Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

"He's not the murderer," Chen Shao first reassured the three people as they watched their faces change, then continued, "Although he's not the murderer, when he moved to the thatched cottage, he already knew that someone had been killed there. For some incomprehensible reasons, he didn't report it to the police. So if we look into it carefully, he's also guilty of shielding the murderer."

The three people's hearts had just settled down, but they were immediately lifted up again.

Chen Shao did this on purpose, in order to get them to cooperate with the subsequent investigation. Seeing that the weather was almost right, Chen Shao said, "Lead the way, let's go to the place where Zhao Erwa's body was found."

How could the three dare to refuse?

On the way to Tangwushan, Chen Shao asked them the same question he had asked Lao Zhou: "Do Zhao Erwa and Li Lan have conflicts with many people in the village?"

Huang Fuming took the initiative to say: "Grandma Li Lan doesn't have many, that Zhao Erwa and..."

Glancing at Li Da and Li Er who were following behind him from a distance, he said tactfully, "Zhao Erwa's mother died of illness shortly after giving birth to him. His grandparents took pity on him for being motherless at such a young age and doted on him. As a result, he loved to dominate both at home and outside. If someone said something bad to him, he would put laxatives or arsenic in the water tanks at home."

The knot that had been lingering in his heart for many years had been untied, and Huang Yiwen's cheerful personality emerged again. He took over Huang Fuming's words and said bluntly: "The families of Master Gen and Uncle Zhongshan drank the water that he had added arsenic to a few years ago, and they almost got into trouble. Even so, he refused to admit his mistakes. When the people from Master Gen and Uncle Zhongshan's family asked them a little harder, his grandparents would curse at them in front of their door. If they couldn't curse them, they would lie on the ground, throwing a tantrum and rolling around. After Zhao Erwa got into trouble, his grandparents still falsely accused them of harming him, and they cried and made a fuss in front of Lord Li, insisting that Lord Li arrest them and make Zhao Erwa pay for his life."

"Aunt Li Lan," Huang Yiwen sighed, "She is very kind to outsiders, but mean to Wang Shiyou. Wang Shiyou has no parents, but he is hardworking, so when he came to propose to her daughter, she agreed without thinking, but asked Wang Shiyou to come to her house. After Wang Shiyou married her daughter, he basically took care of all the work at home and outside. At the beginning, Aunt Li Lan was very satisfied with his performance. Later, Luo Xiaorong, who had proposed to her daughter before but was despised by her, made money, and she became more and more dissatisfied with Wang Shiyou, often beating and scolding him in front of others, saying that he was incompetent and..."

Even Huang Yiwen, who was cheerful, found it hard to put it into words.

He couldn't say it, and Huang Shangcai couldn't say it even more.

Old Zhou said, "Luo Xiaorong made money and came back to look for her daughter. She was blinded by money and wanted to drive Wang Shiyou away and let her daughter marry Luo Xiaorong. Wang Shiyou refused to leave, so she asked Luo Xiaorong to take her daughter away, hoping to force Wang Shiyou to leave."

Another 'evil' victim.

The murderer's balance is tilting more and more towards 'enforcing justice'.

But Chen Shao had a hunch that things were not that simple.

First of all, if the murderer is acting on behalf of the heaven, then Zhao Shan's grandfather, grandmother, uncle, and aunt who let Tao A-mei falsely call her "evil" should also be punished. Similarly, the main responsibility for Zhao Sanwa, Zhao Erwa, and Li Ba Wa's "evil" lies with their families. If there is any accountability, it should be their families. And Li Lan, she is evil, and her daughter is no worse than her.

Secondly, the murderer did not commit crimes all the time, but in stages.

Based on these two points alone, the murderer is far from "enforcing justice on behalf of heaven".

Thinking of this, Chen Shao's impetuous mood calmed down instantly, and he continued to ask Huang Fuming: "If Zhao Erwa is still alive, is he about the same age as you?"

