Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

The kitchen of Juxianlou is very large, so large that it was beyond Chen Shao’s imagination.

Frying, deep-frying, braising, and stir-frying are each in their own area, and they do not interfere with each other. Five large wells were dug in the yard, and each was used for washing meat, killing chickens and fish, washing vegetables, etc. There was a ditch next to the well, and the used water would automatically flow out along the ditch. Behind the five wells, there were several ponds dug, in which various kinds of fish were raised, and they also used flowing water.

After walking around the kitchen and several wellheads, Chen Shao stood in front of the fish pond.

Shopkeeper Zhou had been chattering away all the way, and when he saw her looking at the fish, he immediately started to promote it vigorously, "This is a sturgeon and sturgeon pond. Most people can't tell which is the sturgeon and which is the sturgeon."

Afraid that she would not believe him, Manager Zhou took a scoop net and searched in the pool. He caught a sturgeon and a white sturgeon respectively and poured them into the wooden basin beside him, letting her identify them at will.

Chen Shao squatted in front of the wooden basin, took a quick look, and said, "This is a sturgeon."

Shopkeeper Zhou immediately picked up the fish she pointed out, and after comparing it with the other one, he asked in amazement, "How did you tell them apart, sir?"

Without waiting for Chen Shao to answer, he slapped his forehead and said, "Look at my brain. What is your status? Sturgeon and beluga are rare to me, but they are just ordinary dishes to you. What is the difference? Someone must have told me one by one."

Chen Shao curled the corners of her mouth. Since he already had the answer, she was too lazy to say anything more. She stood up and moved to the other pools one by one.

Shopkeeper Zhou naturally took the trouble to catch one of each type of fish to prove that the fish at Juxianlou were the best and freshest.

Chen Shao did not comment. After looking around, he asked directly, "You said last time that a lot of the fish you have here were previously only supplied to Jiangnan and Beijing?"

"Yes," Shopkeeper Zhou pointed to a few fish ponds and began to flatter again, "Before, sturgeon, whitefish, perch, and shad were only supplied to Jiangnan and the capital. It was only after you came to Hongyuan County that I begged and pleaded for these fish. Otherwise, I would probably never see them again in my life."

Chen Shao looked at him, his eyes flashing with coldness: "Then tell me, who are you begging for help?"

Scattered around the trash can and chopping board in Shopkeeper Qi's kitchen are the scales of whitebait, sea bass and shad.

Shopkeeper Zhou immediately took the responsibility and said, "If you want to eat, just come and get it. Why bother looking for someone to buy it?"

Chen Shao said coldly: "Let me ask you again, who did you ask for help, or in other words, where did these fish come from?"

Hearing her suddenly cold voice, Shopkeeper Zhou subconsciously looked up at her. Seeing her frosty face, he guessed that something had happened and wanted to find out something. When the words came to his lips, facing her increasingly cold gaze, he had to smile and said, "Don't be angry, sir. I'll tell you right away. I bought these fish from a merchant named Ma San. I also happened to hear him say that he was doing this kind of business, so I came to him for help. He also said that these fish were only sold in Jiangnan and Beijing before, and it was for your sake that he gave some to me."

Ma San, this name sounds familiar. Chen Shao lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered that Zhang Chunhua had mentioned this name. The jade in her mother's hand was also bought from a merchant named Ma San. And this Ma San was introduced to her mother by Bao Chengle.

Both of them were named Ma San, and both were merchants, but one sold jade and the other sold fish.

Chen Shao did not try to guess whether they were the same person, but asked directly: "Where does this Ma San live?"

Shopkeeper Zhou quickly replied, "He said he lives in Qiwan Lane, Shipailou."

It is the Qiwan Lane with Shipailou again.

Chen Shao frowned slightly, and as he walked out, he asked, "What does that Ma San look like?"

Shopkeeper Zhou said hurriedly.

After hearing the familiar description, Chen Shao asked Fu Jiu to get Ren Pei's portrait from the carriage.

When Shopkeeper Zhou saw the portrait for the first time, his eyes lit up and he said, "Yes, it's him!"

Chen Shao gestured: "Where is Songyuan? Take me there to have a look."

