Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Yang Yi noticed her gaze and shrank back in fear.

Seeing this, Chen Shao suppressed his emotions and asked calmly, "Is your hometown also in Yaocheng County?"

This is something that can be easily found out, so Yang Yi didn't dare to lie: "Yes."

Chen Shao asked: "Where is Yaocheng County?"

Yang Yi answered honestly: "Qingxiwu, Yaocheng County."

Qingxiwu... Gu Feiyan raised her eyebrows and tapped the table twice. Chen Shao looked over and Gu Feiyan tapped twice again.

What a coincidence? Chen Shao didn't know why, but he suddenly had a bad feeling. He looked at Magistrate Wang, then at Lu Mingyuan and Miss Zhang, and then calmly asked, "How far is Qingxiwu from Qingdao County?"

Yang Yi hesitated, "Yes, yes..."

Miss Zhang said bluntly: "It's no more than half a month's journey."

Yang Yi quickly glanced at Chen Shao, then turned back and glared at her fiercely before agreeing, "Yes, it will take no more than half a month at the latest."

Chen Shao glanced at Miss Zhang, who showed no fear at all, and asked, "When did you come to Qingdao County from Qingxiwu?"

This could not be hidden from anyone, so Yang Yi answered honestly: "At the beginning of last month."

Chen Shao: "Just you and your son?"

Yang Yi said yes.

Chen Shao: "How many days did it take you to get here from Qingxiwu?"

Yang Yi answered hesitantly, "seven days."

"Seven days." Chen Shao picked up the marriage certificate he handed over, repeated it, and asked him again, "Where are the coal keepers Chen Qingshan and Yang Mugen mentioned in the marriage certificate now?"

"They are in Qingdao County." Yang Yi replied.

Chen Shao looked at him: "Did they come to Qingdao County with you?"

"No." Yang Yi said, "They came to Qingdao County with my brother-in-law in the early years, and now they are doing business in Qingdao County."

Chen Shao instructed Magistrate Wang: "Then send someone to invite them both over as well."

While Magistrate Wang was arranging people, Chen Shao looked at the marriage certificate and said, "It says in this marriage certificate that Miss Zhang and Yang Liuzhu got engaged on the eighth day of the third lunar month eighteen years ago. Was this marriage certificate also written at that time?"

Yang Yi did not hesitate at all: "Yes."

Chen Shao raised his eyes, his gaze stern: "Let me ask you again, was this marriage certificate written on the eighth day of the third lunar month eighteen years ago?"

Yang Yi still did not hesitate: "Yes."

"Not at all!" Miss Zhang retorted, "Before my uncle came to Qingdao County, I had never heard my father and mother mention my engagement with my cousin! It was the second day after they came that I heard my father mention it for the first time."

"Your father and mother never mentioned it because they didn't want you to worry!" Yang Yi snorted coldly and accused, "If you really cared about your father and mother, you shouldn't have come to the county government office and embarrassed your father and mother!"

"My father and mother are also your sister and brother-in-law," Miss Zhang said without giving in. "When you came to Qingdao County, my father and mother treated you well. Why didn't you think about them? Instead, you turned a blind eye and sued them several times?"

"You're so sharp-tongued!" Yang Yi was furious, and there was murderous intent in his eyes as he looked at her.

Anyway, it’s not the first time he has killed someone. Since she is so ungrateful, don’t blame him for being cruel!

Miss Zhang was stunned by his fierce expression and took two steps back in fear. Seeing this, Lu Mingyuan stood in front of her again, blocking Yang Yi's gaze at her.

Yang Yi chuckled sinisterly and said, "Good boy, just wait for me!"

Lu Mingyuan was also a little scared, but he did not back down: “What do you want to do!”

"Whatever I want to do, you are very..." Yang Yi rolled his eyes and saw Magistrate Wang and others, and immediately shut up.

Seeing that he actually swallowed the second half of the sentence, Lu Mingyuan was quite disappointed and said: "Everyone is here to listen. If anything happens to Miss Zhang and I in the future, you will be the murderer!"

"Who knows how many shameful things you have done outside," Yang Yi sneered, "You want to blame it on me? No way!"

Lu Mingyuan provoked him a few more times, but seeing that he was not responding, he had to give up.

When the few people were arguing, Chen Shao did not try to stop them. Now that they had stopped talking, he asked, "Are you done arguing?"

Yang Yi held his head high and said nothing.

Lu Mingyuan and Miss Zhang both apologized.

