"Grandpa Liu's grandson is called Wanzi, he's six and a half years old. He was still asleep when Grandpa Liu went out to buy buns this morning, and he was gone when he came back." Chen Qing raised his teacup and glanced at Jiang Zhuo. "In the past six months, the government hasn't found a single missing child."

That look seemed to be saying that you officials are incompetent.

"It was only after I arrived in Qingzhou that I learned that a child had gone missing. The Qingzhou County Magistrate was afraid of punishment from the court, so he concealed the matter and did not report it."

Jiang Zhuo explained that he couldn't let Shen Qing be prejudiced against him.

"I checked the files and found that all the children attended this Yilan School, so I came to take a look."

Shen Qing nodded, and paused as he reached out to pick up the teacup: “Uncle Liu said that the child will not be lost only in Yilan School.”

That group of human traffickers came and went without a trace, but Yilan School allowed children to play and have fun without any worries.

Either they were very confident in their own protection measures, or they knew that human traffickers would never attack at Yilan Academy.

Yilan Academy needs to be investigated, but it cannot be done easily, otherwise it will alert the enemy.

then……

"Excuse me, is this Yilan Academy?" A woman in plain clothes walked in somewhat stiffly, followed by a man in more ornate clothes.

In order not to attract attention, Jiang Zhuo and Chen Qing pretended to be a poor couple and pretended to want to find a school for their child.

However, Jiang Zhuo's temperament makes him look like a poor man no matter how he acts. So Shen Qing has to take the lead and control the situation, while Jiang Zhuo plays a pretty boy.

"Yes, is there anything for you two?" A young man from the school ran over and saw Shen Qing's good looks, and couldn't help but look at her a few more times.

"It's like this. My husband and I want to send our six-year-old son to Qingzhou to study." Chen Qing pulled Jiang Zhuo, "I heard that Yilan Academy doesn't charge tuition, so I thought of coming to take a look."

"Yilan Academy is a place for children from poor families to study. You two don't look like..."

Doesn't this look like it?

“Husband, why don’t you let our son go to a private school…” Shen Qing pleaded, pulling Jiang Zhuo.

The word "husband" made Jiang Zhuo feel quite happy, but his face was full of annoyance: "If I let him go to a private school, how will I buy wine? Since he can't go to a free school, there is no room for negotiation."

“This…” Shen Qing looked at the young man with some embarrassment.

The young man glanced at Jiang Zhuo beside him and nodded in understanding. Such a beautiful woman married a drunkard. It was obvious that he was just a do-nothing!

"The boss is not here today, so Madam can come here to take a look. I will explain the situation to the boss when he comes back."

Shen Qing nodded gratefully, then carefully pulled Jiang Zhuo, who snorted coldly.

The main hall is where classes are held. Several simple wooden tables are neatly arranged, bearing brushes, inkstones, and paper. A solemn and awe-inspiring portrait of Confucius hangs on the wall behind. Nearby, a bookshelf is piled high with yellowing volumes, emitting a faint scent of ink.

The windows were wooden grilles covered with thin paper, through which sunlight filtered, casting soft rays of light. In the corner stood a copper incense burner, its smoke curling upwards, adding a touch of tranquility and mystery to the school.

There is a tall osmanthus tree in the backyard of the school. In the golden autumn, the tree is covered with golden flowers and the fragrance of flowers fills the air. Under the shade of the tree, there are several stone benches for children to play and rest.

The two of them walked around the entire Yilan Academy and listened to the young man's introduction, but they didn't find anything particularly unusual.

There were no experts guarding the school. Apart from the children, there were only three or four teachers.

"Young Master, I noticed that you only have children around six or seven years old here." Shen Qing asked doubtfully, "You won't accept children over ten years old?"

"Madam, you can just call me Li Yang. Our school can only provide some enlightenment knowledge for children. When they grow up, they still have to go to formal schools." Li Yang had a good impression of Shen Qing, so he was willing to answer her questions.

"I see."

"If there is a chance, Madam can also bring the young master here to take a look, so that it will be convenient for him to learn in the future."

"I don't know if the boss will agree to let him come." Shen Qing had some worry in his eyes.

"I will try my best to help Madam."

"Thank you, Master Li."

Jiang Zhuo saw that there was something wrong with the way Li Yang looked at Chen Qing. He deliberately stood between the two of them and gave Li Yang a threatening look.

Li Yang curled his lips speechlessly when he saw Jiang Zhuo's face, and felt extremely disgusted with Jiang Zhuo in his heart.

"Have you seen enough? Can we go back now? I have an appointment with Zhang Er to drink!" Jiang Zhuo pulled Chen Qing in annoyance.

"Then we'll go back now."

Shen Qing looked at Li Yang embarrassedly: "Please trouble Master Li to fight for it for us."

"Don't worry, ma'am."

Jiang Zhuo half-hugged Shen Qing as they left. Li Yang looked at Jiang Zhuo's back with a cold look in his eyes.

A man like that would definitely not come to pick up the child even after school. It would have to be the wife who came anyway, so he could see her more often.

It was not until they turned the corner that Shen Qing knocked Jiang Zhuo's hand off her waist.

"You are so heartless. You were calling me husband just now, but now you are so rude." Jiang Zhuo touched his hand and looked at Chen Qing aggrievedly.

"There's something wrong with this Li Yang."

"Yes, he covets you." Jiang Zhuo's tone was a little sour.

"I mean, he knows martial arts."

When Li Yang walked, his steps were so light that almost no sound could be heard, as if there was wind under his feet, yet every step was steady.

Looking at his hands again, his palms were covered with thick calluses, especially around the base of his palms and knuckles. The calluses were thick and hard. It was obvious at a glance that this was the result of years of tightly gripping the hilt of a sword.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!