Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Since the second brother and second wife of Tao went to Zhaojia Village, Tao Ming has been running between the village and Tao's house. Seeing the second brother and second wife of Tao riding horses, followed by a fine carriage, Tao Ming guessed that Chen Zhao had come. It was not appropriate to wait at the village entrance, so he hurried back to Tao's house and urged Tao's eldest wife, "Sister-in-law, hurry up and wake up Auntie. Master Chen will soon enter the village. She must have a lot of questions for Auntie! Whether we can find the murderer of Sister A Mei depends on Auntie!"

Mrs. Tao had heard him talk about Chen Shao's identity earlier. When she heard that Chen Shao was coming over soon, she panicked and quickly hugged Mrs. Tao from the bed and pinched her philtrum hard.

Tao Ming didn't care whether she woke up or not. After delivering the message, he ran out in a hurry.

As soon as I ran to the door, Chen Shao arrived.

The mourning hall was set up in the main room.

Fu Jiu drove the carriage into the yard and stopped beside the west room.

Chen Shao got out of the carriage and instinctively glanced at the layout of the yard.

Seven large rooms, a kitchen, and a utility room formed a courtyard. The courtyard was very tidy, but it could not hide its dilapidated state. It was even more dilapidated than the courtyard that Zhao Yongsheng used to coerce his two sons to compete for honoring him. The ground in the courtyard was rammed very firmly. I think it was because there were many people and children in the family, so they did not cultivate vegetable fields like other families.

"Our home is simple, please come and sit in this room." Seeing Chen Shao pacing in the yard, Brother Tao mustered up his courage and took a few quick steps to lead the way.

Brother Tao, who was always cautious and humble to the officials in the prefectural government, was so frightened when he saw him like this that he immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Please forgive me, sir. I don't know the rules and offend you..."

"Don't worry, go burn incense first." Chen Shao said this almost at the same time as him. After he finished speaking, he saw his appearance, motioned Fu Jiu to help him up, and then followed Brother Tao to the mourning hall.

After burning incense, he grabbed a handful of paper and threw it into the brazier. After watching the flames jump up and devour the paper, Chen Shao came out of the mourning hall.

"Student Tao Ming greets you, sir!" Tao Ming quickly seized the opportunity, took two quick steps forward, and bowed deeply to Chen Shao.

Chen Shao looked at him when he heard the voice.

Tao Ming knew that the opportunity was not to be missed, and he wanted to step forward again, but Li Tianliu lazily took out his sword and blocked his way, "If you have anything to say, say it here."

Tao Ming looked at the couple of Tao Erge who were a few steps away from Chen Shao, feeling a little unwilling. However, since it was their first meeting, he had to leave a good impression, so he had to suppress his dissatisfaction with Li Tianliu and said respectfully: "I am a relative of Tao Da Ge and Tao Er Ge, and I am currently studying at the Imperial College. I heard the sad news of the passing of my master, and I came back to show my filial piety. I didn't expect to meet you, and I was so excited that I couldn't hide it. I hope you will forgive me if I am rude."

Chen Shao looked at Brother Tao and Sister Tao and asked.

Second Brother Tao subconsciously looked at First Brother Tao.

Brother Tao is only eight or nine years older than Tao Ming, and he has watched him grow up. Their family is poor, and Tao Ming looked down on them before he was admitted to the Imperial College. After he was admitted to the Imperial College, he didn't even look at them. Two hours earlier, he suddenly came to their house and was very attentive, so he guessed that he had a purpose. Now seeing him being so flattering, he finally understood the reason. But after all, he was a villager, and Brother Tao couldn't bear to ruin his future because of such a small matter, so he had to shake his head at Brother Tao.

Brother Tao replied to Chen Shao: "He is a close relative of my great grandfather's generation."

Chen Shao naturally saw the actions between the brothers, but she did not expose them: "In this case, then reply together."

Mrs. Tao glared at Brother Tao unhappily: Have you forgotten how he usually treats you?

Second Brother Tao laughed silently and foolishly.

Mrs. Tao was so angry that she ignored him.

Tao Mingke didn't care about so much. When he heard that he was allowed to follow, he said excitedly: "I grew up in the village since I was a child. If you have any questions, I will tell you everything I know!"

