Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

"I haven't paid attention to him for a long time," Wu Tao said calmly, without much tone. "I rarely stay at home overnight, and when I do, I stay in my own room and don't meet or talk to him. I never noticed whether he was at home or not, or what he was doing. But I believe he is not the kind of person who kills people casually."

Chen Shao looked at her tears rolling down for a long time before asking, "But I heard that when he brought students home to improve their lives, if he ran into you or your family, you would say something unpleasant."

Wu Tao nodded: "I am at home during the day, and occasionally I run into him bringing students back, and I do say a few harsh words to him."

Chen Shao asked: "Why?"

Wu Tao smiled self-deprecatingly again. "He felt sorry for the students whose families had difficulty supporting them to study, and he would always do all he could to earn money to help them. However, he never felt sorry for me. Since I got married to him, he has spent a total of three taels of silver from him, and that three taels of silver was his betrothal gift to me."

"What a hypocritical villain!" Chan Yi muttered in a low voice.

Chen Shao looked at Wu Tao, then at Shi Chengan beside her: "Did you secretly give him money?"

Wu Tao lowered his eyes and said nothing.

That means it was given. Chen Shao asked, "Why?"

Wu Tao said calmly: "I am the one who is sorry for him."

"How much silver did you give him in total?" Chen Shao asked.

Wu Tao shook his head, "I can't remember it clearly."

"Give him a rough estimate." Chen Shao said gently, "Whether he is a murderer or not, this is very important to him."

Wu Tao thought for a moment and said, "All together, it should be no less than fifty taels of silver."

Chen Shao didn't know how much the housing prices were in Hongyuan County, but fifty taels of silver could buy one a house in a slightly remote area of ​​the capital. No matter how expensive the housing prices in Hongyuan County were, they should not be more expensive than those in the capital.

"Take her down," Chen Shao ordered, "and arrange a better cell for her."

Chen Shao felt pity for her, but that was all she had. Before the case was solved, she was still a suspected accomplice. All she could do was to provide her with a better jail environment.

"Sir," Liu Deming stepped forward impatiently as soon as the yamen runners took the mother and son away, and resolutely handed over a few portraits and said, "Sun Rende has confirmed that the person who bought the butcher knife was Master Shi!"

Chen Shao did not take the portrait, but looked at him gently.

Liu Deming's eyes were red with tears in them, and his expression was filled with sadness, anger, confusion, and disbelief. "The student is fine, don't worry."

He just couldn't believe that Mr. Shi, who usually took such selfless care of them, was actually such an irresponsible person behind the scenes.

It was a pity that he didn't believe Chen Shao's words when he said he was the murderer. Even though Sun Rende recognized him as the one who bought the butcher knife, he still had doubts. It was because they had seen the evil deeds of Wu Tao and her family.

It turns out that what you see is not necessarily the truth.

He said it was okay, so Chen Shao did not comfort him. The first step in a person's growth is to understand human nature. He took the portraits, arranged them one by one, looked at the several handprints on the corner of Master Shi's portrait, and asked, "Tell me about how Sun Rende identified the portrait."

Liu Deming wiped away his tears quickly. "After Guo Zitao finished drawing these portraits according to the adults' instructions, we went to Qingshui Town. Sun Rende took these portraits and pointed out Master Shi at a glance. We also asked the old guys in the blacksmith shop to identify them one by one, and they also pointed out Master Shi at a glance at the same time."

There were still big differences between the portraits. They recognized Shi Xing at a glance, which showed that they were indeed impressed by him. After Chen Shao thanked him for his hard work, he collected the portraits and asked him, "You came back alone?"

Liu Deming responded: "They have already gone to investigate another matter assigned by the adults."

"You can go too." Chen Shao said, "If you are too busy, you can go back to the academy and ask a few more classmates to go."

Liu Deming did not leave. When Chen Shao asked him if he had anything else to do, he made up his mind and said, "I want to see you interrogate Master Shi. Please allow me to do so."

Chen Shao looked at him inquiringly, and seeing that he looked quite determined, he nodded and said, "Go wait over there."

Liu De stepped aside.

Chen Shao looked at the Yulin Guards who had returned from their investigation and the thin middle-aged man standing behind them.

Yulinwei spoke first: "Shi Xing did rent horses at the horse farm, but the account book was taken away by Shi Xing half a month ago on the pretext that the academy wanted to check the accounts, and it has not been returned yet."

Chen Shao asked: "Where is the evidence?"

The Yulin Guards stepped aside and let the thin middle-aged man come out to answer.

The thin middle-aged man hurriedly saluted and said, "I am Xia Biao, honored to meet you, sir."

Chen Shao nodded, "The credentials were also taken away by Shi Xing?"

Xia Biao shook his head. "He didn't write a receipt. Master Shi is a teacher at the Imperial College and a well-known philanthropist. Out of respect for him, we didn't ask him to write a receipt. But I still remember some of the time when he rented the horses."

"What time is it?" Chen Shao asked.

Xia Biao said with some fear: "The most recent one was on the morning of May 16th, and the previous one was on the morning of April 29th. The other times were also concentrated in the morning or the first day of the crime. In the past, we just thought it was a coincidence and never thought of him as the murderer."

It was a pity that he had not thought of the possibility of leasing the carriage at the beginning, and missed such an important clue, causing him to destroy the evidence first. Chen Shao suppressed his regret and continued to ask, "When did Shi Xing take the account book?"

Xia Biao replied: "In the evening of May 30th."

It was the day she met him at the West City Gate! A trace of annoyance flashed across Chen Shao's face, and he ordered the yamen runner, "Go and bring Shi Xing up!"

Shi Xing quickly followed the yamen runners to the second hall.

Just like the one I saw at the West Gate that day, with a head full of silver hair and a hunched back. Seeing the indignant Liu Deming and Xia Biao, his expression did not waver at all. He knelt down calmly in the middle of the hall, touched his head to the ground and said, "I am honored to see you, my Lord."

"Tell me," Chen Shao looked down at him, "what was the reason for killing them."

Shi Xing said calmly: "I didn't kill anyone."

Liu Deming stepped forward and said, "The owner and the clerk of the blacksmith shop in Qingshui Town have already recognized that you bought the butcher knife! Shopkeeper Xia has also told you to rent a horse on the morning of each case and the day before!"

Shi Xing looked up at him and said, "Just based on these two, you are sure that I am the murderer?"

Liu Deming was so frightened by the hurt look in his eyes that he was speechless.

Chen Shao took over the conversation at the right time: "Why did you buy the butcher knife?"

Shi Xing bowed his head to the ground again: "When I was helping out in the village, I always heard people say that the butcher knife made by that blacksmith shop was the best in the whole Hongyuan County. I was curious for a moment, so I went to buy one."

Chen Shao asked: "Where is the butcher knife?"