Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Chen Shao didn't quite agree with what she said, but he didn't argue with her either.

She is a general. Every decision she makes on the battlefield not only concerns the lives of thousands of soldiers, but also the Datong country and the people she protects.

She is different. She is the Dali Temple Minister. Her purpose of going on tours is to investigate old cases and arrest treacherous officials and rebels. For her, there is no big or small, only fairness and justice.

Their identities determine their different focuses. If they want to cooperate, they can only seek common ground while reserving differences.

Qingdao County is less than a hundred miles away from Xitang County.

It took us only an hour to walk along the way.

When Lu Mingyuan went to Xitang County, he was afraid of being stopped and deliberately avoided being seen. When he came back this time, he saw the city wall of Qingdao County from afar. Just as he was about to feel some emotion, he saw Magistrate Wang and everyone from the county government coming out of Shili Pavilion quickly, trotting towards them.

"Our master has ordered that if you have anything to say, please go back to the county office!" Fu Jiu shouted, and Magistrate Wang and the others immediately stopped and stepped aside. After the team passed by, they hurriedly called for someone to bring the horses over and quickly catch up with them.

Return to the county government office.

Magistrate Wang dismounted and trotted over. After straightening his clothes, he smiled and patted Lu Mingyuan on the arm. He then complained affectionately, "My dear nephew, you are too polite. If you have something to ask, why don't you come to the county government office to find me? Why do you bother Mr. Chen, General Gu and others?"

Without waiting for Lu Mingyuan to reply, he took a few quick steps and stood in front of Chen Shao and the others. After greeting them politely, he said enthusiastically, "It will be noon in half a minute. I have prepared two tables of banquets. If you have anything to say, why not warm up before coming to ask me, how about that?"

Zhou Lao was afraid that he would not know what was good for him, so he wanted to find an opportunity to give him some advice. Seeing that Chen Shao had no objection to his proposal, he immediately said, "Then what are you waiting for? Lead the way!"

Magistrate Wang smiled flatteringly: "Please come this way, everyone."

There were four tables filled with all kinds of delicacies from land and sea, and mellow and refreshing wine was brought to Chen Shao, Gu Feiyan and Zhou Lao by beautiful young maids for them to choose from.

Zhou Lao secretly took two deep breaths and forced a smile to remind him: "Master Chen is here to investigate the case, so there is no need for these red tapes, right?"

Chen Shao calmly picked up a pot of Song Laochun and said, "Coming from Hongyuan County, it's rare to have such a good meal. Lord Zhou, please don't be stingy. It only took me three days to catch the murderer in a case as big as Xitang County. This case is not even a case now, so what's the harm in delaying it for a day or two?"

Magistrate Wang quickly complimented him: "Master Chen is right. Master Zhou, just eat and drink without worries."

Zhou Lao cursed inwardly, "Idiot!" It had been half a year since Chen Shao arrived in Hongyuan County. Even if he hadn't seen how she behaved, he must have heard of her. Humph, if he didn't listen to others' advice, he would deserve it if he got into trouble later!

"Come, come, Lord Zhou, drink, drink." County Magistrate Wang raised the wine glass over.

The meal lasted a full hour as the guests toasted each other.

While the maid brought him tea for rinsing his mouth, Magistrate Wang arranged two more performances.

After the show, it was already dark.

The banquet was served again.

Along with the banquet, there were also several graceful dancers.

Zhou Lao's heart sank further and further. He could not help but whisper a few words of warning to County Magistrate Wang, but County Magistrate Wang turned a deaf ear to him.

Seeing that Chen Shao and Gu Feiyan were quite interested in the dancers, Magistrate Wang, after apologizing to Zhou Lao, shouted at the dancers to show off their best skills.

Round after round of drinks were served.

The dance music changed one after another.

Unknowingly, the night was already deep.

After another round of drinks and another dance ended, Chen Shao played with the white jade wine glass and asked in a slightly drunken tone, "Which brothel did these dancers come from?"

Magistrate Wang laughed complacently and said, "To be honest with you, sir, I trained all these dancers myself."

Chen Shao was surprised: "Master Wang is really capable!"

