Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Qingxi Town is only two cups of tea away from Zhuangzi.

The woman was pulled onto the horse by Chan Yi. She was a little scared at first, but when she got used to it, she put one hand around Chan Yi's waist and pointed to the west of the town with the other hand, "Manager Lin's rice shop is over there."

Following her finger, a group of more than ten people arrived at the rice shop. With neighbors looking at them inquiringly, Chen Shao dismounted and asked the old woman who had come out of the cloth shop next door to watch the fun, "Auntie, why is this rice shop closed?"

The old woman had been to Huimin Pharmacy to see a doctor earlier, and had met Chen Shao once or twice. Because she was young and pretty, she had a deep impression of her. After hearing her question, she came out of the house and first muttered, "This old Lin is also unlucky. He didn't visit me earlier or later, but he came today." Then she answered, "You are late. Old Lin left two or three hours ago and said he would not be back for ten days or eight days."

Chen Shao followed up by asking, "Did the whole family come to visit?"

The old woman looked at the closed door of the rice shop and nodded, saying, "The whole family has come to visit. They said that one of my nephews from my mother's family is getting married, and the whole family has to go and join in the fun."

Chen Shao asked: "Auntie, do you know where this shopkeeper Lin's family is from?"

"It's not Manager Lin's mother's home, but his wife's mother's home." The old woman corrected, "It's said to be in Jiajiang County, Jianwei County, but I don't remember exactly where it is."

"Did Lao Lin get into trouble?" Another neighbor came over to inquire.

Chen Shao deliberately asked, "Do you also know Manager Lin?"

"We live on the same street, how could they not know each other?" said the neighbor who was asking about the situation. "But I don't think Old Lin will be back for another ten days or eight days."

Chen Shao asked cooperatively: "How do you say that?"

The neighbor who inquired about the matter said, "I saw them carrying several carts of large and small bags when they left. It's not an exaggeration to say that they were moving. They just visit each other for ten days or eight days, why would they carry so many things?"

The old woman said, "Old Lin hasn't been to his wife's parents' home for many years. Could it be a gift?"

Not only did the neighbors who inquired about it laugh, but the neighbors who rushed over to join in the fun also laughed. After laughing, the neighbor who inquired about it said, "Others may not understand, but Aunt Hua, your family quarrels with him five out of ten days, how can you not understand? Old Lin is so stingy that he would nag you for a long time if your clothes were accidentally hung on the rope at his house. And you brought so many carts of gifts, how could he bear to give it up?"

Aunt Hua remembered that she had a quarrel with Shopkeeper Lin yesterday. She couldn't help but spit twice in an unlucky tone and said in a loud voice, "He is so stingy. If he really wants to move, can he not take the door panels with him?"

"That makes sense." The obedient man nodded in agreement.

Chen Shao listened to their idle chatter for a while, and after getting a general understanding of Manager Lin's personality, he started a new topic for them: "How many years has Manager Lin been in town?"

Someone immediately said, "It's been about ten years, right?"

"It must be seventeen or eighteen years." Aunt Hua recalled, "When he first came to this town, my third child was very naughty. Now my third child is the father of two children. It must be seventeen or eighteen years at any rate."

As he said this, he went back to the house and brought out the two little kids.

Chen Shao squatted down, playing with the two kids while casually asking, "Did Shopkeeper Lin decide to go to his wife's parents' home today, or had he been preparing for it a few days ago?"

The two kids were a little shy and kept hiding behind Aunt Hua. Aunt Hua pulled them forward and said, "I heard him talking about this a few days ago."

The carriage was gone, and Chen Shao couldn't comfort them with snacks. Seeing the two kids about to cry, Chen Shao gently rubbed their heads and stood up and asked, "Which village is Shopkeeper Lin from? Is it far from the town?"

Aunt Hua said, "Just like his wife, they are both from Jiajiang County, Qianwei County."

"I don't think they are from Jiajiang County." Another person shook his head and said, "Their accent doesn't sound like Jiajiang dialect."

Chen Shao looked in the direction of the voice, and the person who spoke immediately said, "Jianwei County is not far from us. The people in Jiajiang County speak differently from us, but the difference is not that big. When Lao Lin first came to town, I heard his family speak, and they spoke like adults, politely and with clear pronunciation."

——"You know what, they really do look alike."

