Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Looking at his gray hair, Chen Shao was silent for a moment before speaking calmly, "Hurry back and pack up, go to Bianhe Village, and keep an eye on those people digging bones."

Hu Qinglu was stunned for a moment before he realized that Chen Shao was reappointing him. He kowtowed twice in haste, quickly got up, and ran out with unconcealed joy.

After watching him walk away, Chen Shao sat down. After resting for only two quarters of an hour, the Imperial Guards came outside to report: "Sir, the general sent someone to tell us that the managers of the Ren family have all returned and are waiting in the lobby. Do you want to go there now or wait a little while?"

Chen Shao glanced at the darkening sky outside, stood up and said, "Let's go now."

As soon as he walked out of the Chengfeng Courtyard, he saw Fu Jiu coming back, jumping and skipping. He walked closer to her, and without asking where she was going, he turned around and followed her, saying as he walked, "I asked Ding Lisheng and Lei Dehou, but Lei Dehou couldn't figure out what was going on. He said he knew very little about the prefectural government, and Ding Lisheng said that the female ghost in white was most likely Zhang Boshan's two daughters."

"Which courtyard do Zhang Boshan's family members live in?" Chen Shao asked.

Fu Jiu replied, "I live in Jingyuan."

Chen Shao continued to ask: "Where is Jingyuan?"

Fu Jiu pointed to the southeast, "Over there, about a cup of tea away from Chengfeng Courtyard."

A cup of tea is a quarter of an hour, and a quarter of an hour is a long distance. Chen Shao asked slowly, "Since it is a cup of tea away from Chengfeng Courtyard, how did the two Miss Zhangs avoid the pursuit of the Yulin Guards and return to Jingyuan so quickly?"

Fu Jiu said without hesitation: "Ding Lisheng said there is a secret passage in the prefect's mansion. The two of them should be using the secret passage to come and go freely."

It was similar to her previous guess. Chen Shao turned around and looked in the direction where the woman in white had appeared earlier, then asked, "Where is the secret passage?"

"Ding Lisheng said there are several secret passages in the prefectural government," Fu Jiu stated Ding Lisheng's words without any subjective opinion. "The secret passage leading directly to Jingyuan is in Tingfeng Courtyard. Tingfeng Courtyard has not been inhabited for many years. It is separated from Chengfeng Courtyard by a garden."

Chen Shao stopped suddenly.

Fu Jiu also stopped immediately.

Chen Shao looked at him and asked casually, "When I asked you to find another courtyard to detain Madam Zhang and others, how did you choose Jingyuan?"

Zhang Boshan's family was sent to Jingyuan by the Imperial Guards. Fu Jiu did not attend, but he did not explain. He just said, "Mrs. Zhang and the two young ladies have many maids and servants around them. Ordinary courtyards cannot accommodate them. Jingyuan is spacious and far away from the official residence, so we chose this place."

Chen Shao confirmed: "In other words, you were the ones who locked them up in Jingyuan, and no one instructed you to do so?"

Fu Jiu shook her head.

Chen Shao once again glanced in the direction where the woman in white appeared, then retracted his gaze and said as he walked, "You will repeat to me every word of your visit to Ding Lisheng."

Although Fu Jiu didn't understand, she still recounted the whole process from entering Ding Lisheng's official residence to leaving in detail.

After hearing this, Chen Shao couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Fu Jiu scratched her head in confusion, not knowing what she was laughing at.

There was nothing urgent, so Chen Shao slowly spoke up to clear up his confusion: "How long has Zhang Boshan been in prison?"

Fu Jiu replied, "Not long after we arrived in Hongyuan County, the young master put him in jail. We have been in Hongyuan County for almost three months, so he has been in jail for almost three months as well."

Chen Shao did not comment and said, "How many times did the woman in white appear?"

"Twice." Fu Jiu answered, and also mentioned the specific time of the appearance.

