bought from Shan State. Then this peach wood hairpin...

A total of 42 bodies were dug out from the Zhu family's land, half of which were male and half were female, and the ages were between 13 and 18 years old. Except for the first female body, the rest died of poisoning. Because they were buried evenly, there was no need to piece together the bones separately. Under the scorching sun, Chen Shao ordered Ren Zhongxing to prepare 42 straw mats, and ordered the Yulin Guards to cut some grass leaves to cover the excavated bones, and then he entered the Zhu family farm with the peach wood hairpin.

While the bones were still being dug, the villagers of Changwo Village who were hiding in the distance and watching the excitement quickly dispersed. However, they soon gathered in front of Zhu's village with winnowing baskets and backpacks.

Chen Shaocai drank two sips of the well water that Fu Jiu had fetched. After hearing what the people of Changwo Village had done, he wiped the sweat off his forehead and came out to apologize to everyone, saying, "Please rest assured, uncles, aunties, and grandpas. The grain stored in Zhu's farm and the seized fields will be returned to everyone as soon as we finish dealing with Wen's farm. I came here today mainly to deal with the corpses in that field. I can't spare time to deal with the fields and grain for the time being. I hope you uncles, aunties, and grandpas will forgive me."

"I said there would be no distribution of grain and land today."

"I was just picking peanuts in the field when I heard him shouting that the adults were coming to divide the grain and land. I hurried back to get a dustpan."

"I went back to get these because of his shouting."

"It really hurts people a lot."

The people of Changwo Village dispersed in small numbers.

Chen Shao watched all the people leave before he reentered the manor. Ren Zhonghang arranged for someone to go back to the county town to get straw mats. When he came back, he saw the Yulin Guards sitting casually under the eaves or trees to take a rest. He hurriedly asked the servants of the Ren family to bring stools for them. When he entered the house and saw that Chen Shao was drinking well water, he was so scared that he quickly asked someone to water the well and make tea.

"These servants were hired from various farms. They are lazy and don't know how to do things unless you explain things to them clearly." Ren Zhongxing apologized, "Please be magnanimous and don't bother with them."

Chen Shao smiled and said casually: "Looking after both the Wen family's farm and the Zhu family's farm, aren't you a little too busy?"

"Not bad." Ren Zhongxing said honestly, "In the beginning, it was indeed a bit stretched, but after hearing that the Zhu family was also wiped out, the students in the academy have been dealing with the Wen family's manor at a faster pace recently, and more and more manpower has been freed up. Now, it is barely enough."

When Chen Shao heard him mention the students of the academy, he asked, "Those students didn't cause you any trouble, did they?"

"No." Ren Zhongxing praised sincerely, "Those students are very warm and polite to both the common people and us, and they are very active and decisive in doing things. To be honest, I know a lot of students who also studied in the academy in their early years, but I have never seen people who are so eager to do things like them. It can be seen that the young master has trained them very well."

Everyone likes to hear good words, especially those that praise students. Chen Shao smiled and said, "It's nothing to be active and diligent for a while, it's more difficult to keep it up all the time."

Ren Zhongxing nodded in agreement, "It would be rare to be able to maintain it for three or five years."

"Three years, five years?" If she could only keep it for three or five years, why would she waste the time? Chen Shao laughed silently twice and simply changed the subject, "How do the people guarding this farm solve the problem of food?"

Ren Zhongxing slapped his forehead, then he remembered that it was noon, and was about to ask someone to go back to the county town to prepare a few tables of banquets. Chen Shao stopped him and said, "Don't bother, just ask two people... Never mind, Chanyi, take two Yulin guards to the village and find a few aunts who can cook to help prepare a meal for everyone."

Changwo Village is not far from Zhujia Village, only about a hundred or two hundred feet away. After Chanyi led the Yulin Guards there, she soon returned alone, smiling and saying, "Don't bother asking people to cook. The village chief has already arranged for many aunts and grandmas to cook for us. He also said that when the young master went to other villages, other villages slaughtered chickens and sheep. Now that he has come to Changwo Village, Changwo Village will naturally not be left behind. The two brothers who followed him have already consciously helped."

Chen Shao put down the tea bowl, stood up and said, "Since they are already helping, we can't be outdone. Let's go and help together."

When the Yu Lin guards heard this, they immediately got up and shouted. Without even having time to brush off the dirt on their bodies, they rushed to Changwo Village. Ren Zhongxing had also followed Chen Shao to ten villages before, and had also eaten many meals hosted by the people with her. Although those meals were not as exquisite and delicious as those in the restaurant, the portions were absolutely amazing. Moreover, a large group of people gathered around to eat, and the excitement was incomparable to that in the restaurant. Seeing that the Yu Lin guards had already run more than ten feet away, he was unwilling to be left behind, so he bowed to Chen Shao and quickly chased after them.

Fu Jiu wanted to chase him, but she also wanted to protect Chen Shao. She was hesitant and tangled like a monkey, jumping up and down beside Chen Shao. Chen Shao said generously, "Go ahead."

Fu Jiu immediately chased after them like an arrow shot from a bow.

Seeing that he had come from behind and even used Qinggong, Chen Shao couldn't help but laugh twice, and said to the eager servants of the Ren family: "The meal will be ready soon, I will arrange for someone to bring it over. As for the Zhuangzi, please take care of it."

