Chapter 271 Caught
Shen Yun told his daughter: "The Dali Temple exam was originally scheduled for early March, but now it seems that this case is not finished, so the exam date will have to be postponed."
"It doesn't matter. I'm not in a hurry. I just hope that person can be caught as soon as possible."
"The wanted order has been posted all over Dazhao. He will be caught sooner or later. It's useless for us to worry about it now. Several people who had contact with Liao Chunfa and helped him kidnap children like Lei Rong have been arrested in the past few days. The Jiaozhou government sent news that they helped find the families of several children based on the list."
After the father and daughter finished talking, Shen Yuan came out of the study, looked up, and said, "The moon is so round!" Shen Yuan muttered as she walked out, "I'm already sixteen, and it seems like I haven't seen little Master Xie for a few days." Shen Yuan thought that she had to find a day to "pamper" their little Master Xie.
At the same time, Xie Hui returned home late at night again. Not long after he returned to his room, he was told that his parents asked him to go out for a midnight snack.
"Is Jingzhao Prefecture a cannibalistic place? You've only been there for two months, and yet the people there have become much uglier."
As soon as Xie Hui came into the house, his mother called him ugly, and he suddenly felt that his steps were a little difficult...
"Madam, don't say that. Our son has had a hard time too. He should eat something to replenish his body."
Xie Hui ran around outside today and felt hungry, so he didn't say anything and just sat down to eat.
He ate half full before speaking, "I can finally take a break this time. The busiest time is over."
"You chose this place for yourself. How could your father and I give birth to such a hard-working person like you? Remember to apply more of the powder and ointment your mother gave you before the holiday. Don't look back and let Manman see that you have become ugly and regret being with you."
Thank you: ...
"Manman wouldn't."
On February 19, Lu Shuyan's caravan returned to Beijing. This time, they not only brought back a lot of goods, but also a big surprise.
"Boss, when we were in Yanzhou, this guy wanted to steal some food from us at night, but he was caught by Erpang. At first, we didn't pay much attention to him because he looked like a beggar, so we kindly gave him two cakes. But he didn't say anything and kept his head down. Sanhu said he looked like a fugitive, but when we caught him, we found out he really was."
The person who spoke was the leader of the caravan, named Dayong. On their way back, they saw many portraits of "Uncle De" scattered on the road. He saw that this man was a peddler and thought it was disgusting. He thought that they might run into him as they had traveled far and wide and met many people, so he picked up a portrait and put it in his pocket. He didn't expect that such a coincidence would happen.
"Find two people and follow me to take this man to the Dali Temple. The rest of you will take the things to the shop on Baofu Street. There will be someone waiting there to pick you up."
The man was now tied to a cart, all dirty. He hadn't made any movement since Lu Shuyan saw him. If he hadn't moved twice when he was pulled up, she would have suspected that he was dead.
"Don't worry, Boss. We have been keeping an eye on this man all the way. We won't let him die so easily."
Upon hearing that someone had captured "Uncle De", Shen Yun immediately ran out of the duty room.
"It's Miss Xiaolu." Shen Yun knew her daughter's good friend.
"Yes, Uncle Shen. My caravan was returning to Beijing and I accidentally found this person on the way. I brought him here immediately after entering Beijing."
"That's great! Miss Xiaolu, you are a great contributor. When the case is over, uncle will write a letter to His Majesty to explain your contribution clearly."
"Uncle Shen, you are so polite. Please go ahead and do your work. I won't bother you anymore once the person is sent to you."
When Shen Yuan heard that the person had been caught, she immediately jumped up from her chair and wanted to run directly to the Dali Temple to take a look. However, she was afraid that it would be improper for her to go there, so she had to endure it for the time being and wait for her father to come back.
Shen Yun thought that it would take a lot of effort to interrogate someone like Uncle De, but he didn't expect that the first thing he said after being thrown into prison was: "Let me take a shower, give me a full meal, and I'll tell you everything."
During this period, there were wanted pictures of him everywhere. After living like a ghost for a while, he felt relieved when he was actually caught.
Shen Yun ordered the jailer: "Get him two buckets of water."
It was still cold today, but the Dali Temple would not be kind enough to give hot water to such a trafficker. However, he did not care much even if it was cold water. He did not even care that there were many people standing there and just took off the rags on his body.
"Now that you've showered, it's time to talk. After that, I'll give you a good meal."
Of course, the prisoner's demands cannot be met all at once, otherwise his mouth will close again just after it was opened.
"Ask whatever you want to ask."
Shen Yun glanced at the chief clerk, told him to get ready, and then asked him, "Do you have anyone above you?"
"No, I sold all the children."
“Where were they sold?”
Uncle De swallowed his saliva and actually counted them one by one. He said who knows how many places before he stopped and said, "These are all I remember. I really can't remember the rest. It's been a long time. Don't bother looking for them."
What he confessed filled a whole stack of paper. The most recent ones were in the capital, and the farthest ones were in Yunzhou. It was hard to imagine how many crimes he had committed over the years.
"How many people are like Liao Chunfa, selling kidnapped children to you?"
"Who is Liao Chunfa?"
"Fifth brother."
"Oh, I remember now. There are five or six people like him, and some even asked me to sell their own children. There's no need to talk about people like this, right? My Lord is very observant, but you should not look for some children. I remember to find good places for those who were sold by their own parents. I sent them to rich families as maids."
"From what you said, you think you have done a good thing."
"Uncle De" raised his head and smiled, "Isn't it? I admit that I did bad things, but isn't this a good thing? When I was a child, I hoped that someone would come and buy me, but no one did. I was beaten and scolded at home every day and didn't have enough food. I might as well sell me to someone else. You don't know how precious it would be for those families who can't give birth to sons to have sons. If I send them to a family, they might live a better life."
"Keep these words to yourself." Shen Yun was too lazy to talk to such a person. There was no need to say anything more.
Shen Yuan didn't wait for her father to come back, but she waited for someone from the Dali Temple, who said that they wanted her to paint his portrait. Shen Yuan immediately changed her clothes and went out.
This time the painting depicts the people who, according to "Uncle De", kidnapped the child and sold it to him. There were six people in total, three men and three women. One was from Minzhou, two were from Mingzhou, one was from Guangzhou, one was from Jiangzhou, and one was from Ezhou.
"Little girl, you can sell for two hundred taels here."
When Shen Yuan was painting his portrait, he was still in the mood to tease. The jailer behind him immediately took action, "Behave yourself!"
After Shen Yuan finished painting, he slowly put away his brush and ink, "You are in good spirits. You are still in the mood to laugh when you are about to die. I will go to see you when you are beheaded, and then I will draw another picture for you... Oh, I almost forgot that the emperor said that your beheading is too easy for you. He said that you should be tortured to death first and then torn into pieces by five horses. It's too scary. I won't go this time. You can go on your way with peace of mind."