"Now that you've finished talking, it's my turn." Chen Shao took the marriage certificate handed over by Yang Yi without haste. "According to the Datong Law, concealing the marriage status and forging it will result in 80 strokes of the cane to hanging, and forging documents will result in direct execution. I have asked you many times. If it is finally confirmed that this marriage certificate is forged, you will be executed. Do you understand?"

Yang Yi's heart tightened, but when he thought of the Zhang family's property, he gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, sir, I have heard it very clearly."

"Okay." Chen Shao didn't say anything more. He asked him to get up and step aside, waiting for Zhang Wanjin, Chen Qingshan and Yang Mugen to arrive.

The three of them arrived quickly.

Also coming were Mrs. Zhang and Yang Liuzhu.

Zhang Wanjin, Chen Qingshan and Yang Mugen followed the yamen runners obediently, not even daring to look around. But Mrs. Zhang went straight to Miss Zhang after entering the house. When she got to her, she raised her hand and slapped her on the back: "You are a boudoir lady, and you came to the county government office in such a disheveled way to cause trouble. Do you have any shame?"

"I'm not causing any trouble. I'm here to..."

"How dare you talk back!" Madam Zhang slapped her again, and then she saw Lu Mingyuan next to her, and her anger instantly surged up. After slapping her several times in a row, she screamed, "Why did I give birth to such a shameless and shameless thing like you? You are so short of men that you would jump on him even if you have to climb over the wall? I tell you, even if I die, you can only marry Liu Zhu!"

"Cousin, you should apologize to your aunt," Yang Liuzhu urged anxiously after pushing Lu Mingyuan away, "You don't know how worried your aunt was about you after she heard that you ran away."

"Stop trying to sow discord here," Miss Zhang said angrily, holding her head.

"Cousin, you misunderstood me," Yang Liuzhu said anxiously, "Aunt is so good to me, how could I sow discord between us? You should admit your fault to Aunt, Aunt, it's all for our good."

"Liu Zhu, get out of the way!" Seeing that she didn't feel any pain when he hit her on the back, Madam Zhang simply grabbed her hair, and when she leaned back in pain, she twisted her face and scolded, "Since you are shameless and like to be a slut, I will tear your face apart today, and see if you dare to pounce on a man again!"

Looking at the indifferent Zhang Wanjin, the gloating Yang Yi and the adding fuel to the fire Yang Liuzhu, Chen Shao looked coldly at County Magistrate Wang.

Magistrate Wang coughed twice, slammed the cup, stood up and shouted: "Stop it, what do you think this is? You can hit me if you want, and scold me if you want. Is there any law?"

Mrs. Zhang pinched Miss Zhang again and cursed in a low voice: "I'll deal with you when I get home!"

"Go back and deal with her?" Magistrate Wang threw another cup at him. "Your Zhang family has a few filthy riches, so what? I told you to stop, but you pinched me again! Come on, pinch my face too, and show me how brave your Zhang family is!"

Mrs. Zhang stepped back awkwardly to avoid the broken porcelain.

"I'm making this clear today. From today on, if you, an old woman, dare to attack Miss Zhang again for the sake of Zhao Liuzhu or Wang Liuzhu, I will beat you ten times if you do it once! If you do it ten times, I will just castrate this Zhao Liuzhu or Wang Liuzhu and send him to the palace!" Magistrate Wang shouted angrily.

Mrs. Zhang's face turned pale with fear, and Yang Liuzhu hid behind Yang Yi in an unbearable manner, calling him "Dad" softly.

Magistrate Wang snorted coldly, turned around, and like a magic trick, he waved to Chen Shao with a flattering smile, then sat back down.

Chen Shao looked at him deeply, then turned to Zhang Wanjin and others.

"You dare to beat and scold me in front of me. It seems that your Zhang family has a lot of influence in Qingdao County." Chen Shao said a few sarcastic words, and when Zhang Wanjin knelt down to beg for mercy, he asked directly without any preparation, "When did Miss Zhang and your nephew Yang Liuzhu get engaged?"

"On the eighth day of March eighteen years ago, when this bitch was one hundred days old." Mrs. Zhang answered quickly.

Miss Zhang was about to remind Chen Shao of what he had said to warn Yang Yi, but when she heard her say "bitch" again and again, she swallowed the words back in hatred.

Chen Shao looked at her, then back at Madam Zhang, and repeated the law that anyone who concealed their marital status and committed fraud would be punished by 80 strokes of the cane or even death by hanging.

After hearing this, Zhang Wanjin felt a chill in his heart and immediately said, "Sir..."

"Don't worry, sir," Madam Zhang said with a smile, "If I had known that this bitch would grow up to be like this, I would never have arranged a marriage between her and Liu Zhu, even if I had died. Now that it has become a fact, I can only let Liu Zhu down."

