Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

"What do you want?" Chan Yi asked as he opened the door.

The Imperial Guard hurriedly stopped at the door, exhaling white air and saying, "It is said that someone in the family was killed. The county and prefectural governments have been investigating for almost half a month, but have not found anything. I heard that you are a master at solving cases, so after discussing it, we came together."

"County government office, prefectural government office?" Chan Yi raised her eyebrows slightly, "Aren't you from Hongyuan County?"

"No." Yu Linwei shook his head, "He said he came from Xitang County."

"Xitang County?" Chan Yi looked back at Chen Shao in confusion.

Chen Shao said: "In Jingchuan County."

"Isn't that far from Hongyuan County? How did they get here?" Chan Yi asked, and then immediately asked, "No, how many people are there?"

The Imperial Guards replied, "There are more than a dozen of them."

Chan Yi frowned, "More than a dozen, why are there so many?"

Yu Linwei said: "More than one person was killed."

Chan Yi frowned even more tightly, "What do you mean more than one person?"

"Go and take a look and you'll know." Chen Shao went out and told the Yulin Guards, "Invite the people to the lobby."

Chan Yi called out, "Young Master, please wait a moment," and turned back to get a thick cloak. After putting it on her, he followed her out and said in surprise, "Killing people is understandable, as people always get angry sometimes, but serial murders are rare. Even if it was a coincidence, and the county and prefectural governments couldn't solve the case, they should have sent people to ask Young Master for advice. How could it be the families of the victims?"

Chen Shao said: "I am also curious."

Chan Yi speculated: "Could it be the princelings of the previous dynasty who are behind this again?"

Chen Shao did not speak. When the Yulin Guard said that those people came from Xitang County, she had made this guess. According to the information confessed by the Zhu family, Gu family, Wen family and others earlier, there were people from 19 of the 35 counties in Jiannan Road. Among those 19 counties, Jingchuan County was not included.

If the people who came today to ask her for justice were arranged by the prince's party of the previous dynasty, their purpose was very clear: to prevent her from going to the border or Yunnan County.

The Yulin Guards acted quickly.

When Chen Shao arrived at the lobby, more than ten people who wanted her to make the decision also walked into the lobby one after another.

"Please, sir, make the decision." More than ten people knelt on the ground one after another, crying sadly.

Chen Shao walked to the table and sat down, scanning the crowd one by one. More than ten people looked very embarrassed, with messy hair, tattered clothes, and their fingers lying on the ground were all black and dirty. The smell blowing from their bodies in the wind was also very unpleasant. Judging from their appearance, they did not look like evildoers.

Chen Shao calmed down and said, "The ground is cold, get up first and talk if you have anything to say."

More than ten people naturally refused to stand up. One of them, an older man, knelt forward two steps, kowtowed twice, and suddenly slapped himself twice: "It's all my fault. Selling one day less vegetables won't make much money. I forced him to sell vegetables... Sir, my son died tragically. Please help my son."

"My daughter died so tragically," another woman knelt down and came forward, crying bitterly, "Her daughter was working well in the embroidery workshop and did not provoke anyone, but she was raped and died by that villain, wuwu..."

The remaining people came forward one after another on their knees and recounted their experiences.

Chan Yi whispered, "I'll ask the kitchen to prepare some food."

Chen Shao nodded, and after she left, he stood up and walked down from the table, helped an old man up, and said to the others, "Everyone, get up. Don't let the murderer be caught before you fall down from the cold again."

No one moved.

Chen Shao first asked the Yu Lin to put a few charcoal basins in the side hall, then turned around and said, "The case sounds a bit complicated. I need to know more about how to catch the murderer. It's freezing cold today, and I'm not feeling well. I can't stand the cold wind. You guys come with me to the side hall and tell me everything."

After saying this, he walked towards the side hall without caring whether they followed him or not.

Everyone looked at each other for a while, and after she entered the side hall, they supported each other and slowly followed her.

"Please sit down," Chen Shao said gently, "It's uncomfortable for me to look up and ask you."

Seeing that they didn't move, Chen Shao deliberately frowned: "Since no one wants to listen to me, why are you still looking for me for help? Come on, send them out!"

Everyone was so frightened that they sat down immediately.

"From now on, you will do whatever I tell you to do, and answer whatever I ask you." Chen Shao was too lazy to argue with them over trivial matters, so he simply ordered, "Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded and said, "I understand."

The imperial guards brought in the charcoal basin, which was warmed up in an instant. Watching the steam slowly rising from their bodies, Chen Shao sighed slightly and asked the older man who spoke first, "How did you get to Hongyuan County? Who asked you to come?"

Just as the older man was about to stand up, Chen Shao said, "Sit down and answer."

The older man had to sit back down, "We walked here together."

"No one ordered you to do that?" Chen Shao asked.

The older man shook his head.

Chen Shao looked at the others, and they also shook their heads.

Chen Shao said in a different way: "How did you know me, and how did you think of coming together to ask me for help?"

The middle-aged man looked at the others and said, "Lord Song said so."

Chen Shao remained calm: "Which Lord Song? What did he say?"

"Sir Song from our county government," the middle-aged man said hesitantly, "he said if Sir Chen was here, the case would definitely be solved. So we asked him about the Sir, and then we came together."

"Didn't he stop you?" Chen Shao asked.

The middle-aged man shook his head. "He said that he was incompetent and couldn't catch the murderer who killed our family. He asked us to be careful on the way here and also asked us to apologize to the adults on his behalf."

On the surface, it sounded like there was nothing wrong. Chen Shao did not continue to inquire, but instead asked about the case: "From what I heard from you just now, it seems that there are six cases?"

The middle-aged man nodded in agreement.

Chen Shao: "When did the first case occur?"

"On the third day of November," the middle-aged man's eyes turned red again, and tears welled up, "my son was killed on the way to the city to sell vegetables."

"Can you tell me how he was killed?" Chen Shao asked in a guiding way. "For example, was he killed by a stone, a knife, or a sword? After he was killed, who was the first to discover it? Is there anything unusual on his body or around him?"

The middle-aged man opened his mouth and could not speak for a long time. Chan Yi came back with hot tea, and Chen Shao gestured to pour him a cup first. The middle-aged man took the tea with trembling hands, choked up and said "thank you", and then slowly said for a long while: "He was killed tragically on the roadside by someone who cut his throat. I only knew about it when someone passed by and reported it to the authorities. When he died, was there anything unusual around him? I don't know these things, and Lord Song didn't tell me either. Lord Song only said that there was a fish on his forehead."