Yan Shujin looked grim and couldn't help but say, "What exactly does the Zheng family want? If they really care so much about the country, why couldn't they have treated the people better in the first place?"
Aunt Yu said respectfully, "I'm afraid all they care about is their own wealth and status."
Yan Shujin took a deep breath and said, "What are they going to do to these children? Are they going to raise them to be their offspring and then sell them..."
Before she could finish speaking, Yan Shujin thought of a possibility: if these children were taught to be loyal only to the Zheng family, and then sold to high-ranking officials or even sent directly to the palace while they were still young, even if only half of them were available ten years later, they would still be a force that could not be ignored.
This possibility made Yan Shujin gasp, and for a moment she didn't know what to say. She stood up and paced back and forth in the room.
She had to tell her uncle about this immediately; there was no time to lose.
If she hadn't lingered in the village due to illness, and hadn't gotten involved in town affairs because of her dislike for the old deity, and had wanted to deal with him, the town would probably have been secretly controlled by the previous dynasty without anyone knowing, since the town was completely insignificant.
While Yan Shujin was deep in thought, the guard Wang caught a small fish.
This time, Guard Wang personally led the team, and unexpectedly, not only did they bring back a bunch of children, but they also captured the old immortal's six escaped disciples. Unfortunately, they failed to capture the advisor, but it is likely that the advisor has long been hiding and would not come out because he cannot abandon these children.
Some of the children were crying and making a fuss, while others were muttering something unintelligible.
Yan Shujin asked someone to leave first, then asked, "Are you sure you brought everything?"
Wang, the guard, said, "I interrogated several of the old swindler's apprentices and two cellars where people were hiding."
Yan Shujin nodded: "Yuzhu, check on Li Zhaodi. If she's alright, take those little boys over and see if the one she knows is inside."
Yu Zhu said, "I'll go ask right away."
Yan Shujin sighed. Even through the door, she could still hear the child crying: "Once the identification is complete, send the person to the county magistrate and let him make arrangements for them."
Aunt Yu poured Yan Shujin a glass of warm water.
Yan Shujin took a sip and said, "Give him more things to do, and he'll feel at ease."
Wang, the guard, felt that Princess Yongfu was really planning to squeeze the magistrate out of his last bit of usefulness, and then settle accounts with him in the same way she always had.
Ultimately, Yan Shujin didn't know what kind of children these children had been raised to be, so she dared not keep them by her side. After all, she only had so many guards around her, and she didn't know if these children still had parents or relatives. She would have to send people to search for them and ask them little by little, which would require a lot of people to do.
Yan Shujin simply didn't have the manpower for this task, and she wasn't familiar with the area. Even if the county magistrate was incompetent, he had at least been here for many years and knew more about the people there than she did.
“But I remember telling the magistrate that if the children are unwanted by their parents or have nowhere to go, I will take them with me in the end,” Yan Shujin said. “I also told him not to force these children.”
However, Yan Shujin dared not use these children after bringing them back to Beijing. If these children were already stubborn and had no idea what to do, keeping them by her side would only be a threat.
Even if these children do find their families, Yan Shujin will still have someone keep an eye on them. Although she can't bear to separate people, she is also worried about what might happen in the future.
Thinking about it this way, Yan Shujin felt that if it were her uncle, regardless of whether these children had families or not, they would probably all be taken back to the capital and placed under unified supervision.
Even though she knew this was the better course of action, Yan Shujin was still a little... soft-hearted.
What if it were the father instead?
Yan Shujin felt that her father might make the same choice as her, or he might have a better solution.
The guard respectfully agreed and immediately went to instruct his subordinates to handle the matter. He returned and asked, "Princess, should I go and interrogate the old swindler?"
"No need," Yan Shujin said in a deep voice. "Just lock him up first and make sure he doesn't die. The same goes for that sixth disciple."
If it weren't for the Zheng family's affair, Yan Shujin would have planned to have Wang Shiwei interrogate them, but now she doesn't want to get involved. It would be better to send these people to the capital immediately and let her uncle handle them.
Ultimately, after learning about Jiawang's situation, Yan Shujin had a clearer understanding of Emperor Yan. Emperor Yan was her uncle, but he was more than just an uncle. When considering matters, he no longer prioritized family as much as before, because there were many other things involved.
Yan Shujin said, "Even using special methods is fine, as long as no one dies and no one speaks out of turn."
The guard understood immediately and replied, "Yes."
In fact, in Wang Shiwei's opinion, the Xuanwang Mansion should not get too involved in matters of the previous dynasty, especially since the Xuanwang had already done a lot in the Northwest, and Princess Yongfu was no longer suitable to participate too much.
Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger.
Emperor Yan was a relative and elder of Princess Yongfu, and he thought that his subordinates would see things more clearly, but he did not expect that Princess Yongfu was also very clear-headed.
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