Huang He's hair was disheveled, his hands and feet were shackled, and he was wearing a brand new prison uniform, his hands bound in cloth. His cheeks were sunken, his face pale, and he wore a painful expression as he was tied up. The uniform and the cloth concealed the injuries on his body and hands, leaving only a few bloodstains on his exposed face. But Xu Lanyin could still smell the strong smell of blood.
The moment Xu Lanyin saw that abominable face, she recalled his foul and vicious thoughts, and she didn't even feel the nausea from the smell of blood. She stared at him for a good half-minute without saying a word, then turned behind him, leaning on the back of the chair to observe him, essentially listening to his inner thoughts.
Huang He rolled his eyes and glanced at Xu Lanyin. He had already recognized her, but he deliberately said, "Is it a rabbit? I don't like it. I have nothing to say if you bring him here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Wu slapped him in the face, causing blood to flow from the corner of his mouth.
When he was caught by Zhao Wu and his men, he knew he had fallen into the hands of those tenants. He still believed that these people were sent by the government to lure him in. He was angry that his carelessness had ruined his foundation.
Huang He was slapped in the face, but he closed his eyes and pretended to be dead, with his head leaning against the back of the chair.
He was thinking to himself, why hasn't that bastard Tang Weishan tried to kill me yet...If it weren't for Yunniang and Zhier, there's no point in me protecting him. It would be so painful for my ancestors...It's a pity for those treasures under the tree. I didn't tell Yunniang. I don't know which bastard will get the benefit of them in the end...It's all because of my carelessness that I got caught by these two brats...Then he cursed the couple who hurt him with the most vicious words, hoping they would die a horrible death.
Xu Lanyin quickly shifted her thoughts and lowered her hands from the back of the chair. She knew that Tang Weishan was the Left Counselor of the Hebei Provincial Government, a third-rank official.
No wonder these bad guys dare to be so rampant, it turns out there is such a big umbrella protecting them in secret.
Furthermore, Master Ji had said that Huang He had a wife, but they were childless, so the family adopted a son from a clan member. Their family lived in ordinary circumstances, with only a two-story house in Feng County...
Huang He knew Yunniang and He Zhier were controlled by Tang Weishan, so those two people were probably his woman and son. He was doing something that was punishable by death, so in order to keep his family, he might have raised the mother and son somewhere else, and Tang Weishan had caught this handle.
Xu Lanyin knew all this, but she couldn't say it out loud. She had to put on a show and let Huang He reveal his flaws himself.
She walked around to Huang He and said, "Shopkeeper Huang, even hunters won't attack pregnant prey or cubs. You treat those weak children so cruelly. Is it because you have no offspring and you're not afraid of retribution?"
Huang He continued to play dead, closing his eyes and ignoring her.
Xu Lanyin continued, "You've done so many evil things. Even if you were to die, it wouldn't be enough to comfort those you've killed or maimed. Fortunately, you don't have a biological son. If you did, God would surely punish him. How you treat other people's children is how God will treat yours. Let him be buried alive, poisoned and mute, burned and forced to beg for food..."
Huang He's eyes snapped open, a fierce gleam flashing across them. Perhaps realizing he'd lost his composure, he forced a smile and said, "It seems like God is still blessing me, allowing me to have no descendants and no more worries."
After saying that, he closed his eyes and pretended to be dead.
Xu Lanyin talked about some words about the retribution of life and death for his parents, wife, and sisters, but Huang He pretended to be dead and ignored her.
Xu Lanyin had already completely concluded that Huang He was not suitable for hypnosis. But she still had to pretend, so she took out a purse and shook it at him, saying, "Open your eyes and look at the purse..."
Huang He opened his eyes and looked at the purse for a few puzzled moments. He spat at it and cursed, "Minhu, you've run out of ideas, so you bring a little girl to dangle your purse in front of me. Get out of here, give me a quick death, and in eighteen years I'll be a brave man again..."
Xu Lanyin put away her purse and shook her head at Minhu and Tang Che.
The Fujian household had no choice but to send someone in to carry Huang He out.
Xu Lanyin said, "Huang He refuses to cooperate and has a strong will, so hypnosis is not suitable for him. However, I suspect he may have a biological child, which is his weak spot. You can find a way to find clues from this aspect."
The Fujian residents all nodded in agreement, recalling Huang He's fleeting moment of gaffe when he'd just mentioned punishing his own son. Perhaps this was a flaw. Anything done would leave traces, and since he had adopted a son, they could always track him down through his family and acquaintances.
Xu Lanyin continued, "There are only about a dozen people in the provincial capital who can be considered high-ranking officials. That person is afraid that Huang He will betray him, so he might bribe the yamen runners to kill him."
Min Hu said, "We've taken precautions to this point. The yamen runners and doctors who came into close contact with Huang He were all trustworthy people." He added, "Including me, there are fifteen high-ranking officials in the provincial capital. Narrowing the list, we have eight. We even deliberately left some channels open to lure him in. That man is cunning and hasn't been exposed yet."
Xu Lanyin couldn't have made it any clearer. They were all skilled at solving cases, so they should have found a way to pry Huang He open, or find some clue to his son.
It was still Zhao Wu who sent her back to Min Prefecture.
In the car, Xu Lanyin opened her mouth, but felt it was not right to remind Zhao Wu further, so she could only close her eyes and think about the "treasure under the tree" that Huang He mentioned.
Zhao Wu saw Xu Lanyin was listless and thought she was frightened by Huang He. He tried to persuade her for a while and then said, "...I don't like to try cases. I will refuse on my behalf in the future."
Xu Lanyin hurriedly said, "It's not that I don't like to try cases. It's just that when I see Huang He, I think of those who were killed." She was still willing to try cases and help them catch the bad guys.
After sending Xu Lanyin back to Fujian Prefecture, Zhao Wu returned to the Judicial Inspection Office.
Xu Lanyin lay in bed, still thinking about the treasure under the tree Huang He had mentioned. Where should that tree be? In the inn, or in the beggars' den, or in the home he, his wife, and his adopted son lived in, or where Yunniang and her son lived, or somewhere else he didn't know?
After much deliberation, he decided the most likely scenario was the inn. Huang He was an extremely cautious man; otherwise, he wouldn't have secretly raised his own son somewhere else. Therefore, his "treasure" should be kept where he could see it most. He rarely went home, and even less often saw Yunniang and her son. He rarely visited beggars' dens, and spent seven or eight out of ten hours at the inn.
Zhao Wu said that Huang He's room was in the left wing of the middle courtyard. There was a big tree with lush branches and leaves on the side of the room, and that big tree was the tree outside Zhao Wu's room.
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