Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Rongfa Trading Company was engaged in the mulberry silk business. It had a large shop with four large storefronts facing the street. It was a cloth shop and a garment shop combined, with products of varying quality.

Behind the shop is the place where the silkworms are inspected and packaged. After that, it is divided into several different warehouses according to the quality of the cocoons and the county town to which they are to be sent. Further back are the escorts' residences and the passage for cargo carriages, and finally the residences for ordinary workers.

Chen Shao specifically asked Manager Tian to enter the store through the cargo passage.

When we got off the carriage, we saw several warehouses lined up in a row, with the name of the county town written on the door. Workers in uniform blue cloth were walking around with various sorted silk cocoons.

After following Shopkeeper Tian into the warehouse with the Shujun plaque, Chen Shao saw that most of the warehouse was occupied by looms, with many women weaving brocade. Outside the looms, there was a large yard where women were peeling cocoons and spinning silk.

Shopkeeper Tian introduced as he walked: "These woven silk brocades will also be sent to Shu County with these silk cocoons. These silk cocoons are sold to the Shu County Weaving Bureau, which has a quota and cannot sell more or less. These woven silks are sold to several large cloth shops in Shu County, which also have a quota like the Weaving Bureau."

What Chen Shao wanted to see was the knotting method, but as it was a secret visit, he didn't want to alert the enemy, so he listened to his introduction patiently and walked around to have a look before heading towards the workers who were packing the cocoons and cloth in boxes and bundles.

When he got closer, Chen Shao first walked around the packaged goods. After seeing a few figure-8 knots among them, he walked up to the workers who were packing them.

Chen Shao quickly spotted two people after sweeping around the knots they had tied or were tying. He slowly walked up to them and watched them pack a bag of goods with a figure-8 knot. Then Chen Shao asked, "They did a good job. What are their names?"

Shopkeeper Tian looked over at the two men and immediately smiled when he saw their appearance: "They are Yi Yao and Lu Zian. Sir, don't underestimate them because they are young. They are more skillful than the old guys who have been working for more than ten years."

Then he called the two men, "You little brats, why don't you come over here and thank Master Chen for his appreciation! To be praised by the Master, I wonder how many lifetimes of virtue your family has accumulated!"

The two of them looked at Chen Shao as a stranger, and seeing that Shopkeeper Tian was so respectful to her that they had never been before, they had already guessed her identity. When they heard Shopkeeper Tian scolding them, they couldn't help but put down their work, knelt on the ground and said loudly: "Thank you for your appreciation!"

Chen Shaoyuan was planning to find a reason to ask the two more questions, but when he saw them kneeling on the ground, he immediately said, "Get up."

After the two stood up, Chen Shao asked, "How many years have you been at Rongfa Commercial Bank?"

The two men were about to kneel on the ground again, but after being stopped, Yi Yao bowed and replied, "I came here in March last year, less than a year and a half."

Chen Shao looked at the packaging they had done. "It's been less than a year and a half, and you've become so skilled. Have you worked in other businesses before?"

Yi Yao replied: "No."

Shopkeeper Tian looked at the two men, who were so rigid and inflexible, and shook his head in disappointment. He then helped to explain, "They used to farm at home. Last year, Lu Chunkai from their village became ill and could no longer work, so he recommended them to come here. It happened that the business was busy at the time, so he kept them on a trial basis. Later, seeing that they were quick and skillful, he officially stayed here."

Yi Yao and Lu Zian bowed and thanked Manager Tian in unison.

Shopkeeper Tian waved his hand at them and said, "You can stay here because of your own ability, not because of someone else's reputation. As long as you work hard, you will definitely get some benefits."

Then he said to the other workers nearby: "The same goes for you."

Chen Shao walked over to the packages that the two had packed. "I noticed that your way of packing seems to be a little different from others. Why?"

Yi Yao looked at Lu Zian and said, "He learned it from his father. His father used to be the best hunter in our area, but unfortunately his leg was injured by a wolf a few years ago, so he has been idle since then."

Chen Shao's eyes moved slightly. There were two hunters named Lu on the list given by Old Zhou. They were from the same village, which was in Tongwang County. Although Tongwang County was a bit far from the county town, it was not impossible according to some logic of crime. After looking at Lu Zian calmly, Chen Shao asked casually, "Since you are the best hunter, you must be good at hunting. Why didn't you follow in your father's footsteps, but came here to do this?"

Shopkeeper Tian looked at Lu Zian and helped to say, "It's true that his father is the best hunter in their area, but their place is a famous martial arts village with countless good hunters. He is quite capable, but he is still a long way from those good hunters. His mother is in poor health, his father can't make money now, and there are several younger brothers and sisters to support at home, so it is definitely not possible to rely on hunting."

Chen Shao said: "That's really a pity."

Shopkeeper Tian also said with regret: "Who said it wasn't true?"

Chen Shao looked at Lu Zian, "Since it is a famous martial arts village, why don't you take the exam? As far as I know, after passing the martial arts exam, you can become an official without waiting for the election. No matter whether you are a high-ranking official or a small official, you can earn more than doing this."

Lu Zian said ashamedly: “I took the exam several times, but I failed.”

Chen Shao asked, "Are there many martial arts candidates in your village?"

Lu Zian shook his head, "There are only two, one is the county lieutenant, and the other is the teacher in the Imperial College."

Shopkeeper Tian helped explain: "It was because of the precedent set by County Magistrate Yi that their village started to have a craze for learning martial arts. However, after so many years, only Master Shi passed the imperial examination."

"It's amazing that there are two martial arts candidates in one village." After Chen Shao praised sincerely, he asked about the basic information of the two martial arts candidates.

Yi County Magistrate was a military scholar more than 30 years ago, so he was still a relative of Yi An, but the relationship was too distant and he could hardly get any benefits. Shi Fuzi taught riding and archery in the Imperial College and was a scholar 20 years ago. After he passed the imperial examination, he was quite concerned about the village at first, but later he became distant after getting married.

County Magistrate Yi is a smooth-talking person, while Master Shi is honest and dutiful.

After learning all this, Chen Shao came out of the Shu County warehouse and went to several other warehouses.

No one was seen tying the figure-8 knot in the other warehouses.

After refusing Manager Tian's offer of farewell and lunch, Chen Shao quietly left Rongfa Commercial Bank in a carriage.

After they were farther away, Chen Shao asked Chan Yi to add the names of Lu Zi'an, Yi Yao, Yi County Wei and Shi Fuzi to the list provided by Lao Zhou, and then went to Fenglong Trading Company.

Hong Leong Commercial Bank is not far from Rongfa Commercial Bank.

It arrived in less than half a cup of tea.