Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Zhang Chunhua came closer, hiding her helplessness, and said with a bow, "I know you are busy with official duties and shouldn't bother you, but I have to come here because of my mother and sister's request. I hope you can forgive me."

Chen Shao glanced at the sycamore tree where she appeared.

Not far from the sycamore tree, there is a cluster of hibiscus flowers. It is late September and the hibiscus flowers are still blooming brightly. Behind the bright hibiscus flowers, there is a figure hidden faintly, and judging by the color, it is also dressed in white.

Retracting his gaze, Chen Shao looked at Zhang Chunhua. Her face was no longer as round as before, but it was more...tough than before. Chen Shao raised his eyebrows with interest, turned around, and walked towards the lobby, saying, "Follow me."

Zhang Chunhua was slightly startled for a moment and hurried to follow her.

"Tell me," Chen Shao said lazily, "What did they ask you to do?"

Zhang Chunhua lowered her eyes, avoiding her shadow, and said softly, "I've asked you to ask for mercy, sir."

Chen Shao tilted his head to look at her, and then looked at the sycamore tree where she appeared. The woman in white who was hiding behind the hibiscus flower had already walked out from behind the hibiscus flower. It was a bit far away, so Chen Shao couldn't see her face clearly, but from the fact that she stood there and didn't catch up with him, it seemed that she was not in a good mood.

"Who should I show mercy to?" Chen Shao retracted his gaze again and asked casually.

Zhang Chunhua seemed to accept her fate and answered in a serious tone: "For my father and for ourselves."

Chen Shao said, "Then tell me about your father, and also tell me what you have done that deserves my mercy."

"My father..." Zhang Chunhua paused, then said bitterly, "My father did accept a lot of bribes from the Zhu family, the Gu family, the Wen family, and others, and did a lot of things that bent the law for personal gain, but my father never killed innocent people from beginning to end, and he never participated in the cases of those gardens."

Chen Shao said nonchalantly: "You think accepting bribes and bending the law for personal gain are not wrong?"

"Yes." Zhang Chunhua said without hesitation, "It's just that accepting bribes and bending the law for personal gain are common practices in the officialdom, and my father is not the only one who does this."

Chen Shao said calmly: "Just because your father is not the only one who does this, does that mean it is right?"

"No." Zhang Chunhua's heart was filled with bitterness, but her words were still polite. She was the sixth son of the Duke of Chen's mansion, and her status was noble and incomparable. If she wanted the stars in the sky, there would be countless people vying to pick them for her. Naturally, she didn't know how difficult it would be to get along with the corrupt officials.

Although Chen Shao had never worked in the officialdom, he understood some of its rules. He also understood that she said no, but she didn't think so in her heart. Chen Shao didn't dwell on this topic with her too much, and asked from another angle: "Since your father was not involved in the case of those gardens, why did the Zhu family and the Gu family bribe him?"

Zhang Chunhua hesitated for a moment before answering bravely, "It should be to prevent my father from getting involved in the affairs of those gardens. From the few words I heard recently, those gardens already existed before my father came to Hongyuan County."

After a pause, she mustered up her courage and said, "It is said that the governor Li before my father was a very stubborn person. Maybe he was transferred to Kaiyang County because he found out about those gardens."

Although she was trying to exonerate her father, she had to admit that she had guessed some of the facts. Chen Shao curled his lips and asked knowingly, "Where did your father serve as an official before he came to Hongyuan County?"

"I served as the governor of Kaiyang County for ten years." Zhang Chunhua answered truthfully, "Before Kaiyang County, I was the magistrate of Zhennan County. Because of my outstanding achievements, I was promoted to the governor of Kaiyang County."

"In other words," Chen Shao said slowly, "your father has been swapped with Lord Li?"

Zhang Chunhua should be.

"What does it mean to have outstanding achievements in Zhennan County?" Chen Shao continued in a leisurely tone, "Your father was also a good official who loved the people like his own children?"

Zhang Chunhua nodded. "Father was indeed a good official who loved the people like his own children. When he first became the governor of Kaiyang County, he also wanted to continue to be a good official who loved the people like his own children. However, Zhennan County was remote and poor, and few people interfered or pointed fingers at him in what he wanted to do. When he arrived in Kaiyang County, it was just the opposite. No matter what he wanted to do, there were people who interfered or pointed fingers at him. At the beginning, father would not care. Later, after a frame-up and imprisonment, he slowly became what he is now."

"Are you trying to say that it's not your father's fault?" Chen Shao calmly changed the subject.

"Father is certainly wrong," Zhang Chunhua said hesitantly after a moment of silence, "but the current officialdom is also wrong."

Chen Shao did not comment and said, "How did your father come to Hongyuan County?"

"My father came to Hongyuan County through the recommendation of Lord Luo, the governor of Shu County," Zhang Chunhua replied. "Lord Luo, Uncle Bob, and my father are from the same hometown and the same year, but Lord Luo passed the imperial examination, while my father only got a jinshi degree, and Uncle Bob failed the exam. After that, Lord Luo was promoted step by step, and my father was appointed as the magistrate of Zhennan County, and Uncle Bob became my father's assistant."

"From the same hometown, the same year..." Chen Shao was surprised for a moment, then calmly said, "Uncle Bob is Bao Chengle?"

Zhang Chunhua replied: "Yes."

Chen Shao asked playfully, "Was Bao Chengle your father's assistant from the beginning, or did he become your father's assistant later?"

Zhang Chunhua replied: "Uncle Bao became my father's assistant after my father was framed and imprisoned in July of the 15th year of Yuanhe. He made a special trip to Kaiyang County to rescue my father and save him."

Chen Shao asked with great interest: "Where did he rush to rescue your father, and how did he know that your father was framed?"

"Uncle Bob had been working for Lord Luo before he followed my father," Zhang Chunhua thought she was just trying to understand her father's past, and answered without hiding anything. "Lord Luo heard about my father from somewhere else, and told Uncle Bob, so Uncle Bob came to Kaiyang County to save my father. Uncle Bob said that Lord Luo also secretly made a lot of efforts to clear my father's name."

Chen Shao secretly sighed twice, and continued to ask: "Why was your father framed?"

"On his birthday, Nanhai County Governor Pan Shaozhen specifically asked my father to give him a jade Ganoderma Lucidum Buddha's Hand flower vase. Because it was expensive, my father gave him a bamboo root carved lotus leaf basin instead." Zhang Chunhua still has lingering fears when recalling what happened back then. "Not long after the gift was given, my father was framed for corruption and bribery and thrown into prison. The presiding judge of the case was Pan Shaozhen. After Pan Shaozhen used severe torture to force my father to admit his guilt, he sentenced him to death. It was Uncle Bob who came to save my father after hearing the news and worked hard for a long time."

(The jade Ganoderma Lucidum Buddha's Hand-shaped flower vase and the bamboo root carved lotus leaf-shaped washbasin look like this respectively)