Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

The rich man was the owner of a rice shop in the county town.

The man in rough clothes is a villager from Nandang Village.

This morning, a man in coarse clothes took his sick father to Huimin Pharmacy for medical treatment on a wheelbarrow. When he passed by the rice shop of a rich man, he accidentally killed a chicken raised by the rice shop. According to the market price, one penny can buy three chicks. But the rich man said that his chickens were different from ordinary chickens and demanded that the man in coarse cloth pay 500 pennies as compensation before he would give up.

The man in coarse cloth only had ninety-three coins, and he thought that this ninety-three coins was also the money he had raised for his father's medical treatment. The two sides were deadlocked, and Chan Yi happened to have someone post a notice. The rich man simply pulled the man in coarse cloth over and asked Chen Shao to judge the case for them.

Chen Shaoxian asked the man in rough clothes, "Has your father been sent to Huimin Pharmacy?"

The man in rough clothes nodded: "Meng Dongjia sent it with me."

The rich man quickly stated: "I just wanted to ask him for compensation for the chicken, but I didn't want to kill anyone."

Chen Shao asked him: "What kind of chicken is worth five hundred coins?"

"My broiler chickens are different from other chickens. They can grow to at least five catties." The rich man argued, "When these broiler chickens grow up, they will cost at least one hundred coins per catty in Shu County and Jiangnan. The five hundred coins I asked him to pay is already the lowest price."

Chan Yi had long been disgusted with him and immediately questioned, "What kind of broiler is this? How come I've never heard of it in all my years in the capital?"

Then he asked Quan Shuyu and Zhang Chunhua, "Have you heard about it?"

Both of them shook their heads.

Chan Yi snorted and turned to Li Tianliu who had arranged for someone to come back: "What about you?"

Li Tianliu didn't want to answer, facing her pressing gaze, he reluctantly said, "No."

Chan Yi looked back at the rich man and said, "We have never heard of it. Since you said it can grow to at least five pounds, then go buy one and bring it back for us to see. If it's true, I'll pay the five hundred coins for him!"

The rich man looked at the bewildered man in rough clothes, then at Chan Yi, and said with a red face, "This kind of chicken can only be found in Shu County and Jiangnan. Even though you are a master, you can't force me to go to Shu County and Jiangnan for these five hundred coins, right? Besides, he chased my chicken to death, so it is only natural for me to ask him to compensate me. You are always speaking for him, which is totally unfair!"

"You can't go all the way to Shu County and Jiangnan just for these five hundred coins," Chan Yi argued, "and we can't just let you say that it's a different breed from ordinary chickens and worth a hundred coins per pound when it grows up, and then be taken advantage of for no reason, right?"

Quan Shuyu agreed: "Everything should be based on evidence. You can't produce any evidence, but you still ask this big brother to compensate you for 500 coins. It's not only unreasonable, but also unfair."

The rich man said angrily, "When I bought it, the seller said it was different from ordinary chickens and that it would be worth at least a hundred coins per pound when it grows up."

Chan Yi asked, "Where is the seller? Find him out."

The rich man became even more annoyed: "The seller is a merchant passing by Hongyuan County. Where should I find him now?"

Chen Shao picked up the gavel and knocked twice. After the quarrel stopped, he slowly said, "No matter whether this chick is different from other chicks, it is an indisputable fact that the chick was chased to death. According to common sense, it is only natural to compensate according to the price."

Chan Yi retorted: "Then the price can only be the price of buying a chick, not the price when it grows up!"

When the rich man saw Chen Shao standing on his side, he immediately reassured himself: "If he doesn't chase my chicken to death, my chicken will grow up normally. As long as it grows up normally, I can sell it for at least 500 coins."

Chan Yi wanted to say something, but Chen Shao stopped her and said to the man in rough clothes, "He said at least 500 coins, what do you think?"

The man in coarse clothes looked at Chan Yi and saw that Chan Yi was no longer talking. He could only rub the corner of his clothes helplessly and said, "I, I don't have five hundred coins."

Chen Shao once again stopped Chan Yi who was about to speak for him and asked, "How much money can you raise at most?"

The man in rough clothes hesitated and said, "At most, two hundred coins at most."

Chen Shao asked: "When can we collect these two hundred coins?"

The rich man reminded: "It's five hundred coins."

