Chapter 152 Finally, a Clue to An'an's Whereabouts

Outside the courtroom, the crowd stirred, with people looking around to see who the corrupt official was asking for help from.

At the back of the crowd, Officer Zhao saw the man's hesitant expression and whispered, "Sir, are you afraid of that General Xitun Pass?"

The man scoffed, "Even ministers in the capital city are beneath my notice. Why would I fear a mere border general? What a joke!"

Officer Zhao then asked, "Is it because the man is accompanied by dozens of strong soldiers that you are hesitant? Don't worry, nearly two hundred constables from this county are about to return. In case that little border general acts disrespectfully towards you, we can protect you."

The man laughed, "You bunch of incompetent constables, how could you possibly be a match for the border guards? Two hundred of you wouldn't even be enough."

After saying this, he took out a token from his pocket, handed it to his personal attendant, and whispered a few words of instruction.

The entourage quickly left.

The man flicked his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, and said with his head held high and chest out, "Officer Zhao, clear the way for me."

Officer Zhao was overjoyed and immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Lord You has arrived!"

The other constables immediately shouted at the people in front of them, shoving and yelling, "Make way! Lord You is here, those who know what's good for them don't block the way!"

Some people were shocked and hurriedly stepped back, making way for him, and then knelt down on the ground.

A small group, unaware of what was happening, saw that everyone else had knelt down and dared not stand any longer.

In the crowd, someone cautiously asked the person next to them, "Who is this Lord You? He looks quite young. Is he even higher than the county magistrate?"

Immediately someone said, "Our Great Xuan has five prefectures, and our Hewan County belongs to Longyuan Prefecture. This Lord You is the prefect of Longyuan Prefecture! The prefect can be said to be the most powerful local official besides the high-ranking officials in the capital!"

"Hiss... How does General Duan compare to him?"

"Not at all. After all, even the entire Xitun Pass region is nominally subordinate to Longyuan County. According to the rules of our Great Xuan, General Duan is only the commander of Xitun Pass. In terms of rank, he is roughly equivalent to a county magistrate. If he sees the local prefect, he still has to take orders from him!"

"..."

Inside the courtroom, Duan Wu's expression changed slightly.

Although he had never met Lord You, he knew his identity.

I never expected to catch such a big fish using the River Bend County Magistrate's fishing rod.

He glanced at Xiao Qidi discreetly.

Although Xiao Qidi's face remained unchanged and his eyes were as calm as still water, the veins on the hand resting on the armrest were bulging.

Come to think of it, the entire Da Xuan was only divided into five prefectures, which shows how high the position and how great the power of the prefects were. Yet, such a high-ranking and powerful local official actually became the backer of a corrupt official in Hewan County.

Your Majesty is probably seething with rage at this moment.

"My lord...my lord!" the magistrate of Hewan County cried out, "You finally came to my aid! I was almost killed!"

Lord You strolled to the front of the courthouse with his hands behind his back, glanced at the magistrate of Hewan County, and then ordered the soldiers holding him, "Why haven't you released the magistrate yet?!"

The two soldiers remained unmoved.

Constable Zhao shouted sternly, "How dare you! You're not even listening to the Prefect?!"

Lord You looked up into the courtroom, staring intently at Duan Wu, and sneered, "Since when has even a dog who guards our Great Xuan dared to sit in the county government office and judge cases? This official has certainly broadened his horizons."

The people gathered outside the courthouse were disheartened by the sight.

It's over.

This prefect was no good either.

With him personally stepping in to protect the county magistrate, General Duan probably won't be able to rid the people of this scourge.

Duan Wu, looking calm, stood up and walked out of the trial table. He stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "This humble general, Duan Wu, greets Your Excellency the Prefect."

"Hehe," Lord You said with a look of disdain, "General Duan, don't think that just because the court recently issued a notice saying that you have made meritorious contributions in guarding Xitun Pass and promoted you to the rank of border general, you really think highly of yourself."

"This humble general dares not be arrogant," Duan Wu said to his soldiers with a smile, "Release the magistrate first."

The two soldiers immediately let go.

With a thud, the magistrate of Hewan County fell face-first into the mud, his mouth hitting the threshold and breaking several teeth.

Zhao, the head constable, hurriedly helped him up. Several constables nearby saw that the magistrate of Hewan County was still naked, so they tried to lift him up in a flurry, but they bumped into the wounds that had just been torn open by the beating.

"Ah!" The magistrate of Hewan County trembled all over. "Gently... gently!"

“Sir, please…please bear with it,” Officer Zhao said in a low voice, “It would be unseemly for you not to put your pants on.”

