After all, not all officials are bad, nor are all officials incompetent. If there were just one or two good officials, their human trafficking business would not be able to continue.
They now dare to openly rob people. The population of Shanshui Village is not large, but it is definitely not small either. The fact that they can handle so many children means that they have expanded. And expansion means that they can transport people through legitimate channels.
It might be easy to get one or two or a dozen travel permits, but getting a large number of them is impossible unless the county magistrate is a fool. How many of those who have passed the imperial examinations are truly fools?
The fact that Magistrate Wu married Bai Ziqian's aunt, which is equivalent to marrying a treasure trove, shows that he is a shrewd and calculating person who is extremely calculating about money and is more likely to be thinking about getting a share of the pie.
Shui Qing went through the situation in her mind and started thinking about what to do next, while the man from Shanshui Village was still in shock and hadn't come to his senses.
They felt that everything that happened tonight was beyond their imagination!
It overturned their understanding!
The bandits are bad, they are the ones who want to kill them, and Magistrate Wu is their parent official, the official who will stand up for them. How come these two completely opposite groups of people have colluded together?
The officials are protecting the bandits who want them dead. What are they going to do next?
Seeing that Shui Qing had guessed it, the bound bandits' previous slight attempt to ingratiate themselves vanished, and they said in a sinister tone, "Since you know we are Magistrate Wu's men, I advise you to release us."
"With so many of us, and so many brothers who ran away, if we die, Magistrate Wu will definitely come after you demanding our lives!"
Li Wen stepped forward and said firmly, "We can't let it go!"
These people can wreak havoc in their village today, and they can wreak havoc in other places tomorrow. How many other villages are as united as they are, with knives and walls?
There are over a hundred of them, and they might even grow in the future. At that time, all the children in those villages will suffer!
Wang Laoba and Wu Laoda finally realized what was happening and gritted their teeth, saying, "We can't let them go! We can't let them go even if it kills us!"
“Death? You’d better think this through. We’re under Magistrate Wu’s protection. Don’t you want to consider the consequences?” another bandit asked coldly.
The men from Shanshui Village only looked at Shuiqing and wouldn't budge an inch.
Looking at the bandits who had become defiant again, Shui Qing felt that these people were indeed incorrigible.
She looked down at him and said calmly, "Since I knew that Magistrate Wu was involved, why didn't I release you but instead brought it up?"
The person being asked opened their mouth, a look of confusion flashed in their eyes, and their face showed bewilderment.
Yes, why did she have to bring it up? Wouldn't it have been better to pretend she didn't know and release them or send them to the government office?
"Could it be that you're trying to do Magistrate Wu a favor?"
The bandits, thinking they had figured things out, beamed with joy and immediately assured him, "Don't worry, I'll definitely put in a good word for you with Magistrate Wu and make sure you're safe."
They will come back later and take back all the suffering they have endured today.
None of these people will escape.
Li Wen, Li Wu, and the others looked at Shui Qing nervously.
Shui Qing was speechless. A smile slowly appeared on her lips, but her words were as cold as ice: "Stop daydreaming. Honestly tell me how you cooperated with Magistrate Wu, how you split the profits, how many times you split the profits, and how much silver you received in total."
"You don't have to tell me, but you've seen what happened to Boss Zhu. We'll see it again later. I'm just letting you know in advance, Boss Zhu is actually quite willing to talk now. If you don't speak, you'll miss your chance."
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