Hongyuan County is a typical mountain city. Whether it is the county town or the villages and towns, most of them are built on the mountain, and Changwo Village is no exception. Because there are many dishes to cook, Muramasa arranged the cooking place on the stone dam in front of the ancestral hall. When Chen Shao arrived, he saw that the villagers of Changwo Village were scrambling for work as if they were competing with the Yulin Guards. The lively scene made Muramasa shout until his voice was hoarse, and he couldn't control it.

Seeing Chen Shao coming, the sixty-year-old Muramasa came up to him briskly and said excitedly: "Your Excellency has come at the right time. Let them stop and have a rest. We can do this job by ourselves!"

"Don't worry about them, sir," Chen Shao said gently, "Once they finish chopping wood and carrying water, they will naturally stop."

Muramasa obviously only knew that when they went to various villages to do business, the villages would kill chickens and sheep to keep them for dinner. He didn't know that the so-called assistants of the Yulin Guards were to help every household in the village chop firewood, carry water, etc., and do things within their ability. Seeing that Chen Shao was not in a hurry, Muramasa reminded him blankly: "They are chopping firewood and carrying water for people, and they also have to go to the fields to pick peanuts for people. The sun is very hot at noon. If they continue to work like this, what will happen if they get heatstroke?"

Chan Yi stepped forward and said, "Don't worry, sir. I'll go pick some herbs and make a pot of soup for them."

Muramasa said: "How come you are cooking for us and are working for us?"

Ren Zhongxing was passing by carrying water, and when he heard this he said loudly, "Sir, you'll get used to it."

Chen Shao walked towards the shade and said, "Yes, you just need to get used to it."

As they were talking, Chan Yi had already taken the village children out of the village to collect herbs.

After a lively meal and helping to clean up, Chen Shao and the Yulin Guards finally returned to the Zhu family's farm amid the reluctant gazes of the villagers.

The Ren family has already sent the straw mat over.

But the sun is really scorching.

Chen Shao arranged for the Ren family to bring back the peanuts they had picked in the morning, and asked the Yulin Guards to pick the peanuts while waiting for the sun to set. While the Yulin Guards gathered in groups of two or three to pick the peanuts, she asked Ren Zhongxing to bring the steward of the Zhu family farm to the main hall.

He first asked about the situation of the village, and then about the situation of the land. After he had roughly understood his background, Chen Shao got to the point: "How many people are buried in that land?"

"Forty-two people," the steward answered without hesitation, "twenty-one men and twenty-one women. I remember it very clearly."

Since the Zhu family was destroyed, the steward had his feet tied by the Ren family and was forced to live in the woodshed with the servants of the original farm. Not only was he exposed to the wind and sun, but he also had to eat, drink, defecate and urinate in the same place. He had had enough of it. When he heard that Chen Shao was looking for him, he was so excited that he almost cried. In order not to go back to the woodshed, he answered all of Chen Shao's questions without reservation.

"Was the last person buried a man or a woman?" Chen Shao asked.

"A woman." The steward answered without hesitation, "A woman from Shan Country."

Ren Zhongxing glanced at him quickly, then at Chen Shao. Chen Shao showed no surprise, as if he had known for a long time that the last person buried was a woman, and a Shan woman.

Chen Shaoke didn't care what he thought. After getting the answer he wanted, he continued to ask, "Who is she to your Third Master Zhu?"

"She is not someone of Master Zhu San," the steward said quickly. "I heard from Steward Zhang that the woman was the concubine of the general of the Shan Kingdom. She was caught having an affair with someone by the general and was sold to the caravan of the Zhu and Gu families for 1,000 taels of silver. Because she was so beautiful, Master Zhu San and his family kept her in the Peach Garden. But the woman was very disobedient and disobeyed Master Zhu San and his family time and time again. Once she disobeyed Master Zhu San again, Master Zhu San tried to force herself on her, but she bit off a piece of his flesh. Master Zhu San was in pain and accidentally beat her to death."

Chen Shao asked Xu Guang to take out the silver hairpin and asked, "Take a close look at it. Is this hairpin hers?"

The steward nodded repeatedly, and then added fearfully, "It's hers. I heard that her adulterer gave it to her, and he valued it more than her life. When Steward Zhang brought her body here and had it buried in that field, he wanted to take the silver hairpin away, but before the servant's hand even touched the hairpin, the woman suddenly opened her eyes. That's how the hairpin was saved."

Xu Guang looked at the silver hairpin in his hand, feeling very sorry. He had never encountered such a miraculous thing. Chen Shao looked at him calmly, then took out the peach wood hairpin: "Take a look at this hairpin, is it hers too?"

The steward took a closer look and nodded, "It's hers."

Seeing that he didn't elaborate, Chen Shao asked, "Did she originally have it, or did Master Zhu and the others give it to her?"

The steward shook his head: "I don't know. I only remember that when she was buried in that field, she was wearing that silver hairpin and this wooden hairpin on her head."

Chen Shao asked a few more questions, and after seeing that he didn't know much, he asked Ren Zhongxing to take him away. Seeing that he was honest, when he asked Ren Zhongxing to take him away, he specifically instructed him: "Let him take care of the corpses."

Her intention was to lock him up with those corpses. Ren Zhongxing was afraid that the servants of the Ren family would not understand her meaning, so he followed the servants to take him away.