The magistrate of Hewan County was in pain, both in his mouth and his buttocks, but he could only endure it. With great difficulty, he finally managed to put on his pants with the help of the constables.

Lord You frowned and shook his head as he looked at his extremely disheveled state. "Sigh, hurry up and go get him treated."

"Yes, sir, thank you... thank you, sir." The magistrate of Hewan County was filled with gratitude.

"The case isn't over yet, how can you leave?" Duan Wu suddenly said.

As soon as he finished speaking, several soldiers blocked the entrance to the courtroom.

Lord You reprimanded him sternly, "Duan Wu! Are you trying to oppose me? Believe me or not, I'll strip you of your generalship!"

Before Duan Wu could speak, Xiao Qidi said in a low voice, "This official has quite the airs. Although General Duan is just a border general from a small place, he was at least appointed by the current emperor himself. He is not a soldier from your Longyuan County. What right do you have to dismiss him?"

Lord You turned his head and squinted as he looked you over, asking, "Who are you, kid?"

Now that he was closer, he felt that strange sense of familiarity from before became even stronger.

No matter how hard I try to recall, I can't find any concrete information in my mind.

The magistrate of Hewan County, enduring the pain and discomfort, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "This lad is called Su Mu. He's a migrant worker from out of town. The theft from my treasury is very likely related to him... More importantly, those people who did your bidding were... he's the one who..."

"So it was this brat who did this..." Lord You's eyes instantly turned sinister.

At that moment, Xiao Qidi inadvertently noticed the small hair tie hanging from the jade pendant at Lord You's waist, and his pupils constricted instantly.

He recognized the thing.

Yesterday around noon, Ning Jinli noticed that Xiumei's family didn't have any decent food, so she opened a time portal to return to the modern world, brought some things for Xiumei's family, and also bought a small hair tie for An'an.

Those were items that only existed in Ning Jinli's modern world. Ning Jinli said they were made of rubber bands, and the pretty pink beads that looked like top-quality crystals were also man-made.

This kind of gadget simply doesn't exist in this era.

Therefore, Xiao Qidi not only recognized him instantly, but could also be certain that this Lord You must have been in contact with An'an!

So most likely... An'an was given to him by human traffickers!

No wonder human traffickers are so tight-lipped; even when subjected to torture and risking their lives, they never reveal a single clue.

That makes sense!

Xiao Qidi's mind raced. Suppressing his murderous intent, he stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Lord You, I am merely a lowly advisor to General Duan. If I have offended you, please forgive me. I think there might be some misunderstanding regarding today's events. May I discuss this with General Duan?"

Lord You originally intended to find a reason to kill him, but seeing how good his attitude had suddenly become, he decided to see what kind of tricks he was up to.

He then gave an arrogant smile and waved his hand, "Fine, you can go and discuss it. I'll give you half an incense stick's time. If you can't give me a satisfactory explanation, don't even think about leaving this door alive today."

Duan Wu was a little confused, but he still cooperated with Xiao Qidi and went to the back door of the courtroom together.

Xiao Qidi quickly told Duan Wu about his findings and deductions.

Duan Wu's eyes widened. "Then what are we waiting for? I'll reveal your identity for you right away. That damn prefect will be scared out of his wits and obediently confess everything and hand over An'an too!"

“No,” Xiao Qidi shook his head. “If a human trafficker specifically hands over a four or five-year-old girl to him, there must be some important, shady reason behind it. If he denies it to the death, or even gives up entirely, we will never find An’an.”

Duan Wu asked anxiously, "Then what should we do?"

“I have a plan.” Xiao Qidi explained his next strategy to Duan Wu in detail.

After hearing this, Duan Wu shook his head vigorously, his dark, rough face turning purplish-red. "No, no, making me do this kind of thing... is too painful! I'd rather be killed."

Xiao Qidi's eyes were cold and deep. "Think about the people of Hewan County, think about An'an who is in danger now."

"I..." Duan Wu said with a mournful face, "But I really don't know how. What if I can't pull it off?"

“You have to pretend even if you don’t know how,” Xiao Qidi said, placing his hands on his shoulders. “It’s just for you to pretend, not for you to actually become like that.”

Duan Wu took a few deep breaths. "Yes, I... I will do my best."

After the two reached an agreement, they returned to the courtroom.

"Well? Have you figured out how to explain this to me?" Lord You asked calmly.

Duan Wu's cheeks twitched a few times. He suppressed his extreme discomfort and forced himself to put on a fawning smile. "Lord You, please take a seat."

As he spoke, he bowed and bent down, personally helping Lord You to sit down on the chair at the trial table.