——"I didn't realize it before you told me, but now that I tell you, it does seem a bit like them."

"People from the capital? Why would people from the capital come here to do business?" After listening to everyone's echoing voices, Chen Shao deliberately raised two questions before asking, "Has anyone from Manager Lin's family come to visit them in the years since he came to the town to do business?"

——"Why not? Someone comes every three to five months."

——"What do you mean three to five months? Didn't you have your period once six or seven days ago?"

Chen Shao immediately asked: "Who are these people?"

——"He said he was a nephew, an uncle, or a younger uncle."

——"It's always the same few people coming and going."

Chen Shao: "Do you leave right after you come, or do you stay for a few days?"

Aunt Hua curled her lips and said, "Most of them just come and leave."

——"Aunt Hua knows it best. Every time she quarrels with him, she always uses this to stab him."

Aunt Hua snorted, "They said they had something to do and couldn't stay for long, but I think they just couldn't bear to give up the few bowls of rice! It's also a blessing that his nephews, uncles, and younger uncles have good tempers. If it had happened to me, I would have broken off the marriage long ago!"

Chen Shao: "What accent do these people here speak with?"

Aunt Hua curled her lips again, "I've never heard them talk. I did ask them a few questions at the beginning, but they just smiled and left it alone. As time went by, I got too lazy to ask anymore."

Nephew, uncle, younger uncle...

Come and go...

Shopkeeper Lin has a Beijing accent...

Most of the people who came were the ones who had contacted him.

Chen Shao glanced at the door of the rice shop and listened to their discussion for a while before continuing to ask, "Aunt Hua, do you still remember what those relatives who came to see Manager Lin looked like?"

——"Did you really commit a crime?"

Chen Shao not only did not deny it, but also followed their discussion and said: "Manager Lin and the family members who came to visit him may be related to a major case. They are very likely not relatives, but came to his place to avoid the limelight. Manager Lin's visit today is also very likely because he heard that I would find out about him, so he ran away in advance."

——"No wonder he left as soon as he arrived, without eating a single bite of food or saying a single word. He turned out to be a fugitive."

——"This Old Lin, I really can't tell."

Chen Shao said to the crowd: "If you remember the appearance of those people who came to see Manager Lin, you are welcome to provide me with clues."

Everyone immediately started talking at once.

Chen Shao motioned for them to wait for a moment, then borrowed a table, chairs, paper and pen from Aunt Hua. He first drew the approximate appearance of his nephew, uncle and younger uncle according to Aunt Hua's description, and then slowly made adjustments based on the memories of others.

Soon, three faces appeared on the paper.

After handing the portrait to Chan Yi, Chen Shao followed Aunt Hua to the back door of the rice shop as everyone complimented her on her painting skills. After instructing the imperial guards to knock on the door, Chen Shao asked Aunt Hua as if he had just remembered something: "Is there a butcher named Qi in the town?"

Aunt Hua was just shocked at how ferociously Yu Linwei kicked the door open with two feet. When she heard what he said, she answered casually, "There is a butcher named Qi, who is somewhat related to Old Lin."

Chen Shao asked: "How do you mean by kinship?"

"I don't know exactly what kind of relationship they are. I just know that they came to the town about the same time. The Lin family came here a month or two first, and when the Qi family first came, they lived in the Lin family. Old Qi has always called Old Lin "Big Brother", and Old Qi's children have always called Old Lin "Uncle". Aunt Hua's attention was still on the Yulin Guards, and her answer was a little half-hearted, but at least she made the relationship clear.

With the help of neighbors, Chen Shao not only quickly found out that Shopkeepers Lin and Qi spoke with the same accent when they first came to the town, but also knew that every time Shopkeeper Lin's "nephews", "uncles" and "brothers" came over, Shopkeeper Qi would also come along. At the same time, both of them claimed to be from Pingjiang County, Jianwei Prefecture, and they left together this morning.

Now all hopes rest on them not moving their hiding place again and on Li Tianliu finding them quickly.

The Yulin Guards had already kicked the door open.

When Chen Shao entered the house, Aunt Hua and the neighbors who were watching the fun subconsciously wanted to follow her in.

After finally persuading them to wait outside the door, Chen Shao turned around and saw that all the furniture in the house was placed in its place, but they were all empty.