Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

a little.

Zhang Boshan ran into the room, all wet, and walked quickly to the table. Looking at the blackened silver hairpin, his legs softened and he collapsed to the ground. Bao Chengle, his friend who came with him, came to help him, but he pushed him away and said in a broken voice: "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and bring those bastards to me!"

Bao Chengle took a quick look at Chen Shao, then at the hanging case file, and left quickly.

"My lord, you are very perceptive," Zhang Boshan began to wail as soon as he left. "Even if I have the courage of heaven, I dare not poison you."

Chen Shao had already sat back at the desk, looking at the case summary. She didn't look up: "Master Zhang, please get up first."

"No," Zhang Boshan knelt down, half in fear and half in determination, and said, "I will never get up unless the murderer is arrested and brought to justice to prove my innocence!"

He did not welcome Chen Shao to Hongyuan County, but he did not dare to let anything happen to her in Hongyuan County.

She is the sixth son of the Duke of Chen's mansion, and she was ordered to inspect the counties, just like an imperial envoy. She got into trouble in Hongyuan County. To put it mildly, it was because Hongyuan County despised the imperial power and had no interest in the court. There was something wrong with the official style of Hongyuan County. He is the governor of Hongyuan County, and he must be the first to bear the brunt of the crime. To put it more seriously, Hongyuan County is an important border area. If you dare to act so boldly, you must have a rebellious heart! If you have a rebellious heart, it is a serious crime of killing nine generations of your family!

So, although it seemed like they were poisoning her, they actually wanted to kill Zhang Boshan!

Chen Shao still didn't raise his head: "The people will be back soon, Lord Zhang, are you sure you want to try the case this way?"

Zhang Boshan stood up quickly and said angrily, "Don't worry, sir. I will definitely find the murderer!"

Chen Shao did not comment.

Bao Chengle brought back eight servants: two chefs, two vegetable cutters, three handymen, and a cook.

"Tell me, who poisoned me!" Zhang Boshan looked at the eight people with murderous eyes, "If you can't tell me, you will all be punished and killed!"

When they were suddenly called to Chengfeng Courtyard and suddenly heard the word "poisoning", the eight servants who were still in a daze instinctively claimed that they did not poison.

"If you don't accept my toast, you will have to drink the wine for punishment!" Zhang Boshan's face was very ugly. "Come here, drag them out and punish them with a stick! Don't stop until you reveal the murderer!"

"Poisoning an official appointed by the imperial court is punishable by death according to the law." Before the bailiffs entered the room to arrest them, Bao Chengle reminded them, "Mr. Chen Liu is not only a third-rank official appointed by the imperial court, but also an imperial envoy who came to handle the case. You murdered her, which is a disrespect for the emperor. According to the law, you can be executed along with all your clans. Even if you don't care about your own lives, you should think about your parents, wife and children."

Poisoning and murdering Master Chen Liu?

The eight servants finally reacted, and they knelt on the ground one after another, crying and begging for mercy; still no one admitted to poisoning.

Zhang Boshan shouted sternly: "Drag him out!"

"Wait a minute." Chen Shao walked over and stood in front of them, "Are they the only ones in the kitchen?"

Zhang Boshan hurriedly answered carefully: "The porridge and side dishes are made in the small kitchen, and there are only a few of them in the small kitchen."

Chen Shao nodded, looked at the eight people, and asked kindly: "Please think about it, while you were cooking, did anyone come to the small kitchen to look for you?"

Wang Wu, one of the two chefs kneeling on the far left, replied hastily, "No one has come to look for me."

The others also replied: "No one has ever looked for me."

Chen Shao continued: "Who sent the meal?"

Wang Wu knelt down and took two steps forward: "It's me."

Zhang Boshan glanced at Wang Wu sinisterly and said, "After the food in the small kitchen is ready, he is responsible for delivering it."

Chen Shao asked: "No one is on duty?"

Zhang Boshan said: "No one is on duty."

Chen Shao looked at the trembling Wang Wu, and after reassuring him a few words not to be afraid, he continued, "Then please think carefully, while you were delivering the food, did anyone talk to you, or touch the food?"

Just as he was about to say a word, Wang Wu suddenly looked up, his face excited, and spoke quickly: "It's Du Zhong, it must be him! I remember everything now. Although Du Zhong didn't come to the small kitchen to find me, after receiving the order from the adults to prepare a few more stir-fries, because there were too few seasonal vegetables in the small kitchen, I went to the big kitchen to select seasonal vegetables. There, I met him there! When the stir-fries were ready, I met him again on the way to deliver the food. I felt uncomfortable in my stomach at the time and was in a hurry to go to the toilet. I also asked him to look after the food box!"

