Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

The man was in his early fifties, dressed simply and looked thin. He claimed to be Sun Guishan's cousin Guo Wenli.

According to him, Sun Guishan's mother and his father are siblings.

Sun Guishan is 57 this year and he is 53. Sun Guishan is four years older than him.

Sun Guishan was a Jinshi who passed the imperial examination 27 years ago. Although he ranked 27th in the third class, he was appointed as the magistrate of Haiyang County, Chaoyang Prefecture, because of his outstanding essays. After serving for four years, he was promoted to the governor of Yunnan Prefecture because of his good performance.

During his tenure as the prefect of Yunnan County, his performance continued to be good, so he has remained in the position until now.

During this process, friends and relatives continued to come to Yunnan County for refuge.

Almost all of these people who took refuge lost contact with their families after arriving in Yunnan County.

There were also relatives and friends who came to look for people, but without exception, these people also disappeared after arriving in Yunnan County.

Three years ago, his eldest brother also came to Yunnan County to seek refuge with Sun Guishan. After losing contact with him, he came on behalf of his parents, sister-in-law, and several nephews and nieces to find out what happened.

When he arrived in Yunnan County, for the sake of caution, he did not go directly to the prefectural government to find Sun Guishan. Instead, he found out the places Sun Guishan must pass by every day and hid on the roadside to observe secretly.

His original intention was to see whether Sun Guishan would no longer recognize his poor relatives in his hometown after he became rich, which led to the loss of contact with many relatives and friends.

Unexpectedly, the Sun Guishan he saw was not his cousin!

At first, he thought he had recognized the wrong person. After repeatedly confirming with others, he realized that someone was impersonating his cousin!

His elder brother, as well as those relatives and friends who came to seek refuge with him, may have been harmed by this fake prefect and disappeared!

Guo Wenli did not dare to delay, and was also afraid that he would be discovered and follow the same fate as his relatives and friends. The moment he was sure that he was a fake, he turned around and left Yunnan County.

On the way of fleeing home, he heard about her deeds. He crossed mountains and rivers and originally planned to go to Hongyuan County to find her and report the case. But halfway he heard that she was already on her way to Yunnan County, so he changed his route without hesitation and blocked her way.

Fortunately, this place is surrounded by mountains and ridges, and we have not yet reached the county. After taking a look at Guo Wenli, who fainted after finishing his words, Chen Shao gave up the idea of ​​abandoning the carriage and riding a horse. He ordered the elite soldiers beside him to place Guo Wenli in the spare carriage at the back, and asked Chan Yi to check him. After confirming that he was just unconscious due to hunger and exhaustion for days, he changed his route and went to the nearby Suqi County.

The case reported by Guo Wenli was too shocking.

It would be fine if his words were false, but if they were true, then the identity of the person who impersonated Sun Guishan would be crucial.

Was it just 'coincidence' that led him to impersonate Sun Guishan, or was it 'intentional'?

It's okay if it's just 'coincidence', but if it's 'intentional', then who is the mastermind behind it?

Considering what Bao Chengle confessed about what Sun Guishan did for the princelings of the previous dynasty, the answer is self-evident.

It’s just that when more complex impersonations occur, they can’t be dealt with by common sense.

After having dinner at the county government office in Suqi County, Chen Shao returned to the inn where he was staying. Outside the inn, there were many people who had come to seek redress after hearing the news.

This time when he went to Yunnan County, Chen Shao still brought Zhang Ruyuan, Cui Shu and Chang Si with him.

After leaving the people outside the inn to their charge, Chen Shao returned to the backyard and called Guo Wenli, who had already woken up, to his side. He asked him about his cousin's daily life in detail, and after drawing his cousin's portrait and the portrait of the fake Sun Guishan he had seen, he asked, "Have you seen the wife of Mr. Sun who is pretending to be your cousin?"

The reason why she asked this was, firstly, that a similar case was recorded in "A Grand View of Qing Dynasty Unofficial History"; secondly, the reason why Tang Monk in "Journey to the West" became a monk was because his parents had the same experience.

Whether in "A Grand View of Qing Dynasty Unofficial History" or "Journey to the West", the impostor only killed the original owner and abducted his wife to prove his identity.

If the current governor of Yunnan County, Sun Guishan, is also like this, then to prove that he is a fake, you only need to ask Madam Sun for confirmation. Otherwise, you need to ask Sun Guishan's peers, classmates or former colleagues for confirmation.

The methods of verification are different, so the corresponding capture plans are naturally different.

“No.” Guo Wenli was still a little weak, and answered feebly, “After I learned that he was Sun Guishan, I guessed that my cousin might have been killed, so I left Yunnan County.”

"Did Sun Guishan bring his family and children with him when he took office?" Chen Shao asked.

"Yes." Guo Wenli said sadly, "My cousin was so focused on taking the imperial examinations in his early years that he never got married and had no wife or children. It was only after he passed the imperial examination that he married the daughter of Doctor Lu from our county school. Less than a month after the marriage, he took his cousin's wife to Haiyang County. While he was in Haiyang County, his cousin's wife gave birth to a son and a daughter. When he took office in Yunnan County, his eldest son was just three years old and his youngest daughter was less than a year old."

Thinking that his cousin was really going to be killed by the thief, his cousin's wife and two children would certainly be in danger. Thinking that his aunt was still waiting at home, Guo Wenli suddenly felt angry. He slammed the table hard, stood up angrily and said, "I'm going back to Yunnan County now!"

"Don't be impulsive." After Chen Shao persuaded him and comforted him with a few words, he sent him back to rest.

After he left, Chen Shao handed the two portraits to Gu Feiyan, signaling her to take them to the elite soldiers who had previously served in the Mengshe Smelting Supervisor of Yunnan County to identify them to see if this Sun Guishan was a fake from the beginning.

"It was this one at the beginning." Gu Feiyan came back with the portrait. Seeing that she was deep in thought, she couldn't help but sit back and say, "This Guo Wenli doesn't look like a liar. If the current Yunnan County governor is a fake, then the real one was probably killed on the way to take office. If we want to find out where he was killed, I'm afraid we can only take the portrait and ask every post station along the way he came."

"Get ready, we will set off on time in an hour!" Looking at the two portraits she handed back, Chen Shao's face was serious.

Feeling her sudden panic, Gu Feiyan also frowned: "What happened?"

Chen Shao looked at her and said, "When Guo Wenli was in Yunnan County, he asked others about Sun Guishan. Do you still remember how they described him?"

Gu Feiyan said: "It is said that after he arrived in Yunnan County, the people of Yunnan County have been living a better life than ever before."

"An official who makes the people of Yunnan County live an unprecedented good life will inevitably be loved by the people, right?" Chen Shao asked her.

Gu Feiyan nodded.

"Then, if you were a citizen of Yunnan County, and met someone like Guo Wenli who turned around and left immediately after asking about Sun Guishan, what would you do?" Chen Shao asked again.

"You mean..."

Before he could finish what he was saying, an elite soldier came in hurriedly and said solemnly, "General, something has happened. The iron mine at Mengshe Smelting Bureau has collapsed!"