Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

When Chan Yi asked for help, Chen Shao quickly wrote down the ten people from Rongfa Trading Company and the victims and time of the six cases that occurred this year on a piece of paper.

After Li Tianliu came over, Chen Shao handed him the paper with the ink not yet dried. "Arrange two Yulin Guards to follow Manager Tian of Rongfa Commercial Bank to investigate these ten people. I want to know where they were and what they were doing when these six cases occurred. Who are the witnesses? Ask and investigate everything clearly."

Li Tianliu took the paper and quickly scanned it, then raised his eyes and asked, "Is the murderer among these people?"

Chen Shao shook his head. "How can the murderer be caught so easily if he can kill so many people without being arrested? Checking these is just a step-by-step screening."

Li Tianliu wanted to ridicule her, but seeing her knitted brows and her frail figure, he changed his words awkwardly: "Anything else?"

Chen Shao pinched his brows and said, "Not for now, go ahead."

Li Tianliu looked at her and was about to turn around and leave when Fu Jiu rushed in first: "Sir, Zhao Qiang is here."

"Wait a moment." Chen Shao stopped Li Tianliu and asked him to pick another Yulin Guard to come over. Then he said to Fu Jiu, "Let him in."

When Zhao Qiang came in, Chen Shao waved his hand to exempt him from the formalities: "Wait a moment. When Yulinwei comes, take him with you to investigate Pi Ziyun, Diao An, Gao Qiang, Zhao Liu and Xiong San. Find out where they were, what they were doing, and who can testify when these six cases happened this year. If there are people who can't explain clearly, bring them back."

Zhao Qiang responded properly, and Chen Shao just remembered to ask, "Will it delay you?"

"No." Zhao Qiang smiled. "I've already told Uncle Liang Zhu, and he told me to just wait for your orders for the time being."

Hearing him mention Zhao Liangzhu, Chen Shao laughed and said, "After the case is investigated, I have to meet your Uncle Liangzhu properly."

As for what he was going to do with him, Chen Shao didn't say much.

Zhao Qiang naturally didn't ask any more questions.

After the Imperial Guards came over, Chen Shao repeated what he had said to Zhao Qiang, and then asked Chan Yi to take out ten taels of silver and handed them to them, saying, "Take this for board and lodging expenses. Check it slowly. Don't be anxious. Check it as thoroughly as possible."

After the two left, Chen Shao sat down to rest for a while. Just as he was about to reach out to take the two rosters to see if he could find any clues from these simple registrations, Chan Yi said, "Sir, please take a break. It's already late in the afternoon. After lunch, Tao Ming and the others should be here."

"The end of the Wei hour?" Chen Shao looked outside.

The sunlight has retreated to the gate of the courtyard, and its color has changed from golden yellow to orange.

It's really the end of the Wei hour.

Standing up and walking to the door, feeling the gentle breeze, Chen Shao lamented the passing of time: "I haven't even finished doing anything yet, and it's already this hour."

"Master, you're so busy that you don't even have time to eat. How can you say you haven't done anything?" Chan Yi followed her out and stood beside her. She looked at Fu Jiu, who was dozing off on the old yellow fruit tree with Li Tianliu, and urged her loudly, "You're still asleep. Come down quickly and ask the kitchen to bring us food!"

Fu Jiu opened her eyes and looked over. Seeing that Chen Shao had finished his work, she quickly turned over and flew down the tree, jumping and skipping towards the kitchen.

Li Tianliu was woken up, squinted his eyes and looked at the two of them, and said in a gloomy way: "So Mr. Chen Liu still needs to eat?"

Chen Shao ignored him.

Chan Yi couldn't help but ask, "Why, General Li doesn't need to eat anymore?"

Li Tianliu didn't expect her to retort. He sat up suddenly, raised his eyebrows and smiled.

Chan Yi put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest and raised her chin, and said without avoiding or dodging: "What, General Li still wants to beat me? All right, come on, let everyone see how General Li bullies a weak woman!"

