Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Hu Mazi didn't understand Chen Shao, but he did understand Liu Pingkang. When he saw the wounds on Liu Pingkang's body and his crazy look, he knew that Chen Shao was not a good person.

Although he is a thug in Jingoufang, he is most afraid of hardship.

Therefore, when he heard the question, Hu Mazi confessed without the slightest hesitation: "It was a businessman who came to Xitang County to do business. He instructed me to do this! He said that if I killed one person, he would give me 20 taels of silver. If I killed two people, he would give me 50 taels of silver. If I killed three people, he would give me 100 taels of silver. If I killed four people, he would give me 200 taels of silver. If I killed five people, he would give me 300 taels of silver. If I killed six people, he would give me 400 taels of silver. If I killed seven people, he would give me 500 taels of silver, and so on. I couldn't resist the temptation, so I made a mistake!"

Chen Shao didn't expect this answer. He paused for a moment before asking, "What's the name of that businessman? What does he look like? Where is Xitang County from? Who is he doing business with?"

Hu Mazi shook his head and said, "I don't know his name, I just know he speaks with a Jiangnan accent, is white and fat, and came here to do tea business."

Chen Shao asked: "Who are you doing business with?"

Hu Mazi shook his head again: "He didn't say."

Chen Shao questioned: "You don't know anything. He asked you to kill someone, and you agreed?"

Hu Mazi said quickly, "He gave me 200 taels as a deposit, and said that he would send the rest of the money to me after I killed the people."

"Two hundred taels is not a small amount," Chen Shao's doubts continued, "Isn't he afraid that you will run away with the money?"

"He said he hired someone to secretly watch me," Hu Mazi said, looking around fearfully before continuing, "Even if I run to the ends of the earth, he will find me and my family and tear them into pieces."

Seeing that his fear was not fake, Chen Shao did not continue to pester him, but asked, "Where did he find you?"

Hu Mazi said quickly: "Gambling house, Golden Hook House!"

Chen Shao: "When did he find you?"

Hu Mazi: "Early July."

Early July?

She had been in Hongyuan County for less than two months?

Chen Shao's suspicions started to grow again: "He contacted you in early July, and you contacted Liu Pingkang in September? In the past two months, he never came to urge you?"

"I did," Hu Mazi said seriously, "I was walking at night for a while and I always felt someone was following me. I asked loudly who it was, but no one answered. I was really scared, so I went to find Liu Pingkang."

Chen Shao snorted and laughed without any expression, "Now that you have found Liu Pingkang, no one will follow you?"

Hu Mazi nodded seriously.

Chen Shao looked at him and continued to ask: "If you kill one person, the merchant from Jiangnan will give you at least 20 taels of silver. If Liu Pingkang kills one person, you will give him 10 taels of silver?"

Hu Mazi muttered awkwardly: "I know Liu Pingkang is not a good person, but I never thought he would really dare to kill someone."

Chen Shao said calmly: "Tell me, why is he not a good person?"

"Who would want to marry into the wife's family if they were good people?" Hu Mazi blurted out.

After that, he changed his words and said, "If you marry into the Xu family, you should behave like a daughter-in-law. But he is the opposite. He eats the Xu family's food, wears the Xu family's clothes, and obeys the Xu family in public, but often speaks ill of the Xu family behind their backs. Once, when he was speaking ill of the Xu family, Doctor Li heard him. Doctor Li tried to persuade him, but he got so angry that he smashed Doctor Li's medicine box."

Chen Shao raised his eyebrows: "Li Shunan?"

"It's him," Hu Mazi said indignantly, "He only bullies Madam Li. Don't bother with him. If it were someone else, he would have reported it to the Xu family long ago."

"Since Madam Li is so kind," Chen Shao questioned, "Why didn't you stop Liu Ping'an from killing him?"

Hu Mazi defended himself: "He had killed them all, and only I knew about it."

"Even if he had killed them all, you could have reported it to the police. Why didn't you?" Chen Shao snorted coldly.

Hu Mazi shut up feeling guilty.

Chen Shao looked at him again and asked, "Have you given Liu Ping'an the eighty taels of silver you promised?"

Hu Mazi hurriedly said, "I gave it to him the day after he killed Master Huiren. I gave him five taels of silver more."

Chen Shao raised his eyes and said, "The merchant gave you 200 taels as a deposit, and you gave Liu Pingkang 85 taels. Where is the remaining 115 taels?"

Hu Mazi hesitated for a long time before telling his whereabouts.

One hundred and fifteen taels, and he hadn't spent a penny.

He didn't dare spend it, for fear that the businessman would come after him.

Greedy, but timid.

After arranging for someone to retrieve the silver, Chen Shao continued: "How did the businessman find you in the gambling house?"

