Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

"My old man always said that I don't understand the ways of the world and acted rashly. I used to be a little dissatisfied. Marching and fighting is not like discussing business over a table or arguing in the court. What kind of worldly wisdom is needed? Strength is the hard truth." On the way to Qingdao County, Gu Feiyan followed him into the carriage, leaned on the pillow handed by Chan Yi, looked at Chen Shao and said, "After seeing your words and deeds of sealing up Jingoufang yesterday, I can understand my old man a little bit."

Chen Shao was looking through the case files written by Zhang Ruyuan and others. When he heard her words, he raised his eyes slightly and said, "What happened to my words and deeds in closing down Jingoufang yesterday?"

Gu Feiyan said slowly: "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

Chen Shao said irrationally: "Tell me a lie first."

Gu Feiyan smiled and gave a thumbs up: "You are this."

Chen Shao chuckled: "If that's the case, does it matter if I act a little rashly?"

Gu Feiyan gave a thumbs up again: "Not bad, next time my old man says something to me, I will reply to him in the same way."

Chen Shao laughed out loud: "You haven't replied to him like this before?"

"Of course I did," Gu Feiyan said nonchalantly, "but my old man said that marching and fighting is not just to protect the Datong River and Mountains, but also to consider future generations. If you beat someone to death over a disagreement, what if your future generations don't live up to your expectations? Won't they also be beaten to death?"

Chan Yi said: "If the descendants don't live up to expectations, then they deserve to be beaten!"

Gu Feiyan praised: "Look, Chan Yi can understand this truth, but my old man just doesn't understand it. I don't know if it's because he's old, or if he's always been like this."

Chen Shao smiled and said, "Do you often use the people next door to train your troops?"

Gu Feiyan raised one eyebrow slightly and said slowly: "It's a rare opportunity to have such an opportunity without worrying about any influence or situation. Can you not seize it?"

Chen Shao smiled and said, "No."

"That's it," Gu Feiyan said meaningfully, "Let's not talk about the blessings of our descendants. Let's just look at the current situation in Datong. If we don't deal with our neighbors as soon as possible, who knows what will happen when chaos breaks out?"

Chen Shao nodded in agreement.

Gu Feiyan looked at her and suddenly smiled and said, "My old man got really angry when he saw the calligraphy and paintings you sent him. If I hadn't stopped him, I'm afraid he would have rushed to Hongyuan County to find you."

Chan Yi defended: "Even if General Gu wanted to settle accounts with someone, he should go to the princelings of the previous dynasty. Why would he go to our young master?"

"Who told you that he came to settle accounts with your young master?" Gu Feiyan asked back.

"Then why did he come to see our young master?" Chan Yi asked.

"Of course, I'll ask your young master to go with me to eliminate the party of the former prince." Gu Feiyan laughed as she spoke, "He advised me to control my temper all day long, but when things really happened, he was even more irritable than me. For example, before we set off for Hongyuan County this time, he repeatedly warned me that if I met the party of the former prince, I shouldn't waste time talking to them, but just kill them directly, as many as I could. He also told your young master that if he was worried about being retaliated by them, he should just blame him and say that he was the one who ordered it."

Chan Yi was shocked.

Gu Feiyan said calmly, "If he saw how your young master closed down the Golden Hook House, he would definitely not say this."

Chan Yi felt proud after hearing this, but Chen Shao knew that Gu Feiyan was testing her.

Although she and Gu Feiyan came from the same place and their current goals seemed to be the same, they belonged to two different groups. Under the two groups, countless people depended on them for food. So they had to be cautious and had to compete.

Fight for what?

Fight for interests.

Also strive for mutual trust.

Chen Shao organized his words and explained slowly, "I closed down the Golden Hook Shop not because it was causing so much harm to people, but because Hu Mazi could work as a thug in this place, so he must be a ruthless person. This was confirmed when I interrogated the employees of the Golden Hook Shop later. But when I interrogated him yesterday, he showed us more greed and cowardice. Ruthlessness can be equated with greed, but it is definitely not cowardice. But when Fu Jiu went to get the 115 taels of silver, it was confirmed that his family was not rich. In other words, his greed and cowardice were not fake."

"Since he is not faking it, then he is ruthless and cowardly." Chen Shao paused for a moment before continuing, "After thinking about it, there is probably only one reason why he can meet this condition, and that is that there is someone in Jin Gou Fang who supports him."

Gu Feiyan said: "The dog relies on the power of the master."

Chen Shao smiled, "That's about what I mean. If a timid person can become ruthless, then the power must be great. The owner of the Golden Hook House is from Shu County, and he only comes three or four times a year. He definitely can't be his power, so there are only one shopkeeper and two managers left. The two managers were promoted by the shopkeeper, and the shopkeeper has to make decisions on all matters, so the power can only fall on the shopkeeper. When the two managers were interrogated yesterday, they didn't say anything good about Hu Mazi, either implicitly or implicitly, which shows that their relationship may not be harmonious, and the source of this disharmony may be the shopkeeper. In view of this, when Hu Mazi took the extra money and followed the man who looked like Mr. Qi out, would they report it to the shopkeeper immediately? The fact is that they would, and they have already explained it."

"Let's look at the owner of the Golden Hook Shop. Yesterday, when I asked him if he had seen the portrait of Mr. Qi, what was his first answer? He said no. I asked him three times, and he said no three times. This is the first one."

"Given Hu Mazi's exposed character, how could I not tell him when he took the twenty coins and went out with someone? Hu Mazi had clearly confessed, and he told the shopkeeper when he came back, but when I asked the shopkeeper, he denied it again. Why did he deny it one after another? I thought about it and could only think of one reason, that is, he knew the merchant who looked like Mr. Qi. This is the second reason. Combining the above two points, since I don't have much time to waste, it is naturally most convenient to detain him first and then forcibly search for evidence."

"It turns out that my speculation was not wrong."

"We found a third-grade jade pendant in his home."

"He is indeed a member of the princeling party of the previous dynasty."

"Although he didn't know what the former prince party was, he always mistakenly thought he was working for the general."

Gu Feiyan teased: "What if after the search, we find out it was a misunderstanding?"

Although the possibility is small, Chen Shao still said: "Then apologize to him in front of the people of Xitang County."

Gu Feiyan's eyes were filled with admiration. She bent over and picked up the teapot beside her, filled her cup with tea and said, "Since you have already found out the existence of the former prince's party, it is impossible for them to ignore you. Instead of pursuing perfection in everything, it is better to cut the Gordian knot."

After all, no matter how big the case of Liu Pingkang was, it only involved six people. If the princelings of the previous dynasty really launched a mutiny, that would be six people, tens of thousands of times more. It is self-evident which is more important.