"What nonsense are you spouting!"

After a brief silence, an incredulous rebuttal erupted from the crowd.

"That's a young lady from the Duke's mansion, a woman of great wealth and honor. How could she possibly be kidnapped by human traffickers? Are you kidding me?"

"Exactly, it's just a publicity stunt; they must have seen it wrong."

"If the Duke's mansion lost its young lady, wouldn't the sky be turned upside down? How could there be no news at all?"

The man who initially spoke up to identify the man was blushing as he faced the skepticism of the crowd.

The veins on his neck bulged, as if he had suffered a great humiliation, and he shouted at the top of his lungs:

"I'm not making this up! I've seen Miss Zheng with my own eyes."

Last year on the Double Ninth Festival, a temple fair was held at Ci'en Temple outside the city, and the women of the Duke's Mansion went to offer incense and pray for blessings.

What a grand procession! Guards cleared the way, and servants surrounded them.

Miss Zheng sat in the front carriage, the one with the blue curtains and canopy bearing the insignia of the Duke's mansion.

I was close enough to see it clearly; it was definitely that face!

He pointed excitedly at the two disheveled figures in the hall.

"And the one next to her, that's her head maid, what's her name... Ying?"

"Yes, her name is Chunying. I've seen her before, there's no mistake!"

This seemingly irrefutable accusation was like pouring a bucket of cold water into boiling oil.

The crowd erupted in uproar, with discussions and exclamations rising and falling, even more heated than before!

In the hall, Deng Hongyi, the Prefect of Jingzhao, was so shocked that he almost jumped off his official chair.

No wonder, no wonder it looked familiar!

Those eyebrows and eyes, those clear and beautiful features that even dirt couldn't hide, weren't they Zheng Huiyin, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zheng's family, whom I had met several times at various palace banquets?

How is this possible? How is this possible!

How could the apple of the eye of the Duke's family be kidnapped by human traffickers?

How could the Duke's mansion remain completely silent after being kidnapped, allowing him to disappear for several days without making a fuss?

Deng Hongyi felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight up to the top of his head.

He had served as the Prefect of the Capital for many years, and had tried countless strange and unsolved cases, boasting of his extensive knowledge and experience.

But the absurd scene before him left his mind blank; he couldn't think of a logical reason to explain what was happening.

In the center of the hall, the victims who had been crowded together subconsciously dispersed, their suspicious gazes sweeping back and forth between Zheng Huiyin and Chunying.

Chunying's hand froze in mid-air, her face pale with a mixture of fear and bewilderment.

Zheng Huiyin's chaotic thoughts were finally shattered by identification and countless piercing gazes!

She turned her stiff neck blankly, her gaze sweeping over...

The Prefect of Jingzhao, sitting upright in the hall, had a livid face;

On either side stood yamen runners, holding menacing fire and water clubs, their expressions one of astonishment.

The prisoner kneeling on the ground, his expression one of deep sorrow;

His equally disheveled "companion" was beside him;

And outside the government office, the countless faces were filled with shock, curiosity, and pity...

Boom!

It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in her mind, cleaving through all the fog.

At that moment, she understood, she understood completely!

"Miss... what is going on..."

"shut up!"

Zheng Huiyin suddenly turned her head and let out a low growl like a wild beast!

Those once beautiful eyes, brimming with talent and pride, are now filled only with a ferocious and desperate look, as if they were ready to devour anyone.

The coldness and madness in her eyes frightened Chunying into silence, even stopping her breathing.

Just then, several hesitant voices rang out from outside the yamen:

"It seems...it really is Miss Zheng..."

“That’s right, it’s her. I saw her once from afar during the Flower Festival two years ago when she was out enjoying the spring scenery by the Imperial River. She looks just like that.”

"Good heavens! It really is Miss Zheng! How...how did she end up in the hands of human traffickers?"

"Damn human traffickers, they even dare to touch the young lady of the Duke's mansion, they're really asking for trouble."

"Oh dear! Look, Miss Zheng's dress...the hem..."

Following the exclamation, everyone's gaze instantly focused on Zheng Huiyin's tattered dress, the original material of which was no longer discernible.

The hem, covered in dust, was stained with a dark brown bloodstain!

Not only her, but also Chunying beside her, had similar dark stains on her dirty coarse cloth trousers.

This silent "evidence" is more impactful than any words.

"It's over..." an old woman murmured in the crowd.

"I was put in that den of wolves and locked up for so many days..."

This innocent young lady... she's probably already been defiled..."

"No wonder Miss Zheng didn't register; she must have suffered such a terrible calamity..."

The commotion among the people spread instantly, but this time, the voices of discussion were much quieter than before, carrying a sense of awe and avoidance.

That's the Duke's mansion, who would dare to loudly discuss the Duke's daughter's "scandalous affairs"?

But the buzzing sound formed from those whispers was like countless fine steel needles, piercing the swaying figure in the hall.

In the midst of this suffocatingly low atmosphere, a sudden commotion broke out on the outskirts of the crowd.

"Get out of the way, all of you! What nonsense are you spouting? How could my young lady have been kidnapped!"

A furious male voice roared, roughly pushing through the crowd.

The visitors were Liu Feng, the captain of the guards of the Duke's mansion, and Chunying's brother.

They waited in a carriage diagonally opposite the Jingzhao Prefecture, paying little attention to the trial being held at the prefectural government office, until they heard the young lady's name uttered from the crowd.

Liu Feng was extremely anxious, his face filled with murderous intent, and his fierce gaze swept through the crowd, trying to find the source of the rumors and trouble.

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