Chapter 13: Two-Faced Priest
March 15th, the night of the full moon.
It was just after midnight and the night was deep when someone knocked on the corner gate of the Shen residence. An incense stick later, a horse-drawn carriage came out of the Shen residence and headed straight for the Dali Temple.
Shen Yun quickly selected a few detectives to follow him. At this time, Xie Hui also arrived. The Lord Temple Minister arranged for Shen Yun and Xie Hui to handle this matter together. When Shen Yun went out tonight, he naturally sent someone to inform Xie Hui.
"Thank you for the trouble, sir. I just received a report from an informant that there seems to be something strange at Chunfang Inn in the city. In that case, why don't we start our inspection of the brothel from here?"
The one who was strange in Chunfangsu was naturally that old bastard Zhao Ruming. However, the brothels in the capital were not clean at all, so it was impossible to accuse anyone after a patrol.
Dazhao did not impose a curfew, so the streets were still bustling after the hour of 11:00.
When they arrived outside Chunfang Inn, Shen Yun called a group of people to surround the place, while he and Xie Hui led a few people into Chunfang Inn.
Although Shen Yun and Xie Hui were not wearing official uniforms, the detectives following behind them were wearing uniforms and carrying swords. The originally bustling hall immediately became silent.
"Gentlemen, this is..." The madam came forward with a somewhat stiff expression.
Shen Yun showed the Dali Temple sign, "Don't be nervous, this is a routine inspection by the Dali Temple."
Brothels are no different from other places. They have always been the focus of government inspections. The madam is able to open such a large brothel under the emperor's feet. Naturally, she is not an ordinary person. She immediately put on a smile again and said, "Thank you for your hard work, officials. I am doing a legitimate business here."
Shen Yun didn't care what she said and was about to go upstairs. The madam naturally didn't dare to let them go upstairs to look, so she smiled at Shen Yun and said, "Sir, I can't afford to offend the people upstairs. If I offend them, I won't be able to do business here."
Xie Hui glanced at the madam and went upstairs. Everyone in the brothel was staring at Shen Yun, and for a moment no one paid attention to Xie Hui, so they let him go upstairs.
"ah--!"
Thank you. Shen Yun, who came up two steps later, and the brothel owner who hurriedly followed them both heard the miserable scream.
Xie Hui and Shen Yun both looked at the madam. Facing their fierce gazes, she laughed dryly and said, "This... it's okay for us to go overboard here. This is just for fun."
As soon as the madam finished her words, another voice was heard shouting "Help!". Even though it was crying, one could tell that the voice was childish.
Xie responded sarcastically: "Is this also fun?" He followed the sound to a door and kicked it open.
When Shen Yun followed in, Xie Hui had just covered the girl who was kneeling on the ground with a quilt.
"Master Zhao?! Why are you here?"
Xie Hui turned his gaze back to Shen Yun. For some reason, he seemed to feel that Lord Shen's "surprise" was a bit exaggerated.
The whip in Zhao Ruming's hand fell to the ground with a clang, his face turned pale and he said nothing.
Shen Yun then looked at the shivering little girl on the ground. When he saw her tearful almond eyes, he couldn't help but feel angry.
"Search every room here for me."
"My lord, you can't do that! You can't do that!"
"Whether it is acceptable or not, we will discuss it in court. The Dazhao law stipulates that brothel girls under the age of fourteen are not allowed to receive customers. How old is this girl? I don't need to tell you, right?"
There were official prostitutes and private prostitutes in Dazhao. Official prostitutes were controlled by the court, and their identities were registered by the court. They sold their skills but not their bodies. Private prostitutes were different. Relatively speaking, the management was not strict, but the court laws also had clear regulations, such as women could not be forced to become prostitutes, women under the age of 14 could not receive customers, and customers could not harm prostitutes at will.
Although the law stipulates this, no one takes it seriously in private. After all, who will care about the life and death of prostitutes?
"Sir Shen, why don't we have someone take him back to the Dali Temple and let the female doctor take care of him? We still need to investigate Chun Fang Su further."
When Xie Hui walked in, he only took a quick glance and saw that the girl's body was covered with wounds.
At this time, Xiao Wu, the head of the police who had just searched the house, ran in and said, "Sir, I found three little girls tied up in the woodshed in the backyard. One of the older ones said they were sold here." Xiao Wu said, and glared at the paralyzed old procuress. The oldest of the three girls was only ten years old, and the youngest was only seven or eight years old. When they passed by, the two younger ones could only cry, and the older one could speak a little.
I heard that they were sold by their parents because their families were poor. The traffickers told their parents that they were being taken to rich families to be maids, where they would not have to worry about food and clothing and could study with the girls. The parents were naturally happy to hear that, but who would have imagined that they were being sold to a brothel, where they would not only not have enough food to eat once they got in, but would also be beaten and scolded.
A quarter of an hour later, the little girl rescued by Shen Yun and Xie Hui and the three children in the woodshed were all sent to the Dali Temple to be cared for by a female doctor and a maid.
The remaining guests, including the pale-faced Zhao Jijiu Lord, and the girls from Chunfangsu, were gathered in the lobby on the first floor.
Most people felt that it was bad luck, but they did not dare to make trouble to the Dali Temple. Some individuals who were not convinced did not dare to say anything when they saw Xie Hui. After all, everyone knew that Xie Hui was the emperor's nephew. Although his position was not high, no one dared to take him lightly.
"This is a routine inspection at the Dali Temple. I have no intention of disturbing you all. We will let you all go back after we have investigated the situation."
After all, the laws of this dynasty did not stipulate that officials were not allowed to visit prostitutes. In this case, although Shen Yun and Xie Hui were both disgusted with visiting brothels, the Dali Temple could not do anything about it.
Most of the people were allowed to leave after being checked, and in the end only Zhao Ruming was left.
"Lord Shen, we are old acquaintances. You should know what kind of person I am." Zhao Ruming shamelessly tried to get close to him, not looking like a great scholar at all.
Shen Yun was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would lose control of his anger, so he simply snorted coldly and said nothing.
They arrived at 11:00 p.m. and had been busy for a long time. It was almost dawn.
Xie replied, "Master Zhao, please come with us to the Dali Temple."
Zhao Ruming knew that if he was sent to the Dali Temple today, the reputation he had worked so hard to build up over the years would be gone.
For so many years, he has stayed at home with his wife, and he didn't even dare to take a concubine! He couldn't lose his reputation, absolutely not.
"It was the madam who lied to me. She told me that the girl was already sixteen. I was fooled!"
Xie Hui raised his voice, "Master Zhao, even if you didn't know about the age issue beforehand, can you deny the beating?"
After saying that, he waved his hand and asked someone to take the madam away, "Master Zhao, please come in."
When Zhao Ruming saw the brothel owner being escorted by the police, he chose to walk out on his own.
Xie Hui glanced at Shen Yun, who was looking sarcastic, and asked, "Did Lord Shen know that Lord Zhao would be here?"
Shen Yun was not flustered at all, he smiled and said, "Thank you, sir, for joking. It was just a coincidence."
Xie Hui did not say whether he believed it or not, he just said: "I am afraid that Mr. Zhao's position as the chief priest will not be kept this time."