Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Zeng Hong's mother spat, "Yes, I am a vicious woman, but you are kind-hearted. You are kind-hearted, but you didn't see that before Wang Yuexin got married, she lived a hard life in the small county town below, and you helped her? Wang Yuexin got married, married a decent husband's family, and you saw that you could get some benefits, so you used the excuse that you could make a lot of money here, and coaxed the husband's family to sell their house and land, and used the money to rent such a shabby shop. How much money did you embezzle in the meantime? Do you really think we don't know?"

Wang Dabao was so angry that he said, "They are the younger generation. I should take some money from them as a gift. That's what I should do! What do you think your Zeng family is!"

Zeng Hong's mother said, "Yes, our Zeng family is not worth much, but even if we are not, we are still far behind you. They are eager to open a pancake shop, and every day your family will go there to get twenty or thirty pancakes for free? It's not enough to take their pancakes for free, but you also want our Zeng family's money and try every means to break up the young couple, so that she can get close to our Zeng Hong. It's because Zeng Hong is useless that she fell for your tricks!"

Wang Dabao said angrily, "She's trying to get close to Zeng Hong? It's you, Zeng Hong, who always flirts with her. How could she, an honest and decent woman, leave her peaceful life to be with such a thing?"

Zeng Hong's mother snorted coldly, "If you hadn't been secretly fanning the flames, would Zeng Hong have been able to get together with her? If you hadn't been secretly conspiring with Daqing to pay compensation if the lease didn't last ten years, would the Ding family have been able to take the loss of Wang Yuexin and Zeng Hong getting together?"

They met! Listening to the quarrel between the two families, Chen Shao suddenly understood: Why did the murderer kill the rude and unreasonable old woman? Because the murderer, like Ding Guangping, also encountered a father-in-law who took advantage of others' misfortune!

This can also be seen from the fact that after killing those old women, the murderer cut off their mouths, ears and noses!

After figuring out the relationship between the murdered old woman, young woman, boy and the murderer, Chen Shao didn't want to waste time listening to their idle chatter. He interrupted them coldly and asked, "When did Wang Yuexin disappear?"

Zeng Hong is the only son in the family. His grandparents, parents and even his sister all indulge him. Although he is arrogant, he is timid. Facing Chen Shao's gaze, he instinctively knelt and shrank behind his mother.

Chen Shao looked at his mother.

Zeng Hong's mother answered naturally, "I don't know how she disappeared. I only know that they went to the county town and came back. After they separated at the east end of the town, she disappeared."

Chen Shao said coldly: "Speak more clearly."

Zeng Hong's mother said, "On April 23, Zeng Hong took her to the county town. When they came back, it was already very late, and they separated at the east end of the town and went back to their own homes. Wang Yuexin's in-laws said that she did not go back that night. But whether she really did not go back or not, I don't know. Anyway, we knew something happened to her after someone found her body on the road leading to the town the next day."

Wang Yuexin's mother-in-law's pancake shop was located in the west of the town, less than a thousand steps away from the east. With such a short distance, Zeng Hong could easily see Wang Yuexin riding in the murderer's carriage if she paid a little attention.

Thinking of this, Chen Shao looked at Zeng Hong, "It's already late. What time is it?"

Zeng Hong lowered her head and said tremblingly, "I, I, I, I can't remember clearly."

Zeng Hong's mother added: "He returned home at midnight."

At this late hour, the murderer was able to intercept Wang Yuexin at a distance of only a thousand steps, which shows that the murderer was very clear about their movements. Chen Shao looked at Zeng Hong again: "What are you doing in the county town?"

Zeng Hong couldn't say anything, and his mother wanted to help him. Chen Shao said coldly: "Let him speak for himself. If he can't speak, then go to the prison and speak slowly. When he can speak clearly, he can come back."

Zeng Hong grabbed his mother's sleeve in fear. With his mother's comfort, he spoke incoherently: "I, I'll tell you, I just took her to the gambling house for a day, and before we came back, we went to Juxianlou for a meal. Because we had run out of money, we had to walk back. On the way back, she said she had a stomachache, so I carried her back on my back. When we got to the town, I was too tired, so she said she would walk back by herself. I didn't care about her anymore."

While he was talking, Fu Jiu and Liu Derong came back with Liu Daqing.

Chen Shao calmly asked about the name of the gambling house and the time to go to Juxianlou for dinner, and also asked about Wang Yuexin's appearance when she died. Then she asked them to wait on the street, and she followed Liu Daqing to Wang Yuexin's family's pancake shop.

The pancake shop is very clean.

After walking around the shop twice, Chen Shao entered the back house.

The back house has two floors.

The first floor has a living room, a stone mill, and two bedrooms. Judging from the layout of the bedrooms, one bedroom is occupied by two elderly people, and the other is occupied by Ding Guangping. The small kitchen outside the backyard is similar to the one in Ma Dali's house in Qingshui Town. Chen Shao looked around every corner and found no traces of blood or water washing, so he could rule out the possibility that the Ding family killed Wang Yuexin.

After looking around the stone dam outside the kitchenette for a few more times, Chen Shao turned back and went upstairs.

The second floor was a little messy, but the decoration was quite luxurious. There were some silk clothes for men and women scattered on the bed and the floor. There were also some gold and silver hairpins between the bedding and pillows. If you sniff carefully, you can still smell the faint fragrance that can enhance love in the air.

This is obviously not where Wang Yuexin and Ding Guangping live, but where she and Zeng Hong live. They have bullied people to this extent!

Chen Shao ordered: "Go and call Zeng Hong!"

When Zeng Hong came over trembling, Chen Shao smelled a foul odor. He looked at his wet trouser legs with disgust and asked coldly, "Is this where you and Wang Yuexin live?"

Zeng Hong said yes with trembling lips.

Chen Shao said coldly: "This is Wang Yuexin's husband's home. Are you living in their home so openly?"

Zeng Hong knelt on the ground in panic, kowtowed and begged for mercy: "I know I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again, please have mercy on me!"

What a good sentence! I know I’m wrong!

At this moment, Chen Shao thought of the murderer.

I also thought about the murderer's motive for murder.

Being forced to this point, with no room for resistance, he had no choice but to turn his butcher knife on those people who were weaker than him.

The murderer deserves to die, and the person who forced the murderer to kill to vent his anger also deserves to die!

Chen Shao walked past him coldly and went downstairs.

Coming out of the pancake shop, Chen Shao glanced at the Wang family and the Zeng family, and then at Liu Daqing. As they trembled with fear, Chen Shao ordered Li Tianliu with a cold face: "Send a few people to take them back to the prefectural government and keep them under guard!"

Everyone was so frightened that they immediately knelt down and begged for mercy. Chen Shao said coldly: "Those who kneel down and beg for mercy will be punished more severely!"

In modern times, adultery is just a moral issue, but in ancient times, especially in Datong where she is now, it is one of the ten unforgivable crimes! For example, Wang Yuexin is already married, but under the matchmaking of Wang Dabao, she committed adultery with Zeng Hong, and the minimum sentence is two years in prison.

Regardless of the fact that Wang Yuexin is dead, Zeng Hong and the Wang and Zeng families who arranged for Zeng Hong to commit adultery with her will not escape punishment for their crimes.