Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Inside the room, Chan Yi held Auntie Tao's arm and advised, "Auntie, if you have anything to say, let's get up and talk."

Auntie Tao was crying so hard that she couldn't get up. Zhao Qiang stepped forward and persuaded her, "Brother Tao, Brother Tao, stop kneeling and help Auntie up quickly. The sooner you finish the conversation, the sooner you can catch the murderer, right?"

Only then did the eldest and second brothers Tao stand up and force Aunt Tao to sit aside.

Chen Shao also sat down and comforted her carefully for a while before finally persuading her to calm down. However, when he asked her about Tao A'mei's marriage to Zhao Shan, she started crying again.

After crying for a few times, he fainted again.

Mrs. Tao tried to pinch her philtrum but was stopped by Chan Yi.

After letting Aunt Tao half lean on Sister Tao, Chan Yi took out the silver hairpin from her hair, pulled out a silver needle from the hairpin, and inserted the silver needle diagonally upwards from the philtrum. In just a moment, Aunt Tao woke up.

After putting away the silver needle, wiping it clean with a handkerchief, and then putting the silver hairpin back into her hair, Chan Yi took out a porcelain bottle from the cloth bag tied around her waist, poured out a pill and fed it to her: "Auntie, don't be sad anymore. You still have grandchildren to take care of. If you continue to be sad like this, I'm afraid they won't be able to bear it."

After taking the pills, Aunt Tao felt much clearer. Listening to her words, she tilted her head to look at the grandchildren who were crying beside her. Seeing that their eyes were all red and swollen, it was obvious that they were crying with her, and she couldn't help but feel sad again. She called them to her one by one, hugged them in her arms, and said, "Don't cry, dear, we won't cry anymore."

"That's right." Chan Yi advised again, "Auntie, you are not living for yourself now, but for your children and grandchildren. If you only worry about the people who have passed away all day long, what will happen to them?"

When Mrs. Tao Dasao and Mrs. Tao Ersao heard this, they also started to persuade them.

It took another long while before Aunt Tao was finally persuaded.

"I know what happened." Tao Ming spoke at the right time, "Sister A-mei wanted to marry..."

"Let me say it." No matter how unpromising A'mei Tao is, she is still our little sister, and it is not the place for an outsider to say anything. In the face of Tao Ming's dissatisfied eyes, Brother Tao slowly spoke, "There were several people who came to propose marriage, and each one was better than Zhao Shan. But she just didn't like anyone and insisted on marrying Zhao Shan. She said that Zhao Shan's mother was so filial to her parents-in-law, so she must be a kind-hearted person. She refused to believe a word of what we learned from Zhaojia Village.

"She insisted on getting married, so we had no choice but to give in. But when Zhao Shan and his mother proposed to marry me, they said a lot of nice things, but when my sister got married, they started to complain about this and that. If my mother hadn't been sick one time, and I hadn't heard Zhao Shan's mother insulting her when I went to see her, I wouldn't have known that she lived like this after getting married.

"I only have this one sister, so I have to protect her, but she refused to stop me. When she couldn't stop me, she even knelt down and begged me. I was so angry that I turned around and went back. She was probably afraid that I would tell my parents, so she followed me back. After she came back, she told us everything. Although a woman should follow her husband wherever he goes, if she really didn't want to live with Zhao Shan, our family would not be afraid to support her for the rest of her life. But she didn't want to, and kept saying good things about Zhao Shan to us, saying that the people in Zhaojia Village had solved her land problem, and her life would definitely get better and better.

"Mother was already ill, and after hearing what she said, she became even more angry. But we beat her and scolded her, she just didn't want to come back, so we could only let her be. Fortunately, I secretly went to check on her a few times later, and saw that she had indeed taken back all the land, so I felt relieved."

Although Zhao Qiang was still there, Chen Shao did not avoid him and asked directly: "When Daniu was one month old, did you go to Zhaojia Village to kowtow to the Second Master?"

