Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Zhang Boshan jumped up in panic, "How did he die?"

Bao Chengle, who came back a step later, said: "Hanging. I didn't see it closely, so I don't know if it was suicide or murder."

"Why didn't you take a closer look?" Zhang Boshan asked.

Bao Chengle looked at Chen Shao.

Zhang Boshan followed his gaze and looked at Chen Shao, then he remembered that she had previously instructed that no one should be allowed to approach if an accident occurred. He paused for a moment and asked, "Where is Ding Lisheng?"

Bao Chengle replied: "Lord Ding and the people from the Law Department are out investigating the case. I have sent someone to invite him back."

"Where is Du Zhong?" Chen Shao took the handkerchief handed to him by Chan Yi, wiped his mouth with it, and asked as he walked out.

Zhang Boshan followed her closely, and Bao Chengle followed behind him and answered: "In the farmer's house he rented, about a mile away from the prefectural government."

Fu Jiu quickly brought the carriage over. Chan Yi took the cloak and tied it on her. She quickly held an umbrella over her head and helped her into the carriage. Then she folded the umbrella and got in.

Fu Jiu drove the carriage, broke through the pouring rain, and quickly drove towards Du Zhong's home under the protection of the Yulin Guards who quickly caught up.

The night was dark, the rain was roaring, and the flickering torches illuminated the small courtyard where Du Zhong rented a house.

Chen Shao got out of the carriage, held Chan Yi's hand and walked to the door. He quickly glanced at the people who were standing at their doorsteps or hiding behind their windows, looking in this direction from far and near, and then he returned his gaze to the yard in front of him.

Five bungalows were lined up in a row, and a long courtyard of about ten square meters was built around the houses with low mud walls.

Du Zhong lives in a bungalow on the westernmost side.

There was a low wall built with mud between his bungalow and the one next to it, making it a private house.

There are two other courtyards like his connected to each other, which should also be rented out to outsiders.

"Who lives next door?" Chen Shao asked Li Tianliu.

Li Tianliu is not very old, just over 21 years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, very heroic, but unfortunately he has a cold face: "The two houses on the far east side are occupied by the owner's family. The two courtyards in the middle are occupied by officials like Du Zhong, who serve in the prefectural government. One is from the Law Department and the other is from the Household Department."

"Where are the people?" Chen Shao asked.

Li Tianliu snorted coldly: "I am here to protect your safety, not to accompany you to investigate the case!"

Chen Shao took the umbrella from Chan Yi's hand and pretended to go and ask himself.

Li Tianliu said angrily: "The lawyers are following Ding to investigate the case, and the household officials are waiting in his room."

Chen Shao returned the umbrella to Chan Yi with satisfaction, thanked him, glanced at the scattered bamboo leaves in the yard, and walked along the eaves to the back of the house, and indeed saw a bunch of bamboo. The window behind Du Zhong's house just faced the bamboo forest. Chen Shao took the torch from the Yulin Guard and shone it towards the window.

The windows could be opened and closed at will, but they looked a little wet due to the splashing rain.

There was a mud footprint right below the window, about eight inches and seven centimeters long, with unclear lines, and only a rough diamond pattern, with the toes pointing in the direction of the bamboo forest. The rain was so heavy that the footprint had begun to fade, and there was no trace of it in the bamboo forest.

Chen Shao looked at the muddy footprints, then looked around, and asked everyone to wait where they were and not move. Then she stepped over the muddy footprints and walked forward. Li Tianliu grabbed the umbrella from Chan Yi and followed her into the rain.

Walking to the easternmost side and then walking back, looking at the only muddy footprints, Chen Shao had already made a judgment in his mind: If Du Zhong was murdered, then the owner of this footprint is likely to be the suspect.

Return to the door.

Chen Shao looked at the corpse hanging on the beam.

The corpse was wearing a wet plain cloth, with water drops hanging from the hems of the clothes, pants and toes. A small puddle of water had formed on the ground beneath the corpse.

The corpse's face was swollen and purple, and its eyes were staring towards the door.

Zhang Boshan, who had just arrived, walked to the door and suddenly met the sight of the corpse. He was so frightened that he took two steps back and sat down on the muddy ground in the yard.

Chen Shao turned his gaze away from the corpse and asked Li Tianliu, whose face was becoming increasingly gloomy, "Are you sure this is Du Zhong?"

Li Tianliu said: "The owner said it was Du Zhong."

Chen Shao ordered Fu Jiu: "Go and invite everyone in this courtyard over."

While Fu Jiu was inviting people, Chen Shao took the opportunity to look around the house.

The single room was about a dozen square meters, with a bed, a wardrobe, two wooden shelves, a table, and four long stools placed in a disorderly manner.

Two pairs of footprints entered the house side by side from the threshold, one pair of footprints was about 8.7 inches, and the other pair of footprints was slightly smaller, about 8.5 inches. Both pairs of footprints had diamond patterns.

After telling someone not to follow him, Chen Shao walked into the room and followed the two pairs of footprints to the table. There was a teapot and a teacup on the table. The cup was tilted, and the remaining tea flowed down the table to the ground. The footprints around the ground corresponding to the tea stains were a little messy.

Following these messy footprints, Chen Shao walked to the bed.

There was only a straw mat and a yellowed quilt on the bed. Half of the quilt had fallen to the ground horizontally. The straw mat was facing her, with two lines of mud marks. Next to the mud marks, there were several mud footprints of 8.7 inches in size.

After walking around the bed, Chen Shao returned to the footprints.

The 8.5-inch footprints only went in the direction of the bed, but not the direction of leaving. The 8.7-inch footprints went back and forth several times. One of the footprints was accompanied by two obvious heel drag marks.

Chen Shao first followed the 8.7-inch footprints and walked back and forth, and then followed the dragging marks and walked to the body.

The body was next to the table.

According to visual observation, the body was about 5 feet 2 in length, weighed about 130 pounds, and had a shoe size of about 8.5 inches. The body was still warm, about 3 to 4 degrees lower than normal body temperature, and rigor mortis had appeared in the small joints of the body, but it was not obvious.

Wang Wu met Du Zhong on the way to deliver food. She found the food was poisonous and came here about an hour and a half ago. Judging from the body temperature and rigor mortis, Du Zhong died about an hour and a half ago!

After taking a look at the patterns on the soles of the corpse's shoes, Chen Shao lifted up the two sleeves of the corpse respectively. After observing the corpse's ten fingers, he stepped on a stool and climbed onto the table.

The beam is about nine feet from the ground and about six feet nine from the table. Minus the distance for the rope to hang, there is still about five feet left.

At this height, it is difficult for someone who is less than five feet three to easily put the body into the rope.

Moving his eyes from the rope to the body, Chen Shao saw that there were obvious strangulation marks on the neck of the body, and obvious finger pressure marks on both sides of the neck. At the end of the finger pressure marks, the crescent-shaped nail marks were even more clearly visible. The rope was tied above these marks, which was the lower jaw of the body.

There was a small paper bag and a jade chess piece in the corpse's arms.

The paper package was soaked through and contained arsenic.

The jade chess piece has Buddha engraved on one side and the Heart Sutra engraved on the other.

He got down from the table with the arsenic and the jade chess piece, followed the 8.7-inch footprints to the window, pushed it open, and looked at the muddy footprints outside the window for a while before Chen Shao came back.

Fu Jiu had already invited the landlord and his wife, their grandchildren, and the household officials to come over.