Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Ren Shoukang's lips trembled. The Ren family had never sent any stewards to look for Wang Su and Xu Chengmei, but the key to this matter was not whether they looked for them or not, but whether Chen Shaoxin believed them or not. The uncontrollable fear made his voice unconsciously sharp: "There are forty-one stewards of all sizes in the Ren family. Except for the thirty stewards guarding the Wen and Zhu family manors, the rest are all here. You said that it was my steward who ordered Miss Wang and Miss Xu, then you should take a good look at who the steward of the Ren family is who ordered them?"

The steward surnamed Ma was also trembling with fear. He looked at the stewards as he spoke, looked around, and shook his head and said, "No, the steward who came to see them yesterday is not here."

Ren Shoukang immediately said to Chen Shao, "Sir, please allow me to report. I have arranged for people to go to the manor to invite the thirty stewards. They will be back by nightfall at the latest. If they are really Miss Wang and Miss Xu who were found by Miss Quan, you don't need to do anything, I will tear them into pieces to apologize!"

Chen Shao said nothing, just replied "OK" in a calm voice, then turned to ask Fu Jiu: "Where are Liu Deming and the others?"

Fu Jiu replied, "Waiting in the lobby."

Chen Shao stood up and said, "Since the other managers won't be back until the evening, let's wait until they come back. You guys go back first."

Ren Shoukang and the shopkeeper of the dyeing workshop responded respectfully, and watched her leave the second hall before getting up and slowly leaving the prefectural government. When they arrived at the gate of the prefectural government, they happened to run into the imperial guards escorting Wang Su and Xu Chengmei's brothers back. As Wang Su and Xu Chengmei chased them and cried heartbreakingly, their brothers were soon beheaded.

Too many people had been beheaded in recent months, and the yamen runners had long been well-trained. It only took a cup of tea for a beheading to fall to the ground. The bodies had been dragged and thrown into the mass grave, and the blood on the ground was quickly washed away. The people who came to watch the excitement also gradually dispersed as time passed.

The only ones who did not disperse were the Ren family and the people from the dyeing workshop.

The people from the Ren family and the dyeing workshop looked blankly at the place where the execution had just taken place, as if they had also seen their own future. They all had a look of fear on their faces and did not dare to move at all.

Lobby.

Although Liu Deming and others were in the lobby, they also heard about Wang Su and Xu Chengmei blocking the road to appeal for justice. When Chen Shao came over, a group of people were chattering and expressing their opinions. When she sat on the table, the voices of discussion gradually quieted down.

After signaling Fu Jiu to prepare the tools for drawing lots, Chen Shao looked at them and said, "This time, it will be the same as last time. Xu Xianmin, Liu Deming, and Sun Qi will lead the team. However, the Zhu family has twice as many manors as the Wen family, so you may have a harder time than last time."

Although he was mentally prepared, Tao Ming still felt a little disappointed when he heard that there would be no re-division of teams and re-selection of captains. But he quickly seized the opportunity and said, "We are not afraid of hard work!"

The other students were not willing to lag behind and shouted: "We are not afraid of hard work either!"

"As long as you are not afraid of hard work," Chen Shao smiled, "The Zhu family has 108 manors, which is just enough to give 36 to each of your teams. I agree with you competing with each other, but the premise is that you can't ignore the quality just for the sake of speed."

Tao Ming shouted, "Don't worry, sir, we will definitely finish it quickly and well."

"I trust you and feel confident in entrusting you with such an important task. I just want to remind you that I care more about whether the people are satisfied than speed." Chen Shao's eyes slowly swept over the students. "I believe you all know how Xu Xianmin, Liu Deming and Sun Qi became the captains. I am not afraid to tell you the truth. After dealing with Zhuangzi's matter, I have something more important to tell you. That more important thing is closely related to why you are standing here today."

Looking at the gradually brightening eyes of the crowd, Chen Shao chuckled twice and then gave a warning: "You can have hope, but don't dream of reaching the sky overnight."

Tao Ming wanted to say something, but with his mouth open, he was so excited that he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

He is like this, and so are Xu Xianmin, Liu Deming and others.

Chen Shao deliberately let them digest the matter for a while before continuing to talk about business: "In addition to the tasks of distributing grain, returning land, and distributing money, there is another thing I need to entrust to you."

After explaining the land issue mentioned by Grandma Chunhua and other people a few days ago, and letting them discuss it for a while, Chen Shao picked up the gavel and knocked twice, saying, "Since the people have a demand, we must solve it in time. So when you go to deal with the problems of the manors this time, you must investigate the villagers involved in each manor and what they think of the land they are allocated. In addition, you must also investigate how many families like Grandma Chunhua there are in these villages. In view of the heavy workload, I will give each team thirty taels of silver, and how to use it is the same as before."

Knowing that they needed some space to discuss, Chen Shao didn't waste any words. After finishing his business, he immediately said, "Okay, I've finished what I want to say. If you have anything to ask, you can ask. If you don't have anything to ask, you can go and draw lots with Fu Jiu."