Hu Mazi felt sorry for the silver and replied, "He gambled for half a day in the gambling house and lost nearly thirty taels of silver. Afterwards, he gave me twenty coins and asked me to take him to eat some noodles in the old street of Xitang County, saying that he wanted to get rid of his bad luck. On the way there, he asked me if I wanted to make a lot of money, and then said those words."

Chen Shao remained calm: "That means many people in Jingoufang have seen him?"

Hu Mazi nodded.

After signaling Chan Yi to prepare the pen and ink, Chen Shao asked, "Tell me what he looks like."

Hu Mazi said everything he could and could not say according to his memory.

Chen Shao drew a portrait based on his description and asked Chan Yi to take it to him for confirmation. Hu Mazi saw the portrait and nodded at first, then shook his head and said, "There is also a big hairy mole on his right cheek."

Chen Shao added the mole, and when Chan Yi showed it to him again for confirmation, Hu Mazi nodded repeatedly and said, "He looks like this."

Having asked all the questions that needed to be asked, Chen Shao slowly turned to the main topic: "Liu Pingkang said that he heard you tell someone that you were the people of the General of the State, and that the General of the State ordered you to kill them. What's going on?"

Hu Mazi looked at Gu Feiyan fearfully. "It was the merchant from Jiangnan who told me to say this. He said that even if Lord Jin arrested me, he would not easily convict me. After I asked Liu Pingkang to kill someone for me, Liu Pingkang was reluctant to do it. I thought he was afraid, so I deliberately said this to reassure him."

"Didn't you say that you didn't expect Liu Pingkang to really kill someone?" Chen Shao said to him sarcastically. Seeing that he didn't say anything, he asked a few more questions and then asked Fu Jiu to call two yamen runners to come in and take him away.

Afterwards, Chen Shao picked up the pen and drew another portrait without the mole.

Gu Feiyan saw her and asked her, "Do you know him?"

"I don't know him." Chen Shao put down his pen and looked at the face in the portrait, "It just looks familiar."

Chan Yi leaned over to take a look and said, "He looks a bit like Master Qi."

Receiving Gu Feiyan's inquiring gaze, Chan Yi explained, "It's the Qi family, one of the big families in Hongyuan County that was eliminated by the young master."

Gu Feiyan looked back at the portrait. "You arrived in Hongyuan County in May, and they came to Xitang County in early July to make arrangements. In other words, they had long wanted to attack Wei to save Zhao, but Hu Mazi was timid, so they delayed until September to find Liu Pingkang. And Liu Pingkang delayed until October to be on the safe side?"

Fu Jiu was puzzled: "Why don't they find more people?"

Chan Yi glared at him angrily: "Why, do you think killing six people is not enough?"

Fu Jiu took two steps back. Of course, that wasn't what he meant.

Gu Feiyan glanced at the two of them with a half-smile, nodded and said, "This is indeed a problem."

When Fu Jiu got recognition and stood up to fight back, Chen Shao wrote the arrest warrant on the blank space of the two portraits, and took out ten taels of silver from the 115 taels of silver he had seized as a reward, and told Fu Jiu: "Post the portraits on the notice wall outside the county government office. Before posting them, go ask Lord Jin if he recognizes them. After posting them, go to the Golden Hook Shop and invite all the shopkeepers and employees of the Golden Hook Shop to the county government office. I have a few words to ask them."

After Fu Jiu left with the portrait, Chen Shao instructed Chan Yi, "As for the remaining 100 taels of silver, ask Jin Zhiyuan to give it to the families of the six victims."

After Chan Yi agreed, Chen Shao replied to Gu Feiyan, "No matter why he didn't find a few more people, the case has been closed anyway. Pack up and return to Hongyuan County tomorrow."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Zhiyuan hurried into the hall and said, "Your Excellency, there is a scholar from Qingdao County who wants to see you outside the county government office. He seems to have an important matter and wants you to make a decision for him."

Gu Feiyan raised her eyebrows and looked at Chen Shao.

Chen Shao said calmly: "Have you ever asked what it is?"

Jin Zhiyuan said positively: "I will go and ask right away."

Chen Shao called him: "Only one person came?"

Jin Zhiyuan said: "Just one person."

Chen Shao ordered: "Bring him here."

After Jin Zhiyuan left, Gu Feiyan looked at his back and said in amazement, "I thought he was the murderer, but I didn't expect him to be a simple person who was sold out and was still helping others count money."

He laughed twice and said, "I didn't expect that someone who grew up in the officialdom could develop such a simple character."

Turning back, he asked again, "You just asked why they only found Hu Mazi, and now you are here again. Do they want to keep you in Xitang County?"

Chen Shao had not expected that the biggest suspect would turn out to be such a person. Thinking about how everyone in Hongyuan County was "evil", and then thinking about Magistrate Jin and Jin Zhiyuan, Chen Shao shook his head and replied, "It shouldn't be. I only started investigating those families in July. If Hu Mazi really wanted to start at that time, it would indeed delay me for some time. Now that things have passed, even if they wanted to keep me here, it shouldn't be the clansmen of those families. And..."

