Chapter 771 The Case of the Missing Girl in the Capital
Donghua and Li Haoyang ran down from the attic as fast as they could.
Once they went down, they discovered that it was a huge backyard. The yard was very quiet, and no one would have guessed that a missing girl was hiding there.
"Quick, stop them!"
"Don't let those two get away!"
The burly men in the attic covered their eyes and screamed.
The backyard, which had been quiet just moments before, was suddenly filled with a group of burly men who appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the two of them.
There were people everywhere, blocking all the roads.
"It's all over, it's all over..." Donghua looked left and right, terrified. "I might survive if I were sold to a brothel, but you're really going to die..."
Li Haoyang looked at her with a slight surprise.
She was already struggling to take care of herself, yet she was still worried about whether he lived or died...
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Donghua asked with a mournful face. "I still have three or four packets of chili powder. I'll take them out later, and you can find a chance to escape..."
The courtyard is packed with people, and three or four packets of chili powder don't seem to be enough, but there's no other way now.
She reached into her fanny pack and rummaged around.
Just then, the backyard door was kicked open violently.
"Don't move!"
Dozens of armored guards rushed in and surrounded the burly men.
Immediately afterwards, the General of the Cavalry walked in, followed by a group from the Zhao family.
Donghua burst into tears instantly: "Aunt, Mother, Grandmother, Grandfather, Father, Waaah, I almost didn't get to see you all again!"
"You little rascal, you little brat, you're always causing trouble!" Mrs. Sun punched her hard on the back twice and cursed angrily, "I'm never taking you with me anywhere again, you've really worried me to death, waaaaah..."
Sun hugged Donghua and wept bitterly.
"Arrest everyone here!" the General of the Cavalry said coldly. "At the foot of the imperial city, in the residence of a fifth-rank official of the Ministry of Justice, missing boys and girls are being hidden. This is utterly lawless! Take everyone here to the Dali Temple!"
Dozens of guards entered the scene, and the burly men were powerless to struggle or resist, and were quickly brought under control.
The General of the Cavalry's gaze finally fell on Li Haoyang: "After the beginning of spring, a total of twenty-three girls and one boy went missing within a radius of thirty kilometers of the capital. Are you the third young master of the mansion of Hanlin Academy's Compiler Li?"
Li Haoyang cupped his hands and replied, "Replying to the General, I am indeed the third son of the Li family. Thank you for saving my life, General..."
"Someone, escort Young Master Li back." The General of the Cavalry waved his hand and turned to look at Cheng Wanwan. "This matter is of great importance. I must go to the palace now to report this to the Emperor. If necessary, Lady Sui's niece may have to appear in court as a witness."
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "My niece will stay in the capital for a while and will definitely cooperate with the court in the investigation."
She initially thought it was a group of scoundrels kidnapping girls and selling them into brothels for money, but she never expected that she would eventually find Donghua at the residence of a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice.
In other words, the disappearance of the young girl in the capital city was closely related to this official in the Ministry of Justice.
Why would a court official arrest so many young girls for no reason? Thinking about it carefully, it's chilling.
Before Donghua, there were more than twenty other girls missing. This matter is bound to cause a sensation in the capital. Hopefully, it won't involve too many people.
After Donghua was brought home, her whole family confronted her. First, they scolded her severely, and then they strictly ordered her not to go out anymore. Even if she had to go out, she had to be accompanied by at least two guards. Otherwise, even if she died outside, her family would not go out to look for her.
"I was wrong, I was really wrong!" Donghua's attitude in admitting her mistake was particularly good. She lowered her head and twisted her fingers. "For the next period of time, I will never go out again. I promise! I swear!"
She was truly terrified and deeply traumatized. She preferred to stay at home bored rather than go out again.
Seeing that Donghua had truly realized her mistake, the whole family finally let her go.
The disappearance of a young girl in Beijing has caused a great uproar.
Actually, a month ago, farmers from the outskirts of Beijing came to the capital to report the case. The Prefect of the Capital specially sent people out of the capital to investigate the case, but they were at a loss and put it aside. However, as more and more girls went missing, the Prefect of the Capital took it seriously and put the case of missing girls as the top priority. Two-thirds of the constables were working on this matter.
However, no useful clues could be found, either outside or inside the capital. This dragged on for more than a month.
Five or six days ago, the third young master of the Li family, a seventh-rank Hanlin Academy official, went missing. He was the first boy to go missing, and the case seemed to be getting more complicated...
Just when the Prefect of the Capital was at his wit's end, the case finally took a turn for the better.
For the government, without evidence there is no warrant for arrest, and therefore no way to conduct a city-wide search.
However, if the military says they are looking for traitors or criminals, they have the authority to search the entire capital and enter any grand mansion, not to mention they have the Emperor's decree...
To everyone's surprise, the two missing people were found at the residence of a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice.
Because it involved court officials, the case was transferred from the Prefect of the Capital to the Court of Judicial Review, and the Emperor ordered the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to investigate it personally.
Within three or four days, the case made progress.
Cheng Wanwan was involuntarily drawn into this case because of her niece's disappearance. Madam Ruan would inform her of any developments in the case.
"The twenty-two girls who went missing were all hidden in a manor about twenty miles outside the capital. It's a wheat-growing area, and from the outside, it looks perfectly normal," Madam Ruan said, her face full of shock. "But beneath the main courtyard, there was an underground courtyard, almost like the underground passages of the palace. The girls were all kept there, and there were people specifically trained to teach them how to serve men..."
“Actually, there were also missing girls in previous years, but the number was small, only three or four. And because the missing girls were all daughters of farmers, the Prefect of the Capital couldn’t find them and so the cases were shelved… If it weren’t for the disappearance of Lady Sui’s niece this year, these twenty-odd girls would have been stuck in the underworld serving men forever…”
Cheng Wanwan asked softly, "Who are these girls meant to serve?"
"The official in charge of the Ministry of Justice has compiled a list of men who went there for entertainment. They are all well-known wealthy merchants in the capital, as well as some court officials." Madam Ruan shook her head. "The official in charge of the Ministry of Justice used these girls to curry favor with powerful and wealthy people, forming his own network of connections... Although the case is now very clear, I still don't understand why the official in charge of the Ministry of Justice would recruit so many people. What is his purpose?"
Cheng Wanwan felt that this matter was indeed very strange.
This official in the Ministry of Justice was a fifth-rank official more than ten years ago. He has been doing this kind of thing for seven or eight years and has built up so many connections, but he is still only a fifth-rank official. Moreover, none of his family members have benefited. It is not reasonable for a person to go to such great lengths and take such great risks, but not to get any benefits at all.
“I have a feeling he’s playing a long game.” She stroked her chin. “If we investigate his background before he entered the court, we might find something new.”
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