☆, Chapter 92: Is he a wanted criminal by the imperial court?
When Shiba was captured by the bad guys, she wasn't scared. But now that Zhou Mujiao was hugging her and crying, she was also scared and started crying. While being scared, she awkwardly comforted Zhou Mujiao: "Sister, don't cry, waaaaah, Shiba is going to cry too, waaaah..."
The sight of the two, one adult and one child, crying in the street drew the attention of everyone present. Considering the hurried manner of Zhou Yun Logistics and his group earlier, it was clear that something serious had happened, and everyone gathered around, pointing and whispering.
Boss Tang gave Ma Dalang a wink, and Ma Dalang quickly led his men to silently disperse the crowd.
Liang An stepped forward and reminded her, "Miss Zhou, the child must be terrified. Hongyun Restaurant is just ahead. Let's rest there for a while."
At Hongyun Restaurant, Zhou Mujiao discovered bloodstains on Shiba's body. After quickly checking and confirming that the bloodstains belonged to someone else, she hugged Shiba for a while, still feeling lingering fear, before calming down.
She hugged Shiba tightly and apologized to her: "Shiba, I'm sorry, I didn't protect you well. I promise you, this will never happen again. I will protect you well from now on."
Eighteen wrapped her arms around her neck and nuzzled her head against her chest: "Sister, I like you so much! Ah! I have a gift for you! Look! What is this! Guess who this is?!"
It was a small clay figurine, with the same hairstyle and expression as Zhou Mujiao!
Zhou Mujiao felt even more guilty: "It was me."
"Sister is so smart! I want to give you a thumbs up!" Eighteen was very happy. "Uncle taught me how to make this! Uncle praised Eighteen for being so smart, she learned it in no time!"
uncle?
Zhou Mujiao remained calm and collected, feeding her roast chicken while guiding her conversation, and soon she had a clear understanding of the situation.
A peddler, a man and a woman, both scoundrels.
Eighteen was crying and scared just now, but after seeing Zhou Mujiao, she was overjoyed and excited. Her emotions fluctuated so much that she fell asleep after eating half a chicken leg.
The upper floors of Hongyun Restaurant are all guest rooms. Zhou Mujiao put the person to bed in the guest room and did not dare to leave for a moment. She told Ma Dalang about Shi Ba's situation right at the door.
“Miss Zhou, two corpses have been found in Xiangyang Alley ahead. They are a man and a woman. Both of them have fatal wounds between their eyebrows. The man is very thin, like a monkey. He should be the couple that the Eighteenth Sister mentioned. Next to the corpses, their identities are written. They are notorious bandits who kidnapped the beloved daughter of General Li, the commander of Guangdong and Guangxi, twenty years ago. They are serious criminals of the imperial court.”
"Where's the uncle who makes dough figurines?"
"We haven't found them yet. But they're probably just some itinerant vendors; I've already sent people to check. However, since they left Eighteen and left immediately, they probably don't want us to find them," Ma Dalang said. "Miss Zhou, should we continue looking?"
"Let's do it quietly." Regardless of who the other party is or what their initial purpose was in approaching Eighteen, the fact that Eighteen was able to escape unscathed this time is indeed due to the other party's protection.
Even if, hypothetically, the person who sculpted the dough figurine did indeed have ulterior motives, finding them would allow for more precise prevention.
"Also, send someone to the academy to inform Zhao Yunjing." Zhou Mujiao said dejectedly, "This was my oversight. Fortunately, the eighteen were blessed with good fortune, otherwise... the consequences would have been unimaginable."
In modern times, with convenient transportation, surveillance cameras, specialized anti-trafficking departments and software, and the Ministry of Public Security's DNA database for comparison, it can be said that all methods are available, yet some people still cannot be found. In ancient times, there was nothing. Criminals could simply disappear into any mountain, and the missing persons and their families could never be reunited for the rest of their lives.
Ma Dalang and Liang An went down to run errands. A little while later, Manager Su knocked on the door, saying that people from the yamen had arrived.
Zhou Mujiao thought it was a constable or something similar, but she didn't expect it to be Magistrate Chen Zhi of Peach Blossom County.