Huang Fuming nodded, "Almost. When Zhao Erwa was murdered, I was already nine years old. Three cases had already happened before him. People in the county were in a panic, and the villagers were always on guard. No one expected that Zhao Erwa would be murdered, so I remember it clearly."

Chen Shao said: "When Zhao Erwa and Li Lan died, they were both naked without any clothes?"

Huang Fuming nodded again, "Zhao Erwa died in a similar way to Li Ba Wa. Grandma Li Lan...her eyes, ears, and nose were all cut with a knife, and her stomach was cut in the middle, with a lot of leaves, mud, and stones stuffed inside."

Chen Shao thought for a moment: the murderer had a very regular pattern in killing people, basically following the order of killing an old woman, then a woman, and then a boy. The old woman had her eyes, ears, and nose cut off, and her stomach was opened and stuffed with stones and leaves; the woman's stomach was opened and her chest was cut, and then mud and stones were stuffed into her stomach, and branches were stuffed into her lower body; the boy's neck was cut and his hands were tied behind his back from beginning to end... This behavior of using different methods of abuse for people of different ages must have concealed some meaning.

But what does this mean?

More than ten years have passed since Zhao Erwa was murdered, and there is no trace left at the place where the body was dumped.

After Chen Shao took a quick look at the environment where the body was dumped, he returned to Xiaochang Village.

It is already the end of the Wei hour.

Sitting down in the main hall of Old Zhou's house, while Old Zhou was arranging people to kill chickens and sheep and cook, Chen Shao drank two bowls of coarse tea, then asked Li Tianliu to arrange people to go to Zhaojia Village to take the rope from Tao A-mei's hand, and then asked Fu Jiu to follow Huang Shangcai and Huang Yiwen to invite Zhao Erwa and Li Lan's family over.

Zhao Erwa's grandparents had passed away, and the one who came was his father.

After Li Lan's death, her daughter followed Luo Xiaorong completely and never returned to the village, but Wang Shiyou still lives here.

Zhao Erwa's father was already old, and he remarried the second year after Zhao Erwa's mother passed away. He did not have deep feelings for Zhao Erwa, his murdered son. Therefore, when faced with Chen Shao's inquiries, he often gave answers that he could not remember clearly.

Wang Shiyou is just the opposite of him.

He remembered every detail of Li Lan's murder clearly.

"She went to Luo Xiaorong's house early in the morning on the day she was murdered," Wang Shiyou narrated calmly, "Since Chenghua followed Luo Xiaorong, she would go there every three to five days. Sometimes she would come back on the same day, and sometimes she would stay for two or three days before coming back. She didn't come back that day, and I didn't care. It was not until the next day when Brother Zhou took me to Shunli Mountain without saying a word that I knew she had been murdered."

"Her eyes, ears, nose and mouth were all cut with a knife. Her neck was cut with a long gash. Her stomach was also slashed and stuffed with stones and leaves."

Huang Fuming said: "Grandma Li Lan's daughter and Luo Xiaorong also falsely accused him of murder. The two of them almost beat him to death. It was not until Lord Li investigated and said that he was not the murderer that they gave up."

Wang Shiyou lowered his eyes and said nothing more.

Chen Shao asked Huang Fuming: "Do you know where Grandma Li Lan's daughter and Luo Xiaorong live now?"

Huang Fuming immediately replied: "Yes, it's in Yunhe Town."

Chen Shao glanced at Li Tianliu and said to him, "Then I'd like to trouble you to lead the way."

Huang Fuming agreed immediately.

After he led two Yulin soldiers there, Chen Shao asked Wang Shiyou again: "Whether in this village or other villages, is there anyone who has conflicts or contradictions with Li Lan?"

Wang Shiyou shook his head. "Mom is a very good person. Even if she has conflicts with others, they are all trivial matters. It is not worth killing her for revenge."

Chen Shao couldn't help but look at him twice more.

After dinner and a short rest, it was already evening.

Standing in the yard of Old Zhou's house, Chen Shao looked at the sunset in the sky for a while, then retracted his gaze and looked at Old Zhou quietly for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Besides martial artists, are there any other people in other professions who tie such knots?"