Chapter 201 She Can't Do That

"Ahem...yes."

Yan Haochu touched his nose:

"Heizi was raised by me anyway, so he's half my son..."

Yun Qingqing was happy:

"Okay, you decide. Tell me the case in detail. Don't leave out any details."

"I've got everything ready!" Yan Haochu immediately took out a stack of papers and handed them over. They were the handwritten files.

Yun Qingqing picked up the file and began to read it carefully, his expression gradually becoming serious.

After checking and asking questions, she quickly figured out the whole story.

This is a strange case of serial disappearances.

The first report of the case came two months ago when the only daughter of a couple who were street vendors went missing.

The authorities at that time investigated for several days and found the girl's shoes by the river near the merchant's home. They finally concluded that she had committed suicide by jumping into the river.

The merchant couple was reluctant to believe it at first, saying that their daughter had always been cheerful and there was no reason for her to jump into the river.

But the authorities found another clue. Someone witnessed the merchant's daughter being very close to a man recently and having secret meetings with him frequently. And just two days before the girl disappeared, someone also saw her having a big fight with the man.

The officer in charge of the case guessed that the girl was heartbroken and jumped into the river because she was unable to get over it. The shoes found by the river were the evidence, and the case was closed.

The merchant couple was unwilling to believe it, but there was nothing they could do.

However, after searching the entire river upstream and downstream, the girl’s body was not found.

Not long after the case was hastily closed, the family of the second missing girl also reported the case to the police.

Judging from the files, this second case is exactly the same as the previous case of the missing merchant's daughter.

The only difference was that after an investigation and search by the government, half of the girl's clothes that were caught by a tree branch were found on a cliff on the mountain where the girl finally revealed that she was going to watch the sunrise.

This time, there were also eyewitnesses saying that the girl had been very close to a man recently.

In the end, the case was closed with the girl committing suicide by jumping off a cliff.

Since the two cases occurred in two different jurisdictions and were handled by two different county magistrates, both sides were treated as independent cases and no one felt there was anything wrong with it.

Until the third case happened.

The third time, the person who disappeared was the only daughter of an old scholar near the imperial capital. The family had no background, but the girl's fiancé, who had been engaged since childhood, was promising and ranked third in the autumn examination. He was now an editor in the Hanlin Academy.

The fiancé had a deep relationship with the girl, so the case was directly reported to the Six Gates.

Upon investigation, there were rumors that the girl had been in contact with a man of unknown origin, and this time the girl's shoes were found by the river.

The person in charge of the case in the Ministry of Justice originally wanted to close the case by saying that the girl committed suicide by jumping into the river, but the girl's fiancé was not like an ordinary citizen, and he did not agree with this conclusion at all.

He also pointed out on the spot that if a person wanted to commit suicide by jumping into a river, there was no need to take off his shoes specifically and put them neatly on the shore!

In addition, no body was found despite numerous salvage operations, and the case remained unsolved. With her fiancé, an editor at the Hanlin Academy, running around everywhere, pressure began to build from above to thoroughly investigate the case.

It was after the third case that someone realized that this was not an isolated case. This person was Yan Haochu.

When the first case occurred, Yan Haochu was still working as a constable in that area.

He had objections when the case was closed, but he was powerless and his words were not influential. In the end, the county magistrate of that area still stubbornly ruled the case as suicide and closed it.

During this period, thanks to Yun Qingqing's assistance, Yan Haochu repeatedly made meritorious deeds and arrested major criminals. He was first promoted from a constable to a captain, and later transferred to the Six Gates, just in time for the third case.

Naturally, he did not miss two such similar incidents. He immediately reported the situation and suggested that there must be a connection between the two cases, and that similar cases might have occurred in other jurisdictions.

At this time, the Six Gates were under pressure from above to conduct a thorough investigation, so they attached great importance to this important conclusion. They immediately ordered all the government offices in the capital to transfer the files. After a comparison, they found another very similar missing case.

After this investigation, the three cases were finally placed on the desk of the Ministry of Justice.

Among the files that Yun Qingqing was reading, there were already five cases of missing persons.

As for the last two missing cases, one was reported from another jurisdiction, and the other happened in recent days. While we were investigating the case here, the fifth reporter showed up.

"Master Qingyun, can you tell me first, are those girls still alive?"

When Yan Haochu saw Yun Qingqing's serious expression, he couldn't help but become more worried.

Although no body has been found so far, the whole case is so strange and confusing that he can't help but worry about the victims.

Yun Qingqing put down the file and nodded at him:

"Don't worry, they will be fine for a while, because this is not a serial murder case, but a kidnapping case."

"Really!" Yan Haochu let out a long sigh, "That's too..."

He stopped talking halfway. He almost blurted out "That's great" just now. But how can it be good for a girl to be abducted even if she survives?

He gritted his teeth and slammed the table in anger:

"Where did these human traffickers come from? They are so despicable! I will bring them all to justice!"

"Master, please help rescue those women. I will pay you whatever the reward is!"

"Even if I can't pay you now, I can still write you an IOU! I will definitely work hard to earn money, and I will always be able to pay you back no matter how long it takes!"

Yun Qingqing looked at his determined face, raised the corners of her lips, stood up, called Mu Hongling over, and whispered a few words in her ear.

He also said:

"That's not necessary this time. Let's go and save people first."

"Thank you, Master!" Yan Haochu hurriedly followed her out.

After walking a few steps, he couldn't help asking:

"If these things were really done by human traffickers, I'm afraid it's a gang. Don't I need to go back to the Six Gates and ask them to send more people?"

Yun Qingqing glanced at him with a half-smile:

"Human trafficking has always been a serious crime, but it happened so brazenly right under the emperor's feet. If it weren't for the fact that the editor of the Imperial Academy couldn't bear to leave his fiancée, do you think there is a chance that these cases would be brought to light for a thorough investigation?"

Yan Haochu's eyes gradually widened:

"You mean..."

He received Yun Qingqing's gaze and immediately shut up.

But my mind is already filled with a myriad of complicated thoughts.

Yes, why didn’t he think of this problem before!

Such evil deeds were committed right under the imperial city, yet they were quietly treated as isolated suicide cases. I'm afraid the villain must have a powerful umbrella of protection behind him!

“If that’s the case, then even if we save people this time, we’ll still have to…” Yan Haochu clenched his fists tightly and said in a low voice.

Yun Qingqing said coldly:

"Why else do you think I would take action?"

"Master..." Yan Haochu turned his head and looked at her, with a hopeful glimmer in his eyes.

"The human traffickers must die!" Yun Qingqing's eyes were filled with cold murderous intent, "This time, we must catch them all in one fell swoop!"

Yan Haochu nodded heavily and followed her aggressively.

After walking for a while, Yun Qingqing stopped at the door of a house.

Yan Haochu's expression suddenly changed.

"Master...why did you come here?"

Yun Qingqing looked at the courtyard with a clear light in her eyes and said:

"Of course, it's to find the whereabouts of those trafficked girls."

Yan Haochu took a step back in disbelief, shaking his head absentmindedly:

"No way... She couldn't possibly do something like that! This must be a mistake!"