This scene completely chilled the hearts of the people gathered outside the courthouse.

"well……"

"We initially thought that God had shown mercy and sent an upright and incorruptible general to rescue us, but..."

"There's nothing we can do. He's the prefect, and officials protect each other. We ordinary people are powerless."

"..."

Sighs and whispers drifted into the courtroom.

Lord You looked disdainful and ignored him.

He never took the thoughts and opinions of ants seriously.

Duan Wu felt terrible. He clenched his fists and pinched his palms hard with his fingertips to calm himself down. Then, he hardened his heart and shouted loudly, "You commoners, get out of the yamen right now! Anyone who dares to talk nonsense again, I will arrest you all!"

The crowd of people looked ashen-faced. Although they kept their mouths shut, their faces were filled with silent despair and anger.

Even Xiao Qidi turned his head away, unable to bear seeing their expressions.

"Get out of here!" Duan Wu roared. "All soldiers, listen to my order! Throw them out!"

The soldiers present looked on in astonishment, glancing at Duan Wu and Xiao Qidi in disbelief.

However, they quickly realized that, given the character of their emperor and their general, they would never treat the common people this way, so there must be another reason.

Without a word, they tacitly cooperated and carried out the order, each of them putting on fierce and menacing appearances and starting to drive away the people.

The people scattered in terror like a receding tide.

"General Duan, what do you mean by this?" Lord You asked slowly.

Duan Wu knelt down on both knees and apologized with a smile to the magistrate of Hewan County, who was lying on a bench to the side, "Magistrate, I'm really sorry, I've made you suffer."

The magistrate of Hewan County was somewhat puzzled.

This guy was so tough just now, insisting on executing him. How come he's suddenly become a different person?

He remained silent, looking at Lord You in quiet contemplation.

Duan Wu continued to say to Lord You, "Things have come to this point, and I can no longer hide it. In fact... I really didn't expect that the flood would wash away the Dragon King's temple."

Lord You revealed an interested expression, "You seem to be implying something in your words. Tell me the truth."

"Well..." Duan Wu glanced at the constables still inside the courtroom.

Lord You waved his hand, "All of you, step back."

After the constables disappeared, Lord You pressed, "Can you speak now?"

Duan Wu deliberately put on an embarrassed and troubled expression, "If this humble general were to speak out, I hope the county magistrate and the prefect will not be angry."

Lord You had already been subtly piqued and urged, "Tell me quickly, you have no right to bargain with me!"

"Yes, yes, yes," Duan Wu nodded repeatedly, "Actually... this humble general wanted to get some silver. I heard that the magistrate of Hewan County is rolling in money, so I came up with a wicked plan. I sent my advisor to Hewan County to see if there was an opportunity to fleece the magistrate..."

The magistrate of Hewan County roared, "Are you even human?!"

Duan Wu glared at him and said matter-of-factly, "Don't you know how poor Xitun Pass is? This general is really short of money. Is it wrong for me to want to get some money to spend?"

"You..." The magistrate of Hewan County was speechless for a moment, his old face trembling with anger, and even his wounds were being torn apart and causing him to feel waves of pain.

"Hahahaha!" Lord You laughed out loud. "General Duan, I've discovered that you're quite a man of character, even quite amusing. So tell me, if you were only after the money, why did things escalate to this point? You even planned to execute the magistrate of Hewan County and exterminate his entire family?"

Duan Wu chuckled and said, "When Su Mu was looking for an opportunity, he not only discovered that the magistrate of Hewan County had set up a private tax collection project, deceiving his superiors and exploiting the people to line his own pockets, but he also inadvertently discovered a human trafficking gang. Then he found that the human trafficking gang seemed to have an unclear connection with the magistrate. So, after discussing it with him, we decided to use these things as a reason to take down the magistrate in one fell swoop. This way, it would be legal and not arouse suspicion from the people, and we could also confiscate his property."

"You son of a bitch...you beast!" The magistrate of Hewan County couldn't help but curse.

"Hahahaha! Interesting, truly interesting!" Lord You laughed so hard he bent over. "General Duan, you are truly a talent. I admire you more and more."

Seeing Lord You's attitude, even though the magistrate of Hewan County was furious, he could only hold back. "Wait! General Duan, I ask you, was it your men who stole the empty storehouse from my house?"

Duan Wu secretly glanced at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "I did it."

The magistrate of Hewan County was trembling all over, his eyes seemed to be spitting fire, and he questioned through gritted teeth:

"That doesn't make sense! Since you've already emptied my coffers, why would you need to kill my whole family and then confiscate our property? Don't you have some other ulterior motive?!"