Li Shangjin gritted his teeth and said, "This is..."
The guard gestured and said, "Your Excellency, this way please."
Li Shangjin stared intently at the corpses, his eyes bloodshot. Finally, he gritted his teeth and followed the guards back. The constable, who had vomited, looked terrible and said, "Magistrate, I..."
"Get used to it soon." Li Shangjin didn't press the matter, because he himself felt a tightness in his chest and was extremely uncomfortable after that situation: "What happened?"
The guards gave a brief account of the situation, simply stating that the two sisters went to the orphanage for help, and then Princess Yongfu led them to rescue the two children's mother, where they discovered something suspicious.
Li Shangjin felt deeply ashamed. He hadn't even noticed these things. When he arrived, he only thought that the women here had a low status and that most of them were sons, with very few little girls. But this was the case in many places in Fuzhou, so he didn't take it to heart. When he saw Yan Shujin again, he said directly, "Princess, it was my oversight."
Yan Shujin shook her head, not intending to pursue the matter, and simply said, "Gather more coroners, properly clean up the bodies on the hill, and post a notice. It would be best if we could find their families, and if not... let them be properly buried. The princess's residence will cover the cost."
Li Shangjin felt distressed.
Yan Shujin slowly exhaled and said, "There's also the issue of where to place those children. The young ones who don't understand can be sent to orphanages, and those who already know about it..."
In fact, many children learn their sense of right and wrong from their parents, since no one is born knowing shame.
Li Shangjin said with a heavy heart, "Princess, leave them to me. I will watch them grow up and arrange jobs for them."
This was no easy task, but Li Shangjin accepted it without hesitation.
Yan Shujin glanced at Li Shangjin and nodded: "Try to keep their background a secret from others."
Li Shangjin had already discerned from Princess Yongfu's words that the princess intended to severely punish these villagers, and might even make their crimes public. In that case, their children would be in an awkward position; if people knew about their situation, they would probably never be able to hold their heads high again and would be discriminated against.
Even if Yan Shujin hated these people, she didn't want to involve the innocent children, since children couldn't choose their birth, which was different from the situation in the Northwest.
Yan Shujin said, "The situation in this village is not unique. Other villages may not be like this, where there are human traffickers, but buying women is probably quite common. For those who want to leave, we will try our best to arrange for them to leave, even if they have children with them. I will cover all the expenses for settling them down."
Li Shangjin replied, "Yes."
“I will instruct the prefect and all the county magistrates on the same matter,” Yan Shujin said. “Tell them that even if they leave, I will make arrangements for their future. Those who want to stay can stay, and those who want to leave will be sent away and their lives will be taken care of.”
Actually, this is a thankless task, and you might even be cursed by many people.
Yan Shujin remained calm. These were the words she had been thinking as she looked at the hill: "Even if they weren't trafficked, anyone who wants to leave is welcome."
Li Shangjin hesitated for a moment and said, "In that case, I'm afraid many families won't be able to find wives."
"So what?" Yan Shujin retorted coldly, "If you can't marry her, then you might as well have no descendants."
To be childless and without descendants.
Li Shangjin swallowed hard. He had a feeling that if anyone dared to force a girl to marry or do anything else, Princess Yongfu would really make them childless. He had heard that the eunuchs in the palace's castration room were very skilled. Could Princess Yongfu have brought a few of the castration room eunuchs with her?
For some reason, thinking about this made Li Shangjin feel a chill run down his spine.
When the officials arrived, the carriages that Yan Shujin had hired also came. She pointed at the people and said, "Tie them up and take them back."
The guards immediately agreed, untied the man, untied his legs, and then tied his hands together, binding everyone together.
Yan Shujin looked at Li Shangjin and said, "I'll leave you a few guards; I'll take these people with me first."
"Yes," Li Shangjin said. "Princess, rest assured."
Yan Shujin said, "It's up to you."
In fact, Yan Shujin was also a little worried, because from Li Shangjin's exam paper, she could tell that he was not as ruthless as the prefect. However, Yan Shujin could only keep an eye on things from behind and would not suggest that the prefect take over.
The prefect was someone who had always followed Yan Shujin, while Li Shangjin was the county magistrate, and he should have his own authority and courage.
Yan Shujin was worried, but she was willing to trust Li Shangjin.
Li Shangjin suddenly said, "Princess, I've figured out what I need to do after I take office."
Yan Shujin didn't speak, she just looked at Li Shangjin.
Li Shangjin said, "I don't have such great ambitions. I just hope that during my tenure, there will be no more human trafficking. No matter if it's a woman or a child, they won't be trafficked and treated like commodities, suffering for the rest of their lives. I also don't want to see newborn girls being killed by humans. I have daughters myself, but I don't dare let them marry in Fuzhou. However, I think that one day, I would like to let my granddaughter marry back to Fuzhou so that she can be closer to me."
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