Chen Shao gave him a warning look and asked the man in rough clothes again: "When can you collect the two hundred coins?"

The man in rough clothes said awkwardly, "Tomorrow at noon."

"Okay," Chen Shao said without hesitation, "Then before noon tomorrow, you bring the two hundred coins you have collected here to me, and I will make up the remaining three hundred coins for you."

The man in rough clothes quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said, "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome." Chen Shao said with a smile, "It's getting late, you should go back and collect the money."

After the rough-clothed man hurried away, Chen Shao looked at the rich man again, "Okay, you can leave too. Remember to come and get the money tomorrow at noon."

The rich man also knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Chen Shao, and even called him "Master" before he stood up and left.

Looking at his smug back, Chan Yi stamped her feet and said, "He is obviously talking nonsense, why do you want to side with him, young master!"

Chen Shao smiled but said nothing.

It would take some time to capture Yang Dong, Yang Wu and the others. Chen Shao glanced at the white-haired old man waiting on the side and told Chan Yi and Quan Shu Yu, "Go to the side hall and prepare a resting place for the old man."

The white-haired old man quickly said, "No, no, I'll just wait here."

"Our Master has been busy all day," Chan Yi advised responsibly, although she did not understand Chen Shao's handling of the chicken compensation. "If you wait here, our Master will not be able to rest for a while. They are going to arrest Yang Dong and Yang Wu and we don't know when they will be back. You can rest in there for a while and let our Master rest for a while. When they come back, I will go in there to wake you up. What do you think?"

Since she said so, the white-haired old man naturally didn't dare to say no, so he reluctantly replied: "Then I'll trouble you."

"Please come this way." After Chan Yi led him into the side hall, she and Quan Shuyu worked together to tidy up the bamboo couch.

The white-haired old man looked at the fine bamboo couch and sat on it rather stiffly.

"Just treat it like you're at home and rest assured. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll have someone prepare it for you." Chan Yi brought two plates of snacks and a pot of tea and placed them in front of him. After reassuring him to rest assured, she turned around and prepared to go back to the lobby.

The white-haired old man suddenly called her: "The shopkeeper was clearly blackmailing you. Are you really going to give him 500 coins?"

Seeing the worry in his eyes, Chan Yi patiently explained: "Our Master must have a deep meaning for doing this. You don't have to worry too much. It's getting late. Just lie down and sleep for a while."

The white-haired old man couldn't sleep.

The reason he came to file a complaint was that he heard that Chen Shao was the most fair in judging cases. But now, it seems that she is no different from those officials before.

The white-haired old man wanted to go back, but after hearing the voices coming from the lobby, he didn't dare to leave rashly.

When he was full of thoughts.

On the lobby.

Chen Shao asked Zhang Chunhua: "Have you signed the indenture?"

Zhang Chunhua shook her head: "Not yet."

Li Tianliu looked at the two of them like a vulture encountering a rotten corpse. He looked at Zhang Chunhua, then at Chen Shao, and then at Zhang Chunhua again, and snorted with a rather sarcastic laugh.

Chen Shao ignored him and continued to ask Zhang Chunhua, "Then let's talk about it tomorrow. It's getting late, so you should go back and rest early so that your mother and sister won't worry."

They didn't know whether they were worried about her or not, but they must have been anxious because she had been out for so long. They were not worried about whether she was in danger, but why she had taken so long to return. Zhang Chunhua lowered her eyes to hide the emotions in her eyes, and said "yes" respectfully. After bowing to her and Li Tianliu, she turned and left.

After she walked out of the lobby and a little further away, Li Tianliu said sarcastically, "We often hear people say that people get tired of the old and love the new. Is Mr. Chen Liu getting tired of the old and love the new too quickly?"

Chan Yi and Quan Shu Yu happened to come out of the side hall. Upon hearing this, Chan Yi subconsciously asked, "Who is getting tired of the old and falling in love with the new?"

Li Tianliu had a cold face and turned his head away.

Chan Yi was puzzled and asked, "I'm asking you, who is getting tired of the old and falling in love with the new?"

Li Tianliu sneered: "Go ask your young master, why ask me!"

Chan Yi looked at him in surprise, then at Chen Shao, then at him again, then at Chen Shao again: "Young Master, why... do you get tired of the old and love the new?"