Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Chen Shao looked at Qi Gao.

The others also looked at Qi Gao.

Qi Gao's face had turned pale.

"Fourth," Chen Shao continued, "I just asked him where he was when Lord Ding led the legal team to investigate the case. He said he was not feeling well and was resting at home. So where did the bamboo leaf stuck on the sole of his left shoe come from?"

Qi Gao lowered his head and looked at the bamboo leaf stuck on his torn left shoe. His pale face suddenly turned red. "Yes, I killed Du Zhong, but it's not my fault! He wanted me to kneel down and beg him, and I did. He wanted me to bark like a dog, and I barked. Then he wanted me to crawl into his crotch. He really went too far! He was the one who said he would lend me money to buy another pair of shoes, but when the time came, he changed his mind!"

"Du Zhong deserved to die, but what about Young Master Chen Liu?" Hearing that he was the murderer of Du Zhong, Zhang Boshan stepped forward and questioned him regardless of his identity, "Why did you poison Young Master Chen Liu? She didn't agree to lend you money!"

Qi Gao was stunned for a moment before denying, "I didn't poison Young Master Chen Liu."

"How dare you quibble!" Thinking of how he almost lost his job and his life because of him, Zhang Boshan rushed up and kicked him in anger, "If it wasn't you, who else could it be!"

Qi Gao staggered to his knees and denied again: "I didn't poison you."

Zhang Boshan was about to kick him again, but was stopped by Chen Shao. Looking at his bloodshot eyes due to anger, Chen Shao paused for a moment before asking, "When did Du Zhong ask to lend you money to buy shoes?"

Qi Gao said dejectedly, "In the afternoon."

Chen Shao: "What time in the afternoon?"

Qi Gao: "Just after Shenzheng."

At this time, she had just arrived at the back house.

Chen Shao continued to ask: "He was also the one who suggested that you go to him to get the money after you finish your work?"

Qi Gao denied it, "I went to find him myself."

Chen Shao: "Then tell me how you went to find him."

Qi Gao confessed: "When Lord Ding and I were on our way to Xiaochang Village, I found that Du Zhong was not there, so I guessed that he must have gone to the gambling house again. I was afraid that he would have no money to lend me after losing all the money, so I said I was not feeling well and rushed to the gambling house to find him. He had already lost a lot of money, so I didn't let him gamble anymore and asked him to lend me the money for shoes first. He was unwilling, and after arguing with me for a few words, he went home. I didn't get the money, so I followed him home."

Chen Shao: "What time did you meet him at the gambling house and go to his home?"

Qi Gao lowered his head and said, "I only remember hearing the night watchman announce the first watch on the way to his house."

It was seven in the evening, which was exactly the time when Zhang Boshan arrived at Chengfeng Courtyard after she found out that the food was poisonous. This was too much of a coincidence. Chen Shao looked at Ding Lisheng and said, "Call in all the lawyers."

The confessions of the lawyers basically confirmed that Qi Gao's killing of Du Zhong was a coincidence, but Chen Shao did not give up her suspicion of him. She took out the cup that Fu Jiu had picked up from the bamboo forest and asked, "Did you throw this into the bamboo forest?"

Qi Gaofei took a quick look and lowered his head again: "Yes."

Chen Shao: "Why throw it into the bamboo forest?"

Qi Gao: "I was a little flustered when I got off the table, and kicked the cup to the ground, so I picked it up and took it away."

There are witnesses and there are no loopholes in the answer. Either he is really innocent or he has first-class anti-detection ability. Chen Shao put down the cup and turned his attention back to Du Zhong.

Chen Shao looked through Du Zhong's roster and asked, "Does Du Zhong often go to the gambling house?"

Qi Gao replied, “Yes.”

Chen Shao looked at the record of Du Zhong's family background on the roster and asked, "Where did he get the money?"

Qi Gao was angry: "He and Zhou Dazhuang often steal and extort money in the countryside!"

Chen Shao glanced at Ding Lisheng.

Ding Lisheng even said he didn't know.

It was getting late, and Chen Shao didn't want to argue with him for the time being, so he withdrew his gaze and continued to ask Qi Gao: "Who is Zhou Dazhuang?"

"The servant guarding the gate to the back house." Bao Chengle answered first and immediately instructed the servant next to him to invite Zhou Dazhuang in.

As soon as Zhou Dazhuang entered the second hall, he knelt on the ground, "I deserve to die, please spare my life, I deserve to die, please spare my life..."

