Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

There were long queues inside and outside the lobby.

Compared with the crowded scene yesterday when the people came to sue the Wen and Zhu families, the people who came today seemed much more orderly. It was not that the people who came today were more disciplined, but that most of the people who came today paid more attention to Xu Dong and Manager Meng than those who sued the Wen and Zhu families.

The fact that Xu Dong ran over the chicken of Shopkeeper Meng and was asked to pay 500 coins had already caused a stir yesterday. After Shopkeeper Meng took Xu Dong to the prefectural government to report the matter, many people were waiting for the follow-up. Chen Shao's image of being dedicated to the welfare of the people and being courteous to the people had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Everyone unanimously believed that Chen Shao would definitely make the decision for Xu Dong, but the result was surprising.

Chen Shao made the decision for Shopkeeper Meng.

Although she had promised Xu Dong that she would make up the shortfall, the people who heard the news still talked about it.

Half of the people who came to sue the Wen family, the Zhu family and the like today were just here to watch the fun.

Chen Shao was of course aware of this, but he did not chase them away. After asking Li Tianliu, Fu Jiu, Chan Yi, and Quan Shuyu to register in pairs as they did yesterday, he called Manager Meng and Xu Dong aside.

"Where is the money raised?" Chen Shao asked Xu Dong.

Xu Dong nervously took out the money bag and said with a red face, "I only raised 176 coins."

Chen Shao took the purse, counted out the 324 copper coins he had prepared in advance and put them in, then handed it to Shopkeeper Meng and said, "Count it, is it 500 copper coins?"

Shopkeeper Meng took the purse cheerfully, weighed it and said, "My Lord, if you say there are five hundred coins, then it must be five hundred coins. Even if there is one or two coins less, it doesn't matter."

"Since we said five hundred coins, we can't lose a penny." Chen Shao insisted, "Let's count it. Once we count it clearly in front of everyone, we can put an end to this matter once and for all."

"Since you have requested it, I will respectfully obey your order." Shopkeeper Meng ignored the comments of the people in the queue, squatted down, carefully poured the copper coins on the ground, and counted them one by one. Counting once was not enough, so he counted a second time. After confirming that the number was correct, he stood up and said with a smile, "Yes, it is exactly 500 coins, not a penny more, not a penny less."

"Since it's not a penny more or less, can the matter of him accidentally chasing your kid to death be put to rest, right?" Chen Shao asked calmly.

Shopkeeper Meng stuffed the money bag into his arms and said in a rather high-spirited tone, "It's settled, thanks to your help, sir."

Chen Shao smiled and confirmed: "Are you sure it's over?"

Shopkeeper Meng nodded: "OK."

"Okay." Chen Shao glanced at Xu Dong, "Your business is over, so let's settle his business now."

Shopkeeper Meng subconsciously looked at Xu Dong and blurted out, "You sued me too?"

Xu Dong waved his hands helplessly and said, "I, I don't have any."

"He didn't sue you. What we want to settle now is what you said yesterday about fairness." Chen Shao said slowly, "Yesterday you said that he crushed your chicken and it was only natural for you to ask him to compensate. If we side with him, it would be unfair. Is this true?"

After a moment's hesitation, Shopkeeper Meng nodded and said, "It is true."

Chen Shao said calmly, "He crushed the chicks of broiler chickens, but the compensation is for the grown broiler chickens. As we all know, one catty of chicken equals one dou of rice, which means that for every catty of growth of the chicken, one dou of rice should be fed. Five catties of chicken equals five dou of rice, but your chicken is already dead, so it doesn't need to be fed rice. But he has already given you the money for the five dou of rice, shouldn't you give it to him, to be fair?"

Manager Meng looked unhappy. In recent years, since a large number of high-quality farmlands were plundered by the Wen, Zhu, and Gu families, the poor farmlands obtained by the common people were not enough to support their families, and the price of grain continued to rise. Nowadays, a dou of rice costs 110 to 120 coins. If we calculate it based on 110 coins, five dou of rice will cost 550 coins.

but……

He called for fairness yesterday, and Chen Shao gave him fairness. If he regrets today, he doesn't need to think too much about what the outcome will be. Holding back the pain, Manager Meng replied with difficulty: "Your Excellency is right. I will go back and weigh the rice for him."

Chen Shao was satisfied with his tact, and amid the loud cheers of the people in line, he told Xu Dong: "Go, follow Shopkeeper Meng to get the five dou of rice, and then go and take care of your father."

Xu Dong was about to kneel down to thank him, but Shopkeeper Meng, with a red face, knelt down first and said, "Sir, I want to sue the Third Young Master of the Zhou Family! The Third Young Master of the Zhou Family used this method to extort tens of thousands of dollars. I just had an idea yesterday and followed his example."

"Are you talking about the Zhou family that is on par with the Wen family?" Chen Shao asked.

Shopkeeper Meng said, "That's right!"

Chen Shao thought silently for a moment. The evidence of the Zhou family's crimes collected by Luo Ye seemed to have involved fraud and extortion of money from others. He had originally planned to wait for some time until the assets of the Zhu, Gu, Fan, and Qi families were almost fully investigated before dealing with the remaining families. Now that he had run into them, he would solve them now.

Anyway, the Zhou family hasn't said anything so far, and it's of no use at all.

Looking at the remorseful Shopkeeper Meng, and then at the people in line who kept looking at them, Chen Shao said calmly: "I understand. Go back and weigh the rice to him first, and let him go and take care of his father quickly."

Shopkeeper Meng said yes dejectedly.

After they left, Chen Shao stood beside Chan Yi, Quan Shuyu, Fu Jiu and Li Tianliu for a while, gave them some pointers on their interrogation techniques, and when he saw that they were gradually getting the hang of it, he returned to Chengfeng Courtyard first.

He moved the box containing the Zhou family's evidence to the desk, took out all the evidence, filtered it one by one, picked out the evidence related to extortion, and after a rough count, Chen Shao ordered the Yulin Guards at the door: "Go and invite Mr. Luo over."

Mr. Luo staggered over. Before he even entered the room, Chen Shao pushed the evidence of extortion over to him and said, "Lead the way and bring the victims mentioned in the evidence to the prefect's mansion."

Mr. Luo was so thin that he was just skin and bones. He took the evidence with trembling hands, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Chen Shao did not dissuade him. He motioned a few Yulin guards to follow him and then returned to the lobby. After handling the registration for half an hour in the lobby, the Yulin guards who were sent to invite Lei Lao San returned.

Lei Lao San was short and fat. As soon as he entered the hall, he knelt on the ground and said, "Please spare my life, sir. I just happened to hear someone mention buying a life for a crime, and I was tempted to talk about it, so I mentioned it to Yang Dong. I didn't know that Yang Dong really dared to buy his life to cover the crime. I am innocent."

Chen Shao asked bluntly: "Who mentioned it to you?"

"I heard from Zhao Er in the gambling house that his cousin committed adultery with a woman a few years ago. After being caught by the woman's man, he accidentally beat the man to death on the way out, so he spent thirty taels of silver to bribe a local thug to take the blame for him." Lei Lao San said quickly, "Zhao Er and Lord Zhao are relatives, and the cousin's case was handled by Lord Zhao."

Chen Shao asked calmly, "The Lord Zhao you are talking about is Zhao Lin, the military officer of the Ministry of Warehouses?"