Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Early the next morning, without Chen Shao having to invite anyone, the few families who had rested for the night came to the prefect's mansion on their own initiative.

Chen Shao met everyone in the second hall. After asking a few questions about their rest and meal the night before, he asked Chan Yi to prepare tea and snacks. He then sat in the side hall and invited the Sun family in separately.

The people who came from the Sun family were Sun Shouyi's father Sun Wangchun, the Sun family's manager and a servant.

Sun Shouyi was the only son, and although Sun Wangchun had high hopes for him, he was also afraid of burdening him, so he spoiled him extraordinarily, which led to his bad habits of spending his days in debauchery and not wanting to be criticized. This time when he got into trouble, Sun Wangchun thought that he was arrogant and had offended others, and was being retaliated against. On the one hand, he regretted not being able to discipline him properly, and on the other hand, he spent a lot of money to bribe people in order to catch the murderer as soon as possible.

The people in the county and prefectural offices were bribed and investigated diligently, but after working hard for more than half a month, they still didn't see the murderer. Sun Wangchun didn't dare to urge him, but he went to the county office once or twice a day. Lord Jin was frustrated because he was short-changed, but he didn't want to say harsh words. When he was comforting him, he accidentally mentioned that if she was there, the murderer would be caught quickly. After hearing this, he immediately organized this trip to ask for help.

He had arranged a carriage and plenty of dry food, but halfway through the journey, all of it was stolen by bandits. He followed the others step by step for the rest of the journey.

"As long as I can find the murderer and avenge my son, I am not afraid of hardship or fatigue." Sun Wangchun cried bitterly, then knelt on the ground and kowtowed hard, saying, "Although my son is not a good person, he is not a vicious person. Please help him and let him rest in peace!"

The steward and the servants also knelt down in panic and begged the same thing.

Chen Shao put down his teacup: "Get up first."

With yesterday's experience as a lesson in mind, Sun Wangchun kowtowed a few more times and then stood up gracefully.

Chen Shao motioned him to sit down and said, "Since you suspect Sun Shouyi has offended someone, do you know who he has grudges against?"

Sun Wangchun mentioned seven or eight names in a row.

There was no Guo Liangcai, Qian Youyu, Liu Qingxi or Jin Zhiyuan in the name, and Chan Yi looked at Chen Shao worriedly. Chen Shao's expression remained unchanged, and he asked Sun Wangchun to speak slowly. After writing down the names one by one, he asked them one by one about how they had become enemies with Sun Shouyi, and finally asked: "Who do you think is most likely to be the murderer of Sun Shouyi?"

Sun Wangchun said without thinking: "Zhou Yin, it must be him!"

Chen Shao glanced at Zhou Yin's name and asked, "What's the reason?"

Sun Wangchun said indignantly, "This Zhou Yin relied on his uncle being the chief clerk of the county government office to do evil all day long. After every night of drinking and partying, he would send someone to find my son to pay him. My son just went a little slower, so he beat and scolded him, and always asked him to act like a dog or a cat, not treating my son as a human being. After my son got into trouble, he, who used to be very lively, hid at home for ten days without going out. If he was not guilty, why would he do this?"

Chen Shao asked: "What did Lord Jin say?"

Sun Wangchun said unhappily, "I was afraid of Lord Ma's revenge, so when Lord Jin asked about the person who had a grudge against my son, I didn't mention him. But I secretly asked someone to inquire about it, and the person who inquired said that Zhou Yin didn't go out because he caught a cold and got sick, but I suspect he was bribed by the Zhou family. On the afternoon of the day my son got into trouble, he came to the mansion and drank with my son twice. He and my son had a big fight after getting drunk. How could it be such a coincidence that he fell ill the next day?"

After Chen Shao asked a few more questions about the details of their quarrel, he suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Who are the people who eat, drink and have fun with Sun Shouyi every day?"

Sun Wangchun looked at the steward at the side, and the steward said awkwardly: "The young master is very generous. As long as you are willing to flatter him, no matter what your status is, you can eat, drink and have fun with him."

Sun Wangchun nodded repeatedly on the side.

Chen Shao frowned slightly: "In other words, there is no fixed number of people who eat, drink and have fun with him every day?"

The steward nodded and said, "The young master doesn't like people disturbing his fun. Whenever he is at home, no one can step into the garden without his permission."

