Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Zhou Shan wrote it in great detail.

There are nearly two hundred people, and their counties, occupations, and places of residence are all clearly written.

Chen Shao read it from beginning to end and said slowly, "Bao Chengle followed me. I didn't forgive him for his past actions. I just gave him a chance to make meritorious service. If you want to make meritorious service, I can give you a chance, but the prerequisite is that I have to find out whether your list is true or false first."

Zhou Shan said frankly: "My Lord, just investigate. I am not afraid."

Chen Shao didn't beat around the bush. He put down the list and got straight to the point: "Who is Zhou Qixin, or Sun An?"

"He is also Lord Luo's man," Zhou Shan explained without hesitation, "but I have only dealt with him twice. One was when he first came to Luoyun Town two years ago, and the other was three days before the iron mine collapsed."

"What is he doing in Luoyun Town?" Chen Shao asked.

Zhou Shan shook his head: "He didn't say what he was doing specifically, and I didn't ask. I just heard him mention it a few times, and the general idea was that he was instructed by Lord Luo to come to Luoyun Mountain to monitor the Mengshe Smelting Bureau."

Chen Shao looked up at him and asked, "Did you collect the evidence of Sun Guishan's crime?"

"No." Zhou Shan denied, "I don't have that ability."

Chen Shao questioned: "Since you didn't collect it, how did you know about it?"

Zhou Shan lowered his head, hesitated for a moment, then raised his head resolutely and answered: "My cousin is Lord Luo's confidant. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​using evidence to control the governors and magistrates of various counties and prefectures."

Chen Shao was surprised, but he didn't show it on his face: "What's the name of your cousin?"

"Bao Chengle also knows my cousin." Zhou Shan's resolute expression did not change. "My cousin Cheng Yuanlang is the same age as Lord Luo, Bao Chengle, and Zhang Boshan, the former governor of Hongyuan County. If you don't believe it, you can ask Bao Chengle for confirmation."

Cheng Yuanlang was the mastermind who controlled the governors and magistrates of various counties and prefectures with evidence of crimes. After Chen Shao took note of it, he asked, "Where is your uncle?"

"In Shu County," Zhou Shan replied, "My cousin is Lord Luo's think tank. He will not easily leave Shu County unless it is absolutely necessary."

Chen Shao: "Do you interact with him a lot?"

"Not much." Zhou Shan said truthfully, "He will only contact me when he needs it."

"In other words," Chen Shao asked, "between you, only he can contact you, but you can't contact him?"

Zhou Shan nodded in agreement.

Luo Wanyou's advisers would not easily leave Shu County, so they could only contact him unilaterally. After Chen Shao wrote it down again, he changed the subject and asked, "What did Zhou Qixin or Sun An ask you to do a few days before the iron mine collapsed?"

"You came to me for a drink, and you also came to me to say goodbye." Zhou Shan was a little surprised that she didn't continue to ask about Cheng Yuanlang, but he quickly calmed down and replied, "I thought he was going back to Shu County. When I heard the news of the iron mine collapse, I felt sorry that he could never return to Shu County. Then I realized that the expression on his face when he drank that day seemed to have expected this disaster. Thinking back to what he said, I realized that the collapse of the iron mine was most likely related to him."

Chen Shao asked step by step: "What did he say?"

Zhou Shan said: "He said the most that if he had known that earning this little money would lead to the separation of his family, he should not have disobeyed my mother's advice and accepted this job. He also advised me that as a family, we can live together even if we have to eat coarse food, and not to be like him, who ended up like this for a few dollars."

When Zhou Shan first heard his ramblings, he just thought something happened in his family. He was not good at speaking, and after coming to Luoyun Town, he interacted with fewer people to hide his identity. Over time, he became even less good at speaking, so that although he wanted to comfort him, he couldn't utter a word in his heart for a long time.

Hearing the news of the iron mine collapse, Zhou Shan felt regretful that he would be able to return to Shu County in two days, but such a thing happened. The words he had said suddenly popped into his mind, like a blow from a club. Cold sweat suddenly broke out on his body, soaking his clothes.

After spending some money and secretly inquiring about his every move after coming to the iron mine, Zhou Shan realized that they had all been deceived by Luo Wanyou.

They were all driven by the benefits promised by Luo Wanyou, so they dispersed to various counties to supervise the people and things assigned by him.

But Sun An's fate told him that every benefit they got was a handle that Luo Wanyou had over them.

He already knew that his cousin's words about bringing his family to Shu County and sending his children to the county school so that they could pass the imperial examinations and enter official careers in the future were all lies.

His family, like Sun An's family, had long been controlled by Luo Wanyou.

It's not like he didn't think about sneaking back to rescue his family, but he knew that he would only die if he did it alone.

This is also one of the reasons why he confessed voluntarily.

It seems like he can't trust anyone anymore.

Except Chen Shao.

If Chen Shao couldn't help him rescue his family, at least he could avenge his family through her!

Chen Shao guessed what he was thinking. He glanced at the list on the table and asked, "Where are your family members?"

Zhou Shan quickly replied, "Shu County."

Shu County? Chen Shao looked at him and said, "Tell me what you think?"

"The news that I was arrested and brought to justice by you must have been known to Lord Luo and my cousin," Zhou Shan said. "If you want to protect my family, you have to make Lord Luo and my cousin believe that I have not confessed any useful information. So when the interrogation is over, please show no mercy."

Chen Shao said calmly: "And then?"