"This way." Shopkeeper Zhou led her through the lobby, out of a side door, and after walking through a winding corridor, they entered a large garden. Afterwards, after passing a bamboo garden, they climbed a rockery with strange rocks before arriving at the pine garden.

Chen Shao walked around the pine garden, and after looking around at the gates leading into the garden, he asked, "Who usually eats in these gardens?"

Shopkeeper Zhou said, "Before the Zhu and Gu families were raided, they were the ones who came. The rest were basically wealthy families in the county town, or people who came from the county town below to broaden their horizons. Occasionally, there were also some business travelers who came to Hongyuan County to do business."

The door of Pine Garden was ajar. After Fu Jiu pushed it open, Chen Shao stepped over the threshold and walked in. Looking at the elegant layout of the garden, he asked casually, "What is the minimum consumption for these gardens?"

Shopkeeper Zhou said enthusiastically: "If you come here, it will be all at Juxianlou's expense. For others, the minimum charge will be ten taels of silver."

"The minimum is ten taels of silver..." Chen Shao repeated his words and then asked, "Do you want to pay a deposit first?"

Shopkeeper Zhou said without any doubt, "The minimum price is ten taels of silver, which means you have to pay a deposit of ten taels of silver first."

"The deposit is ten taels of silver," Chen Shao continued, "so the total cost should be at least twenty taels of silver, right?"

"In theory, it should be like this." Shopkeeper Zhou shook his head and said, "But many business travelers or people from the county below, most of the time they just come here to open their eyes, and if they spend money, it's basically the deposit of ten taels of silver."

"Ten taels of silver is not a small sum. Except for the Zhu and Gu families, it is difficult for ordinary people to afford it." Chen Shao said slowly, "So, after all, these gardens were built for the Zhu and Gu families, right?"

Shopkeeper Zhou chuckled and neither admitted nor denied it.

Chen Shao laughed twice and suddenly asked, "Who is the owner of Juxian Building?"

Shopkeeper Zhou's smile suddenly stopped.

Chen Shao smiled, "Why, can't you tell me?"

"No," Shopkeeper Zhou wanted to find out why she asked this, but when the words came to his lips, he hurriedly changed his words and said, "Our boss is Mr. Fei from Shu County. Because he didn't want the Zhu family and the Gu family to find out that our Fei family was making money from them, he always said it was the Jingzhao Jin family in the capital."

The Fei family in Shu County... Chen Shao looked at him calmly, "Since they are trying to make money from the Zhu and Gu families, there should be more than one Juxianlou in Hongyuan County, right?"

Shopkeeper Zhou nodded, "Basically all the thirty-six counties in Jiannan Road have them."

In other words, the Zhu family, Gu family, etc., have basically arranged people in every county of Jiannan Road. Chen Shao looked at him calmly again, and then slowly said: "Since Juxianlou is to make money from the Zhu family and Gu family, and the minimum consumption is ten taels of silver, then there are not many guests, whether they are rich families in this county, or the counties below or business travelers. Since there are not many, after the Zhu family and Gu family were successively confiscated, these gardens were basically empty. For example, now, there are no guests here. In other words, you can't not know when and what guests came here."

Shopkeeper Zhou's expression changed instantly. Facing her stern look that demanded she tell the truth, he said angrily, "I didn't mean to hide it from you, sir. It's really the rule of Juxian House that we have to keep the identities of the guests who come to the garden secret."

Chen Shao sneered: "Keep making it up."

"I didn't make it up..."

"No?" Chen Shao sneered, "Then tell me, is Juxian Building a shameful place?"

Shopkeeper Zhou quickly denied: "Of course not."

"If it's not, why keep it secret?" Without waiting for his answer, she asked again, "You just said, and you said it more than once, that except for the Zhu family and the Gu family before the raid, most of the guests who come here are here to broaden their horizons. If they come here to broaden their horizons, they must make it known to everyone, so why keep it secret? If they have to keep it secret, then it means that in addition to eating, they also come here to conduct shameful transactions. Tell me, which one is it?"

Shopkeeper Zhou was so flustered that he slapped his mouth repeatedly. "It's because I don't know how to talk. Juxianlou does have the obligation to keep the identity of its guests confidential, but it is only when the guests need it."

"What you mean," Chen Shao said indifferently, "is that the guest who came to Songyuan on the evening of the 8th asked Juxianlou to keep it a secret for him?"