Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Chen Shao looked over coldly.

Ding Lisheng quickly stopped talking and raised his hand to slap himself lightly.

Chen Shao retracted his gaze, gently held the little girl's hand, smiled again and encouraged: "Let's continue."

The little girl's mood was not affected. After carefully looking at Ding Lisheng, she said cheerfully, "When I grow up, I want to sell silk flowers. I want to sell lots and lots of silk flowers!"

Chen Shao followed her gaze and looked at the silk flower on Chan Yi's head.

Chan Yi took down the silk flower and squatted down in front of the little girl: "Little sister, why do you want to sell silk flowers when you grow up?"

The little girl looked at her grandparents. When they kept saying, "It's too expensive. We can't take it," she turned her head away unhappily and said, "Because you can make a lot of money by selling silk flowers."

Chan Yi stuffed the silk flower into her hand and asked with a smile, "Then can you make silk flowers?"

The little girl held the silk flower and shook her head lovingly.

Chen Shao rubbed her head and asked, "So what do you want to learn?"

The little girl looked up at her, her eyes brighter than before.

Chen Shao smiled and said, "I'll ask a teacher to teach you later, okay?"

The little girl smiled brightly and stretched out her finger to pinky promise with her.

Before the little girl's grandparents could stop him, Chen Shao hooked her fingers and said, "Then we have a deal. I will hire a teacher for you when I'm done. I won't break my promise, and neither can you."

The little girl should be fine.

Chen Shao rubbed her head again and stood up. He glanced at the other people in the hall, then at the sun outside, and told Fu Jiu, "Go and invite Shopkeeper Zhou in."

Shopkeeper Zhou came over happily, tugged at his sleeves, and bowed, saying, "I am honored to meet you, sir, and all the elders and fellow villagers! If you have any request for me, please tell me. I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Chen Shao was amused by his happy expression. "Since you are willing to do it, then I will leave the uncles and aunties to you. Serve me well at noon. If you dare to be perfunctory, I will peel off your skin."

"Okay." Shopkeeper Zhou bowed again and said enthusiastically to everyone in the hall, "Please come this way, fellow villagers. Our Juxian Restaurant is the best restaurant in Hongyuan County. Everyone who has eaten here says it is delicious. Today, I will let you taste our cooking skills, thanks to the master's request!"

The uncles and aunts stood up one after another, but they did not intend to follow him. One aunt said, "We just ate, we are not hungry yet, sir, please go and do your work, don't worry about us."

"My fellow villagers, I have finally managed to sell myself well in front of you, please be kind and grant me my wish." Before Chen Shao could say anything, Shopkeeper Zhou had already stepped forward, supported an old man with a disability and cried, "If you don't agree, I will kneel down."

Knowing that they were worried about the money, Chen Shao supported an aunt who nearly fell and persuaded them, "The food and wine at Juxianlou are really good. It's a rare opportunity for you to come here, so go and try it. I just received 1,500 taels of silver from Manager Shen of Fenglong Commercial Bank some time ago. I can't say much about other things, but I can still afford to treat you to a meal."

Shopkeeper Zhou's heart skipped a beat. He was so attentive because he was afraid that she would misunderstand the rumors spread outside Juxianlou. When he heard her mention it, even though she mentioned Fenglong Commercial Bank, he was so scared that he said quickly without even turning his head, "Fenglong Commercial Bank is too dishonest. They rushed to give money to the adults and then came back to throw dirty water like this! Fellow villagers, our Juxianlou is not Fenglong Commercial Bank. Everyone, eat as much as you want today. I'll treat you!"

"Did you all hear that, sir?" Chen Shao said with a smile, "Since it's Shopkeeper Zhou who's treating us, there's no need to be polite!"

"You are right, sir. Please watch your step. Yes, go to the shade over here."

Chen Shao stopped at the entrance of the lobby, watching the crowd of people gradually disappear into the distance amid the shouting of Shopkeeper Zhou. He tilted his head to look at Sun Qi and the others who followed them, "Go ahead, you guys go have a good meal too, and then go back and have a good rest."

After a moment's hesitation, Sun Qi suddenly said firmly: "I believe that you are not someone who will accept bribes at will!"

Zeng Yun and others also expressed their opinions.

Chen Shao smiled and said without further explanation, "I understand. Go ahead."

After Sun Qi, Zeng Yun and others left, Chen Shao slowly put away the smile on his face and said, "Go ahead."

Ding Lisheng knelt on the ground in fear, slapped himself twice, and said in a trembling voice: "Sir, please have mercy. I know I was wrong."

Chen Shao glanced at him: "Let's talk business!"

Ding Lisheng immediately said, "The one who instigated the people to come here to petition for justice was Wei Liangzhi from Fenglong Commercial Bank. Manager Shen from Fenglong Commercial Bank has personally brought him here to apologize to the young master."

Chen Shao turned to him: "What did I tell you before?"

Ding Lisheng hesitated and said, "The master told me to find the instigator and put him in jail."

Chen Shao asked coldly: "How did you do it?"

Ding Lisheng kowtowed and said, "It's not that I didn't do what you told me to do, it's that Manager Shen brought some money to apologize to you."

When rumors were spreading that she had accepted bribes from Feng Long Company, Feng Long Company came to apologize to her with money? Chen Shao smiled, "Since Shopkeeper Shen is sincere in apologizing, then take the money and put him in jail."

After being stunned for a moment, Ding Lisheng quickly got up, answered yes, and went towards the gate.

Li Tianliu looked at his back and said sarcastically, "Rumors about you accepting bribes are flying everywhere, but you don't care at all!"

"Why should we care? Isn't what they said true?" Chen Shao turned around and was about to go to the second court to re-examine Shi Xing, when the mayor came running over excitedly with two official deeds in his hand, "Sir, we found it, we found it!"

He ran over and respectfully handed the certificate to Fu Jiu, saying, "These are the two official certificates from the end of the sixth year of Yuanhe. There are only these two."

Fu Jiu took it and glanced at it casually before handing it to Chen Shao.

Chen Shao first glanced at the names of the buyers on the deed. One was Jia Shiyuan, the other was Hu Lilan, but not Shi Xing. He then looked at the addresses on the deed. One was in Tianshui Lane, Yanglou Street, in the north of the city, and the other was in Qiwan Lane, Shipailou, in the south of the city.

"There are only these two at the end of the year. How many are there in the one or two months before or after the New Year?" Chen Shao asked, "Did you bring any of them here?"

The mayor said awkwardly, "No, no."

Chen Shao looked at him twice, and then kept the boy who recognized Shi Xing, and asked him to go back and find all the items within two months before and after the New Year. Then he looked at Hu Lilan's official deed and asked the boy, "How old was the lady who followed Shi Xing to find your father to buy the yard? Do you still remember?"

After thinking seriously for a while, the boy shook his head and said, "He should be about the same age as Shi Xing. I can't remember the exact age."

According to the deed, Hu Lilan was 39 years old. The yard was bought at the end of December in the sixth year of Yuanhe, which is nearly 15 years ago. It is indeed about the same age as Shi Xing.

Chen Shao ordered Fu Jiu: "Prepare the carriage and go to Qiwan Lane at Shipailou."