Brother Tao said, "Second Master took care of her, so we should kowtow to him."

Chen Shao asked again: "When did A-mei go home the day before yesterday?"

Brother Tao shed two lines of tears: "Shen Zheng left just after she passed away, and there was no way to stop her. If I had known that something bad would happen to her, I would have tied her up at home the day before yesterday."

"She just wouldn't listen!" Aunt Tao's tears fell again, and she said with a mixture of pain and hatred, "I don't know what good Zhao Shan was that made her work like a slave for him, and now she has ruined her life. With her undignified death, I don't know how many stories Zhao Shan's mother will make up behind her back."

Love brain.

These three words suddenly popped up in Chen Shao's mind.

The person was already dead, and Chen Shao didn't want to comment on it anymore, so he continued to ask: "Does A-mei have any good friends in her mother's family?"

"There is one who didn't marry Zhao Shanqian, Tao Xiaolan from the east end of the village," said Brother Tao, "but Tao Xiaolan got married a few years ago."

Chen Shao asked: "Where did you marry?"

Brother Tao replied: "She married and moved to the town. Her husband's family sells cakes."

Zhao Qiang said: "It's Ma Dali."

What a coincidence? Chen Shao couldn't help but ask, "After Tao Xiaolan got married, did A Mei still have contact with her?"

Brother Tao said, "We did have some contact, but not often. When A-mei was trying desperately to marry Zhao Shan, Tao Xiaolan was the one who supported her the most. After knowing that A-mei was living that kind of life after her marriage, Tao Xiaolan was the first one to persuade her to come back. After persuading her several times, A-mei didn't listen, so Tao Xiaolan gradually distanced herself from her. But A-mei sometimes asked her to borrow money, and she never refused, nor did she ask her to pay it back."

Zhao Qiang suddenly added: "I heard from my family that when Ma Dali came to our village to sell cakes, he would always give A Mei a few."

"If someone shows kindness to you for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief." Tao Ming interrupted, "Maybe what happened to Sister Mei is related to him."

Brother Tao's face turned cold, "Amei is not that kind of person."

Tao Ming defended himself, "I know Sister A-mei is not that kind of person. What I meant is that Ma Dali must be plotting something bad by being so attentive to him."

Chen Shao did not respond to his question, but continued to ask: "Besides Tao Xiaolan, is there anyone else in the village who can make A Mei vulnerable?"

Tao Ming rushed to answer: "I wonder what kind of defenselessness you are referring to? If it is just a simple defenselessness, then most of the people in the village can do it."

Brother Tao nodded.

Chen Shao: "How many families in the village have horse-drawn carriages, donkey-drawn carts, or ox-drawn carts to carry people?"

"None." Tao Ming rushed to answer again, but his tone was sour, "Our village does not have a capable person like Zhaojia Village, who can lead the whole village to make money. Every household in our village can only rely on the weather for food, and basically they can barely make ends meet. But if Zhaojia Village is willing to help us, our village can also become rich soon. There are many people in our village who can raise chickens and ducks, and Brother Tao is one of them."

Brother Tao didn't respond.

This made Tao Ming a little annoyed.

Chen Shao said: "It is important to investigate the case first."

Tao Ming quickly said, "Your Excellency is right."

Chen Shao stood up and glanced at the simple furnishings in the room. The five-mile road from Zhaojia Village to Taojiazhuang quickly emerged in his mind.

The five-li road was mostly mountainous, and there were many forked roads. According to Zhao Qiang, each forked road led to one or more villages.

Where did Tao A-mei meet the murderer?

Where did the murderer take her?

Tao A-mei's time of death was Zizheng.

It was Shenzheng time to leave Taojiazhuang.

There is a full four hours of space in between.

Four hours. If Zhao Shan could come here in the first place, maybe...

Chen Shao shook his head, suppressed his hypothetical thoughts, and told Fu Jiu, "Prepare the carriage and go to town."