The case of poisoning was not over yet, and the chaos in the prefectural government was exposed one after another. Zhang Boshan was ashamed and angry and asked: "It was you who conspired with Du Zhong to poison Master Chen Liu!"

"My Lord, please investigate clearly," Zhou Dazhuang said in a panic, "Even if I have the courage of heaven, I dare not poison Mr. Chen Liu."

Chen Shao stopped Zhang Boshan and asked him, "When Du Zhong went to the gambling house today, were you with him?"

Zhou Dazhuang cried, "Your Excellency is wise. I was with him, but I didn't know he poisoned the young master."

Chen Shao asked him to tell the story of Qi Gao going to the gambling house to find Du Zhong. After confirming that Qi Gao was not lying, he asked, "Did he invite you to the gambling house?"

Zhou Dazhuang said yes.

Chen Shao: "What time did he ask you to go to the gambling house?"

Zhou Dazhuang quickly replied: "I can't remember the exact time, probably three or four words after Youzheng."

Chen Shao glanced at him and asked, "What were you doing at this hour?"

Zhou Dazhuang shifted uncomfortably and said, "I'm on duty."

Chen Shao paused and looked at him: "Did you let him into the backyard?"

Zhou Dazhuang kowtowed twice in fear: "My Lord, I don't know that he was going to poison the young master. He told me that he just went in to take a look. He often went in before and nothing happened. I thought it would be the same this time, so..."

Zhou Dazhuang spoke in a lower and lower voice.

Chen Shao glanced at Zhang Boshan, whose face was getting darker and darker, and continued to ask: "What time did he enter the backyard?"

"I can't remember clearly," Zhou Dazhuang moved his body uneasily again, "I just remember that not long after the young master entered the back house, he followed him in."

With such a short time, the murderer can be confirmed to be someone from the prefectural governor's mansion. After going through the personnel of the prefectural governor's mansion in his mind, Chen Shao was unable to find any suspicious target person.

Suppressing her suspicion, she continued: "When did you go to the gambling house?"

Zhou Dazhuang answered honestly: "After he made an appointment with me, I followed him."

Chen Shao: "So Qi Gao came to you not long after you went to the gambling house?"

Zhou Dazhuang: "Yes, he came just after we finished gambling twice."

Chen Shao: "How much money did Du Zhong bring to the gambling house today? How much did he lose in two rounds?"

Zhou Dazhuang: "He brought 20 strings of cash and lost 15 strings of cash, 800 coins."

Twenty strings of cash, this is not a small amount! Chen Shao glanced at the people in the second hall calmly and asked carefully: "Where did Du Zhong get so much money?"

Zhou Dazhuang trembled and said, "He said that after he did something that cost him his life, the master gave it to him as a reward."

Zhang Boshan asked anxiously, "Who is the master?"

Zhou Dazhuang cried, "He refused to speak."

After Zhang Boshan interrogated him for a while, Chen Shao spoke again: "Where are the remaining four strings of cash and two hundred coins?"

Zhou Dazhuang said: "I didn't take it, I don't know."

Chen Shao looked at Qi Gao. After Qi Gao admitted that he took the four strings of cash, she asked again, "Has he ever been rewarded with a large sum of money before?"

Zhou Dazhuang shook his head: "I haven't heard of it."

That was the first time.

The murderer was from the prefectural government, knew Du Zhong's every move, was wealthy, and wanted her life or didn't want her to stay in Hongyuan County.

Not many people can meet these conditions.

Chen Shao glanced at Zhang Boshan, Ding Lisheng and others with a hidden look.

Zhang Boshan's eyebrows were not eyebrows, his eyes were not eyes, he looked angry and afraid. Ding Lisheng bowed his head and bent his waist humbly and respectfully, his expression could not be seen. The others were the same.

Chen Shao retracted his gaze and ordered Zhang Boshan and Ding Lisheng: "Go and ask who has encountered Du Zhong when he entered or left the backyard."

Zhang Boshan and Ding Lisheng both went there in a hurry, but the news they brought back was not pleasant.

After Du Zhong entered the back house, no one encountered him.

After Du Zhong came out of the back house, he went to the gambling house with Zhou Dazhuang. They met quite a few people, but the clues they provided could only prove that what Zhou Dazhuang said was true.

Chen Shao didn't believe it, so he called everyone in and asked again in person.

This time, I got quite a few clues.