Zhou Shan was silent. After a long while, he continued, "All I can think of is to protect their lives first. If the heavens are merciful, and you go to Shu County to punish Lord Luo, and they are still alive, then everyone will be happy. If the heavens are merciless..."

Zhou Shan couldn't continue.

Chen Shao looked at him calmly for a moment before asking, "How many years have you been in Yunluo Town?"

Zhou Shan said hoarsely: "It's been almost eight years."

Chen Shao: "How many times have you been home in the past eight years?"

Zhou Shan: “Three times.”

Chen Shao: "Is the benefit that Lord Luo promised to give you silver, or something else?"

Zhou Shan: "There are silver, land, and tax exemption."

Chen Shao: "How do you get the money? Is it monthly or annual?"

Zhou Shan: "I will give you five taels of silver every month, and another twenty taels of silver at the end of the year."

"Very generous." Chen Shao commented and then asked, "Is the money for you or your family?"

Zhou Shan: "Give it to me."

Chen Shao paused for a moment: "How did you give it to you?"

Zhou Shan replied without hesitation: "The little man given to me by the caravan."

After answering, he expected that Chen Shao's next question would be about which caravan he was talking about, so he simply said, "I gave the silver to you through the Jiading Tea and Horse Society."

After a pause, he continued, "My cousin also contacted me through the Tea Horse Society."

Chen Shao: "The owner behind Jiading Tea and Horse Society is Luo Wanyou?"

Zhou Shan thought for a moment and said uncertainly: "It should be."

Seeing that he answered quite straightforwardly, Chen Shao put down his pen and asked, "How do you send the money back home after you get it every month? And you only go home three times in eight years. How do you usually keep in touch with your family?"

Zhou Shan exhaled: "They were all sent through the Jiading Tea and Horse Society."

Chen Shao tapped the desk twice: "Are all your family members in Shu County?"

Zhou Shan nodded in agreement.

Chen Shao was puzzled: "Since your family is in Shu County, and your cousin is Luo Wanyou's confidant, why didn't they send the money directly to your home, but went through the unnecessary process of transferring it back and forth through the Jiading Tea and Horse Society?"

Zhou Shan gritted his teeth and said, "My cousin said that only when I touch the silver with my own hands can I know that Lord Luo and he did not deceive me."

Chen Shao frowned and said, "You have been in Yunluo Town for eight years. Apart from Jiading Tea and Horse Society, do you know any other caravans or individuals that you can trust?"

Zhou Shan shook his head.

"I do!" Edward Yang said anxiously.

Chen Shao and Zhou Shan looked at him at the same time.

Edward Yang flattered, "I, a villain, also want to redeem myself for my crime."

Chen Shao looked at him with a smile on his face: "If you want to redeem yourself from your crime, you can. But first, tell me how the iron mine collapsed."

Yang Dechang's back collapsed instantly. After a long while, he said guiltily, "It was Lord Sun who caused Sun An to collapse."

"Before Sun An blew up the iron ore, the mine had been leaking water for two months," Chen Shao said directly. "In the past two months, many people have reported this to you, but you ignored them all. Why is that?"

Edward Yang quickly defended himself: "It was not me who ignored it, it was Lord Sun who ordered me to ignore it."

Chen Shao: "What's the reason?"

Yang Dechang moved his legs nervously. "Lord Sun said that someone reported us to the Lord for privately casting weapons and selling them to the Shan Kingdom. After the Lord has dealt with the matter in Hongyuan County, he will go to the Mengshe Smelting Supervisor to deal with us. If we want to avoid the fate of the Zhu and Gu families in Hongyuan County, the only way is to collapse the iron mine and cover up the evidence."

Chen Shao said calmly, "The one who privately forged the weapons was the Military Equipment Bureau. Even if it was going to collapse, it should have collapsed like that. Why was that place fine, but this place collapsed?"

Yang Dechang shivered and looked around and said, "This, this... Many of the girls in Zuixinglou were thrown there by Master Sun because their fathers and brothers did not listen to him. Master Sun made a lot of money from them. Among the merchants they traveled to and fro, there must be one or two lovers. Master, you only need to check carefully and you will definitely find someone useful."

"We'll talk about this later," Chen Shao knocked on the table twice, "answer my question first."

“This…” Yang Dechang trembled, “I dare to say this only because you promised not to kill me.”

"I can't promise that I won't kill you," Chen Shao said calmly, "but I can promise that if you keep procrastinating like this, I will kill you right now!"

"Please spare my life, sir!" Yang Dechang kowtowed while crying, "It was Lord Sun, it was Lord Sun's idea, it was Lord Sun who wanted to kill you, it had nothing to do with me!"

Chen Shao said calmly: "Tell me, how does Lord Sun plan to kill me?"

Yang Dechang cried and said, "Master Sun said that instead of waiting for Master to come to us, we should take the initiative to lead Master here. After the iron mine collapsed, when Master came to investigate the cause, we should find a way to lead Master to the Military Equipment Bureau and then blow him up with gunpowder."

After confirming his conjecture, Chen Shao jumped to the next question: "How do you know that the girls in Zuixinglou have lovers? And how do you know that the caravans they are in love with are willing to work for me?"

Edward Yang shrank his neck and said, "Lord Sun treated them like that. If there is a chance, he will definitely take revenge."

Chen Shao smiled, called in two elite soldiers, gave them both a beat-up, and then locked them up separately.