Zhang Boshan quickly stepped forward: "Who is Du Zhong?"

Wang Wu shrank back and said, "It's the Fa Cao's people."

Zhang Boshan looked at Bao Chengle, "Do you know him?"

Bao Chengle shook his head: "I don't know him, he should be a member of the Law Department."

"A small servant, who gave him the courage to go in and out of the backyard!" Zhang Boshan's face was gloomy, "Go and call Ding Lisheng over immediately!"

Bao Chengle agreed and turned to leave. Chen Shao stopped him and turned to tell Chan Yi, "Go and ask Li Tianliu to bring a few Yulin Guards with him, and bring Du Zhong as well. If there is an unexpected situation, have him guard the scene and don't let anyone get close to damage it. If you find any suspicious people, bring them back immediately!"

Li Tianliu was the Right General of the Right Wing General's Office under the Yulin Guard, and was a fifth-rank general. This time, he led the Yulin Guard to take responsibility for her safety.

Li Tianliu was born into a military family and had great respect for the Duke of Chen's Mansion, but he strongly disapproved of her coming to Hongyuan County. After repeatedly persuading her to pick some old cases in the counties around the capital to gain experience, he still dutifully protected her, but he didn't like her very much.

Chan Yi held an umbrella and went to Li Tianliu's yard next door.

Bao Chengle followed behind her.

The rain started to fall heavily again.

The raindrops falling from the edge of the tiles slowly connected into a line from the beads.

Chen Shao withdrew his gaze from the rain and signaled Wang Wu: "Tell me more about what you just said."

Wang Wu said quickly, "When I was selecting seasonal vegetables in the kitchen, Du Zhong poured me a cup of tea. After I drank the tea, I felt something was wrong."

Zhang Boshan asked, "What's wrong?"

Wang Wu: "It was just that my stomach felt unwell, just like I had eaten something bad. It wasn't very obvious at first, so I didn't take it seriously. On the way to deliver the food, it suddenly got worse. I had planned to deliver the food before going to the toilet. But Du Zhong happened to pass by, and seeing that I looked bad, he asked me a few questions. After I told him the truth, he said that Mr. Chen Liu had suddenly come to Hongyuan County, and you were too busy to deal with him, so you might not be able to just deliver the food box and leave as usual. He offered to look after the food box for me, and asked me to go to the toilet quickly. I didn't think much about it, and handed the food box to him."

Fu Jiu came back while he was talking. After he finished speaking, she continued, "There was no arsenic in the kitchen, and no arsenic was found in their residences."

Chen Shao nodded and continued to ask Wang Wu: "When did you go to the big kitchen?"

Wang Wu replied, "I left after you gave me your instructions. You gave me instructions in six words."

It was four o'clock in the afternoon. One word equaled five minutes, and six words equaled half an hour. She arrived at the governor's residence at about four o'clock in the afternoon, and it was the back house at the time of the arrival of the emperor. After two quarters of an hour, someone took action.

Is there a secret in the prefectural government that cannot be revealed, or are the treacherous officials and rebels planning to wipe out the roots?

Chen Shao didn't think too much about it, and then asked: "What time did you meet Du Zhong on the way to deliver the meal?"

Wang Wu didn't think much about it and answered, "A quarter after twelfth hour."

She discovered the food was poisonous about two quarters later. Chen Shao roughly calculated the entire time and instructed Fu Jiu again: "Go to the kitchen again and ask Wang Wu about the food he picked this afternoon."

After Fu Jiu left, Chen Shao asked Zhang Boshan again, "Do the officers live in the prefectural government, or do they go back to their homes after their shifts are over?"

"Everyone go home." Seeing that Chen Shao did not suspect that he was the one who poisoned him, Zhang Boshan gradually felt relieved. "The government does not provide food and lodging for the serving officers. After they are dismissed, those who live nearby will go home directly, and those who live far away will rent one or two rooms in the homes of nearby people to stay temporarily."

Nodding in understanding, Chen Shao ordered: "Let them get up and find someone to look after them."

After Zhang Boshan settled them down quickly, he came over attentively and said, "It will take some time for them to come back. I will ask someone to send another table of wine and food over. Young Master, please fill your stomach first."

Chen Shao was indeed a little hungry, and he didn't know how long he would have to work on this case, so he said, "Just keep it simple, no need to be extravagant."

Zhang Boshan was immediately arranged to go as if he had been pardoned.

Halfway through the meal.

A Yulin Guard who followed Li Tianliu to investigate Du Zhong rushed into the room and reported in a low voice: "Sir, Du Zhong is dead!"