Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Chen Shao didn't say anything else.

Several people were wrapped in cold air, except Fu Jiu, who hunched his neck and rubbed his hands.

After having several people gather around the charcoal basin to warm themselves, Chen Shao asked Xu Guang, "How is it?"

Xu Guang stretched out his hands to warm the fire and said, "The cause of death of Ah Fu, Zhang Qiaoniang, Tian Gensheng, and Li Shunan is the same as that recorded on the corpse form. I don't see any difference. Sun Shouyi and Huiren must have been drugged before they died. I see that Ah Fu and the others have the resistance injuries that the adults mentioned, but these two have none at all."

Ah Fu, Zhang Qiao Niang, Tian Gen Sheng and Li Shun An had resistance wounds, but Sun Shou Yi and Hui Ren did not...

Chen Shao carefully looked through the case files of several people again.

Ah Fu died on the way into the city, Zhang Qiaoniang died in the embroidery building, Tian Gensheng and Li Shunan both died in the alley, Sun Shouyi died in his own garden, and Huiren died in the meditation room.

Ah Fu, Zhang Qiao Niang, Tian Gen Sheng and Li Shun An have resistance wounds, but Sun Shou Yi and Hui Ren don't... Why do Ah Fu, Zhang Qiao Niang, Tian Gen Sheng and Li Shun An have resistance wounds, but Sun Shou Yi and Hui Ren don't?

If it was because of the location, Zhang Qiaoniang also died in the embroidery building. When she was killed, she only needed to scream to wake up the others. Why didn't the murderer drug her?

Chen Shao couldn't figure it out and frowned unconsciously.

Seeing her frown, Gu Feiyan tapped the armrest twice and said, "If you don't understand something, just tell me. We can all brainstorm and figure it out eventually."

Chen Shao looked at her, then at everyone else, and told her what she didn't understand.

Everyone was confused and discussed it for a while. Chen Shao shook his head. It was obvious that none of the logics stood up.

After a while, just when Chen Shao was about to give up, Gu Feiyan suddenly said, "Is it possible that the murderer is her admirer?"

Fu Jiu reminded: "I have already said this."

Gu Feiyan looked at Chen Shao and ignored him: "The admirer we were talking about just now is an open and aboveboard admirer. What if this admirer can't be open and aboveboard?"

Fu Jiu asked: "Is there anything that cannot be done openly and honestly, and is shameful to others?"

Gu Feiyan snapped her fingers: "It's just too shameful to be seen."

Fu Jiu wanted to ask why he was so shameful, but Gu Feiyan told him to shut up and looked at Chen Shao again: "A woman's reputation is more important than anything else. If the murderer used this as a threat, is it possible that Zhang Qiaoniang could scream but didn't dare to?"

Chen Shao nodded, "It's very likely."

"It's good that it's possible." Gu Feiyan stood up. "Don't we have to go to the scene tomorrow? It's getting late. Let's all go and rest. Only if we stay alert can we catch the murderer faster."

"Let's all go and take a rest." Chen Shao said, glancing at everyone's tired faces.

After everyone left, Gu Feiyan said, "Don't think about it anymore. Go to sleep."

After Chen Shao said "OK", he put the case file away and went back to the inner room, his mind still couldn't stop thinking.

If the reason why Zhang Qiaoniang did not ask for help was that the murderer had a shameful relationship with her, then the question is, why was it shameful?

You know, in this era, it was normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. Even though Zhang Qiaoniang was of low status and only took a concubine, there was no need to be particular about it.

Why is that?

Chen Shao couldn't understand.

That's it.

Let’s go to the embroidery building tomorrow and take a look.

After trying hard to suppress his thoughts, Chen Shao fell into a drowsy sleep.

When I woke up, the sky was still gray and the cold wind was hitting the paper-covered windows, making a rustling sound. In the noise, there was a faint sound of fists.

Chen Shao closed his eyes, intending to take a short nap, but he could hear the sound of punches outside becoming clearer and clearer.

After getting up and putting on his clothes, Chen Shao opened the door and went out. Looking at Gu Feiyan who was practicing boxing, he joked, "After all, he is a person who leads troops to fight, so his physical fitness is different."

After Gu Feiyan finished a set of curling papers, she pulled down the towel hanging on the treetop, wiped her sweat and said, "Did I wake you up?"

"That's not the case." Chen Shao denied, "It's just that as long as the case is not solved, all the clues are weighing on my mind, so I can't eat or sleep well."

Gu Feiyan said: "Why don't you also do a few sets of boxing to vent your anger?"

"No need." Seeing that she was not going to fight anymore, Chen Shao turned back to the house and sat down next to the charcoal basin and asked, "Have you been getting up early to exercise for many years?"

Gu Feiyan threw down the towel, took a cloak and put it on, then sat down beside her and said, "The most challenging thing on the battlefield is not who has the best martial arts skills, but who has the best endurance. Sometimes a battle has to be fought from morning till night. Having high martial arts skills can only allow you to kill more enemies, but it cannot allow you to survive from beginning to end. To maintain endurance, the simplest and most direct way is to have good physical strength. Where does good physical strength come from? Of course, it comes from exercising day after day."

"You were a soldier before coming here, right?" Chen Shao suddenly said.

Gu Feiyan paused while drinking tea and tilted her head to look at her: "Can you tell that?"

Chen Shao smiled. "Although most martial artists have upright postures, this is a kind of uprightness that comes from stretching the muscles and bones. The uprightness that comes from years of training in the army is a kind of uprightness that looks righteous and tenacious. There is still a big difference."