As he said that, he stepped forward again.

Li Tianliu stopped him with his sword again, "Who allowed you to come forward? Stand here properly."

Tao Ming was angry: "My Lord has allowed me to follow!"

Li Tianliu disagreed and said, "Your Excellency has agreed, but I have not agreed."

"You!" Tao Ming looked at Chen Shao.

Chen Shao had already followed Zhao Qiang and Brother Tao and Sister Tao into the west room. Tao Ming snorted angrily, then reluctantly took two steps back, secretly planning to talk to Chen Shao and have him dismissed from his job!

Li Tianliu looked at the calculation written on his face, put away his sword with a smile, stepped forward and hugged his shoulders. When he asked in horror, "What do you want to do?", he jokingly said, "Why, do you want to please the master and get promoted overnight?"

His hands were like iron hoops. Tao Ming struggled several times but failed to break free. He could not help but said in fear, "What does it have to do with you?"

"You want to please others, which is none of my business, but I was ordered to protect the safety of the master. What do you think it has to do with me?" Li Tianliu threatened, "I see that you are so diligent in approaching the master, you must have ulterior motives. Tell me, why did you poison the master, and who are your accomplices?"

Tao Ming originally thought that he was just an ordinary guard, but he didn't expect that he was the one who received the emperor's order. He couldn't help but regret his rashness. Turning around and hearing him mention poisoning again, he hurriedly clarified: "I respect you so much, how could I poison you?"

Li Tianliu glanced at him sideways, clearly showing his disbelief.

Tao Ming said quickly, "I just heard that the master was investigating A Meijie's case. I thought the master would come to Taojiazhuang, so I asked for leave from the teacher and came back. I wanted to see if I could take advantage of this opportunity to become the master's disciple. Many of my classmates in the Imperial College can testify for me."

Li Tianliu questioned: "Who told you that?"

Tao Ming said: "Everyone in the Imperial College is talking about it."

Afraid that he would not believe it, he continued, "Since the beginning of the year, this murderer has killed one person almost every month, and his speed is much faster than the previous two times. Everyone in the Imperial College is privately speculating how many people the murderer will kill before he stops. Therefore, not long after you set out for Zhaojia Village, someone in the Imperial College learned about what happened to Sister A Mei. This morning, I heard that you stayed in Zhaojia Village last night, so I guessed that you might come to Taojia Village today, so I specially asked for leave to come back."

Li Tianliu said: "So you don't know who first spread the news?"

Tao Ming said: "Your Excellency went to Zhaojia Village yesterday without hiding anything from others. A classmate from the Imperial College went out to the street for something and happened to meet him. After asking around and finding out the reason, he returned to the Imperial College and the news spread soon after. I really don't know who it was."

Li Tianliu let him go, "Since you didn't poison me, then just stand aside."

After saying this, he released the hand that was around his shoulders and stood at the door of the west room.

Tao Ming rubbed his shoulders. He wanted to leave but was reluctant to do so. He wanted to go forward but was really afraid of him. After thinking it over, he finally stood three steps away from him.

Li Tianliu glanced at him with a half-smile, but ignored him.

*

Aunt Tao has woken up.

Holding Mrs. Tao's hand, she walked into the west room and saw Chen Shao. She immediately knelt on the ground and cried, "My son died so tragically. My Lord, please make a decision for her."

Hearing her crying, Brother Tao, Sister Tao, Second Brother Tao and Sister Tao also knelt down with red eyes.

Tao Ming also knelt down outside the door, but he did not cry. Instead, he shouted into the house: "Don't worry, ma'am. Master Chen came to Hongyuan County to find the murderer. Master Chen is the pride of our generation. No matter how many tricks the murderer has, it won't take long for Master to catch him!"

After asking Chan Yi to help Aunt Tao, Chen Shao looked outside and said, "Let him in to talk."

There were many villagers gathered outside the yard, and it was really inappropriate for him to shout outside.

Li Tianliu took a look outside the courtyard, then stepped aside and motioned to Tao Ming, "Go in."

Tao Ming immediately got up and rushed into the house.