Chen Shao looked at him, then at Sun Wangchun. Whenever he was at home, he was not allowed to step into the garden without his permission... Although this sentence meant that they could not provide more clues about Sun Shouyi's death, it also proved that the person who killed Sun Shouyi was someone who was very familiar with the Sun family and Sun Shouyi.

Zhou Yin...

After Chen Shao took another look at his name, he took the paper with Guo Liangcai and others written on it and asked in a normal tone, "Does Sun Shouyi know Guo Liangcai, Qian Youyu, Liu Qingxi and Jin Zhiyuan?"

Sun Wangchun looked at the steward again.

The steward quickly replied, "Master Qian, Mr. Liu, and Master Jin are all well-known figures, so you must know them. As for that Guo Liangcai, I don't know his identity, and I have never paid attention to him."

Chen Shao said: "I heard from Master Huijue that he is a student of the county school."

Sun Wangchun immediately asked, "There are many students from the county school playing with my son. Is this Guo Liangcai... the murderer of my son?"

"No."

Chen Shao answered straightforwardly, and did not disappoint Sun Wangchun. Instead, he mustered up his strength and asked, "What did the adults ask him?"

"He is a good friend of Master Huiren." Afraid that he would have unnecessary troubles due to misunderstanding, Chen Shao patiently explained, "My current understanding of this case is all through your description. If I want to catch the murderer based on these descriptions, I can only check all possibilities one by one. If all possibilities are ruled out and the murderer still cannot be inferred, then I can only follow you to Xitang County."

Sun Wangchun regretted, "If I had known that the Lord would use our description to find the murderer, I should have asked Lord Jin to bring all the records of their investigation before coming here."

Chen Shao asked, "Does Lord Jin know that you came to Hongyuan County?"

"I know," Sun Wangchun was still regretting, "The night before I came to Hongyuan County, I went to the county government office to say goodbye to him. When we left the next day, he also saw us off at Shili Pavilion."

Chen Shao continued to ask: "Did he tell you anything?"

Sun Wangchun nodded: "That's what he said. Besides telling us to be careful on the road, he also told us that if the adults really can't spare time, they should let us wait for a while and not worry. He will be watching over us at home."

Seeing that he had finished speaking, the steward whispered to remind him, "Master, you forgot that Lord Jin also said that although Xitang County is not as lavish as Hongyuan County, its scenery is unique and beautiful. He also said that they will prepare all the food and daily necessities before we go back, and will never let you suffer any grievances after you go there."

Sun Wangchun nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I did say that!"

Chan Yi pursed her lips with a very unhappy look on her face.

Chen Shao curled his lips, agreed with a few words, asked a few more questions, and then let them go. Then, he invited several other families in one by one.

The wealth of the other families is not as great as that of the Sun family, and there are very few clues known about them.

After sending them out of the hall and watching them walk away, Chan Yi returned to the side hall and said angrily, "They don't understand, but how could those people in the county government not understand? They did it on purpose, deliberately letting them bring such a big case to the young master, just to lead the young master to Xitang County!"

Chen Shao sorted out the clues he had obtained without saying anything.

Chan Yi's anger did not diminish: "They are so deliberate, maybe they were the ones who killed those people!"

Chen Shao paused and asked, "Who?"

Chan Yi blurted out, "Of course it's those people from the county government!"

Chen Shao smiled and said, "If they really killed him, then we have to go to Xitang County."

Fu Jiu staggered in from outside. Upon hearing this, she subconsciously asked, "Hongyuan County doesn't care anymore?"

Chen Shao did not answer but asked, "Did Liu leave?"

Fu Jiu nodded: "Let's go."

Chen Shao: "Where is Li Tianliu?"

Fu Jiu said: "He left too."

Chan Yi looked at him immediately: "Where did you go?"

Fu Jiu was bewildered: "We followed Master Liu. Didn't they say that we would split into several groups and follow him to Qianwei County?"

Chan Yi sneered a few times and said angrily: "Young Master, wait a moment, I will go find him!"

Chen Shao nodded.

The cicada leaves disappeared in a hurry.

Fu Jiu followed her to the door, and seeing that she didn't even turn her head, she couldn't help but mutter, "General Li has been gone for almost an hour. Even if she has great martial arts skills, she probably can't catch up with him."

Turning back, he said, "Young General Li is gone, and the young master is gone too. Does Hongyuan County really not care anymore?"

Chen Shao ordered: "Go and invite Quan Shuyu, Qiye, Zhao Liangzhu, Wang Cong, Xu Xianmin, Liu Deming, Sun Qi, Xu Fuzi, and Liu Chengxi over."