Zhang Wanjin couldn't believe it: "Madam, Xiaojin is your biological daughter!"

Madam Zhang disagreed and said, "If she hadn't married Liu Zhu, I wouldn't have had a daughter like her! Also, remember the promise you made to me back then. If you dare to break it today, I will hit my head against the wall and die here!"

Zhang Wanjin collapsed on the ground and said nothing.

Seeing that she was determined to do what she wanted, Chen Shao stopped asking questions and turned to Chen Qingshan and Yang Mugen. "You have heard that concealing the marriage status and lying will result in 80 strokes of the cane to hanging, and forging documents can result in direct execution. Although helping to give false testimony can be reduced to two levels according to the Datong Law, if Yang Yi and Zhang Wanjin are sentenced to death, you two will be exiled three thousand miles away."

"Please spare my life, sir." Chen Qingshan knelt on the ground almost as soon as she finished speaking. "The marriage certificate between Yang Liuzhu and Zhang Huaijin is fake. It was written on the second day after Yang Yi arrived in Qingdao County last month. They said they had bribed the government, so I signed to be the matchmaker."

"The same goes for me." Yang Mugen and Yang Yi are cousins ​​from the same clan, but when it comes to their lives, family ties have long been thrown to the back of their minds.

"You..." Madam Zhang was furious. "My Lord, please be clear. When this bitch got engaged to Liu Zhu, besides the two of them, there were also many elders from the same clan present. I beg you to send someone to Qingxiwu to invite them to come over to testify for me!"

Chen Shao looked at Zhang Wanjin, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Wanjin looked at Madam Zhang, then at Miss Zhang, and said with a dead heart, "I beg you to send someone to Qingxiwu to invite them to serve as witnesses!"

Miss Zhang covered her bruised cheek and laughed softly a few times. Tears followed her laughter and instantly slid down her cheek and fell to the ground.

Chen Shao made a final reminder: "The law is merciless. Once the facts are verified, no matter who comes to plead for mercy, no one will be allowed to make concessions. Have you thought about it?"

Madam Zhang urged, "I have already thought about it. Please send someone to invite them over."

Fortunately, she had anticipated this and had already sent a letter back to Qingxiwu. As long as they were invited over, the marriage would be set in stone, and even if the emperor came, there would be no way to change it! Mrs. Zhang's heart flashed with a bit of satisfaction.

"It's too much trouble to hire someone," Chen Shao looked at Magistrate Wang and said calmly, "Didn't Magistrate Wang say last night that you have been in Qingdao County for more than 20 years?"

Magistrate Wang quickly stood up and replied, "Yes, I have been the magistrate of Qingdao County for twenty-three years and seven months."

"Since it has been so long, then did you also know about the rumor in Qingdao County three years ago that the emperor wanted to select beautiful girls from the people to enter the palace for a happy occasion?" Chen Shao asked.

Magistrate Wang shouted, "Not only do I know, I know it all!"

"Since you know it so clearly," Chen Shao said, "then tell me, is there any rumor about when the emperor plans to go to the people to select concubines to enter the palace?"

Magistrate Wang swore, "July 15th."

Chen Shao took out the marriage certificate of Lu Mingyuan and Miss Zhang, and then looked at Zhang Wanjin: "Miss Zhang has been engaged to her cousin Yang Liuzhu since she was a child. Even if the emperor really wants to select concubines from the people, you can avoid it by just taking out the marriage certificate. Why didn't you take it?"

Madam Zhang once again rushed to answer, "The marriage certificate is in Qingxiwu, and I don't have it with me. I had no choice but to find that poor... Master Lu for emergency."

"Okay." Chen Shao continued, "Lu Mingyuan and Miss Zhang's marriage was decided on the seventh day of May, and Qingdao County is no more than half a month away from Qingxiwu, Yaocheng County, Yunnan County. Even if Miss Zhang and her cousin's marriage certificate is not with you, it will only take you a month to arrange someone to get it. Why didn't you send someone to get it?"

Mrs. Zhang was obviously well prepared, and answered immediately: "We were afraid that things might change, so we hastily arranged the marriage in advance. If we had known it was a rumor, we would never have chosen a family like Mr. Lu to get engaged."

Chen Shao held up the marriage certificate: "One last question. The gold millet paper used in the marriage certificate was only issued by Changlong Commercial Bank on the Lantern Festival sixteen years ago. How did you start using it nearly three years in advance, huh?"

Mrs. Zhang was speechless for a moment.