"That's right!" Magistrate Wang stood up drunkenly, ignoring Zhou Lao's attempts to stop him, and said, "I'm not bragging. The dancers I've trained may not be as pretty as the courtesans in the palace, but their abilities are definitely better than theirs."

Chen Shao praised: "Lord Wang really knows how to enjoy life. We are not like General Gu and I, who are busy all day long. We can't even have a hot meal, let alone watch opera or listen to music."

Magistrate Wang laughed meaningfully and said, "I have been the magistrate of Qingdao County for more than 20 years, neither promoted nor demoted. Lord Chen, do you know why?"

Chen Shao said: "I'm all ears."

Magistrate Wang picked up the wine pot, filled his own cup, half-closed his eyes, took two sips of wine and said: "I don't have any ambitions, nor do I covet power. I was born in a poor family and studied hard for many years. My only goal is to enjoy today."

Chen Shao took a look at the delicacies on the table, the pine wine in his hand and the several graceful dancers who changed the dance music, and asked sincerely: "The salary of the county magistrate is not high. These dishes, wines, and dancers are not cheap. How did Lord Wang enjoy so much and not lack money? I wonder if you can tell me a thing or two, so that I can learn from General Gu?"

"I would never tell anyone else," Magistrate Wang said, shaking his head while holding his wine glass, "but since Lord Chen asked, I have to say a few words. Everyone knows that the magistrate is a lowly official, but it is not easy to keep this position, especially for someone like me who wants to sit in this position without moving. It is even more difficult! But no matter how difficult it is, as long as you understand my way of being an official, it will become very easy!"

"I don't have many rules for being an official, but there is only one simple one, which is that you must never bully the people!"

"As for the remaining merchants, gentry, etc., it's up to you. Of course, you can't be too casual. You have to find the right balance. As for what the balance is, it can only be understood but not explained."

"Forgive my stupidity," Chen Shao raised his glass towards him, "What is the degree of this, Lord Wang, can you tell me a little bit? Lord Wang, rest assured, after I hear it, I will never reveal it to anyone other than those present."

Magistrate Wang smiled and glanced at everyone present. He suddenly pointed at Lu Mingyuan and said, "Since Lord Chen asked sincerely, I will use him as an example."

"He was a poor scholar who, due to rumors a few years ago, got engaged to Zhang Wanjin's daughter."

"Now that the rumors have dissipated, the Zhang family wants to cancel the engagement, but they can't come up with a reason. Coincidentally, his wife's brother came to live with his family. Hearing about his difficulties, he made up a pretext that his son had already been engaged to Miss Zhang and reported it to me. I only heard a few words and knew what they were up to, but..."

Magistrate Wang looked at Lu Mingyuan and shook his head. "He can't even find a few grains of rice for tomorrow's meal at home, and yet he still wants to marry a spoiled young lady. Humph! He really doesn't know his own limitations!"

Being humiliated in front of so many people, Lu Mingyuan blushed and wanted to refute, but Magistrate Wang did not give him a chance and continued, "You don't have to say it. I know you know yourself, but it's useless for you to know yourself. Miss Zhang is a simple-minded person. She thinks that since she is engaged to you, no matter whether you are rich or poor, she will be with you for the rest of her life. Zhang Wanjin and his brother-in-law did not expect to encounter obstacles from Miss Zhang. Zhang Wanjin loves his daughter and wanted to recognize her, but his brother-in-law was angry and persuaded his eldest sister to deny that she took fifty taels of silver from you. He also wanted to frame you for borrowing fifty taels of silver from the Zhang family after the engagement, in order to force Miss Zhang to give in. Miss Zhang would rather die than obey, so there was a second lawsuit."

Lu Mingyuan was stunned.

He never dreamed that he was sued in the county government for this reason. When he came to his senses and thought of Miss Zhang's deep friendship, his eyes became red again: "How is Miss Zhang now?"

Magistrate Wang ignored him and turned to Chen Shao, saying, "I never do anything that pushes people into a desperate situation. I persuaded them to give in and just said that they had never accepted his fifty taels of betrothal gift. Even so, Zhang Wanjin's brother-in-law should give me a small reward. Sir Chen, why don't you guess how much reward Zhang Wanjin's brother-in-law gave me to win this lawsuit?"

