Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Tao Ming and others came back and looked at Gao Han and the other two, all with indignation on their faces.

Chen Shao did not stop them. He took a quick look and saw that they were basically the same group of students who searched the village before. He did not beat around the bush and asked directly, "After Master Shi was injured, were you the ones who took care of him?"

Tao Ming and others said yes.

Chen Shao then asked, "Recently, has Mr. Shi asked you to help dig a hole to bury something, or asked you to help throw something away?"

Tao Ming and Xu Xianmin, who were standing at the front, looked back at the same time. Seeing that everyone said no, they turned back and answered no at the same time. Xu Xianmin then asked, "Are you looking for evidence, sir?"

Chen Shao asked him: "Do you have evidence?"

Xu Xianmin said: "Master Shi has lived in the wing for several years, and the layout of the wing has always been the same. If Master Shi wanted to hide evidence, he could only hide it somewhere else."

Chen Shao took the opportunity to ask, "According to what you said, Master Shi has another residence?"

"I don't think so. I haven't heard Master Shi mention it." Xu Xianmin looked at Tao Ming uncertainly, then at the others. After everyone else said they hadn't heard Master Shi mention it, he continued, "Master Shi's monthly salary is one tael of silver, but he has to support the family expenses and the daily expenses of Shi Chengliang and Shi Chengguang's drinking and entertainment, and he also has to hire a doctor for his master's wife's family. There shouldn't be much money left."

This was the second time Chen Shao had heard such words. The first time was from Liu Deming and the others. Chen Shao looked at them with interest and said, "You seem to know a lot about Master Shi's family affairs."

Xu Xianmin glanced at Gao Han and the others secretly, and said vaguely: "I don't know much, otherwise..."

Chen Shao interrupted him and said, "How did you know that?"

Although Master Shi became a murderer, Xu Xianmin and others subconsciously hoped that she had made a mistake. Therefore, when answering, they instinctively said in a positive way: "We saw it with our own eyes. Master Shi felt sorry for our poor family. It was not easy for us to come to study, so he would invite us to his home from time to time to improve our lives. Whenever Master Shi and her family ran into us, they would always say a few unpleasant words. Master Shi was afraid that we would be suspicious, so he would always go to our house in his free time to help with the work and comfort us."

He was not improving their food at all.

Instead, he improved the food and took advantage of the harshness of his wife and her family, trying to appease them in a way that would not arouse suspicion, and then looked for the next target.

Similarly, the so-called subduing of Crazy Horse was nothing more than his plan to openly remove the scar on his right thumb.

Unfortunately, no matter how perfect the plan is, as long as it is man-made, it is impossible to leave no trace. Thinking of this, Chen Shao asked, "Who is responsible for feeding the horses in the academy?"

Tao Ming replied, "They all take turns feeding the horse. On the day the horse went crazy, it was the outside barn where Sun Chengyi and his friends were who were in charge."

Chen Shao asked: "Is Sun Chengyi in the academy?"

Tao Ming nodded and said, "I'll go and ask him to come over right away."

Chen Shao agreed, and when he asked for help, she asked about the carriage, "When Master Shi came to your house to help, did he drive a horse-drawn carriage or a donkey cart?"

Most people answered donkey cart, and only one person answered horse cart.

The person who answered the carriage was Song Xinmin, a member of Zhang Lifu's team during the earlier village search.

Chen Shao first asked him: "Which village is your home in?"

Song Xinmin bowed somewhat stiffly and said, "My home is in Lijiagou."

Chen Shao said: "The first day of August in the seventh year of Yuanhe and the thirteenth day of May in the fourteenth year of Yuanhe are the places where the two cases occurred."

Song Xinmin said yes.

Chen Shao: "Does he drive a horse-drawn carriage every time he goes to your village?"

Song Xinmin shook his head. "Basically, they were driving donkey carts or horse carts... The students only saw it once."

Chen Shao: "Do you remember exactly when?"

Song Xinmin was silent for a moment before answering, "I remember, May 12, the 14th year of Yuanhe."

Chen Shao looked at him calmly, "Did he go to find you?"

Song Xinmin nodded with a pale face.

Chen Shao asked: "The day before he came to your village to find you, did he invite you to his home to improve your meals?"

Song Xinmin raised his head in surprise, but the moment he met her gaze, he quickly lowered his head.

Chen Shao asked: "Is there any?"

Amid the students' confused gazes, Song Xinmin replied, "Yes."

Chen Shao pressed on: "When you went to his house, did Mrs. Shi also say something unpleasant to you?"

Song Xinmin said with difficulty: "I did."

Chen Shao: "When he came to see you, did you ask him where he got the carriage?"

Song Xinmin said in awe, "I asked him, and he said he rented it at the horse farm."

As soon as the word "horse farm" came out, Chen Shao immediately thought of the horse farm outside the West City Gate, and then she thought of the scene of encountering him at the West City Gate that day. With Shi Xing's behavior, it was definitely not an ordinary encounter!

"Immediately arrange for two people to check the horse farm," Chen Shao said calmly while all the students and Gao Han were still there. "If you have any evidence, bring it back immediately!"

While he was arranging the people, Chen Shao said to Xu Xianmin, "I'll trouble you one more thing. Please find out for me where Mr. Shi went, who he met, and what he did on June 1st."

After a pause, he looked at the others and said, "Follow him, and move quickly."

After everyone agreed, they left together, and Tao Ming happened to come back with Sun Chengyi.

Perhaps Tao Ming had leaked the secret to him, Sun Chengyi's face turned pale. Chen Shao patiently tried to comfort him before asking, "Did the horse suddenly go crazy when you were practicing horseback archery?"

Sun Chengyi carefully said yes.

Chen Shao: "How many horses are there in the academy?"

Sun Chengyi answered carefully, "There are thirty-seven horses."

Chen Shao: "Before the horse went crazy, were you responsible for feeding it?"

Sun Chengyi quickly denied it, saying, "It was the student and several other people who were feeding the baby."

"What about the crazy horse?" Chen Shao asked, "Who was feeding it before you practiced horseback archery?"

Sun Chengyi swallowed his saliva and said, "It was the students who fed them."

Chen Shao: "Did anyone touch the horse while you were feeding it, or before you practiced horseback archery?"

Sun Chengyi shook his head.

Chen Shao slowed down his speech and guided him patiently: "Think carefully again, before or during your horseback archery practice, who did you meet and who did you talk to? Did these people get close to the horse? Even your classmates who fed the horse together count."

Sun Chengyi shook his head first, then opened his eyes wide and said, "Yes, yes, there was one time. When I was leading my horse to the stream behind the mountain to feed water, I met Master Shi. Master Shi was washing clothes, and when he saw me coming, he took the initiative to talk to me."

Chen Shao: "Did he get close to the horse?"

Sun Chengyi nodded repeatedly, "He even patted Crazy Horse several times and said that I have good taste."

Chen Shao turned to Luo Zhengxin and asked, "Who was the veterinarian who examined the case afterwards? Did he know Master Shi? Was he in the academy?"

Luo Zhengxin replied: "He is also a teacher from the academy. I will go and invite him over right away."

"No need." Chen Shao gestured to Sun Chengyi, "You go and invite him."

Then he gestured to Tao Ming: "You go with him."

After the two left, Chen Shao turned his gaze to Gao Han and the others. He first glanced at the hairpins on their heads or the jade pendants on their waists, and then asked, "Where did you buy the jade pendants?"