Xu Xianmin, Liu Deming, and Sun Qi looked at each other, then turned around and walked towards Fu Jiuwei.

The so-called drawing lots does not mean writing down the 108 manors and letting them go to the manor they draw. Instead, the 36 nearby manors are divided into three areas, and the person who draws the area is responsible for that area. And to divide the nearby manors together, without the Internet and the assistance of high-definition maps, is indeed a very tedious task. When the students flocked to Fu Jiu, Fu Jiu was worried about the various materials of Zhu's manor. Seeing them coming, Fu Jiu immediately divided the materials into three parts and asked them to help together, adhering to the principle that it is better to be alone than to be together.

Amid their noisy voices, Chen Shao saw that there was nothing for her to do, so she stood up quickly and told Chan Yi as she walked away, "Go find Quan Shuyu and get ninety taels of silver to share with them later."

Chan Yi said "hmm", and after leaving the lobby and getting away from the noise, she asked, "Should we send someone to secretly keep an eye on Wang Su and Xu Chengmei?"

Chen Shao nodded: "Send someone to keep an eye on them. They are penniless now, and their brother who trafficked them was executed. I'm afraid their life will not be easy after they return home."

"No matter how hard their lives are, it's their own fault. They can't blame anyone else!" Chan Yi said with a spit, still not satisfied, "They were abducted and sold by their own brothers. After ending up like that, they still considered their brothers in every way. But they should never, ever frame the young master and Quan Shuyu for a hundred taels of silver! Especially using Master Luo, Shi Hui, and Shi An to frame the young master and Quan Shuyu!"

Seeing her face turn red with anger, Chen Shao smiled lightly and calmly said, "You have seen the piles of gold, silver and jewelry in the money vaults of the Wen and Zhu families, so you naturally look down on the one hundred taels of silver. But they haven't seen it. One hundred taels of silver... that is the income of ordinary people in ten or even twenty years without any exploitation. It is normal for them not to be tempted."

Chan Yi was dissatisfied: "Sir, why are you still speaking for them?"

"I didn't speak for them," Chen Shao sighed. "You have also seen the rosters of Luoyanju and Bitaoyuan. You should know that the boys and girls on the rosters are all from poor families. They may not all be willing to sell their children."

"How could they not be willing? They are not the only poor people. Why don't we see other families selling their children?" Chan Yi muttered a few words and simply changed the subject, "I thought that the young master agreed to send people to keep an eye on them so that he could use them to catch the manager of the Ren family who ordered them to do so."

Chen Shao said calmly: "It was not the Ren family's steward or anyone else in the Ren family who ordered them to do so."

Chan Yi subconsciously asked, "Who is that?"

Chen Shao said casually: "It's probably someone from the Gu family, the Fan family, or the Qi family."

Chan Yi tilted her head and thought for a while, then agreed, "It is very possible that the young master used the evidence given by Mr. Luo when he destroyed the Wen family and the Zhu family. Mr. Gu and Mr. Gu Er have seen the evidence. With their identities and status, it is not difficult to guess that the evidence is related to Mr. Luo. They framed Mr. Luo for colluding with Quan Shuyu, probably to get rid of him. But since the young master knew it was not the Ren family, why did he spend so much time and effort to interrogate the Ren family and the dyeing workshop?"

Chen Shao said meaningfully: "Of course, it is to make the best use of things."

Chan Yi blinked twice, not quite understanding.

Chen Shao did not explain further.

After returning to Chengfeng Courtyard, Chen Shao took out the three volumes of hereditary edicts and spread them out on the table. Looking at the familiar handwriting, he said to Li Tianliu, "You have to interrogate the steward of the Wen family again. Since the great-great-grandson of the crown prince of the previous dynasty gave the hereditary edicts to the Zhu family, there is no reason not to give them to the Wen family."

Li Tianliu sneered: "If you want to get rid of me, just say so."

Chen Shao looked up at him and said seriously, "Yes, I just want to get rid of you. Go quickly."

Li Tianliu snorted coldly and stood at the door like a nail, motionless.

Chen Shao looked at him again and said jokingly, "Why don't you leave?"

Li Tianliu walked into the room, pulled a chair and sat down.

Chen Shao chuckled twice and ordered: "Give me the silver hairpin and peach wood hairpin of the Shan woman."

Li Tianliu had a cold face and took out the silver hairpin and peach wood hairpin and threw them to her.

Chen Shao saw that the handkerchief wrapped with the silver and peach wood hairpins was not the one Chan Yi gave him yesterday. After looking at him calmly, Chen Shao took out the silver and peach wood hairpins and placed them next to the imperial edict. He then opened the drawer and took out the jade pendant that he had seized from Li Hong's package and placed it with the other two.

Comparing the lotus patterns carved on the jade pendant, silver hairpin, and peach wood hairpin, Chen Shao asked, "Has Changming City and Tuoyu City not found any useful information yet?"