Lord Chen immediately asked about the details of Shiba's disappearance. The clerk and constables next to him were holding notebooks and waiting to take notes, which looked like a modern-day interrogation. Zhou Mujiao did not hide anything and relayed everything she knew from Shiba.
After listening, Lord Chen frowned deeply: "Miss Zhou, the information you provided is very important, but it is still not detailed enough. If your child remembers more details in the future, I hope you can tell me the situation as soon as possible. The person who made the dough figurine is very important to me."
"Is he a wanted criminal by the imperial court?"
"Whether it is or not, it is hard to say right now, but this person is indeed related to the case of Lord Li's family." After Lord Chen finished speaking, he cupped his hands and said, "I am ashamed that such a thing happened in my jurisdiction, and I am also responsible. I will increase the patrol efforts in the future, and I hope Miss Zhou will supervise me."
Zhou Mujiao nodded: "With your dedication to the people, the security in Peach Blossom County will definitely improve, and there will certainly be no more missing children or women."
As Lord Chen reached the stairs, he turned back to look at Zhou Mujiao. The woman had a delicate and refined appearance, and although she looked tired, her temperament was outstanding.
No wonder her son fell in love with her at first sight and couldn't forget her; this woman is truly extraordinary.
Zhou Mujiao rested at the inn for a while when she heard a noise outside. It sounded like Sister Liu's voice. On a whim, she opened the door.
Sure enough, it was Sister Liu outside. Her eyes were swollen from crying, like two peaches. As soon as she saw Zhou Mujiao, she knelt down and said, "Jiaojiao, I'm sorry."
She promised Zhou Mujiao she would take good care of the person, but she lost the person right under her nose. If it weren't for the good fortune of meeting such a kind person at the age of eighteen, Sister Liu felt that even if she died a hundred times, it wouldn't be enough to make up for it.
It's impossible to say that Sister Liu is completely blameless, but Zhou Mujiao can't put all the blame on her either.
She was the one who took the person out, but she didn't take care of them the whole time, which constitutes negligence in guardianship. If we're talking about responsibility, she's the one with the greatest responsibility.
But since Sister Liu promised to keep a close eye on things, and Eighteen had been missing for so long without being found, she obviously hadn't done her best. She wouldn't blame her for anything, nor did she want to blame both of them equally, nor did she have the right to. But today's incident would plant a big knot in her heart, and she couldn't guarantee how to untie it in the future, or even if it could be untied.
"Sister Liu, you should go back first. Let's talk about Shiba's matter in a few days. I can't say whether I forgive him or not right now. I made a mistake myself and I have no right to forgive anyone on Shiba's behalf."
Sister Liu wiped away her tears, but refused to leave, stubbornly standing at the door: "I'll stay here and guard you. You go and rest. I'll risk my life to make sure nothing happens to you."
Zhou Mujiao smiled and said, "Sister Liu, don't worry, this matter today will not affect our cooperation. You will still be our largest distributor of Jiaoyun Clothing."
"Ah Jiao, I'm not staying here because I'm afraid it will affect our cooperation. I just... I just want to make amends." Sister Liu cried. "I'm sorry, I... I'll leave now. You get some rest..."
After closing the door, Zhou Mujiao looked at the little girl sleeping soundly on the bed and sighed heavily.
She swore on her life that something like this would never happen again.
Upon receiving the news, Zhao Yunjing immediately went down the mountain. Shiba had already woken up, and Zhou Mujiao helped her change into clean clothes. The two were about to return to the village.
Zhao Yunjing embraced the two of them and whispered in Zhou Mujiao's ear, "Our whole family knows how much you care about Shiba. She was able to come back safely because of you. I won't allow you to feel guilty. If you insist on feeling guilty, then you should treat her even better, okay?"
"good."
The Zhao couple shared the same attitude as Zhao Yunjing regarding Shiba's disappearance. Fearing she would feel guilty, Aunt Zhao even slept with them that night and talked for most of the night, which gradually helped Zhou Mujiao resolve her inner conflict.
Time flew by, and three days later, Ma Dalang and Liu, the head constable of the yamen, came to the Zhao family and told her that they had found the peddler who made dough figurines.
Zhou Mujiao prepared generous gifts and, accompanied by Ma Dalang and others, went to express her gratitude.
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