No wonder the old man asserted that she was born to be a general when she was very young. So that's why. Gu Feiyan sighed twice and asked again, "What about you? Were you an investigator before you came here?"

"No." Chen Shao corrected, "Forensic doctor."

"That's about right." Since they were talking about the past and there were no outsiders around, Gu Feiyan couldn't help but ask more deeply, "Why did you come here?"

"Sudden death." Chen Shao couldn't help but laugh after he finished speaking.

Gu Feiyan also smiled, "I can see that."

Chen Shao asked her: "What about you?"

Gu Feiyan said calmly: "There was a small accident when we were on the mission."

After Chen Shao gave her a thumbs up, they started talking about the years when they first met. They chatted for about two cups of tea. Chan Yi, Fu Jiu and the others also got up one after another.

While they were discussing what to eat for breakfast, Zhou Lao, Jin Zhixian and others also arrived, bringing breakfast from the best restaurant in Xitang County.

After eating and taking a short rest, Chen Shao said, "Let's go to Sun's house first," without waiting for Magistrate Jin to ask.

She spoke so firmly that Magistrate Jin did not dare to ask more questions and could only hurriedly lead her to the Sun family.

Sun Wangchun was about to go out to inquire about her schedule for the day, when he saw her carriage coming and hurried to meet her outside. When he heard that she was going to visit the place where Sun Shouyi was killed, he quickly led her to the back garden.

The cold wind was no longer as biting as it had been earlier, and the thin sunlight was casually sprinkled everywhere within sight.

Last night, I could only see a corner of it by the light of the torch. Today, under the sunlight, I could see that the Sun family's back garden was very large. Just by visual estimation, it was at least one hectare. There were patches of flowers, plants and trees, dotted with rockery and flowing water. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was a paradise on earth.

Chen Shao glanced around a few times and then looked away. After telling everyone to wait where they were, he walked towards the pavilion where the accident happened according to his memory of last night.

Gu Feiyan just looked at her a few more times, clicked her tongue twice, and followed her footsteps.

Even in the daylight, the trees and flowers outside the pavilion still showed no signs of fighting. Having said that, Chen Shao still took the pavilion as the center and walked around it before standing in front of it.

Following the order of last night, he checked from beginning to end again. After making sure that nothing was missed, Chen Shao ordered: "Go and invite Lord Zhou, Lord Jin, Xu Guang, and Zhang Ruyuan over."

After they came over, Chen Shao first ordered Xu Guang, Zhang Ruyuan, Cui Shu and Chang Si to check the scene and look for evidence. Then he took out the piece of paper with the word "Quan" written on it and asked Magistrate Jin: "Where did you put this piece of paper on the table? Lord Jin, do you remember?"

"This..." Magistrate Jin stepped forward, looked around the table, and hesitantly pointed to the middle and said, "It should be here, right?"

The place he pointed to had splattered blood without any signs of being wiped off. Chen Shao only took a glance and said, "Master Jin, please think about it carefully."

Magistrate Jin pointed to several locations, but none of them were correct.

Jin Zhiyuan, who had been standing at the side without saying anything, took two steps forward, pointed to a location to the west and said, "If I remember correctly, it should be here."

When Chen Shao took the paper over for comparison, he said softly "I'm so brave" and helped to adjust the position slightly.

This is the place.

Seeing that Chen Shao didn't say anything wrong, Magistrate Jin breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly, "Yes, yes, I remember now, this is the location!"

Chen Shao glanced at him.

Magistrate Jin took two steps back awkwardly.

Jin Zhiyuan explained: "After Young Master Sun got into trouble, I followed my father here. The evidence on this table was all collected by me, so I remember it a little better than my father."

Based on the changes in the splattered blood on the table, Chen Shao could tell at a glance where the paper with the word "Quan" was originally placed. He had been making things difficult for Magistrate Jin, and it was originally to lure him into the trap. Now that he had spoken, Chen Shao would naturally not let him go.

While observing the combination of the word "Quan" on the paper and the bloodstains or other objects around it, Chen Shao asked casually, "How long have you been working with your father?"

Jin Zhiyuan answered politely, "Three or four years."

The placement of the cups and plates on the table didn't match the word "全". Only the splashing bloodstains could form two words, one was "洤", and the other was the "金" in bronze, which was composed of two drops of water and the word "全" as Gu Feiyan mentioned last night. Chen Shao's heart sank slightly, but his face remained calm: "What do you think about Sun Shouyi's murder?"

Jin Zhiyuan watched her movements and answered politely, "The back garden of the Sun family is two or three hundred feet away from the front door, and less than a hundred feet away from the back door. There are only a few servants' rooms between the back garden and the back door. I believe that the murderer entered the Sun Mansion from the back door. In addition, although Master Sun did not allow people to enter and exit the back garden at will, there were servants waiting at several entrances and exits of the back garden. This pavilion is only thirty feet away from the nearest entrance and exit of the back garden. On the night of Master Sun's accident, no servants heard any movement. In other words, when Master Sun was killed, he did not ask for help. Looking at the food and wine pot on the table, I speculate that the murderer and Master Sun must be good friends."

After a pause, he continued, "Although there is not enough evidence to identify which friend is the murderer, my father has already ordered that none of Mr. Sun's friends are allowed to leave the county without permission until the murderer is brought to justice. If you want to summon them, I can send someone to invite them over."

"No hurry." Chen Shao put away the paper with the word 'all' written on it, "First go and invite Mr. Sun's servants and the servants who were on duty in the back garden on the night he was murdered."