Upon arriving at the inn, Meng Zhao and her group checked in, booking only one room. She shared a room with Shen Yun, while the other men slept in the shared dormitory.
Although Meng Zhao had money at the moment and could easily provide private rooms for everyone, they were all newcomers and strangers. If they were too conspicuous, they would inevitably attract the attention of some people with ill intentions. Therefore, they wore the most ordinary coarse linen clothes on this trip, trying to keep a low profile.
Just as Meng Zhao and Shen Yun arrived at the room and hadn't even put their things down, Gu Yun rushed over in a panic, panting, and said, "Sister-in-law, Second Uncle is missing!"
Meng Zhao was startled and quickly put the bundle on the table, letting Gu Yun speak slowly.
“I just went to the dormitory to find my second uncle, but the bed was empty. We had agreed that if anyone had to go out, they would let Xiao Er know. I just asked Xiao Er, and he said that my second uncle told him he had gone out two days ago and hasn’t come back since.”
Meng Zhao frowned. Gu Changwu was often out and about and had been in Hongnong County for more than half a month. He shouldn't have gotten lost. Even if he went to a faraway place, he should have left a message. How could he have disappeared inexplicably?
Meng Zhao didn't dare to delay at all, so he went to find the waiter again to ask him if Gu Changwu had said where he was going before he left.
The waiter scratched his head. "I think I heard him mention it, but I really can't remember exactly where."
Seeing his clueless attitude, Meng Zhao knew she wouldn't get any answers from him.
"Daughter, what should we do? It's getting dark, and we don't know anyone here. We can't go out to look for her." Meng Dashan rushed over to check the situation after hearing the news.
Gu Changwu is always sensible. Knowing they would come, he would never run away. The fact that he hasn't returned means he must be held up by something.
He's here to do something for me. What if something goes wrong? How am I supposed to explain this to the Gu family?
“Father, no matter what, we have to report it to the authorities. A living person like him can’t just disappear for no reason.” Then he added, “Xu Ping, Shen Yun, Xiao Chuan, you stay in the inn and don’t go out. Wait for us to come back.”
This matter originally had nothing to do with the waiter, but seeing how anxious they were, he felt bad for forgetting the place, so he offered to take them to the yamen.
Everyone was very grateful when they heard this. When the group arrived at the government office, they found the gate closed. Meng Dashan went up and knocked on the door, but no one answered.
After knocking several more times, a person dressed in a burlap sack finally came and opened the door.
The man saw them standing at the door and looked somewhat impatient. "It's evening, the yamen is already closed. If you have something to say, come back tomorrow." With that, he made a move to close the door.
Seeing this, Meng Zhao quickly stepped forward, took out a dozen copper coins and handed them over, saying in a kind voice, "Sir, please have mercy. We are from out of town. A relative of ours went missing a couple of days ago. We really have no other choice but to come to the yamen to ask if there are any cases involving outsiders recently."
The constable glanced at the copper coin in Meng Zhao's hand, took it, and his attitude improved considerably. "Who's missing? What do they look like?"
“A man, looks to be around thirty.” As he spoke, he pulled Gu Yun in front of him and gestured, saying, “He’s about the same height and build as me, with a square face and a mole on his forehead.”
After hearing Meng Zhao's description, the constable scanned the three of them with his eyes and asked, "Where are you from?"
“We are from Qingshi County, and the missing person is my uncle.”
After hearing this, the constable hesitated slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, I understand. You can go back and wait." He then turned to close the door.
Seeing that his expression was strange, Meng Zhao guessed that he knew something, so he put his hand in front of the door and said, "Sir, we are really sorry to trouble you. If you know anything, please let us know. We are from out of town and don't know anyone here. If we can't find anyone, we are afraid we won't be able to sleep well at night."
The woman was getting impatient and tried to close the door with force, but Meng Zhao and the others were blocking the doorway. Every extra night meant an extra layer of danger, so she couldn't rest easy.
Just as the stalemate was at hand, a deep and powerful voice suddenly rang out, "Old Wang, what are these people doing here?"
The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the newcomer was about thirty years old, with broad and thick shoulders. He was wearing a neat constable's uniform and had a sharp long knife at his waist, which made him look quite intimidating.
The man called out "Officer Zhang" and then went over and whispered a few words. The man frowned after hearing this and looked at Meng Zhao and his group, asking, "Is the person you're looking for named Gu Changwu?"
"Yes, yes, Gu Changwu is my second uncle. Do you know where he is?" Gu Yun quickly answered upon hearing his second uncle's name.
The man nodded slightly. "Come with me."
They quickly followed the man into the yamen. Along the way, the man would occasionally ask them about the purpose of their trip. Meng Zhao thought to himself that they had no ulterior motives and nothing to hide, so he told them the truth.
When he heard Meng Zhao say she wanted to buy land, he couldn't help but look up and scrutinize her carefully, a look of surprise on his face.
The group followed the man, making several turns until they stopped at a place that resembled a prison. The man then pointed to one of the people inside and asked, "Is this the person you're looking for?"
The cell was dimly lit, with only a lamp a few steps away for illumination. Gu Yun couldn't see anyone clearly, so he could only call out, "Second Uncle, Second Uncle? Is that you?"
Upon hearing the sound, the person lying in the cell immediately sat up, rushed to the door, and excitedly said, "Gu Yun, you've finally arrived!"
Upon seeing this, Meng Zhao quickly stepped forward and carefully checked Gu Changwu's condition. Seeing that he was unharmed, only his clothes and hair were a little disheveled, she was relieved.
So he asked the constable, "May I ask, sir, what crime has my uncle committed, and why has he been arrested?"
Upon hearing Meng Zhao's words, the constable blushed slightly, coughed twice, and then explained the situation to them.
It turned out that they received a report that a stranger was loitering around the village all day, acting suspiciously, and they didn't know what he was up to. At first, they didn't take it too seriously, but a few days ago, there were several cases of missing children in the county, and they thought that Gu Changwu was here to scout the area, so they arrested him.
Originally, things would have been fine if the matter had been clarified, but during the first trial, Gu Changwu claimed that he came to buy the land, which immediately made everyone more suspicious.
Their Hongnong County is arid; apart from potatoes, nothing else grows. They've always heard of people from Hongnong County leaving for other places, but they've never seen anyone from outside come here to buy land.
Besides, why did he keep going to that village instead of going to a real estate agency to buy land? Wasn't that obviously suspicious? So they locked him up in jail, and he almost got beaten up.
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