Chen Shao thought for a moment before continuing, "That Jiangnan businessman who looks like Mr. Qi probably didn't come here from Jiangnan specifically to attack Wei and save Zhao. It's more likely that he came here to do something else. He saw me investigating these companies and did it for the sake of convenience. Anyway, when the owner of the Golden Hook Shop arrives, we'll interrogate him first."

Following Jin Zhiyuan was a young man in his early twenties, handsome and scholarly. His hair was neatly tied up with a wooden hairpin, and his cotton robe was old but clean. When he entered the lobby, he lifted his clothes and knelt on the ground, his movements were unhurried, showing his good upbringing.

"Student Lu Mingyuan greets the adults and the general." Lu Mingyuan kowtowed to Chen Shao and Gu Feiyan respectively.

Seeing how polite he was, Chen Shao's voice softened unconsciously, "I heard that you wanted me to make the decision for you. What do you want me to do for you?"

After Lu Mingyuan kowtowed again, he continued, "I am from Qingdao County, and I am 23 years old. Three years ago, the emperor was seriously ill, and a rumor came from somewhere that the court wanted to select girls between the ages of 12 and 16 to fill the harem, in order to bring good luck and prolong the emperor's life. Zhang Wanjin, a wealthy businessman from Qingdao County, did not want his daughter to suffer in the palace, so he found a matchmaker to go to my home to propose marriage. My family is poor and I cannot afford to marry and have children, but when I suddenly encountered such a good thing, I naturally would not refuse. This is the marriage certificate between me and Miss Zhang, and the black hair token given to me by Miss Zhang."

After carefully taking out the marriage certificate and keepsake to prove that what he said was not a lie, Lu Mingyuan continued: "After I got engaged to Miss Zhang, I scraped together fifty taels of silver as a betrothal gift to show my sincerity. According to Zhang Wanjin's promise, I should have married Miss Zhang in October this year, but when the rumors of getting married to prolong life spread, Zhang Wanjin felt regretful and did not want to let Miss Zhang marry me to suffer. I did not pass the provincial examination last year, and I knew I was not worthy of Miss Zhang. When I was thinking about going to cancel the engagement, Zhang Wanjin's brother-in-law filed a lawsuit and took Zhang Wanjin to the county government."

Chen Shao was a little confused, but did not interrupt him.

Lu Mingyuan calmed down and continued, "Zhang Wanjin found the student and told him that when Miss Zhang was young, he and his brother-in-law had arranged a marriage for Miss Zhang and her nephew. But because he came to Xitang County to do business, distant water could not help nearby fire, so he concealed the matter and let Miss Zhang get engaged to the student again. Now, his brother-in-law came with his nephew to discuss the marriage. When he learned that Miss Zhang was engaged to the student again, he was furious and sued him to the county government."

At this point, Lu Mingyuan showed some anger on his face, "I originally planned to cancel the engagement, but after hearing his words, I agreed to cancel the engagement even though I knew it was an excuse, and just asked him to return the fifty taels of betrothal gift that I had sent. Zhang Wanjin agreed, but he changed his mind the next day, and he did not admit that I had sent the fifty taels of betrothal gift. His brother-in-law even filed another lawsuit against me in the county government, falsely accusing me of relying on the marriage certificate to defraud money."

"The magistrate of Qingdao accepted the stolen money and showed partiality everywhere."

"Fortunately, I had prepared in advance. I hid the real marriage certificate and keepsake in a secret place, and also prepared a fake certificate. Otherwise, even if I wanted to commit suicide today, I would not be able to clear my name."

Chen Shao understood, and after letting him stand up, he asked him, "What about those people who lent you money? Didn't they come out to testify for you?"

Lu Mingyuan shook his head: "They were also bought by Zhang Wanjin."

Chan Yi was puzzled: "I can cancel the marriage by paying you fifty taels of silver, why would I go to such great lengths to falsely accuse you?"

Lu Mingyuan's eyes were filled with confusion: "This is exactly what the students are puzzled about."

"Since you don't understand, let's find out." Gu Feiyan said with great interest, "Qingdao County is not far from Xitang County, why don't we go around and take a look?"

Qingdao County is on the way back to Hongyuan County, it just requires a detour.

After Gu Feiyan came to this world, he was either fighting or on the way to a war. At the very least, he was training troops. This was the first time he integrated into this world and felt the life of this era.

Chen Shao saw what she was thinking and nodded in agreement, "Then let's go over and take a look."

After a pause, he specifically instructed Chan Yi: "Go and tell Lord Zhou as well and ask him to come along."

Zhang Ruyuan and his colleagues were writing their case files for the first time, and in order to make them perfect, they wrote very slowly. Chen Shao waited for them for another day before setting off for Qingdao County.