Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Liu Deming looked at his back worriedly, until he saw that he could barely ride the horse under Fu Jiu's instruction and could barely drive the horse away, then he retracted his gaze and bowed to Chen Shao, saying, "It will take some time for my brother and his friends to go to the county town and back. Although my home is simple, there is still a small courtyard for you to cool off. If you don't mind, why don't you go to my home to rest for a while?"

Chen Shao liked the way he spoke and acted neatly. After taking another look at the people watching the excitement, he said, "Sorry to bother you then."

"It is my blessing that you do not mind my poor family." Liu Deming stepped aside and let Chen Shao go first.

Liu Deming's home is just diagonally opposite.

The villagers consciously made way, and Liu Deming's parents, sister-in-law, nephews and nieces, who were watching the fun at home, also made way.

The layout of Liu Deming's house is a storefront facing the street, with a semi-enclosed courtyard behind it. In the southwest corner of the courtyard, there is a yellow locust tree that can be hugged by two people, and its canopy covers the entire courtyard. Under the tree, there is a stone table, two or three small wooden benches, and four or five bamboo chairs and lounge chairs.

Outside the courtyard, there is first a vegetable field, followed by continuous farmland.

After walking around the courtyard for a while, Chen Shao called Liu Deming, who was busy asking his mother and sister-in-law to boil water and make tea, "Don't be busy yet, take us to see your grandmother first."

Liu Deming showed a rare joy on his face and said, "Sir, please come this way."

His grandmother lived in the house behind the yellow poplar tree.

Seeing Chen Shao go over, Liu Deming's parents and others followed closely.

Liu Deming's grandmother's room was not big, but it was very tidy and clean. The old lady was lying on the bed sickly. When she heard the noise, she opened her eyes and said, "Is it Deming? Why haven't you returned to the academy yet? Go back quickly, I'm fine."

"Grandma, it's me." Liu Deming walked quickly to the bedside and held the old lady's outstretched hand. "Master Chen is here to see you."

The old man's eyes searched behind him: "Master Chen, which Master Chen?"

"It was the Lord Chen I told you about earlier," Liu Deming said patiently, "My ten taels of silver were given to me by Lord Chen. You didn't believe it before, but you can verify it today."

Chen Shao stepped forward, bowed slightly, and let the old man see her face clearly, then said gently: "Some time ago, I asked Deming to do a few errands, and he did a good job. The ten taels of silver are my reward to him."

"Too much," the old man said, "It is a blessing for Deming to work for you. It is enough for you to feed him. How can he ask for a reward from you?"

As he said this, he asked Liu Deming to return the silver.

Chen Shao smiled and said, "Grandma, if you really ask De Ming to return the silver to me, I won't dare to ask him to do anything for me in the future."

After hearing what she said, the old man gave up.

Chen Shao talked to her for a while, and during the break, he carefully observed her face, then calmly held her hand and felt her pulse. After confirming that she only had severe hypotension, he stepped aside and let Chan Yi come forward.

"Grandma doesn't have any serious illness," Chan Yi felt her pulse and asked about some details of her life. She asked Liu Deming to get a pen and paper so she could write a prescription, and then she said to the rest of the family, "Grandma just hasn't been eating or drinking for years, which has caused her body to be weak. I'll prescribe a few doses of herbal medicine to replenish her qi and blood, and she'll be fine."

When Liu Deming's parents heard this, they were immediately happy.

The old lady was a very good old lady. She was reluctant to eat and wear, but she was always generous to her sons and daughters-in-law, grandchildren and grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. Her illness was caused by this family, so Liu Deming's parents and others always took good care of her.

"However," Chan Yi held the old man's hand again and advised patiently, "Although the decoction is good, it cannot be taken for a long time. If you want to nourish yourself, you have to eat more meat and eggs."

The old man looked at the smiling faces of the whole family, big and small, and said warmly, "Little girl, thank you for your hard work."

Then he said to Liu Deming's parents, "I am an old woman, but I need you to take care of me like this. You should repay them for me."

Liu Deming's parents said, "Don't worry, mom. We know what's going on."

Liu Deming brought paper and pen, and Chan Yi wrote a prescription for crucian carp glutinous rice porridge, ginseng lotus seed soup, ginger lotus seed tea, etc. in the dim candlelight. After handing the prescription to Liu Deming, he talked to the old man for a while, and then everyone left the house one after another.

Liu Deming gave the prescription to his sister-in-law, who couldn't wait to go out and buy fish.

Sitting down in the yard, enjoying the breeze and bright moon, and drinking the tea brought by Liu Deming's mother, Chen Shao got straight to the point: "Let's talk about Wang Yuexin and her family."

There were no outsiders in the courtyard, and there were Yulin guards outside the courtyard. Liu Deming no longer had any scruples: "Wang Yuexin's family came to Daqiao Town ten months ago."

After a pause, he continued, "They came to Daqiao Town because Wang Yuexin has an uncle in town, and it was her uncle's cousin who played a role in renting the shop to Uncle Daqing. When they first came to town, they were very harmonious. About a month or two before the New Year, they started quarreling every day. It was mainly Wang Yuexin who quarreled, and her husband, parents-in-law and mother-in-law rarely responded. I don't know if they were afraid of her or her uncle's family."

Liu Deming's mother, Wang, said, "She thinks your brother Guangping is useless."

Liu Deming said: "Brother Guangping is very diligent, so why is he useless?"

Wang was very grateful to Chen Shao for letting Chan Yi treat the old man, and she also said in return, "He is diligent, but what's the use of being diligent? I have heard her uncle say more than once that she didn't even write a letter to let him know she was getting married. Otherwise, how much better would it be to let her marry into the Zeng family?"

Liu Deming explained to Chen Shao: "The Zeng family is the family of Wang Yuexin's eldest daughter-in-law, and they are also in this town. The Zeng family makes clothes and is one of the wealthiest families in the town."

Wang said: "Although the boy from the Zeng family is not a good person, he is good-looking and eloquent. He is much more likable than Ding Guangping."

Liu Deming disagreed and said, "Even if Zeng Hong is prettier than Brother Guangping, she is already married. Even if she divorces, the Zeng family will not let Zeng Hong marry her."

Wang asked back, "How do you know that the Zeng family will not let Zeng Hong marry her?"

Liu Deming said as a matter of course: "Who doesn't know how snobbish the Zeng family is? Not to mention that she's already married, even if she was a pure and innocent girl, they would still find fault with her. How could they allow Zeng Hong to marry a..."

Wang looked at him and said, "The Zeng family is rich and snobbish, but look at the girls in this town, who is as pretty as Wang Yuexin? Who is as skillful as Wang Yuexin? Not to mention Wang Yuexin's craftsmanship, how many people can catch up with her? The Zeng family only has one son, Zeng Hong, and he is useless. The Zeng family wants to pass on the shop, who can be as suitable as Wang Yuexin?"

Although this was true, Liu Deming still couldn't understand it. In his opinion, no matter how pretty Wang Yuexin was or how good her maid was, she was still a married woman. Since the Zeng family had money, couldn't they just spend some money to hire a few skilled maids?

Wang obviously knew her youngest son very well. She didn't argue with him and only said to Chen Shao, "When Wang Yuexin died, she was already three months pregnant with Zeng Hong's child."