Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Shi Hui pursed her lips and said nothing.

Chen Shao looked back at her and told Li Tianliu: "Keep an eye on them."

"Please, sir, help us!" Seeing that she was about to go to the burned house, Hu Lilan suddenly knelt on the ground.

Shi Hui and the boy also knelt on the ground following her.

Chen Shao kept walking.

"Sir!" Hu Lilan ran after her on his knees. When he was stopped by the Imperial Guards, he kowtowed desperately and said, "Sir, please help us!"

Shi Hui and the boy also kowtowed with her.

The common people who were stopped far away outside the yard by the Yulin Guards and yamen runners were already talking about it.

Hu Lilan seemed not to hear it, and kept kowtowing and saying, "Please, sir, make the decision for us!"

The mud splashed by the firefighting water continued to splash on her body as she kowtowed. In just a moment, her plain clothes were covered with mud spots.

Chen Shao stopped and told Li Tianliu again: "Watch them carefully. If you need me to make a decision, we can talk about it later."

"Sir!" Hu Lilan knew that he could no longer stop her from going to that room. In a hurry, he could not help but ignore the warning of the Imperial Guards. He knelt down and walked two steps, then kowtowed again, saying, "He was forced to do it. It was Principal Gao Shan and Supervisor Luo who forced him to do it!"

There is important evidence of Shi Xing’s murder in that room!

They set the fire to destroy the evidence!

No matter how much they tried to try to stop him, Chen Shao walked towards the burned house without looking back.

The door is locked.

Chen Shao took two steps back, and after Li Tianliu cut the iron chain with a sword, she took two steps forward.

It's a connecting room.

There is no obstruction.

There was a table next to the burned wall, on which were four spirit tablets. Three of them were knocked over by the water, leaving only one standing upright.

There was a long table in front of the desk, on which were neatly piled several piles of clothes, in front of which was a basin of various jewellery, an account book and a butcher knife.

There is another brazier in front of the long table.

There were residual incense and ashes of paper money in the brazier.

Apart from these, there was nothing else in the room.

Chen Shao first walked towards the brazier and identified the ashes inside. Seeing that they were all incense ashes and paper money ashes, he walked towards the long table.

Her eyes first fell on the piles of clothes.

They were all old clothes, each stained with a lot of blood. The blood mixed with the water poured in from the fire, dyeing the entire tabletop red.

Chen Shao did not rush to identify the clothes, but picked up the account book that was already soaked with blood, wiped off some of the water stains on the surface with the handkerchief handed to her by Chan Yi, and carefully flipped through two pages. After confirming that it was the account book of Xia Biao Horse Farm, she immediately closed the account book and handed it to Chan Yi: "Put it on the carriage to dry, and don't touch it again before it dries."

After Chan Yi left with the account book, Chen Shao's gaze fell on the butcher knife beside him.

The handle of the butcher knife was engraved with the words "the 29th year of the Gengzi Year".

It was the butcher knife recorded in the account book provided by Sun Rende, the owner of the blacksmith shop in Qingshui Town.

Chen Shao wrapped the butcher knife with a handkerchief used to wipe the account book and handed it to Li Tianliu. He then looked at the basin of jewelry. Apart from a few pieces of gold jewelry, most of them were dull silver jewelry, as well as wooden hairpins and hairpins. Among the silver jewelry, there were two children's longevity locks and five children's bracelets.

Clothes...even though they were stacked together, you could still tell at a glance that some were worn by the elderly, some by the young, and some by children.

Chen Shao picked up the patched coarse cloth next to him and unfolded it, and saw that the blood stains were concentrated on the collar and the front of the chest. The next one, the next one, and so on.

"Take these clothes and jewelry back to the prefect's mansion." After giving the order, Chen Shao walked towards the desk.

There are four spirit tablets, starting with: Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, and Nephew.

The spirit tablets are all signed by Shi Xing.

No wonder he remained indifferent when I told him this morning that the disaster would not affect his family. It turned out that...

After placing the spirit tablet on the table, Chen Shao took three steps back, bowed three times respectfully, then stepped forward again and wrapped the spirit tablet with the black cloth on the table. When she was about to take it away, Li Tianliu suddenly snatched it from her hand.

In the yard.

Seeing the items taken out of the house, Hu Lilan and Shi Hui were already pale. Seeing Li Tianliu coming out with a black cloth, they were stunned for a moment, and suddenly rushed up like crazy.

The Yulin Guards stopped them.

"Sir, we plead guilty. Please don't take those spirit tablets away. Please, please..." Hu Lilan knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately to Chen Shaomeng who came out last.

More and more people are gathering around.

Chen Shao glanced at them expressionlessly and went to another room. The other rooms were just like the empty room, decorated simply. It was obvious that they were not well off, but fortunately, each room was kept very clean and tidy.

After a brief look around, Chen Shao came out without much trouble. After asking Li Tianliu to arrange for someone to guard the yard, he said to Hu Lilan in a cold voice: "Get up, wait until we get back to the prefect's mansion, and explain everything that needs to be explained, and I will naturally return it to you intact."

Shi Hui helped Hu Lilan up in grief and despair, and took the boy with her, and numbly followed Chen Shao back to the prefect's mansion under the guidance of many people at the shipai archway.

Shi Xing was still kneeling in the second hall.

He had not eaten or drunk water for twelve hours. Hunger and the long, intense interrogation had left him physically and mentally exhausted. The only thought that kept him going was...

There were footsteps heard, someone else was coming, Shi Xing quickly calmed down.

Shi Xing recognized Chen Shao from the fluttering clothes of the person passing by, and his mind tensed up involuntarily. Her interrogation was too tricky, and he had to concentrate all his energy to deal with it.

However, this time Chen Shao didn't waste time talking to him. After sitting on the desk, he ordered coldly: "Put all the evidence in front of Master Shi and let him identify it carefully!"

Evidence, what evidence? Shi Xing instinctively looked up: the account book of the horse farm, the butcher knife, the clothes and jewelry of the people he killed, and the spirit tablets of his father, mother, elder brother, and nephew...

She found it!

How did she find it?

Shi Xing looked back suddenly with a chill all over his body. The moment he saw Hu Lilan, Shi Hui and the boy, he did not bother to question them why they did not burn down the house early as he had arranged and hide somewhere else. He quickly turned back and kowtowed, saying, "I killed them. It was me who killed them. It had nothing to do with them. Please let them go, sir!"

Hu Lilan, Shi Hui and the boy walked to the center of the hall and knelt beside him.

The boy carefully tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Dad."

"I confess, I confess everything. I was the one who killed them. I am willing to be cut into pieces to pay for their lives. Please, sir..." Shi Xing kowtowed with tears and blood, "Let them go!"

Chen Shao looked at the boy without surprise, then turned to him unmoved and said, "I advised you this morning that as long as you confessed honestly, I could assure you that your family would not be implicated. It was you who rejected this opportunity! Now...what qualifications do you have to ask me to let them go!"