Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Why did the Fan family and the Qi family come to Hongyuan County to settle down?

Mr. Fan replied calmly, "Our Fan and Qi families came to Hongyuan County with the Zhu and Gu families. The Zhu family left home and came here because Old Master Zhu had a quarrel with his family. Old Master Gu and Old Master Zhu were like brothers, so they left home and came here with him. After they settled down here, our two families wrote to our father, and our father followed them here."

After a pause, he added, "Whether it's Old Master Zhu, Old Master Gu, or our fathers, although they are legitimate children, they are not from the eldest branch of the family, and they were not given much attention in the family. In the first few years after coming here, we hardly received any help from our family. It was only after we took root here that our family reluctantly resumed contact with us because they saw that we would never go back."

The words were consistent with what Zhang Zhongcai said, but Chen Shao didn't believe such nonsense at all, especially in the context of the various coincidences before and after the death of the previous prince, it was even more unbelievable. Of course, Chen Shao did not rashly deny them. Finding clues is a process of unraveling the mystery. If they are unwilling to tell the truth, then change their thinking. Chen Shao asked very patiently: "How old were you when you followed your father to Hongyuan County?"

Mr. Fan didn't think there was any trap in this question, so he answered readily: "I'm eleven, and so is he."

Zhang Zhongcai said that Master Zhu came to Hongyuan County with Master Zhu when he was thirteen years old. The Gu and Zhu families came here together. The Fan and Qi families came six months later than them, that is, they came here at the same time. Master Fan and Master Qi are two years younger than Master Zhu. Master Zhu will be eighty in a few months, so the two of them will be seventy-eight.

"Eleven years old is old enough to remember things," Chen Shao said casually, and then suddenly changed the subject, "Hongyuan County is a border county. As of now, there are only a few inferior noble families such as the Ding family, the Hu family, the Zhao family, and the Zhou family, which shows how desolate and remote it is. Even if your fathers were not valued by their own family, they were legitimate children of a large family. They grew up in luxury and had hardly suffered any hardship. Even if Old Master Zhu had a quarrel with his family, it is impossible for him to leave home and come here for no reason."

Mr. Fan and Mr. Qi's hearts skipped a beat at the same time. After exchanging glances, they sat up straight and prepared for battle.

They no longer dared to underestimate her.

Before this, their impression of her had always been that of Young Master Chen Liu.

The successive raids on the Wen, Zhu, Gu, Fan, and Qi families were all considered to be Li Tianliu's efforts. She merely came here with the title of Dali Temple Minister to brush up her resume and lay the foundation for becoming a prime minister in the future.

But now it seems that they were extremely wrong.

Chen Shao waited for a moment, and seeing that the two were silent, he tried to persuade them calmly: "You two elders might as well think about it carefully. Apart from the reason of quarreling with your family and running away from home, is there any other reason that led you to come here?"

Master Fan and Master Qi remained silent. Why did they come to Hongyuan County? On the surface, it was because Master Zhu quarreled with his family and left home in anger. In fact, it was because their fathers were too bold and not only set up a trap to calculate the guards guarding the Xincheng Royal Mausoleum, but also took the opportunity to sneak into the Royal Mausoleum to dig a hole and steal the burial objects.

In short, their father was expelled from the family.

The few who realized it later split up into two groups and fled separately. Later, the Zhu family and the Gu family took root in Hongyuan County, and seeing that the matter had not been exposed, they secretly sent a message to the Fan family and the Qi family who were still fleeing, and the two families followed them here.

Stealing burial objects from the royal tomb is as serious a crime as treason, punishable by the execution of nine generations of the clan.

Rebellion can also be said to be bewitched and forced. Many of the stolen property from the royal tombs were used by them to buy farms and shops, and many were even used by them for business dealings with the Shan Kingdom. Especially the green jade, in order to show loyalty to the great-great-grandson of the former prince and gain more benefits, they even blatantly told the great-great-grandson of the former prince that they would use the stolen property from the royal tombs to buy green jade for him...

Seeing that they were silent for a long time, Chen Shao did not urge them. He just picked up the hereditary edict of the Fan family, read it over and over again, and then calmly told Li Tianliu: "Send someone to the Qi family to see if anything happened. Why haven't they brought the edict back yet?"

Just as Li Tianliu was about to give the order, the two Yulin Guards who had followed Tianshan to get the imperial edict came back. The Yulin Guards had big steps, so Tianshan had to jog to keep up.

Two imperial guards took three sandalwood boxes each. After entering the Loyal and Brave Hall, one of them handed them to Chen Shao and said, "Seeing that the imperial edicts of the Zhu, Fan, and Qi families are all in the secret compartment of the small treasury, we took the initiative to go to the Gu family and bring back their imperial edicts as well."

No wonder you came back so late.

Chen Shao took the sandalwood box and took out the imperial edicts one by one and read them over. The imperial edicts of the Gu and Qi families, like those of the Zhu and Fan families, were also for hereditary positions of the third rank, two for the fourth rank, and three for the fifth rank. After handing the imperial edict to Li Tianliu, and after he had read it, seeing that Master Fan and Master Qi still did not speak, Chen Shao said calmly: "There is nothing to do waiting here, send someone to tell Ding Lisheng that there is no need to wait until dawn, except for those who hold important positions, the rest of the people who should be beheaded should be beheaded immediately."

"Wait a minute!" Master Fan and Master Qi could no longer sit still and spoke out to stop them. When Chen Shao and Li Tianliu both looked at them, Master Qi said in a deep voice, "I can tell you the real reason why our families came to Hongyuan County, but the premise is that you must promise not to hurt anyone in my Qi family!"

Chen Shao looked at Master Fan, who said sternly, "My request is the same as his!"

Chen Shao laughed mockingly twice, then ordered Li Tianliu: "Send someone to inform Ding Lisheng immediately, without delay!"

"Wait a moment!" Master Qi stood up suddenly, took a few quick steps, stood in front of Chen Shao, clasped his hands, bowed deeply and said, "My Qi family is willing to submit to Master Chen Liu, and we will follow Master Chen Liu's lead!"

Mr. Fan was about to follow suit, but unexpectedly Chen Shao sneered, "Stop talking nonsense and answer the question first!"

"Mr. Chen Liu..."

"Do you really want me to speak very bluntly?" Chen Shao interrupted Master Qi in a cold voice, "Is the Qi family some great noble family? You are willing to submit to me and follow my lead, and I have to kneel on the ground and kowtow to you to express my gratitude?"

Master Qi said hurriedly: "We dare not, we..."

Chen Shao interrupted him again: "If you don't dare, then answer the question!"