Before Chen Shao even started to guess, Magistrate Wang had already raised a finger: "A full one hundred taels of silver. Not only that, they spent an extra fifty taels of silver to pay off his foreign debts."

Magistrate Wang smacked his lips and said proudly, "It's obvious that the problem can be solved by just giving this poor boy fifty taels of silver, but they spent an extra hundred taels of silver just to save face. Lord Chen, tell me about this kind of merchants. If I don't exploit them, will I be sorry for my hard work in studying?"

"Lord Wang has drunk too much," Zhou Lao said with a sullen face, "Come here and help him down so that he can sober up!"

"I'm not drunk," Magistrate Wang said after he broke away from the maid who came to help him, and drank two more sips of wine, "I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk!"

Zhou Lao wanted to scold him, but he couldn't get angry in front of Chen Shao and Gu Feiyan. He could only glare at him coldly, then turned around and apologized to Chen Shao, "Lord Wang is not usually like this. Maybe he was excited when he saw Lord Chen and General Gu today, so he lost his manners. I hope Lord Chen and General Gu can forgive me."

Gu Feiyan and Chen Shao looked at each other, and they both curled their lips at the same time.

Magistrate Wang was not the one who lost his composure due to the excitement; he was a truly smart man.

He seemed to be showing off, but in fact he knew that he could not hide his actions, so he just said it openly: he was indeed not a good official, but he did not oppress the people. He did receive benefits from Lu Mingyuan's lawsuit, and he did help Zhang Wanjin's brother-in-law, but he also asked Zhang Wanjin's brother-in-law to help pay off Lu Mingyuan's foreign debts. If Lu Mingyuan had not been unable to recognize it, the matter would have ended there.

In short, although he is lazy and hates work, he has his own bottom line.

"It's okay." Chen Shao put down his glass and stood up, "I drank a lot today, let's go to bed early. If there's anything, we can talk about it after we wake up tomorrow."

Magistrate Wang breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled himself together again, smiling flatteringly as he came out to greet us, "I have already prepared the accommodation, please come this way, gentlemen."

Chen Shao looked at him meaningfully. Just as he was about to follow him, Lu Mingyuan stepped out quickly to stop everyone and asked anxiously, "Master Wang, please tell me, how is Miss Zhang?"

"Don't dream about it anymore," Magistrate Wang patted his arm and advised earnestly, "Miss Zhang has lived a life of luxury since she was a child. You can't afford to support her."

"Master Wang, you have misunderstood. I have never had any desire for Miss Zhang. I just want to know Miss Zhang..."

Chan Yi sighed, "When Lord Wang told you not to have any thoughts, he was actually telling you that Miss Zhang is doing well now. As long as you stop bothering her, the marriage between you two can be finalized."

"Yes, it was the student who was rude." Lu Mingyuan was not a fool, he was just worried and confused. After she reminded him, he reacted immediately and quickly stepped aside.

Magistrate Wang was very pleased with his tact. After glancing at Chan Yi, he suddenly said, "Actually, Miss Zhang isn't that good either. But since ancient times, the marriage of children has been decided by their parents and the matchmaker. After a while, she realized that she couldn't win against her parents, so she naturally accepted her fate."

Lu Mingyuan opened his mouth but said nothing for a long time.

Magistrate Wang cursed the fool inwardly, saying that he didn't know how to take advantage of the opportunity before him, and left with Chen Shao and the others. When he reached the door, he couldn't bear it anymore, so he turned around and shouted, "You invited Lord Chen and General Gu to come here, so don't go back tonight, just stay in the county office for one night, and we'll talk about it tomorrow."

Lu Mingyuan was about to refuse, but Magistrate Wang waved his hand and said, "Okay, it's decided."

Lu Mingyuan had no choice but to stay, as he was really worried about Miss Zhang, so he planned to find an opportunity tomorrow to ask Chen Shao to send someone to see Miss Zhang.

As a result, the next day, before he could figure out how to start the conversation, Miss Zhang went to the county government office first.