Chen Shao continued, "Ding Lisheng has said more than once that he has lived in the prefectural governor's mansion since he was appointed as a military officer in Facao. He has been a military officer in Facao for nearly twenty years. Judging from this period of time, he must know the prefectural governor's mansion very well. And from your conversation with him, he knows the secret passages in the prefectural governor's mansion very well. For someone who knows the prefectural governor's mansion very well, how could he not know about the woman in white appearing twice?"

Fu Jiu answered quickly: "He definitely knows!"

Chen Shao asked: "If he knew, why didn't he tell anyone?"

Yes, if he knew, why didn't he tell her? Fu Jiu looked at Chen Shao suspiciously, waiting for her answer.

Chen Shao thought for a moment and said, "You won't be busy later. Go to Jingyuan and invite the two Miss Zhangs to Chengfengyuan."

Fu Jiu nodded.

The steward of the Ren family stood behind Ren Shoukang in panic.

Ren Shoukang looked very unhappy.

Without waiting for Chen Shao to ask, the dyeing workshop's manager surnamed Ma came forward tremblingly, knelt down and said, "Sir, please allow me to report that among these managers, there is no one from yesterday."

Ren Shoukang also knelt on the ground immediately, "My Lord, please allow me to report that all the managers of my Ren family are here. If anyone hides anything, God will punish you with lightning!"

Chen Shao's eyes swept over the stewards of the Ren family, and finally fell on the steward surnamed Ma: "Are you sure that none of these stewards went to the dyeing workshop to look for them yesterday?"

The steward surnamed Ma looked back at the stewards uncertainly. After checking them one by one, he said with a sad face, "Excuse me, sir. I am sure that none of them came to the dyeing workshop yesterday to look for Miss Wang and Miss Xu."

Chen Shao asked Ren Shoukang to take out a waist badge of the Ren family steward and gave it to him. Then he said, "Take a closer look. Is the waist badge of the Ren family steward that you saw yesterday the same as this one?"

Although the dyeing workshop where Xu Chengmei and Wang Su worked was owned by the Wen family, they also had many dealings with the Ren family. The Ren family manager's badge was not seen often by the manager surnamed Ma, but he had seen it a few times. He took the badge thrown by Ren Shoukang, looked through it over and over again, and said in fear and trepidation: "Yes, it's the same, exactly the same."

"The husband has his own reasons, and the wife has her own reasons. For a moment, it is difficult to figure out who is right and who is wrong." Chen Shao looked at him, then at Ren Shoukang, and then at the managers of the Ren family, and asked slowly, "What did the manager of the Ren family who came to see you yesterday look like? Do you still remember?"

The steward surnamed Ma answered repeatedly: "I remember."

"That's it," Chen Shao said calmly, "Go back and find a painter. Ask him to paint the Ren family steward you saw yesterday, and then bring the portrait back to me."

The steward surnamed Ma's heart slowly fell. He did see a steward of the Ren family last night, and that steward of the Ren family was indeed not anyone standing here. He didn't want to frame anyone in order to get away, and he didn't want to admit that he was making it up. In this case, asking an artist to draw the steward of the Ren family he saw last night was undoubtedly one of the most appropriate ways.

Ren Shoukang and the other managers of the Ren family gradually felt relieved. The reason was not much different from that of the manager surnamed Ma.

Therefore, after they both respectfully agreed, they left together.

It was completely dark.

When I came out of the lobby and was about to go back to Chengfeng Courtyard, Chan Yi's voice came from afar: "Young Master!"

Chen Shao stopped and looked back. Chan Yi and Quan Shuyu were jogging towards them, with Zhang Ru, Cui Shu and others following closely behind them.

"Slow down." Chen Shao reminded.

"When I saw the people from the Ren family and the dyeing workshop just now, I knew that the young master would not go far." Chan Yi said quickly as she ran closer.

Chen Shao looked at Quan Shuyu, who was out of breath, and stood there for a while. After her breathing subsided a little, he walked away and asked, "Why did you come back so late?"

"It's all because of Wang Su and Xu Chengmei!" Chan Yi suppressed her smile and snorted coldly.

Chen Shao asked: "What happened to them?"