Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

No one stayed to see the doctor, and everyone followed the carriage in a noisy manner, rushing towards the prefectural government.

On the road.

Chen Shao closed her eyes and reviewed the case from beginning to end. It was foreseeable that this was a premeditated frame-up, directed at both Huimin Pharmacy and her.

In the past six months since she came to Hongyuan County, she has eradicated the Zhu family, Gu family and other powerful families, returned the land they occupied to the people, distributed money, exempted taxes, built a medicine store for the benefit of the people, etc., all of which are actions that benefit the people. She has a very good reputation in the hearts of the people of Hongyuan County. But this is a common problem of people, or the root of evil. You can be good for a thousand days, but you can't make up for one day of mistakes. The people who planned these mass poisoning deaths were attacking the medicine store to achieve their goal of ruining her reputation.

To achieve this goal, in addition to external cooperation, there must also be internal support.

There is someone with two minds in Huimin Pharmacy.

When hiring people in the future, you still have to do background checks in advance.

Chen Shao raised her hand lightly and tapped her legs. She already had candidates who were treacherous in Huimin Pharmacy, but how could she get hold of their evidence?

After thinking for a while, Chen Shao lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and said to Li Tianliu who was riding beside the carriage: "You should immediately arrange for someone to check the man who caused the trouble to see if he is Mr. Qian's son. In addition, send a few more people to follow Mr. Qi to the pharmacy to check the homes of the doctors and assistants who were investigating Ye Ge. The main check is two aspects. One is whether anyone in these people's homes has suddenly gone out in the past few days; the other is to check whether any of these people's families have suddenly become prominent in the past few days, or whether their words and deeds are full of joy or show-off. After the check, while keeping a close eye on them, briefly interrogate the reasons."

Li Tianliu relayed his words to the Yulin Guard beside him, then turned around and asked, "Do you already know who the murderer is?"

Chen Shao did not answer but asked, "Who is so eager to ruin my reputation?"

Li Tianliu's eyes darkened slightly. "The princelings of the previous dynasty? They have also come to Hongyuan County?"

Chen Shao smiled, "Why did you ask them to come as well, instead of always being here? You saw what happened when the Zhu family and the Gu family were raided. It's no exaggeration to say that Zhang Boshan, Ding Lisheng, Zhao Lin and other officials of the prefectural government were servile to them. In other words, Hongyuan County is almost entirely controlled by these families from top to bottom. Hongyuan County is one of the main transportation routes through Shan State. Since the princelings of the previous dynasty wanted to rely on the power of the generals of Shan State, how could they not arrange their own people here?"

Li Tianliu asked: "Who is it?"

Chen Shao laughed again, "If I knew, wouldn't I have eradicated them long ago?"

Li Tianliu glanced at her and said, "Since the princelings of the previous dynasty have been in Hongyuan County all along, why didn't they take action earlier, but chose this time?"

"Good question!" Chen Shaoyang raised his eyebrows, and after beating his hands for a few beats, he said while considering, "Why did you choose to do it at this time instead of earlier or later... There is only one reason I can think of. The general who assists the country has sent troops to Hongyuan County. The princelings of the previous dynasty intend to stir up the anger of the people of Hongyuan County by ruining my reputation, and then prevent us from transporting grain to the border."

At this point, she paused in her compromise and her expression suddenly became serious: "If this is true, then their target is definitely not just Huimin Pharmacy! You should immediately arrange for someone to tell Liu Deming, Xu Xianmin, and Sun Qi, and ask them to..."

"Sir," Liu Deming said before he suddenly galloped through the crowd to catch up with the carriage and said in a panic, "Something happened. The people from Qingping Township, Dangnan Village and Sanwan Village are fighting!"

Liu Deming looked embarrassed, with bruises all over his face. Chen Shao quickly looked him over and asked him if he was okay. After confirming that he was fine, he asked calmly, "Did the people from Qingping Township, Dangnan Village, and Sanwan Village fight, or did they fight with you?"

"The people in Qingping Township, Dangnan Village and Sanwan Village started fighting. When we tried to stop them from fighting, they started fighting with us too." Liu Deming's words were faintly filled with tears and helplessness. "Many people were beaten to death. Wang Qi and Zhang Anmin were also beaten to death when they tried to stop the fight. Huang Anren, Peng Yongnian, Wen Kuo and others were also beaten to death. Zeng Dayou, Cao Yue and others were also seriously injured..."

"Where are Mr. Liu's people?" Chen Shao asked.

"Because the adults forbade them to harm the people, they didn't dare to fight back. Many of Liu's men were seriously injured when they tried to stop the fight," Liu Deming's voice became more and more tearful as he spoke. "Fortunately, they blocked the fight, otherwise Zeng Dayou and his men would have been in great danger."