Li Tianliu glanced at the teasing Ah Shao, hummed and lay back down, saying, "I don't want to bother with you!"

"You make me want to argue with you!" Chan Yi retorted, "Young Master has a good temper and won't argue with you. I respect you for giving up the peaceful life in the capital, and I volunteered to protect you. I have been tolerating you on the way to Hongyuan County. I thought you would just nag for ten days or half a month, but I didn't expect you to be like those women on the streets, nagging and never stopping!"

People didn't know that there was a seventh daughter in the Duke of Chen's Mansion, nor did they know that she was a woman dressed as a man. They only thought that she was the only one left in the younger generation of the Duke of Chen's Mansion. She also knew that he was so fussy and had no reason to know. She was annoyed that Chen Shao didn't care about the future of the Duke of Chen's Mansion and insisted on running to Hongyuan County far away from Beijing, putting himself in danger. But his words were really unpleasant. She had endured it again and again, and she really couldn't bear it anymore.

Today she had to let him know that she, Chan Yi, also had a temper!

Li Tianliu sat up suddenly, pointed at himself in disbelief and asked, "I am fussy?"

Chan Yi shouted, "Yes, you are!"

Li Tianliu looked at Chen Shao.

Chen Shao looked away, but the smile on her lips betrayed her.

Li Tianliu was so angry that he jumped down from the tree. He pointed at himself again and asked, "My nagging mother?"

Chan Yi raised her face and said, "Even if you ask me a hundred times, you'll still be nagging!"

Li Tianliu looked at Chen Shao twice, then looked at her twice, and turned away. After walking out of the gate of Chengfeng Courtyard, he punched the half-foot-high rock that served as a rockery next to him, and the rock shattered. Picking up a piece of broken stone, he turned back to look at Chanyi.

Chan Yi reminded with a cold face: "How much is that stone? General Li, remember to pay it back later."

Li Tianliu laughed angrily, threw the gravel aside, and said coldly: "I won't make up for it, let's see what you can do to me!"

Chan Yi quickly chased after him, but seeing that he had already disappeared, she had no choice but to shout to the Yu Lin guards standing at the gate of his yard, "Hurry up and get someone to clean up this place. If you don't, I'll throw you all into your yard!"

Several Yulin guards laughed and said, "Miss Chan Yi is mighty," and came over obediently to pick up the gravel and throw it on the lawn.

*

Less than a quarter of an hour after the afternoon, Tao Ming and his companions arrived.

Chen Shao received them in the second hall.

Tao Ming stood in a row with his four classmates Xu Xianmin, Sun Qi, Zhang Lifu and Ma Yongming who had come to see him in Taojiazhuang yesterday. Behind them, there were five people each. Like them, these people were classmates in the Imperial College.

The thirty people were of different heights, weights and bodies, but their mental outlook was surprisingly consistent: they looked excited, with bright eyes, like the morning sun, full of vigor and vitality.

Chen Shao nodded secretly, then sat down in front of the table and looked at Tao Ming and the others: "It seems that you have made your choice."

Tao Ming and his companions could not help but bow excitedly and said, "Please give your orders, sir!"

The others followed suit and bowed their hands, saying in unison: "Please give your orders, sir!"

"Don't worry." Chen Shao smiled and gently asked them to introduce their names first. Then he asked the 25 people who came with them, "What's the situation? Tao Ming and the others have told you, right?"

Everyone responded in unison.

"Although I have said it before, I still want to reiterate it." Chen Shao said slowly, "I will prepare money, food, and horses for you, but when searching the village or the mountain, no matter what happens, no matter whether you are right or wrong, you must not argue with the people. If you are really angry, you can tell me when you come back. In short, once you have a dispute with the people, you should withdraw from the team on your own, and don't take chances. If you can do it, stay, if you can't, you can leave now."

No one left.

Someone asked: "No matter who is right or wrong, we can tolerate it. But if the other party wants to attack us by relying on their numbers, how should we respond?"