Chen Shao suppressed the urge to rush over immediately and asked calmly, "What was the reason for the fight?"

Liu Deming said quickly: "They complained that we were not fair in distributing grain. The people of Qingping Township said that their fields were occupied a year earlier than those of Dangnan Village and Sanwan Village, so they should be given one year more grain and one year more tax exemption. The people of Dangnan Village and Sanwan Village argued with them, and somehow they started fighting during the argument."

"They are pushing their limits!" said a Yulin guard.

Chen Shao stopped him: "Don't say that anymore. Now is a time of chaos. If this gets out and is instigated by someone with ulterior motives, the chaos will only get worse."

After a pause, she looked at Li Tianliu. Without her instructions, Li Tianliu immediately tightened the reins and said coldly, "Lead the way!"

Chen Shao reminded in a low voice, "Go to Huimin Pharmacy first and bring the cicada skin! Then arrange for someone to go to Xu Xianmin and Sun Qi to take a look, and tell them that they don't have to follow the rules. If there are any more people making trouble, arrest the first person to make trouble! Also tell the people in all villages and towns that if they have any dissatisfaction, they can come to the prefectural governor's mansion to find me. If they stir up trouble like this again, they will be severely punished!"

Li Tianliu responded, took the Yulin Guards and the yamen runners, and followed Liu Deming there quickly.

When the people saw their hurried backs, their discussions became louder.

Chen Shao ignored him and knocked on the wall of the carriage. He said to the Yulin Guards who came up after Li Tianliu left, "Find someone to inform Miss Quan and ask her to tell the brothers of the Wang family that if anyone comes to cause trouble, they should be escorted to the prefectural governor's residence immediately without mercy. Also, tell the Wang family and ask them to keep an eye on the second and third branches of Zhu, Gu, Fan, Qi and other families and the people in the shops. If there are people who instigate trouble, they should be escorted to the prefectural governor's residence to see me without mercy!"

After the Yulin Guards left, Chen Shao's brows slowly turned cold. It seemed that the person who planned the drug store poisoning case was planning to completely destroy her reputation. It was simply a dream!

After returning to the prefect's mansion and settling all the people in the lobby, Chen Shao immediately went to the mortuary. After dissecting Mr. Qian's body and conducting a comprehensive examination of him inside and out, Chen Shao returned to the lobby.

Facing the chattering people who refused to be quiet, Chen Shao slammed the gavel with a cold face, "Quiet!"

After the crowd quieted down, Chen Shao didn't waste any words. He looked directly at the man in his early thirties and asked, "Tell me your name, age, home address and your relationship with Mr. Qian again."

The man in his early thirties wanted to say something, but after meeting her cold gaze, he felt a chill in his heart. He instinctively restrained his edge and replied in a serious tone: "I am Zhou Song, 33 years old this year, and I live in Qingshizhuang. Mr. Qian is my uncle."

Chen Shao asked quickly, "Is he a biological uncle, or a cousin?"

Zhou Song lowered his eyes slightly and said cautiously: "Cousin."

Chen Shao continued: "Do you usually visit Uncle Qian's family frequently?"

Zhou Song replied: "Frequently."

"Please explain clearly. What do you mean by frequent?" Chen Shao stared at him closely. "Do you only go out during Chinese New Year and other festivals, or do you also go out on weekdays?"

Zhou Song was silent for a while before answering, "It's during the New Year and festivals."

"It's not that frequent to go out during the New Year and other festivals." Chen Shao said this coldly, then turned to look at Uncle Qian's two sons, "Is what he said true?"

Uncle Qian's two sons looked at Zhou Song subconsciously.

Chen Shao then looked at Zhou Song and said, "Look at what he is doing. Don't you know whether what he said is true or not?"

During Chen Shao's questioning, Zhou Song was no longer as relaxed as he was at the beginning. When he heard her asking about Uncle Qian's two sons, his expression involuntarily became stiff.

"It's true." Uncle Qian's two sons answered timidly.

Chen Shao looked at the two of them: "Are you sure?"

Uncle Qian's two sons subconsciously looked at Zhou Song again.

Chen Shao didn't indulge the two of them. He knocked hard on the gavel and said, "Answer me!"

The two of them trembled with fear before answering in quick succession, "Yes, sure."

"Okay, since you have answered yes, then no matter what the reason is, once it is verified that there are other reasons for your father's death, according to the ten evil crimes of Datong Law, you will all be sentenced to death. Do you have any objection?" Chen Shao asked calmly.

Zhou Song asked without thinking, "Are you trying to force a confession out of me, sir?"